Politics

Journalist Laura Jedeed should be considered a domestic terrorist, according to the Donald Trump administration's warped metric ... but she tells "TMZ Live," she was hired by ICE anyway!

This is a wild story ... Laura was curious about how diligent the Dept. of Homeland Security is about screening ICE candidates during the agency's current hiring surge ... so she took a skills-based resume to a jobs event to find out how she'd fare.

Despite maintaining an online portfolio chock-full of Trump hate and anti-ICE sentiment, Jedeed -- who says she has her own page on an Antifa watch website -- passed ICE's shoddy screening process with flying colors.

President Donald Trump is threatening to cut funding to states with sanctuary cities, a move that could affect a sizable portion of the United States ... though he's tried it before, unsuccessfully.

POTUS reaffirmed his desire to stop the payments during a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, and claimed "sanctuary cities" -- places that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities -- "do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens," reports NBC News.

Trump alleged the policies of sanctuary cities encourage "fraud and crime and all of the other problems that come." He didn't give any specific details ... but he did warn the effects on funding for states would be "significant."

This isn't the first time Trump has threatened to cut funding to sanctuary cities ... he attempted to do so in 2017, although his attempt was struck down in court.

Trump issued an executive order last year directing officials to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities, but his effort was ultimately shot down by a California judge.

2:45 PM PT -- White House Communications Director Steven Cheung tells TMZ ... "A lunatic was wildly screaming expletives in a complete fit of rage, and the President gave an appropriate and unambiguous response."

Donald Trump turned into Donald Grump during a Tuesday appearance at a Ford plant ... launching into an F-bomb attack on a worker who appeared to yell "pedophile protector" at the Prez.

47 toured the Ford F-150 plant at the Detroit Economic Club before giving a speech ... while walking the factory floor on his tour, someone began shouting at Trump. It's hard to make out the full sentence shouted at Trump, but it seems to have included the words "pedophile protector."

The angry worker is obviously referencing Trump's association with late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein ... and the Dept. of Justice's slow release of the infamous Epstein Files.

TJ Sabula, the Ford plant worker who yelled "pedophile protector" at President Donald Trump during his visit, has the full backing of his powerful union amid a paid suspension ... and they're fighting to keep his job.

United Auto Workers Union Vice President Laura Dickerson tells TMZ ... "[TJ Sabula] believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."

Dickerson adds ... "The UAW will ensure that our member receives the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have put steak near the top of the food chain ... but even he knows President Donald Trump eats like a stoner on death row.

The Health and Human Services Secretary opened up about his boss's outrageous diet during an interview with Katie Miller -- the wife of Deputy Chief of Staff and Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller -- on her podcast.

When asked, "Who has the most unhinged eating habits?" RFK Jr. knew immediately ... "The president."

According to RFK Jr. ... "He eats really bad food, which is McDonald's and candy and Diet Coke. He drinks the Diet Coke at all times. He has the constitution of a deity."

A pair of GoFundMe campaigns for TJ Sabula have collectively received more than $350,000 for the suspended Ford worker ... all within 24 hours of him calling President Donald Trump a "pedophile protector" to Trump's face.

FYI ... TJ hurled the insult at 47 during the president's visit to a Ford manufacturing plant in Michigan on Tuesday ... and POTUS responded with a concise "f*** you" and flipped off Sabula.

TJ later said he doesn't have any regrets about it, although he is concerned about his future job prospects, as Ford suspended him without pay.

This is where the GoFundMe campaigns come in ... one campaign's organizer -- who described herself as a "longtime personal friend" of TJ's family -- set a goal of $10,000 for her campaign ... which has since received more than $100,000 in donations.

That campaign's funds will apparently go directly to help TJ and his family cover expenses in the aftermath.

The other GoFundMe campaign was organized with a loftier goal of $250,000 ... and it's since raised more than $270,000 for the suspended worker.

The worker who yelled "pedophile protector" at President Donald Trump during his visit to a Ford plant in Michigan Tuesday has been suspended.

The suspended worker has been identified as 40-year-old TJ Sabula, the United Auto Workers Union confirms to TMZ. Sabula admitted to The Washington Post to being the individual who shouted at the prez.

Sabula told the Washington Post ... "I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity. And today I think I did that."

It's unclear if his suspension is paid ... the union tells TMZ they are exploring next steps.

Charlie Kirk's assassination inspired some sick users to create online missions depicting the tragic shooting in "Grand Theft Auto Online" ... but, the game's parent company says the scenarios are now banned.

Here's the deal ... videos surfaced on social media recently showing a mission titled "We Are Charlie Kirk" where the player grabs a sniper rifle and shoots an NPC standing under a canopy on the University of San Andreas, Los Santos campus.

It's meant to parody Charlie's appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT, back in September ... when he was shot and killed.

The Pentagon used a military aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane to attack a boat off the coast of Venezuela in September -- the Trump administration claimed the boat was transporting drugs -- and that deception violates international law, The New York Times reports.

This is one of the attacks that is already controversial -- after the initial bombing, a second strike was ordered, killing two survivors who were clinging to the hull of the destroyed boat. That is considered a war crime.

The bombing of unconfirmed criminal suspect boats and their occupants is also legally questionable in international maritime law.

The aircraft used in the Sept. 2, 2025 attack -- which killed 11 people -- reportedly flew low enough for the boat's passengers to see it ... meaning they would have been under the impression it was a civilian plane. The plane's munitions were also concealed, according to the report.

Legal specialists told the NYT that's vital ... as the laws of armed conflict prohibit combatants from pretending to be civilians to trick adversaries into lowering their defenses before attacking them, which is a war crime known as "perfidy."

The type of aircraft used in the attack hasn't been publicly revealed.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly issued a statement defending the strike -- President Donald Trump has called these attacks acts of war against drug cartels -- and described it as "fully consistent with the law of armed conflict."

OnlyFans models need to do something more productive with their lives, a Florida gubernatorial candidate says ... and he wants them to literally pay for their "sins."

We spoke to James Fishback -- a candidate running for governor of The Sunshine State -- who is proposing a 50% tax on income brought in by OF stars living in the state.

Fishback says his proposed "Sin Tax" is meant to deter young women from selling their bodies online ... which he says is something they're compelled to do by society's objectification of them -- not as a choice.

He specifically calls out Sophie Rain, the popular content creator who rakes in millions of dollars per year in the state ... saying he thinks she could be a nurse or teacher, or homemaker, instead of posing naked for money.

Stephen A. Smith was on the ESPN airwaves Tuesday morning when he had quite the slip of the tongue while breaking down the Texans' playoff win over the Steelers ... mistakenly referring to Houston's star wide receiver as Charlie Kirk.

"We saw Charlie Kirk catch 8 receptions for 144 yards," SAS said on "First Take," before host Shae Cornette corrected him.

"I'm sorry. Christian. I apologize. I apologize. Oh my God. Christian Kirk," Stephen A. quickly responded.

Clearly, Smith meant no harm by what he said -- the guy spends hours and hours talking each week, and mistakes happen.

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee is looking to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress, according to its chairman ... after the former president didn't show up for a deposition about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein.

Oversight Committee Chair James Comer spoke to reporters Tuesday morning and announced he would move to hold the former President, who served from 1993 to 2001, in contempt next week, reports NBC News. If a panel vote moves it forward, the contempt would need a full House vote to proceed. Then the Dept. of Justice would decide whether to pursue it.

Bill and Hillary were scheduled by the committee to be deposed Tuesday and Wednesday ... but the Clintons sent a letter to Comer stating they would not show up, pointing out they've already made sworn statements.

The Clintons wrote they expected to be held in contempt for their decision ... and claimed the subpoenas they'd been sent were "invalid and legally unenforceable," reports The New York Times.

The House Oversight Committee announced it had sent the Clintons deposition subpoenas last August, and their depositions were originally scheduled for last October.

Bill's received scrutiny for his connection to Epstein over the years, and photos featuring the him have appeared in newly released photos from the Epstein Files. Other powerful political, business and entertainment figures, including President Donald Trump, have also been closely associated with Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted pedophile. The Dept. of Justice has said less than 1 percent of the Epstein Files have been released, despite a December legal deadline.

Sam Asghari went all in for his roots ... storming the streets of Los Angeles to stand loud, proud, and unmissable in support of the Iranian people.

In an IG video posted Sunday night, the Iranian-born model showed himself waving the Iranian flag shoulder to shoulder with massive crowds in L.A., home to one of the largest Iranian-American communities in the country.

Sam and the crowd gathered near the federal building in Westwood ... making it clear they were pushing back against political repression and calling for regime change among all the protests and chaos that have erupted in Iran.

Talk about slipping up on the job ... an ICE agent in Minnesota took a brutal spill on actual ice, went flying -- and yes, the satisfyingly ironic wipeout was all caught on camera!

With tensions already on thin ice in Minnesota following the recent ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good, one fired-up agent forgot the basics of winter survival ... charging down the street during an immigration raid over the weekend -- only to be swiftly humbled by the slick, frozen pavement, which sent him sprawling.

It’s a hilarious watch -- the agent completely wipes out, lands hard on his butt, and the surrounding protesters instantly break into cheers, reveling in his very public embarrassment.

A man drove a U-Haul truck straight through a crowd of protesters in Los Angeles Sunday ... and the event and aftermath was caught on tape.

In videos uploaded to socials, people protesting against the regime in Iran can be heard screaming as the massive vehicle bulldozes straight through the group ... seemingly without regard for the human beings in the way.

In another clip, cops can be seen snatching the man out of the vehicle.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... no one was injured despite reports to the contrary. We're told the driver remains in custody.

Jean Smart, Mark Ruffalo and Wanda Sykes and other celebs subtly slammed the Trump administration and its deployment of ICE officers ... donning pins at the Golden Globe Awards to recognize slain citizen Renee Good.

"Be Good" -- that's the message celebrities delivered on their big night, by wearing pins with the wording ... a reference to the woman who was killed by an ICE agent in Minnesota Wednesday.

Wanda spoke to Variety about her notable accessory ... telling her that it was of course a reference to Renee.