Nirvani Williams
ReporterNirvani Williams covers socioeconomic disparities for New England Public Media, joining the news team in June 2021 through Report for America.
Prior to this, Williams was the associate editor of Seema, an online publication dedicated to spreading more stories about women in the Indian diaspora, and has written a variety of articles, including a story about a Bangladeshi American cybersecurity expert and her tips for protecting phone data while protesting. Williams interned at WABC-TV’s “Eyewitness News,” WSHU public radio, and La Voce di New York, a news site in Italian and English.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Stony Brook University, where she was the executive editor of the student-run culture magazine, The Stony Brook Press.
She can be reached at nirvani_williams [at] nepm.org.
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President Joe Biden stepped aside as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate this week and has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for the job. The announcement sparked a barrage of memes and attention from major pop culture figures like Charli XCX tweeting “Kamala is Brat.”
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Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni spoke at the meeting about the recent hate speech incident in Southwick.
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The National Weather Service has issued another severe heat advisory warning in Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties with temperatures expected to be as high as 103 degrees this week.
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Residents and politicians from western Massachusetts are weighing in on the impact of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump Saturday at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
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Fourth of July celebrations in western Massachusetts ranged from parades to historical presentations and fireworks.
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There’s a range of licensed and certified fourth of July events happening across western Massachusetts. But some residents are taking it into their own hands to set off fireworks, despite it being illegal in the state.
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Edward Cage, UMass Amherst professor Amilcar Shabazz, and fellow organizer Trevor Baptiste started what they called a "Family Fun Day" on Juneteenth back in 2010, years before it became a federal holiday in 2021.
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Health leaders say more than half of high school students in western Massachusetts are facing depression and hopelessness.
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Hospitals are required by law to report to the state any case where a parent who's giving birth is using medication to treat substance use disorder. But Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a proposal that would end those requirements.
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The holiday was given federal status by President Joe Biden in 2021. It commemorates the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas, in 1865.