Brakkton Booker
Brakkton Booker is a National Desk reporter based in Washington, DC.
He covers a wide range of topics including issues related to federal social safety net programs and news around the mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
His reporting takes him across the country covering natural disasters, like hurricanes and flooding, as well as tracking trends in regional politics and in state governments, particularly on issues of race.
Following the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, Booker's reporting broadened to include a focus on young activists pushing for changes to federal and state gun laws, including the March For Our Lives rally and national school walkouts.
Prior to joining NPR's national desk, Booker spent five years as a producer/reporter for NPR's political unit. He spent most to the 2016 presidential campaign cycle covering the contest for the GOP nomination and was the lead producer from the Trump campaign headquarters on election night. Booker served in a similar capacity from the Louisville campaign headquarters of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2014. During the 2012 presidential campaign, he produced pieces and filed dispatches from the Republican and Democratic National conventions, as well as from President Obama's reelection site in Chicago.
In the summer of 2014, Booker took a break from politics to report on the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.
Booker started his career as a show producer working on nearly all of NPR's magazine programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and former news and talk show Tell Me More, where he produced the program's signature Barbershop segment.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Howard University and was a 2015 Kiplinger Fellow. When he's not on the road, Booker enjoys discovering new brands of whiskey and working on his golf game.
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Police released security footage a day after McAtee, a business owner, was shot and killed by law enforcement. There is no sound, but police say it appears, based on the video, that he fires first.
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Protesters outraged over police brutality and systemic racism have spilled into the streets across the country, from Minneapolis to New York and in smaller cities such as Omaha, Neb. -
Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced his state paid $9 million for coronavirus test kits from a South Korean company. "If there were an easier way, we certainly would have taken it," Hogan said. -
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the declaration will last until May 6 and that the goal is for residents to limit contact with others by up to 80%. Every citizen will get stimulus funds of about $930.
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It's yet another major sports cancellation or postponement because of the pandemic. The NBA, MLB and the Summer Olympics have also called off games. -
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said gun shops in Los Angeles County were nonessential during the coronavirus outbreak. Then the federal government updated its list of essential industries. -
Gov. Larry Hogan said the state saw the largest one-day jump in confirmed coronavirus cases to date, including a 10-month-old who tested positive. Schools in Maryland are closed until April 24.
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Tom Brady spent 20 seasons with the New England Patriots. He said on Friday that he was "starting a new football journey." The announcement came amid uncertainty in the NFL because of the coronavirus. -
From Broadway plays to playwrights giving writing lessons to online courses from Ivy League schools, here's a look at some things (but not everything!) that have suddenly become free. -
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said the man who died from the coronavirus had underlying health issues. But he also said the state has seen an 88% increase in confirmed cases in the past 48 hours.
