A deeply researched, gracefully written examination of how a divided nation struggled to comprehend the meaning and practical consequences of unprecedented human carnage.

For its highly detailed coverage of the collapse of America's financial system, explicating key decisions, capturing the sense of calamity and charting the human toll.

For their exhaustive reports on how political interests have eroded the mission of the Environmental Protection Agency and placed the nation's environment in greater jeopardy, setting the stage for remedial action.

For their relentless exploration of America's network of immigration detention centers, melding reporting and computer analysis to expose sometimes deadly abuses and spur corrective steps.

For their multifaceted examination of a murder case that showed deep understanding of the community, its social ills and the often frustrating path to justice.

For their powerful revelations that the government was failing to protect the public from dangerous chemicals in everyday products, such as some "microwave-safe" containers, stirring action by Congress and federal agencies.

For his meticulously researched stories that, in the face of threats, exposed financial abuses by the head of California's largest union, leading to investigations, the leader's departure from office and repayment of misappropriated funds.

For its creative and aggressive coverage, both online and in print, of a city hall shooting that left six people dead, displaying an exemplary blend of speed and rigor in its reporting.

For taking full advantage of online technology and its newsroom expertise to become a lifeline to the city when Hurricane Ike struck, providing vital minute-by-minute updates on the storm, its flood surge and its aftermath.

For "PolitiFact," its fact-checking initiative during the 2008 presidential campaign that used probing reporters and the power of the World Wide Web to examine more than 750 political claims, separating rhetoric from truth to enlighten voters. (Moved by the Board to the National Reporting category.)