The Barbed Wire

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Today's News Brief: Where Texas' Senate candidates stand on THC. Talarico (D): legalize and tax it. Brown (L): no federal cannabis laws. Paxton (R): skipped the Tribune's questions, but he's sued six Texas cities over marijuana decriminalization.

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Today's News Brief: Nearly half of Texas nonprofit hospitals say they'll bill you before checking if your care should be free. Aimee Carlock paid $5,500 up front for surgery that should have been free. She didn't get it back. Before you pay, ask for the financial assistance application.

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Today’s News Brief: Texas THC is on the ballot in a race not getting much attention. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick led the push to ban almost all hemp THC; Democrat Vikki Goodwin wants to legalize and tax it like alcohol. One poll this month had her up 49-46, within the margin of error.

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Today’s News Brief: The State Fair of Texas ends Sunday, and it got cheaper. Kids 3–12 are $10 every day, adults $25 ($20 after 5 p.m.), parking $25. Open till 10 p.m. Fri–Sat, 9 p.m. Sun. Send this to the friend who keeps saying “next weekend.” Photos: State Fair of Texas

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Today's News Brief: How to see your Texas sample ballot before early voting starts Monday, Oct. 19. Check you're registered at your current address on votetexas.gov, then plug it into vote411.org to see the races on your ballot. Judges are on there too. Share this with a first-time voter!

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Wednesday's News Brief: 7-OH is dangerous stuff, and it's sold next to the candy at Texas gas stations. In studies, it's up to 13x as potent as morphine, and Texas health officials say to avoid it completely. If you or someone you know needs help stopping, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

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Tuesday's News Brief: At a private fundraiser, Ken Paxton said cuts to mandatory spending — mostly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — are going to have to happen. "We have to suck it up." It's one of several leaks from the event. Afterward, he called Social Security a sacred promise.

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Today's News Brief: "Texas" comes from taysha, the Caddo word for friend. In 1859, about a thousand Caddo people were forced out of the state, to what's now Oklahoma. In 1930, Texas made its motto "Friendship."

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Today's News Brief: Ken Paxton says the man in the Adam Hoffman case served 60 days. PolitiFact found he served only 29. They rated Talarico's "let him off the hook" attack "Mostly True." Here's the background on the case.

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Today's News Brief: 🍅 The Trump tomato tariffs are coming for your free chips and salsa. A 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes, then bad weather in Mexico and Florida, sent tomato prices to a 20-year high. Texas Restaurant Association says food costs are up roughly 35% since the pandemic.

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🗳️ Today's News Brief: Texas Republicans redrew the congressional map at Trump's request to win five more U.S. House seats. Three of those five are now in doubt.

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Today's News Brief: Austin EMS suspects a new synthetic opioid, cychlorphine, is in town, likely mixed with other street drugs. In a recent 30-day stretch, nine overdose patients needed multiple doses of Narcan — some as many as six.

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Today's News Brief: Amber Guyger, the former Dallas officer who killed Botham Jean in his own apartment, has been granted parole after serving 7 years of a 10-year sentence. The parole board, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, denied Guyger in 2024 and approved her Oct. 1.

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Texas voter registration deadline is TODAY. If you registered or changed your address through DPS online this past year, check your status now. A DPS error backlogged at least 500,000 voter records.

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Today's News Brief: The man shot in the back by an ICE officer in North Austin is now charged with assaulting a federal officer, and the criminal complaint says the officer who fired had no body camera.

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Today's News Brief: Texas voter ID, explained. Seven forms count, including a Texas driver license, Texas ID card, handgun license, U.S. passport and military ID with photo.

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Today's News Brief: Your Texas election calendar. Here's every date you need for Nov. 3. Screenshot and please share to spread the word. Oct. 5 (next Monday!) is the last day to register or update your name or address. Early voting runs Oct. 19–30 at any site in your county.

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Today's News Brief: Want to vote in November? In Texas you must register by Monday, Oct. 5. You qualify if you're a U.S. citizen, live in the county and will be 18 by Election Day. You can sign up at 17 and 10 months.

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This evening's News Brief: The Texas Railroad Commission has nothing to do with trains. It oversees your gas rates and whether the gas system is ready for the next Winter Storm Uri.

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Sunday morning News Brief: Ken Paxton never accepted the Sept. 22 Senate debate in the Valley. The day before, he was at a Cypress church rally with Ted Cruz. Two more debates are scheduled, and he hasn't confirmed either. Meanwhile, Texas Southern's new poll has Talarico at 47 and Paxton at 46.

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Today's News Brief: More than a million Texans are on the state's voter suspense list. Check your status in two minutes before the Oct. 5 registration deadline: votetexas.gov → "Am I Registered?"

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Today's News Brief: Texas' voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5. About 1.2 million Texans are on the state's voter suspense list. Check and update at votetexas.gov.

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Today's News Brief: 🎟️ State Fair of Texas tickets are cheaper in 2026! Kids 3–12 are $10 every day, down from $22 on weekends. Adults are $2 less than last year. Parking is down to $25. Buying at the gate saves $2 per ticket. Enjoy! 🎡🎠🎢

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Today's News Brief: Who pays to plug data centers into the Texas grid — them, or you? Last week the House voted 417–3 on a bill about it. Sen. Martin Heinrich blocked it in the Senate, saying it didn't go far enough. 🧵

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Today's News Brief: Texas diesel just hit a record — $5.96 a gallon, per AAA. Even if you never buy diesel, you pay for it. It moves the freight trucks — it's in the price of your groceries before you ever see a gas station. Thoughts on what's driving it? 🤔

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On today's News Brief: Houston faces the same climate risk as New York, per AlphaGeo's ranking of 72 cities. The difference: New York's adaptation cuts 19 points off its risk. Houston's cuts 15. Dallas and San Antonio also landed in the bottom half. 🏙️

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Today's News Brief: Texas' GOP nominee for oil and gas regulator saw UT students celebrating a win over Ohio State and called it proof Americans are being "displaced by foreigners." His own party pushed back. He called them "less conservative."

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Today's News Brief: Hemp and marijuana are the same plant. The legal difference is one number — delta-9 THC by dry weight, from the 2018 Farm Bill. "By dry weight" is the whole game. Make the gummy heavy enough and it carries ten milligrams of THC and still tests under the line.

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Today's News Brief: Texas' report on women who die in pregnancy and childbirth was due 9/1. It's now due 12/1 — a month after the election. This is the first report to examine deaths under the abortion ban. But it reviews 2024 cases only, and skips 2022 and 2023, the first two years of the ban.

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Today's News Brief: The big Dallas GOP convention protest march is today. Organizers applied for a permit in early August. For a month, Dallas said nothing. No permit was ever issued — this was an application, stalled and killed. The coalition says it's marching from Pike Park anyway.

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