Gingrich announces website to explore GOP bid

ATLANTA (AP) _ Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he is launching a website to explore a run for president.

The Republican spoke briefly with reporters at the Capitol in his old home state of Georgia on Thursday. He says he and his wife are looking at a bid very carefully and will methodically lay out the framework for what they do next.

Earlier, a Gingrich spokesman had said Gingrich is testing the waters for a 2012 bid, which allows him to raise and spend money.

Gingrich is stopping short of setting up an exploratory committee, which would make him a legal candidate. The spokesman said Gingrich and his wife oversee a web of commercial and nonprofit ventures and must tie up loose ends with those businesses before they can take that step.