Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

[email protected]

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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

Arlington, VA
Your Community
DC, Virginia Schools Go Back-To-Back In Top 10 Of New National Rankings DC, Virginia Schools Go Back-To-Back In Top 10 Of New National Rankings
DC, Virginia Schools Go Back-To-Back In Top 10 Of New National Rankings Maryland and its DMV neighbors just aced their latest report card. U.S. News & World Report released its 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings on Tuesday, Aug. 18, and schools across Maryland, DC, and Virginia made plenty of noise, including two that landed back-to-back among the six best public high schools in America. School Without Walls High School in DC made the biggest splash, soaring from No. 69 nationally last year all the way to No. 5. That 64-spot surge was the largest among the four newcomers to crack the national top 10 this year, according to U.S. News. Right behind it was a…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Teen Nabbed In Fatal Stabbing Of Reston Woman At Great Falls Park: Police (DEVELOPING) Teen Nabbed In Fatal Stabbing Of Reston Woman At Great Falls Park: Police (DEVELOPING)
Teen Nabbed In Fatal Stabbing Of Reston Woman At Great Falls Park: Police (Developing) The teenager who is allegedly behind the fatal stabbing at a park in Northern Virginia has been apprehended, authorities announced. Alexis Antonio Cedillos-Campos, 19, has been arrested in connection with the killing of Reston resident Carmen Lizet Puch earlier this week. Fairfax County police were called to Difficult Run Park in Great Falls at 6:43 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, where an unconscious woman had been spotted lying in the parking lot near a 2011 Honda Civic. When officers arrived, they found the 42-year-old Puch suffering from traumatic injuries to her upper body. Investigators la…

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by Zak Failla
Rockville, MD
Breaking News
Rockville Mother Killed While Walking With 4-Year-Old Son Identified By Police Rockville Mother Killed While Walking With 4-Year-Old Son Identified By Police
Rockville Mother Killed While Walking With 4-Year-Old Son Identified By Police The little boy survived. His mother did not. Maryland police have identified 44-year-old Raoudha Khelifi as the mother who was fatally struck alongside her 4-year-old son near Chapman Avenue and Twinbrook Parkway at approximately 8:25 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 17. New details released on Wednesday, Aug. 19 also shed more light on the moments surrounding the crash. Investigators say a vehicle was traveling in the area when it struck Khelifi and her son. Both were rushed to an area hospital, where the Rockville woman later died from her injuries. Her 4-year-old son suffered minor injuries,…

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by Zak Failla
South Riding, VA
Breaking News
$1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes $1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes
$1M Nightmare: Fire Near Chest Freezer Damages 3 South Riding Homes A fire that started near a chest freezer turned into a million-dollar nightmare for a Northern Virginia neighborhood before most residents were awake. Multiple 911 callers reported the house fire in the 25100 block of Fortitude Terrace in South Riding at approximately 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, prompting a heavy response from Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pouring from the garage and exterior of the two-story home, where investigators say the accidental blaze began near a chest freezer. It didn't stay there for long. The fire quick…

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by Zak Failla
Potomac, MD
Breaking News
Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR
Beaver Still At Large After Attacking 10-Year-Old At Seneca Creek State Park: DNR Maryland's beaver problem isn't going away quietly. Five days after a 10-year-old girl was attacked at Seneca Creek State Park, the beaver remains at large, parts of the park remain closed, and state wildlife officials have now corrected a key detail about what happened on Thursday, Aug. 13. The girl was not canoeing when she was attacked, as initially reported. According to an updated account released Tuesday, Aug. 18, by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the girl was attending summer camp and was swimming and wading with an organized group and other members of the public at a…

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by Zak Failla
Bel Air, MD
Obituaries
What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear
What We Know About The Man Killed By A Bel Air Officer And What Remains Unclear Francisco Aparicio Muños spent a decade working in Maryland to provide for his family back home.  Now, they’re trying to bring his body home. Aparicio Muños was the driver fatally shot by Bel Air Police Officer Christopher Birch during a traffic stop on Franklin Street at around 9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division. Days after the shooting, his family is putting a face and a story to the man whose name initially went unreleased. Aparicio Muños spent the past 10 years in the US working hard, sometimes holding two…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Breaking News
Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: DOJ Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding COVID-Era Communications From Public View: DOJ
Former Fauci Adviser From Maryland Admits Hiding Covid-era Communications From Public View: DOJ David Morens spent years advising one of the biggest names in America's COVID-19 response. Now the Maryland man has admitted conspiring to keep some of his pandemic-era communications out of public view. Morens, 78, of Chester, pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenbelt on Tuesday, Aug. 18, to conspiracy to commit offenses and defraud the United States, months after the former senior National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases official was indicted in the scheme. Morens served as a senior adviser in NIAID's Office of the Director from 2006 through 2022 and was an adviser to Dr.…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Obituaries
From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro
From The White House To 130,000 Rewards: Maryland Fire Marshal Says Goodbye To K9 Zorro Zorro had one heck of a nose. For more than eight years, the black Labrador helped sniff out the secrets hiding in Maryland fire scenes, following traces of gasoline, kerosene, and lighter fluid that investigators could not find on their own. By the time he retired, Zorro had worked across Maryland and beyond, helped with an investigation at the White House, charmed thousands of children, and left behind a photograph so memorable it wound up hanging inside the ATF National Canine Training Center. K9 Zorro Trading Card Office Of The Maryland State Fire Marshal But to Deputy Chief St…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say
Six MPD Members Got Paid While Traveling Outside DC, Working Side Hustles, Feds Say They allegedly got paid to police DC while some weren't even in DC. Arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday, Aug. 18, for six current and former Metropolitan Police Department members accused of collecting more than $441,000 for thousands of hours they didn't work in 2024, federal prosecutors announced in DC. Some of those claims came while the officers were purportedly on annual leave, traveling outside the District, and even working a second job. Federal prosecutors say it was all part of a sprawling overtime scheme involving members of MPD's Fifth District that ultimately covered 5,…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
Breaking News
Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police
Reston Woman Found Dead Near Her Car At Great Falls Park As Killer Remains At Large: Police A quiet morning at a Virginia park began with a grim discovery. Fairfax County police were called to Difficult Run Park in Great Falls at 6:43 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 17, where an unconscious woman had been spotted lying in the parking lot near a 2011 Honda Civic. When officers arrived, they found 42-year-old Reston resident Carmen Lizet Puch suffering from trauma to her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Now, homicide detectives are searching for answers. Investigators determined that the Honda Civic parked near Puch belonged to her, police said. Detectives from the departm…

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by Zak Failla
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