Ailsa Chang

After four hours of standing without food and water in dress shoes, forgoing bathroom breaks, packing in tightly with other reporters— right under the armpits of the tall ones—a re...

Governor Cuomo has officially submitted a gay marriage bill, and WNYC Reporter Ailsa Chang is in Albany counting the votes. Casey Seiler, state editor for the Albany Times Union, also checks in to discuss the looming deadline for rent regulations, which expire at midnight tonight.

For state Senator Tom Duane of Manhattan, who steered efforts in 2009 to get same-sex marriage passed in New York only to see the measure doomed, it’s almost too good to be true how close New York State is to getting gay marriage legalized this week. 

“I have post-traumatic trust disorder,” said Duane with a smile.

But Duane said the same-sex marriage campaign in 2011 has been different from the 2009 efforts for several reasons. He’s out of the spotlight this time around, and in his place is a governor whom Democratic senators and gay rights activists say has the clout and likability to get the votes to pass the bill. Duane said Andrew Cuomo has been able to connect with individual senators in a way that his predecessor, David Paterson, never could.

As momentum builds for a vote on gay marriage in the final week of the legislative session, five GOP state Senators are considering a yes vote.  Four formerly undecided senators — th...

Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance called on state legislators Friday to pass a bill that would make domestic violence a felony on the second arrest in an effort to help deter attacks.

A city police detective, two firefighters and a funeral director nicknamed "The Undertaker" were among 15 people arrested early Thursday in connection to a high-stakes gambling ring on Staten Island.

Stop-and-frisks performed by members of the New York Police Department have hit the highest quarterly total on record, according to new numbers released by the department.

The New York Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and police department for conducting allegedly illegal stop-and-frisks of passengers riding in livery cars.

State legislators have introduced a bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view. The bill comes on the heels of a WNYC investigation about alleged i...

A victim whose memory is at time shaky and lack of physical evidence is not proof enough that a rape did not occur, prosecutors said Tuesday during closing arguments in the trial of two New York City police officers charged with raping a woman in her East Village apartment.

The defense finished closing arguments Monday in the trial of two New York City police officers accused of raping an East Village woman in December 2008. In his last chance to speak to the jury, the lawyer for Officer Franklin Mata likened the prosecution's rape case against his client to a "bunch of fluff."

Closing arguments have begun in the trial of Officers Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata, who were charged with raping an intoxicated East Village woman in December 2008 after helping her into her apartment.

Closing arguments are underway in the trial of two NYPD police officers charged with the rape of an East Village woman they were summoned to help.

A New York City police officer accused of raping a woman in her East Village apartment testified Wednesday that he never told anyone about the sexual advances she allegedly made toward him because he wanted to be respectful.

A New York City police officer charged with raping a woman in her apartment told jurors Tuesday he was only trying to calm the alleged victim down when she secretly recorded him disclosing he had used a condom.

The city's public rail systems are safe despite two security breaches in the tunnels this weekend — including one incident in which four men infiltrated the Second Avenue subway and a second in which a man entered a PATH train tunnel at the World Trade Center and walked to New Jersey, authorities said Monday.

Evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Jewish leaders are intensifying efforts to block legalization of gay marriage in Albany this summer. They say gay marriage may be harder to defeat in 2011 than it was in 2009.

Evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Jewish leaders are intensifying efforts to block legalization of gay marriage in Albany this summer.  Religious leaders say gay marriage may be harder to defeat in 2011 than it was in 2009.

Former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea are the latest high-profile names urging New York lawmakers to legalize gay marriage. 

Ailsa Chang, reporter for our flagship station WNYC, talks to us about what the scene is like in Times Square this morning, following the news that U.S. forces have killed Osama Bin Laden.