Politics

George Santos is caught allegedly spinning the truth once again ... this time claiming he worked on the Spider-Man musical, another apparent lie.

That's right ... a new report from Bloomberg claims while Santos was running for Congress in 2021, he told a group of potential donors he worked as one of the producers on the musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark."

As has almost become automatic, Bloomberg reports Santos' claim was shut down by the show's lead producer, Michael Cohl. Cohl says Santos was not a producer on the musical, and his name never appeared in the playbills for the show.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" ran from 2011 to 2014 with a massive $75 million budget. However, the show became notorious for it's delay in opening and injuries to actors performing stunts.

Of course, it's just the latest in a series of Santos' alleged lies ... including when he said his mom died in 9/11, his education and even accusations he stole money from a charity aimed to help a former military dog with a tumor.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman says Democrats and Republicans are scared to break party lines, particularly when it comes to police reform, and it's maddening because people are literally dying as a result.

The Congressman from New York joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him if any legislation will come out of Tyre Nichols' death, which is sparking renewed calls to pass reforms written in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Rep. Bowman, a member of the Congressional Black Congress, says provisions in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would do a lot of good for Americans who have their rights violated by police ... but he says the gridlock in Washington is making it impossible.

It's pretty damning ... Rep. Bowman says there's so much tribalism going on within the Capitol, nothing can get done ... and he's blaming corporations and mega donors for the standstill.

Rep. Bowman says Democrats and Republicans agree on different aspects of police reform behind closed doors ... but he says lawmakers are too scared to piss off Congressional leaders and the folks who put them in power, and almost no one has the guts to go against the grain.

An educator before being elected to Congress in 2020, Rep. Bowman says the tribalism in D.C. is especially frustrating for him to watch because he's not a career politician ... and as he puts it, the logjam is happening as "people are freaking dying."

Tyre Nichols, who loved to skateboard, could soon have his name emblazoned on skate parks in Memphis and Sacramento ... TMZ has learned.

Chief of Communications for the City of Memphis, Allison Fouche tells TMZ ... leaders are having preliminary conversations about naming a park after Tyre. Mayor Jim Strickland is floating the idea to the City Council.

We're told the Mayor is meeting internally with his team Friday to discuss plans, including whether they'll build a new park in Tyre's honor, or rename an existing one.

Since Tyre's tragic death, videos have been circulating online of him showing off his skateboarding skills. Most of the footage is from his time in Sacramento, CA before moving to Memphis.

Tim Swanson, media and communications manager for the City of Sacramento, tells TMZ ... councilmember Lisa Kaplan, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and City staff are working with Tyre's family to explore the best ways to honor his legacy, which could include renaming a skate park after him.

Tyre's parents are crowdfunding a memorial fund, and his mom says she'd like to use some of the money to build a memorial skate park for Tyre.

Ticketmaster is firmly under the U.S. Senate's microscope as the ticket giant prepares to sell tickets to the upcoming Beyoncé tour ... and it's all because of the Taylor Swift disaster.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which just got finished grilling Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation, issued a thinly-veiled warning Thursday, the day after Bey announced her "Renaissance" world tour.

The committee's official Twitter account tagged Ticketmaster in a quote tweet for a CNN story about Beyoncé fans preparing for another potential Ticketmaster fiasco, saying ... "We're watching, @Ticketmaster."

Ticketmaster says they're making changes -- staggering sales and using Verified Fan technology -- for the Beyoncé tour after running into major issues with last year's rollout for the Taylor Swift tour, which pissed off Taylor and her fans and led to lawsuits and Senate hearings. Still, the Senate will be keeping a close eye on the process.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who grilled Live Nation execs during the recent hearings, told us on "TMZ Live" the Senate expects Ticketmaster to do better in the future.

Tyre Nichols' life and memory were honored Wednesday at a public funeral held in Memphis after he was brutalized by police officers there ... and a lot of powerful sentiments were shared, including the notion that change needs to come in the form of legislation.

The funeral was held at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, just outside downtown Memphis, where Rev. Al Sharpton eulogized Tyre. His remarks had just about everybody in attendance on their feet by the end of it ... and for good reason.

RAS started by shedding a spotlight on the families of other victims of police brutality, including the Floyds, the Garners, the Taylors and others -- who traveled to make an appearance, and who know what it's like to go through this. He also shouted out the Veep and other elected officials -- both locally and federally -- who showed face for the funeral.

Moving on to Tyre, the reverend made an analogy to the parable of Joseph in the Well -- as told in the Bible -- and said the 5 officers who beat him that night were just like Joseph's brothers ... thinking that throwing him in the pit would solve their problems and quiet him down.

He went on to describe a point of heartbreaking irony about this tragedy happening in the city of Memphis -- where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 during a trip where he worked towards getting Black people the right to join the public sector workforce... including the right to work in sanitation, as well as the police force.

He says the fact these 5 Black cops took the work MLK literally died for, and betrayed it by taking the life of one of their brothers is the ultimate slap in the face, aptly saying ... "How dare you?" He said they were "acting like the folks we had to fight against to get you there."

Sharpton hit the point home by saying Dr. King would be astounded to see how far African Americans have come in this country -- citing VP Kamala Harris' position -- but he would be outraged to see this instance of fellow Black men acting in this way. Finally, the Reverend's speech reached a crescendo when he said he was a mountain climber ... citing what kept him going.

VP Harris also shared words at Tyre's memorial after being introduced by Rev. Al Sharpton. She spoke directly to his parents, nodding to their strength and courage in the face of the tragedy ... a moment that drew a huge standing O.

She also talked about mothers around the world praying to God that their babies remain safe for the rest of their lives ... noting that Tyre's parents' own prayers were broken with the loss of his life. She condemned the police officers involved in his death in the strongest of terms ... saying their violence that night was not in line with the pursuit of public safety.

The Veep then called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act ... saying it was overdue. Her remarks were brief, but powerful -- and her presence there was strong.

Civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, spoke at the podium as well, and he pointed out something interesting -- praising the fact that the officers were fired/charged so quickly ... but noting, that needs to be the norm any time this happens ... regardless of the race of the officers.

Crump went down a list of people who've died at the hand of police, and said swift justice was needed in all of those instances too -- which wasn't always the case, as we know.

Of course, Tyre Nichols' family members gave emotional testimonials -- two of his sisters, two brothers and his parents spoke ... including his mother, who was weeping at the mic.

One sister noted how polite Tyre was, even while being brutalized -- and another sister read a moving poem she wrote about going home. His brothers said they had been robbed of the opportunity to know their sibling better ... but said his memory would live on.

Finally, his stepfather and mom addressed the congregation. His stepdad thanked everyone who had supported them through this time ... while also calling on legislative change so that this doesn't happen again.

Tyre's mother, RowVaughn Wells, hit that home firmly ... specifically saying the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act needs to be passed ASAP -- otherwise, she said, the next person to die in a similar fashion will have died in vain ... and their blood will be on Congress' hands.

The celebration of life comes just weeks after Tyre was pulled over in a traffic stop ... resulting in a foot pursuit and a horrific beating at the hands of 5 police officers. Body cam and surveillance video that was subsequently released shows the merciless treatment of Tyre as he pled for help.

After they were done with him, the officers left Tyre propped up on one of their squad cars and waited for EMTs to arrive ... who delivered slow and less-than-adequate assistance.

Tyre was hospitalized, and died from his injuries days later.

In the aftermath, the 5 cops were fired and then criminally charged by a grand jury -- they all face second-degree murder charges ... as well as a slew of others, including kidnapping. Another two officers who are said to have been involved in the incident have since been suspended ... and some of the medical personnel who responded that night have been fired.

Protests and demonstrations have erupted nationwide after the footage was released, and a conversation about meaningful police reform in the country has been sparked anew.

The College Board is caving to pressure from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to water down an Advanced Placement high school course on African American studies.

DeSantis dug in his heels, banning the class from all Florida high schools -- and Wednesday, the College Board, which oversees the AP program nationwide, announced several changes to the new course's curriculum ... and it appears concessions were made to DeSantis.

The Governor and others in the GOP, were pissed the course included topics like the Black Lives Matter movement, affirmative action, reparations, critical race theory and queer theory.

The official curriculum, released on the first day of Black History Month, removed those hot button topics ... while content on slavery, abolition, reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement and the Black power movement remains.

Christopher Tinson, the chair of the African American Studies department at Saint Louis University, joined us this week on "TMZ Live," and told us the College Board would be open to compromise, even though it now opens the door for other states to demand specific changes.

DeSantis also made a fuss about several Black authors who were included in the course ... and the College Board's final draft also removed them from the material.

Sen. Ted Cruz is standing his ground, refusing to apologize to Paul Pelosi for sharing conspiracy theories about the hammer attack ... even after seeing the shocking police video of what went down.

The Senator was at Reagan National Airport when we got his reaction to the body cam showing David DePape smash Pelosi in the head with a hammer -- he called it the "utterly unacceptable" actions of a "deranged lunatic."

Although he was quick to condemn DePape ... Cruz got much quieter when we asked if he'd apologized to Pelosi for supporting, or at the very least, promoting theories suggesting there was something shady about the details of the attack.

In one instance, he reshared a tweet that shot holes in the idea DePape was "some kind of militant right winger" ... despite reports he actually had been posting on far-right political blogs.

As we reported, DePape attacked Pelosi with a hammer inside his and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's SF home.

DePape -- who's since been charged with attempted murder -- told the FBI he was planning on shattering the Congresswoman's kneecaps, because he thought she was a liar.

Despite all that information, the body cam and surveillance videos showing DePape smash a back door to enter the Pelosi home ... Sen. Cruz is refusing to even acknowledge an apology might be appropriate.

Kanye West's presidential aspirations don't come cheap -- just ask his campaign, which paid Milo Yiannopoulos tens of thousands last year ... while reimbursing Nick Fuentes for a few expenses, as well.

According to FEC filings obtained and viewed by TMZ, Kanye 2020 -- his official presidential committee that appears to still be active -- shelled out a whopping $40,000 to the alt-right media personality ... with whom Ye recently cut ties amid his anti-Semitic spiral.

The docs show that Milo was paid this amount for "Campaign Wrap Up Services" ... with the cash getting dispersed about a week or so before Christmas 2022. That would seem to line up with what we were seeing at the time publicly ... Milo tagging along with Ye throughout much of the fall.

That's not the end of Milo's payday, though ... the filings also show a separate $9,955 that was paid to him by the Kanye's campaign in November for what they describe as "Domain Transfer."

Keep in mind ... Milo was claiming in early December that Ye actually owed him $116k for campaign consulting -- but our Ye sources said nothing was ever in writing.

On top of this, the FEC docs also show that Nick Fuentes was paid back by the campaign for some travel costs ... totaling $14,719.87. You'll recall -- NF was on Ye's national press tour for a while too, going city to city with Kanye for months on end.

The mayor of New York City is admitting it probably wasn't the best idea to light up the Empire State Building in Eagles colors on Sunday -- saying Monday, "That got away from us."

The building rocked green and white at its top following Philadelphia's NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers ... and it was immediately met with a ton of backlash, considering the Eagles are one of the New York Giants' biggest rivals.

To make matters worse for bitter backers of the G-Men, officials wrote on the building's social media page, "Fly @Eagles Fly!"

When Mayor Eric Adams was asked about it all during an appearance on "CNN This Morning" ... he made it clear he was not exactly thrilled that it happened.

"Unfortunately," he said, "someone did not get the memo at the Empire State Building."

Adams said the building -- which shifted its lights to Chiefs colors after K.C.'s AFC Championship win over the Bengals -- should have featured Giants shades following the games.

"That blue should have been there," he said.

"Saturday Night Live" poked fun at the classified documents scandal engulfing President Biden, but the most biting humor was reserved for his Veep.

'SNL's Mikey Day played Attorney General Merrick Garland, kicking things off with a speech about how former Trump VP Mike Pence found classified docs at his Indiana home. Kenan Thompson, as an FBI agent, followed with a few wisecracks about Pence.

Then came the bit about Kamala Harris ...comedian Ego Nwodim, playing an FBI agent, bluntly said: 'Come on now. Joe Biden won't even give this woman a pen. You think she has classified documents? Please, Kamala Harris with classified documents."

Ego then walked away as Day returned to the mic, adding..."Well, we had to at least check."

Funny skit, but it also had to sting, since it implied Joe didn't trust Kamala enough to share the nation's secrets. Harris, as you know, has been dogged by criticism about her competence in her role as second in command.

The Navy veteran who claims Rep. George Santos cheated him out of cash intended for his dying dog's cancer treatment, says he'll get justice if the lyin' congressman is hit with criminal charges.

Richard Osthoff tells TMZ ... he views the alleged scam as both wire fraud and charity fraud -- calling Santos a swindler because he used an alias to get away with the whole thing.

The vet was joined by NJ Veterans Network President Michael Boll when he told us he'd already tried to bring charges against Santos -- but because he was going by Anthony Devolder back then, it led to a dead end.

Osthoff didn't fully disclose what action he's taking to now against Santos, but he tells us government agencies are looking into the case.

As we reported, his late pooch, Sapphire, was a beacon of light for him after getting out of the service and becoming homeless. He realized she needed life-saving surgery when a tumor on her stomach grew larger every day.

He claims Santos, or Devolder, told him he ran an animal rescue, and created a GoFundMe campaign that raised enough to cover Sapphire's surgery -- only to have Santos send him to a different vet, who said the tumor was inoperable.

Osthoff had no choice but to watch his pup die ... while Santos allegedly made off with the thousands raised Sapphire.

BTW -- Santos decided to put a POW-MIA flag in front of his office amid his latest scandal ... and Osthoff sees it as a huge disgrace to him and other vets.

A top U.S. Air Force official sent a stunning confession to his subordinates this week that warns of a looming war with China that he believes will manifest in the next couple years.

General Mike Minihan -- a four-star officer -- fired off an internal memo Friday to the rank and file that reports to him within the Air Mobility Command ... a unit that encompasses roughly 50,000 service members and oversees 500 planes for transport/refueling purposes.

While AMC doesn't sound like a combat-ready entity, Minihan reportedly told his guys to prepare for battle ... this according to NBC News, which says it obtained a copy of his note.

According to the outlet, Gen. Minihan writes ... "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025," while going on to describe what he says he believes China will do during the 2024 general election cycle -- namely, use that volatility here in the States to move on Taiwan.

In the event this comes to pass, Minihan reportedly laid out a very detailed defense and attack plan ... which includes building up a "Joint Force Maneuver Team" that can mobilize quickly to "fight and win inside the first island chain." He's ordering all airwing commanders and AF operational commanders to report on their progress for this by the end of February.

There's more ... Minihan reportedly has goals in mind for February and March, which entail his boys firing clips at 7-meter targets -- while noting, "unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head." In March, he wants the AMC team to "consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared." Also, he tells them to update their emergency contacts.

In addition to this, Minihan's memo talks of risk/reward in training ... reportedly saying, "Run deliberately, not recklessly," and later adding, "If you are comfortable in your approach to training, then you are not taking enough risk." NBC News also says he discusses the possible use of commercial drone swarms as a tactic the U.S. might use against China.

In other words, this guy is rounding up the cavalry in very real terms ... not hypotheticals. And yet, a DoD rep went on record to say Minihan's concerns don't reflect the department's view on China ... distancing themselves from what sounds like legit wartime preparations.

Maitland Ward from "Boy Meets World" says she's in costar Ben Savage's corner as he makes his run for congress ... even if it might be an uphill battle for him.

We got the actress, who played Rachel on the hit show, in Bev Hills and she had nothing but positive things to say about Ben ... adding he's always been into politics, so his drive for a seat in the House of Representatives makes sense.

She does seem kinda doubtful about him getting a W, though ... admitting it's gonna be a very tough fight. However, she has some killer Cory Matthews-themed campaign ideas to give him a leg up on the competition!

As we reported, Ben filed paperwork this month expressing interest to run for CA's 30th district, which includes parts of Los Angeles and its northern cities.

The filing came after he unsuccessfully ran for West Hollywood City Council back in November.

Maitland, who's famously transitioned into the porn industry, was all for Ben's decision to join that race, but says he might not have had enough brand recognition that time around.

The mayor of Cincinnati just trolled Patrick Mahomes ahead of the Chiefs' playoff game against the Bengals ... insisting Joe Burrow has the K.C. star quarterback's number completely.

Mayor Aftab Pureval threw the shade in a video posted to his social media page Friday ... just two days before the Bengals-Chiefs AFC championship game -- poking fun at the Kansas City signal-caller.

In the clip, the mayor jokingly says officials asked Burrow to take a paternity test to determine if he's Mahomes' dad ... since the Cincy QB is 3-0 in his career against Patrick.

Pureval then reminisced about the Bengals' 27-24 AFC title game victory last season ... and proclaimed Jan 29, 2023 as "They Gotta Play Us Day" in Cincinnati.

Of course, the mayor has all the reasons to gloat ... the Bengals have found both regular-season and postseason success against Mahomes and the Chiefs -- and are considered by many to be the favorite on Sunday.

Paul Pelosi's attacker cased the family's home before making a move inside, leading to a chilling 911 call from Paul where he subtly relayed to the operator he was in danger.

We've obtained additional footage from outside the Pelosi home in San Francisco from the night of the attack when David DePape broke in and struck Paul with a hammer. At first, DePape checks around the house, possibly looking for a way in.

A few minutes pass, and he returns with a bag ... pulling out a hammer and gloves. DePape doesn't waste a lot of time smashing the back door with his weapon and climbing inside.

The 911 call Paul made is equally as terrifying, you hear him try to stay calm -- without outright saying there was a problem -- it's clearly an attempt to keep DePape at bay.

He tells the operator his name, and states his friend is there but he doesn't know the "friend" as you can also hear DePape in the background. Paul then tells the operator he has to go, and that his "friend" really wants him to get off the phone.

In additional footage released Friday, you see cops find Pelosi and DePape at the door, Pelosi tries to wrestle the hammer away from the intruder -- but he strikes him in the head -- knocking Paul out cold before cops intervene.

Police body cam footage from Paul Pelosi's hammer-wielding home burglar attack has been released ... showing the 82-year-old getting struck in the head by a hammer.

The footage, released Friday, shows officers approach Paul and Nancy's home. Paul opens the door, standing next to his attacker, both men have their hands on the hammer in an effort to control it.

The attacker breaks away, holding the hammer, and immediately strikes Paul in the head with the weapon. Both men fall to the ground as police move into the house and take the attacker into custody. Paul is totally out cold from the impact.

As we reported, Paul was asleep at his San Francisco home in October when suspect David DePape broke in ... later telling the FBI he was planning on shattering the then-House Speaker's kneecaps because he thought she was a liar.

DePape allegedly brought zip ties, tape and rope for Nancy -- who was in D.C. during the attack.

Pelosi made a 911 call, reportedly speaking in codes to the operator while alerting them something was wrong. Cops said they saw Pelosi fighting with DePape over a hammer when they arrived, which is when he got hit in the head.

The suspect's been charged with attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, false imprisonment of an elder, and threats to a public official and their family -- and, if convicted, he faces 13 years to life.

Since the attack, Paul's had successful brain surgery, and attended a few public events where he seemed to be well on his way to making a full recovery.