By DANIEL MALLOY, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WASHINGTON - When more than half of its members lost re-election or left the U.S. House and their party was relegated to the minority, the Blue Dog Democratic caucus looked like an afterthought in the 112th Congress.

WASHINGTON - The families of the 29 men who died a year ago Tuesday at Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia still are grappling with many questions about the explosion and its aftermath.

One of the most gripping is what a pair of Massey Energy executives did when, shortly after the blast, they entered the mine and spent several hours underground.

WASHINGTON - Criminal investigators sent an aggressive signal in probing the fatal Upper Big Branch mine explosion Monday with the arrest of a top security official on a pair of felony charges.

DALLAS - As the heads of the NFL and its players union signaled a productive step in contract negotiations Monday, CBS entered the fray by refusing to broadcast an advertisement produced by the union.

WASHINGTON - Though he has not officially declared, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum is wading into the 2012 presidential race with more gusto than many of his bigger-name potential rivals.

WASHINGTON - Federal investigators are examining the possibility that officials at Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia tampered with ventilation records before an explosion killed 29 miners there.

Investigators first traced the cause of a fatal crash in Pittsburgh to the brakes, then to the fluid cap, then to the mechanic who left the cap unscrewed.
Last week, the mechanic was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, setting in motion what legal experts say is a remarkable case.

Word spread quickly through in a Pittsburgh, Pa, high school last week, when students learned that the administrative offices were filled with Barack Obama paraphernalia.

After a two-hour, high-speed jaunt in his foster mother's station wagon this week, during which he crashed into a state police car, an 11-year-old Pennsylvania boy was charged with a host of offenses, including aggravated assault.

PITTSBURGH -- By her own admission, Katie Spotz was no swimming star at her high school in Mentor, Ohio. In fact, she was one of the worst on the team."I'm slow," she said. "But endurance I can do."