Three Texas Senate debates have dates: Sept 22 Rio Grande Valley, Oct 6 Dallas, Oct 13 Austin. Talarico accepted all three. Paxton's campaign says he'll debate but hasn't confirmed a date. Agreeing to debate and agreeing to show up are two different things.
The Department of Justice lost in 7 courts around the country. Then filed in Texas and got what it wanted. Researchers at @kffhealthnews mapped how the DOJ's nationwide investigations of gender-affirming care ended up in the Northern District of Texas, largely in front of one judge, Reed O'Connor.
Why Trans Healthcare Cases Keep Landing in Texas #texas #transrights
A national fight over health care for trans kids keeps ending up in one federal courthouse in Texas. Health policy researchers at KFF mapped it out. The Justice Department has routed its nationwide…
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Texas broke its power record last week. Then broke it again — past 90,000 MW. And nobody asked you to touch your thermostat. Why it held: ~11,000 MW of new capacity, plus record solar carrying the worst hours. The fix for a grid crisis was... building more grid.
Texas Broke Its Power Record... Twice. Nothing Broke. #Texas #ERCOT #TexasHeat #solar
Texas set an all-time power demand record on Tuesday, July 21 — 87,403 MW in triple-digit heat. The next afternoon, demand blew past 90,000 MW. ERCOT never asked anyone to conserve, and roughly…
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Texas banned Delta 8 today. Your gummies are still legal. As of July 31, Delta 8, Delta 10, THC-P and THC-A flower are Schedule 1 controlled substances in Texas. Full brief: youtube.com/shorts/-VSMj...
Texas Banned Delta 8 Today — Here's What's Still Legal #texas #delta8thc
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…
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A federal bill would strip school funding for any material that "involves gender dysphoria or transgenderism." House version cleared committee in March. Senate companion is in HELP now. The ALA calls it "dangerously broad." Texas wrote this playbook. Congress is reading from it.
Texas broke its power record last week. Then broke it again — past 90,000 MW. And nobody asked you to touch your thermostat. Why it held: ~11,000 MW of new capacity, plus record solar carrying the worst hours. The fix for a grid crisis was... building more grid.
Texas Broke Its Power Record... Twice. Nothing Broke. #Texas #ERCOT #TexasHeat #solar
Texas set an all-time power demand record on Tuesday, July 21 — 87,403 MW in triple-digit heat. The next afternoon, demand blew past 90,000 MW. ERCOT never asked anyone to conserve, and roughly…
youtube.com
Abbott vetoed the THC ban. It takes effect Friday anyway. Starting July 31, Delta 8, Delta 10 and THC-P come off Texas shelves — unless a Travis County judge hits pause this week. Only low-dose Delta 9 gummies and drinks survive the cut. @texastribune.org + @dallasobserver.com
Gov. Abbott vetoed a full THC ban last summer and handed the job to state agencies. Their rules take
YouTube video by The Barbed Wire
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Ken Paxton survived a securities indictment and an impeachment. He's still on the ballot. Democratic strategist Jeff Rotkoff told us why this Senate race might be the one that's different — and it isn't about Paxton's record. youtube.com/shorts/R1yBN...
Scandal alone doesn't sink Texas politicians — but this might #TexasPolitics #KenPaxton #talarico
Ken Paxton has survived a securities indictment and an impeachment and he's still on the ballot. Democratic strategist Jeff Rotkoff says the Senate race against James Talarico is testing whether that…
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Big news here. After Salgado Araujo was killed by an ICE agent, *someone* leaked that a search warrant for the van showed FBI thought they might have seen drug baggies in it. The family said it was drink powder. Apparently the substance was tested and the family was correct.
🧐 Ken Paxton's Address Problem Just Became a Formal Complaint The Collin County Democratic Party has asked the Texas Secretary of State to investigate whether Ken Paxton committed voter fraud by voting in the May Senate runoff from an address where he appears not to have lived.
🚸 Ease Off the Gas for 'Operation Slowdown': Texas just launched a two-week statewide speed crackdown, July 18–August 2 — expect a lot more troopers watching for speeders statewide. Consider this your sign. 😉 #Texas #OperationSlowdown #TexasNews #RoadSafety #TxDOT
Austin musician Caleb De Casper says he became a vampire at a party a decade ago. He's not being metaphorical about the "infection" — he's being metaphorical about everything else. On drag, mortality, and his return: 🔗
Interview With a Lone Star Vampire: Caleb De Casper Is Reborn In Darkness
No Longer a ‘Good Boy,’ Caleb De Casper is back with a darker, more grown up sound and a stronger sense of self.
thebarbedwire.com
🙊 What can and can't Texas professors teach? A new federal lawsuit against the Texas Tech University System lays out what professors say they were ordered to cut from courses. 🧵
Texas banned smokable THC-A. So smoke shops swapped in something the ban never named: THC-P — a cousin compound research suggests is far stronger, and far less studied. The state bans a product. The market finds the loophole. Lawmakers vow to ban that too. youtube.com/shorts/CoA27...
48 Texas Cases and Counting. Source Still Unclear. #Texas #texasnews #cyclospora #publichealth
Texas has confirmed at least 48 cases of cyclospora since May 1 — and none of them are linked to travel abroad. Cyclospora is a tiny intestinal parasite you pick up from contaminated food or water.…
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Floods hit Central Texas and the Hill Country this week. Then a tornado crossed I-10 — see the footage. 🎥 Abbott declared a disaster in 59 counties. Stay off flooded roads, keep supplies ready, turn around — don't drown. Just a foot of water can float your car. Stay safe out there.
Major floods. Then it got worse... #texas #news #centraltexas #hillcountry #texasweather
YouTube video by The Barbed Wire
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San Marcos just became the first city in Texas to ban data centers outright. 4–3 council vote, done through zoning. The fight that comes next is the real story — and it's one playing out in every fast-growing state. 🧵 w/🎥
The Texas grid is about to get tested again. ERCOT expects power demand to top 92 GW this summer — an all-time record. Driving it: heat, a growing state, data centers and crypto mines. ERCOT puts the odds of an emergency this month under 1%. If you lived through 2021, you're allowed to be skeptical.
The Democrat out-raised the Texas GOP machine 3 to 1... Talarico's campaign says he pulled $30M between April and June. Paxton: just over $9M. Most common job among his donors — teachers! Most gifts under $100. FEC reports are due today — we'll bring you the latest when they're released.
News Brief: 35 years in Houston. One ICE traffic stop, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo didn't come home. ICE says self-defense; his family disputes it. Body-cam and dash-cam footage exists — the family wants it released. Please share & follow for the latest from The Barbed Wire.
Is smokeable hemp legal in Texas? Depends what month you ask. Banned, then legal, then banned again — while ~30,000 jobs hang in the balance and Dan Patrick pushes for a total ban. Trial's set for July 27 in Travis County. Our 60-second brief on an industry stuck in legal limbo. 🎙️
The Onion officially relaunched InfoWars — as a parody — and is donating $100K to the Sandy Hook families Alex Jones spent years smearing. Tim Heidecker now hosts, selling a supplement that "replaces breathing." Our 60-second brief on the dumbest, best revenge on the internet. 🎙️
“We're not Dallas, we're not Tanglewood; there's real interesting people that live here, and you should get to know your neighbors.’” New @thebarbedwire.com: Through their 'Weird Mom Prom,' Youth LGBTQ+ prom, and mutual aid, this nonprofit builds community for progressive oddballs in North Texas.
Meet the ‘Weird Moms’ of Fort Worth Who Embrace Diversity, Acceptance & Joy in North Texas
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.
thebarbedwire.com
ICYMI — Kit's latest
Kit O'Connell (🏳️🌈Big & Bright Queerdo👽)@kitoconnell.com · last mo.(NEW!) As America celebrates it's 250th bday, I decided to take a closer look at the plight of transgender veterans & their ability to access healthcare through the VA. Spoiler: It wasn't good before, now they're under direct attack under Hegseth. My latest for Big & Bright @thebarbedwire.com:
Here are some more media outlets/people to check out: @404media.co @flaminghydra.com @theonion.com @lataco.bsky.social @hellgatenyc.com @capitalb.bsky.social @baltimorebeat.bsky.social @coyotemedia.org @51st.news @inquirer.com @damemagazine.bsky.social @thebarbedwire.com @minnesotareformer.com ...
The @thebarbedwire.com is a phenomenal publication. Any editor or newsroom leader would be a fool not to hire or commission pieces from Olivia and her team. Can't wait to see what's next for them.
Olivia Messer@oliviamesser.bsky.social · 2mo ago♥️🗞️goodbye for now to @thebarbedwire.com — it’s been an honor, and any newsroom would be stupid not to hire @carakelly.bsky.social @briangaar.bsky.social @iamleslierangel.bsky.social and @candibolden.bsky.social
I said this on X because there aren’t a ton of Texas lawmakers on here but: To the #txlege, now that @carakelly.bsky.social and I no longer have budget meetings or a team to manage, good luck. We’ll see y’all when we finish our next exposé. oliviamesser@protonmail.com
Cara Kelly@carakelly.bsky.social · 2mo agoI’m excited to have the space to turn back to investigations that have been on the back burner, particularly sexual harassment investigations that brought @oliviamesser.bsky.social and I together in the first place. Send tips and anything else to carakelly@proton.me
I’m excited to have the space to turn back to investigations that have been on the back burner, particularly sexual harassment investigations that brought @oliviamesser.bsky.social and I together in the first place. Send tips and anything else to carakelly@proton.me
It’s easier not to talk about myself so I’ll praise @oliviamesser.bsky.social for being my dream work partner and trusting me as managing editor. We published stories I’m beyond proud of. And got to work with incredibly dear colleagues and fellow journalists. www.chron.com/news/houston...
A Texas news outlet says it's reached the end of the road
The outlet says its financial runway has run out.
chron.com
A few weeks ago I stepped away from @thebarbedwire.com It feels fitting to have edited this last guest essay on Texas’ abortion bans — my first stories for TBW were on the same topic, and so were some of the best I got the privilege to edit. thebarbedwire.com/2026/05/29/k...
Ken Paxton, ‘Champion for the Unborn,’ Would Have Let Our Babies Die. We Know Firsthand.
Texas’ attorney general said we weren’t dead enough for an abortion — that our doctors were right to deny us care.
thebarbedwire.com
