Eight Waco nonprofit organizations are starting the new year thousands of dollars richer after Baylor’s inaugural “Philanthropy and the Public Good” course distributed $100,000 to those select organizations through a semester-long process.

President Barack Obama declared Tuesday night that the “shadow of crisis” has passed America and urged Congress to build on economic gains by raising taxes on the nation’s wealthiest to pay for reductions for the middle class — an agenda more likely to antagonize the new Republican majority than win its approval.

Republican Greg Abbott was sworn in Tuesday as Texas’ first new governor in more than 14 years, though he’s expected to keep the state’s conservative focus as he concentrates on border security, education and economic issues.

A Baylor professor’s study is gaining national attention for finding that 6 percent of food service industry employees contaminate food and engage in other deviant workplace behaviors.

The recent drop in gas prices has caused quite a stir within economic circles.