Philadelphia is now smoke-free, but don't expect the state to take a similar step anytime soon. In the wake of Philadelphia's smoking ban - which was signed into law by Mayor John Street on Thursday - heads are now turning toward a possible statewide measure currently being considered by Pennsylvania's House of Representatives.

NEW ORLEANS - Linda Nunnery couldn't be happier. She lost her home and her job to Katrina, but that's all just a memory now that Habitat for Humanity has provided her with a pristine new house in New Orleans' Upper Ninth Ward.

What if you thought you had no bottom? That you were related to an apple? That you were drinking from a cow's teat? Now what if all your friends could see you? In what has become an annual tradition, the hypnotist called on Penn students to let go of their inhibitions and make fools of themselves in front of 900 of their peers.

A potentially deadly bacterium is spreading throughout the country, and spinach is the culprit. The recent discovery of E. coli in bagged spinach has prompted restaurants and supermarkets around campus to pull the vegetable from their stores. Warning signs have been put up in Houston Market and spinach - cooked or raw - has been removed from all campus dining locations, according to employees at 1920 Commons.

WILMINGTON, Del. - Prosecutors tried on Friday to paint Irina Malinovskaya as a woman so blinded by her obsession with ex-boyfriend Robert Bondar that she would go to any lengths - including murder - to get him back.

There's going to be some stiff competition for student government this week. This semester has seen a dramatic increase in the number of freshmen candidates vying for both class-board and Undergraduate Assembly positions. With 41 candidates for the freshman class board and 29 candidates for the UA, there has been a 32-percent overall increase in the number of candidates.

Week in photos for week of September 11, 2006

With only two months remaining until critical elections take place across the country, current Penn students will not be the only ones considering whether to vote here in Philadelphia or in their home states. Recent Penn graduates who registered to vote in Pennsylvania while living in the city will also have to decide whether to cast a vote here - even though it may be illegal.

NEW ORLEANS - There's only one finished room in David Fountain's formerly flooded house in the Upper Ninth Ward, just a few blocks from the Habitat for Humanity construction site. But, oh, what a room. He's got a big color TV, Internet-connected computer, DVD player, VCR, camcorder, printer, CD player, some serious speakers and even a few old-fashioned turntables to spin records on.

Walk past Pottruck at 11 p.m. on just about any weeknight and you'll see scores of students burning calories on treadmills and stationary bicycles. But ten years ago, the Pottruck Health and Fitness Center didn't even exist, let alone have such accommodating hours.

An electrical fire ignited at a power-supply pole at 39th and Delancey streets yesterday evening, knocking out power and phone services for several residences on the block. No one was injured in the fire, and police officials say they do not yet know what caused it.

Pennsylvania has given $3.5 million to an organization that includes Penn for nanotechnology research. The grant is part of $11.1 million given to various institutions across the state for research in nanotechnology, the creation and study of devices between 1 and 100 nanometers in size.

The United States boasts the world's largest economy, its strongest army and perhaps the most diverse population in the world. But when it comes to its citizens graduating from college, America can't claim any similar superlative. The United States has slipped behind other nations in the numbers of students who finish their degrees, according to a report released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, a California-based think tank.

Facebook.com is feeling some growing pains. The site will soon be open to anyone with an e-mail address, and college students have mixed feelings.

Here's a new spin on university rankings: Apparently, the best schools are the ones with champion ultimate-frisbee teams.

It started when former Penn student and current Harvard University junior Dhruv Singh wanted a classmate's opinion on his Penn econ homework. Frustrated because he couldn't find an online group where he could complain and solicit his classmates for help, Singh decided to do something about it: He created his own.

WILMINGTON, Del. - State prosecutors worked to recreate the scene of the crime for jurors yesterday in opening their first-degree murder case against Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya.