Washington Post: “Washington Post reporter Stephanie McCrummen was in Alabama working on a story about supporters of Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore when she first heard a rumor over lunch that Moore — while working as an assistant district attorney decades ago — had allegedly pursued and sexually assaulted teenage girls in the Gadsden area. McCrummen started digging and contacting people whose names had been mentioned in connection to the allegations. Soon, investigative reporter Beth Reinhard joined her in Alabama, and the pair spent weeks knocking on doors, chasing tips and vetting the stories of several women — who eventually agreed to publicly discuss their past encounters with Moore. With the help of Post researcher Alice Crites, the journalists found that the rumors about Moore were based on credible accounts of his past behavior with young women and underage girls. For their reporting on the allegations against Moore — a series of stories that would ultimately impact the outcome of a critical special election — McCrummen, Reinhard and Crites were named Tuesday among the winners of the 69th annual George Polk Awards in Journalism, one of the profession’s most revered prizes…” [h/t/ Barclay Walsh]