31.   A leading contender is the Tom Werner-Les Otten group, which includes the New York Times Co., parent company of the Boston Globe.

32.   A Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday shows the two leading Republican contenders, Rep. Jon Christensen of Omaha and Mayor Mike Johanns of Lincoln, in a dead heat.

33.   A new poll by the Gallup organization for USA TODAY and CNN showed McCain ahead of Vice President Al Gore, the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

34.   A leading contender is Dick Cheney, the former defense secretary in the Bush administration.

35.   A leading contender, they say, would be Oleksandr Moroz, a Socialist Party leader seen by many as the least radical of the leftist candidates.

36.   A leading in-house contender to replace Pitofsky is the Republican commissioner Orson G. Swindle III, who has dissented in many of the important antitrust challenges.

37.   A proponent of lifting the trade embargo on Cuba, Dodd is the leading contender for the top Democrat post.

38.   Absent Beijing, Cape Town has been considered the leading contender.

39.   Accompanied by his wife, Laura, the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination is spending the week campaigning and raising money in the Southeast.

40.   Advisers to Bush said that he had been the leading contender for several posts, including attorney general and interior secretary.