TMZ.com

Jon Stewart's efforts to get health benefits to veterans came full circle Wednesday ... he was on hand to watch President Biden usher in a bill guaranteeing exactly that, with a shout-out from POTUS himself.

The former 'Daily Show' host was one of several people in attendance at the White House to watch 46 sign the PACT Act into law ... and you could tell he was emotional to see it reach the finish line after a hard-fought battle. The Prez made sure to acknowledge his good work, saying the bill wouldn't be before him if it wasn't for everything he'd done.

JS took it all in humbly, and throughout the ceremony ... was also hugging vets who were able to make it in person, rubbing shoulders with politicians in the room, and getting pats on the back by pretty much everybody around. It's well deserved.

As we all saw over these past couple weeks, Jon was on the front lines in getting U.S. Senators to vote for PACT -- even after many of them, mostly Republicans, flip-flopped at crucial points in the legislative process ... nearly torpedoing it all together.

There was a lot of handwringing over verbiage -- including claims that Dems were trying to play a budgetary game in terms of the type of spending this would fall into long-term -- but Jon always stuck to his guns and called out misinformation left and right in a variety of ways.

He spoke directly to reporters in very impassioned terms a few times on Capitol Hill ... and even got into some shouting matches with people he considered trolls acting in bad faith.

Of course, Jon also used social media pretty creatively -- and in the end, it paid off. Just goes to show ... the guy knows how to get stuff done in D.C. when he puts his mind to it.

The FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and Donald Trump's visit to New York City were not coincidental ... the feds timed the raid so there would not be a confrontation between agents and the former President ... law enforcement sources tell TMZ.

Sources involved in numerous FBI searches tell TMZ ... even if there were not a confrontation, protocol in raids like the one Monday would go like this ... the FBI would swoop in and, if the target of the search warrant was in the house, agents would typically handcuff the target until the property was secured. The target would not be arrested, but rather detained.

Once the property was secured, agents would remove the handcuffs but the target could not reenter the premises until the raid was completed.

This would present an extremely awkward situation for the feds, and it would become a political hot potato.

Not long after former President Donald Trump was raided in Florida -- his daughter was seemingly having a ball in Minnesota -- grabbing dinner and flashing a smile with her hubby.

Ivanka Trump, DT's former senior White House advisor, was out in downtown Rochester Monday night with Jared Kushner ... about 2.5 hours after her pops got an unwelcome visit from the FBI at Mar-a-Lago, where they executed a search warrant.

In photos obtained by TMZ, you can see IT and JK departing Bleu Duck Kitchen, we're told -- where witnesses say they had a table to themselves and apparently a bit of vino. Both looked to be in great moods, despite what was happening with 45.

The FBI raid on Donald Trump's home immediately turned political ... with pro-Trump protesters gathering in front of Mar-a-Lago ... claiming it was a witch hunt.

As we reported, the FBI descended on Trump's home Monday ... on the hunt for classified and unclassified materials that Trump allegedly took from The White House when he left ... materials that should have ended up at the National Archives.

Trump improperly and allegedly illegally took a slew of materials that should have stayed in D.C., and months ago surrendered 15 boxes of stuff, but the feds believe he didn't turn over all of it.

A judge signed a warrant after determining there was probable cause the former President committed a crime by withholding the materials, which allowed the FBI to conduct the search. It's the first time in American history the feds raided the home of a former president.

This all didn't sit well with Trump supporters, who were weirdly celebratory as they encircled Mar-a-Lago. They played dance music ... not exactly the sign of angry protesters.

As for Trump ... he reportedly told his fans, "Another day in paradise."

Donald Trump's Florida home was crawling with FBI agents Monday ... with the feds raiding his Mar-a-Lago resort as part of a search warrant.

The raid reportedly involves Trump's failure to turn over classified and unclassified government documents and other materials that he improperly took from The White House to his Florida home. Trump belatedly turned over 15 boxes of government property a few months ago, but obviously the feds think he still has stuff he shouldn't have.

It's an absolutely stunning turn of events ... in order for the FBI to search Trump's home, they had to first get the approval of the Attorney General himself, and then go to a federal judge and submit hard proof there is PROBABLE CAUSE to believe A CRIME WAS COMMITTED. That deserves all caps, because it's never been done before in the history of our country -- a former president in the active crosshairs of a federal criminal investigation and one that was serious enough to trigger a search warrant.

The former President is currently in New York City. He acknowledged the raid, grousing the FBI broke into his personal safe. Trump is blaming the raid on the Democrats and those who do not want him to run for the White House in 2024 ... and he's trying to compare the raid to Watergate.

It's unclear what FBI agents seized from Trump's home or safe.

As you know, the Justice Department is also investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 national election.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who worked in the Obama administration, recently predicted Trump will eventually be indicted on criminal charges as a result of the DOJ investigation.

The DOJ is also investigating Trump's role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, with a number of former Trump administration officials recently testifying before a grand jury as part of the probe.

Bernie Sanders is firing up the meme machine again -- this time by posing in the thick of summer and looking dog-tired while hard at work ... a shot that's worth a thousand words.

The Vermont senator was photographed Sunday laying out on the Capitol Hill steps, where he appeared to be kind of exhausted after a marathon day of work known as Vote-a-Rama ... where congressmen and women are going through hours of debate/votes on legislation.

According to the photog, reporter Kent Nishimura, the Senate was entering its 13th hour of the overnight marathon when this pic was taken ... and as you can imagine, it's catching fire.

For starters, some say this makes a great album cover ... if BS was into music. Others say he very much resembles the 'School of Rock' cartoon, Bill, from the famed sketch, "I'm Just a Bill," where the rolled-up paper character is also lying down on the Capitol steps.

In other words ... it's just a great (and hilarious) photo, perhaps equally meme-able as his other famous photo from 2021 when he was captured nestled up in a sweater and mittens during Biden's inauguration ... which also set the internet ablaze with jokes up the wazoo.

This seems to be the summer version ... and funny enough, it's kind of the exact opposite vibe as his mitten meme. Bernie out here trying to beat the heat and letting it all hang out.

BTW, there's actually some serious business going on indoors ... including votes on amendments to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act -- a major spending package addressing climate change/taxes -- which Bernie was actually against without some major tweaks.

Barack and Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance at a film festival this week -- perhaps not too surprising though ... it was at Martha's Vineyard.

The former First Couple took the stage Friday at the Martha's Vineyard African-American Film Festival -- where they said a few words before a screening of their Netflix doc, "Descendant." As you can see, they were very warmly received ... the crowd seemed shocked they showed.

Eventually, they each delivered remarks ... BO talked about the power of telling stories -- Black stories, specifically -- and praised the festival organizers for allowing African-Americans to do just that through their event.

He said, "[I]t's one of the powers of this festival, and the work that the Rances have done is to lift up stories that too often have been lost in the flow of time. Because we believe that everybody's stories matter. Everybody's got a sacred story that motivates us, moves us. It's not just a matter of nostalgia, it powers us into the present and the future."

Michelle hit that point home by noting the older generation should be encouraging their youth to actually talk to their grandparents and great-grandparents -- and take in their history while they still can. She also took some playful shots at IG and TikTok trends in the process.

The audience was feeling what she was saying ... as they were audibly agreed throughout. Pretty cool to see 'em here -- even though they're low-key in MV quite a bit. Of course, they have a summer home there (a mansion actually), so they're no strangers to the area.

BTW, as for what their Netflix-backed doc is actually about ... "Descendant" covers a small Alabama community that has descendants from the Clotilda, one of the last slave ships to have sent over Africans to the States just as it was being outlawed nationally.

"Have you ever seen a fat 90-year-old?" That's the question Bill Maher asked in a diatribe about obesity in America ... which he says is a full-blown catastrophe that is wrongly being embraced by America.

The "Real Time" host has talked about it before, but he really leaned in Friday night, scoffing at a USA Today story that said, "Scientists haven't yet figured out how to solve obesity." Bill was beside himself, saying it's about as obvious as the nose on your face.

He railed on body positivity, saying there's a movement in America to rewrite science to fit ideology, adding "fat is now celebrated."

He quotes a New York Times article, which says "Poor diet is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S." So, Bill says, anyone who embraces obesity has blood on their hands.

He was incredulous that Adele was dragged for losing weight ... which he says is just crazy.

As he puts it ... "Healthy at any weight is an unchallenged lie."

Meghan Markle is celebrating her 41st birthday ... and some of the royals are, at least publicly, setting aside their very deep differences to wish her well.

Prince William and Kate Middleton marked their sister-in-law's big day on social media by posting a photo of Meghan dressed in all white with the caption ... "Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"

Not exactly warm and fuzzy, but kind of a big deal when you consider the beef between Meghan, Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family. As you know, tensions have been high for some years now ... especially since Meghan and Harry resigned as senior royals in 2020.

Anyway, there's clearly a royal plan afoot to at least make it seem they're all making nice -- in addition to William and Kate's message ... Prince Charles and Camilla also posted, "Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"

The Meghan pic they posted was from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year, the last time they all saw her in person.

You'll recall, Meghan and Prince Harry attended the Jubilee in the U.K. back in June, and, there was a clear divide -- physically and otherwise -- between them and some of the royal fam.

Rep. Jackie Walorski was killed in a car crash in her home state that claimed the lives of 3 others ... according to police.

The fatal, two-car wreck happened Wednesday afternoon near an intersection in Nappanee, Indiana, and it killed all 3 people riding in the Republican Congresswoman's SUV.

The Elkhart County Sheriff says Walorski was traveling with her district director, Zachery Potts, and her communications director, Emma Thomson, when another car crashed head-on into their vehicle.

The driver of the other car, a 56-year-old woman, was also pronounced dead at the scene. She was the only one in her car.

Rep. Walorski was elected to Congress back in 2012 and her death is already sending shockwaves through Capitol Hill.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he's "shocked and saddened" to hear of Rep. Walorski's tragic death ... remembering her as someone who was "always prepared to work together where there was common ground, always decent and straightforward, and she cared deeply about her work and her constituents."

Rep. Walorski was 58.

If Rep. Nancy Pelosi's on edge about her trip to Taiwan -- which is pissing off China -- she certainly knows how to hide it, based on this video of her mid-journey ... fully engaged in window-shopping.

The Speaker of the House was in Hawaii this past weekend, making her way from mainland U.S.A to Taiwan -- and TMZ got this footage of her strolling around a Honolulu store called Pashma.

It brands itself as having the "World's Finest Cashmere," and it's inside the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

It's an interesting stress reliever as the Congresswoman prepped for her Tuesday arrival in Taipei for a visit with government officials there. China's disavowed the visit, because it hates seeing U.S. politicians cozying up to Taiwan ... which it believes is part of the People's Republic.

Anyhoo, back to Pelosi's would-be retail spree. It seems the Speaker was quite interested in a handful of garments, and had employees showing her items as she perused the racks.

All the while, you can see a ton of security standing guard outside.

They're all decked out in very casual street clothes -- gotta blend in while working in Hawaii -- but there's no doubt who they're eyeing like hawks.

Witnesses tell us Pelosi ended up walking away with a few items -- a couple cashmere scarves, we're told -- so she was impressed with the inventory.

Kansas shocked Republicans and Democrats alike Tuesday night ... as voters in the conservative, deep red state hit the ballot box to PROTECT a woman's right to an abortion.

You heard it right. Scores of Kansans voted overwhelmingly to nix a proposed amendment that could have erased reproductive rights in the state. In doing so, they delivered a HUGE victory to pro-choice advocates.

The amendment was the first opportunity for any voter in the country to weigh in on the issue since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court back in June.

Tuesday's ballot question, dubbed the “Value Them Both Amendment,” required Kansas voters to decide if their Constitution should continue protecting abortion rights or just get rid of it.

Those who voted “yes” wanted to kill abortion rights and send the issue back to the state legislature. A “no” vote would keep abortion rights on the books in the state. Both sides spent millions blanketing local media with ads promoting their clashing viewpoints.

As a result, voter turnout was incredibly high. At last count, 534,134 people voted "no" to the amendment as opposed to 374,611, who voted "yes," with 95 percent of the ballots counted, according to the New York Times.

President Biden hailed the victory, saying it “makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions.”

A recent Gallup poll showed 55% of Americans support abortion rights.

Jon Stewart's passionate pleas for Congress -- especially GOP Senators -- did not fall on deaf ears ... as the Senate reversed field and resoundingly passed a bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits.

The former 'Daily Show' host turned up the heat on Republicans like Senators Ted Cruz and Pat Toomey after the PACT Act was shot down in the Senate last week ... and it looks like Jon's strategy paid off.

Last week's 55-42 defeat of the legislation suddenly became an 86-11 victory Tuesday when the bill was put to a new vote. The GOP tried to pass amendments to address what they claim was a "budget gimmick" Democrats cooked into the bill, but those efforts failed.

Despite that, the Republicans flipped and voted in favor of the PACT Act -- designed to expand healthcare coverage for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins during their service.

Remember ... Jon put GOP leadership on blast after last week's defeat, calling Sen. Toomey "a "f***ing coward."

Toomey and other GOP Senators, like Cruz, said they voted against the bill because they claimed it would create $400 billion in unrelated spending.

Sen. Cruz tried blaming the Democrats when we got him after the "no" vote ... and our clip lit another fire under Stewart.

It didn't take long for him to respond, calling BS on Cruz's claims.

Jon also got into a heated shouting match over the bill Monday just outside Capitol Hill, squaring off with media personality and conservative commentator Jack Posobiec.

Right before all this, Jon was being floated as a serious presidential nominee in 2024 ... an idea JS continues to shoot down -- but it's hard to argue his impassioned, vocal pressure didn't play a role in the Senate turnaround.

Jon Stewart is fired up again in D.C. over the veteran bill he's fighting to get passed -- but this time, his anger was much more focused and raw than last week.

The former 'Daily Show' host got into a heated shouting match Monday just outside Capitol Hill, where he was facing off with conservative political commentator and media personality Jack Posobiec -- who apparently dropped in on Jon's ongoing lobbying efforts.

It's unclear what exactly precipitated Jon's wrath here, but one thing's for sure ... the dude is absolutely irate as he accuses Posobiec of acting in "bad faith."

A later video shows Jon in a much calmer state ... and Posobiec says cooler heads prevailed in the end. It sounds like whatever they were arguing over at first was resolved, because he actually shakes hands with Mr. Stewart.

Posobiec actually says he was on Jon and the veterans' side all along, and it seems Jon came to that realization too. What can't be denied is Jon Stewart's passion for this issue -- if his presence and powerful words alone weren't enough proof, take a look at the video.

Billy Porter thinks the Supreme Court is going to strike down gay marriage just like abortion rights ... but he's got a feeling SCOTUS might stop short at Justice Clarence Thomas' interracial marriage.

We got Billy in NYC and asked how likely he thinks it is SCOTUS will keep rolling back the clock, and he believes nothing is safe when it comes to the highest court in the land.

Billy says SCOTUS is coming for pretty much everything and everybody, not just gays ... and the only thing not on the list is interracial marriage, for one specific reason.

BP's basically saying the fact Justice Thomas is married to a white woman, Ginni Thomas, is the only thing keeping interracial marriage from going the way of the dodo. Still, Billy's got a warning for Clarence.

We also asked Billy about GOP Congressman Glenn Thompson, who voted against protecting same-sex marriage ... then turned around and attended his gay son's wedding.

President Biden has contracted COVID-19 again -- this after several days of testing negative for the virus and seemingly entering the recovery lane, with any illness in the rearview.

JB announced he'd tested positive once more on Saturday, taking to Twitter to write ... "Folks, today I tested positive for COVID again. This happens with a small minority of folks. I’ve got no symptoms but I am going to isolate for the safety of everyone around me. I’m still at work, and will be back on the road soon."

His White House physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, supplemented the news with a bit more information and context, publishing a letter that further described Biden's renewed case.

Dr. O'Connor described this as a "rebound" effect, something he says happens with a small percentage of people who catch COVID and are treated with something called PAXLOVID -- which seems to be a medication POTUS was given to help combat the virus and symptoms.

His letter goes on to say Biden tested negative on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday -- but despite this, an antigen test administered on Saturday morning proved to be positive. The doc notes, "The President has experienced no reemergence of symptoms, and continues to feel quite well."

It continues, "This being the case, there is no reason to reinitiate treatment at this time, but we will obviously continue close observation." Even though he won't go on any more meds for COVID, Biden will re-enter isolation procedures out of precaution, just like before.

Earlier this week, he made his official return to work and did a public appearance in the Rose Garden. He'd also told the press he was "feeling great" and was ready to get back to it.