Michelle Del Rey
Michelle Del Rey turns fast-moving political talkers and public spectacles into clear, accessible stories that show how national power plays land with ordinary people. At USA TODAY she works on trending news, with a focus on political talkers and Washington happenings that cut across policy, publicity and everyday life. Her recent work includes coverage of Trump’s gold T1 phone as it begins shipping, treating it as part of the broader ecosystem of Trump-branded ventures and political merchandising.
Political talkers, Trump-branded ventures and immigration
Del Rey’s core lane is political stories that explode online and demand quick, plain-English explanation. In her coverage of the Aliens.gov website, she shows how a seemingly playful government page about UFOs is in fact devoted to statistics on immigrant arrests, framing the site as a communications choice with real policy and human stakes. She stays close to the rhetoric and presentation, quoting the site’s attention-grabbing language while drilling into the underlying enforcement data and what it signals about the administration’s priorities.
Trump-related ventures recur in her work, and she approaches them as both political theater and business story. Alongside reporting on Trump’s gold T1 phone and its rollout, she has written and appeared in coverage of Trump’s Great American State Fair, looking at merchandise decisions, crowd dynamics and operational snags as windows into the state of his movement. In pieces about what surprised her team about the official merchandise and what attendance looks like at the fair, she uses specific observations — empty booths, power outages, missing items — to show how the promise of a major political spectacle matches up with the reality on the ground.
On-the-ground reporting from Washington events and landmarks
Del Rey often reports from Washington locations in person, using short videos and explainers to bring national events and symbols down to street level. At DC’s Great American State Fair on the National Mall, she has filed pieces and social video on attendance, booth activity and the broader atmosphere as crowds celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary. She talks to attendees, including a retiree who drove nine hours to reach the fair, and uses their stories to convey why the event matters beyond the official program.
Her Washington coverage extends beyond politics into the city’s historical and cultural sites. In a video on “hidden gems” in the nation’s capital, she visits lesser-known spots and explains why they merit attention, blending light service journalism with a sense of discovery. She has also appeared in segments from the Lincoln Memorial, using that setting to anchor broader conversations about civic life and national identity. Across these pieces, she relies on direct observation, straightforward narration and a focus on what a visitor would actually see and experience.
Quirky law, taxes and money stories that resonate nationally
Del Rey regularly picks up offbeat legal and tax stories with wide appeal, treating them as business-of-life questions rather than niche legal disputes. In her piece about a woman suing the IRS to have pets classified as dependents, she explains the claim in plain language and walks through what it would mean for taxpayers, revenue and the definition of family if such an argument ever succeeded. The story combines humor with careful explanation of how tax rules work, making a complex system legible without losing sight of the human motivations behind the lawsuit.
Even when the subject matter is unusual, she keeps the focus on stakes and systems: who is affected, how rules are currently written, and what would have to change for a quirky idea to become policy. That approach carries through her political and immigration coverage, where she translates bureaucratic or legal structures into terms that connect with people who encounter them in daily life.
Background in breaking news and national stories
Beyond her work at USA TODAY, Del Rey has reported U.S. breaking news for an international publication, bringing a generalist’s eye to fast-moving national stories. That background in breaking news is evident in her ability to pivot from political communications controversies to criminal justice developments, such as co-reported coverage of resentencing hearings for Erik and Lyle Menendez. She also has experience freelancing for local and national outlets, which underpins her comfort moving between beltway happenings, human-interest pieces and legal or policy explainers.
Across these assignments, the through-line is speed paired with clarity: she steps into stories once they become national conversation points and strips away jargon, giving readers and viewers enough context to understand why a particular website, event, product or lawsuit matters right now. Her work is grounded in specific scenes and voices, and it consistently ties individual moments back to the larger currents in American politics, business and culture.
4 more business journalists.
Aarjavee Raaj
Aarjavee Raaj focuses on how corporate decisions, government warnings and economic trends affect everyday Canadians, using clear, data-driven business and related news coverage. She is a CTVNews.ca journalist with experience reporting on arts, culture, business and more, and her name is pronounced Aar-Za-Vee. Her work links institutional and corporate developments to practical consequences for workers, consumers and families, including corporate losses, retail restructuring, tax schemes and compliance warnings. She reports on workplace trends, economic strain, consumer recalls and health impacts, using survey data, charity reports, regulatory notices and clinical stories to show how macroeconomic and policy issues touch daily life. A digital journalist, she keeps to tight headlines, clear summaries of official statements or data, and a steady focus on what developments mean for people who work, shop and rely on public services.
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams reports human interest stories that follow how sudden conflict, loss and long-running mysteries reshape the lives of ordinary people in everyday settings. She is a writer-reporter on PEOPLE’s Human Interest team, a role she has held since joining the brand in June 2021. Her work centers on routine days that turn into major events, giving equal weight to what happened and the human cost. She covers minor disputes and errands that end in tragedy, sudden accidents, law enforcement and public safety incidents, and missing-person cases with new developments after years of uncertainty. Her reporting is concise, event-led and built around individual lives, often framed with clear emotional cues while staying grounded in verified facts. Business and workplace contexts appear as backdrops, but the person and their circle remain at the heart of the story.
Akshay Kulkarni
Akshay Kulkarni is a data-led reporter who explains how economic, policy and social forces play out in British Columbia through concrete numbers, records and local case histories. He has worked as a journalist at CBC British Columbia since 2021, focusing on business, labour and resource developments, including tariffs, trade rules, corporate strategies and regulatory decisions. His coverage of critical minerals, Amazon’s impact on jobs and wages, and responsible investment links market shifts to the lived experience of workers, consumers and small businesses. He also reports on infrastructure, energy and land use, such as the Site C project and high-value property disputes, and on policy and social systems, including Indigenous deaths in custody, social media use in harm reduction, and mandatory inquests. His stories are built around original interviews and quantitative detail that show how systems affect communities on the ground.
Allison Stephen
Allison Stephen stands out for connecting everyday life with money, work, and the built environment through vivid local examples instead of abstract business coverage. She is a staff writer at Daily Hive, where she covers how jobs, housing, major projects, and consumer experiences shape economic reality on the ground. Housing and real estate are central to her work, including detailed, accessible stories on distinctive homes, high-end rentals, and monthly shifts in home prices and cost of living. She regularly covers employment, especially public-sector and institutional hiring, highlighting well-paid roles and urging readers to act on new opportunities. Her reporting on major civic and recreational projects explains what is being built, how much it costs, and where it stands in approvals. She also writes about local businesses, food, and attractions, using concrete numbers, specific locations, and direct calls to action.