Reporting from three administrations — and the road that led to London.

Recent & ongoing

Selected stories representative of the current beat.

1. 2025

   Heathrow Shutdown Caused by Problem Left Unfixed for Years, Report Says

   Reporting from the U.K. on how a single infrastructure failure shut down one of the world’s busiest airports.

   The New York Times
2. 2024

   Inside the Weekend When Biden Decided to Withdraw

   A reconstruction of the final days before President Biden ended his re-election campaign and remade the 2024 race.

   The New York Times
3. 2023

   Biden Requests $105 Billion Aid Package for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and Border

   Coverage of a major White House request linking foreign policy, national security and border politics.

   The New York Times

Pandemic coverage

Member of the Times team awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

1. 2020

   Americans Suffer Pandemic Whiplash as Leaders Struggle With Changing Virus

   A reported look at the public confusion created by changing guidance, new variants and a shifting political response.

   The New York Times
2. 2021

   Biden, Setting Afghanistan Withdrawal, Says ‘It Is Time to End the Forever War’

   White House coverage of the decision to set an end date for America’s military presence in Afghanistan.

   The New York Times

Immigration & the border

Reporting that informed the 2019 book Border Wars, co-authored with Julie Hirschfeld Davis.

1. 2019

   Shoot Migrants’ Legs, Build Alligator Moat: Behind Trump’s Ideas for Border

   The Times excerpt from Border Wars that revealed the president’s private demands for increasingly extreme border measures.

   The New York Times
2. 2025

   Border, Asylum, Citizenship: Trump Kicks Off Vast Immigration Effort

   A first look at the new administration’s sweeping directives on asylum, citizenship and border enforcement.

   The New York Times
3. 2017

   Travelers Stranded and Protests Swell Over Trump Order

   Coverage of the chaotic early implementation of the travel ban and the protests that followed.

   The New York Times

Earlier — Politics & The Washington Post

Eighteen years at The Washington Post before joining The Times in 2010.

1. 2008–2010

   Obama Makes History

   Washington Post campaign coverage from the night Barack Obama won the presidency.

   The Washington Post
2. 2014

   Obama, Daring Congress, Acts to Overhaul Immigration

   A major Obama-era immigration story, included here as a bridge between White House coverage and the later border reporting.

   The New York Times

This is a curated clips page, not a complete archive. The complete, current archive of New York Times bylines is at nytimes.com/by/michael-d-shear.