Politics

Angie Katsanevas is taking her Real Housewives spotlight straight to Capitol Hill ... 'cause TMZ has learned she'll testify before Congress on supporting franchise businesses tied to her expanding salon franchises.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star will be testifying on behalf of the International Franchise Association Thursday, speaking from firsthand experience as a business owner whose hair salon brand -- Lunatic Fringe -- has now grown to 9 franchise locations nationwide.

We're told Angie plans to advocate strongly for franchisees, whom she views as a living example of the American Dream, especially for women and immigrants ... a message that's deeply personal for her. Angie's parents immigrated from Greece, and our sources say she sees franchising as a pathway to ownership, independence, and generational opportunity.

Donald Trump appeared to advocate for dictators at an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The president was speaking at the CEO reception and dinner event and reflected on his speech from earlier in the day, in which he claimed the United States wouldn't use military force to take control of Greenland.

Trump asserted his address was well-received, stating ... "I can't believe it, we got good reviews on that speech. Usually they say, 'He's a horrible dictator type person. I'm a dictator.' But sometimes you need a dictator."

Nicki Minaj has apparently done a complete 180-degree flip on her immigration stance ... according to a recently dug-up Facebook post from President Donald Trump's first term in office.

As you know ... Nicki has been very vocal in her support of the Trump administration lately. She praised Donald, despite his anti-immigration agenda ... and denigrated Don Lemon for covering an ICE protest at a Minnesota church.

But in 2018, she wrote, "I came to this country as an illegal immigrant @ 5 years old. I can’t imagine the horror of being in a strange place & having my parents stripped away from me at the age of 5. This is so scary to me. Please stop this. Can you try to imagine the terror & panic these kids feel right now?" The post is accompanied by a photo of kids on mats, some covered up with space blankets, in a large chain-link fenced-in cage.

Ted Cruz is out there searching for greener pastures ... because he was just spotted flying to sunny California while his home state of Texas braces for a winter storm.

A photo posted on X by political strategist Shea Jordan Smith Tuesday, show Cruz waiting in the aisle of a crowded commercial flight. Smith wrote the plane was heading to Laguna Beach, California.

Although the weather in Laguna Beach is forecast to stay in the low 60s throughout this week, much of Texas is preparing to deal with a massive ice and snow storm set to arrive Friday.

50 Cent has some sage advice for Ye  and Nicki Minaj ... stay the f*** away from religion and politics.

While promoting his new film, "Moses the Black," 50 -- who executive-produced the movie -- stressed that while the project dapples in religious themes, it should be looked at as pure entertainment.

50 told an audience at a recent screening ... "There's two things they tell you to stay away from. They tell you to stay away from religion and stay away from politics, because no matter what you think, someone passionately disagrees with you."

President Donald Trump finally confirmed he wouldn't deploy U.S. military to forcibly take over Greenland ... following weeks of speculation about his plans for the world's largest island.

POTUS spoke about Greenland during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, claiming the U.S. had controlled the island as a trustee during World War II before giving it back to Denmark, Fox News reports. The U.S. helped defend Greenland from Nazi Germany, but never held it as a formal trustee.

Trump said the United States has never "asked for anything" in its NATO membership ... and acknowledged the alliance doesn't permit any member nation to take control of Greenland from Denmark.

He added ... "We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force where we would be, frankly, unstoppable. But I won't do that. Okay, now everyone say, 'oh good.' That's probably the biggest statement I made because people thought I would use force. I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force."

Trump said he holds "tremendous respect" for the citizens of Greenland and Denmark -- but reiterated he thinks the U.S. needs to own the island for national and global security.

ICYMI ... 47 first floated the idea of taking control of Greenland, an autonomous territory under the Kingdom of Denmark, in 2019 during his first term as president ... and he's been ramping up pressure on Denmark over the past few months.

Michelle Obama didn't have to dodge any of the usual kiss-and-tell on Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy" podcast this week ... Alex opted to take the high road over grilling the former First Lady about her sex life, much to her own reluctance.

Michelle appeared Wednesday on the super popular podcast ... and Alex kicked off the interview by telling Michelle there were 2 separate paths they could go down.

On one hand, Alex said their convo could center around sex and relationships -- a nod to the OG roots of the show -- while on the other, they could focus on serious topics from a woman's POV, considering Michelle's stature in the world. And Alex pre-emptively chose option 2 ... with Michelle agreeing, brushing off any potential sex talk, light-heartedly saying that might be "sad."

Here's how twisted Jeffrey Epstein was ... his birthday was little more than another reason to victimize young women, at least according to one of the Congressmen pushing for the release of Epstein photos and docs.

The late pedophile would have turned 73 on Tuesday, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam -- a Democrat from Virginia who sits on the House Oversight Committee -- tells TMZ, Epstein's birthday is "probably a very difficult day for many women."

Subramanyam says that for a specific reason ... telling us, "It's clear from the evidence that Epstein used his birthday as an excuse to traffic and take advantage of girls."

JD Vance and his wife Usha are gonna have to add one more seat to their dinner table in the near future -- because they're expecting a fourth child!

The second lady shared the big news on his X account on Tuesday, and ... drumroll, please ... she's having a boy.

Usha wrote they're expecting the boy's birth in late July, and she thanked the military doctors who'd been taking care of her family. No name yet. She also thanked the staff members who assist her family on a day-to-day basis.

JD and Usha tied the knot in 2014 and started their family three years later when their son Ewan was born.

The pair welcomed a second son, Vivek, in 2020, and Usha gave birth to their daughter, Mirabel, the following December.

President Trump's potty mouth is rubbing off on other world leaders, including a European Parliament official who gave DT a dose of his own medicine.

Anders Vistisen --  a Danish member of the European Parliament -- stood up in front of his fellow politicians Tuesday and delivered a scathing speech that targeted Trump for threatening to take over Greenland, which is currently under the authority of Denmark.

Check out this video ... which captures the exact moment Vistisen torpedoes Trump with some choice words while standing at the podium. In a calm, steady voice, Vistisen says to Trump, "Let me put this in words you might understand, Mr. President, f*** off."

Concerns for the safety of public officials are at an all-time high following an attack in Indiana ... a judge and his wife were both shot at their home Sunday, and the shooter remains at large.

According to the Lafayette Police Dept., Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kimberly, were shot by an unknown assailant Sunday at about 2:15 PM in their Lafayette, Indiana home. The details are chilling ... WBBM-TV reports someone knocked on the door of the couple's house and claimed to have found their dog. Before the couple even opened the door, bullets blasted through.

The judge reportedly was shot in his arm, while Kimberly had sustained an injury to her hip. Police said shell casings were found at the scene.

Jake Paul got some one-on-one time with President Trump at the College Football Playoff Championship on Monday ... and he seemingly used it to brief POTUS on his broken jaw recovery.

El Gallo was spotted hanging in No. 45 & 47's Hard Rock Stadium suite at some point in the Indiana Hoosiers' huge win over the Miami Hurricanes ... and during the chat, he was caught on video rubbing his face.

Unclear what exactly was said ... but since Trump is a big fan of combat sports and the Paul bros, we take it he was aware of what the fighter went through just weeks prior.

Local and federal authorities are investigating after a group of anti-ICE protesters crashed a Minnesota church service ... and one of the demonstrators tells TMZ she'd still do it all over again.

Here's the deal ... the DOJ and local police are investigating after protesters interrupted a service at the Cities Church in St. Paul ... which is getting major headlines because Don Lemon was in the mix live-streaming the incident.

Chauntyll Allen, leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, who was among the group, tells TMZ … the jarring protest inside the church was necessary to make clear to the parishioners that having a pastor who is also an ICE official is unacceptable.

President Donald Trump was in friendly territory at the CFP National Championship on Monday ... with a loud applause breaking out when he was shown during the national anthem.

Nos. 45-47 hit Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens for the Miami vs. Indiana matchup ... and he brought Ivanka, Kai, and some more grandkids along for the ride.

Trump's presence was felt early in the night ... 'cause as "American Idol" star Jamal Roberts performed his rendition of the "Star-Spangled Banner," the cams cut to him on the big screens.

There's a new tourist attraction at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. ... a gigantic replica of the birthday card Donald Trump allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein can now be seen -- and signed -- by tourists.

As you know ... Trump reportedly drew a crude figure of a woman's naked torso on the 2003 note, which was discovered in a birthday book for the deceased convicted sex offender. Trump denied the card was from him, and is suing the Wall Street Journal, the outlet that first published the card.

The massive installation -- reportedly erected by the group known as "The Secret Handshake" -- includes the text "Happy birthday -- and may every day be another wonderful secret."

Donald Trump just cosigned a social media post saying Don Lemon should go to prison for reporting from an anti-ICE church protest in Minnesota.

On Truth Social Monday, the U.S. president reshared a post from an account called "MoniFunGirl," who said she wants to see the journalist slapped with 40 years in prison just for showing up at the protest crowd outside Cities Church in St. Paul on Sunday.

The number didn't come out of thin air ... Moni claimed a group of elderly women got 40 years in prison for protesting at an abortion clinic under the FACE Act, and basically insinuating Don was doing the same, and should face the same consequences.