22-year-old Ward Sakeik, a Palestinian woman who has lived in Texas since she was 9, says her experience in federal detainment could only be identified as “human trafficking.” And she’s not staying quiet about the women she was forced to leave behind. thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/22/w...

Ward Sakeik met Leqaa Kordia at Prairieland Detention Center. The Palestinian women quickly trauma bonded while in ICE custody. Sakeik has since been released — and is now advocating for Kordia and the others who she said helped her stay sane.

On this day in 1950, the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Texas Law School had to enroll Heman M. Sweatt and other Black students. The case was monumental — like the first domino slammed onto the table of equality. And, our writer found, it was personal. thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/19/s...

Turns out the only thing keeping Dade Phelan from speaking his mind was … his job. Who knew? Take his musings on “free speech." After U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said authorities will “target” and “go after” people for alleged “hate speech,” Phelan warned that the party is on a slippery slope.

"The reality is living in Texas is truly heartbreaking, but it’s also the place where communities are resisting," writes @iamleslierangel.bsky.social at the link. Journalism can help fight the myths and half-truths Texans are taught in classrooms. Help us do more of it.

Want to know why your coworkers are talking about Brandon Aubrey? Or get why your group text is hating on Arch Manning? We’re here to help.

The lieutenant governor insists it’s just a policy dispute, while lambasting Abbott for failing to stop the sale of what he seems to believe are poisonous, brain-melting gummies.

"The Bullock Museum glorifies Texas heroes while treating slavery like an awkward uncle no one wants to talk about." At the link @briangaar.bsky.social examines the serious consequences of teaching history this way. ⬇️

“Texas isn’t just big—it’s a place with a rich history of progressives fighting an often thankless uphill battle.” Billy Begala writes about the wonderful and nonsensical nature of our state, and why independent journalism is more important than ever.

In this tumultuous moment, Texas is still unique in its mind-boggling extremes. Texas loves to pick on queer kids. Yet, Texas is one of the queerest states in the country. Nearly 20% of our residents were born in another country, but we’ve vilified those neighbors. thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/10/t...

After lawmakers failed to pass a THC ban, Abbott steps in. Because nothing says “personal freedom” like showing your ID for a watermelon-flavored cube.

During Week 1, the Houston Texans lost to the Rams after offensive line roulette left C.J. Stroud unsettled. The Cowboys’ loss was eclipsed by the spit heard round the world and a missing Micah Parsons.

When Summer Willis was drugged and raped, a loophole in Texas law kept her from getting justice. After years of activism, including crawling 13 miles on her knees to raise awareness, she told @thebarbedwire.com, “We did the impossible.” thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/04/t...

This week, the Summer Willis Act took effect. The new law makes two landmark changes: it defines consent and recognizes alcohol-facilitated assaults. Now prosecutors must test the statute in court for the first time. Read more at the link:

Apparently banning weed gummies is harder than outlawing women’s rights, because THC is still legal in Texas. ⬇️

BREAKING: The Texas Legislature just officially passed HB7, the new “bounty hunter” ban on abortion medication. #txlege State Sen. Molly Cook said, “It is my honor to fight for the rest of my life to repeal these bills.” thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/01/t...

Do you have good ghost stories set in Texas? Lmk please!!!! I’m going to compile a bunch for @thebarbedwire.com for Halloween. I’d like to be spooked — and not in the way I currently am just from reading the news. 😅

The Texas Senate has passed HB7, which will incentivize people to bring $100k lawsuits against anyone who makes, sends, or transports abortion medication in Texas. A Texas mother who nearly died giving birth warns HB7 does not protect anyone. “Let doctors treat bleeding without a lawyer." ⬇️

Minutes ago, the Texas Senate passed HB7, which will incentivize people to bring $100,000 lawsuits against anyone who makes, sends, or transports abortion medication in Texas. In a guest essay, Kaitlyn Kash begs Gov. Greg Abbott not to sign it. #txlege thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/03/i...

Researchers at Texas State University and the Austin Police Department examined 189 drownings, but conspiracy theories aren’t easy to squash. Skeptics turned on both the police and the study’s authors.

As a lifelong Cowboys hater, @briangaar.bsky.social admits he’ll never love the team. But after watching Netflix’s deep dive, he can’t help but appreciate the Arkansas oilman who turned the franchise into America’s soap opera. ⬇️

On Labor Day, we’re spotlighting the invisible labor abortion bans put on health workers and patients. “Witnessing so much that people are living through has really, just like left me in a place of burnout,” said midwife Felisa Yzaguirre. “The need is so high.” thebarbedwire.com/2025/09/01/t...

The most hyped quarterback in America finally gets his shot leading the Longhorns. Can Arch Manning live up to the name?

Stabbings in Killeen, Frisco, and Harris County killed and injured students, rocking Texas schools this spring. A new one in Denton — less than two weeks into the academic year — has parents demanding answers. Learn more ⬇️

How prosecutors say a ministry exploited victims by controlling their movements, forcing women to take Plan B emergency contraceptives, and threatening unpaid workers with “eternal damnation.”⬇️

"We believe Texas can be better — but only if we fight for it." As we mark one year at The Barbed Wire, @briangaar.bsky.social writes that our job as journalists is not just to document Texas’ decline into a right-wing fever dream, but to remind you that democracy and decency still matter.

"As a dark-skinned Black girl from Texas, I’m glad everyone else has finally joined this conversation." At the link @taylorcrumpton.bsky.social writes about how Nicolandria’s love story on Love Island can help heal old wounds for Black women in the South. But only if we talk about them. Read it ⬇️

I wrote about America's favorite couple, NicOlandria, specifically Olandria for @thebarbedwire.com. I went in-depth about racial fetishization and colorism that Black women experience in the pursuit of love, and interracial dating in the South. #LoveIslandUSA thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/25/n...

As I said here, I will happily draw a portrait of your favorite animal or food or object — nothing weird, though! — in exchange for support of our journalism ♥️🤠 bsky.app/profile/oliv...

My baby @thebarbedwire.com is turning 1 year old (a Virgo 🤠). She is the hardest, most rewarding project. I really, really hope we can keep telling stories. Become a paying member today & show me proof!! I'll make you a 10-minute illustration — like I did👇! I’ll do as many as I can 💕

Flashback to the time this guy sent me an email saying he was keeping a picture of me in his truck to look at forever, but in a very heteronormative way.

Jason Lee Van Dyke — one-time leader of the Proud Boys, sender of racist tweets, and attorney for white supremacists — is receiving taxpayer dollars to represent people of color. Officials in Denton County say there’s no rule against it.

sorry to my Aggie dad, but I am surrounded by writers who are all Longhorns thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/21/f...

Texas Aggies don’t have a lot of exciting things to talk about, so when they start selling Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets at their campus student marketplaces, you better believe it’s going to be a big deal. College kids moving in this week will have more than 45 beaver-themed products to choose from. ⬇️

“S.B. 10 crosses the line from exposure to coercion." A federal judge has issued a ruling temporarily halting the controversial Texas law that would require all public schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in every classroom.

In a comprehensive — and cheeky — ruling, a judge said the law “crosses the line from exposure to coercion.” “For those who disagree with the court’s decision and who would do so with threats, vulgarities and violence,” he wrote, “grace and peace unto you.” thebarbedwire.com/2025/08/20/j...

Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, spent the night held hostage in the Texas House in protest. Then four enraged women refused to leave her side. “The more they try to push us down, the more we rise together.”

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, also a frequent target of the deranged right, wrote: “Forcing elected officials to sign ‘permission slips’ and take police escorts to leave? That’s not procedure. That’s some old Jim Crow playbook.”

Camp East Montana is now the largest immigrant detention facility in U.S. history, but it’s just one of 19 sites that will add a total of 37,649 new beds for ICE detainment — a 105% increase in the state’s capacity.

What does it say about us journalists when the creators of “South Park” are more willing to push back on threats to democracy than executives at “60 Minutes”?

As immigration arrests disappear families, kindergarteners and college freshman alike are heading back to school. Read how community members have stepped up here:

"She was someone who was going to make a difference,” said David Floyd, whose daughter Jayda died saving others during the Central Texas floods. Jayda’s family has filed the first lawsuit over the tragedy, seeking $1M in damages from the owners of the Hill Country resort where she died.

"Our state is run by people who treat cruelty like it’s a campaign promise and culture wars like they’re Monday Night Football. But 'King of the Hill' lets us see the most hopeful version of Texas," writes @briangaar. Read more:

Are you an aspiring journalist or writer who is passionate about Texas news and culture? Are you a little concerned, frankly, about the state of the world? Want to do something about it? We’re looking for a dynamic Trending News Fellow. 👉 www.journalismjobs.com/job-listing/...

The architect of Texas’ original “vigilante” abortion ban filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging — in an explosive, emotional, 33-page complaint — that a man had secretly dosed a woman with at least 10 abortion pills in her hot chocolate, causing the death of her fetus.

In response to President Trump’s mass deportations, Catholic church leaders have stepped into the fray — to lend a shoulder, to bear witness, and to deter “some of the more nefarious acts that are taking place in immigration courts around the country.”

From @19thnews.org: Democratic lawmakers fled the state to protest a Trump-backed redistricting plan. For the mothers among them, leaving meant juggling summer milestones, first days of school. “I’m sad that I won’t be there to see her after her first day of school."

“The Yogurt Shop Murders” digs into a 33-year-old cold case in Austin — an unsolved murder so disturbing that A24 paid for the production team’s therapy during the project.

Most Texas Democrats who fled the state to block GOP redistricting are holed up in Chicago. The stakes are high and the pizza’s thick. So here are 10 things they could be doing while Abbott tries to extradite them like it’s an episode of “Walker, Texas Ranger: Felony Map Edition.”

“This is a real stress test for democracy, and if they get away with it in Texas, then it’s likely to come to a state near you," @rafaelanchia.bsky.social tells The Barbed Wire. Texas Democrats have a message for all American voters: You’re in the redistricting fight, whether you know it or not.