Michelle R. Smith

Here is RFK Jr's letter to the Samoan PM, where he uses the words vaccine or vaccination eight times www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Appreciate Providence's efforts to improve recycling rates, but I've gotten three of these since the program started and passed every time. Is this typical?

If you need AI to plan a child's birthday, you have a problem that AI will not fix

Social media loves talking about how everything is getting worse. But what’s something that you’ve seen get _better_ in your lifetime?

In the case I observed, Justice Miley ruled to evict a single mother who had recently lost her infant son in a car accident and fell behind on rent due to extreme grief. I later found out she lived in apartment outside his legal jurisdiction - but he had already unlawfully ruled against her.

A small detail from our investigation into Louisiana's Justice of the Peace courts. One Justice, who personally earned close to $300,000 in filing fee revenue last year - much of it from evictions - also offered our photographer a cash gift as they left a shoot.

She lived in the US for 14 years as a permanent resident, but she was recently detained by ICE. When she had a bad fall, she was too scared to seek healthcare because she knew she could be detained again. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, people are dying of very rare measles complications -- which indicates there's not nearly enough testing happening: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Two states asked the CDC to validate a measles test they could process quickly and at high volumes. The CDC waited two months before denying the request, citing "other competing priorities." My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New: Rhode Island filed a lawsuit against Meta on Thursday, becoming the first state to sue the social media company over allegations that it failed to curtail advertisements that peddled fraudulent products and financial scams to users on its platforms. www.bostonglobe.com/2026/10/22/m...

A letter signed by health officials in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, asks the CDC to reconsider

Trump says he asked Google CEO to rename Atlantic Ocean on Maps

Can someone work on getting one in Providence now? North Main?

In Alabama's 2nd congressional district, heavily redistricted post-Callais decision, MAGA candidate Rhett Marques ran away from our questions on gerrymandering We met residents fighting for access to basic sanitation & spent time with Democratic incumbent Shomari Figures fighting to hold his seat:

It's a choice (a bad one) to tell readers this driver "passed too close to cyclists" when there's video evidence showing he drove his car into them, made contact and hurt someone. Fellow journalists: we can explore the nuances of punishment for drivers without obfuscating their dangerous behavior.

Ohio Democratic gubernatorial nominee Amy Acton spoke to CNN’s Lauren Fox as backlash grows against her opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, whose campaign put out a controversial ad featuring her estranged mother. Read more: https://cnn.it/4zNbefC

BREAKING: The hepatitis B vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau "will not move forward," the lead researcher says. “The solution is clear here: Take the money and vaccinate as many kids as you can,” @pauloffit.bsky.social told me: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

People who have been around politics a long time may be struck as I was by the sheriff's signature on this arrest warrant for Amy Acton's stepfather, who at the time was a fugitive. Does the name James Traficant ring a bell?

Lesley Wilson faced eviction after calling the police on her abusive partner. The hearing was held in an unusual venue: the back room of a public library. Her former partner was allowed to testify against her over the phone. Our investigation into Louisiana's 'feudal' eviction courts continues:

Day 2 in the justice of the peace courts series: 'Broussard “threatened” to charge Wilson three months’ rent as a bond if she appealed his decision and delayed the eviction'

A billionaire wanted a pardon. His family gave a $50 million deal to Alina Habba, a lawyer with close ties to President Trump. nyti.ms/3Ubc3Q5

BREAKING: Police in Guinea-Bissau say they raided the offices of Bandim, the Danish research project, and seized hepatitis B vaccines at the center of global controversy www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

Justice of the peace courts in Louisiana allow judges to directly profit from the volume of evictions they handle. We figured out how much judges across the state were making and how many evictions the highest paid judge handled over a year. I want to talk about how we figured this out

We scanned over 11,000 court documents and meticulously stitched together the cases in order to investigate the outcomes in the 5th Justice Court. The eviction filing rate there is the 3rd highest among states and cities tracked by the Eviction Lab

The natural follow-up to the question "how much are these judges making?" is "How many evictions are they handling?" In the highest volume court, the answer is a lot.

Did you know that likely highest paid judge in the US oversees court two days a week processing more than a hundred evictions a day? My colleague @oliverlaughland.bsky.social and I investigated a little known court system in Louisiana www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Key player in false Talarico rumor has history of online posts invoking Nazi Germany

The president of Brazil has won a court case against Meta, after accusing them of restricting his posts and algorithmically favoring his opponent, Flavio Bolsonaro www.nbcnews.com/world/south-...

NEW: Chicago-area cops took part in an undercover probe by ICE agents into Minneapolis mutual aid networks last spring, records obtained by WIRED show, including unspecified electronic surveillance, audio recordings, ALPR data by @awinston.bsky.social

Breaking News: President Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired after less than a week on the job, according to people familiar with the matter. nyti.ms/4yqxU46

The ultra-rich are spending one million dollars a day fighting California’s proposed billionaire tax. Tech billionaires have raised more than $340m to defeat Prop 40. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

“Sauve qui peut”. This is a French phrase that translates literally to something like "save yourself who's able/can" and roughly equates to “run for your life!” or “every man for himself!”, indicating a chaotic or dangerous situation/stampede. Postcard from my collection, no date/info.

Trump cancels plan to livestream execution following global condemnation

BREAKING: Guinea-Bissau did not approve the controversial hepatitis B vaccine trial to move forward, the country's health minister says: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

Russell Brand trial for rape and sexual assault begins – live updates

And six deaths this year.

Curtis Flowers has passed away. He spent years on death row due to the actions of a prosecutor who was repeatedly found to be engaging in illegal racial discrimination in jury selection, along with a whole slew of other issues. My thoughts are with his family today.

Hegseth says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be a public event

Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing. https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/congressional-candidate-is-raped-while-repairing-her-campaign-signs-40705248/

When you don’t know what you don’t know

Scoop: Podcaster Benny Johnson is being sued for defamation over his ICE ride-along videos calling protesters "terrorists." www.ms.now/news/benny-j...

Measles doesn't stop harming people when the rash goes away. Measles can damage the immune system, causing "immune amnesia" for up to five years. Measles outbreaks this year and last could leave thousands vulnerable to other infectious diseases. www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles-outb...

TV’s grand illusionist meets his match when he moves in with the Theranos founder and her family. Does the documentary live up to the hype? Read our spoiler-free review below

The reporting on the awful double murder case in Idaho that has been done for the Guardian by @bymichellersmith.com makes clear that vaccines are safe and effective. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

What is ICE up to now? The agency is now anywhere and everywhere, embedded in all corners of everyday life. Here's our latest interactive piece on ICE 2.0 – w/ @wcraft.bsky.social Andrew Witherspoon & Julius Motal

ICE is now lying in wait outside convenience stores, or at busy intersections. Agents are arresting people at international airports. Local police and sheriffs, deputized by the federal government, are detaining immigrants during traffic stops. ICE is now detaining more immigrants than ever before.

Gone are the mass raids and militarized metro operations. Gone are the pomp and pageantry. But ICE arrests have hit record levels. ICE operations are no longer concentrated in large American cities. Immigration enforcement officials are also working in suburban and rural areas, all across the US.

At the height of the ICE raids earlier this year, agents in armored military vehicles rolled through residential neighborhoods. Masked agents patrolled public parks and stationed themselves outside elementary schools; squadrons of ICE agents snatched pedestrians off the streets. 🧵