Enormously popular when it cleared Congress 50 years ago, the Endangered Species Act has become one of the most controversial U.S. environmental protection laws.Read more
AP produced the first comprehensive, multiformat examination of Oregon’s legalization of psilocybin — “magic mushrooms” — that proponents hope will spark a revolution in mental health care, garnering national and international attention.Read more
AP dove into the world of historically Black university bands and football classics to produce two compelling, all-formats features that highlight the significance of the bands and games for Black communities in the United States.Read more
worked with boxing organizers and trainers to identify key boxers to follow. They spent time with several boxers, male and female, as they took their journey to this year’s finals.Read more.
for getting exclusive access to a first-ever submarine expedition to an underwater volcano 3,000 feet beneath the Pacific off Hawaii. http://apne.ws/2cUBL2J
for capturing the reunion of a Louisiana woman who last month was saved from floodwaters (along with her dog) and her rescuer. http://bit.ly/2cfnikj
for two engaging pieces on the 9/11 anniversary. The first, built around video interviews with regular Americans, examined how the sense of national unity that existed after the attacks has disappeared; the other, in vignette style, focused on children who lost parents during the attacks. http://bit.ly/2cavGzY http://bit.ly/2cqA8YE http://apne.ws/2cmLRKi
for putting AP well ahead of competitors in reporting the findings of the first official report into last month's fiery crash landing of an Emirates airliner with 300 aboard. http://apne.ws/2cP8AP5
AP’s Martha Mendoza, an investigative reporter based in Bangkok, and Margie Mason, medical writer in Jakarta, found that hundreds of undocumented men, many from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, work in this U.S. fishing fleet. They have no visas and aren't protected by basic labor laws because of a loophole passed by Congress.
A story detailing the men’s plight, by Mendoza and Mason, resulted from a tip following their award-winning Seafood from Slaves investigation last year. It earns the Beat of the Week.
for revealing that the police chief of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, had been under investigation for illegally selling city-owned weapons before he fatally shot himself in the department's parking lot. http://apne.ws/2cTHpob
for source work that allowed him to break the news that Yosemite National Park had added 400 acres, its most significant expansion in nearly 70 years. http://bit.ly/2cuCJ9V
for getting the raw FBI crime data to prove wrong the Maine governor’s allegation that blacks and Hispanics account for "90-plus percent" of heroin trafficking arrests in his state. http://nyti.ms/2cnuBG2
for exposing how government officials are being accused of diverting food aid from camps for people who fled Boko Haram extremists, leading to a high number of starving children.
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for getting documents about a group of Jewish “avengers” who poisoned more than 2,000 Nazis after World War II but did not succeed in killing any. http://apne.ws/2c11Nlx
When WikiLeaks announced the release of hundreds of Saudi diplomatic documents last year, AP’s Raphael Satter in Paris and Maggie Michael in Cairo provided some of the most aggressive coverage of the leak. They broke news about everything from the secretive kingdom’s checkbook diplomacy to unpaid limousine bills and cheating students.
But as they plowed through the documents, they also noticed medical and identity documents -- potentially serious privacy violations. Satter flagged the issue but never got a formal response from WikiLeaks; with other stories on the horizon and only a handful of questionable documents in hand, Satter and Michael shelved the subject.
for his interview with the new head of Australia’s Transport Safety Bureau, in which the official revealed that the team searching for the missing Malaysian airline is making plans for a new search. http://bit.ly/2bFlsqD
For years, Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made a name for himself as the tough-talking lawman from metro Phoenix who was unafraid of criticizing federal immigration enforcement, earning accolades not only from fellow conservatives but millions of dollars in donations from around the country.
Arizona law enforcement reporter Jacques Billeaud knew that much of Arpaio's campaign donations came from outside Arizona. That’s what his campaign had said. But exactly how much and from where was a mystery because the donations were catalogued in an unsearchable PDF format.
Greg Beacham, sports writer, Los Angeles, for being first to report that the oldest son of the late Kimbo Slice was making his professional debut in mixed martial arts, a sport with a rapidly growing fan base.
Mesfin Fekadu, music editor, New York, who was first to report on an official Prince tribute concert being planned by the musician’s family.
Joan Lowy, transportation reporter, Washington, D.C., and Emily Schmall, correspondent, Fort Worth, Texas, for scoring significant news beats after a hot air balloon caught fire, killing 16.
