Ben Braun photography

10/06/2025

The 2025 IRONMAN Chattanooga on September 28, 2025 in Chattanooga,Tennessee. For &

09/18/2025

Recent work for

06/14/2025

“No Kings” protest march in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday, June 14, 2025, in New York.

04/30/2025

When Harsh Vachani came to the U.S. more than five years ago, had a goal: to become a citizen.
Born in India, his dream was realized Thursday as he was officially naturalized alongside 47 others in a ceremony held at the Heinz History Center in the Strip District. 
“I came to find greatness and that could only be found in the United States in my opinion,” said Mr. Vachani, 23. “I learned in my years here that this country can offer you greatness … we all made it our responsibility to be a good citizen of this country and help each other and anyone who has ever come here.”
The new citizens hailed from 34 countries including Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, Israel, Jamaica and Italy. As each person was called to the stage, applause erupted as many in the crowd enthusiastically waved small American flags.
Naturalization is when the federal government grants citizenship to a lawful permanent resident after they meet the requirements established by Congress, which varies by case but generally include English proficiency and civics knowledge. Those with lawful permanent resident status, which doesn’t expire in most cases, must also reside in the U.S. for at least five years before naturalization, or three years if they are married to a citizen.
“You should each be very proud of yourselves,” said Jovann Day, director of the Pittsburgh field office for U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services. “The journey that led you all to this point was by no means an easy one. Each of you, as well as your family members, can agree with me that this journey was most likely a very lengthy process … but you stuck with it and today is the ultimate prize.”
Words by: Jacob Geanous

04/14/2025

For federal safety inspectors, the urgent call to their sprawling mining office near Pittsburgh was bleak: Man crushed in the rubble of an aging mine in the heart of coal country.
Agents from the Mount Pleasant office arrived shortly after the body of Joseph Guzzo Jr. was pulled from under the massive chunk of earth that collapsed in the underground tunnel four years ago.
Then, months after launching an investigation that found the operator failed to provide critical protections, it happened again.
Another worker in a mine just an hour away suffered catastrophic injuries after a large rock broke from a wall and slammed him against a machine.
Year after year, the local office of the Mine Safety and Health Administration — the most active mine safety center in the nation —  launched inquiries into deaths and devastating injuries in some of the largest underground caverns in the country.
Now, the facility long entrusted with the protection of workers is among 34 centers in the United States that are expected to be shuttered in sweeping cuts to the federal agency that have not been felt in years.
In an ongoing effort to slash spending, the Department of Government Efficiency has targeted the mining agency in a move that surprised local inspectors and raised questions about the future of regulation in one of the country’s most dangerous jobs.
“Without the federal inspections, coal operations will just run rampant,” said Tony Oppegard, a former Kentucky mine safety prosecutor and MSHA legal adviser. “There won’t be any accountability.
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01/01/2025

Moments from 24’, captions in the comments.

12/21/2024

Photos of Luigi Mangione extradition to New York from the Blair County Court House in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. Mangione is charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which occurred on December 4, 2024, in New York City.

12/13/2024

26-year-old Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg. Mangione is believed to have been carrying a firearm similar to the one used in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He yelled at the media and was forced into the courthouse.
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More captions below.
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11/26/2024

The Pittsburgh Steelers loose to the Cleveland Browns.

10/09/2024

08/08/2024

Stills from Kevin Weikles’s story. Please see previous post for a short video on Kevin, 35, experience with black lung. Captions below.

1.Dixie Weikle, 5, rests on her father, Kevin’s, as the two sit on Kevin’s porch on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia

2. Kevin Weikle looks out his window as he drives to get his daughter breakfast by his home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia.

3. One of Elk Run’s Coal Company mines off of Coal River Rd. on Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Whitesville, West Virginia.

4. Kevin Weikle, left, sharpens a chainsaw with his dad, Brady, on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia. Brady use to work security for local coal mine.

5. Kevin Weikle poses on his driveway on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia. Kevin, now 35, went on disability a year ago after being diagnosed with complicated black lung. He started working in a coal mine six months after graduating high school at 18. Mr. Weikle says he now wants to speak on behalf of coal miners — especially the younger workers —who are exposed to silica dust, which can leads to the most egregious form of black lung. He said he hopes a new federal rule, which cuts in half the amount of silica that can be exposed to miners, helps to stem the rise in the disease.

6. Kevin Weikle’s inhalers are scattered around his home on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia.

7.Dixie Weikle, 5, rests on her father, Kevin’s, as the two sit on Kevin’s porch on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia.

8. Kevin Weikle stares at his daughter and father as the two hang out in his living room on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia.

9. By Kevin Weikle’s front door hangs his old “black hat” helmet on Monday, July 15, 2024, in Peterstown, West Virginia.

04/09/2024

An Erie experience, April 8, 2024.
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