Saturday, December 31, 2011

AMR shares to be dropped from NYSE trading (AP)

FORT WORTH, Texas ? American Airlines' parent company, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said Thursday that its stock will be dropped from the New York Stock Exchange.

The shares will stop trading on the NYSE before the opening bell next Thursday. The delisting includes AMR common stock and some company-issued notes.

AMR Corp. said that the NYSE notified the Fort Worth, Texas, company of the move after the average closing price of AMR shares fell below $1 for 30 straight trading days.

The shares closed at $1.62 the day before the Nov. 29 bankruptcy filing and fell to 26 cents that day. They closed Thursday down 3 cents at 52 cents, and sank another 21 cents, or 40 percent, to 30 cents in after-hours trading.

The company said that because of its Chapter 11 filing, it could not try to "cure" the weakness in its share price, and would not oppose the delisting.

AMR expects that the shares will trade on the over-the-counter bulletin board and pink-sheets electronic trading as soon as next Thursday under a new ticker symbol, not the familiar "AMR."

AMR noted that in most Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, stockholders get little or nothing for their shares.

AMR filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after posting about $11 billion in losses since 2001. AMR shares had fallen 79 percent this year before the bankruptcy filing.

American hopes to reduce debt and cut labor costs in the bankruptcy process. It expects to shrink slightly while in bankruptcy but emerge as a tougher competitor for United and Delta, the world's two biggest airlines.

American has promised passengers that it will operate normally while in bankruptcy. A judge in New York has granted the airline permission to keep paying for fuel, labor, new planes and other key expenses to keep flying.

AMR also owns the American Eagle regional airline, which it had planned to spin off or sell. Those plans are on hold.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111230/ap_on_bi_ge/us_amr_stock_delisted

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Letter airs harassment claims against HP's ex-CEO

(AP) ? Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd's efforts to impress an HP event hostess included showing her his checking-account balance holding over $1 million, according to a letter detailing the sexual harassment allegations that led to his ouster.

The letter was obtained late Thursday by The Associated Press after the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that disclosing it did not violate Delaware laws. In rejecting efforts by Hurd's lawyers to keep it confidential, the court concluded that the letter does not contain trade secrets, non-public financial information or third-party confidential information.

The ruling said information that is only "mildly embarrassing" is not protected from public disclosure. Some sentences concerning Hurd's family were ordered redacted from the letter, however.

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred sent the letter last year on behalf of Jodie Fisher, who was hired as a contract employee to help with HP networking events and who later accused Hurd of sexual harassment.

Although an HP investigation did not find any evidence to support the harassment claim, it uncovered inaccurate expense reports for his outings with Fisher. Hurd was ultimately forced out in August 2010. He now works as co-president at rival Oracle Corp.

Allred alleged in the letter that, while Fisher was ostensibly hired an HP event hostess in late 2007, she was really brought on to accompany Hurd to HP events held out of town. Throughout 2008 and 2009, Hurd made it clear he expected to have a sexual relationship with Fisher, using his "status and authority as CEO of HP," Allred alleged.

Allred claimed that Hurd made several sexual advances toward Fisher, which Fisher rejected. In 2008, while walking with Fisher in Madrid, Hurd stopped at an ATM and showed her his checking-account balance "to impress her," according to the letter.

After Fisher rejected him a final time in October 2009, she was not hired for any future HP events, Allred alleged.

Allred also alleged that in March 2008, Hurd told Fisher that HP was likely to purchase technology services vendor EDS. HP announced the $13 billion acquisition in May of that year.

HP shareholder Ernesto Espinoza had sued to have the letter unsealed. Hurd's attorney, Amy Wintersheimer, said his lawyers had requested that the letter be kept confidential because "it is filled with inaccuracies."

"The truth is, there never was any sexual harassment, which HP's investigation confirmed, and there never was any sexual relationship, which Ms. Fisher has confirmed," Wintersheimer said in a statement.

Both Allred and Palo Alto-based Hewlett-Packard Co. had no comment on the letter's contents.

___

Ortutay reported from New York.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2011-12-30-Mark%20Hurd-Letter/id-a03cc5016840438f86bbb2c32838a71a

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Obesity tied to older adults' risk of falls: study (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Obese older adults may be more likely than their thinner peers to suffer a potentially disabling fall -- though the most severely overweight may be somewhat protected from injury, according to a U.S. study.

Falls are often seen as a problem for thin, frail older adults, since their bones are especially prone to fractures, but obesity carries its own risks, said researchers whose findings appeared in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"People who are obese may have a harder time with balance," said Christine Himes, of Syracuse University in New York, who worked on the study.

And when obese older adults lose their footing, they may be less able to react quickly and stop a fall, she added.

Looking at 10,755 people aged 65 and up, Himes and colleague Sandra Reynolds found that obese older adults were anywhere from 12 percent to 50 percent more likely to suffer a fall over two years than their normal-weight peers.

Those odds rose with the level of obesity. The 50 percent higher risk was seen among people with a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher -- about 45 kg (100 lb) overweight for a man, or 36 kg (80 lb) overweight for a woman.

Body mass index is a measure of weight against height.

The study participants were surveyed every two years. Between 1998 and 2006, the group reported a total of 9,621 falls, resulting in more than 3,100 injuries serious enough to need medical attention.

Of people who suffered a fall, 23 percent were obese, compared with just under 20 percent among older adults who did not fall during the study period.

The researchers factored in health conditions linked to both obesity and the risk of falling, such as arthritis, pain in the legs, diabetes and stroke. But obesity itself was still linked to a higher fall risk.

But when it came to the risk of being injured by a fall, the most severely obese older adults, with a BMI of 40 or higher, were one-third less likely to be injured than normal-weight people who fell.

People with milder obesity had no such protective effect. In fact, those moderately obese people were at greater risk of reporting longer-term disabilities after falls, versus normal weight men and women.

Those with a BMI of 30 to 34.9 were 17 percent more likely than normal weight people to report a disability after a fall. And those with a BMI between 35 and 39.9 were 39 percent more likely to report a disability.

Himes said the patterns make sense.

Obese people, in general, may be more vulnerable to falls than thinner folk, and when they do fall, the most obese people may get some protection from injury by their extra padding and denser bones.

But when obese people are injured, they may be less likely to recover.

"It's just harder for obese people to recover from injury. They're going to be in poorer physical shape to begin with," Himes said.

It's estimated that more than one-third of U.S. residents age 65 and up suffer a fall each year, and a similar proportion of older adults are obese -- a trend, Himes noted, that is likely to get worse.

"This is just another reason that obesity needs to be considered an important public health problem," she said.

SOURCE: http://bit.ly/uuUlSa

(Reporting from New York by Amy Norton at Reuters Health; editing by Elaine Lies)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111229/hl_nm/us_elderly_obesity

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Berry reviews first half of term as Albuquerque mayor

KOB Eyewitness News 4 caught up with Mayor Richard Berry who is right smack in the middle of his first term in Albuquerque.

He is talking about his staff's biggest accomplishments and one of his biggest setbacks so far.

Mayor Richard Berry said, from the very beginning, his focus has been on public safety, fiscal responsibility and taking better care of Albuquerque's most vulnerable.

He has seen major progress in public safety.

"Well we've got crime at a 20-year low in the city of Albuquerque - we've got the murder rate hopefully on a 20-year low by the end of this year...Albuquerque citizens are safer than when we started," he said.

Berry said that came at a price.

For some city employees, it was a 2.2 percent pay cut - an unpopular move, but one Berry said was necessary to avoid layoffs.

"We've had to cut $130 million out of the first two budgets alone since I've been the mayor, but we've been able to do that while still keeping our employees on the job, while still keeping services intact to the community - without raising taxes," Berry said.

This fall, voters rejected bond question 12, also known as ABQ: The Plan.

Among many things, it would have brought in total of $50 million for an ambitious multi-sports complex and for a new Paseo Del Norte and I-25 interchange.

"We ran into opposition and we ran into funded opposition and that funded opposition came from several of our unions - police, fire and AFSCME all put money towards fighting bond question 12," Berry said.

The mayor believes employee pay cuts were the reason for the opposition.

"I can only imagine it's because there was a pay cut and they want to make sure they get employees back to square - well so do we. We just think that, I think as a mayor that the best way to do that is to grow the pie in our city?bring more revenue into the city," Berry said.

The mayor said keeping the city competitive and attractive will bring in the dollars necessary to give employees raises.

He believes in it so much, he is working on getting some of the projects done one at a time.

"ABQ: The Plan is certainly not gone, we had one setback but we have so many other things that we're doing on ABQ: The Plan," Berry said.

Berry said once Albuquerque can start bringing in more business and can start attracting more major events, it will make the city stronger and better.

"ABQ the plan is just a way of saying we need to invest in our community and trying to change the discussion from should we invest in our city to how should we invest," Berry said.

Source: http://southvalley.kob.com/news/news/104924-berry-reviews-first-half-term-albuquerque-mayor

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NYC mayor says work on 9/11 museum has stalled

Photo credit: AP | Visitors walk around the National September 11 Memorial, in New York. (Dec. 29, 2011)

NEW YORK - Work on a planned museum at the World Trade Center has ground to a halt because of a financial dispute, and there is now no possibility it will open on time next year, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday.

The underground museum commemorating victims of the 9/11 attacks was scheduled to open in September on the 11th anniversary of the disaster, a year after the opening of a memorial at the site that has already drawn 1 million visitors.

But in recent months, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation has been fighting with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over who is responsible for paying millions of dollars in infrastructure costs related to the project.


MULTIMEDIA: Video: 10 years later | In NYC | On LI | The families | Photos: At Ground Zero | Around LI | Readers at Twin Towers

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The Port Authority, which owned the trade center and is building the museum, claims that the foundation owes it $300 million. The foundation claims that the authority actually owes it $140 million, because of delays in the project.

The dispute has been simmering for some time, and some details of the work slowdown were reported in November, but Thursday marked the first time that the mayor and other officials have acknowledged that the fight would mean the museum will not open in 2012.

"There is no chance of it being open on time. Work has basically stopped," Bloomberg said. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on a recent radio program that the Port Authority was "on the verge" of suing the foundation, but both the mayor and the Port Authority said Thursday that negotiations over the matter continue.

"I'm sure we are going to work something out with the Port Authority," Bloomberg said. "They've got a difficult budget situation. I'm sympathetic to that."

Despite security hurdles and ongoing construction, tourists from around the world have already made the memorial at the site a regular stop on their visits to New York City. Since it opened to the public Sept. 12, more than 1 million people have visited the memorial plaza, officials said.

The site now draws about 10,000 visitors a day, which would put it on pace to match or exceed the 3.5 million who visit the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Building annually.

Tourists ? some reverent, some just there to gawk ? have long been a staple at ground zero, but until this summer the closest they could get were the high fences that ringed a bustling construction zone where the twin towers once stood.

Negotiating fences and legions of construction workers is still part of any trip to the memorial. All visitors must reserve free tickets in advance and pass through a security screening. But the hurdles haven't stopped people from coming. Memorial officials said visitors have hailed from all 50 states and 120 countries.

Anthoula Katsimatides, a memorial board member whose brother, John, was killed at the trade center, said the attention is welcome.

"It truly touches my heart and reaffirms the importance of this memorial to know a million people have already come here to honor and pay respects to my brother and the thousands of other loved ones who died in the attacks," she said in a written statement.

Visitors to the site today can walk on a tree-covered plaza and see the two massive pools that sit in the footprints of the fallen towers. Each pool is ringed by waterfalls, and a parapet engraved with the names of the nearly 3,000 people who died on 9/11 and in a 1993 bomb attack.

Visitors can also get a close-up look on construction of One World Trade Center, now 90 stories high and on its way to being the nation's tallest building.

The original design for the rebuilt trade center included four other office towers, a transit hub and a performing arts center, as well as the memorial and museum.

Two towers and the transit hub are under construction. On Thursday, the memorial foundation set up a board of directors for the planned performing arts center, for the first time. The board includes trade center developer Larry Silverstein, Disney executive Zenia Mucha and Brookfield Properties co-chair John Zuccotti.

More than $100 million was set aside for the center by a downtown rebuilding agency and architect Frank Gehry was hired to design it, but private fundraising never began. Only one of four arts organizations originally chosen to anchor the center is still planning on moving in and officials say construction wouldn't begin for several years.

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Source: http://www.newsday.com/911-anniversary/nyc-mayor-says-work-on-9-11-museum-has-stalled-1.3418174

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

49ers release wideout Braylon Edwards

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? Struggling wide receiver Braylon Edwards was released by the San Francisco 49ers following surgery on his right knee earlier this season that limited him.

Edwards tweeted the news Tuesday, attributing the move to his injury, which "required more time to rehab and hasn't allowed me to re-sync with the offense."

The 49ers confirmed Edwards' release.

"I wish the 49ers organization the best of luck during the playoffs," Edwards said in a statement on his Web site. "I will be working hard this off season to strengthen my knee and prepare for the 2012 season. Thanks for your continued support and for being such loyal fans."

Edwards had 15 catches for 181 yards and no touchdowns in eight games with five starts for the NFC West champion 49ers (12-3) after receiving a $3.5 million, one-year contract in August. That gave him a fresh start under coach and fellow Michigan man Jim Harbaugh.

He was inactive against St. Louis on Dec. 4 and again for the Monday night game. In a loss at Arizona on Dec. 11, Edwards had no catches and expressed his surprise not to be used more in the offense.

Harbaugh has said Edwards' performance in games and practice affected his playing time.

Harbaugh said Monday the team might look outside the organization this week to fill spots ? and that looks to be the case now ? heading into the regular-season finale Sunday at St. Louis. The 49ers are trying to secure the NFC's No. 2 seed a first-round bye.

Edwards, the No. 3 pick in the 2005 draft, got hurt early in Week 2 against Dallas on Sept. 18 and missed four games before returning against his former Cleveland team Oct. 30.

Edwards revealed in late November he also was dealing with a shoulder injury sustained in the fourth quarter of a 19-11 win at Washington on Nov. 6.

In a 16-6 loss on Thanksgiving night at Baltimore to Harbaugh's big brother, John, a second-quarter miscommunication between Edwards and quarterback Alex Smith on a deep throw to the end zone resulted in an interception. The 49ers didn't score a touchdown for the first time all season.

San Francisco had been eager to see Edwards' big-play ability when the club acquired him ? Harbaugh liked his size at 6-foot-3 and 214 pounds ? but it never happened. That lack of production became a bigger deal after the team lost Joshua Morgan to a season-ending leg injury Oct. 9 against Tampa Bay. Morgan underwent surgery to have pins inserted in a broken bone in his lower right leg.

Edwards spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Browns, making the Pro Bowl in 2007, before playing the past two with the New York Jets. He also had a series of legal run-ins along the way.

Edwards made 53 receptions for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the Jets and was determined to build on that with his new team. Then the injury delayed his progress.

Edwards made it clear when he discussed the shoulder injury that he hadn't returned to full speed or full strength since the knee injury.

"I'm playing through a football season. No one is ever going to be fully healthy, but just fighting every day," he said. "Injury means you can't play, but I do have a shoulder ailment, I'll say. Little bit of AC joint. Nothing super serious, but at the same time, it's nagging. It bothers me."

Last Tuesday, after a commanding 20-3 Monday night win over Pittsburgh, tight end Vernon Davis tweeted his support of Edwards and later said he was trying to step up as a leader.

"Thankful to have @OfficialBraylon on my team. He's a true professional and football is very important to him," Davis wrote. "I think teammates should stick together. At the end of the day we will still be as one when the coaches are gone!"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-27-FBN-49ers-Edwards/id-bc83e60b517a432ca49a325257cd1839

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Van Halen unveils new tour with Roth aboard

Veteran rockers Van Halen unveiled plans on Monday for a tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth returning to the stage.

In a video posted on the band's website, http://www.van-halen.com, Eddie Van Halen, brother Alex and son Wolfgang play the hit "Panama" while Roth runs around on stage. Underneath reads "Van Halen On Tour 2012" with tickets going on sale January 10.

Story: Hopes for Van Halen reunion dashed, at least for now

No other details were announced, but the video confirms music industry buzz that the band is together again with Roth. An album is said to be in the works, too, after Van Halen signed a record deal in November.

A separate posting on the Van Halen News Desk website said the video was shot at the Roxy Theatre along Los Angeles' Sunset Strip while the band performed "a brand-new song."

The news site speculated about a possible February release date for a new song or album, and said the record was produced by Ross Hogarth. It is the band's first full album with Roth since the CD "1984," which was released on December 31, 1983.

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Van Halen's relationship with Roth has been a stormy one over the years. Roth left the band in a bitter breakup in 1985, only to rejoin for a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996, then quickly depart in another bitter split. He returned to Van Halen for a tour in 2007-08.

Story: Best guitarist of all time? Hendrix, says Rolling Stone

The band, whose early hits include "Runnin' With the Devil" and "Dance the Night Away," was among the leading rock acts of the late 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s when Sammy Hagar replaced Roth as singer.

Michael Anthony was the original bassist, but alongside Hagar he has joined another band, Chickenfoot. Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie's son, took over on bass.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45795085/ns/today-entertainment/

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Stuxnet weapon has at least 4 cousins: researchers

The Stuxnet virus that last year damaged Iran's nuclear program was likely one of at least five cyber weapons developed on a single platform whose roots trace back to 2007, according to new research from Russian computer security firm Kaspersky Lab.

Security experts widely believe that the United States and Israel were behind Stuxnet, though the two nations have officially declined to comment on the matter.

A Pentagon spokesman on Wednesday declined comment on Kaspersky's research, which did not address who was behind Stuxnet.

Stuxnet has already been linked to another virus, the Duqu data-stealing trojan, but Kaspersky's research suggests the cyber weapons program that targeted Iran may be far more sophisticated than previously known.

Kaspersky's director of global research & analysis, Costin Raiu, told Reuters on Wednesday that his team has gathered evidence that shows the same platform that was used to build Stuxnet and Duqu was also used to create at least three other pieces of malware.

Raiu said the platform is comprised of a group of compatible software modules designed to fit together, each with different functions. Its developers can build new cyber weapons by simply adding and removing modules.

"It's like a Lego set. You can assemble the components into anything: a robot or a house or a tank," he said.

Kaspersky named the platform "Tilded" because many of the files in Duqu and Stuxnet have names beginning with the tilde symbol "~" and the letter "d."

Researchers with Kaspersky have not found any new types of malware built on the Tilded platform, Raiu said, but they are fairly certain that they exist because shared components of Stuxnet and Duqu appear to be searching for their kin.

When a machine becomes infected with Duqu or Stuxnet, the shared components on the platform search for two unique registry keys on the PC linked to Duqu and Stuxnet that are then used to load the main piece of malware onto the computer, he said.

Kaspersky recently discovered new shared components that search for at least three other unique registry keys, which suggests that the developers of Stuxnet and Duqu also built at least three other pieces of malware using the same platform, he added.

Those modules handle tasks including delivering the malware to a PC, installing it, communicating with its operators, stealing data and replicating itself.

Makers of anti-virus software including Kaspersky, U.S. firm Symantec Corp and Japan's Trend Micro Inc have already incorporated technology into their products to protect computers from getting infected with Stuxnet and Duqu.

Yet it would be relatively easy for the developers of those highly sophisticated viruses to create other weapons that can evade detection by those anti-virus programs by the modules in the Tilded platform, he said.

Kaspersky believes that Tilded traces back to at least 2007 because specific code installed by Duqu was compiled from a device running a Windows operating system on August 31, 2007.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45809884/ns/technology_and_science-security/

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

In swing Ohio, Gingrich gaining the "not-Romneys"

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a Hy-Vee store in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo. The former House speaker has moved to the top in recent polling in Ohio, just as Republican presidential candidates prepare for the Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks at a Hy-Vee store in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, in this Dec. 20, 2011 file photo. The former House speaker has moved to the top in recent polling in Ohio, just as Republican presidential candidates prepare for the Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

(AP) ? For "Anybody but Romney" Republicans in a key conservative region of Ohio, Newt Gingrich has been picking up support as an alternative to the former Massachusetts governor.

The former House speaker has moved to the top in recent polling in Ohio, just as Republican presidential candidates prepare for the Jan. 3 caucuses in Iowa, followed closely by the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. Ohio's presidential primary is scheduled for March 6, one of the biggest prizes for Republicans among about a dozen states voting on "Super Tuesday."

Mitt Romney hasn't excited some of the party's staunchest conservatives for reasons that include his past support of abortion rights and enactment of a Massachusetts health care plan that's often compared to President Barack Obama's overhaul.

Some conservatives had flirted with supporting Herman Cain, drawn to his business background and unconventional campaign style. But Cain suspended his campaign this month following allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior and a longtime extramarital affair. Cain's decision and Gingrich's performance in nationally televised debates helped some make up their minds.

"He's sold me," said Dan Keith, 61, of Hamilton. Keith and his wife, Pat, said they are convinced that Gingrich has the experience and savvy to be strong against Obama. "I can't see anybody else coming onto the scene that we would go to."

The Keiths said they were undecided when first interviewed three months ago.

"I think before, people liked the other candidates because they were an alternative to Romney. But I'm hearing more people who like Gingrich as Gingrich," said Bill Langdon, co-owner of the Grand Ole Pub, a popular gathering spot for Republican partisans in West Chester. Langdon had been interested in Cain, but doubted whether Cain could win the presidential nomination.

Gingrich is now his choice. "He's the guy they think can go toe-to-toe with the president," Langdon said.

Sandra Arno, of nearby Springdale, turned out for Cain's visit to West Chester in November and liked what she heard. She was deciding between him and Gingrich before Cain stopped campaigning, and most recently was leaning toward the former speaker.

"I think they're both very intelligent, and I think Newt will be good as the candidate," Arno said.

Republican-dominated suburbs like this one ? home of House Speaker John Boehner ? just north of Cincinnati provide a stronghold of votes in a state that no GOP nominee has ever reached the White House without winning. Their enthusiastic turnout to vote for George W. Bush by 2-to-1 margins in 2004 is credited with delivering Ohio to clinch his re-election. It's important for the Republican nominee to be able to attract big numbers in GOP-oriented suburban and rural regions to offset Democratic urban bastions led by Cleveland.

Ohio could be more crucial to Gingrich than some of his rivals because the former House speaker failed to qualify for Virginia's primary ballot. Gingrich's campaign has said he will pursue an aggressive write-in campaign in Virginia, although state law prohibits write-ins on primary ballots.

The state party said over the weekend that both Gingrich and Texas Gov. Rick Perry had failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to appear on the March 6 ballot. Failing to get on the ballot in Virginia, where Gingrich lives, underscores the difficulty first-time national candidates have in preparing for the long haul of a presidential campaign.

In Ohio, a series of Quinnipiac University polls tracked Gingrich's rise from low single-digits to 36 percent between September and early December. Cain had fallen to 7 percent after leading the pack at 28 percent in October. The sexual harassment allegations against Cain surfaced in late October.

Lori Viars, a conservative activist and anti-abortion leader in Lebanon, predicted that a Romney nomination would keep some Christian evangelicals on the sidelines in November because of concern about his previous positions on issues, led by abortion. Some in her crowd ? Viars is among them ? might also hesitate over Gingrich's personal history, which includes two divorces and acknowledged marital infidelity.

"Newt makes a lot of sense," Viars said. "But everyone makes mistakes, and he certainly is right on a lot of issues."

Several of those who have come around to Gingrich say they're not put off by his personal past.

"Would I want him as marriage counselor? No," said Keith. "But that's not what we're electing."

Keith's wife thinks Gingrich's candidacy is on firmer ground because he's already undergone years of scrutiny.

"They've already raked him over the coals pretty good," Pat Keith said.

Other Republican activists say it's still too soon to pick a candidate in a state where there has been little campaigning, and with the GOP field likely to be smaller by the time of Ohio's primary in March.

This region of Ohio is home to some of the nation's first tea party groups, and a number of activists are loyal to Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has attracted a band of followers with libertarian-minded calls to bring home U.S. troops and keep the government out of personal decisions.

Cincinnati tea party leader Mike Wilson, though, is "watching and waiting."

Wilson's favorite candidate was Tim Pawlenty, the former Minnesota governor who dropped out in August. Wilson doesn't share the worry about Romney becoming the nominee. He also said a respectable Iowa finish by Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann or Texas Gov. Rick Perry could give either of those conservative favorites some traction heading into the contests that follow.

Wilson said Romney can defeat Obama and would work with a Republican-controlled House, should it stay in GOP hands.

"I think we know who the ultimate opponent is ? Barack Obama," Wilson said. "With John Boehner as speaker, I think Romney will sign a lot of Republican legislation over the next four years."

___

Follow Dan Sewell on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dansewell

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-26-Ohio-GOP%20Field/id-91dc5c21663f49929a57e5b287161b8c

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