President Trump Signs New Music Law ... Kanye Just Misses It
President Trump was surrounded by a ton of music greats at the White House Thursday morning, as he signed a new law that will benefit many of them ... but Kanye West was not in on the fun.
POTUS signed the Music Modernization Act with John Rich, Kid Rock and several other artists standing by to make speeches about the new law, and also to witness the actual signing.
It all went down moments before Kanye's luncheon with 45 was scheduled to begin, so everyone expected Ye to join the other artists ... but he got to the White House juuuust a bit late.
As we told you ... Kanye is there now -- he didn't come empty-handed -- and the lunch meeting with the Prez, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Jim Brown is set to begin.
Stand by for fireworks ... and photo ops.
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Verne Troyer About That Final Ambulance Ride ... LAFD Bills His Estate
Verne Troyer's estate is getting a cold, harsh reminder there are no free rides, because it's being asked to cough up the dough for his ambulance ride to the hospital.
The Los Angeles Fire Department slapped Verne's estate with a $1,547 invoice for his emergency transportation. We broke the story ... the 'Austin Powers' star was rushed to a hospital after cops got a call he was suicidal.
Verne eventually died in the hospital a few weeks after that ambulance ride. He was on life support during much of his hospitalization.
His death was just officially ruled a suicide from alcohol abuse.
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Harvey Weinstein Scores Big Victory Judge Dismisses Sexual Assault Count
7:30 AM PT -- The judge released a letter from the D.A.'s office to Weinstein's lawyer, which says in part the witness in question said, among other things, Weinstein offered to give Evans cash if she exposed her breasts to him and that Evans told her Weinstein promised her an acting job in return for oral sex. The upshot -- the witness says Evans was not forced to perform oral sex.
According to the letter, the detective told the witness she had no obligation to cooperate with prosecutors and "less is more."
Harvey Weinstein just scored a huge victory in his sexual assault criminal case ... a judge just threw out one of the 3 cases in which he was charged.
The judge said the case involving then-actress Lucia Evans was dismissed ... this after prosecutors jumped the gun and asked the judge to 86 the charge of sexual assault.
TMZ broke the story ... the lead detective in the Weinstein cases is under investigation after allegedly tampering with a witness who claimed Evans admitted to her she voluntarily engaged in oral sex to score an acting role. Evans claims Weinstein forced himself on her, but the witness says otherwise.
The detective allegedly hid information about the witness in dealing with prosecutors and allegedly cajoled the witness into not disclosing what she knew.
Weinstein's lawyer, Ben Brafman, asked the judge to review all of the detective's work on the case. The judge did not say whether he'll do that.
There are still 5 criminal charges against Weinstein involving 2 other women.
Originally published 7:04 AM PT
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Justin Bieber Hold Me ... Emotional After Selena's Breakdown
Justin Bieber needed a hug and some love on his way out of church, clearly impacted by our story about Selena Gomez's mental health crisis.
The first signs Justin wasn't his normal self came when he showed up alone to his usual Wednesday night service ... this only hours after we broke the story of Selena's emotional breakdown.
Justin's been attending church with new wife Hailey Baldwin -- just as he did when he was dating Selena -- but Wednesday, the Biebs was flying solo and he needed to be comforted by friends as he was leaving.
It's interesting ... Justin and Hailey typically do their own thing coming in and out of services, but last night he was surrounded by his church buddies. Justin, messy hair and all, clearly looks like he could use the support.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov Blasts UFC Hypocrites, I Might Quit
Khabib just went NUCLEAR on the UFC ... calling them out as hypocrites and laying down a major threat -- saying if his team is punished for the melee after UFC 229 -- he'll quit the UFC FOREVER.
Dana White laid down the gauntlet ... saying the members of Khabib's team who jumped into the Octagon and attacked Conor will be kicked out of the UFC for good.
Khabib has responded on social media ... making it clear he thinks the UFC is acting unfairly and essentially saying the whole post-fight brawl is UFC's fault for letting Team Conor push things too far.
"Why didn't you fire anyone when their team attacked the bus and injured a couple of people? They could have killed someone there, why no one says anything about insulting my homeland, religion, nation, family?"
"Why do you have to punish my team, when both teams fought. If you say that I started it, then I do not agree, I finished what he had started."
Khabib then went on to specifically address UFC fighter Zubaira Tukhugov -- the guy who punched Conor after the fight -- saying, if Dana kicks him out of the UFC, he can say goodbye to Khabib as well.
"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too. We never give up on our brothers in Russia and I will go to the end for my Brother."
"If you still decide to fire him, don’t forget to send me my broken contract, otherwise I'll break it myself."
Nurmagomedov also addressed his $2 million purse that's being held ... telling the athletic commission they can keep it.
"And one more thing, you can keep my money that you are withholding. You are pretty busy with that, I hope it won’t get stuck in your throat. We have defended our honor and this is the most important thing."
UFC, your move.
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Donald Trump Lunch with Kanye Will Score Me Black Votes
Donald Trump says he values Kanye West's passion for prison reform, but he sure sounded like the real reason for his lunch with Ye is because the rapper is a magnet for male African-American voters.
Trump was on "Fox & Friends" Thursday AM and gushed about his African-American poll numbers, especially with guys, after Kanye doubled down on his support for the Prez. He repeated his claim that his poll numbers with African-American men soared when Kanye told the world -- MAGA.
The President marveled at the power of Kanye West. It's pretty ironic ... the 2 celebs who have really stood out in terms of trying to influence voters in various ways are Kanye and Taylor Swift. They're on opposite sides of the spectrum, but they both appear impactful.
Here's the thing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out ... a lunch with Kanye when the critical midterm elections are just a few weeks away may be more important to Trump than prison reform. That doesn't mean Kanye has no shot at getting in his ear about prison reform and other issues, but get real ... the main course of this lunch is the midterms.
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The Eagles' Joe Walsh Drain the Rock & Roll H.O.F. Swamp!!
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EXCLUSIVE
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Joe Walsh doesn't have a peaceful, easy feeling about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because he says the induction process is unfair and way outta hand.
We got the Eagles' guitarist in NYC and he went off about the Hall being too political and bowing down to corporate sponsors. Joe got remarkably candid when he added ... most artists would change a lot about the whole process, starting with who gets inducted.
Joe, who was inducted with the Eagles in 1998, even said there are many artists already in the Hall who have no business being there. He also has a specific guitar great in mind who deserves to be in, but keeps getting denied.
Shout-out to Link Wray and, if you've never heard of him, Joe's got the song you need to hear.
Watch the video ... JW is speaking from the heart. No lyin' eyes here.
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Justice Kavanaugh Serving Meals to Homeless ... Hold the Beer, Please
Justice Brett Kavanaugh isn't letting his first week on the High Court throw him off his routine, not when it comes to charity, anyway.
The newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice slipped on a ball cap and rubber gloves to dish out meals to the homeless Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Kavanaugh was working with Catholic Charities to help feed people in need.
Cynics might see this is as a blatant attempt at image repair after the nightmare of his confirmation hearing, but the truth is ... this appears to be a regular thing for him. The Justice was also seen serving up grub to the homeless back in July with the same organization.
No truth to the rumors Donkey Dong Doug accompanied Kavanaugh to pitch in at the event.
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Ronda Rousey Rips Bella Twins 'Bunch of Untrustworthy Bitches!'
Ronda Rousey says she needs to take her WWE cues from Drake -- "No New Friends" -- after getting ambushed and beat up by the Bella Twins on 'Raw' ... but she's already plotting her revenge!
"Nikki Bella, Brie Bella ... they’re a bunch of untrustworthy bitches," Rousey told us while hanging with her husband, Travis Browne, in L.A.
Ronda is taking on Nikki at "WWE Evolution" later this month -- the first-ever all-women's Pay-Per-View event -- and Ronda says her plan is to make Nikki pay!!!
"The most respectful thing for me to do is to go out and beat her right away, right?" Ronda said.
"So, I’m not gonna be respectful."
Ronda says she'll be documenting her journey leading up to the fight on RondaRousey.com -- sharing everything from training plans to fight videos.
Advice to Nikki ... log on and study up. Or else you're in for a LOOOONG night!
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Taylor Swift She's Talking Politics ... These Celebs Ante Up for Candidates
Taylor Swift certainly talked a big game by endorsing 2 candidates in Tennessee, but a bunch of other celebs are doing more than talking -- they're paying to support their fave Democrats.
We did some digging into 2018 Federal Election Commission filings to find out which A-listers are donating, and how much they're throwing down heading into the midterms. Out of the group we found, Eva Longoria actually donated the most -- a little more than $40k just since the spring.
Most of her cash is supporting Missouri incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill. Here are the other big spenders:
-- Susan Sarandon ... $29,574 to Democratic PACs supporting NY, WV, HI and TX candidates
-- Rosie O'Donnell ... $29,243 for NY, IL, MA and IA candidates
-- Jimmy Kimmel ... $26,701, mostly for NV Congresswoman Jacky Rosen's Senate run
-- Matt Damon ... $10,800
-- Ben Affleck ... $6,270
Kimmel fans will notice, he's got his nemesis, Damon, beat again. The saga continues.
As for T-Swift, we know her vocal support for 2 Dems in her home state spurred hundreds of thousands to register to vote ahead of Nov. 6 -- a crucial contribution to the electoral process.
As far as financial contributions, though, we weren't able to find any ... so far.
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Mathew Knowles Reunion with Beyonce and Tina Was a Backstage Surprise
Mathew Knowles caught ex-wife Tina and Beyonce completely off guard at her final tour stop, but he tells TMZ the surprise gesture was purely out of love.
Check out the clip ... Mathew explains how he managed to sweep Beyonce off her feet outside her dressing room in Seattle last weekend. It's a sweet story complete with a dozen roses and a special father-daughter moment.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Mathew, Tina and Bey spent time together earlier during the On The Run II tour when it stopped in their hometown of Houston -- but they kept that quiet, meaning no social media.
Mathew wanted to do something special for the last night, and this time Beyonce decided to share the cute family moment. Her parents divorced in 2011, but Mathew insists there's never been a rift with Tina.
They're both happily remarried now.
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WWE Legend Sunny Treats Herself with ... Mani-Pedi Straight Outta Prison!!!
WWE Hall of Famer Sunny's first order of business after being released from prison is a total Diva move ... girl went and got herself a mani-pedi!!
Less than 24 hours after getting out of the Carbon County Correctional Facility in Pennsylvania, Tammy Sytch hit up a local shop back in her New Jersey hometown Wednesday to get her nails done.
However, Sunny tells TMZ ... her first selfie as a free woman will have to wait until after her upcoming hair appointment.
The wrestling legend also tells us she feels great, and she's happy to be home with her family and the man she loves.
As for her time behind bars, she says ... "I used the time to my advantage, worked more on my recovery and got in great shape. My probation violation cost me 7.5 months of my freedom, but I met a few good people I will miss. The one thing I won’t miss is the food!"
Tammy's been locked up for several months on a probation violation but was released on parole Tuesday.
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Orlando Brown Bitter Argument Over Hotel Rooms ... Cops are Called
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EXCLUSIVE
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Orlando Brown FINALLY caught a break this week after cops had to come and deal with him in yet another police run-in that miraculously didn't end with him in cuffs ... TMZ has learned.
Law enforcement sources tell us police were called Monday night for a disturbance at a San Fernando Valley hotel. We're told that disturbance turned out to be coming from Orlando and his manager.
Our sources say Orlando was in town this week to do a TV interview in the area, which his manager had set up. We're told the manager had booked two rooms at the hotel, and specifically requested Orlando's suite be next door to his in a connecting room. We've also been told the manager wanted to keep a close eye on the troubled actor.
Well, Orlando wasn't into that arrangement. We're told he insisted he be placed in another room that was not close. Apparently, this triggered an argument which got so crazy people called the cops, who came out to restore the peace. We're told Orlando eventually calmed down, and police left without incident ... meaning OB finally WASN'T arrested. Yay!!!
He should count himself lucky considering he's been in and out of police precincts seemingly nonstop for a while now. The most recent visit produced his latest epic mugshot.
We broke the story ... Orlando was arrested for burglary after he was caught on camera breaking into his friend's restaurant. He was sentenced to jail time in conjunction with his drug possession arrest from earlier this summer, and just got out on Oct. 1.
Orlando also had run-ins with cops at the beginning of the year and, of course, later in the spring -- both of which resulted in less happier endings than this one did.
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Guess Who This Graduation Guy Turned Into!
Before this studious little man was a wisecracking comedian, he was just another happy kid with a bright future growing up in Boca Raton, FL. Can you guess who he is?
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Korn's Jonathan Davis Wife's Death Ruled Accidental ... Fatal Drug Combo
Deven Davis -- wife of Korn singer Jonathan Davis -- died from the combined effects of 5 different types of drugs ... TMZ has learned.
According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ .... an autopsy revealed Deven had cocaine, heroin, clonazepam (a sedative used to treat seizures or anxiety), topiramate (nerve pain medication) and fluoxetine (used to treat depression) in her system when she died.
The docs say she was found dead in Bakersfield, California ... and her cause of death has been ruled accidental.
We broke the story ... Deven died in August around the same time Jonathan filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order against his estranged wife, claiming she had major drug issues. Deven had been living in a sober home, but went AWOL about a week before her death.
The Korn frontman later revealed she had been sick for nearly a decade ... and blamed mental illness and addiction for her death.
The 2 were married in 2004, but Jonathan filed for divorce from her in 2016. They had 2 sons together.