Politix

Jeff Bezos says stopping the Washington Post, the newspaper he owns, from endorsing a presidential candidate last month was the right move and he's proud of his decision.

The Amazon founder and WaPo owner doubled down on the controversial decision -- a drastic break from tradition -- Wednesday at the Dealbook Summit in New York City.

During a conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bezos says he knew his decision to put the kibosh on election endorsements would draw tons of backlash ... and it did. The move reportedly resulted in 200,000 readers canceling their subscriptions.

The tragic news of the passing of Kirk Herbstreit's beloved dog, Ben, made its way to the Oval Office ... with President Joe Biden sending his condolences in an emotional letter to the football announcer and his family following the loss.

"Ben brought so much comfort and unconditional love to millions of Americans across our nation," POTUS wrote in the note. "In your most joyful moments and most grief-stricken days, he was there, sensitive to every unspoken feeling and emotion."

"I know what it is like to lose a beloved pet, and I hope you can find some comfort in cherishing the beautiful memories you shared with Ben. He was a good boy."

Sly Stallone is taking responsibility for his past mistakes ... calling himself a "coward" for once mailing his longtime wife Jennifer Flavin a breakup letter via FedEx.

The legendary actor sat down for an interview Tuesday with Fox Nation's "Sean" — and expressed regret about his decision to send the note to Flavin back in 1994 when the couple had been dating for 6 years.

Sly told Hannity, “That’s the most insincere breakup you can get,” before labeling himself a “coward” and stating, “You put it down in words ‘cause you don’t have the guts to do it face to face.”

Los Angeles County's new District Attorney Nathan Hochman was sworn in by Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday at the Hall of Justice in downtown L.A.

Hochman is replacing outgoing D.A. George Gascón, who Nathan says was way too soft on violent and repeat offenders during his 4-year term ... and apparently voters agreed.

It's fitting ... Hochman says he's going to terminate a lot of the policies he calls lenient that Gascón was known for ... like not prosecuting drug possession and trespassing offenses ... and he's turning to the "Terminator" star -- and former California governor -- to get his first day in office started.

Victor Willis, who is best known for being a founding member of the Village People, is calling out the media for perpetuating the idea that "Y.M.C.A." is a gay anthem.

We caught up with the songwriter on "TMZ Live" Tuesday, where Victor elaborated on his feelings about his song's reputation and its longtime ties to the LGBTQ+ community.

As he put it ... he never intentionally wrote the song with the intention of it having a queer double entendre. While he has no problem with the LGBTQ+ community adopting the song, he's frustrated with the media for repeatedly perpetuating the idea that track was crafted in order to be a gay anthem.

The cameras were rolling when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to get Aaron Rodgers into politics ... with new footage showing the former presidential candidate asking the quarterback about the possibility of a career in government -- and it's all featured in a new Netflix documentary.

A teaser for the upcoming Rodgers project dropped during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday ... and there are plenty of interesting nuggets throughout the short clip.

While Rodgers said the three-part series chronicles a lot of his Achilles rehab and a trip down to Costa Rica -- where his Ayahuasca experiences famously took place -- it also briefly shows a conversation between Rodgers and RFK Jr.

The American woman who killed and ate a cat -- sparking debunked claims by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance about Haitian immigrants dining on local pets in Ohio -- just got slapped with a year in prison.

Judge Frank Forchione didn’t hold back, calling 27-year-old Allexis Ferrell a "national embarrassment" as he sentenced her Monday ... and defense attorney Stephen J. Kandel tells TMZ she too felt some shame as soon as she came off her drug-fueled high and realized what she did.

Ferrell was arrested in Canton, Ohio in August. Kandel tells us Ferrell's actually a nice person who just majorly messed up after smoking weed laced with PCP, which led to the stomach-turning incident.

Mark Geragos says he's confident he would have gotten Hunter Biden off scot-free in his tax evasion trial, but President Biden's son didn't want to put his family back in the spotlight ... so he entered a guilty plea.

Hunter's attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we pressed him about his risky decision to have Hunter enter an "open plea" ... meaning there was no deal with prosecutors regarding sentencing.

Mark says he was going to win Hunter's case by flipping the government's argument in the Delaware gun trial on its head ... namely, that HB was so addled by drug use he could not have intentionally violated tax codes.

President Biden's annoucement Sunday that he's pardoning his son Hunter was nothing close to a spur of the moment decision ... TMZ has learned.

White House-connected sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Biden had this planned for more than 3 months.

Our sources say President Biden was not involved in Hunter's case in any way until June of last year, when a plea deal was rejected by the judge. We're told he was "agitated" at the reversal and felt his son had become a political pawn.

President Joe Biden is making a controversial decision with less than two months to go in his presidency ... announcing he's pardoned his son Hunter.

The 46th POTUS announced the news just minutes ago ... releasing a statement saying he's stood by while watching his son being "being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted."

Biden goes on to say other people convicted of the same crimes -- lying on federal forms and paying their taxes late because of addiction -- are typically given non-criminal resolutions ... but, Hunter was treated differently.

It seems RFK Jr. is going to promote naked food if he becomes HHS Secretary ... because we're guessing that's what he's telegraphing in a pretty hilarious stunt.

His wife, Cheryl Hines, is hawking her company's beauty products for Black Friday. Cheryl posted a video where she playfully scolded her hubby for hopping in the shower in the middle of her pitch.

Hines is well-positioned, blocking all things Arnold Palmer.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s working off his Thanksgiving feast ... hitting famous Gold's Gym in L.A. the day after deep frying a turkey barefoot.

The U.S. cabinet appointee stopped by the gym to get a sweat on Friday ... wearing a gray t-shirt with a what looks like an octopus emblazoned on his chest.

He's hopping in his car post-workout ... much needed after the Thanksgiving feast he ended up cooking at his home yesterday.

Arnold Schwarzenegger hosted some law enforcement personnel on Thanksgiving ... though he wasn't expecting them when the day started.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD responded to a call that a bomb had been placed in the actor-turned-politican's mailbox at his L.A.-area home.

We're told cops rushed to the home and searched the mailbox and surrounding area ... but, they did not find an explosive device.

Donald Trump's seating chart for Thanksgiving is as telling as it gets ... if you wanna know who's gonna have the biggest influence on him come Jan. 20th.

Trump hosted a Thanksgiving shindig at Mar-a-Lago, and at his table, Melania, Barron, of course, and then Elon Musk.

The video is pretty hilarious ... "YMCA" is blasting through the room as Elon busts some pretty weak moves ... no offense, but the Village People would not be impressed.

Elon Musk will be able to be in 2 places at once when he starts his new government position in 2025 ... that is, if he takes one robot company up on a very generous offer.

In a letter addressed to the Tesla CEO and obtained by TMZ ... Realbotix, a create your own robot company, offered to design a "one-of-a-kind humanoid robot" modeled after the businessman -- mannerisms and all.

More specifically, the robot will replicate Elon's look "perfectly," have a customized voice to match EM's, track cryptocurrency prices, move around on its own, maintain eye contact, among other notable perks.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems to like to live life dangerously ... working with boiling hot oil on Thanksgiving -- and, he's leaving the shoes off.

Trump's Health and Human Services appointee posted a clip on Thanksgiving to show his social media following how he makes a turkey ... saying it's the "MAHA" way -- short for "Make America Healthy Again."

RFK Jr., standing next to wife Cheryl Hines, explains he's making a tallow turkey ... heating the rendered fat into a boiling hot liquid in a metal pot and slowly lowering the turkey in.