Another day, another false prophet. Two self-professed religious leaders — including 53-year-old David Taylor, who calls himself “Apostle” and “Jesus’s best friend” — made approximately $50 million through forced labor at sites in Texas, Florida, Michigan, and Missouri, according to a grand jury indictment announced on Wednesday. The
What a difference a year makes. Twelve months ago, when we launched The Barbed Wire, it felt like we were finally crawling out of the wreckage of Trump’s first term, maybe even headed toward a slightly less-shitty future. Sure, Texas was still Texas — stubborn, messy, allergic to progress
When I first read 27-year-old Olandria Carthen’s post-“Love Island USA” interview in Vulture, I knew exactly what she was trying to communicate to the American public about being in a highly visible, interracial relationship with Nicolas Vansteenberghe, 24. The couple, deemed “Nicolandria” by throngs of obsessed
EXCLUSIVE Editor’s note: This story includes quotes in which the subject uses offensive racial slurs and references to racial terror. The Barbed Wire does not condone the use of such language, but believes them to be newsworthy, important context. Any racist language has been censored with hyphens. This is
Finally, a win! Texas Aggies don’t have a lot of exciting things to talk about (yes, I’m a Longhorn), 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. Texas A&
A federal judge in San Antonio issued a ruling on Wednesday 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, sometimes cheeky 55-page ruling first reported by The Houston Chronicle, U.S.
Tuesday morning, state Rep. Nicole Collier awoke from her seat on the floor of the Texas House, “bonnet and all,” after spending the night locked in the Capitol. It’s an image that will go down in history. In a photo posted online, the Fort Worth Democrat is wearing a
After years of shouting about “limited government,” “personal freedom,” and “tyranny,” Texas Republicans have finally decided to embrace their inner Big Brother. Turns out the best way to stop democracy from working is to treat your Democratic colleagues like middle schoolers on a field trip. Here’s the scene: Texas
Jonatan Pech, de dieciocho años, iba de copiloto en el carro de su familia, mientras la luz del coche alumbraba la oscuridad la mañana. Cristian, su hermano mayor, agarraba el volante firmemente. La música cambiaba entre el rap de Houston, la salsa y el R&B, que servían de
In El Paso on Sunday, the Trump Administration opened the doors to Camp East Montana, the largest ICE detention facility in the country’s history. It reportedly cost $1.2 billion under a U.S. Defense Department contract. The new facility is at Fort Bliss, one of five sites where
I was sitting in the florescent haze of a conference room in New Orleans this June when something snapped in my chaotic brain. Thousands of journalists had descended like locusts on a Canal Street Marriott for the annual Investigative Reporters & Editors conference which, in my opinion, is the best
Eighteen-year-old Jonatan Pech sat in the passenger seat of his family’s sedan as their headlights pierced the morning darkness. His older brother, Cristian, gripped the steering wheel. The music shuffled between Houston rap to salsa and then R&B, lullabies for his sister Esme who slept