Matthew Orr

April 2013 The United States cattle herd is at its lowest level...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:14:03 -0400

April 2013

The United States cattle herd is at its lowest level in 60 years, largely because of the drought. Many ranchers are struggling to hang on.

February 2013 From the Museum of Modern Art, A. O. Scott and...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:13:01 -0400

February 2013

From the Museum of Modern Art, A. O. Scott and David Carr “go rogue” and examine some of the more interesting works on view.

December 2012 New York City’s biggest basketball stars...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:11:13 -0400

December 2012

New York City’s biggest basketball stars have come mostly from Brooklyn.

December 2012 Records show horses competing at equestrian events...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:09:40 -0400

December 2012

Records show horses competing at equestrian events have tested positive since 2010 for substances like cocaine, antipsychotics and depressants.

October 2012 With less than two weeks left until Election Day,...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:07:34 -0400

October 2012

With less than two weeks left until Election Day, Representative Todd Akin is spending a lot of time traveling across Missouri and shaking hands with voters.

October 2012 Redistricting has left Representatives Tom Latham...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:05:42 -0400

October 2012

Redistricting has left Representatives Tom Latham and Leonard L. Boswell, both entrenched incumbents, in an unusual face-off for a seat in Iowa’s Third Congressional District.

October 2012 David Blaine performed a final rehearsal before he...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:04:21 -0400

October 2012

David Blaine performed a final rehearsal before he plans to subject himself to one million volts of electricity for 72 straight hours.

September 2012 At a time when the racing industry is in crisis...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:02:05 -0400

September 2012

At a time when the racing industry is in crisis over the widespread doping of racehorses, testing laboratories play a vital role in cleaning up the sport.

August 2012 Mark Neis, a Kansas farmer, is struggling to...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:59:54 -0400

August 2012

Mark Neis, a Kansas farmer, is struggling to maintain his crops during the worst American drought in half a century.

August 2012 The U.S. women’s eight Olympic rowing team won gold...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:57:41 -0400

August 2012

The U.S. women’s eight Olympic rowing team won gold in Beijing in 2008. They trained for London with an eye to doing it again.

Millions of dollars have been spent to clean up the waterways...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:20:00 -0400

Millions of dollars have been spent to clean up the waterways around Kunming, the largest city in Yunnan Province. But hurdles remain.

This story was part of a series I supervised while working with UC Berkeley graduate students in Kunming, China in June 2012.

Advocates of legal and political reform in China are pushing for...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:11:00 -0400

Advocates of legal and political reform in China are pushing for an independent judiciary. A railway worker in Kunming is throwing a spotlight on the issue.

This story was part of a series I supervised while working with UC Berkeley graduate students in Kunming, China in June 2012.

Nine million students took China’s college entrance exam...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:06:00 -0400

Nine million students took China’s college entrance exam this year, competing for fewer than 7 million university spots.

This story was part of a series I supervised while working with UC Berkeley graduate students in Kunming, China in June 2012.

April 2012 As popularity in horse racing has diminished in...

Tue, 01 May 2012 10:43:00 -0400

April 2012

As popularity in horse racing has diminished in recent years, racetracks like Aqueduct in New York turn to casinos for additional revenue.

March 2012 Jockeys are on the front lines of the risky business...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:09:00 -0400

March 2012

Jockeys are on the front lines of the risky business of horse racing. Twenty-four horses a week die at racetracks around the country.

March 2012 Some say a culture of drugs and lax regulation at...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 08:07:00 -0400

March 2012

Some say a culture of drugs and lax regulation at race tracks is behind the nation’s high fatality rate for horses.

February 2012 Every year, head groundskeepers from Major League...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:47:00 -0500

February 2012

Every year, head groundskeepers from Major League Baseball gather for a three-day summit.

January 2012 The story of Tiara Brown, a 23-year old female...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:46:00 -0500

January 2012

The story of Tiara Brown, a 23-year old female boxer who spends six hours per day in the gym and doesn’t plan to stop until she makes the Olympics.

January 2012 When it comes to being counted in the census, the...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:42:00 -0500

January 2012

When it comes to being counted in the census, the Garifunas, who are part African, part Caribbean and part Central American, say they don’t fit into any box.

December 2011 The Charles W. Howard Santa Claus school in...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:53:00 -0500

December 2011

The Charles W. Howard Santa Claus school in Midland, Mich., teaches aspiring Santas everything from dance lessons to beard grooming.