Politics

Donald Trump's luck in sidestepping criminal charges over the years might be running out ... and the former President himself admits it.

Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, Saturday morning to make the stunning announcement that he expects to be arrested next week. He also ordered his minions to protest his likely indictment from Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg over his alleged participation in the notorious Stormy Daniels hush-money case.

In all caps, Trump wrote, “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!.”

He also referred to Bragg's office as “CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL" while touting his innocence.

As you may know, Bragg has been investigating Trump for purportedly making a $130,000 payment to Daniels back in 2016. Trump allegedly brokered the deal with the porn star to buy her silence during the Presidential campaign that year after she alleged they had an affair. Trump has long denied the accusation.

Daniels recently met with Manhattan prosecutors, according to her attorney, who also said she was prepared to testify if the case against Trump goes to trial.

Bill Maher used St. Patrick's Day to make a point ... the United States of America is (A) not united and (B) on the cusp of becoming the next Northern Ireland.

The 'Real Time' host served up a warning that would be useful to heed -- Our politics have become a religion for the majority of Americans, and the level of hatred toward people embracing "the other" religion has us dangerously close to calamity.

It happened in Northern Ireland, where a politically combustible landscape turned into urban warfare, and Bill sees us headed in that direction.

As he says, Democrats and Republicans are embracing that same level of hatred for those they oppose. The majority of people in both parties don't want their kids to marry someone attached to the opposing party.

And then, he invokes the name of Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has called for a "national divorce" -- in other words, creating two countries ... made up of blue states on the one hand and red on the other.

Aside from it being ridiculous, Bill points out there are fundamental disagreements within each political party, so thinking a divorce will create harmony is just stupid.

An Oklahoma City police captain put on a show after he was busted for allegedly driving drunk ... and it was all caught on body cam video -- which he desperately tried to suppress.

Check out the footage, released Thursday by Oklahoma City PD, showing Capt. James French getting pulled over at his home by a police officer last weekend after cops said he was swerving as he drove down the road.

Right from the get-go, French tried to weasel his way out of trouble by identifying himself as a police captain and whispering to the officer to turn off his body cam. But, the cop refused and asked French if he had been drinking because he was slurring his words.

French changed the subject and made a second attempt to get the camera switched off.

But, the officer was in a no-nonsense mood. He sternly said, "I'm not turning my camera off. You got to be kidding me."

Things only got worse for French, who explained that he had consumed 3 to 4 beers at a poker game earlier that night and had drunk his last brewski about 2 hours before he was stopped by the officer.

Then came the dreaded field sobriety tests, which, of course, French failed. During a balance test, French lifted up his leg only to stumble forward. He then asked the cop to switch off the camera a third time.

But, the officer stood his ground again, saying that he had taken an oath to uphold the law and would not show favoritism to anyone -- even the President of the United States.

That didn't stop French from urging the cop to kill the camera one last time. And, predictably, he got another "no" from the officer.

French was eventually placed in handcuffs and booked into the county jail for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was later released after posting bond.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley praised the officer for his professionalism and for following the department's body cam protocols.

Gourley also said that French was put on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

Ben Savage officially has a running mate for his political run -- he's tied the knot with his fiancée Tessa Angermeier after 4 years of dating, as he's launching his campaign for Congress.

The "Boy Meets World" star married Tessa last month, but has kept it low-key. He didn't post any pics from their big day, but one of his friends did.

It appears his big bro, Fred Savage, was their officiant ... and based on the pics, Tessa, Ben and all their guests had a blast partying after the nuptials.

Ben announced their engagement in January, sharing a shot of them in Indiana and showing off her diamond ring. He captioned the post, "The best is yet to come."

The newlywed's got a lot on his plate -- besides a honeymooon, he's running for a U.S. Congressional seat.

Earlier this month the officially threw his hat in the ring for Congress, aiming to fill the seat Rep. Adam Schiff is vacating.

If he wins, Ben will be repping California's 30th District, which includes parts of Los Angeles.

Congrats to the bride and groom ... and good luck to the candidate.

Whether it's the top o' the morning or a late-night party at the bar, these stars love a tall glass of Guinness ... so take a look at some of the biggest celebs drinkin' away in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

Hugh Jackman, Kevin Hart, and Ben Affleck are just a few of the A-listers sippin' the Irish beer ... Jason Momoa might've had a little too much -- cuz it's all over his face!

Conor McGregor is all smiles with his Guinness -- and we're sure the Irish UFC champ does a lot more of this when he celebrates his national holiday.

Even former president Barack Obama is enjoying the liquid luck of the Irish with a glass at the pub ... as a crowd nearby is clearly digging the rare sight!

Welp, Joe Biden isn't winning the White House's March Madness pool ... 'cause the president's pick for NCAA champion -- two-seed University of Arizona -- just lost to 15-seed Princeton in the most shocking upset of the young tourney!

The Ivy League team was near 15-point underdogs against Arizona ... but as the saying goes, that's why you play the game. The Tigers ultimately won 59-55. The Wildcats were up one at the half, but scored a paltry 24 points in the second half, and couldn't buy a bucket late in the game.

As for #46, he didn't just have AZ advancing past Princeton, he had the Pac-12 team going all the way to the Final Four, where he picked them to defeat one-seed Kansas.

In fairness to the prez, the Wildcats were a popular pick to advance far in the tourney ... and many had them winning the whole thing.

The Wildcats, who won the NCAA Championship in 1997, are now headed back to Tucson. The Tigers will now play seven-seed Missouri on Saturday ... where Princeton has opened as six-point underdogs.

The Manhattan restaurant where a couple claims they found an entire rodent in their food delivery order has been forced to hit the pause button on serving meals ... the Health Department has closed the joint.

Gammeeok, a Korean restaurant at the center of a recent lawsuit, got shut down Wednesday after an inspection .... according to Fabien Levy, a rep for NYC Mayor Eric Adams.

TMZ broke the story ... a couple filed a lawsuit this week claiming they ordered food from Gammeeok over the weekend and discovered a dead rodent in their soup, an allegation the restaurant disputes.

Levy tells TMZ ... "No New York City restaurant is authorized to have mice or rats on the menu and we are investigating further. Our top priority is protecting the health of New Yorkers and if a restaurant has conditions that threaten our city's diners, they will be shut down."

The restaurant already has signage up on the door showing they've been closed by the Health Department. The eatery also appears to have put up its own sign claiming they are shuttered because of "maintenance."

Our sources say Health Department inspectors found rat droppings at the restaurant, and food was not being stored at the correct temperature. We're also told the eatery did not have a trained supervisor on site.

The restaurant will have to jump through some hoops to open back up ... we're told Gammeeok will need to correct all the violations they got dinged for, plus pay any fines imposed by the city.

Our sources say Gammeeok was also operating without the proper permits, despite multiple warnings from the Health Department to renew their paperwork.

In the lawsuit, the couple also claimed Gammeeok had gotten a C grade from the Health Department in January, the worst possible letter grade.

Rats are a big problem in the Big Apple ... so much so, Mayor Adams wants to hire a "rat czar" to rid the city of rodents.

L.A.'s new "mansion tax" is about to go into effect, forcing sellers to cough up a ton of cash if their property sells for at least $5 million ... and Josh Altman is one of many real estate agents who think it's absurd.

Josh joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live," and immediately dumped on measure ULA ... calling it "the dumbest tax ever put through in the history of Los Angeles." Passed on the ballot last November, it slaps a 4 percent tax on homes selling for $5 mil and up, and 5.5 percent on those selling above $10M.

Josh points out the ridiculous ways agents would have to work around the taxes if they wanted to, including listing it for cheaper than its actual value ... just to dodge the additional tax.

The selling point to voters who supported the tax was the funds would go toward battling the homeless crisis in L.A. by developing more affordable housing -- it's projected to bring in $1B annually.

Josh tells us he's all for helping the unhoused, but just doesn't believe they'll get a dime from the new taxes.

Dramatic new video was released Thursday showing a Russian fighter jet downing an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea ... and it destroys Russia's claim they didn't do it.

Check out the footage, which was declassified by U.S. European Command, showing the back propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone encountering the fast-approaching Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jet in international airspace. As it got ever so close, the Russian jet showered the drone with fuel.

The Russian plane circled back for another pass and dumped even more gasoline on the drone. Then the Russian fighter tried one last fly by, but collided with the drone, damaging the propeller. As a result, the U.S. was forced to bring down the drone in the Black Sea.

For their part, Russian officials reportedly denied the crash even took place. Guess they haven't seen the video of the 30-to-40 minute mid-air battle.

But, a senior Biden administration official told CNN the video "absolutely confirms" the incident occurred, but the Russian pilots' motives remained unclear.

John Kirby, a rep for the National Security Council, said the drone had not been retrieved yet and it may never be recovered.

Need help filling out your bracket? Well, you can now get a Presidential assist from Barack Obama -- 'cause he just unveiled his 2023 picks ... and he thinks Duke will win it all!!

No. 44 -- who's been fillin' out brackets for years, even when he was in office -- posted his prediction on his Twitter page Wednesday afternoon, showing he's got a Final Four of Baylor, Duke, Houston and UCLA.

"It’s the best time of year!" he said while announcing his picks. "My #MarchMadness brackets will get busted soon enough, but here are my picks. Who do you have winning it all?"

Barry O didn't have too many upset selections -- although he's clearly a believer in the Iona Cinderella story, taking the No. 13 seed to not only beat UConn in the first round ... but to also advance to the Sweet 16.

Obama also filled out a women's tournament bracket -- believing South Carolina, Stanford, Virginia Tech and Indiana will advance to the Final Four there. His champion was S.C.

Alec Baldwin's gonna like this ... the special prosecutor overseeing the "Rust" shooting case says she's stepping down.

Andrea Reeb had been under fire from Alec's legal team, with his defense calling for Reeb to step down because Baldwin's camp has argued that her trying the case while also being a state legislator in New Mexico violates the state’s constitution.

Well, Alec and co. got their wish Tuesday, when Reeb announced she was stepping down from prosecuting him.

In a statement to TMZ, Reeb says ... "After much reflection, I have made the difficult decision to step down as special prosecutor in the 'Rust' case. My priority in this case -- and in every case I’ve prosecuted in my 25-year career -- has been justice for the victim."

Reeb adds ... "However, it has become clear that the best way I can ensure justice is served in this case is to step down so that the prosecution can focus on the evidence and the facts, which clearly show a complete disregard for basic safety protocols led to the death of Halyna Hutchins."

The challenge from Alec's legal team was also referenced, with Reeb ending her statement by saying ... "I will not allow questions about my serving as a legislator and prosecutor to cloud the real issue at hand."

The office of New Mexico's First Judicial District Attorney tells us official paperwork has been filed with the court to formally remove Reeb as special prosecutor.

Reeb stepping down is a huge development ... there have already been some miscues by the prosecution, with Baldwin's lawyers recently getting the D.A. to drop the gun enhancement charge against him.

Alec's still charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Hutchins ... and last month he pled not guilty.

Flying cars could be soarin' into the market much sooner than we thought ... according to one Aerospace CEO who's working hard to make this sci-fi dream a reality.

Doron Merdinger, CEO of Doroni Aerospace Inc., joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" -- filling us in on how his company's new flying cars could be up for sale in the next 2 years ... adding his team has already been testing its flagship project in Florida.

Their vehicle is aptly named the Doroni H1, a 2-seater that can travel a couple hundred feet off the ground with the use of joysticks -- not a steering wheel. The futuristic whip can come in handy in a bunch of ways, according to Doron.

The ride will set you back a few hundred Gs, though ... but Doron says his crew is doing everything they can to make it a true bang for your buck -- which includes its seriously-impressive top speed.

For those unaware, President Biden asked for a $27.2B budget for NASA last week, with some of the funds to be used to test flying cars, and Doron's company is one of the many working with NASA towards a future in the skies.

BTW -- Biden's budget request came after Trump called for the government to invest in the tech ... saying we've gotta beat China to the punch. In addition, there are other start-ups developing flying cars too.

Dr. Fauci helped save the day for a woman who went down during a fancy dinner in D.C. -- and someone caught part of the action on camera.

The nation's most prominent doc -- who was at the forefront during COVID -- was one of many bigwigs at the Gridiron Dinner Saturday ... a black-tie affair where journos, politicos and related company gathered to break bread and talk shop.

At some point, a lady in the crowd collapsed ... injuring herself from the fall, so says speechwriter Chandler Dean -- who detailed the scary incident.

He writes, "Last night at the Gridiron Dinner in DC, maybe 10 feet from me and @sarahagruen, a woman collapsed, hit her head on a table, and was laying on the floor without moving."

He goes on to explain ... "People gather trying to help, but no one is sure what to do. Someone goes to find a doctor. They found one."

That man would be Fauci himself, who's pictured crouching down in his tux and attending to the woman in need. It's not quite clear what exactly he did to treat her, but he was certainly by her side ... and it sounds like she was alright in the end.

Dean later clarified she was able to get to her feet and continued on just fine at the dinner, after a little bit of rest. Another speechwriter, Eric Schnure, chimed in as well ... saying Dr. Fauci even posed with the woman afterward and confirmed she was, in fact, OK.

Just about everyone in Hollywood was at the Oscars on Sunday, and just about everyone else was at one of these two after-parties ... courtesy of Elton John and Vanity Fair.

These were the biggest shindigs in town post-award show -- and as you see, they were absolutely packed with star power. Not just actors, BTW, but musicians, comedians, models and socialites were dressed in their best getups.

Check out who showed up where ... over at the VF bash in Bev Hills, we saw faces like Jessica Alba, Jennifer Coolidge, Donald Glover, Trevor Noah, Naomi Watts, Tracee Ellis Ross, Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union, Michael Keaton, Queen Latifah, Olivia Wilde, Sarah Paulson, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen ... and even 2 politicos, Nancy Pelosi and Monica Lewinsky.

Meanwhile, out in WeHo, the Rocket Man himself was hosting an Oscars viewing party through his AIDS foundation ... and that, too, was flowing with glamorous A-listers.

Elton was able to get a solid crowd together himself ... people who swung by include Heidi Klum, Kathy Hilton, Christina Hendricks, Tiffany Haddish, Brooke Shields, Patricia Arquette, Smokey Robinson, Zooey Deschanel, Hilary Duff, Emma Watson and many more.

Of course, everyone there was also dressed to impress ... rocking gowns, suits, tuxes and everything fancy in between. Elton himself was in his traditional heart-shaped shades.

It's just the cherry on top for a pretty great night all around ... everybody seemed to be on their best behavior and was certainly having a ball as they celebrated filmmaking.

Like we told you, all the nominees were in quite the touchy-feely mood behind the scenes at the Dolby Theater itself -- but in a good and respectful way ... meaning, they were just bringing it in for hugs and kisses as they congratulated each other. No slaps or swings.

And, naturally, every person that made their big entrance in front of the cameras was also in their best Sunday 'fits ... with most everybody rocking fairly traditional, elegant outfits.

Not only were the nominees looking pristine ... but so were the presenters, all 40+ of 'em.

As for the highlights of the actual broadcast itself ... well, there were a lot. Ke Huy Quan (the kid from "The Goonies" and 'Temple of Doom') won an Oscar, as did Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Yeoh ... as did Brendan Fraser. They took home the top acting honors of the night.

Speaking of "Everything Everywhere All at Once," that movie swept just about every major category it was nominated in ... including Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Director(s) and Best Picture

Kane -- AKA Mayor Glenn Jacobs -- tells TMZ Sports he's focused on running his county right now ... but the WWE legend didn't rule out the possibility of holding other political offices in the future, saying he'd entertain the idea when the time is right.

We recently talked to Jacobs -- currently in his second term as the mayor of Knox County, TN -- and asked the WWE Hall of Famer whether he has ambitions of ascending the political ladder, and running for higher office like U.S. senator or governor.

"I don't know," Glenn said. "I'm just trying to do the best job I can as mayor right now. We'll leave that until the time comes."

Jacobs -- who's been a WWE Superstar since 1995 -- told us he's content in his current role, and wants people to remember him for the difference he's made in their lives through his policies and advocacy.

"What I want is pretty simple," Jacobs said. "People to understand that I cared about my community and wanted to do what I could to make it a better place. As mayor, you don't do that yourself, but what you can do is kind of lay out a vision and get people to the table and somewhat lead the way."

Glenn was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021, and says he didn't enter politics for personal gain, but rather to make Knox County "even better than it already is."

President Biden did away with Donald Trump's plans for a new look for Air Force One, and instead stuck with the classic aesthetic ... albeit, with a little shade -- a lighter one, that is.

The Air Force announced a new paint design that'll be applied to POTUS' main ride in the sky, and they say JB has decided to stick with the OG colors that have been around since the '60s, when JFK started using the jumbo jet and blue/white pattern we all know today.

As you can see ... Joe opted for a lighter blue. The way the Air Force describes it though is quite sophisticated ... they chalk up the differences this way ... "The light blue on VC-25B is a slightly deeper, more modern tone than VC-25A's robin's egg blue. Additionally, the VC-25B engines will use the darker blue from the cockpit area vice the VC-25A’s robin’s egg blue."

They also say there's no more polished metal on the new AF1 plane(s) -- which are being manufactured by Boeing -- because modern commercial skin alloys don't allow for it. 🤷🏽‍♂️

To the average bear, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference here -- at least not at first glance, anyway -- but the AF is insisting there are slight tweaks that make the new plane more efficient and effective. It's also a bit sleeker in appearance ... we'll give 'em that.

Now, as far as what the ex-Prez wanted a few years back -- namely, a completely different color scheme and design that resembled our national flag -- the Air Force says it wasn't going to work out due to technical difficulties and time. An easy decision for Biden, it seems.

Here's how the AF describes the problem with Trump's preference back then ... "The Air Force previously displayed a red, white, and blue livery for the VC-25B because it had been publicly expressed as a preferred livery in 2019. A thermal study later concluded the dark blue in the design would require additional Federal Aviation Administration qualification testing for several commercial components due to the added heat in certain environments."