White House

Pras isn't going down without a fight in his political conspiracy case -- he took the stand Tuesday to testify in his own defense.

According to sources with direct knowledge, the former Fugees rapper's attorney called him as a witness this morning. His testimony covered several topics ... such as his background, upbringing, education history and, of course, his career as a platinum-selling musician.

Pras will likely be on the stand for the rest of day and perhaps again tomorrow as he faces 22 years behind bars for allegedly accepting around $88 million from Malaysian refugee Jho Low between 2012 and 2017.

We caught up with Pras earlier this month when the trial was heating up ... but it was unclear whether he'd actually take the stand in the case.

President Biden either had another gaffe in Ireland this past week -- or he really wants to stick to the rest of the world ... or, lick it, rather.

During the final days of his international trip to Ireland, Joe delivered remarks at a banquet dinner in front of state officials -- and toward the end of his speech ... he made a somewhat bizarre request in trying to reaffirm the U.S. and Ireland's commitment to each other.

Here's what he said ... "There’s nothing, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart -- there’s nothing our nations can’t achieve if we do it together. I really mean it."

Then, the strange line ... "So, thank you all. God bless you all.  And let’s go -- let’s go la- -- lick the world. Let’s get it done. Thank you." As you can hear (and see), it seems like JB got a little tongue-tied on that final part ... frankly, it's unclear what he was trying to say.

Of course, some are clowning Biden over this ... either by pointing out that he apparently misspoke ... or facetiously crying foul that Prez is advocating for people to go around licking things in a post-pandemic world, which he clearly was not doing. It was just a slipup.

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.

LSU hoops star Angel Reese has decided she will attend the White House visit with her team after all ... days after she contemplated skipping the visit because of remarks made by First Lady Jill Biden.

Remember, Reese took issue with FLOTUS saying Iowa should attend the White House, too -- a tradition usually reserved for championship winners -- calling Jill's suggestion "a joke."

"In the beginning, we were hurt -- it was emotional because we know how hard we worked all year for everything," Reese said Friday.

"You don't get that experience [to go to the White House] ever ... and I know my team probably wants to go for sure, and my coaches are supportive of that, so I'm going to do what's best for the team and we've decided we're going to go."

"I'm a team player. I'm going to do what's best for the team. I'm the captain."

LSU said Thursday they would be "excited" to celebrate the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship, leaving many to speculate whether Reese would join them.

LSU will not let a small squabble between its star player and Jill Biden get in the way of a championship party at the White House ... the school just revealed it'd "certainly" accept an invitation despite the tiff.

In fact, according to a university spokesperson, the Tigers would be "excited" to continue the celebration of their women's NCAA tournament title at 1600 Penn Ave. later this year.

Of course, many were wondering if the team would, indeed, go ... after LSU forward Angel Reese said she was peeved over the way Biden invited both the Tigers and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

Reese said on "I Am Athlete" this week that "if the roles were reversed, they wouldn’t be the same. If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

She then insinuated she'd prefer it if she could go party with the Obamas instead." They can have that spotlight," she said of the Hawkeyes. "We'll go to the Obamas'. We'll go see Michelle. We'll see Barack."

Biden had attempted to walk back the double invite, with her press secretary saying Tuesday Biden's comments "were intended to applaud the historic game and all women athletes. She looks forward to celebrating the LSU Tigers on their championship win at the White House."

But, in response, Reese said, "I don't accept the apology because you said what you said .. You can't go back on certain things that you say."

Jill Biden needs to apologize to the LSU women's hoops team ASAP ... so says Sherri Shepherd, who tells TMZ Sports the first lady should have never invited Iowa to come along with the champion Tigers for a celebration at the White House.

The television personality made her feelings loud and clear to us about the issue while out in New York City this week ... explaining she thinks Biden only handed out the invite in an effort to earn future votes for Joe Biden.

"You never invite the losing team to the White House," Shepherd said after Jill had opened the White House doors to both LSU and Iowa following their championship game on Sunday night.

"I know you want Iowa to vote for your husband, but stop it!" she added. "Stop it, Dr. Biden."

The topic has been extremely polarizing ever since Jill revealed she'd like to host both teams ... with LSU star Angel Reese laughing off the notion -- and even later saying she's now considering not going for a White House celebration over it all.

"I just know if the roles were reversed, it wouldn't be the same," Reese said on 'I Am Athlete.' "If we were to lose, we would not be getting invited to the White House."

Shepherd clearly believes Reese has every right to be peeved ... agreeing with the Tigers forward and saying, "If it was the other way around, it would never be this situation."

Of course, Biden's Press Secretary tried to apologize for FLOTUS following the backlash ...  saying Jill was simply trying to applaud "how far women have advanced in sports since the passing of Title IX" and "the historic game and all women athletes."

For their part, Iowa said it never received a formal invitation from the Bidens ... and its star guard, Caitlin Clark, seemed to say she wouldn't want to go even if the invite had come.

The LSU women's hoop team thoroughly beat Iowa and are NCAA champs, but Jill Biden says she wants BOTH squads to come to the White House ... a notion Tigers star Angel Reese finds very funny!

FLOTUS made the awkward suggestion on Monday at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver ... a day after watching in person LSU win the NCAA tourney against Iowa at American Airlines Center in Dallas.

"I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do," Biden said.

"So, we hope LSU will come. But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”

Obviously, the idea's ridiculous. The winner goes to the White House, not the loser. The idea left Reese laughing.

"🤣🤣 A JOKE," the Tigers forward tweeted.

In fact, there was a suggestion Reese retweeted ... the Tigers hoops team should go to former First Lady Michelle Obama's house instead.

Of course, all this comes on the heels of another controversy that directly involved Reese. She got a ton of blowback (and an equal amount of support from stars like Shaq) for taunting Iowa star Caitlin Clark with John Cena's famed "You Can't See Me" gesture as the title game ended this weekend.

We asked the White House if an official invite had been made to Iowa. So far, no word back. We also reached out to Iowa to see if they'll accept an invite, should it actually come.

We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast.

President Biden is apparently skipping King Charles' coronation -- but there still might be a U.S. presence in the stands ... and it could be one of his two favorite ladies.

The Telegraph broke the news Friday ... reporting that they've been told by their Buckingham Palace sources that the King and co. were recently made aware of JB's intentions -- namely, not being in attendance as one of the many heads of state that are scheduled to show up.

That doesn't mean there won't be someone on his behalf, though. Per the UK outlet, he's mulling sending either his wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, or his Veep ... Kamala Harris.

In addition to Jill/Kamala, there'll also be a formal U.S. delegation -- which will presumably include ambassadors, diplomats and other personnel ... the White House has said they'll announce those names in the coming weeks.

As for why Joe's bailing ... the word is, he has prior commitments -- although it's unclear what exactly. Here's the thing, the Telegraph reports it's no harm, no foul as far as Charles is concerned. In other words, he isn't taking it personally ... as no U.S. Prez has ever attended a British coronation, so it's not like POTUS is bucking tradition by failing to appear.

There's another thing to consider here, that some are reading into as it relates to Biden and his feelings about Charles and the monarchy at large -- perhaps he doesn't like 'em much.

There are reports that Biden's mother, who was of Irish descent, absolutely hated England (see history for why) ... which, if true, surely might've been communicated to Joe at some point. There's also the Harry and Meghan factor ... which could also be playing into this.

He's been pretty neutral on commenting about them -- but his ex-Press Sec., Jen Psaki, did publicly praise them for speaking up in the Oprah interview, saying JB felt that took courage.

In any case, Joe's gonna be a no-show.

Damar Hamlin's trip to the nation's capital resulted in some one-on-one time with the biggest VIP in the city -- President Joe Biden, who welcomed the Buffalo Bills safety for a sit-down chat at the White House!!

Hamlin was in D.C. to support the Access to AEDs Act this week ... and after meeting with politicians at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, he got a few minutes to hang with POTUS on Thursday!!

"Damar Hamlin’s courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people," #46 said on Twitter.

"And what's more: he turned recovery into action – and our country is better for it. It was my honor to have him and his family here today."

And, just like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, it looks like Hamlin brought a gift for Biden ... as he's seen holding a Bills jersey in his lap during the meeting.

Remember, Biden called Damar's family shortly after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during Monday Night Football in January ... sending his well wishes to the Hamlins as he faced a long road to recovery.

Gladys Knight's husband says President Biden straight up told them he didn't have 15 minutes to chat with them about what they see as a huge problem ... Black businesses being passed up for government contracts.

The singer and her husband, William McDowell, joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and explained their experience trying to nail down a meeting with Biden ... which has so far proven impossible, much to their chagrin.

Remember ... Gladys has been trying to meet with Biden since 2021 -- she wants to get a government contract so her company can provide PPE to the public -- and her husband says he finally cornered Biden in the White House and was told the meeting wasn't going to happen.

Biden presented Gladys with the National Medal of Arts last week, but her husband says when he brought up the meeting to POTUS he was immediately shut down.

Gladys and William are adamant they're not looking for a government payday or handout here ... they say Biden's refusal to meet with them is an example of a much larger problem ... Black businesses continually coming in last for federal contracts, which they feel is a civil rights issue.

It's a problem Gladys says is not unique to Biden, though ... she says the feds have always been unfair to Black business owners, dating back to when JFK was in office ... at least in her experience.

The issue here though ... Gladys and William say the Biden Administration is talking about wanting to create a level playing field, but actions aren't backing up words.

Gladys Knight is furious that President Biden has invited the likes of BTS to The White House, yet her repeated requests for a sit-down with the President over a vital issue have been ignored ... and she flatly asks the question ... "Are the problems associated with African Americans not equal to those of other races? Why do we have to be last?"

Gladys' company, Riccino Optical, provides COVID-related products, including antigen tests, anti-fog goggles and face shields. Her company, which she describes as an "African American woman owned minority business," has been trying to get a government contract to provide these PPEs to the public, but she says they've been ignored.

The singer says the feds are giving contracts to the "Good old boys' network of Washington D.C. insiders." She goes on to say a contract was specifically targeted to help Native American businesses in this space, yet she says there are no Native American manufacturers of these PPEs, while her company has millions in inventory.

Gladys wrote her letter to Biden in June. Although she went to The White House earlier this week to receive the National Medal of Arts, she did not have a sit-down with the President, even though her husband asked Biden why he hasn't met with her yet.

In her letter, she says, "It is extraordinarily insulting to watch news reports ... that a boy band from South Korea, BTS, had an in-person meeting with President Biden."

She goes on ... "As a longtime, Democrat and Civil rights warrior, as well as a legendary entertainer that has met with President Biden many times in my life, the difficulty of setting up a meeting with him over these issues makes no sense."

Joe Exotic is getting dragged for his recent presidential run announcement, but it ain't by Carole Baskin -- instead, it's by the party he says he's running with.

Angela McArdle, chair and spokesperson for the Libertarian Party, tells TMZ ... "We stand for personal and economic freedom, we are not a landing pad for former reality stars and D-list celebrities." Ouch.

She says the "Tiger King" star hasn't shown he has a full grasp on the ideas of the party, and even calls out his 2018 gubernatorial run as a Libertarian in Oklahoma -- saying that attempt was "just tigers and glitter."

She adds she's very sympathetic to people "being mistreated in prison," but notes that doesn't mean it's right to support someone who's made "poor choices."

Angela tells us, hypothetically, anyone can run for office as a Libertarian, and there isn't a whole lot the party can do to block it -- instead, she urges folks to send libertarian literature to Joe while he's locked away. In her words, "If he's going to be spouting about libertarianism, he might as well get educated about it."

Aside from understanding his party's platform, there's the not-so-small issue of candidate Joe's 20 remaining years on his prison sentence!

President Biden did away with Donald Trump's plans for a new look for Air Force One, and instead stuck with the classic aesthetic ... albeit, with a little shade -- a lighter one, that is.

The Air Force announced a new paint design that'll be applied to POTUS' main ride in the sky, and they say JB has decided to stick with the OG colors that have been around since the '60s, when JFK started using the jumbo jet and blue/white pattern we all know today.

As you can see ... Joe opted for a lighter blue. The way the Air Force describes it though is quite sophisticated ... they chalk up the differences this way ... "The light blue on VC-25B is a slightly deeper, more modern tone than VC-25A's robin's egg blue. Additionally, the VC-25B engines will use the darker blue from the cockpit area vice the VC-25A’s robin’s egg blue."

They also say there's no more polished metal on the new AF1 plane(s) -- which are being manufactured by Boeing -- because modern commercial skin alloys don't allow for it. 🤷🏽‍♂️

To the average bear, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference here -- at least not at first glance, anyway -- but the AF is insisting there are slight tweaks that make the new plane more efficient and effective. It's also a bit sleeker in appearance ... we'll give 'em that.

Now, as far as what the ex-Prez wanted a few years back -- namely, a completely different color scheme and design that resembled our national flag -- the Air Force says it wasn't going to work out due to technical difficulties and time. An easy decision for Biden, it seems.

Here's how the AF describes the problem with Trump's preference back then ... "The Air Force previously displayed a red, white, and blue livery for the VC-25B because it had been publicly expressed as a preferred livery in 2019. A thermal study later concluded the dark blue in the design would require additional Federal Aviation Administration qualification testing for several commercial components due to the added heat in certain environments."

President Biden's fully recovered from a brush with cancer he had last month ... according to doctors who are giving him the all-clear.

The White House announced Friday a lesion was found on Biden's chest last month during his annual physical, and after a biopsy, doctors determined it was malignant. White House Dr. Kevin O'Connor said it was basal cell carcinoma, but they were able to remove all the cancerous tissue.

Perhaps most importantly, O'Connor also said, "No further treatment is required."

That's key for the 80-year-old commander-in-chief as he inches closer to officially announcing his bid for re-election in 2024. Biden's critics have already tried to make his age and health an issue.

GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley's suggested mandatory competency testing for all politicians over 75.

Former President Jimmy Carter has apparently been in and out of the hospital of late -- pertaining to a number of ailments and injuries -- but now ... he's entering hospice care.

A statement issued by the Carter Center reads in part, "After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention."

It adds, "He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers." It's unclear what Carter's recent hospital stays are related to -- but it's sad news nonetheless.

The obvious implication is that Carter is on his last legs, and may well pass away soon -- that's usually what entering hospice care means ... so, naturally, the well-wishes and salutes to his legacy are pouring in all over social media right now.

In 2019, Carter suffered a hard fall that left him rattled and in need of stitches. At the time, he also received surgery to relieve pressure in his brain, the result of internal bleeding from that same fall. Carter also beat skin cancer, which he'd been diagnosed with in 2015.

Carter, who's now 98 years old, served as the 39th President, beating incumbent Gerald Ford. He served one term and was succeeded by Ronald Reagan.

The White House is batting down any notion that what they shot out of the skies this weekend are of another world -- but it's still not entirely clear what we're dealing with.

Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre briefly addressed this with the media Monday before clearing the podium for other Biden admin officials who discussed it further -- and it was then that she said clear as day ... these were not aliens.

Here's her exact wording ... "There is no indication of aliens or extra-terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns. Again, there is no indication of aliens or terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns."

KJP went on to note that the administration had obviously been hearing a lot about it, but again stressed this wasn't in the realm of "E.T." What she didn't clarify, however, was what the airborne objects actually were ... neither did National Security official who followed her.

John Kirby -- who serves on Biden's National Security Council -- said the U.S. had not yet fully and properly assessed what the latest downed objects are ... and that they're still out there collecting and studying to figure out the exact nature and origin of them.

What Kirby did reveal is still somewhat shrouded in mystery -- apparently, these most recent UFOs had no discernable communication systems, no propulsion systems and no real maneuvering capabilities ... and they were also unmanned. The government has also said they're definitely not balloon-type crafts -- but still can't quite pin down a good description.

We had theoretical physicist Avi Loeb on TMZ Live Monday, who provided a little clarity and comfort to those worried about the UFOs from the weekend ... telling us there's nothing to be afraid of ... at least not yet!