Religion/ Spirituality

Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were evacuated from the Pennsylvania Governor's Residence after celebrating Passover when a man allegedly set fire to the building ... and, the suspected arsonist is now in custody.

Cody Balmer -- a 38-year-old man from Harrisburg, PA -- was arrested after cops say he hopped over a fence onto the property and forcibly entered the residence before setting it ablaze.

Photos of the fire damage show the inside of this part of the residence -- a large room meant for holding big gatherings -- burned badly ... with ashes covering the floor and tables while only a stack of plates in the center of one table seemed to have survived.

Morgan Wallen is looking to cash in on his viral explanation of his abrupt exit from "Saturday Night Live" ... selling merch with his new catchphrase.

The country music star has a bunch of new offerings on his official online store ... namely, shirts and hats with the phrase "Get Me To God's Country."

Morgan slapped the phrase on a white tee and a couple different trucker hats ... and he's hawking them all for $45 a pop. Hey, no one said God's country was cheap.

Robert Kardashian's signed and inscribed Bible which was gifted to O.J. Simpson as a token of friendship that Kim Kardashian wanted to pay $15K for has sold at auction for a whopping amount of money ... TMZ has confirmed.

Malcolm LaVergne, the special administrator of O.J.'s estate, tells TMZ ... the Bible of the former lawyer sold at auction for $80,276. He says he doesn't know who the lucky buyer is but notes that whether you loved O.J. or hated him it's clear "his legacy endures."

The estate's auction brought in an estimated $300K in sales. Other items that sold included a personally signed and framed photo of O.J. and former President Bill Clinton which went for over $18K. Also sold was a replica of O.J.'s 1968 Heisman Trophy for $42,700.

Pastor to the stars John Gray III is reacting to Marvin Sapp's viral Church donation request -- telling ushers to close the doors until the congregation coughs up $40,000 -- and he says culture and context are key.

John tells TMZ ... Marvin is a good friend of his and he's seen a lot worse donation requests in other churches.

Pastor Gray says he understands why folks who weren't at the service are upset with the way Marvin went about raising money -- asking everyone in the crowd for $20 -- and he tells us why culture and context are being left out of the conversation in sole favor of optics.

"Breaking Amish" star Mama Mary Schmucker has died after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned.

Mama Mary died Friday at her home in Pennsylvania, the result of cancer complications ... according to her son, Andrew Schmucker.

We're told Mama Mary was briefly hospitalized this week before passing away at her home. The cancer had spread over her body.

Gospel singer and bishop Marvin Sapp is under fire for his unorthodox way of asking church members for donations ... because he's on video telling ushers to close the doors until a huge goal is met.

Resurfaced video from Marvin's sermon at the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World annual summer convention is going viral ... and folks are taking issue with Marvin's fundraising style.

In the clip, the gospel music legend-turned-preacher tells the ushers to close the doors until the 1,000 worshipers in the building donate $20 each.

Gal Gadot's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony served as a battleground for pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters ... with demonstrators clashing on the streets as she received her star.

Things got super intense on Hollywood Boulevard as Gal's Walk of Fame ceremony was underway Tuesday ... with protesters getting into a fight just feet away from where the Israeli actress was being honored.

Footage shows the chaos devolving between pro-Israel and pro-Palestine factions ... one altercation happened after a pro-Palestine demonstrator snatched a flag from the pro-Israel faction.

American Airlines may want to pay for an exorcist to fly on each of its flights ... 'cause one passenger claims her brother was fighting off evil demons -- and allegedly ended up whaling on some poor crew members.

Here's the deal ... a 31-year-old man named Delange Augustin boarded a flight in Savannah, Georgia bound for Miami, Florida earlier this week with his sister Medjina -- and, the plane took off without incident carrying the siblings, six other passengers, and five crew members.

According to FBI documents, just a minute after takeoff, one of the flight attendants says they noticed Augustin was stomping, yelling incoherently, and appeared "to be in a fit of epilepsy."

Kim Kardashian hoped to buy a piece of family history from the O.J. Simpson estate ... asking to purchase her dad's Bible -- but, the estate's executor says it's too late to purchase it outside the auction.

Here's the deal ... Malcom LaVergne -- executor of the late controversial actor's estate -- tells TMZ Kim Kardashian's team reached out to him last month after we broke the story that some of O.J.'s personal effects were going up for auction.

Among them ... a Holy Bible gifted to Simpson by her father, Robert Kardashian -- with a note inscribed by the late Kardashian patriarch scribbled inside.

A Bible given to O.J. Simpson with an interesting inscription from Robert Kardashian right after the infamous white Bronco car chase is going up for a proposed auction ... and the timing is notable.

Malcolm LaVergne, O.J.'s longtime attorney and executor of his estate -- tells TMZ ... the Bible was given to O.J. in the clink by his close pal and "Dream Team" member the day after the iconic Bronco chase through L.A.

Robert, the late father of the Kardashian clan, wrote a message of hope in the book ... telling O.J. he loved him -- and so did God.

There has been an onslaught of outrage since it was announced Cynthia Erivo would star in a short run of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in L.A. ... but one former messiah actor says haters need to chill and maybe ask -- WWJD?

Here's the deal ... Cynthia will play Jesus in the classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in a three-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl in August ... and some people have gone berserk online over a Black queer woman being cast in the title role.

Ted Neeley, who played Jesus on Broadway and several world tours, as well as in the Golden Globe-nominated film, tells TMZ ... he's sadly not shocked the CE casting choice is getting backlash -- after all, he says the show has been polarizing since it opened decades ago!

Morgan Wade had Teddi Mellencamp on her mind while performing onstage ... pausing between songs at L.A.’s El Rey Theatre to talk about her friend's health woes.

The emotional moment was caught on camera -- onstage, Morgan asked the audience to pray after the show for the 'RHOBH' star as she recovers from brain tumor surgery. But after some encouragement from a fan, Morgan led a powerful group prayer with the crowd on the spot.

Morgan, who met Teddi through her 'RHOBH' pal Kyle Richards, asked God to watch over Teddi, praising her as an amazing individual and loving mother -- before the crowd joined in, ending the prayer with a heartfelt "Amen."

Gracie Hunt believes she's a little bit superstitious ... and she is not taking any chances prior to her dad's NFL team possibly making history on Sunday!

TMZ caught up with the daughter of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt on Friday at Shaq's Fun House ... where she told us the family was excited and grateful for another Super Bowl appearance -- and she believes in "Chiefs magic."

But that's not all she believes in ... telling us she is a bit superstitious about the big game -- and is going to do what she did prior to the past couple of victories ... work out and pray.

Here's something Jesus would not do ... a man attacked a priest in the middle of a prayer, running out from a pew to tackle the reverend ... and it's all on video.

The unholy incident went down Tuesday night during a service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, WA ... and footage shows the moment a priest was tackled to the ground.

Ya gotta see the video ... Rev. David Gaines is kneeling in prayer with other priests when a man rises from his pew and runs towards the altar ... scaling a few steps and clumsily wrestling Gaines to the ground.

"Emilia Pérez" star Karla Sofía Gascón’s award-season glory has quickly fizzled after hugely offensive past X posts have come to light -- and with the backlash intensifying, she’s now deleted her account.

Gascón’s X account @karsiagascon was deactivated Friday after people dug up a bunch of posts from 2016 when the embattled first trans Oscar nominee ranted about Muslims, George Floyd, and, ironically, diversity at the Oscars -- despite being part of a minority community herself.

In a deeper breakdown of her comments ... she came for a Muslim family dining at a restaurant, mocking the way women dress in Islamic culture and even suggesting the religion should be banned.

Billy Ray Cyrus is calling for peace amid some family infighting ... sending prayers after one of his kids accused him of sending a legal threat.

BRC posted a YouTube short with his song "Somebody Said a Prayer" along with a message to his fam.

He says, "Praying for my family. For my children … sons and daughters…and their mother. Let this moment be the start of healing ❤️‍🩹 for us all."