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Mark Zuckerberg got an intense, lengthy grilling Tuesday from dozens of senators, and none was more demanding -- and political -- than Sen. Ted Cruz.

Most senators asked Zuck about privacy and data-related issues, but Sen. Cruz decided to hammer the CEO over the alleged censorship of conservative-themed FB pages. At one point, Cruz asked if the honcho's company took note of its employees' political views, to which Zuckerberg said no.

But, then Cruz asked about a specific employee getting fired -- presumably because he leaned right. Zuckerberg refused to elaborate, but safe to say Cruz got under the Harvard dropout's skin.

MZ will be back Wednesday for round 2 on Capitol Hill.

BTW ... Zuck had a pretty thick cushion under his butt during more than 4 hours of testifying. Maybe he needed the extra comfort, or maybe -- at 5'7" -- he just needed a boost.

Hank Baskett is definitely keeping his cool when it comes to Kendra Wilkinson filing for divorce ... and the proof is in the pudding.

Hank filed his response just hours after Kendra filed for divorce and it looks like they're on the same page because his docs mirror what Kendra said in hers.

TMZ broke the story ... Kendra pulled the trigger to end her marriage when she filed for divorce last week. She listed the date of separation as January 1, 2018 and asked for joint and legal physical custody of their 2 kids, 8-year-old Hank IV and 3-year-old, Alijah.

Huge day for Meek Mill ... the rapper got a special visit from TWO insanely rich and powerful guys -- Patriots owner Robert Kraft and 76ers owner Michael Rubin.

The two titans arrived together at Chester State Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania to spend some time with Meek who's serving 2 to 4 years for a probation violation.

Meek had been on probation stemming from a 2008 drug and weapons case -- but a Pennsylvania judge ruled his two arrests (an airport fight and a reckless driving incident) constituted a violation.

We know Rubin is a huge supporter of Meek -- he's visited several times before. He's also close with Robert Kraft, so we're guessing he was the driving force in getting Kraft to visit Meek on Tuesday.

Sources tell us Kraft has also met Meek through business dealings in the past.

XXXTentacion is suing the woman he appears to have smacked in the head in a video, claiming she's lying about what really happened, and hitting him up for a stack of cash.

XXX says his manager reached out to the woman right after she posted the video last month. As TMZ first reported ... he says her grandparents called back and asked what the rapper would be willing to do to "make everything good."

According to the suit, the grandparents alleged XXX had also thrown a BB gun at the woman's face prior to the hit seen on video. He claims they asked for $300k in exchange for the woman's silence. In docs, the 20-year-old hip-hop star says she was threatening to hold a news conference to blast him as a frequent abuser of women.

In the suit, X says the woman was lying when she posted a message saying she didn't reveal the video earlier because she was "terrified for her life." In fact, in the suit he says he was just joking in the video while dancing behind her, and merely "tapped the back of her head."

His side of the story is she had admitted to him the whole thing was just horseplay, and she was NOT injured. He claims she and her family were taking advantage of his tight situation -- he's already awaiting trial for an alleged 2016 beating of an ex-girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time.

Yolanda Hadid removed the last vestige of her marriage to David Foster with a legal name change ... TMZ has learned.

The former 'RHBH' star filed late last month to drop 'Foster' from her name, and she got a pretty quick answer. The judge signed off on her request on April 5 ... according to docs obtained by TMZ.

Yolanda and David's divorce was finalized in October of last year.

Coachella is a death trap for people trying to go to and from their campsites, and a woman was killed because of the festival's negligence ... according to a new suit.

The parents of Micha'la Josephine Freeland are suing Coachella for her wrongful death, claiming their daughter was struck by a Jeep Cherokee while she was crossing Avenue 52 -- an unpaved, dirt road -- on her way back to her camp because the festival failed to provide temporary pedestrian barricades, fences, lighting, warning signs and other safety provisions.

According to the docs ... Freeland was a Coachella security employee, but was not assigned to work on April 15, 2016, so she planned to hang with her family at the Ave 52 campsite. That night around 8:15 PM, she was hit by the vehicle while crossing Avenue 52 and later died at the hospital from her injuries.

Freeland's parents claim Coachella knew security personnel and their families would be traveling from the festival to the campsite on that road ... but failed to properly protect them.

Yvonne Staples -- best known as the baritone voice of The Staple Singers -- has died at her home in Chicago ... according to Chicago’s Leak & Sons Funeral Homes.

Yvonne helped her family's gospel, soul and R&B group reach the top of the music charts with "I'll Take You There" in 1972, shortly after bursting onto the scene with another smash hit, "Respect Yourself."

She performed with her sisters, along with their father -- guitarist Roebuck "Pops" Staples -- in churches across the South Side of Chicago before branching out and making it big in the '70s ... after she replaced her brother in the group.

The Staple Singers also had chart-topping hits like "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" and "Let's Do it Again." They made more than 30 albums and had 8 Top 40 tracks from 1971-1975. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.

With Yvonne's passing, 78-year-old Mavis is the only living Staples sister ... and their father died in 2000.

Yvonne was 80.

4/11/18 3:02 PM PT -- We've learned the trespasser -- Justin Lilly -- was sentenced to 3 days in jail, 3 years of summary probation and has been ordered to stay away from Taylor's Bev Hills pad.

Taylor Swift's gonna need a bigger wall at her historic Bev Hills mansion ... a man was busted for trespassing at the place.

The man, who cops described as a transient, was trying to scale a wall Sunday afternoon at Taylor's compound ... according to the L.A. County D.A.'s Office. We're told he was yelling Taylor's name, but Swift was not home at the time. Her security guards gave the man several warnings to get down off the wall ... before calling police.

Bev Hills cops busted him, and the D.A. has now charged him with one misdemeanor count of trespassing and also for refusing to leave private property. If convicted he faces up to 6 months in county jail.

As we reported, Taylor bought the mansion -- formerly owned by MGM mogul Samuel L. Goldwyn -- in 2015 for $25 million. In 2017, it was designated an historic landmark, and Taylor installed walls around the grounds that were up to 7 feet high.

Master P says he and Kobe Bryant nearly came to blows in the Lakers facility years ago -- and it would've DEFINITELY gone down if Lamar Odom hadn't played peacemaker.

P was on "The Red Pill With Van Lathan" podcast talking about his business ventures, hip-hop legacy and basketball career ... when he broke down how things got heated with Black Mamba.

"We had a couple words," P says ... noting that he's more about action than talkin'.

Here's the thing -- P wouldn't say what specifically led to him and Kobe's face off, but you can tell it got very real for a second, and that Odom intervening might've cost us all a much better story.

We have to ask the question -- you knew we were gonna do it -- if it had gone down, who ya got?

Answer: Chris Childs.

Jared Fogle isn't taking no for an answer when it comes to suing the Prez to get out of prison ... but we get the feeling he's going to hear it again very soon.

The former Subway spokesman and convicted child pornographer is at it again, filing new legal docs in his attempt to get released from federal prison. His last request was swiftly rejected for what the judge called a glaring error -- mentioning President Trump.

According to the new docs, Fogle believes it's within his Constitutional rights to add Trump's name as a respondent -- along with the prison warden -- because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has "failed to correct a clear error" in his imprisonment ... and Trump is Sessions' boss.

We broke the story ... a judge rejected Fogle's appeal due to his bizarre inclusion of Trump, but gave him 30 days to fix it.

Conor McGregor will almost certainly cop a plea in his malicious mischief case, and the deal may include a felony ... law enforcement sources connected with the case tell TMZ.

McGregor has been charged with felony criminal mischief in addition to 3 counts of misdemeanor assault and attempted assault. Conor did $8,000 worth of damage to the tour bus when he threw a dolly at the vehicle, shattering the window and injuring 3 passengers.

Our law enforcement sources say as of now ... there's a good chance the deal offered will be felony criminal mischief. In other words, prosecutors will make the offer and Conor will have 2 choices ... accept it or go to trial.

One source in contact with Conor and familiar with the case says the UFC fighter's team is well aware ... going to trial is too risky ... a conviction is all but certain.

If Conor pleads no contest or guilty to felony criminal mischief, he could go back to court after 1 year and ask the judge to reduce the conviction to a misdemeanor, assuming he keeps his nose clean.

8:50 AM PT -- Miller was arrested by FBI agents over an Amtrak bomb threat he reported back in March.

According to the FBI docs, Miller called 911 on March 18 while he was riding an Amtrak train from D.C. to NYC ... and reported a woman with brown hair and a scarf "has a bomb in her bag." An Amtrak police officer called back Miller who added ... the woman kept checking the bag and seemed to want to get off the train and leave it behind.

The officer asked Miller if he suffered from mental illness ... which he denied, and said, "This is the first time I've ever made a call like this before. I am worried for everyone on that train. Someone has to check that lady out."

As it turns out ... Miller gave cops the wrong train number, and as a result a different train was stopped in Connecticut, evacuated and searched ... causing massive Amtrak delays. Meanwhile, Miller was on his train to NY.

According to docs, Miller was removed from the train in NYC because he was intoxicated. The train attendant said Miller had consumed 2 glasses of wine and 2 double Scotch and sodas. The attendant also reported Miller had "exchanged profanity" with a woman in the First Class car -- and he did not back up Miller's account of the woman's suspicious behavior.

The woman told police Miller was being loud and belligerent on the train, and had made a comment about her hair. She admits they had an argument.

After speaking to all parties involved, cops determined Miller had a grudge with the woman -- and made the false report about her having a bomb as a result.

In the docs, the feds say Miller's mayhem caused 926 man hours-worth of delays, not to mention disrupting several law enforcement agencies and bomb squads in Connecticut and New York.

The FBI obtained an arrest warrant which it executed Monday night when Miller flew into LaGuardia Airport.

T.J. Miller is in serious trouble with the federal government after getting busted at an NYC airport ... TMZ has learned.

We got video of the ex-"Silicon Valley" star getting hauled out of LaGuardia Airport Monday night around 10 PM. Port Authority cops and FBI agents took him into custody.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Miller was booked for providing false information or pulling a hoax with federal authorities. He'd been in Canada over the weekend doing several stand-up comedy gigs.

Taylor Swift's beauty allegedly pushed a man with a crush on her to a life of crime all in the hopes of -- ready for it? -- impressing her ... seriously.

Bruce Rowley was arrested last week in Ansonia, CT after cops say he confessed to robbing a bank and then driving to Taylor's house and throwing some of the money that he stole over her fence, thinking that would win her over ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

According to cops, Rowley allegedly entered the bank and demanded money from a bank teller. Rowley did not show a weapon or make any threats ... and the teller turned over an undetermined amount of cash.

Cops say Rowley -- who was spotted by state troopers in Rhode Island and led them on a chase back to Connecticut -- told them he tried contacting Swift, but said she wasn't home. Cops are trying to verify whether he actually went to her house.

According to the police report ... Rowley repeatedly told cops he had a crush on Taylor and that he planned on donating some of the money he stole from the bank to Ansonia PD ... believing that would impress her.

Sean Penn's interview with El Chapo could be key to the prosecution's case against the drug lord, but only a select few parts.

The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion asking the judge to let them cherry-pick portions of the 2015 recorded interview with Chapo, included in Penn's Rolling Stone article. The prosecutors aren't giving away which parts they want to use just yet, but they are crystal clear about what they want excluded from the trial.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, they say the parts where Chapo talks about his upbringing, and his family relationship should not be admitted in the trial. Prosecutors say it could evoke sympathy for the accused murderer.

The feds also think Chapo made several false statements in the video which they want excluded, such as denying he was part of a cartel ... or claiming he never initiated any violence.

As for the Rolling Stone article itself -- they want all of that excluded as evidence because they say it's filled with prejudicial statements ... such as Penn calling Chapo a "Robin Hood-like figure" and the true "president of Mexico."

Cardi B briefly considered getting an abortion, but only "kinda, sorta" ... and ultimately decided this was the right time to tackle motherhood, regardless of her exploding rap career.

That's how Cardi broke down what was going through her head when she and Offset got pregnant. She was on Power 105.1's 'Breakfast Club' Tuesday morning when Charlamagne tha God asked her point-blank if abortion was discussed.

As we've told you ... this is a huge year for her professionally, with the release of her first studio album, Coachella, and a full tour later this year with Bruno Mars.

Cardi's decided she can handle all of it PLUS having her first baby ... because she's a grown woman who's absolutely "prepared for this."

But, you gotta see how she puts it. Sounds better coming from her ... like most things.

Khloe Kardashian is taking another stab at television -- but she's doing it behind the cameras, and focusing on family with a sick twist ... sisters who kill.

The soon-to-be mother announced Monday she's partnering with the Investigation Discovery network to develop a new true-crime TV show called "Twisted Sisters." Khloe will executive produce the 6-part series, which for now is set to debut sometime in 2019.

In a statement to TMZ, Khloe says, "I am so excited to be bringing you ‘Twisted Sisters.’ As a self-proclaimed ‘true-crime addict’ there is no better way to tell these tales about the bonds that sisters possess and how they can go so terribly wrong."

The show is said to be about sisters who either kill each other, or team up to kill other people. ID exec Henry Schleiff said the company is happy to be working with Khloe, and looks forward to her unique perspective on the extended sister saga.

Yeah, she'd know a thing or two about that.