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‘Ain’t nobody here.’ Texas A&M takes pride in emptying another SEC stadium

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‘Ain’t nobody here.’ Texas A&M takes pride in emptying another SEC stadium


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  • After Texas A&M routs Missouri, Aggies have stadium to themselves.
  • Texas A&M underachieved for years. Mike Elko redirected the course.
  • Aggies aren’t unblemished. Elko calls run defense ‘awful.’

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Rueben Owens II scored his second touchdown late in the fourth quarter, and he looked into the stands expecting to see fans. He saw rows of empty seats.

“I was like, ‘Dang, there ain’t nobody here,” Owens, the Texas A&M running back, said.

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That’s the sign of a rout in motion.

Then Owens shifted his gaze toward the southeast corner of Missouri’s Memorial Stadium. He saw packed stands in that nook. That’s where Aggies fans congregated and celebrated as No. 3 Texas A&M pulled away in a 38-17 romp over No. 17 Missouri.

“That just shows a lot of love from the 12th Man,” Owens said.

The wind whipped, and the temperature plummeted after the sun set. That tends to happen on fall nights in the Midwest. Combine the elements with the increasingly lopsided score, and most Missouri fans headed for warmth or to pursue something more pleasurable to the eye.

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Those wearing maroon and white in the southeast corner still wouldn’t leave, even after the clock showed 0:00. They cheered and they chanted, and wide receiver KC Concepcion decided he’d join the party. He ascended the steps from the field and gave the fans what they wanted: another reason to chant and cheer.

“KC! KC! KC!” they chanted.

Aggies fans waited too long for a season like this.

It’s not finished yet, but pinch yourself, because it’s the second weekend of November, and Texas A&M hasn’t folded. To the contrary, these Aggies grow stronger. They’re undefeated. They’re on a march toward Atlanta.

Mike Elko reminded of why he took Texas A&M job

This is what’s long been expected of a program steeped in financial resources, blessed with gleaming facilities, backed by loyal fans and rooted in fertile recruiting terrain.

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And it became a rite of summer we’d vault the Aggies into some lofty position in preseason polls. And it became a rite of November we’d say another Texas A&M team showed itself to be overhyped.

As one coach after another failed, we kept considering this a top-shelf job. Because, never mind the history, why shouldn’t this program succeed?

That’s what Mike Elko thought when he succeeded Jimbo Fisher.

“From a CEO perspective, obviously I believe this is what this program is capable of,” Elko said. “That’s why we’re here. We’re here because we believe in the ceiling of this program.”

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“This is kind of what everyone had been talking about with this program for a long time,” Elko added. “For nine games we’ve lived up to it. Now, we’ve got to go finish.”

Mike Elko is done talking about the past

They’re already finishing better than how they did last season, when a three-loss November spoiled an otherwise solid debut to Elko’s tenure.

Throughout the offseason and into the preseason, one word became a mantra around the program.

Finish.

By now, Elko’s tired of hearing about last season’s collapse. When a reporter referenced the events of last November, Elko waved it aside.

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“Is this our weekly last year question?” he said, a tad miffed at the query.

He’s also a tad miffed at his run defense. Missouri’s 207 rushing yards stood out as a blemish on this result. Asked how the Aggies handled the running back tandem of Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts, Elko offered a succinct assessment.

“Awful,” he said.

An unfinished product, these Aggies, but an undefeated one.

“The culture of this group is really strong,” Elko said. “The work that they put into this thing is really strong. They believe in each other, and they believe in what we’re doing.”

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Texas A&M’s vulnerabilities on defense help explain why the College Football Playoff committee ranked it behind Ohio State and Indiana, even though the Aggies own better strength of schedule and strength of record metrics.

That feedback from the committee “motivated us a lot,” linebacker Daymion Sanford said. The Aggies allowed fewer points against Missouri than they did in their past two wins, but an asterisk accompanies that achievement. Missouri started its third-string quarterback, Matt Zollers, and its pass game became a conquest of incompletions.

Why let asterisks and caveats interfere with a celebration in the stands, though? Just as Texas A&M did at LSU, the Aggies kept scoring until the stands cleared, ‘til all who remained supported the road team.

“I love to see that,” Sanford said. “With our fans, it almost feels like it’s a home game for us, every time we clear out the fans.”

That leaves one road game on Texas A&M’s schedule. It will play at rival Texas on Black Friday.

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That leaves one to wonder, when Owens looks into the stands in Austin late in the fourth quarter, what will he see?

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.





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North Texas father mourns wife, unborn son days before Mother’s Day

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North Texas father mourns wife, unborn son days before Mother’s Day


Just days before Mother’s Day, a North Texas father is grieving the sudden loss of his wife and unborn son after she died unexpectedly, only days before her due date. Avi Carey said he is still in shock over the death of his wife, Tiffany, whom he described as his “rock” and “soulmate.”

“Tiffany’s smile, her radiance, her presence … she didn’t meet a stranger,” Carey said.

Nearly two decades together

The couple had been together for nearly two decades, raising two children, Kingston and Kasyn, and preparing to welcome their third child, a baby boy they planned to name Kylo.

Carey said Tiffany began complaining of a severe headache just days before she was due to give birth. He recalled her sitting on the couch, dozing off multiple times – something he said was unusual.

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A short time later, Carey found her unresponsive.

“I saw her face … her lips were blue. And I already knew,” he said with tears in his eyes.

A celebration turned to heartbreak

Tiffany Carey and her unborn son died May 2, leaving behind a grieving husband and two children. The loss came less than a week after the family had celebrated a baby shower.

“We went from celebrating the baby shower to planning a funeral in less than five days,” Carey said.

A crisis affecting Black mothers

Health officials say cases like this highlight a broader crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women in the United States are more than three times as likely as white women to die from pregnancy‑related causes, and most of those deaths – around 80% – are considered preventable.

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Carey said he is still searching for answers and now lives with questions about whether warning signs were missed.

“I would say educate yourself. Take everything seriously,” he said. “That should have been a red flag … the headache.”

Honoring Tiffany’s legacy

Now, surrounded by baby supplies meant for a child who never arrived, Carey said he is focused on honoring Tiffany’s memory and raising their children with the values she lived by.

“She always said, ‘You’ve got to lead with love,’” he said. “She did that in everything.”

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Pentagon releases UFO files with Texas sightings going back to 1948

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Pentagon releases UFO files with Texas sightings going back to 1948


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Ever look up at the vast Texas sky and see something move across it? It could be a shooting star, a satellite — or a UFO.

The Pentagon released several documents Friday, May 8, detailing sightings of unidentified flying objects, or “bogeys,” in U.S. airspace, including reports from Texas.

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The documents were released by the U.S. Department of Defense at the directive of President Donald Trump, marking the release of government files related to “alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP)” and UFOs.

“These files, hidden behind classifications, have long fueled justified speculation — and it’s time the American people see it for themselves. This release of declassified documents demonstrates the Trump Administration’s earnest commitment to unprecedented transparency,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a statement.

Here’s a look at the files related to Texas.

UFO spotted in 1948 above Abilene, Texas

A DoD incident summary shows that on Jan. 1, 1948, a man identified as “Mr. A. Schroeder” reported a UFO in the 1100 block of Highland Ave in Abilene, Texas.

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Schroeder reported seeing a stationary bright blue-green bell-shaped object in the western sky above Abilene at 1:25 a.m. and 1:30 a.m.

Fort Worth man sees UFO above Alaska

Also in 1948, Lt. Aytch Johnson noticed a silver flat disk in the sky in Fairbanks, Alaska.

According to the incident report, the Fort Worth man observed the object flying over Alaska at around 1:06 p.m. on April 18, 1948, at an estimated speed of 250 to 300 miles per hour.

The report also noted that the sighting “may have been the reflection of sun from wings” of aircrafts flying in the area at the time.

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Possible UFO sighting during the NASA Gemini 7 space launch

The DoD released the transcript and audio file of NASA’s Gemini 7 mission in 1965 when astronaut Frank Borman reported to NASA mission control in Houston his sighting of an unidentified object, which he referred to as a “bogey.” 

While the launch didn’t take place in Texas, the report came back to space control in Houston.

The conversation occurred on Dec. 5, 1965 — 4 hours and 24 minutes into the flight — when Borman notified space control that there was a “bogey” on their left-hand side.

When asked to clarify what they are seeing, Borman said he was seeing “hundreds of little particles” on their left, about three to four miles away.

As NASA Public Affairs clarified, the bogey was an unidentified object, along with the particles.

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Pentagon documents report of other possible sightings in Texas

Some documents have connections or reports of possible UFO sightings in Texas, but are missing details to understand the situation.

For example, the DoD received a clipping from the Yoakum Times-Record reporting UFO sightings by Mrs. Anna Banys in 1947, but it is unclear why she was writing to the DoD.

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.



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AMBER Alert girl last seen in Texas after Louisiana abduction

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AMBER Alert girl last seen in Texas after Louisiana abduction


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An AMBER Alert has been issued for a 13-year-old girl abducted from Louisiana who was last seen in North Texas.

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Merlin Chirinos-Argueta was last seen around 7:10 p.m. May 7 in Allen, Texas, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Authorities say the teen was abducted from Keithville, Louisiana, and may be traveling in Texas

Chirinos-Argueta is described as a 13-year-old Hispanic girl with black hair and brown eyes. She is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds, officials said.

The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office said Merlin was reported missing Thursday. May 7 from the 6200 block of Bain Boulevard in Keithville. Sheriff Henry Whitehorn Sr. said investigators are asking for the public’s help in locating the teen.

Investigators believe she may be with 18-year-old Daniel Vasquez Mejia, who has black hair and brown eyes.

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Merlin has not been in contact with her family, which has raised concerns for her safety and well-being, authorities said. The investigation is ongoing.

Authorities say they may be traveling in a white Chevrolet SUV with Texas license plate VML6061. The vehicle is believed to have a skull sticker on the rear driver’s side back window and a “mojo” sticker on the passenger side rear window.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or contact the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office at 318-675-2170.



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