Leah Willingham

Stay informed with Leah Willingham’s coverage and analysis for Fortune.

  • A Harvard University student wears a cap that says "The best things in life come to those who don't give up"Leadership

    The big theme at Harvard’s 374th commencement? Standing up to tyranny

    By Michael Casey, Leah Willingham, and others
  • Tamara LanierLifestyle

    After a decade-long battle in court, Harvard University has agreed to release 175-year-old ‘daguerrotypes’ that might be the earliest depictions of slaves in America

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • Harvard University graduating senior Victor Flores claps while listening to a fellow student speak at a protest against President Donald Trump’s recent sanctions against Harvard in front of Science Center Plaza on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)Politics

    Trump administration asks federal agencies to cut $100 million in contracts with Harvard, adding to $2.6 billion in canceled grants

    By Darlene Superville, Collin Binkley, and others
  • West Virginia Coal Festival teen beauty pageant winner Ava Johnson, 16, collects small pieces of coal left behind at the former Kay Moor coal town and camp in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve near Fayetteville, W.Va., Thursday, April 17, 2025Politics

    Teen pageant winner supports Trump’s coal push— ‘It’s not just coal, it’s our way of life’

    By Leah Willingham, John Raby, and others
  • Mary Weaver reflects on changes to the Social Security Administration while visiting the McDowell County Commission on Aging Senior Center in Welch, W.Va., Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Leah Willingham)Politics

    New Social Security requirements would be nearly impossible to meet without help in rural communities that lack internet, transportation

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • Trump delivers remarks in North Carolina after the Hurricane Helene disasterPolitics

    As Trump and Musk battle with Congress over $100 billion in disaster aid, homeowners and small businesses are waiting anxiously in the wings: ‘I’m tracking this bill like a hawk right now’

    By Travis Loller, Leah Willingham, and others
  • Jim Justice at podiumPolitics

    A luxury resort owned by West Virginia’s millionaire governor is being auctioned over unpaid debts

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign rally at Radford University, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Radford, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)Politics

    J.D. Vance says under Trump, people will see more products ‘stamped with that beautiful logo: Made in the USA’

    By Leah Willingham, Michelle L. Price, and others
  • FILE – Julie Su speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing for her to be the Labor Secretary, on Capitol Hill, April 20, 2023, in Washington. The Labor Department moved Tuesday to better protect miners from poisonous silica dust that has contributed to the premature deaths of thousands of mine workers from a respiratory disease commonly known as “black lung.” (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)Environment

    Coal miners will get long wanted protection from dust that causes black lung as Labor Secretary announces rule cutting exposure limits in half

    By Matthew Daly, Leah Willingham, and others
  • Man on laptopTech

    39-year-old comedian says TikTok changed his life, giving him first nationwide tour and 3 months off when his son was newborn

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • West Virginia University studentsSuccess

    West Virginia University wants to cut 32 majors because enrollment is down 10% and it’s got a $45 million hole in its budget

    By Leah Willingham, John Raby, and others
  • Jim JusticeHealth

    West Virginia’s ban on transgender athletes in female school sports upheld as constitutional by federal judge

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • A man stands in front of a syringe disposal box.Politics

    ‘There’s so much unchecked pain’: A West Virginia town heads to the polls as it grapples with an opioid crisis and an HIV outbreak

    By Leah Willingham and The Associated Press
  • Small Towns Water ProblemsPolitics

    America’s hidden disaster of dirty tap water is all around us in our small towns and rural areas

    By Michael Phillis, Leah Willingham, and others
  • Attendees walk past a pork skin vendor at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S., on Saturday, April 17, 2021. In 2020, the festival had to cancel its live events and went all virtual due to the pandemic. Photographer: Rory Doyle/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPolitics

    ‘Nobody was coming’: These red states are turning down vaccines as demand plummets

    By Leah Willingham, Heather Hollingsworth, and others