Brian Hooker -- the man arrested in the disappearance of his wife Lynette Hooker -- says he got separated from her due to heavy winds after she fell overboard Saturday night, according to a new report.
Two days after Lynette vanished at sea in the Bahamas, Brian was contacted via text by a buddy, Daniel Danforth, who checked in with him Monday after seeing all the headlines, CBS News reports.
Daniel cited a report about Lynette falling off the boat -- prompting Brian to reply, "The wind blew me away from her and she swam towards the sailboat and we lost sight of each other pretty quickly as it was just about sundown."
Rep. Randy Fine is clapping back at Dan Bilzerian for calling him a "fat Jew" ... telling us the influencer-turned-candidate's bigotry won't win at the polls, while also defending his own bigoted remarks against Muslims.
The congressman stopped by "TMZ Live" Thursday to tell us he thinks Bilzerian is absolutely antisemitic, and only referred to his ethnicity that way to be disparaging.
Watch the clip ... Randy says Dan said what he said, "not because it's factual." Instead, he believes Bilzerian views Judaism "as some sort of negative thing."
In an unexpected national address from the White House Thursday,Melania Trump announced she never had a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein ... alleging bad actors are attempting to ruin her reputation.
The First Lady of the United States spoke to the nation on camera from the White House moments ago ... saying she was never friends with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender -- and said she and President Donald Trump were simply invited to some of the same parties. She said she had no knowledge of any of Epstein's crimes.
She said, "To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice [Ghislaine] Maxwell" ... adding an email she sent Maxwell can only be seen as a polite reply.
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... he who died for the world's sins?
That's right Jesus Christ himself -- or at least a dude pretending to be the Son of God in an Easter show -- got super high in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday ... and, we mean literally.
Check it out ... JC turns around to face the crowd and ascend into Heaven ... and, he ascended ... and ascended ... and ascended -- up, up and away!
Oh, how the tables have turned ... instead of young immigrants, now Donald Trump's own children might be thrown into a cage for a change ...Hunter Biden just posted a video saying he wants a piece of DT's sons, Ericand Donald Jr.
Watch the clip ... while announcing he'll be joining Andrew Callaghan and his Channel 5 YouTube channel on tour this month, Hunter also let slip that Andrew is "trying to organize a cage match" between Eric, Don Jr., and Hunter.
From Manhattan to Paris, Woody Allen appears to have been nearly inseparable from late sex offenderJeffrey Epstein back in the day ... we have newly unearthed shots of the director and his wife Soon-Yi Previn going for a stroll with Epstein.
In the pics, the trio is bundled up and huddled together on the chilly streets of Saint-Germain Des Prés on March 29, 2013. The laughed it up as they took in sights and chatted about God-knows-what in the historic neighborhood.
The couple's friendship with Epstein continued long after their Paris rendezvous -- as we reported, Soon-Yi also had an email exchange with Epstein three years later, in which she attacked the 15-year-old victim in the Anthony Weiner scandal.
Ivanka Trump was soaking up the magic at Disneyland Paris … just as her father, President Donald Trump, threatened to kill off Iran's "whole civilization."
Ivanka was seen Tuesday with her kiddos, roaming the French amusement park ... and made a stop at "Crush's Coaster" -- a spinning "Finding Nemo" themed roller coaster.
Check out the video ... the group's grinning ear-to-ear as they exit the ride -- looking ready to take on the rest of the park.
A raging inferno tore through a massive California warehouse early Tuesday -- and a shocking video shows a suspect purposely lighting up the devastating blaze while blaming the company for not paying their employees enough.
Check out the wild video circulating on social media -- the suspect lights up some paper products at consumer goods company Kimberly-Clark ... and sends a pointed message while in the act. The man can be heard telling the company all they had to do was pay their employees enough to live ... implying that's the reason he torched the building.
The Ontario, California Fire Department rushed to the 1.2-million-square-foot building just after 12:30 AM Tuesday ... and by 3:30 AM, it was a 6-alarm fire, they said in separate public statements.
The man arrested in the disappearance of his wife, Lynette Hooker, may have been tricked into talking with police before his arrest in The Bahamas, TMZ has learned.
Brian Hooker, 59, was taken into custody Wednesday by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in connection with Lynette going missing over the weekend. On Saturday, Brian reported that Lynette, 55, fell overboard off a dinghy into choppy waters during a rough ride from Hope Town to Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands of The Bahamas.
Brian'sattorney, Terrel A. Butler,tells TMZ ... Brian was arrested and questioned by police last night for more than 3 hours.
Police are one step closer to solving the disappearance of a Michigan woman in the Bahamas after arresting her husband in connection with the case, TMZ has confirmed.
Brian Hooker, 59, was taken into custody Wednesday by the Royal Bahamas Police Force after his 55-year-old wife, Lynette Hooker, went overboard on an 8-foot dinghy while traveling to Elbow Cay last weekend, according to his lawyer.
Police said Brian is being questioned by investigators, who are still searching for Lynette, calling the effort a "recovery operation." In addition, the U.S. Coast Guard launched a criminal investigation into the matter, but no charges have been filed yet.
Vice President J.D. Vance may need some divine intervention to help him on his next task ... saying he'd like to speak to the principals allegedly involved in a confrontation between the U.S. and the Vatican.
Here's the deal ... The Free Press put out a report earlier this week -- citing unnamed Vatican officials -- about a January meeting between U.S. Department of War officials and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S. at the time.
Officials at the time allegedly told Pierre the Catholic Church should get on board with the Trump administration's war tactics.
Dan Bilzerian's standing by his very public assertion his opponent for a seat in Congress is a "fat Jew" ... and, yet, he's simultaneously insisting he's not antisemitic. Yeah, buckle up for this!
The former "King of Instagram" is running for U.S. Congress against Rep. Randy Fine in Florida's 6th Congressional District, and hurled the derogatory phrase on social media ... after Rep. Fine blasted a dude for putting up "missing" posters of Adolf Hitler.
We gave him the chance to explain himself Wednesday on "TMZ Live" ... and, while at first Bilzerian talked about his opposition to the nation of Israel, Harvey and Charles asked him specifically about the post on X.
Popular Japanese content creator Zepa has died ... according to an announcement shared on her official X account.
The post explains Zepa "passed away unexpectedly" ... and apologizes for having to deliver the disturbing news to fans.
A funeral for family members was held, the post states ... before finishing off by thanking Zepa's fans for their love and support during this difficult time.
Michael Avenatti -- the blustery lawyer who repped Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Donald Trump and then went to prison for ripping her and other clients off -- is now a free man. Well, sort of.
Avenatti was convicted of various crimes -- including a $20 million extortion scheme against Nike and stealing $300,000 from Stormy -- and sentenced to 11 years 3 months. He served around 4 years and was released Tuesday.
Avenatti is not a fully free man. He's been ordered to serve more time in a halfway house in Hollywood. He's also required to participate in mental health treatment and stay away from unlawful controlled substances. His projected release date is September 2028.
President Donald Trump just announced a 2-week ceasefire with Iran, just an hour before his self-imposed deadline of bombing the country back to the "stone ages."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump writes ... "Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!"
The house always wins ... except against this pickup truck!
Local outlet KVVU-TV reports the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to an accident this afternoon after a pickup truck crashed into a casino downtown.
Check out the video ... you can see the vehicle perched on a pile of rubble just inside the Main Street Station Casino Brewery Hotel front doors as cops investigate the scene.
