Politics

Cooper Koch, who played Erik Menendez in a Netflix series about the infamous Menendez murders, is showing support for the Menendez Brothers ... because he's in the house for a court hearing for their resentencing petition.

The "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" star was spotted Friday on his way into a courthouse in Van Nuys, in L.A. ... walking in arm-in-arm with his boyfriend.

At one point, Cooper -- wearing shades and a gray sweater -- stopped to talk to Erik's wife, Tammi Menendez, and Erik's adopted daughter, Talia Menendez.

Barbara Corcoran says President Trump's new tariffs spell bad news for folks hoping to buy a new home for an affordable price ... especially those who are less advantaged.

We got the "Shark Tank" star in New York City and our photog asked her about the impact of the Trump tariffs on the real estate market, where Barbara's a bit of an expert.

Barbara says the tariffs are jacking up prices on building materials like lumber and steel ... and that means prices for homes are going up too.

Rep. Darrell Issa is defending President Trump using the Justice Department to investigate his political foes ... and he says Trump's no worse than Joe Biden.

The Congressman from California joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about Trump directing the DOJ to look into a couple officials from his first term who ultimately became Trump critics.

Rep. Issa says Trump weaponizing the DOJ to go after political enemies isn't all that different from what Biden did with the DOJ in investigating Trump when Biden was in the White House.

More air-traffic control problems at Reagan National Airport ... a couple members of Congress say their plane just clipped wings with another commercial jet on the tarmac ... and this is the same airport where a Blackhawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines jet in January.

The incident happened Thursday on the runway in Washington, D.C. ... with New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer saying another plane struck the wing of the plane he was traveling on while waiting to take off.

New York Rep. Nick LaLota says he was aboard one of the planes as well ... he says they were stationary on the runway at DCA when "another plane just bumped into our wing," and he shared a photo from his window seat.

Kevin O'Leary is going for the jugular ... he wants President Trump to hammer China with massive tariffs and force Chinese President Xi Jinping to the bargaining table.

The "Shark Tank" star joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us why slapping tariffs on China is not about bringing manufacturing back to the United States, but more about forcing a trade deal and getting China to finally play by the rules.

Kevin says China's been lying, cheating and stealing when it comes to technology and trade for years now ... and he wants Trump to hit them where it hurts -- with a 400% tariff.

4:38 PM PT -- Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman tells TMZ ... "In denying parole for Sirhan Sirhan ... Governor Newsom took into account his young age at the time of the crime (24), his lack of any prior arrests or convictions, his difficult upbringing in the war-torn Middle East, his success in getting college degrees and engaging in rehabilitation in prison, his risk score which was the lowest on the scale, his age (77 years old), his diminished health, and the amount of time in prison (54 years).

He continues ... "Notwithstanding those factors, Governor Newsom stated that his lack of full insight into actions and taking complete responsibility for them overweighed the other facts to show that he remained an unreasonable risk of danger to society. Sirhan Sirhan never made up a self-defense defense, never suborned or attempted to suborn perjury, and never lied repeatedly at trial under oath."

He concludes ... "In contrast, while the Menendez brothers have many of the same positive characteristics of Sirhan Sirhan in favor of parole or resentencing, they have never accepted responsibility for lying about their self-defense defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury concerning their fabrications of stories of their father violently raping Lyle's girlfriend, their mother trying to poison the family, and their friend supposedly giving them a handgun the day before the murders. As a result, if Sirhan remains an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, then so too do the Menendez brothers -- who have never come fully clean of their lies in over 30 years -- constitute an unreasonable risk of danger to the community."

Sirhan Sirhan's lawyer is calling out Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman ... saying the new D.A. is getting some bad information about RFK's alleged assassin.

Hochman's been trying to use the Sirhan case to keep the Menendez Brothers behind bars in their bid for freedom ... but Sirhan's attorney tells us Hochman is confused about some basic facts.

Angela Berry, who represents Sirhan, tells TMZ ... Hochman is pushing a common misperception about Sirhan when he says Sirhan admitted to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and then later claimed his innocence, and she says Hochman is making an unfair comparison to Erik and Lyle.

D.L. Hughley is ripping Bill Maher for breaking bread with President Trump at the White House ... and he says they're sounding a little too similar these days, at least to his ears.

The comedian joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and we asked him about Bill's recent visit to the White House, where he sat down for dinner with Trump.

D.L. says Bill is wasting his time if he's trying to raise an issue with Trump ... because he feels POTUS is a purely transactional fella who is only concerned about getting something for himself in anything he does.

Harriet Tubman’s family is fired up after the National Park Service quietly yanked her photo and quote from the Underground Railroad web page, among other edits... calling it a total slap in the face to Black history, which they stress is American history -- period.

Tubman's relative Rita Daniels -- author, speaker, and founder of the Harriet Tubman Learning Center -- tells TMZ she was shocked by the move, which came amid President Trump’s anti-DEI push, pointing out Tubman played a key role in shaping U.S. history ... particularly helping escaped slaves find their way to freedom, as well as helping the Union during the Civil War. The edited page also removed references to the history of enslavement in the U.S., aside from a single caption ... before public outcry prompted their restoration.

Rita's asking the big question -- why is Black history such a threat to certain people? And why are they trying to erase Black history from America's story? She notes first the administration removed Dept. of Defense references to Jackie Robinson, and then the Tuskegee Airmen.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent some love to Alex Ovechkin on Monday ... after the hockey superstar broke Wayne Gretzky's longstanding all-time NHL goal record!

"I congratulate you on your outstanding record. You have surpassed legendary masters in the number of goals scored in National Hockey League regular-season games," Putin said of the Moscow-born athlete in a statement released by the Kremlin.

Putin described the historic accomplishment as "not only your personal success, but also a real celebration for fans in Russia and abroad."

The Florida man who was arrested for threatening on Facebook to fatally shoot President Trump last week posed for a mug shot after cops cuffed him -- and he looks like an older surfer dude with a 5 o'clock shadow.

Glenn DeCicco, 73, got his 15 minutes of infamy by mugging for the camera as police snapped his booking photo Friday night in Jupiter, FL, where he lives.

Check it out ... DeCicco looks like your average beach-lover, with sandy hair and a bunch of stubble on his face. You would never guess that he'd be the guy responsible for posting assassination threats on social media.

Fyre Festival 2.0 will not go down in Playa del Carmen, Mexico next month, and the organizers say it's because they got royally screwed by the Mexican government.

TMZ has obtained text messages sent by a Fyre Fest event producer saying they've been backstabbed by Mexican officials. Not mincing words, the event producer says, "They f***ed us."

According to the event producer, the government is acting like they had no idea the festival was going down in May ... "They [the government] posted on X, Instagram etc giving their blessing and support and then yesterday they say we've never heard of them its hilarious."

The artist of the Donald Trump's portrait in the Colorado Capitol Building is firing back at the president's claims she distorted his image for political reasons ... insisting she didn't do that, and adding his comments have hurt her career.

Sarah A. Boardman -- the artist who painted the controversial portrait of the Commander-In-Chief -- finally released a statement Saturday firing back at President Trump after he claimed she "must have lost her talent as she got older."

Boardman says the Colorado State Capitol Advisory Committee, Denver commissioned her to paint the portrait ... and the committee signed off on all progress photos she provided along the way as well as the final product itself.

President Trump's no-nonsense Attorney General Pam Bondi has made it clear she wants Luigi Mangione executed for allegedly committing murder — and, if she gets her way, the 26-year-old Ivy League grad faces a torturous fate, TMZ has learned.

TMZ interviewed University of Richmond Law Professor Corinna Lain, who provided us with a road map of what Luigi can potentially expect if he is federally convicted of stalking and murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

The federal prosecutor presents aggravating factors to the court after a conviction, and the jury must unanimously agree on those factors before the judge decides whether to impose the death penalty. In federal cases, the death penalty typically results in lethal injection.

Barack Obama is getting candid about his relationship with his wife Michelle Obama ... and revealing some of their marital challenges.

The former president was talking to students at Hamilton College on Thursday when he told the crowd he "was in a deep deficit with my wife" after 8 years in the White House.

Barack added ... "I have been trying to dig myself out of that hole by doing occasionally fun things."

Kamala Harris was so stunned by her election day loss to Donald Trump she couldn't even put her defeat into words, and she felt like Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi let her down ... according to a revealing new book about her failed presidential bid.

Author and journalist Amie Parnes joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" for an inside look at the Harris campaign, from start to finish ... telling us when Trump was declared the winner, Kamala was in absolute shock at her Naval Observatory residence.

Tim Walz was equally stunned as he got the bad news in his Washington D.C. hotel room ... and Amie says Harris and Walz both believed they would beat Trump and J.D. Vance.

Kamala Harris is calling out DC law firms -- especially the one employing her husband Doug Emhoff -- for kissing President Trump's ring by giving his administration over $100 million in pro bono legal services.

The former VP gave a fiery speech Thursday at the Leading Women Defined Summit, where she appeared to diss Willkie Farr & Gallagher -- the former Second Husband's firm -- just days after it agreed to provide unpaid legal work during Trump's time in office and beyond.

Kamala's take on it is clear, as she said, "There is a sense of fear that has been taking hold in our country. And I understand it. But we’re seeing people stay quiet."