@ericasmith
03/25/2013
Erica Smith
Journalist
I'm a journalist, a researcher and a comma splice slayer. I eat M&Ms in Roy G. Biv order.
I'm a journalist, a researcher and a comma splice slayer. I eat M&Ms in Roy G. Biv order.
Several fans of "The Bachelor," "New Girl" and "NCIS" were upset when Kansas City stations interrupted the shows for breaking coverage of an explosion at Country Club Plaza. At least 14 people were hospitalized with injuries; at least one person died in the blast.
After rescuing a cat, journalist Andy Carvin asks those who want to help to donate to no-kill animal shelters.
The Carvin family found a kitten on the road and is trying to nurse him back to health. The rescue, of course, has been tweeted.
City officials and local reporters debate why a ready-to-open community center hasn't.
Jamilah Nasheed and Jason Crowell call each other "thug," "clown" on Twitter
University study finds "rape-related pregnancy occurs with significant frequency."
Four editors, three reporters, four copy editors, a photographer and the editorial cartoonist were laid off in the newsroom. Ten advertising and production employees also were laid off.
Murdoch Perk announced on its Facebook page that it will close at the end of the month.
The St. Louis and Washington, D.C., Pi Pizzeria food trucks will retire at the end of the month, according to a notice posted on the company's website.
Following the Colorado theater shooting, St. Louis Children's Hospital calls off the caped crusader's appearance.
Old Crow Medicine Show's merchandise van taken from Pageant parking lot.
An elaborate Greenpeace campaign features a photo of a Central West End fountain.
A passer-by hears a cat's pleas, and turns to social media for help.
Weekend shootings continue to escalate as police close streets, increase presence.
Four copy editors, one photographer and an editor were laid off Tuesday.
Venus crossed the face of the sun Tuesday night — an event that won’t come around again for 105 years.
Doe crashed through glass door on Washington Avenue before it was struck by a vehicle
Cameron Vennard, 14, was walking on the train tracks when he was struck.
10 taken into custody after graffiti sprayed on windows of two downtown banks
After the heady, sugary days of Christmas and Hanukkah, are you going through cookie withdrawal?
Social media trends and features
A month after a spat with American Airlines convinced Alec Baldwin to "deactivate" his Twitter account, the actor has returned to the social media platform.
The St. Louis Art Museum joined Twitter on Jan. 4, becoming the latest local cultural institution to do so.
Twitter's redesign has made it easier to embed tweets on websites and blogs.
Twitter is rolling out a redesign of its website and mobile platforms, promising they will be faster and simpler.
Hours after using Twitter to complain he'd been kicked off a flight for using his phone, actor Alec Baldwin has deactivated his Twitter account.
Several groups are using tweetups to raise funds for charities in December. Here's a quick look at upcoming tweetups.
Radio personality J.C. Corcoran announced that Albert Pujols would sign a new contract with the Cardinals on Nov. 18. When that deal did not materialize, Corcoran responded to tweets with name-calling and profanity. KTRS has suspended Corcoran because of his tweets. WARNING: The tweets quoted in this story include several profanities.
Foursquare, a location-based app, has crunched the check-in data from 2010 and found out that a lot of people are out and about on Black Friday, but not on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Looking for freebies while you're out? Try Poorsquare, now available in St. Louis.
After a Twitter fumble, Ashton Kutcher says he's leaving the social media platform.
Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal announced earlier today on Twitter and in a video that he is retiring from the NBA after 19 years.
For Foursquare users, Election Day presents a new badge opportunity. Check in at your polling place and you'll unlock the badge.
St. Louis Cardinals series coverage
Cardinals fans love their team, love to talk about it and certainly love to tweet about it. STL Tweets mined local Twitter activity from Feb. 1 to Nov. 3, collecting thousands of tweets that mentioned the team, Cardinals hashtags, players and players' names, even the rally squirrel. Take a closer look at the highs and lows throughout the storybook season.
Forget "play like a Cardinal" -- with these masks you can look like your favorite Cardinals player.
It was only a matter of time.
It's a baseball standard with a professional twist: This morning the St. Louis Symphony took time to record "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
The Rally Squirrel has achieved "legend" status.
A feisty squirrel was spotted, caught and released hours before tonight's National League Division Series playoff game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
After David Freese was named most valuable player of the National League championship series Sunday night, hundreds of fans congratulated him on Twitter, including Cardinals legend Stan Musial.
Whether the "rally squirrel" really helped the St. Louis Cardinals rally Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the National League Division Series is up for debate. But two things are certain: The Cardinals have forced a fifth game in the series, and many Cards fans have adopted the squirrel as a new mascot.
The squirrels may be Cardinals fans after all.
Multimedia projects
There are 24 permanent American burial grounds on foreign soil: 30,921 World War I and 93,238 World War II soldiers are interred at 22 of those cemeteries. In addition, 5,364 Americans who died during the construction of the Panama Canal are interred at Corozal American Cemetery in Panama City, and 750 unidentified U.S. veterans of the Mexican War are interred at the Mexico City National Cemetery in Mexico City.
Click on a map pin or town name to learn more about each farmers market.
Explore an interactive map of Civil War events in Missouri.
You know the rules: Grab a bingo card, turn on a 24-hour news network and play along. When you see or hear one of the phrases on your card, click on it to mark it off. Mark five spaces in a straight or diagonal line and you win!*
Sept. 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Before you can talk the talk, you need a pirate name.
More than 3 million Americans, including veterans of every war and conflict from the Revolutionary War to the War on Terrorism, are honored by burial in national cemeteries. The first 14 national cemeteries were set up during the Civil War. Today, more than 140 national cemeteries have been established. There are three in Missouri, including Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, and seven in Illinois.
Explore an interactive map of Civil War events in St. Louis.
What do the Gateway Arch, the Alamo and the Grand Canyon have in common? They're all National Historic Landmarks.
Professional baseball in St. Louis dates to 1875. Take a look at the historic sites where these early teams played around the city.
Tuskegee Airmen awarded Purple Hearts
Flight Officer William P. Armstrong and 2nd Lt. Walter P. Manning were killed during a battle over Austria.
Lt. Fred L. Brewer Jr. disappeared during a mission over Germany.
Lt. Roger D. Brown was commended for being the first Army Air Corps pilot to successfully crash-land a P-39 Airacobra at sea.
One of the youngest pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps, 1st Lt. Gene C. Browne was forced to crash-land in Germany and was a prisoner of war for more than a year.
Lt. James A. Calhoun was killed during a strafing mission on a Yugoslavia air field.
Lt. John H. Chavis disappeared in the clouds soon after take-off for a bomber escort mission to Germany.
Capt. Alfonza W. Davis was not one to shy from a dangerous situation, a trait that helped him collect an aerial victory.
After nearly a year of successful missions, engine trouble forced Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson to parachute from his plane over Italy.
Lt. Alwayne M. Dunlap was featured in a newspaper article that published days before he was killed.
Lt. Wilson V. Eagleson II's military career spanned three decades and three wars.
Lt. Maurice V. Esters was forced to bail from his plane over the Adriatic Sea when his engine failed.
Flight Officer James H. Fischer shot down an enemy plane, then was forced to parachute from his plane when he ran out of fuel.
Engine trouble forced 2nd Lt. Samuel J. Foreman to try to return to base.
Lt. Frederick D. Funderburg Jr. claimed the first aerial victory for the 301st Fighter Squadron.
The pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group arrived in Italy feeling they had a lot to prove, and somewhat unprepared for the realities of war.
Very little has been recorded about 2nd Lt. Joseph E. Gordon's military career.
In the span of a week, 1st Lt. William W. "Chubby" Green Jr. collected his second aerial victory, was shot down, helped deliver supplies to a group of Yugoslav Partisans and returned to his base.
Lt. William E. Griffin was shot down over Germany and spent more than a year at a prisoner of war camp.
Very little has been documented about Lt. John L. Hamilton's military career.
Lt. Maceo A. Harris Jr. was hunting for enemy planes, and ended up saving a lost Allied bomber.
Capt. Freddie E. Hutchins assigned the same nickname to each of his planes: "Little Freddie." By the end of World War II, Hutchins was flying his fourth "Little Freddie."
Like many of the Tuskegee Airmen, 2nd Lt. Oscar D. Hutton Jr. was highly educated, earning his master's degree at the University of Chicago.
Lt. Col. Alexander "Jeff" Jefferson recieved his Purple Heart 57 years after he was wounded.
Lt. Samuel Jefferson was killed when he tried to check on a downed pilot.
Lt. Charles B. Johnson was killed during a low-flying mission over the Mediterranean Sea.
Lt. Langdon E. Johnson collected an aerial victory six months after arriving in Europe.
Very little has been documented about Pfc. James W. Jones' military career.
Staff Sgt. Alvin H. Kent was the first non-commissioned officer of the 332nd Fighter Group to be awarded a Purple Heart.
One of the first Tuskegee graduates, Capt. Erwin B. Lawrence Jr. eventually led the 99th Fighter Squadron for six months.
Lt. Samuel G. Leftenant was killed after colliding with another plane over Austria.
After his plane was hit by flak and crashed, Capt. Richard D. Macon spent most of military career as a prisoner of war.
Little is known about 1st Lt. Thomas Malone's military career
Lt. Walter P. Manning and Flight Officer William P. Armstrong were killed during a dogfight over Austria in 1945.
Engine trouble forced Capt. Andrew Maples Jr. to bail from his plane over the Adriatic Sea. Although his friends were optimistic, Maples was not seen again.
After bailing from his plane, Lt. Andrew D. Marshall was missing for nearly two weeks before returning to his base in Italy.
Lt. Robert L. Martin likes to say he flew "63 and a half" missions during World War II.
Lt. George T. McCrumby's dramatic tale of herosim and luck drew attention back in the United States.
Lt. James L. McCullin and Lt. Sherman H. White Jr. were the first black pilots killed in combat.
Little has been documented about 1st Lt. Roland W. Moody's military career other than his unusual death.
Capt. Christopher W. Newman survived a fiery crash, a crash-landing over the Adriatic Sea, and he kept flying.
Lt. Starling B. Penn spent 10 months in a German prisoner of war camp after his plane was shot down.
Little has been documented about Flight Officer Leland H. Pennington's military career.
Lt. James R. Polkinghorne was last seen heading into thick clouds over Italy.
Five years after he disappeared, 2nd Lt. Ronald W. Reeves was awarded a Purple Heart.
Lt. Cornelius G. Rogers disappeared over Italy after reporting engine trouble.
Lt. Alphonso Simmons walked away from one plane crash, but was killed a few months later in a second crash.
Several years after World War II, Lt. John S. Sloan wrote an autobiography about his experience as a pilot and his Purple Heart.
"I flew 133 missions. On the last one, I didn't make it back. It was Friday the 13th. It was my lucky day — I'm still alive," Capt. Luther H. Smith said in 2007 before the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Capt. Leon W. "Woodie" Spears grew up around planes. In a speech, he recalled hearing the drone of planes at the Pueblo Municipal Airport, next door to his family's Colorado home.
Lt. Roosevelt Stiger was killed after his plane plummeted into the Adriatic Sea.
Very little has been recorded about 2nd Lt. Norvell Stoudmire's military career.
Capt. Robert B. Tresville was appointed one of the first leaders of his squadron, and led several combat missions in Europe before his death.
Lt. Quitman C. Walker's service medals, including his Purple Heart, were issued nearly 60 years after they were awarded.
Lt. Sherman H. White Jr. and Lt. James L. McCullin were the first black pilots killed in combat.
Lt. Robert H. Wiggins escorted a struggling bomber to safety before crashing in the Adriatic Sea.
Mechanical trouble forced 2nd Lt. Leonard R. Willette to try to bail from his plane over southern Germany.
Lt. William F. Williams Jr. disappeared while trying to climb out of dense clouds over Austria.
Lt. Henry A. Wise Jr. flew 13 missions over France, Romania, Germany and Italy before he was forced to parachute from his plane and was captured.
Flight Officer Carl J. Woods was last seen during a cloudy mission to Austria.
Lt. Frank N. Wright was killed after chasing an enemy plane over Germany.
Little has been recorded about 2nd Lt. Beryl Wyatt's military career.
Lt. Albert L. Young was last seen over Vienna, Austria.