White House

Somebody tried sending ricin to the White House, with the intent of having it received by President Trump ... this according to several reports.

The NYT, CNN and WSJ reported Saturday that, recently, federal authorities intercepted a package addressed to the White House with Trump as the target. Two different tests were reportedly done to confirm it was ricin ... a poisonous substance that can be lethal.

The package -- which is said to have arrived in an envelope of some sort -- was reportedly caught early at an off-site mail facility ... some outlets are saying it was sent from a Canadian address. No arrests have been made -- the FBI and the Secret Service are investigating.

This isn't the first time someone has tried sending the natural poison to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. -- in fact, a Navy vet admitted to doing it in 2018, only that time,  castor beans (from which ricin is derived) were shipped and he ended up getting caught and arrested for it.

Someone also tried sending ricin-laced letters to Barack Obama when he was in office, and got sentenced to 25 years in prison for it back in 2014. Ricin can kill someone by inhaling it, injecting or ingesting it. It was recently made famous and well-known in "Breaking Bad."

What one Michigander thought was a joke could possibly land them in legal trouble after they put a toilet in their front yard and instructed folks to leave their mail-in ballots inside.

This is wild ... a Democratic election official named Barb Byrum -- a clerk for Ingham County -- filed a police report ratting out a resident in the city of Mason who recently pulled this cringe-worthy stunt, which obviously isn't meant to be taken literally or seriously.

Doesn't matter though, because Byrum contends that what this person did -- telling folks (whether in jest or not) to drop off their ballots in her toilet via signage -- is actually illegal, and amounts to election tampering. Byrum says it's against the law to take illegal possession of an absentee ballot, and feels like this display could mislead people about the process.

So, in other words ... she's worried some doofus might actually come by and drop their ballots in the toilet, thinking this is a legit way of it being counted. Sounds crazy, but hey ... Barb here is just looking out for the newbies who might be voting for the first time.

If this sounds extreme and over the top ... let it be a sign of where we are in this country, with President Trump sewing doubt over the election process, especially as it pertains to mail-in voting. It would seem some people are trying to make a tongue-in-cheek gag out of it, but clearly the folks running the election process there on the ground don't find it funny.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death and President Trump's race to fill her seat isn't just a one-issue problem ... so says Lil Nas X, who fears big setbacks for the LGBTQ community.

LNX was leaving LAX Saturday when he told a photog how he felt about the Supreme Court Justice's passing, and what it could possibly forebode ahead of the election. He says he's worried a super-conservative justice could seriously hurt progress made for gay rights.

Check it out ... Nas X is a man of few words, but the ones he does drop are powerful and speak to the anxiety being felt by various marginalized groups.

Yes, the abortion/pro-choice battle is front and center and top of mind -- but the possible dismantling of gay marriage and other LGBTQ causes that have been pushed through SCOTUS in recent years is also a very real possibility if Trump gets his way.

They almost fought in line at a Vegas buffet in 2019 -- but UFC star Colby Covington and fighter manager Ali Abdelaziz have buried the hatchet in 2020 ... with a little help from Donald Trump.

First, some backstory!!!

Ali represents some of the biggest names in MMA -- from Khabib to Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo and more.

Back in early 2019, Colby was trying to set up a welterweight title fight with Kamaru ... and the trash talk got so personal, things came to a head at the buffet at The Palms in Vegas.

Colby was in line ... and Ali gets in his face -- and Kamaru had to hold Abdelaziz back! Intense!!!

So, what happened since?

Ali -- along with Henry Cejudo and Justin Gaethje -- were invited to hang with Trump at his rally in Nevada on Sunday ... where Covington was also a VIP guest of the President.

Ali tells us ... since the two men were forced to hang out, they made the best of the situation and talked things out. And, as of now, they're cool.

"I don't hate the kid, I don't have no ill will towards him. He was there to represent the President, I was there to represent the President. If he fought Kamaru or Gilbert or any of my guys again, he becomes the enemy again, it's simple."

"But, right now he's not the enemy. He's a guy trying to make a name for himself."

As for meeting Trump, Ali says it was one of the highlights of his life -- and says Trump treated him like one of the boys!

There's more ... Ali also talked about the upcoming matchup between Kahbib and Gaethje (both are his clients) and explained why it could be one of the greatest fights in MMA history!

The Patagonia clothing brand taking a political stand is nothing new ... but the tags in its organic shorts are, and the message they're pushing is change.

The company is now confirming it's indeed putting a tag that reads, "VOTE THE ASSHOLES OUT" in some of its clothing. A pic of the tag spread like wildfire on Twitter last week, but no one knew if it was legit.

Brad Wieners, the company's director of copy, says ... "With an assist fm @BallotReady we've got a widget to help folks folo thru on that advice, too" followed by a link directing consumers to its website calling for Americans to vote climate deniers out of office.

Hmmm ... think they might be referring to President Trump?

You'll recall the current occupant of the White House most recently laughed off climate change during a wildfires briefing with California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Patagonia -- which closes its stores on Election Day -- and the Trump administration have been at odds for some time now. The company sued the administration in 2017 to protect national monuments. The company also donated the money it got from tax cuts to environmental groups.

James Otis -- best known as the guy who destroyed Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star right before he was elected president -- is trying to do his part to make sure DT doesn't get re-elected ... by littering NYC with Trump's lies.

Otis -- who's also an heir to the Otis Elevator Company fortune -- made his way to the top of the Empire State Building Thursday morning and dropped thousands of gold flyers down upon the city.

Naturally, an employee caught him in the act and told him to stop and leave immediately, but as you can see ... the damage was already done.

We got the anti-Trump vandal after his stunt, and he tells us he didn't get in any serious trouble for the flyer drop ... suggesting he talked his way out of it.

Otis says he explained to the building authorities that what he did was a non-violent act to spread the word about President Trump's incessant lying ... and they were "cordial."

However, on the downside ... he says he's now banned for life from the Empire State Building.

As for the flyers, Otis says they were printed on both sides with more than 20,000 examples of lies Trump has told in office ... along with the fact-checking to refute them.

Examples include Trump quotes about tax-cutting, the economy, Joe Biden, protests and the VA Choice bill ... and those are just from the past few months. James says he dropped at least a couple thousand flyers.

As you'll recall ... Otis was charged with vandalism for the pickax stunt he pulled on October 26, 2016, to protest then-candidate Trump. He pled no contest in February 2017 and was sentenced to 3 years probation, community service and ordered to pay $4,400.

Jim Carrey is going toe-to-toe with Alec Baldwin on "Saturday Night Live" -- because he'll be the show's new Joe Biden heading into the election.

Showrunner and EP Lorne Michaels made the announcement Wednesday ... also sharing that Alec will return as President Trump, and so would Maya Rudolph, who played a hilarious version of Kamala Harris last time around.

But, on Biden -- who's been portrayed by Woody Harrelson and Jason Sudeikis of late -- Lorne told Vulture they were probably gonna give Jim a shot ... with conditions, it seems.

He says, "There was some interest on his part. And, then we responded, obviously, positively." He adds there were caveats, explaining ... "But, it came down to discussions about what the take was. He and Colin Jost had a bunch of talks. He and I as well. He will give the part energy and strength, and … [Laughs.] Hopefully it’s funny."

Oh, it's gotta be.

It's interesting that Lorne wanted to feel out how Jim would go about portraying the former Veep. The last time 'SNL' spoofed him ... they often made Biden out to be rambling, kooky and kinda creepy with his touchy-feely-ness.

Ya gotta wonder what the take will be now ... with the new backdrops of the coronavirus pandemic and Biden being the Democratic nominee.

Kanye West just got schooled on what a 5:00 PM deadline means in Wisconsin -- in one judge's view ... which, for now, is keeping Ye off the ballot there, and it's all over 14 seconds.

A circuit court magistrate ruled this week that Kanye was, in fact, too late by submitting his nomination docs last month to get his name on the ballot come November ... even though his team got it in 14 seconds after 5 o'clock, which they felt was still inside the window.

Not the case, so says Judge John Zakowski. Hizzoner writes, "The court believes at the time a grandfather clock rings out five times is the moment it is 5 p.m. Any time after that is precisely that: after 5 p.m." Oof, tough crowd. But wait, there's more to his rationale.

Judge Zakowski goes on to explain ... "The court used the analogy of midnight. There is significant difference between 11:59:59 p.m. and one second after midnight. The passage of a second after midnight confers an entirely new day." Hmmm, we suppose he has a point.

In other words, a late registration from Kanye ... quite literally. And thus, he isn't eligible to rock the vote on November 3rd. That said, Ye could take one last shot in this legal fight.

There's the option of appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and if Kanye and co. do that ... they might actually have a more favorable ruling. Fact is, a majority of those justices lean conservative -- and they could interpret the deadline rules a little differently.

Considering Wisconsin is a big swing state in this election ... he might wanna consider it. Not only that, but Dems there are already trying to rally the base with some cool celeb appearances -- namely, a 'Parks & Rec' Q&A session this month with a bulk of the cast. The goal is getting Wisconsin folks to vote.

Marco Rubio's weighing in on President Trump's threat to defund schools that use "The 1619 Project," saying POTUS is misguided -- but he's also challenging the project's view of American history.

We got the Florida Senator at Reagan National Airport in D.C. Thursday, and he initially sided with Trump when he said he believes '1619' is "historically flawed" ... telling us the country was founded in 1776, not 1619.

It's interesting, though, because Rubio doesn't seem to oppose the goal of the project ... which is telling the full truth about slavery being at the center of U.S. history.

Marco admits generations of U.S. leaders have not lived up to the promise of equality in our Declaration of Independence, and concedes the '1619 Project' isn't all bad.

Thursday, the creator of '1619,' Nikole Hannah-Jones, told us Trump doesn't have the power to defund schools, despite his threats, and blasted him for misleading the public in order to stoke more racial division.

President Trump's threat to defund schools implementing the "1619 Project" in history classes is just another divisive election tactic, but he's fighting a losing battle ... so says the creator of the progressive U.S. history initiative.

Nikole Hannah-Jones is the investigative journalist directing '1619,' and she's pushing back on the President's opposition of the project by suggesting he has racial motives ... and not the best interest of the U.S. in mind, as he has claimed.

Nikole joined "TMZ Live" to clarify what the project is all about, and quell the notion being stirred by Trump and others that it's a mission to change history and make people hate America.

Instead, she says its goal is to help Americans learn from their true history -- starting with the year African slaves were first brought to U.S. soil. Nikole says learning the truth about something rarely taught in traditional history classes will provide the perspective Americans need to strive toward the ideals upon which the country was founded.

Just as importantly, she says it will help Americans better understand why millions are marching and protesting today for social justice.

Nikole also points out that despite Trump's threats, he's powerless to direct what is taught in schools ... and can't pull funding as he's threatened to do in California.

"The truth is, the '1619 Project' is already being put into practice in many schools across the country, teaching students about the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans to the nation's history."

Ice Cube has a list of demands to help Black Americans that he feels needs to be addressed in order to get his vote ... and says both sides of the aisle want to, at least, hear what he's got to say.

We spoke to Cube Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and he elaborated on his "Contract with Black America" that he's been promoting these past few months ahead of the election. Bottom line ... he says he'll vote for whoever implements his ideas, even if it's President Trump.

Check it out ... for Cube, identity politics is gone, and he's only looking out for his people at this point -- telling us that if a candidate doesn't clearly explain what's in it for the Black community if they're elected, he doesn't see a point in voting for them.

Specifically, he says economics is a huge part of his agenda -- explaining that there needs to be a monumental shift in the wealth gap between Black people and everyone else.

Now, Cube says he's heard from Joe Biden's camp AND Trump's about his 'Contract' ... and insists there's nothing partisan about his demands.

There's also this ... he says Biden should not think for a second he has the Black vote locked up. Fact is, Trump is still in office and could roll some of these things out before November, which would go a long way for Cube, and possibly other voters.

It's a fascinating take, and Cube is determined to hold Trump and Biden's feet to the fire.

President Trump not only broke political precedent by holding the Republican National Convention at The White House ... he also ran up a fat landscaping bill by damaging the grounds.

The South Lawn and iconic Rose Garden were getting a makeover Tuesday, almost 2 weeks after the RNC wrapped up there, reportedly leaving the grounds a muddy mess. And, the new landscaping's gonna cost a cool $79,675 ... TMZ has learned.

According to the federal docs we obtained ... the National Park Service hired a lawn servicing company to do the resodding, and they have until the end of the month to get the job done. According to the Washington Post ... the Trump Campaign is picking up the bill.

Makes sense ... Trump became the first president to accept his party's nomination at the WH, and gave his acceptance speech last Thursday night right on the South Lawn in front of about 1,500 supporters.

At the time, the mostly mask-free crowd raised concerns about COVID-19.

Turns out the more tangible damage being done was under the feet off the President's GOP faithful.

You'll recall, the RNC was originally scheduled to go down in Charlotte, before the pandemic forced the GOP to attempt it in Jacksonville. When that fell through, Trump decided to do it in D.C. ... with the White House as his backdrop.

Here's a shocker for 54 percent of the country ... President Trump opened a Bible (that's not the shocker), signed his name in it, and now the good book could now be worth nearly $40k. There it is.

Yes, as Trump would almost certainly put it, you can now buy your "favorite President's" favorite book ... which our sources tell us he autographed during a very turbulent week in the nation, and particularly in Washington, D.C.

We're told he signed it at the White House during the first week of June, just a couple of days after he'd ordered federal law enforcement to fire pepper spray and rubber bullets at peaceful George Floyd protesters ... just to clear a path for him to St. John's Episcopal Church.

You'll recall he posed there for a now-infamous photo op with a Bible ... although that's not the one he signed.

The autographed Bible is going up for sale through the memorabilia company, Moments In Time -- and they're hawking this slice of Trump history for a cool $37,500.

Just the way God intended.

We kid, but Trump's critics might be expecting a lightning strike, because although he's often declared the Bible is his favorite book -- he's declined to name a favorite chapter or verse ... or even weigh in on the Old vs. New Testament debate.

Presidents have a long history of signing Bibles, but the practice has historically been done when presenting it as a gift with a spiritual message written inside.

Joe Exotic's team is heading back to our nation's capital for another shot at getting the Tiger King pardoned by President Trump ... and this time, they got an in at the White House.

Sources tell TMZ ... Joe's squad of attorneys and advocates will be flying to Washington D.C. Wednesday to hand-deliver a copy of their official pardon request to a contact they have at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The hope it seems ... to get the pardon request in front of Trump, and we're told Eric Love -- who's leading the team -- has a contact within the White House, so it would seem this might be their best chance yet to get DT to listen.

Not just that, but it would appear the Joe Exotic squad has more Trump allies than just one -- here's a photo of Eric with Brad Parscale, 45's head of digital operations for his campaign. Eric and the team met Brad in Texas recently, but also ... he's not the contact they have at the White House. Still, knowing BP can't hurt their odds!

Remember, Love and co. rolled up to D.C. a few months ago in a huge bus with a 'Pardon Joe Exotic' wrap. It doesn't appear that venture was all that successful -- Trump hasn't pardoned the guy after all -- but we know Joe's on Trump's radar.

Harry Shearer is definitely trying to poke the bear that is Donald Trump with a hilarious spoof album that's got the President singing show tunes ... and kissing Jared Kushner's butt.

The legendary voice actor and comedian -- who's played countless characters on "The Simpsons" -- came on "TMZ Live" to talk about his new album, "The Many Moods of Donald Trump," which he's been teasing with new single drops throughout the summer.

His first one was a banger -- it's called "Son in Law" ... and it's all about singing the virtues Jared. It also features Harry playing DT (with some incredible motion-capture animation tech) as he goes through a show-stopping number in the Oval Office. It's an awesome music video.

Now, as for whether this one was aimed at Donnie or Jared, Harry tells us they can split his mockery right down the middle. And, as far as praise, HS says the ultimate compliment would be if 45 himself hate tweets about 'TMMDT.' That'd be like hitting #1 on the charts!

President Trump once hired a Black actor to impersonate Barack Obama, just so he could get him in his office and fire him "Apprentice" style ... and the whole thing is on video.

The scene was reportedly filmed around 2013, and was supposed to air during the 2016 RNC -- but it never saw the light of day ... until just recently, that is. It's cringey -- you see Trump bring his "Faux-Bama" into his office in Trump Tower, and belittle him to no end.

Check it out ... in the clip, you see the actor who is no doubt supposed to be Barack sitting there and just taking Trump's disparaging comments -- which range from bashing his job rates numbers, criticizing how he's handled the economy ... and mentioning how often he golfs.

In the end, DT, sure enough, dishes out his signature slogan ... and BO is sent on his way.

It's awful, frankly, but apparently ... this is something the RNC seriously considered running. At any rate, it's just an example of how much disdain Trump has for Obama ... so claims his ex-attorney, Michael Cohen, who recounted this anecdote in his new book.

The book -- 'Disloyal: A Memoir' -- also included a photo of Trump filming the scene with the Black actor he hired ... simply to humiliate on camera. In other words, yeah ... this happened.

Cohen's book is set to be published for the masses Tuesday, and it reportedly contains several other damning stories about the President, including alleged racist remarks and other sordid comments.