Politics

A Chicago Cubs fan who went viral after smacking a younger man in the back of the head for sitting during the national anthem is breaking his silence ... and he tells us the video's missing a key ingredient.

Here's the deal ... over the weekend, an older gentleman in a Cubs jersey barked at a younger fan in front of him to get off his butt for the Star-Spangled Banner at Wrigley Field ... and when the person kept sitting, the Cubs fan smacked him in the head.

TMZ tracked down the Cubs fan -- Robert "Bob" Chavez -- and he tells us he lost his cool in the moment because he is a Vietnam veteran who had numerous buddies killed in the war.

Bob says he told the young man his veteran status and war stories when asking him to stand ... but the guy just kept sitting down, so Bob let loose a slap.

07/21/2026 11:59 AM -- Former President Joe Biden's office tells TMZ ... President Biden's conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way. Reversing course and making them public is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution. It’s wrong, and while President Biden disagrees with today’s decision, he also respects the courts and the vital role an independent judiciary plays in a healthy democracy.

Rough news for Joe Biden to wake up to -- his appeal to block the Department of Justice from releasing audio from a 2017 interview with his memoir ghostwriter has just been rejected.

The 2-1 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit came late Monday, with the court reasoning there is a "substantial" public interest in disclosing the material, AP News reports.

The former president wanted to keep the recordings under wraps, with his legal team arguing it was an invasion of privacy. The DOJ previously said the recordings were exempt from disclosure under public records law.

The person found dead at a Massachusetts home owned by Rep. Ayanna Pressley's husband died from gun violence, but had no connection to the owner ... TMZ has learned.

According to an incident report, obtained by TMZ, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound. The manner of death is still pending. Cops note the next of kin have been notified.

We're told there is absolutely nothing that indicates any connection between the death investigation to the owners of the property.

Tulsi Gabbard's brother Bhakti's family was pushing for him to get help due to an alleged mental health episode before he was arrested for allegedly trying to lure children into a hotel room ... at least according to his wife.

Bhakti's wife, Kimberley, filed for a temporary restraining order on July 17 ... the same day he was charged for an alleged July 12 incident at a Waikīkī hotel pool. In her petition, obtained by TMZ, she said her husband of nearly a decade has been exhibiting bizarre behavior.

Kimberly claimed Tulsi's brother recently renamed himself "Batarti" and "Jim Morrison Jr." ... and she says he had a "psychotic break."

She claims to have "photos and video to prove this erratic, impulsive, and bizarre behavior that has made me concerned and feel/fear for my safety."

JD Vance and wife Usha Vance welcomed their fourth child over the weekend ... and naturally, Donald Trump made the moment about himself ... sharing the first photo of the newborn.

Trump gave the world the first look at baby Alec Neel ... posting the newborn on his Truth Social account and calling the kid "a perfect baby boy."

POTUS is the first one to share a photo of baby Alec ... not his parents.

Neither the Vice President nor Second Lady is in the pic ... it's just Alec and two of his older siblings sitting on some furniture in a hospital room.

4:00 PM PT -- President Trump got an encore of boos after the final whistle ... as he made his way onto the field for the World Cup trophy presentation. Take a listen.

President Trump came to the FIFA World Cup Final expecting to help hand out the gold hardware ... but fans first handed him a red-card reception.

POTUS was met with a chorus of boos Sunday when his face flashed across the stadium screens moments after Jennifer Hudson performed the national anthem ahead of Spain and Argentina’s championship clash.

Check out the video ... Trump stood beside First Lady Melania Trump as the crowd made its feelings known -- and the broadcast quickly swapped the presidential close-up for an aerial shot of MetLife Stadium.

Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance just added another little Vance to the family ... welcoming their fourth child and making a little history in the process.

The couple announced Sunday their baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born earlier in the morning ... saying both mom and Alec are happy and healthy, while their three older children are "overjoyed" to meet their new brother.

The birth is also one for the history books -- Alec is reportedly the first child born to a sitting U.S. vice president in more than 150 years. The last was Schuyler Colfax III, whose father was serving as VP when he arrived in 1870.

Spain and Argentina are battling for World Cup glory ... but the stars in the stands are putting on a show of their own.

A ridiculous number of famous faces packed MetLife Stadium for Sunday's FIFA World Cup final -- so be sure to click through the gallery to see who scored the hottest ticket in town.

President Trump, Tom Cruise, and Mick Jagger were among the heavy hitters in attendance ... while Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner joined David and Victoria Beckham in turning the championship match into one massive celebrity hangout.

Post Malone and Swae Lee even got the party started with a pregame performance before the action kicked off on the field.

Tulsi Gabbard's older brother is facing criminal charges after Hawaii police say he allegedly tried to lure several young children to a hotel room by offering them money and gum.

According to the Honolulu Police Department, 55-year-old Batarti Gabbard, brother of President Trump's former Director of National Intelligence, was arrested Friday in connection with a July 12 incident at a Waikīkī hotel pool.

Cops say Gabbard approached multiple children including a 9 year old boy and allegedly offered them gum and cash if they followed him to a nearby hotel room. Police say he also asked the kids for their names and wrote them down in a notebook.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu is a war criminal who could be arrested if he steps foot in The Big Apple.

Mamdani made the stunning remarks during an interview Friday with The New York Times, saying that Netanyahu also “belongs in The Hague” -- the International Criminal Court where the Israeli leader has a warrant out for his arrest and has been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

Zohran noted that he’s been in active talks with the city’s law department to see what, if any, legal grounds there would be to arrest Bibi.

The Boston Police Department is looking into a death at a home owned by Representative Ayanna Pressley's husband -- the four-term congresswoman from Massachusetts, TMZ can confirm.

BPD spokesperson Officer James Moccia tells TMZ officers were dispatched to a home in Boston's Mattapan neighborhood around 1:50 PM local time Saturday.

Initially an "investigate person" call, the situation was later reclassified as a death investigation.

Larry David seemingly tells his old friend Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to kick rocks in his new Barack Obama-produced HBO sketch comedy show "Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness."

In the latest episode of the series, Larry dresses in drag as Dora Salk, the mother of virologist Jonas Salk -- the man behind the first successful polio vaccine. As he works on his vaccine, a very tan and critical neighbor with a gravelly voice whose name is Bobby rips into him, saying, "That vaccine’s gonna kill people. It’s gonna give them heart attacks!"

Larry -- as Dora -- immediately fights back, yelling ... "Drop dead, Bobby. You should die a dog’s death. You don’t know anything about science, you’re not a doctor."

Paul Pelosi has been charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run after allegedly hitting a car and then driving away ... TMZ has learned.

The Napa County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... Nancy Pelosi's husband has been charged with the hit-and-run and slapped with an infraction for unlawful turning movement after the alleged incident in Yountville, California earlier this month.

The Napa County D.A. notes it does not usually issue press releases for charges that only involve property crime -- Paul allegedly hit a parked car with no one in it -- but put out this statement because of significant public interest in the case.

Andrew Gillum claims he tested negative for drugs ... weeks after being busted for meth ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, the ex-Florida governor nominee signed up a drug testing program, took the tests, and the results came back clean today.

In the docs, Gillum asked for a hearing to be set once a decision's been made about whether or not he needs to do a court-approved drug treatment program. The court granted his request and scheduled his hearing for next month.

The FDA may be zeroing in on the source of Taco Bell's diarrhea debacle ... putting the chain's lettuce supplier under the microscope.

They've identified Taylor Farms as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak plaguing 4 Midwestern states ... this reportedly from a person familiar with the investigation.

Almost 7,000 people have gotten sick across the country, but this investigation is focused on the hundreds of cases in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. So, it's unclear which sources are responsible for the other outbreaks in the U.S.