Father of Chardon victim found dead on 2nd anniversary
The father of one the shooting victims killed at Chardon High School two years ago has died.

Russell King Sr. was discovered dead by family members shortly after 5am this morning on the second anniversary of the death of his son Russell Jr. and two other Chardon students.

Geauga County Coroner Robert Coleman is leading the investigation but has not released the cause of death.

The Geauga County Sheriff’s office says no foul play is suspected.

Three Ohio cities on GOP convention short list
Ohio's three flagship cities — Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati — have been named finalists in the competition to host the 2016 Republican National Convention.

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus named all three among the party's eight finalists in a Twitter post Thursday. The others are Denver, Dallas, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

It's the first time in modern memory that all three have bid to host the convention in the same year.

Party and city officials are counting on the state's pivotal role in electing presidents to boost the chances that the party will pick one of their cities for its biggest event. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying the state, and few Democrats have.

Backers see the convention as a potential boon for tourism.

Protest filed against Damschroder place holder
The bid by a Republican lawmaker in western Ohio to have his wife run as a placeholder in the May primary has hit a snag. 

A protest has been filed with the Sandusky County Board of Elections against the plan by Rex Damschroder to replace his wife in the general election should she win the primary contenst. 

A clerical error prevented the two-term Damschroder from qualifying for the primary. 

The protest calls his wife’s write-in candidacy “a false petition” since she has no intention of running for office. 

Two other Republicans are vying for the 88^th district House seat.

Former Ohioan pleads guilty to defrauding $10 million
A former Ohio man has pleaded guilty to fraud charges that include allegations he cheated Miami Heat basketball players out of millions of dollars.

Haider Zafar is accused of swindling a Washington, D.C., businessman out of $10 million between 2008 and 2010 in a scheme that also defrauded Heat players, including former forward Mike Miller.

Zafar pleaded guilty Thursday before federal judge Edmund Sargus in Columbus to wire fraud, money laundering and tax evasion charges.

An IRS agent testified that Zafar laundered money by purchasing $30,000 watches and cars costing more than $100,000.