The Ivy League title clincher and the first round of the NCAA Tournament aren't supposed to feel like preseason tryouts. For Brennan Votel and Justin Reilly, they may have been just that. We sit eight months away from the Penn basketball team's first rebuilding effort in four years.

10 Million unsold flu vaccine doses that will be destroyed on June 3; 110 million were produced this year. Source: The Associated Press

So the Athletic Department fired offensive coordinator Shawn Halloran after just one year at the position, and hired former Alabama-Birmingham tight ends and running backs coach Bill Schmitz to fill the vacancy.

When students return to campus this fall, it may be a whole new SEPTA experience. Having previously announced that fares will increase from anywhere to 11 to 31 percent, SEPTA will also eliminate transfers between two modes of transportation - between the bus and subway system, for example - and reduce the number of Regional Rail and suburban transit zones this summer, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.

Penn students should expect more than a semi-charmed life during this year's Spring Fling. Third Eye Blind will join the annual Friday Fling concert, playing a full-length supporting act before Ben Folds, Social Planning and Events Committee officials announced in a press statement released this morning.

Houston, we have a problem. A power outage forced Houston Hall's eating establishments to shut down for almost an hour yesterday afternoon. The outage was caused by a mechanical problem in the building's transformer room, said Thomas Hauber, director of Vice Provost for University Life facilities.

Joanne Tong is a Wharton junior from Manila, Philippines. Her e-mail address is tong@dailypennsylvanian.com.

It's been a bad couple of weeks for casinos in Philadelphia. Last week, City Council unanimously voted to put a proposed amendment to the city charter on the ballot in the May mayoral elections that would, in effect, ban slots parlors in Philadelphia. And in a memo written to Mayor John Street on Friday, City Solicitor Romulo Diaz warned that the mayor had no legal way of stopping the charter amendment from being put to the voters.

In a world that emphasizes political correctness, Nonie Darwish is not afraid to speak her mind - even if the ideas she expresses put her life in danger. Last night, as part of Penn Israel Coalition's Israel Advocacy Night in Huntsman Hall, Darwish spoke about what she sees as the threat of radical Islam.

After three years of disappointment, Princeton basketball may be in for another upheaval. Head coach Joe Scott will be announced as Denver's new coach at a 5 p.m. press conference today, sources told ESPN.com yesterday. Denver's Sports Information director would not confirm the hiring to The Daily Pennsylvanian last night, but he confirmed the press conference.

U.S. Rep. Bob Brady isn't the only one facing challenges to his candidacy in Philadelphia politics. The congressman-turned-mayoral candidate is currently facing an attempt by rivals Dwight Evans and Tom Knox to end his candidacy over problems with his financial-disclosure forms.

For students at the Community College of Philadelphia, this spring break may not be so welcome. The local community college's faculty and staff went on strike last week, canceling classes for the school's 37,000 students. Union officials called the strike last Tuesday after a breakdown in negotiations about faculty and staff salary.

229Applications for civil union licenses in N.J. since the state legalized them on Feb. 19. Source: The New York Times

Even those audience members who had to stand for the entire two and a half hours of Norman Finkelstein's lecture last evening listened quietly and attentively, for the most part.

Despite contention among the student body, University officials are standing by their decision to bring the controversial Norman Finkelstein to campus, saying that funding does not translate into endorsement.

As his teammates busied themselves with warm-ups at Franklin Field yesterday, Chris Casey spoke about taking over the coveted starting job of a friend. A freshman goalkeeper, Smith led Georgetown Prep to an undefeated season and a No. 1 national ranking as a high school senior.

The University is now home to a center dedicated to the early detection and cure of ovarian cancer. The announcement of this facility, officially known as The Center for Research on Early Detection and Cure of Ovarian Center, was made on Monday. It will be directed by George Coukos, an internationally renowned gynecologic oncologist and research scientist.