I’m happy to share that today is my first day as a visualization reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek! I’ll be working on data stories and lots of charts. Have a tip? Reach out.
Susan Merriam
@semerriam.bsky.social
Visualization Reporter @bloomberg.com Signal: @semerriam.48 for tips https://semerriam.github.io/
We spoke to civilians from Gaza, Lebanon, Sudan and Ukraine about living beneath drones. Each of them talk about a different sound: the air raid sirens, the buzzing, the explosions and also what it feels like to pine for silence amidst constant noise. Gift link 👇 www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
Drones Are Reshaping the Soundscape of War
From Gaza to Kyiv, civilians describe how drones are transforming not just the battlefield but the sounds and psychology of modern conflict.
bloomberg.com
Florida’s Brightline Taps Reserves to Make Key Bond Payments www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Florida’s Brightline Taps Reserves to Make Key Bond Payments
Brightline, the debt-laden Florida private railroad, tapped reserves to made a July 1 interest payment due to holders of its senior municipal bonds and corporate notes, according to people familiar wi...
bloomberg.com
Democratic Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson's latest comments on Brightline
Miami Herald@miamiherald.com · last mo.Communities have been demanding action for years. They deserve to know that every reasonable step is being taken to make these crossings safer. | Opinion
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Brightline Senior Bonds May Recover Just 44 Cents: CreditSights
Investors holding Brightline Florida’s $2.2 billion of senior bonds could get as little as 44 cents on the dollar in a bankruptcy or restructuring, according to CreditSights. Holders of lower ranked d...
bloomberg.com
Breaking news: The EPA proposed repealing limits on four types of “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The proposal would end the Biden-era restrictions on four PFAS compounds and give utilities more time to comply with limits on two others.
EPA wants to repeal limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
If finalized, the proposal would end the Biden-era restritions for four toxic PFAS compounds and give utilities two more years to comply with limits on two other compounds.
washingtonpost.com
Thank you @ire.org for recognizing Killer Train from @miamiherald.com and @wlrnnews.bsky.social. A massive team effort behind this reporting—the list of names reflects it.
Investigative Reporters & Editors@ire.org · 3mo agoCongratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2025 IRE Awards! Awards will be presented at the 2026 IRE Conference in National Harbor, MD on Friday, June 19, during the Awards Luncheon. Full list of winners and finalists: https://bit.ly/4cS2qfN
Honored that @pulitzerprizes.bsky.social recognized our @miamiherald.com / @wlrnnews.bsky.social investigation into the country’s deadliest major passenger train www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
Pulitzer Prizes honor Miami Herald’s Julie K. Brown and Brightline investigation
Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown on Monday was honored by the Pulitzer Prize Board for her groundbreaking and impactful investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
miamiherald.com
Brightline cuts losses yet ‘substantial doubt’ remains it can avoid bankruptcy
Brightline cuts losses yet ‘substantial doubt’ remains it can avoid bankruptcy
Florida’s private passenger train service saw its business grow in 2025, but not fast enough to keep up with its approaching debt requirements. Brightline’s annual report shows while ridership and rev...
wlrn.org
Yesterday was my last day at McClatchy. I’m so thankful for the talented, generous people I got to work with. I was part of the latest round of layoffs and am now exploring new opportunities across journalism, data, and visualization.
🏅The finalists for the Climate Change Prize are: Corbin Hiar and Karl Mathiesen, Politico, The Risky Rise of Solar Geoengineering; Alex Harris and Susan Merriam, Miami Herald, Floods of Trouble. 🏅
.@harrisalexc.bsky.social and @semerriam.bsky.social of @miamiherald.com have won the 2025 Thomas L. Stokes Award for Best Energy and Environment Writing from NPF, revealing how climate change & street flooding are reshaping life & property values in South Florida. nationalpress.org/award-story/...
Industry money has been pouring into the congressional campaign of a 26-year-old political unknown from Wisconsin. The candidate’s father-in-law happens to be Sean Duffy, the U.S. secretary of transportation. www.propublica.org/article/sean...
Transportation Lobbyists Have Donated Thousands to Sean Duffy’s Son-in-Law as He Runs for Congress
Industry money has been pouring into the congressional campaign of Michael Alfonso, a 26-year-old political unknown from Wisconsin. The candidate’s father-in-law happens to be the U.S. secretary of tr...
propublica.org
Was a notorious textile plant's waste spread on a future school site? SC school opened last year www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
SC school reportedly built on land coated with polluting industry’s waste
State and federal authorities are trying to learn more about reports that an elementary school was built atop a sludge field coated with contaminated waste.
thestate.com
Mentally competent patients typically have the right to choose their medical care — or refuse it. But there is one notable exception: pregnant patients. That inconsistency is particularly striking in Florida. Read this story by @amyyurkanin.bsky.social 👇
They Didn’t Want to Have C-Sections. A Judge Would Decide How They Gave Birth.
Two Florida women had to attend virtual court hearings while in labor to argue for their right to choose their own medical care. As their state pushes to expand some types of medical freedom, it has a...
propublica.org
Planet Labs and Vantor, two leading U.S.-based spatial intelligence companies with federal contracts, say they are restricting access to satellite images of the Middle East in response to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Satellite companies restrict access to Middle East imagery amid Iran war
The U.S.-based companies, Planet Labs and Vantor, say they were not instructed by any government to restrict image access.
washingtonpost.com
We are so excited to share the semifinalists for this year's Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting! This group represents the top 30 entries that our judges deemed to be of extremely high quality and in keeping with the Prize's criteria for impact on US government: https://loom.ly/b1vGj3s
Yale research finds toxins on SC farm, the latest in the unfolding story of forever chemicals in the state www.thestate.com/news/local/e...
Yale researchers find high levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in SC farmland
Yale researchers find contamination on SC farmland, the latest in the unfolding saga of forever chemical pollution in the Palmetto State
thestate.com
Thank you @frontlinepbs.bsky.social @postandcourier.bsky.social @apnews.com for referencing our reporting for @thestate.com from 2023. Glad to see continued reporting on PFAS in South Carolina!
FRONTLINE@frontlinepbs.bsky.social · 6mo agoHow did one of the South's most important industries — the carpet industry — weave itself into one of the world’s most pervasive pollution crises? Here's what an investigation by The Post and Courier, @ajc.com, FRONTLINE, AL.com and @apnews.com found:
State senator says the reporting on Brightline deaths underscores the need for sensors that would warn train crews when tracks aren’t clear.
Florida senator pushes rail safety bill amid deaths documented in Herald/WLRN series
State senator says the reporting on Brightline deaths underscores the need for sensors that would warn train crews when tracks aren’t clear.
bit.ly
Over / under: The latest episode in our podcast series Killer Train by @wlrnnews.bsky.social and @miamiherald.com www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
The future of Brightline: Listen to episode 6 of WLRN/Herald podcast
Episode 6 of WLRN/Miami Herald’s Killer Train podcast explores Brightline’s future, safety plans and taxpayer costs to secure Florida railroad crossings.
miamiherald.com
Documenting the dead Since 2017, Brightline trains have struck and killed 196 people. These are their names. ✍️: @brittanywallman.bsky.social Read here: www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
As young as 17, as old as 84: These are the 196 people killed by Brightline trains
A full accounting, for the first time, of who died in Brightline accidents in Florida.
miamiherald.com
"The ratings company noted that it’s been harder than expected to get potential customers to ditch their cars and take the train. S&P is forecasting slower growth in ticket revenue of 15% in 2026, compared to a previous forecast of 38% growth." www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Brightline Municipal Bonds Downgraded Five Notches by S&P
Brightline Trains Florida LLC — the struggling private rail line connecting Orlando to Miami — was downgraded five notches by S&P Global Ratings, citing a “material deviation” from growth expectat...
bloomberg.com
Brightline’s South Florida revenue coming up short as its long distance fares continue growing so far this year www.wlrn.org/business/202...
Brightline’s South Florida revenue coming up short as its long distance fares continue growing so far this year
Brightline is carrying more passengers throughout its service territory, but ticket revenue from its South Florida-only service remains lower than it was a year ago. The company also updated lenders t...
wlrn.org
Rules going into effect Jan. 1 about how to design safe rail crossings only apply to future projects.
‘They need to do a lot more’: New Florida rules won’t fix Brightline’s deadly tracks
Rules going into effect Jan. 1 about how to design safe rail crossings only apply to future projects.
bit.ly
"The rate of sea-level rise along U.S. coastlines has more than doubled over the past 125 years, according to a new analysis that examined data from scores of tide gauges from around the country." www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
Rebutting a Trump report, study shows U.S. sea-level rise is accelerating
“It’s not politics. That’s what the data say,” said the study’s author, who examined 70 tide gauges around the country.
washingtonpost.com
Julie K. Brown explains what — and who — to look out for in the files, scheduled to be released Friday by the Department of Justice.
The Miami Herald’s guide to breaking down the Epstein files
Julie K. Brown explains what — and who — to look out for in the files, scheduled to be released Friday by the Department of Justice.
bit.ly
Darren Brown, a former conductor, filed suit in federal court on Tuesday against Brightline Trains Florida LLC and Fortress Investment Group LLC. He was interviewed earlier this year for another story in our Killer Train series. www.miamiherald.com/news/local/a...
Brightline conductor sues for $60 million, says job on deadly rails caused PTSD
A former Brightline conductor is suing the company after he says repeated exposure to traumatic incidents led to PTSD diagnosis.
miamiherald.com