News

2:00 PM PT -- Here's another fun fact for the history books ... a smiling Tlaib was sworn in for duty on Thomas Jefferson's Quran.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in Congress, got the A-list celeb treatment -- a full crush of photographers and shouting fans -- as she arrived on Capitol Hill.

We got Michigan's new Congresswoman Thursday afternoon, heading up the Capitol steps where she was swarmed by media, supporters and family members. The latter were not shy about cheering her on for her first day on the job.

Rashida is now part of the 116th Congress and the new-look House of Representatives -- which has swung Democrat -- and she's among the sea of women of color who were voted into office.

Busy day on the Hill -- swearing in of new members, Nancy Pelosi was just elected Speaker of the House, and some of the new reps are taking selfies on the floor.

Pink Floyd fans might be disappointed to learn China beat the U.S. to the "dark side" of the moon ... which, funny enough, is pretty damn bright.

China's national space program released photos Thursday after its spacecraft, Chang'e 4 lunar probe, landed on the far side of the moon for the first time in human history ... and, at first glimpse, there wasn't a whole lot of darkness back there. Quite the contrary.

In the closeup shot above, you can see the cratered surfaced is well lit, and looks a lot like the front side that Earth often sees from down below. Gasp!!!

This black and white shot was taken just as the probe successfully landed. It too appears to be luminous -- which makes sense. The sun's light obviously shines through back there.

China's mission is a big deal, as it's the first country in world history to get a spacecraft back there ... beating both the U.S. and Russia to the punch.

It's still raining on Andy Cohen, because he's getting some serious pushback from the Times Square Alliance after he ranted on air about being singled out by officials who forced him to take down his umbrella during his CNN New Year's Eve broadcast.

During his fit, Andy claimed someone in the Times Square Alliance threatened to pull CNN's credentials for its next NYE show if he didn't lose his umbrella.

The Alliance fired back on Wednesday, issuing a statement to Page Six saying umbrellas are not allowed in certain media areas because they can block sightlines for other media.

The Alliance also denied Cohen's claim CNN's credentials were threatened, saying, "some tempers flared, but it was never the case, nor will it be the case, that CNN would be denied credentials or the ability to cover New Year's Eve."

Donald Trump pretended to send well wishes to people who oppose him ... but let's be honest, it was aggressive and mean-spirited.

Trump wished Happy New Year 2019 to his haters and the "fake news media." He also made it clear ... the only people who would have an awesome 2019 were those who were not suffering from a fake disease -- Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Trump has been playing Kevin McCallister in "Home Alone" ... hunkering down in The White House over the holidays and complaining none of the Democratic leaders came to visit and break the deadlock that has shut down the federal government.

Trump's 2019 is about to get way more difficult, because Democrats take over the House of Representatives Thursday.

Kevin Spacey has resurfaced after nearly a year of living outside the public eye ... as various sexual assault allegations continue to dog him.

The actor was hanging on a balcony with his dog, somewhere on the East Coast.

Spacey was spotted for the first time on Friday ... shrouded in a face cover as he jumped in a waiting SUV.

Spacey's re-emergence doesn't seem uncoincidental to events this week, in which Massachusetts prosecutors filed sexual assault charges against the actor for allegedly forcing himself on an 18-year-old at the Club Car bar in Nantucket.

Spacey has been charged with a felony which carries a maximum 5-year prison sentence. His lawyers went to court trying unsuccessfully to fight the filing of the charge, calling an investigator on the case to the witness stand, who conceded the alleged victim never told Spacey to stop.

The investigator also said the video the young man sent to his girlfriend during the incident did not show groping in the genital area.

There are other allegations against Spacey, who was fired from his "House of Cards" gig after the various stories of sexual misconduct surfaced.

Fox News commentator, Bre Payton, has died suddenly ... and she was only 26.

Payton, a conservative who wrote for The Federalist magazine, died in San Diego after suffering some sort of sudden illness ... this according to the mag.

Morgan Murtaugh, a friend of hers who just ran for Congress in San Diego and lost, said she found Payton unconscious Thursday. Murtaugh called 911, but apparently Payton was already in a coma and beyond hope.

Murtaugh asked people to reach out to God, saying, "Please if you're religious at all, send prayers this way. We really need them."

It was too late. Payton died Friday.

It appears she was suffering from meningitis, but so far authorities have not determined a cause of death.

Payton was 26.

This is one clever way to avoid visiting family during the holidays -- Jean-Jacques Savin has boarded a vessel in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean relying only on the current and wind.

After spending months to build a barrel-shaped capsule, the 71-year-old Frenchman jumped in his vessel off the coast of El Hierro in the Canary Islands. His mission -- to cross most of the Atlantic and ultimately reach the Caribbean ... either Barbados or the French islands of Martinique or Guadeloupe.

According to reports ... Savin's gonna spend the next 3 months inside his vessel that's already 11 miles away from his origin. He's reportedly gone just 1 to 2 miles per hour since leaving Wednesday.

Savin -- who funded the $66k trip through crowdfunding and a sponsor -- calls the expedition a "crossing during which man isn't a captain of his ship, but a passenger of the ocean." He reportedly loaded up his 10-foot by 6-foot vessel with a bottle of Sauternes white wine and a block of foie gras to celebrate New Year's Eve. He's also got a bottle of Saint-Émilion red to celebrate his 72nd birthday in January.

The Buena Regional High School wrestling team announced it will NOT compete in events refereed by the man who forced Andrew Johnson to cut his hair before a match earlier this month.

The Buena Regional school board held an emergency meeting in New Jersey on Wednesday with board members and concerned community members ... and that's where the announcement was made.

As we previously reported, referee Alan Maloney (who is white) told the 16-year-old black wrestler to either cut off his dreadlocks or forfeit the match during a Dec. 19 event.

Johnson -- who was only given 90 seconds to make his decision -- opted for the haircut ... and video of the shameful moment went viral.

Maloney's camp insists the ref was only following strict guidelines about hair maintenance -- and was not being racist.

As for Johnson, Buena has a wrestling match scheduled for Thursday morning -- but an attorney for the student says he will NOT compete because he's overwhelmed by the media attention.

Terrible news out of Florida after a police dog was shot and killed by a suspect ... and the K9 is being credited for saving the lives of officers.

The sad incident went down on Xmas Eve in Wellington, Florida ... where Palm Beach County Sheriffs confronted several individuals cops say were wanted on attempted first-degree murder and armed robbery warrants.

According to local reports ... one of the suspects ran and that's when Cigo -- a 3-year-old canine -- gave chase. But the suspect shot Cigo before a deputy returned fire ... hitting the suspect and severely injuring him. Cigo, however, would later be pronounced dead at an animal hospital.

Shortly after Cigo's death, several tributes were posted in honor of the fallen officer. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tweeted, "He gave his life to save others. He's a good boy and he will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace #K9Cigo."

The Sheriff's Office also posted this heartbreaking video of Cigo's handler devastated from the loss.

Michael Rapaport has no business suing anyone for saying he has herpes ... because he himself has said it ... according to the countersuit Barstool Sports just filed against the actor.

Barstool is firing back at Rapaport's September lawsuit against them, saying it's impossible to defame the guy because his reputation's already "so badly tarnished that it cannot be harmed any further." In the docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, Barstool points out Michael commented on a 2015 photo of himself, saying, it "looks like" I have "a herpe."

Of course, the Barstool guys included the photo as an exhibit in their lawsuit.

For the record, Michael said in his lawsuit he "does not suffer from herpes."

Barstool Prez Dave Portnoy told us back in September, Rapaport "claims to be the king of trash talk and then cries when people respond in kind." Now, he's included tons of examples of that in the docs. For example, Barstool calls out Michael for calling a sports show host a "twinkie-eating f**k boy" and a producer for the show a "Long Island Jew."

In the suit, they also include social media posts where MR caught flak for racist comments about 'Real Housewives' star Kenya Moore ... and sexist comments about Fox News host Laura Ingraham. According to the docs, he also called a female sports reporter a "rail thin, no ass ... looking to get piped at an R. Kelly concert ... backstage and at the hotel."

You get their point ... Rapaport's no choir boy, and has said enough vile things to make him defamation-proof.

And, Barstool insists it did NOT breach his contract by firing him -- quite the opposite. In docs, they say his contract included a clause that allowed for his firing if he put Barstool in "public disrepute" with his public comments ... including several about Barstool staffers.

Barstool is suing Rapaport to get back the $400k it paid him.

Someone was really feeling a little too much holiday spirit -- Friday night a man climbed the National Christmas Tree near the White House.

After a stalemate with U.S. Park Police, the man finally came down and was taken to a hospital for mental evaluation. No injuries were reported, and Park Police described the climber as being in "emotional distress."

The wild scene started unfolding around 5:45 PM Friday night at the Ellipse, which is across the street from the White House.

After the man climbed about 15 to 20 feet up, the 74,000 LED lights covering the giant spruce were turned off, creating an eerie scene. By the time the climber started heading down, the lights were turned back on and police officers rushed inside to track him down.

David Hogg is leaving the Sunshine State and shipping off to Boston -- the Marjory Stoneman Douglas student's been accepted to Harvard.

David's mom shared the incredible news this week after her son finally allowed her to spread the word. As you can imagine, she's super proud and said she's excited for David's bright future!

The Stoneman Douglas grad -- who emerged as one of his school's leaders after the mass shooting in Parkland, FL -- says he plans to major in political science. It seems right up his alley ... you'll recall, David helped organize the March For Our Lives rally that attracted nearly 800,000 people pushing for sensible gun reform.

David should feel right at home on campus ... he's already spoken twice this year at Harvard, and some of his mother's relatives attended the prestigious institution.

He also got into a bunch of other schools -- but there's nothing like the Ivy League.

We hear Mars is super cool this time of year -- and a European satellite is confirming it with some awesome shots of a 50-mile wide frozen lake!

You're looking at Korolev Crater -- it's on the North side of the red planet -- and the European Space Agency's Mars Express probe did a flyby Thursday. It's not quite our North Pole, but still pretty spectacular to see so much water in one spot on Mars.

Scientists first discovered the lake back in 2004, and they've been keeping a steady eye on it ever since -- and NOT for little green men in ice skates, although that would be awesome.

Turns out, even during those balmy Mars summers, the lake stays frozen ... because it's so large, it actually cools all the air around it.

You're welcome in advance -- for the trivia question you're gonna nail this weekend.

Whoever clogged the toilet in the restroom above this H&M but kept flushing anyway REALLY made a damn mess for the store ... and no, this can't be good for holiday sales numbers.

Folks at the Times Square H&M location tell TMZ ... there was a major plumbing issue Friday in the ceiling above the store, and eventually the water leaking from the faulty pipes was too much weight to bear.

Check out the video ... whoever was filming thought it was all fun and games -- until it became cleanup on aisle, well, everywhere.

Elon Musk made his grand reveal Tuesday night ... what he once envisioned as a "weird little Disney ride in the middle of L.A." became a reality with the unveiling of his underground tunnel.

The billionaire entrepreneur gave a preview of what future traffic in L.A. might look like with this 1.14-mile route built under his SpaceX headquarters. Elon joked back in 2016 he was going to dig tunnels as an alternative to clogged up freeways in L.A. And, here's his teaser:

A modified Model X equipped with special wheels took members of the media through the tunnel after the SUV descended via elevator. Once underground, the tunnel's light turned green and off it went. It only hit 35 MPH and it was bumpy, but still ... it worked.

When Elon's vision is complete, the tunnel will include fully autonomous 16-passenger vehicles rocketing under L.A.'s terra firma at 150 MPH. Elon is starting similar projects in Chicago and D.C. ... with the hopes of one day taking folks from D.C. to New York in only 29 minutes.

Gayle King got a taste for "CBS This Morning" and the initial takeoff had her holding on for dear life ... and cursing on live TV too.

Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb can't seem to decide who has more word in choosing a replacement for KLG on the "Today" show ... but it's definitely one of them.

We got the NBC morning show anchors Wednesday in NYC, the day after Kathie announced she's leaving "Today" at the end of her 11th year. Our photog asked who's in line to fill Kathie's shoes, and she enthusiastically says, "Whoever Hoda wants, Hoda gets."

For her part, Hoda played it coy, saying ... "This is all about KLG." Kathie immediately refutes that, though, but Hoda insists it is. It's like an Abbot and Costello bit here, really.

Our camera guy throws out Jenna Bush Hager as a possibility -- who's said to be in the running -- but Hoda and Kathie are definitely playing this close to the vest.