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Philly's last-minute show of Romney support

Good news for Mitt Romney! Contrary to early vote counts, based solely on computerized returns from Philadelphia's voting machines, he did not get blanked in 59 of the city's 1,687 voting divisions.

FILE - In this Sept 17, 2012 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles. Having lost the popular vote in five of six presidential elections, Republicans are plunging into intense self-examination. Hard-core conservatives say the party should abandon comparative centrists like John McCain and Mitt Romney. But establishment Republicans note the party still runs the House and President Obama�s popular-vote margin was smaller than before. Perhaps the GOP�s biggest challenge: improving relations with America's fast-growing Hispanics.  (AP Photo/David McNew, File)
FILE - In this Sept 17, 2012 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney addresses the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles. Having lost the popular vote in five of six presidential elections, Republicans are plunging into intense self-examination. Hard-core conservatives say the party should abandon comparative centrists like John McCain and Mitt Romney. But establishment Republicans note the party still runs the House and President Obama�s popular-vote margin was smaller than before. Perhaps the GOP�s biggest challenge: improving relations with America's fast-growing Hispanics. (AP Photo/David McNew, File)Read moreAP

Good news for Mitt Romney! Contrary to early vote counts, based solely on computerized returns from Philadelphia's voting machines, he did not get blanked in 59 of the city's 1,687 voting divisions.

A groundswell of support among people voting by absentee and provisional ballots reduced the number of divisions where Romney received zero votes to 50.

In addition, the certified results show 99 divisions where Romney was supported by exactly one voter.

- Bob Warner

At Great Wall, Nutter saw a Rocky fist pump

First day in China, Mayor Nutter and three others - Nancy Gilboy, president of the International Visitors Council of Philadelphia, and Nutter aides Suzanne Biemiller and Duane Bumb - do the tourist thing and go to the Great Wall.

You go to China, you have to go to the Great Wall. It's like Beijing's Liberty Bell. On the Wall, they see a guy dressed up like Santa Claus. Strange.

Then, he launches into a Rocky run! Doesn't know the mayor from Adam, but gives the Rocky fist pump.

"From their accents, the guy and his friends were from Europe," said Biemiller, Nutter's chief of staff. "They were promoting some company and photographing the scene. When we told him we were from Philadelphia, they got very excited and did another Rocky pose." - Jennifer Lin

Probe launched into Commisioners' office

Recent dysfunction in the City Commissioners' Office is well-documented, especially since GOP Commissioner Al Schmidt and Democrat Anthony Clark conspired to make themselves cochairs of the body, toppling Stephanie Singer.

And then there was the big increase in the need for provisional ballots Nov. 6 when poll workers couldn't find voters' names in the books, leading to questions about the commissioners' leadership.

On Friday, Nutter, at a news conference with Singer, Clark and Schmidt, announced that he had appointed Managing Director Richard Negrin to head a fact-finding effort to analyze the source and extent of voting problems during the Nov. 6 election.

When KYW reporter Mike Dunn asked whether Nutter was concerned that the deterioration of relationships among the three commissioners would affect the ability of Negrin's group to figure out what happened, Nutter said he wasn't worried because each commissioner had pledged to cooperate. Nutter also noted that group therapy wasn't on his agenda.

"I'm not Dr. Phil," he said. "I'm the mayor of the city." - Miriam Hill