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Mayor Bob O'Connor was admitted to UPMC Shadyside today to begin treatment for primary central nervous system lymphoma.

Pa. races could set table for 2008 By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, July 9, 2006 Welcome to Pennsylvania, known as "The Cradle of America" because the Founders drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. Fast-forward 230 years and it is about to become another national cradle - a political one -- for the 2006 midterm elections.

Fan Fest First Impressions Posted July 7, 2006 3 :57 PM Missouri, Arkansas, Maine, New York, Illinois, were just a few of the wide array of states' license plates that I saw while pulling up to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. When I finally found a parking lot that wasn’t filled to the max, I headed to FanFest. It became difficult to navigate my way through the overcrowded sidewalks. When I did arrive at the entryway, the underpass of the Convention Center was brimming with laughter, excitement and children running around anxiously awaiting their admission.

Swann asks Rendell to switch jobs By Michael Miller LEADER TIMES Friday, July 7, 2006 Lynn Swann wants to trade jobs with Gov. Ed Rendell. Swann, who worked for ABC sports for 28 years, told a crowd of supporters in Kittanning yesterday that he's looking to become the next governor, and that the governor can become a full-time broadcaster. Rendell has a side gig as a commentator for a cable network covering the Philadelphia Eagles. "Come November, vote for me for governor, and make him the broadcaster full-time," Swann said. The Republican candidate for governor spoke to a small crowd...

Famous photo was of 2nd flag raising By Rob Amen TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, July 5, 2006 Phil Ward should have lived a life of prestige. He was a war hero, having served in the Marine Corps and survived the battle of Iwo Jima, one of the costliest in the Marines' history. Yet Ward died six months ago, having been denied fame. On Feb. 23, 1945, Ward, seven other Marines and one Navy corpsman raised an American flag atop Iwo Jima's Mt. Suribachi, providing a morale boost and rallying point for American troops who eventually wrested control of the island from Japanese...

The Biden Factor By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, July 2, 2006 Blunt, charismatic, smart and blessed with a can't-help-yourself appeal that crosses most geo-social-economic-political lines. Meet Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., long-time member of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and 13 key subcommittees, from border security to crimes and drugs. And Democrat presidential candidate in 2008. "Am I running? Yes," he told me during an interview ranging from the all-important upcoming midterms to his bid for the nation's highest office.

Loose lips sink ships By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW When is it OK to sacrifice national security for personal gain or political one-upmanship? For the common-sense-challenged, the answer is: "Never." In the years since Sept. 11, an odd assembly of Capitol Hill-types, their staffers and disgruntled federal employees from myriad intelligence agencies have played the "gotcha game" with the White House's methods of protecting the citizenry. Enabled by the media (which, by the way, have Ph.D.s in "gotcha"), they have become desensitized to the reasons some things must remain secret. They're making secret-revealing an extreme sport.

Making hay in Iowa By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 25, 2006 When it comes to getting face time with presidential wannabes, Iowans get a little spoiled. It is not uncommon to be able to claim that the president once dripped barbecue sauce on your living room carpet.

Superheroes: fighting crime, fighting hemorrhoids By Eric Heyl TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 23, 2006 Crime fighting lesbians might only be the beginning. DC Comics recently announced the soon-to-be revived Batwoman character will do more than battle evildoers. She also will display a libidinal fondness for the ladies. (Here is where I resist the temptation to say: Not that there's anything wrong with that. Not that there's anything wrong with using that oft-quoted Seinfeldism, except for the fact it has become a cliche.)

Balsamico also began selling cuddly plush teddy bears wearing red bows and T-shirts with the slogan, "No Shoes, No Shirt, No English, No Service." Business is very brisk, he said. "We're getting orders from all over the country, but especially from California, Texas, Florida -- the border states where the real immigration problems are," he said.

Bush may help Swann raise funds By David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Tuesday, June 20, 2006 Lynn Swann is down in the polls, but his bid to unseat Gov. Ed Rendell is getting a boost from national GOP groups and a prospective presidential visit.

And they're off! By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 18, 2006 Sometimes you are a hit. Sometimes you take a hit. One of the golden rules of campaigning is that every poll on the calendar is not a slam-dunk. The Des Moines Register conducted the first poll of the 2008 presidential race last week. It was based on interviews with registered Iowa voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic caucuses two years from now. Much ado has been made about John Edwards' robust first-place showing, Hillary Clinton's second place, John Kerry's distant third, and Iowa homeboy Gov. Tom...

FEMA's cheat sheet for dos and don'ts of aid disbursement By Eric Heyl TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 16, 2006 To: All Federal Emergency Management Agency employees From: FEMA Director R. David Paulison Re: Disaster-related expenses Folks, First, I want to assure each and every one of you I have full confidence in your judgment in determining what constitutes a legitimate disaster-related expense. You people are trained professionals, after all. That being said, the Government Accountability Office is in a tizzy because we supposedly handed out more than $1 billion in potentially fraudulent disaster relief last year after those two big hurricanes...

In fundraising, Rendell piles it on as Swann plays catch-up By David M. Brown TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 16, 2006 Lynn Swann was fleet on the gridiron, but the former Steelers star is eating Gov. Ed Rendell's dust in the dash to raise campaign cash.

Hey, Ben: Football is a contract sport By Eric Heyl TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 16, 2006 To: Steelers President Art Rooney II From: Eric Heyl, winner of the "Be the Steelers business operations coordinator For a Day" contest. Re: Brushes with mortality, player contracts Now that Ben Roethlisberger has been discharged from the hospital after breaking his jaw and suffering multiple facial fractures, we should discuss restructuring his contract.

Spoiling from the edge By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 11, 2006 The year 2008 will be the first open presidential race since 1952 without a sitting president or vice president in the mix. It's the ultimate free-for-all for both parties. Not surprisingly, Democrats are looking for a rock star. They have spent the beginning of the 21st century not being the party in power; they're so desirous they can taste it.

Iraqis cheer terrorist's death The death of Zarqawi: A critical boost Bin Laden keeps lower profile than Zarqawi By Betsy Hiel & Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Friday, June 9, 2006 CAIRO, Egypt -- The death of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whose bloody campaign of beheadings and suicide bombings made him Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, provoked joy tempered with caution from Iraqis on Thursday. Many in the embattled capital of Baghdad, and around the world, view his death as a symbolic and psychological blow against al-Qaida in Iraq. Even so, many Iraqis expect the violence in Iraq to continue. "I am really very...

Same old Pa GOP: Issue the tomahawks Tuesday, June 6, 2006 What is it that the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania and powerful state legislative GOPers don't understand about being Republicans or conservatives? Just about everything.

6/6/06: A beast of a day or a bust? By Mike Wereschagin TRIBUNE-REVIEW Monday, June 5, 2006 Rapture, schmapture. Predictions of doomsday falling on June 6, 2006, have circulated through the Internet for months, but religious scholars, end-times watchers and law enforcement agencies are forecasting no brimstone showers Tuesday. What stirred parts of the Web into a frenzy was the resemblance of the date -- 6/6/06 -- to the number of the name of the beast mentioned in Chapter 13 of the Bible's Book of Revelation: 666.

<p>So, is there is a real wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time?</p> <p>Given our messy borders and chaotic response to disasters, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff seems fair game.</p> <p>During the Clinton era he definitely was the right person in the right place at the right time. Either that or really, really lucky. You see, Chertoff, a Bush 41 appointee, holds the distinction of being the only U.S. attorney not fired when Clinton took office.</p>