It's been a long time since the Pennsylvania primary has had such an influential role in determining the presidential nominee for either major party - 32 years, in fact. Usually, Pennsylvanians vote so late in the primary season that both parties have a clear frontrunner for the nomination.

In light of the crunch in the credit markets, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that will increase the maximum amount that a college student can borrow from the government for educational purposes. "It's been [a priority] for a while now," Tony Pals, spokesman for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said.

Five gun-control measures unanimously passed by City Council and signed into law last Thursday by Mayor Michael Nutter have been met with heavy opposition throughout the past week. The laws prohibit the possession of an automatic weapon within Philadelphia, limit the number of firearms an individual can purchase to one a month, mandate that owners of lost or stolen guns report the loss within 24 hours and ban persons with orders of protection against them from owning guns.

For some international students, post-graduation visas are now more attainable than ever before. On April 4, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new rule that allows qualified international students pursuing a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics to apply for an extension of the time they are allowed to work in the U.

Too many papers, too few consumers. That seminal problem was discussed last night at Kelly Writers House by Philadelphia City Paper editor-in-chief Brian Howard, news editor Doron Taussig, senior editor Patrick Rapa and agenda editor and College alumna Monica Weymouth.

With the Pennsylvania primary four days away, Penn for Obama and Penn Democrats plan to continue Baracking the vote - only more so. In the days leading up to Tuesday's primary, Penn for Obama will "pretty much ramp up everything we have been doing," Wharton freshman and co-president of Penn for Obama Mike Stratton said.

There's now yet another way to chat with friends online. In the latest of a series of updates, the online social-networking site Facebook released a new chat application last week. Users can now see when their friends are online and chat with them in real-time, eliminating the need for a separate buddy list.

As is often the case with politicians, Pennsylvania House speaker Dennis O'Brien has been accused of occasionally practicing contradictory politics. His desire to keep criminals from going unpunished is unmistakable, as is his concern for the safety and well-being of Pa.

From hominid to homo sapien, human evolution has shaped who you are. And this weekend you can discover more about your past at the opening of the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology's newest exhibit, "Surviving: The Body of Evidence," an exploration of the human body and its evolutionary roots.

With plans to adjust the information it collects for its annual ranking of colleges, the U.S. News and World Report might be seeking to make its annual rankings more rounded. The magazine announced plans last week to make its rankings more qualitative by collecting information from high-school guidance counselors for the first time.

In a few months, Penn researchers may simultaneously transform HIV treatment and the entire technology of gene therapy. Researchers are submitting a proposal to the Federal Drug Administration for approval to test in humans, for the first time, a new protein specially engineered to create HIV-resistant immune cells.

Among college students, Sen. Hillary Clinton could use the "Colbert bump" right about now. According to a recent Daily Pennsylvanian/CBS News poll, Clinton (D-N.Y.) lags far behind Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) among Penn voters on campus. Among Penn students, 73 percent of registered Democrats favor Obama for the nomination, compared to just 26 percent for Clinton - who appeared in Colbert's show, filmed on campus, last night in an appeal to young voters before Tuesday's primary.

Podcasts might be the next step toward making Penn greener. Last week, Penn's Green Campus Partnership - an umbrella organization for all efforts to improve environmental awareness on campus - launched a Web site that links to all student- and administration-led initiatives to improve environmental sustainability on campus.

Despite the shaky numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce, area retailers say the ailing economy has not uniformly impacted business in University City. The data released Monday by the Department shows a tiny rise of 0.2 percent in consumer spending caused mostly by high fuel and food prices, a small jump after a 0.

Hospitals are in the business of curing what ails their patients, but in 2006 about 19 out of every 1,000 patients developed an infection while being treated at Pennsylvania hospitals. This data, released last Thursday by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, is the group's second state-wide report on hospital-acquired infections.

Twice a year, Penn safety personnel who act on behalf of students, faculty and staff with outstanding bravery and dedication are publicly recognized by colleagues and student organizations, illustrating a campus-wide appreciation. Leading the way, University President Amy Gutmann welcomed the nearly 100 uniformed officers and student heroes to receive awards at the Division of Public Safety Commendations ceremony and the Penn Police Department Oath of Office ceremony last night.

The substance of last night's presidential debate at the National Constitution Center appears unlikely to change the tone or dynamic of the race, with five days before Pennsylvania's primary. After the debate, campaign officials were busy responding to questions about mistakes their candidates have made in recent weeks - which were featured prominently in the debate.