AP revealed how some Air Force nuclear missile officers were exposed to toxic risks that have likely been a factor in scores of cancers, despite the military saying for years that its nuclear missile capsules were safe.Read more
AP explored the homeless crisis in Grants Pass, Oregon, ahead of a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court case.Read more
AP journalists went to tell the story of a kibbutz and its people severely hurt in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The story of the people of Nahal Oz started decades ago, but its name became known worldwide when Hamas attackers swept through the community on Oct. 7.Read more
An all-format AP crew stayed in Elmore, Vermont — population 800 — for five days to paint a portrait of small-town democracy in its purest form, following residents with different political views as they came together with civility to debate and vote on issues important to the community in their annual Town Meeting.Read more
Luis Henao and Jesse Wardarski on the religion beat produced an all-formats story that earned a massive response. They looked at a Christian nightclub in Nashville that’s drawing racially diverse crowds to dance parties featuring Christian rap and reggaeton, plus periodic interludes of prayer. Read more
AP dominated coverage of a court proceeding in the case of a Black teenager suspended from his high school for refusing to cut his hair — a case it has covered authoritatively from the start.Read more
AP pitched an ambitious idea: With the 75th anniversary of The Associated Press Top 25 men’s basketball poll coming up this season, could the AP find a way to sift the data — 75 years of weekly polls — to come up with a rundown of the greatest teams of all time?Read more
Late last Monday evening, videos began circulating online of young Hasidic men emerging from a tunnel inside a historic Brooklyn synagogue and brawling with police. AP quickly pulled together a story on what little police and the synagogue’s leaders would say, but big questions still remained.Read more
A series of capstone Maui wildfire stories that ran in the final week of 2023 — one focused on Lahaina’s losses and another on its uncertain future — showcase fruits of the extraordinary effort, commitment and selfless teamwork exhibited by AP’s Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii reporting team over months amid endless challenges to share Lahaina’s plight with the world.Read more
Years of reporting on Libya from afar and a local freelancer’s willingness to travel treacherous roads allowed AP’s team to alert the world about a disaster of massive proportions, after heavy floods burst two dams above the city of Derna, washing away and killing thousands.
It took nearly 24 hours for news to emerge from Libya of the deadly floods. But with the country divided between rival governments with spotty records for accuracy, it was tricky to grasp the extent of the devastation.
When one of the governments reported more than 2,000 dead and counting, Libya video producer Adel Omran was the first to alert the team, after which Cairo reporter Samy Magdy called contacts in the health care and aid community, who confirmed that toll and said it was likely to rise.
Misrata-based freelance photographer Yousef Murad drove hours to the scene, sending an initial dispatch showing mass burials for the rising number of bodies. On the ground, Murad faced difficult conditions and lack of basic amenities as the stench of death overtook the city. His subsequent stories documented the immense recovery effort and the stories of survivors.
For their harrowing work revealing a complex story of disaster and recovery, Magdy, Murad and Omran are this week’s Best of the Week — First Winner.
Underage Rohingya girls are forced into abusive marriages in Malaysia so their families in Bangladesh can eat. In safehouses, AP met with child brides who managed to get unlocked from their bedrooms to share their plights.
Human rights workers warned it would be almost impossible to track the girls down. Yet an AP team not only found them, but interviewed them without putting them at risk of reprisal.
Investigative correspondent Kristen Gelineau, based in Sydney, Australia, tracked down an advocate in Malaysia who was herself a Rohingya child bride and carefully coordinated a plan with each girl. Some concocted an excuse to leave their homes and met with AP at safehouses. Many simply could not get unlocked.
The team coordinated interview times with the girls so they could arrive at their homes after their husbands had left for work and leave well before they returned.
Indonesia video journalist and business correspondent Victoria Milko filmed in their dark and claustrophobic apartments, capturing both the youth and isolation of the girls while protecting their anonymity.
McKinnon de Kuyper made a heartbreaking edit of the video, taking advantage of previous filming of Rohingya families who were victims of a boat drowning by video journalist Garjon Al-emrun.
For allowing the AP to be the first media to give these girls a voice, Gelineau, Milko, de Kuyper and Al-emrun are Best of the Week — First Winners.
AP investigated discipline disparities experienced by kids with disabilities and an increase in “emergency petitions” — when a school orders a child to go to the ER for a psychiatric evaluation.Read more
With an all-formats interview with a survivor, AP told a broader story about the unique difficulties stemming from sexual abuse in gay communities.Read more
Persistence, flexibility and teamwork results in an exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a crucial time for the country.Read more
AP broke the story of an unassuming Hinsdale, New Hampshire groundskeeper who gave his fortune to the community, ahead of a holiday dedicated to giving thanks.Read more
AP produced a deep all-formats package about a community that serves as a model for what others could do with proceeds from a $50 billion opioids settlement to fight the opioids epidemic.Read more
AP explored a technological advance that changes the game for Deaf and hard-of-hearing football players.Read more
AP employed the traditional Afghan “box camera” to document how life has changed in Afghanistan in peacetime, for better and worse, two years after U.S. troops left and the Taliban returned to power.Read more
