Home Resume About Contact Work

Dailies

I have worked on a variety of stories across several outlets, including coverage in Arizona, California and Washington, D.C. 

Cronkite News •

Montezuma Castle National Monument closes after government shutdown

CAMPE VERDE — Yasmeen Mustafa approached the locked gates at Montezuma Castle National Monument and let out a deep, frustrated sigh as it dawned on her that the monument – and other national parks in Arizona, too – would have closures after the government shutdown began Wednesday.


“I really have no words to describe how I’m feeling right now,” she said. “I’m so upset.”


Wednesday marked the first day of her 10-day “dream trip” throughout the Southwest. Mustafa and her family planned to visi...
Times of San Diego •

Three fires break out in San Diego County, largest near Camp Pendleton

Three fires broke out almost simultaneously across San Diego County on Thursday, with one growing to 200 acres.

The Basilone Fire broke out in North County near Camp Pendleton around 1:15 p.m., as did the Dennery Fire in San Ysidro.

The Jamacha Fire in East County broke out closer to 1 p.m. in the Rancho San Diego area. 

As of 4 p.m., none of the fires have led to evacuation orders. Two remain small, while the other, the Basilone Fire, has grown.

That blaze started at two acres, but has no...
Cronkite News •

Trump’s pick for Pentagon chief, Fox News host Pete Hegseth, raises eyebrows

WASHINGTON – Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was among the combat veterans and Democrats expressing deep skepticism at Donald Trump’s choice of a defense secretary with no national security experience.

“Typically you expect someone in that role to have implemented or made policy – defense policy,” Kelly, a Navy combat pilot, said Wednesday of the president-elect’s pick, conservative Fox News host Pete Hegseth.

Resumes of defense secretaries in recent decades included stints as CIA director, secretary...
Times of San Diego •

San Diego police admit license plate reader data breach in early days of program

The San Diego Police Department’s automated license plate recognition database was searched nearly 13,000 times during the early weeks of its implementation in 2023 and 2024, a concern many had leading up to the city’s adoption of the technology.

Privacy advocates’ alarm stemmed from the potential for data breaches and cross-agency data sharing from automated license plate readers, often referred to as ALPRs.

In a memorandum to the city’s Privacy Advisory Board on Friday, the department admitt...
Cronkite News •

Nationwide walkout over Trump brings hundreds to Arizona Capitol

PHOENIX – Over the last year, the United States has seen protests across the country denouncing the Trump administration, its immigration policies and more. On the one-year anniversary of the president’s inauguration, protesters didn’t show any signs of letting up.


Shrouded in the shade of the State Capitol, high school students, teachers, parents, retirees and immigrants gathered in red, white and blue; inflatable blowup costumes; and colonial attire – with determination on their faces – in...
Times of San Diego •

Families demand that San Diego County 'show us the evidence' on jail in-custody deaths

Saving Lives in Custody, a local nonprofit fighting for answers to deaths in San Diego County jails, held a press conference Thursday asking the Citizens Law Enforcement Review Board to take action.

Saving Lives in Custody was joined by the family members and loved ones of individuals who died while in a county jail.  Leaders of the nonprofit demanded attention from the review board, or CLERB, which investigates citizen complaints against the San Diego County Sheriff’s and probation offices. 
“...
Cronkite News •

Arizona Supreme Court hears Prop. 211 arguments

PHOENIX — The fate of Proposition 211, an overwhelmingly popular law passed in 2022, was placed in the hands of the Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday.


The justices heard oral arguments from the Goldwater Institute, the plaintiff, and from the Arizona secretary of state, whose office defended the proposition.


Proposition 211, popularly known as the “Voter’s Right to Know Act,” passed with 72% of the vote. The Goldwater Institute, a public policy research organization, filed a lawsuit challe...
Cronkite News •

Radiation victims call on Speaker Mike Johnson to revive RECA compensation bill

WASHINGTON – People exposed to radiation from atomic bomb tests and uranium mines rallied Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol – along with tribal leaders – to demand action on a stalled compensation program.
“They gave the ultimate sacrifice when it was needed. We should reward the people who didn’t question what needs to be done,” said Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren.
[su_pullquote]CORRECTION: EDS: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described compensation eligibility for people who lived...
Times of San Diego •

Linda Vista resident, U.S. citizen detained by ICE, raises awareness after court hearing

Dozens gathered Thursday morning in support of “Blue” Wong, a longtime activist and a United States citizen who was detained by ICE earlier this month.

Wong was detained on July 2 following an ICE raid in Linda Vista. A total of three U.S. citizens were detained in the incident, including Wong.

Wong did not provide her first name because she wants to “level the playing field.” She knows very little about the officers who took her into custody. 

Video footage from the day shows Blue standing...
Times of San Diego •

Twentynine Palms Marines join National Guard deployment in LA

Approximately 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles as a response to the ongoing protests there — despite strong opposition voiced by California politicians.

“Donald Trump’s decision to deploy Marines to Los Angeles is an astounding overreach of authoritarian power. The state of California has not requested the National Guard, much less the Marines, but Trump is sending them anyway,” said Democratic Rep. Mike Levin, who represents parts of San Diego and Orange County.

Levin sent a let...
Cronkite News •

Does Kamala Harris’ defeat mean the US isn’t ready for a female president?

WASHINGTON – Women have led the governments of nearly a third of the countries on Earth as presidents, prime ministers and chancellors. Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat kept the 235-year-old glass ceiling in the United States unbroken.

“It absolutely will happen,” said Jean Sinzdak, associate director of the Rutgers Center for American Women and Politics.

Just not yet.

In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in last month as the 66th president and the first woman on that list. Margaret Tha...
Cronkite News •

Biden issues formal apology for atrocities at Indigenous federal boarding schools

LAVEEN VILLAGE – President Joe Biden on Friday formally apologized for the 150 years of abuse and harm suffered by Indigenous children that were put into the federal boarding school system.

“I believe it is important that we do know there was generations of Native children stolen, taken away to places they didn’t know, with people they never met, who spoke a language they never heard,” Biden said during a visit to the Gila River Indian Community in front of an emotional crowd. “The federal gove...