thebarbedwire.com

# The Barbed Wire
> Texas News with Teeth
Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. Use `/llms-full.txt` for consolidated page and post context.
Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`).

## Pages
- [About Us](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/about.md) - Howdy, reader. Thanks for spending time with The Barbed Wire, where we bring you independent Texas journalism. We hope to make you laugh, tell your stories, shine a light on parts of Texas you've never seen, and entertain you — whether you're scrolling our Instagram, watching on TikTok, enjoying on…
- [Big & Bright](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/bigandbright.md) - Queer Texas · From The Barbed Wire Queer stories. Unapologetically Texan. Big & Bright is our newsletter covering the full spectrum of queer life in the Lone Star State — the fight, the joy, and the community politicians wish you couldn’t see. Written by Kit O’Connell. Your email Count me in Someth…
- [Channels](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/channels.md) - Channels 60 seconds. Called like it is. The News Brief Texas, cut to the bone — your need-to-know story and breaking news, straight to your inbox. Get the Brief Check your inbox to confirm. Something went wrong — try again. Free. The day’s top story and breaking news. Follow Us: TikTok YouTube Inst…
- [Contributors](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/contributors.md) - Contributors Journalism is people who bring the world to life in word and video, offering stories and insight — staff, freelancers, and partners — with links to everything they've published with us. Loading contributors… The Barbed Wire dinkus A single strand of twisted barbed wire with three evenl…
- [Love, Texas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/love-texas.md)
- [Newsletters](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/newsletters.md) - Newsletters Three newsletters, one mission. Pick what fits, drop your email, and we'll land in your inbox. No spam, no filler, no selling your address to anybody. The Flagship · Weekly Wild Texas Texas is one big, wild place. Our biweekly roundup keeps you in the know. All killer, no filler. It's T…
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/privacy-policy.md) - Date of Last Revision: July 1, 2026 Howdy, reader. Thank you for joining us in our corner of the Texas internet. Barbed Wire Media, A Public Benefit Corporation, doing business as The Barbed Wire (“The Barbed Wire,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), is committed to protecting your privacy and to being transpa…
- [Terms of Use](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/terms-of-use.md) - Date of Last Revision: July 1, 2026 PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE (“TERMS”) CAREFULLY. BY ACCESSING OR USING THE WEBSITE THEBARBEDWIRE.COM (THE “SITE”) OR BECOMING A MEMBER, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS AND ALL TERMS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE, YOU MAY NOT USE THE SITE.…

## Posts
- [🎨 The Passive-Aggressive Power of Oil Paint](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-passive-aggressive-power-of-oil-paint-2.md) - Howdy gang, it’s Brian Gaar with The Barbed Wire. And welcome back to Texas, where the courts have become a judicial choose-your-own-adventure, Greg Abbott is having second thoughts about the surveillance-camera empire his state helped build, Tarrant County is cutting polling places, and Texas is r…
- [Trans Teen From Rural Texas Forces High School to Change Transphobic Dress Code](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/trans-teen-from-rural-texas-forces-high-school-to-change-transphobic-dress-code.md) - With help from the ACLU of Texas, Groesbeck ISD agreed to drop a dress code that targeted transgender students.
- [Greg Abbott Is Obsessed with Feet](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/greg-abbott-is-obsessed-with-feet-2.md) - Our government here in Texas had a busy week finding new things to be mad about
- [Can You Still Buy Weed? And Other Texas Questions](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/can-you-still-buy-weed-and-other-texas-questions-2.md) - Hey y'all, it's Brian Gaar with The Barbed Wire. And good morning to everyone who woke up wondering: Can I still buy weed? Is my salad trying to kill me? Is the power grid about to be eaten by AI? Is Ken Paxton actually losing? And why is Buc-ee's dressing Aggies now? It’s just another week in Texa…
- [Texas’ First Nonbinary City Council Member Wants To Make Denton More Affordable, Equitable and Safe](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-first-nonbinary-city-council-member-wants-to-make-denton-more-affordable-equitable-and-safe.md) - As a seasoned community organizer, George Ferrie is part of a wave of millennials elected with a mandate for change, and they’ve got a detailed plan for making their city better.
- [Three Senate Debates Scheduled, Paxton Hasn't Confirmed](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/three-senate-debates-scheduled-paxton-hasnt-confirmed.md) - Three televised debates in the Texas U.S. Senate race now have dates, venues, and broadcast partners. Democrat James Talarico has accepted all three. Republican Ken Paxton has not confirmed any of them. * Sept. 22, 8 p.m. CT — Rio Grande Valley (NBC/Telemundo/Hearst) * Oct. 6, 8 p.m. CT — Dallas (W…
- [✨ Dreaming of a world full of ‘wonderful things’](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/dreaming-of-a-world-full-of-wonderful-things-2.md) - How can we hang onto art that brings us queer joy?
- [Weed Whiplash](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/weed-whiplash.md) - As of July 31, Texas bans hemp products built on Delta 8, Delta 10, THC-P and THC-A flower — now Schedule 1 controlled substances. Possession is a state jail felony: 180 days to two years, plus fines up to $10,000. Shops that keep selling can lose their hemp license. Still legal: Delta 9 under 0.3%…
- [Ken Paxton Would Like a Word (But Not That One)](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/ken-paxton-would-like-a-word-but-not-that-one-2.md) - The AG walked out of his own press conference. Plus: new witness statements challenge ICE's account of a Houston shooting, and Canada quarantines Texas livestock.
- [Interview With a Lone Star Vampire: Caleb De Casper Is Reborn In Darkness](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/interview-with-a-lone-star-vampire-caleb-de-casper-is-reborn-in-darkness.md) - No Longer a ‘Good Boy,’ Caleb De Casper is back with a darker, more grown up sound and a stronger sense of self.
- [☎️ The Voter-Fraud Tip Line Comes for Its Founder](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-voter-fraud-tip-line-comes-for-its-founder-2.md) - Paxton's own voting address is under scrutiny, the Bible's headed to Texas classrooms, ICE kills a man in Houston, Democrats float $1,500 checks — and flesh-eating flies enter the feral-hog debate.
- [🫠 The Transformative Power of Being Weird](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-transformative-power-of-being-weird-2.md) - 🏳️‍🌈 My dear queer stars, congrats on making it through Pride Month, and welcome back to Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ 👏! I hope you’ve rehydrated and recovered. Pride may be over, but the discourse never stops, because some folks seemed determined to reheat a very old discussion… ✋ Hold up, before we go fu…
- [Meet the ‘Weird Moms’ of Fort Worth Who Embrace Diversity, Acceptance & Joy in North Texas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/meet-the-weird-moms-of-fort-worth-who-embrace-diversity-acceptance-joy-in-north-texas.md) - From meet and greets with local candidates to the “Weird Mom Prom,” this Fort Worth nonprofit is building community and changing perceptions about the kinds of people who live in the DFW metroplex.
- [Camp Mystic files for bankruptcy, a heated Senate race, one missing giraffe🦒](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/camp-mystic-files-for-bankruptcy-a-heated-senate-race-one-missing-giraffe.md) - Howdy y’all, it’s Brian Gaar with The Barbed Wire. Welcome back to Texas, which continues to be the only state capable of producing all of these headlines at the same time. Nearly a year after the deadly Hill Country floods, Camp Mystic is filing for bankruptcy, and the state's marquee Senate race…
- [Healthcare for Trans Veterans Was Already Bad, And Under Trump It’s Getting Worse](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/healthcare-for-trans-veterans-was-already-bad-and-under-trump-its-getting-worse.md) - Under policies adopted last year, the VA now refuses to support newly transitioned veterans. Even accessing routine healthcare can be a challenge.
- [Flesh-Eating Worms, Hemp Chaos, and a Blue Texas?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/flesh-eating-worms-hemp-chaos-and-a-blue-texas.md) - Democrats think they might finally flip Texas, state officials are fighting over flesh-eating worms, hemp retailers are once again trying to determine whether their businesses exist in a legal dimension, and Texas Tech is embroiled in a controversy.
- [👀 Pride, like no one is watching](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/pride-like-no-one-is-watching.md) - Happy Pride, queer stars. On celebrating loudly, the Queerbomb march, and why the move is to blast the haters with bubbles and keep being you.
- [Ken Paxton, ‘Champion for the Unborn,’ Would Have Let Our Babies Die. We Know Firsthand.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/ken-paxton-champion-for-the-unborn-would-have-let-our-babies-die-we-know-firsthand.md) - In March 2023, we became two of the first women to sue Texas over its abortion bans. While pregnant with twins, we’d each learned that one of our twins had severe complications that were threatening the lives of the other — and our own. Yet, we were denied potentially live-saving abortions. So we a…
- [🗣️The Texans Who Refused To Shut Up](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-texans-who-refused-to-shut-up.md) - This week’s stories are about the Texans who built communities, whether that meant opening Black-owned bookstores during a racial reckoning or organizing queer mutual aid in Dallas, decades before Stonewall.
- [📚 Learning from queer history...](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/learning-from-queer-history.md) - Your Aunt/Uncle Kit has more deep thoughts for you, alongside the latest in Texas LGBTQ news.
- [Black-Owned Bookstores in Texas Bring Communities Together. They’re Also Harassed and Vandalized.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/black-owned-bookstores-in-texas-bring-communities-together-theyre-also-harassed-and-vandalized.md) - Fort Worth sisters Donna and Donya Craddock refer to 2020 as “the unicorn year.” There was the COVID-19 shutdown, but there was also something more — a death that prompted a period of racial reckoning. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered on camera by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Mi…
- [Years Before the Stonewall Riots, Dallas’ Queer Community Had Its Own Movement](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/before-stonewall-riots-dallas-queer-community-had-own-movement.md) - In 1988, the city of Dallas filled in a hole. City council spent half a million dollars to fix a dangerous gap left on a vacant lot by a construction company. Seemingly good news, right? Well, to local LGBTQ+ activists, it was a sign of how little local politicians cared about them. At the time, th…
- [Texas County Pursues Death Penalty ‘Almost Exclusively’ Against People of Color, Report Shows. We Have an Opportunity to Change That.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/tarrant-county-pursues-death-penalty-almost-exclusively-against-people-of-color.md) - My brother was wrongfully convicted. My wife is a police officer. My sister is the former city attorney for Austin, Texas. I have worked to free innocent people who were wrongfully convicted in Tarrant County and in the state more broadly. I was not shocked — but still incredibly disappointed — whe…
- [Trump Finally Endorses Paxton, Cornyn Reduced to ‘Good Man’ Status](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/trump-finally-endorses-paxton-cornyn-reduced-to-good-man-status.md) - Donald Trump has officially endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate, bucking his party's mainstream donors and siding with the MAGA favorite in the May 26 Republican runoff. In a statement roughly the length of a Russian novel, Trump praised Paxton as an “America First Patriot,”…
- [‘Future Legends.’ Despite So-Called ‘Drag Ban,’ Texas’ Queer Showcases Are Launching Pads for Performers.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/next-top-drag-performer-texas.md) - In Austin, a city with an abundance of drag shows, one monthly showcase offers a unique platform — and launch pad — for emerging talent. “You get to see future legends get their start, and other people just flourish and find their niche.” That’s how “Big Tits, Bigger Dreams,” or BTBD, was described…
- [She Thought Her Daughter Was Faking Sick. Then She Found Out Her Elementary School Was Built on a Drilling Waste Site.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/her-elementary-school-was-built-on-a-radioactive-fracking-waste-site.md) - EXCLUSIVE If anyone had told Joey Giminiani what was under his house, he never would've bought it. On April 23, Giminiani took off work at the electric utility and joined a Zoom meeting from the home he had sunk his life savings into. He watched as the residential developers on the call insisted on…
- [‘When You Know Homeless People, You Can’t Ignore Them’: Inside ‘The Challenger,’ a Newspaper Written by and for Unhoused Austinites](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/when-you-know-homeless-people-you-cant-ignore-them-inside-the-challenger-a-newspaper-written-by-and-for-unhoused-austinites.md) - Clifton Pappas, who is unhoused, has been a distributor for The Challenger newspaper for a year. He walks Austin streets wearing a black cowboy hat with a short rim and a backpack. He also carries what all distributors do: printed copies of the paper, as well as an ID badge with his photo and numbe…
- [An Oilfield Leak Springs Under a Permian Basin Baptist Church](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/oilfield-leak-under-a-permian-basin-baptist-church.md) - This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Salty water is gurgling up from underground in the middle of the small Permian Basin town of Grandfalls, Texas. Th…
- [Did Whataburger ‘Fall Off’? We Sent a Team of Texas Comedians to Investigate.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/whataburger-private-equity.md) - EXCLUSIVE It was 6 p.m. in downtown Austin. Traffic was humming, and responsible adults were bustling, which is to say it was absolutely the wrong time to eat Whataburger. Whataburger is 2 a.m. food. Eating it while the sun is still up feels like seeing a teacher at the grocery store: technically a…
- [It’s Not Just Tony Gonzales. Four More Texans Are in a New Report on Widespread Sexual Misconduct in Congress.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texans-sexual-misconduct-congress.md) - Five Congressmen from Texas are included in a new report released this week on sexual harassment in Congress, which has been rocked with recent sexual misconduct allegations against former U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzales of San Antonio and Eric Swalwell of California. The report by the National Women’s De…
- [There Was Yet Another ‘Ugly Fight’ in Houston Over Immigration Enforcement. But the City Already Knows What’s Right.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/there-was-yet-another-ugly-fight-in-houston-over-immigration-enforcement-but-the-city-already-knows-whats-right.md) - Editor’s note: The views and opinions presented by guest contributors to The Barbed Wire do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the company, the newsroom, its staff, advisers, or advertisers. Emmanuel Gonzalez, a 15-year-old who has a serious intellectual disability, walked away from…
- [How Selena Called Me Home to Texas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/black-texans-and-selena.md) - I have a secret to admit. I’m not a Texas native. Luckily, I’m not a Californian who moved to the Lone Star State. I’m a Nebraskan who fell in love with the Dallas Fort-Worth area. But my introduction to Texas was not the metroplex. Nor was it Southern Methodist University, where I attended college…
- [‘Accusations of ‘Indoctrination’ Were Nothing but an Excuse’: Texas Tech Roiled by Axing of Programs, Free Speech Lawsuit](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-tech-free-expression.md) - In recent days, Texas Tech University has come under fire by free speech advocates over its decision to cancel programs — and a first amendment lawsuit filed by a student after she was disciplined in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s death. The university system will shutter its programs focusing on…
- [The Bootlegging, Blues Singing Star of 1930s Prison Radio](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-bootlegging-blues-singing-star-of-1930s-prison-radio.md) - This essay, originally written by Maurice Chammah, is an edition of Redemption Songs, a limited-run newsletter from The Marshall Project that dives into the music produced in prisons over the last century. Sign up now to get a song by incarcerated artists delivered to your inbox each Sunday through…
- [This Austin Art Show Is the Mirror America Needs Right Now](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/this-austin-art-show-is-the-mirror-america-needs-right-now.md) - Paid content. The Cathedral paid for this article and reviewed it before publication. A pirate radio station broadcasting from inside an art gallery, a cowboy who refuses to be a conqueror, and mirrors positioned so carefully throughout the space that you can't look at the work without looking at y…
- [A ‘Gut Punch’ of Censorship and ‘Erasure’: University of Texas Professors Decry Rushed Merging of Ethnic & Gender Studies](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/a-gut-punch-of-censorship-and-erasure-university-of-texas-professors-decry-rushed-merging-of-ethnic-gender-studies.md) - Nearly two months after University of Texas at Austin President Jim Davis announced plans to consolidate seven ethnic and gender studies departments, students and faculty say they’re still in the dark and bracing for what comes next. On Feb.12, Davis announced a consolidation set to take effect in…
- [How Texas College Students Are Helping Thousands of Undocumented Classmates](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/undocumented-students-texas.md) - Obed Valencia wasted no time in his first two years of college. He joined several clubs, made friends, got an internship — he even won a “Most Involved” student award in his first year at Texas A&M San Antonio, he said. “I made the most of it just because I wasn’t sure when would be the last day I…
- [Is Fracking in Texas Endangering a Day Care’s Children?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/is-fracking-in-texas-endangering-a-day-cares-children.md) - In early December, drilling resumed near Mother’s Heart Learning Center. Newly installed gas wells dot property at 2020 S. Watson Road, less than one mile from the day care. One day in December, the sound of fracking machinery was so cacophonous that children couldn’t play outdoors. For gas compani…
- [Corpus Christi Water Crisis Spurs Stampede on South Texas Aquifers](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/corpus-christi-water-crisis-spurs-stampede-on-south-texas-aquifers.md) - This article originally was written by Dylan Baddour and appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. UPDATE: On Tuesday, the city presented plans to achieve 25% curtailment in water…
- [Elon Musk Wants to Turn 700 Acres of Texas Wildlife Refuge Into SpaceX Property](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/spacex-wildlife-refuge-texas.md) - Elon Musk’s SpaceX is aiming to acquire 712 acres of land in the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, amid the protests of environmentalists and activist groups. The proposal would exchange the wildlife refuge land for 692 acres of land in Starbase, SpaceX’s headquarters on the souther…
- [Our Independent Newsroom Was Built on a Ferocious, Delusional Sense of Hope. Help Us Keep It Going.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/independent-newsroom-delusional-hope.md) - When I moved back to Austin to start The Barbed Wire, I was an investigative reporter by trade, and I’d written a book, but I had never managed a team, never created an editorial calendar, never even been a full-time editor. The joke we tell is that I Dick Cheney’d myself into this position — which…
- [Who Gets to Lead the Church? Women and LGBTQ+ Pastors Are Forcing an Answer.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-women-and-lgbtq-pastors.md) - For many Christian women, a woman’s role in the church’s ecosystem has long been fixed. But Beth Allison Barr, a historian and the wife of a pastor, felt compelled to challenge the prevailing narrative surrounding women in North American Christianity using history. This culminated in “The Making of…
- [‘I Hate This.’ Texas Cracks Down on THC, Maddening Us All.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-thc-ban-2.md) - Texas is about to Thanos-snap a big chunk of what’s sitting on hemp shop shelves. Thanks to a rules shift taking effect on Tuesday, products that were legal yesterday are suddenly failing the test, sending retailers and THC fans into a tailspin. The Texas Department of State Health Services is now…
- [What It’s Like to Be a Nonbinary Educator in Texas Right Now](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/what-its-like-to-be-a-nonbinary-educator-in-texas-right-now.md) - Indigo Giles remembers the lonely feeling when they first came out as nonbinary in eighth grade: Neither teachers nor students made much effort to acknowledge their new identity. “I do think that would have made a big difference in my struggle with my mental health and with feeling secure in who I…
- [‘They Tricked Me’: A Father Was Chained After He Went to ICE to Reunite With His Kids](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/father-was-chained-after-he-went-to-ice-to-reunite-with-his-kids.md) - This piece was originally published by KFF Health News and written and reported by Claudia Boyd-Barrett, Renuka Rayasam, and Amanda Seitz. Carlos arrived at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in New Mexico in December, believing he was one step closer to reuniting with his children. By t…
- [‘It’s Top Tier.’ With $260 Million in Funding, Professional Volleyball Is Booming in Texas — and Fans Are Watching.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/lovb-volleybally-texas.md) - On a Wednesday night in February at the H-E-B Center in Cedar Park, purple foam fingers swayed in the air during LOVB Austin’s third home game of the season. As the inaugural-season champions, the pressure was on for Austin to beat LOVB Atlanta. After a long rally, University of Texas alum Madisen…
- [Getting on PrEP Shouldn’t Have Been a Quest. Now, It Doesn’t Have to Be.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/getting-on-prep-shouldnt-have-been-a-quest-now-it-doesnt-have-to-be.md) - A decade ago, getting on PrEP in Austin meant a consultation, a round of labs, and a follow-up. Kind Clinic's new Same Day program is trying to collapse all of that into a Friday afternoon walk-in.
- [Don’t Call It ‘Self-Deportation.’ Moving Back to Mexico Felt Like Reclaiming My Life.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/dont-call-it-self-deportation-moving-back-to-mexico-reclaiming-life.md) - A breeze swept over me as I looked over Laguna del Carpintero in Tampico, Tamaulipas. Nearby, my three-year-old son Lucas and a local boy about the same age took turns rolling their miniature monster trucks down a blue playground slide. Lucas’ Hot Wheels rattled down first, then the other boy’s lim…
- [‘Life-Changing Money’: How the Houston Rodeo Is Leveling the Playing Field in Women’s Events](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/houston-rodeo-womens-event.md) - In the span of 2.8 seconds, Josie Goodrich exploded into the arena on her horse and wrapped her lasso around a fleeing calf. The maneuver landed the 24-year-old from Oregon first place in a preliminary round of breakaway roping at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Goodrich’s roping has won her…
- [At Least 15 LGBTQ+ Businesses Have Quietly Disappeared in Texas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/at-least-15-lgbtq-businesses-have-quietly-disappeared-in-texas.md) - EXCLUSIVE San Antonio’s Turner Hall was constructed more than a century ago as a gathering space to improve its community. Now home to a gay bar called the Bonham Exchange, the storied building survived the Civil War, both World Wars, the 1921 flood, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today, like many quee…
- [Musician Carter St. Hogan Honed His Trans Identity in Texas Honky-Tonks Before Fighting ICE in Minneapolis](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/musician-carter-st-hogan-trans-identity-texas-fighting-ice.md) - Artist Carter St. Hogan starts all of his performances with an unexpected bit: asking the audience to choose between two mustaches. “I’m a trans person who still cannot grow a mustache. It’s not in me. I don’t have the genetics,” Hogan explained during an unofficial SXSW showcase last week at the W…
- [From ‘Kung Flu’ to the Matcha Craze, Asian American Business Owners Say It’s Been a Whiplash Six Years Since Covid](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/covid-asian-american-business-owners-in-texas-describe-a-whiplash-six-years.md) - Walk into Hannah Foy’s specialty coffee shop LauLau in Central Austin, and there’s a good chance her father is washing dishes in the kitchen. Her mother — whom the cafe is named after — is usually at the register taking orders for their signature Mala Latte with Sichuan peppercorn or Black Sesame H…
- [Austin Is Banding Together After Sixth Street Bar Shooting. Here’s How You Can Help.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/austin-bar-shooting-help.md) - Our friends and partners at City Cast Austin have been covering the shooting that occurred at Austin’s Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden on Sunday, March 1. This piece was originally published in articles by City Cast Austin, written by Newsletter Editor Kelsey Bradshaw and Executive Producer Eva Ruth…
- [More Than 1,000 Voters Were Turned Away Tuesday. ‘Total Chaos’ in Dallas Raises Alarms of Worsening Voter Suppression.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/more-than-1000-voters-were-turned-away-tuesday-total-chaos-in-dallas-raises-alarms-of-worsening-voter-suppression.md) - As if election nights weren't stressful enough, more than 1,000 voters were reportedly turned away from polling locations in Dallas on Tuesday. That count — from Kardal Coleman, the chair of the Dallas County Democratic Party, via the New York Times — was only through the afternoon. By the evening…
- [From Minneapolis to El Paso, Every City Is Now a Border City](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/from-minneapolis-to-el-paso-every-city-is-now-a-border-city.md) - I can’t stop thinking about Gustavo’s truck. On a cold Monday morning this January, Gustavo Navos Morocho, 43, of Ecuador, and two relatives had been driving to a carpeting job in central Minnesota when federal immigration agents began to tail them. The officers pulled the men over, accused them of…
- [U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales Advances to Runoff After Reported Sexual Messages with Staffer Released](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/tony-gonzales-advances-runoff.md) - This piece was originally published by The 19th* News and written by Jasmine Mithani, the technology reporter at The 19th whose coverage revolves around themes of information access, privacy and politics. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas has advanced to a runoff in the Republican primary for the House s…
- [Talarico Defeats Crockett in Democratic Senate Primary in Texas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/talarico-beats-jasmine-crockett.md) - This piece was originally published in The 19th* News and written by Grace Panetta, a politics reporter at The 19th covering the candidates, issues and voters that power our elections. Rep. Jasmine Crockett lost the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Texas to state Rep. James Talarico, Decision…
- [The Texas GOP’s Senate Cage Match Goes to Overtime](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/paxton-cornyn-runoff.md) - Get ready for John Cornyn vs. Ken Paxton: The Sequel Nobody Asked For. After nearly $95 million in attack ads, divorce drama and enough Republican infighting to require protective year, Texas voters have generously decided we all get to do this again in May. Yes, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney…
- [Texas’ Senate Primary Race Is the Most Expensive on Record, Ad Tracking Report Says](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-senate-primary-most-expensive-history.md) - Money’s always a hot topic in Texas elections — and this year it’s blazing. A staggering $128 million has been spent so far in Texas’ Senate primary, making the race the most expensive on record, according to AdImpact, a political advertisement tracking platform. Republican ad spending is responsib…
- [‘Very Real Barriers.’ Trans Voters in Texas Are Worried About Casting Their Ballots.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/trans-voters-texas-primary-elections.md) - In theory, being transgender shouldn’t matter when it comes to voting. But when it comes to transgender rights in Texas, things often don’t go the way they should. “The way that it's supposed to work is that no one is supposed to be denied the opportunity to vote based on their appearance,” Ash Hal…
- [‘Something’s Different’: LGBTQ+ Texans Are Organizing in Defense of Immigrants](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/lgbtq-texans-in-defense-of-immigrants.md) - It’s hard to ignore Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when they come crashing into your neighborhood. It’s become the topic of conversation in Austin’s North Loop, Reilly, a 42-year-old transgender resident, told The Barbed Wire one February evening from a graffiti-covered picnic table in…
- [We Analyzed 300 Texas Accounts on a White Supremacist Dating Site. The Data Explains a Lot About Politics Right Now.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/300-texas-accounts-white-supremacist-dating-site-politics-right-now.md) - EXCLUSIVE At least 30% of adults turn to dating websites to find love these days. The largest platforms — like Match, Bumble, and Hinge — cater to a general audience. Others, like ChristianMingle and JDate, cater to specific ones. Then, there’s White Date. “Ive never joined a dating site before, so…
- [ICE Has Considered Adding 20,000 Detention Center Beds in Secretive Expansion Across Texas, Reports Say](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/ice-expansions-texas.md) - A group of buildings in El Paso, next to apartment complexes and a pediatrician’s office. A towering office building in the Woodlands, across from a preschool. A sprawling, vacant warehouse South of Dallas. Each could be transformed into mega detention centers or headquarters for Immigration and Cu…
- [2-Month-Old Baby Juan Nicolás & His Mother Were ‘Abandoned Across the Border’ Hours After He Was Hospitalized With Bronchitis, Castro Says](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/2-month-old-baby-juan-nicolas-unresponsive-hospital-sent-back-to-ice-facility.md) - A recently hospitalized 2-month-old baby has been deported with his mother, father, and 16-month-old sister, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Tuesday. Juan Nicolás was rushed to the hospital on Monday night after spending nearly a month in federal custody at Dilley Family Detention Center, Univision’s…
- [Ken Paxton Is No Stranger to Controversy. Here’s a Timeline of Nearly 20 Years of Scandals & Headlines.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/ken-paxton-scandal-timeline.md) - Early voting in Texas begins on Tuesday, and one of the most competitive races in recent Texas Republican history is about to take shape. Ken Paxton, the current attorney general and MAGA Republican, is in full-swing campaign mode for a national role, gunning for the U.S. Senate in 2026 against inc…
- [Texas Lawmakers Say They’re Demanding Major ICE Reforms Because ‘Families and Children Are Terrified’](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-lawmakers-say-theyre-demanding-major-ice-reforms-because-families-and-children-are-terrified.md) - EXCLUSIVE “Families and children are terrified” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents breaking into homes without warrants, Democratic state Rep. Josey Garcia, of San Antonio, told The Barbed Wire this week. That’s one of the reasons Garcia and 20 other Texas state representatives say they’…
- [Austin's Infamously Terrible for Dating. Is It Really That Bad? We Investigated.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/austin-dating-scene.md) - Amaya Savoy-Easton, a single 26-year-old social media coordinator, is clear on what she wants. Her near-term goals include visiting 30 countries before she turns 30, investing in a rental property in San Marcos, and getting an LLC for her freelance business. So when she asked a would-be suitor what…
- [Having a Boyfriend Really Doesn’t Have to Be Embarrassing. I Promise.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/boyfriend-doesnt-have-to-be-embarrassing.md) - By the time you’re reading this, I could be married. Last month, my boyfriend proposed to me before the Bears vs. Packers game. On February 14 — this coming Saturday — the bar where we had our third date will have ministers on hand to wed couples with valid marriage licenses. And my mother has alre…
- [Whistleblower Says Radioactive Fracking Waste Site Melted His Jaw. Now There’s an Elementary School There.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/a-whistleblower-says-radioactive-fracking-waste-melted-his-jaw.md) - EXCLUSIVE Sure, Lee Oldham told me, he had spread radioactive fracking waste on Texas farmland. But in his defense, he never in a million years thought anyone would put a school there. We were standing in the frigid wind on a field in Johnson County. It was January, and 52-year-old Oldham wore a he…
- [‘Political Prisoner’ Leqaa Kordia Has Been Hospitalized, DHS Says. After Calling 16 Hospitals, Her Lawyers Say They Can't Find Her.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/leqaa-kordia-political-prisoner-hospitalized.md) - A Columbia University protester who has been deemed a political prisoner by Texas Democrats who’ve called for her release from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center was hospitalized over the weekend due to a seizure, according to The Dallas Morning News. Leqaa Kordia, a 33-year-ol…
- [Judging by TikTok, I’m Doing Wedding Planning Wrong. And I Love It.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/tiktok-wedding-planning-texas-intentionality.md) - In Mrs. Johnson’s fourth grade math class, my fellow students dreamed of big wedding dresses with extended trains, just like the one Selena Gomez wore last fall. At recess in Sherman, Texas, I heard them talk about big, fancy wedding parties. In my barrettes and ponytails, I rehearsed for a differe…
- [‘Communities Ripped Apart’: On Texas College Campuses, LGBTQ+ Services Have Been Completely Decimated](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/communities-ripped-apart-on-texas-college-campuses-lgbtq-services-have-been-completely-decimated.md) - EXCLUSIVE Dante Stetson recalled getting his first chest binder at the Pride Closet at the University of North Texas in Denton in 2023. He was 18, and it was his freshman year on campus. “My family isn't supportive of people with transgender identities, and I've never been able to buy one and store…
- [45-Year-Old Man Beaten Up By High Schoolers After Allegedly Attacking Them During ICE Walkout](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/man-beaten-by-high-schoolers-after-allegedly-attacking-ice-walkout.md) - A 45-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault after getting into a fistfight with a group of Texas teenagers who were protesting Immigration Customs and Enforcement. On Monday, as the group of high schoolers carried signs and walked out of school in Buda to protest ICE, a man in his…
- [‘F*cking Dumpster Fire’: What in the World Is Going on Between Colin Allred and James Talarico?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/colin-allred-james-talarico-jasmine-crockett-texas-senate.md) - It all started when content creator Morgan Thompson posted online about the already-tense Democratic race for U.S. Senate in Texas. In a TikTok video, Thompson alleged that Senate candidate and state House Rep. James Talarico told her in a one-on-one conversation he signed up to run against a “medi…
- [Hundreds of Kids, Including Infants, Are Still at the ICE Facility That Released Liam Ramos. Now There’s a Measles Outbreak.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/hundreds-of-kids-ice-facility-liam-ramos-now-theres-a-measles-outbreak.md) - Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old who was pictured in a blue bunny-eared hat being taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, has been released from a Texas immigration facility. But the conditions at Dilley Immigration Processing Center near San Antonio — and the health of the hundreds o…
- [Texas Democrats Demand Release of ‘Political Prisoner’ Leqaa Kordia, Compare ICE Facility to ‘Internment Camps’](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-democrats-demand-release-of-political-prisoner-leqaa-kordia-compare-ice-facility-to-internment-camps.md) - Texas Democrats are accusing President Donald Trump of holding 33-year-old Columbia University protester Leqaa Kordia as a political prisoner, and on Friday called for her release in a frigid press conference outside of Prairieland Detention Center in North Texas. Kordia, a Palestinian Muslim woman…
- [PBS Was a ‘Cultural Life Vest’ for Kids Like Me Before the Internet. The Fight to Keep Public Media Alive Feels Personal.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/pbs-cultural-life-vest-for-kids-in-texas.md) - It was the ‘80s, and I was a kid who had trouble sleeping. In the wee small hours of the morning, there was one station that remained on the air: PBS. Watching on my black-and-white TV with a screen no bigger than a deck of cards, I remember wondering who the hell “Doctor Who” was. I wasn’t sure I…
- [Texas’ 2026 Winter Storm: 5 Children Died, and More Than 100,000 People Lost Power](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-2026-winter-storm-caused-more-than-6700-flight-disruptions-and-left-more-than-100000-people-without-power.md) - UPDATE: This story was updated on January, 28, 2026 to reflect new death tolls and school closures across the state. Texas is finally beginning to thaw out after a winter storm swept through the country over the weekend. Although the sun may be out in some cities and temperatures are inching above…
- [Even Texas Republicans Are Starting to Turn on ICE After Alex Pretti’s Killing](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-republicans-turn-on-ice-alex-pretti-killing.md) - As a rare storm blanketed the Texas state capital in picturesque frost on Monday, Texas Republicans joined a chorus of criticisms against the Department of Homeland Security, its Secretary Kristi Noem, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency terrorizing American cities in President Donal…
- [‘Truck Sledding’ Videos Went Viral During the Winter Storm. Then Two 16-Year-Old Best Friends Died.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/truck-sledding-winter-storm-dead.md) - UPDATE: January 28, 2026 Family confirms 16‑year‑old Grace Brito, died Tuesday night, after being on life support since Sunday following a sledding incident that killed her best friend, Elizabeth Angle according to CBS News affiliate KTVT in Dallas. Brito’s mom said her daughter was an All‑Star che…
- [Jasmine Crockett Was Asked About Her ‘Electability’ Again. Some Say That’s Just a ‘Pretext’ for Race.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/jasmine-crockett-talarico-senate-electability-debate.md) - U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and Texas state Rep. James Talarico faced off in a debate on Saturday, giving Texas voters their first true glimpse at the U.S. Senate candidates’ policy proposals — and contrasting political styles — ahead of the March 3 primary election. During Saturday’s debate, modera…
- [Woman Placed in Solitary After Viral Cat Fundraiser Is Back in Regular Housing, Texas Prison Officials Say](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-prison-cat-update.md) - We’ve got an update on the Texas inmate who was thrown in solitary confinement after her daughter raised money to help a sick cat (yes, really): She’s finally back in regular housing. Texas prison officials confirmed that Sonya Reed, 53, is no longer in administrative segregation, which is a nice w…
- [‘Barbecue Saved My Life’: Meet Waco’s Antifascist Transgender Pitmaster](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/barbecue-saved-his-life-waco-antifascist-trans-pitmaster.md) - A TikTok video with more than 100,000 views showed Kaleb Blain, a 35-year old trans man and pitmaster, standing at a folding table gesturing to a plate of freshly prepared chickens, ready for the BBQ smoker. The caption read “politics and cooking don’t mix.” But then the video cut away to a series…
- [So We’re Equating Drag to Blackface Now? A Texas Judge and University President Did to Ban College Drag Shows](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/west-texas-am-drag-show-lawsuit.md) - A federal judge handed down a ruling in a contentious case over drag shows at West Texas A&M University this weekend. U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk found that the university can ban drag shows on its campus in a 46-page finding of fact that focused on minors potentially viewing sexual co…
- [What Can I Teach? Will Martin Luther King’s Work Be Censored Next?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/will-martin-luther-kings-work-be-censored-next.md) - This week starts a new semester at Texas A&M San Antonio. While preparing for it to begin, I have been asking myself questions that I have never asked in my 17 years as a college professor. Questions like, can I still teach Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”? As we celebrate the…
- [After a Prison Cat Fundraiser Went Viral, Texas Officials Put His Caretaker in Solitary Confinement](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/prison-cat-fundraiser.md) - Just days after a fundraiser to save a sick stray cat at a Central Texas women’s prison raised nearly $11,000, Texas prison officials placed the incarcerated woman who cared for the cat into solitary confinement — despite the fact that she did not organize the fundraiser or receive any of the money…
- [A 5-Year-Old Disappeared in Austin. A Mom Shot Dead in Minneapolis. How Much More Violence Will It Take to ‘Abolish ICE’?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/abolish-ice-gains-traction-after-mom-shot-minneapolis.md) - In a viral post on Instagram, 5-year-old Génesis Ester Gutiérrez Castellanos smiles brightly in front of iconic Austin street art. She’s wearing purple sneakers with pink laces. In big yellow lettering, the post reads: “URGENT: 5-YEAR-OLD US CITIZEN DISAPPEARED BY ICE.” Before dawn on Jan. 5, Immig…
- [The Case That Inspired the Amber Alert Was Never Solved. Will There Ever Be Justice for 9-Year-Old Amber Hagerman?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/amber-alert-30th-anniversary.md) - Thirty years ago, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in an Arlington parking lot with her 5-year-old brother Ricky when she was kidnapped by a man in a pickup truck. Four days later, her body was found six miles away in a creek. Today, more than 1,200 missing children have been safely re…
- [‘I Didn’t Know So Many People Cared.’ How the Daughter of an Incarcerated Woman Raised $11,000 for a Sick Prison Cat.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/i-didnt-know-so-many-people-cared-how-incarcerated-texas-women-raised-11000-for-a-sick-senior-cat.md) - In a place defined by razor wire, locked doors, and long sentences, a stray cat named OJ became something rare: a constant, living comfort for women who have access to very little else. And recently when OJ fell seriously ill inside a Central Texas prison, his survival came down to a small group of…
- [The Daughter of an Incarcerated Woman Is Crowdfunding a Vet Visit for Her Beloved Cat Named Orange Julius](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-prison-cat.md) - This may be the sweetest GoFundMe ever created: The daughter of an incarcerated woman in Texas is trying to raise money to save a very sick orange cat who’s been keeping one of them going. Orange Julius, or OJ, is a cat suffering from a kidney infection and urgently needs veterinary treatment, acco…
- [RAICES Raised Millions to Protect Minors from Deportation. Then It Dropped Them ‘Like It Was Nothing,’ Ex Staffers Claim.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/raices-drops-child-immigration-clients.md) - EXCLUSIVE Yamirla Chavez’s last two months at the Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education & Legal Services, or RAICES, are a blur to her now. She’d been a senior staff attorney for the nonprofit organization’s Unaccompanied Children’s Program, fighting in court on behalf of children who fled viole…
- [376 Officers Responded to the Uvalde School Shooting. Why Are Only Two Facing Charges?](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/uvalde-officer-gonzales-trial.md) - Just past 11:30 a.m. on May 24, 2022, four Uvalde school district police officers entered Robb Elementary School. Officers Adrian Gonzales and Donald Page stepped in first, followed by Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Sergeant Daniel Coronado. They heard gunshots coming from two fourth grade classro…
- [We Asked About Your New Year’s Resolutions. Y’all Are Trying Your Best.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/new-years-resolutions-trying-your-best.md) - Every year around this time, people make New Year’s resolutions with the same confidence you hear right before someone says, “No, it’s fine, I know exactly where I’m going” and then immediately misses their exit To get a sense of what we actually resolve to do (and never quite pull off) I asked peo…
- [The Kindness That Got Us Through The Year](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/the-kindness-that-got-us-through-the-year.md) - This year was a year to remember, and for (mostly) the wrong reasons. Our voting power was diluted, disabled children were locked up, mothers were grabbed while taking their kid’s college, a midwife was arrested for doing her job, it got more dangerous to have a baby and to simply live as a trans T…
- [Yes, Everything’s on Fire. But People Are Still Helping Each Other.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/yes-everythings-on-fire-but-people-are-still-helping-each-other.md) - If you’re reading this, congratulations!!!! You survived 2025. Truly, an achievement on par with running a marathon, passing calculus, or navigating I-35 through Waco without crying. The world right now feels like a group project where half the participants insist that gravity is a hoax, another qu…
- [Gutsy, Fearless Journalism Isn’t Dead. Don’t Let Bari Weiss Convince You It Is.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/2025-in-review.md) - Look, I’m a crier. I get misty-eyed at adorable babies and beautiful brides, so you can imagine what a nightmare it is to sit near me when I report on tragedies. Still, I was gobsmacked when I began to write my year-in-review piece — a simple assignment! I’ve done dozens of them over my career! — a…
- [What Do I Want for Christmas? Two Words: Glen Powell.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/glen-powell-christmas.md) - Let me start with Michelle Randolph. Congratulations on securing Cuffing Season’s #1 Draft Pick. I saw you in that TikTok two stepping with Glen Powell at Donn’s Depot. It feels like a scene out of one of the many romantic comedies, thrillers, and action films that Powell has starred in. “Twisters”…
- [Dear Santa, Can You Give Texas a Break? We’ve Tried Nothing and We’re All Out of Ideas](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/santa-christmas-list-for-texas.md) - Dear Santa, Howdy from Texas, big man. Hope things are well up at the North Pole, where I assume the ice hasn’t melted, the power grid works, and y’all haven’t deported any elves. I’m writing because I have a few tiny Christmas wishes for next year. Nothing huge. Just small, achievable miracles on…
- [Who Could’ve Guessed I Was Queer? Six ‘Glass Closet’ Letters to Santa](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/who-couldve-guessed-i-was-queer-six-glass-closet-letters-to-santa.md) - The purest expression of a child’s heart must be the wishes sent to an imaginary man wearing a red coat with white fur. In all my childhood yearnings, I could not have foreseen just how queer my own future would be, full of genderbending shows, vivid parades, and loud protests. But when I look back…
- [Texas Is Leaving Autistic Kids Without Necessary Services, Parents Say. Ken Paxton’s Tylenol Lawsuit Isn’t Helping.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-parents-kids-autism-services-paxton-tylenol.md) - When Nayeli Calderon’s son Sebastian was 2 years old, a daycare teacher suggested she get him tested for autism. That’s when she said the work, and the waiting, began. Sebastian joined a month-long waitlist for a neurologist, who saw him for a few months and then diagnosed him with autism. After th…
- [A Moment With Rob Reiner That Meant Everything](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/rob-reiner-memory.md) - The year was 2015. I was not in a good place. I had quit my lucrative (ha) job in newspaper journalism to enter the equally lucrative world of local television, hosting a late-night comedy show on The CW in Austin. It was exhilarating, but I had no idea what I was doing. I was the host and one of t…
- [Feuding Neighbors, 800 Onlookers, and $25,375 in Crowd Control: Inside Texas’ Wildest Holiday Light Displays](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/texas-drama-christmas-light-displays-dallas-houston.md) - Everything is bigger in Texas, including holiday decorations. Millions of families across the state string up lights and inflatables in their yards for all to see — and can even achieve thousands in cash prizes or TikTok virality for extravagance. While some yard displays are beloved community stap…
- [Remember the ‘War on Christmas’? I Kinda Miss It.](https://www.thebarbedwire.com/missing-the-war-on-christmas-simpler-times.md) - Remember the “War on Christmas”? Yes, that early-2000s fever dream when Fox News convinced half the country that “Happy Holidays” was basically Sharia law in a festive font. A time when the right blamed “secularists” for everything, but everyone understood the subtext: post-9/11 panic, a dash of Is…

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