AP wins Pulitzer for stories on enslaved fishermen in Asia

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press won the Pulitzer Prize for public service toay for documenting the use of slave labor in Southeast Asia to supply seafood to American tables – an investigation that spurred the release of more than 2,000 captive workers.

The Los Angeles Times was awarded the breaking news prize for its coverage of the shooting rampage by husband-and-wife extremists that left 14 people dead in San Bernardino, Calif., and The Washington Post received the national reporting award for an examination of killings by police in the U.S.

Besides recognizing some of the biggest national and international stories of the year, the awards spotlighted deep dives into a chilling rape case, the long arc of school segregation, and the mistreatment of psychiatric patients. The New Yorker was honored in the criticism and feature writing categories, which only recently were opened to magazines.

The New York Times won for international reporting for detailing the plight of Afghan women, while the Times and Thomson Reuters both took the breaking news photography prize for images of refugees. The Times' reporter on the Afghan story, Alissa J. Rubin, said she was "overwhelmed" to see the work recognized.

The Boston Globe also won two awards: the feature photography prize for pictures showing the life of a poor, 6-year-old boy who survived a horrific beating by his mother's boyfriend, and the commentary award for Farah Stockman's work on the legacy of school busing in the city.

The Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune received the investigative reporting prize for demonstrating that years of budget and staff cuts and overall neglect had resulted in a dramatic uptick of violence in Florida's mental hospitals.