• Commissioner Charles Ramsey has ordered an Internal Affairs investigation into how the suspect that cops had cuffed and put in the back of a patrol car somehow drove off in the vehicle on Sunday. It appears that the suspect "slipped his hands under his feet and then squeezed through an opening in the Plexiglas panel separating the back and front seat." The question is, how was he then able to start the car? A police spokesman says "it would be almost impossible for him to start the car without some sort of key," which means the keys might actually have been left in the ignition. D'oh!
• Senator Barack Obama will be at the National Constitution Center this morning to give "a major address on race, politics and unifying our country." However, even though the speech is about unifying, the event will not be open to the public. Luckily for us, Inquirer reporter Larry Eichel will be blogging from the event. The speech is apparently an attempt to work some emergency repairs in the wake of some controversial statements by Obama's pastor. Not to be outdone, Hillary Clinton will have an appearance in Philly today, too, also not open to the public. The event will be at City Hall and is described as "leading voices for bringing our troops home."
• More details on an attack on a fourth-grade girl by six boys at Daroff Elementary School. All six boys still attend the school, and the girl's stepmother is understandably outraged.
• Vice president of the Haverford GOP and Haverford Township commissioner Fred Moran was facing jail time after being convicted in November of trying to extort $500,000 from a real-estate developer on the township's behalf, but his wife said, "I pray the luck of our Irish ancestors will shine down on our family today, St. Patrick's Day 2008," and it seems to have worked out, as the judge sentenced Moran to only six months' probation.
• A section of Interstate 95 in Port Richmond was shut down in both directions last night for emergency repairs when inspectors detected a large crack on a steel-reinforced concrete column. The column is located just north of Cambria Street, and PennDot officials said they hope to buttress the interstate with steel towers over the next few days and reopen it by the end of the week. More information on the shut down and the repairs can be found here and here.
• "A bizarre encounter on a Camden street yesterday morning left a naked, knife-wielding man dead and a veteran police officer shot four times by police guns - including, perhaps, her own." Uh... wow.

Photo of St. Patrick from the 2008 Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day parade by Flickr user Toast to Life