Politics

The Department of War has ordered the destruction of another boat allegedly carrying "narco-terrorists" ... and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released video of the fatal strike on social media.

Hegseth posted the clip Wednesday morning ... explaining in the caption the strike went down Tuesday, and was carried out on a boat operated by a member of a "Designated Terrorist Organization" -- though he doesn't specify which one -- cutting through the water in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The video shows the boat moving at a high speed ... before it's stopped abruptly by a barrage of missiles. A massive fireball engulfs the ship and burns atop the water before the 23-second clip ends.

Melania Trump's legal battle with journalist Michael Wolff  is getting uglier ... and Wolff says he can't wait to ask Melania and President Donald Trump about Jeffrey Epstein under oath.

Here's the deal ... Wolff filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the First Lady, claiming she threatened to sue him over public statements he's made linking her to the notorious pedophile Epstein.

We reached out to the Office of the First Lady of the United States ... and they told us, "First Lady Melania Trump is proud to continue standing up to those who spread malicious and defamatory falsehoods as they desperately try to get undeserved attention and money from their unlawful conduct."

Graham Platner revealed he got some fresh new ink ... to cover up a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol.

Platner, an oyster farmer in Maine who's currently running for U.S. Senate, caught plenty of heat this week when a video resurfaced showing him dancing shirtless at a wedding ... with a skull-and-crossbones tattoo visible on his chest, according to the Associated Press. The tattoo is of the Totenkopf, a "death's head" symbol used by Nazi SS officers in WWII and white supremacists since.

It's no secret Jen Psaki's not a fan of the Trump administration ... and one of her main concerns is actually JD Vance.

Psaki shared a few choice words about the vice president on Tuesday's episode of the "I've Had It" podcast ... she declared he is actually "scarier" than POTUS.

Psaki said Vance is willing to do whatever it takes to gain more political power -- including bending the knee to his own supporters when he felt it was necessary.

President Trump's White House dug up an 8-year-old, uber-controversial video to commemorate the start of the NBA Season ... posting a clip of POTUS infamously tossing paper towel rolls at people in Puerto Rico.

The video came from the official White House X account, with 2.9 followers, and showed a montage of Trump from his October 3, 2017, visit to Puerto Rico -- when he threw the rolls into the packed crowd -- set to Roundball Rock, NBC's famed NBA theme song.

The post was captioned, "President Trump knows ball."

Prince Andrew has had a rough time lately ... first, he stripped himself of most of his royal titles, and now he's on the verge of being asked to testify before Congress about his alleged association with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, as you know, was linked to Epstein after an infamous 2001 photo surfaced showing him standing with his arm around a teenage Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's most prominent victims, who died by suicide this year.

In the pic, Epstein's girlfriend and confidante Ghislaine Maxwell -- who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for child sex trafficking -- is standing behind them with a smile. Ever since the release of the photo, Andrew has been in the doghouse with the royals and trying to dodge legal pitfalls.

Now, Stephen Lynch, a Massachusetts Democratic Representative on the House Oversight Committee, wants to invite Andrew to the U.S. Congress to talk about his purported involvement in the Epstein scandal.

Melania Trump is being dragged into a legal battle with journalist Michael Wolff -- who has filed a lawsuit accusing the First Lady of threatening to take legal action against him over public statements he made linking her to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

According to new court documents, obtained by TMZ, Wolff says Melania sent him the October 15 letter demanding he "immediately retract" certain comments he made to the Daily Beast for an article that ran on the news outlet's website.

Wolff told the Daily Beast ... Melania was "very involved" in the Epstein scandal and could be the missing link in President Trump's ties to Epstein, among other things.

10/21 3:45 PM PT -- Denver Police clarified to TMZ Tuesday ... the man arrested this weekend, Jose Cardenas, is actually the person suspected of stealing the victim's glasses off his face ... Cardenas is not the man suspected of tripping the victim in the street.

A Denver Police rep said ... "Cardenas is now under investigation for Theft from a Person and not Second Degree Assault." The person who tripped the victim remains unidentified, and police are asking for the public's help in identifying him.

A "No Kings" demonstrator has been arrested after cops say he's the guy who tripped a man who yelled out a gay slur at protesters in a video now going viral.

President Donald Trump is reportedly demanding the U.S. Department of Justice fork over about $230 million as compensation for its previous criminal investigations of him ... this according to a report from The New York Times.

POTUS is reportedly angry about being investigated by the DOJ, and he's looking to collect a bunch of money for what he thinks were violations of his rights.

It's important to note 47 hasn't filed any lawsuits against the DOJ, and is apparently pursuing the complaints through an administrative claim process ... which often come before actual lawsuits.

10/21 -- 6:33 AM PT -- The White House Communications Office is saying our story is not true. We stand by our story. Our story is accurate.

Donald Trump is considering commuting Diddy's sentence as early as this week, according to a high-ranking White House official.

According to our source, the President is "vacillating" on a commutation. We're told some of the W.H. staff are urging Trump not to commute the sentence. But, our source states the obvious -- "Trump will do what he wants," and we're told Trump could set Diddy free as early as this week.

Diddy is serving a 50-month prison sentence for violating the Mann Act. He's served 13 months, and with credit, he could get out in around 2 years -- but none of that matters if Trump commutes his sentence.

Bad Bunny might be the most controversial Super Bowl Halftime Show artist ever ... but Shakira doesn't quite see what all the backlash is about.

The Queen of Latin Music told Variety, "It's about time!"

Shakira said she's proud of BB ... not only for representing Latin culture, but also for how universal Spanish-language music has become.

It's official, folks ... demolition has begun on the White House's East Wing as part of President Donald Trump's plan for constructing a new ballroom.

Construction workers tore down the facade of the East Wing on Monday, and the demolition was overseen by several members of the Secret Service as it took place, according to The Washington Post ... the massive hole and the interior of the White House was visible to the public.

Trump was nearby attending an event held in another part of the White House, to honor the Louisiana State University and LSU Shreveport baseball teams, and he did let the attendees know they might hear the sounds of demolition.

The President posted about the project on Truth Social, describing the construction of the ballroom as "much-needed."

FYI ... the East Wing is typically reserved for the First Lady's activities -- in this case, Melania Trump -- and her team. Staffers stationed in the East Wing were relocated prior to the start of demolition.

Trump stated his new ballroom would be able to hold up to 900 people, even though the initial plans only accounted for a maximum capacity of 650, according to NBC News. The construction began even without approval from the National Capital Planning Commission, which approves construction and renovations to D.C. government buildings, NPR reports.

One of President Donald Trump's hand-picked U.S. Attorneys -- who is currently prosecuting New York Attorney General Letitia James -- reportedly texted with a journalist to complain about her coverage of the high-profile case ... and then tried to walk back the remarks.

According to a new report ... Lawfare's Anna Bower put on blast Lindsey Halligan -- the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Trump's former personal attorney -- after Halligan allegedly texted her on the Signal app October 11, slamming her reporting on the case against James.

As everyone knows, there's no love lost between Trump and James ... they both despise each other. You may recall ... in 2022, James sued Trump, claiming he overstated the value of his business assets to get favorable loans. She won the $450 million suit, but an appeals court later threw out the financial penalty.

Donald Trump's looking out for the White House Press Corps ... warning one photog to watch his camera -- 'cause it got pretty close to shattering a very old mirror.

The President of the United States was chatting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House Monday ... when he spoke to one of the camera operators -- telling them to be careful around a mirror in the back.

DJT says, "You better watch that. You're not allowed to break that" -- a good-natured barb that got a chuckle out of the room ... and Trump then followed it up by revealing the mirror's not a cheapie from Target. It's actually 400 years old!

George Santos says he's taken inventory of his life after a nearly six-week stint in solitary ... and, he's got a new mission after President Trump commuted his sentence and set him free.

The former New York Congressman joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday ... and, he gave us the rundown on his time in the clink, which he says gave him a ton of time to think about his past mistakes -- especially while he spent 41 days in the special housing unit.

Santos says he's embarrassed by the lies he told and his own duplicitous nature ... and, he watched his whole life like a movie in his own head -- running through each and every mistake. During this time, Santos says he fell back on his own religion, and he thinks he's square with the big guy upstairs now.

Charlie Kirk's memorial cost taxpayers a pretty penny to keep safe ... 'cause we've learned the United States Secret Service paid an event company millions to secure the perimeter.

We've obtained documents that show the Secret Service paid ARCUS Group, LLC -- a full-service event management and disaster relief aid company -- was paid $2,677,416.19 to protect the perimeter of the ceremony at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

ARCUS has experience with perimeter protection at high-profile events. Their website touts their past perimeter protection jobs which include President Donald Trump's 2021 inauguration ... so, clearly the administration feels confident in the services they provide.