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

Clinton, MD
On Your Side
Maryland Millionaire? $1M Lottery Ticket Sold At Clinton Liquor Store Set To Expire In Weeks Maryland Millionaire? $1M Lottery Ticket Sold At Clinton Liquor Store Set To Expire In Weeks Maryland Millionaire? $1M Lottery Ticket Sold At Clinton Liquor Store Set To Expire In Weeks
Maryland Millionaire? $1M Lottery Ticket Sold At Clinton Liquor Store Set To Expire In Weeks Somewhere in Maryland, a $1 million lottery ticket could be sitting in a junk drawer, glove box, or coat pocket — and the clock is ticking. A Powerball ticket worth $1 million that was sold in Clinton is set to expire on Saturday, March 15, according to the Maryland Lottery. The winning ticket was sold at Chesapeake Liquors in the Woodyard Crossing Shopping Center on Branch Avenue in Clinton for the Sept. 13, 2025, Powerball drawing. The ticket matched all five white balls but not the Powerball, making it a second-tier $1 million winner. If the winner does not come forward by March 15, th…

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by Zak Failla
Fairfax, VA
Obituaries
Fairfax County Firefighter Brandon Winfield Dies After Brief Illness: 'Rest Easy, Brother' Fairfax County Firefighter Brandon Winfield Dies After Brief Illness: 'Rest Easy, Brother' Fairfax County Firefighter Brandon Winfield Dies After Brief Illness: 'Rest Easy, Brother'
Fairfax County Firefighter Brandon Winfield Dies After Brief Illness: 'Rest Easy, Brother' Fairfax County is mourning one of its own. Firefighter Brandon Winfield died Thursday, February 12, 2026, following a brief illness, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Winfield served Fairfax County for 20 years after being hired in 2006 as a member of Recruit Class 121. At the time of his death, he was assigned to Fire Station 37 in Kingstowne on C-Shift. Colleagues described him as more than a firefighter. “Firefighter Winfield was an exceptional mentor and friend who lifted spirits wherever he went,” the department wrote. “He served with unwavering dedication t…

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by Zak Failla
Lexington Park, MD
Breaking News
Driver Indicted In Fatal Maryland Rollover Crash That Ejected Woman In Lexington Park: Sheriff Driver Indicted In Fatal Maryland Rollover Crash That Ejected Woman In Lexington Park: Sheriff Driver Indicted In Fatal Maryland Rollover Crash That Ejected Woman In Lexington Park: Sheriff
Driver Indicted In Fatal Maryland Rollover Crash That Ejected Woman In Lexington Park: Sheriff A year after a violent rollover crash claimed the life of a Maryland woman, a grand jury has indicted the driver accused of causing it. Zykera Sharnae Shubrooks-Nunley, 21, of Lexington Park, was indicted following an investigation into the fatal February 2025 crash on Great Mills Road, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday, Feb. 13. The collision happened on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025, in the 21000 block of Great Mills Road in Lexington Park and involved a Nissan Armada and a Chevrolet Cobalt. Kathy Mae Davis, 59, who was driving the Chevrolet, was pronounced dead at the scene…

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by Zak Failla
Towson, MD
Breaking News
Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis Among Former NFL Players Pardoned By Trump Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis Among Former NFL Players Pardoned By Trump Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis Among Former NFL Players Pardoned By Trump
Former Ravens RB Jamal Lewis Among Former NFL Players Pardoned By Trump A Super Bowl champion and one of the greatest running backs in Baltimore Ravens history is now the recipient of a presidential pardon — and it’s already stirring conversation across Maryland. President Donald Trump granted a pardon this week to Jamal Lewis, the former Ravens running back who rushed for 2,066 yards in 2003 and helped power Baltimore to a Super Bowl XXXV victory. The pardon was announced publicly on Thursday, Feb. 12, in a statement shared by criminal justice reform advocate Alice Marie Johnson, who wrote that the President granted pardons to five former NFL players, includin…

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by Zak Failla
Waldorf, MD
Breaking News
Maryland Trooper Involved In Fatal Pedestrian Crash On Route 301 In Waldorf: MSP Maryland Trooper Involved In Fatal Pedestrian Crash On Route 301 In Waldorf: MSP Maryland Trooper Involved In Fatal Pedestrian Crash On Route 301 In Waldorf: MSP
Maryland Trooper Involved In Fatal Pedestrian Crash On Route 301 In Waldorf: MSP A late-night call about someone walking in traffic ended in tragedy in Charles County. A pedestrian was killed on Thursday, Feb. 12, on a busy highway in Waldorf after being struck by an on-duty Maryland State Police trooper — and then hit by additional vehicles, according to state police. Troopers from the La Plata Barrack responded shortly before midnight to the stretch of Route 301 between Plaza Drive and St. Patrick’s Drive for reports of a pedestrian in the roadway. The preliminary investigation indicates the trooper was traveling northbound in a marked patrol vehicle when the cruiser…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
Locked Basement, Trusted Teacher: Former DC Educator Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Student Locked Basement, Trusted Teacher: Former DC Educator Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Student Locked Basement, Trusted Teacher: Former DC Educator Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Student
Locked Basement, Trusted Teacher: Former DC Educator Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Student A former DC high school teacher from Virginia has been convicted of sexually assaulting his former student, federal authorities announced on Thursday.  Mark Williams, 59, was convicted by a jury of multiple sexual abuse charges after preying on his victim while he was her teacher more than a decade ago. According to the US Attorney's Office, in the spring of 2014, Williams was the victim’s high school teacher at Duke Ellington School for the Arts.  Williams, then 47, began an independent study with the victim, who was 17 years old at the time.  The independent study se…

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by Zak Failla
Arlington, VA
Breaking News
19-Year-Old Admits Bringing Fully Automatic, Stolen Glock Into DC Charter School: Feds 19-Year-Old Admits Bringing Fully Automatic, Stolen Glock Into DC Charter School: Feds 19-Year-Old Admits Bringing Fully Automatic, Stolen Glock Into DC Charter School: Feds
19-Year-Old Admits Bringing Fully Automatic, Stolen Glock Into DC Charter School: Feds A 19-year-old District man admitted to bringing a fully automatic weapon into a Northwest DC charter school, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. James Adrian Brewer, 19, pleaded guilty in US District Court on Feb. 12, to unlawful possession of a machine gun, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The weapon was inside the Goodwill Excel Center Adult Charter School in Northwest on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2025, when a school administrator spotted what appeared to be a firearm in Brewer’s waistband, court documents state. When confronted, Brewer handed over the gun …

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by Zak Failla
Hyattsville, MD
Breaking News
DC Man Who Killed Virginia Coworker During Hyattsville Altercation Arrested: Police DC Man Who Killed Virginia Coworker During Hyattsville Altercation Arrested: Police DC Man Who Killed Virginia Coworker During Hyattsville Altercation Arrested: Police
DC Man Who Killed Virginia Coworker During Hyattsville Altercation Arrested: Police A DC gunman who fatally shot a Virginia coworker during an altercation in Maryland has been apprehended and charged, according to the Prince George's County Police Department. Jalleel Jackson, 39, has been arrested in connection with the murder of 33-year-old Christopher Hall, of Carrollton, Virginia, earlier this week. At approximately 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, officers were called to probe a suspected shooting in the 3300 block of 52nd Avenue in Hyattsville with one person down. Upon arrival, police say they found Hall suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to an are…

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by Zak Failla
Leesburg, VA
Breaking News
$665,000 Blaze In Leesburg Home Blamed On Unattended Candle: Fire Marshal $665,000 Blaze In Leesburg Home Blamed On Unattended Candle: Fire Marshal $665,000 Blaze In Leesburg Home Blamed On Unattended Candle: Fire Marshal
$665,000 Blaze In Leesburg Home Blamed On Unattended Candle: Fire Marshal A candle meant to set the mood instead set a Virginia home ablaze — and not in a good way. Three adults and a dog were displaced after an accidental house fire caused an estimated $665,000 in damage in Leesburg on Wednesday night, officials said. Emergency calls reporting a fire in the 1200 block of Featherstone Lane NE came in at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 11, according to Loudoun County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters arrived to find flames showing from the rear and roof of the two-story, single-family home, authorities said. Crews began an exterior attack before moving inside, where…

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by Zak Failla
Reston, VA
On Your Side
$200M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Duped 90K Investors Ends With Prison Time For CEO In Virginia $200M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Duped 90K Investors Ends With Prison Time For CEO In Virginia $200M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Duped 90K Investors Ends With Prison Time For CEO In Virginia
$200M Bitcoin Ponzi Scheme That Duped 90K Investors Ends With Prison Time For CEO In Virginia A $200 million bitcoin Ponzi scheme that ripped off more than 90,000 investors worldwide has landed its CEO behind bars for 20 years in Virginia. Ramil Ventura Palafox, 61, a dual citizen of the United States and the Philippines, was sentenced in federal court in Alexandria on Thursday, Feb. 12, after being convicted of wire fraud and money laundering for operating what prosecutors described as a massive cryptocurrency fraud. The scheme funneled more than $201,000,000 into Praetorian Group International (PGI), a company Palafox owned and promoted, according to the US Attorney’s Office for t…

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by Zak Failla
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