Brenna Smith

How an open-source investigation by the Wall Street Journal unmasked the official narrative of the killing of Alex Pretti - Storybench U.S. Border Patrol head Greg Bovino justified the shooting of Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents at a protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, saying the 37-year-old ICU nurse was aiming to cause...

Talked with Storybench about the reporting process behind our visual investigation into the shooting of Alex Pretti.

Storybench's behind-the-scenes series is a resource I've used for years, and I'm honored my team's work is now a part of it.

Read it here: www.storybench.org/how-an-open-...

@jackgillum.bsky.social @brennasmith.bsky.social Emma Scott and Belle Cushing

If you're not following them you should. If you haven't subscribed this is one is worth it

Far-Right Groups Buzz With Violent Talk on How to Respond to ‘No Kings’ Protest The Proud Boys and other extremists are capitalizing on Saturday’s planned demonstrations against Trump policies.

WSJ: Far-Right Groups Buzz With Violent Talk on How to Respond to ‘No Kings’ Protest
By @brennasmith.bsky.social and @cammcw.bsky.social
Gift link!

Thanks so much for sharing!! Excited to be back in the VI/OSINT space

Giancarlo! how am i just seeing this now -- this is so kind, thank you!

FINALLY your coworker

Maryland florists face tough choices as tariffs hit imports Local sellers and growers are grappling with rising costs and uncertainty.

Happy spring! You can have a smaller bouquet of pre-tariff flowers...or you can have a pricier, post-tariff bouquet.

Read @briaovers.bsky.social in @thebaltimorebanner.com on the 💰🌷 situation.
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/article/flow...

Today is my first day as a visual investigations reporter for
@wsj.com! Super excited for this next adventure.

Send all tips, OSINT tools, and general nerdiness to brenna.smith[at]wsj[dot]com.

They watched the Key Bridge fall. Now they follow the Dali. Mike Singer’s livestream riveted the world last year. He and thousands of others are dedicated ship watchers — specifically keeping tabs on the Dali.

Mike Singer (of Key Bridge collapse footage infamy) on why people track the Dali: “A lot of people don’t want it to come back. I don’t want it to come back.”
@brennasmith.bsky.social with the capstone of our anniversary coverage @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

Western Maryland town alarmed by National Fire Academy shutdown Emmitsburg, a tiny Western Maryland town, fears the Trump administration’s suspension of the National Fire Academy classes will harm the economy. And emergency workers say the public will be less safe...

This Homeland Security quote about the need for the National Fire Academy is 👀

“We are only authorizing travel for mission critical programs. This isn’t one.”

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/western-mary...

Had a ton of fun working on this with @brennasmith.bsky.social 🐝

The race to save the bee collection at a lab stung by Trump cuts The Eastern Ecological Science Center’s Bee Lab in Prince George’s County is funded by the U.S. Geological Survey. Volunteers helped preserve bees as they worry about the lab’s fate amid Trump’s feder...

As the federal funding cuts rip through our country, in Maryland, it could take out our tiniest, most indispensable workers: bees.

Read my & Kaitlin Newman's latest: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

The race to save the bee collection at a lab stung by Trump cuts The Eastern Ecological Science Center’s Bee Lab in Prince George’s County is funded by the U.S. Geological Survey. Volunteers helped preserve bees as they worry about the lab’s fate amid Trump’s feder...

"A sudden shuttering would put at risk nearly 300,000 bees in the collection that hadn’t yet been properly preserved. Their little bodies left to rot in an empty lab building. Gnawed by mice, scattered by insects. Decades of research, gone."
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cl...

The NFL is in Baltimore investigating Justin Tucker accusations NFL investigators were in Baltimore this week interviewing massage therapists who have accused Ravens kicker Justin Tucker of inappropriate sexual behavior.

The NFL has begun its investigation into allegations that Justin Tucker engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior.

With @brennasmith.bsky.social, Julie Scharper and Jonas Shaffer:

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/raven...

Ravens' Justin Tucker accused of inappropriate behavior by six massage therapists Women say Justin Tucker repeatedly exposed his genitals and, in three instances, apparently left ejaculate on tables after massages.

Six massage therapists say that Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker engaged in inappropriate behavior at four high-end spas and wellness centers. He was banned from two spas.

via the Baltimore Banner

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/raven...

Ravens' Justin Tucker accused of inappropriate behavior by six massage therapists Women say Justin Tucker repeatedly exposed his genitals and, in three instances, apparently left ejaculate on tables after massages.

Ravens kicker Justin Tucker's behavior was so egregious, two massage therapists say they ended his sessions early. Two spas say they banned him. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/raven...

Ravens' Justin Tucker accused of inappropriate behavior by six massage therapists Women say Justin Tucker repeatedly exposed his genitals and, in three instances, apparently left ejaculate on tables after massages.

Ravens kicker Justin Tucker engaged in inappropriate behavior at 4 high-end spas and wellness centers in the Bmore area, according to 6 massage therapists.@thebaltimorebanner.com @juliemore19.bsky.social @brennasmith.bsky.social @justinfenton.bsky.social
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/raven...

Ravens' Justin Tucker accused of inappropriate behavior by six massage therapists Women say Justin Tucker repeatedly exposed his genitals and, in three instances, apparently left ejaculate on tables after massages.

By @justinfenton.bsky.social, @brennasmith.bsky.social and @juliemore19.bsky.social: Ravens' Justin Tucker accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by six massage therapists. (via @thebaltimorebanner.com)

Senators move to fill vacancies on depleted Howard Community College board Howard County senators are recommending three individuals to Howard Community College’s Board of Trustees, which will likely have to confront questions about the tenure of its controversial president,...

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/education/hi...

Howard County's three state senators are urging Gov. Wes Moore to appoint immigration attorney Alicia Altamirano, public policy expert Michele Douglas and state labor official Daniel Newberger to fill the open seats on the Howard Community College board.

💕

One woman’s crusade for the sex workers Baltimore ignores Kristina Page runs an outreach service for sex workers who often are shut out from help in Baltimore.

I am always here for the careful reporting that @brennasmith.bsky.social brings to Baltimore:

How you can help the incarcerated firefighters battling L.A. wildfires The Los Angeles-based Anti-Recidivism Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to ending mass incarceration, started a fundraiser on Friday to support the fire crews of California’s prisons.

ICYMI: "Up to 30% of the state’s wildfire-fighting force earns as little as $26.90 for a 24-hour shift. That’s because they’re prisoners in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation."

By the great @keribla.bsky.social:
www.latimes.com/california/s...

From boy magician to ‘This American Life’: Ira Glass’s Baltimore “This American Life” host Ira Glass was once a boy magician in Baltimore. This is his story.

Ira Glass on his Baltimore and magician roots: “If you’re from Baltimore, you just don’t get too big for your britches. That’s built into you.”

Lovely story by @brennasmith.bsky.social

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

One woman’s crusade for the sex workers Baltimore ignores Kristina Page runs an outreach service for sex workers who often are shut out from help in Baltimore.

For policy and practical reasons, Baltimore's myriad services often fail to reach sex workers. Here is the story of one woman who is trying on her own to help them.
@brennasmith.bsky.social + @jessicagallagher.bsky.social for @thebaltimorebanner.com
www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

Thank you Ben!

One woman’s crusade for the sex workers Baltimore ignores Kristina Page runs an outreach service for sex workers who often are shut out from help in Baltimore.

Enlightening and depressing reporting in @thebaltimorebanner.com this morning, by @brennasmith.bsky.social on the underworld of sex work in Baltimore, where a local advocate named Kristina Page is taking it upon herself to connect women with services. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/lo...

From boy magician to ‘This American Life’: Ira Glass’s Baltimore “This American Life” host Ira Glass was once a boy magician in Baltimore. This is his story.

'This American Life' host Ira Glass cut his teeth as a boy magician in Baltimore.

Great piece by @brennasmith.bsky.social, and these Glass family photos are A+

Gary Cohn, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Inquirer reporter, has died at 72 Mr. Cohn won a Pulitzer in 1998 for an investigative series on the dangers posed to workers and the environment when old ships are dismantled. He also worked for the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.

A trait that investigative reporter Gary Cohn was known for?

Relentless optimism.

“You would think after decades looking into death and despair, and people doing things for the wrong reasons, you would start to believe that’s how things work. He was not like that.”
www.inquirer.com/obituaries/g...

‘We all see ourselves in him’: How Scrim went from shy stray to New Orleans’ favorite outlaw “Scrim, it turns out, had a whole life before New Orleans,” said Doug McCash, arts and culture writer for The Times-Picayune.

A shy rescue dog named Scrim has been on the run after jumping from a second floor window. It was his second escape and the jump was caught on surveillance camera. People have been posting sightings of the dog running around various neighborhoods of New Orleans ever since.