Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writing about history and Americana during 2026, America's 250th anniversary. She's has been a writer, reporter and editor since 2000. Her work includes news features, in-depth storytelling and breaking news coverage, as well as The Short List and USA250 newsletters.
Our journalists adhere to the USA TODAY NETWORK Principles of Ethical Conduct For Newsrooms.
My Recent Work
The greatest mysteries in American history
What's next after the blue wave?
Election Day is here!
Here come the midterms
5 famous mysteries that still vex us: From Amelia Earhart to DB Cooper
Cryptids and creatures and monsters, oh my!
Double Dans in Alaska; unaffordable childcare: It's Thursday's news
Rest at last for 'a tireless advocate'
'I always have ... medical debt'
Is Trump helping or hurting?
Creatures and cryptids haunt Americans' imaginations, if not our woods
Fake polls: Is it a survey you're reading or phony conclusions?
Back to school in Erie, Pennsylvania
'Afraid he'll end up in Africa... and die there'
Bots digging for bugs
Trump targets Omar's citizenship
Could water woes dry up tourism?
Was it her plane? Amelia Earhart expedition reveals what it found
They keep the White House humming
Trump: The execution will not be televised
Is it her plane? Update expected on Amelia Earhart expedition
Earhart expedition team arrives at island of huge crabs
Middle-aged millionaires
Six Flags stops the rides White House workers' stories told in a new way: Exclusive
They worked behind the scenes at the White House
Feds raid Rep. Ilhan Omar's home Amelia Earhart expedition team heads to island of huge, hunting crabs
The search for Amelia Earhart
Eyes on Isaias
Dozens of protests held nationwide in wake of Cornell rape accusations
'Our fridge is pretty empty'
ACLU: Trump policies 'impacting all Americans'
SCOTUS starts a new term Amelia Earhart expedition hopes for 'the discovery of a lifetime'
Mount Vernon's royal visitor
A 'deeply disturbing' night in Tennessee
Cornell fallout continues
How a senior thesis changed classrooms across America
'This isn't the right place'
Digging into ICE
A look inside Ellis Island
First Amendment fights
Unique new library features rocks, mud (and some books, too)
'I feel American'
'One very simple medicine'
The women who fought for freedom
Can DEI come B-A-C-K?
The Fed raises rates
These Revolutionary women took up arms and fought for freedom