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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Officials say there are simply too many people still on the streets with no justification. The country just registered its largest death toll in a single day since the start of the outbreak. -
The agreement is similar to one announced earlier this week to partially close the U.S. border with Canada. Both will go into effect on Saturday, Trump administration officials said. -
The giant statue of Jesus Christ, which stands nearly 100 feet tall and overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro, also showed images of the words "pray together" in many languages. -
Right now just over 2,000 members of the National Guard are assisting governors in 27 states, but the head of the National Guard Bureau said that number could double by this weekend. -
"That will be a real-life economic benefit," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. He also ordered that only 25 percent of workers could be in the office, except for essential services.
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The closures come after many school districts and dozens of colleges and universities have temporarily closed or switched to virtual classes because of the disease. -
During a trip to Florida, Fábio Wajngarten posted a photo of himself on social media standing directly next to President Trump and wearing a hat that says "Make Brazil Great Again." -
Two Princess cruises have faced high-profile problems because of the spread of the coronavirus. The company's president described this as "perhaps the most difficult decision in our history." -
Clouds of the insects can stretch for miles, devouring vegetation and destroying crops. Locust experts say time is running out to get the swarms under control because they multiply so quickly. -
Doctors wanted to ensure they didn't compromise parts of the brain necessary for playing the violin, so they asked their musician patient to play for them mid-operation.
