Politics

Employees at a Michigan Smoothie King refused to serve a Donald Trump supporter and his wife ... and the contentious argument between the smoothie makers and their would-be customers is all on video.

Check it out -- Erika Lindemyer recorded the tense encounter at the shop in Ann Arbor on March 1 ... she argues with a woman behind the counter, calling her refusal illegal discrimination. The employee snaps back that Trump doesn't support her ... and she therefore doesn't feel comfortable serving people who stand behind him.

We want you to be a part of TMZ, so every weekday, between 9:30 AM and 11:30 AM PT, we take you inside our newsroom via live stream.

You never know what you're gonna get ... a big story that breaks, an argument erupts in the room, or someone's just joking around.

Your comments are a big part of the stream, and the staff spends a lot of time speaking directly to you. Every day is different!

A former mayor of a small Louisiana city is in big trouble ... she was found guilty at trial for having sex with her son's 16-year-old buddy during an alcohol-filled pool party, according to news reports.

Misty Roberts -- ex-mayor of DeRidder, LA, with a population of under 10,000 -- was reportedly convicted by a jury of having sex with a minor in 2024 while she was still in office.

Local news outlets reported it only took the jury less than hour to find the 43-year-old former mayor guilty on two felony charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile yesterday.

Mark Teixeira is trading the batter’s box for the ballot box -- and his first big political test is already in the books.

The former MLB slugger won the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st congressional district Tuesday night ... securing more than 61% of the vote in a crowded 12-candidate field and avoiding a runoff.

“This is a huge victory, and I’m truly honored to have such strong support from the people of TX-21,” Teixeira posted on X. “Thank you! I’m so grateful to everyone who voted, put in the work, donated, and especially prayed for us along the way.”

The seat is currently held by Chip Roy, who’s stepping aside to run for Texas attorney general. Teixeira will now face Democratic candidate Kristin Hook in the November general election.

Fireworks on Capitol Hill ... Sen. Thom Tillis ripped into DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a congressional hearing ... comparing American citizens killed by immigration agents to a dog she killed.

Check out the video ... the Republican Senator from North Carolina says Noem has shown terrible leadership and decision-making as Trump's DHS Secretary.

Tillis says the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by ICE and Border Patrol remind him of a passage from Noem's book ... where she recalls killing a dog she brought on a hunting trip.

A suspected Iranian drone strike near the U.S. Consulate in Dubai sparked a raging fire Tuesday night, according to multiple reports ... and the aftermath was caught on video.

Footage of the explosion soon began flooding socials today, showing the building light up in an orange glow before erupting in a fireball in the UAE city.

The Dubai Media Office later confirmed that a fire resulting from a drone-related incident near the U.S. consulate had been successfully contained, NBC News reports.

They wrote, "Emergency teams responded immediately. No injuries have been reported."

A popular auto race in Qatar has been pushed amid intense fighting in the Middle East ... as Iran indiscriminately fires missiles and drones in response to U.S. and Israeli attacks.

The FIA -- aka the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, a global motor sports governing body that also oversees Formula One -- moved to press pause on the Qatar leg of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship, which was supposed to go down March 28 at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail.

"FIA WEC management has been in constant dialogue with Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) in light of the current and evolving geopolitical situation in the Middle East," the organization said in a statement.

"With the safety and security of competitors, personnel and fans of the utmost importance, the decision has been taken to delay the event that had been due to take place on 26-28 March."

The good news? The Qatar 1812KM isn't canceled -- it's simply postponed. It's now slated to take place sometime during the "second half of the season," with a date to be announced at a later time.

Bill Clinton couldn't take his eyes off a photo from the Epstein Files ... and it looks like the throwback made him smile and laugh.

Check out this clip from the former president's hours-long deposition last week ... he's grinning and chuckling as he appears to look at an old photo.

Clinton was grilled about a photo from the Epstein Files showing him in a hot tub with a redacted person next to him ... and he explained his story behind that snap -- though it's not clear in this video which photo Clinton is having a laugh over.

Hillary Clinton didn't hold back when asked about President Donald Trump during her Epstein deposition last week ... pushing to have him testify under oath, because he's got a laundry list of bad behavior and past connections with the dead convicted pedophile.

Check out the footage released by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released Monday -- Clinton says given that Trump's all over the Epstein Files and has been found guilty of a myriad of crimes ... he should "absolutely" be brought in for questioning.

And she doesn't let people forget about his past trials and convictions ... she reminds the committee that he's been found civilly liable for sexual assault by a jury of his peers and convicted on 34 counts of falsified business records in relation to covering his relations with an escort ... which was election interference.

Bill Clinton says he doesn't know whether Jeffrey Epstein killed himself or not ... telling lawmakers he can only go off the medical findings.

During the former president's grilling before the GOP-led House Oversight Committee on Friday, Clinton got into a tense back-and-forth with Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert ... who asked him squarely whether Jeffrey Epstein was suicidal.

Clinton replied ... "I don't know. I only know what the medical finding was. I've accepted it in my own mind. I don't know what happened."

Hillary Clinton locked horns with Nancy Mace while the former secretary of state was deposed about Jeffrey Epstein last week — and their heated back-and-forth was caught on newly released video.

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee grilled Clinton for hours during her February 26 deposition over her alleged ties to Epstein, which Hillary said did not exist.

Things turned ugly when Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, pressed Clinton about how she knew Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Lutnick has recently faced intense scrutiny over his past association with Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida.

4 AM PST -- The White House is mocking Kesha for blasting their use of her song "Blow" alongside a video of a fighter jets obliterating a ship.

Steven Cheung, White House Communications Director, tweeted ... "All these 'singers' keep falling for this. This just gives us more attention and more view counts to our videos because people want to see what they’re bitching about."

Furthermore, Kaelan Dorr, White House Deputy Communications Director chimed in ... "Kesha quotes are like Popeye’s Spinach to this team ... Memes? They’ll continue. Winning? Will also continue."

Kesha is ripping President Trump and the White House for using one of her songs in a social media post, she says, incites violence and threatens war.

Here's the deal ... the official White House posted a video on TikTok on Feb. 10 that shows a military plane blowing up a ship ... all while Kesha's "Blow" plays.

Seems Kesha just got hip to the post, because on Monday she ripped the White House for using her music and said she does "NOT approve of [her] music being used to promote violence of any kind."

Hillary Clinton was pissed when she found out a photo from her deposition on Jeffrey Epstein got leaked from inside what was supposed to be a closed-door session ... and video shows the moment she storms off from the podium.

In footage from last week's testimony, released Monday by the House Oversight Committee, Hillary rips the panel for breaking their own rules and not preventing a leak.

The former First Lady, New York Senator and Secretary of State blasts Republicans in the room, saying ... "I'm done with this. If you guys are doing that, I am done. You can hold me in contempt from now until the cows come home. This is just typical behavior."

Hillary Clinton finally addressed the photo of Ghislaine Maxwell attending her daughter Chelsea Clinton's 2010 wedding ... but Hillary said she doesn't recall Ghislaine being there, and that she was only invited as a plus one.

In a deposition with the House Oversight Committee last week, Hillary said, "She was there as a guest of Ted Waitt -- someone we had known for 30 years I believe -- who was a strong supporter of my husband, and became a friend."

Hillary added ... "There were more than 500 people at the wedding, so other than that picture of her at the wedding, I have no recollection of talking with her. I was pretty focused on my daughter."

Former President Bill Clinton says he took his last flight on Jeffrey Epstein's plane in 2003 ... but continued to associate with Epstein's ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell for far longer.

In a deposition with the House Oversight Committee, Clinton said his association with Ghislaine lasted longer and was "more extensive" than his relationship with Epstein ... partly because he says he was unaware of her involvement in Epstein's crimes.

According to Clinton, he kept up with Ghislaine because she had "started going with a man named Ted Waitt who had made a lot of money." Waitt is the billionaire co-founder of Gateway.

Video from Former President Bill Clinton's 4-hour-long deposition probing his connection with Jeffrey Epstein has just been released ... and now he provided more context for his infamous hot tub photo.

During the marathon questioning, Bill told the House Oversight Committee he was almost sure the photo -- which was taken without his knowledge -- showed him at a hotel in Brunei on the final leg of an Asian tour for his AIDS initiative ... but he didn't mention the date.

According to Clinton, he had gotten to know the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, well during his time in the Oval Office. When the Sultan of Brunei learned Clinton was coming to his country, he said the Sultan wanted to help with the former president's AIDS initiative.