Claudia Grisales
Claudia Grisales is a congressional reporter assigned to NPR's Washington Desk.
Before joining NPR in June 2019, she was a Capitol Hill reporter covering military affairs for Stars and Stripes. She also covered breaking news involving fallen service members and the Trump administration's relationship with the military. She also investigated service members who have undergone toxic exposures, such as the atomic veterans who participated nuclear bomb testing and subsequent cleanup operations.
Prior to Stars and Stripes, Grisales was an award-winning reporter at the daily newspaper in Central Texas, the Austin American-Statesman, for 16 years. There, she covered the intersection of business news and regulation, energy issues and public safety. She also conducted a years-long probe that uncovered systemic abuses and corruption at Pedernales Electric Cooperative, the largest member-owned utility in the country. The investigation led to the ousting of more than a dozen executives, state and U.S. congressional hearings and criminal convictions for two of the co-op's top leaders.
Grisales is originally from Chicago and is an alum of the University of Houston, the University of Texas and Syracuse University. At Syracuse, she attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where she earned a master's degree in journalism.
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Congress saw its first two members enter self-quarantine on March 8. Later that month, seven members tested positive or were presumed so and dozens more were quarantined. The ranks have since grown.
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President Trump's alleged comments disparaging service members is giving Democrats hope they can attract the military vote. Some key states in the election have large military bases.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rolled out a targeted coronavirus aid plan amid stalled negotiations on a broader deal. Democrats oppose the bill and it's unlikely to advance. -
In 2016, President Trump won overwhelmingly in Union County, N.C., an exurban area outside Charlotte. Now, Democrats see potential gains with new residents and disaffected Republicans.
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Voters under 40 will be close to 40% of North Carolina's electorate this fall and its most racially diverse voting bloc. The pandemic weighs heavily on those determined to defeat President Trump.
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North Carolina is a critical piece of President Trump's path to a second term. But 4 in 10 voters in the state are under 40, and they could be a decisive roadblock for Trump's campaign.
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On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, party members held a watch party in North Carolina. Due to pandemic restrictions, you could count the attendees on one hand.
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Talks between top Congressional Democrats and White House officials have failed to reconcile the coronavirus relief bills of the House and the Senate.
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Negotiations over the next round of coronavirus relief have been going on for nearly two weeks, but leaders from both parties say they are still nowhere close to an agreement.
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Congress still doesn't have a widespread testing program for the coronavirus and was reminded of that risk when three members tested positive in one week.
