Governor David Paterson announced that he was pardoning Ricky Walters, aka hip-hop artist "Slick Rick," for his 1991 attempted murder and weapons convictions. Walters, who was born in the U.K. moved to the Bronx when he was 11 (he lives in the Bronx now), served more than five years in prison but has been threatened with deportation in recent years. Walters shot his cousin and a bystander--who survived their wounds-- in 1991; Walters believed......

Many hundreds of people marched yesterday to push immigration reform into the election year spotlight. With rallies being held in other cities in the country and world, the marchers gathered at Union Square and then headed down Broadway to the the Jacob Javits Federal Office Building, where immigrations officials have offices. One demonstrator explained to NY1, "[May 1] is international workers’ day and in this country, as you may know, there are more than......

Though a long-time custom in West African countries, a federal appeals court in NYC will rule whether genital mutilation is grounds for granting women asylum in the United States. According to the NY Sun, three women will be serving as a test case regarding whether the cultural custom--and their opposition to such a practice--is sufficient grounds for asylum in front of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Mutilation is a loaded term: Proponents......