On the same day that Temple was named third in the MAC East in a preseason poll, new coach Steve Addazio said he hoped to build on the success of former coach Al Golden, who engineered a revival of the Owls program that paid off with back-to-back winning campaigns. "Our focus is on toughness. We want to be a very physical and tough football team, so that's a piece," he said. "Al did a great job here, but we haven't won the [MAC] East outright, we haven't won the MAC, we haven't won a bowl game. So there are some great things out there that need to be accomplished."

Investors are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Congressional debt debates. Will a downgrade or default result? Gary Witt, an assistant professor at Temple's Fox School of Business and former managing director at Moody's Investors Service, sees at least a 50 percent chance of a downgrade. "A lot of it depends on political will, the commitment to follow through with whatever plan is put in place," he said. "Right now the big issue is the political divisions in the country, (and) the fact that we can't bridge them.

The possibility that the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling won't be increased — and the country won't be able to pay all its bills come next week — seems increasingly likely. If the debt ceiling isn't raised, would the U.S. default? Not completely, said Gary Witt of Temple's Fox School of Business. The government will still be taking in revenues. "Right now, revenues cover about 60 percent of the country's total expenses," Witt said. "They can prioritize bills and pay their top ones." But even a little default is bad for business, he added.

HIV rights advocates met with Gov. Corbett to recognize the passing of a new law that aligns the state's HIV testing rules with federal recommendations aimed at making HIV screening a routine part of health care rather than a stigmatized test given to "high-risk" individuals. Mary van den Berg-Wolf of Temple's Comprehensive HIV Program has been lobbying for these changes for more than two years and was present at the meeting. "Detecting the HIV-positive person is not only important for that person but for the public health," she said.