BLACKLICK, Ohio -- An Ohio state senator plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that is a milder form of a ban on exotic animals than the one an Ohio task force recommended. State Sen. Troy Balderson hopes his legislation will help save places such as the American Primate Education Sanctuary, or APES, a not-for-profit preserve in Blacklick, Ohio.

WASHINGTON — Ohio is emerging as the most competitive of the 10 Super Tuesday states that are holding primaries or caucuses on March 6, and may be a major testing ground for whether Mitt Romney can mount a serious challenge against President Barack Obama in the fall.

Ohio might have new voting laws in place before the November presidential election after all.

The state of our state is stabilizing, an annual Dispatch review of key economic indicators shows.

Ohio's prohibitions on smoking would extend to cars with children younger than 6 on board, under an Ohio Senate bill that backers say would safeguard youngsters from the dangers of secondhand smoke and is similar to bans elsewhere.

Ohio Right to Life's PAC will not be endorsing anyone during the Republican primaries. There's no need to – the group likes all four candidates.

Insurance giant American International Group Inc. must pay $725 million to settle a securities class action lawsuit led by three Ohio public pension systems. The retirement funds are expected to get a $5.5 million cut in about six months, according to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office.

A poll released this week shows former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum matching up better in Ohio against President Barack Obama than the other Republican contenders.

As the race for Ohio's Republican delegates heats up, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will campaign in Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus on Tuesday.

Once again, a bill in the Ohio House would dictate a later start date for most school districts' academic year to give the state's tourism industry one more long summer weekend. It was a bad idea in 2007, and it's a bad idea now.

After scraping by on handyman jobs for a year, Bert Qintana figured he'd have to leave his wife and teenage son at their home near Taos, N.M., and find work elsewhere.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Medicaid program in Maine is short of money, and conservative Governor Paul LePage has a blunt proposal for solving the problem — drop people from the rolls.