Since switching parties in 2009, Sen. Arlen Specter seemed to hold all the keys to winning his first Democratic Party nomination: the blessing of President Obama and Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, financial support from his new team and a commanding lead in polls.

But one week before next Tuesday's primary, two polls show Rep. Joe Sestak opening a lead on Mr. Specter, who once had the support of more than 50 percent of Democratic voters.

Also, on Monday, Mr. Specter found himself defending his vote last year against Elena Kagan's confirmation to solicitor general as President Obama nominated her to the Supreme Court...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- State officials in Pennsylvania want to close the abortion center run by abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who is under investigation following the death of a woman in a botched abortion. They say Gosnell has not responded to the charges even though his abortion center is temporarily closed and his license revoked.

Authorities have been probing the Women's Medical Society after an abortion patient died last November.

Massive amounts of drugs found in the victim's system led authorities to suspect Gosnell was illegally prescribing pain-killers. He lost his medical license in both Pennsylvania and neighboring Delaware...

A U.S. lawmaker is seeking to revoke the American citizenship of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, who is known for his inflammatory anti-American teachings and his communications with Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspected shooter in the Fort Hood rampage in November.

Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., introduced a resolution Wednesday urging the Obama administration to strip al-Awlaki of his American citizenship, arguing that the cleric voluntarily renounced his citizenship by recruiting terrorists.

"As recent reports highlight, the U.S. government views al-Awlaki as a proven threat, and will take him dead or alive," Dent said in a written statement, referring to Obama's approval of the targeted killing of al-Awlaki. "Being a citizen of the United States of America is more than a right; it's a responsibility"...

(CNSNews.com) – Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate primary is less than a month away, but Democrats choosing a nominee should not deter a probe into possible crimes related to that primary committed by White House officials, said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

The possible crime involves the claim – made by Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) – that a White House official offered him a high-level administration job in exchange for Sestak dropping out of the primary race against Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). Sestak said such an offer was made to him, and members of Congress and legal experts have said if that's true, it would be a crime.

“I think a felony is something you don’t let go of just because an election has occurred,” Issa told CNSNews.com...

A Pennsylvania judge has said no to a lesbian pair seeking a divorce -- and a state-based family advocate is applauding that decision.

Carole Ann Kern and Robin Lynn Taney were married in June 2009 in Massachusetts, where homosexual "marriage" is legal. When they did not meet the residency requirements to file for divorce in that state, they returned to their home state and filed there. But Berks County Judge Scott Lash ruled as "unsupportable" the couple's argument that same-sex marriage passes the test for being a "fundamental right."

"This is a plea for social change," the judge wrote. "If homosexuals had a fundamental right to be married to each other, this plea would be unnecessary"...

State investigators have shut down a West Philadelphia abortion clinic for the second time in two days.

The investigation was launched after a woman died in November from an excessive amount of pain killers believed to have been administered by an unlicensed staff member at the Women's Medical Society facility. Cheryl Sullinger of Operation Rescue tells OneNewsNow about the grim results.

"When they got into that abortion clinic, they found unsanitary and deplorable conditions, including dried blood on the floor," she shares. "But more horrifically, they found dozens of aborted babies who had been frozen -- and some of those babies [may go back as far as] 30 years."

The state has suspended the license of the abortionist, Kermit Gosnell, declaring him to be "an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety." Sullinger is grateful for that...

Apparently it was an offer he could refuse.

Rep. Joe Sestak, who is causing heartburn for Democratic leaders by running against Arlen Specter for a Senate nomination in Pennsylvania, says the White House dangled a federal job in front of him in an attempt to entice him to drop out of the state's Democratic primary, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday.

But the White House "vociferously" denies Sestak's accusation, which came during a taping on a local Sunday news show. A White House official told Fox News that Sestak is expected to "clarify" the allegation.

Sestak, however, stood by his statement on Friday...

Harrisburg, Pa. (AP) - The special election to fill the term of the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha will be held on Pennsylvania's primary election day, May 18.

Gov. Ed Rendell made the announcement Wednesday. Rendell had 10 days after Murtha's death to make the announcement, and was required to set the date at least 60 days away.

That means there will be two elections involving Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district on primary day.

One will decide the Republican and Democratic nominees to run in the general election in November. The other will fill the remainder of Murtha's term, which ends in January...

Johnstown, Pa. (AP) – Democrats have long dominated the late Rep. John Murtha's district in western Pennsylvania, but Republicans have made inroads in recent years that could help them win back the seat – and some longtime Murtha supporters say they're open to voting for a GOP candidate.

Rose Marie Favina, 69, described herself a Democrat who supported Murtha and particularly liked what she called his "pro-life" views. Now she's considering switching to the GOP and plans to vote for the best candidate for Murtha's seat, whatever the party.

"I don't like being called a liberal, because I'm not a liberal," said Favina at the Eat'n Center, a deli and grocery in Johnstown, in the heart of Pennsylvania's hardscrabble coal and steel country.

Political analysts said Tuesday that they expect a competitive contest in the race to replace Murtha, whose ability to steer federal dollars to the economically strapped district made him a powerful figure even beyond Pennsylvania...

Democrats are facing another potential political setback with the death of Pennsylvania Rep. John Murtha.

Within hours of the long-serving congressman's death, political forecasters were upping the odds for a Republican takeover in his western Pennsylvania 12th Congressional District.

Murtha had held office since 1974, but had started to become vulnerable over the past couple years amid mounting ethics concerns and alienation of some constituents after saying people in his district are racist.

Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said Murtha was unlikely to lose in November, but that his passing makes the race "obviously competitive."...