About Laura
Laura Fong shoots and produces stories for PBS NewsHour Weekend on a wide range of topics, including U.S. politics, education, the arts and urban transit. She also covers breaking news for the Saturday and Sunday broadcasts. Before joining NewsHour Weekend, Laura worked on the first three seasons of the CNN documentary series "Inside Man" with Morgan Spurlock. Through Teach for America, Laura taught first grade for two years in Houston. She has a B.A. in electronic media from the University of Oregon.
Laura’s Recent Stories
Economy Feb 13
An unexpected pitfall for some cities’ mandatory hazard pay for essential workersDespite the rollout of COVID-19 vaccinations, hazards for frontline workers continue. Early in the pandemic, many large companies increased pay for essential workers, but many of those raises have now expired. Seattle and several cities across California have passed mandatory…
Politics Jan 16
An Olympian, a therapist, professionals: A look at the rioters stoked by extremismDozens have been charged for their role in the Capitol Hill riots and the FBI has identified at least 270 more people for the siege. While some of them have had ruins with the authorities in the past, the rioters,…
Nation Nov 28
Stranded in the U.S., American Samoans are unable to go homeAmerican Samoa is one of the few places in the world with zero reported COVID-19 cases. The U.S. territory, 2,600 miles from Hawaii, shut down its borders in March to commercial flights to prevent the spread of the virus to…
Politics Oct 31
Unprecedented spending for 2020 political adsThe 2020 election cycle is by far the most expensive campaign year in U.S. history. Advertising spending for candidates running for federal office has reached unprecedented amounts, totaling at least $2.5 billion on TV ads so far. Erika Franklin Fowler,…
Nation Oct 17
Economy, racial injustice: Young Ohioans are turning out the voteFor the first time, young people, all born after 1980, make up more than half the U.S. population, according to a Brookings Institute analysis of the U.S. census -- making them a significant share of eligible voters. Ivette Feliciano spoke…
Economy Oct 04
This multimillion dollar CA ballot measure could decide the future of gig workThis November, Californians will vote on the future of gig work for rideshare and delivery drivers for companies like Uber, Doordash and Lyft. While a new state law categorizes the workers as ‘employees,’ the companies, who have put over $181…
Nation Sep 20
Weeks after a derecho hit, Eastern Iowa is still strugglingEastern Iowa is reeling a month after a rare windstorm called a derecho devastated the region, destroying hundreds of homes and half a million acres of corn. Newshour Weekend’s Christopher Booker reports on the financial burden of the derecho, made…
Education Aug 29
COVID-19 is pushing some schooling outdoors, but will it work for NYC?For a preschool program along New York's Hudson River, taking kids outdoors, no matter the weather, is built into the school's model. But for an urban district like New York City, schools face a bigger set of challenges as they…
Arts Jul 04
Arab-Israeli orchestra celebrates 20 years of harmonyThe Divan Orchestra founded by an Israeli and a Palestinian as a humanist project for friendship and dialogue is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Today, its young members are both Israeli and Arab. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent David Tereshchuk…
Science Jun 28
Samoa searching for plant-based alternatives to single-use plasticsLike many other places around the world, the South Pacific island-nation of Samoa has begun phasing out single-use plastic products, and styrofoam will be next. Businesses and research organizations there are finding creative uses of local resources to fill in…