TMZ Live

Luigi Mangione’s alleged unhinged manifesto might actually work in his favor -- at least according to one top defense attorney sounding off on the case.

Defense attorney Katie Cherkasky told us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... there's no question -- Luigi gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC back in December. But the real fight’s over the terrorism charge, and she says Luigi’s own words might be what gets it tossed.

Katie says Luigi’s own words lay it out -- in his chilling blueprint, he wasn’t out to spark mass panic or hurt anyone else ... he had one target, and one target only.

Alice Marie Johnson says Larry Hoover's federal prison sentence was commuted to give him the hope of receiving a real second chance ... but he still has years to serve in an Illinois prison for a state crime, and Alice hopes the Illinois governor might grant him clemency as well.

We spoke with President Donald Trump's "pardon czar" on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and, we asked her about Trump's decision to commute Hoover's federal sentence.

She tells us she first learned about Larry's case from Kanye West and Drake's live-streamed event at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum back in 2021, where she was sitting first row at the event and learned of Larry's plight.

Young Thug needs to brush up on his definition of snitching, because what Kid Cudi did with Diddy does not make him a rat ... at least according to Touré.

The music journalist joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him about Young Thug labeling Cudi a "rat" for testifying against Diddy in court.

Touré says Young Thug's got it twisted when it comes to what is and isn't snitching ... and he schools us too.

Sharay Hayes, an exotic male dancer known as "The Punisher," tells us he's unsure why federal prosecutors called him as a witness in the Diddy trial ... because he says he never saw Diddy do anything that seemed illegal and thinks his testimony may have actually helped the defense.

"The Punisher" joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him if prosecutors gave him any indication why they wanted to get him on the stand, because his testimony Tuesday left many people wondering how prosecutors thought it related to any of the charges against Diddy.

Hayes says he is still confused as to why his testimony was necessary ... telling us he let prosecutors know from the jump he didn't see anything that looked criminal during his sexual interactions with Diddy and Cassie.

Donald Trump returned from his tour of the Middle East Friday with some investment pledges secured in Saudi Arabia and Qatar ... but D.L. Hughley is less than impressed with the transactional deals.

TMZ caught up with the comedian on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... and he slammed Trump's shift in foreign policy, which he says focuses on rewarding whoever "gives [him] a jet or builds [him] a hotel" rather than on shared values.

Notably, Qatar offered an estimated $400 million Boeing 747-8 jet to 47 ahead of his visit, to be used as Air Force One ... which Qatar’s prime minister has since denied was an act of bribery. The gift is a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which forbids American officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments and individuals without Congressional consent -- and it's still unclear whether the plane will be accepted.

Lisa Bloom says testimony from Cassie Ventura and Dawn Richard is essential to the prosecution's criminal case against Diddy ... but she says the feds are far from finished, and they've got plenty of time to close any loops the defense finds.

The famed attorney, who is also representing Dawn in a civil suit against Diddy, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and explained how Dawn's testimony is geared towards the RICO charges against Diddy.

Lisa says the fact Dawn told the jury she saw Diddy with guns and drugs is super important ... even though Diddy defense attorney Nicole Westmoreland got Dawn to admit she never saw Diddy use a gun or pay for drugs.

Diddy supporters and court pundits might think the prosecution hasn't proved any of the criminal counts he's facing, but Touré disagrees ... arguing the government is making a lot of progress on the racketeering front.

We caught up with the music journalist Thursday on "TMZ Live," and his take, after nearly 4 days of graphic testimony, is Diddy was allegedly committing "an ongoing rape of Cassie."

And, Touré sees prosecutors building a strong case for a criminal conspiracy -- aka racketeering -- carried out by Diddy's employees.

The jury in Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial is hearing highly compelling testimony from Diddy's ex-girlfriend Cassie -- but, a very famous defense attorney has some ideas about how to effectively grill a pregnant woman on the stand.

Jose Baez, Casey Anthony's defense attorney in her 2011 murder trial, joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to break down strategy for Diddy's defense team ahead of their cross-examination of Cassie.

Many think the case will rise or fall on the defense's cross-examination of Cassie -- but Baez says it shouldn't.

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles says concerns about an extravagant gift from a foreign country for President Donald Trump's use are overblown, and that what some are calling a bribe is actually just a great deal on a necessary replacement item.

Knowles -- a longtime podcast host at Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire -- was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss a controversial gift from the government of Qatar to President Trump ... a $400 million Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet Trump plans to convert for use as Air Force One, the official presidential airliner.

Knowles jokes his primary complaint is that it's not a nicer plane ... he questions why people are upset over a simple gift to the government -- adding we just need to "slap some new paint on the side." Free is a generously good deal, he says.

Kim Kardashian's lawyer in her Paris jewelry heist trial says it was no easy decision for her to testify ... because she's coming awfully close to her alleged robbers in court.

Michael Rhodes joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us what it was like inside and outside the French courthouse where Kim gave some powerful and emotional testimony.

Kim's lawyer says it took her some time to decide she really wanted to testify ... and he says it took a lot of guts because in France, the courtroom setup puts the witness super close to the defense ... so close, in fact, that Kim could feel the presence of the men she says robbed her and made her feel like she was going be raped and murdered.

A retired United Airlines pilot has some serious safety concerns regarding a busy airport in New Jersey ... and he's got a message for the federal government.

Tom Mannello joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him if it's safe to fly into Newark Liberty International Airport in the wake of air traffic controllers experiencing radar outages.

The former commercial pilot says it's only moderately safe to fly into Newark these days ... explaining why staffing shortages, budgets, construction and Mother Nature are all contributing to issues for air travelers.

Donald Trump’s big idea to slap a 100% tariff on films made outside the U.S. might sound like a patriot’s dream -- but according to one Hollywood heavyweight, it’s actually a 100% career-ender for the movie biz.

TMZ caught up with "Green Book" producer Charles Wessler, and let’s just say he didn’t sugarcoat his thoughts on Trump’s proposal to force filming back onto American soil ... telling us it's the stupidest idea he's ever heard ... but said it tracks, coming from Trump.

Charles breaks down how the movie biz can't survive the move -- budgets are part of it, but it’s also about creative freedom and authenticity ... and also the practicality of certain locations that can't be recreated in the U.S.

Zach Yadegari is an 18-year-old high school senior from Long Island, NY who founded a calorie-counting app that's worth tens of millions of dollars -- but that wasn't enough to gain admission to Ivy League schools ... and now he's going all LeBron James by taking his talents to South Beach.

The entrepreneur joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and we asked him how in the world he got rejected from top universities like Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Princeton and Yale.

Zach was still in high school when he rolled out Cal AI, an app that uses artificial intelligence to help people count calories ... all they have to do is snap a photo of their food and the app tells them how many calories are on their plate.

George Santos says there's a lot of bad hombres behind bars who want to rough him up for one reason or another ... and he's again turning up the pressure on the Federal Bureau of Prisons to keep him safe.

The former New York Congressman joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about his warning to the BOP -- that there will be hell to pay if he's brutalized behind bars.

George is set to begin a 7-year sentence this summer and he tells us there's a big target on his back for a number of reasons ... namely, his sexuality and his Congressional activity.

President Trump is selling a meme coin and making a nice profit from a contest offering big buyers a chance to have dinner with him -- but that doesn't mean the White House is for sale ... at least according to Michael Knowles.

The Daily Wire host joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked him about Trump's unprecedented use of cryptocurrency ... and he defended POTUS.

Trump's offering 220 people a chance to have dinner with him at one of his golf clubs ... as long as they buy a bunch of his meme coins ... and while the Prez and his allies are reportedly raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result, Michael doesn't see an issue.

The world's first sperm race was limited to a couple bitter college rivals, but now organizers are planning to go Hollywood ... and they're courting celebrities to join the action!!!

Eric Zhu and his Sperm Racing startup's first winner, Tristan from USC, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked them about the debut event and what's next.

Friday's sperm race at the Hollywood Palladium drew a big crowd and featured a celeb cameo from Ty Dolla $ign ... but Eric says the next event will have bigger names, a bigger budget and a bigger venue.