Legal

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who served in Congress for more than a decade, died Monday.

The politician's death was announced by President Donald Trump during a gathering of House Republicans at the Kennedy Center Tuesday. POTUS said he felt "tremendous sorrow" following LaMalfa's death, NBC News reports.

The cause of LaMalfa's death was not released. He was reportedly in good spirits leading up to the holidays.

Stephen Miller said Greenland would "obviously" be better off as a part of the United States while speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday evening.

Although Tapper asked President Donald Trump's Homeland Security advisor if he'd rule out using military action to take Greenland by force, Miller initially sidestepped the question and pointed to how Trump had been "clear for months" about his desire to take control of the island.

Miller said Greenland should be part of the United States' "overall security apparatus" and said the United States likely wouldn't face any military resistance to taking over Greenland.

Miller then questioned Denmark's right to maintain governance and "assert control" over Greenland.

The island became part of the Danish Kingdom in 1953, and it currently operates as an autonomous territory under the Danish Crown.

Trump first floated the idea of taking control of Greenland during his first term in office, and he told The Atlantic the United States "absolutely" needed control over the island earlier this month.

Donnie McClurkin, a Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and pastor, has been sued by a man accusing him of sexually abusing him over a period of several years ... according to a report from NBC News.

Giuseppe Corletto has alleged he first met McClurkin when he joined the pastor's Perfecting Faith Church in Long Island, New York, during his early 20s. Corletto said McClurkin served as a mentor figure while he struggled with his sexuality as a young man.

Corletto claimed he eventually started working as McClurkin's personal assistant and said the singer began groping him during what were described as "pray the gay away" spiritual sessions.

TMZ Sports has obtained more details about Lenny Dykstra's New Year’s Day traffic stop ... with cops suspecting the former Mets star had either crack or meth on him.

Pennsylvania State Police claim Dykstra -- who was the passenger -- opened the glove box during questioning just after midnight to confirm his identification ... and they observed in plain sight a "container holding suspected crack-cocaine/methamphetamine and a glass smoking device containing suspected drug residue."

Police didn't field test the substances, but he has since been formally charged with misdemeanor possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, according to local reports.

Nick Reiner has been taken off suicide watch at the Los Angeles jail where he's locked up for allegedly stabbing his director dad, Rob Reiner, and his mom, Michele, to death ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Reiner no longer has to wear a suicide prevention smock -- which mainly prevents inmates from hanging themselves -- inside the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Downtown L.A. Our sources say it's standard operating procedure to remove the smock whenever an inmate does not attempt suicide for a 2-week period.

PEOPLE was first to report Nick is now off suicide watch ... but he will remain in High Observation Housing under the watchful eyes of correction officers until a judge rules otherwise.

Cher's been through love and loss throughout her life ... but when it comes to Kristen Bell's love life, the singer can't believe she ended up with Dax Shepard -- and thinks she can do better than him!

The topic was mulled over during Monday's episode of the "Armchair Expert" podcast, and Dax point-blank asked Cher to give an example of a "dream partner" she'd match up with Kristen -- and noted he wouldn't disagree with whoever she picked.

While Cher stayed tight-lipped about a potential partner for Kristen, with whom she costarred in "Burlesque," she admitted she trusted the actress' judgment before adding Dax had to have "something that I don’t see" ... maybe it's just confidence?

Oh, and when Dax said he didn't think anyone exactly measured up to Kristen's standards, the actress piped up and said he was "almost too good" for her -- hey, it's high praise!

1/6/26 8:45 AM PT -- The TRO was denied by the court clerk because it's not an emergency order ... the judge will rule January 23 on the issue at the hearing.

Brittany Furlan has persisted with claims she used to be in a relationship with "Falling in Reverse" frontman Ronnie Radke, but he says she got catfished ... now he's filing a temporary restraining order against her, TMZ has learned.

Documents obtained by TMZ show Ronnie filed the TRO Monday in LA Superior Court, citing Brittany harassed him by contacting him multiple times on social media.

Ronnie alleges when he ignored her messages, Brittany drove to his house and sat out front. Then, he alleges she followed him to a doctor's appointment and waited outside, just staring at him.

As a result, Ronnie is asking the court to order Brittany to stay at least 100 yards away from him.

The Pentagon has moved to downgrade Senator Mark Kelly's military rank and pay for his involvement in a highly controversial video released last November.

The politician, along with five other Democrat members of Congress, all of whom were former military and intelligence personnel, appeared in a widely circulated video encouraging service members to refuse to follow illegal orders.

The video resulted in widespread reactions from the Trump administration, and the President reposted a comment which apparently called for the Congress members to be hanged, although he later claimed he wasn't advocating for them to be sentenced to death.

Ten people have been found guilty of cyberbullying France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, by spreading false claims about her gender.

A Paris court found the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron had been subjected to "particularly degrading" comments by the defendants, some of whom reportedly suggested Brigitte was transgender and a pedophile, reports the Associated Press.

The defendants were accused of sharing online comments to falsely claim Brigitte was born as a male. They also reportedly compared the 24-year age gap between Brigitte and Emmanuel to pedophilia.

Several defendants claimed their comments were intended to be humorous during their two-day trial, which took place last October.

Terry Kennedy is officially a free man ... the famed skateboarder is out on parole just over three years after he was convicted of assaulting a fellow skater -- an incident that led to the man's death.

TMZ Sports broke the story last month ... the Illinois Department of Corrections told us Kennedy -- known by fans as "Compton-Ass Terry" -- was eligible for parole and set to be released on New Year's Eve.

True to the plan, Kennedy, according to inmate records, was released from custody on December 31.

The Critics' Choice Awards show's a great time to celebrate some of the most talented people in the biz ... and last night's show was apparently the right place for Chelsea Handler to roast Leonardo DiCaprio.

Here's the deal ... Chelsea, who's hosted the Critics' Choice Awards four consecutive times, blazed through some of the biggest names in Hollywood during her opening monologue before turning her attention to Leonardo, who was up for the Best Actor award, reports the New York Post.

Chelsea pointed out Leonardo almost didn't show up to the show after being "trapped on a boat in St. Barts," which she compared to being on the Titanic, just worse ... because he was hanging out with Jeff Bezos.

9:39 AM PT -- Cardi B has deleted her post ... although it's unclear why she decided to scrub it from her account.

Cardi B's proving she's a ride or die for her man -- vehemently defending Stefon Diggs as he faces serious charges ... saying his former personal chef never previously accused the star WR of getting physical.

The support came amid a tense social media exchange on Monday ... when one user pointed out Diggs' charges stemming from allegations made by his ex-employee, who claimed he choked and slapped her over a salary dispute in early December.

Cardi was having none of it ... clapping back and making it clear she won't tolerate any negative talk directed at Diggs -- 'cause she claims she has all the proof she needs to believe the chef is lying through her teeth.

Ousted Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared Monday in a New York court where they pleaded not guilty on all charges of alleged drug trafficking and other serious crimes.

Remember ... Maduro is charged with narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and other offenses, while Flores faces charges including cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns.

Donald Trump reiterated his desire to establish U.S. control over Greenland while speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday.

The President stated the country needed control over Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, from what he described as a "standpoint of national security," reports Fox News.

Trump also said Denmark was "not going to be able to do it" without specifying what the country's government would be doing.

Trump's comments were addressed by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who issued a press release to urge the president to "stop the threats" against its allies in Denmark.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen released a lengthy statement on Sunday and said Trump had to respect the territory's right to autonomy.

Nielsen also wrote the threats of annexation were inappropriate, especially between "close and loyal friends."

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announced he was dropping his bid for re-election and wouldn't seek a third consecutive term on Monday.

The politician, who has been in office as Minnesota's governor since 2019, shared a statement on his social media accounts to explain his reasoning for dropping out of the gubernatorial race, which he joined last September.

Walz stated he wouldn't be able to devote all of his effort to his re-election campaign while fighting for his own political interests, and said he'd prefer to "focus on the work" and let another politician fill the governor's seat.

Walz said he had "zero regret" about the decision and said he was confident another Democrat would be elected in the future.

He denounced what he described as "political gamesmanship" from Donald Trump and other Republicans and said his political allies would continue to fight back against pressure from the other side of the aisle.

Walz also singled out Trump's "demonizing" of Minnesota's sizable Somali population as an instance of divisiveness being present within the state's politics.

He added he'd likely find ways to make political contributions to Minnesota's government after his term as the state's governor ends next January.

Addison Rae Addison SLAYED during a beach day in Perth, Australia ... and we have the insanely sexy pics.

The singer teased photographers with almost "Nothing On" as she frolicked in the Indian Ocean Sunday.

The 25-year-old wore a teeny tiny pink bikini over her toned figure, which she showed off playfully by bending over -- forwards and backwards -- in full view of cameras.