All posts tagged: New York City

Tom Homan won’t say when ICE will surge in New York

Tom Homan won’t say when ICE will surge in New York

Published by Sam Flores

Tom Homan, White House border czar, speaks to members of the media outside of the White House in Washington, June 9, 2026. Daniel Heuer | Bloomberg | Getty Images White House border czar Tom Homan on Tuesday blamed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for a promised surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to New York City. But Homan would not say when he expected that surge of ICE agents to happen, when questioned by reporters at the White House. “You can expect more ICE agents to go to New York because Gov. [Kathy] Hochul signed legislation that ended our … agreements” that allowed the agency to delegate state and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration enforcement functions under ICE oversight, he said. The agreements under ICE’s 287(g) program were used to identify and process removable immigrants who were in jail after being arrested by local authorities on unrelated charges. “We’re going to surge resources in New York,” he said. “We have to.” But Homan separately said on Chris Cuomo’s SiriusXM show that a …

Trump booed, Knicks lose to Spurs at Madison Square Garden

Trump booed, Knicks lose to Spurs at Madison Square Garden

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump attends Game Three of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 8, 2026. Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images President Donald Trump was loudly booed at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday night before the start of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the home team Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs. Coincidentally, or not, the Knicks lost their first game of the Finals, 115-111. The loss also broke the Knicks’ streak of 13 straight playoff game wins, the second-longest in NBA history. The thunderous boos began when Trump was shown on the Jumbotron with Knicks owner James Dolan in Dolan’s suite above the court during the playing of the national anthem. The jeers turned to cheers when the Jumbotron’s focus turned to Knicks star Jalen Brunson, who was shown standing on the court. The Knicks, who have not won an NBA title since 1973, entered the game with a 2-0 lead …

A$AP Rocky Has Contracted Knicks Fever, Just Like the Rest of New York

A$AP Rocky Has Contracted Knicks Fever, Just Like the Rest of New York

Published by Jenni Sidey

The Red Sea parted for Moses, but the swarm of bodies dressed in blue and orange outside Manny Janeth Cafe in NYC’s Lower East Side only barely opened a path for rapper A$AP Rocky and his entourage to sneak inside. Everyone, Rocky included, had come out to watch the Knicks play Game 2 of the NBA Finals this past Friday. While GQ’s social media director and I strategized how we might also elbow through this mob of Knicks fans holding broomsticks, blunts, and beers in the middle of the street, a guy in a Realtree-patterned tank top and a pile of pearl necklaces caught our attention. Holding a stack of clear plastic cups in his right hand and a handle of Tito’s in his left, he handed out cups of vodka to those gathered, attributing this act of partying generosity to A$AP Rocky. When we approached him, he grabbed the microphone, introduced himself as Thxto, and instructed us to turn our flash on. Then Thxto barrelled through a forest thick with sweat and smoke, shouting, …

Tony Awards face backlash after exiled Hollywood producer wins years after bullying claims

Tony Awards face backlash after exiled Hollywood producer wins years after bullying claims

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Broadway fans are up in arms after producer Scott Rudin won a Tony Award for best revival of a play Sunday, four years after he left the industry over claims of bullying and bad behavior. Rudin, 67, took home the coveted trophy as the lead producer on the revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, which stars Laurie Metcalf, Nathan Lane and Christopher Abbott. This marks the fourth time that the play has won best revival, with Rudin also serving as lead producer on the winning 2012 production. Because Rudin was not in attendance at the 79th ceremony of Broadway’s biggest night, Lane accepted the award on behalf of production — and viewers were quick to call out the fact that Rudin’s name was not mentioned on stage even once, despite the play winning the most out of any individual …

The secret lives of Tony nominees: How 13 Broadway stars unwind after the show

The secret lives of Tony nominees: How 13 Broadway stars unwind after the show

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter “Step, kick, kick, leap, kick, touch — again.” The famous refrain from A Chorus Line could easily double as the mantra of a Broadway actor. Eight shows a week demands a punishing cycle of performance and recovery, with physiotherapy, gym work, dance classes and vocal coaching squeezed around sleep, meals and whatever passes for life beyond the stage door. At this time of year, that intensity is compounded by Broadway’s awards season, with the Tony Awards looming large over an already relentless schedule. “They are like Olympic athletes,” Tony-nominated director Bill Rauch tells me at the New Dramatists Spring Luncheon in New York. “What they are doing on that stage is so, so extraordinary. The fact that they’re doing it eight times a week is beyond, and I’m in awe of all those artists.” On top of the physical intensity is …

Famous director says 1970s film star ‘had an authority’ at age 12 in acclaimed drama

Famous director says 1970s film star ‘had an authority’ at age 12 in acclaimed drama

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Martin Scorsese still remembers the reason he felt confident casting Jodie Foster in his iconic 1976 film Taxi Driver when she was just 12 years old. The Independent was in attendance as the legendary director, 83, reunited with Foster — along with star Robert De Niro and screenwriter Paul Schrader — during a panel Friday at Tribeca Film Festival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the classic film. In a conversation about how each of the Hollywood heavyweights found their way to the acclaimed drama, Scorsese said he knew that he could trust Foster with the movie’s heavy adult material when he saw her mature attitude toward playing a child sex worker in the film. The filmmaker said that at a meeting before production on the project started, Foster showed up at his Manhattan office in her school uniform and discussed …

Airports, AI and Affordability: Week in Review | U.S. News Decision Points

Airports, AI and Affordability: Week in Review | U.S. News Decision Points

Published by Sam Flores

Summer’s in full swing as international travel heats up, Americans grapple with costs and Florida sues OpenAI. I’m Stella Garner, here with the week in review. Monday As anticipation builds for the U.S.-hosted World Cup, Olivier covered Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s threats to block international flights in “sanctuary” cities where local laws limit federal immigration enforcement. The U.S. Travel Association said such a move could cost the country roughly $8 billion in international travel spending and risk “nearly 50,000 American jobs.” President Donald Trump has been silent on Mullin’s plan, but Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy condemned the idea during a congressional hearing last month. Tuesday Next, Olivier explained Florida’s new lawsuit against OpenAI over safety and health concerns. Florida is the first state to sue the AI firm. The state’s 83-page complaint repeatedly uses the term “AI addiction,” reminiscent of state lawsuits against tobacco companies in the 1990s. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s conduct “reckless” and argued he should be held personally liable for harm to Floridians. The suit …

‘Doo Doo Water and a Few Needles’: Inside the Mystery of the New York City Manhole Prowlers

‘Doo Doo Water and a Few Needles’: Inside the Mystery of the New York City Manhole Prowlers

Published by skeptic

In recent days, a fantastical question has captured the attention of New Yorkers and local tabloids: Who is popping in and out of manholes across the city, and what are they doing in the sewer system? On May 5, security footage showed three people wearing hip waders entering a manhole in Queens. Then, in the early morning hours of May 29, another camera captured a group of people exiting a manhole in Brooklyn. The same day, a different group was seen emerging from another Brooklyn manhole, miles away from the first location. Some wore headlamps, and some were carrying what appeared to be shovels and flashlights. The New York Police Department has speculated that the men are scavengers looking for jewelery, guns, or other valuables. But no one knows for sure, so WIRED consulted with several urban exploration content creators active in New York City. On platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, “urbex” creators—typically teenage boys or young men who film together in small groups—explore abandoned or difficult-to-access spaces like defunct factories, dilapidated mansions, and …

Arizona Supreme Court denies prosecutor appeal against sending fake elector case back to grand jury

Arizona Supreme Court denies prosecutor appeal against sending fake elector case back to grand jury

Published by Sam Flores

Kris Mayes, Arizona’s attorney general, speaks to members of the media outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Arizona Supreme Court has denied a prosecutor’s appeal of an order that the state’s fake elector case against President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others over the 2020 presidential election be sent back to a grand jury. The decision released Thursday marks another setback for Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes as she struggles to push the sprawling case through the courts. Mayes’ office said it will again present the case in its entirety to a grand jury rather than end the prosecution. Her office declined to comment further on the court’s decision. The ruling came after similar cases in Michigan and Georgia were dismissed by the courts and a special prosecutor dropped a federal case in late 2024 that charged Trump with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. Cases related to …