SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service staffs were awarded a Pulitzer Prize on Monday for their coverage of disgraced ex-Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and the bribe-taking that sent him to prison.

The Union-Tribune and Copley News Service, with notable work from Marcus Stern and Jerry Kammer, shared the 2006 National Reporting award with James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of the New York Times.

Risen and Lichtblau were singled out for their stories on secret domestic eavesdropping that stirred a national debate on the boundary line between fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberties.

Union-Tribune Editor Karen E. Winner was in an editorial board meeting with Chairman/Publisher David C. Copley when they heard the news. They rushed to the newsroom, where they were greeted by cheers and applause.

A story last June 12 by Stern, a Copley News writer, about Cunningham's shady real estate deal with defense contractor Mitchell Wade was the first to expose the former congressman's corrupt dealings.

The award marked the first Pulitzer Prize for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The San Diego Union merged with the Evening Tribune in 1992.

You can look at some of the San Diego Union-Tribune's Cunningham articles by clicking on Article 1, Article 2, Article 3 and Article 4.