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Will Carless, USA TODAY

@willcarless

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Latest posts by Will Carless, USA TODAY @willcarless

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A jail death shocked an Alabama town. The sheriff remains in power. The jail death of a man who suffered from mental illness drew criminal charges against Alabama guards. The sheriff says he’s done nothing wrong.

Last year, I learned the horrific story of Tony Mitchell, who froze to death in a bare concrete jail cell in Alabama.

The sheriff overseeing the jail still has his job. But half of his jailers have been charged in Mitchell's death.

This is that story:

eu.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

08.03.2026 20:52 👍 131 🔁 65 💬 3 📌 6
Preview
A jail death shocked an Alabama town. The sheriff remains in power. The jail death of a man who suffered from mental illness drew criminal charges against Alabama guards. The sheriff says he’s done nothing wrong.

My colleague @willcarless.bsky.social traveled to Alabama and I dug through hundreds of pages of records to get to the bottom of how Tony Mitchell froze to death after two weeks in the Walker County jail. The sheriff remains in power and is running for re-election. buff.ly/f63cjTt

09.03.2026 16:55 👍 5 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0

Wow. Any links for this?

09.03.2026 14:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I'm extremely proud of this story, with @writerbarton.bsky.social.

Please check it out, and let us know what you think!

09.03.2026 13:22 👍 7 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0

Tony Mitchell froze to death over two weeks in January 2023 in a cell with no running water, toilet or bunk.

He lay, dying, in his own feces and urine in a paper-thin suicide smock.

"We did it. We killed him," a jailer later admitted.

08.03.2026 21:10 👍 25 🔁 10 💬 0 📌 0

@writerbarton.bsky.social
and I spent months reporting, writing and editing this story.

It's a horrific tale of abuse and neglect — one of the hardest things to investigate and write about in my 20+years as a journalist.

I hope you can take the time to read it and watch the video!

08.03.2026 20:53 👍 17 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 1
Preview
A jail death shocked an Alabama town. The sheriff remains in power. The jail death of a man who suffered from mental illness drew criminal charges against Alabama guards. The sheriff says he’s done nothing wrong.

Last year, I learned the horrific story of Tony Mitchell, who froze to death in a bare concrete jail cell in Alabama.

The sheriff overseeing the jail still has his job. But half of his jailers have been charged in Mitchell's death.

This is that story:

eu.usatoday.com/story/news/n...

08.03.2026 20:52 👍 131 🔁 65 💬 3 📌 6

The crusade against truth and journalism continues.

It will not win. We can't let it.

04.02.2026 17:48 👍 15 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
USA TODAY on Instagram: "Experts told USA TODAY's Will Carless how President Donald Trump’s first year back in office mainstreamed far-right propaganda and extremist language." 214 likes, 35 comments - usatoday on January 20, 2026: "Experts told USA TODAY's Will Carless how President Donald Trump’s first year back in office mainstreamed far-right propaganda and extremist lan...

Messaging from federal agencies is increasingly echoing language, imagery and even music made popular on white supremacist and far-right extremist websites and social media:

My latest for
@USATODAY

With @heidibeirich.bsky.social and @jaredlholt.bsky.social

www.instagram.com/reels/DTvj29...

21.01.2026 22:18 👍 18 🔁 8 💬 0 📌 0

@malcolmgladwell.bsky.social You didn't get the chance to ask @RobertKennedyJr whether he believes in the teachings of Louis Pasteur/germ theory.

I did.

At 19:51 in the video

21.01.2026 19:54 👍 6 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
YouTube
YouTube Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

WATCH: My full interview with
@RobertKennedyJr
from last week:

youtube.com/watch?v=vFTC...

Feat.

💣 Vaccine talk
💣 5G
💣 Whether RFK believes in germs
💣 Crunchy Moms
💣 Why he only eats meat & fermented food
💣 Why he thinks his voice is like that
💣 Whether he'll run in 2028

21.01.2026 19:52 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1
Meet the 'crunchy moms' at the heart of the MAHA and anti-vaccine movement
Meet the 'crunchy moms' at the heart of the MAHA and anti-vaccine movement YouTube video by USA TODAY

Meet the "Crunchy Moms" at the heart of the MAHA movement.

They trust science. But only *some science. They're not vaccinating their kids, and they see RFK Jr. as their guy in government.

Episode 2 of Extremely Normal:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk8f...

#crunchy
#Crunchymom
#vaccines

21.01.2026 19:45 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1
How 'crunchy mom' vaccine skeptics found mainstream support in RFK Jr. As the 'crunchy mom' movement swells, it is emblematic of a mainstream embrace of vaccine skepticism and a broader lack of faith in medical science.

They oppose vaccines and only trust *some science.

Meet the "Crunchy Moms" at the heart of the MAHA movement.

Episode Two of Extremely Normal!

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

20.01.2026 18:32 👍 10 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
Meet the 'crunchy moms' at the heart of the MAHA and anti-vaccine movement
Meet the 'crunchy moms' at the heart of the MAHA and anti-vaccine movement YouTube video by USA TODAY

Extremely Normal Episode Two examines "Crunchy Moms," supporters of RFK Jr's MAHA movement, who are pro-beef tallow and anti-vaccines.

Learn how this fringe movement became a mainstream political powerhouse, and why that concerns experts in virology and disease:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk8f...

20.01.2026 18:35 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 1
How 'crunchy mom' vaccine skeptics found mainstream support in RFK Jr. As the 'crunchy mom' movement swells, it is emblematic of a mainstream embrace of vaccine skepticism and a broader lack of faith in medical science.

They oppose vaccines and only trust *some science.

Meet the "Crunchy Moms" at the heart of the MAHA movement.

Episode Two of Extremely Normal!

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

20.01.2026 18:32 👍 10 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
Extremely Normal: A growing movement of 'crunchy mom' vaccine skeptics USA TODAY national correspondent Will Carless examines a growing movement centered around vaccine skepticism that is finding mainstream support. The episode premieres Tuesday, January 20, at 12 P.M. E...

Coming today!

Episode Two of Extremely Normal looks at how vaccine skeptic “Crunchy Moms” went from the fringe to shaping health policy:

www.usatoday.com/videos/news/...

20.01.2026 14:56 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr ONLY eats meat and fermented food

Every day.

17.01.2026 14:40 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
RFK Jr. on vaccines, meat and 5G towers. A USA TODAY exlusive Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent his first year in office radically transforming the intersection of government and healthcare.

RFK Jr. on vaccines, meat and 5G towers. A USA TODAY exclusive

Or/

I interviewed RFK Jr. and it wasn’t weird until it was:

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

17.01.2026 14:27 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 1

Ever wondered about RFK Jr's voice?

The Health Secretary told me this afternoon he suspects it may have been damaged by a flu shot, which is why he stopped getting them in 2005

That's among the revelations from my exclusive interview:

17.01.2026 13:30 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 3 📌 0

Ever wondered about RFK Jr's voice?

The HHS Secretary told me this afternoon he suspects it may have been damaged by a flu shot, which is why he stopped getting them in 1995.

That's among the revelations from my exclusive interview:

16.01.2026 22:46 👍 6 🔁 3 💬 5 📌 0

“That’s why my voice is so screwed up,” Kennedy said in an interview for the USA TODAY series "Extremely Normal." “Do I know whether that was caused by my annual flu shot? I have no idea. It’s a possibility. It’s a potential culprit that I cannot rule out. I can’t prove it.”

16.01.2026 22:35 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
RFK Jr. shares why he stopped taking flu shots in 2005 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told USA TODAY he stopped taking annual flu shots because of concerns about side effects.

EXCLUSIVE: I interviewed RFK Jr. this afternoon for the next episode of Extremely Normal. I learned many things about the HHS Secretary, including that he stopped taking flu shots in 2005 over concerns about side effects

Our first story:

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

16.01.2026 22:34 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 3

Why am I always in DC in January?!

16.01.2026 14:38 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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Former NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counterterrorism says "they have created a new definition of domestic terrorism ... people who are protesting, following, blowing whistles, impeding or affecting these [ICE] efforts ... they are domestic terrorists."

10.01.2026 02:13 👍 521 🔁 89 💬 19 📌 8

It’s pathetic.

05.01.2026 05:54 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

How is awful, vile sexiest nonsense like “The Breadwinner” still being made today.

Nate Nergatze and everyone involved in this crap should be deeply ashamed.

Signed: A father

04.01.2026 21:34 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Say what you will about AI and ChatGPT but I’m here for an all-knowing app that merrily announces that I won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023:

(I did not win a Pulitzer that year, or any other — yet)

22.12.2025 06:07 👍 32 🔁 4 💬 5 📌 0

Probably the most shocking element of this is that there was a library.

These people were reading?

04.12.2025 22:29 👍 7 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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Parachute journalism vs. local journalism:

25.11.2025 15:23 👍 22 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0
Trump on Truth Social reposts someone who says of Democratic lawmakers, "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!"

Trump on Truth Social reposts someone who says of Democratic lawmakers, "HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!"

Trump calls for Democratic members of Congress to be hanged

20.11.2025 14:15 👍 5586 🔁 1968 💬 722 📌 640