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.
-
A State Department official says "reports suggesting the United States threatened a partner nation related to a World Health Assembly resolution are false." The New York Times says the U.S. did. -
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. -
As the level of carbon dioxide in the air rises because of human activity, scientists are trying to pin down how plants are affected. There's evidence that it's changing many important plants we eat. -
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. -
The ecosystem has collapsed for 29 percent of the 3,863 reefs in the giant coral reef system, according to new research. Scientists are learning which corals are the "winners" and "losers." -
This brings the total number of dead to at least 29 since last week. On Friday, thousands of Palestinians once again gathered to demonstrate for the right to return to lands in today's Israel. -
This is the latest in a long history of gonorrhea developing resistance to antibiotics. It's the first global report of gonorrhea that is resistant to the two main drugs used to treat it. -
The investigation by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found that the hospital failed to protect the patient from "harassment and potential harm." -
The measure, which is poised to become law once signed by the governor, allows for exceptions only in a "medical emergency and in cases of severe fetal abnormality." -
In 2017, the disease affected 21,315 people, compared to 5,273 in 2016. Last year, 35 people died in Europe because of measles. The World Health Organization says unvaccinated people are a factor.
