Freelance

Fayette County by Justin Merriman

Kids ride their bikes past a church along Pittsburgh Street in Connellsville, Pa., part of Fayette County, on October 25, 2020. Democrats in Fayette County lead Republicans with 39,857 voters compared to 34,460 Democrats, with another 8,028 independents. However, Democrats once held a 3-to-1 advantage in the county just 10 years ago. In the 2016 election, Trump won Fayette County with 64.4% of the votes over Hillary Clinton’s 33.4%.

Appomattox, Virginia by Justin Merriman

Pittsburgh International Airport by Justin Merriman

Pittsburgh is one of several midsize cities taking costly steps to resize their airports for a new set of needs on the ground. I visited Pittsburgh International Airport for the Wall Street Journal. Read more about the plans for the future at the airport. 

John James by Justin Merriman

Detroit businessman and Iraq war veteran, John James, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan, poses for a portrait on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017 in Detroit, Mich. Read more about John James rise in Michigan in the Washington Examiner

Beta Theta Pi Fraternity Preliminary Hearing by Justin Merriman

A member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity arrives for the preliminary hearing at the Centre County courthouse on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Today's hearing will determine whether the 18 brothers, as well as their fraternity, should stand trial for the death of Timothy Piazza.

Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, the 19-year-old pledge who died following a Feb. 2 event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, leave the Centre County courthouse following a preliminary hearing on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Luke Visser, a member of the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, leaves the Centre County courthouse following a preliminary hearing on Monday Morning, June 12, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Visser faces 56 counts: involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor, and consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, the 19-year-old pledge who died following a Feb. 2 event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, wait to enter the Centre County courthouse prior to a preliminary hearing on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Piazza family attorney Tom Kline speaks with members of the media outside of the Centre County courthouse at the conclusion of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Monday, July 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Brendan Young, president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives back at the Centre County courthouse for the continuation of the preliminary hearing in the death of Timothy Piazza, 19, who died following a Feb. 2 pledge event at the frat house at Penn State University, on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. 

Young faces 200 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, tampering with evidence, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, and unlawful acts relative to liquor.

As the preliminary hearing for the death of Tim Piazza continues, fog sits over Bellefonte, Pa., on Friday, Aug., 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Leonard Ambrose, the attorney for Joe Sala, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives at the Centre County courthouse for a continuation of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Aug. 30, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Sala faces 55 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor.

Members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity walk to the Centre County courthouse after a break in the 7th day of the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Aug. 31, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

Luke Visser, a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, arrives at the Centre County courthouse for verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa. Visser faces 56 counts including involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, hazing, furnishing alcohol to minors, unlawful acts relative to liquor, and consumption of alcohol by a minor.

Brendan Young, president of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, stands in front of the Centre County courthouse after the verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa after a judge threw out the most serious charges for the fraternity members.

Tom Kline, the attorney for Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of Timothy Piazza, 19, who died following a Feb. 2 pledge event at the Beta Theta Pi frat house at Penn State University, speaks with media in front of the Centre County courthouse after the verdict in the fraternity members' preliminary hearing on Sept. 1, 2017 in Bellefonte, Pa.

On Feb. 4, Tim Piazza, a sophomore pledge at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at Penn State University died after a night of heaving drinking and hazing by fraternity members. After falling down a flight of stairs and suffering sustained multiple traumatic injuries from the fall, it would be 12 hours until his fraternity brothers would call for help. In pretrial hearings that lasted throughout the summer, it ended with the most serious charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault dropped; however, 14 of the Beta brothers will still face a total of 328 criminal charges.

iPhone Photography by Justin Merriman

A collection of recent iPhone images. 

Westboro Baptist Church Protest by Justin Merriman

A person is tackled by Pittsburgh Police after he rushed a member of the Westboro Baptist Church and ripped a sign out of their hands as they demonstrated near Carnegie Mellon University on Thursday in Pittsburgh.  

Christopher Columbus Statue by Justin Merriman

The Christopher Columbus statue in Pittsburgh stands splattered with paint after being defaced on Columbus Day, Monday, October 9, 2017. 

Many have called for the renaming of the holiday to Indigenous Peoples' Day as a way to recognize the oppression of Native Americans. More than 50 cities and states across the US have renamed Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Staughton Lynd by Justin Merriman

Staughton Lynd, 87, a formidable figure in the ’60s social justice movement, sits in the basement of his Niles, Ohio home on Sept. 6, 2017.  Lynd, the Manhattan-born academic from Harvard, immediately became part of the fabric in the working-class community as a labor lawyer after Black Monday, the day when Youngstown Sheet and Tube abruptly furloughed 5,000 workers in one day.  Read more about Lynd and Black Monday in the New York Post

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao by Justin Merriman

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao poses for a portrait at the University of Michigan's North Campus' MCity, a full-scale simulated city test course for autonomous vehicles, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao speaks with people at the University of Michigan's North Campus' MCity, a full-scale simulated city test course for autonomous vehicles, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

A computer screen shows software that allows an autonomous vehicle to travel a road course at University of Michigan's North Campus' MCity on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao speaks at the University of Michigan's North Campus' MCity, a full-scale simulated city test course for autonomous vehicles, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao visits the University of Michigan's North Campus' MCity, a full-scale simulated city test course for autonomous vehicles, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Read more about the secretary's visit at the Washington Examiner. 

Trump Signs by Justin Merriman

Leon Moyer, 60, owner of JL Signs stands in front of his business on Thursday, Aug. 25, 2017 in Ruffs Dale, Pa. Moyer has continued to make and sale pro-Trump signs and bumper stickers long after the election has passed.  Read more about Moyer in the New York Post.

Freshmen Class by Justin Merriman

The freshman class of Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences visit the Heinz History Center for their orientation on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Carnegie Mellon University freshmen participate in 'House Wars,' an orientation activity, as they begin a new semester on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 on campus in Oakland, Pa. 

Carnegie Mellon University freshmen participate in 'House Wars,' an orientation activity, as they begin a new semester on Friday, Aug. 25, 2017 on campus in Oakland, Pa. 

The freshman class of Carnegie Mellon University’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences visit the Heinz History Center for their orientation on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pa.