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Howard University's president says Sen. Kamala Harris can have a huge impact on students at her alma mater ... where majoring in political science is the hot, new thing on campus.

Dr. Wayne Frederick joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us how Kamala's political rise, from poli sci major at Howard to Joe Biden's running mate, is inspiring students from all backgrounds to get involved in politics and affect change.

Kamala, who graduated from HU in 1986 and added economics to her double major, is the first HBCU grad to run on a major party's ticket ... along with being the first Black woman and person of Indian descent.

Dr. Frederick says Kamala's one of the reasons why the second most popular major for incoming freshman at Howard is political science. It helps to have a role model.

The HU Prez thinks Kamala's influence will extend far beyond minority students ... telling us why she can also inspire white students to get involved in the political process, even if they never step foot on an HBCU campus.

It's not politically one-sided either ... Dr. Frederick also explains how Kamala is helping HBCU grads play a role on both sides of the aisle.

R. Kelly's alleged manager is facing more legal fallout over what the feds claim are efforts to run interference for the disgraced singer.

Donnell Russell has just been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for an alleged threat to shoot up an NYC theater in December 2018 when the Lifetime documentary, "Surviving R. Kelly," was being screened there.

The feds claim Russell admitted to first sending a cease-and-desist letter trying to end the screening -- but when that failed, prosecutors allege he phoned in the shooting threat ... and successfully nixed the event, which was being attended by a number of Kelly's alleged victims.

TMZ broke the story ... law enforcement sources told us an R. Kelly associate was a person of interest over an alleged threat that came in just 20 minutes before the start of the screening. Russell was charged with 1 count of conspiracy to threaten physical harm and 1 count of threatening physical harm. Each charge carries a max sentence of 5 years in prison. This, of course, is just the tip of the legal iceberg for Russell.

Peter Fonda died because the hospital and doctors that were supposed to treat him failed to do their damn jobs ... so claims Peter's widow in a new lawsuit.

Margaret Fonda is suing Providence Saint Joseph's Health Center in Santa Monica and a number of its doctors, claiming they negligently failed to properly consult, diagnose and treat the late actor.

According to newly filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the hospital and doctors allegedly failed on a score of issues -- such as ordering proper tests, advising him of the necessity of more frequent follow-up tests and recommending he seek treatment from other specialists.

Margaret alleges Peter died due to the hospital and doctors' failure to perform those duties.

TMZ broke the story ... the iconic actor died from lung cancer back in August 2019. He was 79. Margaret is suing for damages.

We've reached out to the hospital for comment, so far no word back.

George Floyd had at least 8 civilian onlookers, including a Minneapolis firefighter, pleading for his life ... and this newly released police body cam shows the panic and horror they all felt.

The footage comes from the body cam of now ex-officer Tou Thao -- he's the one who was doing crowd control during Floyd's arrest. The video shows the initial attempt to put Floyd into a patrol car and, seconds later, the 3 officers -- including Derek Chauvin -- taking him down onto the pavement.

As soon as George was on the street, with Chauvin's knee on his neck, Thao went straight to the curb where a handful of onlookers could immediately tell Floyd was in life-threatening distress.

While one young woman, Darnella Frazier, recorded the original video the world saw of Floyd's killing ... the most vocal citizen on the curbside was a black man who repeatedly asked Thao if he was just going to watch the other officers "choke him like that?"

Another onlooker, who identified herself as a Minneapolis firefighter, made multiple attempts to get a closer look ... and yelled at Thao, "Does he have a pulse? Show me his pulse!"

What's most interesting about this angle of the incident is you can see and feel the crowd's worry increase with every minute the officers are on top of George. It was painfully obvious to them a man was dying, and they got more and more agitated as the clock ticked through the 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

As you know, Thao and 2 other ex-officers, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung, are charged with aiding and abetting murder ... while Chauvin's been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, as well as an additional count of second-degree murder.

A United States Postal Service truck in NYC hauled away mailboxes ... an ominous sign in the middle of a voter war over mail-in ballots ... a war waged by President Trump.

The USPS mailbox removal in NYC comes on the heels of a similar move in Portland and Eugene, OR this week ... which a Postal Service spokesperson passed off as necessary because of declining mail volume and duplicate boxes in the area.

Many Americans are growing more concerned, as the President has been a foe of mail-in voting and the USPS in general ... and recently made alarming comments about putting the brakes on funding.

Trump also met with U.S Postmaster General Louis DeJoy -- a longtime ally and supporter -- earlier in the month amid his increasing attacks on the USPS ... and shortly after DeJoy made the decision to eliminate overtime for postal workers.

Oh, and the Postal Service also recently removed some mail sorting machines

All of this has sparked big worries and outrage ... that the goal here is to make mail delivery slow and in some cases impossible, 'cause of delays. Of course, the operating theory is that mail-in ballots help Democrats and Trump will stop at nothing to blunt it.

It's pretty outrageous ... in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic where lots of people want to vote by mail because they fear for their safety and the safety of others, 45's focus is winning re-election.

Harvey Weinstein doesn't want to be dragged to Los Angeles to face further prosecution for alleged sex crimes ... because he's already serving a 23-year sentence in New York and feels a trip to an L.A. jail would be a death sentence because of COVID.

The L.A. County D.A. wants Weinstein extradited to Los Angeles for another sexual assault trial, but Weinstein's lawyer, Norman Effman, tells TMZ ... he's gonna fight the move.

Effman says his client's health would be at serious risk if he's transferred to L.A. -- where coronavirus cases have been surging -- especially the county's jail system which has been plagued by COVID-19 outbreaks.

As you may recall ... Weinstein tested positive for the virus in March and recovered, but his lawyer says that's no guarantee he's immune now.

Effman points out the Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York -- where Weinstein's currently locked up -- has had a low infection rate and zero COVID deaths.

So, he argues, there's no reason to send Weinstein from a relatively safe environment to a dangerous one.

Effman says Weinstein's not fighting extradition altogether ... he just wants to wait until the conditions are safer. The coronavirus outbreak already delayed his extradition back in May. A hearing's set for this week to address the issue again, but it's clear ... Weinstein won't go quietly.

Weinstein was sentenced in March to 23 years in prison in New York after being convicted of committing a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree.

He's still facing 5 felony charges in L.A. -- sexual battery by restraint, forcible rape, sexual penetration by use of force, sexual battery and forcible oral copulation.

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have a Miami vice, and it's super-luxurious real estate -- they've just expanded their portfolio with a home that's more like a resort.

Our sources tell us the engaged power couple scooped up this massive waterfront estate on Star Island ... Miami's super-private enclave for celebs and business tycoons. They check both of those boxes.

The place is spectacular ... it's on a 40,000-square-foot lot and comes with a whopping 10 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and a pool that's a work of art for their modern fam of 6.

The bells and whistles include an elevator, wine room, library and industrial-style chef's kitchen -- perfect for cooking AND dancing ... at least when J Lo's the chef.

J-Rod already own a huge home in Miami's beautiful Coral Gables neighborhood, so it's unclear if the new spot is a new crib for them, or just investment property.

Remember, they just flipped their beachfront home in Malibu after a remodel designed by Chip and Joanna Gaines. From all appearances, the Star Island place is nobody's fixer-upper.

We reached out to reps for J Lo and A-Rod ... so far, no word back.

A woman who just became an American citizen confronted a "Karen" outside the immigration office ... after she allegedly was shouting racist and xenophobic remarks at the new citizens.

This video comes from Hartford, CT, where a young woman named Ana, claims the older lady in the blue tunic had launched into a tirade as all the new U.S. citizens were leaving the immigration office.

Ana decided to call her out, and "Karen" responded by lunging toward the camera ... seemingly delivering some spittle in the midst of a pandemic.

She wasn't done -- after briefly walking away, she turned around and yelled right in the new U.S. citizen's face ... "I'm dealing with home invasion. Would you like to deal with home invasion?!"

A rideshare driver's lucky to be alive after surviving a drive-by shooting ... as he tried to drop off some late-night passengers ... and it was all caught on video.

The incident went down Wednesday around 1 AM in Louisville, Kentucky where Patrick Hemmerle was on his way to drop off some of his passengers when, out of nowhere, a Ford Fusion pulled up and opened fire.

Check out the video ... the footage comes from Patrick's own dash-cam which shows bullets, glass and shrapnel flying across his dashboard as he and his passengers desperately try taking cover. You also see the moment the Ford sedan pulled up ahead of Patrick's Toyota SUV and someone inside starts firing away.

Patrick, a local real estate agent who drives Uber and Lyft to make extra cash, told WDRB cops told him these guys have been driving around shooting at random people.

Tim Declercq took a POUNDING while riding in a major bike race in France on Thursday -- when a hail storm broke out and destroyed his entire back!

The 31-year-old Belgian pro cyclist was racing through Stage 2 of the Criterium du Dauphine in the Chartreuse Mountains when the hail began to fall ... hard.

People scrambled for shelter -- but Declercq couldn't get out of the way fast enough, and the ice balls smashed his back up ... leaving massive welts.

Other bikers were hit too. The whole scene was wild.

"As if le Dauphine was not painful enough for the legs," Declercq wrote on social media. Hey, at least he's got a sense of humor about it!

He later posted an update showing the bruising and redness were beginning to subside.

FYI, the Criterium du Dauphine usually serves as the Tour de France warm-up race.

The Tour usually takes place in July, but COVID-19 forced organizers to postpone.

J Balvin's urging his fans to take coronavirus seriously ... and he should know, 'cause he says he got it and the virus hit him HARD.

The reggaeton superstar revealed his diagnosis Thursday while accepting an award for his "Rojo" music video during Premios Juventud 2020 (think Teen Choice Awards). The Colombian singer -- in a pre-recorded message -- said he's just getting done with battling COVID-19 ... adding "sometimes we don't think we'll get it, but I got it and it hit me hard."

J Balvin -- who has collabed with hitmakers like Cardi B and Justin Bieber -- took advantage of the millions watching the broadcast to urge his fans to understand the virus is real and dangerous ... and treating the pandemic and precautionary measures as a joke can be a disastrous mistake.

Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson have officially called it quits on their relationship ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the former couple tell us they split within the last few weeks, and it's unclear right now what led to the breakup.

Miley and Cody started dating in October 2019, shortly after Miley's split from Kaitlynn Carter ... which followed her divorce from Liam Hemsworth.

Instantly, the two were constantly posting pics together all over both of their social media pages. Some of their greatest hits include flirty birthday posts and some fun TikTok dance vids.

It was also Cody who took care of Miley in November of last year when she underwent vocal cord surgery -- and in March, they got matching tattoos.

They were out together back in June when they grabbed coffee in Calabasas, and in early July they were jamming on TikTok together.

Cyrus has plenty to look forward to though, professionally at least ... her new single "Midnight Sky" is set to drop tonight.

Herman Cain's political takes from beyond the grave will continue -- even if some Twitter users think it's dirty pool -- because they're not breaking any rules.

The late pizza tycoon and politician's Twitter account raised eyebrows Wednesday night when it started firing off anti-Joe Biden posts in response to Joe announcing Kamala Harris as his running mate.

The tweets drew a mixed reaction -- some joked Cain had jumped online posthumously to keep supporting President Trump. But, others fumed the account was violating Twitter policy ... since the person posting is obviously not HC.

Not so, according to a Twitter spokesperson, who tells us the profile info and images have been updated to reflect who is truly managing the account ... so, it's all Kosher.

The new group in charge calls itself "The Cain Gang," and -- led by his daughter Dr. Melanie Cain Gallo -- vows to continue working on his political mission.

Since Wednesday, that's included several tweets and retweets supporting Trump and slamming his opponents.

The updated account also includes a disclaimer ... "The Cain Gang consists of different writers who have their own opinions. We all lean right, but we're also individuals. Each piece reflects the opinions of that writer. That's how Herman wanted it to work."

As we reported ... Cain died last month from COVID-19. He tested positive for the virus after attending Trump's Tulsa rally on June 20 -- where he was seen without a face mask.

He's hoopin' with Kevin Durant, playing football with Odell Beckham -- and getting tackled by Marshawn Lynch!

It's all in Drake's new music video for "Laugh Now Cry Later" ... which he dropped at midnight on Friday.

The video starts off at Nike World Headquarters in Oregon -- featuring Drake pulling up in a sick Mercedes.

After that, it was off to the basketball gym for some 1-on-1 with KD. Then to the field for some route running with OBJ.

They even recreate Odell's famous 1-handed grab.

The funniest part of the whole thing is when Marshawn comes out of nowhere to lay a big hit on Drake -- and then says, "Get the f*ck off the block -- f*ck's wrong with you?!!"

And, then he was out!

There's more ... Drake golfs, swings the baseball bat, hits the treadmill -- and even recreates that famous Muhammad Ali underwater video from back in the day.

The song knocks too -- and will be featured on his upcoming album, "Certified Lover Boy."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and his ex Jen Harley might seem like they're giving their toxic relationship another shot, but their friends can breathe easy ... instead of reuniting, they're being responsible adults.

The "Jersey Shore" star was out and about with Jen and their daughter, Ariana, Wednesday in Huntington Beach, but we've learned it's not a sign of a rekindled romance. Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... Ronnie and Jen are having family outings from time to time now, but only for Ariana.

We're told they took the last few months to get in a good place as co-parents and friends, and they've figured out it's healthier for the entire family to remain friendly and support their kid.

Ronnie had a restraining order against Jen, but it was dissolved in May after they came to a mutual agreement they no longer need it ... according to court docs.

As you know ... Ronnie and Jen have been to hell and back when it comes to their romantic relationship, which friends urged them to end long ago when things started getting violent.

He recently copped a plea deal in their domestic violence case -- and, for now, they're making the co-parenting thing work too.

Kanye West's team of petitioners working hard to get him on the presidential ballot in Montana got rewarded for their efforts ... with a trip on a private jet.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... as the filing deadline approached earlier this week, the group Kanye hired to get his petitions signed -- Let the Voters Decide -- utilized a private jet to make it happen in the nick of time.

We're told the group already had members on the ground in Montana racking up signatures, but due to the state's vast rural landscape ... they needed backup. Fire up the jet.

Our sources say Kanye simultaneously had petitioners working in Utah for next week's deadline there, but to get over the hump in Montana ... a small group was flown over to Big Sky Country to hit up the more populated areas.

Even better for Ye ... the plan worked. We're told the group ended up submitting about 9,000 signatures across multiple counties -- way more than the 5k required -- before Wednesday's deadline.

He's not across the finish line yet though. Candidates file petitions with county officials, who have 7 days to verify signatures before sending a final count to the Secretary of State's Office.

If Kanye still makes the 5,000-count requirement ... he'll be on the presidential ballot as an independent, and be eligible to receive Montana's 3 electoral votes. That's right -- lotta work for 3 votes.

As we've reported ... Kanye is facing opposition to get on the ballot in Wisconsin, and he's been booted from the ballot in his home state of Illinois. The issues in both states are over the validity of the signatures.