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Stephanie Kirchgaessner

@skirchy.bsky.social
5.6K followers 1.2K following 818 posts

Deputy editor of investigations, Guardian US. I'm an editor and reporter. Feminist. Mother of two. Years in DC, Rome, NYC, London. But mostly DC. www.theguardian.com/profile/stephan…

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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 19h
How could atrocities like the Tuskegee Experiment been allowed to happen? Thanks to MAHA, and reporters like @katherineeban.bsky.social and @melodyschreiber.com, none of us have to wonder such things anymore. My latest.
sciencebasedmedicine.org
I Used to Wonder How the Tuskegee Experiment Could Have Happened. No More.
The cowards and sycophants who enabled, promoted, and normalized MAHA in any way are collectively to blame for its attempt to do Tuskegee 2.0.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 18h
It was always hilarious when, as a reporter in Italy, people assumed I was British because I worked for the "Gwardian" and would say things like "what would your Queen say". Sir, are you hearing my accent?
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
In a floor speech last year, Nancy Mace accused her former partner of assaulting her while she was unconscious, photographing her naked without her knowledge, and sharing the images with his friends. Now, three of the men she accused have been criminally charged. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/u...
nytimes.com
3 Men Accused by Nancy Mace in House Speech Are Charged With Sex Crimes
The former fiancé of the South Carolina representative and two of his business associates were charged on Wednesday with sex crimes and voyeurism in connection with a 2018 incident.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 14/10/2026
Today our pediatrician spelled out "stupidity" so the preschooler couldn't pick up a mean word and these people are a national treasure
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
RFKJr and JD Vance's poster boy for MAHA: Russell Brand was a “ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator” who bragged about wanting to sleep with 5,000 women in his lifetime, a court has heard. The actor and comedian allegedly made advances towards women within minutes of meeting them.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
"Guinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country’s minister of health said on Tuesday." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o... via @theguardian.com @melodyschreiber.com
theguardian.com
Guinea-Bissau denies it has approved controversial vaccine trial in newborns
Health minister says government ‘did not authorize’ Danish-led hepatitis B trial in babies backed by RFK Jr
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Trump says the man who regulates broadcast media is the most feared person in government.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Will Craft @wcraft.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
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.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
This line: Throughout the pandemic, she saw around corners...She wrote in May 2020 that Covid vaccines were more likely to be strongly protective against severe outcomes than to put a stop to transmission — something the world only caught onto a year later when faced with that reality.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
More sad news. She was so important to public health reporting that the head of the WHO put out a statement to mark her passing and her contribution www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/h...
statnews.com
Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69
Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
So sad. So talented on Breaking Bad. RJ Mitte, Who Played Walter White’s Son on ‘Breaking Bad,’ Dies at 34 www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/a...
nytimes.com
RJ Mitte, Who Played Walter White’s Son on ‘Breaking Bad,’ Dies at 34
Mr. Mitte was born with cerebral palsy and brought his own experience of living with the disability to the role of Walter White Jr. on the Emmy-winning show.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 12/10/2026
At least four members of the Danish ethics committee have resigned after this project was pushed through. One told me that the babies who contract hepatitis B while they are part of this research will, in effect, get sick “by design”. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
cookie debt: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Republican US senator facing re-election settles six-year bakery debt
Roger Marshall says he has ‘no idea how this happened’ and repaid bill double for 2020 election watch party treats
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This was very well done and looks at the whole of Marilyn’s work on Jane Doe 4
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
"Let me shamelessly promote this and make your editor happy". thelefthook.substack.com/p/the-epstei...
thelefthook.substack.com
The Epstein Coverup: A British Billionaire, a Jane Doe, and an International Conspiracy
A 13-year-old victim.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 09/10/2026
huh, interesting that vance thinks this is the worst terrorist attack and not oklahoma city
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
we have a winner, and it is a nod to international law. the thing that has so badly been eroded. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
ICJ judge Navi Pillay wins Nobel peace prize for promoting international law
Committee recognises work of South African who chaired UN commission that concluded Israel was guilty of genocide in Gaza
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Really appreciated this deep dive by @katiephang.bsky.social into the work of Marilyn W Thompson, including her latest for @theguardian.com www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TEP...
youtube.com
New BOMBSHELL Reporting Reveals MISSING FBI NOTES In MY Epstein Lawsuit!?!
YouTube video by Katie Phang
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Extreme heat and the people who do the heavy work of providing the rest of us with food. This is a story about the lives that are not being protected www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Heatstroke ruined his health. Years before, it took the life of another farm worker at the same company
A farm labor contractor exposed laborers on H-2A agricultural visas to heat-related health hazards, but the contractor is still bringing hundreds of migrant farm workers to North Carolina
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Wajahat Ali @wajali.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
apnews.com/article/meas...
apnews.com
Measles is surging in the US. These graphics show how bad it has gotten
The U.S. is enduring its worst year for measles since 1991. Since the beginning of last year, large outbreaks have been reported in several states, including Texas, Utah, South Carolina and, now, Penn...
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
My latest on Leon Botstein and that email, which he denies sending. Raskin calls for the FBI to investigate. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Leon Botstein resigns from Bard roles as key Democrat demands investigation into Epstein links
Jamie Raskin says ‘startling’ email asked whether young woman was ‘for me, or are you keeping her for yourself’
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Our latest story, by Marilyn W Thompson, also touches on the ongoing controversy over the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files, and the legal fight which independent journalist @katiephang.bsky.social is waging www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
British billionaire warned Epstein was a ‘sexual deviant’ decades before FBI closed in on the abuser
Sir James Goldsmith’s links to Hilton Head, South Carolina, add to mystery of Jane Doe 4, who claimed she was abused by Epstein in the 1980s
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Our latest: Two decades before Epstein came under federal investigation, Sir James Goldsmith – who died in 1997 – told a confidante that Epstein was a “sexual deviant” who was recruiting children for illicit activities. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
British billionaire warned Epstein was a ‘sexual deviant’ decades before FBI closed in on the abuser
Sir James Goldsmith’s links to Hilton Head, South Carolina, adds to mystery of Jane Doe 4, who claimed she was abused by Epstein in the 1980s
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Marilyn's reporting also takes a close look at Hilton Head in the bustling 1980s period when Sir James relocated his US operations there, and a woman known only as Jane Doe 4 claims she was assaulted by Epstein
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A new investigation by Marilyn W Thompson for the Guardian reveals Sir James Goldsmith's early warning about Jeffrey Epstein, establishing a new timeline for when people first became aware of his predatory behavior www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
British billionaire warned Epstein was a ‘sexual deviant’ decades before FBI closed in on the abuser
Sir James Goldsmith’s links to Hilton Head, South Carolina, adds to mystery of Jane Doe 4, who claimed she was abused by Epstein in the 1980s
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Latest here by Jason Burke, plus contribution by me on the new analysis that shows the Flydubai co-pilot was regularly posting misogynistic and violent statements about women www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Flydubai co-pilot originally planned attack for July, investigators believe
Police and security agencies in multiple countries scramble to piece together background and intentions of Hamam al-Hammami
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Girl.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
A story that touches on something undeniable: the justices are totally removed from the reality their decisions create. From the woman who cannot get medical care to the man picked up by ICE (who Brett Kavanaugh thinks will just be let go if he explains it's a mix up) www.nytimes.com/2026/10/01/u...
nytimes.com
John Roberts Retreated to His Island. Supreme Court Critics Found Him.
After decades of potlucks and paddle-boarding on Maine’s midcoast, rising anger and protests have left the Supreme Court’s chief justice more isolated than ever.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
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...
theguardian.com
An Idaho mom charged with murder says vaccines killed her twins. Doctors say it’s not possible
Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group once led by RFK Jr, still stands by Andrea Shaw after her indictment
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Julia Carrie Wong @joolia.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
If you're just waking up to the news of Tennessee's botched attempt to execute Christa Pike, my colleague @edpilkington.bsky.social has done powerful reporting on the doctor involved, who also botched an execution in May
podcasts.apple.com
The doctor who helps put prisoners to death
Podcast Episode · Stateside with Kai and Carter · August 12 · 43m · Video
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Shining a spotlight on this never ending crime: Three deaths, three states, 24 hours www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Three deaths, three states, 24 hours: one day in ICE’s quiet but ‘gruesome’ surge
These men in Maine, Georgia and Florida shared no ties – until they became casualties in Trump’s anti-immigration campaign
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A Cuban man in Miami who stepped outside his house to take out the trash was detained moments after he had dropped the garbage bag into the bin. An Ecuadorian father was arrested in Danbury, Connecticut, just after seeing his six-year-old son on to the school bus. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Gone in 90 seconds: an ‘invisibilized’ ICE is arresting more people than ever
After public backlash, the Trump administration changed its tactics from ‘siege’ to ‘soft feet’. Now, ICE is everywhere
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“At least six babies in Pennsylvania have been born infected with measles, with two so sick they had to be admitted to intensive care.” H/t @ameshaa.bsky.social
nbcnews.com
America had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth.
Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fully agree with numbers 1 and 2 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The 100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century
More than 500 influential stars, showrunners and other notable names in the world of TV voted on the best series released since Jan. 1, 2000. See what they chose.
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here it is
youtube.com
Dr. Heidi Overton supports Wakefield's fraud and wants unvaccinated kids to get sick
YouTube video by Jonathan Howard
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I was being sarcastic and I’m sure it didn’t translate
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Male ex friend once said women control everything now 2017
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I don’t think that’s Amber Heard
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 22/09/2026
The Pennsylvania measles outbreak “seems to be accelerating,” one infectious disease specialist told me. “And we’re seeing, actually, types of measles we’ve never seen before.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Why the CDC is excluding measles deaths in Pennsylvania even as outbreak appears to be ‘accelerating’
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention refuses to count four measles deaths in the state though doctors are ‘seeing new forms’ of disease
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks for sharing, Gillian. Let me know if you have a moment to connect Stephanie.Kirchgaessner@theguardian.com
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
George Zornick @gzornick.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Brendan Carr was a member of a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group some labeled a ‘cult’ www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Brendan Carr was a member of a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group some labeled a ‘cult’
Carr was a member of the group in his teens and 20s. There is no evidence Trump’s powerful FCC chair participated in any inappropriate conduct
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
ProPublica @propublica.org · 22/09/2026
NEW: In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump was reelected and eviscerated the FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption probes.
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My latest: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Brendan Carr was a member of a rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group some labeled a ‘cult’
Carr was a member of the group in his teens and 20s. There is no evidence Trump’s powerful FCC chair participated in any inappropriate conduct
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The pressure is growing on Leon Black. Latest by @annabetts.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
House panel recommends Leon Black be held in contempt over Epstein inquiry subpoenas
Financier refused to comply with subpoenas seeking his testimony for the investigation into the late sex offender
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
New reporting by @maanvisingh.bsky.social and @wcraft.bsky.social and team www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Revealed: ICE lost count of miscarriages, while detaining a record number of pregnant women
ICE says it has no updated information on the number of miscarriages after 3 October 2025. Lawmakers, advocates and immigration attorneys have raised alarms that pregnant detainees are not receiving b...
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Important follow up from @bymichellersmith.com earlier reporting on the surgeon general nominee. This time putting a $ amount on her supplements business. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
US surgeon general nominee made $270,000 from supplement company
Tobacco investments raise new concerns about Dr Nicole Saphier ahead of confirmation hearing
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Reposted by Stephanie Kirchgaessner
Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 14/09/2026
NEW: The 40-year-old woman who died of probable measles in PA was not vaccinated and had COPD & 24/7 oxygen. She did not appear to die in a hospital. The coroner is "100%" certain she died because of measles. Yet the CDC changed the way it counts measles deaths www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump administration changes how it counts measles deaths amid Pennsylvania outbreak
CDC announces changes to how it reports measles deaths as Pennsylvania continues to confirm more cases
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
I listen to a lot of podcasts. This was the best one I heard this week and makes me want to read Kaepernick's new book www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
newyorker.com
Colin Kaepernick Misses the Game
In his new memoir, “The Perilous Fight,” the former N.F.L. star recounts the backlash he faced from the league.
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
by David Smith www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
theguardian.com
Mistakes, mistrust and misdirection: 25 years after 9/11, its dark legacy continues to unfold
The world’s most powerful country responded to the worst terrorist attack in its history by inflicting terror of its own – around the world, and at home
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Stephanie Kirchgaessner @skirchy.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Another legend. RIP Emma Bonino. A true honor to sit in your apartment with you so many years ago. www.theguardian.com/world/2018/f...
theguardian.com
Emma Bonino: Italy's pro-Europe, pro-immigrant conscience
The former foreign minister, activist and politician has radical ideas for today’s Italy
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