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 plan sides with Israel on many major sticking points of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such as allowing Israel to annex West Bank areas. The EU said it would challenge annexation efforts. -
The leak of documents that appear to describe agency hacking practices is seen as one of the largest in the CIA's history. Former agency software engineer Joshua Schulte has pleaded not guilty. -
"This has happened, and my intention is to come here every day I can," the conservative talk show host told his listeners on Monday. He said the diagnosis was confirmed by two medical institutions. -
"This is somebody that obviously was impaired somehow and is driving very recklessly," Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters. "I'm not so sure she knew where she was going." -
Concerns have swirled for years over whether Nike's Vaporfly line of shoes gives athletes an unfair advantage. The new rules appear to ban one Vaporfly model, but another will reportedly qualify. -
Wildlife protection groups are decrying the proposal as an attempt to gut a century-old law that protects birds, while industry groups say they have long been hamstrung by the threat of legal action. -
Lawmakers passed two bills seeking to limit the president's ability to take military action without the prior approval of lawmakers. The White House has signaled that Trump would veto the legislation. -
"The main reason for this declaration is not because of what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries," said World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. -
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." -
The blast was felt more than 30 miles away, knocking homes off their foundations and casting debris about half a mile. A criminal probe is underway, though it's not clear what caused the explosion.
