Andrea Bernstein

(ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

It's getting crowded now in DC. The Metro is beginning to fill, and downtown streets are in gridlock. But who cares? Everyone is talking to everyone else: families, tourists, military people, young guys with ...

...but rather lunch with Hillary, Janet, Hilda, Kay, Bev, Jeanne and Ellen, and a supporting cast of 2000. Emily's List, the group devoted to raising money for pro-choice women's candidates for U.S. Congress, took advantage of the arriving hordes to pull together a luncheon today to celebrate its achievements.

Strangely, it seemed like a relatively normal morning boarding the 9:05 regional to Washington. There's even a free seat next to me -- for now. There's a muffled quality to the crowd, perhaps because of the softly falling snow, perhaps because of the relatively early hour (for a Sunday).

I remember the last time I did this. It was 1977, I was in Jr. High School. A friend had suggested we go to Jimmy Carter's inaugural parade.

President Jimmy Carter takes the oath of office on January 20, 1977. (National Archives)

We jumped on the Amtrak from 30th Street station, Philadelphia, with a crowd wearing those white hats with the red, white and blue bands, waving little flags, and periodically cheering. We'd come of age as Watergate was breaking, Carter was the first elected President since then. Everything seemed new, and possible.

New York, NY —

New York has become the first U.S. city to win an international sustainable transit award. WNYC’s Andrea Bernstein has more.

REPORTER: Despite failing in its signature transportation initiative this year –- congestion pricing -– New York City beat out Mexico City and Istanbul. The Institute for ...

New York, NY —

The Port Authority and the MTA say they're working to make it easier to transfer between the JFK AirTrain and the subway and Long Island Rail Road. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

REPORTER: Even though the number of air passengers overall is down, the JFK AirTrain ...

New York, NY —

Plans for a high-speed rail line have taken a baby step forward, but a two-hour trip from New York to Washington D.C. still faces hurdles. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein reports.

REPORTER: Joined by U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters at Penn Station, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ticked off the ...

New York, NY —

Caroline Kennedy has called a raft of New York elected officials to express her interest in being selected for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein reports.

Kennedy was once so intensely private that she regularly denied interview requests while working ...

New York, NY —

High speed rail is moving one step closer to reality today.

At Penn Station, Mayor Bloomberg and US Transportation Commissioner Mary Peters announced the federal government is seeking design proposals for 11 high speed rail corridors.

The officials wouldn't put a timeline on the proposed 2-hour New ...

New York, NY —

Barack Obama will present his national security team today. There are a lot of familiar faces in the group - none more so than Hillary Clinton. She's being put forward for secretary of state.

WNYC's Andrea Bernstein is here for more on what the pick means ...