The rumors were right: A year after being shut out of the Pulitzers, The Post cleaned up in the annual awards for the best newspaper journalism, besting rival Brand X four to three. The Post was also a finalist for the public service award for its "exhaustive and illuminating exploration of the government's war on terrorism and the ensuing tension between national security and individual liberty."

The NY Times team of James Rosen and Eric Lichtblau won for their domestic wiretapping reporting, and New Orlean's The Times-Picayune and Gulfport's The Sun Herald shared the Pulitzer Prize for public service.

Here are the winners:

PUBLIC SERVICE: Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.: "For its valorous and comprehensive coverage of Hurricane Katrina, providing a lifeline for devastated readers, in print and online, during their time of greatest need."

PUBLIC SERVICE: Times-Picayune, New Orleans: "For its heroic, multi-faceted coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, making exceptional use of the newspaper's resources to serve an inundated city even after evacuation of the newspaper plant."

BREAKING NEWS REPORTING: Staff of Times-Picayune, New Orleans: "For its courageous and aggressive coverage of Hurricane Katrina, overcoming desperate conditions facing the city and the newspaper."

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith of Washington Post: "For their indefatigable probe of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff that exposed congressional corruption and produced reform efforts."

EXPLANATORY REPORTING: David Finkel of Washington Post: "For his ambitious, clear-eyed case study of the United States government's attempt to bring democracy to Yemen."

BEAT REPORTING: Dana Priest of Washington Post: "For her persistent, painstaking reports on secret 'black site' prisons and other controversial features of the government's counterterrorism campaign."

NATIONAL REPORTING: James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of New York Times: "For their carefully sourced stories on secret domestic eavesdropping that stirred a national debate on the boundary line between fighting terrorism and protecting civil liberty."

NATIONAL REPORTING: Staffs of San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service, with notable work by Marcus Stern and Jerry Kammer: "For their disclosure of bribe-taking that sent former Rep. Randy Cunningham to prison in disgrace."

INTERNATIONAL REPORTING: Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley of New York Times: "For their ambitious stories on ragged justice in China as the booming nation's legal system evolves."

FEATURE WRITING: Jim Sheeler of Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.: "For his poignant story on a Marine major who helps the families of comrades killed in Iraq cope with their loss and honor their sacrifice."

COMMENTARY: Nicholas D. Kristof of New York Times: "For his graphic, deeply reported columns that, at personal risk, focused attention on genocide in Darfur and that gave voice to the voiceless in other parts of the world."

CRITICISM: Robin Givhan of Washington Post: "For her witty, closely observed essays that transform fashion criticism into cultural criticism."

EDITORIAL WRITING: Rick Attig and Doug Bates of Oregonian, Portland: "For their persuasive, richly reported editorials on abuses inside a forgotten Oregon mental hospital."

EDITORIAL CARTOONING: Mike Luckovich of Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "For his powerful cartoons on an array of issues, drawn with a simple but piercing style."

BREAKING NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY: Staff of Dallas Morning News: "For its vivid photographs depicting the chaos and pain after Hurricane Katrina engulfed New Orleans."

FEATURE PHOTOGRAPHY: Todd Heisler of Rocky Mountain News, Denver, Colo.: "For his haunting, behind-the-scenes look at funerals for Colorado Marines who return from Iraq in caskets."