TMZ.com

Barack Obama says his daughters have probably been scared straight when it comes to public service ... and it's due to the "PTSD" they experienced as White House kids.

The former President did James Corden's 'Late Late Show' show Monday, when he was asked about getting young people inspired to get into public service or politics -- and, naturally, the convo honed in on BO's own kids.

Corden noted Malia and Sasha had lived under a spotlight for 8 whopping years while their dad was POTUS, and that's exactly why Barack says they're likely to pass on running for office themselves in the future.

He jokes about them still having post-traumatic stress disorder from their Secret Service detail growing up -- with agents accompanying them on dates and to concerts -- but he's obviously kidding. Well, we're laughing ... Sasha and Malia might not be.

In all seriousness, Barack says his girls have developed into spectacular young women -- and he genuinely believes they'll find another way to serve their communities outside of politics.

Angelyne is ramping up for yet another run for the California governorship amid Gavin Newsom's upcoming recall election -- but before that ... she had to make a run for some Joe.

The elusive '80s billboard icon -- who was plastered all over L.A. in her heyday, posing in and on her famed pink Corvette -- was spotted grabbing some java Sunday at a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in none other than the city of Encino ... the heart of the San Fernando Valley.

She was hard to pin down for a good photo-op, but no doubt it was her -- that eternal ride of hers is a dead giveaway ... as is her classic blonde 'do and doll face getup.

Angelyne is notoriously low-key, and even after recently announcing she too was entering the race for Newsom's job ... hasn't shown much face in public. So yeah, this would appear to be one of the first times she's been seen out like this since throwing her hat in the ring.

Speaking of that ... she gave all the dirty deets to LA Magazine last month, telling them what her platform would be, and how she would govern. Apparently, Angelyne's slogans are "Good Luck California" and "I have the Key to California" ... and she's running on a platform of hiring people with good ideas to fix the Golden State's many problems. Brilliant!!!

President Biden is just like us -- meaning, the guy sends quick cash to his friends and family on Venmo, which might sound like no big deal ... but it really might be, big picture.

Joe's private Venmo account was tracked down in a rather quick fashion Friday by BuzzFeed, which says it only took them about 10 minutes or so to find it after an NYT article went up earlier in the day saying he sends his grandkids money on the peer-to-peer money app.

The outlet reports all they used were in-app features to quickly find associates to Joe's -- and before they knew it, they landed on 46 ... plus a small network of his immediate family, like his wife and children (Jill and Hunter), extended family (grandchildren) and senior White House officials.

They weren't able to see his transaction history itself -- since it was set to private, which is NOT the default setting for Venmo -- but they say some in Biden's extended Venmo network weren't private ... and they could see what they'd been up to in recent days on there.

Here's the problem, as BFN points out ... a hacker/troll and/or a freakin' adversary spy could easily locate these people and harass them, or even attempt to infiltrate Biden's inner circle -- potentially posing as someone while gathering intel and activities and patterns.

Mary Carey is gunning to become the next governor of California again ... and her campaign's gonna be all about M.I.L.Fs.

According to new docs, obtained by TMZ, the ex-porn star filed paperwork to enter the race for Governor of California ... joining a crowded field that already includes another celeb ... Caitlyn Jenner.

Mary tells TMZ ... she's hitting the campaign trail at strip clubs across the Golden State, where she'll be getting voter signatures for what she's dubbed her M.I.L.F campaign.

Mary says M.I.L.F is short for Moderates and Independents for Liberation and Freedom ... and she's calling it a grassroots movement to stop what she sees as an oppressive CA government driving families and businesses out of state due to "insane" taxes and regs.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris can't mask their joy over the CDC's new recommendation that fully vaccinated people can ditch their face coverings -- indoors and outdoors ... it's all over their faces!

The Prez delivered a speech in the Rose Garden a bit ago on the heels of the CDC's announcement, calling it a great milestone and a great day after more than a year of pandemic anxiety, and yes ... mask fatigue.

Biden went on to applaud the success of the COVID vaccine rollout in the U.S. and promisingly low coronavirus numbers. After his speech ... Joe and Kamala walked off side-by-side with huge smiles -- easy to see without face coverings.

POTUS and the Veep weren't the only ones in D.C. showing elation ... we got Congressmen Eric Swalwell, Greg Pence and Michael Guest on Capitol Hill palling around, maskless.

We asked them about the petition to rename the Ronald Reagan Airport after JoJo Siwa, and despite Swalwell being a Dem and the other 2 guys being Republicans ... they all reached a consensus.

JoJo Siwa says she's a big fan of the movement to remove Ronald Reagan's name from an airport in favor of her ... telling us it would be the SICKEST THING EVER!!!

We got the YouTube star at Craig's in WeHo Wednesday night and asked about the petition to change Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport to the JoJo Siwa Washington National Airport.

JoJo says she's on board with the change, telling us it's the best idea she's ever heard in her life. The petition's already got 33,000 signatures and counting, and JoJo says her mom told her to sign on too.

Folks signing the petition seem to have very specific beefs with the former President, saying he "rigged the economy for the rich and screwed over everyone else" ... but JoJo says she knows nothing about RR, other than the fact he's got an airport named after him.

Rep. Liz Cheney has committed the cardinal GOP sin by deviating from the Donald Trump litmus test and it's a sad day for the Grand Old Party ... so says Rep. Adam Kinzinger.

We got the Republican Congressman from Illinois on Capitol Hill Wednesday, in the wake of Cheney's ouster from her GOP leadership post, and he couldn't be clearer ... telling the truth about the election will crush you.

Rep. Kinzinger mused what a weird time it is when leaders get pushed out for being honest, telling us Cheney's ouster says a lot about former President Trump's grip over his party.

As you know ... Cheney was fired from House Leadership because she dared to challenge Trump over false claims of a stolen presidential election.

Rep. Kinzinger says Cheney still has a lot of support in the party, but those in her corner are staying quiet for fear of suffering the same fate as her.

Adam's laying the blame at the feet of GOP leadership and not Republican voters. In fact, if the 2024 choice is Trump vs. Cheney, he's already made his decision, and it's not Trump.

A U.S. Senator is accusing LeBron James of promoting extreme violence in America -- the NBA superstar's controversial "You're Next" post was a hot button issue Wednesday in a Senate hearing.

Sen. John Kennedy called out LeBron during the hearing on domestic violence extremism, referencing his infamous tweet about the cop who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio.

As you know ... LeBron published and then deleted the tweet last month, but not before explaining that he meant the officer should be prosecuted like Derek Chauvin. His explanation fell on many deaf ears, as he's catching heat from politicians, like Sen. Tom Cotton, former President Trump ... and now Kennedy.

The Senator from Louisiana asked the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, if LeBron's post "contributes to domestic violence in America." Mayorkas balked at the wording of the question, but eventually gave Kennedy an answer.

LeBron's tweet came on the heels of a violent incident outside a home in his native Ohio. Body cam footage showed Bryant in a physical altercation, and it appears she was trying to lunge with a knife at another girl. The officer shown in LeBron's post pulled his gun and fired 4 shots, killing Bryant.

Sen. Kennedy's beef seems to be LeBron's words promoted violence against police before all the facts of the case came out. Kennedy said, "All we had at the time was the video, and we had nothing else."

Carole Baskin is putting Ted Cruz and John Cornyn on blast over the tiger that got loose in Texas, saying the Senators could have prevented it if they'd done their jobs in Congress.

The 'Tiger King' star squarely put the blame on the Lone Star state's Senators Wednesday morning ... saying exotic cat crises have become too common in TX. Earlier this year, there was another loose tiger in San Antonio, and a couple was also arrested there for having a tiger cub and a bobcat.

Carole says Cruz and Cornyn screwed up because the Senate failed to bring the Big Cat Public Safety Act to a vote in the Senate last year, after the House passed it.

The bill would prohibit cruel activities associated with the big cat trade but, more specifically, it would ban private individuals from possessing lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars or any hybrid of these species.

Carole told CNN she hopes the senators change their tune this time around. The House reintroduced the bill earlier this year and, once again, it's back in the Senate's hands. So far, it has bipartisan support, and Carole says she hopes Cruz and Cornyn act this time around.

As we reported, the loose tiger this week in a Houston suburb was nearly shot by a neighbor who happened to be a cop. The owner of the tiger eventually showed up and stuffed the animal into a Jeep and fled before cops arrived.

Gov. Phil Murphy wants to see 4.7 million NJ residents vaccinated by the end of June, and he's offering liquid encouragement to get it done -- and, not shockingly, he says his plan's working, so far.

Murphy joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to tout "Operation Jersey Summer" ... his campaign to help the state reach its vaccination goal. There's a long list of initiatives but he says the one getting all the buzz, pun intended, is the shot and free beer program.

The Gov. says that with the Garden State having one of the strongest and fastest-growing craft beer industries, it only made sense to incentivize residents with a free beer at any of the nearly 50 participating breweries ... IF they can prove they got vaccinated in May.

It's that simple ... and Murphy says so far the program's a hit with the young crowd, which he hopes will keep the state's rate of vaccination going in the right direction. He added that even though infection rates are dropping, and more people are getting out and about in warmer weather ... he doesn't want residents getting complacent.

That being said, Murphy does have one dispute with the shot and beer program. Watch the clip ... he was joking, but there's some potential for version 2.0 of "Operation Jersey Summer." Just sayin, Gov!!!

Take us out, Lil Jon!!!

Alec Baldwin, Andy Cohen and Whitney Cummings are among the celebs pressuring New York lawmakers to stop puppy sales in pet stores ... because they say it's a cold business.

Some of Hollywood's biggest stars are teaming up with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to support a NY bill that would shut down what they say is a puppy mill pipeline funneling poorly-treated dogs into pet stores.

An ASPCA official tells TMZ ... thousands of pups are for sale in NY pet stores, and the dogs are shipped there from out-of-state breeders and middlemen, all of whom the ASPCA claims are running puppy mills.

Alec, Andy and Whitney fired off a letter in support of the Puppy Mill Pipeline Bill to NY lawmakers ... and it's also signed by Brooke Shields, Justin Theroux, Kristin Chenoweth, Sir Patrick Stewart and Edie Falco.

The bill, which would end the sale of puppies in pet stores once and for all, was passed by the NY Senate this month ... but it still needs to be approved by the State Assembly before landing on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk.

Edie, who played Carmela in "The Sopranos," tells TMZ ... her dog, Sami, spent 2 years living in a box in the dark without a name and was forced to have puppies who were sold to pet stores.

Falco says Sami's not the only dog who's been through this nightmare ... and she's urging NY lawmakers to take action and break this cycle of cruelty.

Taylor Swift is once again seeping into places you never thought you'd see her -- like on an AP history exam for high school students ... which is exactly what happened this week.

The pop star cameoed on the College Board's AP U.S. Government and Politics test administered to AP Government students this past Monday ... with one of the free-response questions asking about her 2018 political post that touched on the midterm elections.

Unclear how exactly the question was phrased -- you can't really whip your phone out in those types of settings to snap a shot -- but word is that it had something to do with analyzing how voter registration laws affect civic participation ... like voter turnout.

You'll recall ... TS tried getting out the vote back then by encouraging people to vote against then-U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, and instead getting behind the Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen in the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee by Bob Corker.

She talked about how she hardly ever waded into politics, etc. ... and then dropped a link to Vote.org. BTW, her advocacy didn't really work -- Blackburn won that race in the end.

State legislation meetings rarely go THIS off the rails -- in the middle of a debate, a Colorado lawmaker called a colleague "Buckwheat" ... pissing off another legislator who is a Black woman.

Richard Holtorf, a Republican legislator who reps the eastern part of the Centennial State, made the shocking comment while discussing military rules of engagement during a House session. But, as he tried getting to his point, Holtorf looked at a colleague, it's unclear who, and said, "I'm getting there. Don't worry, Buckwheat. I'm getting there."

He quickly followed that up with ... "That's an endearing term, by the way." The scene led to an immediate recess and a shouting match with Rep. Tom Sullivan, and Rep. Leslie Herod ... who is Black.

For you young'uns ... Buckwheat was an African-American character on the '40s and '50s film and TV series 'Little Rascals' -- also known as "Our Gang" -- which espoused stereotypes and racial gags. Eddie Murphy also famously portrayed an adult Buckwheat on 'SNL' skits in the early '80s.

The NAACP, as well as other civil rights groups, deem the character a derogatory portrayal of Black people.

Holtorf ultimately apologized and told FOX31, "I had no intentions of insulting, hurting anyone’s feelings, or being racial or using a racial slur in anyway."

He explained the term this way ... "Where I'm from in eastern Colorado, as a country boy, I’ve had people call me that term many times. Buckwheat. It has a different connotation where I’m from."

If Mark Zuckerberg thought he could dodge the big decision on whether Donald Trump gets back on Facebook, its independent panel's essentially saying not so fast, Zuck ... according to a leading tech journalist.

Kara Swisher, once dubbed Silicon Valley's most powerful tech journalist, joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday and broke down the decision by Facebook's oversight board to uphold Zuck suspending Trump from the social media platform.

Kara says the board's decision only says Zuckerberg's initial call to ban Trump was fine, but as far as banning him permanently -- it's kicked that decision right back to Zuckerberg. Essentially, they're not gonna do the dirty work for him.

The board's given Facebook some time to sort this out -- but Kara says the mission for Zuck is to establish the companies "rules of the road" when it comes to speech ... for Trump and all politicians. She says only then can the panel decide if FB's rules are fair.

Remember ... it was Zuckerberg who banned Trump from Facebook in the wake of the Capitol riot ... saying it was too great a risk to America for Trump to remain on the platform.

It seems Vice President Kamala Harris was waiting to move into one famous D.C. home while living in another that also needed major renovations ... almost $2 million worth!!!

According to federal docs obtained by TMZ ... the Blair House, AKA The President's Guest House, is set for an HVAC replacement among other substantial upgrades over the next year.

The docs show the Public Buildings Service of The White House is dishing out nearly $1.79 mil to a company called Gaghan Mechanical to get the job done.

As we reported ... the Veep and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff had been living at the historic, 19th-century row house located just steps away from The White House since President Biden's inauguration.

That's because the VP's traditional home at the Naval Observatory was also getting a bunch of repairs ... but Kamala and Doug were finally able to move into that fancy mansion last month.

Caitlyn Jenner's first political ad in her attempt to recall and replace California Governor Gavin Newsom is heavy on her Olympic glory, but completely ignores her reality TV fame and her Kardashian daughters.

Candidate Caitlyn brands herself a "dreamer" and a "compassionate disruptor," in the 3-minute video in a clear attempt to distance herself from "career politicians" ... but also seems to distance herself from her own family.

Not only is there no mention of the TV show that made Caitlyn a household name for the younger generation of California voters, but she also chose to omit the name Jenner along with Kardashian ... her slogan is simply, "Caitlyn for California."

As we first reported, Caitlyn's kids aren't thrilled with her candidacy and her daughters are making it clear they won't campaign on her behalf -- so, using 'KUWTK' clips would have been awkward.

Of course, the ad is also chock full of typical political mudslinging despite her attempt to be viewed as a non-politician. Caitlyn includes the notorious clips of Rep. Nancy Pelosi at the hairdresser, and the shot of Newsom -- who she dubs an "elitist" -- at a French Laundry dinner party ... both events happening during pandemic lockdowns.