NPR: 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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8:04pm

Thu March 15, 2012
Presidential Race

With New Film, Obama Hopes For Viral Video Boost

Originally published on Fri March 16, 2012 12:01 am

Credit BarackObama.com/YouTube

3:07pm

Thu March 15, 2012
Mitt Romney

For Appeal To Future, Romney's Rhetoric Looks Back

Originally published on Thu March 15, 2012 5:59 pm

Every good political campaign has a motif, from President Obama's "hope" to John McCain's "maverick."

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8:00am

Sat March 10, 2012
NPR Story

Romney Wraps Up Deep South Tour

NPR's Ari Shapiro traveled with presidential hopeful Mitt Romney this week as the campaign swung through Mississippi and Alabama ahead of Republican primaries this coming Tuesday.

4:00am

Fri March 9, 2012
Election 2012

Miss. Gov. Bryant Endorses Mitt Romney

Alabama and Mississippi are holding Republican primaries on Tuesday. The contests are vitally important for the candidacies of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney arrived in Mississippi Thursday night for a rally, and he has a pair of events in Mississippi and Alabama Friday.

4:00am

Wed March 7, 2012
Election 2012

Romney Wins 6 States In Super Tuesday Contests

Originally published on Wed March 7, 2012 6:41 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

It was the biggest day yet in the Republican presidential race. Mitt Romney hoped that Super Tuesday would reinforce his frontrunner status. And to some degree it did. He won six of the 10 states, including the most populous and hotly contested state, Ohio.

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10:31am

Tue February 28, 2012
It's All Politics

A 'New Low'? Romney Has Admitted Voting In Other Party's Primary

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

In a final burst of campaigning in Michigan Tuesday, embattled GOP front-runner Mitt Romney complained that rival Rick Santorum was making automated phone calls to Democrats and urging them to vote against Romney in the Republican race. (Although only declared Republicans can vote in the party primary, voters can change their affiliation to cast a ballot.)

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4:00am

Tue February 28, 2012
Election 2012

Romney Campaigns in Michigan

Arizona and Michigan voters cast their ballots Tuesday in the Republican presidential primary. A month ago, nobody expected these states to be consequential, but it's clear that the results could dramatically change the direction of the race.

6:40am

Mon February 27, 2012
Election 2012

Romney, Santorum Battle For Michigan Votes

Along with Arizona, Michigan holds its Republican presidential primary Tuesday. If Rick Santorum beats native son Mitt Romney in Michigan, it could throw the race into turmoil.

8:00am

Sun February 26, 2012
Presidential Race

Mich. Prospects Looking Up For Romney

Michigan holds its Republican primary on Tuesday. The former Massachusetts governor, and Michigan native, Mitt Romney has been touring the state in search of votes. A week ago, Rick Santorum held a double-digit lead in the polls. Now, NPR's Ari Shapiro reports, Romney seems to have closed the gap.

6:09am

Sat February 25, 2012
Presidential Race

On Romney's Michigan Tour, A Change Of Pace

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 5:18 pm

Credit Gerald Herbert / AP

Mitt Romney is on a bus tour across Michigan, hoping to win the votes of the state where he grew up. With primary day on Tuesday, Romney seems to have closed the gap in polls with Rick Santorum.

This trip has the feel of those early days campaigning back in New Hampshire, before any votes were actually cast: the long bus rides, the snowy landscape, even the impromptu restaurant drop-ins.

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4:00am

Fri February 17, 2012
Election 2012

Romney Campaigns In Michigan

Symbolically speaking, this month's Michigan's primary may be the most important of the GOP presidential race to date. It's the state where Mitt Romney grew up, and his father was a beloved government and business leader. And now, Romney seems to have a real chance of losing the state to Rick Santorum.

6:09am

Sun February 5, 2012
Presidential Race

Romney Vows To Take Nev.'s Vote To Washington

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images

There was no 11th-hour surprise in the Nevada caucuses Saturday night. The first state in the West to vote in the Republican presidential race chose Mitt Romney, who won with support from a broad base and left his rivals trailing behind.

No Thanks To You, Mr. President

Nevada has been Romney country since at least 2008. That year, he took about half the vote in the caucuses but lost the Republican nomination to John McCain.

This year, he has his sights set higher.

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6:10am

Sat February 4, 2012
Presidential Race

Out West, GOP Candidates Mine For Caucus Votes

Originally published on Sat February 4, 2012 1:05 pm

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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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4:41pm

Mon January 30, 2012
Election 2012

In the GOP Primary Race, Can Steadiness Trump Passion?

Originally published on Tue January 31, 2012 12:02 am

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP

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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4:29pm

Thu January 26, 2012
It's All Politics

Candidates Campaign On An Economic Silver Bullet: Worker Retraining

Credit Julie Jacobson / AP

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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4:00am

Wed January 25, 2012
Election 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.

4:00am

Tue January 24, 2012
Election 2012

Housing Woes Affect Florida's GOP Primary

One of the biggest issues in the Florida GOP primary race is housing. Mitt Romney is attacking Newt Gingrich's work for the housing giant Freddie Mac. This issue is not just a political talking point though. Three years after the economic collapse, foreclosures continue to affect real people every day in an extremely personal way.

4:00am

Mon January 23, 2012
Election 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.

8:00am

Sun January 22, 2012
Presidential Race

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.

6:11am

Sun January 15, 2012
Presidential Race

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

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images

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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8:00am

Sat January 14, 2012
Presidential Race

Romney Emerges From Week Of Contradictions

Originally published on Sat January 14, 2012 2:12 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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4:00am

Thu January 12, 2012
Election 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.

4:00am

Wed January 11, 2012
Election 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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5:01pm

Tue January 10, 2012
It's All Politics

N.H. Voters Reveal Late Choices And Decry 'Angry Birds' Volatility Of Race

Originally published on Tue January 10, 2012 5:21 pm

As New Hampshire voters headed to the polls Tuesday, we spoke with several as they left polling places in Manchester and Bedford.

Dan Yarrington, who owns a series of game stores in Manchester, told us he voted for Ron Paul for his foreign policy stance and his philosophy on government spending.

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12:35pm

Mon January 9, 2012
It's All Politics

Even Before N.H. Primary, Romney Seems To Be Looking Ahead To General Election

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

On Tuesday night, New Hampshire voters could catapult Mitt Romney securely onto the path of the Republican nomination, or they could undercut the air of inevitability surrounding his campaign.

The former Massachusetts governor is clearly expecting the catapult. One indication? On Monday morning, the candidate changed his rhetoric to reposition himself even more squarely as a general election candidate.

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6:02am

Sat January 7, 2012
Election 2012

Romney's Week: A Squeaker, A Love Fest And A Shrug

Originally published on Sat January 7, 2012 10:55 pm

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

When Mitt Romney kicked off this past week with a blitzkrieg tour of Iowa, he had no way of knowing just how true this statement would be: "You guys in Dubuque, you're the best. Get out there and vote tomorrow. I need every vote!"

He wasn't kidding. When the final numbers were tallied in Iowa, the former Massachusetts governor edged his closest rival, Rick Santorum, by the smallest margin in Iowa history — just eight votes.

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1:28pm

Mon January 2, 2012
It's All Politics

On Eve Of Vote, Romney Returns To 2008 Strongholds

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images

Monday morning in Iowa, I caught up with Mitt Romney's strategist Eric Fehrnstrom after the campaign's first event of the day, a speech at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport.

In the last hours before Tuesday night's caucus, Fehrnstrom said, the former Massachusetts governor plans to consolidate his support by visiting areas in the eastern part of the state where he had a strong showing in 2008 — places like Dubuque and Cedar Rapids.

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6:16am

Sat December 31, 2011
Politics

Obama's Grade In Foreign Policy 2011: 'Incomplete'

Credit Pete Souza / White House

One of the most important things to understand about global affairs is how much lies beyond any one country's control, even for the most powerful country in the world.

Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says the limits on American power were especially apparent this year.

"American power has always had many real-world limits," he says.

In some ways, he says, that makes President Obama's accomplishments all the more notable.

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8:00am

Sat December 24, 2011
Presidential Race

Romney Reaches Out To N.H. Voters

Originally published on Sat December 24, 2011 8:25 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. Mitt Romney had one of the busiest public stretches of his presidential campaign this week. A big blue bus with his name on the side rolled along hundreds of miles of New Hampshire roads making more than a dozen stops to meet voters just three weeks before the primary. The campaign called it The Earn It Tour. NPR's Ari Shapiro was along for the ride.

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3:31pm

Thu December 22, 2011
It's All Politics

In New Hampshire, Romney Aims For Common Touch, With Mixed Results

As he continued his bus tour on Thursday, Mitt Romney may have been hoping to connect with regular folks. At a service station in Randolph, N.H., he pumped the gas himself.

But voters weren't necessarily buying his 'just folks' demeanor. When he joked with a woman at the service station about buying a classic car her family owns, she asked, "$10,000?" — an echo of his unfortunate bet with Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a recent debate.

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