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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Farmers say their livestock and operations are being unfairly blamed for greenhouse gas emissions. They descended on The Hague, causing what's been called the country's worst morning rush hour. -
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is not planning to seek early elections — though observers say that may change if his political opponents push through a bill blocking a no-deal Brexit. -
Twenty bodies have been recovered, while five crew members made it to safety. Authorities say they believe the rest of the 39 people aboard the Conception have died since the boat caught fire Monday. -
Costco said it is now limiting the number of customers in its warehouse to 2,000. Local police were helping to manage the crowds, and photos from the store showed long lines. -
The state's attorney general accuses the companies of targeting children and failing to properly verify customers' ages. The state already filed a similar lawsuit against Juul. -
Haynes is widely seen as a hero, akin to Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and his emergency landing on the Hudson River. Haynes is credited with saving dozens of lives.
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As the summit in France wrapped up, Brazil's far-right president tweeted that the international alliance treats his country "as if we were a colony or no man's land." -
Shortages affecting hospitals and clinics are a perilous example of an economic crisis that has worsened since the U.S. imposed economic and financial penalties on the country. -
One of the victims is a Japanese woman who sent more than $200,000 to a person she thought was a U.S. service member in Syria, according to the federal complaint. -
Evelyn Beatriz Hernández was originally sentenced to 30 years in prison in El Salvador, which has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world. -
The Afghan government has been left on the sidelines as the U.S. and the Taliban have held multiple rounds of talks this year in the Gulf nation of Qatar. -
Hundreds of bulky green packages were discovered amid the spicy chiles. The drugs seized at a San Diego cargo facility were valued at $2.3 million.
