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Freelance Work

I've written for various national and local publications including The Washington Post, ProPublica, The Times Union, The Detroit News, UPI and more. My reporting has spanned across various beats, such as national security, food insecurity, health and tech.

Take a look at my reporting below:

Jim Franco/Times Union
Times Union •

Food deserts persist as Congress seeks to help

WASHINGTON — By the time Tracie Killar was 17, she said much of the food she ate contained too much sugar and there were health consequences from it. Killar, who has lived in upstate New York for more than 50 years, grew up in Albany’s South End area, a food desert where most of her meals were highly processed and unhealthy.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited the cafe last month, a few weeks after introducing legislation in Congress that aims to eliminate food deserts by allocating federal fu
Aaron M. Sprecher via AP
ProPublica •

Millions of People Used Tainted Breathing Machines. The FDA Failed to Use Its Power to Protect Them.

The family of the former Louisiana Attorney General Richard Ieyoub, a longtime user of a Philips continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine. From left, son Phillip Ieyoub, wife Caprice Ieyoub, daughter Khoury Ieyoub, daughter Anna Michael Ieyoub and son Christian Ieyoub at their childhood home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In 2021, after Philips Respironics sold millions of defective medical devices to those who struggle to breathe, the federal agency charged with protecting the health
Medill News Service •

Families of Hamas hostages urge members of Congress to get all hostages released

Families of hostages held by Hamas stand alongside congress members at a roundtable on Nov. 29, 2023. They hold a sign that says “Men. Women. Babies. Elderly. Are still held hostage by Hamas. #BringThemHomeNow.” (Juliann Ventura / Medill News Service)

WASHINGTON – Members of Congress put aside their partisanship on Wednesday to meet with families of hostages held by Hamas, who called on them to continue their urgency in getting more hostages released.

Hamas and Israel had released more than 25
The Fulcrum •

Negative ads overwhelm Virginia voters

As election day in Virginia’s 31st District neared, Candice Skinker said that she became so overwhelmed with the number of negative political ads in her mailbox that she just started dumping them into the trash.

“We've been inundated with ads in the mail,” the Fauquier County resident said. “And a lot of them are negative ads that I just dump in the trash. I want to know what they [candidates] want to do or are going to do, not what they think the other guy is going to do.”
Medill News Service •

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators express disappointment for the Biden Administration

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold a sign that says "Ceasefire" at a Washington rally for Palestinian solidarity on Oct. 20, 2023. (Juliann Ventura/Medill News Service)

WASHINGTON — Laila El-Haddad said for weeks she had the same ritual morning and night: She checked to make sure her family in Gaza is still alive.

She said they sent “frenzied and harrowing,” updates about bombs that only seemed to get closer, shattered windows, dilapidated trees and neighbors losing entire bloodlines.

El-Hadd
Planet Forward •

Early climate disaster warning systems can promote community resilience and reduce vulnerability, experts say

WASHINGTON– Developing new systems to detect disasters before they strike can reduce the damage communities suffer as climate change increases the intensity and frequencies of landslides, floods and other disasters in the Himalayan region, experts said on October 19 in a panel called, “Cascading Disasters and Vulnerable Infrastructure in the Himalaya: Placing the Sikkim and Melamchi Floods in Context.”

The urgency to implement better warning systems was made clear earlier this month when a glac
Medill News Service •

Thousands gather in Washington to show solidarity for Palestinians

Demonstrators wearing keffiyeh wave the Palestinian flag at the Day of Action for Palestine in Washington on Oct. 14, 2023. (Haajrah Gilani / MEDILL NEWS SERVICE)

WASHINGTON — At a rally Saturday to show support for Palestinians, a small but powerful voice cut through the deep, collective roar of the protesters’ chants, “Long live Palestine!” screamed a young boy, maybe 6 years old. He was among thousands of protesters gathered in a downpour in Lafayette Square, right across from the White Hous
Medill News Service •

Reporter's Notebook: How history played out inside the Capitol on the day Kevin McCarthy was ousted.

“Chaos” was the word of the day in the U.S. Capitol.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said it before the House voted on his measure to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy as a speaker. He took the House floor before the historic vote on McCarthy’s fate, and declared, “Chaos is Speaker McCarthy.”

But this wasn’t the first time I heard the word “chaos”– or even felt it– today.

Some context: Tuesday was just the second day I’d reported on Capitol Hill after being credentialed only two weeks earlier as a Northwes
Medill News Service •

New poll shows abortion and women’s rights will drive some voters’ decisions

Ms. Magazine Executive Editor Kathy Spillar stands at the lectern alongside other speakers introducing the results of a Ms. Magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation poll by Lake Research Partners showing voters’ motivations on the afternoon of Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at the National Press Club. (Juliann Ventura/MEDILL NEWS SERVICE)

WASHINGTON – Abortion and women’s rights combined are significant issues determining voters’ decisions for Congress and the 2024 elections, according to a new M