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President Obama will stay at the Palm Springs home of one of his ambassadors ... TMZ has learned.

The Obamas will be unpacking their suitcases late Friday at the abode of outgoing US ambassador to Spain James Costos and his husband -- an interior designer -- Michael Smith, who's been the WH's decorator since '08.

The house is in Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs, inside the Thunderbird Heights gated community ... perched at the top of the development and spread over 8 acres. It's been completely gutted and renovated since 2011 ... and looks brand spanking new.

The Obamas have stayed at James and Michael's home 4 times prior to this visit.

There will be lots of restrictions for anyone coming in or out of the property. Security wants to keep the number of people to a minimum at entry ... they'll be checking IDs too.

Even when Obama's out ... he's still getting the presidential treatment.

One of the dogs in the upcoming film "A Dog's Purpose" desperately resisted shooting a risky scene, but chilling footage shows filmmakers apparently forcing the animal into rushing water.

TMZ obtained this video of a scene shot in a pool outside Winnipeg, Canada in November 2015. You can see a trainer forcibly shoving a German Shepherd -- one of at least 5 dogs used in the production -- into the frothing water, but the animal wanted NO part of it ... and repeatedly clawed at the pool's edge.

Sources connected to production tell us 8 outboard motors were used to churn the water and recreate a rushing river. The dog eventually got in the water -- or was forced in -- but was quickly submerged.

It's unclear if the dog going under was scripted, but someone immediately yelled, "Cut it!" ... and handlers rushed to the animal.

We're told director Lasse Hallström was present the whole time, and at least one member of the crew was extremely disturbed by the dog's treatment during this scene.

Jackie Evancho's transgender sister will undergo surgery to begin reassignment the same week Jackie belts out the national anthem at Donald Trump's inauguration ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the Evancho family tell us Jackie's sister, Juliet, "can finally be herself" after she goes through the procedure in Philly. We're told the surgery had been in the works for months, and her absence from the inauguration is NOT in protest to Trump or Mike Pence's stance on LGBTQ rights.

Michelle Obama did some serious doggy spin with Sunny just over a week after the bitch bit the face of a White House guest.

FLOTUS posted what we're guessing is supposed to be an adorable clip of her walking around the White House with Sunny and Bo one last time before they move out on Friday.

You gotta see Michelle call for the pooches in this video -- one of them barked and nipped at the other. Hint: it wasn't Bo.

TMZ broke the story ... Sunny drew blood when she bit the young woman, who had to get stitches.

The First Lady's caption said, "one last walk through the People's House" ... but it could've said, "Please don't take Sunny, we promise she's sweet."

George H.W. Bush was just admitted to intensive care unit with pneumonia and his wife, Barbara, was also admitted.

H.W.'s office says he's in stable condition, but as a precaution doctors performed some sort of procedure to clear his airway. He received anesthesia and was moved into the intensive care unit.

H.W.'s resting comfortably where he will remain, at least for the short term.

Meanwhile, Barbara Bush was also admitted to the Houston hospital Wednesday morning after experiencing what H.W.'s office says is fatigue and coughing.

Story developing ...

It's gonna be a looong off-season for Raiders star lineman Donald Penn ... his reality star baby mama just went FULL 2PAC in an angry video blasting him for "trying to play me like a stupid ass bitch."

Backstory ... former "Bad Girls Club" star Camilla Poindexter gave birth to Donald's daughter last year while he was still married to his current wife, Dominique Penn.

Dominique had dissed Camilla as a "hood rat" and a "ho" who was just trying to get "hush money" from the NFL star. She filed for divorce from Donald in November.

Now, Camilla is firing back at Donald ... claiming he's treating her like a gold digger and not like the mother of his child. She also claims he isn't spending time with the kid.

Chris Brown went straight "Dragon Ball Z" on his Lamborghini ... hitting the streets of L.A. with Goku on the hood ... and it's dope.

Brown is a huge fan of Japanese anime (he's got a 'Dragon Ball' tat on his leg) and with a potential fight with Soulja Boy on the horizon, the singer put the toughest Saiyan on the planet right on the front of his whip.

He also put a couple of black ice tree air fresheners on his rear view. Even the toughest warriors gotta smell good.

Lawyers are ready to represent demonstrators who get arrested for protesting Donald Trump's inauguration ... TMZ has learned.

The Partnership for Civil Justice, the National Lawyers Guild, D.C. Law Students in Court and other orgs have a game plan to hit the streets Friday, monitor police conduct, and provide free representation for many demonstrators who may get cuffed and taken to jail.

An official from the Partnership for Civil Justice tells TMZ, they are worried police will cross the line and arrest protesters who are exercising their constitutional right of free speech.

We're told the laws in D.C. have changed recently because of police illegally taking demonstrators into custody. Now, protesters cannot be arrested for demonstrating without a permit. Cops can't encircle groups of protesters merely to prevent an uprising, and cops can't go after an entire group because a handful of demonstrators violate the law.

One of the lawyers organizing the group says she thinks the D.C. cops may show more restraint now that the laws have changed, but she's worried about the 5,000 National Guard troops and 3,000 cops from various jurisdictions that might overreact.

We're told dozens of D.C. area lawyers have committed to free services during inauguration day.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's vowing to return to "Hamilton" in honor of President Obama commuting the sentence of Oscar Lopez Rivera -- who was convicted for conspiracy against the U.S. government -- and some cops are outraged.

Miranda said he'd be honored to play Alexander Hamilton if Rivera goes to see the play in Chicago after his release in May. Rivera has been serving a 70 year sentence since the '80s for involvement in the FALN -- a Puerto Rican liberation organization that conducted fatal bombings in NYC and an attack on NYPD headquarters.

The argument for Rivera's release has been that he was never convicted of killing anyone, and only for seditious conspiracy, but a high-ranking member of NYPD tells TMZ, "It's a slap in the face of every hard working NYPD officer that the President would commute the sentence of a terrorist, and for [Miranda] to honor a terrorist is appalling."

Miranda, who quit "Hamilton" last summer, is of Puerto Rican descent and tweeted Obama to thank him for shortening Rivera's sentence before leaving the White House.

Waka Flocka Flame made a big stink when he decided to wipe his ass at a concert ... using Donald Trump's name to do it.

Waka was performing at the Georgia Theatre when he noticed a fan wearing a Trump jersey. Waka's a known anti-Trump guy, but still ... what happens next is gag worthy.

Donald Trump shut down negotiations to get a huge rock band at one of his Inaugural balls ... in order to cut costs and potentially save tens of millions for charity.

Inauguration sources tell us the Committee was close to landing a legendary group -- one that's in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- but when the President-elect found out they wanted more than $1 million for the gig he pulled the plug. We're told Trump implored the rockers to reduce their appearance fee -- but when they refused he told the Inaugural Committee to move on to other artists.

Mind you, there's plenty of dough. The Committee's reportedly received more than $90 million in donations, but we're told Trump instructed all involved to keep expenses in the low millions because whatever is left over is going to charity.

As we reported ... the Liberty Ball and Freedom Ball will now feature soul legend Sam Moore, as well as Grammy nominee Travis Greene. While organizers are tight-lipped about naming all the acts, our sources say you can expect an eclectic lineup -- ranging from dance to country to gospel -- and everyone's doing it for free or a greatly reduced rate.

Johnny Manziel says he's focused on football again -- telling TMZ Sports he's training 5 to 6 days a week and sources say he's "dead serious" about a comeback.

Mike Pence has great resolve on one thing once he becomes Veep ... exercise.

We got Pence on Capitol Hill Tuesday and it seems he's not putting the bike he regularly rides into storage.

It creates an interesting problem for the Secret Service if Pence ventures out into the open. President Clinton famously jogged around the Lincoln Memorial and the Potomac ... a big security challenge.

We're guessing the subject of stationary bikes will come up soon.

Scott Eastwood was up to no good on his day off in Australia ... and he probably didn't even know it.

The actor's in Sydney shooting "Pacific Rim" ... and on his day off Tuesday he decided to hit up Wattamolla Falls at the Royal National Park.

Problem is ... it's illegal to dive from that cliff. If authorities decide to go after him, Scott may have to pay a fine ... which we're guessing won't be a problem.

Oops.

D.L. Hughley isn't trying to hide his anger at MLK Jr.'s son for betraying Civil Rights leader Rep. John Lewis during his beef with Donald Trump ... in D.L.'s eyes, anyway.

D.L. definitely got some stuff off his chest when we asked about Martin Luther King III's meeting with the Prez-elect. He flat-out rips him for not calling out Trump for his Twitter rant against Rep. Lewis ... who walked shoulder to shoulder with MLK Jr. in the '60s.

As for why MLK III really had the meeting -- D.L. offers a mercenary theory.

The outrage is real.

Melania Trump will get from the White House to Trump Tower faster than your average big city commuter takes to get home -- and she's doing it by plane, chopper and automobile.

TMZ broke the story ... Melania will stay at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave Friday and Saturday night and then return to Trump Tower Sunday with Barron so he can continue his school year in NYC. It's going to be quite the whirlwind trip home.

Our sources tell us Melania will drive in a motorcade from the White House to Andrews AFB in Maryland: 20 mins. Then she'll hop on a 737 or a 757 (similar to Trump's jumbo jet) to NYC's LaGuardia Airport: 45 mins.

From there, they'll dodge bridge and tunnel traffic by taking a helicopter to Manhattan's Chelsea district: 15 mins. Their journey ends with another motorcade for the 2.5 mile ride to Trump Tower: 10 mins.

All told, Melania's looking at a 90 minute ride. No carpool necessary.

It's good to be the First Lady.