Justin Gaethje has some things in common with the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team -- he's a huge underdog like the boys were in Lake Placid -- and he's gunning to replicate that American Pride with his main event fight against Ilia Topuria at the White House!
"I get to control my destiny. What an opportunity. This is 'Miracle On Ice' type of energy that I'm trying to drive into this country," Gaethje told Babcock on Monday.
"I have an opportunity to do something special and I could not ask for anything better. I think 250 years ago, I think we were definitely bigger underdogs. And look where we are now. So I'm ready."
Justin says he understands he's an American fighting a man born across the Atlantic Ocean at an event celebrating the 250th birthday of the country ... and that brings extra pressure.
President Donald Trump is abandoning plans to hand out nearly $2 billion to his allies -- including J6 rioters -- on the heels of judges blocking the so-called anti-weaponization fund.
TMZ has confirmed the Dept. of Justice is opting to abide by the federal judges' ruling that it could not "under any circumstances" proceed with handing out money to people who believe they'd been targeted by the DOJ.
One source told Axios, which first reported the news, "It's dead for now."
PresidentDonald Trump says he'll be at Madison Square Garden when the NBA Finals tip off next month ... confirming he was invited by James Dolan, owner of the Knicks.
Rumors began to swirl this week that POTUS would make a trip up to the Big Apple for the series -- the first time the Knicks have played for an NBA title in nearly three decades.
Trump cleared things up during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump's a New Yorker first and foremost ... so of course he's considering playing hooky from the White House to watch his beloved Knicks.
According to the New York Times -- POTUS is seriously considering showing up to Madison Square Garden to cheer on the squad during the NBA finals sometime next week.
The outlet reports President Trump planned to hit up MSG Wednesday for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals if the Cleveland Cavaliers had pulled off a win Monday against New York in Game 4 ... but they fell way short -- losing 130-93.
Pam Bondi is reportedly dealing with cancer -- after getting fired as U.S. Attorney General by President Donald Trump.
Axios reports that Bondi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer just after Trump showed her to the door at the Justice Department in early April. Bondi has been recovering after undergoing treatment for the disease.
There's a huge construction project making major progress at the White House ... and we don't mean President Trump's new ballroom ... we're talking UFC's Freedom 250 arena!!!
Check out these photos of the fight venue going up on the South Lawn ... the structure is really starting to take shape ahead of the historic June 14 card.
The biggest progress appears to be with the star-spangled arch that will stretch over the octagon fight cage ... the arch has the red, white and blue colorway and tons of lighting effects in place.
The gunman who allegedly fired shots outside the White House on Saturday has died ... according to a statement from the United States Secret Service.
The Chief of Communications for the United States Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, tells TMZ ... shortly after 6 PM ET an individual on 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue -- very close to the White House -- "pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing."
Secret Service returned fire, Guglielmi says ... striking the suspect who was taken to a hospital where the suspect died. A bystander was also struck during the shooting. Officers did not sustain injuries during the shooting.
Donald Trump owes his son, Don Jr., and his bride, Bettina Anderson, a great gift ... because he's officially skipping their wedding down in The Bahamas.
POTUS announced the news on Truth Social Friday afternoon ... telling his followers he would love to be in attendance -- but it's just not a good time for him right now.
He adds it is "important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House" during this time ... but he's wishing them all the best.
Well, here's something you don't see every day -- the U.S. Air Force shooting a UFO out of the sky ... at least that's how experts are interpreting this explosive new video the Dept. of War just dropped.
Based on the video's title and description, it seems like this incident went down in February 2023 over Lake Huron. You can see the unidentified aerial phenomenon -- or UAP -- getting bigger in the scope of an F-16C, and a matter of seconds later it's destroyed.
According to the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), this Pentagon footage is "likely derived from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform."
This comes as part of a new batch of UFO files released Friday by the DOW ... a drop that also includes a bunch of documents, photos, and other videos of alleged UFO activity.
Nicki Minaj's bond with President Donald Trumpis the real deal ... with a Trump insider telling us she's never asked him for anything in return.
Charlieran into political consultant Alex Bruesewitz -- who helped connect Nicki with POTUS -- outside the Capitol Hill Club in D.C. on Wednesday ... and he had nothing but praise for Nicki ... calling her a great person with a massive platform.
And check it out ... Bruesewitz told us Nicki and Trump's relationship has blossomed into a genuine friendship. He shut down any speculation Nicki cozied up to Trump for special treatment.
Senator Ted Cruz and Charlie got in a heated exchange ... over President Trump's $1.776 billion slush fund that might compensate January 6th insurrectionists at taxpayer expense.
Charlie was blunt ... as a taxpayer he didn't want to pay people who committed violence at the Capitol. The Senator from Texas shot back with a question ... Was Charlie concerned about President Biden weaponizing the Justice Department against peaceful protesters as well as President Trump himself?
Charlie pushed back, saying this wasn't about Biden in the past ... it was about Trump in the present -- giving money to January 6th rioters who were convicted of violence.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar is under investigation by the Department of Justice ... so says Vice PresidentJD Vance.
The Veep addressed the media in the White House's James S. Brady Press Briefing Room ... and he was asked about previously saying Rep. Omar "definitely committed immigration fraud against the United States of America."
Vance says the DOJ's reviewing the situation ... and, while he doesn't want to "prejudge" an investigation, he feels there's "something fishy" going on -- especially when it comes to her marital status. Vance and others in the administration have advanced a conspiracy theory that Omar married her own brother.
Natalie Maines is diving headfirst back into political firestorm territory ... more than two decades after the Dixie Chicks controversy that turned country music upside down.
The singer posted a scorching Instagram message Monday aimed at President Donald Trump ... accusing him of destroying democracy and using taxpayer money to help January 6 defendants.
In the post, Maines wrote, "Our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes," before unleashing even harsher language -- calling Trump a "fugly slut" and referencing the Epstein files in a hashtag.
Michelle Obama says the MAGA movement's not full of racist bigots ... it's formed by desperate, working-class people who needed something different.
The former First Lady of the United States appeared on the podcast "Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso" ... and the two discussed the massive right-wing political movement that rose to the top of American politics under President Donald Trump.
Obama says it's not as simple as labeling anyone who supports the movement a racist or to assume they don't care about the vulnerable in society ... arguing people who voted for President Barack Obama twice jumped over to Trump because the system simply wasn't working for them anymore.
Ghislaine Maxwell can't rely on President Donald Trump to secure her release from prison ... because his acting Attorney General says he will not recommend pardoning Maxwell.
Todd Blanche -- who took over the DOJ in earlier April after POTUS fired AG Pam Bondi -- testified before Congress Tuesday ... and the infamous Epstein files came up.
Senator Chris Van Hollen pressed Blanche on whether he'd meet with Epstein's victims -- he said he has -- before asking him if he'd commit to not pardoning any person named in the files.
