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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The State Department is discouraging tourists from traveling to the Caribbean islands. But government officials from both nations hope that won't keep tourists from coming. -
California is in the grips of an atmospheric river that's causing flooding all over the state. Climate change might be intensifying storms like it — but scientists are still working out the details. -
The storm, an atmospheric river which is now in its second day, has claimed three lives. Meanwhile, the unrelenting deluge is soaking already saturated soil, threatening more floods and mudslides. -
The CDC estimates that up to 86% of new COVID-19 cases stem from the latest mutation. The virus continues to evolve so rapidly that "our immune systems have not been able to keep up," an expert says. -
The aircraft-maker is under renewed pressure to strengthen quality management across its production lines. But critics say a fundamental cultural shift is needed. -
The Portuguese pooch was said be 31 years when he died last October, far outlasting dogs of the same breed, which often live half that age. Now, experts have doubts about the validity of those claims. -
As the U.S. celebrates the civil rights icon on MLK Day, here are a few things to know about the holiday honoring the slain activist and his fight against inequality and racial injustice. -
Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned Tuesday amid plagiarism allegations. Experts say improved technology could bring to light more alleged transgressions in past works by other academic leaders. -
Do your New Year's resolutions include improving your vocabulary? Then the 2024 Banished Words List from Lake Superior State is for you. -
The "significant" winter storm dropping heavy snow, freezing rains and potentially damaging ice is expected to last through early Wednesday, the National Weather Service warns.
