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Barack Obama got the lowdown as Prez on UFOs -- or the lack thereof -- and although he won't say if space aliens are a thing, his facial reactions are more than interesting.

Obama appeared on 'The Late Show' Monday night and Stephen Colbert asked the burning question ... whether 44 was briefed on UFOs. He was quick to answer -- yes. After all, the Roswell mystery has survived for decades, so presidents are all looped in.

So SC asked the obvious followup ... what do ya know?  For that, you just gotta watch his reaction. Colbert thinks it's a giveaway ... that there's something in the air.

Then again, Obama could be clowning everyone ... after all, he's played his share of poker, but Colbert thinks the Prez betrayed his poker face and gave an answer loud and clear.

Kim Jong-Un is more like Donald Trump than we think, in that he's reportedly willing to take experimental coronavirus treatments ... including an unproven vaccine.

A new report citing Japanese intelligence officials claims the North Korean dictator and his inner circle within the government have all gotten a 'rona vaccine from China within the last 2 to 3 weeks.

Unclear which pharmaceutical company developed the vaccine for Kim and co., but there are apparently 3 main players out there that have been working on some ... none of which have launched final-stage clinical trials.

So, in other words ... right up DT's alley. You'll recall -- POTUS received a few drugs during his bout with 'rona (some of which were experimental) ... such as dexamethasone, remdesivir and Regeneron's antibody therapy.

Kim getting vaccinated is interesting because N. Korea as a whole's been in denial about the pandemic -- the country's officially denied tracing even one confirmed case of COVID-19 ... which no one believes, of course.

They've also reportedly closed off the border with China ... beefing up security to keep people from crossing in either direction.

Pitbull is climbing on board the fitness equipment train just like Jay-Z ... he's investing in the same startup and hooking up students in the process.

Here's the deal ... Pitbull is the latest celeb to invest and partner with CLMBR, and he's helping some charter school students gain access to one of the startup's flagship products, a vertical climbing machine.

Pitbull's collab with CLMBR calls for one climbing machine to be donated to each of the 11 Sports Leadership and Management public charter schools around the country.

There's about 1,000 kids in each SLAM charter school, and they're getting unlimited access to the on-demand, instructor-led fitness content available on the climbing machines. It's like Peloton, but instead of using a bike, you simulate climbing.

Pitbull's got a special connection to SLAM ... he helped start the first school, which serves K-12 students seeking careers in sports leadership and management, back in 2013 in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, where he grew up.

Times are tough for "90 Day Fiancé" star Jon Walters ... so he's making extra Christmas cash as Santa Claus.

Check out Jon's brand-new look for his Santa side hustle ... as you can see, he dyed his beard white and he's hawking video messages from jolly old Saint Nick ... for a price.

Jon's selling his Santa videos on Direct Me, a social media platform connecting celebs with fans ... it's kinda like Cameo. He's marketing video calls for $75, but if you don't wanna stick around for a chat he'll personalize a message for only $35.

And, here's a big plot twist -- this particular Santa isn't just a giver, he's happy to take too. He's seeking cash gifts of $12, $25, $50 and $100. Christmas 2020 ... kinda figures.

Erik Menendez is off the hook for the package of marijuana that arrived for him at his California prison ... because prison officials say he had nothing to do with it.

We broke the story ... the Menendez brother was placed in isolation at the R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego in October after he received some weed in the mail. The shipment triggered an investigation behind prison walls.

Our sources told us the pot package was intercepted by prison staff and the big question ... was it something Erik solicited? They wanted to know if he planned on distributing or trading the drugs or keeping them for personal use.

Turns out -- it was none of the above. A rep for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation tells us ... "The investigation is complete and the allegations against him were unfounded."

We're told Erik was transferred out of isolation in the Administrative Segregation Unit and back to his regular housing unit.

Child actor, Justin Scheller, was only 5 years old when he took on the life-changing role of the annoying little Stilwell -- who tormented the bus driver and Rockford Peaches squad -- in the classic 1992 baseball comedy, "A League Of Their Own."

Scheller was cast alongside a major league lineup of actors including Madonna as the fast-paced centerfielder, "All The Way" Mae, Rosie O'Donnell as the 3rd base boss, Doris Murphy, Geena Davis as the catching captain, Dottie Hinson ... and of course Tom Hanks as the callus coach, Jimmy Dugan.

Justin left the biz after his iconic role and now lives a relaxed life in the Midwest.

Famous Dex's home became the site of a SWAT standoff when cops suspected he might have hurt his ex, and possibly barricaded himself inside with weapons.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police were called Monday morning in regards to a potential domestic disturbance at Dex's crib. The caller claimed an argument between Dex and his ex-GF turned violent ... and he allegedly had at least one gun in the house

We're told when cops arrived to the scene, they found the woman had cuts consistent on her, and -- believing Dex was still there -- called for backup from SWAT.

Aside from the tipster's claim, Dex was armed, we're told police were also aware of a troubling video he'd posted on social media, showing him with a firearm.

The clip in question depicts Dex holding what appears to be a TEC-9 semi-automatic weapon, complete with a magazine of ammo, and he's incoherently addressing his fans while waving around the gun.

We're told when the cops got inside the house, Dex was nowhere to be found. For now, we're told he's just listed as a suspect in a felony domestic violence report ... and cops are investigating.

Selena Gomez is no longer the butt of a couple jokes from the new "Saved By The Bell" cast -- after tons of backlash, the show's removing the kidney jokes.

The new Peacock series scrubbed all references to Selena's kidney transplant after the outrage started pouring in Saturday ... but an edited version is already streaming. So, a pretty quick about-face.

As we reported ... eagle-eyed Selena fans noticed 2 references in the reboot to the pop star's 2017 surgery, and they started raising hell on social media over the weekend and even got "RESPECT SELENA GOMEZ" to trend online.

The first reference was cavalier ... 2 high school classmates loudly discussing Selena's kidney transplant in the middle of a hallway.

The second Selena dig was more subtle, but just as offensive to some folks. A wall in the background of a scene had graffiti or paint that read in big bold lettering, "DOES SELENA GOMEZ EVEN HAVE KIDNEYS?"

Lots of folks called the jokes disgusting and said Selena's life-or-death transplant was nothing to joke about.

Jake Paul threw a rager of a party at his Calabasas mansion after knocking out Nate Robinson -- something that's infuriating the Mayor, and which could end up costing Jake.

If you peeped Jake's social media Saturday night -- or that of his brother, Logan, or any of his YouTube buddies -- you probably saw they had a massive bash at what appeared to be his Calabasas crib ... which was packed, and mostly maskless.

COVID was absolutely the last thing on anyone's mind as hundreds of people partied their hearts out ... which is a slap in the face to the Calabasas community, according to Mayor Alicia Weintraub.

She's condemning the party, telling TMZ ... the gathering Jake hosted this weekend was no doubt a super-spreader event just waiting to happen, and that he should be ashamed of himself for allowing it when so many are suffering from the virus.

Mayor Weintraub notes she's aware he was celebrating a massive victory -- but frankly, she says that doesn't matter ... the pandemic's more important.

Ironically, it's actually because of Jake and other influencers and celebs in the area that Calabasas adopted new COVID restrictions this past summer pertaining to parties like this, including a $100 fine for folks not wearing masks in public.

On this specific case ... Mayor Weintraub says neither her office nor the authorities were notified of Jake's blowout as it was happening, which she finds strange considering neighbors have flagged authorities about other Calabasas parties.

As for what will happen now ... it's a little hazy, but it doesn't bode well for Jake. Sources familiar with how the city's typically handled COVID scofflaws ... tell us officials are actively looking into ways to punish Jake.

We're told it's tricky since he wasn't caught violating their ordinances on the spot, but they still might able to ding him -- possibly with a fine, or other methods.

Lil Wayne is blaming an "unrelated 3rd party" for screwing up his plans to perform at the Mike Tyson fight -- telling TMZ Sports there's no bad blood between himself and Triller.

Our Weezy sources tell us the rapper cut short his Thanksgiving weekend celebration with his family in Louisiana so he could be in L.A. to perform at the fight -- and he DID actually make the trip out.

But, something went wrong on the day of the fight leading Wayne to bail on the entire event.

So, what happened?

"Unfortunately there was an unrelated 3rd party who attempted to insert themselves in the production process between Triller and Lil Wayne the night before the event and the morning of and it unfortunately caused enough of an issue that Wayne couldn’t perform," Triller said in a statement co-issued by Wayne.

The details behind the scenes are unclear -- but one source put it this way ... one of the event's producers "interfered with Triller and Lil Wayne at the last minute trying to insert themselves and ended up creating a mess and all around confusion. At a certain point, Wayne got frustrated and decided it was best to pull out of the performance. By the time Triller learned about the mess it was too late."

Wayne -- who is actually a co-owner of Triller -- said he's proud of the way the event turned out, "but was truly disappointed I was precluded from performing by the 3rd party."

The man arrested while recording cops as they stopped a Black driver claims he got punched by his arresting officer ... and he wants the cop canned and charged for assault and battery.

Joe Bennett's attorney, Sam Aguiar, insists his client did absolutely nothing wrong when he recorded the incident Friday in Jeffersontown, Kentucky, and calls the actions of Officer Cruz "deplorable and unlawful."

According to the lawyer ... when Joe refused to hand over his ID, the cop punched his face in a "fit of rage" and caused his eye to close and blacken.

Aguiar says of the altercation ... "If Officer Cruz was able to snap so quickly in this situation, there is no telling what else he has done in situations where there was actually provocation. Cruz’s actions are demonstrative of a loose cannon who lacks regard for the constitutional protections of citizens."

As we reported ... Joe was actually charged with resisting arrest and menacing in the incident, but his legal team thinks this is outrageous, and the cop is the one who should be charged.

Joe's legal team's calling for Officer Cruz to be dismissed from the Jeffersontown PD and hit with assault and battery charges. They also want Joe's charges dropped.

This is the definition of a sitting duck -- a dead bird gunned down by hunters got swallowed up by a massive alligator ... and it's all on video!!!

The wildlife (and death) scene went down on a Florida lake after some hunters had shot down the duck. Its body was floating when an absolutely enormous gator came into the picture.

The hunters instantly knew they had zero chance to claim their prize when they saw ol' Godzilla here swimming toward the carcass.

The gator opened wide and the whole duck disappeared in one big gulp. Apparently, duck is kinda gamey ... as the alligator took a good 20 chomps to get down the fowl snack. Maybe it just likes playing with its food.

Truthfully, this wouldn't be that bizarre of a scene -- definitely bad timing for the hunters -- but what really stands out is the SIZE of this reptile. Florida, man.

Kelly Clarkson just scored a big victory in her divorce case ... the judge just awarded her primary custody of their 2 children in Los Angeles.

Kelly and estranged husband Brandon Blackstock were fighting over custody of 6-year-old River and 4-year-old Remy. Brandon apparently has decided he wants to live on their ranch in Montana and wanted joint custody of the kids where they could be shuttled back and forth between L.A. -- where Kelly lives -- and Montana.

Disso Queen Laura Wasser, who reps Kelly, argued that her client felt Brandon's position would be detrimental to the kids, and the judge agreed, saying, "The court finds that the minor children are not now and have not been residents of Montana and that California is their home state."

The judge gave Kelly and Brandon joint physical and legal custody, but the upshot is that Kelly will have the kids most of the time. The judge ruled Kelly has primary custody of the kids in L.A. and Brandon gets the kids on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th weekends of each month. The 1st and 5th weekends Brandon must be in Los Angeles in order to spend time with the kids. As for the 3rd weekend of the month ... the kids would travel to Montana.

Although it's technically joint physical custody, Kelly will clearly get the kids the lion's share of the time, which is what she wanted.

The order also says neither Kelly nor Brandon can talk smack about the other to the kids. The order also says neither parent can consume booze or weed within 8 hours of driving a car with the kids inside.

The divorce is ongoing.

Tichina Arnold believes there's a real catch-22 with the Grammys right now ... and it may signal the end of the music industry's biggest award having any real significance.

Fresh off co-hosting the 2020 Soul Train Awards, Tichina joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to address the fallout of some big-name artists -- most notably The Weeknd -- getting snubbed for Grammy nominations last week. She says the major problem is talented artists, whose music is popular, are often a total blind spot for the people in charge of choosing noms.

The Soul Train Awards honored several acts -- like Chris Brown, H.E.R. and Summer Walker -- overlooked for the Grammys' major awards this year ... and Tichina says artists are not only noticing it, but they're fed up.

Halsey, Drake, Elton John and The Weeknd himself have all openly suggested there's a disconnect between the music and most award shows.

TV is something else in Russia, where they're running bits with actors dressed in blackface portraying Barack Obama.

The skit aired as part of a satirical show on Russia's NTV channel ... and it's roughly 90 seconds of pure racism. The actor playing Obama is in blackface, wearing a red bandana and a bunch of bling, plus black gloves and an oversized t-shirt.

It's pretty much stereotype bingo.

The skit's entirely in Russian, but 3 English words come across clearly -- Black Lives Matter. As for what they said about it ... the host begins: "We now go live to the dark side of America's history, Barack Obama."

After the Obama character's BLM chant, the host says ... "Can you please stop shouting? We don't have racism. You could be taken for a gypsy."

There's also a reference to Obama's recently released memoir, with the blackface actor calling the book an achievement because "none of my relatives that came before me could write."

A Black restaurant owner went off on a section of mostly Black women after one of them got up at their booth and twerked ... and now he's getting dragged AND applauded, while also defending his actions.

The incident went down at a joint called TRUE Kitchen + Kocktails -- it opened just 5 months ago -- when the owner, Kevin Kelley, says multiple women got up and danced on their chairs up against a glass wall.

Kevin just wasn't having it and decided to loudly let everyone in the restaurant know about his ground rules, which several people recorded. You see him walk over to one of the twerkers and shut her down.

Another video shows him lecturing women in that section of the restaurant ... which many did not dig. He said he doesn't wanna see that type of behavior in his establishment, and that if they don't like it ... get out.

Now, we talked to Kevin on "TMZ Live" Monday, and pressed him on what exactly he had a problem with -- twerking, in general ... or the fact that it was happening in his building? He insisted it was the latter, noting there was a time and place for that type of dancing.

However, watch what he says about "classy and nice Black women" at his restaurant because it's at the heart of the backlash -- the insinuation being twerking doesn't fit that description ... for him.

You can watch and judge for yourself, but long story short -- his tone didn't sit right with a lot of people who feel TRUE bumping music, serving booze and promoting itself like clubs do make it ripe for dancing.