Texas
North Texas Make-A-Wish
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – In just two days, Survivor comes back to CBS for its 45th season.
The reality show is a showcase of courage, determination and strength, but it’s not just those in front of the camera who display it.
A North Texas man who embodies the very meaning of “survivor” has become an influence behind the scenes. It’s all thanks to Make-A-Wish North Texas.
Twenty-two-year-old Austin Russell’s love of the show Survivor began as a young child.
“What drew me to the show was not really the strategy and all the little plotting and relationships and stuff like that, it was the challenges,” he said.
In his own life, he had faced his own challenges. At just seven months old, he was diagnosed with a rare condition that limited his brain’s ability to grow properly.
“It was hard because he was so little when we found out about this condition and it’s pretty rare,” his father Kris Russell said. “It was just always, we had to be so careful with him.”
“It limited me to not be able to do anything extremely physical,” Austin said.
Throughout his childhood, he needed multiple surgeries, but always kept a fighting spirit. At 13, his story caught the attention of Make-A-Wish North Texas.
“It was a big surprise for me,” he said.
Right away, he knew he wanted to create a challenge for Survivor. He created an elemental obstacle course.
“It really just showed us how creative kids can be,” Make-A-Wish North Texas President & CEO Kim Elenez said. “He thought deeply about, ‘what do I want, what is meaningful for me,’ and he just went for it!”
“He had this neat concept of what it would look like and now all the sudden it really exists,” Kris Russell said.
“It was a really great moment that I’ll always remember,” Austin Russell said.
The producers of the show were so impressed, they asked him to keep creating challenges for future seasons.
“I don’t think it would’ve been possible for me to make a better wish than the one I did,” Austin Russell said. “Looking back, I don’t see any other way I could have done it to make me happier than I am now.”
As the new season approaches, he’s now headed to Los Angeles for the premier.
“It’s going to be amazing to be surrounded by all the people that I’ve worked with on the show and to just be able to sit down and watch,” he said.
Again, he’ll be a part of it but says you’ll have to watch to see what happens!
As the Texas A&M Aggies prepare for their second season under head coach Mike Elko, there is optimism that he could take the program to the heights it hasn’t seen since R.C. Slocum was on the sidelines in College Station.
And while last season didn’t end the way that the Aggies hoped after a strong start to Year 1 under Elko. However, after an offseason where they signed the nation’s No. 9 class before bringing in a transfer portal class that included 14 more players.
Yet, despite the optimism after a seemingly productive offseason for the Aggies, they were ranked No. 4 in the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football “post-spring” power rankings.
“The Aggies lost their final four games against Power Four competition in Year 1 of the Mike Elko era. The schedule is even tougher in 2025 as Texas A&M bets on quarterback Marcel Reed and a strong offensive line,” Mike Craven writes. “The rushing attack could be the best in the SEC with Le’Veon Moss, Amari Daniels and Rueben Owens back. Elko believes a second year in the defensive system will help the Wrecking Crew eliminate the big plays that plagued the unit last season.”
This puts them behind their archrivals, the Texas Longhorns, who rank No. 1, along with Texas Tech and Baylor, both also being ranked ahead of the Aggies.
The Red Raiders and Bears are in an easier conference than the Aggies. However, even with the easier conference, does this power rating project that both are better teams than the Aggies heading into the 2025 season?
If so, then that could suggest the coming season could be a disappointing one for the Aggies. However, that doesn’t seem likely to be the case.
Even in a tougher SEC, the Aggies were just one game away from making the conference title game last season. And while they lost starting contributors along the front seven defensively, they looked to have improved offensively at receiver. If the playmakers on the outside are there, then things could be looking up offensively, especially if they have their star quarterback in Marcel Reed.
Head coach Michael Earley talks about Aggies’ mindset ahead of Game 1
Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley knows they have a target on their back. He tells reporters it doesn’t matter as the approach stays the same.
Texas A&M baseball is set to play its final home series of the year.
The Aggies (27-20, 10-14 SEC) are fresh off an important series win over No. 2 LSU and now turn their attention to the Missouri Tigers.
A&M has six games left, and every game matters as the Aggies look to claim one of the coveted 64 postseason spots.
The Tigers (13-35, 0-24) come into the weekend last in the conference. They’re trying to avoid the program’s worst SEC record since 2021, when they finished 16-36 overall and 8-22 in the SEC.
Missouri is led this season by junior shortstop Jackson Lovich, who is batting .340 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs.
Lovich is the only Tiger hitting better than .300 on the season.
Stay tuned for updates from the action:
Aggies vs Tigers game score, highlights
Updates following first pitch.
Texas A&M batting order
- CF Jace LaViolette
- 3B Wyatt Henseler
- RF Caden Sorrell
- C Bear Harrison
- SS Kaeden Kent
- DH Blake Binderup
- 1B Gavin Kash
- 2B Ben Royo
- LF Terrence Kiel II
Missouri batting order
- 1B Jackson Lovich
- CF Kaden Peer
- RF Tyler Macon
- 1B Cayden Nicoletto
- 3B Chris Patterson
- C Mateo Serna
- 2B Keegan Knutson
- LF Brock Daniels
- DH Gehrig Goldbeck
Texas A&M starting pitcher
Missouri starting pitcher
What time does Texas A&M baseball play Missouri today?
- Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
- Date: May 9
- Location: Blue Bell Park in College Station.
How to watch Texas A&M baseball vs Missouri today
Texas A&M baseball and Missouri will be broadcast and streamed on SEC Network+. Other streaming options for the game include ESPN and Fubo.
Reach Texas A&M Beat Reporter Tony Catalina via email at ACatalina@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Access all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
FRISCO – Online trolls and race baiters have seized on the tragic stabbing at a Frisco high school track meet, spreading misinformation online and creating AI-generated deepfake videos.
CBS News Texas
In one AI-generated video posted to Instagram this week, a clip of CBS News Texas anchor Doug Dunbar was manipulated to make it appear as though he said something he didn’t. The video also used AI to create an entirely fake video image of the suspect Karmelo Anthony with a knife in his hand.
The CBS News Confirm team said it’s unclear just how many people saw this video, but it was reposted on multiple accounts. The original post on Instagram has now been taken down.
Investigating deepfake technology
For over a year, the CBS News Texas I-Team has been investigating the technology behind deepfake videos. Professor Christopher Meerdo at the University of North Texas in Denton told the I-Team in a 2024 interview that advances in technology are making it easier to create deepfakes. In fact, one can be made with just a single still image.
“These videos are going to get exponentially better,” Meerdo said. “The advances in artificial intelligence, it’s moving so quickly that it is going to get more convincing, and they are going to need smaller data sets to make really accurate things.”
Social media companies and misinformation
Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the end of the use of fact-checkers on their platforms, Facebook and Instagram, relying instead on users to flag misinformation through a feature called Community Notes, similar to what Elon Musk’s social platform X uses.
Dr. Daxton “Chip” Stewart, a journalism professor at Texas Christian University specializing in social media and free speech, explained that while the spread of disinformation online isn’t new, recent changes by Meta have, in his opinion, exacerbated the problem.
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