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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The mandatory move imposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on most of the workers at two vital research agencies has been criticized as a "blatant attack on science." -
The show is centered on the suicide of a teenage girl, and the first season's finale shows her taking her own life. Several organizations raised concerns that it could romanticize suicide.
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A years-long inquiry found that Indigenous communities have been targeted by a pattern of rights violations aimed at eradicating "their existence as Nations, communities, families and individuals." -
The National Transportation Safety Board says a natural gas company engineer made a major mistake in developing construction plans, resulting in a disastrous chain reaction. -
U.S. authorities have identified at least six suspicious packages that were mailed to leading Democratic figures and CNN since Monday. Some of them appear to be similar. -
Government agencies have released a proposal to freeze fuel economy and emissions requirements for six years. The proposed rules would also block California from setting its own, higher standards. -
The labels use the letters BE, for bioengineered, not GMO, which critics say could baffle consumers. One design features a smiling sun that a skeptic calls "essentially propaganda for the industry." -
Omar Mateen was previously interviewed by the FBI several times over possible ties to terrorism. Authorities say he pledged allegiance to ISIS before attacking a gay nightclub in Orlando, killing 50. -
Egyptians go to the polls this week, and the front-runner is Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi. His supporters say he'll bring order to the country, but others say Mohammed Morsi is still the legitimate president.
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Thousands have been jailed in Egypt since a crackdown on dissent last November. But most Egyptians are unwilling to risk jail for reform; most wish things would finally quiet down.
