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A Republican candidate for an Arizona college governing board has slammed the brakes on his campaign after police allegedly caught him -- red-handed -- masturbating in his truck near a preschool.

Randy Kaufman announced Tuesday he was suspending his campaign for a seat on the Maricopa County Community College Governing Board -- two weeks after he was cited for public sexual indecency.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ, Kaufman was seated in his Ford truck parked near Wirtzie’s Preschool and Child Care Center in Surprise, AZ, where kids were playing outside on Oct. 4.

Kaufman was allegedly watching interracial porn -- the cop put that description in the police report -- on his cell phone while masturbating with his pants down to his thighs.

A cop on routine patrol drove up and noticed Kaufman was parked in an unusual manner across three spaces, the report said. The officer went to investigate, catching Kaufman in the act.

Embarrassed, Kaufman quickly pulled up his pants and apologized to the officer, admitting that he "f---ed up."

Under police questioning, Kaufman allegedly said he was stressed out and had pulled into the parking lot to relieve his tension. When the officer noted kids were playing nearby, Kaufman said he was only in the area to buy something.

Mike Pence got hit with a simple question -- if Trump's the nominee, would his former Veep vote for him? -- there are 2 ways to interpret his answer, and one is shocking!

Pence gave a speech at Georgetown University Wednesday about what's in store for conservatism in America.

Someone in the crowd asked how he'd cast his vote in 2024 if Trump gets the nod from Republicans. There was immediate laughter and Pence paused for a few seconds.

He said, "There might be somebody else I'd prefer more."

Now, you could view his answer as a hope and a prayer Trump doesn't get the nom ... especially since Pence seems like he'll be running for Prez.

But, the question isn't who should get the Republican nomination ... it's would you vote for Trump in the general election if HE gets the nom. So, to be literal, Pence is saying he might vote for the Democratic nominee over Trump.

Kanye West is ripping President Biden for not picking Elon Musk's brain, and using some offensive language -- claiming the Prez is "f**king ret***ed."

Ye went off on POTUS in his interview with Piers Morgan, claiming he could use the r-word, and anything other words, due to the fact he's been diagnosed with "mental health issues."

Interestingly, those issues didn't prevent Kanye from being fully aware the ableist epithet would offend. He told Piers, "The President of the United States does not have meetings with Elon Musk. That is f***ing ... Hey, here, come, come get me ... That's f***ing ret***ed. I know I'm not supposed to say that Biden, but that's f***ing ret***ed, Biden."

As we reported ... in the same interview, Ye dug himself an even deeper hole over his recent antisemitic comments, trying to clear things up by telling Piers he only wishes death on Jews who he thinks screwed him over.

Former President Barack Obama railed on members of his own party over cancel culture, calling out some Dems as "buzzkills."

BO jumped on the "Pod Save America" podcast Friday and laid it out, Bill Maher style ... "My family, my kids, work that gives me satisfaction, having fun," Obama said. "Hell, not being a buzzkill. And sometimes Democrats are."

He went on ... "Sometimes people just want to not feel as if they are walking on eggshells, and they want some acknowledgment that life is messy and that all of us, at any given moment, can say things the wrong way, make mistakes."

Obama says he knows why cancel culture has gained traction, and clearly thinks it needs to stop if Dems want to win elections ... "I think where we get into trouble sometimes is where we try to suggest that some groups are more – because they historically have been victimized more – that somehow they have a status that’s different than other people and we’re going around scolding folks if they don’t use exactly the right phrase. Or that identity politics becomes the principle lens through which we view our various political challenges."

He also thinks his party and he himself has gotten mired in what he calls "policy gobbledygook." ... "That’s not how people think about these issues. They think about them in terms of the life I’m leading day to day. How does politics, how is it even relevant to the things that I care the most deeply about?"

Obama will be stumping for Democratic candidates in Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

President Biden has no problem playing America's grandpa on the drop of a dime, it seems -- he dished out sage, unsolicited advice to a young lady ... about who and when to date.

JB was in Irvine, CA Friday for an event where he was touting his administration's policies and plans to lower inflation, etc. After he wrapped, he posed for a photo with a teen and her mom in the crowd -- only to pass on some whispered wisdom straight into her ear.

The rec from POTUS ... "No serious guys 'til you're 30." He says he's told his own daughters/granddaughters this, and apparently felt compelled to pass it on. The teen awkwardly chuckles and says "OK" -- and when her ma asks what he said, he repeats it.

The mother says she'll keep that in mind and they all just laugh it off. Pretty soon, you see a Secret Service agent reaching for the man who's filming, apparently trying to shut it down.

Unfortunately, the Prez has a history of getting a little too close and handsy for comfort -- there are several photos of him leaning in and grabbing a hold of people ... including kids.

He always seems to mean well with his affection, but it hasn't sat very well with a lot of people ... especially as it pertains to women. Joe's denied ever being intentionally inappropriate -- this despite a lot of scrutiny he's been met with over the years for this.

Bill Maher asks the question ... how can Republicans support Herschel Walker, whom he calls a hypocritical, lying moron, who played Russian Roulette, threatened to blow his wife's brains out, stalked a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, threatened to shoot cops, falsely claimed to be a cop, falsely claimed to be an FBI agent, abandoned some of his kids, wants an abortion ban despite paying for a girlfriend's abortion? Well, Bill has an answer.

The "Real Time" host says Democrats are blasting Republicans -- from Senators on down who support Walker -- for lacking fundamental integrity. B.M. says the integrity ship has long since sailed ... he says it sank after a long battle with tribalism.

Bill acknowledges, some of the supporters are indeed those "deplorables" ... but claims it's more complicated than that. Bill says, for these Republicans, "The worse a candidate is, the more it says to Democrats, 'do you see how much we don't like what you're selling?'"

Translation ... a lot of Republicans know these wacko candidates are, as he says, "egregious assholes," but they'll hold their noses and support them to counter and make a statement about their objections to identity politics. Bill ticks off examples ... cancel culture, victimhood, white self-loathing, forcing ideas of race and sex on kids too young to understand, etc.

He acknowledges, Democrats have the same contempt for Republican values, but Dems have a sense of shame that prevents them from supporting crazy candidates, and Republicans have zero shame.

Herschel Walker showed up to his Georgia Senate debate Friday, expecting barbs from his opponent, incumbent Raphael Warnock ... but ended up getting a scolding from the debate's moderator for intentionally breaking the rules with a seemingly bogus badge.

The two shared the stage in Savannah to mix it up before the election next month, and when someone asked a question about policing, Warnock pivoted into an accusation aimed at the former Georgia Bulldog star running back.

"One thing I have not done ... I've never pretended to be a police officer," the Senator said,  "And I never threatened a shoot-out with the police."

Warnock's accusations were met by applause and cheers from the crowd, so a flustered Walker tried to cut in.

"You know what's so funny?" and the 1982 Heisman winner flashed what appeared to be a fake police badge ... "I am with many police officers, and at the same time..."

The debate moderator cut him off, sternly and sharply called him out ... "You have a prop. That's not allowed Sir! ... You're very aware of the rules, aren't you?"

Warnock was referring to Walker's claims of being a cop when in reality he's an “honorary deputy” in Cobb County, a distinction former DeKalb County district attorney J. Tom Morgan told WaPo was nothing more than a "political token" that holds no power.

The "shoot-out" comment stems from a new AP report that in 2001, Walker's therapist called police in Irving, Texas, saying he was "volatile," armed and scaring his estranged wife. The officers went to his suburban Dallas residence and later said Walked had "talked about having a shoot-out with police."

The badge debacle is just the latest in a string of calamities in the Walker campaign. Two weeks ago, a woman claimed Walker -- a pro-life Republican candidate --- paid for her abortion, prompting his son Christian to blast him on social media. Also, last week, Home Depot came out to make sure people knew it was not donating to his campaign.

Manhattan congressional candidate Mike Itkis is letting it all hang out to win votes ... releasing a sex tape to show he's got the goods to go to Washington.

Itkis is locked in battle with the long-time incumbent, Rep. Jerry Nadler. The challenger is running on a sex-positive platform, so to prove he's not all talk, he posted a 13 min video of him doing the deed with porn star Nicole Sage. He posted the vid -- titled "Bucket List Bonanza" -- on a popular porn site.

As for his bona fides ... Itkis is all about legalizing sex work, so that's how he rolls.

He told City & State, "If I would just talk about it, it wouldn’t demonstrate my commitment to the issue. And, the fact I actually did it was a huge learning experience, and it actually influenced items on my platform.”

The 53-year-old is running as a 3rd party independent ... kind of a cross between the Birthday Party and the Birthday Suit Party!

He says it's the first time he's ever had sex on camera ...  “I’m kind of a nerd who doesn’t like to be the center of attention if I can avoid it. But, I thought the issues I’m trying to address are so important… I wanted to have my issues talked about in some way.”

Michael Fanone, the former DC police officer injured during the Jan. 6 insurrection, has been through the wringer since then ... and says if no one's held accountable for the attack, America's headed in a dangerous direction.

Michael joined us on "TMZ Live" to discuss the Jan. 6 Committee's decision Thursday to subpoena Donald Trump -- a move he absolutely applauds, although it doesn't sound like he's holding out a ton of hope Trump will actually be brought to justice.

We asked Michael -- who was repeatedly beaten with a flagpole, tasered, and dragged down several steps in the chaos that day -- how he'd feel if Trump runs in 2024 and wins.

He didn't hesitate with his response, saying ... "If you're asking me if I'm gonna go to Canada ... f**k no!!!" Instead, Michael said he would try to find some way to coexist in the country with Trump supporters.

Fanone's written a book about his horrific experience that day -- he suffered a heart attack, a concussion that left him with a traumatic brain injury and, of course, suffers with PTSD -- and told us he's spent a great deal of time speaking about his experience to help folks understand the truth about what went down that day.

Fanone's memoir, "Hold the Line: The Insurrection and One Cop's Battle for America's Soul" is out now, and that title relates very closely to a new clip of Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Nancy Pelosi's down to throw hands with Donald Trump ... that's what she angrily declared in the middle of the January 6th insurrection when the President wouldn't call off the rioters.

CNN obtained this new video shot inside the Capitol that day as Pelosi's Chief of Staff tells her Trump won't show face to turn back the angry mob because Secret Service didn't have the resources to protect him.

The Speaker of the House wasn't having it, and yelled ... "I'm gonna punch him out, and I'm gonna go to jail and I'm gonna be happy."

It sounds like Pelosi had been looking for an excuse to get physical with Trump and, in her rage, felt like she'd finally have one if he came down there.

The Jan. 6 Committee is releasing new video showing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi dealing with a real sh**ty situation -- as she tried to get troops and Congress back to certify the 2020 election results.

The video, more than 7 minutes long, shows the Congresswoman and Sen. Chuck Schumer in several different rooms in the Capitol -- they were being moved around for their safety, but were fully aware of how intense and dangerous the insurrection had become.

While on the phone with VP Mike Pence, Rep. Pelosi told him they had reports there was "defecation and all that kind of thing" on the floor of the House.

She and Schumer also spoke to various governors, the acting Attorney General, and the Mayor of Washington, D.C. requesting they send National Guard troops immediately.

The legislators determination to complete the vote was evident, even though ... as the Speaker put it, "It could take time to clean up the poo poo that they're making all over" the House chamber.

Tommy Chong sees President Biden's weed possession pardon as a big step forward in the world of cannabis ... but he isn't ready to celebrate until the government removes marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug -- pointing to his past legal trouble.

The comedian told us ... Biden's decision shows he's got the pulse of America ... but thinks a rescheduling would be a HUGE win for everyone involved in legitimate weed sales.

Tommy thinks marijuana sales will someday become the biggest industry in the world ... so rescheduling it could further validate the legitimacy of the biz.

He's a fan of Biden, and says he'll gladly vote for him again ... but he thinks the Prez can do more, especially regarding anti-paraphernalia laws, which got Tommy locked up back in 2003.

Tommy was sentenced to 9 months in a federal lockup, after pleading guilty to selling bongs through a family-owned business. He tells us he had no choice but to cop a plea.

Comic nerds won't like this ... one of the greatest writers to dabble in the caped crusade industry says our fascination with superheroes is teetering on Nazi Germany territory.

Indeed ... we're talking about Alan Moore, who's written some of the most well-known comic books/series of the 20th century -- including "Watchmen," "V for Vendetta," "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," a VERY famous Batman installment ... and lots more.

The dude's an absolute legend in the biz ... but as he's gotten older -- and stepped further away from writing comics -- he's gotten more and more cynical about the craft he helped shape ... and these latest remarks are doubling down on what he views as a problem.

Namely, he's talking about fascism ... and how he feels like the superhero genre, at large, lends itself to the extreme political ideology -- and not just that, but how our utter obsession with them in Hollywood is a sign for the worst ... at least according to him anyway.

For starters, AM kinda craps on adults who love this stuff ... saying, "Hundreds of thousands of adults [are] lining up to see characters and situations that had been created to entertain the 12-year-old boys -- and it was always boys -- of 50 years ago."

He goes on to say there were a lot of headlines coming out in the late 20th century that said comics had "grown up," but he refutes that with this ... "It wasn’t comics growing up. I think it was more comics meeting the emotional age of the audience coming the other way."

Alan hits his point home with this comment ... "I said round about 2011 that I thought that it had serious and worrying implications for the future if millions of adults were queueing up to see Batman movies. Because that kind of infantilization -- that urge towards simpler times, simpler realities -- that can very often be a precursor to fascism."

He points to Donald Trump's presidency and the sheer number of superhero movies that were being pumped out at the time (and since). It's because of this, in part, that he says he's done with comics ... apparently because they do more harm than good, subconsciously.

As for what he's getting at with the whole superheroes-are-fascist thing -- it's an age-old argument that's been debated ad nauseam ... which you can read about here.

Basically, some argue that superheroes -- by their very nature and story arcs -- prop up the idea of one person wielding ultimate power over society ... but doing it for the common good. It's very in the weeds on a sociological level, but this POV's been around for a while.

Rep. Sean Casten is revealing how his daughter died unexpectedly earlier this summer -- saying her heart simply gave out ... without any explanation whatsoever.

The U.S. congressman from Illinois broke the sad news Friday -- elaborating on his earth-shattering post from June ... when he told the world his 17-year-old, Gwen, had passed away suddenly. At the time, he didn't share any details ... but now, he's shedding some light.

Casten says Gwen died of a cardiac arrhythmia -- adding, "[S]he was fine, and then her heart stopped. We don't know what caused the arrhythmia, and likely never will."

The Representative says his daughter was a healthy teen who got regular checkups, exercised, ate well, didn't suffer from any behavioral health issues and had strong relationships with her friends and family. He notes ... she was also fully vaccinated.

Casten says Gwen came home one night after a night out with friends, and didn't wake up the next morning -- something doctors haven't been able to make sense of ... and ditto for the family. He says they're completely heartbroken and devastated -- exacerbated by such a freak thing with no real rational reason behind it. This is rare, he says, but it happens.

He ends his thoughts with a poignant remark ... "None of us know when our last heartbeat will come. The best we can hope for is when our loved ones do pass, we will have no regrets about the time we were lucky enough to share."

Casten finishes with this -- "So hug the folks you love a little harder today. Be present in their lives. And spread your love a little farther. Because in the end, it's all that matters."

Bill Maher cut to the chase Friday night ... calling out intolerance Americans now have for those with whom they disagree ... intolerance that has led us to stop mingling with anyone who is not like-minded.

The "Real Time" host said what's simply true ... lots of Americans will only f**k with people whose views align with theirs, and they just can't believe any right-thinking person could embrace opinions contrary to theirs.

Bill goes down the road with an example -- Arizona's Republican Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, who not only believes Trump won the 2020 election, he "can't find anyone who voted for Joe Biden." In other words, dude's living in a Trump bubble, and does not associate with anyone outside of it. He literally knows no one who voted for Biden.

Of course, Maher then swings to the left, and says the same is true there. His example is hilarious, so we'll spoil it. He invited someone to a party at his house and that person declined the invite because another guest supported Trump, saying he/she wouldn't "breathe the same air" with a Trumper. Bill said there's a word for such people -- ASSHOLES!!!

The point being ... we have become so tribal ... both sides have fundamentally different realities, and that paves the way for hatred and contempt.

As he said earlier in the show, even watching the news -- especially cable news -- has become downright dangerous ... the "realities" portrayed on both sides are so skewed, it's impossible for viewers to believe any sane person can have an opposing belief.

Kanye West says Hollywood bullied him so much for supporting Donald Trump, he wasn't able to talk about it anymore ... which left him wondering what's the point of being famous.

Ye made the claim in the second part of his interview with FNC's Tucker Carlson, saying it "drove me crazy not to be able to say I liked Trump." He was especially shocked that people would go after him, because -- as he puts it -- he's Kanye!

Ye dove deeper ... questioning why he had worked so hard to get famous -- with millions of adoring fans and a massive platform -- if Hollywood didn't want him to use his own voice and connect it to his own opinions.

Ye's complaints build on what he told Tucker in portions of the interview that aired Thursday ... when he said he respects Russell Brand and Candace Owens for going against the grain and speaking their minds, no matter the consequences.

He also gets into his relationship with another former Prez ... Barack Obama. Ye says their connection faded "soon as I wasn't supposed to be saying the things I wasn't supposed to say as a rapper" -- but adds, he would talk to Obama if they ran into each other.