Politics

Kristi Noem said Donald Trump has directed her to pause the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program -- also known as the green card lottery -- on her X account on Thursday evening.

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary wrote Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, who police say killed two and wounded nine others in a campus shooting at Brown University last weekend, entered the United States from Portugal through the green card lottery.

Police say Valente also killed MIT professor Nuno Loureiro before taking his own life days later. The two men attended the same university in Portugal.

Noem described Valente as a "heinous individual" and wrote he never should have been granted entry to the United States.

The diversity lottery immigrant visa program makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available each year, according to the USCIS website. Visas are issued randomly to individuals from countries with lower rates of immigration to the United States.

Noem cited the perpetrator of a 2017 truck-ramming attack in New York City that killed eight people as prompting Trump's first-term attempt at ending the program.

Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan was convicted Thursday on a felony charge of obstructing federal agents as they attempted to arrest an undocumented immigrant outside her Milwaukee courtroom earlier this year.

Dugan was acquitted of a charge of concealing a person from arrest, the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal reports. The split verdict came after nearly seven hours of deliberation by the jury of five women and seven men.

Dugan, 66, is facing up to five years in prison, and as a convicted felon, will likely not be able to retain her office as a judge following her conviction.

In April, Dugan was preparing to preside over a set of misdemeanor cases when she learned ICE agents were gathered outside her courtroom waiting to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant who was facing domestic battery charges.

Dugan went into the hallway and told the agents to go to a different judge's office. Back in her courtroom, Dugan told Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave through a side door for staff. Agents saw Flores-Ruiz in a public hallway, chased him on foot and arrested him. A week later, Dugan was arrested and led out of the courthouse in handcuffs. Flores-Ruiz was later deported.

Dugan was subsequently placed on administrative leave and was temporarily removed from the bench, although she continued to collect her salary.

Steve Biskupic, one of the lawyers who represented Dugan, said the case was "a long way from over." Her legal team plans to appeal the verdict.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to fast-track the reclassification of cannabis, which will allow the Food and Drug Administration to further study the medicinal effects of marijuana.

POTUS signed the order Thursday signaling his intention to reclassify cannabis -- currently classified Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act -- to Schedule III.

Drugs with high potential for abuse, including heroin and ecstasy, are controlled under Schedule I, while Schedule III-level substances, such as testosterone, ketamine or Tylenol with codeine, typically have lower potential for abuse.

The order directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to finish up the formal rescheduling process, which has reportedly been stretching on for more than a year.

Trump made remarks about the executive order at the Oval Office on Thursday, describing the order as "having to do with common sense," and said the order is an effort to help people with chronic pain, NBC News reports.

The President did point out the order does not legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and does not reclassify the drug.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino announced Wednesday he'll be stepping down and leaving the agency.

The former podcaster wrote he will leave the Bureau in January, and thanked President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and FBI Director Kash Patel for "the opportunity to serve with purpose."

Patel posted on X Bongino's actions "far exceeded" what was expected of him during his tenure with the FBI.

Sources told ABC News Bongino had been telling colleagues about his plans to leave and he'd been cleaning out his office.

Bianca jumped out of her 20s and into a bathtub -- completely nude -- for her 30th birthday.

The black-and-white video, taken by husband Kanye, came just before the two reportedly split for a brief couple of months.

Before officially confirming their romance, the pop star and former Canadian Prime Minister were seen dining together at swanky Montreal hotspot Le Violon.

During his national televised address Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump announced 1,450,000 military service members will receive a one-time payment of $1,776 -- which he described as a "warrior dividend" -- before Christmas.

The President said checks were being sent out in recognition of the United States' founding in 1776.

He said the checks were already on their way to service members. Trump said the "warrior dividends" were being funded by his controversial tariffs.

ICE’s aggressive immigration raids are still disrupting cities across the country ... and shocking new video shows just how violent agents are getting ... with agents seen dragging a pregnant woman in the snow and slush-covered street.

As you can see, the woman was pinned down, slapped in handcuffs, and dragged by her arm by an ICE agent in South Minneapolis Monday as a crowd gathers to confront the agents in a heated scene -- as angry neighbors repeatedly shouted that woman is expecting.

The panicked agents could clearly hear the desperate pleas, but chose to ignore them ... because beyond the disturbing footage of her being dragged, another clip shows another ICE agent kneeling on the woman as she lay on the ground.

President Donald Trump has classified fentanyl -- and many of the chemicals used in the narcotic's production -- weapons of mass destruction.

Trump issued an executive order regarding the drug Monday, describing fentanyl as "closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic."

The order proclaims the deadly substance is predominantly manufactured and distributed by organized criminal organizations, and has the potential to be utilized for "concentrated, large-scale terror attacks."

Mick Foley says he's had enough of WWE's cozy relationship with Donald Trump -- POTUS' comments on Rob Reiner's death were the last straw -- and now the wrestling legend says he's done with the world's most famous wrestling promotion.

The Hall of Fame wrestler hit up his Instagram page on Tuesday, where he made the announcement, saying ... "Reading the President’s incredibly cruel comments in the wake of Rob Reiner’s death is the final straw for me."

"I no longer wish to represent a company that coddles a man so seemingly void of compassion as he marches our country towards autocracy. Last night, I informed @WWE talent relations that I would not be making any appearances for the company as long as this man remains in office."

Marjorie Taylor Greene's been off the market for a few years, and now she's really locking it down with Brian Glenn -- because they're engaged!

The news about the soon-to-be ex-U.S. Representative from Georgia was shared by her future husband on X on Monday in a photo of him sitting in a restaurant next to Greene, who showed off her new engagement ring, writing "She said ‘yes’. 💍"

Just in case there was any doubt about her future marital status, Greene reshared the photo and wrote she'd found her "happily ever after."

FYI ... Brian first spotted Marjorie at a rally for Donald Trump back in 2022, and they began dating the following year, reports the Washington Post.

The two got close over the next few years, although they faced a hurdle earlier this year when Greene began breaking from Trump, who later began outright denouncing her former political ally. Glenn is the White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice, a conservative news outlet.

Glenn, who's made no secret of his support for POTUS, told the Washington Post he'd ultimately pick his future bride over 47 if it really came down to it -- and said he'd be following her back to Georgia after she finishes out her time in Washington, D.C. next year.

Politics 101: When the talking stops working, the insults start flying ... and sometimes the fists do too ... case in point, this Mexico City Congress session that went completely off the rails Monday!

You’ve gotta see this video -- the chamber podium turned into a full-on WWE ring as female lawmakers started shoving each other, one delivering a back-of-the-head slap ... and got repaid with a savage hair yank.

That sparked a full chain reaction -- the women in the back jumped in, swinging and shoving, turning the whole chamber into pure chaos ... while one guy stuck in the middle, cracking an awkward smile.

Donald Trump’s second term keeps sparking serious WTF moments ... now his chief of staff says his erratic behavior boils down to having "an alcoholic’s personality."

Trump’s former campaign boss and current chief of staff Susie Wiles spills it all in a Vanity Fair tell-all, explaining her analogy ... saying Trump operates like he can do no wrong -- a mindset that seems to mirror the reckless, impulsive behavior often associated with alcoholism.

For the record -- Trump’s late brother Fred Trump Jr. struggled with alcoholism, though Trump himself doesn’t drink. Still, it looks like Susie knows the disease well ... her own father battled alcoholism too.

Barack and Michelle Obama had plans to meet with Rob and Michele Reiner on Sunday night before it was known they had been savagely murdered in their Los Angeles home.

Michelle sat down Monday with Jimmy Kimmel on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" -- and, at one point, the two started talking about the Reiners ... with Michelle taking a veiled shot at President Trump.

Jimmy kicked things off by pointing out that Barack and Michelle were friends with the Reiners -- and he offered his condolences. Michelle discussed how she and Barack had been chummy with the Reiners for many years, and they were supposed to get together Sunday night just hours after the couple was found dead.

Michelle then took an obvious swipe at Trump for what most people viewed as despicable comments about the Reiners after their murders. Just check out the clip for yourself.

Donald Trump is doubling down on his jaw-dropping claim that Rob Reiner might still be alive if he'd been nicer about him -- branding the acclaimed director a bad influence on the United States.

Asked Monday in the Oval Office about Republicans blasting his earlier remarks following their tragic deaths, Trump vehemently declared he was no fan of Reiner and re-upped his earlier jab, insisting RR was suffering from "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

Trump went on to claim Reiner made false statements about him -- including accusations of being controlled by Russia -- making it clear he’s well aware Reiner has long been politically opposed to him and, in Trump’s view, undermining his leadership.

Soledad O'Brien stopped by "TMZ Live" Monday, still reeling from the loss of her collaborator Rob Reiner and his wife Michele ... and Soledad had some choice words for Donald Trump's disparaging post about the late actor-director.

Soledad got to know Rob well while co-hosting the 10-part true-crime podcast series, "Who Killed JFK?"

She tells TMZ, Rob was kind to everyone ... "The person who was taking in the audio, the person who was shooting, the person who was producing, the person who was helping the person who was producing, the assistants ... absolutely the kindest human being."

In fact, Soledad described Rob and his wife as "two really wonderful, kind people," making their gruesome deaths all the more heartbreaking.

"It's so horrific," Soledad said. "I honestly cannot believe it."

Donald Trump and Steve Bannon must've known Jeffrey Epstein was sex trafficking and abusing girls, because Epstein proudly displayed photos of his victims ... so says one of the members of the U.S. House Oversight Committee that's been releasing photos and documents from the Epstein estate.

In a recent photo dump, there's an image of Bannon and Epstein sitting at a desk ... and on the desk is a framed photograph of what appears to be a young girl passed out on a couch.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, a Democrat from Virginia who sits on the committee, tells TMZ ... the creepy snap of Bannon and Epstein backs up what victims have said about the late pedophile -- that he displayed his trafficking and abuse for everyone to see and wasn't shy about it -- and that makes it "hard for us to believe that people like Bannon and Trump didn't know, particularly Bannon."