Politics

Pro surfer Kai Lenny has stepped up in a major way after wildfires devastated Maui ... something he says he was forced to do after help from federal and local government never came.

"For some of us, we were kind of sitting back, waiting for help to arrive, but nothing was happening. We were sort of in shock," the 30-year-old Maui resident told CBS News.

Lenny, born and raised in Hawaii (Paia, Maui County), says he began receiving requests for assistance and knew he had to help.

"When I started getting texts and messages from friends on the other side saying, 'Hey, no one is here. Do you know anyone you can call? Can you help us?'"

That's when Kai and other locals started collecting resources, including jet skis and charter planes to transport supplies like clothing, medicine, and food.

Inexplicably, Lenny says the government initially intervened, blocking the airplane from transporting medicine like Insulin ... before ultimately relenting and approving the delivery.

As for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the organization says they have 300 people on the ground in Maui. The Red Cross also says they have 250 disaster workers in the area, too.

Despite what FEMA claims, Kai says he hasn't personally seen a government presence.

"I haven't seen one state, one county, one federal official at any one of the donation hubs where people are most suffering."

The death toll has already reached 99 people, but there are fears it will rise sharply in the coming days, as many people are still missing. Over one thousand structures have also burned to the ground, and the community is shaken.

Kanye West is again connected to presidential politics because his former publicist has been indicted along with Donald Trump for allegedly engaging in an organized conspiracy to overturn election results in Georgia.

Trevian Kutti, once a publicist for Kanye and R. Kelly, is on video trying to strongarm election worker Ruby Freeman to confess to police she engaged in election fraud by tampering with ballots -- a claim that has proven false.

Kutti allegedly went to Freeman's home and ID'd herself as a crisis manager, and somehow got the election worker to travel with her to the police station, where she is seen on body cam video, threatening Freeman with jail time.

Kutti has been charged with 3 crimes, including violating the RICO statute. A RICO conviction has a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison.

Donald Trump can't stop catching cases ... a Georgia grand jury just indicted him for 2020 election subversion -- now the fourth criminal case he's facing as he runs for President again.

The ex-POTUS has been hit with 13 counts from a Fulton County grand jury ... according to D.A. Fani Willis. She also announced indictments against 18 other co-conspirators with Trump ... including Rudy Giuiliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

The 97-page indictment includes a total of 41 counts ... among them, RICO (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization) charges -- meaning Trump allegedly engaged in organized crime activity for purpose of overturning the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

One key piece of evidence in the case is a January 2, 2021 phone call Trump made to then GA Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger ... imploring him to investigate alleged voting irregularities, and find more votes in Trump's favor.

Meadows, Giuliani and several other of Trump's lawyers -- and now alleged co-conspirators -- were on the call as well.

Remember, Trump has 3 other criminal cases that are currently pending ... one in New York state for an alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, a federal case pertaining to his classified documents scandal after leaving office, and another federal case tied to his alleged efforts to undermine the 2020 election with his actions on, before and after Jan. 6.

Trump's plead not guilty to the other cases, and he's still pushing ahead -- and leading all other GOP candidates -- with his 2024 presidential campaign, despite mounting legal woes.

There's no date set yet for his first court appearance in Georgia, but D.A. Willis said she would give Trump and the other defendants until Friday to surrender voluntarily.

Vivek Ramaswamy — a 2024 Republican Presidential candidate — is beating Donald Trump in at least one category — rapping!!

The fresh-faced businessman turned politician hit the stage at the Iowa State Fair during a campaign stop Saturday — and he wowed the packed crowd by belting out Eminem’s 2002 hit, “Lose Yourself.”

Check out the video … Vivek just kills it, grabbing the mic and spitting out the lyrics Slim Shady-style as the song played over the sound system. The fans loved it ... and some probably thought Vivek gave Em a little run for his money as a hip hop artist.

Before launching into his performance, Vivek revealed to the audience Em’s tune is his fave on the campaign trail; he always strolls out on stage to it, but this is the first time everyone has gotten a good hard look at Vivek's musical chops and he's pretty kick-ass.

Vivek is also kicking butt in the polls ... some recent assessments put Vivek in third place in his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Jason Aldean was able to get a little juice out of his right-leaning song -- and now, another guy's doing the same thing ... but he isn't even close to as famous, which is interesting.

The dude's name is Oliver Anthony, and he's a man-of-the-land living in Farmville, Virginia -- however, he's also a musician ... and a song he just released, "Rich Men North of Richmond,: is catching fire among conservatives all over the country ... in just a 24-hour window, too.

The reason ... the track (and the music video, too, it seems) is resonating with folks in a grassroots kind of way -- seeing how he's performing it out in the woods, and in a very stripped-down environment. Plus, yes ... OA definitely has talent -- a unique sound, indeed.

Now, as for the actual lyrics ... they seem to walk the line between the everyman, working-class American POV and far-right sentiments -- depends on how you look at it, we suppose.

Oliver addresses D.C. politicians -- without explicitly identifying a party -- sucking Americans dry and wanting total control of their lives ... while going on to lament social ills, including seemingly slamming the welfare system. He also appears to reference Jeffrey Epstein. 👀

In the wake of Oliver uploading this to streaming platforms, it looks like it's been spiking in sales -- with some sites showing it's #1 on iTunes ... meaning it's been purchased a crap-ton since it went up, but doesn't necessarily account for streaming numbers. Not yet, anyway.

Several right-wing influencers are praising Oliver's song/his passion, and some politicians are chiming in as well with a big thumbs up -- including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.

As for Oliver, he's overwhelmed by the attention -- saying he'll be performing locally for the time being. It remains to be seen if 'RMNOR' will have the same chart success Aldean recently experienced, but based on the groundswell already ... it's certainly possible.

This is a pretty fascinating trend we're seeing -- it appears when right-wingers perceive something (like a song) they think addresses their grievances/perspectives, they lean into it ... and, from the small sample size we've noticed, it can be effective in the marketplace.

Logan Paul is firing back at the critics of his ultra-popular Prime Energy drink ... saying he and his partners have done nothing wrong when it comes to the beverage -- while insisting its sister product is actually way better for consumers than Gatorade.

The WWE Superstar joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to give the 411 on his drinks straight from the horse's mouth ... and he brought along a bevvy of props to make sure his points were heard.

You'll recall ... Paul's energy drink came under fire earlier this year after United States Senator Chuck Schumer questioned whether it should be allowed due to its high caffeine content, but, the Maverick took aim at the critique Wednesday -- saying the bashing just makes no sense.

Paul said at 200 MG of caffeine per can, his Prime Energy drink actually features the same amount as Celsius and Gatorade's Fast Twitch. He also said it comes in with 100 MG less caffeine than Bang's similar energy drink.

As for the allegations that he and his team have been targeting teens with the beverage ... he said that, too, was just simply not true.

While he did say most of the advertising his company does is through social media -- he said those under the age of 18 make up only a small portion of his social media following. He also reiterated that his Prime Energy drinks say specifically on their labels that they're for those 18-years-and-older.

When it comes to the energy drink's sister product -- Prime Hydration -- Paul spoke glowingly about that beverage too ... touting its low sugar content.

"One 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 34 grams of sugar in it," he said. "To put that into perspective, one bottle of Prime only has two grams of sugar in it."

Senator Dianne Feinstein was at the hospital, TMZ has learned, after tripping and falling Tuesday in her home city of San Francisco.

We do not know how serious her injuries are ... only that she was taken to a nearby hospital. We're told she returned home Tuesday night.

The 90-year-old Senator has struggled with health issues over the last year. She was absent from the Senate for nearly 3 months earlier this year dealing with shingles, Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis.

She's also appeared confused ... telling a reporter upon her return she wasn't absent at all. She's also appeared confused at recent Senate hearings.

There have been quiet talks among Democrats and louder talks among Republicans for her to step down.

We reached out to the Senator's officer for comment ... so far, no word back.

Originally Published -- 6:36 AM PT

A woman on a family fishing trip in the Florida Keys sniffed out 70 pounds of cocaine floating in the coastal waters.

But this wasn't your average woman ... turns out the Mayor of Tampa made the shocking discovery with her loved ones off the Middle Keys City of Marathon.

Mayor Jane Castor, her brother, her son and his girlfriend spotted the package layered with bricks of cocaine bobbing in the water on July 23, according to a report Tuesday in the Tampa Bay Times.

Castor knew immediately what it was, thanks to her years of narcotics training as an ex-cop. She was also the former Tampa police chief.

Castor and her family lifted the bundle of blow onto their boat and transported it back to a dock near their vacation rental home.

The mayor then called the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, prompting deputies to immediately respond with two U.S. Border Patrol agents to seize the drugs.

Jason Aldean's new controversial song is anything but racist, and is simply being twisted into something it's not -- so say Shawn Booth and Chuck Wicks.

The "Bachelorette" alum and country star were chatting on the former's podcast -- "In the Booth with Shawn Booth" -- and they started talking politics, touching on how divided the country is. Eventually, they landed on the topic of Aldean's track, "Try That In a Small Town."

Chuck was quick to defend the song and its underlying message, which he says is incorrectly being labeled as hateful toward Black people -- arguing that couldn't be further from the truth.

Instead, he thinks it's just a song about solidarity in a community -- and the reason Jason used BLM looting footage is because it's the clearest, most recent example of storefronts and small businesses being destroyed en masse ... which Wicks says was objectively criminal and wrong.

He also says people quick to assign this to race are probably racists themselves.

Shawn pretty much cosigns everything Chuck says here, and they both agree the folks involved in writing the song and shooting the music video -- most of whom they know -- are not bigoted whatsoever.

Wick and Booth end up concluding the Aldean saga is just a microcosm of a larger issue of extremism in America right now -- where things are either black or white, or this and that. It's worth noting that Wicks is married to Jason's sister, Kasi Williams Morstad ... so, his opinion's hardly unbiased.

The Houston Astros got the VIP treatment at the White House on Monday to celebrate their World Series title ... and POTUS came with the jokes!!

80-year-old President Joe Biden welcomed the 2022 champions to 1600 Penn with a special ceremony minutes ago ... and he showed off his comedic side with a number of funny personal jabs throughout his speech.

The highlight of the day came when Biden praised 'Stros manager Dusty Baker ... revealing he was a fan of the legend during his playing career, even though he was six years his senior.

"Worst part was, I remember rooting for him as a kid, and I was older than he was," Biden said.

The crowd was into it ... laughing as #46 made the sign of the cross to cap off the joke.

But, Biden wasn't done poking fun at himself -- he also made a silly comparison to Baker working well into his 70s.

"People counted you out, saying you were past your prime. Hell, I know something about that!!"

Biden's age is something President Donald Trump mentioned numerous times during their heated 2020 presidential run ... despite there only being a three-year difference.

Mitch McConnell -- one of the most powerful politicians in the country -- was drowned out by calls to retire during a speech in Kentucky over the weekend.

The 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader -- who has been battling health issues for several years -- was giving a speech at the Fancy Farm Picnic in his home state of Kentucky Saturday when the crowd turned on him BIG TIME.

Check out the video ... McConnell -- a staunch Republican -- was taunted by his constituents in the heavily red state. For over a minute, people were loudly chanting, "Retire," while booing him.

But McConnell didn't seem to let it bother him as he carried on, finishing his address. The only problem was ... you couldn't hear anything he was saying over all the jeers from the audience.

McConnell has been struggling with health problems, which have spilled out into the open. During a recent press conference, McConnell froze up mid-sentence at a podium and stood there for more than 30 seconds with a blank stare on his face.

The Americans were bounced in the Women's World Cup -- and if you can believe it ... there are many here in the States who are celebrating their defeat, all because of politics.

For anyone who wants a true sense of how divided the USA is right now, go ahead and hop on Twitter to see the reactions to Megan Rapinoe and co. being beaten by Sweden in PKs Sunday ... which ends their World Cup run, and sees Rapinoe retire on a down note.

A ton of people -- mostly conservatives, it seems -- are crapping on the USWNT and arguing that the team, at large, is reaping what they've sown here ... citing political stances some have taken, including how they handled the National Anthem at the start of the tournament.

You'll recall ... several starters for Team USA stood in silence during the 'Star-Spangled Banner' during their opening match against Vietnam -- and it pissed a lot of folks off.

Of course, there were also comments Rapinoe made last year about trans athletes in women's sports -- which she unequivocally supported in fiery statements. That, too, rubbed a certain demographic the wrong way -- and now, a victory lap is being had at her expense.

This is a snapshot of where America is right now ... where culture wars dominate pretty much every aspect of pop culture, which are getting uglier and more contentious by the day.

On an objective level ... there are also some saying Team USA just wasn't up for going the distance this year, evidenced by their level of play and lack of effective offense. They squeaked by the early round ... and many felt other teams were simply better than us.

There was also a question about attitude ... something former USWNT star Carli Lloyd tore into the other day after the Americans seemed happy to settle for a 0-0 tie with Portugal.

Former President Donald Trump just pulled up for his latest indictment ... in which prosecutors say he tried to overthrow the 2020 election, leading to the January 6 riots.

Trump sat in the back of a black SUV Thursday in D.C. as it rolled up to the courthouse. It's tough to see him because of the vehicle's tint ... but he appeared to give a wave. BTW -- you'll be able to see him better if you hold your screen at a distance.

As we reported, DT's facing 4 new counts -- conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights (to vote).

Special Counsel Jack Smith spoke about Trump's latest indictment when it was unsealed on Tuesday ... saying Trump's involvement in the January 6 riots is a big part of their case. He was sounding pretty certain the feds have built a solid case against the former Prez.

You may recall, while President Trump was impeached for inciting the riots, he was acquitted when his case reached the Senate floor.

Trump took to Truth Social Tuesday -- before his new indictment went public -- to get ahead of the noise ... calling Smith "Deranged," saying the indictment is BS, and calling himself "your favorite President" in true Trump fashion.

Trump's already facing 2 other criminal cases ... one in NY state court about his alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels before he was elected, and another in federal court in Florida about his alleged efforts to conceal classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House.

His triple indictment doesn't seem to be slowing down his campaign for the 2024 election ... and we learned Trump could lose in court -- even get locked up in prison -- and still serve if elected. Imagine that.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, are waving the white flag -- sans maple leaf -- putting an end to 18 years of marriage.

The now estranged first couple posted joint statements Wednesday, saying, "After many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate."

They add, "We remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build."

According to a statement from Justin's office, given to CBC, they've already "signed a legal separation agreement." His office added the family is going on vacation starting next week, and despite the split, they will still all be together on the trip.

Donald Trump has another criminal case on his hands -- another grand jury has indicted him, this time for attempting to undermine the 2020 election with his actions on, before and after January 6, 2021.

The ex-President's been hit with 4 new counts -- conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to obstruct and official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights (to vote).

Trump took to Truth Social to beat the feds to the punch, announcing he would be indicted before the feds could drop the bombshell. Trump wrote, "I hear that Deranged (Special Counsel) Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M."

He adds, "Why didn’t they do this 2.5 years ago? Why did they wait so long? Because they wanted to put it right in the middle of my campaign. Prosecutorial Misconduct!"

Remember, Trump has two other criminal cases that are currently pending -- one pertains to his alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, and another is tied to his classified documents scandal post-presidency down in Florida.

In both instances, Trump has pleaded not guilty. Ya gotta assume, he'll do the same here.

Trump was impeached over his role in the Jan. 6 riot -- but was ultimately acquitted in Congress when the proceedings reached the Senate. He very memorably encouraged protesters that day to head on over to the Capitol, and was slow to tell them to stand down.

Interestingly, Trump's been full steam ahead on the campaign regardless of his legal woes -- he continues to hold rallies, including one this past weekend, as the 2024 election nears.

Trump has been summoned to appear in federal court Thursday in D.C. to face the new charges.

Justin Gaethje got congratulations messages from all kinds of people following his big win over Dustin Poirier ... but maybe the most notable to call was Donald Trump, who actually sent an invitation to the UFC star to golf with him as part of his well-wishes chat.

Gaethje said the former POTUS gave him a ring shortly after his stunning KO victory on Saturday night ... telling TMZ Sports the call was "awesome."

"He f***ing loves fighting, man," Gaethje said of No. 45. "He loves it."

The 34-year-old tells us ... Trump said he was proud of the performance that Gaethje put on -- while also saying "how impressive of a show it was."

Then, Gaethje said Trump told him he wanted to tee it up with him whenever he's in New York or Florida next.

Of course, the two have formed a good bond over the years ... you'll recall, Gaethe actually attended one of Trump's presidential rallies back in 2020 -- where Trump shouted out him and other UFC fighters in attendance during his speech. Seems their relationship has only grown stronger since.

As for what's next for Gaethje aside from a potential 18 holes with DT ... he told us there are plenty of options on the table -- including Charles Oliveira, Islam Makhachev ... and, yes, maybe even Conor McGregor.

Of the trio, Gaethje seemed to want Oliveira the most (assuming he's able to beat Makhachev in their title fight in October) -- telling us he'd love to avenge the loss he suffered at UFC 274 in 2022.