News

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was just hit with a 16-year prison term after being convicted of spying in Russia – a charge American leaders have categorically denied.

Gershkovich was found guilty Friday by a Russian court in Yekaterinburg as prosecutors asked for an 18-year sentence, but Evan instead was handed 16, according to multiple reports.

In March 2023, Evan was first arrested for espionage as he took a trip to Yekaterinburg while
working on a WSJ story -- he's been in Russia ever since ... despite outcry here in the States.

Lou Dobbs -- a controversial conservative commentator who spent decades at CNN -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The longtime conservative political pundit -- who's worked on both FOX and CNN -- passed away Thursday ... this according to his wife, Debi. The exact details of his passing weren't immediately revealed ... but the news was first broken by none other than Donald Trump.

The 45th President of the United States made the announcement on Truth Social first ... calling LD a friend and incredible journalist who really understood the world.

Thomas Matthew Crooks was a member of an academic group in college -- and before he tried killing Donald Trump, he was all set to transfer to a university ... TMZ has learned.

An official with Community College of Allegheny County -- where TMC graduated with high honors on May 16 -- told us the gunman was a member of Phi Theta Kappa ... which is an honors society, and he was part of the local chapter.

If you go to their Facebook page, you'll see they were pretty involved with extracurriculars -- getting together for events, attending conventions and talking shop in and around the school. From the looks of it ... there are no photos of Thomas on their socials.

Will Reeve was feeling the butterflies filming a cameo for James Gunn's new 'Superman' flick ... even though he's got serious TV chops.

We got the ABC News Correspondent and asked him about his recent experience on the Cleveland, Ohio movie set.

Will, the son of late OG 'Superman' star Christopher Reeve, tells us he was more nervous about his small film role than he's ever been working as a TV newsman.

Photos from the aftermath of Fandango founder J. Michael Cline's suicide show his body being loaded up by the New York City Medical Examiner ... and it's a grisly scene.

TMZ obtained a bunch of photos from the Big Apple hotel where Cline jumped to his death Tuesday ... and the official response includes at least one police officer and a couple members from the ME's office.

As you can see, Cline's corpse is covered in a black body bag as it's being loaded into the back of a ME van ... and there was another car from the ME's forensic operations squad on the ground as well.

Thomas Matthew Crooks trying to kill Donald Trump seems to have come out of left field -- 'cause his parents didn't know where he was that day ... and called the authorities about it.

According to FOX News ... the gunman's mom and dad were looking for their 20-year-old son Saturday not long before he showed up in Butler, PA for the Trump rally -- only to perch himself on a roof and open fire on the ex-Prez, which cost him his life.

Thomas' mom and dad reportedly called the authorities about his MIA status BEFORE he opened fire at the rally ... which left retired volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore dead.

Dashcam video shows a high-speed hit-and-run rollover crash on a Florida freeway -- just outside Disney World -- and cops are looking for the guys who caused an SUV to roll over.

Ya gotta see the footage ... a red Chevy Camaro comes speeding into frame, weaving through traffic, trying to split 2 cars before crashing into a Hyundai Tucson, sending the SUV spinning off I-4.

The Hyundai hits the shoulder and then flips ... rolling over multiple times. Incredibly, the Florida Highway Patrol says the 20-year-old woman behind the wheel was NOT injured.

King Charles and Queen Camilla faced a serious security scare during a royal engagement ... resulting in their event being cut short.

The monarch and his consort made a stop in Jersey Monday amid their 2-day tour of the Channel Islands ... when the royal couple were cut off mid-conversation with a local business owner, Matt Taylor.

The pair were escorted by their security team to the Pomme d'Or hotel where Charles and Camilla's protection detail then ordered the duo to skedaddle from the venue.

Would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was rejected from a high school rifle club, in part because he was a bad shot.

The 20-year-old, who was taken down by snipers Saturday after wounding former President Trump, killing one person in the crowd and injuring 2 others ... tried to get in the rifle club, according to Frederick Mach, who currently heads the team and spoke with the NY Post.

Another member of the team when Crooks tried out, Jameson Myers, told the Post something was off with him ... something that just didn't sit right. He reportedly had odd interactions with the students and coaches.

50 Cent seems impressed Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt -- something he's personally familiar with ... which he highlighted with a Photoshop job and a song.

The rapper was performing this weekend in Boston -- right on the heels of the assassination attempt -- and he did one of his most famous tracks, 'Many Men,' for the audience ... which featured a custom album cover of his "Get Rich or Die Tryin" project.

Instead of the usual shirtless Fiddy on the front that we've all seen and known -- it was Trump's face that was superimposed over 50's body ... a deliberate move, no doubt.

Donald Trump's just addressed the shooting at his Pennsylvania rally -- explaining where exactly he got hit by a bullet, while also thanking law enforcement for their quick response.

The ex-President of the United States has just released a statement to Truth Social just hours after the shooting that nearly took his life ... and, in it, he says he was shot in the upper part of his right ear.

Trump says, "I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."

A man who claims to have seen the alleged gunman open fire on the Trump rally has quite a story -- including the lead-up ... not to mention apparently being ignored after trying to notify law enforcement.

The guy, who called himself Greg, got interviewed by the BBC Saturday in Butler, PA right after everything went south -- just outside the rally itself -- where he says he and his friends were partying, only to head up a hill outside the facility to watch Trump's remarks from afar.

That's when Greg says he and his pals saw a man shimmy up a nearby building -- which was also outside the main grounds of the rally -- with what he says was a rifle in hand.

ABC brass did NOT threaten to take "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos off the air if he didn't apologize for taking a dig at President Biden's political future ... TMZ has learned.

Our network sources tell us George's ABC bosses never once threatened he would be stripped of airtime for telling a man on an NYC sidewalk he didn't think Biden could serve another term.

There is a report out claiming ABC threatened to bench the 'GMA' anchor if he didn't apologize for the Biden remark. Our network sources tell us George's conversations with network honchos never reached the point of threats about airtime.

New footage seemingly showing a sleeping bag containing the dead body of Yazmeen Williams has surfaced ... and, it shows how callously at least one person treated her remains.

The horrifying clip shows an individual on a motorized scooter dragging what appears to be a large sleeping bag behind him on the street. According to CBS New York ... it's still unclear if it's the same sleeping bag with Williams' body in it, but they do look alike.

As previously reported, the sleeping bag itself was discovered tied to a dolly cart.

3:40 PM PT -- The U.S. Soccer Federation just confirmed it's parted ways with Gregg Berhalter ... with org. President Cindy Parlow Cone saying in a statement they're now solely focused on working tirelessly to find their next coach.

U.S. soccer fans are getting some interesting news on Wednesday -- Gregg Berhalter will reportedly not be returning to manage the Men's National Team after failing to advance out of the Copa América group stage.

Doug McIntyre of FOX Sports broke the news minutes ago ... saying the Red, White and Blue are going in a new direction with the position.

Berhalter was hired in 2018 after the U.S. failed to qualify for the World Cup that same year.

6:28 PM PT -- George Stephanopoulos tells TMZ in a statement from his rep, "Earlier today, I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't have." An ABC spokesperson tells TMZ, "George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News."

George Stephanopoulos just made a stunning comment on the streets of New York ... telling a pedestrian he doesn't think President Joe Biden can serve another term.

The 'GMA' anchor was out and about Tuesday afternoon on 5th Avenue, wearing workout clothes, when the pedestrian approached him and asked, "Do you think Biden should step down? You've talked to him more than anybody else has lately." George's response -- "I DON'T THINK HE CAN SERVE 4 MORE YEARS."