Trump’s bid to name Penn Station after himself looks like a presidential shakedown | Mohamad Bazzi

The US president’s relentless self-aggrandizement spree continues amid hypocrisy and shifting explanations As a real estate developer, Donald Trump built his empire on ostentatious displays of wealth, substantial tax breaks – and lots of free publicity. As president, he has deployed the power of the state to expand his personal brand, adding his name to … Read more

How ICE went from post-9/11 counterterror agency to center of the immigration fight

As Democrats continue to withhold funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), former agency leaders argue their demands for new guardrails would mark the most direct congressional intervention in the agency’s operations — a turn for a post-9/11 agency that has largely defined its own operations. John Sandweg, a former acting director of Immigrations … Read more

Is the World Cup bump real? MLS is going to find out

MLS stakeholders want to turn the interest in this summer’s North American World Cup into ‘rocket fuel’ for the league. Are those realistic expectations? In 1998, a full eight years before Major League Soccer debuted, it got its first “World Cup bump”. Fifa had just awarded the 1994 World Cup to the United States, but … Read more

Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested at Sandringham estate | First Thing

Police assessing if Mountbatten-Windsor shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein. Plus: how plastic production has doubled Good morning. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. What other information has the force shared? Thames Valley police previously said they were reviewing allegations that a woman was … Read more

US Builds Up Weaponry in Middle East Amid Tensions With Iran

The United States military is pushing more warships and weapons into the Middle East to protect U.S. allies and bases there. President Donald Trump has been contemplating strikes on Iran while simultaneously pursuing diplomatic talks to reach a deal in restricting Iran’s nuclear program as well as its missiles. NBC’s Keir Simmons reports for TODAY.