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Antony Blinken is getting some heat for his decision to rock out on the guitar at a basement bar during his visit to Kyiv ... but by the same token, some say he shredded too.

The U.S. Secretary of State is in Ukraine's capital to pledge the States' support during the country's ongoing war with Russia. However, during his political visit, the secretary stopped by Barman Dictat ... where he joined the band 19.99 on stage for a rendition of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

As you can imagine, some have blasted the Secretary of State ... calling the public appearance inappropriate and a waste of American taxpayers' money.

A 9-year-old boy in Texas had to dodge bullets from the comfort of his own home -- which can be seen in distressing new footage ... and it's a miracle he made it out alive.

Check out this home surveillance video that was captured earlier this month in Fort Worth -- where a drive-by shooting occurred right outside ... sending 4 bullets flying into the apartment as the kid chills on his couch.

In a flash, his home is under fire ... and you can see the boy dive onto the armrest quickly before bolting to his mom's room. He had great instincts to get low and was able to avoid being hit.

Albany State University volleyball player Mariam Creighton was tragically killed in a nightclub shooting in Atlanta over the weekend. She was only 21 years old.

The Atlanta Police Department said the incident happened around 2:28 AM on Sunday ... when officers responded to shots fired at the Elleven45 establishment.

Responders found six people shot ... two of whom were pronounced dead at the scene -- Creighton and 20-year-old Nakyris Ridley.

Kelly Clarkson is getting honest about her physical transformation ... admitting she used a weight loss drug to help shed pounds -- something she'd kinda tip-toed around until now.

The singer got candid about her health journey during Monday's episode of "The Kelly Clarkson Show," where Whoopi Goldberg shared her experience with weight loss medication ... and for which Kelly chimed in with her own experience.

Kelly told Whoopi and her audience that she hadn't planned on sharing this side of her life ... but admitted she too was prescribed a weight loss med after troubling bloodwork.

Donald Trump's rant about the "wonderful" Hannibal Lecter isn't sitting well with one of the guys who helped make "The Silence of the Lambs," and he's taking a bite out of DT's rhetoric.

Edward Saxon -- part of the Oscar-winning trio that produced the film -- tells TMZ ... he has a pretty good idea why Trump might be so eager to split some fava beans and a nice Chianti with old Hannibal the Cannibal.

He says, "My guess is, Letcer feels like a kindred spirit. Part of it may be aspirational in that Lecter is brilliant and is able to see into people’s motivations and control them."

Sam Rubin's son paid tribute to his late father on the air just 3 days after his untimely death -- and it's heart-wrenching, to say the least ... because he got choked up several times.

Sitting beside his dad's KTLA colleagues Monday ... Colby Rubin held it together pretty well during a letter he read aloud to his dad ... but at times, needed a few seconds to collect himself before reflecting on his dad's profound impact on his life over the last 16 years.

Colby wasn't just speaking to the crowd ... the message was directly to Sam, making it all the more raw as he told SR how much he idolized him -- and how he'd always be his hero.

Bill Gates' ex-wife is breaking away from their longtime self-titled foundation -- of which she's been a central part since its founding ... and it's the nail in the coffin to their relationship.

Melinda Gates made the announcement Monday, writing ... "After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. My last day of work at the foundation will be June 7th."

She adds, "This is not a decision I came to lightly. I am immensely proud of the work the foundation that Bill and I built together and of the extraordinary work it is doing to address inequities around the world. I care deeply about the foundation team, our partners around the world, and everyone who is touch by its work."

The suspect in a terrifying choking and sexual assault -- captured on camera -- is in police custody, thanks to the man's mother.

NYPD arrested 39-year-old Kashaan Parks Saturday, and booked him for rape, strangulation, assault, sexual abuse, public lewdness and harassment. Police released video of the alleged crime last week, showing the suspect walk up behind the unsuspecting victim and throw a belt around her neck.

The woman was choked unconscious, according to police, before the suspect dragged her in between 2 cars and sexually assaulted her.

Long before the 4th of July, the skies over America are filling with beautiful colors, courtesy of a massive solar storm -- but before you get too awestruck by the beauty ... Bill Nye the Science Guy has a warning.

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are normally only seen over places like Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia -- extreme northern latitudes -- but on Friday night the dazzling colors were seen dancing in the sky as far south as Texas and Alabama.

The rare phenomenon really was a thing to see, and social media feeds were filled with the images everyone was capturing into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Everything isn't President Biden's, or former President Trump's, fault ... and it's still safe to go to college in America -- but ya wouldn't know it from the news, according to Bill Maher.

Mr. Call It As I See It turned his criticism on the media during Friday night's episode of 'Real Time' ... laying out "New Rules" for following the news. Bill started with the wall-to-wall coverage of the pro-Palestinian rallies on college campuses, accusing the media of hyping an issue about which the overwhelming majority of college students just don't care.

Or, they care very little ... according to the receipts Bill brought to back his point.

Matisyahu says Macklemore's new track isn't about freeing Palestine, as Mack claims -- instead, it only sows deeper discord by pushing what he sees as antisemitic tropes.

We caught up with the Jewish singer-songwriter in L.A., and he tells TMZ he's heard Macklemore's song, "Hind's Hall" -- and, quite frankly he thinks it'll keep people in conflict because of its inflammatory lyrics.

Matis starts by mentioning Macklemore's controversial 2014 disguise... one that featured a prosthetic nose, beard, and hat many called antisemitic.

The sight of a Miami Police Department patrol car swerving on a highway early Thursday morning made another motorist record the dangerous scene ... which is prompting an investigation.

The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows the clearly marked police vehicle driving on the Florida turnpike, and repeatedly drifting into the shoulder over the course of 20 miles, we're told.

Check out the clip ... the driver can't seem to keep the vehicle in a straight line and regularly corrects course -- though the adjustments never appear to last for very long. At times, the car is remarkably close to the center divider, but never hits it.

A woman in New York City was strangled with a belt in a horrific attack earlier this month -- which rendered her unconscious and left her vulnerable to be sexually assaulted.

The attack happened about a week ago in the Big Apple, and it's on video. You see a woman walking down a street at night, when a man wearing a white face-covering sneaks up behind her, tosses the looped belt over her head and tightens it around her neck.

By the time the woman realizes what's happening, it's too late ... and the man's dragging her with the belt down the sidewalk as she gasps for air. Eventually, she goes limp -- and he pulls her in between two cars, seemingly manipulating her body before the video cuts out.

Taylor Swift is shaking things up for the start of the European leg of her 'Eras' tour ... introducing a slew of changes for the new shows, and her fans absolutely love it.

The singer kicked off the new dates for her record-breaking tour with a stop in Paris Thursday ... debuting a couple key changes right out of the gate. As eagle-eyed Swifties quickly noticed, Taylor donned a new 'Lover' bodysuit for the intro of her tour.

Instead of the pale pink and blue sequined number -- which Taylor famously wore in the concert film -- the singer wore a vibrant orange bedazzled bodysuit. She also notably ditched her getup for the 'Fearless' era, swapping in a new gold and black fringe dress.

5:49 PM PT -- Angelina's attorney, Paul Murphy, tells TMZ … "Mr. Pitt’s continued attempt to equate common NDAs for security personnel and housekeepers covering confidential information employees learn at work, with him demanding an expanded NDA to ensure the continued coverup of his deplorable actions remains shameful."

He adds, "This case is not about NDAs in general, but about power and control. All Angelina has ever wanted was separation and health, with positive relationships between all members of their family, including Mr. Pitt. She looks forward to the day when he is finally able to let her go."

Sources familiar with the situation claim Webb is on Brad's payroll and worked for the same security team whose other members stood on the Tarmac in L.A. and turned a blind eye to Brad's actions that day. The sources further claim Webb’s declaration also conveniently leaves out the fact that the second security guard mentioned in the declaration, though called to testify by Pitt, testified in favor of Angelina, not against her.

Angelina Jolie told her and Brad Pitt's children to avoid him like the plague during custody visits post-split -- so claims a guy who used to run security for them for years.

Brad's attorneys filed new legal docs Thursday in their ongoing winery case -- and they offer up a sworn declaration written by a man named Tony Webb ... who says he used to head up a security company that offered services to Brangelina while they were married.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Webb claims that in the aftermath of their divorce in 2016 -- and all the custody disputes that followed over their 6 shared children together -- he'd been hit up by Angie's personal assistant, who he says told him he heard 2 of Webb's security officers still working AJ's detail at that point, were going to testify in family court.

Matt Rife says getting canceled is the least of his worries -- 'cause it's not a real thing in his eyes ... and he'll joke about what he wants, although DV seems to be off the table.

The comedian did a sold out show this week at the Hollywood Bowl, where he was hop-scotching through material and touching on some polarizing topics ... like trans jokes, etc. While he was going, he reportedly said he wasn't afraid of backlash anymore, noting it washes away.

MR is said to have been going back and forth on things that were okay and weren't okay to talk about in public and is quoted as saying, "What am I gonna do? Get canceled? Cool, I’ll do another Bowl show, awesome."