There is a rhyme passed down by Latin students that goes: Latin is a language, dead as dead can be. First it killed the Romans, now it’s killing me.

On Friday, 200 Texas high-school students from 10 high schools arrived at Baylor to prove that Latin is still very much alive.

Often Christians find themselves trying to navigate difficult cultural and political issues they disagree with while still relying on biblical principles. In a speech given Monday, Dr. Marvin Olasky advised listeners on how to navigate these issues in “Rafting the Political Rapids.”

Olasky, the Editor-in-Chief of World News Group, came as a guest speaker in Baylor. In his speech, Olasky discussed the intersection between religion, politics and culture, and how he thinks Christians should navigate this intersection.

They came, they took an oath of secrecy, and they agreed to send a message to the previous pope, whose resignation has thrown the church into turmoil and unleashed a new wave of scandals.

The cardinals meeting to choose the next pope started work Monday on planning their conclave. Benedict XVI remained holed up at the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo, his temporary retirement home while cardinals pick his successor.

Automatic government spending cuts could see military operations across Texas lose at least $1.7 billion before the end of the fiscal year, the U.S. Defense Department said late Friday.

In a letter to Gov. Rick Perry obtained by The Associated Press, the department said that no deal in Congress to stave off $85 billion in federal budget reductions means $41 billion will evaporate from the Defense Department budget by Sept. 30.

The Homeland Security Department released from its jails more than 2,000 illegal immigrants facing deportation in recent weeks due to looming budget cuts and planned to release 3,000 more during March, The Associated Press has learned.

The newly disclosed figures, cited in internal budget documents reviewed by the AP, are significantly higher than the “few hundred” illegal immigrants the Obama administration acknowledged this week had been released under the budget-savings process.