Merrit Kennedy
Merrit Kennedy is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers a broad range of issues, from the latest developments out of the Middle East to science research news.
Kennedy joined NPR in Washington, D.C., in December 2015, after seven years living and working in Egypt. She started her journalism career at the beginning of the Egyptian uprising in 2011 and chronicled the ousting of two presidents, eight rounds of elections, and numerous major outbreaks of violence for NPR and other news outlets. She has also worked as a reporter and television producer in Cairo for The Associated Press, covering Egypt, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan.
She grew up in Los Angeles, the Middle East, and places in between, and holds a bachelor's degree in international relations from Stanford University and a master's degree in international human rights law from The American University in Cairo.
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President Trump declared that his "vision presents a win-win opportunity for both sides." Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called it a "disastrous announcement."
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"It's not about putting military service members in space," one expert said. The new branch will basically reorganize what the military does in space and elevate it to a single chain of command.
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A major storm system pummeling the Great Plains region will move east and impact travel into the Northeast by Sunday. And a second system is bearing down on Northern California.
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The vice president led a delegation to try to persuade the Turkish president to stop the military push and enact a cease-fire. The Turkish foreign minister says the deal brokered is not a cease-fire.
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"The driver stepped on the gas and revved up and started plowing forward," said a protest organizer. A correctional officer from the facility has been placed on leave.
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"The Justice Department upholds the rule of law — and we owe it to the victims and their families to carry forward the sentence imposed by our justice system," Attorney General William Barr said.
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The current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 1,650 people, according to the World Health Organization. About 12 new cases are reported daily.
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"Hail more than a meter high, and then we wonder if climate change exists," said Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, the governor of Jalisco state. The Mexican army is helping to dig out the city.
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The name pays tribute to the legacy of African American women who played a major role in the space race but were long overlooked by history.
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The building burned for hours on Monday, with smoke billowing into the sky. The cause of the cathedral's blaze was not immediately known, but the initial investigation points to an accident.