TMZ.com

James Talarico's campaign took an unprecedented step to prove he didn't spend the week in a mental health facility in Ohio ... by giving the media screenshots of a video that they say show he was at home in Texas.

Here's the deal ... Talarico's opponent in the Texas Senate race, Ken Paxton, and many conservative social media users have recently been calling BS on Talarico's claims that he has been stuck in bed with a bad case of the flu after he recently vanished from the campaign trail.

Using tenuous evidence -- including an unsubstantiated audio clip and a flight tracker of a private jet flying from Texas to Ohio, which doesn't seem to have any link to Talarico -- rumors swirled that Talarico was actually in a full-blown mental health breakdown in Ohio.

Elon Musk and President Donald Trump's Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller amplified the claims as well ... but now Talarico is pushing back. with the help of a major media outlet.

Rep. Ilhan Omar's D.C. home was crawling with federal agents Monday morning ... with investigators apparently digging into immigration documents connected to the Minnesota congresswoman and her family as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the raid in a statement ... "Today in the Washington, D.C. area, Homeland Security Investigations executed a judicially authorized search warrant secured by the Department of Justice."

Officials say the search is part of an ongoing federal investigation, but haven't publicly spelled out all the details. Two sources familiar with the probe told Fox News Digital that investigators are examining immigration paperwork completed by Omar's late father when she was a child.

Kimberly Guilfoyle may be getting the boot from her cushy gig in Greece ... because President Trump and Marco Rubio are reportedly considering firing her over a growing list of misconduct allegations.

The former Fox News host -- who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr. and married to Gavin Newsom -- has landed in some serious hot water as U.S. ambassador to Greece, with multiple reports accusing her of questionable behavior.

According to the Associated Press, a senior U.S. official says Trump and Rubio are "extremely pissed off" over the allegations ... and could decide her fate as early as this week.

Soulja Boy is looking to crank things up in D.C. ... 'cause the rapper is teasing a run for president in 2028 ... yes, seriously.

The "Crank That" hitmaker dropped a surprise announcement on Instagram Saturday, posting "SOULJA BOY 2028" alongside a message about his plans to potentially trade the recording studio for the Oval Office.

Soulja says he's focused on four major issues -- economic opportunity, criminal justice reform, education and the future of technology and artificial intelligence.

Bill Gates is sounding the alarm on artificial intelligence ... warning the technology is more dangerous than cars, planes and drugs ... and trusting the companies developing it to police themselves is a terrible idea.

The Microsoft cofounder didn't mince words during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, calling A.I. "the most dangerous technology humans ever invented" and arguing society needs to step in before things get out of hand.

Gates says fears about A.I. wiping out humanity can get overblown ... but that doesn't mean we should be handing the keys over to tech giants and hoping for the best.

Donald Trump has issued a stern warning to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ... warning him to stop blowing up Russian oil refineries -- while also saying Ukrainians need a new leader.

POTUS made the statement outside the White House on Saturday, saying President Zelensky could've reached a peace agreement with Russia on many occasions, but he's simply choosing not to.

DJT says he explicitly told Zelensky not to go after oil refiners in Russia ... but the Ukrainian prez has allegedly done it anyway -- and he'd "damn well better stop."

He then goes on, "I suggest [Ukraine] get a new leader who can make a deal."

Vice President JD Vance is casting doubt on whether the Pentagon will follow through with plans to livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan ... but if it does happen, he won't be tuning in.

"I don't know that that's actually going to happen," Vance told reporters Friday when asked about the Pentagon's plan to livestream Hasan's December execution by firing squad.

Vance then tried to move past the controversy surrounding the unprecedented broadcast, saying Hasan's crimes shouldn't be forgotten.

12:56 PM PT -- President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Katie Zacharia has officially been appointed White House Press Secretary. He says he is confident she "will deliver strong results for our Country."

Katie Zacharia -- a conservative commentator with strong ties to President Donald Trump -- has been hand-picked to be the next White House Press Secretary ... TMZ has confirmed.

A White House official tells us that Katie has been offered the job. It's unclear if she's already accepted.

Katie -- who briefly worked as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security -- is currently a communications adviser to Trump Media and Technology Group, the organization that runs Truth Social.

Pete Hegseth wants the public to be able to see the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan ... and a War Department official tells us it will be livestreamed.

The Secretary of War went on Real America's Voice on Thursday to address President Trump's decision to reinstate the firing squad for former Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 people and wounding more than 30 others.

There hasn't been a public execution in the United States in over 90 years, but Hegseth promises, "we'll make sure that people are able to watch it and that it's public."

Hegseth didn't go into detail, but we're told it will be streamed live for the public.

Kimberly Guilfoyle is a "grifter" who is all sizzle and no steak ... at least according to the Donald Trump donor who says she asked him to secretly pay off her six-figure American Express bill.  

Former Kentucky congressional candidate Eric Deters joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday, and we asked him about this week's bombshell story in The Wall Street Journal ... and he told us Kimberly absolutely asked him to wire $100,000 to her AmEx account before her July 2025 confirmation hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

Eric says he was throwing big money around the Trump world because Kimberly promised to help get Trump administration officials to extradite an Ohio doctor who fled to Pakistan after allegedly performing unnecessary spine surgeries on hundreds of unsuspecting victims and being charged with defrauding insurers.

Bernadette Greene-Placentia says she was raped in a parking lot while trying to repair a damaged campaign sign ... and she's now revealing disturbing details about the alleged attack.

The Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District told the Phoenix New Times she was assaulted around 2 AM August 14 in Sun City, a retirement community northwest of Phoenix.

Bernadette claims she was hit in the head and briefly lost consciousness. When she woke up, she says a man was on top of her and allegedly sexually assaulting her.

Kimberly Guilfoyle reportedly begged a Trump donor to wire $100K straight to her American Express account ... messaging him "Honey please" as part of her plea.

According to Signal messages reviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump Jr.'s ex-fiancée was messaging former Kentucky congressional candidate Eric Deters in July 2025 when she made an urgent request for a payment that wouldn't leave a paper trail.

Guilfoyle was allegedly trying to get Deters to pay down her credit card balance before her congressional hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to Greece.

A Democrat running for Congress on Long Island isn't backing down over his BDSM past ... saying the kinky photos have zero bearing on his ability to serve.

House candidate Chris Gallant joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday and addressed the photos that surfaced last month showing him modeling for San Francisco fetish brand Mr. S Leather.

Gallant says the shoot happened about 15 years ago with his then-partner and was completely consensual ... and he later asked the company to take the photos down.

Donald Trump's hatred for liberals reached new heights at a rally Monday night when he suggested that Iran wipe out Los Angeles and San Diego. 

The commander-in-chief was speaking at the political rally in Nebraska when he made the shocking statement about the 2 liberal cities ... while discussing how the Iran war caused fuel prices to spike across the U.S., forcing drivers to pay a "little bit" more at the pump.

Trump then told the packed crowd that Iran had the firepower to take out an American city ... without offering any evidence that the country had long-range weapons of mass destruction.