Los Angeles Times, New York Times top 2011 Pulitzer winners

The New York Times, a perennial Pulitzer winner, won two of the prizes this year in international reporting and commentary. STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe papers snag two awards eachA prize is not given in the breaking news reporting categoryJennifer Egan's "A Visit from the Goon Squad" wins for fictionRELATED TOPICSPulitzer PrizesThe New York Times CompanyLos Angeles TimesJournalismBooks and Literature (CNN) -- The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times were awarded two Pulitzer Prizes each Monday for their outstanding work in journalism.

The New York Times' Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry won in the international reporting category for their work on the struggling Russian justice system, while the paper's David Leonhardt won for commentary.

The Los Angeles Times won in the public service category for its coverage of Bell, a small California city where officials' sky-high salaries sparked national outrage and then arrests. The paper's Barbara Davidson won for feature photography.

Surprisingly, given big news stories last year like the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the earthquake in Haiti, the prize board did not name a winner in the breaking news reporting category, a traditional favorite.

Finalists in that category included the Chicago Tribune staff, for its coverage of the deaths of two Chicago firefighters, the staff at The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, for their coverage of the Haiti earthquake, and the staff of The Tennessean for its coverage of a devastating flood, the board said.

The Pulitzer Prizes are U.S. awards handed out once a year to recognize outstanding work in journalism and the arts.

Read bios and more about this year's winners

Jennifer Egan's book, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," won the award for fiction. Her book is about growing up and old in the digital age, the board said. In the music category, Zhou Long won for "Madame White Snake," which was premiered by Opera Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre in February 2010.

Paige St. John of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida won the investigative reporting award for her coverage of the state's property-insurance system. ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein won in the national reporting category, while three photographers at The Washington Post won for breaking news photography for their work around the earthquake in Haiti.

Here is a complete list of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize Winners:

JOURNALISM

Public Service -- Los Angeles Times

Breaking News Reporting -- No Award

Investigative Reporting -- Paige St. John of Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Explanatory Reporting -- Mark Johnson, Kathleen Gallagher, Gary Porter, Lou Saldivar and Alison Sherwood of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Local Reporting -- Frank Main, Mark Konkol and John J. Kim of Chicago Sun-Times

National Reporting --Jesse Eisinger and Jake Bernstein of ProPublica

International Reporting -- Clifford J. Levy and Ellen Barry of The New York Times

Feature Writing --Amy Ellis Nutt of The Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey

Commentary -- David Leonhardt of The New York Times

Criticism -- Sebastian Smee of The Boston Globe

Editorial Writing -- Joseph Rago of The Wall Street Journal

Editorial Cartooning -- Mike Keefe of The Denver Post

Breaking News Photography -- Carol Guzy, Nikki Kahn and Ricky Carioti of The Washington Post

Feature Photography -- Barbara Davidson of Los Angeles Times

ARTS

Fiction -- "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan (Alfred A. Knopf)

Drama -- "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris

History -- "The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery" by Eric Foner (W. W. Norton & Company)

Biography -- "Washington: A Life" by Ron Chernow (The Penguin Press)

Poetry -- "The Best of It: New and Selected Poems" by Kay Ryan (Grove Press)

General Nonfiction -- "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" by Siddhartha Mukherjee (Scribner)

Music -- "Madame White Snake'" by Zhou Long (Oxford University Press)

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Analysis: Budget deal spawns winners, losers

By Alex Brandon, AP

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to the press Friday.

EnlargeCloseBy Alex Brandon, AP

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to the press Friday.

There were, however, short-term winners and losers. And their actions over the last few days helped shape the contours of a coming debate that will be about trillions of dollars, not mere billions.

OBAMA, GOP: Look ahead to next budget battlesEARLIER: Budget agreement averts shutdownA look at a few:

Winner: The troops and military families. The possibility of soldiers fighting and dying while not being paid was one of the most significant factors that spurred the 11th-hour agreement Friday night. And by focusing at least for a few hours on them, Congress and the American people were reminded that we are at war, and that real Americans are fighting and dying.

Loser: Washington. Nowhere else could a process that ended more than half a year after it was supposed to, and resulted in minuscule cuts as compared to an anticipated $1.5 trillion deficit, end up with the participants congratulating themselves for beating an arbitrary deadline by 65 minutes after spending the day beating up on one another in public. This sausage-making was ugly, and it reminded Americans that their government is still badly divided, and often only able to work in crisis mode. And a fiscal crisis is coming, if not here already. The way this was handled does not inspire much confidence for looming donnybrooks over the 2012 budget and deficit ceiling.

Winner: John Boehner and his Republican House caucus. The new speaker of the House was able to stretch Democrats to roughly $39 billion in current-year cuts —" far beyond what they originally wanted. It barely tickles the deficit, but it was an important victory because Republicans who run the House have made the debate about how much to cut. Boehner also lowered the budget baseline for next year's fight, an important and little understood part of this battle because of its multiplying factor over the years. Boehner was able to do something that many of his detractors had doubted he could do: hold together a coalition that includes ambitious individual members with conflicting goals and scores of new tea party Republicans who wanted much bigger cuts.

Loser: Harry Reid and Senate Democrats. They held together, yes, but they also gave far more in cuts than they originally intended. Their rhetoric seemed out of proportion to the Republicans' argument that these cuts were pennies on the dollar in cuts needed. Far more than President Barack Obama and the Republicans, they came across as defenders of a status quo that most Americans say is unsustainable.

Winner: Obama —" for now. He could have suffered big political wounds had the government shut down. By avoiding that, he misses deeper criticism that he has not led forcefully enough in this budget debate, and the economy was spared the damage he had feared from a shutdown. But this battle shifted the early 2012 presidential focus to the deficit, which remains at record levels under his presidency. Does he have Bill Clinton's political skills —" and will —" to work with warring Republicans and Democrats and deliver meaningful deficit reduction and budget reforms?

Loser: Nancy Pelosi. The Democratic leader has become a legislative irrelevancy, even as her Democrats try to devise a strategy to take back the House in 2012. On Friday, as negotiators were crunching the final numbers of a deal, she was at a forum at Tufts University in Boston about her legacy as the first woman speaker of the House. Republicans pointed out that that legacy included not passing a 2011 budget.

Winner and loser: Tea party. Democrats tried to demonize the movement, but it is far more disparate —" and conflicted —" than most people understand. It is united by one thing, however, and that is to cut government. On that measure, it came out a winner in this early budget skirmish, even if its more prominent activists are grumbling that more cuts were necessary. But its success has come with a price. Polls also show that more Americans are wary of it as a force in American politics than they were before last year's elections. And some tea partiers "my way or the highway" approach could be a problem for Boehner and the Republicans going forward.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

View the Original article

Analysis: Budget deal spawns winners, losers

By Alex Brandon, AP

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to the press Friday.

EnlargeCloseBy Alex Brandon, AP

Speaker John Boehner of Ohio speaks to the press Friday.

There were, however, short-term winners and losers. And their actions over the last few days helped shape the contours of a coming debate that will be about trillions of dollars, not mere billions.

OBAMA, GOP: Look ahead to next budget battlesEARLIER: Budget agreement averts shutdownA look at a few:

Winner: The troops and military families. The possibility of soldiers fighting and dying while not being paid was one of the most significant factors that spurred the 11th-hour agreement Friday night. And by focusing at least for a few hours on them, Congress and the American people were reminded that we are at war, and that real Americans are fighting and dying.

Loser: Washington. Nowhere else could a process that ended more than half a year after it was supposed to, and resulted in minuscule cuts as compared to an anticipated $1.5 trillion deficit, end up with the participants congratulating themselves for beating an arbitrary deadline by 65 minutes after spending the day beating up on one another in public. This sausage-making was ugly, and it reminded Americans that their government is still badly divided, and often only able to work in crisis mode. And a fiscal crisis is coming, if not here already. The way this was handled does not inspire much confidence for looming donnybrooks over the 2012 budget and deficit ceiling.

Winner: John Boehner and his Republican House caucus. The new speaker of the House was able to stretch Democrats to roughly $39 billion in current-year cuts —" far beyond what they originally wanted. It barely tickles the deficit, but it was an important victory because Republicans who run the House have made the debate about how much to cut. Boehner also lowered the budget baseline for next year's fight, an important and little understood part of this battle because of its multiplying factor over the years. Boehner was able to do something that many of his detractors had doubted he could do: hold together a coalition that includes ambitious individual members with conflicting goals and scores of new tea party Republicans who wanted much bigger cuts.

Loser: Harry Reid and Senate Democrats. They held together, yes, but they also gave far more in cuts than they originally intended. Their rhetoric seemed out of proportion to the Republicans' argument that these cuts were pennies on the dollar in cuts needed. Far more than President Barack Obama and the Republicans, they came across as defenders of a status quo that most Americans say is unsustainable.

Winner: Obama —" for now. He could have suffered big political wounds had the government shut down. By avoiding that, he misses deeper criticism that he has not led forcefully enough in this budget debate, and the economy was spared the damage he had feared from a shutdown. But this battle shifted the early 2012 presidential focus to the deficit, which remains at record levels under his presidency. Does he have Bill Clinton's political skills —" and will —" to work with warring Republicans and Democrats and deliver meaningful deficit reduction and budget reforms?

Loser: Nancy Pelosi. The Democratic leader has become a legislative irrelevancy, even as her Democrats try to devise a strategy to take back the House in 2012. On Friday, as negotiators were crunching the final numbers of a deal, she was at a forum at Tufts University in Boston about her legacy as the first woman speaker of the House. Republicans pointed out that that legacy included not passing a 2011 budget.

Winner and loser: Tea party. Democrats tried to demonize the movement, but it is far more disparate —" and conflicted —" than most people understand. It is united by one thing, however, and that is to cut government. On that measure, it came out a winner in this early budget skirmish, even if its more prominent activists are grumbling that more cuts were necessary. But its success has come with a price. Polls also show that more Americans are wary of it as a force in American politics than they were before last year's elections. And some tea partiers "my way or the highway" approach could be a problem for Boehner and the Republicans going forward.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters

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7 winners claim Mega Millions prize

Mega Million winners claim jackpotSTORY HIGHLIGHTSAfter taxes, each of the seven winners will receive over $19 millionLast-minute ticket sales increased the jackpot to $319 millionMega Millions is played in 41 states and the District of Columbia Schenectady, New York (CNN) -- Seven New Yorkers claimed a $319 million jackpot in the multistate Mega Millions lottery Thursday.

The Albany seven, as they are being called, are co-workers at New York state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal, where they have been playing the lottery for years in an office pool.

Sharing the winning ticket were John Hilton, 57, John Kutey, 54, Gabrielle Mahar, 29, Tracy Sussman, 41, Kristin Baldwin, 42, Leon Peck, 62, and Mike Barth, 63.

Barth said another customer cut in front of him as he reached for a Snickers candy bar before buying the ticket at Coulson's News store in Albany. That customer bought a lottery ticket, he said.

"I thought about saying something, but let it slide," he said. "I behaved myself." The next ticket purchased at the store was the winning ticket, he said.

The group chose the cash option, so they are receiving a one-time, lump-sum payment of $202.9 million.

After taxes, each will pocket over $19 million.

Winning numbers in the Friday night drawing were 22, 24, 31, 52 and 54. The Mega Ball number was 4.

Last-minute ticket sales increased the jackpot from $312 million to $319 million, the New York Lottery said.

Mahar -- who watched the drawing at home with her boyfriend -- said she hadn't decided what to do with the money. But she says that she at least wants a dishwasher.

Mega Millions is played in 41 states and the District of Columbia, and is the biggest jackpot game in the country, according to the lottery.

The $319 million jackpot is the sixth-largest Mega Million jackpot ever and the largest for a single ticket ever claimed in New York, said state lottery spokeswoman Carolyn Hapeman.

CNN's Alison Kosik contributed to this report.

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