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Pete Buttigieg is back where it all started -- the exact place he hinted he had his eyes on The White House -- but this time around he's no longer a starry-eyed, long shot mayor ... he's not even a mayor at all!

Mayor Candidate Pete spoke Thursday at the U.S. Conference of Mayors' annual winter meeting in Washington D.C. ... exactly one year after he announced he was launching a 2020 exploratory committee at the same event.

Though he wouldn't officially announce his presidential campaign until April, he made it clear at the 2019 conference his sights were set on The White House ... and spelled out exactly why he thinks he's the right guy for the job.

Flash forward to today -- we asked Buttigieg to recap the past 365 days and he tells us it's "hard to believe" ... including his early retirement as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

Pete stepped down from the role and passed the torch to his successor, James Mueller, on New Year's Day, so he can focus on the tough race ahead for the Democratic nomination.

Vice Prez Mike Pence is feeling a big chill, courtesy of Prince Charles ... who blatantly dissed the veep -- but the only question is whether the cold shoulder was intentional.

Take a look -- the Prince walked down the line Thursday, greeting world leaders at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. Handshakes all around, until he got to VP Pence and his wife. Charles looked him right in the eye ... and moved right along.

No handshake, no shoulder pat, not even a head nod.

Pence appears to reach out and tap Charles on the arm, but the Prince was already engaged with Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Snub or not, Pence's office is already on the defensive ... it released a photo of the VP and the Prince sharing a moment and claims they "spoke prior to entering the event floor and after his remarks as well."

It's unclear if the handshake snub happened before or after what appears to be a friendly greeting outside the event.

Neil Young's officially ready to keep on rockin' in the free world, and soon ... he'll be free to express his hatred for Donald Trump in a voting booth.

The legendary rock 'n' roll artist was granted U.S. citizenship Wednesday at the Convention Center in downtown L.A. ... and he's clearly proud to be an American.

Accompanied by his wife, Daryl Hannah, Neil excitedly waved his mini Old Glory as he left the Oath Ceremony while clutching his naturalization documents.

If ya don't know ... Neil's from Canada, but he's been a Southern (California) Man off and on since the '60s, and he recently decided to pursue dual citizenship so he could vote in the 2020 election.

Meghan Markle's an expert at pushing the envelope when it comes to what's politically acceptable to the Palace, and she proved it with some covert statements on her Royal IG with Prince Harry.

During her time as a Senior Royal, the Duchess of Sussex used the only social media she's allowed to have to make her political opinions known, but she did it subtly, knowing she was wading into dangerous waters with the Crown ... sources close to Meghan tell TMZ.

If you don't know ... Queen Elizabeth and her family are supposed to refrain from expressing political opinions publicly, but we're told Meghan never gave up her previously strongly held political beliefs.

Our Meghan sources say she carefully crafted IG posts to avoid overtly saying what she was thinking or supporting, but the writing was on the wall ... or in the photos.

For example, when her friend and women's rights activist, Loujain al-Hathloul, was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia ... Markle knew she couldn't come out and condemn a foreign government.

Instead, Meghan showed subtle solidarity by sharing a photo of herself with Loujain as part of a bigger post about One Young World ... a UK-based charity which is described as a global forum for young leaders. Meghan's support for the charity began in 2014, before she married Harry. Loujain was imprisoned on the weekend of Meghan's wedding and it's clear that, despite the diplomatic nature of her royal role, Meghan was calling for her friend to be freed by the Saudi regime.

That same post included a photo of Markle sitting next to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, shortly after he won re-election -- a low-key shout-out of support for her friend.

Our sources say, for the most part, she knew how to walk up to the line without crossing it, which helped her dodge any issues with royal higher-ups. Call it effective self-censorship.

Kellyanne Conway is here with a scorching hot take on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ... she says MLK would take a hard stance against Donald Trump's impeachment.

Trump's aide was talking to reporters Monday in D.C. when she invoked Dr. King's name to illustrate her anger about the impeachment trial, which starts Tuesday in the Senate.

Kellyanne says the proceedings are tearing our country apart, and that's exactly the kind of divisiveness MLK Jr. opposed.

It seems a thin and shallow viewpoint ... considering the fact MLK fought and marched for the Civil Rights movement, even though it divided the country.

She added, Dr. King would not be down with the impeachment trial because he didn't envision having "Americans dragged through a process where the president is not going to be removed from office, is not being charged with bribery, extortion, high crimes or misdemeanors.”

Bottom line, for Kellyanne anyway, is Trump supports MLK's vision of unity -- therefore, if you love King ... you shouldn't support Trump's impeachment trial.

Like we said, hot take on ANY day, but especially on the man's holiday.

U.S. Senator Susan Collins knows tough times are coming for her, the country, and possibly President Trump ... which is why today she's finding some solace at the MLK Memorial.

We got the 4-term senator from Maine on her way there Monday in Washington D.C., and it's clear she thinks every senator should do the same ahead of the Senate trial for Trump's impeachment ... which is set to kick off Tuesday.

Collins says she wishes every senator would visit MLK's Memorial before performing their constitutional duty. She says she hopes her visit brings her strength and she's gonna need it.

The senator is in a unique position as one of just a handful of moderate Republicans. In fact, nearly 21 years ago, she broke party lines and voted to acquit President Bill Clinton.

Some Republicans are still furious with her for letting 42 off the hook. What's more, Collins is seeking re-election but the Senate trial puts her in a no-win situation -- a vote to acquit Trump means facing the democrats' wrath while a vote to convict Trump would trigger relentless attacks from Trump himself.

Prince Harry -- or Henry Charles Albert David for short, now -- is carrying on without a royal title just fine ... and he's even looking the part of a smart, casual commoner too.

The Duke of Sussex was spotted Sunday in London heading into the Ivy Chelsea Garden restaurant, where a social event of some kind was going down. PH was in attendance, obviously, which is interesting considering he's no longer His Highness ... just Harry.

Fact is, Harry doesn't rep the Queen or the Commonwealth anymore after an agreement between him, his wife, Meghan, and his grandma was reached just this weekend. Buckingham Palace says they'll still uphold the Royal Family's values, just informally.

That said, it's clear Har here still has the access and privilege of being a Royal -- he continues to hit public events like this and is probably rubbing shoulders with folks along the way. And, while he comes from nobility, he doesn't have the added pressure anymore.

Michelle Obama is taking a wholesome approach to the new year -- clinging to the past by working out to songs that are a few to several years old ... most being curse-free.

The former first lady put out her 2020 workout playlist Sunday, and it features a bunch of oldies but goodies ... for millennials, that is. She's got songs on there that date back to 1990 all the way up to this past year. Most of her tracks are smack dab in the 2010s.

Mrs. Obama tapped stuff like "Feels Good" (1990), "Feelin' So Good Remix" (1999), "Lose My Breath" (2004), "A God Like You" (2011), "3005" (2013), "Lay Me Down" (2013), "Godspeed" (2016), "Slide" (2017), "Toast" (2018) and lots of other tracks spanning the decades.

Queen Elizabeth doesn't seem to be shedding any tears after cutting the cord with Harry and Meghan, because she showed up with Prince Andrew, smiling and wearing a checkered coat.

And, speaking of checkered ... it's a big show of support for her son, who's smack in the middle of the Jeffrey Epstein pedophile scandal after that disastrous TV interview.

Her appearance comes a day after she 86'd the royal titles of Harry and Meghan. It's apparent ... H&M aren't coming back to England anytime soon, and they may be forever outsiders after their move to Canada.

Amber Heard is about as talented and passionate as they come, which was on full display this weekend during the Women's March ... where she showed off her ASL.

The actress was one of many celebs who showed up in L.A. Saturday for the fourth annual event -- which got started back in 2016 when President Trump was elected. Amber got on stage at one point and gave a heartfelt speech about her role in the fight.

Check it out ... while she never outright says his name, it sounds like some of what she's talking about here might be touching on her marriage to Johnny Depp ... which ended in a long, nasty legal battle where allegations of lies and abuse were made.

After talking to the crowd, Amber shared a sweet moment with a fan on the ground ... who spoke to her in sign language. Turns out, she's fluent in ASL -- and it definitely shows.

BTW, we also got Amber arriving in an SUV and asked about her injured foot -- which has been straddled with a brace for a few weeks now after a trip to Hawaii. She joked sharks had gotten a hold of her, and when we asked if she was serious ... she shot a knowing look.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are a lot more like the rest of us today -- ditching their Royal titles and are pivoting toward becoming commoners ... all with the Queen's blessing.

Buckingham Palace announced a path forward Saturday for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the wake of "Megxit." They say as part of the new agreement reached between all parties, Meg and Harry will no longer formally rep Queen Elizabeth publicly ... and they will also not go by His or Her Highness, as they're no longer working members of the Royal Family.

Another thing they're losing ... public funds and military appointments. All that comes with being a full-time Royal, and since they're out -- all the perks are out too.

The palace says they'll maintain the private charities and causes they support -- and while they're no longer doing anything on behalf of the Queen ... they've agreed to uphold the values of Her Majesty.

Elizabeth Warren didn't just snub Bernie Sanders' handshake after the Democratic debate ... she got in his face and accused him of calling her a liar on national TV.

CNN released the audio of the testy exchange, which helps explain why Warren rebuffed Bernie's extended hand -- she was pissed off!

Warren storms past Joe Biden to walk up to Sanders and says, "I think you called me a liar on national TV" ... to which he replied, "What?"

After she repeats herself, Bernie says, "Let's not do it right now. You want to have that discussion, we'll have that discussion."

Cardi B's idea of turning to politics shouldn't be written off as a pipe dream, 'cause the girl's got what it takes to connect with the people ... so says Omarosa.

We talked to O about Cardi's recent musings about jumping into the public service arena, and she actually told us CB's got all the right ingredients to become a successful politician -- namely, she brings authenticity, passion, energy and real-life struggles to the table.

Omarosa says that's what voters look for in their leaders, and she thinks Cardi's perfectly suited to give 'em what they want. And, besides that, O says the public is screaming for a shakeup these days in their politics -- just take a look at who they voted for as POTUS.

Jenifer Lewis is begging climate change deniers to wake up and smell the smoke from Australia ... and believe the scientific facts she observed with her own eyes.

The "Black-ish" star was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to make a passionate plea to save the planet from the effects of man-made pollution. She told us her recent trip to Antarctica inspired her to start speaking out -- and even write a song -- about the devastation climate change is causing around the world.

She says she spent 2-and-a-half weeks on a ship off the Antarctic coast and saw massive glaciers melting away, Jenifer told us it not only terrified her but moved the captain of her ship to tears.

Jenifer was already planning to sound the alarm when she got back to the U.S., and then the Australian wildfire news exploded around the world. She blames that tragedy on the "stupidity of humans."

Cardi B's potential political career is getting a boost from Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders, who says she has the perfect background -- and no, he's not referring to "Bodak Yellow."

As you know, Cardi and Bernie have gotten pretty tight. She's obviously fond of him, but it's a two-way street ... because Sen. Sanders told us he's all for getting into politics, as she's recently hinted.

Sanders tells TMZ ... "Cardi B is deeply concerned about what's happening in the country. She knows what it's like to live in poverty and struggle, and it would be great for her to bring that experience to politics."

Cardi's shown an interest in politics for a while now, but as we reported ... she's now saying she's more serious about a run, and soon.

President Trump signed and delivered the 2 articles of impeachment against him ... to a guy who duped 45 into a very valuable autograph, which he's trying to hawk for big cash.

The Prez held a rally last month up in Battle Creek, MI and at one point, he apparently signed a paper handed to him by someone in the crowd. That signature, as it turns out, was scrawled on a copy of the House of Representatives' impeachment document.

We're told the guy who snagged the autograph printed out the report the day before the House formally voted to accuse POTUS of high crimes.

Now, this fella's partnered up with Goldin Auctions ... which we're told is expecting to get anywhere from $50k to $100k, with an opening bid of $4k. It's up for grabs on their site from Jan. 20 through Feb. 22.

It's funny ... a similar item featuring Trump's John Hancock made its way to the auction block last month -- an unwittingly signed copy of Trump's Oath of Office from a Pennsylvania rally.