TMZ.com Home

Aaron Rodgers' VP bid won't last long, but the Democratic party's still taking him plenty seriously ... at least, according to some high-ranking party members.

Top officials of the Democratic National Committee tell TMZ ... they're not taking any chances with Rodgers, even though they're expecting his VP candidacy to last as long as his first season with the New York Jets.

Basically, sources at the DNC tell us they're not writing off Rodgers or any other celebrity candidate no matter what they may think of them ... just look what happened with Trump.

DNC members acknowledge third-party candidates can easily play spoiler in a close election ... so all the more reason to face Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and possibly Rodgers head-on.

Moving forward, we're told Democrats will be looking through old Rodgers interviews and dredging up the skeletons in the QB's locker. Essentially, they're welcoming AR to a whole new kind of gridiron ... one where Rodgers isn't likely to get an unnecessary roughness call in his favor.

As for how they feel about Kennedy and Rodgers teaming up ... our sources tell us it makes a lot of sense -- since they're both "self-important blowhards," as it was put to us. Sounds like the attack ads are already writing themselves!

Of course, RFK Jr. hasn't officially named Aaron Rodgers yet ... though he is at the top of the presidential hopeful's short list which also reportedly features WWE star Jesse Ventura, Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard.

Wendy Williams' home is apparently in the crosshairs of the federal government after it slapped her with a lien over unpaid taxes ... which they say amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the former talk show host got hit with a tax lien by Uncle Sam on her pricey NYC condo -- which records show she bought for $4.5 million in 2021 -- because the feds say Wendy owes them $568,451.57.

This unpaid balance, they claim, is a result of her owing big balances for her federal taxes for the years of 2019 and 2021.

The online records show the lien was generated in January of this year, and was recorded with the New York City Department of Finance in early February.

As of now, there doesn't appear to be any evidence the lien has been dealt with yet, but it's possible Wendy already cleared this up -- we've reached out to the court-appointed guardian of her finances, but no word back yet.

Of course, this is troubling for a number of reasons -- most, notably ... the fact that Wendy's health struggles have recently come to light, including the fact her team says she's been diagnosed with aphasia and dementia.

BTW ... Sabrina Morrissey, the guardian of Wendy's finances, was reportedly appointed sometime in Spring 2022, so she came aboard after the alleged tax violations.

The question ... is the guardian dealing with this now?

Three men are facing federal gun charges in connection with the Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting after the U.S. Attorney in Missouri says the investigation turned up an illegal gun operation.

The defendants, 22-year-old Fedo Manning, 21-year-old Ronnel Williams Jr., and 19-year-old Chaelyn Groves are not accused of opening fire at the parade ... but instead, prosecutors believe they were part of "illegal firearms trafficking and straw purchases of firearms."

During their investigation into the shooting, police recovered multiple firearms at the scene ... at least two of which they were able to trace back to the alleged illegal gun ring.

One of the weapons, an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 .223-caliber pistol, was allegedly bought by Manning from a gun store in 2022. He's accused of illegally trafficking dozens of guns.

The second weapon was a Stag Arms 300-caliber pistol was allegedly purchased by Williams for Groves at a gun show in 2023 ... as the latter was too young at the time.

In total, Manning is facing 12 federal charges, while Williams Jr. and Groves were both hit with 4 charges.

None of the men are charged with shooting anyone ... though officials aren't ruling out the possibility that the illegal guns were fired.

In fact, according to court docs, 12 people brandished firearms, and at least 6 fired their weapons during the parade.

"Stopping straw buyers and preventing illegal firearms trafficking is our first line of defense against gun violence," U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said.

"At least two of the firearms recovered from the scene of the mass shooting at Union Station were illegally purchased or trafficked. We work diligently with our law enforcement partners to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals by investigating and prosecuting those who illegally buy and sell dangerous weapons."

FYI, a straw gun sale is when someone purchases a weapon for another individual.

Jenifer Lewis is using her nearly deadly fall in Africa to teach life lessons ... emphasizing the importance of getting up after suffering such a catastrophic crash.

The beloved actress joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and recounted her frightening tumble in Africa, but told us she prefers to focus on the incredible steps she took to get back up on her feet again.

Lewis said she walked out onto a deck at her luxurious accommodation on the Serengeti of Tanzania -- she says it was pitch black outside, so she never saw a huge gap in the deck between her and the infinity pool. Suddenly, she plummeted down 10 feet and slammed to the ground.

Jenifer was unable to move and had to scream for her travel companion to come to her aid, and call for medical assistance ... which took a long time. She told us, while she was down there she had some scary encounters with wild animals, before a Doctors Without Borders team airlifted her to Nairobi, Kenya.

JL says she suffered through a 9-hour surgery before spending the next 6 days in the ICU ... and then she had to start a long stretch in a hospital bed.

She's got a ton of kind words for the people who took care of her when she couldn't walk or go to the bathroom by herself.

As for why she's sharing her story now ... Jenifer wanted to tell people she'd fallen once she could also tell the world how she'd gotten back up -- an inspiring message no doubt.

Jeni was on the verge of tears as she recalled her ordeal, but soldiered through the convo, displaying the kind of strength that got her back to her feet.

Boeing's video footage showing exactly who worked on the 737 Max 9 door that flew off an Alaska Airlines flight has been erased, and the NTSB believes the company's trying to hide the information.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman, Jennifer Homendy, wrote a letter Wednesday to the Senate Commerce Committee ... saying they're still in the dark about which Boeing employees were involved in the door's repair. They had requested the list of names when the preliminary report into the investigation revealed the door had no bolts during the mid-flight scare on January 5.

Homendy accused Boeing of obstructing their investigation ... telling Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, "We still have no clue who did the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft." She added, "Boeing has informed us that they are unable to find the records documenting this work."

During her testimony before the SCC earlier this month, Homendy clarified Boeing only provided a list of employees who report to the door crew manager, but not exactly who had worked on the door plug in question.

In her letter, Homendy says she then reached out to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to obtain the names, but he informed her he couldn't provide that info, maintaining Boeing had no records of the work being done.

Homendy says the absence of those names has resulted in a frustrating roadblock in the NTSB's investigation -- and she clarifies they're not seeking the names for punitive reasons, and will safeguard the identities of the employees involved.

You'll remember ... the Boeing aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Portland after one of the cabin windows blew out, causing a terrifying scene with belongings of frightened passengers being sucked out.

Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci announced at the time the company would be grounding its fleet of 65 Boeing 737-9 aircraft temporarily for a thorough inspection and maintenance as a precautionary measure. By the end of the month, they got the all-clear to resume flights.

However, former Boeing quality manager John Barnett came on "TMZ Live" to make it clear he disagreed with that decision ... because he claimed Boeing was ignoring significant safety concerns.

Barnett had even taken his fight against Boeing a step further by filing a lawsuit, alleging retaliation for his whistleblowing efforts. He sat for a deposition in the cast last week, and the very next day he was found dead ... allegedly by suicide.

12:09 PM PT -- And just like that, the court docket for Diddy's case has been wiped of any word of a settlement -- so it seems the federal court there in NY realized they'd made a mistake.

Diddy's case stemming from a lawsuit filed by a producer he worked with appears to have been settled in court -- but it's a total mistake, and this ain't over yet ... TMZ has learned.

An official court docket update came through Wednesday on the Jones v. Combs case out of NYC -- and it suggests Diddy and Rodney Jones (the guy suing him) have come to terms and reached a settlement agreement.

Per the court docket ... a settlement conference was held Wednesday, and it was apparently revealed that Diddy and Rodney not only reached a settlement, but that the two parties would submit a draft of their agreement by next week.

The docket update also says the parties appeared for the Wednesday conference by video.

However, as it turns out ... this is NOT true whatsoever. Sources with direct knowledge -- from both sides of the case -- tell TMZ this lawsuit is still very much on, and that no settlement has been reached. We're told the court staff there seems to have screwed up.

One way you know this was a clerical error is that the judge listed on the docket for this case is not the one that's been presiding thus far -- it's a completely different judge from White Plains, NY ... and more importantly, they're not the judge who's been assigned here.

Long story short, it's a false alarm, as we're told Diddy plans to fight this case -- remember, he's denied all of Rodney's claims ... which covered a wide range of salacious topics.

The only case Diddy has settled thus far is from the Cassie lawsuit last year. On this front, though, he seems ready to go to trial if he needs to ... and Rodney's not relenting either.

MLB star Aroldis Chapman is apparently quite the mama's boy ... 'cause the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher shared a bizarre video of himself grabbing an older lady's boobs this week -- and many believe it is his very own mother.

The two-time World Series champion posted the disturbing clip to his Instagram story ... showing him cozying up on a couch with a woman who resembles his mom, Maria Caridad De La Cruz.

Chapman -- who's grinning from ear to ear -- is super handsy throughout the vid ... squeezing both boobs as the woman pats his back.

At one point, the woman seemingly tries to get the Cuban Missile to move his hand ... but the groping continues.

Naturally, Chapman -- who signed a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Pirates in January -- started trending on X shortly after the video surfaced ... with a lot of folks sharing their horror.

Don Lemon's X partnership is dunzo -- his deal falling apart before the first episode could even air ... and he blames his Elon Musk interview, where he apparently struck a nerve.

The former CNN anchor took to social media Wednesday to announce the end of his exclusive deal with Elon's platform -- both via written statement and in a short video he posted to X, ironically enough.

The way Don explains it ... he sat down with Elon Friday to interview him for the first episode of "The Don Lemon Show," saying he wanted to speak with Musk as his debut guest because Elon considers himself a major proponent of free speech.

Don said the interview had no off-limit topics, and -- even though DL admits the convo got tense at times ... ultimately, he says he felt it was a good, fair back-and-forth.

However, it sounds like Musk didn't feel the same way according to Lemon ... who claims his deal with X -- agreed upon just two months ago -- was terminated mere hours after their interview wrapped.

Lemon told his fans he worked with X because he's a believer in free speech and wanted his message to reach a mass audience ... and, getting "fired" from X ain't stopping the former CNN anchor from airing it on the platform and elsewhere.

Lemon says he's still dropping the interview in all its glory Monday, March 18 on YouTube and X as well -- seemingly a big middle finger to EM and co. He's also gonna carry on with the show without X's backing ... so, the "The Don Lemon Show" is still on.

As for exactly what the two discussed ... we don't know much, but reports are floating around Don asked some hard-hitting questions -- including queries about Musk's use of ketamine.

BTW ... Lemon apparently still thinks X owes him money -- with a spokesperson for Don telling news site Puck he's willing to go to court for the cash he believes is owed ... to be continued, we suppose.

For their part, X is saying their platform is all about free speech, and Don can freely post whatever he wants ... but also X is still a business and can choose to begin or end partnerships with businesses as it sees fit.

As for Elon ... he responded to a Mark Zuckerberg parody account on X -- and claimed Don was still doing his CNN shtick, just on X -- and he said he felt Don was just parroting his old boss at the network, Jeff Zucker. EM also says he felt Don was putting on an act and not being his authentic self ... which was apparently enough for him to scrap their deal.

Olivia Munn's opening up about her health struggles ... revealing she's been fighting breast cancer for the better part of a year, and also saying she's undergone a double mastectomy.

The actress shared a series of pics to IG Wednesday featuring her in a hospital gown -- getting a battery of tests run on her. She also posted a video of her sobbing while lying in a hospital bed while a medical professional appeared to be consoling her.

Munn also dropped text posts explaining her cancer journey so far in greater detail -- the first time anyone has heard about this -- and admitting she's kept this a secret for a while.

Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023 after a doctor decided to calculate her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment score. She said she's had four surgeries since the diagnosis and has spent numerous days laid up in a hospital bed.

Munn says that in February 2023, she took a genetic test with her sister that checks you for cancer genes, including BRCA -- which she says she tested negative for. She also had a routine mammogram, which was also clear but her OBGYN suggested doing further testing due to her age and family history. Olivia credits her doctor with saving her life after the doctor found that her lifetime risk for breast cancer was 37% and a biopsy then found she had Luminal B cancer.

OM says she went in for a double mastectomy one month after her biopsy ... and she encourages other women to go to their OBGYN to have their own cancer risk assessed early and often.

Munn thanked friends and family in the post ... specifically mentioning her partner, comedian John Mulaney, for all the support he'd given her through this trying time. BTW, Munn showed up with John Sunday at the Oscars ... and nobody suspected a thing about this.

She goes on to say she kept a framed photo of John and their son Malcolm on her bedside throughout every medical procedure ... making sure it was the first thing she saw when she woke up.

Olivia didn't mention being cancer-free or in remission in her post ... so it's unclear if she's out of the woods on this front.

Ben Shapiro's popping off on retirement in the U.S., saying people who want to hang it up professionally at age 65 are off their rocker ... arguing the threshold should be raised.

The conservative talk show host made his case loud and clear on Tuesday's "The Ben Shapiro Show" ... saying the notion that retirement age should remain at 65 is absolutely absurd -- especially since President Biden is running for reelection at the ripe age of 81.

Ben says he's actually shocked the retirement age hasn't been bumped up already -- especially considering folks in the U.S. are living a lot longer nowadays.

The host continues arguing that working well past retirement age is a good thing ... 'cause, according to him, everyone he knows who's retired around 65 has lost their purpose in life. BS adds that it's ridiculous folks would solely rely on Social Security benefits for the next two decades after retirement rather than work ... seemingly suggesting it's a lazy way to go.

Ben uses his parents as a shining example of people older than 65 who've stayed on the grind -- although, it's unclear exactly how old they might be. Point is ... he thinks people oughta keep working into old age, and he says there's many examples of people doing so.

He also makes the point that people retiring at 65 and leaning SS isn't financially sustainable for the country ... a right-wing talking point that's been brought up by Republicans, etc.

Mark Coleman's heroic actions are coming to light in the wake of the terrible blaze that burned down his home, severely injuring the UFC legend, and tragically taking the life of his family pup, Hammer.

As we previously reported, 59-year-old Coleman is currently in a hospital in Ohio where he's fighting for his life as a result of injuries sustained in the fire ... and now we're learning more about what Coleman did early Tuesday morning.

Coleman, who was visiting his parents at his childhood home, was woken up around 4 AM by his rottweiler Hammer as the fire began to burn, according to his daughter Morgan.

Mark sprung into action, immediately rushing to Mom and Dad, and escorting them to safety. They were unharmed.

Knowing Hammer was still inside, Coleman rushed back into the burning house in an attempt to save his beloved dog, risking his own life.

Tragically, Hammer didn't survive ... and the home was totally lost.

Mark's daughter confirms he was airlifted to a local hospital where he is receiving around-the-clock treatment.

MC's friend, Wes Sims, provided a bit of a medical update late last night, saying Mark "made movements" at the hospital ... though it's clear he'll have a long road to recovery, and it won't be cheap.

Mark's daughter even started a GoFundMe on Wednesday to raise money for expenses related to her dad's care ... with a goal of raising $50k.

Keith Morrison says his stepson Matthew Perry thought he was overcoming his addiction before his sudden death ... but in reality, says he knew he really wasn't.

In his first interview since Matthew's passing in October, the "Dateline" correspondent -- who's married to Matt's mother, Suzanne -- recently revealed on Hoda Kotb's podcast that the beloved actor felt he was beating his addiction and in a good place ... happy, even.

Keith also acknowledged that Matt had a particularly tough struggle with alcohol and drugs -- something we all knew. He described Matthew's addiction battle as "virulent" ... noting the disease went after him relentlessly over the years.

With this in mind, Keith says he wasn't totally surprised by Matt's untimely ending. Still, he added ... "He didn't get to have his third act, and that's not fair." It's a somber conversation.

As we reported ... Mathew's autopsy noted he'd been clean for 19 months ... but his death was ruled an accident having been caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

MP had been using ketamine infusion therapy to treat his depression and anxiety -- and his last treatment came a week before his death, which TMZ broke at the time.

Matthew was found unresponsive in his jacuzzi ... drowning and coronary artery disease were later highlighted as additional factors on his official cause of death.

Keith admitted that he's still struggling with grief over Matthew's death ... but confessed his wife/Matt's mom is having a harder time with it all, even all these months later.  According to Keith, Matthew and Suzanne were closer than ever just before the actor's passing.

Jason Derulo had to bend to the call of nature during a recent show, bringing everything to a sudden stop right in the middle of a song ... to rush to the bathroom!!!

The "Swalla" singer is currently on his "Nu King" world tour, and Saturday he was in Leeds, England .. where he abruptly halted his concert inside First Direct Arena, and politely asked the packed house for a timeout.

After realizing he wasn't joking, the UK crowd booed and groaned, but even that couldn't stop him -- Jason still bolted offstage to conduct his business.

Fans came to see him do the "Wiggle," but got his pee-pee dance, instead!!!

The TikTok master and his crew decided to poke fun at the situation with a skit of JD relieving himself in a Gatorade bottle ... but there was no photoshopping the fan's faces of disapproval during his bathroom break!!!

TikTok's dancing on thin ice in the U.S. ... with the House voting to ban the popular social media app -- unless its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance sells its stake, that is.

A vote went down Wednesday and it was a landslide -- 352 to 65 -- in favor of the ban ... a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, with 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats giving it the green light, citing the app's Chinese ownership as a major national security threat.

The House didn't waste any time with the legislation -- dubbed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act -- but TikTok's future still hangs in the balance ... as it still has to make its way through the Senate, and then over to Joe Biden.

This current bill gives ByteDance a strict ultimatum -- either sell off TikTok and its other apps within six months or face the chop from U.S. app stores and other web-hosting services.

Lawmakers have long been sweating bullets over fears the Chinese government could force ByteDance into handing over the data of its whopping 170M American users -- even though TikTok has vehemently denied it's snooping on U.S. citizens.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw didn't pull any punches before the vote, saying ... "TikTok is owned by ByteDance. ByteDance is in China and when you're in China, you have to do whatever the Chinese Communist Party tells you what to do."

He added, "If they want you to spy for them, you will spy for them; that's how that works."

However, Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, is accusing the U.S. of running a smear campaign to bring down the China-based company -- adding in a statement the U.S "has not been able to give hard evidence to prove the so-called threats from TikTok to U.S. national security."

FWIW, Biden's promising to put pen to paper on the bill if it lands on his desk. Nonetheless, it's gonna be a nail-biter to see if this bill actually sticks, especially since TikTok's survived previous ban attempts. We're sure the influencers are shaking in their boots!

Janelle Brown says she's overwhelmed by emotion after fans honored her late son, Garrison, by donating to animal shelters in his name ... all as a way to highlight his pet cats.

The "Sister Wives" star shared photos of Garrison and his cats on Instagram Tuesday ... saying she was brought to tears after learning High Country Humane and Ark Cat Sanctuary in Garrison's hometown of Flagstaff received several donations in the wake of his passing.

Janelle -- who shared Garrison, as well as five other kids, with her ex-husband Kody Brown -- made it clear that this was the perfect way to honor Garrison ... who she said loved being a cat dad."

She adds, "The cats he adopted from both agencies were so important to him."

Remember, Garrison had rescued a nine-year-old cat -- which he named Ms. Buttons -- just before his death earlier this month. At the time, Garrison shared that the cat was "on the line for euthanasia" before he intervened.

We broke the story ... Garrison passed away in an apparent suicide last week. As we noted, cops say his brother Gabriel was the one who discovered Garrison deceased in his home.

Janelle later confirmed the heartbreaking news ... issuing a statement on behalf of herself and her ex-husband, Kody. She wrote ... "His loss will leave such a big hole in our lives that it takes our breath away."

Other tributes from the Brown family -- who documented their once polygamist life for 18 seasons -- soon poured in for Garrison as well.

He was only 25.

RIP

Drake Bell is finally telling his story on how Brian Peck molested him as a teen -- detailing the case at the time ... a period during which celebs came forward to support his abuser.

The new ID doc 'Quiet on Set' had its media embargo lifted, and people who've seen an early screener -- including us -- are detailing what exactly Drake says here ... and it's pretty hard to watch.

Drake gives the blow-by-blow of what happened between him and his former dialogue coach -- saying Brian drove a wedge between him and his father back then, who was working as Drake's manager ... and who was apparently suspicious of Brian.

In terms of how the abuse started, Drake says Brian isolated him a lot while working on Nickelodeon shows -- and he'd often end up hanging out with Brian outside of the set including at Brian's home, and had spent the night there many times. One morning after sleeping on his couch, Drake says he woke up to find Brian sexually assaulting him.

From there, Drake says things got worse ... and the abuse became more repetitive -- and he says he felt trapped by a dark secret. Eventually, he broke down and confessed to his mom. Once his mother became aware, they got cops involved -- and Drake says he told them everything. He also claims he got Brian to confess to the police on a recorded phone call.

Eventually, Brian was arrested on multiple counts ... but he pled no contest to just two -- performing a lewd act with a 14 or 15-year-old and oral copulation with a minor under 16.

One of the more startling revelations in the doc is that as Brian was set to be sentenced, he had a crap ton of famous people and friends show up on his behalf in court ... and not just that, but several stars had written character letters on his behalf, including some big names.

James Marsden wrote one, as did Taran Killam ... not to mention "Boy Meets World" stars Rider Strong and Will Friedle -- who've already expressed regret over this in recent weeks.

"Growing Pains" star Joanna Kerns also wrote a letter for Brian, but came forward in the doc to say she only did so based on misinformation. The late Alan Thicke also wrote a letter in support ... and so did "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" directors Rich and Beth Correll.

Peck briefly went on to work on the 'Suite Life' after he served his 16-month prison sentence post-conviction. We've reached out to Marsden, Killam and the Corrells ... no word back yet.