for landing the scoop that China had granted preliminary approval for 38 new Trump trademarks, paving the way for the presidentâs family to potentially develop a host of branded businesses in the country. http://apne.ws/2mxjueE
for getting the artistic director of Shakespeare in the Park's production of âJulius Caesarâ to explain his rationale for having a Donald Trump lookalike in the lead role knifed to death on stage. http://bit.ly/2sxxVpX
for breaking the news that controversial former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had unexpectedly registered to run again. His candidacy was later nixed by election regulators. http://abcn.ws/2p2ThcH
for breaking the result of the Trump administration's two-month review on North Korea, which established the new U.S. policy of "maximum pressure and engagement." http://apne.ws/2oxebNm
for two scoops on Trump trademarks: The first showed how Trumpâs 10-year fight to win back rights to his name in China ended in a sudden, surprise victory after he declared his candidacy. The second broke the news that China had officially registered the valuable new trademark in Trumpâs name, prompting constitutional questions by some in the U.S. http://apne.ws/2lqqexG http://apne.ws/2lhzxRj
for following up the Trump administrationâs actions promoting the coal industry with a reality check story and a quickly turned enterprise piece about what the actions might mean for one coal town. The latter story prompted a tweet from the president. http://apne.ws/2oF2cS5 http://apne.ws/2oDzzVQ
for a story of national interest about President Donald Trumpâs administration, reported not from Washington but from the nationâs heartland. After the president released his latest budget proposal, Lieb revealed that Trump has failed to deliver on his promise of a $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan. He has so far been unable to persuade Congress to pass anything like that, even when Republicans controlled both houses of Congress. https://bit.ly/2T38OrE
for exclusively reporting that President Donald Trump greatly exaggerated his State of the Union story about a homeless veteran who turned his life around thanks to a job at a company using Opportunity Zone tax breaks. Condon used federal records and interviews with both veteran Tony Rankins and his employer to show that although the man has recovered from poor circumstances, the central point of Trumpâs story â that Rankins turned his life around because of investment in the tax incentive program â was false. Rankins does not work at a site taking advantage of the program and never has done so. https://bit.ly/2HBuF2L
Around last Novemberâs election, Paul Manafort, President Donald Trumpâs former campaign chairman, resurfaced as a priority for the APâs Washington investigative team when it became clear he was a leading focus of the governmentâs inquiry into whether Trumpâs campaign had coordinated with Russians to meddle in the presidential election.
Jeff Horwitz and Chad Day, along with AP colleagues in Washington and elsewhere, dove in and after weeks of reporting, learned that Manafort had worked for a Russian billionaire a decade ago and had proposed to him a plan to greatly benefit President Vladimir Putinâs government, even as U.S.-Russia relations under then-President George W. Bush grew worse.
For their
for breaking the story that President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was quietly acknowledging to the Justice Department that he had been paid $530,000 for lobbying up to Election Day on behalf of Turkey's government.
for their exclusive report showing how President Trump's expected refugee clampdown already was having ripple effects abroad, as Austria turned away 300 non-Muslim Iranians hoping to transit through the country to resettle in the U.S. http://apne.ws/2k3RX6K
for repeatedly breaking news while covering the ill-fated effort to repeal Obamacare, including Trumpâs ultimatum to Republicans demanding a make-or-break vote. http://trib.in/2nN46j7
for being the first to report that Ivanka Trump lived in a Washington home for two months before the owner obtained a license to rent it to her, and that neighbors, including Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, have complained about parking problems caused by her family. http://apne.ws/2ntl2Ke
Among the many questions raised by President Donald Trumpâs surprise executive order targeting predominantly Muslim nations was how his administration arrived at the seven âcountries of particular concern.â Take Libya, for example. By making the list, one might think the country was sending waves of refugees pouring into the U.S. Not so, according to data analyzed and packaged on deadline for AP customers by data journalist Meghan Hoyer.
Hoyerâs analysis of federal data in the chaotic days that followed the Trump administration order provided tremendous value for AP customers across the country, allowing them to localize a story of international significance. Hoyer wins this weekâs $300 Best of the States award.
for breaking the news that a man promoted by President Donald Trump as an authority on voter fraud, and who was the source of a claim that 3 million illegal immigrants voted, was himself registered to vote in three states during the 2016 presidential election. http://apne.ws/2kNMmij
for showing that in spite of a wave of activism among people opposed to President Donald Trump, political gerrymandering controlled by Republican state legislatures is a key reason why Democrats will have trouble regaining control of the U.S. Congress. http://apne.ws/2kjJ5d4
for their joint analysis with the media analytics company Cortico that showed declining engagement with President Donald Trumpâs tweets across ages, genders and political affiliations. http://apne.ws/2pKNM2K
obtained, through personal contacts and sources, 1500 pages of secret court documents that detail the evidence and justification behind a decision by Colombiaâs Supreme Court subjecting former president Alvaro Uribe to house arrest while he awaits formal charges for alleged witness tampering. The documents include accounts of urgent WhatsApp messages, secretly recorded meetings and intercepted phone calls that reveal a rushed search by Uribeâs team for witnesses â loyalists willing to do anything necessary to stop the case from proceeding. https://bit.ly/2XTiPtu
for getting an interview with Marine Le Pen, the French presidential candidate, hours before candidates had to stop making public statements. http://abcn.ws/2pAvdLQ
for capturing how President Donald Trumpâs immigration policies and rhetoric are leaving some Mexican-Americans and immigrants feeling at odds with a holiday they already thought was appropriated by liquor companies, event promoters and bars. http://apne.ws/2pE3Xyh