Reporters explore National Guard questions, remember Les Smith
Members of the Ohio National Guard patrol the National Mall Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington, D.C.. (Jose Luis Magana/AP file)
WKNO’s “Behind the Headlines” remembered Smith, who died Sept. 17, for his early contributions to the show. The reporter’s roundtable edition also discussed the pending National Guard deployment to Memphis.
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Behind The Headlines National Guard Les Smith Memphis-Shelby County SchoolsLaura Testino
Laura Testino is an enterprise reporter on The Daily Memphian’s metro team who writes most often about how education policies shape the lives of children and families. She regularly contributes to coverage of breaking news events and actions of the Tennessee General Assembly. Testino’s journalism career in Memphis began six years ago at The Commercial Appeal, where she began chronicling learning disruptions associated with the pandemic, and continued with Chalkbeat, where she dug into education administration in Memphis. Her reporting has appeared in The New York Times, The Times-Picayune, The Tuscaloosa News and USA Today.
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