TMZ.com Home

It's maybe the most incredible gaffe of the year -- and that's saying something -- former President George W. Bush tried to take aim at Vladimir Putin, and it boomeranged right back on him.

W. was speaking at SMU's George W. Bush Institute when he groused about Putin's invasion of Ukraine ... he was trying to say the war was the brainchild of a tyrant who brazenly invaded a neighboring country without any justification. But, here's how it came out ... "Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq."

Well, he quickly corrected himself, saying "I mean of Ukraine," and then just shrugged.

As you know, Bush launched a U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the pretext Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction ... there were no such weapons but lots of destruction in the wake of U.S. aggression.

Now check this out ... if you listen closely, after Bush corrects himself, he says, "Iraq too." That's an incredible statement, because that puts him in the seat of the aggressor without justification.

And then, he gets a laugh by saying, "75" -- his age.

A horrifying and heartbreaking video has surfaced of a kid's game of tag interrupted by gunfire which killed a man near a California playground.

The clip starts with two young kids going back and forth and then gunshots ring out, sending the kids running for their lives. In the video, you can hear parents screaming and a little girl yelling for help as she fights back tears.

Cops say more than 33 shots were fired in the exchange between the two groups in a Palo Alto neighborhood on Tuesday. 3 people were injured and 1 killed. It does not appear any kids were hurt.

In a press conference Tuesday, Police Chief Jeff Liu, said, "Shooting and violence, especially at our parks with kids playing is completely unacceptable. We need to come together as a community and send a message that this type of activity will not be tolerated."

Charles Barkley had a ruthless comeback after a bunch of Warriors fans heckled him on Wednesday ... saying, "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to come to your house and f*** your mama!!"

Chuck was in the Bay Area to cover the Western Conference Finals with TNT's "Inside the NBA" ... and as he sat on set outside Golden State's Chase Center, some spectators in the background went after him about having zero rings.

"Charles, spell championship," one fan yelled out ... as others shouted to get his attention.

But, the Hall of Famer wasn't about to let the jab slide -- turning around and firing off his response.

Surprisingly, the Dubs fans loved the burn, with several dudes in the crowd smiling and laughing it off.

Chances are Barkley was just having some fun with the trolls -- he wasn't smiling as he clapped back, but he doesn't seem too pissed.

Barkley has had a love-hate relationship with hecklers for years -- he previously told TMZ Sports in 2018 how athletes need to handle trolls ... saying pros can't put their hands on anybody -- 'cause they could literally kill an average Joe.

After all, this is the guy who unapologetically threw a man through a window back in 1997 ... so take his word for it.

Tommy Hilfiger has the skinny on jeans, and he's crystal clear on one point ... baggy is out.

We got the fashion icon in WeHo Wednesday night at Craig's, and he's all about skinny jeans ... no hesitation -- skinny jeans are universal and timeless.

He seems to have a fav among those who model said jeans ... Shawn Mendes is at the top of his list.  BTW, Shawn's fronting Tommy's latest campaign for polo shirts and jeans.

Tommy is not a fan of cargo pants for sure ... they're the opposite of skinny jeans so it's no surprise.

TH likes to keep it tight ... 'cause that's what's right!

Newly retired Tyson Fury might be done throwing his hands ... but he's clearly not opposed to still using his feet -- 'cause the star boxer attempted to kick a cabbie's car after an apparent altercation with the driver in France.

The incident went down sometime Wednesday ... when Fury seemed to be roaming the streets of Cannes after having just a little too much to drink.

In video shot by a bystander, Fury -- wearing a white shirt and dark-colored shorts -- can be seen needing some assistance as he stumbled to a cab in the middle of the road.

But, even though Tyson and his entourage were attempting to get a lift from the cabbie, it seemed the driver wanted no part of it -- because the guy was continuously waving them off.

Eventually, the driver pulled away from the pugilist and his buddies -- and that's when the 33-year-old fight attempted to stick his boot into the car's bumper.

You can see in the video, Fury appeared to just barely miss. Fury's friend, meanwhile, also seemed to throw a kick at the ride too.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the altercation escalated any further -- and Fury appeared to joke about his level of intoxication in an IG post on Thursday morning.

"Strong beer!" Fury said while on a run with his father.

Fury -- who retired after beating Dillian Whyte last month -- has been in France for the last several days enjoying his newfound time off ... being spotted on a yacht as well as at different restaurants and watering holes in the country.

Korn co-founder James Shaffer got real with us Wednesday about addiction, the difficulty of staying sober on the road, and the tragedy that befell Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

We got James at LAX and asked about temptations when a band is touring, and he says it's a constant problem. James, who has been sober for a dozen years, says he still feels the pull of addiction when others around him want to party with drugs and booze.

He says rock stars always have folks offering stuff, and that makes sobriety difficult.

Our photog asks about Taylor Hawkins' recent death, and James says he's still heartbroken over it, and feels enormous sympathy for Taylor's family and Dave Grohl.

James has an interesting take on how his fellow musicians can manage the pull of addiction as well as mental health struggles ... by creating a community within his profession. James says musicians are sensitive people, so getting support from like-minded people is essential for the well-being of his community.

"General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco had some bad luck on Friday the 13th ... her home went up in flames, thanks to a cigarette that ignited the blaze.

Kelly tells TMZ ... she woke up late Friday morning to a fire raging on her front yard, with flames licking her windows. The flames quickly engulfed portions of the house.

Kelly was able to escape ... but the house did not fare well. The blaze caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to her Sherman Oaks home. It won't be livable for quite a while.

Kelly says she turned her security footage over to law enforcement and we're told arson investigators were able to determine the fire was started by someone tossing a lit cigarette butt on the empty lot next to her home. The investigators believe the fire was not started intentionally.

Talk about bad luck on Friday the 13th.

Kelly, who has appeared on soap operas for 22 years and counting, says she's been a part of some pretty wild stories on set ... but none of the scripts compare to living through a massive fire at her home.

She's got a message now that she's come face-to-face with flames ... "Something as little as a cigarette butt can cause casualties and devastation."

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker can't keep their hands or their mouths off each other -- we know that by now -- and that makes their latest revelation shocking ... no sex!

The fam's promoting its Hulu series with a clip of the now newly-married couple talking about their plunge into an extreme cleanse -- no caffeine, no booze, no sex. It's called a panchakarma cleanse, and it sounds awful!

They didn't make clear how long the abstinence would last ... typically it's 12, 14, 21 or 28 days.

They love sex, for sure. As for booze, well the night they tried to get hitched in Vegas shows abstinence from the bottle is a real thing!

Flavor Flav has a new mouth to feed -- after taking a paternity test, it's been confirmed he has a 3-year-old son, who will now bear Dad's surname.

The boy's name is Jordan and his maternal grandparents, Barry and Parchi, tell TMZ ... their daughter, Kate, used to be Flav's manager for a few years -- a period during which they had a romantic relationship.

At some point, Kate -- who no longer works for Flav -- got pregnant and had Jordan, but for a good while, we're told Flav wasn't sure the kid was his son.

However, since then ... Jordan's grandparents tell us FF submitted DNA which lined up with Jordan's. Sooo, as Maury would put it ... Flav IS the father!!!

We're told child support and a custody arrangement have been established. It also sounds like Flav is spending more QT with Jordan these days -- he's taught him how to play the drums a bit -- and he's talked to Kate about Jordan taking his family name ... Drayton.

They've already filed legal docs to make it official, and there will be a hearing later this year. Jordan is Flav's eighth child, so as he might put it ... yeahhhh little boyyyy!!!

Master P has been split from his estranged wife for over a decade, but he's only now been officially declared a single man in the eyes of the law.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Master P and Sonya Miller are officially no longer a couple ... it remains to be seen if their divorce is totally finalized or if they still have some things to work out.

Believe it or not, Sonya first filed for divorce all the way back in 2013, and Master P has previously claimed they settled everything in private in 2016 ... but never submitted it to the court.

Fast forward to December 2021 -- when Master P submitted docs asking a judge to declare him legally single -- which has now happened.

Master P and Sonya got married in 1989 -- the rapper has 9 kids -- including Romeo Miller (Lil Romeo).

Yes, Pamela Anderson's a big Broadway star now, but she's still an animal lover at heart -- which is why she's going out of her way to walk someone else's dog during her downtime in NYC.

Pamela's in the middle of an 8-week-run as the lead, Roxie Hart, in "Chicago." A source close to the actress says she wasn't able to take her own dogs with her to the city, but was still taking daily walks in Central Park.

That's when we're told Pamela had the idea to ask her assistant -- who has friends in the city -- if he knew anyone who needed a dog walker.

Pammy lucked out because someone happened to have an Irish Setter, named Dash, in need of a world-famous actress and sex symbol to stroll with him.

When Pamela showed up to get Dash for his walk, his owners were stunned to see it was the "Baywatch" actress ... and now, she's been walking him every day for the last 3 weeks.

Pamela's run on Broadway continues until the first week of June, and she's gotten a ton of fan support and positive buzz. We're told she'll continue to walk Dash until she heads home to her own 4 pups.

Daymond John is offering financial aid to the family of the security guard killed in the Buffalo shooting ... reaching out after discovering the guy was a big fan of his.

The son of Aaron Salter Jr., the retired police officer who was working security at the supermarket where the tragic shooting happened, tells TMZ ... Daymond recently called him and struck up a conversation, getting emotional and offering to help with funeral expenses and other bills.

Daymond told Aaron Salter III he saw some photos online of the guy's dad posing with cardboard cutouts of the "Shark Tank" star ... and it turns out watching "Shark Tank" was a family affair in the Salter house.

Aaron, who is being hailed a hero for likely saving the lives of others in the attack, was also an inventor like Daymond ... and his son says DJ told the family his heart goes out to them and he wants to help in any way possible.

When Aaron's son relayed funeral details, Daymond offered to help cover the cost and told the family someone from his camp would be in touch.

We're told Daymond got emotional as the conversation continued ... Aaron's son could hear the pain in Daymond's voice, and towards the end of their talk Daymond offered to help the family with anything they need in the future, urging them not to hesitate.

Aaron's son says his dad was a huge fan of Daymond's and is looking down now, super proud.

Daymond's offer to the family is in addition to a visit from President Biden ... we're told POTUS spoke individually with 9 family members, shaking hands and expressing condolences.

Khabib Nurmagomedov -- arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time -- tells TMZ Sports his friend and protégé, Islam Makhachev, could ultimately be a better fighter!

"Definitely, it's possible. You know, right now it's like this is a legacy fight for Islam. Why I really want him to fight vs. Charles Oliveira, because he had 11 win streak and UFC never make like this fight. 11 win streak vs. 10 win streak. It's supposed to be me versus Tony [Ferguson]. Ok, it never happened. Now we have Islam vs. Charles. Let these guys fight."

"If Islam beat Charles and then he beats new blood like from young generation, we have a lot of young fighters in lightweight division ranking. Beneil [Dariush], Islam beat Charles, Islam beat three more fighters, he can become the greatest lightweight ever. He has this potential. He's only 30 years old, but UFC has to give him chance."

That was the undefeated (29-0) UFC legends' answer when we asked if 30-year-old Makhachev could be the superior mixed martial artist.

Islam is the #4 ranked UFC lightweight ... and has been absolutely unstoppable since his one and only professional loss way back in 2015.

Makhachev has racked up 10 wins in a row ... beating guys like Dan Hooker and Drew Dober along the way.

We said Islam was Khabib's friend ... but that doesn't really do their relationship justice. The men have been close since childhood, and are more like brothers. They also train together at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) in northern California.

Of course, Nurmagomedov's resume is well-known. 33-year-old Khabib, who is no longer fighting, beat everyone from Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier to Conor McGregor and just about every other badass 155-pound fighter on the UFC roster.

There's more.

While Khabib may be retired from fighting, he's anything but retired from working. In fact, his Eagle FC MMA promotion has a huge card Friday night featuring a few MMA legends.

Junior dos Santos is fighting Yorgan De Castro ... and Thiago Silva is fighting Hector Lombard.

"Definitely this is biggest card in Eagle FC history," Khabib told us.

"I'm very excited about this!"

American actor Danny Nucci was 28 years old when he was cast as Fabrizio de Rossi -- the Italian native and Jack Dawson's best friend who journeyed on the Titanic ship -- in the 1997 classic romance film "Titanic."

Nucci shared the big screen with some of the greats including Leonardo DiCaprio as the optimistic and poor American seeking to become rich through his journeys, Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as the rich socialite who is seeking freedom from an arranged life, Rose DeWitt Bukater.

During the 1990s, Danny acted in two other films where he also was killed off: "Eraser" and "The Rock."

Monkeypox is surging around the globe and now the rare virus has found its way inside our borders.

The first case of monkeypox in the United States this year was detected Tuesday when a Massachusetts man tested positive for the virus ... according to health officials.

The man recently traveled to Canada, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the CDC confirmed his positive test result.

The MDPH says the man is hospitalized in good condition and poses no risk to the public, though they say they are working with the CDC on contact tracing.

Monkeypox is extremely rare in the United States, this is only the third confirmed case since 2003, but it is on the rise worldwide ... with 9 recent cases identified in the United Kingdom since May, plus another 5 in Portugal.

The disease is caused by the monkeypox virus, and it's part of the same family of viruses as chickenpox and smallpox. It's very rare outside Africa, and the CDC says the virus does not occur naturally in the States.

Monkeypox transmits from animals to humans when an infected animal, usually a primate or rodent, bites or scratches a human ... or from preparing wild game or hunting wild animals.

When a person becomes infected, the disease spreads in various ways, including bodily fluids and respiratory droplets in the air during prolonged face-to-face contact.

Monkeypox symptoms include fever, headache, chills, rash, muscle aches and lesions similar to those caused by smallpox. It can be fatal, especially with young children.

Billy McFarland, the man behind the infamous Fyre Festival, has been released from prison early ... but he's not completely free just yet.

Billy was sprung on March 30 and was transferred to community confinement. It's unclear whether he's at home or halfway house, but he is expected to stay through the end of August.

As we've reported, Billy originally got hit with a 6-year sentence back in 2018, but he apparently won't be spending all of it behind bars.

You'll recall, Billy organized the notorious 2017 music fest in the Bahamas. He ended up pleading guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud over the disastrous failed event.

If ya need a trip down memory lane ... hundreds of folks were left stranded in the Bahamas, after being promised a weekend-long festival with luxury accommodations, celeb performances and fine dining options.

Of course, that's far from what they got ... settling for tents, a broken down stage and food that included a piece of cheese between slices of bread.