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Rep. Nancy Pelosi says she isn't hearing so much as a peep from across the aisle when it comes to apologies for Republican conspiracy theories about the attack on her husband, Paul Pelosi.

We got the former Speaker of the House Wednesday morning in D.C. on the heels of President Biden's State of the Union address -- where both Pelosis were front and center -- and asked if anyone in the GOP has shown contrition for fueling misinformation about her husband ... especially after the brutal body cam was released.

As it turns out ... nobody has, according to NP -- who also gave us an update on Paul's recovery in general. Sounds like things are looking up, and he's almost on the other side of this. He certainly looked good at the SOTU ... cozying up to Bono in the balcony seats.

When it comes to this apology, though -- it's telling that no Republican has circled back to correct the record, including Sen. Ted Cruz, who was one of those spreading fake news.

Back in October -- shortly after the attack -- he was one of several right-wing politicians suggesting things weren't as they seemed on paper ... even hinting Paul might have known the attacker, David DePape.

Of course, that has since been debunked -- it was nothing more than a break-in/assault which prosecutors say was politically motivated. And Paul was most definitely brutalized, as seen in the since-released video showing the moment officers came to the door.

But, Pelosi says none of that's moved her congressional comrades to offer the slightest mea culpa.

Tyre Nichols' mom is hopeful Congress will make good on what came across as a promise during President Biden's State of the Union address ... but she's reiterating it's time for them to finally act on real police reforms.

We caught up with RowVaughn Wells on Capitol Hill Tuesday night, shortly after the President delivered his State of the Union address ... in which he referenced the fatal beating her son endured at the hands of Memphis cops last month.

RowVaughn tells us she's very appreciative of the President's strong message Tuesday night ... saying now it's all about putting forth action.

Given the reaction in Congress after the Prez speech, she says it looks like something might really change this time around. However, she says "we'll just wait to see" -- a point Ben Crump, who is representing the Nichols family also reinforced.

As you know Tyre was beaten by multiple Memphis PD officers so badly during a Jan. 7 traffic stop ... he died 3 days later in a hospital bed.

Since his death, police have released gruesome video of the brutal beating ... which stirred outrage and multiple peaceful protests across the country.

Five Black officers were immediately fired, and later charged with second-degree murder.

Other firefighters and officers who responded to the scene without rendering timely assistance to Tyre have also been fired, but no one else has been criminally charged.

Tyre's family has vowed to join the renewed push for legislators to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing act ... which was defeated in a 2021 Senate vote.

Senator Mitt Romney showed his utter contempt for Congressman George Santos -- telling the lyin' rep from New York his mere presence at the event -- especially where he was sitting -- proves he's shameless.

A visibly angry Romney walked into the House Chambers and crossed paths with Santos, who was all smiles. Romney launched, telling Santos, "You don't belong here," adding, "You ought to be embarrassed."

Santos seemed a bit taken aback, but shook it off and then tried to glad-hand anyone who would walk by.

Santos was one of the first to arrive on the House floor, grabbing a spot near where the President enters the Chamber.

After Biden's speech, Romney told reporters ... "I didn’t expect that he’d be standing there, trying to shake hands with every senator and the President of the United States."

Romney also said Santos "should be sitting in the back row and staying quiet, instead of parading in front of the President and people coming into the room."

On top of that, Romney said Santos would "hopefully" get removed from Congress after the House Ethics Committee completes its investigation into George's many lies about his background, education and charity work.

Santos also faces multiple federal and state probes looking into his possible campaign finance law violations. He has refused to step down despite many calls for him to do so.

The Chinese spy balloon is down, but questions remain -- like, whether this has happened on another president's watch ... which the Dept. of Defense says it did, pointing to Trump.

Here's the deal ... the DoD issued a lengthy statement Saturday explaining what exactly happened leading up to an F-22 fighter jet of ours safely shooting down the balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, just outside of Surfside Beach, SC. We all remember that, yes?

They reiterated what everyone had already heard at that point ... that the U.S. believes the balloon had been purposely sent here by China, and that it was intended to surveil us.

However, in explaining the balloon posed no serious threat to us -- other than breaching our airspace/pushing the boundaries of our sovereignty -- the DoD goes on to cite an unnamed defense official ... who claims this happened before under DT's administration.

The anonymous official says, "Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration." There's no other details about when exactly this might've happened, or to what degree ... namely, did they do full fly-overs???

In the wake of this Dept. of Defense official getting Trump's name in the mix, a handful of former Trump administration officials have come out of the woodwork to deny this ever happened during his time in office. And we're talking heavy hitters -- guys who'd know.

The former Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, went on FOX News to flat-out refute what the DoD has said publicly ... noting, if this had in fact happened during the Trump years like they claim -- it would've been spotted and certainly reported by the media.

A Chinese spy balloon that's been hovering over the U.S. throughout the week is probably going to meet its maker once it reaches the deep blue ... something President Biden teased.

JB made one of his first public comments about the foreign aircraft Saturday while out in Syracuse, NY -- where he was asked about it by a reporter ... to whom he casually responded, "We're going to take care of it." Reports from AP and ABC News suggest it's going down.

According to the outlets, the Biden administration is strongly considering shooting the balloon while it's floating over the Atlantic Ocean ... that way, there's no risk of any debris crashing into anything or anybody on the ground. The reports say U.S. officials have cleared airspace for this, and that they would collect the debris for further examination thereafter.

As of Saturday morning, the balloon could be seen fly above the Carolinas and heading East. Estimates say it should be over water sometime this afternoon, so it could go down later today.

The Prez was reportedly first briefed on the fact the balloon had entered our territory on Tuesday, and the first sightings of it over Montana and other midwestern states began surfacing Wednesday. China says it's an unmanned weather balloon conducting research which accidentally veered off course and floated our way ... but the U.S. has called BS.

Instead, intelligence officials are saying it's a surveillance balloon ... and they believe it was sent here intentionally. In any case, it's not great for diplomatic relations right now.

A second balloon was also spotted floating above Latin America today. Time will tell if it's flight comes to an end ... and what any potential findings could mean for how we deal with China.

Things have been bumpy lately with the superpower nation, especially as it pertains to predictions about war and whatnot. With this brazen move, it doesn't bode well.

The balloon takedown could happen any moment now ... stay tuned.

George Santos is caught allegedly spinning the truth once again ... this time claiming he worked on the Spider-Man musical, another apparent lie.

That's right ... a new report from Bloomberg claims while Santos was running for Congress in 2021, he told a group of potential donors he worked as one of the producers on the musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark."

As has almost become automatic, Bloomberg reports Santos' claim was shut down by the show's lead producer, Michael Cohl. Cohl says Santos was not a producer on the musical, and his name never appeared in the playbills for the show.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" ran from 2011 to 2014 with a massive $75 million budget. However, the show became notorious for it's delay in opening and injuries to actors performing stunts.

Of course, it's just the latest in a series of Santos' alleged lies ... including when he said his mom died in 9/11, his education and even accusations he stole money from a charity aimed to help a former military dog with a tumor.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman says Democrats and Republicans are scared to break party lines, particularly when it comes to police reform, and it's maddening because people are literally dying as a result.

The Congressman from New York joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and we asked him if any legislation will come out of Tyre Nichols' death, which is sparking renewed calls to pass reforms written in the wake of George Floyd's death.

Rep. Bowman, a member of the Congressional Black Congress, says provisions in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would do a lot of good for Americans who have their rights violated by police ... but he says the gridlock in Washington is making it impossible.

It's pretty damning ... Rep. Bowman says there's so much tribalism going on within the Capitol, nothing can get done ... and he's blaming corporations and mega donors for the standstill.

Rep. Bowman says Democrats and Republicans agree on different aspects of police reform behind closed doors ... but he says lawmakers are too scared to piss off Congressional leaders and the folks who put them in power, and almost no one has the guts to go against the grain.

An educator before being elected to Congress in 2020, Rep. Bowman says the tribalism in D.C. is especially frustrating for him to watch because he's not a career politician ... and as he puts it, the logjam is happening as "people are freaking dying."

Tyre Nichols, who loved to skateboard, could soon have his name emblazoned on skate parks in Memphis and Sacramento ... TMZ has learned.

Chief of Communications for the City of Memphis, Allison Fouche tells TMZ ... leaders are having preliminary conversations about naming a park after Tyre. Mayor Jim Strickland is floating the idea to the City Council.

We're told the Mayor is meeting internally with his team Friday to discuss plans, including whether they'll build a new park in Tyre's honor, or rename an existing one.

Since Tyre's tragic death, videos have been circulating online of him showing off his skateboarding skills. Most of the footage is from his time in Sacramento, CA before moving to Memphis.

Tim Swanson, media and communications manager for the City of Sacramento, tells TMZ ... councilmember Lisa Kaplan, Mayor Darrell Steinberg and City staff are working with Tyre's family to explore the best ways to honor his legacy, which could include renaming a skate park after him.

Tyre's parents are crowdfunding a memorial fund, and his mom says she'd like to use some of the money to build a memorial skate park for Tyre.

Ticketmaster is firmly under the U.S. Senate's microscope as the ticket giant prepares to sell tickets to the upcoming Beyoncé tour ... and it's all because of the Taylor Swift disaster.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, which just got finished grilling Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation, issued a thinly-veiled warning Thursday, the day after Bey announced her "Renaissance" world tour.

The committee's official Twitter account tagged Ticketmaster in a quote tweet for a CNN story about Beyoncé fans preparing for another potential Ticketmaster fiasco, saying ... "We're watching, @Ticketmaster."

Ticketmaster says they're making changes -- staggering sales and using Verified Fan technology -- for the Beyoncé tour after running into major issues with last year's rollout for the Taylor Swift tour, which pissed off Taylor and her fans and led to lawsuits and Senate hearings. Still, the Senate will be keeping a close eye on the process.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who grilled Live Nation execs during the recent hearings, told us on "TMZ Live" the Senate expects Ticketmaster to do better in the future.

Sen. Ted Cruz is standing his ground, refusing to apologize to Paul Pelosi for sharing conspiracy theories about the hammer attack ... even after seeing the shocking police video of what went down.

The Senator was at Reagan National Airport when we got his reaction to the body cam showing David DePape smash Pelosi in the head with a hammer -- he called it the "utterly unacceptable" actions of a "deranged lunatic."

Although he was quick to condemn DePape ... Cruz got much quieter when we asked if he'd apologized to Pelosi for supporting, or at the very least, promoting theories suggesting there was something shady about the details of the attack.

In one instance, he reshared a tweet that shot holes in the idea DePape was "some kind of militant right winger" ... despite reports he actually had been posting on far-right political blogs.

As we reported, DePape attacked Pelosi with a hammer inside his and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's SF home.

DePape -- who's since been charged with attempted murder -- told the FBI he was planning on shattering the Congresswoman's kneecaps, because he thought she was a liar.

Despite all that information, the body cam and surveillance videos showing DePape smash a back door to enter the Pelosi home ... Sen. Cruz is refusing to even acknowledge an apology might be appropriate.

Kanye West's presidential aspirations don't come cheap -- just ask his campaign, which paid Milo Yiannopoulos tens of thousands last year ... while reimbursing Nick Fuentes for a few expenses, as well.

According to FEC filings obtained and viewed by TMZ, Kanye 2020 -- his official presidential committee that appears to still be active -- shelled out a whopping $40,000 to the alt-right media personality ... with whom Ye recently cut ties amid his anti-Semitic spiral.

The docs show that Milo was paid this amount for "Campaign Wrap Up Services" ... with the cash getting dispersed about a week or so before Christmas 2022. That would seem to line up with what we were seeing at the time publicly ... Milo tagging along with Ye throughout much of the fall.

That's not the end of Milo's payday, though ... the filings also show a separate $9,955 that was paid to him by the Kanye's campaign in November for what they describe as "Domain Transfer."

Keep in mind ... Milo was claiming in early December that Ye actually owed him $116k for campaign consulting -- but our Ye sources said nothing was ever in writing.

On top of this, the FEC docs also show that Nick Fuentes was paid back by the campaign for some travel costs ... totaling $14,719.87. You'll recall -- NF was on Ye's national press tour for a while too, going city to city with Kanye for months on end.

The Navy veteran who claims Rep. George Santos cheated him out of cash intended for his dying dog's cancer treatment, says he'll get justice if the lyin' congressman is hit with criminal charges.

Richard Osthoff tells TMZ ... he views the alleged scam as both wire fraud and charity fraud -- calling Santos a swindler because he used an alias to get away with the whole thing.

The vet was joined by NJ Veterans Network President Michael Boll when he told us he'd already tried to bring charges against Santos -- but because he was going by Anthony Devolder back then, it led to a dead end.

Osthoff didn't fully disclose what action he's taking to now against Santos, but he tells us government agencies are looking into the case.

As we reported, his late pooch, Sapphire, was a beacon of light for him after getting out of the service and becoming homeless. He realized she needed life-saving surgery when a tumor on her stomach grew larger every day.

He claims Santos, or Devolder, told him he ran an animal rescue, and created a GoFundMe campaign that raised enough to cover Sapphire's surgery -- only to have Santos send him to a different vet, who said the tumor was inoperable.

Osthoff had no choice but to watch his pup die ... while Santos allegedly made off with the thousands raised Sapphire.

BTW -- Santos decided to put a POW-MIA flag in front of his office amid his latest scandal ... and Osthoff sees it as a huge disgrace to him and other vets.

A top U.S. Air Force official sent a stunning confession to his subordinates this week that warns of a looming war with China that he believes will manifest in the next couple years.

General Mike Minihan -- a four-star officer -- fired off an internal memo Friday to the rank and file that reports to him within the Air Mobility Command ... a unit that encompasses roughly 50,000 service members and oversees 500 planes for transport/refueling purposes.

While AMC doesn't sound like a combat-ready entity, Minihan reportedly told his guys to prepare for battle ... this according to NBC News, which says it obtained a copy of his note.

According to the outlet, Gen. Minihan writes ... "I hope I am wrong. My gut tells me will fight in 2025," while going on to describe what he says he believes China will do during the 2024 general election cycle -- namely, use that volatility here in the States to move on Taiwan.

In the event this comes to pass, Minihan reportedly laid out a very detailed defense and attack plan ... which includes building up a "Joint Force Maneuver Team" that can mobilize quickly to "fight and win inside the first island chain." He's ordering all airwing commanders and AF operational commanders to report on their progress for this by the end of February.

There's more ... Minihan reportedly has goals in mind for February and March, which entail his boys firing clips at 7-meter targets -- while noting, "unrepentant lethality matters most. Aim for the head." In March, he wants the AMC team to "consider their personal affairs and whether a visit should be scheduled with their servicing base legal office to ensure they are legally ready and prepared." Also, he tells them to update their emergency contacts.

In addition to this, Minihan's memo talks of risk/reward in training ... reportedly saying, "Run deliberately, not recklessly," and later adding, "If you are comfortable in your approach to training, then you are not taking enough risk." NBC News also says he discusses the possible use of commercial drone swarms as a tactic the U.S. might use against China.

In other words, this guy is rounding up the cavalry in very real terms ... not hypotheticals. And yet, a DoD rep went on record to say Minihan's concerns don't reflect the department's view on China ... distancing themselves from what sounds like legit wartime preparations.

Maitland Ward from "Boy Meets World" says she's in costar Ben Savage's corner as he makes his run for congress ... even if it might be an uphill battle for him.

We got the actress, who played Rachel on the hit show, in Bev Hills and she had nothing but positive things to say about Ben ... adding he's always been into politics, so his drive for a seat in the House of Representatives makes sense.

She does seem kinda doubtful about him getting a W, though ... admitting it's gonna be a very tough fight. However, she has some killer Cory Matthews-themed campaign ideas to give him a leg up on the competition!

As we reported, Ben filed paperwork this month expressing interest to run for CA's 30th district, which includes parts of Los Angeles and its northern cities.

The filing came after he unsuccessfully ran for West Hollywood City Council back in November.

Maitland, who's famously transitioned into the porn industry, was all for Ben's decision to join that race, but says he might not have had enough brand recognition that time around.

Paul Pelosi's attacker cased the family's home before making a move inside, leading to a chilling 911 call from Paul where he subtly relayed to the operator he was in danger.

We've obtained additional footage from outside the Pelosi home in San Francisco from the night of the attack when David DePape broke in and struck Paul with a hammer. At first, DePape checks around the house, possibly looking for a way in.

A few minutes pass, and he returns with a bag ... pulling out a hammer and gloves. DePape doesn't waste a lot of time smashing the back door with his weapon and climbing inside.

The 911 call Paul made is equally as terrifying, you hear him try to stay calm -- without outright saying there was a problem -- it's clearly an attempt to keep DePape at bay.

He tells the operator his name, and states his friend is there but he doesn't know the "friend" as you can also hear DePape in the background. Paul then tells the operator he has to go, and that his "friend" really wants him to get off the phone.

In additional footage released Friday, you see cops find Pelosi and DePape at the door, Pelosi tries to wrestle the hammer away from the intruder -- but he strikes him in the head -- knocking Paul out cold before cops intervene.

President Biden's hand-signed memoir -- gifted to the nurse who took care of his son before he died of cancer -- is up for grabs, giving buyers a chance to own the exclusive note from the Prez.

The signed copy of Biden's book, "Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose" is currently listed on the Moments In Time auction site.

The site acquired it from a collector, who bought it directly from Beau Biden's nurse, Roz, and, it comes with a $28K price tag.

We're told the then-former VP personally wrote a message to Roz, in 2017, for taking care of Beau while he was battling cancer. The note also mentions Howard, another nurse who assisted Beau.

Joe wrote, "I know what you did for my son. I learned after the fact. You are both the definition of generosity. Roz- if they have angels in Heaven they are all nurses. Thank you both and keep the faith." It's dated December 19, 2017.

As we reported, the younger Biden died of brain cancer in 2015 when he was 46.

As for the book, it's said to be the only substantial handwritten document from the now President. He's signed many things in office, but we're told he typically only signs his name.