WILMINGTON, Del. - Through two expert analysts and one witness, Delaware prosecutors yesterday attempted to place Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya in the vicinity of the scene of Irina Zlotnikov's murder. Malinovskaya is facing her third trial for allegedly bludgeoning Zlotnikov to death on Dec.

Noisy jack-hammering on Locust Walk should come to an end today as University officials move into the next stage of renovations of the 38th Street pedestrian bridge. The reconstruction, which has included loud drilling since last week, is part of a $128,000 effort by the University to spruce up the campus for Homecoming.

The school year has barely started, but the Recording Industry Association of America hasn't wasted any time continuing its legal onslaught against students.

"In extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives." So reads the tagline of noted documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' new production, The War, for which there was a preview screening and panel discussion last night in College Hall. Modern European History professor Ronald Granieri, Classics professor Peter Struck and Tom Childers, who previously viewed the entire film and interviewed Burns, comprised the panel.

About 100 alumni rekindled their Penn pride at the annual First September event of the Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia, held last night at the Triumph Brewing Company in Old City.

By the end of the month, laundry-service provider Mac-Gray Corporation will have finished installing the last loads of brand-new machines in all college houses.

In the past week and a half, four robberies, including at least two involving juveniles, occurred within the Penn Patrol Zone, according to both the Philadelphia Police Department and the Division of Public Safety.

Penn engineers have developed nanowires capable of retrieving data a thousand times faster than existing portable memory devices, according to a University news release. "This new form of memory has the potential to revolutionize the way we share information, transfer data and even download entertainment as consumers," said Ritesh Agarwal, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Engineering freshman Conor Walsh unzips his pants on Locust Walk, and everyone looks. In fact, they stare. A small audience has gathered at 2:15 on a recent Sunday morning as Walsh, returning from a night of drinking at off-campus parties, urinates all over the statue of Penn's beloved founder.

The U.S. Department of Education announced last week it will stop sending paper copies of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to high schools next year unless a school requests them. The Department will instead encourage use of the online version of the application - one that is already used by over 90 percent of college aid applicants.

64 freshmen candidates are vying for 74 student government-related positions for this academic year. They gathered last night in Logan Hall to confirm their candidacy with the Nominations and Elections Committee. Ten of the candidates are especially ambitious, running for both an Undergraduate Assembly seat and a position on the Class Board.

Forget Poe and Shakespeare - Tom Murtha prefers potatoes to poetry and soybeans to soliloquies. Murtha, a former College student, turned in his textbooks for tractors eight years ago when he set out to farm his way across the country. An English major slated to graduate in 1995, Murtha spent harvesting seasons in Connecticut, Oregon, Delaware and New Jersey before settling down on his own plot of land in Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania, not too far from his (almost) alma mater.

Theft Sept. 13 - A male student reported that an unknown suspect removed items from his unsecured room at Rodin College House, located at 3901 Locust Walk, at about 4:30 p.m. Sept. 13 - A female employee reported that she placed her pocket book unsecured on a bench on the 300 block of 40th Street at about 2:05 a.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Defense lawyers made a surprise move yesterday when they chose not to cross-examine Robert Bondar following the conclusion of his testimony in the case against his ex-girlfriend and Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya. Unlike the two previous trials, in which the defense grilled Bondar in one of the more crucial moments of the proceedings, attorney Joe Hurley said he would instead call Bondar back to the stand as a defense witness later in the trial.

With a calm demeanor and smooth delivery, Penn alumnus-turned-politician John Hinck urged a group of 21 students to actively seek leadership roles and become involved in legislative issues yesterday evening in Leadership Hall. Hosted by Fox Leadership, the conference was the first in the Lessons in Leadership series aimed at teaching students theories and principles behind leadership.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System has appointed William Welch to Chief of Neurosurgery at Pennsylvania Hospital, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Welch is a professor of Neurosurgery in the Penn School of Medicine and part of the neurosurgery team at the Penn Neurological Institute.

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships recently experienced staffing changes after three employees, including former director Arthur Casciato, left over the summer. In August, Casciato joined Rutgers University, where he is now the director of external fellowships and post-graduate guidance.