White House

Kamala Harris breaks lots of ground ... the latest being she's the first Vice President of the United States to march in solidarity of LGBTQ rights.

The Veep and her husband, Doug Emhoff, took to the streets Saturday in Washington D.C. for the Pride March. There was no advanced notice she would show, so it was a big surprise to marchers when she showed up in a pink blazer. Doug wore a t-shirt with a rainbow inscription. They both marched for a block or so.

Harris spoke at the Capital Pride rally, urging Congress to pass the Equality Act. She said, "We need to make sure that our transgender community and our youth are all protected. We need, still, protections around employment and housing."

The Veep added during the rally at Freedom Plaza, "There is so much more work to do, and I know we are committed."

President Biden kept his cool while having every right in the world to bug out ... this as a creepy-crawler tried making itself at home smack dab on his head!

46 was at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday AM ahead of his international trip to Europe -- where he's slated to meet with other world leaders, including Vladimir Putin -- and before takeoff ... the guy had to play defense against a freakin' cicada, brushing it off his neck.

The gross-out moment was caught on camera as JB talked to one of the men in uniform -- as was Biden's grossed-out face after he flicked the little bastard onto the ground ... where it belongs.

Joe trotted over to the press afterward and confirmed ... cicadas were around, and that he'd just taken care of one personally. His warning did NOT go unheeded -- as the folks following him around had to deal as well. Reports say the press plane was chock-full of cicadas.

Apparently, a swarm of the insects found their way into the engine area of the aircraft ... and actually caused a delay Tuesday night before they could hit the skies.

These buggers are all over D.C. ... CNN's Manu Raju had to fend for himself during a live shot from Capitol Hill. He reacted a little more frantically than ol' Joey here did.

Vice President Kamala Harris is getting the Beatles treatment south of the border ... tons of TV crews are chasing after her motorcade, with cameramen standing on the backs of moving motorcycles!!!

Ya gotta see the scene down in Mexico City, where a huge throng of media is racing after the Veep trying to get a shot, but it almost looks like she's being followed by a biker gang ... that happens to be outfitted with cameras and live stream equipment.

It's definitely not something we see every day in the United States, and it looks like a lot of the motorcycling media aren't even wearing helmets. These are some brave hombres.

Kamala's in town to meet with Mexico's President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and if the mass of cameras trained on her every move didn't already give it away ... the visit is a BIG deal to a lot of people.

All the attention and TV cameras gotta make ya wonder -- is Donald Trump a little jealous of the Vice Prez??

Barack Obama just hit one of the most famous golf courses in the world for a game with some pals ... a group that included one of the most famous NBA coaches around too.

The former President was out at none other than the Pebble Beach Golf Links course Sunday near Monterey, CA ... where he was joined by Golden State Warriors HC Steve Kerr ... who appeared to be his partner (or competition perhaps?) for the day.

TMZ got video of 44 teeing off on the first hole -- and it looks like he sliced his initial attempt ... being allowed a mulligan (aka, a do-over), which apparently went much better, as he got a round of applause from a crowd of people that had gathered to watch POTUS hit.

You can tell Barry was in a pretty good mood ... laughing it up, cracking jokes about his caddy and even posing for photos at one point with Steve and co.

Of course, there was also a swarm of SS agents around standing watch ... and thier presence wasn't very low key either. Check out the cavalry of cars and SUVs they pulled up in. Still, folks just soaked it in -- and didn't appear to bother Barack while he played.

While it might seem a little surprising that Kerr was out there playing with the ex-leader of our nation ... it's not really when you consider their history. The Warriors have visited the White House in the past -- and Kerr even used to play for the Bulls, which is Obama's team.

Bill Maher murdered last night with a hilarious take on the latest Jan 6 conspiracy theory ... that the insurrectionists were actually Democrats dressed up as Trump supporters to make the Prez look bad.

The "Real Time" host barely held it together with his show-and-tell ... beginning with a well-worn MAGA hat, followed by a MAGA hat with enhancements!

Bill just lost it with the meth teeth ... but there was more -- so much more, ending with the ladies getting some bling that might send shivers down the spine of the former VEEP.

It was hysterical ... Bill says the getup was courtesy of George Soros's home costume dept. As for who worked the sweatshop -- well, Bill and Tim Robbins, of course.

Then there was a book, instructing rebellious Dems on how to purchase a fake flag or 2.

Maybe the best ... the cleverly misspelled sign falsely ID'ing the rioters.

In all seriousness, 73% of Republicans actually believe this ... that what you saw on TV was a frame job by left-wingers. And, of course, they all think the election was rigged.

Donald Trump could jettison his threat to run for Prez again, and instead become a junior member of the House of Reps ... but there's a twist.

Trump was on a right-wing radio show and asked about an idea Steve Bannon concocted ... that Trump runs for the House next year. D.C. insiders believe there's a real chance Republicans could re-capture control of the House in the midterm election, and that could position him to then throw his hat in the ring as Speaker.

On the Wayne Allyn Root radio show Friday, Trump called the idea "interesting."

It seems improbable, but that has never stopped Trump before. He's toyed with his supporters, suggesting he'll make another Presidential run in 2024. That, of course, could be complicated by the various criminal investigations involving him, his family and his businesses.

Trump also took a shot at Mark Zuckerberg. As you know, Facebook has now banned Trump for 2 years, saying his social media posts represented a real threat. Trump fired back, "Next time I'm in the White House, there will be no more dinners, at his request, with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife. It will all be business!"

Facebook is dropping the hammer on Donald Trump ... announcing he'll remain off the platform until early 2023 due to the "risk to public safety."

The social media giant said Friday it's decided that "given the gravity of the circumstances that led to Mr. Trump’s suspension, we believe his actions constituted a severe violation of our rules which merit the highest penalty available under the new enforcement protocols."

The suspension is effective from the date of the initial suspension ... which came down on January 7. Facebook says it'll reevaluate at the end of that period and "if we determine that there is still a serious risk to public safety, we will extend the restriction for a set period of time and continue to re-evaluate until that risk has receded."

Facebook says when the suspension is eventually lifted "there will be a strict set of rapidly escalating sanctions that will be triggered" if Trump acts up again ... which could include a permanent ban.

Trump, of course, was NOT happy about the decision ... calling Facebook's decision an insult to the 75 million people who voted for him in the last election. He added, "[Facebook] shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this censoring and silencing and, ultimately, we will win. Our [c]ountry can’t take this abuse anymore!"

As we reported, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg banned Trump from the platform in the wake of the Capitol riot ... saying it was too great a risk to America for Trump to remain on the platform.

Zuckerberg had hoped Facebook's oversight board would make a final decision on Trump's ban when it met a month ago. Instead, the board told Zuckerberg he would have to make that call.

Facebook says it knows its decision will face backlash -- with some saying a private company had overreached, while others will say it went soft on Trump by not issuing a lifetime ban.

Interestingly, IF Trump opts to run for Prez again ... January 2023 would be a critical time for him to get back on social media.

So POTUS, FLOTUS, the VP and the Second Gentleman all walk into a bar ... much to the delight of a bunch of stunned patrons.

President Biden and his wife, Jill -- flanked by Kamala Harris, her husband, Doug, and some Secret Service agents, of course -- hit up the popular D.C. restaurant, Le Diplomate ... in a Memorial Day visit the White House says was unscheduled.

As you can see ... the diners weren't expecting such famous guests to be joining them for lunch, but everyone looked happy as heck about it.

Earlier Monday, Biden and Harris and their spouses attended a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Biden's Le Diplomate appearance is his first known sit-down visit to a restaurant as Prez, coming not long after the CDC lifted COVID-19 restrictions for those who are vaccinated.

BTW -- the French eatery is a known favorite of the First Lady's ... it even added her favorite dish as a menu special earlier this year after Biden was elected President.

President Biden's calling on Americans to reflect on one of the worst incidents of racial violence ever in our country in order to root out systemic racism ... 100 years after it happened.

The White House issued a proclamation acknowledging the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in which a mob of white supremacists attacked a thriving Black neighborhood called Greenwood ... also known as Black Wall Street.

The massacre took place on May 31 and June 1, and as Biden states ... "Families and children were murdered in cold blood." As many as 300 Black Americans were killed as the white mob torched buildings, churches, businesses and homes ... destroying 35 square blocks of the district and leaving 10,000 Black people homeless.

The Prez says on this solemn anniversary, he's asking the American people to "reflect on the deep roots of racial terror in our Nation and recommit to the work of rooting out systemic racism across our country."

Though the Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most horrific events in American history, it was mostly covered up and kept from the public for half a century. In fact, many hadn't even heard of it until the 2019 HBO series "Watchmen" included it as a storyline.

One year after George Floyd's murder sparked nationwide protests against police brutality, his family's meeting with President Biden as Congress struggles to pass the police reform bill bearing George's name.

The Prez hosted Floyd's family at the White House Tuesday, and George's nephew, Brandon Williams, says Biden seemed sincere in wanting to know how the family's doing and how he can help.

George's brother, Philonise Floyd, put pressure on lawmakers to pass police reform, saying if there are federal laws on the books to protect bald eagles, there should be laws to protect minorities.

We got more of Floyd's family on Capitol Hill, where they were accompanied by Lil Baby, and they told our photog it's the closest they've ever felt to meaningful change as they wait for reforms to pass.

George's daughter, Gianna, also showed us the coin she got from Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- her open invitation to return to the Capitol whenever she pleases.

As you know ... Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 when Minneapolis PD officers were arresting him. Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on George's neck for more than 9 minutes ... was convicted of Floyd's murder last month.

Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to the guilty verdict by saying it would spark change in the country, and could help end systemic racism and make America a place where law enforcement treats everyone equally.

They also hoped it would lead to serious policing reform, with Biden pushing Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act -- which would create national policing standards, ban chokeholds and end legal protections for law enforcement against civil lawsuits -- by the 1-year anniversary of his death.

George Floyd's family will travel to The White House Tuesday to meet with President Biden on the first anniversary of Floyd's murder ... this according to The Hill.

Biden has history with the family ... he spoke with them several times after Floyd's death. The visit coincides with Democrats trying to pass a bill bearing George Floyd's name ... a bill designed to reimagine policing in America.

It's unclear if the family will speak with members of Congress during their visit in support of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Among other things, the bill would ban chokeholds by federal officers. It would also end qualified immunity ... which bars families of police abuse from filing civil suits. The bill is expected to pass the house, but prospects in the Senate are far less certain.

Although Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd, civil rights activists like Tamika Mallory say the trial can't be looked at as a solution to police abuse.

Donald Trump is getting dragged into court for using the term "China virus" ... a new lawsuit says the former President caused a lot of harm to Chinese Americans with the phrase.

Trump's getting sued by the Chinese American Civil Rights Coalition ... and they're pissed over him constantly referring to COVID-19 as "Chinese virus," "Wuhan virus" and "Kung Flu" while he was in office.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the CACRC claims Trump's use of the derogatory terms contributed to the recent rise in violence against Chinese and Asian Americans ... and they claim he should have known better.

As you know ... Trump infamously crossed out "corona virus" in the text of a March 2020 speech and replaced it with "Chinese virus" ... and the CACRC claims he shouldn't have used the term because it’s not entirely clear where the virus actually originated.

In the suit, the CACRC says Trump's constant use of "China virus" was essentially a dog whistle to his legions of supporters, and they claim it has harmed Chinese Americans.

Barack Obama says his daughters have probably been scared straight when it comes to public service ... and it's due to the "PTSD" they experienced as White House kids.

The former President did James Corden's 'Late Late Show' show Monday, when he was asked about getting young people inspired to get into public service or politics -- and, naturally, the convo honed in on BO's own kids.

Corden noted Malia and Sasha had lived under a spotlight for 8 whopping years while their dad was POTUS, and that's exactly why Barack says they're likely to pass on running for office themselves in the future.

He jokes about them still having post-traumatic stress disorder from their Secret Service detail growing up -- with agents accompanying them on dates and to concerts -- but he's obviously kidding. Well, we're laughing ... Sasha and Malia might not be.

In all seriousness, Barack says his girls have developed into spectacular young women -- and he genuinely believes they'll find another way to serve their communities outside of politics.

President Biden is just like us -- meaning, the guy sends quick cash to his friends and family on Venmo, which might sound like no big deal ... but it really might be, big picture.

Joe's private Venmo account was tracked down in a rather quick fashion Friday by BuzzFeed, which says it only took them about 10 minutes or so to find it after an NYT article went up earlier in the day saying he sends his grandkids money on the peer-to-peer money app.

The outlet reports all they used were in-app features to quickly find associates to Joe's -- and before they knew it, they landed on 46 ... plus a small network of his immediate family, like his wife and children (Jill and Hunter), extended family (grandchildren) and senior White House officials.

They weren't able to see his transaction history itself -- since it was set to private, which is NOT the default setting for Venmo -- but they say some in Biden's extended Venmo network weren't private ... and they could see what they'd been up to in recent days on there.

Here's the problem, as BFN points out ... a hacker/troll and/or a freakin' adversary spy could easily locate these people and harass them, or even attempt to infiltrate Biden's inner circle -- potentially posing as someone while gathering intel and activities and patterns.

Covering the White House looks way different today -- there are very few face coverings in the Press Room as the government and the news biz react to the new CDC guidelines.

During Friday's press briefing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., all staffers were mask-free. Ditto for almost all of the reporters who were present. Looks like 2 or 3 holdouts were still taking precautions, and everyone was still practicing social distancing.

No such concerns over at 30 Rock in NYC, though. "Today" hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb are getting way closer than they've been in more than a year, and they're absolutely giddy about it.

They kicked off Friday's show sitting right next to each other, and even held hands for a bit. Viewers have gotten used to seeing TV hosts seated at least 6 feet apart during the pandemic, but the CDC's flipped things back to pre-COVID ... for some, anyway.

As you know, the CDC's new guidance says fully vaccinated Americans have the green light to ditch masks and eliminate social distancing outdoors AND indoors -- but not everyone's rushing back to total "normalcy."

Check out the folks over at 'GMA' ... anchors Michael Strahan, Cecilia Vega and George Stephanopoulos were still socially distanced during Friday's show -- perhaps reflecting a big difference in the corporate policies for ABC and NBC.

As we showed you, after President Biden's milestone speech Thursday from the Rose Garden, he and VP Kamala Harris couldn't mask their joy over the CDC's new guidance as they hugged and laughed ... sans masks.

So far, at least 10 states have completely lifted their mask mandates on the heels of the CDC's announcement, but several others, like NY and Cali, aren't celebrating just yet.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris can't mask their joy over the CDC's new recommendation that fully vaccinated people can ditch their face coverings -- indoors and outdoors ... it's all over their faces!

The Prez delivered a speech in the Rose Garden a bit ago on the heels of the CDC's announcement, calling it a great milestone and a great day after more than a year of pandemic anxiety, and yes ... mask fatigue.

Biden went on to applaud the success of the COVID vaccine rollout in the U.S. and promisingly low coronavirus numbers. After his speech ... Joe and Kamala walked off side-by-side with huge smiles -- easy to see without face coverings.

POTUS and the Veep weren't the only ones in D.C. showing elation ... we got Congressmen Eric Swalwell, Greg Pence and Michael Guest on Capitol Hill palling around, maskless.

We asked them about the petition to rename the Ronald Reagan Airport after JoJo Siwa, and despite Swalwell being a Dem and the other 2 guys being Republicans ... they all reached a consensus.