WNYC Newsroom

Bloomsday performers outside Davy Byrne\'s pub, Dublin, Bloomsday 2003.

It's Bloomsday today, a time for fans of James Joyce's epic novel 'Ulysses' to celebrate and read aloud sections of the book. The story ...

The Leonard Lopate Show commemorates the 40th anniversary of Stonewall by talking about representations of LGBT life and politics on film, part of the Projections film series. In this segment, Leonard discusses "Parting Glances" (1986) with film critic Nathan Lee and professor of Cinema Studies at CUNY David Gerstner.

A judge is again delaying action on the state Senate's power struggle. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara ordered Democrats and Republicans to return to court at one o'clock this afternoon, after an hour-long meeting this morning fell apart.

Republican and Democratic senators so far have failed ...

New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-13) decided to re-defect back to the Democratic caucus. Hear about what changed his mind and how he expects the Senate to proceed with an even 31-31 split.

More coverage of the Senate power struggle >>

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on health care reform at the annual meeting of the American Medical ...

Monday\'s outpouring for Mousavi swelled as ...

In Albany, it's still unclear who's in control. Lawmakers continue to await a court decision on whether last week's Republican takeover of the Senate chamber was legal. Today, Queens Senator Hiram Monserrate switched his allegiance back to fellow Democrats, making an even 31 to 31 vote split in the chamber.

...

Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen is asking listeners to redesign the gay flag for the 21st century. The design firm Worldstudio is also taking on the assignment and will present its ...

On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan delivered an address at the Brandenburg Gate.

This documentary from Sound Portraits, broadcast on the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, is the first documentary - in any medium ...

An appellate court judge has granted State Senate Democrats an injunction that partially blocks the new coalition leadership from taking control. The order blocks Pedro Espada, the dissident Democrat elected Senate president on Monday, from being in line to succeed the governor if he's out of state, or if the ...

The Decemberists joined Soundcheck to perform songs from their latest album, an hour-long, 17-track rock opera, The Hazards of Love. This story of star-crossed lovers and a shape-shifting beast is set to a score that recalls 1960s British folk-pop and bombastic '70s-style prog rock. Led by songwriter Colin Meloy, the quintet is joined today by vocalists Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond and Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond.

“Won’t Want for Love (Margaret In The Taiga)”

“The Hazards of Love 2: Wager All”

Reporter Karen DeWitt reports that it was a near riot in the State Senate chamber in Albany today when Senators Pedro Espada and Dean Skelos finally reconvened under the new Senate leadership. Dewitt says protesters with Citizen Action and ...

Uncertainty continues to reign in Albany.Doors to the state Senate chamber in Albany were still locked three hours after the Republicans said they would hold their first Senate session. New York Daily News political columnist and blogger Liz Benjamin was there and she joined Amy Eddings to discuss the debacle.

Reporter Karen DeWitt also found chaos at the Senate chamber.

"Hundreds of reporters, lobbyists, onlookers, a crowd of 200-300 people have been gathered outside the main Senate door for over an hour now, waiting for Senator Espada and Senator Skelos to show up as promised. People are getting very restless. The air is bad. People are threatening to faint. It just seems like the government is disintegrating, because no one will tell give us an answer of where they are or what is going on."

Earlier, Senator Malcolm Smith of Queens -- who is still calling himself the senate majority leader -- said he is seeking a court injunction to prevent Republicans from taking power.

Governor Paterson is asking his fellow Democrats to unlock the doors to the Senate chamber, and for senators to hold another vote to decide who will be their leader, Republican Dean Skelos, or Democrat Malcolm Smith.

"I am urging them all to go back to the chamber. They can simply go in and elect the majority leader, and I will work with whomever it is."

Paterson says a do-over is needed because it is unclear whether Monday's vote to restore the GOP to power happened during the session, or after it was gaveled to a close.

Bronx and Queens constituents are being hit with a wave of robocalls criticizing State Senators Hiram Monserrate and Pedro Espada Jr. for their role in the Republican coup.

In a call, an anonymous young woman says that Monserrate betrayed voters in his district. The 13th District - which he represents - is overwhelmingly Democratic.

Our Digesting Politics trio plumbs the why and what for of the coup in Albany.

A sample of the conversation:

Brian Lehrer: I'm still trying to figure out what this means. To the best of my ability to discern, this ...

Pulling Alice Ramsey\'s Maxwell auto out of a ditch (Peter Ramsey)

On June 9, 1909, 22 year-old Alice Ramsey became the first woman to drive across the United States unaccompanied by a man. Ramsey departed from Broadway Avenue in New York City and completed her journey in San Francisco. The 3,800-mile trip took 59 days.

A representative of the Maxwell-Briscoe automobile company proposed the transcontinental trip after Ramsey entered a 200-mile endurance drive to Montauk, New York. In a public relations stunt, the company paid all of Ramsey's expenses for the cross-country journey, but for Ramsey, the trip was about more than advertising.

Although three female passengers accompanied Ramsey on her transcontinental journey, she was the only one who knew how to drive. The other passengers were her sisters-in-law, Nettie Powell and Margaret Atwood, as well as a friend, 16-year old Hermine Jahns.

Senator Pedro Espada

One of the dissident Democrats who joined Republicans in yesterday's leadership coup in New York's Senate says the move isn't about returning power to the GOP. Queens Democrat Hiram Monserrate tells WNYC's Brian Lehrer it's about ...

Senator Monserrate

Liz Krueger, New York State Senator (D-Manhattan, 26th district), and Hiram Monserrate, New York State Senator (D-Queens, 13th district), react to the change in leadership in Albany. Plus: Dick Dadey, executive director of the Citizens Union, ...

Republicans have retaken control of New York's Senate after two dissident Democrats jumped the aisle in a parliamentary coup. The party-flip of senators Pedro Espada Jr. of the Bronx and Hiram Monserrate of Queens gives Republicans a 32-30 edge in the chamber. Within an hour of the overthrow, Republicans named ...

General Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers an address on D-Day invasion in Normandy, France.

“Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force. You are about to embark upon the great crusade, toward which we have ...