Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Fernando Cervantes is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY.

He covers a variety of topics from day to day, with a focus on politics, reporting on the news that people talk about. Fernando’s political coverage has seen him cover Donald Trump’s administration, approval polling and various elections across the United States.

But politics is not the only beat he covers. Crime has also been an integral part of his work, with Cervantes covering incidents like the Charlie Kirk assassination in real time, providing readers with up-to-the-minute coverage.

He also covers the lottery, giving readers an everyday look at the winning numbers and latest jackpot figures of both the Mega Millions and Powerball.

Cervantes joined USA TODAY in 2023 after reporting stints at two USA TODAY Network papers, namely The Patriot Ledger in Massachusetts and The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Arizona, where he covered both breaking news and state politics. He also previously worked at GBH News in Boston as a general assignment reporter. He graduated from Tufts University with a degree in film and media studies.

He currently lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, but was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.