Sen. Ed Markey Trump Not with U.S. ... He's with Putin!!!
President Trump threw the U.S. under the bus by publicly taking Vladimir Putin's word that Russia didn't meddle in the 2016 election ... so says Massachusetts' U.S. senator.
We got Sen. Ed Markey Monday in D.C. and he said Trump's display in Helsinki makes it clear he's only looking out for himself in dealing with Putin. He defied U.S. intelligence info, and said he didn't see any reason why Russia would have meddled in our elections.
Here's the video. Trump, asked whether he believes in his own U.S. Intelligence Community or Putin on Russian hacking, Trump responds: "I don't see any reason why it would be [Russia.]" (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/sKLSeVaqlS
@kylegriffin1
Markey says Monday's summit should have been confrontational, but instead turned into an embarrassing display of virtual ass-kissing.
As for why it went down that way -- the Senator didn't dismiss the conspiracy theory about Russia having dirt on 45.
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Kourtney Kardashian BF Younes Bendjima Throws Shade at Her Booty Pic
So, this is a first -- someone's complaining about Kourtney Kardashian sharing a hot thong pic ... and that someone is her boyfriend, Younes Bendjima.
Younes took the jealous boyfriend route Monday, posting a comment on Kourt's photo which many are interpreting as major shade. He wrote, "thats what you need to show to get likes?"
He's since deleted his IG burn.
Kourtney and Younes have been dating since last October and reportedly had a brief breakup in March ... and word was there was some tension over Instagram.
Social media ... the ultimate relationship killer.
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Rae Sremmurd Bum-Rushed Onstage ... Fan Tackled Hard!!!
Rae Sremmurd didn't see it coming -- getting bum-rushed onstage by a dude who also never saw the HARD TACKLE that came after his very poor decision.
The incident went down Saturday night at the Ottawa Bluesfest music festival in Canada as the group was in the middle of performing its hit song, "Guatemala." You can see a line of security in front of the stage, but somehow this guy managed to elude them all and make his way onstage.
Almost right away you know it's a bad idea. The crasher at first tries getting a selfie ... but his ass gets rejected, and then comes the blindside tackle. The guy's subdued and the concert seems to go on without a hitch.
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Conor McGregor Catches World Cup Final With Vladimir Putin
Conor McGregor got to sit in on the World Cup final in person this weekend, showing up as a guest of none other than Vladimir Putin.
The UFC star posted a photo of himself Sunday alongside Russia's president, posing like a tough guy with someone he calls "one of the greatest leaders of our time."
Conor's caption read ... "Today I was invited to the World Cup final as a guest of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This man is one of the greatest leaders of our time and I was honored to attend such a landmark event alongside him. Today was an honor for me Mr. Putin. Thank you and congratulations on an amazing World Cup."
He ended with "Go Russia" ... written in Russian. Hopefully they're both aware Russia got knocked out in the quarter finals, but that's beside the point. What's important (and weird) is that Conor is super chummy with Putin ... who's known as kind of a bad dude, depending on who you talk to.
All we can say ... it's an interesting way to ring in the big baby news from this weekend. Word to your Mother, Russia ...we guess.
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Logan Paul Aaron Paul's a 'Bully' ... I'd Beat Your Tiny Ass!
Same last name ... but NO love between Logan Paul and "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul -- with Logan telling TMZ Sports he would beat Aaron's ass if they ever came face-to-face.
Their beef goes back a few months ... when Aaron trashed Logan for his video stunt gone wrong in the suicide forest in Japan. Aaron told Logan to "go rot in hell."
Now, Logan is firing back ... calling Aaron an "Internet bully" -- and warning the actor that if he REALLY wants a piece, he'll end up getting hurt.
Of course, Logan is training for a real boxing match against video game/YouTube superstar KSI next month in England ... and Logan tells us it's going to be one of the biggest pop culture events of the year.
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Scarlett Johansson Withdraws from Trans Movie Amid Backlash
Scarlett Johansson has decided to back out of the film "Rub and Tug" after receiving some serious criticism for taking the role of the lead character ... who is a transgender person.
Johansson tells "Out" magazine ... "In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project."
She adds ... “Our cultural understanding of transgender people continues to advance, and I’ve learned a lot from the community since making my first statement about my casting and realize it was insensitive."
Scarlett admits she would have loved to play the role of Dante, but understands why people were upset by her being cast and feel he should be played by a transgender person.
This is a pretty big reversal from when the controversy first broke a couple of weeks ago, and her rep suggested it was unfair to blast Johansson for taking the role when other actors -- like Jeffrey Tambor, Jared Leto and Felicity Huffman -- had played trans characters ... to critical acclaim.
"Rub and Tug" is the story of Dante "Tex" Gill, who was born a woman but identified as a man and ran a prostitution ring out of his massage parlor in the '70s and '80s. It's unclear at this time how production will be affected by Johansson's exit.
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Nicole Richie My Vacation ... It's The Sh*t, Thanks To Bird!
Nicole Richie should go and buy herself a lottery ticket or hit the poker table because she's dripping in good luck after being dumped on by a bird on her Italian vacation.
Richie displayed the remnants of a bird that dropped a giant deuce on her head while she was on a balcony.
The bird had excellent aim, getting its #2 all over the left side of her head, and Richie took it like a champ as hubby Joel Madden documented the whole thing.
Joel says it's good luck, coming from an old saying ... the more birds involved, the richer you'll be! So, next time a bird poops on you, remember that it's a good thing.
Celebs ... even they get sh*t on.
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Madison Beer And Boyfriend Zack Bia What Trouble in Paradise?
Madison Beer and bf Zack Bia are giving their relationship a fighting chance just a few days after they got into a huge fight outside The Nice Guy.
The couple left Delilah's Thursday night holding hands and insisted there's no trouble in paradise -- despite the very clear video of them screaming at each other Monday night. It got so intense, she was crying. But, the singer told us she and Zack are better than ever.
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Madison and Zack started dating last year ... after she broke up with Brooklyn Beckham. Tough shoes to fill, for sure, but outside Delilah he seemed up to the task.
They were smiling and hand in hand as they got into Madison's whip. Time -- as in, 4 days -- heals all wounds.
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Sarah Palin Even Men Are Pissed at Sacha's Pranks ... It's Like #MeToo!!!
Sarah Palin says politicians falling victim to Sacha Baron Cohen's pranks is kinda like the new #MeToo. Seriously.
Palin's still railing at Sacha for duping her -- pretending to be a disabled veteran to interview her -- and says she's justified in her anger, because "all these men coming out now saying, 'Oh, yeah, me too.'"
Unfortunate turn of phrase?
Anyway, she told 'GMA' she walked out on Cohen's prank because he's humiliating middle-class Americans, and blamed a speaker's organization for not vetting the comedian.
As for the fact she's, even if inadvertently, promoting the hell outta Sacha's show -- Sarah dropped a "pimp" line. Seriously.
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Georgia Cops Suspended Arrest or No Arrest ... Let's Flip a Coin!!!
Pretty shocking video here of 2 Georgia cops giggling while using a coin flip app to determine if they should arrest a speeding motorist -- and the recorded incident got both officers suspended.
Roswell PD pulled over Sarah Webb back in April for driving 80 MPH in a 45 MPH zone on a rainy day. Officers Courtney Brown and Kristee Wilson were trying to decide whether to simply give Webb a ticket for reckless driving or arrest her ... and opted for a coin flip.
On the video -- recorded by the officers' own body cams, btw -- you can hear Officer Wilson say, "A (arrest) head, R (release) tail." Brown says "Okay" and laughs. Despite the fact it came up tails ... the cops opted to arrest Webb.
Webb had no idea about the coin flip until Atlanta's WXIA uncovered the video. As a result, the cops are on administrative leave during an internal affairs investigation -- and Webb's charges were dropped.
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Danielle Bregoli Bodyguard Hurls Stage Crasher ... Then Takes Dive Himself
Danielle Bregoli's bodyguard sprung into action like a caped crusader, flying over the crowd after someone tried to crash the stage during her show in Amsterdam.
Danielle, aka Bhad Bhabie, was in the middle of her XXXTentacion tribute Thursday night when a fan rushed the stage and then, seconds later, dove off in one of the more graceful leaps on record.
Enter Frank, Danielle's bodyguard, who was on the stage crasher's tail. Frank took his own leap ... more of a cannonball -- he took out a whole section of the crowd.
We’re told Danielle wasn't really startled because her security is trained to kick off stage crashers ... exactly what Frank did.
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Cardi B Nicki Did Not Buy $5k Gift Basket For Kulture's Birth
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EXCLUSIVE
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Cardi B caught wind Nicki Minaj had reportedly bought her a pricey gift basket from Petit Trésor -- but, as it turns out, it never happened ... TMZ has learned.
Sources with direct knowledge tell us Cardi's team reached out to the famed WeHo baby boutique after reading a report claiming Nicki had snapped up a $5,000 basket and sent it to Cardi after hearing she'd given birth to Kulture.
We're told Cardi's camp called Petit -- there's only one location -- looking for a tracking number for Nicki's gift, because Cardi's been flooded with presents. However, they were told by the store's owner ... Nicki had NOT purchased anything.
We also called the store, and an employee confirmed neither Nicki nor anyone on her team bought any items from them.
The gift basket would have been an interesting olive branch because Nicki and Cardi were beefing earlier this year -- but no dice.
The good news ... Cardi's not exactly hurting for gifts or pricey baby gear.
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Charlamagne Tha God 'I Never Sexually Assaulted Anyone' ... DNA Tests Proved It
Charlamagne Tha God is furious over new reports suggesting he sexually assaulted a teenage girl more than 17 years ago, since he was already cleared in a court of law ... and now he's lawyered up.
"The Breakfast Club" star's 2001 case is back in the headlines -- with his accuser now claiming she wants "closure" nearly 2 decades after officials dropped the criminal sexual assault with a minor charge against Char.
For the record, officials had always maintained that Charlamagne cooperated with the investigation and took a DNA test ... which did not produce any evidence that he had sexual contact with the girl.
Charlamagne did, however, plead guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor due to underage kids (including the accuser) drinking alcohol at the party he threw. He was sentenced to probation.
Now, Charlamagne -- real name Lenard McKelvey -- believes someone is dredging up the old case and fudging the facts in an effort to smear his name.
He's lawyered up with famed celebrity bulldog attorney Marty Singer and Michael Weinsten who tells TMZ, "More than seventeen years ago, Charlamagne was accused of a sexual assault. He never had sexual relations or any physical contact with the accuser and even provided DNA to prove it."
"At the time of these claims, Charlamagne cooperated fully with authorities, and after the investigation, this charge against him was dropped."
"Charlamagne has spoken about this many times over the years in public, including in his book. While Charlamagne has empathy for all sexual assault victims, he cannot take responsibility for a crime he did not commit.”
We're told Charlamagne is now considering his legal options and vows to vehemently protect his name and reputation.
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Justin Bieber Roller-Coaster of Emotions ... After Engagement Trip
Justin Bieber is catching all the feels after his engagement to Hailey Baldwin, and the question now is -- which ones were on display during this phone call?
The Biebs was spotted outside his fiancee's Brooklyn apartment Tuesday -- shortly before they hopped in a chopper to visit her mom and dad, Stephen Baldwin. He's definitely having an emotional reaction to the phone convo, but hard to tell if he's laughing or crying.
Whatever the topic ... he does seem kinda stressed by it. We know papa Baldwin's already given his blessing, so we doubt Justin was anxious about going to hang with his in-laws-to-be.
It's been a whirlwind of an engagement since he popped the question in the Bahamas over the past weekend. Maybe the guy just needed a breather.
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Common Papa John's Founder Had To Go You Can't Use The N-Word!
Common says there's now a zero-tolerance policy for using the n-word ... so he's not surprised former Papa John's founder John Schnatter is out of a job.
Here's the thing ... Common says he doesn't f*** with Papa John's anyway ... nonetheless, the decision to axe him was the right thing to do.
Schnatter resigned Wednesday from the University of Louisville Board of Trustees after being called out by the NAACP for using the N-word on a conference call in May. He later resigned as chairman of Papa John's International.
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'RHBH' Star Taylor Armstrong Kylie is a 'Self-Made' Billionaire ... With Some Help, Of Course
Kylie Jenner might have had help becoming America's youngest self-made billionaire, but she still deserves a lot of the credit ... so says Taylor Armstrong.
We got the former 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star leaving Craig's in WeHo Wednesday, where we asked what a lot of people were asking after Forbes threw Kylie on their cover and called her a "self-made" billionaire. Is she actually self-made?
Self-made means having succeeded in life unaided.
@Dictionarycom
Used in a sentence: Forbes says that Kylie Jenner is a self-made woman. https://t.co/sr8Ncd7s5A https://t.co/ehEL7Cf6KV
Dictionary.com got in on the ribbing too -- posting Kylie's cover and the definition of self-made ... having succeeded in life unaided. Many have argued that Kylie had nothing but aid in building out her makeup empire -- ya know, 'cause her family is filthy rich and famous.
Taylor doesn't see it that way though. She says someone can still be self-made with a little assistance ... it all just depends on what you do with it.
Kylie definitely did that and then some ... amassing a $900 million fortune over 3 years. Plus, she's a great hands-on-mom to Stormi in between all that ladder climbing. Well done.