Democratic incumbent Gov. Ed Rendell easily secured a second term in office last night, the conclusion of what he has said is his last campaign.

University President Amy Gutmann emerges from the booth after voting in the midterm elections. She cast her ballot in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall yesterday morning.

Zellerbach Theatre was rocking as the 15th annual Mr. and Ms. Penn Bodybuilding Contest kicked off. The Mr. Penn prize was awarded to College junior Ian Barrett, while College junior Jesse Carlin was dubbed Ms. Penn. The crowd enthusiastically did the wave while anxiously anticipating the first competition.

Penn's got big ambitions. It's already got $1 billion in the bag - but that's merely to jumpstart what officials say will be the biggest University-wide fundraising campaign in Penn history. And they think they have some pretty compelling reasons why donors would want to give.

Engineering senior Saad Saadi may have offended a lot of people with his suicide-bomber costume last week- but that's his prerogative, free speech experts say. Saadi, a Daily Pennsylvanian photographer, wore the costume to Penn President Amy Gutmann's annual Halloween party last Tuesday.

With Penn out of the running for the 2006 Ivy League football title, the team must now try to end the year on a positive note. "It's the same motivation you would have in Week 1," Penn coach Al Bagnoli said. "We never talk about titles." Playing under any circumstances is "something that you've been trained to do," he added.

Income would seem to have a lot to do with poverty, but according to Penn professor Andrew Lamas, the key is actually wealth - and it makes a difference. In a workshop hosted by Civic House yesterday, Lamas discussed the causes of national wealth inequality and proposed solutions before a crowd of about 30 students.

Amira Fawcett is a Engineering sophomore from Houston. Her e-mail address is fawcett@dailypennsylvanian.com.

For reigning NCAA champion Matt Valenti, it will be impossible to improve on last year's results. But for this year's wrestling team, a top-20 ranking means that Valenti is not the only one who will compete strongly at the national level. Penn's most competitive sport in the NCAA begins this season ranked No.

PITTSBURGH - Incumbent Republican Sen. Rick Santorum was gracious in conceding to Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. last night, despite their bitterly fought contest. "I wish him the very best," Santorum said in his concession speech. "His is a fine man.

PITTSBURGH - Before a sparse crowd in a half-empty ballroom, Lynn Swann conceded the Pennsylvania governor's race to incumbent Ed Rendell last night. Swann took the stage at about 11:20 p.m. after being introduced by his running mate, Jim Matthews. He spoke to his crowd of supporters, admitting that "we lost the battle," and that he is "not accustomed to losing.

What's bad publicity for Penn could turn out to be blogger Winfield Myers' big break. On Thursday evening, Myers posted a photograph of Penn President Amy Gutmann posing with Engineering senior Saad Saadi - who dressed as a suicide bomber for Halloween - and criticized Gutmann over it.

Government officials issue study on pregaming - and students say, 'Duh'

A play performed on campus last night delivered the same line to the audience again and again: "White people have insatiable, unquenchable, unlimited appetites for black stereotypes." Put on before an audience of about 30 in the Houston Hall's Hall of Flags as a part of the United Minorities Council's Unity Week 2006, David Lamb's play, From Auction Block to Hip Hop, addressed the glorification of "pimps" and "whores" in hip hop music today.

Alicia Puglionesi is a College sophomore from Havertown, Pa. Her e-mail address is puglionesi@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Four thousand, seven hundred and sixty-four minutes of Dan Cepero's life were spent in a very familiar place. For more than 79 hours in the last four years, he was in goal for the Penn soccer team, putting his name all over the record books. But yesterday, he was in a very unfamiliar place - the men's basketball lounge of the Palestra, watching as team after team filled the rapidly dwindling number of spots in the NCAA Tournament bracket.

The Associated Press has declared incumbent Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell the victor in his race for a second term. His opponent was Republican Lynn Swann, a political novice and pro football Hall of Famer. Rendell had been heavily favored in recent polls. The AP called the race based on "a statistical analysis of the vote from voter interviews conducted for The Associated Press by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.