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Cara Kelly

@carakelly.bsky.social
555 followers 46 following 110 posts

investigative journalist. style section alum. texas media adoptee.

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Reposted by Cara Kelly
Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Excited to share that @carakelly.bsky.social and I have received a grant from the Fund for Investigative Reporting for our in-progress investigations on sexual misconduct and gender-based violence in Texas. Stay tuned! fij.org/fund-for-inv...
fij.org
Fund for Investigative Journalism Awards 67 New Grants for Groundbreaking Reporting - The Fund for Investigative Journalism
WASHINGTON, DC; July 15, 2026 – The Fund for Investigative Journalism announced today that it is awarding 67 new grants to journalists to do groundbreaking stories in more than 25 U.S. states. The gra...
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
I’m excited to have the space to turn back to investigations that have been on the back burner, particularly sexual harassment investigations that brought @oliviamesser.bsky.social and I together in the first place. Send tips and anything else to carakelly@proton.me
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
It’s easier not to talk about myself so I’ll praise @oliviamesser.bsky.social for being my dream work partner and trusting me as managing editor. We published stories I’m beyond proud of. And got to work with incredibly dear colleagues and fellow journalists. www.chron.com/news/houston...
chron.com
A Texas news outlet says it's reached the end of the road
The outlet says its financial runway has run out.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
A few weeks ago I stepped away from @thebarbedwire.com It feels fitting to have edited this last guest essay on Texas’ abortion bans — my first stories for TBW were on the same topic, and so were some of the best I got the privilege to edit. thebarbedwire.com/2026/05/29/k...
thebarbedwire.com
Ken Paxton, ‘Champion for the Unborn,’ Would Have Let Our Babies Die. We Know Firsthand.
Texas’ attorney general said we weren’t dead enough for an abortion — that our doctors were right to deny us care.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
♥️🗞️goodbye for now to @thebarbedwire.com — it’s been an honor, and any newsroom would be stupid not to hire @carakelly.bsky.social @briangaar.bsky.social @iamleslierangel.bsky.social and @candibolden.bsky.social
THE BARBED WIRE
Date: May 29, 2026
From: Editor in Chief, Olivia Messer Subject:
Goodbye for Now
Hello dear readers,
June 1 would have been my two-year anniversary as an employee of The Barbed Wire. In that time, we've pitched, researched, reported, written, edited, built, published, emailed, and socialed more than 725 stories. We previously shared that our financial runway was measured in weeks, not months. Unfortunately, as of this Friday, we've hit the end of the road for full-time staff, including myself.
We told The Barbed Wire team and halted freelance spending a few months ago, yet we still held out hope that our outstanding committed pledges, project proposals, investor presentations, and grant applications would convert. You all know it's a turbulent time for our industry — more so for independent outlets that rely on reader support (and aren't owned by billionaires). I consider myself the world's greatest living expert on what we should have done differently and when we should have done it — but frankly, I'll need some time before I can articulate those thoughts.
I am stepping down, but Brian Gaar will continue writing the Wild Texas newsletter on a freelance basis, and thanks to the generosity of KIND Clinic, which funds our queer Texas vertical, Kit O'Connell will continue to write stories in the coming months, as showcased in their Big & Bright newsletter.
We had many more plans, including events, myriad investigations, frothy podcasts, and verticals. So if you're interested in making a home for any of those, or for acquisition more broadly, contact me (olivia(@thebarbedwire.com) or our CEO, David Cohen (david@thebarbedwire.com).
This also means that my talented, full-time team of swiss-army-knife journalists will be looking for opportunities. If you're in the industry, I urge you to get connected to:
Our managing editor, Cara Kelly, whose reporting has uncovered institutional sexual harassment and violence in massage schools, ride-share companies, and …Our deputy managing editor, Leslie Rangel, is a first generation daughter of Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants whose award-winning journalism is focused on issues of health, mental wellness, race, gender and social justice. She wrote our two most-read stories of all time at The Barbed Wire, the latter of which was on the front page of Apple News as the day's no. 4 top story, in addition to having demonstrable real-world impact. Leslie was previously morning anchor for the Good Day Austin morning news show. She has also worked at KAN in Austin, was founding evening anchor at KWKT in Waco, reported for KFOR in Oklahoma City and KFDM in Beaumont, Texas. Follow her on Threads and Instagram.
Our senior editor Brian Gaar writes our clever, thoughtful newsletter, which maintains a far-above-industry-average open rate — even as it has grown in size. In many ways, Brian has been "the voice of The Barbed Wire." He cemented that position with quick-turn, hilarious, and deeply sentimental stories that our loyal readers routinely shower in praise. He is a longtime Texas journalist who has written for the Austin American-Statesman, The Waco Tribune-Herald, Texas Monthly, and many other publications. He was also a writer and producer at the beloved Austin production company, Rooster Teeth. Follow Brian on Bluesky and Instagram.
Our social media manager, Candi Bolden, is a marvel at short-form video. Candi is based in Dallas-Fort Worth and has previously run social media accounts for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. As part of her journalism career, she worked the Republican National Convention for CNN, covered swatting threats in Wichita, Kansas, and photographed 2020 unrest in Fort Worth, Texas. Follow her on Bluesky or Instagram.
(Friendly reminder that previous The Barbed Wire employees have gone on to full-time journalism positions at Politico, The Seattle Times, and Community Impact - Dallas, as well as a communications role at the fitness app Strava.)
I'll be looking for work t…
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Reposted by Cara Kelly
Steven Rich @datab.ae · 21/04/2026
well lookie what showed up in the mail: my very own @thebarbedwire.com tshirt
a tshirt from The Barbed Wire
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
As the others said, that’s inaccurate and a harmful misconception. In fact, men have figured out how to weaponize family court against women too. equalfamilylaws.org/parental-ali...
equalfamilylaws.org
Parental Alienation: A New Form of Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Children - Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law
Parental Alienation: A New Form of Gender-Based Violence Against Women and Children in Latin America and the Caribbean is a groundbreaking collective work
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
I’m still surprised by how badly journalists cover these crimes. I’ve vowed to do better. As has my partner in this work @oliviamesser.bsky.social we won’t always get it right but will keep trying. Because we have to keep telling these stories of this shit is not going to change.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
I’ve been reporting on DV, SA, sexual harassment, sex trafficking for years now, I’ve interviewed hundreds of victims and survivors, and then myself experienced the reckless disregard of editors at The Washington Post when I wound up on the other side of one of these stories.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The couple’s problems had been mounting??? AGAIN what evidence is there to put the onus on anyone but Justin?
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
It is so close to saying ‘women daring to claim he violently hurt them were the reason he lost his political career and was depressed.’ AGAIN this is telegraphing to victims not to come forward.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The quote from this judge (which is paraphrased, which means editors exercised their own discretion) also puts the onus of his ‘upended hopes’ on the sexual assault allegations, and thus the women who made them.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
It gets worse. The quote from the police chief is literally why women, especially black women, don’t trust police. ‘Ongoing domestic dispute’ implies wrongdoing on both sides. There is nothing in this story that indicates Cerina did anything except file for divorce and try to protect her children.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
1. Cerina’s name is missing. 2. ‘Erratic’ is an adjective and thus an editorial choice. 3. The story about how his political rise ‘flamed out after scandal’ is INSANE. He was accused of VIOLENT CRIMES.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
This section of the @washingtonpost.com really captures why women are enraged right now and how the system keeps allowing women to die and be assaulted. I’m HOT today so here’s a thread explaining why.
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Candi Bolden @candibolden.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Thank you @oliviamesser.bsky.social , @carakelly.bsky.social and @iamleslierangel.bsky.social for letting me write about an icon
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The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 09/04/2026
📰 The most important news isn’t always national. It’s what’s happening in your community. #LocalNewsDay
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The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 18/03/2026
“We have to travel outside the country sometimes to feel accepted and to feel ourselves,” Fabelina Guerra, a board member with the Gateway City Pride Association in Laredo, told The Barbed Wire. thebarbedwire.com/2026/03/18/a...
thebarbedwire.com
At Least 15 LGBTQ+ Businesses Have Quietly Disappeared in Texas
Since 2020, at least 15 LGBTQ gathering spaces — bars, clubs, Pride associations, and restaurants — across Texas have closed their doors.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
It’s not just that it’s Texas — because in 2020 we had 15 more LGBTQ+ businesses than we do now. It’s the economy, it’s tariffs, and it’s increased discrimination under the leadership of the federal government and the Texas lawmakers pushing anti-DEI initiatives.
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The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 16/03/2026
“Search and rescue in the United States is 99% volunteer,” Chris Boyer, the executive director at the National Association for Search and Rescue, told The Barbed Wire in an interview days after the July 4, 2025 Central Texas flood disaster. thebarbedwire.com/2025/07/12/t...
thebarbedwire.com
In Natural Disasters, Community Matters More Than Ever. ‘Help’s Not Coming from the Government.’
Thanks to climate change, harsher flood events will require more rescue operations, resources, and rebuilding. But the current system “offloads everything to the volunteer,” says Chris Boyer, the exec...
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Getting ready for my first #sxsw panel as a speaker!! Talking about @thebarbedwire.com approach to climate change storytelling. It’s close to my heart after writing about my family’s experience during Hurricane Helene and our coverage of the Texas floods. thebarbedwire.com/2025/07/12/t...
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Reposted by Cara Kelly
The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 03/03/2026
Ad spending in the Texas Republican race has stacked up to $98.9 million, according to AdImpact, which noted that GOP spending alone would be one of the most expensive Senate primaries on record. We’re here to break down the numbers for you. thebarbedwire.com/2026/03/03/t...
thebarbedwire.com
Texas’ Senate Primary Race Is the Most Expensive on Record, Ad Tracking Report Says
A staggering $128 million has been spent in Texas’ Senate primary, per an ad tracking report, thanks mostly to John Cornyn and Republicans.
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Reposted by Cara Kelly
Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Happy election day!!! The Texas Democratic primary for U.S. Senate has been a wild ride, and while we wait for results to roll in, @thebarbedwire.com is hosting a live stream where we’ll unpack it all at 6pm CT. LINK HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI6b...
join The Barbed Wire’s livestream tonight at 6pm CT
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
dove into the $ in Texas’ Senate primary, here are a few tidbits: - Republicans have spent $98.9 million - mostly for Cornyn - bc establishment GOP thinks Paxton would lose to Dems in the general - Paxton lost a big donor - Talarico ad spends are 4x Crockett’s thebarbedwire.com/2026/03/03/t...
thebarbedwire.com
Texas’ Senate Primary Race Is the Most Expensive on Record, Ad Tracking Report Says
A staggering $128 million has been spent in Texas’ Senate primary, per an ad tracking report, thanks mostly to John Cornyn and Republicans.
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The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 03/03/2026
The Texas Democratic primary for U.S. Senate has been a wild ride. The Barbed Wire will unpack it all while we all wait for the results to roll in, from the primary’s historic turnout to the scandals (with a keen eye on fact-checking).
WATCH: We're Hosting a Live Stream Panel of Experts, Creators & Journalists to Talk About the Texas Democratic Senate Primary on Election Day
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Please keep these good-faith questions and discussions coming because we do try to incorporate them to make our journalism better! Happy to answer things here in comments. thebarbedwire.com/2026/02/24/3...
thebarbedwire.com
We Analyzed 300 Texas Accounts on a White Supremacist Dating Site. The Data Explains a Lot About Politics Right Now.
About the state of extremism in the U.S.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
We found that rhetoric in the data echoes language used in the highest levels of government. Questions on White Date included IQ scores and how many children users wanted. They correspond to the far-right’s embrace of debunked “race science,” and with the rise of the “pronatalist movement.”
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
A big question we’ve received has been about platforming — who we name, and why we chose to cover these things. So we laid out reasons for our editorial decisions — i.e. military members’ beliefs in white supremacy can impact public wellbeing.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
What did we learn from data from a White Supremacist dating site? A lot, actually. @stevanzetti.bsky.social went beyond individual Texas accounts, bringing in his knowledge of ultra conservative politics right now. Also tried to answer questions we’ve gotten on past reporting about fascists etc.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
a 2-month-old with bronchitis. Castro just confirmed he and his mother were not kept at the hospital — they were deported. feeling downright sick about this one. thebarbedwire.com/2026/02/17/2...
thebarbedwire.com
2-Month-Old Baby Juan Nicolás & His Mother Were ‘Abandoned Across the Border’ Hours After He Was Hospitalized With Bronchitis, Castro Says
“His life is in danger,” Congressman Castro said Tuesday about the baby.
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Reposted by Cara Kelly
The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 11/02/2026
EXCLUSIVE: A whistleblower tells @thebarbedwire.com he spent years burying radioactive fracking waste, which melted the bones in his neck and jaw. Then a residential community — and an elementary school — was built on top. 🧵 thebarbedwire.com/2026/02/11/a...
thebarbedwire.com
Whistleblower Says Radioactive Fracking Waste Site Melted His Jaw. Now There’s an Elementary School There.
Then an elementary school was built on top of it.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
The incredible @saulelbein.bsky.social reported this harrowing, vitally important story for us. It’s just the beginning.
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Patrick Monaghan @pkmonaghan.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
A college friend, Tony, never came back to school after the freshman winter break, because he was doing this in a parking lot and slammed into the bumper of a parked car. He was permanently brain damaged and disabled. Do not do this.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
if you’re open to sharing more, my email is cara@thebarbedwire.com
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Kaleb Blain, a 35-year old trans man and pitmaster, was fired from the legendary BBQ restaurant Terry Black’s after he was doxxed over Charlie Kirk comments. Now he’s running his own barbecue spot in Waco: “I feel better than I ever have.” By @kitoconnell.com thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/21/b...
thebarbedwire.com
‘Barbecue Saved My Life’: Meet Waco’s Antifascist Transgender Pitmaster
Kaleb Blain went from the fast-paced world of 911 dispatching to the “low and slow” of BBQ, where he’s built a following.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
REMINDER: The first rule of Wine Moms Gang is not to talk about Wine Moms Gang, especially not to those narcs on the PTA. If you must refer to the group, acceptable cover stories are book club or Bunco. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/win...
mcsweeneys.net
Wine Mom Gang Meeting Minutes
“What we are seeing across the country as organized gangs of wine moms use Antifa tactics to harass and impede Immigration and Customs Enforcement ...
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 15/01/2026
After federal agents shot another protester in Minnesota, Trump is threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act. If he follows through, our democracy is in extreme danger, according to a retired brigadier general. From our friends at @revealnews.org:
motherjones.com
"Madness": A retired brigadier general slams Trump’s military power grab
On this week’s “More To The Story,” a former National Guard officer discusses the perils of politicizing the military and why the Insurrection Act needs reform.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
A lot of new nuggets in here, including the context in which ICE arrested a 5-year-old U.S. citizen and deported her to Honduras: Austin’s police chief says the girl’s mom called cops after a man she had an expired restraining order against showed up at their home.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Cat really got me with this line: “It’s hard to know where to begin, how to even start parsing through the near-constant deluge of tragedy, misinformation, and violence that has become part and parcel of life under ICE.”
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
update on Orange Julius! also hopefully a dose of vitamin People Are Fundamentally Good which we all need right now
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The Barbed Wire @thebarbedwire.com · 13/01/2026
9-year-old Amber Hagerman was kidnapped on this day 30 years ago, and 1,200 missing kids have been saved by the Amber Alert system made in her honor. But her murder remains unsolved. Still, police are hopeful they can one day crack it using DNA testing. thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/13/a...
thebarbedwire.com
The Case That Inspired the Amber Alert Was Never Solved. Will There Ever Be Justice for 9-Year-Old Amber Hagerman?
The case that inspired the Amber Alert was never solved. Could modern technology finally help crack Amber Hagerman's tragic case?
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
“She’s still taking care of little children like she did her younger brother,” said Amber’s mother, Donna Williams, on the 25th anniversary of the kidnapping. “I’m very, very proud of my daughter.”
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
our whole newsroom is now very invested in Orange Julius and his female support team. thanks @keribla.bsky.social for sharing
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Our first investigation of the year just landed, and it’s a doozy. More than 1,000 children across Texas were affected by this. Through interviews with more than a dozen former employees and the review of internal documents and court records, The Barbed Wire found:
After funding was restored, RAICES voluntarily declined the $19.5 million annual contract from the federal government, which accounted for roughly half of the organization’s more than $43 million budget in 2024.
More than 1,000 youth across Texas were affected by the decision to effectively end the children’s program, according to a recording of a February staff meeting.
RAICES had child clients sign acknowledgements that the organization’s attorneys were withdrawing from their cases because of a loss of funding that was “beyond the control of RAICES,” even after a court order that restored the funding.
After the funding was restored, RAICES falsely represented the same explanation to employees and immigration courts, including in court motions into November of this year.
Many former employees said they felt misled by executives at the organization about the program shuttering and some said they felt compelled to mislead their own clients. Such representations, mandated by RAICES directors, could have violated Texas’ legal ethics code.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Our first investigation of 2026 is live! We found one of the largest immigration legal service providers in TX had funding cut by the Trump admin for 2 weeks before a judge ordered it reinstated. RAICES declined to take it, but blamed the cuts in legal documents for why it dropped child clients.
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Paul Flahive @paulflahive.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
RAICES Raised Millions to Protect Minors from Deportation. Then It Dropped Them ‘Like It Was Nothing,’ Ex Staffers Claim. thebarbedwire.com/2026/01/07/r...
thebarbedwire.com
RAICES Raised Millions to Protect Minors from Deportation. Then It Dropped Them ‘Like It Was Nothing,’ Ex Staffers Claim.
Texas nonprofit falsely represented its reasoning for dropping child immigration clients to employees and in court records, ex staffers say.
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Cara Kelly @carakelly.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The House investigation said the “entirety of law enforcement… shares systemic responsibility” for the Uvalde school shooting deaths. So… why is only this one low level officer facing charges this week? Read our attempt to answer that seemingly basic question.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
“To prosecute the very first officer on the scene is probably a good measure of whether or not other prosecutions might succeed,” Bassett said. “I think they started with the most obvious possible defendant to see how that would go through the court system.”
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Kit O'Connell (🏳️‍🌈Big & Bright Queerdo👽) @kitoconnell.com · 05/01/2026
Did you know it's been 2 years since SB17, Texas' anti-DEI campus law went into effect? I'm working on a survey of LGBTQ+ orgs affected by this law, for @thebarbedwire.com. If you were part of, or know of a campus org that shut down or was forced to change goals due to SB17, please get in touch.
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
“What’s suing Tylenol going to do? Is it going to help the kids? Is it going to bring more awareness? Is it going to get our kids diagnosed more early?” Please read this one. @thebarbedwire.com spoke with parents of autistic kids in Texas. They had a lot to say. thebarbedwire.com/2025/12/16/t...
thebarbedwire.com
Texas Is Leaving Autistic Kids Without Necessary Services, Parents Say. Ken Paxton’s Tylenol Lawsuit Isn’t Helping.
Battling years-long waitlists, delays in care, and insurance.
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