Alex The Journalist

WASHINGTON (ABC7) —  In the first Presidential debate in September and on the campaign trail, President Donald Trump has called on his supporters to be "poll watchers" at voting locations. "I'm urging my supporters to go into the polls and watch very carefully, because that's what has to happen" Mr. Trump said during the debate. The statement has leaders in the D.M.V. region like Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine attempting to set the record straight. "That is illegal, it is not appropriate and it is not going to happen," says Racine. DC Attorney General Karl Racine (ABC7) That is illegal, it is not appropriate and it is not going to happen. Maryland Board of Elections Vice Chair Patrick Hogan also sought to reassure voters during a recent meeting. READ ALSO:  ABC7 On Your Side Voter Hotline: Tell us about issues at the polls or with ballots "We have a history of good elections, civil elections and I think that will continue, but

If Black Americans were dying at an equal rate to white Americans from the coronavirus, at least 13,000 Black lives would have been spared, according to Andi Egbert with the APM Research Lab. See the original WJLA report here.  A  report compiled by the non-partisan research group  found that as of May 27, 2020, Black Americans were more than twice as likely to die of COVID-19 than whites, Latinos and Asian Americans. Egbert says that, at the start of their research, only seven states were reporting race in their coronavirus data, but that existing health disparities among races motivated them to begin processing the numbers. If Black Americans were dying at an equal rate to white Americans from coronavirus, at least 13,000 Black lives would have been spared. “From the beginning of our reporting, back less than two months ago we had lost about 15,000 Americans to the virus, now as we all know we've exceeded 100,000 lives lost," Egbert says. "But the deep inequities, espec

 Hi!  I'm Alex Spearman. Currently I am the Executive Producer for Late News at WJLA-TV the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC.  See also: Linkedin Profile I'm a passionate journalist with a dedication to community engagement and a knack for producing in-depth and appropriately aggressive coverage. I'm driven by fairness, accountability and fun. Through recent opportunities I have been able to step out of the newsroom and report/field produce. Being able to use my experience as a photojournalist, interviewer and long form story writer has been an exciting career development that I want to build on. My favorite challenge is taking what seems like a complex issue and helping it relate to the viewer. I get excited about helping an anchor or reporter prepare for what could be a challenging or noteworthy interview. When it comes to community engagement I enjoy and thrive in communicating through Twitter, Facebook and our station's website. Connect with me: @AlexJSpearman  As