The Barbed Wire

Texas early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30. Waiting for the weekend is too late. Harris County set a midterm first-day record with 104,000+ voters. Any site in your county, bring photo ID, paper notes OK. Printable guide: www.thebarbedwire.com/2026-voter-i...

An estimated 23,000 Texans have HIV and don’t know it. The state wants to cut new cases in half by 2031, but the CDC just ended outreach funding for at least 13 Texas groups that find people and get them tested. Kit O’Connell has the full story: thebarbedwire.com/can-texas-fi...

Thread 🧵: the fraudulent transgender mailers have a connection back to Dallas, Texas, where a local Republican megadonor used a similar playbook years ago when he funded a fake BLM group to send letters to wealthy white parents that were designed to discredit the BLM movement.

My next Big & Bright 🌈 ⭐ newsletter is about the anti-trans flyers flooding Texas during the midterms, plus the battle against AIDS & HIV under a fascist government. Subscribe today to get it tomorrow: www.thebarbedwire.com/newsletters/

Your coworker might be North Korean 💻 The FBI searched 40+ Texas homes and seized 187 laptops it says were running remote tech jobs for North Korea. The FBI says the crews recruit Americans short on money to keep the laptops online.

Today's News Brief: Where Texas' Senate candidates stand on THC. Talarico (D): legalize and tax it. Brown (L): no federal cannabis laws. Paxton (R): skipped the Tribune's questions, but he's sued six Texas cities over marijuana decriminalization.

New @thebarbedwire.com: A new state plan calls for getting HIV+ folks into care faster, and cutting new cases in half by 2031. But how can we fight AIDS amid deep cuts to federal funding and as more Texans struggle to access healthcare? www.thebarbedwire.com/can-texas-fi...

Today's News Brief: Nearly half of Texas nonprofit hospitals say they'll bill you before checking if your care should be free. Aimee Carlock paid $5,500 up front for surgery that should have been free. She didn't get it back. Before you pay, ask for the financial assistance application.

Today’s News Brief: Texas THC is on the ballot in a race not getting much attention. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led the push to ban almost all hemp THC; Democrat Vikki Goodwin wants to legalize and tax it like alcohol. One poll this month had her up 49-46, within the margin of error.

I spent an afternoon with Loyd Powell and Robert Conn, who run the Heart of Leather Foundation in Houston. Their dream is to open a museum of LGBTQ history. Until then, they have over 35,000 artifacts sitting in storage, and they let me see them: www.chron.com/culture/arti...

Today’s News Brief: The State Fair of Texas ends Sunday, and it got cheaper. Kids 3–12 are $10 every day, adults $25 ($20 after 5 p.m.), parking $25. Open till 10 p.m. Fri–Sat, 9 p.m. Sun. Send this to the friend who keeps saying “next weekend.” Photos: State Fair of Texas

Today's News Brief: How to see your Texas sample ballot before early voting starts Monday, Oct. 19. Check you're registered at your current address on votetexas.gov, then plug it into vote411.org to see the races on your ballot. Judges are on there too. Share this with a first-time voter!

Wednesday's News Brief: 7-OH is dangerous stuff, and it's sold next to the candy at Texas gas stations. In studies, it's up to 13x as potent as morphine, and Texas health officials say to avoid it completely. If you or someone you know needs help stopping, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Tuesday's News Brief: At a private fundraiser, Ken Paxton said cuts to mandatory spending — mostly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — are going to have to happen. "We have to suck it up." It's one of several leaks from the event. Afterward, he called Social Security a sacred promise.

Today's News Brief: "Texas" comes from taysha, the Caddo word for friend. In 1859, about a thousand Caddo people were forced out of the state, to what's now Oklahoma. In 1930, Texas made its motto "Friendship."

Today's News Brief: "Texas" comes from taysha, the Caddo word for friend. In 1859, about a thousand Caddo people were forced out of the state, to what's now Oklahoma. In 1930, Texas made its motto "Friendship."

Today's News Brief: Ken Paxton says the man in the Adam Hoffman case served 60 days. PolitiFact found he served only 29. They rated Talarico's "let him off the hook" attack "Mostly True." Here's the background on the case.

Brutal morning of headlines for Ken Paxton.

🗳️ Today's News Brief: Texas Republicans redrew the congressional map at Trump's request to win five more U.S. House seats. Three of those five are now in doubt.

The government doesn’t track how often immigration agents detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve tallied more than 500 Americans held against their will in warrantless arrests and detentions during President Trump’s second term.

I wrote about going back to Wichita Falls, Texas, for @thebarbedwire.com and all of my conflicted feelings about the city I grew up in www.thebarbedwire.com/281-or-287/

Wrote about this yesterday - by a quirk of how expensive campaigning in Texas is, Ken Paxton and his soon-to-be-ex-wife were all your TV no matter what part of the country you live in lol www.chron.com/culture/arti...

Today's News Brief: Amber Guyger, the former Dallas officer who killed Botham Jean in his own apartment, has been granted parole after serving 7 years of a 10-year sentence. The parole board, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, denied Guyger in 2024 and approved her Oct. 1.

NEW in Perspectives: @briangaar.bsky.social just wanted to escape his Texas hometown, Wichita Falls. But leaving didn't mean leaving it behind. "Austin gave me room to become somebody else. Wichita Falls was where I'd already been somebody."

Texas voter registration deadline is TODAY. If you registered or changed your address through DPS online this past year, check your status now. A DPS error backlogged at least 500,000 voter records.

NEW in Perspectives: @briangaar.bsky.social just wanted to escape his Texas hometown, Wichita Falls. But leaving didn't mean leaving it behind. "Austin gave me room to become somebody else. Wichita Falls was where I'd already been somebody."

Good news: Wilber Garces Perez finally had surgery to remove the bullet that was in his back for 11 days. It took far too long, and it's more proof of ICE cruelty. But we kept up the pressure, and Wilber got the care he needed. Speaking up for our neighbors works.

Beclowns having a big day on the internets

Today's News Brief: Want to vote in November? In Texas you must register by Monday, Oct. 5. You qualify if you're a U.S. citizen, live in the county and will be 18 by Election Day. You can sign up at 17 and 10 months.