Grab your flashlights and gather ‘round, Austinites. It’s storytime.
Earlier this month, we asked readers to share dating horror stories that tragically occurred while trying to find love in the Capital City. Without further ado, we’re presenting our top submissions, just in time for Halloween.
Editor’s note: these submissions have been edited for readability.
That’s ruff
“Dated someone who (brushed) his dog’s teeth with his toothbrush. Proceeded to wash the toothbrush in the washing machine… then proceeded to brush his teeth with the same toothbrush. 🤯 The audacity to proceed to cheat on me.”
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Didn’t quite hook ‘em
“When I was a freshman at the University of Texas, a friend of a friend got me a blind date with a very handsome young man. Hopefully to impress him, I put on my new leather vest.
Shortly after arriving at the UT game, I realized that the vest was not a good choice. I began to sweat profusely in the 100-degree heat. Even worse, the vest must not have been properly cured and it began to rub off all over me and my date. Right after the game, he took me back to my dorm. I never saw him again.”
Twist in the wind
“There was once a chick that I had been friends with for a while, and we expressed mutual feelings for each other, but the biggest factor at the time was distance. Well long story short, a new job brought me back to the Austin area, and we lived pretty close to each other. We had gone out to eat a couple of times and hung out, but the situation felt different and we didn’t talk as much.
So, I decided to hit her up to invite her to go to the annual kite event here in ATX. She seemed excited about the event but never confirmed she wanted to attend, only asked about the date and time it was taking place. The day of the event comes around, I never heard from her. As I was doom scrolling on (Instagram) out of pure boredom, I see that she in fact went to the kite event without me… 🫥”
Feeling lovesick?
“I had been seeing this guy off of Bumble because he was from my home state (already a horrible idea). He moved to ATX because he wanted to be a standup comedian, but he worked in sales full-time. We’d been seeing one another for 6 weeks and it started to be exclusive. One night he invited me over to watch a movie because he wasn’t feeling great (you’re assuming he was just tired or had a cold right??? wrong).
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First, I walk up and his whole place smells like YUCK. The way you can smell sickness, ya know. SO I knew I had to leave. I ask him to walk me out because you had to have a key fob for the elevator. He got into the elevator with me and proceeded to pass out (with his eyes open??) and we got stuck in the elevator because it wouldn’t open.
We eventually got out and he came back to life but not before passing out a second time so that I had to physically carry him to bed … Here’s your warning not to date any (unsuccessful) comedians that live downtown.”
Ready to unburden yourself of an embarrassing or cringe-worthy dating story? You can still submit your freaky first date or the break-up that haunts you for a chance to be featured in the future.
The USC Trojans are currently in a recruiting war with the Texas Longhorns over four-star offensive tackle Austin Attalah. The 6-8, 270-pound lineman currently has 29 offers from programs such as Ohio State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Miami and Notre Dame. To help narrow down his choices, the four-star prospect has planned visits throughout the summer.
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Although Attalah has been vocal about USC and Texas standing out among the rest, Attalah’s most recent trip to Austin could give USC a run for its money.
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Sep 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches game action against the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Four-Star Tackle Austin Attalah’s Recruitment
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Playing out of Cajon High School (San Bernardino, Calif.), Attalah is nationally ranked No. 15 by On3/Rivals and No. 50 by 247Sports and is the top-10 of his position – No. 2 and No. 6, respectively.
His size and physicality pop when looking at his film. Attalah rarely gets pushed back during one-on-one blocking assignments and turns into a bulldozer when a running play is called his way. He is quick enough to reach the second level and takes pride in finished blocks
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Austin Attalah’s Recruiting History With the Texas Longhorns
On March 27, Attalah received an offer from Texas. Then this past weekend, Attalah met with head coach Steve Sarkisian, offensive line coach Kyle Flood and the rest of the Texas staff. Adam Gorney of Rivals has confirmed that the visit went well and that Attalah was impressed with the facility, staff and camp.
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Texas’ main recruiting pitch to Attalah seems to be that they have become an offensive line factory. Since Sarkisian took over at Texas, he has had five offensive linemen selected in the NFL Draft – Christian Jones (2024, Round 5), Kelvin Banks Jr. (2025, Round 1), Cameron Williams (2025, Round 6), Hayden Connor (2025, Round 6) and DJ Campbell (2026, Round 6).
Dec 31, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on before a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images
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In comparison, USC under Lincoln Riley has only had three linemen drafted – Andrew Vorhees (2023, Round 7), Jarrett Kingston (2024, Round 6) and Jonah Monheim (2025, Round 7).
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Another advantage that Texas has over Southern Cal is Attalah’s familial ties to the state. His grandparents currently reside in Floydada, Texas, where Attalah has spent summers at the family ranch.
Austin Attalah’s Recruiting History With the USC Trojans
Attalah received an offer from Southern Cal on March 7 during a campus visit. Then on March 26 in Long Beach (Calif.), USC hosted Attalah and other local high school stars for a spring practice. Throughout the practice, the four-star recruit impressed the Trojan coaching staff.
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While USC may not be producing at the NFL level the way Texas has, recent recruiting strategies by offensive line coach Zach Hanson can turn USC into the offensive line hub of the past. In 2026, Hanson signed five-star offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, the No. 5 overall recruit and No. 1 player at his position, according to 247Sports, as well as Vlad Dyakonov and Esun Tafa, both of whom were top-150 prospects.
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USC Trojans offensive line coach Zach Hanson and freshman offensive tackle Chase Deniz | USC Trojans on SI
It also helps that USC is the home of Attalah’s former Cajon teammate, Taylor Johnson, the Trojans’ freshman linebacker.
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The Trojans currently have 88 offerees in the 2028 class, 12 of which are offensive linemen – nine at the tackle position. If the Trojans are unable to land Attalah, they can get another California talent in four-star recruit Lincoln Fa’alafi from Serra Catholic. Four-star recruits Maui Tonata and Mataio Fano would also be huge gets at the position.
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Attalah is slated for another visit on June 9, according to Gorney and Rivals.
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After more than a decade at 2015 E. Riverside Drive (following the original Red River-era venue closing in 2011), Emo’s current Riverside space will be taken over by AEG Presents when the lease ends later this year. The Los Angeles, CA-based company will assume operations in January 2027 and plans to reopen the building under a new name in early 2027 following upgrades, renovations and a full rebrand.
AEG are also opening a new 4,000-cap venue nearby next spring as part of the River Park mixed-use development in southeast Austin.
C3 Presents, who reopened Emo’s at the Riverside location, say this isn’t the end of Emo’s — they’re working on a new home and plan to move the venue back to downtown Austin, with more updates to come.
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AEG Presents Vice President Robin Phillips shared the following:
There’s like no weirdness or any bad blood or anything. It just, you know, new lease and they’ll [Emo’s] go do something great. They have been important to the Austin music scene, so I have a lot of respect for them.
But I don’t think the Austin music scene or legacy is limited to one name. I know people will remember the original Emo’s and this Emo’s as, you know, both great venues… And I don’t think Austin’s music scene is just a name, it’s the artists, in my opinion.
A C3 spokesperson added:
Emo’s has a long history in Austin and we’ve been working behind the scenes for some time on a new home for this venue. After we wrap up at this venue in December, we will focus our efforts on our new location.
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Emo’s gave the following statement to Austin local news KXAN:
We’re grateful for all of the fans and artists who’ve shaped Emo’s to what it is today: a community of like-minded people who love live music. We have a vision for our future and will be moving into a new building downtown that celebrates our punk rock roots with the new amenities that fans are looking for from a venue. We’ll continue to share updates on the next chapter for Emo’s on social media.
AUSTIN, Texas – State and federal agriculture officials said highly pathogenic avian flu has been found in a herd of dairy cows in Texas.
What we know:
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Officials said the H5N1 virus was confirmed with laboratory tests in late May after cows at an unspecified farm became sick and milk production dropped. The dairy has since been quarantined and an investigation is underway.
This is the first case of avian flu in a Texas dairy herd this year, officials said.
What they’re saying:
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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is confident that pasteurization is effective at inactivating H5N1, and that the commercial, pasteurized milk supply is safe,” officials at the Texas Animal Health Commission said in a statement.
A dairy cow is seen at a farm on June 1, 2026. (Tim Evans/Bloomberg / Getty Images)
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Dig deeper:
H5N1 has a high rate of severe disease and death in animals that become infected.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to the general public from avian flu is low. Some sporadic human infections have been reported around the world since 1997. There have been no known cases of person-to-person spreading of avian flu.
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The Source: Information in this story came from the Texas Animal Health Commission, the USDA, the FDA and the CDC.
