Watch those texts! Smartphones emerging as a new way for public figures to get into hot water

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Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

FILE - A man uses a cell phone in New Orleans on Aug. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

NEW YORK – Some politicians carry threats to their livelihood in the palms of their hands.

News stories in recent weeks about offensive or ill-advised text messages have blown up the careers of several young Republicans in a chat group, led a nominee for a White House job to drop out , threatened the campaign of a Democrat running for Virginia attorney general and embarrassed a federal prosecutor.

Memories are still fresh of this spring's inadvertent inclusion of a journalist on a Signal chain where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other leaders discussed military strikes, possibly the second Trump administration's mos