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 country has been hobbled by a blackout since Thursday. People wait in long lines for gas and water and increasingly are having difficulty communicating by phone or Internet.
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The U.K. expelled the residents of the Indian Ocean islands and allowed the U.S. to build a military base. The U.N. Court says it must cede control of the islands "as rapidly as possibly."
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Officials blame "challenges." In Africa's most populous country, President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to hold on to his position, and opposition leader Atiku Abubakar is his fiercest challenger.
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The transfer is part of a deal between Australia and the U.S., under the Obama administration, in which the U.S. agreed to accept some 1,250 refugees. President Trump has called it a "dumb deal."
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The column's publication is "kind of an acknowledgement to ourselves ... that we don't have much hope that we're going to be able to edit this one with him," the Post editorial page editor told NPR.
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President Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the kingdom amid international tension over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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Some evacuees are unwilling or unable to bring their pets with them, leaving them in a dangerous position. Rescuers have been tracking down scared animals in danger and bringing them to safety.
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Texas is one of the largest producers of wine in the U.S. But the grapevines in the High Plains are facing a threat that's causing them to twist and wither. And it's coming from the cotton fields.
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NASA posted the glittery image of stars that "live fast and die young" on the eve of Independence Day. It shows a cluster of "huge, hot" stars called NGC 3603, about 20,000 light years away.
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A viral video is drawing attention to a problem in hospital emergency rooms across the country. More and more patients with urgent psychiatric conditions aren't receiving the care they need.