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Family members of the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting are trying to make sure their loved one's deaths are not in vain -- they want Congress to do something, anything, about firearms and white supremacists.

We got Ben Crump and the families he represents Wednesday on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are hearing testimony from survivors and loved ones of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde.

Michelle Spight, whose cousin Markus Morrison was one of the 10 killed in Buffalo, says she's tired of the rhetoric coming from Congress ... and she wants more done to combat white supremacy, because the gunman in their case followed that ideology.

Dominique Douglas, another of Markus' cousins, says if Congress members do nothing in the wake of multiple mass shootings, they should be voted out of office.

Crump says the bodies of the Buffalo 10 were so mangled by the shooter's assault rifle, they're the modern equivalent to Emmett Till ... and he's calling on lawmakers to put people over politics to enact gun reform before there's another public tragedy.

L.A.'s mayoral race is officially a 2-horse competition between Rep. Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, and Hollywood -- like the rest of America -- seems torn.

More celebs have shelled out traditional donations for Bass -- including some high-profile names like Steven Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston and Samuel L. Jackson, but Caruso (who's a commercial real estate titan) seems to have more vocal support on social media.

That makes sense, as billionaire Caruso's been self-financing his campaign.

Here's a breakdown as Tuesday's election results continue to pour in.

Aside from the names mentioned above, Congresswoman Bass has also pulled in cash contributions from the likes of Jennifer Garner, JJ Abrams, Ken Jeong, Octavia Spencer, Sally Field and William H. Macy ... all of whom pitched in $1,500 each.

Jane Fonda donated $1,200, Donald Glover chipped in with $1,000, Rashida Jones another $1,000 and Helen Hunt pledged $500. So, a fair amount of dough from Hollywood.

While Caruso doesn't have nearly as many famous financial donors in his corner, his team tells us he's received a huge outpouring of online support ... which, arguably, is equally valuable.

Tweets for Caruso have come in from Kim K, Katy Perry, Elon Musk, Gwyneth Paltrow, Snoop Dogg and Kris Jenner -- just to name a few.

Bass is no slouch on social media either ... she's gotten backing from Tiffany Haddish and John Legend, who openly called for Angelenos to support her at the voting booths.

It remains to be seen who might emerge victorious, but if the latest polling can be believed ... neither candidate will get 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary -- and that means they'll have a runoff in November.

BTW, Caruso -- who'd been a lifelong Republican until recently -- is running as a Dem, as is Bass. He's got the biz expertise, but she has years of legislative experience in D.C. and Sacramento.

Matthew McConaughey is serious about making a real change when it comes to guns in The United States ... meeting with politicians and speaking from The White House after a shooting that killed 19 elementary students in his hometown.

The actor joined the White House press briefing Tuesday, urging politicians on both sides to take action following the Uvalde shooting -- saying making a difference in the safety of our country is the best way to honor the lives lost.

McConaughey says he and his wife, Camila, spent a lot of time on the ground with the families of victims of the shooting -- sharing stories, tears and memories ... and now he is urging those in the highest office to make a change.

Matthew's words come following a short meeting with President Biden ... and a second day of meetings with lawmakers, as Congress mulls over new gun safety legislation this week.

Of course, his speech at the WH isn't the first time the actor has spoken out on this issue. He took to social media, pleading for gun reform just hours after the shooting.

Sen. Ted Cruz is sticking to his guns, literally and figuratively, when it comes to potential gun reform in the wake of so many mass shootings -- insisting any solution should disarm bad guys, and not the good.

Cruz was at Reagan International Airport Monday, when we asked about the Uvalde massacre and what the Senate intended to do about the rash of mass shootings in America. The Senator from Texas quickly rattled off the Robb Elementary School casualties, and then dug in his heels against any bans on firearms.

Of course, in the wake of Uvalde and Buffalo, many have renewed calls for Congress to pass stricter gun control measures ... starting with banning assault rifles like the ones the shooters used in both tragedies.

Cruz, however, tells our photog most of his Texas constituents don't think that's the right way to decrease casualties in mass shooting incidents. Instead, he argues, we ought to focus on ways to get firearms out of the hands of those who never should've had them to begin with ... like the Uvalde shooter, for instance.

He says he's proposed legislation that would enforce stricter background checks on would-be gun seekers -- something that he seems eye-to-eye with Dems. He also wants new measures to beef up law enforcement at schools, a position Cruz and others have championed since the Sandy Hook massacre ... and, keep in mind, there was an armed guard in Uvalde too.

Fact is, several polls have shown the majority of Americans support common sense gun reform, including a ban on assault weapons -- but Sen. Cruz pushed back at any such notion, telling us Texans feel otherwise.

Queen Elizabeth met her great-granddaughter for the first time over the weekend, but don't expect to see QE on any pages of Lilibet's baby book ... because she reportedly banned photos from being taken of the introduction.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter, Lilibet, celebrated her first birthday -- which so happened to fall on the same weekend as the Queen's Platinum Jubilee -- but The Sun reports the Queen denied Harry and Meghan a photographer to capture the moment.

The report states Harry and Meghan were informed the intro would only be a private family meeting -- and there was a worry if photos were taken, they'd be passed around in America.

There was certainly a lot of tension between Harry and his family through the weekend as evidenced early on -- the photo above shows Prince William and Harry on opposite sides of the church during the National Service of Thanksgiving.

Harry and Meghan didn't stick around for the celebration's closing, either ... the Sussexes and their 2 children flew private from London to Cali. Of course, if they stayed, it's unlikely they'd have been allowed to stand beside the Queen when she appeared Sunday on her Buckingham Palace balcony.

Bill Maher knows America has a ton of problems, but the biggest might be we've all become so f***ing stupid ... and that's the real existential threat to this country.

It starts out hilarious ... listening to our youngins whose ignorance is just mind-blowing -- the first person to walk on the sun is a dude named Lance. The biggest city in the world is Asia ... no, it's Europe.

As for how we got this dumb, well the 'Real Time' host says schools and politicians are to blame because they're all so caught up in causes, they've abandoned education.

As for how this becomes an existential threat ... well, the captains of our ship are politicians, who now get elected with ads that are ridiculous and demagogic. Bill plays a bunch of them and the candidates all sound just wretched ... yet that's the drill for getting elected. As he says, the end of each ad should say, "I approved this message, you dumb f***s!"

You gotta see the ad for Marjorie Taylor Greene ... and all the other candidates who think they can win by shooting guns and obliterating cars and bottles of Bud.

Point is ... this is what gets people elected, and exactly who are these people? They're the ones who are guiding our nation and setting policy.

Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee -- honoring her 70 years on the throne -- is officially underway with the royal family, and that includes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ... although they're not exactly in the Queen's spotlight.

The 4-day celebration kicked off with a military parade in front of Buckingham Palace. The display is called "Trooping the Colour" -- it formally honors the Queen's birthday -- and QE2 was out on her balcony taking in all the action.

All the buzz about the Jubilee is who's making the traditional balcony appearance with her: Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton and their 3 children.

Y'know ... all the "working" Senior Royals.

Most notably, Harry and Meghan are NOT there on the balcony -- and nor is Prince Andrew, who recently settled his Jeffrey Epstein-related case.

However, Harry and Meghan are in the Palace for their first public royal event as a couple since 2020 ... they're just positioned in a different room to watch the parade.

They're watching from the Major General Office ... along with several of the Queen's other grand and great-grandchildren -- such as Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

California's task force on reparations released a new report, detailing how slavery and racism have harmed generations of African Americans ... and now it's gearing up for some major reinstitution.

The task force chair, Kamilah Moore, joined us on "TMZ Live" to talk all about the 500-page report, which looks at all the harms Black people have endured from the start of the slave trade, up until to current day.

Kamilah says, the report is the most extensive completed by a government body on the African American community since 1968 ... and it explains how California has systemically oppressed Black residents in education, workplace, homeownership and several other aspects of life.

She explains, the report, which has 13 chapters, breaks down the role and responsibility of both California and the federal government in maintaining the institution of slavery and discriminatory policies -- like Jim Crow laws -- that followed emancipation.

Kamilah says the task force is calling for reparations to be paid to descendants of slaves or free Black people who lived in the U.S. prior to 1900. As of now, they have not finalized how much the compensation will be -- but they've hired 5 economists to help sort that out by next summer.

Charles Booker -- a Black candidate running for U.S. Senate in Kentucky -- put a rope around his neck in a startling campaign ad ... which takes aim at Rand Paul.

Booker's new video focuses heavily on lynching in the South, historically ... even using an actual noose hanging from a tree that he fastens around his neck as he narrates.

CB mentions how Kentucky used to rely on lynching as a tool of terror against African-Americans -- which is why he finds it so meaningful that he's the first Black Kentuckian to win the Democratic nomination to take on Sen. Paul in a race coming up in November.

He lists some of what he considers dubious positions Paul has taken ... like comparing expanded health care to slavery, opposing the federal anti-lynching act -- which has since become law -- and allegedly saying he would've "opposed the Civil Rights Act" of 1964.

That last claim isn't entirely accurate -- Paul has, indeed, made controversial remarks on the CRA ... but it's perhaps a bit more nuanced than how Booker's characterizing it here.

Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, was arrested this weekend for DUI ... TMZ has learned.

The House Speaker's spouse was arrested just before midnight Saturday night in Napa County, and then booked hours later into jail on two counts -- driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher ... both misdemeanors.

The details of the incident of the arrest have yet to surface, and we're working on getting a full narrative -- as well as a mug shot if available -- but at the moment, this is all there is.

BTW, the arrest info here lines up with what we know about Paul publicly, especially his birthday -- listed as April 15, 1940. Indeed, the guy's 82 years old.

No word on whether the Speaker herself was with Paul during this bust -- as you know, she's often in D.C. for her job ... but since it's Memorial Day weekend, she could've possibly been back home with her family for a bit -- but it seems unlikely. At the moment, it appears she's in Rhode Island for a commencement speech to graduates there.

She hasn't publicly acknowledged Paul's arrest, and neither have any of her children or immediate family as far as we can tell.

In any case, Paul's bail was set at $5,000 -- so we imagine he's already out at this point. He's been married to Nancy since 1963.

Larry Gatlin is now among the list of performers who will no longer perform at this weekend's NRA convention in Houston ... also offering up possible solutions to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again.

The "Broken Lady" singer tells TMZ, "I cannot, in good conscience, perform at the NRA convention in Houston this weekend. While I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I have come to believe that, while background checks would not stop every madman with a gun, it is at the very least a step in the right direction toward trying to prevent the kind of tragedy we saw this week in Uvalde — in my beloved, weeping TEXAS."

He continues, "It is not a perfect world and the 'if only crowd's' policies will never make it one. I am a 'what if guy' and I can't help but ask the question, 'What if the teachers had been proficient in the use of firearms and had, in fact been armed this week? My answer is that there would not be 21 freshly dug graves for 21 of GOD's precious children."

He also has a message for the NRA, saying, "I pray that the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions regarding firearms in AMERICA."

Gatlin concludes, "I'm a 2nd Amendment guy, but the 2nd amendment should not apply to everyone. It's that simple. God Help Us Please."

Most Congress members are pawns in the hands of gun lobbyists, according to former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner ... which is why she's calling on another group to make gun reform happen.

We got the outspoken Ohio politician at LAX, and she gave us way more than her 5 cents about Congress' reaction -- or lack thereof -- to the tragic Texas mass shooting that killed 19 elementary school children and 2 adults.

Nina ripped elected officials for playing footsy with gun lobbyists, and insists politicians do have the power to stop gun violence, but instead they make decisions based purely on money and power.

You can see and feel just how fed up Turner is with politicians who refuse to act -- and now she wants mothers across the country to unite and demand action from lawmakers.

While we've seen lots of officials making speeches since the Uvalde tragedy -- she's calling BS, saying we need results instead of rhetoric.

And, as far as Beto O'Rourke confronting Texas Governor Abbott during a news conference ... Nina says that was genuine, and also a bit of theater. But, as she explains ... it's necessary theater!

In a powerful final plea, she says there's only one way to break gun lobbyists' hold on Congress ... "If the mamas get together, we'll shut this whole thing down!"

Beto O'Rourke just crashed a news conference on the deadly school shooting in Texas ... confronting Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican leadership, including Ted Cruz, and getting escorted out.

Beto showed up unannounced to Wednesday's press briefing in Uvalde, where 19 children and 2 teachers were shot and killed the day before at an elementary school, and went off on the state's GOP leaders.

Video shows Beto approaching the stage, where Abbott is sitting on the dais along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and blames them for the tragedy, saying the blood is on their hands.

Beto says to the group, which includes Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn ... "This is on you until you choose to do something." He also says the incident was predictable.

Beto's been vocal about the school shooting on social media, mostly going after Abbott, but now he's literally taken the crusade to the Governor's feet.

Someone on stage shoots back at Beto, who is running for Texas Governor, telling him this isn't the time or the place to get political and calling him an "a**hole." There are reports the man is Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin.

Beto's then escorted out by law enforcement, but not before turning back to say his piece  ... while some folks in the crowd call for him to be able to speak.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson joined us on "TMZ Live" and called for background checks on anyone trying to buy a gun in the country.

Matthew McConaughey is pleading for gun reform following the tragic mass shooting in the elementary school in Uvalde, Texas ... which happens to be his hometown.

The actor shared his thoughts Tuesday, hours after the shooter went into Robb Elementary School and killed 21 people, including 19 students and 2 teachers.

He wrote, "As you all are aware there was another mass shooting today, this time in my home town of Uvalde, Texas. Once again, we have tragically proven that we are failing to be responsible for the rights our freedoms grant us."

Matthew's added, "The true call to action now is for every American to take a longer and deeper look in the mirror, and ask ourselves, 'What is it that we truly value? How do we repair the problem? What small sacrifices can we individually take today, to preserve a healthier and safer nation, state, and neighborhood tomorrow?'"

His post continued, "We cannot exhale once again, make excuses, and accept these tragic realities as the status quo. As Americans, Texans, mothers and fathers, it's time we re-evaluate, and renegotiate our wants from our needs. We have to rearrange our values and find a common ground above this devastating American reality that has tragically become our children's issue."

Clearly knowing the national conversation will turn political, Matthew also urged folks on both sides of the political aisle to do better -- "Action must be taken so that no parent has to experience what the parents in Uvalde and the others before them have endured."

Kanye West's failed presidential bid just took another hit ... his campaign committee claims they fell victim to a fraud scheme where thousands went to pay off someone's credit card.

Kanye 2020 told the Federal Election Commission someone unaffiliated with the campaign accessed the committee's bank account, swiping $3,999 to pay off their own credit card bills.

In a letter fired off Tuesday to the FEC, and obtained by TMZ, Kanye 2020 says an investigation determined someone accessed the account three times between December and February, and the campaign was unable to get the money back from the First Bank of Wyoming.

The FEC previously flagged the transactions and Kanye's campaign took a look and is now claiming they were the victim here. There doesn't appear to have been an arrest made yet, and it appears the FEC is working to gather more info. Business Insider was the first to report the filing.

Nancy Pelosi won't be receiving the body of Christ anytime soon -- at least not her in hometown -- as one of the holy shot-callers there says it's a no-go ... all over abortion.

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone -- who's a major decision-maker for all things Roman Catholic in and around San Francisco -- threw down the hammer on the House Speaker this week ... saying she's banned from receiving Communion anywhere in town, on his orders.

His rationale ... Pelosi's continued support of abortion is a grave sin under Catholic law, and because she continues to double down and get more "extreme" in her stance, Cordileone says he has no choice but to nix her from the sacred sacrament -- which is a big deal.

For those who practice, receiving Communion is a highlight of going to church ... as it represents Jesus' actual body, and eating it translates to one becoming one with JC.

Cordileone goes in hard against her, writing ... "I have determined that the point has come in which I must make a public declaration that she is not to be admitted to Holy Communion unless and until she publicly repudiate her support for abortion "rights" and confess and receive absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of Penance."

He adds, "I have accordingly sent her a Notification to this effect, which I have now made public." Unless Catholic priests go rogue, they have to uphold his rule -- the Catholic church adheres to the hierarchy quite strictly, and hardly anyone gets out of line with this stuff.