Politics

President Joe Biden says he spoke "at length" with the mom and dad of Damar Hamlin ... after their son went into cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football.

POTUS briefly spoke to the media in Kentucky before hopping aboard Air Force One ... when he revealed he had a conversation with the Hamlin fam.

46 was also asked whether football was just too dangerous ... in the wake of the terrifying medical emergency.

“Look, the idea that you're gonna have, look you've got guys that are 6'8", 340 pounds running a 4.8 40 ... If you hit somebody with that kinda ... now that's not what happened here ... but I just think it’s, I don't know how you avoid it,” Biden said.

Biden's comments come a day after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters ... “We hope his condition and his health improves quickly, and like the rest of the nation our thoughts and prayers are with him, his family and his teammates.”

Of course, everyone from LeBron James to Tom Brady have sent well wishes to the 24-year-old second-year pro ... in addition to millions of fans across the world.

In the wake of the incident, hundreds of thousands of people even dipped into their own wallets, donating an astounding $6 million to Damar's charity toy drive.

Hamlin is still fighting for his life in a Cincy hospital, though the team provided a positive update on Wednesday.

"Damar remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight."

"He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him."

President Biden might be feeling joke-y about a would-be reelection campaign -- but that's only because the decision has reportedly been made ... apparently, he's running again.

JB was down in the U.S. Virgin Islands Friday ahead of the new year, and when a crush of reporters peppered him with questions about officially throwing his hat in the ring for 2024 -- something he's said he intends to do, but noting he still needed to talk it over with family.

Those talks were supposed to happen around this time of the year, which is why his response down St. Croix is interesting ... Joe sure seems to be in good spirits about the prospect of gunning for POTUS again, so much so that he's oozing with sarcasm.

Check it out ... the Prez says he wasn't aware there's an election coming up, obviously kidding. His grin is pretty telling though -- because it's backed by what CNN's Kevin Liptak says is a firm yes from Joe's camp. Namely, Joe Biden is, in fact, going to enter the race.

We haven't seen any confirming reports mirroring what Liptak's saying here -- but if true, it's obviously huge. There's been rumblings within the Democratic Party that top dogs want Joe to bow out and let someone younger take a crack at a presidential campaign against Trump.

Joe's first two years in office have been somewhat of a mixed bag (some good and bad) but if he is actually joining the fray again, that means he's confident he's got a shot.

Sam Bankman-Fried reportedly held 4 meetings with members of President Joe Biden's cabinet in 2022 before his FTX empire collapsed, leading to his arrest on federal fraud charges.

The disgraced "Crypto King," who is at the center of one of the largest financial frauds in U.S. history, sat down with senior White House advisor Steve Ricchetti on September 8, according to a new report by Bloomberg.

Sam allegedly had 2 follow-up meetings with Ricchetti on April 22 and May 12. He also reportedly met with Biden's deputy chief of staff, Bruce Reed. It's not clear what was discussed in any of the get-togethers.

As we reported ... Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas on Dec. 12. He was federally charged in New York with eight counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, money laundering and a campaign finance violation. He faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted.

The Bloomberg report is but another example of Bankman-Fried's deep ties with the Washington D.C. establishment before Sam was accused of stealing $1.8 billion from investors in his cryptocurrency scheme. And it's no secret that Sam has donated millions to the campaigns of prominent politicians, including Biden.

Michelle and Barack Obama have talked for years about a rocky period in their lives -- when she was shouldering way more than him when it came to raising their kids -- but she's never been this blunt, saying for a third of their marriage, she "couldn't stand" the ex-Prez.

The former first lady was on a panel courtesy of Revolt TV, talking about the struggles of raising a family and balancing a career, and here's what she said ... "People think I'm being catty saying this: It's like, there were 10 years where I couldn't stand my husband. And guess when it happened? When those kids were little."

She's talked before about how BO was often absent when he was a state representative commuting from Chicago to Springfield, Illinois. During the discussion, she said, "And for 10 years while we're trying to build our careers and, you know, worrying about school and who's doing what and what, I was like, 'Ugh, this isn't even."

Michelle talked about persistence in a marriage, and that some people give up too early ... "... guess what: 10 years -- we've been married 30. I would take 10 bad years over 30 -- it's just how you look at it. And people give up ... five years, I can't take it."

And, there was some faint praise, too ... "Do you like him? I mean you could be mad at him but do you still look at him and go, 'I'm not happy with you, but I respect you. I don't agree with you but you're still a kind, smart person.'"

Congressman-elect George Santos would not know the truth if it hit him in the face, because now it's come out he lied about his mom dying from the 9/11 attacks.

Santos saw a post last year about a ridiculous 9/11 conspiracy theory -- that it was a victimless crime -- and responded, "9/11 claimed my mother's life, so I'm blocking so I don't ever have to read this again."

Here's the thing ... five months after posting that, he posted this ... "December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor ... Mom you will live forever in my heart."

So, in the latest tweet, he's saying his mom died in 2016, 15 years after the attack.

Santos claimed on his campaign website his mom was in the South Tower on Sept. 11, adding she survived but passed away "a few years later" from cancer. But, 15 years?

This is the latest in a string of fundamental deceptions by Santos, including lying that he went to NYU and Baruch for college yet they have no record of him. Ditto his claims he worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. And of course, there's the lie that he was Jewish and he explained it by saying he was Jew-ish.

UFC fighter Angela Hill's grandfather and wife claimed they were abducted in one of the most famous UFO encounters ever, and now Barack Obama and his production company are making a Netflix movie on the notorious incident.

And, Angela tells us she wants to be a part of the project!

If you're not familiar, Barney and Betty Hill claimed they were both abducted by extraterrestrials in a rural area of New Hampshire in mid-September 1961. The incident called the "Hill Abduction," was the first widely publicized abduction.

The Hills said they were driving when they witnessed a flying saucer-type object with humanoid figures inside, watching them ... which eventually shot some sort of light at their vehicle. They came to two hours later, 35 miles away from their last known location and with little recollection of anything that occurred.

Now, Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions is reportedly creating a movie titled "White Mountain" that's based on the encounter.

We asked Hill, who posted on social media earlier in the week about her desire to be a part of the project, if any reps for the former president or anyone else had reached out.

"No, no. I just put it out there because it's not the first thing I've heard," Angela said, adding, "Ever since they released those documents, the UFO documents that they were hiding for so long, ever since that, I think it was about two years ago, I've been seeing a lot of Barney and Betty Hill stuff in production."

37-year-old Hill added ... "It sucks when you see something being produced and it's already greenlit, it's ready to go and you're like man I really wish my family was part of it because we've pretty much been written out of that part of the story. I think it's one of the parts that make it more interesting."

Details outside of the Obama's involvement and name of the project are not yet known.

We also asked Hill what she'd say to the people behind the movie.

Funnyman Jeff Ross may have inadvertently contributed to a Texas inmate's death sentence ... and now, the guy's attorneys are asking the Supreme Court to overturn the sentence.

Here's the rub ... attorneys for Gabriel Hall are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review the convicted killer's capital punishment sentence, which was based in part on jokes Ross and Hall made to each other ... during the comedian's 2015 TV special.

During the trial, prosecutors used Ross' show as evidence against Hall, which eventually lead to his conviction and subsequent death sentence.

The taped special was shot at the Detention Center where Hall was awaiting trial in TX back in '15 ... it was filmed shortly before Hall's conviction for the murder of a man named Edwin Shaar.

According to the Supreme Court petition, obtained by TMZ, Ross and Hall had a wide-ranging convo that was aired AS A PART of "Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals: Live At Brazos County Jail." The chat lasted 17 minutes with the comedian repeatedly mocking the guy's appearance and joking about his race. During the exchange, Hall made a series of jokes which prosecutors used during the penalty phase which, they said, showed Hall had "a lack of remorse for having committed capital murder." As a result, Hall's lawyers say, the jury voted to put Hall to death.

In their legal docs, Hall's lawyers say that before the Ross special was taped, they sent the Brazos County Sheriff a letter of "no contact" ... asking the deputies to prohibit anyone from talking to Hall without their permission. Clearly, that didn't happen.

D.L. Hughley says Donald Trump should be criminally charged over the Jan. 6 riots ... and he wants the former president charged with the death of a Capitol Police officer.

We got the comedian at LAX and he told our photog ... Trump would be staring at a slew of charges if he were Black ... including manslaughter.

The way D.L. sees it ... Trump should be held responsible for the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died the day after being viciously attacked by the mob during the insurrection.

Trump has yet to be charged by the Justice Department. The Jan. 6 Committee voted to refer Trump for possible criminal charges ... so potential charges are on the table.

As we reported, the Jan. 6 panel feels four charges are warranted for Trump ... obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to make a false statement, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and insurrection.

Mel C of the Spice Girls is pullin' out of her upcoming show in Poland, saying her views don't align with the issues she's discovered ... and the LGBT+ community can't thank her enough for making the last-minute decision.

The singer took to social media Monday ... saying "In light of some issues that have been brought to my attention, that do not align with the communities I support, I'm afraid I will no longer be able to perform in Poland as planned on New Year's Eve."

She doesn't elaborate further on her decision, but people in the comments are praising her for seemingly standing up against the country's anti-LGBT stance in recent years.

For those unaware -- Poland's political views have often been viewed as conservative, and a ton of towns in the country have even been declared "LGBT-Free Zones" ... with the belief that the idealogy behind the LGBT culture isn't a part of the community.

FYI -- Mel was set to perform in an NYE special put on by Poland’s public broadcaster TVP ... a company that's reportedly been accused in recent years of becoming state-run propaganda, possibly even fueling the anti-LGBT fire.

Three busloads of undocumented immigrants were shipped to Vice President Kamala Harris' home in D.C. -- on Christmas Eve, no less ... courtesy, it seems, of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The startling scene unfolded late Saturday night, when a bus pulled up near the Veep's Naval Observatory residence in the dead of night ... and scores of people poured out in the freezing cold temperatures, which are said to have been in the teens.

A lot of them didn't have the proper attire for the weather, and they were quickly provided blankets and jackets by folks on the ground who scrambled to find them housing.

Before long, two more buses showed up ... and even more migrants were dropped off and left to fend for themselves. Good Samaritans are reported to have worked together to get as many as they could to local shelters and churches, at least for one evening anyway.

Many of the migrants are said to be asylum seekers from Ecuador, Nicaragua and other Central/South American countries, and they're all believed to have come from the TX border.

This marks the second time this year that Texas officials have transported folks like this across the country -- earlier this year, in a tag-team effort from Florida's Gov. Ron DeSantis, even more migrants were bused to both the Veep's residence and Martha's Vineyard.

The move, which many view as a cruel political stunt from the GOP, is supposedly meant to be a message about the state of things at the border ... but to do something like this on Christmas Eve is another level of messed up.

You don't want to be an MMA fighter in Chechnya, especially when your opponent is the dictator's son.

There was a ridiculous "fight" between Ali Kadyrov -- the 15-year-old son of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov -- and a dude named Islam Akbarov.

Kadyrov had Akbarov on the mat after landing a blow, and as he hovered over his opponent, the dictator's son delivered feather punches that looked anything but damaging. Akbarov was defending himself well, but the ref jumped in and stopped the fight, declaring the dictator's son the winner.

Some fans were outraged, saying the fight was clearly fixed.

As if more evidence was needed, the dictator Ramzan owns the promotion that hosted the fight.

President Biden was persistent in his pursuit of Jill Biden's hand in marriage -- a story he told Drew Barrymore in a pretty long, dramatic fashion ... with a great payoff at the end.

46 sat for an interview with the former child star, which aired this week ... just ahead of Christmas. One of the things DB wanted to get the scoop on was Joe's fabled repeated proposals to his now-wife -- which apparently took 5 times of asking before she said, "yes."

JB explains how difficult it was for him to start dating again in the wake of the tragic deaths of his first wife, Neilia, and their baby daughter, Naomi, following a car crash in '72.

He says he was eventually set up on a blind date with Jill, adding that he fell in love with her instantly -- knowing she was the next woman he wanted to marry. It took some convincing though, according to Joe ... and he has his sons to thank for the "yes."

The Prez says his boys, Beau and Hunter, both agreed that they could all marry Jill (as a family) and it sounds like Jill herself fell in love with Joe's kids as well ... which finally won her over. The final proposal sounds like a movie, BTW -- at least how POTUS describes it.

Take a listen -- he went from S. Africa to her doorstep in Philly ... and kinda gave her a love-it-or-leave-it ultimatum that she caved to ... somewhat underwhelmingly. "Okay." 😅

Barack Obama is staying warm while most of the country is dealing with extreme weather .... hitting up a golf course in Hawaii ahead of the holidays.

The former prez was spotted getting in a Round of Golf in Hawaii on Thursday ... sporting a pink shirt, white shorts and a pair of sunnies.

Barack appeared to be with pals, but still had his game face on ... as he set up his swing. Unclear if the whole family is in Hawaii, but they're certainly known to spend time there.

You'll recall, Barack and Michelle Obama had a mansion built on the island of Oahu back in 2015 after dropping $8.7M on the property ... but it came with some pushback from environmentalists over a seawall.

The Obamas seem to be enjoying the place they can now call home ... and it very well could be where they plan to spend their retirement years.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky just shook hands with President Joe Biden at the White House, his first trip outside his war-torn country since Vladimir Putin's forces invaded.

Zelensky rolled up to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in an SUV Wednesday afternoon, climbing out the passenger door and immediately greeting POTUS and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden before heading inside for a meeting.

Ukraine's president is in Washington D.C. because he's set to address a joint session of Congress later tonight, but first he's talking shop with Biden ... and seriously dressing down.

It's quite a contrast in fashion styles ... Biden is wearing a jacket and tie while Zelensky pulled up in his signature green pullover and some slacks.

Zelensky's addressed Congress before, but not in person. The first time came back in March, not long after the Russian invasion started, and he appeared remotely. This time he was invited to D.C. for an in-person visit by Nancy Pelosi.

Meanwhile, back in the Ukraine ... the war just crossed the 300-day milestone and the U.S. is sending more weapons to arm the Ukrainians, including artillery, missiles, grenade launchers, armored trucks and mortars.

Afroman is wading into the political fray for 2024 -- and not just for local office either ... the guy's going for the big enchilada to potentially become the next President of the United States!

The rapper made the big announcement this weekend at a concert of his in Poplar Bluff, MO ... where he told a packed house at the Black River Coliseum about his plan to run for POTUS, going up against the likes of Donald Trump and whoever else will be in the race.

When you see the video, it might seem like a joke, but we're told he's dead serious ... and the crowd loved it -- cheering Afroman on as he touted his first big policy -- the national legalization of weed. He reiterated this platform in yet another video, emphasizing this is no prank ... dude's got Oval Office aspirations.

Afroman's weed vision is cool and all, but not all that revolutionary these days. Frankly, the herb's already allowed recreationally in 21 states and medicinally in a lot of others.

It's still unclear where he lands on other domestic and international issues -- but we suppose we'll find out in due time. We're told he's running as an independent.

We don't see any record yet of Afroman filing paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission to make it official, but his camp says it's coming.

Of course, he wouldn't be the first MC to throw his hat in the ring -- Kanye West did in 2020, and seems primed to do it again in 2024 ... or as Afroman puts it, 20-20-FRO!!!

Andrew Cuomo and Kellyanne Conway seemed like mortal enemies back in the day ... which is why this story is so curious.

The New York Post caught the former governor and former Trump honcho hitting up Il Postino Monday night in NYC's Upper East Side, with the ex-gov trailing KC as they left the Italian restaurant around 10 PM.

They were all smiles on the way out, rocking business casual outfits.

Cuomo and Conway were mum over the purpose of the dinner, but it's sure interesting ... Cuomo was effectively booted from office last year, and Kellyanne's former boss has certainly had his own issues, so there is some common ground.