Miami

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are urging President Joe Biden to pull the plug on the vaccine mandate for international travelers ... hoping it'll pave the way for Novak Djokovic to play in the big Miami Open tennis tournament later this month.

The politicians spelled out their wishes in a letter -- which they sent to the commander in chief on Friday -- saying they want #46 to make the change so The Joker can be ready to smash balls at the tourney in Miami Gardens, FL on March 19.

In their letter, they argued that removing the restriction and allowing Djokovic to play could provide a huge economic boost for their local economies.

They also called the current U.S. policy "outdated and worthy of rescission," considering Biden declared on "60 Minutes" back in Sept. 2022 that the "pandemic is over."

The lawmakers, both Republicans, added that they believe since Djokovic is a world-class athlete in world-class shape, he is "not at high-risk of severe complications from COVID-19."

Of course, under the current rule, Djokovic -- who is unvaccinated -- is not allowed to travel to the United States ... precluding the Serbian tennis superstar from playing in the Miami Open and several other upcoming high-profile tournaments.

Miami Open officials have reportedly filed a petition to get him a waiver from the rule -- and Scott and Rubio made it clear, they're in favor of it being granted.

A preschool in Miami is under fire for intentionally putting blackface on some students ... a move staffers proudly touted as a way to celebrate Black History Month.

Parents found out on Feb. 3 what was happening at Studio Kids Little River -- which has a preschool and daycare facilities. One parent, Courtney Politis, who had 2 kids at Studio, tells TMZ she was made aware of the incident by another concerned mom.

She says pictures of at least 2 toddlers in blackface were posted by a teacher on the school's internal app. As you can imagine, those pics started circulating, showing 2-year-olds dressed in police and construction worker costumes, with dark makeup plastered on their faces.

Politis says she brought this up to the preschool's director, Patricia Vitale, to express her outrage ... but claims Vitale downplayed the racist nature of it, asking why it was a big deal.

However, afterward, Vitale sent a letter to all the parents of the preschool ... writing in part, "We have not intended to offend anyone, and we’re very sorry about any inconvenience."

A few days later, Vitale sent another message that was a little more serious. The letter read, "We wanted to let all the parents know that we met on Friday afternoon with all the teachers and staff. We went over several ethical and multicultural education points. I will teach the team a class covering all the necessary topics regarding US history and multicultural education." She added, "[Y]ou may rest assured this will never happen again."

Politis tells us that, as far as she knows, the teacher who did this didn't face any real repercussions beyond a possible talking-to. Although, she's not calling for the teacher to be fired ... she does want there to be some discipline to show this just wasn't right.

Now, as for whether this is part of a larger political issue in FL -- involving Gov. Ron DeSantis' opposition to "wokeness" -- Politis says she doesn't necessarily see a direct tie there ... instead, she points to the fact the people who run the school are Argentinian.

Lil Wayne's former dream home in one of Miami's most exclusive neighborhoods is officially off the market, meaning Weezy's officially pulling outta South Florida ... TMZ Hip Hop has learned.

The YMCMB boss listed his lavish half-acre property back in September, asking $29.5 million ... and then discounted it, slightly, at a mere $28 mil. That seemed to do the trick.

Our real estate sources tell us Wayne accepted a buyer's offer on February 3, and although the sale's still pending ... it's close to getting finalized. Cyril Matz of Douglas Elliman is repping for Tunechi.

Wayne had the 7-bedroom, 11-bathroom castle built for $16.8 million in 2017 and laced it with all sorts of amenities -- including an open-air cabana, outdoor kitchen and a reflecting pool. Basically, the perfect Miami party pad ... if you're into that sorta thing.

If you thought his recent slump in music was gonna make Lil Pump stop smiling, think again, because the guy just got a new set of chompers he's gonna be showing off for a long time.

5 Star Smiles CEO Danielle Noguera tells TMZ Hip Hop Pump came in earlier this year to get a new pair of porcelain veneers.

The set Pump opted for has tons of longevity -- 30 years in fact -- and we're told the procedure cost Pump a cool $25k, done in Pump's hometown of Miami.

Dentists had been reaching out to Pump for years offering to do his teeth, but Pump opted for 5 Star Smiles, a company with plenty of experience with celebs including Lil Meech, Erica Mena, and the Clermont Twins, to name a few, in the past.

As expected, Pump won't just stop with the veneers, we're told he's upping his game even more -- with a pair of custom grills currently in production.

Marc Anthony's married again -- this time saying "I do" to a 23-year-old beauty pageant winner ... with a lot of famous friends in tow, sans one key person.

The singer reportedly tied the knot Saturday with Nadia Ferreira, whom he got engaged to in May. Per Hola!, the nuptials went down in Miami at the Perez Art Museum. Not only was the place packed with celebs, but public officials too -- Miami's mayor included, who officiated.

Other guests in attendance ... David and Cruz Beckham, Salma Hayek, Lin Manuel Miranda, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Romeo Santos, Maluma, Marco Antonio Solis and more. We know, you're wondering if J Lo showed up ... so far, there's no sign that she did.

This is Marc's 4th walk down the aisle, and Nadia's first. He's been married to Dayanara Torres, Shannon De Lima and, of course, Jen ... whom he shares two kids with. It's unclear if his children with J Lo were there ... ditto for his other 4 kids from previous relationships.

In any event, it seems everyone had a good time ... these photos showing people mingling inside the venue feature nothing but smiles and laughter -- so it would appear it was a hit.

Considering Marc's arguably the king of modern Latin music to this day ... it makes sense he got everyone in the game out to celebrate. Think 'Godfather' -- gotta pay your respects.

We're told the group believes the crooks were targeting Sam because of the expensive jewelry he flashes on the TV show. Our sources say he's now hired 24/7 armed guards at his house, and cops are still investigating.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ ... multiple stars on the popular MTV series -- Brandon Gomes, Sam Logan and Jordana Barnes -- were victims of a violent home invasion robbery earlier this month, and cops believe the incident might have been captured on surveillance cameras.

The reality stars told officers they were hanging out and watching sports at Sam's pad on January 15, when all of a sudden 2 unidentified guys with firearms opened a sliding glass back door and dashed into the house.

They claim the men specifically confronted Brandon, and demanded he hands over his watch. We're told Brandon refused, tried to flee, but didn't get far before one of the perpetrators struck him in the head with a gun.

Although they didn't get Brandon's watch, sources connected to the cast tell us the thieves did find and steal Sam's $80k Audemars Piguet watch.

The group told cops the suspects ordered the women to the ground at gunpoint and demanded their cell phones. Cops say they grabbed an iPhone Max Pro and then made a clean getaway in a black sedan.

We're told Sam and cast member Mike Vazquez were upstairs sleeping at the time of the invasion. According to our sources, they heard someone yelling the house was being robbed and barricaded themselves in their rooms.

The report says Brandon only suffered a minor injury from the pistol-whipping, and declined treatment.

We're told the group believes the crooks were targeting Sam because of the expensive jewlery he flashes on the TV show. Our sources say he's now hired 24/7 armed guards at his house, and cops are still investigating.

Forget champagne or a nice glass of vino ... LeBron James opted for hookah to celebrate Tuesday's win over the Magic -- and TMZ Sports has the vid of The King's smoke sesh.

James hit Barsecco in Miami in the hours after he and the Lakers dumped Orlando in Florida, 129-110 ... and you can see in footage we obtained from the popular lounge that he unwound from the big victory by blowin' some big clouds at the hot spot.

Witnesses tell us the NBA superstar got to the place at around 1:37 AM Wednesday morning ... and only stayed for a quick smoke -- leaving after about 15 or so minutes.

You can see in the clip, he was wearing the same outfit he wore to his postgame press conference Tuesday night -- a green and blue colored cardigan with plenty of jewelry on display.

Of course, James had to bolt from the place fairly early ... as the Lakers play again against the Heat in at FTX Arena on Wednesday night.

DaBaby and his legal team are celebrating a big 'W' that's years in the making ... he's come out on top of a battery lawsuit over a 2020 brawl.

You’ll recall … DaBaby and crew were initially hit with allegations of beating and robbing a concert promoter named Kenneth Carey and his buddy. They claimed they'd lost personal items -- including money and a cell phone -- during a fight recorded by bystanders.

As we reported .. the fight was over payment for a Miami event Carey put together, and hired DaBaby to host. When the sides disagreed over dollar figures, it turned into a street brawl.

Prosecutors had dropped a criminal battery charge against DaBaby, but he was still hit with a $6 million federal lawsuit over the incident. The trial wrapped up Monday, with the jury finding in favor of the “Bop” rapper.

His attorney Drew Findling tells TMZ Hip Hop, “Along with our client, Jonathan Kirk (DaBaby), we are thrilled that this federal jury, after a five-day trial, came to the same conclusion that we have maintained for almost 3 years - that these plaintiffs were attempting to use the legal system to shake down Mr. Kirk.”

Findling continued, “Mr. Kirk deserves all the credit in the world for not caving in to these plaintiffs' cash demands and having the confidence in the facts and his legal team to take this to a jury trial for a complete and total victory!”

Art Basel in Miami was filled with tons of memorable and thought-provoking pieces of art -- but very few stacked up to a live breast-milking display that saw bidding reach $200k.

The wild display went down over the weekend during Miami Art Week ... when contemporary artist OONA performed "MILKING THE ARTIST" with Lori Baldwin in front of a huge crowd.

The display began with the 2 artists shouting about fetishizing the female breast before OONA began to squeeze milk out of her breast. We gotta say, it appears they use a prosthetic, but the artist tells us, "They are as real as you want them to be."

After auctioning off the milk to the crowd -- and hitting a $200K bid -- the 2 were forcefully removed from the Art Basel premises.

Art Basel featured a ton of interesting displays from artists ... including a MASSIVE bowl of eggs, a textile portrait of Salt-N-Pepa, and a fully-functioning ATM that publically ranked people based on how much dough was in their bank account.

Kim Kardashian had a very noticeable sidekick missing as she hit her first night of Art Basel celebrations ... she stepped out without Balenciaga.

Kim was among a slew of celebs -- including Madonna, James Blake, Travis Scott, Rande Gerber, Serena Williams, Khloe Kardashian and Leonardo DiCaprio -- to hit Miami for the annual art show which brings out huge collectors, stars and billionaires alike.

Of course, Kim's almost always decked out in the most recent Balenciaga gear at major events like this, but it was very clearly missing from her look. Instead, she wore a Vex latex top and vintage pants with Dior sunglasses ... and still looked hot as ever as she left dinner at Gekko with owner David Grutman and Jonathan “Foodgod” Cheban.

TMZ broke the story ... Kim cut any plans to work with Balenciaga in the future after the brand launched a controversial BDSM-inspired ad campaign with kids. Our sources said Balenciaga had offered Kim a campaign for 2023, but she turned it down.

Offset is finally ready to return to rap, he hit the stage in Miami for his first gig since Takeoff was shot and killed -- and he honored his fellow Migos member during the Miami performance.

Cardi B was with her husband at E11EVEN Thursday night for the club's Art Basel bash.

Although, Offset was back doing what he does, he immediately set the tone ... telling the crowd, "We're doing this for my brother, for Takeoff ... let's do this s***!"

Off the stage, Offset and Cardi seemed to be having a blast, dancing and drinking throughout the night -- and Chance the Rapper was also in the building to see Offset do his thing.

Offset tossed dollar bills up in the air, too, as he performed hits like Migos' "Bad and Boujee" and "Clout" ... his collab with Cardi.

As we reported, Offset broke his silence on the loss of Takeoff a couple of weeks back ... writing about the "unbearable" pain he's been left with since the rapper's death.

Cardi also spoke out about Takeoff, saying "I am heartbroken but I am grateful for all the precious memories we got to share while you were here with us."

Courtney Clenney, the OnlyFans model accused of murdering her boyfriend, is soaked in blood -- almost head-to-toe -- in newly released photos taken moments after her arrest.

Clenney was photographed back in April, shortly after cops got her back to the station, and you can see her sweats are nearly completely red-stained. It looks like the blood is mostly dried, but there's obviously a lot of it covering her entire lower body.

There also appeared to be blood left behind on her hand, and all over the Miami condo where they lived.

Remember, we'd already gotten a sense of how gory the crime scene was -- TMZ obtained video of the immediate aftermath, showing Clenney in handcuffs as officers were investigating.

Clenney insists she stabbed her BF, Christian Obumseli, in self-defense. We've since learned their relationship was volatile ... as cops had been called during their disputes in the past.

Since then, she's been charged with second-degree murder and is currently in custody in Miami awaiting trial. A bond hearing was scheduled Tuesday.

BTW, new photos showing apparent bruises on Clenney in the wake of the killing just surfaced last week ... with her defense team saying they were taken a few days after Christian's death.

Gisele Bündchen is getting super close to a handsome MMA teacher ... and sources connected to the former couple -- Tom Brady and Gisele, that is -- are questioning the timing.

The guy is Joaquim Valente, a jiu-jitsu instructor who lives in Miami. Gisele has known him for at least a year and a half. She took lessons from him, and then signed her 2 kids up for lessons as well.

Gisele and Joaquim were out to dinner in Costa Rica Saturday, with her kids, Benjamin and Vivian. It's especially interesting, because Tom and Gisele made Costa Rica their vacation spot during the off-season.

Gisele and Joaquim did a super sexy photo shoot together more than a year ago for Dust Magazine ... presumably about the art of jiu-jitsu.

Gisele has posted her fondness for Joaquim's MMA teaching skills, saying it gave her confidence and empowerment.

A source connected to Gisele tells TMZ GB and JV are not dating, noting many friends were present in Costa Rica. The source says there were 6 adults and 8 kids at the get-together.

Another source close to the ex-couple is not buying it, asking why this Miami guy is in Costa Rica with her. This source added, "It always seemed weird she just one day abruptly ended the marriage."

Page Six was the first to report on Joaquim and Gisele.

Nikita Dragun left a swanky Miami Beach hotel in handcuffs ... after cops say she was walking around the pool in the nude before dousing officers and security guards with water.

The transgender influencer was arrested Monday night on a felony charge of battery on a police officer ... and it sounds like she was having too good a time at The Goodtime Hotel.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops responded to a report of someone causing a disturbance and being extremely disorderly at the hotel. Police say when they got there, hotel security told officers Nikita had been causing a disturbance for a long period of time and walking around the pool area naked.

Cops say security also told them Nikita ignored demands to stop causing the disturbance and at one point intentionally threw water on hotel staffers.

Once officers arrived on scene, they say they went with security up to Nikita's room, where they heard loud music being played.

Police say Nikita opened the door after several knocks, but when security explained to Nikita she needed to cut it out or she'd be asked to leave the hotel, Nikita slammed the door in their faces.

A few moments later, cops say Nikita opened the door again and asked security, "Do you want more?" Officers say Nikita then swung an open water bottle, causing water to hit and spill on both the security guard and the officer, resulting in her arrest.

Nikita was booked for felony battery on a police officer, misdemeanor disorderly conduct and misdemeanor battery. She was booked at Miami-Dade County's Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on $5,000 bond.

Shakira and her sons are packing up and heading to Miami -- after she and her longtime BF turned ex Gerard Piqué have reached a new custody agreement.

In a joint statement to TMZ, the former couple says, "We have signed a custody agreement. Our sole objective is to provide our children with the utmost security and protection and hope that they can continue with their lives in a safe and calm environment."

The Colombian pop star's legal team reportedly came to an agreement with Gerard's reps during a 12-hour-long meeting. Shakira will be uprooting from Barcelona to MIA with their sons next year.

A source close to the former couple tells us the two "signed an agreement that is best for the kids -- which is their main focus and after 8 years of living in Barcelona -- her and the kids will now move back to her longtime home of Miami, where all the maternal family is."

ICYMI, Shakira and Gerard announced they would be calling it quits after 11 years together, back in June.

The last time we saw the two together publicly, they were supporting their son Milan at his baseball game ... and it appeared there was a lot of tension between the two, barely interacting.

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney broke down in tears and started screaming as she called 911 for help after stabbing her boyfriend ... all while he was oddly calm in the final minutes of his life.

The call is pretty disturbing ... on the recording, first obtained by the Miami Herald, Clenney attempts to give the operator their address, and her BF Christian Obumseli is heard saying, "I can't feel my arm!"

Although his audio is in the background of Courtney's screams, it's clear Christian is fading fast.

The operator attempts to calm down Clenney, but things spiral out of control pretty quickly -- she starts sobbing as she apologizes to Obumseli, and tells the operator he's bleeding from a stab wound in his torso.

The call becomes inaudible toward the end, but as you know ... the model told police she fatally stabbed Obumseli with a knife in their Miami condo, but claims it was self-defense.