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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Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is fiercely opposed to immigration and has said that boosting national fertility rates is his preferred way to counter the population downturn and risk of labor shortages. -
The unanimous Montana Supreme Court decision found that religious institutions are not always obligated to report child sexual abuse to authorities due to an exemption in Montana state law. -
Nicolas Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012, stands accused in multiple legal actions. In this case, he allegedly attempted to convince a court official to illegally release information. -
Jozef Dudek was 2 when an Ikea dresser fell on top of him and killed him. His family sued the furniture giant in a wrongful death lawsuit. Millions of the recalled dressers may still be in use. -
Caskets holding the bodies of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others killed in a U.S. drone strike last week in Iraq were paraded though the streets of Tehran as mourners chanted "death to America." -
The strike against Qassem Soleimani raises thorny legal questions — and experts disagree over whether the U.S. had the legal authority to do it. -
An out-of-control wildfire threatened exit routes from the town of Mallacoota, forcing residents to rush toward the water for safety as embers rained down from a red sky. -
Security forces fired tear gas at demonstrators as President Trump called on Iraq to intervene with force. The protesters are angry about a series of U.S. airstrikes on an Iranian-backed militia. -
The protesters set fire to a reception area inside the compound as Marines fired tear gas to push them back. The angry demonstration follows a series of U.S. airstrikes inside Iraq and Syria. -
He Jiankui announced in November 2018 that he had created the world's first gene-edited babies. Scientists are concerned about unintended side effects that could be passed down to future generations. -
President Trump has signed off on raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 for cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Health advocates worry it guards the industry from further sweeping regulations. -
"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.
