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Sen. Mitch McConnell is insisting he's fine, but an odd moment in the middle of a news conference says otherwise ... as the Senate Minority leader stopped talking mid-sentence, and stood still as a rock at the podium.

The Senator was speaking to reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill when he suddenly stopped talking and stared blankly ahead. After more than 30 seconds of standing still without blinking or opening his mouth ... he was escorted off camera.

The 81-year-old Kentucky lawmaker later returned to the podium to answer questions from reporters, and addressed what had just happened to him, saying ... "No, I'm fine."

While it's unclear what happened to Mitch here, it's worth noting he was hospitalized back in March after tripping and falling at a Washington D.C. hotel, and was treated for a concussion. He denied the fall having anything to do with today's incident.

CNN's Manu Raju says one of McConnell's aides told him the Senator was feeling "light-headed," and stepped aside for a moment.

Tori Kelly's moving in the right direction after a scary incident that had her hospitalized for blood clots.

Tori's husband, retired basketball player André Murillo, just posted an update on Tori's condition, saying, "Tori is smiling again and feeling stronger. Not fully out of the woods but we see the sun. Just waiting on a few more answers. Your love and kindness has been overwhelming. Thank you so so much!"

While André didn't include a photo of Tori in his update, we know she's been at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles since Sunday night.

TMZ broke the story -- Tori was at dinner with friends DTLA when she suddenly felt her heart rate speed up before collapsing. Tori's friends loaded her into a car and rushed her to Cedars -- one of the top medical facilities in the country -- rather than an ambulance ride to a downtown hospital.

Sources close to Tori tell us doctors determined she had blood clots in her legs and around her lungs, but they were working to determine if there were any clots near her heart.

Conor McGregor was devastated to learn of the passing of musical icon Sinéad O'Connor on Wednesday ... telling TMZ Sports he considered her "an international star and an Irish treasure."

The UFC fighter grew close to the singer throughout his career in the Octagon ... particularly after she sang during his walkout at UFC 189 in Las Vegas.

You'll recall ... during the July 2015 performance, she belted out "The Foggy Dew" -- and many have since considered it one of the best entrances to a UFC fight ever.

In fact, McGregor himself called it "an honor to go out to that" ... adding that it was "go-to-war music."

Following her death this week, McGregor told us in a statement he was absolutely heartbroken.

"The world has lost a beautiful voice and an even more beautiful person," he said. "I am honored to have known her, to have played her music both in and out of the Octagon. God rest Sinéad."

He later added in a tweet, "Ireland has lost an iconic voice and one of our absolute finest, by a long shot."

The Irish Times was first to report the news of O'Connor's passing ... though the circumstances surrounding her death are still unclear.

She was just 56 years old.

President Biden's dog Commander doesn't have to be a recidivist biter ... a former Secret Service agent -- who's trained other White House pups -- says the pup can be trained to stop sinking his teeth into people.

Marshall Mirarchi was in the Secret Service's K-9 division during the Obama administration -- when Biden was VP -- and he joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" to explain why Commander's bitten 7 people over a 4-month span, and to tell us what the hell can be done about it.

Marshall says Commander absolutely can have the urge to bite trained out of him ... offering up his own dog, Hurricane, as a living, breathing example of a dog that can go from harmless to menace on command.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed off Commander's biting problem Tuesday as a casualty of the stressful conditions at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

That's not just spin, according to Marshall -- he confirmed there are plenty of stressors for a White House dog, but he also believes the Secret Service can get the German shepherd to stop attacking folks.

Of course, Marshall says it's going to take a lot of training and patience to see a change in Commander ... but he's confident it can be done, and that the Secret Service has the right agents for the job.

For what it's worth, Marshall trained dogs for Barack Obama and G.W. Bush, and there were no known biting incidents with them. He says that's partly due to differences in breeds, but the guy clearly knows his stuff.

Sinéad O'Connor was a mother in agony in the days leading up to her death ... expressing her heartache over her 17-year-old son's suicide, and revealing she was living as an "undead night creature."

O'Connor was very open with her emotions on social media, opening up about Shane's 2022 suicide in a post on July 17. Sinéad wrote, "Been  living as undead  night creature since. . He was the  love of my life, the  lamp of my soul.  We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person  who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him."

Shane was clearly always on her mind, in a video posted July 8, the singer showed off her apartment, making note of her own appearance, saying, "I look like s*** either way, which is why I didn't want to make a video ... but you know, the way your kid unfortunately passing away it isn't good for ones body, or soul to be fair."

Shortly after his death in 2022, Sinéad released a statement, saying, "My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O'Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

As we reported, Sinéad's family told The Irish Times of her death Wednesday in a statement that read, "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

The singer's had her own battles with mental health over the years, including an incident in 2016 where she went missing and was suicidal in Chicago. She was later located safe.

Sinéad's cause of death is currently unknown.

Bad news for Travis Scott fans that were hoping to see the rapper perform at one of the 7 wonders of the world ... because just two days before the big event, the show's been canceled.

Live Nation shared the news Wednesday, saying the Utopia show -- which was slated to go down this weekend at Egypt's Pyramids of Giza -- is no longer happening.

The company adds, "Despite highest efforts, complex production issues meant that the show could not be constructed in the desert." Live Nation says issues will be refunded to ticket holders, issuing an apology to those planning on attending.

The reasoning seems a little suspect considering just recently Egypt's Musicians Syndicate announced it wasn't pleased with Travis coming over to perform, saying the org canceled the show's permit ... claiming the type of concerts TS puts on "goes against the cultural identity of the Egyptian people."

We now know why Jason Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town" music video was edited ... because the production company skirted the rules and used FOX footage without permission.

Sources connected to the music video production tell TMZ ... back when they were producing the video, the company that produced it reached out to FOX on May 8 and asked for permission to use the 6 seconds of video shot by FOX 5 Atlanta ... showing violence at a BLM rally.

We're told the folks at FOX asked for more information ... specifically the lyrics of the song. We're told the production company sent FOX a link to the song -- which was released May 19 -- but the protocol was to send the lyrics in writing, which they never did.

The music video was released July 14 and the footage was in the vid, projecting on the courthouse behind Jason.

Our sources say a week ago, FOX reached out to the production company and asked them to remove the video to avoid any legal action -- which was described to us as a "polite ultimatum" -- and the production company complied.

So the new, edited video has actually been online for an entire week before anyone noticed.

The federal government goes to great lengths to keep alien spacecraft secret from the public, even killing its own citizens ... at least that's what a whistleblower is strongly suggesting.

The bombshell claim was levied during Wednesday's historic Congressional hearing on UFOs ... with former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch hinting murder has been a key part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials.

Ya gotta see the exchange on Capitol Hill ... Rep. Tim Burchett straight-up asks Grusch if he has any personal accounts of people being murdered over something they've seen in our skies.

The whistleblower's answer is revealing ... "I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities."

Grusch is one of 3 whistleblowers from our military testifying under oath about UFOs and secret government programs allegedly involving extraterrestrial technology. He claims almost 95 percent of UFO sightings go unreported, mainly out of fear of being blackballed, or worse.

The 2 other men being sworn in are Navy fighter pilot commander David Fravor, a witness of the infamous "Tic Tac" UFO sighting, plus former pilot Ryan Graves.

Grusch also testified the U.S. has known about extraterrestrials since at least the 1930s, with the feds covering up a longstanding government program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs ... or as he put it, "non-human" spacecraft and pilots.

It's not only politics that makes for strange bedfellows -- Ice Cube's unloading on Barack Obama, Black Lives Matter, COVID-19 vaccines and more ... with, of all people, Tucker Carlson.

The duo rolled through South L.A. together for an episode of Tucker's show on Twitter -- and they quickly found common ground on several topics ... starting with former President Obama. Cube said he was proud America had elected a Black man, and thought maybe "this guy is gonna be the guy."

But, ultimately Cube feels Obama -- like all of his White House predecessors -- did nothing to change his life.

Tucker and the rapper/actor also bro'd out on BLM ... Cube's criticism being the org didn't improve things for the Black people he knows and loves, while Tucker's voice-over and editing attacked BLM for allegedly misappropriating millions of dollars.

Interestingly, Tucker -- a staunch and vocal proponent of police -- never asked Cube about writing the song "F**k Tha Police." 🤔 Interesting.

Jason Aldean has quietly trimmed a portion of his controversial music video for "Try That in a Small Town" ... and one of the pieces he ditched is from a BLM protest.

The country singer's video is now missing 6 seconds of its original upload. What's missing -- footage of violence at a BLM rally, projected on a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927.

The scrubbed footage was shot by Fox 5 Atlanta. We reached out to Fox 5 to find out if they asked that the footage be removed ... so far, no response.

It's unclear why the footage was stripped from the project, but as we reported, Jason received major backlash over the song last week -- after folks accused him of going after the BLM movement.

Jason was adamant, the song is not an attack on BLM or in any way racist. It has soared up the charts since the controversy erupted after the music video was released.

Jason stood by his video again last week -- telling a concert crowd he's a proud American and is hoping to put the country back to "what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us."

We discussed the controversy surrounding the song on the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

Bronny James is doing well enough after his health scare that his parents are "relieved," sources with knowledge tell TMZ Sports.

LeBron and wife Savannah put everything on hold Monday after Bronny suffered cardiac arrest while practicing at USC.

TMZ broke the story ... Bronny, who was unconscious, was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and taken to the ICU.

We're told Bronny is doing much better ... well enough that his parents are calmer. Not to say, of course, they're not anxious to know what caused Bronny's heart to stop, but they seem to have gotten enough reassurance from his doctors to tamp down the fear. One word used to describe them -- "optimistic."

One sign that must have reassured LeBron and Savannah -- Bronny was only in ICU for a short time.

LeBron and Savannah have yet to say anything publicly about Bronny's situation ... but his brother, Bryce, posted a pic with Bronny Tuesday and a heart emoji.

Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater's romance came as a surprise to the Broadway actor's now-estranged wife who feels he abandoned his family ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Lilly Jay -- who married Slater back in 2018 -- tell us she's devastated her family's been torn apart. She's also upset their young son, who was born in August 2022, won't have both his mom and dad around constantly, now that they've split.

Our sources say Lilly and Ethan aren't on good terms now that the Ariana relationship is full steam ahead.

We're also told, for her part, Lilly feels like he's completely turned his back on his family.

What's more, we're told Ariana actually used to hang out with both Ethan and Lilly while they were still a happily married couple, and she even liked his Instagram tribute to Lilly on Mother's Day this year. Remember, we're told Ariana and Ethan's romantic relationship started several months ago.

The whole thing has left Lilly feeling betrayed and heartbroken ... according to our sources.

Additional sources close to the situation tell us, "It's understandable that emotions are high and it's hard seeing your ex move on, especially in such a public way, and her friends are trying to protect her. But Ari and Ethan are just trying to lay low and be respectful of their exes as they pursue this new relationship."

TMZ broke the story ... Ariana and Ethan first met on the set of "Wicked" and their relationship grew from there. Sources close to them have maintained both Ariana and Ethan were split from their spouses -- Dalton Gomez and Lilly -- when they got together.

Sources tell us while they haven't yet filed divorce docs, there's definitely one on the horizon for Ariana and Dalton.

As for Lilly and Ethan ... it doesn't appear either has filed yet, but it sounds like things are beyond repair.

Ariana Madix fired some shots at Tom Sandoval during her dream come true appearance on "Love Island USA" ... in a game all about knowing your partner's true colors.

The "Vanderpump Rules" star made her villa debut Tuesday night, hosting the "Mr. and Mrs." game for this season's islanders -- telling contestants she "can't wait to see who's actually been taking the time to get to know one another."

A great setup for a jab at Tom -- then saying "Take it from me, it's important to know who you're dating or sharing a bed with." Ariana adds, "If they're not the one for you, trust me, it's better to find out sooner rather than later."

'VPR' fans remember "Love Island" was the topic of a pretty dramatic convo between Ariana and Tom just before their split. She was talking with him about spending quality time, and he responded, "I don't have time to watch 50 goddamn episodes of Love Island."

As we reported, Ariana was over the moon Tuesday, sharing a first look at her time gathering around the fire pit in Fiji ... and her recent appearance is on top of multiple brand deals, joining the cast of "Dancing with the Stars," and filming a new season of "VPR."

Kevin Spacey is cleared of sexual assault charges in his UK trial -- a London jury just found him not guilty.

The verdict was handed down in Southwark Crown Court Wednesday in London after 2 days of jury deliberation.

Spacey was originally facing 13 counts including sexual assault, indecent assault, and causing a person to engage in a sexual activity without consent. The 4 indecent assault charges were dropped, with the judge citing its removal as a "legal technicality." He was found not guilty of the remaining charges.

It's a huge victory for Spacey, who had been facing the possibility of life in prison if he'd been convicted.

As we reported, Spacey's been on trial in London for allegedly sexually assaulting 4 men from 2001 to 2013. The trial kicked off at the end of June, and he was spotted looking cheerful as he headed into court for the first day.

Prosecutors claimed Spacey performed oral sex on a man while he was asleep, was aggressively "touchy-feely" with one of his drivers, and even groped a man backstage -- something the alleged victim said was done "with such force it was painful."

A lot came out during the trial -- for starters, one of his alleged accusers compared him to his serial killer character in "Se7en" ... telling cops in a prerecorded interview the actor was "a bit like that. A bit creepy. Maybe not quite as bad."

Spacey took the stand last week, describing one of the accusers as funny and charming, describing himself as a "big flirt" and insisting what went down between them was gentle and consensual.

He admitted he really liked the man, but claimed he never knew he would "stab me in the back" 20 years later. Spacey said he thinks his 4 accusers were attacking him after regretting being intimate with him.

Elton John's name came up during the trial because one of the accusers claimed he was groped by Spacey while driving to the singer's annual White Tie and Tiara Ball in either 2004 or 2005.

The Rocket Man himself actually testified remotely during the trial, saying Spacey only attended 1 of his bashes in 2001, not 2004-05. Elton's husband, David Furnish, also said Elton's recollection of the timing was backed up by photos of the past events.

In closing arguments, Spacey's defense team told the jury, "It is not a crime to have sex, even if you’re famous" -- adding it's also not a crime to sleep with someone "of the opposite sex, because it’s 2023 and not 1823."

Timbaland's back in the studio -- with real humans, after entertaining the thought of AI -- with his longtime pals Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado!!!

The "Dream Team" trio was apparently up late in the studio on Tuesday night ... sharing several pics of themselves with huge grins, a good sign the tunes are turning out right.

Nelly dialed in remotely from FaceTime while Timbaland and Justin were together in-studio ... but the reunion was still full circle.

Back in 2006, Timbaland oversaw the production of both JT and Nelly's blockbuster albums ... "FutureSex/LoveSounds" and "Loose" ... with both projects selling millions of records, opening the door for more collabs as the artists owned the dance floors for years.

A scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller unfolded in NYC, as a crane not only caught fire, but collapsed and crashed into a neighboring building ... sending people below running for cover.

The crane was operating on a vacant building near Hudson Yards when it caught fire. Emergency crews responded almost immediately but were essentially helpless as it burned hundreds of feet in the air.

Eventually, the flames got to be too much, and the crane snapped ... striking a neighboring building and falling to the ground.