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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It's been an astonishingly successful Games for the 24-year-old from Florida. He added two gold medals to his haul from the Tokyo Olympics, departing the Games with five golds. -
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica has won the fastest women's track race at the Tokyo Games in Olympic record time. She was the defending gold medalist in this event. Jamaica swept the final. -
U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky has won Olympic gold again in the 800-meter freestyle. She repeated her gold medal swim at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics to win at the Tokyo Olympics. -
The 24-year-old led for the entire two-lap sprint and clocked it in 49.45 seconds. After winning, he celebrated with his closest competitor, Kristof Milak from Hungary. -
"After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars," USA Gymnastics said. -
French judo athlete Teddy Riner, a 6-foot-8, two-time gold medalist known as "Big Ted," has dominated his sport for a decade. It was a shock when he lost in a quarterfinal fight. -
This means they'll head to the semifinal. The U.S. is trying to become the first reigning Women's World Cup champion to win Olympic gold. -
The Serbian star was beaten in the men's tennis semifinal by Germany's Alexander Zverev. It means Djokovic can't make history by winning all four major tournaments and Olympic gold in a single year. -
Fields, who took gold in BMX racing at the 2016 Olympic Games, came down wrong from a jump and suffered a horrific crash. A Team USA doctor says Fields is stable and awaiting further evaluation. -
This competition was initially defined by who wasn't competing. U.S. star Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time and the heavy favorite to win, pulled out to take care of her mental health.
