Zak Failla

Assistant Managing Editor

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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

Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
Dog Stabbed To Death, Four People Slashed Before Trooper Kills Suspect On I-495: VSP (UPDATED) Dog Stabbed To Death, Four People Slashed Before Trooper Kills Suspect On I-495: VSP (UPDATED) Dog Stabbed To Death, Four People Slashed Before Trooper Kills Suspect On I-495: VSP (UPDATED)
Dog Stabbed To Death, Four People Slashed Before Trooper Kills Suspect On I-495: VSP (Updated) Four people were stabbed, a dog was killed, and two people are dead after an officer-involved shooting that shut down I-495 for hours on Sunday. At around 1:20 p.m. on March 1, troopers were called to a stretch of the southbound lanes of the Capital Beltway near exit 52 to investigate a reported road rage incident. When the trooper arrived at the scene, he was confronted by a man wielding a knife. The trooper shot him in self-defense, according to Virginia State Police. The man was treated and rushed to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries. At the scene, four stabbing vi…

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by Zak Failla
Columbia, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Officer-Involved Shooting Leaves Man Dead After Self-Harm Call In Columbia: Police Maryland Officer-Involved Shooting Leaves Man Dead After Self-Harm Call In Columbia: Police Maryland Officer-Involved Shooting Leaves Man Dead After Self-Harm Call In Columbia: Police
Maryland Officer-Involved Shooting Leaves Man Dead After Self-Harm Call In Columbia: Police An officer-involved shooting in Maryland is under investigation after a man threatening to harm himself was shot and killed. Shortly after midnight, officers were called to conduct a welfare check at an apartment building in the 6400 block of Freetown Road in Columbia, where a man was allegedly threatening self-harm, according to the Howard County Police Department. Upon arrival, first responders encountered the man outside the building holding a knife and disregarding repeated commands to drop the weapon. According to investigators, three officers fired their service weapons, striking the…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Breaking News
All Southbound Lanes Closed On I-495 In Fairfax County Amid Police Activity (DEVELOPING) All Southbound Lanes Closed On I-495 In Fairfax County Amid Police Activity (DEVELOPING) All Southbound Lanes Closed On I-495 In Fairfax County Amid Police Activity (DEVELOPING)
All Southbound Lanes Closed On I-495 In Fairfax County Amid Police Activity (Developing) The Beltway has turned into a parking lot on Sunday afternoon in Virginia. All southbound lanes of I-495 are shut down in Fairfax County Sunday afternoon as police activity brings traffic to a complete stop on the Capital Beltway. The closure is impacting I-495 southbound near mile marker 51.6 between Gallows Road and Little River Turnpike (Route 236), according to travel alerts. All southbound lanes are blocked. Traffic backups are stretching approximately four miles. #Annandale: SB 495 (Outer Loop) between Gallows Rd and Rt 236, multiple lanes are blocked due to police activity. Exp…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Driver Killed, Passenger From Kuwait Airlifted After Box Truck Crash: State Police Maryland Driver Killed, Passenger From Kuwait Airlifted After Box Truck Crash: State Police Maryland Driver Killed, Passenger From Kuwait Airlifted After Box Truck Crash: State Police
Maryland Driver Killed, Passenger From Kuwait Airlifted After Box Truck Crash: State Police A driver who tried to avoid a head-on crash with a box truck has died, and his passenger from Kuwait had to be airlifted to the hospital, according to Maryland State Police. Joseph Dsouza, 30, was killed, and two others were hospitalized after a deadly crash in Caroline County on Saturday afternoon that left multiple people seriously injured. Troopers were called shortly before 2 p.m. on Feb. 28 to a crash on Maryland Route 480 near Eveland Road, where they found an Isuzu box truck and a Kia Sorento off the roadway. Police say the Isuzu was traveling north on Route 480 when it crossed the …

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Speeding Driver Killed In Violent Head-On Crash In Manassas, Three Critically Hurt: Police Speeding Driver Killed In Violent Head-On Crash In Manassas, Three Critically Hurt: Police Speeding Driver Killed In Violent Head-On Crash In Manassas, Three Critically Hurt: Police
Speeding Driver Killed In Violent Head-On Crash In Manassas, Three Critically Hurt: Police A 74-year-old woman was killed and three others suffered serious injuries in a head-on crash in Northern Virginia on Saturday, according to the Prince William County Police Department.  Manassas resident Susan Minor has been identified by investigators as the person killed in a crash after a speeding driver caused the fatal incident. Shortly before 3 p.m. on Feb. 28, officers were called to the area of Sudley Road and Campus Drive in Manassas to investigate a reported crash involving a Toyota Camry and Honda CR-V. According to police, the investigation determined that Minor's Camry wa…

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by Zak Failla
Manassas, VA
Breaking News
Driver Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash After Slamming Into Parked Tractor-Trailer In Manassas Driver Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash After Slamming Into Parked Tractor-Trailer In Manassas Driver Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash After Slamming Into Parked Tractor-Trailer In Manassas
Driver Killed In Fiery I-66 Crash After Slamming Into Parked Tractor-Trailer In Manassas A driver was killed on Saturday afternoon on I-66 when he slammed into the back of a parked tractor-trailer at a rest area in Northern Virginia, state police say. Shortly before 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 28, troopers were called to the eastbound lanes of the interstate near the rest area at the 49-mile marker when a sedan crashed into the back of an 18-wheeler. According to police, a Toyota sedan struck the back of a legally parked tractor-trailer at the rest area. The sedan then burst into flames. The driver of the sedan — who has not been identified as of Sunday, March 1 — was pronounced d…

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by Zak Failla
Annapolis, MD
Your Community
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Warns Families Of Local Impact As Iran Conflict Escalates Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Warns Families Of Local Impact As Iran Conflict Escalates Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Warns Families Of Local Impact As Iran Conflict Escalates
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Warns Families Of Local Impact As Iran Conflict Escalates What happens in Iran doesn’t stay in Iran — not for Maryland. With military operations escalating overseas, Governor Wes Moore said Saturday, Feb. 28, that international conflict carries “a direct and profound impact on Maryland families and communities.” Maryland is home to a heavy concentration of active-duty service members, the Maryland National Guard, Fort Meade, Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and major defense facilities. “As Governor of the State of Maryland, I have a solemn duty to protect the safety and security of all Marylanders,” Moore said from Anna…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Inmate Stabs Corrections Officer Nine Times, Then Draws, Signs Sick Tribute To Attack: DOJ DC Inmate Stabs Corrections Officer Nine Times, Then Draws, Signs Sick Tribute To Attack: DOJ DC Inmate Stabs Corrections Officer Nine Times, Then Draws, Signs Sick Tribute To Attack: DOJ
DC Inmate Stabs Corrections Officer Nine Times, Then Draws, Signs Sick Tribute To Attack: DOJ An inmate in DC who stabbed a corrections officer and then made a mockery of it has been indicted on a host of federal charges, authorities announced. Ovid Gabriel, 21, who was already behind bars for separate offenses, is now facing serious prison time after stabbing a DC Jail corrections officer on Aug. 3, 2025, and making threats days later. According to the government's evidence, Gabriel was standing in the doorway of his cell as corrections officers were performing lockdown.  When an officer approached him and ordered him to go into his cell, he allegedly refused and attacke…

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by Zak Failla
National Interest
Former Pittsburgh Pirate Dan Serafini Gets Life For Killing Father-In-Law Over $1.3M Dispute Former Pittsburgh Pirate Dan Serafini Gets Life For Killing Father-In-Law Over $1.3M Dispute Former Pittsburgh Pirate Dan Serafini Gets Life For Killing Father-In-Law Over $1.3M Dispute
Former Pittsburgh Pirate Dan Serafini Gets Life For Killing Father-In-Law Over $1.3M Dispute Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of murdering his father-in-law and attempting to kill his mother-in-law over a reported financial dispute. Serafini, 51, who spent parts of nine seasons bouncing around multiple Major League teams, was found guilty in the 2021 shooting of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and his wife, Wendy Wood, 68, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office.  The former Pittsburgh Pirate was also convicted of first-degree burglary. On Friday, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of p…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
DC Man Dies In Virginia Federal Prison 32 Days Before Release As Family Demands Answers DC Man Dies In Virginia Federal Prison 32 Days Before Release As Family Demands Answers DC Man Dies In Virginia Federal Prison 32 Days Before Release As Family Demands Answers
DC Man Dies In Virginia Federal Prison 32 Days Before Release As Family Demands Answers “They told me they found my son unresponsive. They didn’t tell me why.” Jovelene Ondasceen Carter said those were the words she received before learning her son, Malik Carter, had died in federal custody at the age of 30. Malik Carter, a Southeast DC resident, died on Feb. 11, while incarcerated at USP Lee Federal Prison in Virginia, according to his family. He was scheduled to be released on March 16, 2026. He was 32 days away from coming home. “Malik was supposed to come home. Instead, he came home in a casket,” his mother wrote in a public post. “We are DC residents fighting for truth…

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by Zak Failla
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