THE LEAD James Talarico

Barack Obama meets James Talarico's niece, Jane

This is my baby niece, Jane. Hey, you. Nice to see you. She's been practicing your name. Hi. What's your name? Do you want to shake my hand? And what's your name? And what's my name? That's me. She's been saying, Barack Obama. So she's almost got it.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / October 14, 2026 / 1-MIN READ

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↑ Fig. 01 — Barack Obama meets James Talarico's niece, Jane Every Bit Texas

What's Inside

3 dispatches

01 2026 Texas Senate race

New James Talarico ad responds to all of the AI generated LIES being posted about him.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Oct 13 / 1-MIN

02 Houston Texans

Did you catch this NFL moment that had all of Texas buzzing?

Did you catch this moment that had all of Texas buzzing?

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Oct 12 / 2-MIN

03 Battle of San Jacinto

The Texas Navy: The Fleet That Won Independence

Rear Adm. Walter Brafford makes the case that Sam Houston didn't win Texas independence alone: the Texas Navy had something to say about it.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Oct 12 / 8-MIN

The Barbed Wire Three more dispatches

Butt family

The Widow Who Started H-E-B, and How Her $60 Grocery Became "Texas' FEMA"

Florence Butt opened a one-room Kerrville grocery with a $60 loan in 1905. A century later, the company she started is famous for showing up with mobile kitchens before the government does.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Sep 8

Buddy Holly

Buddy Holly Turns 90: Why Lubbock Waited Two Decades to Celebrate Him

Buddy Holly was born in Lubbock on September 7, 1936, and died in a plane crash 22 years later. The city that raised him didn't put up a statue until 1980.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Sep 7

Angelina River

The Córdova Rebellion: How a Stolen-Horse Hunt Uncovered a Plot Against Texas

In August 1838, Nacogdoches men searching for stolen horses stumbled onto a Tejano-Cherokee-Mexican conspiracy led by Vicente Córdova aimed at overthrowing the young Republic of Texas.

BY JOHN MCGILLIE / Aug 25