Our Times

09/08/2025

Compassion, kindness and generosity are among the greatest qualities for any of us. Well done, Jelly Roll!

BREAKING NEWS: Country rap star Jelly Roll has donated his entire $5 million in recent tour bonuses and sponsorship earnings to build a series of homeless support centers in Antioch, Tennessee, his hometown. The initiative will create 150 housing units and 300 shelter beds for those in need. “I’ve seen too many people back home fighting to survive cold nights without a roof over their heads, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I’d step up,” Jelly Roll said emotionally at the press conference. “No one should have to sleep outside in that kind of cold.”

08/23/2025

Got game?
Knowing miracles belong to you is GMM RULE #8

Just look at Emma Raducanu's reaction to Carlos Alcaraz nailing an almost impossible round-the-net winner during their match vs. Pegula/Draper at the 2025 US...

08/22/2025

The Sealy Tiger football team faced Columbus in a scrimmage of state-ranked foes on Thursday at T.J. Mills Stadium.

Both teams battled defensively, and the big hits were not lacking. after a lightning delay in Sealy. The Tigers limited the Cardinals' offense with pursuit and solid tackling, despite powerful impact from Columbus' pulling guard early in the scrimmage.

The Tiger offense produced consistent rushing yardage as one Sealy RB got loose in the Columbus secondary repeatedly and found the end zone.

All scrimmage photos are posted at UDphotos.com and can be viewed directly at this link:
https://udphotos.zenfolio.com/p603924704

We hope you enjoy these exclusive action photos.


UDPhotos
Austin County Times
Austin County News Online
Bryan Hallmark

08/21/2025

Regardless of your sport, scrimmages, practices and games are on the way this fall.

Tonight in Sealy, the 4A-D2 Tigers football team (10-4 in 2024) scrimmages against the 3A-D1 state champion Columbus Cardinals (15-1) at about 6pm. Don't miss this preseason parade of talent.

The Tigers will open their football varsity season on Aug. 29 at Navasota before Sealy's home opener on Sept. 5 against Cameron Yoe. But the game everyone is already anticipating is the Oct. 10 No. 4 Sealy vs. No. 5 Bellville district showdown in Sealy at T.J. Mills Stadium. Standing room only?

Many fall sports, including volleyball, team tennis and cross country are already competing. While most Texas football teams are a week away from their season openers.

Enjoy a powerful and dramatic season! Our teams of writers and UDPhotos photographers hope to see you there.


Austin County News Online
Austin County Times

08/07/2025

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. THEREFORE, ALL PROGRESS DEPENDS ON THE UNREASONABLE MAN (OR WOMAN)."
— George Bernard Shaw

TEACHERS
Who do you know in school who is stubborn, opinionated, strong willed, unreasonable to your logic? Remember that student is pursuing innovation and upgrades in life.

PARENTS
Who do you know in your own family who is driving you up a wall with behavior and language that is impolite, challenging, daring, scary, unreasonable? That individual has a story to tell that could lead to healing, better relationships, generations of improvement.

FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
Besides me, who do you know who prefers to lead rather than follow, who speaks up with truth when others turn their backs in silence, who has integrity while being rebellious and unreasonable? The status quo requires fitting in and obeying others. And that's not enough to thrive emotionally, financially or physically in today's world.

ATHLETES
Who do you know who leads without yelling, demanding and confrontations? Most coaches resort to those techniques, yet the greatest NCAA men's basketball coach was John Wooden, a 5-10 guard who holds the professional record as a player of making 134 consecutive free throws over 46 games. Wooden's coaching style? He rarely raised his voice in coaching UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 14 seasons. He was exceptional in high school, college, professionally and as a college basketball coach. Wooden as also the first person to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (1960) and as a coach (1973) while the UCLA Bruins were dominating all competitors on their way to 7 consecutive national titles from 1967-1973. How was Wooden unreasonable, you ask? He believed in himself and pushed to perfect his craft like no one before him. His words and attitude were not brash, bold or bragging, but his actions changed the game of basketball in more ways than most can count.

The definition of unreasons is diverse. It can earn you a jail sentence or worldwide fame. But true leaders push for integrity-based unreasonable actions to set the example for friends, family and the highest achievers.

••• This article is courtesy of our allies at World Wellness Today and OPTIMAL WELLNESS TODAY We help people reach their highest goals. If you have questions about reaching your grand goals, email us at [email protected] in August for an introductory talk (valued at $300). •••

08/07/2025

YOUR BODY HEALS AS YOU EXERCISE;
ACTIVITY REDUCES CANCER
•••Just one workout can reduce cancer cell growth by up to 30%, new study shows•••

Here’s what you need to know to help friends and your family in the future.
Yes, a single workout may be enough to spark powerful anti-cancer effects, according to new research from Edith Cowan University.
The study found that a single session of resistance training or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can increase levels of myokines—muscle-released proteins known to inhibit cancer growth—by up to 30%.
Conducted on breast cancer survivors, the study revealed that despite the challenges posed by treatment, participants showed a measurable and immediate increase in these cancer-fighting proteins after just one session of exercise.
Lead researcher Francesco Bettariga emphasized that exercise is more than a fitness strategy—it’s a form of medicine. He also found that consistent exercise that improves body composition, particularly by reducing fat and building lean muscle, may lower inflammation linked to cancer progression and recurrence. Bettariga cautioned against relying solely on diet for weight loss, stressing that preserving muscle is key to producing myokines and fighting inflammation.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that physical activity should be a standard part of cancer treatment and recovery plans.
Source: Bettariga, F., Taaffe, D. R., Crespo-Garcia, C., Clay, T. D., De Santi, M., Baldelli, G., Adhikari, S., Gray, E. S., Galvão, D. A., & Newton, R. U. (2025). A single bout of resistance or high-intensity interval training increases anti-cancer myokines and suppresses cancer cell growth in vitro in survivors of breast cancer.


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Austin County News Online
Long Live Common Sense
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UDPhotos Austin County Times

08/07/2025

My good friend and mindset leader Dr. Kamin Bell Samuel is encouraging today's youth to dream and become more as she inspires future athletes, aviators/astronauts and leaders.

Send a message to learn more

08/03/2025

Columbus, TX Little League claims the 2025 Little League Junior Softball World Series Champions on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Illinois. Well done, ladies!

Send a message to learn more

08/01/2025

THE AI FORECAST:
IS GREED DOOMING OUR FUTURE?

As you read this well-researched story, you may realize that you have been written into the plot of a sci-fi movie you've already seen.

From my editor's desk, it may not be a pretty, happy film, however. More like Space Odyssey 2001 or, on the extreme, like Terminator. The good news? This real life journey of the 2020 will go down in history as the introduction of artificial intelligence.

For better or worse, AI is part of our new smartphones, computers. And every company that can be racing for AI dominance in any field is chasing this trillion-dollar upgrade in convenience, automation, forecasting, creation, guidance and perhaps downfall.

AI is artificial intelligence, not human intelligence or even our genius. Humanity has been expanding exponentially toward the idealized, perfect robotic machine that can solve our problems, make dinner, wash dishes, decorate, clean, answer calls and much more.

While we've had the luxury of internet and home computers for nearly 50 years, mechanical dishwashers for about 150 years, and smartphones since 2007, AI is beyond combining your convenient technologies together.

As humans, we have all heard that we control our future, we rule other animals, etc. Well, if this article is even partially correct, we may not be in charge long unless some AI blinders, limitations or at least a leash are applied.

Why? AI can and has lied to humans. It can lead us down a false trail, and it can help us make straight A's on college-level essays by writing it for the student with a few specific prompts. But what is a student learning except how to cheat in such a scenario? Is that learning by the student or AI?

When a depressed individual asks an AI app what to do to help themselves instead of visiting a therapist, the answer the psychology community is hearing months later in feedback is detrimental to anyone's mental health. It also extends the mental illness timeframe before treatment or healing are available.

MY CHALLENGE: Read this story as if it was written objectively. If you dismiss it as propaganda or a way to limit your profits, I suggest you re-read and explore each source mentioned.

In other words, stop judging quickly and consider the bigger, long-range picture when we are all in the infancy of AI's grand introduction in 2025 and beyond. In 5-10 years, our choices to slow this technology could make or break not just America, but the leadership of humanity.

We've all seen the sci-fi movies that make us feel like victims of AI machines like HAL in 2001 Space Odyssey; I, Robot; Terminator 2 and The Matrix. It's not time to panic; it's time to speak up, since the cap is out of the bottle now.

BOTTOM LINE: As an editor, I would agree that the story I recommend appears newsworthy and legitimately worth your time and mine. When the leaders of AI corporations are extolling the careful introduction of AI into our 21st century lives, they have reason to be believed. I hope this helps you see a broader, deeper picture of our future.

If, like so many, including Microsoft and AI's leading chip maker Nvidia, you see profits and convenience as a driving force, know that what AI can provide today may make students and adults less focused, more distracted in the future. What will AI's impact be in five years?

https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/why-how-ai-lead-end-humanity-nx8zjhgft

OPTIMAL WELLNESS TODAY
Coaches Without Borders


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World Wellness Today
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MONEY

Truly super-intelligent bots could wipe us off the face of the Earth, says a Nobel prizewinner and others — who predict machines will match humans in as little as a year

07/02/2025

It takes patience, experience and wisdom — as well as a big heart — to defuse a distraught parent trying desperately to help his child. May every First Responder learn this valuable lesson.

Austin County Office of Emergency Management
Austin County Sheriff
Sealy Police Department
Bellville Police Department
New Ulm Police Department
Volunteer Firefighters
Industry Police
Brenham Police Department
U. S. First Responders Association
Katy ISD Police Department
Katy Police Department
City of Katy Office of Emergency Management
Columbus Texas Police Department
LaGrange County Sheriff's Office
LaGrange Police
Schulenburg Police Department

Trooper Turns Crisis Into a Second Chance