Even though he has criticized super PACs in the past, President Obama has decided he will allow a pro-Democratic one to assist him in his reelection bid. Priorities USA Action, a super PAC founded by two former White House aides, will help Obama counter the deluge of money being raised by GOP groups during the 2012 election cycle.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney told a conservative radio talk show host on Monday that he doesn’t support funding for Planned Parenthood and believes Susan G. Komen for the Cure should have stuck by its original decision to pull grants from the organization.

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The case of a former Miami University student who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for posting a “Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape” flier in a dormitory bathroom just keeps getting more controversial.

The controversy began Nov. 8, when Butler County Area 1 Court Judge Robert Lyons took the guilty plea and ordered all record of the case — including the defendant’s name — sealed from public view. The MU police chief says he is bound by Lyons’ order and can’t release the name. The Butler County Prosecuting Attorney’s office did not object to the sealing of the file.

The Cincinnati Enquirer entered the picture six days later. It sued Lyons in the Ohio Supreme Court, saying he sealed the file without giving the newspaper a chance to argue for public access. In his answer — filed by the Prosecuting Attorney’s office on Dec. 13 — Lyons stood by his actions. Furthermore, he wrote that “there was no plea” in the case.

Now we know where that came from. On that very same day, the case was back in Lyons court for reconsideration. This time, prosecutors agreed to drop the charge, and Lyons ruled it so. And, once again, he sealed the file, and no one present objected. The Enquirer reported on the dismissal Wednesday.

Prosecuting Attorney Mike Gmoser won’t say why he agreed to dropping the charge until the Supreme Court case is over. “Save that question, and I will give you a full and detailed statement,” he told CityBeat. “I don’t try cases in the press.”

Gmoser said he is asking the Supreme Court to dismiss the Enquirer’s suit because the issue at hand is “moot.”

The Ohio Senate will not take up the heartbeat bill and a bill to defund Planned Parenthood in the lame-duck session. The heartbeat bill was called the most radical anti-abortion legislation in the country when it was first proposed. It sought to ban abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy. However, there have been some rumblings of bringing a new version of the heartbeat bill to the Ohio legislature, and recent moves by Ohio Republicans show a clear anti-abortion agenda. In a statement, Kellie Copeland of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio cautioned the bills will come up again next year: “Make no mistake about it, the threat to women’s health may be delayed, but it remains. We fully expect anti-choice forces to reintroduce these dangerous attacks on women’s health when the legislature reconvenes in January.”

In a 4-3 ruling, the Ohio Supreme court upheld the state’s redistricting map. Democrats claimed the Ohio House and Senate districts were unconstitutional, while Republicans insisted the map was fine. The Republican-controlled government redrew the districts in a way that favors Republican candidates for public office. The Ohio Supreme Court is skewed heavily in favor of Republicans; six justices are Republicans, while only one is a Democrat.

Ohio high schools have a bit of work to do, according to federal data. Apparently, the state has worse graduation rates for blacks than all but five other states and the District of Columbia. Ohio did manage to improve its graduation rates by more than 2 percent over four years, as required by the federal program Race to the Top.

To avoid an estimated $18 billion in fuel and congestion costs, a coalition wants to speed up the Brent Spence Bridge project. If the Build Our New Bridge Now Coalition is successful, the project will begin in 2014 — four years ahead of schedule. But the organization is pushing a public-private relationship that would likely involve tolls, and Kentucky lawmakers oppose that idea.

Cincinnati and Hamilton County were picked to participate in a program that puts the long-term unemployed back to work. The program was originally started in southwest Connecticut in 2011 by WorkPlace with some success. It placed 70 percent of participants in jobs, with 90 percent moving to full-time employment.

Tourism is boosting Greater Cincinnati’s economy. An impact study from the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network found tourism is responsible for one in 10 local jobs. Visitors to Cincinnati spent $4.1 billion in the area last year.

Another good sign for the economy: Personal income went up in Greater Cincinnati and nationwide. In Cincinnati, personal income went up by 4.6 percent in 2011, lower than the nationwide rise of 5.2 percent.

Unfortunately, Greater Cincinnati still has a lot of vacant homes. On Numbers ranked the area No. 31 out of 109 in terms of vacant homes.

The Cincinnati Police Department is encouraging fitness through intra-department competition.

The University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning is one of the five best design schools in the world.

Councilman Chris Smitherman was re-elected to the presidency of the local chapter of the NAACP.

Seven AIDS activists protested nude in U.S. House Speaker John Boehner’s office yesterday. The protesters were part of ACT-UP, and they were protesting federal budget cuts to HIV programs that are set to kick in next year.

The bill regulating puppy mills passed the Ohio Senate. Animal advocates claim lax regulations and oversight have made Ohio a breeding ground for poor practices. CityBeat previously covered puppy mills and how they lead to Ohio’s dog auctions.

The Ohio inspector general released a report criticizing the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) for mismanaging stimulus funds going to southwest Ohio. The findings echoed a lot of what was found in previous reports for other regions of the state.

The Earth’s core may have clues about our planet’s birth.