TMZ Live

A former Boeing quality manager blew the whistle on the safety of the company's 787 passenger jet plane a year before one went down Thursday in a fiery crash in India, killing more than 200 people.

Check out this chilling clip ... John Barnett appeared on "TMZ Live" in January 2024 to talk about safety concerns at the time about Boeing's 737 -- but also mentioned the company's 787 Dreamliner, because he claimed the company's operations "put a strong effort into removing quality from the process" of constructing the aircrafts.

His bombshell allegations were that Boeing had been cutting inspection crews and expert staff for over a decade ... and suggested more due diligence was needed.

Conservative commentator Michael Knowles tore into Gov. Gavin Newsom on "TMZ Live" -- ripping his response to the L.A. ICE protests and claiming it was such a mess, Trump had no choice but to step in.

Knowles pointed to torched cop cars, assaulted officers, and even an 'illegal alien' allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail as proof L.A. was in serious trouble -- blaming the chaos on Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass' failure to act accordingly, which forced Trump to bring in the National Guard and send in the Marines.

When our hosts pushed back -- noting the chaos was limited to one small area -- Knowles doubled down, saying Trump’s actually showing restraint in the matter... and this kind of tough crackdown is exactly what voters are begging for.

Blake Lively's lawyer says his client isn't backing down in her legal battle now that Justin Baldoni's lawsuit has been dismissed ... 'cause she's taking this one all the way to trial.

We spoke with Michael Gottlieb on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... and, we asked him about Bryan Freedman -- Baldoni's top attorney -- claiming Blake's team is celebrating too soon.

Remember, Bryan came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and said he and his team absolutely plan to refile the four claims against Lively that weren't dismissed with prejudice ... and repeatedly said he looked forward to deposing Lively sometime this month, provided she doesn't drop her lawsuit.

Justin Baldoni's lawyer is taking shots at his client's legal nemesis Blake Lively ... blasting Blake for what he says is a premature celebration.

Bryan Freedman joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and we asked him how he and Justin reacted to Blake's big legal win Monday, when a judge tossed out Baldoni's defamation claims in a $400 million lawsuit against Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds.

While it seemed like the end of the legal beef, Bryan tells us this still has a long way to go ... which is why he thinks it's rich Blake is on what he calls a "false victory tour."

The chaos erupting in L.A. is less about politics and more about a serious leadership problem, according to a Texas congressman.

Rep. Wesley Hunt didn't hold back on "TMZ Live" Tuesday -- telling us the federal government had to deploy 700 Marines and thousands of National Guard troops to restore order in the City of Angels ... because it's all about protecting American streets from looking like a war zone.

Wesley makes it clear to us this isn't about red vs. blue states -- it’s about who's actually leading with backbone, and in his eyes, Texas is setting the bar.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk are beefing hard as their bromance goes up in flames -- but one tech journo says don’t count out a reboot ... 'cause these two could buddy up again.

Faiz Siddiqui -- a technology journalist and the author of "Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk" -- told "TMZ Live" Friday that Elon and Trump could totally kiss and make up, because, let’s face it, they’re both the type to have short memories ... when it suits them.

You have to watch the video -- Faiz even compares the Trump-Elon drama to the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef … and yeah, it’s as hilarious as it sounds!

Dogs on Skid Row are being fed fentanyl, bred for money, and otherwise abused and neglected, and politicians are doing nothing about ... so says an animal rights activist.

Joey Tuccio -- an advocate for and rescuer of animals, who works with the nonprofit Starts With One Today -- stopped by "TMZ Live" to shine a light on dogs living on Los Angeles' notorious Skid Row ... a collection of streets in downtown where many homeless people live.

Tuccio says there are about 100 dogs living in the area ... and, while he doesn't want to see people's pets taken away, he's concerned about the dogs he's seen, which he says some people are using as guinea pigs to test fentanyl.

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.