Brenna T. Smith
@brenna__smith
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@BaltimoreBanner investigative reporter. blue sky: @brennasmith .bsky.social. Past: @nytimes , @USATODAY , & @bellingcat . The other BTS.
Joined June 2012
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I spent my hour long commute to and from high school listening to
@ThisAmerLife
. It's how I fell in love with journalism.
Fast forward to now. Hearing my reporting and Renee's story on the show was...simply surreal.
Listen here:
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My *first* story with USA Today: Defendants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot continue to crowdfund their legal fees online using popular payment processors despite a growing crackdown from tech companies.
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As Russian forces pushed toward Kyiv, they stormed an apartment complex in a nearby suburb and held residents hostage. The New York Times spoke with seven people who escaped and obtained security camera footage and witness videos.
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I called my doctors office earlier today to make an appointment & when the receptionist answered the phone without thinking I went “Hi my name is Brenna Smith and I’m a reporter with The Baltimore Banner” & she just went “Ok. Good for you.”
Journalism has ruined me 😂😂😂
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@BrettMmurphy
Thanks for the support Brett! At least all the engagement means more eyes on the story...
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The amount of hate my colleagues
@rach_greenspan
,
@KalhanR
, &
@TaylorLorenz
are receiving right now for supporting me is sickening.
This is what creates a culture of silence. Send some love they're way please ❤️
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The New York Times verified videos from the firefight at Europe's largest power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It appears to show a line of military vehicles shooting at buildings inside the complex resulting in fires breaking out.
Read more here:
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We rolled back the film from over 100 fatal traffic stops to understand how the most routine police interactions can turn deadly. We found a striking pattern — right before the “final frame” of the fatal encounter, officers put themselves in imminent peril.
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I had the best time working w/ the incomparable
@willcarless
&
@jguynn
on this story. They're the best of the best and I learned so much from them.
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@trbrtc
@heytherehaley
@bottidavid
The New York Times obtained and verified video from inside the nuclear power plant that was attacked by Russian forces on Friday morning.
Reported w/
@malachybrowne
,
@robinnyc7
,
@MarcSantoraNYT
,
@AngLiStories
,
@LucasLilieholm
, &
@dim109
.
Read more here:
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The latest in a series of strikes in Ukraine: a residential building in Kyiv. Rescue and evacuation efforts are underway.
Prior shellings include hospitals, schools, and more residential areas. More from our live blog:
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Then, on March 3, the eighth day of the war, soldiers came to their doors. The residents watched their closed-circuit television as tanks and troops arrived outside. “We didn't know what could happen to us,” one said. “It was just a total state of fear.”
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It was an honor to work on this with my Ukrainian colleagues
@MashaFroliak
&
@dim109
. Masha interviewed all the residents with a rare mixture of professionalism and empathy, and Dima made the visuals shine with his expert editing skills.
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One resident recalled a more senior Russian officer trying to comfort a girl in the basement where they were detained: “He said, ‘My daughter is 8 years old too. I love her very much. I miss her. Don't be afraid, little girl, we will liberate you from Nazis.’”
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From the first day of the war in Ukraine, the residents of the Pokrovsky apartments in Hostomel watched from their homes as Russian forces attacked nearby Antonov Airport. A fleet of attack helicopters fired missiles, and day-by-day the fighting drew closer.
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Soldiers went floor-by-floor through some buildings, tore down doors and raided apartments. “They told us - ‘Don't be mad at us, but if we find your phone, you will be shot on the spot,’” resident Elena Anishchenko said.
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It’s the last day of my
@nytimes
fellowship. Can’t believe it went by this quick.
To avoid getting all in my feels, I want to share some exciting news: I'm joining the
@BaltimoreBanner
as an investigative reporter focused on using visuals and OSINT to tell local stories.
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The footage showed at least a dozen Russian troops, some carrying heavy machine guns, riding in infantry fighting vehicles, and forcing a man inside at gunpoint. Eventually, more than 100 soldiers captured the area.
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As someone who was recently targeted by the same media mob that attacked
@vv1lder
, I can attest to how traumatic and unhinging it can be.
What I cannot imagine is her pub not only not supporting her, but also bowing to the pressure of said mob. It’s cruel and unethical.
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The Russians trapped about 200 residents, holding some of them hostage in basements, forcing them to hand over their phones and preventing them from leaving for days.
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When Russia and Ukraine agreed to open brief humanitarian corridors, the Russian soldiers didn’t tell their prisoners. Those who escaped learned by chance — a brief look out a window or a stolen glance at a WhatsApp message on a hidden phone.
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All the residents The Times spoke with have now escaped the complex. And yet, the soldiers stayed. Satellite imagery reviewed by The Times and
@Maxar
, shows military vehicles at Pokrovsky on March 11. More recent imagery from March 15 shows the vehicles are still there.
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For residents trapped in the basement, the ability to move around depended on the guards in their building. Some could freely go back to their apartments for food and supplies. Others could only go on supervised visits with soldiers.
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Hi
@Airbnb
! I booked a vacation this weekend to stay at (what I thought) would be a lovely Airbnb in Brooklyn.
However, the host falsely advertised their property, with no refunds, and is now forcing me to pay for my stay without actually letting me in.
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Ernie says go buy a copy of the
@nytimes
& read our series on fatal traffic stops. I’m simply the messenger here people.
We rolled back the film from over 100 fatal traffic stops to understand how the most routine police interactions can turn deadly. We found a striking pattern — right before the “final frame” of the fatal encounter, officers put themselves in imminent peril.
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Journalists👏should👏not👏be👏arrested👏for👏doing👏their👏 jobs.
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For weeks, West Baltimoreans clocked a small plane circling overhead. They asked the
@BaltimoreBanner
to look into it. 🔍
After combing through hundreds of records, analyzing flight-tracking software and interviewing experts, here is what I found:
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Some policing experts call it officer-created jeopardy: when officers make tactical mistakes that put themselves in danger — stepping into the path of a car, jumping onto a moving vehicle — then use lethal force to defend against that danger.
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Some of you might remember this photo going around in early March.
@MashaFroliak
and I figured out what those Russian soldiers were doing in that elevator — holding hundreds of civilians hostage.
More here:
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Much of what we know of how the past days unfolded as the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan comes from footage posted to social media. It shows hectic evacuations, government retreats, triumphant arrivals, spoils of war and abandoned civilians.
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Some of the most striking scenes were of the apparent retreat by government forces left ill-equipped to secure the country after the American withdrawal. We traced convoys of Afghan military vehicles that fled to the border with Uzbekistan and into eastern Iran.
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In most of the cases we reviewed, the drivers attempted to flee at some point. Policing experts say that when this happens, the correct tactic is to let them drive away. But none of the officers did and the interactions eventually turned fatal.
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🧵Last month, two neo-Nazis were federally charged with trying to blackout the city of Baltimore.
I spent the past couple of weeks trying to figure out why. Here is what I found:
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VI analyzed and verified videos from the firefight at Europe's largest power plant in Zaporizhia, Ukraine.
The footage appears to show a line of military vehicles shooting at buildings inside the complex resulting in fires breaking out.
Read more here:
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We focused on 120 fatal traffic stops where footage of the encounter, including the use of deadly force, was clearly visible. We found officer-created jeopardy directly preceded the deadly force in 45 cases.
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Confirmation my parents truly have no idea what I do all day 🤷🏻♀️
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Want to see more visual investigations? You can see all of our work here: …, and subscribe to our newsletter for alerts:
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All I want is a refund.
@Airbnb
It's unfair to allow hosts to treat your customers like this. All my prior experiences with your service had been great..until now.
And, fwiw, this is a lot of money for me.
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Thousands of Afghan civilians flooded the airport to flee the country on Sunday and Monday — few succeeded. Desperation to escape Taliban rule was so high that some even latched onto the side of a moving transport plane and fell to their deaths as the plane took off.
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We looked at satellite imagery, videos and photos to reveal details of the military buildup that led to the current crisis in
#Ukraine
. Here is what we found:
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Signing off for the day! Thank you to my
@USATODAY
colleagues and so many others for the support.
Time for a good book and a glass of wine...
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Taliban fighters have been filmed at some of the country's most recognizable and historic landmarks, including the citadel of Herat and the presidential palace in Kabul, where an Al Jazeera correspondent accompanied fighters for a rambling live broadcast.
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Trooper Bezou faced no internal discipline for shooting LeBlanc, a spokesperson for the Louisiana State Police said. The trooper repeatedly told investigators that when the truck moved, he jumped on — which policing experts said is emblematic of officer-created jeopardy.
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👇🧵When Renee signed onto her federal benefits portal, her heart sank. Her prior balance of $3,000 was down to $66 dollars.
The police and DHS are responsible for figuring out how this happened. But, she solved the mystery on her own. My latest story:
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[THREAD] Some personal news: I'm going to be writing a weekly newsletter with
@bellingcat
called CryptOsint. Think of it as the intersection between the OSINT and the crypto worlds. Subscribe here:
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Super excited to share another guide I made for
@bellingcat
on how to find exchanges or scams associated with a BTC address:
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Seeing lots of instances of far right groups crowdfunding via BTC after last week’s insurrection.
Have more info on it? Send me a DM. 🕵🏻♀️📩🐱
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I wrote a piece for
@bellingcat
where I document how terrorist bitcoin fundraising campaigns have evolved over time and why that’s a really important problem we should be paying attention to.
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"Immediately stop firing."
The New York Times obtained and verified video from inside the nuclear power plant that Russian forces attacked on Friday morning.
Read more here:
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So excited to share a guide I made for
@bellingcat
on how to track specific bitcoin addresses on the blockchain
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Videos verified by The New York Times, some of which were first confirmed by
@Cen4infoRes
, show what are likely Kalibr cruise missiles flying toward Vinnytsia Airport.
Read more here:
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However, when I spoke with your customer help representatives, they told me there was nothing they could do. I wouldn't get a refund even though they agreed the host falsely advertised their property.
@Airbnb
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To be clear, that's fair you don't want people coming so late! But it's not fair still to charge them. Especially when they never stipulated a check-in time beyond "after 3 pm" and advertised as a "flexible check-in."
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Funnily enough, when I scoured their profile and our prior messages for mention of this "official" check-in policy...it was nowhere to be found!
And I have screenshots/screengrabs to prove it.
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Our investigation into how a group of commandos who appeared to be arriving to assassinate President Jovenel Moïse falsely claimed they were part of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operation.
What a crazy first story
@nytimes
. I'm a lucky girl.
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These scams are not coming out of nowhere! High-profile celebrity account scams have been on the rise for WEEKS if not months. Check out my
@bellingcat
newsletter on Elon Musk scams from a couple of weeks back:
Read:
Subscribe:
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In one case, a Louisiana state trooper jumped onto the door of a pickup as the driver, 23-year-old Coltin LeBlanc, tried to flee. Fearing that he was going to be thrown from the moving vehicle, Trooper Andre Bezou opened fire.
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This piece is a part of a larger series from The Times on fatal traffic stops. Thanks to those who made it happen:
@robinnyc7
,
@heytherehaIey
, Natalie Reneau,
@iamrumz
,
@ddknyt
,
@SteveEder
,
@Kim_Barker
, and Michael Beswetherick.
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The Wethersfield Police Department placed Officer Eulizier on administrative leave after shooting Vega Cruz, which is typical for such cases. He later resigned. Police departments nationwide inconsistently discipline officers responsible for officer-created jeopardy.
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Officer Charles Starks stopped 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire for driving an allegedly stolen vehicle. Protocol required the officer to wait for backup and maintain his distance. But he didn’t. As Officer Starks approached the car, it bumped his left side and he opened fire.
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Again, I get if they don't want people showing up late to their house. Totally fair. It's not fair to retroactively enforce a check-in policy that is not advertised anywhere and still charge people.
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Crazy that I'm closing out my last day
@USATODAY
with a top headline.
It's been one hell of an internship, let me tell ya.
Read my story here:
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The police pulled over 18-year-old Anthony Vega Cruz for registration violations. When he fled, Officer Layau Eulizier ran in front of his vehicle. As the car lurched toward the officer, he pulled the trigger.
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None of these cases resulted in criminal charges. Prosecutors deemed the use of deadly force justified in all three because the officers reasonably feared imminent danger in the “final frame.” Here is the prosecutor’s decision on the officer who shot Blackshire.
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I purposefully booked an AirBnB with a late check in. My train got delayed, and what I thought would be a 8:15/8:30 pm check-in became closer to 11 pm/ 12 pm. I informed the host immediately. But, they said I cannot come at that time and would still have to pay for the night.
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Seriously imagine getting the worst of online harassment - the personal threats, the mean comments, the thousands of notifications you feel like you can’t breathe- and then imagine your employer legitimizing their actions by firing you 4 comments you made in college...
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After the shooting of Blackshire, the Little Rock Police Department fired Officer Starks for stepping in front of a moving vehicle. When he appealed the decision, nearly all of his supervisors either defended his actions or refused to second-guess them.
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@rothschildmd
Thanks for the support Mike! Gotta say the man w/the co-byline
@willcarless
has been a great support through this all too.
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So proud that the
@PulitzerPrizes
recognized the
@nytimes
policing series, including Visual Investigation’s deep dive into officer created jeopardy.
What a way to end my fellowship 🥰
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Thrilled to announce that starting Monday I'll be working as an investigations intern for
@USATODAY
! I've been in awe of their team's work for...years. It's a dream come true.
Thank you so much for the opportunity
@amy_pyle
@kristenrgo
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When I informed them of my train delay, they retroactively said they have a 7 pm official check-in time. And they was making an exception for my initial 8 pm check in. How kind of them.
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Since I’ve published my
@Bellingcat
tutorial below, I have been blown away by the response from the
#OSINT
community. I just wanted to share some cool stuff that’s happened since then.
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Vehicles transporting short-range ballistic missile systems called Iskanders appear to have moved closer to the border. Satellite images show that these types of weapons were also moved to a site in Belarus in January, putting them within range of Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.
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Want to see more visual investigations? You can see all of our work here: , and by subscribing to our newsletter:
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Clarification: It's Europe's largest NUCLEAR power plant. Not just power plant. Sorry all on day 7 of overnight shifts and my brain isn't fully nocturnal yet.
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In mid-February, the Russian military added a field hospital to the same site in Belarus. Satellite images show another field hospital was also set up in Crimea along with a new camp for troops, as seen below.
@Maxar
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Russia is also activating some of its sea and air forces. This image shows ground attack aircraft that recently arrived at an airfield in Belarus
@planet
@CSBiggers
. Russia has mobilized its naval fleet for live-fire exercises, effectively blocking Ukraine's ports.
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Imagine every couple of weeks having powerful men set their legions of followers against you for...doing your job?
@TaylorLorenz
is a damn good reporter and I'm in awe of her every day for not letting this keep her from her work.
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After noticing some conflicting narratives over the infamous $500k bitcoin donation to far-right groups, I decided to write up a quick post for
@bellingcat
to set the record straight. Enjoy, my fellow crypto nerds!
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Something I think is way undervalued in the OSINT community is...reading. Hear me out:
I feel like we're always so excited about using our nifty tools & researching that we fail to adequately get a grasp of existing research/articles. I'm definitely guilty of this myself.
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This picture shows the aftermath of a strike in Zhytomyr last night taken roughly at 50.28255278298569, 28.61250531029407 bordering both the 95th Brigade military base and a hospital.
Threading potentially related visual👇to see if Twitter can help me geolocate those locations.
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A plethora of pee is eroding historic buildings in downtown Baltimore.
Yes, you read that right.
It might seem like a silly story about pee. But, it's so much more.
Please take a read.
Oh — and stop peeing on historic buildings. Please & thank you. 🫶
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I just had a source open her heart to me in such a profoundly vulnerable & heartbreaking way. This job is really freakin hard, but it's also such a privilege.
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Don't be fooled: it's not *just* a pee story. It's also about some of the most poignant issues facing Baltimore: disinvestment in public spaces, the needs of the homeless population, and the devolution of a once bustling downtown.
Please take a read:
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Editor: “Send a couple graphs. Super succinct.”
Me: “Got it.”
*proceeds to write a whole page filled with overly verbose language & run-on sentences*
This writing thing is hard. 🤦🏻♀️
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#Afghanistan
#Kabul_Airport
This photo going around is NOT of the explosion at Kabul Airport today, but was taken Aug.16.
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U.S. military helicopters criss-crossed the Kabul skyline to evacuate over 4,000 American staffers on the few remaining flights out of the airport, many headed to the U.A.E. The fate of the thousands of Afghans who had worked alongside them for the U.S. government is unclear.
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I just wrapped up my first day
@BaltimoreBanner
! So excited and proud to be working at this newsroom. Y'all should subscribe.😉
Also, send any and all tips/interesting Baltimorean visuals to brenna.smith[at]
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