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AP dominates as Ohio House speaker charged with $60M scandal

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Farnoush Amiri, AP reporter/Report for America Corps member, and the Ohio news staff hustled to get all-formats coverage of the arrest of powerful House Speaker Larry Householder, charged in a stunning state legislative scandal.

Householder is accused of orchestrating a $60 million bribery scheme to get himself elected to the top spot in the House and then clear the way for an unpopular bailout of two aging nuclear power plants.

Amiri spent three hours on a blazing day in the sun with two dying cell phones, waiting for Householder to come out from his arraignment. As police arrived to clear the way for the car and disperse protesters, Amiri’s phone shut down, but luckily a few minutes minutes of drama – including footage of Householder leaving the courthouse and sitting in an SUV surrounded by furious protesters demanding he make a comment – were saved.

AP owned the story with contributions from all hands including Kantele Franko, Mark Gillispie, John Seewer, Dan Sewell, Julie Carr Smyth, Andrew Welsh-Huggins and freelance photographer Jay LaPrete.

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