Controversial S#!T

Well here's a new one -- Kayleigh McEnany punted a question about President-elect Joe Biden getting access to intelligent briefings, saying it's a question for The White House ... even though that's literally HER job!!!

The WH Press Secretary's absurd moment went down Thursday morning on "Fox & Friends," when they asked her if President Trump's considering looping Biden in during the transfer of Presidential power.

McEnany says she hasn't spoken to the Prez about that topic, but ... "that would be a question more for The White House."

Puzzled? Yeah, us too. So, we asked a different White House rep what gives, and got this -- "Kayleigh appeared in her personal capacity as a private citizen. She advises the campaign on a voluntary basis."

Oooookay! Now, Kayleigh's paying gig is still Press Secretary -- for the White House -- so, she essentially said ... that would be a question for ME, but at some other time. Welcome to the Twilight Zone. 🤷🏽‍♂️

UFC meet UFO.

It was close encounters of the third kind for Diego Sanchez this week -- the UFC star is convinced he was visited by aliens on Wednesday night.

No, this ain't a joke.

38-year-old Sanchez -- who's been fighting in the UFC since 2005 -- described the encounter at his home in New Mexico late Wednesday evening.

"I was doing energy work on my patio as a ufo flew right up on me," Sanchez said on Twitter.

"I called for my daughter quick quick she watched this thing [hover] only hundreds of feet away."

"Albuquerque is a trip sightings are regular here. But this sh*t was contact tonight."

Sanchez added, "it was obvious it was watching me."

Unclear if Diego snapped any pics or shot any video.

Sanchez famously appeared on Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter" back in 2005 -- and defeated Kenny Florian in the season finale.

Author and legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin just got canned by The New Yorker -- the magazine where he's written for nearly 3 decades -- over his faux pas of a Zoom call.

An internal memo from Conde Nast chief Stan Duncan was sent to staffers this week, letting them know that as a result of their investigation -- Toobin was no longer affiliated with the company.

As for exactly why they fired him -- the email, posted by The Daily Beast, said Conde Nast takes these types of situations seriously, and are committed to maintaining an environment that upholds their standards.

You'll recall, Toobin was suspended by the New Yorker -- not to mention CNN -- for exposing himself on a Zoom call with New Yorker staffers as well as folks from WNYC radio. Toobin called the incident "embarrassingly stupid." He was allegedly masturbating, and insists he thought he was muted and his camera was off.

Toobin confirmed he'd gotten the axe as well, tweeting ... "I was fired today by @NewYorker after 27 years as a Staff Writer. I will always love the magazine, will miss my colleagues, and will look forward to reading their work." Toobin started working for TNY in '93.

Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't like how folks who cram into a Trump rally call themselves patriots, yet don't show up in the same numbers to pay their respects to REAL heroes on Veterans Day.

Arnold poured out his emotions Wednesday after he'd paid a visit to the Los Angeles National Cemetery to honor the brave men and women whom he says he owes much of his success to, as an immigrant.

He said despite there being tens of thousands of gravesites for fallen soldiers, he only saw about 20 people around. Arnold explains ... he can't fathom how so few show out for them, but will swarm to a political event by the thousands on a promise to "make America great."

It's a not-so-subtle shot at Trump, who the Governator has made clear he despises. But, his point is well taken here ... 'cause he says it's those vets who've really made America great.

Arnold ends with a challenge to anyone watching -- saying he hopes to see them out there in droves next year, and that the country really needs to have a convo about what patriotism really means. Where's the lie?

Ice-T says the new season of 'Law & Order: SVU' is living up to its "ripped from the headlines" catchphrase, because it reflects all the police issues so hotly debated this year.

Ice came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to talk about the premiere of the 22nd season this week, and told us much of what his character, Detective Tutuola, is going through -- not to mention Mariska Hargitay as Detective Benson -- is like looking into a mirror of America's soul.

Police-involved shootings, systemic racism and even the coronavirus pandemic ... they're all part of the new plots. So, yeah ... definitely an art imitating life type of deal, which Ice-T actually appreciates.

He says he's proud to be on a show -- since 2000, BTW -- that isn't afraid to tackle these tough topics. He gives Dick Wolf and the rest of the team major props for keeping the show relevant and up-to-date.

Ice also spoke on the state of affairs in our country as it pertains to these issues -- telling us he sees this new generation as following in the footsteps of great activists before them.

Figuring out what to wear to a concert will take a backseat to your COVID-19 status when tours resume in 2021 -- Ticketmaster's exploring a safety plan to help welcome fans back.

The ticket sales company is reportedly in the early stages of developing a plan that event operators can use as a safety measure to mitigate the spread of the virus. One path TM is actively exploring and working to develop ... is a framework for syncing with third party healthcare providers to link COVID vaccine status and/or test results to fans' digital tickets for event entry. It's ultimately up to event organizers to figure out ways to safely bring back fans to live events ... and this is one idea Ticketmaster's spitballing.

The proposed plan was reported by Billboard, and comes on the heels of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announcing its coronavirus vaccine showing a 90% efficacy rate. That's giving concert venues and artists hope the industry can mount a comeback.

Ticketmaster would work with third-party health apps and independent labs, and says data sent to them will be done so in a secure, encrypted way. Ticketmaster would NOT have access to concertgoers' medical records.

Welcome to the new normal.

Dylan Groenewegen -- a pro cyclist from the Netherlands -- was just hit with a 9-month ban for causing the horrific crash that left his rival in a coma.

The incident took place back in August ... 27-year-old Groenewegen squeezed fellow Dutch cyclist Fabio Jakobsen into a wall while on a finishing spring during the Tour of Poland -- causing Jakobsen to flip over some signage and crash face-first into a solid barrier.

Jakobsen sustained major injuries in the wreck -- including "severe" wounds to his face -- and was placed in a medically-induced coma to help his recovery.

Jakobsen also underwent reconstructive surgery on his face and jaw, according to the AP.

Now, the International Cycling Union has dished out punishment -- banning Groenewegen from competition for 9 months ... meaning he won't be able to race again until May 7.

Groenewegen issued a statement through his reps saying, "The crash in the first stage of the Tour of Poland will forever be a black page in my career."

Alex Cora is apologizing for his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal -- and admitting he "deserved" the punishment he received from Major League Baseball.

45-year-old Cora was a bench coach for the 'Stros during the 2017 season -- and parlayed his success into a better job, manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Of course, an MLB investigation found Cora and several others used technology to steal pitching signs from other teams -- which ultimately gave an advantage to Houston's hitters. Cora has previously said he was not the "sole mastermind" but he's clearly accepting some of the blame.

After MLB's investigation, Cora was slapped with a 1-year suspension and the Red Sox parted ways with him.

But, now that the ban is up, the Sox have hired him back -- and he broke his silence about the situation Tuesday during a press conference.

"I deserved what happened this year," Cora told reporters about his suspension ... "It's something that I'm not proud of."

"We went through the whole process with the Commissioner's Office and the Dept. of Investigations, at the end, I got my penalty and I served it."

Cora apologized to the Red Sox for putting them in a tough spot after they hired him -- saying he understands it made the organization look bad.

"As a leader, as a person that enjoys the game -- I put this organization in a tough spot and I'm sorry."

Cora says he doesn't want to exploit his 2nd chance "to make it seem like it's a great comeback story."

Instead, Cora says he wants other people to learn from his mistakes so they don't go down the same road.

"This situation is part of who I am for the rest of my career. As a man, I have to deal with it. I don’t want people to make it seem like it's a great comeback story."

He added, "I know there’s a lot of people that I disappointed and for that I’m sorry … I'm still Alex, I made a mistake."

"You can go down to practice and hit each other and be in close contact -- but you have to have plexiglass in between you and the guy next to you in the locker room?"

That's Aaron Rodgers pointing out some apparent "double standards" in the NFL's COVID protocol -- and asking the question, "Are we doing all this based on science?"

The Green Bay Packers QB got very candid about the league's coronavirus plan during an appearance this week on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... explaining why he thinks some of the rules are more about optics than safety.

"I just think there’s some double standards," Rodgers said.

"You can dap up a guy after the game, but you can’t eat at the same lunch table as a teammate? You can go down to practice and hit each other and be in close contact, but you have to have plexiglass in between you and the guy next to you in the locker room?"

"I just think some of those things to me just don’t really add up. Like I understand what we’re tryin' to do, we’re trying to get every game in and stay healthy. But, I think just some of those things, ... I just think that some things make sense and then some things don’t make a lot of sense."

Rodgers says he also thinks it's weird that players can't talk to opponents after a game -- despite incredibly close contact during the 4 quarters of action.

"There’s spit and sweat and all this stuff and we hit and we're tackling -- and we can't go and talk to somebody who we know on another team?"

A key piece of evidence the Trump campaign was counting on to prove voter fraud in the election just crumbled ... because the witness is recanting.

A USPS worker who recently claimed he'd overheard a supervisor in Erie, PA tell workers to backdate ballots that arrived after Nov. 3 is now taking it all back, saying he made up the whole thing ... this according to the Washington Post.

The guy's name is Richard Hopkins, and just last week many in the GOP, and beyond, were citing him as a whistleblower. He eventually signed an affidavit about his claim, which is at the crux of much of what Trump's camp has hoisted up as evidence of voter fraud in PA.

Welp, as of Tuesday WaPo says the guy copped to lying during a committee hearing with U.S. lawmakers. The House Oversight Committee tweeted the huge development ... noting it's unclear why he lied in the first place.

Keep in mind, Hopkins' false testimony set off a massive chain of events ... including some of the lawsuits Trump's brought forward, and Attorney General William Barr giving the Dept. of Justice the green light to probe any credible claims of voting irregularities.

All that ... for a lie.

We should note, the Erie Postmaster -- Rob Weisenbach -- flat-out denied the claim early, said Hopkins was full of it, and denied any backdating of ballots at his location whatsoever. He suggested Hopkins was disgruntled, as he'd recently been disciplined many times.

Hopkins' false tale isn't dying easily, though, because ... well it's 2020.

The far-right org Project Veritas claims to have recordings of the guy being intimidated by investigators into taking back his story. We'll see if that comes out, but for now President Trump's voting fraud smoking gun seems to be firing blanks.

The only officer to be charged in the Breonna Taylor case is just now accused of sexual assault -- something the alleged victim claims his bosses knew about, but did nothing to correct.

Margo Borders is suing Brett Hankison, claiming he sexually assaulted her in 2018 after a night out at a bar where he worked security. She says she was drunk around closing time, and Hankison offered her a ride home.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Borders alleges Hankison invited himself into her home and plopped down on the couch, while she went into her bedroom to change.

Borders says she passed out, but claims Hankison came into her room, got naked and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. When she finally woke up, she claims she screamed for him to get off her, and Hankison grabbed his uniform and left.

The next day, Borders claims Hankison contacted her, insisting they'd engaged in consensual relations. She also claims more than 10 other anonymous women have come forward to make statements about Hankison's alleged misconduct with them.

She's also suing several of his co-workers and supervisors -- on the police force and at the bar -- claiming they were aware of his alleged abuse but never took action to stop it.

It doesn't sound like Borders herself filed a police report, but she claims several of the other women made police reports that never got pursued.

As you know, Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment in the Breonna Taylor case ... for allegedly shooting into a neighboring apartment, but not for shooting and killing Breonna.

He's pled not guilty, and has been fired from LMPD.

President Trump has the right to exhaust every avenue to determine if there was voter fraud in the election, but if nothing turns up, he should exit stage left ... so says the Texas GOP chairman.

Allen West joined "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and said people are getting way ahead of themselves by declaring Joe Biden the President-elect ... not while ballots are still being counted -- or recounted -- in George, Arizona and North Carolina.

West, a former U.S. Congressman and retired Lt. Col., added the voter fraud allegations in Pennsylvania -- so far, unfounded -- also have to play out in court. While West is throwing his support behind team Trump and the audit of ballots, he makes it crystal clear -- if it's ruled a fair and legal election ... Trump has to abide by that.

Obamacare was on the line Tuesday before the U.S. Supreme Court .... and not only does it seem the justices are inclined to do away with part or all of it -- although there seems to be a good chance the case will be thrown out on technical legal grounds -- there was also talk about another looming issue ... whether the federal government could impose a mandatory mask requirement.

Oral arguments kicked off Tuesday on the issue of whether the ACA's individual mandate is constitutional anymore since a Republican-held Congress removed the tax penalty in 2017. The justices had said previously that the law was grounded in Congress's ability to tax citizens, but now that there's no longer a tax penalty, some of the justices felt there was no longer a legal basis for the law. The Trump administration wants the whole law 86'd, but others say the justices could declare just the mandatory health insurance provision unconstitutional and save the rest of the ACA.

As the groundwork for that was being laid out at the beginning of the hearing, Justice Clarence Thomas raised an illuminating comparison ... asking if a proposed national mask mandate could, for instance, be challenged if there's no real threat of enforcement.

He seemed to be spit-balling, but the fact he chose to hurl that wad specifically in this context was telling, especially since Joe Biden said he would roll out a national mandate.

Back to the ACA ... Justices Kavanaugh and Alito -- both of whom tend to have strict interpretations of the constitution -- appeared to signal they thought removing the mandate and leaving the rest of law in place was something that could feasibly work.

Alito, for example, compared the mandate to a crucial part of a plane that engineers thought, at first, was necessary to fly. But, if that part gets removed once it's in the air, and if the plane continues to fly ... he asked why is it necessary to take the whole thing down? It was pretty insightful -- but time will tell if or how they actually rule on the subject.

One person who was relatively muted throughout Tuesday's proceedings -- and who didn't really show her cards much at all -- was Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the newbie of the group, and the one who could well be the deciding vote to strike the ACA down, or uphold it.

Her questions were brief, and were mostly buried in legalese ... it was hard to pick up what, if anything, she was signaling on how she felt about the merits of the case.

As this case plays out over the next few months, Justice Thomas' question of masks might be setting up another showdown over the legality of mandated mask-wearing ... something we'll definitely keep an eye out for.

"I think he has lost his marbles"

That's Tyson Fury shooting down Deontay Wilder's claim that he CHEATED during the Feb. rematch ... saying Wilder just can't accept that he got his ass kicked.

Two weeks ago, Wilder didn't mince words -- accusing Tyson Fury of hiding weights in his gloves to increase the impact of his punches during their Feb. 22 fight.

"I highly believe you put something hard in your glove," Wilder said on video ... "Something the shape and size of an egg weight."

Wilder believes the foreign object caused his face to "swell up in the shape of an egg weight and it left a dent in my face as well."

A boxer accusing another boxer of loading up his gloves is a major allegation -- especially with no real proof.

But now, Fury is firing back ... claiming it's just another pathetic excuse from Wilder, who already tried to name the loss on his pre-fight costume, among other things.

"First of all it was the suit, then it was the bicep injury, then his trainer was on our team, then the referee was against him, then I had weights in my gloves," Fury told TalkSport.

"Now someone has spiked his water ... it’s one of those things, isn’t it?"

Fury is also addressing Wilder's claim that he's refusing to take a 3rd fight -- staying, it's Deontay who's pushing the dates.

"The original date was July 18," Fury said ... "That didn’t happen because he had an injury so it got put back 3 months to October. Then that didn’t happen because they were trying to get a venue."

President Trump's eldest son has his tinfoil hat on Monday morning -- he thinks the promising COVID vaccine news coming out right after the election is more than coincidence ... he's insinuating the drug company held its findings back till after the election so Trump wouldn't get a bounce and possibly win as a result.

Donald Trump Jr.'s response to Pfizer developing a coronavirus vaccine that may be more than 90 percent effective ... "Nothing nefarious about the timing of this at all right?"

The President repeatedly claimed during the lead up to the election that a vaccine would be announced before voting day. On top of that, Trump touted Pfizer as a company with great promise in finding a vaccine. So his son is suggesting the findings were available but held back.

For his part, President Trump took a different approach to Pfizer's vaccine results by tweeting -- in all caps -- "STOCK MARKET UP BIG, VACCINE COMING SOON. REPORT 90% EFFECTIVE. SUCH GREAT NEWS!"

President-elect Biden says he was informed of the vaccine development Sunday night and says, "I congratulate the brilliant women and men who helped produce this breakthrough and to give us such cause for hope."

How'd J.R. Smith celebrate Joe Biden's victory?

He drove around bumping "F*** Donald Trump" and flipping off MAGA supporters.

So yeah, just as you'd expect ...

The L.A. Lakers star hit the streets (of what appear to be Beverly Hills) on Sunday -- where he blasted the YG song from his BMW, while leaning out of his window and shooting the bird at all of the pro-Trump protesters he saw.

Smith loved every second of it -- and was smiling and laughing while trolling Team MAGA.

Of course, Smith is the latest in a long line of NBA players relishing Biden's victory ... his teammate, LeBron James, has been rejoicing on social media for days -- even waving goodbye to Trump in one tweet.

Trump and the NBA haven't seen eye-to-eye in a long time ... coaches such as Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich have RIPPED him consistently over the past 4 years.

The president, meanwhile, has been critical of players for kneeling during the anthem in the Orlando bubble this summer ... and he's consistently talked about the league's reportedly low TV ratings.

In fact, at a rally just a few days before his election loss ... Trump got a crowd to chant "LeBron James sucks" after he voiced his displeasure with the Lakers star and the NBA.