for breaking the news that the suspect in a deadly Nashville church shooting had left a note in his car referencing white supremacist Dylann Roof's massacre, giving readers a glimpse into a possible motive. http://bit.ly/2ysfBSv
When Carrie Fisher died, generations lamented the loss of their Princess Leia. But when actress Debbie Reynolds died a day later, the near-simultaneous passings of mother and daughter were seen worldwide as an epic tragedy.
It was AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen who first reached Fisherâs brother, Todd, to confirm that his sister had been hospitalized. Days later, it was AP Television Writer Lynn Elber who first reached Todd Fisher to confirm the unthinkable -- that his mother had died, as well. Their sterling work is the Beat of the Week.
Los Angeles reporter Justin Pritchard has made the fledgling âautonomous vehicleâ industry a sub-beat and has developed sourcing that has produced a number of significant beats for AP. When he heard Uber would begin picking up San Francisco passengers in its self-driving cars, he saw a confrontation brewing with California regulators and the opportunity for another scoop.
Uber had decided not to abide by a requirement to get a permit before starting its service in its hometown. Uberâs aggressive approach in San Francisco crashed a delicately crafted regulatory truce _ the 20 other companies testing prototypes on public roads applied for the permit before hitting the streets, and agreed to report crashes and other safety metrics.
The cars Uber was bringing to San Francisco seemed just the kind that would need a permit, but the leader of Uberâs self-driving program Â_ Anthony Levandowski _told Pritchard in an interview the day before the launch that they didnât. He argued that because a person was behind the wheel to monitor the car, it was not advanced enough to need a permit.
for using a public records request to become the first to obtain an analysis showing nearly 400,000 Arizona residents could lose Medicaid coverage under the GOP's proposed health care overhaul bill. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/ar...
Itâs no secret that the repeal and replacement of Obamacare could have a significant impact both on those holding insurance and on the finances of states that have embraced the health care law. But over the last few months, few details had emerged on what that precise impact might be.
In an âOnly on APâ story, St. Paul, Minnesota, statehouse reporter Kyle Potter revealed that Minnesota officials were bracing for additional costs that could reach $6 billion by 2029 to maintain a low-income health care program that covers more than 900,000 state residents. For providing one of the first concrete glimpses into the possible ramifications states envision, Potter wins this week's Best of States recognition.
for breaking the news that a deal was in the works to revive the Republican health care bill in the House that lawmakers would pass by a razor-thin margin two days later. http://on.freep.com/2qsRFur
New York City photographer Julie Jacobson and Michelle Smith, Providence, Rhode Island, correspondent, spent weeks negotiating with the parent company of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus about what sort of access they could get to the performers and crew as âThe Greatest Show on Earthâ drew to a close after 146 years.
What they really wanted was to get on the train where the workers lived, the last of its kind in the world. Finally the word came down: We could get on the âpie carâ for the clownsâ last breakfast, but they would not be in costume, and we could absolutely not see the rest of the train, out of respect for the privacy of the performers.
But Jacobson and Smith donât take no for an answer. The access they got, the stories they heard and the images they saw formed the basis for an exclusive and heart-tugging package of photos, traditional and 360 video, and text.
For their resourceful and revealing behind-the-scenes look at the end of a cultural icon, Jacobson and Smith receive this week's Best of the State honors.
The allegations were explosive: A nurse at an immigration detention facility in rural Georgia said a gynecologist she called âthe uterus collectorâ performed mass hysterectomies without detaineesâ consent.
Reaction was fast and furious, but the AP treated the unsubstantiated allegations cautiously. Immigration reporter Nomaan Merchant dug into the story amid intense competition, reaching out to sources, doctors and a detainee who had surgery performed without her consent.
While his review did not find evidence of mass hysterectomies, Merchant revealed a growing pattern of women not consenting to procedures that potentially jeopardized their ability to have children. Three days later, the AP was first to report that the doctor would no longer treat immigrant detainees.
For impressive work that broke new ground on a highly charged story, Merchant wins APâs Best of the Week award.
Republicans in Wisconsin had pledged that no eligible voter would be disenfranchised when they passed a strict voter ID law in 2011. After it was used for the first time last year in a presidential election, a group of AP reporters sought to put that promise to the test.
Weeks of research and source work led them to a retired Milwaukee resident who had voted for years and brought to the polls her Social Security card, Medicare card and county-issued bus pass with photo ID; a Navy veteran whose Illinois driver's license was good enough to board a plane and open checking account; an 85-year-old man who had voted in the same small town for years; and a recent college graduate who went to the polls with her three forms of identification â her student ID, copies of her lease and utility bill, and her ID from her home state of Ohio.
In the end, all were turned away or had to cast provisional ballots that were never counted.
For exposing the practical effects of the ID law on Wisconsin citizens, the team of Cassidy, Moreno and Antlfinger wins this week's Best of the States award.
coordinated with a cast of colleagues from Southeast Asia to Australia to London, delivering coverage impressive for its speed and scope after Thailandâs deadliest mass shooting â 36 people dead, most of them children, at a day care center in one of the countyâs most remote areas. The ex-police officer responsible also killed his wife and child, and then killed himself.Read more
for a profile of President Donald Trumpâs choice for an important health care post that shed light on the nomineeâs business arrangements and possible conflicts of interest while acting as an adviser to then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. http://apne.ws/2l9wuY2
for breaking the news that National Weather Service meteorologists opted not to revise their blizzard forecasts for New York and other major cities, even as their computer models showed less snow than predicted. http://apne.ws/2mRZ8yD
for revealing details of General Motorsâ behind-the-scenes push to get to state legislators -- some of them recipients of GM donations -- to adopt rules for self-driving cars that would benefit the company and shut out competitors. http://apne.ws/2lzBxlt
analyzed how national conservative groups have targeted school board races that more typically have been sleepier, civil affairs. The reporting was built on research Carr Smyth began in 2021, looking at national conservative groupsâ involvement in school board recruitment and candidate training seminars around the country.By reviewing campaign finance filings, education reporter Binkley and Columbus, Ohio-based reporter Carr Smyth revealed that one group â the 1776 Project PAC â has spent millions to support conservative candidates in multiple states.The story, capturing how national money and attention has changed the tenor of many of these local races, detailed how many Republicans are seizing on âparental rightsâ and accusing incumbents of âgroomingâ and âindoctrinationâ as a tactic to unseat Democrats.Read more
for being first to report that President Donald Trump, in a private White House meeting with 15 Republicans senators, criticized the House GOP health care bill as "mean." It was the same bill he had praised in a Rose Garden ceremony last month. http://abcn.ws/2tzM0ky
combined national reporting and analysis with strong on-the-ground journalism for a unique story exposing how institutional investors are buying up mobile home parks, then raising rents to recoup their investments.Sparked by a tip, Casey identified a mobile home park in upstate New York where the mostly low-income and older residents have faced upkeep problems and repeated rent increases by corporate owners. Thompson visited the park to document residentsâ concerns, while Casey worked his sources to illustrate how this is part of a larger trend that has hit parks across the country.Read more
for breaking major developments in the Senate Republicansâ struggles to get a health care bill, from the first word of the Congressional Budget Officeâs report that 22 million would be uninsured under the bill, to a key senatorâs defection, to plans to delay a vote until after the July 4th recess. http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/govt-and-pol...
for her persistence in getting the Department of Veterans Affairs to acknowledge its health insurance plan was running out of money despite an emergency infusion of funds. http://bit.ly/2xZ7gmw
for an exclusive interview with Catalan leader Carlos Puigdemontâs Belgian lawyer, and the first confirmation that a Belgian judge had released Puigdemont and other ministers from custody. http://bit.ly/2hgssNc http://trib.in/2znT9dx
for their all-formats coverage of the discovery of the stern of the USS Abner Read, a destroyer sunk off the coast of Alaska in 1943. https://bit.ly/2Mwnk9F