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
2:26 am
Mon September 24, 2012

Ads Slice Up Swing States With Growing Precision

Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 8:08 am

It's All Politics
4:33 pm
Mon September 17, 2012

Obama, Romney In Tug Of War Over China Trade

Credit Alexander F. Yuan / AP
Shipping containers sit at a port in Tianjin, China, on Feb. 28.

Originally published on Sun October 21, 2012 5:04 pm

President Obama kicked off the week in the battleground state of Ohio, where he spent much of the time Monday talking about China.

His administration filed a new trade complaint against China with the World Trade Organization on Monday. The White House is challenging Chinese subsidies for auto parts.

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It's All Politics
3:34 pm
Tue September 11, 2012

Reporter's Pledge-Of-Allegiance Quandary Sparks Twitter Debate On Romney Trail

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Attendees at Monday's Mitt Romney rally in Mansfield, Ohio, recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Mitt Romney's rally in Mansfield, Ohio, on Monday began the way every political event begins. "Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and our country's national anthem."

This is always an uncomfortable moment for me. While I sat at my laptop, most of the reporters around me stood and put their hands over their hearts. This time instead of just sitting and working, I tweeted what I was feeling:

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Election 2012
4:43 am
Thu September 6, 2012

Never Too Early To Prepare For Presidential Debates

Originally published on Thu September 6, 2012 9:17 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Mitt Romney has not done any campaigning the last few days. He's in Vermont with senior aides, preparing for debates next month. And even as President Obama prepares for tonight's big speech, campaign aides say he has been preparing for debates, too. NPR's Ari Shapiro asked past debate coaches what happens behind the scenes.

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Presidential Race
5:12 am
Sat September 1, 2012

Romney Visits Storm-Stricken La. Ahead Of Obama

Originally published on Sat September 1, 2012 2:31 pm

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. And there are a little more than 60 days left until the presidential election. Democrats are gearing up for their nominating convention, in North Carolina next week. Republicans, of course, held their convention this week, in Florida. And in a moment, we'll hear a report on President Obama's visit to a U.S. military base.

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Presidential Race
3:57 pm
Thu August 30, 2012

Romney's Road To The Nomination A Bumpy One

Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 5:09 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Tonight, Mitt Romney formally accepts the Republican Party's nomination to be president of the United States. The path to a presidential nomination is never smooth, but by Republican Party standards, this year's primary campaign was pretty choppy. NPR's Ari Shapiro has this look back.

ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: Mitt Romney launched this campaign on June 2nd, 2011, at a farm in New Hampshire.

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Election 2012
6:00 am
Thu August 30, 2012

Romney Courts Vets At American Legion Convention

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, as Isaac moves north from Louisiana, it could affect other parts of the country, and we'll be following that story as it develops.

The other big story we have been following this week is the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. Today is the final day, and it's an important one for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. He'll officially accept the nomination this evening. Yesterday, Romney took a break from the hubbub of the convention to do a little campaigning elsewhere. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on his getaway.

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It's All Politics
4:45 pm
Wed August 22, 2012

Despite Fact Checks, Romney Escalates Welfare Work Requirement Charge

Credit Stephen Jaffe / Reuters /Landov
President Clinton signs the welfare reform law on Aug. 22, 1996.

Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012 6:59 pm

Wednesday marks the 16th anniversary of President Clinton's welfare overhaul. That law has become a major issue in this year's presidential campaign.

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It's All Politics
8:53 am
Tue August 21, 2012

Ryan Takes His Workout On The Road

Credit Gerardo Mora / Getty Images
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan speaks Saturday in Florida.

Originally published on Tue August 21, 2012 10:27 am

From the window of my room at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Pittsburgh, I can see a sliver of the hotel fitness center. This morning I looked down there and saw a guy with an earpiece. Secret Service.

So I wasn't entirely surprised to walk into the tiny exercise room a little after 7 a.m. and find the Republican vice presidential candidate working out. There was a row of about half a dozen elliptical machines and treadmills, one workout bench, a small rack of dumbbells, an inflatable exercise ball, and a folding workout mat.

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Presidential Race
2:32 pm
Sun August 12, 2012

Ryan Brings The Love To Romney's Campaign

Originally published on Sun August 12, 2012 3:59 pm

Since Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., came on the scene Saturday, Mitt Romney's rallies have felt different. The crowds are bigger. The audience is more raucous. Lines that used to be a routine part of the Republican presidential candidate's stump speech have become rousing battle cries.

At the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, N.C., 1,600 people crowded into the room and thousands more swarmed outside.

"I feel like I'm in Woodstock," gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory exclaimed. "There's a parking jam!"

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