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
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…
Nation Jun 07
How a break in the nation’s food supply caused regional food companies to soarDuring the first months of the pandemic, as industrial meat plants closed and grocery stores experienced shortages, some mid-sized local food companies saw an unexpected boom in business. As people across the country sheltered in place, they turned to these…
Education May 31
Kentucky high school seniors graduate at a drive-in theaterFor many schools, the month of May is a time when high school seniors graduate and move on to the next stages of life. But as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted in-person graduation ceremonies, one Kentucky high school used a…
Science May 16
Climate change threatens Rose Atoll National Wildlife RefugeOne of the biggest impacts of climate change will be on islands and coastal regions. That includes Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, an uninhabited island and protected sanctuary for dozens of wildlife species in the equatorial Pacific’s U.S. territory of…
World May 16
Samoan Islands: Shifting TidesTo see how one of the most remote places on earth is being impacted by climate change, NewsHour Weekend traveled last fall to Rose Atoll, an uninhabited wildlife refuge in American Samoa. We had to get a special permit from…
