White House

President Trump's new Postmaster General is doing a major about-face ... suspending all major changes to the USPS until after the November election.

Louis DeJoy announced Tuesday that in order to avoid even the appearance of voter suppression, he's immediately suspending the curtailing of retail hours at the post office, vowing to keep mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes in place ... and overtime for postal workers will continue to be approved as needed.

He also says no mail processing facilities will be closed.

Good for the country ... but there's a caveat. DeJoy said these measures will go into effect after the election, so ultimately it sounds like it'll be bad news for USPS employees ... it's just been delayed.

No word on whether the Post Office will bring back the blue collection boxes it has already removed across the country. Some blue collection boxes have also reportedly been locked in some cities, including Los Angeles.

DeJoy -- a longtime Trump ally with zero experience in the Post Office -- made the move just days before he's set to testify in front of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. That hearing, and a Congressional hearing next week, are being held following accusations DeJoy's intentionally hindering the USPS's ability to handle the expected mass volume of mail-in voting this year.

President Trump has revealed whom he's going to pardon this week -- and no, it's not Joe Exotic ... strangely, it's Susan B. Anthony.

DT made the announcement Tuesday after hyping up the fact the day prior he was going to pardon someone major, saying Anthony shouldn't have been found guilty for casting a vote in the presidential election of 1872 ... which was illegal for women to do back then.

It's a bizarre choice and comes off as a desperate appeal to women before the November election -- especially on the 100-year anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment. We get it ... but fact is, there's plenty of still-living people that could've used the pardon now.

Still, since we're talking SBA -- here's the story on her conviction ... which was issued under sketchy circumstances and probably didn't need official rectifying all these years later.

Susan broke the voting law in protest that year when Ulysses S. Grant was facing off against Horace Greeley. Like we said, only men were allowed to cast ballots in those times -- but the women's suffrage movement was in full swing ... and Susan was leading the charge. She and about a dozen other women were given access to the booths.

She was one of many arrested and tried for voting -- but the judge presiding over her case actually directed the jury to hand down a guilty verdict, which they did. All she had to do was pay a $100 fine, but she resisted ... standing on principle she'd done nothing wrong.

The Democratic National Convention deciding to go fully virtual this year is saving everyone millions of dollars ... TMZ has learned.

According to federal docs we obtained, the total cost of protecting everyone involved in the week-long DNC events will run around $1.5 million -- which also includes putting bodies on the ground at Joe's house in Wilmington, DE ... where he'll deliver his acceptance speech.

While a million-bucks plus is nothing to sneeze at -- it's a helluva lot cheaper than the original plan, which would've seen the Service spending way more in security coverage had the convention been held in person in Milwaukee -- something they scrapped very recently.

If there were conventions in convention halls, the Secret Service was anticipating security expenses at almost $4 mil for Joe and co., and practically double that for Trump.

Considering this order of $1.5 mil appears to encompass everyone participating in the DNC -- it's likely the government spent little to no extra money accommodating Biden's change of location. Presumably, he's already had people stationed -- and getting a few extra agents on his detail this week probably isn't breaking the bank.

All things considered -- going digital is saving the Dems (plus, you and us) millions that can and hopefully will be better spent elsewhere ... say, for coronavirus relief funds, for example.

Michelle Obama was the clear star of the first night of the Democratic National Convention, and even though she only mentioned Donald Trump by name once ... she went for the jugular -- and she even took a shot at Kanye.

The former First Lady told people they should give up on Trump understanding and doing his job, because she says he just isn't up to it. As she said, "It is what it is."

MO hit all the big issues ... coronavirus, race, racism, justice, international relations, but her strongest words were about the office of the President and the President's character. She noted she's one of the few people on earth who have seen the challenges in the Oval Office, and Trump just doesn't have it.

She also seemed to take a shot at Kanye West. As she implored people to get out and vote, she cautioned for voters not to "play games with candidates who have no chance of winning."

Another interesting moment ... she said flatly -- she hates politics.

Michelle Obama's ready to throw her full support behind Joe Biden in front of millions of screens ... calling him a decent man while taking thinly veiled shots at President Trump.

The DNC just released a portion of the former First Lady's speech for Monday night's Democratic National Convention. She pretaped it, because remember ... it's all virtual this year ... and in the clip, she praises Biden as a man of faith who will tell the truth and trust science.

She never says Trump's name, but the references are clear -- the Prez is frequently accused of not believing scientists, like Dr. Anthony Fauci or Dr. Deborah Birx ... accused of lying, and absurdly said Joe Biden wanted to "hurt God."

Michelle's used to taking center stage at the DNC ... she was there just 4 years ago, and delivered a rousing speech stumping for Hillary Clinton.

You'll recall Michelle made these words famous at the 2016 convention -- "When they go low, we go high." Remains to be seen if she'll drop another anthem in this year's speech.

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, is expected to address the DNC tonight -- and a former senior administration official under Trump endorsed Biden today, saying he'd seen Trump do "terrifying" things as Chief Executive.

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, former Presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Bernie Sanders are all expected to take the stage too.

BTW ... Eva Longoria is hosting tonight's online DNC festivities.

Kanye West gave a belated shout-out to Kamala Harris, but he's not gonna vote for her.

Ye just tweeted, "I know my mom and Kamala Harris would have been friends ... congratulations on being the democratic Vice President nominee ... all love and respect from the future president.  It's an honor to run against you."

So much to say. First, it's cool that Kanye gave the Senator some props. Second, it's also cool he thought about how Donda, his late mom, would have been proud of Joe Biden's pick.

All that said ... Kanye has made it clear -- he's in it to win it, and as we've been reporting, he's trying to get on the November ballot in certain states.

The ongoing intrigue ... what's Kanye's connection to Trump? He's supported him in the past, and Rudy Giuliani told us last weekend he believes Kanye secretly still loves Trump. And then, there's Jared Kushner, who secretly met with Kanye and speaks to him on the phone. Kushner denies they talk politics -- just policy, but it's hard/impossible to believe that.

It seems Trump's people believe Kanye could be a spoiler and hurt Biden by siphoning off black votes from the Democrats.

Forget we're in the middle of a make-or-break election ... Cardi B is already setting her sights on 2024, because she's got her eye on AOC.

Cardi just tweeted that she wants Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to throw her name in the ring for President when she turns 35 ... the required age under the Constitution.

AOC is clearly a Cardi fan ... check out her moves dancing to "Bodak Yellow." But, she's also become a big star in the Democratic party -- or at least the progressive wing of the party -- she'll give a speech next week at the Dem's convention to put Bernie Sander's name in the mix. It's a formality since Joe Biden will become the party's nominee, but AOC will have primetime exposure.

So, here's the deal. AOC is 30 ... she'll turn 31 in October. So, if she were to run in 2024, she'd be 34 -- one year shy of the minimum requirement, but WAIT. We checked the Constitution, and it says anyone can run when they're under 35 as long as they hit that age before being sworn in. Since the swearing-in would be January 20, 2025 ... she'd qualify.

A giant protest went down in D.C. Saturday morning at the home of the Postmaster General, over highly suspicious claims that millions of mail-in ballots might not be counted.

The crowd formed at the home of Louis DeJoy, who had absolutely no involvement or experience in the U.S. Postal Service until Trump appointed him. DeJoy is a Trump loyalist who has contributed money to his Presidential campaign.

DeJoy warned an untold number of ballots in 46 states might not be counted ... this as Trump has said he won't adequately fund the effort to properly count ballots. He as much as said he's against it because mail-in voting helps Democratic candidates. Overtime has already been cut and mailboxes have been removed from streets.

Trump's claims of voter fraud with mail-in ballots are provably false ... there is virtually no fraud with mail-in ballots ... the number is a small, small, small fraction of 1%.

Some of the protesters stuffed fake ballots in DeJoy's mailbox ... although it's unclear if he'll be moved by anyone other than Trump.

As you know, there's a push to expand mail-in voting because it's the safest way by far to vote during a pandemic.

Howard University's president says Sen. Kamala Harris can have a huge impact on students at her alma mater ... where majoring in political science is the hot, new thing on campus.

Dr. Wayne Frederick joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us how Kamala's political rise, from poli sci major at Howard to Joe Biden's running mate, is inspiring students from all backgrounds to get involved in politics and affect change.

Kamala, who graduated from HU in 1986 and added economics to her double major, is the first HBCU grad to run on a major party's ticket ... along with being the first Black woman and person of Indian descent.

Dr. Frederick says Kamala's one of the reasons why the second most popular major for incoming freshman at Howard is political science. It helps to have a role model.

The HU Prez thinks Kamala's influence will extend far beyond minority students ... telling us why she can also inspire white students to get involved in the political process, even if they never step foot on an HBCU campus.

It's not politically one-sided either ... Dr. Frederick also explains how Kamala is helping HBCU grads play a role on both sides of the aisle.

A United States Postal Service truck in NYC hauled away mailboxes ... an ominous sign in the middle of a voter war over mail-in ballots ... a war waged by President Trump.

The USPS mailbox removal in NYC comes on the heels of a similar move in Portland and Eugene, OR this week ... which a Postal Service spokesperson passed off as necessary because of declining mail volume and duplicate boxes in the area.

Many Americans are growing more concerned, as the President has been a foe of mail-in voting and the USPS in general ... and recently made alarming comments about putting the brakes on funding.

Trump also met with U.S Postmaster General Louis DeJoy -- a longtime ally and supporter -- earlier in the month amid his increasing attacks on the USPS ... and shortly after DeJoy made the decision to eliminate overtime for postal workers.

Oh, and the Postal Service also recently removed some mail sorting machines

All of this has sparked big worries and outrage ... that the goal here is to make mail delivery slow and in some cases impossible, 'cause of delays. Of course, the operating theory is that mail-in ballots help Democrats and Trump will stop at nothing to blunt it.

It's pretty outrageous ... in the middle of an out-of-control pandemic where lots of people want to vote by mail because they fear for their safety and the safety of others, 45's focus is winning re-election.

Kanye West's team of petitioners working hard to get him on the presidential ballot in Montana got rewarded for their efforts ... with a trip on a private jet.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... as the filing deadline approached earlier this week, the group Kanye hired to get his petitions signed -- Let the Voters Decide -- utilized a private jet to make it happen in the nick of time.

We're told the group already had members on the ground in Montana racking up signatures, but due to the state's vast rural landscape ... they needed backup. Fire up the jet.

Our sources say Kanye simultaneously had petitioners working in Utah for next week's deadline there, but to get over the hump in Montana ... a small group was flown over to Big Sky Country to hit up the more populated areas.

Even better for Ye ... the plan worked. We're told the group ended up submitting about 9,000 signatures across multiple counties -- way more than the 5k required -- before Wednesday's deadline.

He's not across the finish line yet though. Candidates file petitions with county officials, who have 7 days to verify signatures before sending a final count to the Secretary of State's Office.

If Kanye still makes the 5,000-count requirement ... he'll be on the presidential ballot as an independent, and be eligible to receive Montana's 3 electoral votes. That's right -- lotta work for 3 votes.

As we've reported ... Kanye is facing opposition to get on the ballot in Wisconsin, and he's been booted from the ballot in his home state of Illinois. The issues in both states are over the validity of the signatures.

Jared Kushner says he talked with his good buddy Kanye West about lots of things during their infamous pow wow ... and he's not denying they discussed the 2020 Election.

President Trump's son-in-law and trusted aide spoke Thursday morning at the White House about his weekend summit with Kanye -- describing their face-to-face as a great discussion about a lot of things.

Jared was asked directly if they discussed the election at all, and ya gotta watch his response. He did not firmly stamp out the theory many people have expressed -- that Kanye's Presidential campaign is Trump-engineered purely to spoil Joe Biden's chances

Jared points out he's been pals with Kanye for about 10 years, and says Yeezy has great ideas for what he would like to see happen in the country, and admires a lot of President Trump's initiatives.

Remember, Kanye sat down with Trump, Kushner and Vice President Mike Pence back in 2018 inside the Oval Office.

And, don't forget Rudy Giuliani, another Trump crony, told us over the weekend he believes Kanye remains a secret Trump supporter -- implying they're all in on this together.

Joe Biden just introduced his new running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, and her first speech as a potential VP went off without a hitch ... and sounded as good as one could've hoped for.

Joe and Kamala made their official debut as the faces of the Democratic ticket Wednesday in their first joint press conference out in Wilmington, Delaware. After Joe got through a fairly moving speech himself about why he chose Kamala and what he expected of her ... he let her speak for herself, and boy she did not disappoint.

Check it out ... Kamala was polished, firm and in command of her talking points as she bashed Donald Trump and Mike Pence's failure of leadership ... while at the same time propping up Joe and eloquently explaining what their administration would bring about.

She also discussed her own upbringing from immigrant parents -- one from Jamaica and another from India -- and how that has shaped her own life path and decisions ... leading her to where she is today. Kamala said her parents met during the Civil Rights movement, and used to bring her out to protests in a stroller -- which she said is being reflected again now.

She rattled off the different groups of Americans that she said she hoped to represent and fight for if she and Joe are elected into office come November -- and she made clear what a Biden White House would look like for America ... drawing a stark contrast to Trump's term.

It's the stuff of movies, really, how well this joint presser went -- and if we do say so ourselves, Joe knocked it out of the park with his choice here. She held her own fantastically.

Biden's historic choice makes Harris the first Black woman to join a major party's Presidential ticket -- and she's the first candidate of Jamaican and Asian descent. Her parents were Indian and Jamaican immigrants.

Harris is also only the third woman to be selected to join the ticket as VP for a major party ... behind Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and NYC Democratic Rep. Geraldine Ferraro.

As we reported ... it appeared Biden was all but going to pick Harris, when back in July a reporter got a peek at his cheat sheet during a news conference that included Harris' name with the words ... "don't hold grudges." The "grudges" note is in reference to their first debate, where Harris attacked Biden for his stand against school bussing ... something Harris benefited from during her school days.

Harris would go on to endorse Biden in March after she suspended her own presidential campaign. Biden's announcement has already paid dividends, literally.

Patrick Mahomes says he's personally spoken with NFL commish Roger Goodell about the Black Lives Matter movement ... adding he's "excited" about taking the next steps.

The Kansas City Chiefs QB appeared on FS1's "Undisputed" on Wednesday where he was asked if he feels the BLM movement's impact on the NFL.

"I feel like it's been positive," Mahomes said.

"I've got to talk to Goodell, I've talked to other guys around the league and obviously now it's about action."

He added, "It's about going out there and making the right steps that we can ... and make the community a better place."

Mahomes -- who teamed up with other NFL to deliver a powerful statement to the league back in June -- says they're already getting the ball rolling with voter registration initiatives.

"We did a voter registration with the team and the Chiefs and we're trying to get everybody registered to vote," Mahomes said.

Kanye West met with President Trump's son-in-law and White House staffer, Jared Kushner, last week -- the strongest indication yet Trump's administration might be involved in his campaign.

Ye had a private face-to-face with Kushner, a Trump cabinet member, over the weekend in Colorado, where Kanye was vacationing with Kim and the kids following their Caribbean trip ... this according to the NYT.

They report Ivanka was traveling with Jared too, and that Ye flew to Telluride to touch base with them ... sans Kim. The details of the meeting are scant, but the Times says when they asked Ye about it ... he didn't deny chatting, only saying their discussion was about Black empowerment.

He also copped to the meeting publicly on Twitter, writing ... "I’m willing to do a live interview with the New York Time about my meeting with Jared where we discussed Dr Claude Anderson’s book Powernomics."

Of course, it's eyebrow-raising, at minimum, that a Trump aide -- his own family member, no less -- is meeting with Ye at a time of heightened scrutiny around his campaign ... which many people believe is simply a Trump-engineered spoiler attempt to ruin Joe Biden's chances.

Joe Biden has finally picked a Vice President ... California Senator Kamala Harris will be joining him on the ticket.

The presumptive Democratic candidate announced his VP running mate Tuesday, and the choice is historic. Harris will become the first black female vice presidential candidate in the history of this country.

Biden appeared to signal Harris as his running mate back in July, when a reporter got a peek at his cheat sheet during a news conference and at the tip, it had Harris' name with the words ... "don't hold grudges."

Of course, the "grudges" note references their first debate, where Harris attacked Biden for his stand against school bussing ... something that Harris benefited from during her school days.

Harris was in a somewhat unique position among the various women Biden was considering. She has executive experience, both as a District Attorney and California Attorney General. That's a huge asset for Biden, and for voters.

Given Biden's age, a Veep who can step into the role is a reality and, some say, a necessity.

It's interesting ... just Monday, Charlamagne and Diddy warned Biden ... if he didn't pick a black female, he'd lose the election.

The one problem Biden has with Harris ... both have been criticized for their stance on crime. Biden's support of the '94 crime bill had dogged him, while Harris took some shots during the debates over prosecuting marijuana cases which disproportionally affected African-Americans.

Biden's big decision comes ahead of a big week for the Dems ... the Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday, and Biden will accept the party's nomination Thursday from Delaware, where he will deliver his virtual acceptance speech.

Now, buckle up and wait for President Trump to tweet about Biden's pick in 3 ... 2 ... 1.