Vanessa Romo
Vanessa Romo is a reporter for NPR's News Desk. She covers breaking news on a wide range of topics, weighing in daily on everything from immigration and the treatment of migrant children, to a war-crimes trial where a witness claimed he was the actual killer, to an alleged sex cult. She has also covered the occasional cat-clinging-to-the-hood-of-a-car story.
Before her stint on the News Desk, Romo spent the early months of the Trump Administration on the Washington Desk covering stories about culture and politics – the voting habits of the post-millennial generation, the rise of Maxine Waters as a septuagenarian pop culture icon and DACA quinceañeras as Trump protests.
In 2016, she was at the core of the team that launched and produced The New York Times' first political podcast, The Run-Up with Michael Barbaro. Prior to that, Romo was a Spencer Education Fellow at Columbia University's School of Journalism where she began working on a radio documentary about a pilot program in Los Angeles teaching black and Latino students to code switch.
Romo has also traveled extensively through the Member station world in California and Washington. As the education reporter at Southern California Public Radio, she covered the region's K-12 school districts and higher education institutions and won the Education Writers Association first place award as well as a Regional Edward R. Murrow for Hard News Reporting.
Before that, she covered business and labor for Member station KNKX, keeping an eye on global companies including Amazon, Boeing, Starbucks and Microsoft.
A Los Angeles native, she is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where she received a degree in history. She also earned a master's degree in Journalism from NYU. She loves all things camaron-based.
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Riley Williams is typically only allowed to leave home for work, court proceedings or approved outings. This weekend, that may include jousting and a make-believe renaissance wedding. -
It can take years to grow the perfect mullet, and these kids have put in their time to take home the 2022 USA Mullet Championship trophy. Here's a peek at some of the most remarkable contestant 'dos. -
The writer searched for more than a decade for Susan Lung, who taught him to read and write English when he was a 7-year-old in 1999. On Saturday, she surprised him at one of his book readings. -
Following the Supreme Court's decision, Carlie Brown and Molly Pela rescheduled their wedding for nine months earlier. They fear that without federal protections, their family remains vulnerable. -
A statue honoring the aviation pioneer is now part of the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall. Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. -
The iconic singer-songwriter wasn't able to walk or talk after a brain aneurysm in 2015. Dr. Anthony Wang, a neurosurgeon, explains the challenges she faced as a musician and her remarkable comeback. -
Officials are calling the 22-year-old a person of interest. Police Chief Lou Jogmen says the man gave himself up after a brief pursuit in his car. -
For abortion-rights defenders, the fall of Roe v. Wade was a disaster in slow motion. That made the blow no less painful. Thirteen people with personal connections to the issue share their stories. -
Hinckley, who was confined to a mental hospital for decades, has been inching his way toward freedom for years. On Wednesday, an order lifting some remaining restrictions went into effect. -
Eulalio Diaz, Jr. was the coroner on duty in Uvalde, Texas, when a gunman massacred 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School just over a week ago. He says he'll never be the same.
