White House

President Trump's talking like he and Dr. Anthony Fauci are still on friendly terms -- despite each jabbing the other lately -- but that's news to Fauci, who says he has zero access to the Oval Office.

Dr. Fauci essentially said he's been bumped, telling NBC's Chuck Todd he no longer has the President's ear -- even though the coronavirus pandemic is ramping up again over most of the country.

The good doc says Trump is now listening more to Scott Atlas, the neuroradiologist and conservative think tank member the President added to the task force this summer.

Unlike what we've heard in recent weeks, Fauci did NOT take a shot at Trump for the shift -- watch, he says it more matter-of-factly -- but instead, he's still sharing his knowledge with Vice President Mike Pence and the rest of the Coronavirus Task Force.

He added, Pence relays information to Trump, who hasn't attended a task force meeting in several months. Worth noting ... the country reported at least 75,049 new COVID cases Thursday, the second-highest daily total since the pandemic started.

Great time for a game of telephone.

White House security is looking pretty lax in new video showing Sacha Baron Cohen's 'Borat' costar easily gaining access and coming within feet of President Trump.

The footage is of Maria Bakalova -- who plays Borat's daughter in the newly released sequel -- and shows her getting a tour of the White House press briefing room by OANN reporter Chanel Rion. It appears Rion, a regular member of the WH Press Corps, and her outlet were duped last month into getting Maria onto the White House grounds somehow.

There's also footage of Maria within feet of POTUS at a reception for Trump supporters back in February in Phoenix -- and there she's seen shaking Donald Trump Jr.'s hand. She was blonde at that time.

BTW ... Maria gaining access into the White House is NOT in the newly-released film, but it calls into serious question the security measures in place at 1600 Penn. Sacha claims Maria wasn't checked for a credential, nor did she have a COVID-19 test.

Jennifer Aniston isn't laughing with the folks voting for Kanye West ... she says a vote for Yeezy is flat out irresponsible.

The actress says she just dropped her ballot off and her early vote is for the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ticket ... adding there's nothing cool about voting for Kanye.

Jen explains her vote like this ... "a few men in power are deciding what women can and can’t do with their own bodies. Our current President has decided that racism is a non-issue. He has repeatedly and publicly ignored science... too many people have died."

She's urging voters to consider the implications in the election ... suggesting if Donald Trump wins re-election, it will hurt our nation's daughters, minority groups, elderly folks with illnesses and on and on.

Jen says the future of our country and the world is on the ballot and the election is all about voting for equal human rights, love and decency.

Cops in New York City and Los Angeles are worried about Election Day protests devolving into chaos ... even though police brass are saying the opposite.

Here's the deal ... NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan and John Miller, the head of intelligence and counterterrorism, are publicly stating there's no specific credible threats for Election Day, but they both say officers will be standing by and fully prepared to protect voters from any funny business.

However, we've learned cops are busy behind-the-scenes preparing for chaos ... in other words, violence and even riots.

A senior NYPD official with direct knowledge of the plan tells TMZ ... hundreds of cops from the reserve force will be primed and ready for possible riots and demonstrations.

We're told the NYPD is especially worried about the areas around Manhattan's Union Square and Flatiron District ... two places that saw riots and looting earlier this year, as well as Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza and Barclays Center.

If Donald Trump wins re-election, we're told the feeling among NYPD's rank and file is riots could occur because lots of folks hate Trump in NYC, his hometown.

We're also told rank and file cops fear Trump protests could start peacefully but spiral out of control when darkness falls, when riots usually pick up. We're told cops are preparing for such chaos with reserve forces.

If Joe Biden wins, we're told cops also think there could be trouble ... but not as bad as a Trump win. The big worry -- protests if Trump contests election results.

Police are preparing for similar scenarios across the country in Los Angeles.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... cops are anticipating lots of Election Day demonstrations and they're afraid things could take a violent turn if Trump jumps to an early lead at the polls.

If Biden wins, we're told LAPD believes there could be issues but they're more worried about a Trump victory, which could bring more agitation and conflict among protestors.

Our sources tell us they're worried about a similar scene playing out to what we saw after the Lakers won the NBA title -- a peaceful gathering careening off the rails. As we reported ... there were 76 arrests outside Staples Center after the Lakers' clinch. It got ugly.

While we're told some cops are concerned about unrest on Election Day, our sources say LAPD will take swift action to thwart violence and lawlessness.

Sources say there will be a heavy police presence in L.A. a few days leading up to Election Day and about a week after ... reason being -- cops just don't know what's going to happen.

Astronauts are voting from space, millions are mailing ballots and patients battling COVID-19 are voting from their hospital beds ... welcome to the 2020 election.

Voter turnout is expected to be on the rise for what you've, no doubt, heard is the election of our lifetime ... and a non-partisan group called Patient Voting is making sure hospital patients don't get left out.

The group's founder, Kelly Wong, tells TMZ ... they've seen a huge influx in patients seeking help in casting ballots, and they're using the little-known emergency absentee ballot.

Here's how it works ... patients who are unexpectedly hospitalized without arrangements to vote by regular absentee ballot can request an emergency absentee ballot if they're unable to make it to the polls, or if it's too late to apply for regular absentee ballots.

It's pretty striking ... we're told about 200 people per day are reaching out to the organization for help, a 5-fold increase compared to the midterms. The obvious difference this year -- the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected 8 million Americans and counting.

Sadly, we're told some people who reached out for ballots and info died from COVID before casting a vote.

Then there's the case of a voter in Washington ... we're told they're hospitalized with COVID but their ballot is at home, and the volunteer org is assisting in helping the patient vote electronically so as not to infect others.

The gloves were already off, but now the sneeze guards are down for the final presidential debate between President Trump and Joe Biden.

The Commission on Presidential debates made the decision Thursday after Trump and Biden each tested negative for the virus just hours before the debate goes down in Nashville. The commission, after consulting with Dr. Anthony Fauci, decided it was safe to remove the 2 plexiglass barriers between the candidates' lecterns on stage.

After the commission's medical team felt it was safe, they consulted both campaigns and they too agreed it was OK to remove them ... according to NBC News.

Sen. Chuck Schumer is weighing in on an odd fact about most polling places in America -- where you cannot wear clothing with a candidate's face or name, but CAN carry a firearm.

The Senate Minority Leader was heading to his ride Thursday on Capitol Hill when we asked him about the rule banning voters from wearing t-shirts or caps hyping their candidate when they go to cast their vote.

In theory, it's about not coercing others to vote for your candidate ... but when we asked Sen. Schumer he seems to think t-shirts are harmless when it comes to the election process.

On the other voter intimidation hand ... there are guns. You might be surprised to know it's perfectly legal to bring your legally registered firearm to the polls. According to the L.A. Times, only a dozen states have banned guns where you vote.

We raised that with Schumer too, and again ... he answered quickly, but much differently from the t-shirt question.

If you're curious ... California, Florida, Arizona and Georgia are among the states that have outlawed guns at voting sites.

In Michigan, an open-carry state, they've enacted a temporary ban on firearms at polling places. Remember, we've already seen citizens armed to the teeth this year in Michigan's Capitol during protests ... not to mention the foiled plot to kidnap Gov. Meg Whitmer.

Even if you do live in an open-carry state it's not a guarantee guns are okay when you cast your ballot ... especially if you're voting somewhere like a school.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is trying to ease fears about the asteroid that's got a shot of striking the U.S. before election day -- but also knows everyone wants to panic, cause it's 2020.

The famed astrophysicist joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday for a science lesson on the refrigerator-sized space rock hurtling towards Earth. Here's the truth, folks ... he says the chance of it landing on American soil on Nov. 2 is less than 1 percent.

But, does that really sound comforting with all we've seen so far in 2020?!? Didn't think so.

The good news ... Neil's got some more information that might help ease your mind. Even if the asteroid does end up in line for a direct hit, he says it's NOT killer-sized, and instead, it'll just create one helluva light show.

Neil, who hosts the new Fox show, "Cosmos: Possible Worlds," says a direct hit is even getting a little ahead of ourselves. The prediction's based on a limited amount of data -- the proverbial "small sample size" for all you baseball nuts enjoying the World Series.

Of course, NASA's also confirmed the asteroid is on a trajectory to possibly strike ... and the space agency is staying mum on the 3 possible points of impact. Thanks?

Neil's also got cool nuggets about another asteroid that could hold clues to the origin of our solar system. Fascinating stuff that's clearly not in line with Bible teachings, but he even addressed that with us.

Kate Rubins just cast the mother of all mail-in ballots -- she's not even on Earth and she still cast her vote!!! What's your excuse?

The NASA astronaut voted Thursday from her post aboard the International Space Station, which is about 250 miles or so above our planet ... so you could call this the definition of going above and beyond.

Like most Houston area based astronauts, Kate votes in Texas ... and there's a super cool process for getting her absentee ballot from lower Earth orbit all the way down to the Lone Star State.

As you can see, there's a secure voting booth on the ISS ... and Kate voted using a secure electronic ballot generated by the Harris County Clerk's office and uplinked by Mission Control. Kate's completed ballot is then downlinked and delivered back to the County Clerk’s Office by e-mail to be officially recorded.

Astronauts have been legally allowed to vote from space since 1997, and Kate also cast her ballot from the ISS in the 2016 election. She says if she can vote from space, folks should be getting done on the ground.

President Trump just released video of his failed "60 Minutes" interview where he just walked out and never came back, and when Lesley Stahl challenged Mike Pence as to why the Prez walked out and didn't get an answer, she said they insulted her show.

Mike Pence tried to steamroll through Lesley's questions over Trump's abrupt departure, but she wasn't getting answers. As she put it, she got a bunch of campaign speeches from Trump and Pence, and that clearly frustrated her.

As you probably know by now, Trump felt the interview was an ambush, and he walked out in the middle. He accused Stahl of bias, claiming all Joe Biden gets are "softball questions."

100 million eligible voters did not cast a ballot in the 2016 election, and celebs like Kevin Bacon, Keke Palmer and Sterling K. Brown are determined to make sure those voices are finally heard.

Kevin, Keke and Sterling put together some fun and informative videos to encourage eligible voters to make sure they're registered this election, because 100 million people could have A LOT of sway.

Kevin's hilariously shaming folks into voting with a 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon' twist, Sterling's reminding Black voters why their ballot matters and Keke's got a message for millennials and Gen Z, the largest voting demographic in America.

The PSAs were put together by the Enough! Collective, a group of Hollywood bigwigs with visions of effecting social change on a systemic level by mobilizing voters for the upcoming election.

You can check out what the stars have to say about registering yourself -- but the gist is ... this election is too important to sit out, so register ASAP!!!

Donald Trump and Barack Obama are taking the gloves off ... Trump just ripped Obama after his blistering rebuke of Trump's presidency.

The Prez went nuts on Obama during Wednesday's rally in North Carolina, and it sure seems like he watched Barry tear into him during a fiery speech in Philadelphia.

No one gets under Trump's skin like Obama, so it's no surprise he fired back at the former president ... Trump says he's actually glad Obama's hitting the campaign trail and finally stumping for Joe Biden.

Trump told his supporters a story about learning Obama was campaigning for Biden, and he claims he told his aides it's a blessing in disguise because nobody campaigned harder for Hillary Clinton than Obama, and look how that turned out.

Trump's definitely been holding this grudge for years -- pointing out Obama got it all wrong in 2016 by telling people Trump wouldn't run, wouldn't win the nomination and wouldn't win the White House.

Trump was extra smug ... and he said the only person more unhappy than Hillary on Election Night 2016 was Obama.

LeBron James is vowing NOT to engage in Twitter wars with President Trump before the election ... saying he "damn sure won't go back and forth" with #45.

The 4-time NBA champ has engaged in mutual verbal combat with POTUS in the past ... including his famous "bum" remark when defending Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors' outspokenness against visiting the White House.

POTUS also recently ripped into the superstar ... calling him "nasty" and "a hater" for his political stance and accusing him of hurting the NBA's rankings.

Bron -- who's actively pushing to get more voters via his "More Than A Vote" campaign -- spoke with the New York Times about his public beef with Trump ... and he makes it clear he's not entertaining a long-term battle.

"I don’t go back and forth with anybody," James says. "And I damn sure won’t go back and forth with that guy."

"But, we want better, we want change in our community. We always talk about, 'We want change,' and now we have the opportunity to do that."

King James also spoke out on his decision to campaign for more voting rather than a particular candidate in 2020 ... saying, "We’ve been talking about voter suppression, we’ve been talking about police brutality, systemic racism."

"We’ve had so many things going on, and voter suppression in our communities happens to be at the forefront. So that’s something we wanted to educate our people on."

Joe Biden's campaign is pulling out the biggest gun right before the election -- Barack Obama in the flesh pounding the pavement for his ex-Veep.

The former President was out in Philly Wednesday, campaigning for Joe and Kamala Harris in the first in-person event Barack held on behalf of the team. He started out by having a panel discussion with Black male leaders in the city, and eventually migrated to the streets ... where he addressed a crowd of volunteers with a bullhorn.

It was kinda odd but badass all the same to see 44 rallying up the troops -- while wearing a mask, of course -- by telling them despite all the digital ads a candidate might employ ... good old-fashioned person-to-person conversation is how voters truly connect to a cause.

Obama then got on the podium at a drive-in rally in Citizens Bank Park, and tee'd off on Trump and his failure to control COVID-19. Obama said rather than tweeting at the TV, Trump should've taken action ... and just like everything else he inherited, Trump screwed up the economy.

He said people in the community would see their effort and be inspired by it ... not just that, but BO also made sure to tell them to relay that this election isn't just about picking a new Prez, but gaining control of the Senate too.

It's quite the throwback to his 2008 days when he was first running for President, and even before that when he was running for Senate in Illinois.

Lil Dicky's taking off all his clothes -- except for a tube sock on his lil dicky -- to encourage everyone to vote, and to reveal who he's endorsing for President.

The star of "Dave" has joined the latest celebrity trend of stripping down naked to express the importance of the 2020 election and the battle between President Trump and Joe Biden.

Lil Dicky's taking it a step further, however -- not only with the amount of nudity he's seemingly comfortable with to get his point across ... but with a thorough breakdown of the candidates and their responses to hot-button issues.

The rapper/comedian says the climate crisis and systemic racism in America are the most important topics to discuss, in his opinion ... and he compares Trump and Biden's stances on each.

It's a pretty intriguing analysis -- even if it's coming from a guy sitting cross-legged on a rug in the buff -- and in the end, Lil Dicky reveals who's getting his vote. It wasn't much of a mystery.

President Trump is taking the gloves off against his top COVID-19 specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and throwing his expertise out the window ... this after the doc, arguably, went on the attack on "60 Minutes."

POTUS had a press phone conference Monday, and let the insults fly against Fauci ... who he suggested was one of many "idiots" advising the White House and the public on the pandemic. He even said people were tired of hearing the guy ... plain and simple.

Reporters on the call said Trump called each of Dr. Fauci's media appearances a "bomb," but mused that firing him would cause more political fallout ... especially this close to the election. He also sarcastically referred to Fauci as a "wonderful sage" who's been around for "500 years."

Age shade from the 74-year-old.

Trump clearly feels it's time for Fauci to go, as he added ... "People are tired of COVID ... People are tried of hearing Fauci and all these idiots."

There's been tension between Trump and Fauci for months, but as for why Trump's going all out now -- blame it on "60 Minutes," perhaps.

Dr. Fauci did a thorough segment on that show Sunday and touched on a number of things COVID-related -- including a claim the White House had restricted him in recent months from doing more interviews to get the word out about the virus.

Fauci also talked about Trump's positive diagnosis, and how there seemed to be a war on science and authority ... which he implied had been sparked by the President while in office.

The gloves are off.