Texas
Storm damage? Here’s how to access federal disaster aid in North Texas
FEMA representatives have been canvassing areas of Texas hammered by tornadoes and intense storms in recent weeks.
“We’re on the ground and we’re trying to meet people where they are,” said Nikki Gaskins Campbell, a FEMA spokesperson. “We have crews going door to door in the most affected areas to find out exactly what the needs are and to help them register if they in fact need to do so for disaster assistance.”
The storms triggered a federal disaster declaration, which unlocks FEMA programs designed to help state and local governments remove debris and repair infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
In designated counties, it also allows for “individual assistance” to help people get back on their feet.
Where are residents eligible for assistance ?
Disaster 4781 covers storm damage dating back to April 26 in more than 20 Texas counties, including Denton, Collin, Cooke, Montague and Henderson counties in North Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday that his request for individual assistance for Austin, Coryell, Dallas, Ellis, Falls, Hockley, Kaufman, Leon, Navarro and Smith counties remains under FEMA review.
How should damage be reported?
The state encourages Texans to report storm damage using the Individual State of Texas Assessment Tool at damage.tdem.texas.gov. Those reports help determine whether areas meet the thresholds for federal disaster assistance.
As officials document damage, additional counties could be added to those eligible for assistance.
Anyone who suffered damage should document it by taking pictures, saving receipts and notifying their county emergency management officials.
What is eligible for reimbursement?
Residents can receive help repairing uninsured storm damage to their homes, and a host of other costs are potentially eligible for reimbursement through FEMA programs, from a chainsaw for tackling fallen trees to a generator to keep medical equipment running.
Individuals who qualify for FEMA assistance can get money for water, food, prescriptions, baby formula, diapers and other items.
FEMA also provides funding to pay for hotel rooms or cover rent if a disaster prevents someone from staying in their own home. Individuals can seek funding to cover child care expenses incurred because of a disaster and to repair or replace damaged vehicles.
The cost of moving and storing personal property to prevent further damage also can be covered.
What isn’t eligible?
Claims for damage involving primary residences are allowed, but vacation homes are not covered.
Damage covered by insurance also isn’t eligible for FEMA aid.
“Your insurance is always going to be your first line of defense,” Campbell said. “FEMA is not going to duplicate payments.”
FEMA has typically not covered the cost of spoiled food from a power outage, but there is assistance that can provide for essential needs such as food.
Like the IRS, any FEMA payments can be subject to an audit and lying on an application for assistance can bring consequences.
Manage expectations
Federal disaster assistance is designed to be supplemental, so applicants should manage expectations.
“We are here to assist survivors who live in those designated counties and suffered damage to their primary residence as a direct result of the storms,” Campbell said. “But FEMA assistance usually isn’t enough to make you whole.”
Grant amounts can vary widely, but the average is about $5,000 to $8,000. That money does not have to be repaid.
How do I register for assistance?
Affected residents can apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov, download the FEMA App for mobile devices or call the agency’s helpline at 800-621-3362.
“We just encourage people to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible so they can try to start the road to recovery and get back to some sense of normalcy,” Campbell said.
She said applicants will typically hear back within seven to 14 days, and a FEMA representative might visit the residence to document the damage.
Campbell urged people to beware of bad actors seeking to exploit a terrible situation. A FEMA representative isn’t going to ask for money, for example.
“We encourage people to be cautious,” Campbell said.
How fast can I get my money?
If all required information is submitted correctly, money can come through in a matter of days and be delivered via direct deposit or paper check.
Campbell said the goal is to act quickly.
“Our hearts and prayers certainly go out to all of those survivors who suffered huge losses in this disaster,” she said.
Texas
Michigan Forced to Make Major Coaching Change Ahead of Citrus Bowl vs. Texas
As the offseason of college football approaches, coaches across the country are leaving their current programs for new ones. One of these coaches is Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who has left the Wolverines for the Mizzou Tigers. With his departure, Michigan will look to a new coach to assume Lindsey’s duties in the upcoming Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Taking over play-calling duties for Michigan will likely be Wolverines tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator Steve Casula.
Steve Casula Takes Over As Offensive Coordinator
According to ESPN, Lindsey signed a three-year deal with the Tigers to take over as the team’s offensive coordinator. After spending only a single season with the Wolverines, he left in the aftermath of the recent Sherrone Moore scandal, which led to the firing of the former Michigan head coach.
Casula is in his second season with the Wolverines as an assistant coach, but previously worked with Michigan from 2019 to 2021 as an offensive analyst. Nearly eclipsing 20 years of coaching experience, this will not be Casula’s first time taking on a team’s offensive playcalling.
Casula previously held stints as the offensive coordinator at Davenport, Ferris State and, most recently, UMASS. While with Massachusetts, the Minutemen offense averaged 22.5 points per game, 163.5 rushing yards per game, 181.8 passing yards per game and 345.2 total yards per game.
Now he takes on perhaps his toughest challenge yet as an offensive playcaller, taking on the Texas Longhorns in the Citrus Bowl.
Texas has undergone some coaching changes as well, on the opposite side of the ball, recently firing defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and hiring Will Muschamp in his stead.
While the Texas defense didn’t perform to expectations this season and has had various players opt out of the Citrus Bowl, they still boast some of the best young talent in the nation. Defensive players set not to play in the Longhorns’ upcoming contest include linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., safety Michael Taaffe, defensive lineman Ethan Burke, cornerback Malik Muhammad and linebacker Trey Moore.
This will mean the Longhorns will get an early look at perhaps some of the players that will be the core of next season’s defense. Some young names like Jonah Williams and Bo Barnes likely be given a chance to play significant minutes, and will hope to put a stop to Casula and the Michigan offense.
With the turmoil that Michigan has undergone over the past few weeks, perhaps Casula can bring some stability to the offense after Lindsey’s exit.
Texas
How to watch Kentucky vs. Texas A&M volleyball in NCAA championship
Texas A&M, Kentucky face off in NCAA volleyball championship game
We now know the two teams heading to the national championship. Meg Hall explains how Texas A&M and Kentucky made it to the title game.
The 2025 NCAA volleyball season comes down to Kentucky vs. Texas A&M. The conference rivals will meet in the first all-SEC national championship game on Sunday, Dec. 21 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Texas A&M is vying for its first championship after upsetting No. 1 overall seed Nebraska and Pitt in the Elite Eight and Final Four, respectively. Meanwhile, Kentucky is looking to win its second title and first since 2020 after beating Wisconsin in a five-set semifinal thriller.
It will be the 28th all-time meeting between the teams. The Wildcats hold a 17-10 advantage in the series, but the Aggies are 2-0 when the team’s meet on a neutral court.
Kentucky beat Texas A&M on Oct. 8 in College Station. The Aggies won the first set, but Wildcats rallied to win the last three for the victory.
When is Kentucky vs. Texas A&M volleyball?
No. 1 Kentucky (29-2) faces No. 3 Texas A&M (28-4) on Sunday, Dec. 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kentucky vs. Texas A&M volleyball: Channel, streaming
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 21
- Time: 3:30 p.m ET (2:30 p.m. CT)
- Location: T-Mobile Center (Kansas City, Missouri)
- Channel: ABC
- Stream: ESPN+, Fubo
Stream to NCAA volleyball championship
MORE: The 11 best NCAA volleyball players in transfer portal
Kentucky Wildcats starting lineup
Head coach: Craig Skinner
- 6 Kassie O’Brien | S 6-1 – Freshman
- 7 Eva Hudson | OH 6-1 – Senior
- 10 Kennedy Washington | MB 6-0 – Sophomore
- 11 Molly Berezowitz | DS 5-5 – Junior
- 12 Molly Tuozzo | L 5-7 – Junior
- 15 Lizzie Carr | MB 6-6 – Redshirt Junior
- 17 Brooklyn DeLeye | OH 6-2 – Junior
Texas A&M Aggies starting lineup
Head coach: Jamie Morrison
- 37 Kyndal Stowers | OH 5-11 – Sophomore
- 1 Ifenna Cos-Okpalla | MB 6-2 – Senior
- 2 Addi Applegate | L/DS 5-5 – Freshman
- 9 Logan Lednicky | OPP 6-3 – Senior
- 12 Ava Underwood | L/DS 5-7 – Senior
- 16 Maddie Waak | S 5-10 – Senior
Texas
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Texas A&M’s Loss to Miami
No matter the accomplishments and accolades collected through the year, all seasons must come to end in some form or fashion. Unfortunately for Texas A&M football, the form of its first defeat in the College Football Playoff was in a tight 10-3 matchup with the Miami Hurricanes.
Despite of their best defensive outing of the 2025 campaign, the Aggies inability to get the offense churning until the very end of the game was among the factors that doomed their chances of advancing deeper into the national title race.
All things considered, it was a terrific season for the Maroon and White, who rattled off 11 straight wins to start the season as well as reaching the CFP for the first time in school history, which is a huge leap seeing that it was only head coach Mike Elko’s second season at the helm of the program. With that said, let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly of the final A&M game of the year.
The Good: A precedent was set
Though the sting of a loss, especially a season-ending one, is a hard feeling to turn the page over with, an 11-2 run in Elko’s second year is a quite the feat. A&M, which hadn’t achieved 10 wins in a season in over a decade, is poised to build a long-standing prescence in the national title race.
Though a small sample size, Elko has progressed his time in each of the last two years, which can lead folks to assume that next year will have a similar outcome as far as overall success. While difficult to grasp in the moment, championship programs are not so quickly built in today’s Southeastern Conference.
The Bad: Offensive struggles spoil courageous defensive effort
In most normal circumstances, holding a team to just 10 points typically results in a victory. But that was not the case for the Aggies on Saturday. Through the better part of a three-and-a-half quarters, the A&M defense held Miami to just three points until in the final two minutes when a touchdown was conceded.
The Aggies had no answer to their defense’s heroics and came up short in the final seconds of the game when there was a chance in the end zone to tie the ballgame. A new offensive coordinator in Holmon Wiggins is due up next season, so the jury is still out on how next year will pan out.
The Ugly: Kicking the ball
Sometimes, things can be so bad that they are simply comical. That would certainly be the case in College Station on Saturday afternoon, where a windy day helped a total of four field goal attempts to be missed across both squads.
However, the Aggie faithful would be the first to say that even without wind, field goal kicking seemed virtually impossible this season. Kicker Jared Zirkel seemingly kicked the ball straight in the Hurricanes line within the 30-yard line and the Aggies only scored off a short boot from kicker Randy Bond.
-
Iowa7 days agoAddy Brown motivated to step up in Audi Crooks’ absence vs. UNI
-
Iowa1 week agoHow much snow did Iowa get? See Iowa’s latest snowfall totals
-
Maine5 days agoElementary-aged student killed in school bus crash in southern Maine
-
Maryland7 days agoFrigid temperatures to start the week in Maryland
-
South Dakota1 week agoNature: Snow in South Dakota
-
New Mexico5 days agoFamily clarifies why they believe missing New Mexico man is dead
-
Detroit, MI6 days ago‘Love being a pedo’: Metro Detroit doctor, attorney, therapist accused in web of child porn chats
-
Education1 week agoOpinion | America’s Military Needs a Culture Shift