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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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. -
Scientists say that for the first time, they've managed to extract an entire ancient human genome from anything other than human bones or teeth. It told them a lot about the person chewing the gum. -
Government officials say anti-vaccination advocates have complicated their efforts to turn the tide on an epidemic that has killed at least 63 people, most of them children. -
Participants in the U.K. experimental study dramatically reduced their average alcohol intake for months after the initial dose. Ketamine has also been used to treat severe depression. -
There's been speculation about whether President Trump will pursue his pledge to impose sweeping regulations on e-cigarettes. On Friday, he met with advocates for and against restrictions.
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In every lung fluid sample tested from patients afflicted with lung injury, the scientists found traces of a chemical called vitamin E acetate. The discovery is seen as a breakthrough. -
A spokesman says all U.S. troops are accounted for with no injuries. U.S. officials say they oppose Turkey's military incursion into northern Syria. -
More than 200 years ago, a scroll damaged by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was unrolled and pasted onto cardboard, even though it had writing on the back. New imagery shows some of what's hidden. -
The state's attorney general accuses the companies of targeting children and failing to properly verify customers' ages. The state already filed a similar lawsuit against Juul.
