It's the first time a candidate in the 2008 presidential race made it here to Erie. Hillary Clinton's rally at Mercyhurst College drew a crowd of 3,000 people.
And it's a crucial time for Clinton as she's fighting to win Pennsylvania and the Democratic nomination against Barack Obama's delegate lead.
I had the rare opportunity to interview the presidential hopeful one-on-one tonight before her rally. We did the interview in the basement of Mercyhurst's gymnasium.

Check out the raw video of my interview HERE

Check out the live report
HERE

Watch my full report on the Senator's visit
HERE

Truckers around the nation, and here in Erie, are staging a strike until April 5th. Some independent truckers are pulling their wheels off the road, others are driving slowly to cause traffic buildups, and many are posting signs in their windows. It's all in an effort to demand compensation relative to the high cost of fuel.

Check out the video story HERE

The FAA says their commitment to the Erie airport runway project is firm, but the federal lawmakers are giving local leaders one month to settle their differences. Right now the local share of the airport runway extension project is riding on the successful negotiation of casino revenue that's tied up in a lawsuit. The parties involved with the project need to agree on a funding formula.

Check out the story HERE

Watch the first report HERE

Residents that live close to the runway site might be forced out of their homes. Watch that story HERE

As the primary approaches Erie is seeing a lot of campaign traffic and national publicity. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton stopped by...and Barack Obama is promising a visit. Now, C-SPAN is coming too. It's part of a bus tour of Pennsylvania that starts in Erie. The tour will take stock of the economic condition of the state. Watch for the Campaign 2008 bus on April 15th.

Area voters get a crash course in how to use new, electronic machines.

Check out the story HERE

The White House Bulletin, an insider briefing, is touting Tom Ridge as a leading candidate to be John McCain's VP. They're sourcing top Republican leaders. Now, I wrote about this just a few weeks ago, and I received a couple of notes saying, "Not a chance!" I guess for now we'll have to wait and see if the Erie native makes it to the White House...

On Tuesday I was a panelist in a debate with the Democrats vying for the chance to take on Phil English in the 3rd Congressional district.

Check out the video HERE

Chris Matthews, host of "Hardball" on MSNBC, could be our next U.S. Senator. The PA native was on Comedy Central last night where he said, "I wanted to be a Senator." A few weeks back at a social event here in Washington, Matthews told me face to face that he's seriously considering a run, and that he wants Senator Arlen Specter's seat in 2010. Since it was a private conversation, I didn't report it. But after MSNBC replayed clips of Matthews declaring his desire for the Senate seat, I figured it's certainly safe to talk about.

Also today, Senator Specter announced that he has been diagnosed with an early recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease. Hodgkin’s disease is a cancer of the lymph system. It's expected that Specter will continue to perform all the duties of his office as well as activities associated with his candidacy for re-election.

I spent this whirlwind week covering the Pope's historic visit to the United States. He was greeted
at Andrews Air Force Base. On Tuesday the pontiff received a formal arrival ceremony and birthday celebration from the President.

Check out my report from the White House
HERE

The Pope also spoke to Bishops from around the nation. Erie's Bishop Donald Trautman traveled to Washington for the event.

Pope Benedict even met with lead Catholic educators, including the presidents of Mercyhurst College and Gannon University.

Watch my live report from Catholic University HERE

The Pope will now move on to New York where he will address the United Nations, hold a Mass for clergy at St. Patrick's Cathedral, visit Ground Zero, and say Mass at Yankees Stadium.

Check out my exclusive interview with GE Transportation CEO John Dineen, where we talk about this week's GE Shareholders meeting and the future of GE Transportation.

Watch the raw interview HERE

Today Chelsea Clinton made her way to Erie for the second time this campaign season. She met with voters during an outdoor rally at noon in Perry Square. Chelsea called the event "Your Future. It's Bright." She's now meeting with Hillary and Bill for a rally at the University of Pennsylvania. Check out my story on Chelsea's visit HERE

Kyle Foust and Mike Waltner were out at the Chelsea Clinton Rally today. Here's a bit of what they had to say about tomorrow's tight primary race for the 3rd district.

KYLE FOUST

MIKE WALTNER

The fate of the battle for the Democratic nomination lies in the hands of Pennsylvania voters. The two democratic rivals--Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama topped off six weeks of campaigning today, with Clinton saying Pennsylvania is the road to Pennsylvania Avenue, and Obama calling himself the underdog. Clinton has the advantage in the final polls, and for the first time in decades PA voters will play a pivotal role in the nominating contest.

The latest numbers in the Democratic primary race for PA's 3rd District:

KATHY DAHLKEMPER: 12,514
KYLE FOUST: 8,027
TOM MYERS: 4,013
MIKE WALTNER: 2,986

I just got back from Gino's where Phil English supporters are camped out waiting for the results. They say he's ready to take on Dahlkemper.

MSNBC AND CNN ARE PROJECTING HILLARY CLINTON AS THE WINNER OF THE PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY. THE LATEST NUMBERS ARE CLINTON 55% AND OBAMA 45%

I met up with Congressman Phil English just after the Democrats announced strong numbers for Kathy Dahlkemper. Watch what he had to say about facing Dahlkemper this fall HERE

While English's first response was the typical political spin, check out what he said next
HERE

He's asking for Kathy Dahlkemper to release her tax returns--in what looks like an effort to paint her as a wealthy, out of touch candidate. Dahlkemper told me her forms will not only show her personal income but also the health of her business.

English also mentioned he wants to ensure that this campaign is "positive." Let's see how long both candidates can uphold that promise...

This weekend's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was one of the biggest DC social events of the year. During the event, Erie native Tom Ridge sat with me for a while, and we talked about his political future. Ridge told me it would be tough to leave the private sector, and the freedom that comes along with it. He now runs Ridge Global, a strategic consulting company, that he says is doing very well. (I've been to the office and talked with his staff. They all confirm the same.) I asked Ridge about the chance that he might become VP or hold a high cabinet office if McCain wins the White House. Ridge didn't rule out any position, but just shrugged his shoulders and said, "We'll see." So I guess we will...

I also spoke with John McCain's mother, Roberta McCain, at the Bloomberg afterparty. She told me she feels sorry for Hillary Clinton and thinks the media is too tough on her. While that was a bit surprising, she also mentioned one other thing--how much she loves Mitt Romney! That's funny, I seem to remember a little incident when elder McCain took a swipe at Romney, saying Mormons were to blame for the scandal that rocked the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. But hey, I guess if I were 96 and out partying at 2 in the morning I might get my stories mixed up too...

Kathy Dahlkemper is in DC.
On April 22nd she beat the other Democratic candidates for the chance to take on seven term Congressman Phil English in the battle for the 3rd Congressional district. It's her first trip to Washington since she announced her candidacy. Dahlkemper says she's happy to be in Washington, a town that she loves. During her two day stay she's meeting with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This arm of the Democratic party is expected to pump big money into Dahlkemper's campaign fund.

Watch some of the raw video of my interview with Dahlkemper
HERE