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Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

zfailla@dailyvoice.com

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Equal parts Lois Lane, J. Jonah Jameson and Vicki Vale, Zak! has traveled from coast-to-coast covering small and big town community news in both in print and online for nearly a decade since his graduation from the award-winning Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College in 2010.

Before settling into the Hudson Valley, Zak! previously spent time in the New York Daily News newsroom and worked for hyperlocal digital news outlets on Long Island. He wrote sports for The Ithacan and The Ithaca Journal before taking his talents to the Pacific Northwest, where he served as the sports editor at the Shoshone News-Press until heading back east to work with Daily Voice.

Zak Failla's Contributions

News
'Burn That Sh—!' DC Protester Who Torched American Flag Learns Fate In Court 'Burn That Sh—!' DC Protester Who Torched American Flag Learns Fate In Court
'Burn That Sh—!' DC Protester Who Torched American Flag Learns Fate In Court He doused it in lighter fluid. He set it on fire. He yelled for a better lighter. Now, he’s learning his fate. A North Carolina man who sparked outrage by burning an American flag during a demonstration outside Union Station in Washington, DC has been sentenced, federal prosecutors announced. Michael Snow Jr., 25, of Durham, was sentenced to four months of probation, 40 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $525 in restitution after pleading guilty to destruction of government property. The incident happened on July 24, 2024, when protesters gathered in Columbus Circle in front o…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Pennsylvania Teen Linked To Maryland Teen’s Accidental Shooting Death: Police Pennsylvania Teen Linked To Maryland Teen’s Accidental Shooting Death: Police
Pennsylvania Teen Linked To Maryland Teen’s Accidental Shooting Death: Police A 16-year-old Maryland boy was shot and killed by his friend while "playing with a gun," police said. Officers with the Prince George’s County Police Department were called to a home on Heartwood Drive in Beltsville around 4:25 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, where they found Derrick Palmer suffering from a gunshot wound. Palmer, of Beltsville, died shortly after at a hospital, police said. The suspected shooter, identified as 18-year-old Kimaury Kamara of Mt. Holly Spring in Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with manslaughter and related offenses. According to the preliminary investigatio…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Heroic Neighbor Uses Ladder To Rescue Maryland Man Trapped On Roof In House Fire Heroic Neighbor Uses Ladder To Rescue Maryland Man Trapped On Roof In House Fire
Heroic Neighbor Uses Ladder To Rescue Maryland Man Trapped On Roof In House Fire A man was pulled off a roof by a neighbor with a ladder as fire tore through a Maryland duplex, sending him to the hospital and displacing two families, authorities said. The blaze broke out around 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 10 on Mill Street in Greensboro, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal.  When crews from the Greensboro Volunteer Fire Company arrived, flames were already ripping through the exterior of the two-story home, officials said. Investigators said the only occupant of unit 113-A was forced onto the roof to escape the smoke and flames. A neighbor then grabbed a l…

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by Zak Failla
Politics
Tattooed MS-13 Gang Member Wanted For Gun Crimes In El Salvador Nabbed In Maryland: ICE Tattooed MS-13 Gang Member Wanted For Gun Crimes In El Salvador Nabbed In Maryland: ICE
Tattooed MS-13 Gang Member Wanted For Gun Crimes In El Salvador Nabbed In Maryland: ICE He was deported once — now he's back behind bars. A violent MS-13 gang member wanted in his home country of El Salvador has been arrested in Maryland, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Joel Armando Mejia-Benitez, 38, was taken into custody in Silver Spring last week, ICE officials confirmed. Mejia-Benitez, a known member of the transnational MS-13 gang, is wanted in El Salvador on firearms-related charges. ICE said Mejia-Benitez first entered the US illegally in 2004, when he was caught by Border Patrol near Sullivan City in Texas. A judge ordered him deported i…

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by Zak Failla
Traffic
Woodbridge Motorcyclist Dies After Running Red Light, Crashing Into Car: Police Woodbridge Motorcyclist Dies After Running Red Light, Crashing Into Car: Police
Woodbridge Motorcyclist Dies After Running Red Light, Crashing Into Car: Police A Virginia motorcyclist is dead after police say he blew through a red light and crashed into a car turning in front of him. Christian Alexis Zayas, 28, of Woodbridge, died at the scene after slamming into a Kia Soul while riding his 2019 Indian FTR 1200 motorcycle on Minnieville Road in Woodbridge, according to the Prince William County Police Department. It happened around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, near Prince William Parkway, police said. Investigators said Zayas was speeding eastbound when he disregarded a red signal. That’s when the driver of the westbound Kia Soul, a 61-year-ol…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
WATCH: BMW Driver Ignores Police, Plows Through Street Festival Crowd Before Arrest WATCH: BMW Driver Ignores Police, Plows Through Street Festival Crowd Before Arrest
Watch: BMW Driver Ignores Police, Plows Through Street Festival Crowd Before Arrest A Maryland woman who HAD to get to work in Virginia did not make it there after driving through a crowded street fair and ignoring an officer's demands to stop.  On a day that started with an explosion in Laurel, local resident Kai Deberry-Bostick, 28, provided the fireworks after making a scene and plowing through an officer, then through a busy crowd filled with children and families during the annual Main Street Festival.  Quick Action by Laurel Police! During today's Main Street Festival, officers swiftly intervened when a driver... Posted by Laurel Police Department on&n…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Hardcore Wrestling Icon Sabu, ECW Star And WWE Alum, Dies Weeks After Final Match At 60 Hardcore Wrestling Icon Sabu, ECW Star And WWE Alum, Dies Weeks After Final Match At 60
Hardcore Wrestling Icon Sabu, ECW Star And WWE Alum, Dies Weeks After Final Match At 60 Hardcore wrestling legend Terry Brunk — more commonly known as Sabu — has died, according to reports. The Staten Island native, who made his name in ECW before being inducted into the Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame, was 60.  No cause of death has been confirmed.  Sabu was among the most popular hardcore wrestlers in the business and had a brief run with WWE in the mid-2000s.  News of his death comes weeks after his victory over GCW star and former WWE wrestler Joey Janela on April 18. Sabu was trained by his uncle, "The Sheik" and was a mainstay in the business for decades, …

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by Zak Failla
Politics
US, China Reach Breakthrough On Trade Deal After Geneva Talks: White House US, China Reach Breakthrough On Trade Deal After Geneva Talks: White House
US, China Reach Breakthrough On Trade Deal After Geneva Talks: White House After two days of intense, high-stakes negotiations in Geneva, the United States and China have reached a breakthrough on a new trade agreement aimed at easing tensions and addressing the $1.2 trillion trade deficit, the White House announced. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer announced the deal on Sunday, May 11, following face-to-face meetings with Chinese officials in Switzerland. BREAKING: U.S. Announces China Trade Deal in Geneva pic.twitter.com/JjgvYAvAGe — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 11, 2025 “I’m happy to report …

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by Zak Failla
Sports
Kentucky Derby Jockey Hit With $62K Fine, Suspension For Over-Whipping Champ Sovereignty Kentucky Derby Jockey Hit With $62K Fine, Suspension For Over-Whipping Champ Sovereignty
Kentucky Derby Jockey Hit With $62K Fine, Suspension For Over-Whipping Champ Sovereignty The jockey who rode Kentucky Derby-winning horse Sovereignty last week is facing a hefty fine and brief suspension, according to reports. Junior Alvarado, 38, was fined $62,000 by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) on Friday after he whipped his horse too many times during the winning run at Churchill Downs. He was also suspended for two days. HISA noted that it was Alvarado's second offense in 180 days, leading to the hefty fine.  "Mr. Alvarado’s fine was doubled pursuant to an escalating penalty structure for repeat riding crop violations within the previous 180 d…

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by Zak Failla
Sports
From Trash Pandas To Toilet Seats: John Oliver’s Crazy Plan To Rename MiLB Team Goes Viral From Trash Pandas To Toilet Seats: John Oliver’s Crazy Plan To Rename MiLB Team Goes Viral
From Trash Pandas To Toilet Seats: John Oliver’s Crazy Plan To Rename MiLB Team Goes Viral Late-night host John Oliver has an interesting offer for Minor League Baseball. In the latest episode of HBO's "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," the host had a lot to say about the minors, particularly poking fun at some of the more peculiar promotions, team nicknames, and mascots. Highlighting some of the 120 MiLB teams, Oliver made light of the Lake County Captains in Ohio, which ripped out a section of the stands and replaced them with toilet seats, then called out certain team names, such as the Hub City Spartanburgers, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and Modesto Nuts.  Oh, and the…

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