Michael Wines has been a correspondent for The New York Times for more than 30 years, he is one of the most accomplished journalists from Kentucky. A native of Louisville, he earned a journalism degree at the University of Kentucky, where he was editor of the Kentucky Kernel, leading it to independence from the university and earning recognition as the nation’s top student journalist. After earning a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, he reported for The Lexington Herald, The Louisville Times and the National Journal, then was a reporter in the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times, where he was heavily involved in reporting on the Iran-Contra scandal. Joining the New York Times in 1988, he covered the Justice Department, the American intelligence community, the White House, the 1992 presidential campaign, Congress, the environment and, for nearly 15 years, news and life in Russia and surrounding states, southern Africa and China. He currently covers voting and other election-related issues.