Reporters Laura Ungar and Michelle Smith have documented how federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump have undermined public health programs across the country. As part of that work, they set out to show how anti-science and “health freedom” ideas were reshaping state laws in ways that put more Americans at risk of disease and death.
Ungar and Smith combed through more than 1,000 state bills addressing public health and found more than 400 that would weaken protections on vaccines, fluoride and milk safety. They identified four national groups with ties to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and investigated their advocacy work, reviewing calls to action, Zoom meetings, leaders’ backgrounds, and legislative hearing testimony.
Their mainbar paired these findings with the story of an Indiana couple whose 8-year-old son died of a vaccine-preventable disease — despite being vaccinated — likely infected by someone who was not. A sidebar explored how the Make America Healthy Again movement profits from legislative influence.
Mary Conlon, working with footage from her and Laura Bargfeld, produced two video pieces. Data journalist Kasturi Pananjady created maps visualizing legislative trends, and Janelle Cogan of Top Stories edited the text.
Judges called the package “beautifully written and fabulously filmed,” praising the 50-state reporting and highlighting the Indiana family’s story and the explanatory sidebar.
For a package that gave a deeper understanding of the MAHA movement’s reach and those profiting from it, Ungar and Smith are this week’s Best of AP — First Winner.
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