Brian is founding member of The Barbed Wire team. A longtime Texas journalist, he has written for the Austin American-Statesman, the Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Monthly, and more. He was also a writer and producer at Rooster Teeth.
After months of pressure from his own party, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced Friday that he’s abandoning his bid for a third term in the leadership post. His move comes after criticism from fellow Republicans for being insufficiently right-wing, despite the fact that Phelan helped to ban
Texas’ days of legal THC might be over soon. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the most powerful man in state government, said he’s making it a priority to ban “all forms of consumable THC from being sold in Texas.” The Texas Senate’s head honcho announced Wednesday evening that the
Get ready for our power grid to once again have issues this winter. Texas’ grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), has warned about a “greater-than-average” potential for extreme cold this winter. This is bad because our grid doesn’t exactly do well when it’s
The judge who ordered Robert Roberson to be executed is stepping down. Deborah Oakes Evans, a retired state district judge who issued the execution warrant for Roberson earlier this year, is recusing herself from the case, The Dallas Morning News reported. According to a court filing, Evans signed the recusal
The holidays are approaching and many of us have friends or loved ones who’ve moved away from Texas. It sucks, right? Feels like they’re a million miles away? They probably miss you, too, buddy. For those who’ve had to trade the Lone Star State’s natural beauty
Texas Attorney General and Scrooge-for-life Ken Paxton is back at it again — and by that we mean he’s going after another group that’s trying to help other people. This time, the MAGA Grinch is targeting a South Austin nonprofit that dares to provide care and compassion
After 13 long years, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University are back where they belong: doing battle on Saturday. Yes, the Longhorns and Aggies are playing football again. The ancient in-state enemies are set to play, finally, at Kyle Field this weekend in
We almost feel bad for Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both Republicans have been desperately vying for the attention of President-elect Donald Trump, with Abbott yapping about protecting Texas from the evil influence of communists (Chinese, not Russian — it’s not the 1980s) and Paxton
We all grew up pledging allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic, for which it stands… you know the rest. But here in Texas, we go one step further and recite our own pledge, which routinely surprises outsiders. “Did you know that the
As expected, Texas has approved a new elementary school curriculum Friday that’s heavy on Jesus and light on uncomfortable parts of history — like slavery. The proposal will bring the Bible-infused content to classrooms starting next year, making Texas the first state to implement such a program in this
UPDATE, Nov. 19, 3:38 p.m.: On Tuesday, most members of the Texas State Board of Education expressed their support for the new curriculum, the Texas Tribune reported. With an official vote scheduled for Friday, eight out of the 15 board members gave their initial approval to Bluebonnet Learning,
State regulators have slammed the brakes on a Texas medical school’s eyebrow-raising habit of liquefying bodies after research. Yes, liquefying. NBC News dug up (sorry) a recent cease-and-desist letter from the Texas Funeral Service Commission, which informed the University of North Texas Health Science Center in