Jeffrey E. Stern, From Arizona to Yemen: The Journey of an American Bomb

Stern traveled to Yemen to investigate a Saudi coalition bombing that caused the deaths of 31 people, including three children, and the injuries of 42 more. The victims were local villagers who were digging a water well for their community. What makes this story so unique is that Stern traced the U.S.-made bomb used in the attack back to the fabrication of its guidance system in Tucson, Arizona, and follows its route from the United States to Saudi Arabia to the fateful day of the air strike in Yemen. Shrapnel from metal forged in the United States is now permanently lodged in the head of one of its victims. Through his reporting, Stern effectively connects abstract foreign policy decisions made by the administration in Washington to the people who suffer the consequences of those decisions. Two days after publication, there was a vote in the Senate to ban the sale of more bombs to Saudi Arabia because of their airstrikes in Yemen. Senators on both sides disseminated the article before the vote. Although the resolution died in the GOP House, a similar one just passed in the new House. Just as the article was coming out, the Saudi coalition announced they were going to financially compensate the district targeted in the attack. Stern received an offer from a reader to pay for follow-up treatment for the person who still has shrapnel in his head from the attack. A publisher contacted Stern about a book version of the story.