News

Melania Trump’s got a loyal voice backing her up ... because a top member of her staff is going to bat for her after her surprise Epstein denial speech to the nation yesterday.

Marc Beckman -- a senior advisor to the First Lady -- came in hot on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning, echoing the First Lady’s stance that she had no close ties to Jeffrey Epstein ... but said he’s over the chatter, firing off a direct message: "Enough is enough."

He didn’t stop there -- Beckman pushed hard for a full pivot, saying the public should be focusing on Melania’s achievements instead of rehashing Epstein rumors ... urging people to be in awe of her impact across the board.

First Lady Melania Trump’s surprise national address from the White House yesterday -- rebutting claims she was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein -- is already getting major pushback from survivors of the late convicted pedophile.

In a sharp statement released Thursday night by Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), a group of survivors firmly declared ... "Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have already shown extraordinary courage by coming forward, filing reports, and giving testimony. Asking more of them now is a deflection of responsibility, not justice."

In her speech, Melania urged Congress to hold a public hearing so survivors can testify about Epstein’s crimes ... but "Survivors have done their part," the new statement reads.

Laken Snelling -- the former University of Kentucky cheerleader who was charged in connection with her newborn's death -- entered a not guilty plea when she appeared before a judge Friday morning.

Her attorney told the judge ... "We are entering a not guilty plea." As you know, she has been charged with abusing a corpse, tampering with evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant.

We've told you all about the case ... Snelling's college roommates allegedly found a deceased infant in Snelling's closet wrapped in a towel inside a black trash bag ... while Snelling was on a trip to McDonald's after giving birth on August 27, 2025.

Some folks at the White House ain't happy about Melania Trump's Thursday statement in which she denied having any relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report.

A handful of officials were "stunned by the timing" of the First Lady's remarks, according to a Thursday tweet from CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes.

She explained ... "One official said there was disagreement among those close to Melania Trump as to whether or not to go through with the remarks, given that the story had died down." But, the source noted Melania saw the stories still circulating and "wanted to go on the record with a firm denial."

The TikToker who was ordered to pay $10 million to the college professor for falsely accusing her of playing a role in the University of Idaho murders is fighting back in court ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, social media personality Ashley Guillard -- who goes by Ashley Solves Mysteries on TikTok -- compared the judgment entered against her to the “Salem Witch trials.”

Ashley claims she conducted a tarot card reading after the murders to get “information on who killed the students and why.”

She said her cards revealed to her that one of the slain students had a relationship with University of Idaho professor Rebecca Scofield and that Scofield "ordered the murders of the four students."

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!

From Manhattan to Paris, Woody Allen appears to have been nearly inseparable from late sex offender Jeffrey 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.

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's attorney, 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.