When Rocky Balboa is taking sides, you know this week's casino hearings are going to be a battle of heavyweights. On Monday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board started hearing final proposals from the 13 groups vying for five licenses to operate slots parlors in the state.

Americans can't count on the profit-driven food industry to address the U.S. obesity epidemic, Michele Simon, a public-health lawyer, said last night. Major food companies are pretending to be "part of the solution," when they actually lobby against sound nutrition policies, she said.

The InterFraternity Council elected Wharton junior Austin Pena as its next president last night. Pena, who serves as the president of Tau Epsilon Phi, spoke with The Daily Pennsylvanian about his plans for the IFC, which is the governing body for the majority of Penn's fraternities.

An exhibit by disadvantaged community members has drawn interest - and some bids for the art.

Everyone between the ages of 13 and 55 should get routine HIV tests, Student Health Service Director Evelyn Wiener said yesterday, and Penn has an obligation to help out. Penn offers free HIV testing, Wiener said, and she encouraged community members to take advantage.

The Division of Public Safety has issued a crime alert in response to a robbery several weeks ago. Officials say a robbery occurred at about 11:20 p.m. Oct. 31 outside of Brownie's Bar on South 38th Street. The victim was then forced to withdraw $400 from his ATM account, officials say.

If you're afraid drunken Facebook photos and scandalous YouTube footage will scare employers away, here's a site that says it will come to your rescue. ReputationDefender.com, co-founded in the spring by 2004 Penn alumnus Ross Chanin, is an online service that searches the Internet for references to its clients.

A year after students clashed with police and two were arrested at a popular sorority event, organizers are taking steps to avoid a repeat incident.

Kentucky Derby-winner Barbaro is resting comfortably in the intensive-care unit of Penn's New Bolton Center after having the cast removed from his right leg on Nov. 6. Barbaro - a thoroughbred racehorse who fractured his leg severely during the Preakness in May - has defied the odds over the courses of his arduous recovery.

Controversial British writer Melanie Phillips said multiculturalism and the appeasement of Islam will spell the destruction of Western civilization last night. The solution, she said, is to defend "our culture" by cracking down on what is taught by Muslim extremists in Western nations.

Just when we thought we were safe, our friendly neighbor to the north revealed it has more on its mind than Mounties and maple syrup. Canadian universities are increasingly courting American students - and a growing number of them are zipping up their snowsuits at top Canadian schools.

The number of students taking college courses online is on the rise, according to a new study from a group that promotes online education. The study by the Sloan Consortium found that 3.2 million students took at least one course online in the fall of 2005, up 35 percent from the previous year, said Elaine Allen, a co-author of the report and a professor at Babson College.

Even if ex-Wharton professor Scott Ward is found innocent in his upcoming Virginia trial, an additional arrest warrant awaits him in Pennsylvania. Ward will head to court Feb. 26 in Alexandria, Va., on charges of importing, producing and possessing child pornography, but any charges he faces due to child pornography allegedly found in his Huntsman Hall office have yet to be addressed.

Student-driven assault cases are on the rise, but the Division of Public Safety is - for the most part - sticking to its current crime-fighting tactics.

Penn researchers have completed research on a vaccine that may lead to the prevention of certain types of tumors, specifically breast tumors, according to Reuters. The research was presented this weekend at a meeting hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research.

Some students got a taste of poverty yesterday at a "hunger banquet" held in Houston Hall. As attendees walked into the room, they were handed a card that placed them into one of three socioeconomic groups for the night: high income, middle income or low income.

Swans may live the first third of their lives alone, but when these birds find a partner, they stay together for life. The same is true of SWANS - Strong Women Achievers, No Spouse - Christine Whelan, author of Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women, said yesterday in a talk held for about 40 at the Penn Bookstore.