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Alissa Zhu

Alissa

Alissa Zhu is a journalist at The Baltimore Banner. Her reporting on Baltimore's drug overdose crisis for The Banner and The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship won a Pulitzer Prize in 2025. Previously, she worked at the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, and the News-Leader in her hometown of Springfield, Missouri.

The latest from Alissa Zhu

Judge denies release of Maryland university instructor from ICE detention
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor Berhanu Kibret will remain in immigration detention, where he has been held for four weeks, a judge has ruled.
Berhanu Kibret, a University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor arrested by immigration agents on July 21, 2026, participated in a professional development fellowship for early career faculty members this year.
A Maryland teacher of the year was detained by ICE weeks ago. His day in court is coming.
After more than three weeks in immigration detention, a University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor is expected to appear in court for the first time Friday.
Berhanu Kibret, a University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor arrested by immigration agents on July 21, 2026, participated in a professional development fellowship for early career faculty members this year.
ICE arrests of two Baltimore academics shake Maryland universities
The recent arrests of the two Baltimore academics by federal immigration enforcement officials have roiled two university systems in Maryland that have robust networks of international faculty, researchers and students.
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy
A Hopkins researcher tried to board a plane at BWI. She ended up in ICE custody, bound for Texas.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has transferred Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins, to a detention facility in Louisiana, according to a government website that tracks those detained by ICE.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Fatima Ameaka, a public health researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, on July 28 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
A Maryland man won ‘teacher of the year.’ Then ICE grabbed him at an airport.
University of Maryland School of Pharmacy instructor Berhanu Kibret won a teacher of the year award this month right before federal immigration enforcement agents arrested him for allegedly overstaying his visa.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 6: An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City.
Maryland to receive another $13 million to combat opioid crisis
Maryland will receive more than $13 million from seven opioid manufacturers as part of a new settlement announced Friday by state Attorney General Anthony Brown.
Maryland will receive more than $13 million from seven opioid manufacturers, state Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Friday.
Cyclosporiasis outbreak still connected to Taylor Farms and iceberg lettuce
Public health officials said despite a false positive test result from sampled produce, tracing information still points to Taylor Farms and iceberg lettuce as being a part of the cyclospora contamination.
Public health officials said that despite a false positive test result from sampled produce, tracing information still points to Taylor Farms and iceberg lettuce as being part of the cyclospora contamination.
Baltimore plans to ease financial burden on families of fatal overdose victims
Baltimore wants to help families dealing with the aftermath of a fatal overdose. In June, city leaders approved a budget that included $1.15 million to create a new family support fund.
Dinner and resource tables take place during the Opioid Restitution Fund Community Listening Sessions at Gethsemane Baptist Church, Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Help is on the way for Maryland farmers hit by late-spring freeze
Financial assistance is on the way for Maryland farms and vineyards devastated by an unseasonably late freeze this spring.
Three weeks later Black Ankle Vineyards is still grappling with the damage of a late season frost that decimated their buds for grapes.
TV dubbed a homeless mom ‘Maryland’s most wanted.’ To her friend, she was in crisis.
At least one in four police shootings in the country involves a person with symptoms of mental illness, research has shown. Could this woman prevent her friend from a similar fate in Baltimore?
Diana Scott talks on the phone after canvassing homeless encampments and other areas of Baltimore to search for her friend Felicia Anderson, who she says has been experiencing a mental health crisis.
An opioid 100 times deadlier than fentanyl killed her. She won’t be the last.
Carfentanil first alarmed officials a decade ago, when it was linked to a wave of overdose deaths before fading. Now, amid an unpredictable drug supply, it appears to be making a deadly comeback.
A photograph of Eleanor Neal, who died last year at the age of 26, on display as family and friends gather to honor her life in March.
Maryland’s backlogged board keeps new drug counselors from joining overdose fight
Staff turnover and vacancies at the Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists are creating major problems in Maryland’s drug addiction treatment field and hindering the state’s fight against overdoses.
Melissa Grim has been waiting for six months for the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors and Therapists to process her application to become a licensed counselor.
6 more die in drug treatment housing linked to PHA Healthcare operators
The number of deaths associated with PHA Healthcare alarmed lawmakers and treatment providers.
An apartment complex in West Baltimore that PHA Healthcare uses to house some clients in recovery in Baltimore on October 18, 2024.
Odor at air traffic center halts flights at BWI, DC airports amid shutdown travel chaos
An odor at the air traffic control center overseeing D.C.-area airspace Friday night triggered ground stops at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and others in the region — the latest disruption for travelers facing massive security lines amid the government shutdown.
Travelers waited in long lines at BWI Airport early on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Baltimore group fights addiction, homelessness with gentle touch — and soup
Starting last year, community groups like Helping Up Mission began to receive tens of millions of dollars from the city’s opioid restitution fund to combat an ongoing overdose crisis.
Peter Griffin, left, director of outreach and intake for Helping Up Mission, and Keith Dunkley, right, greet Ruben Gregg during a stop with the nonprofit’s Mobile Street Outreach team in Baltimore last month.
Up to 40% of Baltimoreans struggle with basic expenses, Hopkins survey finds
While poor residents and families with children are especially feeling the pinch, costs are creating stress for people across the income spectrum, the survey found.
Rising costs are creating stress for people across the income spectrum.
The bad news behind Baltimore’s remarkable decline in drug overdose deaths
Baltimore’s overdose crisis does not appear to be ebbing, but evolving, according to interviews with experts. A mix of other chemicals — often less immediately lethal but dangerous in other ways — has grown increasingly common.
Brandon Powell in the Little Italy neighborhood in Baltimore last month.
Chestertown house explodes, killing a grandfather and family pet
A house exploded in Kent County on Valentine’s Day evening, killing Charles William Heaps, 68.
FEBRUARY 15, 2026 - Charles William Heaps, 68, was killed in a Chestertown home explosion on Valentine's Day.
Man in a vacant home, teenage girl killed overnight in Baltimore
Baltimore Police are investigating two homicides that occurred early Sunday morning.
Police tape seen at the intersection of Pennsylvania Ave and Lauren Street.
Woman dies after being struck by car in Baltimore County
Loretta Pretlow, 67, appeared to be trying to cross Liberty Road when a westbound car hit her.
A close up photo of a yellow crosswalk sign at a city intersection.
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