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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

Sports
‘He Died A Hero’: Former Orioles Prospect Drowns Saving Strangers As Family Watches ‘He Died A Hero’: Former Orioles Prospect Drowns Saving Strangers As Family Watches
‘He Died A Hero’: Former Orioles Prospect Drowns Saving Strangers As Family Watches Chase Childers, a former Baltimore Orioles minor league prospect, died a hero in South Carolina after rushing into floodwaters to save a group of swimmers — sacrificing his life to protect theirs. According to Pawleys Island Police, officers received a 911 call at approximately 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, July 13, reporting “multiple swimmers in distress near Shell Road Ocean.”  One man — later identified as Childers — was missing, and a search was immediately launched by police, Midway Fire Rescue, and the US Coast Guard. At approximately 6:15 p.m., rescue teams recovered Childers' body fro…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Teen Inside Family Home During Apparent Murder-Suicide In Virginia, Police Say (DEVELOPING) Teen Inside Family Home During Apparent Murder-Suicide In Virginia, Police Say (DEVELOPING)
Teen Inside Family Home During Apparent Murder-Suicide In Virginia, Police Say (Developing) A tragic scene unfolded in Virginia Friday morning after two people were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide while a teenager was inside the home, authorities said. Deputies were called just after 9 a.m. on July 19 to a home on Midhurst Court in Sumerduck, where they found two people shot dead, according to the Fauquier County Sheriff's Office. “A Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office deputy was first to arrive and located two deceased persons from an apparent murder suicide,” the sheriff’s office confirmed. A teenager was inside the home at the time of the shooting, officials said. The te…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Group Confronts Man At His Home — He Opens Fire From Balcony In DMV, Police Say Group Confronts Man At His Home — He Opens Fire From Balcony In DMV, Police Say
Group Confronts Man At His Home — He Opens Fire From Balcony In DMV, Police Say A Maryland man opened fire on a group of people outside his home late Wednesday night, hitting three men during an ongoing dispute, authorities said. Nicholas Lloyd, 44, was arrested after investigators say he used a rifle to shoot into the group from the balcony of his Shadyside Way home in Germantown around 10 p.m. on July 16, according to the Montgomery County Department of Police. Shortly before midnight, officers responded to the 20000 block of Shadyside Way for a report of a shooting, where officers found three men injured and later recovered Lloyd’s rifle at the scene, police said Fr…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
DEI Hiring At George Mason Under DOJ Investigation For Reported Race, Sex Bias DEI Hiring At George Mason Under DOJ Investigation For Reported Race, Sex Bias
DEI Hiring At George Mason Under DOJ Investigation For Reported Race, Sex Bias George Mason University is under federal investigation for allegedly using race and sex to influence faculty hiring decisions in violation of federal civil rights law, the US Department of Justice announced. The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division says it has opened a full investigation to determine whether the Fairfax-based university engaged in “a pattern or practice of discrimination” in its employment policies, including hiring, promotion, and tenure. The probe stems from internal emails, public remarks, and hiring panel documents indicating that university leadership, including President Grego…

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Maryland Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run Crash Near VA Border Identified By Police Maryland Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run Crash Near VA Border Identified By Police
Maryland Bicyclist Killed In Hit-Run Crash Near VA Border Identified By Police A 55-year-old woman riding her bike was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash Thursday night in Maryland, officials said. Tara Carter, of Lanham, was hit just before 8 p.m. on July 17 in the 8400 block of Annapolis Road in the city of New Carrollton, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died overnight, police said. The driver who hit her took off, but was tracked down soon after a witness came forward and reviewing surveillance video, according to investigators. Police say the preliminary investigation revealed the dr…

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by Zak Failla
Obituaries
Virginia Teen Killed At Maryland Party Remembered By Friends As 'Great Dancer, Bright Soul' Virginia Teen Killed At Maryland Party Remembered By Friends As 'Great Dancer, Bright Soul'
Virginia Teen Killed At Maryland Party Remembered By Friends As 'Great Dancer, Bright Soul' He was funny. He was kind. He was a great dancer. And now, he's gone. Darlyn Florian-Granados, 18, of Alexandria, died after being shot at a party in Maryland, and a woman is now facing murder charges in connection with his death. The shooting happened at approximately 3:20 a.m. on June 13, inside a home on the 5400 block of Broadwater Street in Temple Hills, according to the Prince George’s County Police Department. Officers responding to a report of a shooting found Florian-Granados inside the home suffering from a gunshot wound.  He was transported to a hospital, where he died of …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Police ID Crossbow-Wielding Man Shot Dead By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall Police ID Crossbow-Wielding Man Shot Dead By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall
Police ID Crossbow-Wielding Man Shot Dead By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall A 52-year-old man who was shot and killed by police while running toward the Potomac Mills shopping complex with a crossbow has been identified, authorities said. Harrison Charles Deppe, of Woodbridge, was killed during an officer-involved shooting on Thursday afternoon, July 17, in the area of Garza Way and Potomac Mills Circle, the Prince William County Police Department confirmed on Friday, July 18. Deppe was already wanted in connection to a brandishing incident from a day earlier, when he allegedly pointed a firearm at a stranger on Colchester Road during an unprovoked encounter. …

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by Zak Failla
Police & Fire
Crossbow-Wielding Virginia Man Killed By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall: Police Crossbow-Wielding Virginia Man Killed By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall: Police
Crossbow-Wielding Virginia Man Killed By Officers Near Potomac Mills Mall: Police He ran toward the mall with a crossbow. Police opened fire. A 52-year-old Woodbridge man was shot and killed by police on Thursday afternoon, July 17, while armed with a crossbow and running toward the Potomac Mills shopping complex, according to the Prince William County Police Department. Police said the man was already wanted in connection to a brandishing incident that happened a day earlier, where he allegedly pointed a firearm at a stranger on Colchester Road during an unprovoked encounter.  No one was hurt during that first incident. On Thursday, police said the same man was r…

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by Zak Failla
Lifestyle
Maryland Singer Tricked Into 'AGT' Audition, Then Simon Cowell Calls Her Song 'Boring' Maryland Singer Tricked Into 'AGT' Audition, Then Simon Cowell Calls Her Song 'Boring'
Maryland Singer Tricked Into 'AGT' Audition, Then Simon Cowell Calls Her Song 'Boring' An aspiring Maryland singer got the surprise of a lifetime during what she thought was a VIP tour at "America’s Got Talent." Gaithersburg native Anna Wilson, 21, had her world turned upside down by her mother, who pulled a fast one on her in front of a raucous audience during auditions for the popular show. Wilson thought she and her mother were in for a special VIP experience out in California — but her mother had something a little bigger in mind before they even boarded the plane out west. During the latest round of auditions aired on NBC, Wilson's mother Carrie took to the stage, spark…

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by Zak Failla
News
130 Pounds Of Ketamine Worth $1.8M Bound For Florida Stopped At Area Port: CBP 130 Pounds Of Ketamine Worth $1.8M Bound For Florida Stopped At Area Port: CBP
130 Pounds Of Ketamine Worth $1.8M Bound For Florida Stopped At Area Port: CBP Customs officers in Philadelphia just stopped another massive shipment of ketamine — just weeks after intercepting a $1.5 million load hidden in toys, picture frames, and fishing rods. The latest bust came in two separate seizures in early July at the Port of Philadelphia, the agency announced Thursday, July 17. On July 5, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said officers inspected a shipment from France labeled as an “industrial air filter HEPA air filter.”  Inside, they found more than 46 pounds of ketamine, concealed in hidden packaging. Just days later on July 9, off…

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by Zak Failla
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