President of Gabon -- Destitute Wife Files for Divorce ... In L.A.

The President of Gabon in West Africa has 2 wives with very different lives ... one who lives in the presidential palace and the other who's on welfare. Guess who's unhappy and wants a divorce?

President Ali Bongo Ondimba lived in L.A. when his dad was the president. He met a woman named Inge in 1991 and married her 3 years later. They had 3 kids and lived lavishly ... private jets, mansions, cooks, the works. In fact, in 2006, Inge was featured on a VH1 show -- 'Really Rich Real Estate' -- where she bid $25 mil on a Malibu mansion.

But then Ali's dad died and he became President of Gabon, which required him to move back to his homeland. Inge followed him but claims her life was a nightmare. She says witch doctors convinced her husband she was crazy and as a result she was beaten, mutilated and kidnapped.

Inge escaped and came back to L.A. Ali got married to another woman and Inge says he completely cut her off financially. Inge says she hasn't received a dime since 2008. 

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Fast forward to September 2015 ... Inge, who says she's living on welfare, filed for divorce. In the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Inge says she and her 16-year-old son are living on $524 a month in public assistance.

She's asking for full custody and spousal support.

There's an obvious dilemma -- California courts are going to have a problem getting jurisdiction over the president of an African country.

But Ali may have a problem, too. He married a much younger woman, Sylvia Valentin, and it looks like polygamy may be an issue.

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Riff Raff -- My Codeine Castle ... More Purple Than Prince

Riff Raff's moving into a Las Vegas home fit for a Purple Icon.

The rapper says he'll coronate the 5 bedroom home, "The Codeine Castle."  Its "Beetlejuice"-like purple interiors are pretty spectacular. There's even a purple weight room ...  perfect since he's been beefin' up in the muscle dept.

There's a basketball court and an oasis pool with a waterfall, slide, mini-beach, and a swim-up BBQ and bar. There's also a huge yard for his two huskies ... Kody and Jody.

Jody Highroller, aka Riff Raff, isn't quite yet the proud owner of the $1.299 million home -- it's still in escrow.

Only thing missing ... neon aquaberry Versace pillows.

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'Big Brother' Austin & Liz -- Showmance Survives ... We're In Love

"Big Brother" stars Austin Matelson and Liz Nolan are shattering the taboo of reality show romance ... much to the dismay of a torrent of online haters.

Austin tells TMZ when Big Brother ended ... he was flooded with messages calling him a "disgusting cheater" and "classless" for breaking up with his then-GF on TV.

For the non-fans ... Austin and Liz kicked off a relationship early in the show ... despite the fact that Austin was a taken man.  

They both got called out for the love triangle ... in one of the most awkward moments of the season.

Austin says, he and Liz are now exclusively dating, have met each other's families and Liz plans on moving from Miami to LA to be close to him.

Love is cool ... but $500k would have bought a lot of friends.

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Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez gave their support to Walt Weiss

Joe Johnson on Deron Williams's Nets buyout: 'It's not that bad here'

It's fair to say that Deron Williams's time with the Brooklyn Nets did not go nearly as well as planned. After joining the franchise for the final few months of the 2010-2011 season with the expectation of becoming the main attraction for the team's 2012 move from New Jersey to New York's hippest borough, Williams suffered a steep drop in form amid injuries and some disappointing finishes for one of the NBA's most expensive rosters. Those struggles became most egregious in each of the past two postseasons, when Williams could not come through in big spots and even went scoreless in an Eastern Conference Semifinals game against the Miami Heat. The successes were all too rare and drove the still only 31-year-old point guard to reach a buyout agreement this offseason that freed him to join his hometown Dallas Mavericks.

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Despite those struggles, one of Williams's former teammates does not understand why he was so intent on leaving Brooklyn. At Nets media day on Monday, Joe Johnson expressed confusion over the departure. From Roderick Boone for Newsday:

"What did he have, like two years left on his deal?" Johnson said Monday at Nets media day. "I don't know if he wanted the buyout, if they just bought him out. I don't know. I'm just saying if he wanted to get bought out, I don't think it was that big of a deal, that bad. That's just me."

Johnson said he hasn't spoken to Williams since he left, something that offered insight into their relationship. A moody Williams often alienated himself from his Nets teammates, including Johnson. [...]

"Honestly, I didn't know what was going to happen -- if I was going to get traded, if he was going to get traded," Johnson said. "I didn't really know. But I didn't see that coming. I didn't see that coming, him getting bought out. I don't think it was that bad. It's not that bad here, so to be wanting to get bought out, I couldn't really put my fingers around that one.

"But I hear that he's happy, so that's the most important thing for him. He's back at home. So good for him."

First, let's address Johnson's choice of words. Saying that the experience of playing with the Nets is "not that bad" suggests that it is in fact somewhat bad, albeit not terrible enough to give up millions of dollars for the sake of free agency. It's as if the Nets are the NBA equivalent of having to move in with your in-laws. Sure, it's nice to have a babysitter on hand whenever you need one, but does Lionel Hollins your father-in-law really have to question your career earning potential at every available opportunity?

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At any rate, Johnson is not exactly wrong here. The Williams buyout came as a surprise to outsiders — a high-profile deal to cut salary was very likely but it seemed as if Johnson would be the more movable player given his skillset and a contract that expires this offseason. Williams's decision made things much easier on the Nets, naturally, especially considering that his performance relative to expectations had the potential to turn into an ever-present issue and media distraction.

Ultimately, it's that context that makes Johnson seem not so much on target as experiencing a failure of empathy. Like Williams, he came to the Nets with several All-Star selections and a reputation as a productive player. Unlike his former backcourt partner, Johnson had already been tabbed as overpaid after signing a massive nine-figure deal with the Atlanta Hawks that became one of the league's worst contracts as soon as he signed it in July 2010. He was brought to Brooklyn to be a piece of an excellent starting lineup and not its leading star, a factor that by itself ensured that he would never receive the same amount of criticism as Williams. The Nets were a disappointment as a whole, but no one took as much of the blame as their point guard. It was deserved, to be sure, but it's also easy to understand why he would have been uncomfortable.

A quick glance at Williams's preseason comments from Dallas clarify the situation even more. From Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com:

"I want to prove myself wrong," Williams said Monday during the Mavericks' media day. "I started to doubt myself in the past. Mentally, it took a toll on me. I just got to get out of that rut that I was in the last couple years mentally, and I look forward to this situation. [...]

"Talking to [owner Mark Cuban] and talking to coach [Rick Carlisle], that's kind of the plan, just hitting that reset button, clearing my head and getting away from the situation that wasn't going well for me or the team in Brooklyn," said Williams, who cited having four head coaches in three and a half seasons as another factor in his underwhelming stint with the Nets. "It's a total change coming here.

"Let what happened in Brooklyn be in the past and move forward. It's over and done with. I'm a Maverick, and I'm excited to play with the group we have and for Coach Carlisle."

Whether Williams alienated himself from Johnson and other teammates or not, his desire to leave the Nets two years before the end of his contract is not a grand mystery. The reasoning should be evident to anyone willing to consider his point of view.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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Special night for d'Arnaud brothers in Phillies' win over Mets

Chase and Travis d'Arnaud will probably be talking for years to come about the breaking ball Chase struck out on in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday.

Chase d'Arnaud was pinch-hitting for the Phillies with Travis catching for the visiting Mets and Jonathon Niese on the mound. It was the first time the two brothers, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, played against each other in the major leagues.It also was the first time they had played against each other since both were in the minor leagues in 2009.

Chase d'Arnaud might howl for years that his brother didn't give him a fastball to hit during his at-bat. However, Chase d'Arnaud got the last laugh watching his brother strike out for the final out in the Phillies' 4-3 victory.

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Travis d'Arnaud is the younger brother at 26, but he is the more experienced at the major league level having played for the Mets in parts of the past three seasons, including much of the second half of this season. Chase d'Arnaud is a 28-year-old infielder for the Phillies who was called up earlier this month. He had played in the majors in parts of three previous seasons all for Pittsburgh but still hasn't reached the 100-game milestone. The Daily News talked with both before the game.

Travis seems well on his way to earning more time at the big league level behind the plate. It remains to be seen if he sticks for the longterm and if Chase can do the same. Tuesday's meeting might have been just the first of many more to come.

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Regardless of what the future holds for both, Tuesday's encounter in the seventh inning will at least be a special memory for them, even though it ended with Chase heading back to the dugout as the second out of the frame. He took a peek back at his brother and smiled. 

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo

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Twitter may axe its 140-character limit

If you frequently find yourself needing to say more than what Twitter's 140-character limit allows, here's some good new - Twitter is reportedly working on a way to let users go beyond the current character limit.

'People familiar' with Twitter's plans say that the new product would allow people to post "long-form content to the service," according to Recode.

Of course, it isn't clear on what it will look like, or even if it will be a completely new service or a tweak to Twitter itself, but the hope is to bolster growth of the social media.

'140 Plus'

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that interim CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey is pushing a project that is internally called "140 Plus."

The project is basically looking at the different ways Twitter could extend the 140 character limit, but again, there still isn't a clear indication yet if it will be a new product or a simply updating Twitter with a larger character limit.

And if it does extend the limit, the question would then be by how much? According to sources speaking to Recode, there has also been discussions about how the 140-character limit is measured, and possibly removing links and user handles from the count.

Extending the limit could potentially increase user growth, or at least garner more interest in the service - or it could end up annoying current users who love the limited character space.

We'll be getting in contact with Twitter for comment, but we doubt we'll get a confirmation.

• NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has officially on Twitter

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