Leslie Rangel, a first generation daughter of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants, is former deputy managing editor for The Barbed Wire. Her award-winning journalism is focused on issues of health, mental wellness, race, gender and social justice.
Culture
Texas weather is always chaotic, but this year meteorologists are certain it’ll be a jacket and gloves kind of holiday on Thursday. Thank God because if we can’t even wear sweaters at Thanksgiving, they might as well stay in the closet all year. The National Weather Service forecasts
Culture
Any undergraduate student who lives in Texas full time — and whose families have an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less — will get their tuition covered completely at University of Texas schools. (Boy, I wish that program was in place 16 years ago.) The board formally voted to approve
Culture
The University of North Texas has changed course descriptions that mentioned race, gender, and equity in the College of Education graduate program, according to The Texas Tribune. Emails obtained by the outlet show administrators claiming the move would “protect faculty” from being targeted. Tribune reporters spoke with faculty who say
Culture
Days after election night, I still have Latina women in my DMs telling me they’re shocked but not surprised the men they love voted for President-Elect Donald Trump. They’re very angry about it. “They want a better economy,” one friend told me. “Lots of Chicanos, especially,” another
Crime & Justice
Y’all, I think a Texas dog named Titan just solved a murder. The McLennan County District Attorney’s Office announced last week that a white labradoodle held the “keys” to the case after a woman was killed in Robinson, near Waco. On April 5, 2023, police in Robinson responded
Culture
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the rest of the world finally admitting what Texans knew all along: We have some of the best food in the world. We told you in September that the French tire company (which also reviews restaurants) has finally deigned to come judge our
Culture
Austin could finally be getting a professional basketball team — and a Texas basketball legend named Fran Harris is doing her part to make it happen. The former Longhorn champion, WNBA champion, and South Oak Cliff High School graduate is raising money and gathering supporters to bid for a WNBA Austin
Culture
Last week, Americans voted to reelect Donald Trump, a man who was found legally liable for sexual assault and ran an historically racist campaign — all while threatening a large-scale mass deportation and a whole host of homophobic and anti-trans policies. A New York Times analysis showed the former
Culture
If you’re already tired of the racism, homophobia, and misogyny Americans voted for on Election Day, it looks like this is just the beginning. Demonstrators at Texas State University’s campus on Wednesday carried signs that said “Women are property,” “homo sex is sin,” and “types of property: women,
Culture
Move over Moo Deng. Texas, meet Akobi, the newest, shiniest pygmy hippopotamus to ever live in Houston. This week, the Houston Zoo adorably announced the arrival of Akobi, which means “first born” in Yoruba, a West African language. The zoo says Akobi is a male 4 1/2-year-old
Health
Earlier this year, a Georgia woman named Amber Thurman became the country’s first “preventable” death following the overturn of Roe v Wade. This week, Texas got its own case. Josseli Barnica, a 28-year-old Honduran mother in Houston, died in 2021 after suffering a miscarriage at 17 weeks
Health
(Editor’s note: This is Part I of a series. Looking for a voting guide on abortion rights? Find key races and legislators’ voting history here.) Texans’ lives are on the line this election cycle. Josseli Barnica, of Houston, died of an infection in 2021, three days after doctors failed