Tune in here for live voting reports from Philly througout the day!

"It's only a few months—I'd take a chance," my boyfriend said, when I was trying to decide if I should spend $418 a month on temporary COBRA health insurance after leaving my full-time job or go without coverage.

It was extremely tempting to follow his advice, especially since that payment would wipe out nearly half my monthly freelance income indefinitely. But in the end, I decided the risk was too great. A car accident or unexpected health crisis could send me—and most likely my parents—tumbling toward bankruptcy. I was healthy. But you really never know.

In light of the mortgage meltdown and subsequent $700 billion bailout package signed by President Bush on Friday, the media has delivered a range of stories about how the explosion of foreclosures has affected everyday Americans. But how is this cataclysmic economic climate affecting young people, most of whom have yet to purchase their own homes? Has the country's dismal economic outlook impacted their everyday lives, and have they made any efforts to protect their financial futures?
 

To gauge how young people are dealing with the economic strain, I reached out to a wide range of friends in a variety of cities and income brackets to see what action they've taken, if any, to protect themselves financially.
 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many young people said they're just sitting tight, hoping for the inevitable market rebound.
 

...

This week I followed the Latino Vote Director for Obama's campaign in Pennsylvania to a party at the home of Angel Ortiz, a former Philadelphia City Councilman. (Ortiz is also the father of Ana Ortiz, who stars in the popular ABC show Ugly Betty.)

The gathering was meant to rally Latino support for Obama in Pennsylvania--where both candidates are currently polling neck-and-neck--and featured a performance by Puerto Rican entertainer Silverio Pérez. Other prominent members of the Latino community were present, including Pennsylvania State Representative Angel Cruz and New Jersey-born Latin pop star Frankie Negrón.

...

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. That’s the order of operations in the world of conservation – and for good reason. Recycling takes a lot of energy. And most products can only be recycled a limited number of times, if at all. That’s why, when aiming for a greener lifestyle, it’s best to first reduce your consumption – and if you can’t always do that, to reuse products again and again.

That concept is one of the core tenets of ReProduct, a Pennsylvania-based company started in 2006 by philanthropist Bernard David. David identified a waste problem—the 7.5 billion greeting cards floating around this country at...

In light of the tremendous amount of buzz and strong opinions surrounding McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, I decided to ask some local women to share their thoughts on the pick. Is it a step forward for women in politics? Will it help the Republican party in November? Is Palin well qualified?

Philly's overwhelmingly Democratic population definitely showed through in the responses I received. It will be interesting to see if the rest of Pennsylvania agrees with Philadelphians at the polls in just two short months.

WATCH THE VIDEO.

Republicans are most certainly in the minority among young people in this country. And perhaps even more scarce right now are Republicans in Denver. Michael Tate, Communications Director for Penn’s College Republicans and a soon-to-be-junior at the University, is both. In between his long nights of speech-watching and lunches beside Chris Matthews, I caught up with Tate to talk about the youth presence at the DNC, what it’s like to be a young Republican there and what he expects from his upcoming trip to the RNC in St. Paul.

...

I first met Kevin "Sky Rocket" Williams outside the Democratic debate held in Philadelphia back in April. He was clearly excited about the event and wanted to tell me about a song he and his partner had recently produced, which he conveniently had a copy of in his bag. Williams and producer Jeffrey Vann wrote "The Obama Song" in support of their candidate but, more importantly, with the goal of inspiring young people in their West Philly community to vote.

Since I first met Williams, "The Obama Song" has grown in visibility, and last week the duo performed it at an Obama fundraiser in New York. They say their ultimate goal with the song is to inspire young people to get politically involved, but also to show the power of hip hop when used in positive ways. Music has a unique way of reaching young people in their community, and they hope "The Obama Song" will make an impact.

...

When Iraq War casualties are mentioned, the first things that come to most Americans minds are undoubtedly U.S. military deaths – which reached 4124 this week – and possibly the number of Iraqi civilians killed: upwards of 100,000.

But with the war into its fifth year, another type of casualty is only increasing, one not often mentioned by the media and far from most Americans' minds: Iraqi civilians permanently displaced by the war. It can happen many ways: the bombing of a house, death of a family breadwinner, militia threats or even kidnapping, to name a few. Many Iraqis who can afford it have fled to neighboring Jordan or Syria, but even if they make it there, they often don't have the finances or the connections to rebuild some semblance of their former lives.

...