for being first to obtain key factual details of the Paris robbery targeting Kim Kardashian West, amid wild rumors circulating online. http://hrld.us/2dWx9dJ
collaborated on an exclusive all-formats package that revealed how the booming development of clean energy from wind turbines threatens the preservation of iconic golden eagles in the U.S. West. Brown, a veteran environmental reporter, used sourcing, records searches and interviews, finding scientists concerned that collisions with turbine blades could lead to decline of golden eagle populations which thrive on the same open, windy landscapes preferred by wind energy developers.To document the plight of the birds and efforts to preserve them, Brown and video journalist Tobin traveled to remote northern Wyoming, where scientists rappelled down rock faces in their study of the eagles, producing strong visuals to accompany the engaging and deeply reported text story.Read more
for an all-formats story showing how an influx of educated Asian immigrants is transforming the nation in ways largely ignored by todayâs heated political rhetoric. The story, part of the Divided America series, punctured myths about U.S. immigration. Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed a sidebar explaining a crucial but often overlooked fact in the immigration debate: An estimated 40 percent of the 11 million people in the U.S. illegally overstayed visas. http://apne.ws/2e1Hx3K
Anthony Izaguirre began hearing the chatter about West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice as soon as he started work as the APâs statehouse correspondent in Charleston, West Virginia, in late February. Sources told him Justice â a billionaire who owns mines, farms and a swanky resort â wasnât fully engaged and hadnât even been in the capital, Charleston, much since taking office in 2017.
Izaguirre's initial request for the governorâs schedules was declined, but he pressed with the help of APâs legal department, finally getting the records. Armed with those calendars and his own resourceful reporting, he cobbled together a record of the governorâs activities, confirming what many suspected: Justice appeared to have better things to do than govern.
West Virginia media pounced on the exclusive story, which also played well outside the state.
For his resolute work to obtain public records and his thorough reporting to fill out a story no one else in the state could land, Izaguirre wins this weekâs Best of the States award.
for a report that the Trump administration is considering using military bases as other federal properties on the West Coast to export coal and natural gas to Asia after several major port proposals have been blocked by coastal states. https://bit.ly/2J2Xzca
collaborated on an evocative, in-depth examination of the U.S. governmentâs roundups of wild horses on the arid plains of the American West. The roundups have expanded during this yearâs megadrought. Federal land managers say they are increasing the number of horses removed from the range to protect the parched land and the animals themselves, but wild-horse advocates accuse the government of using the conditions as an excuse to move out the iconic animals to preserve cattle grazing.Photographer Bowmer and Salt Lake City colleague Whitehurst attended a July roundup on the plains west of Salt Lake City and watched from a mountaintop perch as about 300 horses were corralled to be adopted or kept in captivity. Bowmerâs striking images include helicopters swooping low to corral the horses as the mustangs gallop away, and horses gathered around watering holes against a mountain landscape. Whitehurst and Denver reporter Anderson weaved color into the story, describing the horsesâ high-pitched whinnies rising into the dry air, while explaining how the summer roundups have escalated tensions between government officials and the horse advocates. The package was used by countless members in the West and elsewhere in the country.https://aplink.news/7ulhttps://apnews.com/hub/drought...
for pursuing the story that an Iranian airline backed by the Revolutionary Guard was flying into Europe and Asia in violation of US terror sanctions. http://apne.ws/2eE79SG
for being first to report the death of U.S. Olympic bobsled champion Steven Holcomb, as well as first to report foul play was not suspected. http://abcn.ws/2q45kXQ
for following up after President Donald Trumpâs executive order asking federal agencies to seek citizenship information when the U.S. Supreme Court said the question couldn't be included in the 2020 Census. Schneider learned something the Census Bureau wasnât eager to reveal â that they were in the process of asking motor vehicle divisions in all 50 states to provide information from driverâs license data, including citizenship status. https://bit.ly/32KWOO3
for one of the most thorough and extensive examinations into the thousands of abandoned mines that are scattered across the American West, transporting readers to a place most will never go: The dark, dangerous and for some, enchanting, underground caverns. https://bit.ly/2zgFD9phttps://bit.ly/2qK0Epnhttps://bit.ly/2RI12zW
for disclosing that a critical and costly operation in the fight against the Islamic State group is beset with incompetence, cronyism and flawed data. http://apne.ws/2kQB4df
for their reporting that showed there are more than 6.3 billion dead trees around the West fueling this yearâs wildfires. http://bit.ly/2xQRQzZ
for determining that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo broke a federal law protecting eagles when he picked up a feather during a canoe trip and kept it. https://bit.ly/2nGiwzC
for getting the news out of North Koreaâs attack on U.S. negotiators, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, ahead of the competition. https://bit.ly/2ubIa2R
for mining an exclusive data set to reveal â just as heavy rains and flooding in the Southeast put several dams on the brink of failure â that hundreds of dams in the region lack required emergency action plans to help authorities and downstream residents respond to the threat. https://bit.ly/2T1x3Gx
For many in the U.S. and around the world, 2020 has been one of the most challenging years in recent memory â and a single wildfire photo by freelance photographer Noah Berger, on assignment for the AP, captured the danger, fear and uncertainty wrought by the pandemic.
The ironic image of a sign, surrounded by flames while urging safety, was widely interpreted as a pointed commentary on 2020. The photo went viral and was among APâs most downloaded images of the month.
And that was just one of many photos and videos by Berger that helped put the AP ahead of the competition in recent coverage of fires in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For his courageous and committed work, and a remarkable photo that frames much of 2020 in the context of a raging wildfire, Noah Berger wins APâs Best of the Week award.
for scoring an APNewsBreak on one of the most important details of how Olympic leaders in the United States are handling sexual abuse cases, finding that $2.2 million in key federal funds could not be used for the most pressing need of investigating any cases, with a backlog of more than 800 to be resolved. https://bit.ly/2TbqAqE
The Koreatown area of Los Angeles can be a challenging place to report — many residents are hesitant to speak to the press. That makes what Los Angeles-based photographer Jae Hong pulled off that much more impressive.
Hong, a Korean American who moved to LA as a teenager, had recently spent a year on assignment in Tokyo. When he returned to the U.S., he was astonished by the increased aggression he saw toward Asian Americans, who were being blamed by some for COVID-19.
After much outreach and many conversations with the local Korean community, he found a few families willing to let him into their lives. The end result — Hongâs somber photos and poignant text — is a compelling portrait of a community experiencing very real fear amid attacks targeting Asians.
For timely, revealing enterprise reporting in both text and photos, Jae Hong wins this weekâs Best of the States award.
An arrest in a decades-old Idaho cold case started Boise correspondent Rebecca Boone digging, aiming to tell a broader story about the victim, the suspect and the colorful — and at times shady — pro rodeo and gambling circuit.
Forty years ago, Dan Woolley was shot in the parking lot of a small-town bar in the Idaho mountains. The shooter crossed the street to the only other bar in town, ordered a drink and declared, âI just killed a man.â Then he disappeared. But late last year an 87-year-old man was arrested in Texas for the slaying — a former pro rodeo rider.
Boone spent months building trust with Woolleyâs son and other sources, talking to long-time central Idaho residents and historians. All while juggling her state coverage of breaking news, the pandemic and the 2020 election.
The result of her efforts, an engaging 1,900-word Saturday piece, was among APâs top stories for the weekend. For an absorbing read that is a textbook example of a general assignment reporter chipping away at a challenging enterprise piece, Boone earns this weekâs Best of the States award.
After last year's deadly wildfires in California brought weeks of sooty skies to cities along the West Coast, the AP decided to take a closer look into the broader impacts of the massive smoke plumes.
Billings, Montana, correspondent and environment team member Matthew Brown teamed with Denver video journalist P. Solomon Banda to produce an all-formats report on the growing public health threat from wildfire smoke. Their work grew from a body of research that points to where smoke impacts will be worst â a broad swath of the West that includes more than 300 counties with tens of millions of people.
For diligent reporting that provided a deeper look into how wildfires affect communities throughout the region, Brown and Banda earn this weekâs Best of the States award.
