Michelle R. Smith
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bymichellersmith.com
Michelle R. Smith
@bymichellersmith.com
Reporter at Guardian US. Ex-@APNews
Investigating the forces behind attacks on science and public health
Reach me on Signal: mrsmith.123
michelle.smith@theguardian.com
Based in Providence, Rhode Island
Pinned
NEW: AP investigation finds over 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections have been introduced in statehouses across the US this year, part of an organized, politically savvy campaign to enshrine a conspiracy theory-driven agenda into law. w/ @lauraungar.bsky.social
Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over a century
More than 420 anti-science bills attacking longstanding public health protections – vaccines, milk safety and fluoride – have been introduced in statehouses across the U.S. this year.
apnews.com
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers resigns from OpenAI board after release of Epstein emails.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers quits OpenAI board after release of Epstein emails
Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is leaving OpenAI’s board of directors. The ChatGPT maker announced his departure Wednesday.
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
NEW: ProPublica has found multiple cases of women with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.

Tierra Walker, a 37-year-old mother, was told by doctors there was no emergency before preeclampsia killed her.
“Ticking Time Bomb”: A Pregnant Mother Kept Getting Sicker. She Died After She Couldn’t Get an Abortion in Texas.
Walker is one of several women ProPublica found with underlying health conditions who died when they couldn’t access abortions.
www.propublica.org
November 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
"Kafka" - Lawrence Krauss's one-word response in September 2018 to being told by Epstein of reporting on a Jed Rubenfeld investigation and Amy Chua complaints.

The Guardian story: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018...
November 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
NEW: When Andrew Tate landed in the US, Customs & Border Protection seized his electronic devices. But @propublica.org found that a White House official told DHS to return the devices, emphasizing that the request came from the White House.

By @robert-faturechi.bsky.social & Avi Asher-Schapiro
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
I spoke to Mahmood Mamdani about his new book, his expulsion from Uganda, his son Zohran, and *that* NYT article.
Mahmood Mamdani on Zohran, Uganda and forced expulsion: ‘Who is part of the nation and who is not?’
After being expelled from his homeland in 1972, the academic has grappled with questions of political belonging – a major theme of his son’s mayoral campaign
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
POV: you are a young woman celebrating a recent academic success
November 17, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
In a statement, Warren said Summers' "willingness to cozy up to a convicted sex offender demonstrates monumentally bad judgment."
Sen. Warren says Harvard should sever ties with Larry Summers over Epstein emails
In a statement, Warren said Summers' "willingness to cozy up to a convicted sex offender demonstrates monumentally bad judgment." Summers, an economist and former U.S. Treasury secretary, was presiden...
www.wbur.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: Jeffrey E. Epstein.

Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender…
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
More than 73,000 people were in Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Great to see a new FluView post from #CDC today after weeks without updates.
It's not yet flu season in the US, but activity is starting to pick up. www.cdc.gov/fluview/surv...
Weekly US Influenza Surveillance Report: Key Updates for Week 45, ending November 8, 2025
Seasonal influenza activity is low.
www.cdc.gov
November 14, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
People seeking federal pardons generally must file petitions through the Office of the Pardon Attorney.

But during Trump’s second term, only 10 of the roughly 1,600 people granted pardons had filed such petitions.

By @jeremykohler.bsky.social
How Trump Has Exploited Pardons and Clemency to Reward Allies and Supporters
The president’s second term has brought a flood of clemency for allies and donors — as well as felons, like him, who were convicted of financial wrongdoing.
www.propublica.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
One in every 25 participants at this year’s UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to a new analysis, raising serious questions about the corporate capture and credibility of the annual Cop negotiations.

Read the full story ⬇️
Fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber all Cop30 delegations except Brazil, report says
One in every 25 participants at 2025 UN climate summit is a fossil fuel lobbyist, according to Kick Big Polluters Out
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Someone found a digitised free version of the actual source, here you all are!

archive.org/details/chri...
Christian names in local and family history : Redmonds, George, 1935- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
1 online resource (xviii, 190 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates) :
archive.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
I’m sorry I just found out that in 1379, as in, 650 years ago, a baby girl was born in Yorkshire and named Diot Coke

history is a fucking joke lmao
November 13, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Wildlife officials say a small alligator spotted along the Charles River in Boston this week has been rescued and delivered to safety.
Small alligator rescued in Boston after slithering into the city's heart on social media
Wildlife officials say a small alligator spotted along the Charles River in Boston this week has been rescued and delivered to safety.
bit.ly
November 14, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
In search of freelance reporters who cover space. Email me!
November 14, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
A potential 107% tariff on Italian pasta imports could cause companies to withdraw from US market – and for US producers to raise their prices.
‘I’m now a one-issue voter’: US shoppers fear Italian pasta tariff will cause shortage
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
"You know us...So please trust us now when we say that what is happening in the Chicago area is wrong."

Powerful letter from retired Chicago broadcast journalists about what ICE/CBP is doing to our city: "it is terror"

www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/l...
November 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama. However, the corporation has rejected his demands for compensation, after lawyers for Trump threatened to sue for $1bn.
BBC apologises to Donald Trump over edit of speech for Panorama
www.theguardian.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Fox News ran video that it said were shot in Portland, Oregon, in September to gin up support for deploying the National Guard there. In truth the images were shot 5 years ago. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/port...
“Riots Raging”: The Misleading Story Fox News Told About Portland Before Trump Sent Troops
After reviewing coverage from the network and hours of social media videos that preceded Trump’s decision, ProPublica found that Fox’s portrayal of “Portland rioters” routinely instigating violence wa...
www.propublica.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
More examples from this week! You are getting a lot of "free check might be on the way" stories on local news and the free check is not on the way.
November 12, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Jeffrey Epstein alleged that Donald Trump knew about his crimes, newly released emails reveal – live updates
Jeffrey Epstein alleged that Donald Trump knew about his crimes, newly released emails reveal – live updates
In new batch of emails released by House Democrats, Jeffrey Epstein told Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump ‘spent hours’ at his house with one of his victims In a new batch of emails released by Democrats on the House oversight committee, Jeffrey Epstein wrote that Donald Trump knew about the late financier and sex-offender’s crimes. In the three emails released, Epstein apparently told his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump “spent hours” at his house with one of Epstein’s victims. In two other emails to author Michael Wolff, Epstein wrote that “of course he knew about the girls”, referring to the now-president. According to the exchanges, Epstein also solicited Wolff’s advice about how he should handle Trump discussing their friendship in an interview with CNN. “I think you should let him hang himself,” Wolff writes. “If he says he hasn’t been on the plane or to the house, then that gives you a valuable PR and political currency. You can hang him in a way that potentially generates a positive benefit for you, or, if it really looks like he could win, you could save him, generating a debt.” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
The spyware that is now in ICE's hands has been (by another government) against journalists and activists in Italy, as well as a top CEO, and a political consultant. Matteo Renzi, Italy's former prime minister, calls it the Italian Watergate. Now it's landed here: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Tech giants vow to defend users in US as spyware companies make inroads with Trump administration
Apple and WhatsApp say they will keep warning users if their phones are targeted by governments using hacking software against them
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women

🧵
November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM