Ari Shapiro

Ari Shapiro reports on the White House for NPR with a focus on national security and legal affairs. His stories appear on all of NPR's newsmagazines, including All Things Considered and Morning Edition, where he is also a frequent guest host. Shapiro began covering the White House in 2010 after five years as NPR's Justice Correspondent, during which time his coverage of Justice Department policies and controversies chronicled one of the most tumultuous periods in the department's history.

The first NPR reporter to be promoted to correspondent before age 30, Shapiro has been recognized with several journalism prizes, including The American Bar Association's Silver Gavel for his coverage of prisoners lost in Louisiana's detention system after Hurricane Katrina; The Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize for his investigation of methamphetamine use and HIV transmission; the Columbia Journalism Review's "laurel" recognition of his investigation into disability benefits for injured veterans; and the American Judges' Association's American Gavel for a body of work reporting on courts and the justice system. He has appeared as a guest analyst on television news programs including The NewsHourThe Rachel Maddow Show and CNN Newsroom.

Shapiro is based in Washington, D.C., where, as NPR's Justice Correspondent, he covered some of the most significant court cases in recent history, including Supreme Court rulings on Guantanamo detainees, the perjury trial of top White House official Lewis "Scooter" Libby and the fraud trial of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens. He has also broken stories about the government's evolving approach to counterterrorism, detention and interrogation policies. He investigated abuses of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison and covered the legal proceedings against American soldiers accused of those abuses.

Before covering the Justice Department, Shapiro was NPR's regional reporter in Atlanta and then in Miami. In 2003, he was an NPR reporting fellow at WBUR in Boston.

Shapiro is a magna cum laude graduate of Yale. He began his journalism career in 2001 in the office of NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg. Shapiro was born in Fargo, North Dakota, and grew up in Portland, Oregon.

 

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12:01am

Tue May 24, 2011
Politics

Obama Eyes Disaster At Home While Traveling Abroad

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 9:48 am

President Obama flew to Europe just hours after a devastating tornado roared through Joplin, Mo., on Sunday.

On the first day of the trip, the president didn't publicly mention the storm, but that changed Tuesday.

"We have been heartbroken by the images we have seen," Obama said. "The devastation is incomparable."

Obama said he would visit Joplin on Sunday, the day after he's scheduled to get back from Europe.

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4:00am

Mon May 23, 2011
Politics

'Border' Comment Defined For Israel Supporters

Before heading to Ireland at the start of his European tour, President Obama on Sunday spoke to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the largest group of Israel supporters in the U.S. He reiterated his call for substantive peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

11:43am

Sun May 22, 2011
Politics

Obama Reiterates Comments On Israel's Borders

President Obama told America's pro-Israel lobby on Sunday that his comments last week about Israeli-Palestinian borders was a public expression of longstanding U.S. policy.

In a speech Thursday outlining overall U.S. policy toward the Middle East, Obama argued that Palestinian-Israeli peace talks should begin with Israel's 1967 borders with mutually agreed upon land swaps. Those remarks rankled many of Israel's staunchest supporters.

As one speaker put it on Sunday, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is "the home of America's pro-Israel movement."

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3:02pm

Mon May 9, 2011
The Spark

Michele Bachmann: Evolution Of A 'Cultural Warrior'

NPR has been profiling some of the Republicans who are considering a presidential run in 2012, to find out what first sparked their interest in politics. Read more of the profiles.

When TV news shows want somebody to enthusiastically rip into President Obama, Michele Bachmann is a reliable choice.

One of her favorite techniques: comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter.

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12:01am

Thu May 5, 2011
News

After Bin Laden's death, Obama Visits NY

President Obama is going to ground zero in New York Thursday. Even though he's visiting in the emotional wake of the killing of Sept 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, but the president isn't expected to change his low key demeanor.

During one of the most consequential weeks since he took office, the president has kept a decidedly low profile.

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