TMZ.com

Vice President Kamala Harris isn't having any talk about Sen. Joe Manchin being in charge of the U.S. government ... and she clapped back when Charlamagne Tha God, legitimately, raised the issue.

The Veep chatted with Charlamagne Friday for his Comedy Central show, 'Tha God's Honest Truth' ... and it was a mostly congenial interaction. He asked Harris if she felt she gets "crucified" for every move because she's a woman of color -- and she sidestepped a direct response, saying she's focused on her work, not her haters.

But, Charlamagne struck a nerve with his take on the current political standoff between President Biden's administration and Sen. Manchin over the "Build Back Better" bill.

He told the VP ... "You get villainized for silly things like air buds, when [Manchin is] really stopping progress." She played smart politics and refrained from attacking Manchin ... whose vote they desperately need, if the bill's gonna get through in some form.

When he followed up with, "So, who is the President: Is it Joe Manchin or Joe Biden?" ... an aide for Harris jumped in to cut off the interview.

Charlamagne skillfully persisted though, and coaxed a pretty heated response out of her -- "Come on, Charlamagne ... no, no, no, no. It's Joe Biden. And, don't start talking like a Republican about asking whether or not he's President. It's Joe Biden. And, I'm Vice President and my name is Kamala Harris."

Mic drop?

Louisiana Judge Michelle Odinet has been suspended by the state's Supreme Court after a sickening video of her using the n-word went viral earlier this week.

Docs filed Friday read, "hereby is disqualified from exercising judicial functions, without salary, during the pendency of further proceedings in these matters." This means the LA Supreme Court has officially opened an investigation against the disgraced judge ... with the possibility of more action to be taken in the future.

People across the country have called for Odinet's resignation after a video, being played on a home TV screen, shows surveillance footage of a fleeing suspect apprehended by a homeowner after allegedly breaking into a car on the property.

While you can't see any faces, a male voice can be heard saying, "And Mom's yelling n****r, n****r," followed by a female voice, alleged to be Judge Odinet, laughing and saying, "We have a n****r. It's a n****r, like a roach."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren's response to Elon Musk is pretty simple -- amounting to the same thing she's been saying all along ... that the guy's gotta pony up.

We got SEW on Capitol Hill and asked if she thought the Tesla chief would start paying his fair share in taxes after the scolding she gave him online over what she perceives as him taking advantage of loopholes ... and avoiding the IRS as a result.

Liz has a list of people she's speaking on behalf of here in response to their little back-and-forth -- mentioning everyday Americans from waitresses to school teachers and everyone else in between.

In the name of those folks -- whom the senator says pay more in taxes than Musk -- she tells us there's a simple solution to get her to stop ragging on him ... and it involves the guy opening up his wallet.

There's also a call to action on Congress, it seems, because it doesn't seem like EM's gonna do all this out of the goodness of his heart -- the tax code's gotta change, and she totally advocates for that (again) here.

Jim Bob Duggar won't be serving as an Arkansas state senator anytime soon, because he got crushed in the Republican primary ... just days after his son, Josh, was convicted in his child porn trial.

The "19 Kids and Counting" star got clobbered during Tuesday's special election ... which saw him going up against other Republicans for an open state senate seat. The numbers are brutal ... Duggar only raked in about 15% of the vote, while former Springdale City Councilmember Colby Fulfer ended up the victor, with a decisive 46%.

Timing of the election couldn't have been worse for Duggar ... coming the week after Josh was found guilty of possessing tons of child pornography. Hard to say how much of a factor that was for voters, but this is exactly what his own son-in-law predicted would happen.

You'll recall ... Derick Dillard, who's married to Jim Bob's daughter, Jill, told us he thought Josh's conviction would hurt his father-in-law's chances -- and sure enough, he seems to have been right. Derick also happened to endorse Fulfer.

Elon Musk and Sen. Elizabeth Warren are going at it -- their war of words is erupting, and it's all over TIME naming him Person of the Year, or as she would put it ... "Freeloader of the Year."

The U.S. Senator from Massachusetts fired the first shot across the bow ... calling out Musk for -- as she sees it -- not paying enough taxes. She tweeted Tuesday, "Let's change the rigged tax code so The Person of the Year will actually pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else."

The world's richest man quickly responded to Sen. Warren, saying ... "You remind me of when I was a kid and my friend's angry Mom would just randomly yell at everyone for no reason."

He got even more personal, claiming Warren is simply projecting when she accuses him of ripping off taxpayers.

We've heard Sen. Warren issue this same grip before ... earlier this year she ripped another billionaire space guy (and former richest man), Jeff Bezos, for not paying enough income tax, while sinking billions into his space program.

Both Musk and Bezos have pointed out they're only taking advantage of the very tax code Warren and the rest of Congress created.

Jim Bob Duggar's likelihood of winning a state senate race in Arkansas just went down, drastically, due to his son's conviction ... this according to another member of the Duggar fam.

Derick Dillard -- who's married to JBD's daughter and Josh's sister, Jill -- tells TMZ ... Josh's guilty verdict in his child porn trial puts his father-in-law in a tough spot politically, and not just because of the obvious association to his son ... but because of public past stances he's taken on sex crimes. In Derick's eyes, Jim Bob's track record won't help.

Take, for example, a policy JBD proposed on a now-defunct site of his when he ran for U.S. Senate in '02, which talked about what should happen to somebody who rapes a woman. As you can see, he called for executing the perpetrator and keeping the baby alive.

It's not apples to apples, comparing that to what Josh's conviction for possessing a ton of child pornography -- but in Derick's eyes, it makes Jim Bob look hypocritical ... because he doesn't think his father-in-law would take as hard a stance now, in light of what's happening to his own flesh and blood.

More relative to Josh's situation is a bill JBD helped sponsor in 2001 -- when he was in the state's House of Reps. -- calling for widening the categories of sex offenses to include "pandering or possessing visual or print medium depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child." Derick believes Jim Bob will get grilled on the campaign trail for that one.

Big picture ... Derick says Jim Bob's come across as less than transparent or credible due to vague statements he made while Josh was under investigation.

Of course, Derick's hardly a JBD fan to begin with. As you know, he and Jill have distanced themselves from the famous fam since 2017 ... when Derick accused his father-in-law of screwing his kids out of money.

Still, DD admits Jim Bob could gut out a victory, due to his TV fame and name recognition/wealth -- all of which could help him get past the PR nightmare of Josh.

President Joe Biden welcomes back the Kennedy Center Honors, post-pandemic, and immediately gets totally roasted by ‘SNL’ star Michael Che ... who said, "There’s no way he is awake right?"

The age-appropriate shot was well-received, though, during a night of jokes, laughter and great music. President Biden slipped into his tux for the Sunday night gala honoring 5 legendary artists for their lifetime achievements -- Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels, famed actor Bette Midler, singer Justino Diaz and folk music legend Joni Mitchell.

This night was particularly special because the Prez and First Lady were in attendance --bringing back the tradition. President Trump had skipped the event since 2016 after honorees threatened to protest if he participated.

In fact, Biden got a standing ovation as he entered the event and praise from attendees such as late-night legend David Letterman, who also took a swipe at Trump, saying ... "It's quite nice once again to see the presidential box being occupied."

Yeah, it's good to be the King/Queen -- but Prime Minister's pretty badass too, especially when you're Finland's Sanna Marin out partying until the break of dawn!!!

The Finnish PM was all up in the VIP at Butcher's Nightclub in Helsinki over the weekend -- she was seen hanging with her husband and some friends at a private table. NBD, right?

Well, keep in mind Marin, at just 36 years old, is the Nordic country's youngest Prime Minister ever -- and the glamorous world leader's clearly not letting the gig hold her back from doing regular 30-somethings activities.

PM Marin reportedly stayed out until 4 AM and as you can see, neither she nor anyone else in the club was wearing a face mask ... so, they don't seem too worried about COVID-19 or the Omicron variant.

There's a good reason for that. Under PM Marin, who took over 2 years ago -- just before the pandemic -- Finland has achieved a staggering 72 percent vaccination rate! For comparison, the U.S. is still under 60 percent.

President Biden resumed what had been paused for a good while in D.C. -- namely, POTUS being in attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors ... and hosting them afterward.

JB held a reception Sunday at the White House, with this year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award being in attendance, front and center. Among those who were honored -- Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz and Joni Mitchell.

There were a lot of other high profile people on hand as well -- including First Lady Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, David Letterman and others.

Biden -- who was suited and booted in a tux, delivered some remarks -- highlighting each person's contribution via their art -- going down the list one by one and singing their praises. He also shouted the late Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away.

Each honoree showed off their rainbow-colored ribbons that were placed around their necks, and they each stood when called upon. The whole reception lasted a little less than half an hour -- but even so, it meant a lot to folks who hadn't seen this since 2016.

President Trump snubbed the ceremony for the first three years in office -- and never hosted any of the recipients after threats of a boycott came down in 2017, his first year in office

Bob Dole -- one of the most enduring U.S. political figures -- has died, 10 months after revealing he was battling lung cancer.

The Republican stalwart from Kansas passed in his sleep early Sunday morning, according to his wife, Elizabeth Dole. Her foundation released a statement on his death, highlighting his 79 years of political service.

Dole was not only a U.S. Senator from Kansas, but also a decorated Army veteran, a U.S. Representative and a candidate for Vice President, and later, President.

In February, Dole announced he'd been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. He said, “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own.”

Dole enlisted in the Army in 1942 to serve in World War II. It was during a battle in Italy that he was severely injured under enemy fire -- his right arm, collarbone and spine were all damaged, and he was eventually transferred to a hospital back in Kansas.

Although he beat the odds to survive a long list of injuries, Dole never regained full mobility of his right arm and suffered numbness in his left. He earned 2 Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service.

He won his first national political election in 1951 when he ran for the House of Representatives -- and became a U.S. Senator in 1969. He would remain in the Senate until 1996 when he resigned.

Dole ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988, losing to Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

It might seem shocking in today's era of bitter bipartisanship, but after the Republican icon retired ... President Bill Clinton presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Dr. Mehmet Oz will be back on the air hosting his TV show much sooner than he'd like ... so says one of his opponents, who has some fighting words for the talk-show host turned politician.

Everett Stern -- CEO of a private intelligence agency, and one of at least 7 other Republican candidates vying for one of Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seats -- is confident he will wipe the floor with the good doc once they hit the campaign trail.

Talking trash like he was Jake Paul, Stern predicts Oz won't last 5 minutes on a debate stage before he's forced to wave the white flag. He says Oz won't be able to read off a teleprompter the way he has for years on TV, and simply isn't prepared to hash out political issues.

Stern does, however, acknowledge support from the Trump-wing of the Republican party is up for grabs ... and Dr. Oz might appeal to those voters.

It's worth noting Oz hosted the former president on his TV show back in 2016, and Oz was later named to a White House advisory council on sports and nutrition.

TMZ broke the story ... "The Dr. Oz Show" will soon be yanked off the air in all Pennsylvania markets and a few others -- including New York City -- in an attempt to ensure all the other candidates get equal air-time.

Atlanta voters weren't swayed by T.I. and Isaac Hayes III spreading fake news about mayoral candidate Felicia Moore and strip clubs -- according to one of the city's former mayors, she just got drubbed.

We got Kasim Reed, who served as Atlanta's mayor from 2010 to 2018, at LAX and asked him about Moore's gripe that celebs spreading misinformation about her plans to shutter strip joints led to her defeat in the runoff election.

Kasim says Felicia needs to just move on, because the voters clearly said "bye Felicia" at the voting booth ... pointing out she lost with just 41% of the vote, compared to the winner, Andre Dickens, who got more than 60%.

TMZ broke the story ... Felicia claims T.I. and Isaac damaged her chances by spreading fake news from an article they screen-grabbed and reposted with the headline, "Woman Running for Atlanta Mayor Promises to CLOSE ALL STRIP CLUBS!!!"

While Kasim admits T.I. and other celebs carry some weight in Atlanta, he says their influence is just a drop in the bucket compared to the 20% losing margin for Moore.

Rep. Tim Burchett is not happy about the Pentagon starting up a new agency to head up UFO research -- because he, like others, sees it as more secrets ... and less transparency.

The Tennessee congressman gave his thoughts on the matter Wednesday on Capitol Hill, and to put it frankly ... he ain't a fan of the move, especially since it felt like things were finally coming to light after decades of keeping this type of talk on the DL.

In Rep. Burchett's eyes ... the Pentagon is only going to keep asking for more funding (from Congress) without giving up the goods on what they know, and the House member thinks going down that road is plain foolish.

That's pretty much what UFO expert Jeremy Corbell told us just last week about this ... he called it a shadow operation that's being presented as something the Defense Dept. is taking seriously -- when he thinks it's the exact opposite in practice.

Now, as for why the DoD would rather sweep this under the rug further -- Burchett has a theory. It all has to do with "industrial complexes" and societal institutions that would probably crumble if we learned the truth about what's out there.

Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 just days before meeting up with Joe Biden for their first presidential debate -- this according to his ex-Chief of Staff.

Mark Meadows makes the claim in a new book, 'The Chief's Chief,' describing how DT allegedly received a positive result on Sep. 26 ... 3 days before the Ohio debate. Meadows does say Trump took a second test which turned up negative, but that reportedly was an antigen test, which is not as reliable as the PCR test. The PCR test can detect COVID levels the antigen test can't.

Nonetheless ... Meadows says Trump was hell-bent on debating Biden, saying, "Nothing was going to stop [Trump] from going out there."

It's a shocking revelation. Apparently, Trump was symptomatic with a positive PCR test, which means he should have quarantined for 10 days, but he did the opposite.

He held a Rose Garden ceremony to introduce his last Supreme Court nominee -- Amy Coney Barrett -- to the public. Meadows says Trump was already showing symptoms but the president went to the event maskless. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a super spreader event.

He also had a ceremony for Gold Star families at The White House ... again, he did not wear a mask even though he had COVID, at least according to Meadows.

The way Meadows describes it ... Trump was about to head to a rally in PA, when Meadows received a call from his doc, telling them to halt everything since POTUS had just tested positive. Meadows says he informed Trump, and the guy apparently had a colorful response.

MM writes Trump's answer "rhyme[d] with ‘Oh spit, you’ve gotta be trucking lidding me."

As if it weren't bad enough, Trump arrived at the debate late ... too late to be tested, and moderator Chris Wallace said at the time they were trusting Trump was negative based on the honor system.

Trump calls Meadows' description of events "fake news." He says he did not have COVID prior to or during the first debate. He cites a test proving he did not have COVID prior to the debate. That's not necessarily inconsistent with Meadows' account ... because even if he had a negative antigen test he still had a positive PCR test, according to MM.

If Meadows' account is true, there's no other way to cut it ... it's shockingly reckless, uncaring for others and, frankly, disgusting.

Matthew McConaughey may have chickened out in running for Texas Governor, but we've learned Dr. Mehmet Oz is going full bore in Pennsylvania ... because our sources say he has decided to run for a U.S. Senate seat.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dr. Oz has just made a multi-million dollar media buy in the state ... a media buy to push his impending candidacy.

Oz appeared on TMZ Live recently and was coy about running, but he sounded like he was leaning in that direction. Since then, we've learned he now has a full campaign staff, including Chris Hansen -- not the Chris Hansen from "To Catch a Predator" -- to manage the campaign. Hansen ran the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Dr. Oz will run as a Republican for Pat Toomey's seat ... Toomey is retiring.

As for his show, we haven't gotten official word, but it's likely Dr. Oz will step back from the talk show -- at least, over the next few months.

The island of Barbados is now an independent republic, and one of its leaders' first orders of business is crowning homegrown jewel, Rihanna ... a national treasure.

Monday marked an historic milestone for the Caribbean nation, as Queen Elizabeth II was removed as the head of state there and Barbados became its own independent body for the first time. It also served as an induction, of sorts, for RiRi -- who was dubbed an official national hero.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley -- who serves separately from the newly elected President, Sandra Mason -- bestowed Rihanna with the title, saying she had "commanded the imagination of the world through the pursuit of excellence with her creativity, her discipline, and above all else, her extraordinary commitment to the land of her birth."

Rihanna has done a lot for Barbados in several capacities -- not only does she rep her home in her music and elsewhere, but she's also served as an ambassador since 2018. Besides this latest honor, they've showered her with other accolades and gestures over the years -- including naming a street after her.

She's just the 11th Barbadian in history to be deemed a national hero.

Meanwhile, the rest of Barbados was celebrating the fact it no longer has to operate under the monarchy going forward, which was a long time coming. The island declared independence from the U.K. back in 1966, but remained one of its Commonwealth Nations.

For what it's worth ... the Royal Family was fully in support, sending Prince Charles down to make a speech praising Barbados' freedom -- a move that got mixed reactions due to the history of slavery and exploitation established by his ancestor, King James I, in 1625.

Barbados will continue to operate within the Commonwealth.