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Erika D. Smith

@erika-d-smith

Politics & Policy Columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. Past: Los Angeles TimesπŸ¦…, Sacramento Bee, IndyStar, Akron Beacon Journal. Ohioan by birth. Proud Californian by choice. βœŠπŸΎπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ

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Latest posts by Erika D. Smith @erika-d-smith

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Man Charged With Murder Appears to Win Primary for County Sheriff

I mean, sure.

β€œAaron Spencer, who faces a second-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of a man accused of sexually assaulting Mr. Spencer’s daughter, appears to have won the Republican primary for Lonoke County sheriff” in Arkansas.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/04/u...

05.03.2026 00:57 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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NOEM: I would disagree with the judge

CROCKETT: I'm sure you would, but can you tell me whether or not you have a law degree?

NOEM: A what?

CROCKETT: A law degree

NOEM: No I do no-

CROCKETT: Okay

04.03.2026 20:52 πŸ‘ 32383 πŸ” 8305 πŸ’¬ 1195 πŸ“Œ 677
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This is quite the comparison.

04.03.2026 07:56 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ€”

04.03.2026 05:01 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Tillis: You decided to kill that dog because you had not invested the appropriate time in training it, and then you have the audacity to say it’s a leadership lesson. You killed a goat and said it was behaving badly. You’re a farmer β€” you don’t castrate a goat, they behave badly.

03.03.2026 17:58 πŸ‘ 12103 πŸ” 2960 πŸ’¬ 588 πŸ“Œ 422

And this is, what, day three?!

02.03.2026 21:53 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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OpenAI Reaches A.I. Agreement With Defense Dept. After Anthropic Clash

Well, THIS confirms all the terrible things Americans think about tech companies.

β€œOpenAI said on Friday that it had reached an agreement with the Pentagon to provide its artificial intelligence technologies for classified systems” after rival Anthropic objected.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/t...

28.02.2026 04:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Pentagon Fires Another Laser at Drone, Prompting New Air Closure

This is just ridiculous.

β€œA preliminary internal report on the incident said Customs and Border Protection had not notified the Defense Department it was launching a drone in that area, so to the military, it was an unknown drone.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...

27.02.2026 08:15 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Talk about the flipside of national politics...

26.02.2026 19:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Many younger Black men are apathetic about Trump’s policies, survey finds That’s a warning sign for Democrats.

Sigh...

"Black men 50 years old and below were more likely to show apathy toward President Donald Trump’s policies and less likely to say they were personally hurt by them, compared with other age and gender groups within the critical voting bloc."

www.politico.com/live-updates...

26.02.2026 19:10 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This guy talking about how corruption "shreds the fabric of our nation," gtfo

25.02.2026 02:58 πŸ‘ 1333 πŸ” 152 πŸ’¬ 25 πŸ“Œ 8

Did he say tariffs will replace income taxes???

25.02.2026 02:45 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Wow... It only took like 20 whole minutes before Trump mentioned Los Angeles.

25.02.2026 02:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Democrats' fear rising that too many candidates in governor's race could lead to a Republican victory Leaders of the California Democratic Party, along with liberal activists and loyal power brokers, are openly expressing fear that their crowded field of candidates running for governor may splinter th...

About damn time.

β€œLeaders of the CA Democratic Party are openly expressing fear that their crowded field of candidates running for governor may…open the door to a surprise GOP victory,” so β€œDemocrats lagging at the bottom of the pack are being urged to drop out.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...

22.02.2026 00:10 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

"Fools and lapdogs."

"I want to be a good boy."

"I can destroy the country... I can do anything I want, but I can't charge $1."

Quotes from a speech from an American president. Oof.

20.02.2026 18:29 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump orders agencies to identify and release government files on aliens U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will direct Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and other relevant agencies to begin the process of identifying and releasing government files related to alien ...

So actual proof of alien life could truly be the ultimate distraction from whatever chaos Trump is causing at the moment β€” and I’ve gotta admit that I’m kind of here for this one.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

20.02.2026 01:33 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

One of the great problem with journalism prizes is that they are mostly awarded based on the year a piece is published and not once their true power has been recognized.

But if ever there were a case for a special award...it should go to Julie.

19.02.2026 17:10 πŸ‘ 1694 πŸ” 356 πŸ’¬ 41 πŸ“Œ 11
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Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader Who Sought the Presidency, Dies at 84

What a life he had! Rest In Power. ✊🏾

Jesse Jackson, Civil Rights Leader Who Sought the Presidency, Dies at 84 www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/u...

17.02.2026 10:13 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Warehouse owner won’t sell Dallas County property to ICE for migrant detention center The owners of a Dallas County warehouse that Immigration and Customs Enforcement had planned to use as a mega detention center said Monday it will not sell or...

"The owners of a Dallas County warehouse that ICE had planned to use as a mega detention center said Monday it will not sell or lease the property to the federal government.

β€œGod answered our prayers,” the Hutchins Mayor said after learning of the decision...

www.dallasnews.com/news/immigra...

16.02.2026 20:45 πŸ‘ 21130 πŸ” 5375 πŸ’¬ 555 πŸ“Œ 335

Also important:

β€œWasserman plans to stay in his position leading the LA28 Olympic committee, which has stood by him. In a recent statement, LA28 noted that the racy emails with Maxwell were sent…two decades β€˜before Mr. Wasserman or the public knew of Epstein.’”

www.latimes.com/entertainmen...

14.02.2026 06:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Wasserman to Sell Talent Agency After β€˜Past Personal Mistakes’ Casey Wasserman said he is putting his talent and marketing agency up for sale, citing past personal mistakes that have had an effect on the company.

Whoa!

β€œCasey Wasserman said he is putting his talent and marketing agency up for sale, citing past personal mistakes that have had an effect on the company.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

14.02.2026 04:49 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 2
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β€œ.. using millions of dollars from the former U.S. foreign aid agency to pay for the security detail of Russell Vought ..”

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/whi...

13.02.2026 12:45 πŸ‘ 4542 πŸ” 2345 πŸ’¬ 402 πŸ“Œ 357
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ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion turning warehouses into detention centers ICE plans to spend $38.3 billion converting warehouses into detention centers, according to planning documents, more than the annual budgets of 22 states.

This won’t go well.

β€œICE plans to buy and convert 16 buildings across the country to serve as regional processing centers, each holding 1,000 to 1,500 immigrant detainees... Another eight large-scale detention centers will hold 7,000 to 10,000 detainees.”

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

13.02.2026 17:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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California launches civil rights probe into botched evacuations in historically Black Altadena California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced an investigation into potential civil rights violations during the emergency response to the Eaton fire. West Altadena, a historically Black community, receiv...

This has gotten a bit overshadowed by today’s crazy news cycle, but this is important.

β€œThis civil rights investigation sets a precedent for all survivors of future climate-driven disasters, not just in L.A. County and California, but across the country.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...

13.02.2026 00:25 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This is the second account - the first being in Chicago - of DHS agents mass detaining people and then *sorting them by race*.

12.02.2026 02:26 πŸ‘ 15831 πŸ” 7769 πŸ’¬ 520 πŸ“Œ 299
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Border Officials Are Said to Have Caused El Paso Closure by Firing Anti-Drone Laser

This story continues to blow my mind.

β€œYou cannot restrict airspace over a major city without coordinating with the city, the airport, the hospitals, the community leadership.” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

12.02.2026 05:32 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Shot, and one-hell-of-a-chaser.

11.02.2026 17:15 πŸ‘ 6643 πŸ” 2019 πŸ’¬ 237 πŸ“Œ 290
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National Guard troops were quietly withdrawn from some U.S. cities The deployments encountered repeated legal setbacks that stymied President Donald Trump’s show of force in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.

"The Trump administration has withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities, after its repeated attempts to surge forces into Democrat-run states encountered judicial roadblocks."

Also: "The deployments have cost more than $496 million."

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

11.02.2026 18:17 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine The decision, which shocked company officials, comes as the FDA says it will take a stricter approach to federal vaccine approvals.

So the feds ARE NOT considering an mRNA vaccine for the flu, which could save countless lives, but ARE backing research into whether horse dewormer can cure cancer, because the right views vaccines as elite and ivermectin as populist.

Cool.
kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

11.02.2026 02:24 πŸ‘ 8057 πŸ” 3036 πŸ’¬ 357 πŸ“Œ 244