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
[email protected]
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
Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials
apnews.com/article/just...
Justice Department renews bid to unseal Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell grand jury materials
The Justice Department has renewed its request to unseal transcripts of grand jury proceedings that led to sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
apnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Pentagon says it's investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders'
Pentagon says it's investigating Sen. Mark Kelly for video urging troops to defy 'illegal orders'
The Pentagon says that it is investigating Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona for possible breaches of military law after Kelly joined a handful of other lawmakers in a video that called for U.S...
apnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
I went to Moberly, Missouri to understand how an under-the-radar grassroots effort is on the brink of blocking a new gerrymandered congressional map from going into effect www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘This is not right’: grassroots campaign aims to repeal Missouri Republicans’ gerrymandering
A new congressional map was abruptly passed by Republicans in mid-September – but voters have a chance to rebuke politicians and stop it from going into effect
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
California public health officials confirmed late Friday that six babies in that state who consumed ByHeart formula were treated for botulism between November 2024 and June 2025, up to nine months before the outbreak that has sickened at least 31 babies in 15 states.
apnews.com/article/byhe...
Babies who drank ByHeart formula got sick months before botulism outbreak, parents say
At least five families say their babies were treated for infant botulism after consuming ByHeart formula months before a current outbreak was detected.
apnews.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Who knew it would take an American pope to remind us of the value of art and good taste? | Jason Okundaye
Who knew it would take an American pope to remind us of the value of art and good taste? | Jason Okundaye
Anti-AI and pro-beauty, Leo XIV has proved an unlikely custodian of culture – and a patron of meaningful work in a world of algorithmic slop, says Guardian assistant newsletter editor Jason Okundaye
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
BREAKING: Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she will resign from office in January. https://cnn.it/3XH2KWf
November 22, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
"She’s not trying to rebuild her reputation as a journalist—she’s building a different kind of brand entirely, one where being interesting matters more than being ethical, where attention is the only currency that still spends."

The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The Olivia Nuzzi Comeback Is Everything Wrong With Modern Media
Olivia Nuzzi’s comeback isn’t a personal scandal story—it’s proof that today’s media rewards access, personality, and controversy more than ethics.
www.mediaite.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Want to read environmental stories like this? There's now a dedicated Guardian Environment account on Bluesky. Follow it at @environment.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
“The U.S. recorded 6,600 pertussis cases in early 2025
Texas has already passed 3,500 cases this year” www.healthday.com/health-news/...
Whooping Cough Surges Nationwide as Vaccinations Fall
THURSDAY, Nov. 20, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Whooping cough is making a major comeback in the United States, with sharp increases now seen in Texas, Florida, Cali
www.healthday.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:15 PM
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal
Exclusive: Agency accessed private conversations of New York ‘courtwatch’ group that was observing public hearings
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
November 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Michelle R. Smith
Columbia Journalism Review recently interviewed Betsy Reed, editor of the Guardian's U.S. edition. www.cjr.org/the-intervie...

She says: "If we regard it, for good reason, as being extreme and out of line with basic humane values, we won’t treat it as part of the normal discourse in America."
November 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM
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