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 NewsHour, The 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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Presidential Race
5:10 am
Sat February 4, 2012

Out West, GOP Candidates Mine For Caucus Votes

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Romney supporters gather for a rally at the Elko Regional Airport in Nevada on Friday. The state holds its caucus Saturday.

Originally published on Sat February 4, 2012 12:05 pm

Saturday is caucus day in Nevada, the first state in the West to vote as Republicans go about choosing their presidential candidate.

Mitt Romney is counting on another win here to keep him on the path to the nomination. Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul have also been campaigning across the state, while Rick Santorum is in the Midwest looking ahead to later contests next week.

Believe it or not, Nevada leads the country in unemployment, home foreclosures and bankruptcy.

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Election 2012
3:41 pm
Mon January 30, 2012

In the GOP Primary Race, Can Steadiness Trump Passion?

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney campaigns at Ring Power Lift Trucks in Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday. Polls show him widening his lead in Florida after adopting a more aggressive campaign style.

Originally published on Mon January 30, 2012 11:02 pm

Mitt Romney starts the week having undergone a transformation.

For almost a year, he tried to portray himself as the grown-up in the Republican race for the presidential nomination. Now, over the course of two debates and countless Florida campaign stops, the buttoned-up businessman is showing that he can get tough.

This shift has upended the yin-yang dynamic that has been playing out for weeks between the passionate, fiery Newt Gingrich and the staid, steady Romney.

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It's All Politics
3:29 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Candidates Campaign On An Economic Silver Bullet: Worker Retraining

Credit Julie Jacobson / AP
President Barack Obama waves after speaking at a UPS facility in Las Vegas on Thursday. Nevada is one stop on the president's latest road trip focusing on the economy.

There are not many things that Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney agree on, but when it comes to job training there is common ground.

"It is time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work," President Obama said during his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, Newt Gingrich offered a similar solution for helping those facing long-term unemployment.

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Election 2012
3:00 am
Wed January 25, 2012

Romney Chides Obama For Not Fixing Housing Crisis

Mitt Romney has spent a lot of his time in Florida talking about home foreclosures. The housing crisis is one of the few problems that Romney can use to attack both his Republican rival Newt Gingrich and President Obama.

Election 2012
3:00 am
Mon January 23, 2012

Romney Criticizes Gingrich: He Resigned In 'Disgrace'

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is campaigning in Florida following a big loss over the weekend to Newt Gingrich in the South Carolina primary. Romney told a crowd that Gingrich resigned in disgrace after four years as speaker of the House.

Presidential Race
7:00 am
Sun January 22, 2012

Romney Finishes Second To Gingrich In SC

NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who came in second in South Carolina's Republican primary on Saturday.

Presidential Race
5:11 am
Sun January 15, 2012

In S.C. GOP Forum, Romney Gets Implicit Jabs

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Newt Gingrich arrives for a GOP presidential candidate forum Saturday in South Carolina. Gingrich had to be reminded of the rules not to mention rivals by name, but was still able to continue criticism of Mitt Romney.

The GOP presidential candidate forum held Saturday in Charleston, S.C., was not exactly a debate. In fact, it was sort of the opposite of a debate.

The event was moderated by Fox News host and former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. All the candidates except for Ron Paul attended, but they never actually shared the stage. They were explicitly prohibited from attacking — or even mentioning — each other.

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Presidential Race
7:00 am
Sat January 14, 2012

Romney Emerges From Week Of Contradictions

Originally published on Sat January 14, 2012 1:12 pm

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

And Mitt Romney spent the last week celebrating a major victory and then fending off some major attacks. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports from Aiken, South Carolina.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Mitt Romney had a contradictory week. On the one hand, his landslide win in New Hampshire put him solidly on a course to focus on the general election and President Obama.

MITT ROMNEY: This president puts his faith in government. We put our faith in the American people.

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Election 2012
3:00 am
Thu January 12, 2012

Romney Campaign Heads South Hoping For 3 Win

Fresh off his big wins in New Hampshire and Iowa, Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney took his campaign to South Carolina. That state votes a week from Saturday. The other Republicans are trying to throw up road blocks.

Election 2012
3:00 am
Wed January 11, 2012

Romney Celebrates Double-Digit N.H. Victory

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

Mitt Romney's double-digit win in New Hampshire plants his feet happily on the path to the Republican nomination heading, now, into South Carolina.

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