Former President Ford hospitalized, released

? Former President Gerald Ford was released Tuesday evening from the hospital after what his chief of staff called routine medical tests.

Ford, 92, was admitted to Eisenhower Medical Center late Monday.

“He’s in for medical tests, routine tests,” Ford’s chief of staff, Penny Circle, told The Associated Press. “He’s had a horrible cold, and he still hasn’t gotten over it.”

Ford returned Tuesday evening to his Rancho Mirage home, about 110 miles east of Los Angeles, according to hospital spokeswoman Elizabeth Wholihan.

Circle said Ford undergoes medical tests each December. He had two days of hospital tests in January to follow-up on last year’s annual physical.

After the death of Ronald Reagan in June 2004, Ford became the nation’s oldest living former president.