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Three of the four former Minneapolis cops charged in George Floyd's alleged murder just went in front of a judge for the first time since their arrest.

J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao appeared Thursday in Hennepin County District Court, and the judge set their bail at $1 million for each.

Attorneys for Kueng and Lane tried to shift the blame to Derek Chauvin, noting the 2 officers were rookies and Chauvin was a 19-year veteran. Lane's attorney said his client asked if they should roll Floyd on his side, but claims Chauvin said no. Instead, he kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

The attorney asked the judge, "What was [Lane] supposed to do ... go up to Mr. Chauvin, grab him and throw him off?" He also said that Lane and Kueng had to refer to Chauvin as "sir" ... presumably in deference to his seniority. Lane's attorney also said Lane performed CPR on Floyd inside the ambulance.

The judge said all 3 could post a lower bail amount of $750k each if they agreed to additional bail conditions. A future court date for all three former officers was set for June 29.

As we reported ... Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison charged Kueng, Lane and Thao Wednesday with one count each of aiding and abetting 2nd-degree murder and aiding and abetting 2nd-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin was arrested last week and initially charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter.

But, the Minnesota AG, who is now heading the investigation and prosecution, filed an additional count of 2nd-degree murder against Chauvin, who is now facing 40 years in prison -- the maximum penalty for 2nd-degree murder.

Chauvin is yet to go before a judge ... and his first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

LeBron James is weighing in on that new viral video of Laura Ingraham ... questioning why she didn't tell Drew Brees to "shut up and dribble" the way she told LeBron back in 2018.

The clip shows the way Ingraham went after LeBron for criticizing Donald Trump back in the day ... when she told the NBA star, "Keep the political commentary to yourself, or as someone once said, 'Shut up and dribble.'"

Fast-forward to June 2020 ... when Ingraham defended Brees on her show, saying, "He's allowed to have his view about what kneeling and the flag means to him."

Enter, LeBron ... who says, "If you still haven’t figured out why the protesting is going on. Why we’re acting as we are is because we are simply F-N tired of this treatment right here! Can we break it down for you any simpler than this right here????"

He added, "And to my people don’t worry I won’t stop until I see CHANGE!!! #ShutUpAndDribbleThisPowerfulBlackManComingFullSteam"

Other superstar athletes across the country weighed in on the clip as well ... with L.A. Chargers receiver Keenan Allen saying, "Wow ... so Bron and KD need to shut up and dribble... but DREW BREES (white man) can have opinions ... RACISM!!!"

Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans added, "People like her are f*cking disgusting."

Gabrielle Union is filing a new legal complaint, claiming she was fired from 'AGT' over her refusal to stay silent in the face of a toxic culture of racism, sexism and misogyny.

The actress filed docs Thursday with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, calling out Universal Television, Fremantle Productions, Simon Cowell and his production company. In the docs, she says she was canned because she took issue with "racist jokes, racist performances, sexual orientation discrimination, and excessive focus on female judges’ appearances, including race-related comments."

According to the complaint, obtained by TMZ, Gabrielle says the network is a "snake-pit of racial offenses" where racism and misogyny get a pass.

She's also ripping NBCUniversal for what she claims is a silent and unapologetic response to the Jimmy Fallon 'SNL' blackface controversy ... and says she took major issue with an 'AGT' contestant who performed with "blackface hands" -- gloves that changed the appearance of his hands from white to black -- and claims Simon signed off on it happening.

Gabrielle is also questioning the network's decision to hire Julianne Hough, who had been criticized in the past for wearing blackface on Halloween.

In her complaint, Gabrielle says she raised about 60 issues with higher-ups when she served as a judge on 'AGT' -- including racially insensitive acts, racist and misogynistic remarks and other instances of race and gender discrimination.

Gabrielle claims things got off on the wrong foot from her first day, when she took issue with Simon flouting CA law by smoking cigarettes indoors.

In the docs, Gabrielle says NBC picked at her appearance, claiming producers said her hair was "too wild" and needed to be "toned down" ... Gabrielle calls it part of a "larger animus directed towards women" and claims Simon and Howie Mandel were never asked to change their looks.

Gabrielle also says NBC tried to make her wear a cardigan for a photo shoot, claiming it was for a 1950s period piece ... but she thought the request was blatantly racist.

Jay Leno is also drawing Gabrielle's ire ... she says she had a huge problem with the comedian joking about Simon's dogs looking like the menu at a Korean restaurant.

The complaint matches the very public claims Gabrielle made last year about her time at 'AGT.' The difference here is she's now upped the stakes by filing a formal complaint -- and in the process, challenging NBC's investigation into her firing.

Just last week, NBC said an external legal review found Gabrielle's claims of racism and misogyny had "no bearing" on the decision to let her go. Although she says she was fired, NBC says her contract was simply not renewed.

That external review essentially cleared Simon and the network of wrongdoing, but Gabby's clearly not buying that assessment of what happened.

Her new complaint also accuses the network and producers of discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment, unequal pay, emotional distress and more.

The 3 defendants in Ahmaud Arbery's murder will face a judge in a preliminary hearing to determine whether there's enough evidence to move forward with the case ... and TMZ will be streaming live.

The attorneys for Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. are slated to appear at Glynn County Magistrate Court in Georgia ... nearly a month after the McMichaels were arrested for murder and denied bond and 13 days after Bryan, who recorded the deadly encounter, was arrested.

The alleged murderers will appear in court via teleconference. All 3 have been charged with murder in the February 23 death of Arbery, who was simply jogging down the street when he was stopped and confronted by the McMichaels. A struggle ensued and Travis shot Arbery. He fell to the ground and died.

Travis and Gregory were arrested for murder May 8. They later faced a judge and were denied bond. Bryan, who recorded the incident, was arrested 14-days later and was slapped with charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

As we reported ... authorities allege Bryan "did attempt to confine and detain Ahmaud Arbery without legal authority, by attempting to confine ..." adding, Bryan was "utilizing his vehicle on multiple occasions during the above time frame, with the intention of confining and detaining Arbery."

So, the felony is false imprisonment, and if such a felony results in someone's death, that person can be charged with felony murder.

Bryan has claimed he was simply a witness and had no involvement in the killing. He also said he feared for his life after the video was leaked. The handling of the case has drawn scrutiny -- with good reason -- prompting the Georgia Attorney General to formally request the Justice Department get to the bottom of what happened.

We're also told bail may become a bone of contention.

The hearing is set to begin at 6:30 AM PT.

Trina is tripling down on her assertion rioters and looters are "animals ... acting like they have escaped from a zoo" ... she says they're over-shadowing non-violent protesters.

The iconic emcee responded Wednesday to backlash she's been getting after sharing her opinion on protests against police brutality in Miami, hammering her point home that peaceful protests for George Floyd are good, and the riots and looting in her community are bad, in part, because those causing the damage aren't from there.

Trina says she's being attacked for saying those destroying property are "animals," calling for an earlier curfew in Miami and ripping some protesters as "fake," just because she has a voice and isn't afraid to speak her mind.

She says she was angry when she came into her radio station gig Monday and her initial comments were shaped by emotion ... but she's not backing down.

Trina makes clear she has no issue with non-violent protests, saying she's peacefully protested herself, but still sees big problems with folks kicking in windows and burning buildings in her community.

The way Trina sees it ... the riots and looting are distracting people from getting answers on George's death and takes away from the real issues, like addressing police brutality and racism. As she points out, Floyd's family agrees.

Trina says she's not talking about people looting designer stores ... what really irks her is folks messing with mom and pop shops.

Bottom line from Trina ... stop destroying local communities and start protesting peacefully so change can really happen.

The NYPD is under fire after video surfaced showing several cops beating a bicyclist to a pulp with batons as the man tried crossing the street.

The clip was shot Wednesday night after a full day of peaceful protests in the Big Apple. You can see a man, walking his bike and being violently struck by a police officer's baton before two other officers join in.

As for the "justification" of force? An NYPD source tells us, the man was out after curfew, and officers were trying to "clear the streets." We're told the video was shot after 10 PM and curfew was at 8.

The person who posted the video said the incident went down at the intersection of 50th Street and Third Avenue. The tweet was captioned, "People stuck in traffic are witnessing NYPD beat up folks on their way home.”

The brutal assault caught the attention of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who said, "Horrifying. You start with the tiny possibility that two officers may be walking over to deescalate the abusive one. Instead, they join in beating a man trying to get out of traffic."

We've reached out to the NYPD for comment, and we're told "we are aware of the video and it is under internal review."

Jake Paul's taking a legal hit after he was spotted on scene of an AZ mall as it was being looted over the weekend in the midst of the George Floyd protests ... he's been charged.

The Scottsdale Police Department announced Thursday the YouTube star has been charged with criminal trespass and unlawful assembly, both misdemeanor charges. Cops say they "received hundreds of tips and videos identifying Jake Paul as a participant in the riot."

Cops went on to say, "Our investigation has revealed that Paul was present after the protest was declared an unlawful assembly and the rioters were ordered to leave the area by the police. Paul also unlawfully entered and remained inside of the mall when it was closed."

As we reported ... Jake was at Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona and video showed him and others causing a ruckus at the mall. The video shows people looting ... stealing tennis shoes and pretty much everything that isn't nailed down.

George Floyd's death gave Meghan Markle a central theme for her commencement address to her high school alma mater ... as she spoke to grads about fighting racism and being charitable.

Meghan delivered her speech, virtually, to the graduating class of 2020 at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, and said she was nervous about how she would address the tragic killing of Floyd. But, ultimately, “I realized, the only wrong thing to say is to say nothing. Because George Floyd’s life mattered, and Breonna Taylor’s life mattered, and Philando Castile’s life mattered."

She mentioned several other victims of police brutality. Meghan then reminded the grads about what she calls the most important lesson she learned at Immaculate Heart -- "Always remember to put others' needs above your own fears."

Meghan's message seemed to reference the nationwide protests in the wake of Floyd's killing ... and she encouraged the grads to be advocates and activists.

During her speech, she also talked about her experience growing up in L.A. during the 1992 Rodney King riots.

Clearly referring to racism, she told the graduating class, "I'm sorry you still have to grow up in a world where this is still present."

Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha, hit the streets of Oakland to show support for the George Floyd protests ... walking with the crowd and kneeling in solidarity.

The Currys were joined by Warriors teammates, Klay Thompson and Kevon Looney, at Juan Toscano-Anderson's march for unity on Wednesday ... and the pictures are powerful.

"Today was a movement in Oakland!" Steph said, "Thank you @juanonjuan10 for the leadership. Everybody play your role and be consistent with it."

"This is a real moment of change. Keep each other accountable."

Ayesha also spoke on the movement ... saying she wished as many people showed up to protest as Dubs fans do to celebrate championships.

"I began to come to the realization that we were walking the same streets, the same path and course that we’ve taken time and time again for the championship parades."

"While I was appreciative and proud of the crowd that showed to march for justice today, I couldn’t help but wonder where all of these people were now, that just a few years before lined and covered the streets to celebrate in these black men’s successes."

"Now when black men, when black people need an assist, defense, a team... where is everyone? Where is everyone?"

A peaceful protest in Newport Beach over George Floyd's killing was interrupted by a reckless driver in a Mini Cooper rushing through the crowd.

Local news captured the crazy moment as the car sped through the SoCal beach town Wednesday and appeared to come close to plowing into several protesters. The driver did strike a bicyclist, according to reports.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident, and Newport Beach PD caught up with the driver -- a resident of Newport -- and took him into custody. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. He's reportedly cooperating with the investigation, and a police rep says they don't believe this was a deliberate action.

Doesn't make it less scary, though ... and vehicles plowing through crowds during the period of unrest over Floyd's death has become an all-too-common sight.

Shannon Sharpe has heard enough from Drew Brees -- and he's sick of it -- calling for the QB to retire and walk away already.

The NFL Hall of Famer went off on Drew on FS1's 'Undisputed' -- calling Drew's apology "meaningless" and explaining why he'll never respect Brees again.

"He issued an apology, Skip, but it's meaningless because the guys know he spoke his heart the very first time around."

"I don't know what Drew's going to do, but he probably should just go ahead and retire now. He will never be the same."

Sharpe -- who played 14 seasons in the NFL -- continued, "Take it from a guy that has been a leader in the locker room for a number of years. What he said, they will never look at him the same because he spoke his heart."

"It wasn't what he said, it was how he said it. He was defiant. I will NEVER respect the man."

Of course, Brees came under heavy fire for saying Wednesday that NFL kneeling protests are disrespectful to the flag ... seemingly missing the point behind Colin Kaepernick's demonstration.

Brees has since apologized -- admitting he "missed the mark" and insisting he's not the enemy.

George Floyd's funeral will feature a guest who knows all too well the pain of losing a son to racial violence -- because Ahmaud Arbery's mom, Wanda Cooper, will be in attendance.

Wanda's attorney, Lee Merritt, tells TMZ ... she will be among those there in person next week for George's funeral procession in his hometown of Houston. She'll be attending with Lee, although it doesn't sound like she's set to speak at this point in time.

We're told the program is still being worked out, so it's possible she may share a few words -- but for now ... she's simply attending and paying her respects. Merritt tells us Wanda got connected to George's fam through their own family attorney, Ben Crump.

Of course, Wanda herself is in her own battle for justice over the killing of her 25-year-old son, Ahmaud, who was chased and gunned down by Travis McMichael, with the help of his father, Gregory. Both have been arrested and charged with murder/aggravated assault.

We already knew Wanda had recently sought to connect with Trayvon Martin's family -- now, it looks like she's connected with a family who's dealing with an even more recent tragedy.

Amy Cooper -- infamously dubbed Central Park "Karen" after calling the police to lie and say a black man was attacking her -- now has her dog back ... just 10 days after her phony call.

The animal rescue, Abandoned Angels Cocker Spaniel Rescue Inc., announced a vet determined the dog was perfectly healthy and -- after law enforcement refused to take the dog in their custody -- decided to return the dog at the owner's request.

You'll recall, action was swift back on Memorial Day after Amy retaliated against a black man in the harshest way possible after the man, a bird watcher, complained her dog was off-leash despite a law requiring dogs to be on-leash in Central Park from 9 AM to 9 PM.

As we reported ... what happened next is one of the most disgusting acts you'll see after she asks the man to stop recording her. He didn't. She then threatened to call NYPD and "tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life."

The full autopsy report for George Floyd has been completed by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and it reveals he tested positive for COVID-19 in early April ... though he was likely asymptomatic at the time of his death.

The 20-page analysis details most of what we already know, Floyd became unresponsive and died while pinned to the ground by 3 police officers. However, a section of the report says George tested positive for COVID-19 on April 3.

The coroner says, "positivity for 2019-nCoV can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection." Meaning George was likely walking around without issues or active symptoms, but the virus was still in his body.

As we reported, George's family hired Dr. Michael Baden to complete a private autopsy. Baden's report found Floyd's cause of death to be "death from asphyxia" after the Hennepin County concluded he had a heart attack while being restrained by cops, with underlying medical conditions including hypertension and possible drugs or alcohol.

The final report from Hennepin on Wednesday says Floyd had, “no injuries of anterior muscles of neck or laryngeal structures.”

The stars of 'Gown and Out' are feeling down and out after the riots and looting in Bev Hills destroyed their high-end dress shop ... and the damage couldn't have come at a worse time.

Patrik Simpson, who stars in the reality show "Gown and Out in Beverly Hills" on Amazon Prime Video tells TMZ ... he and his husband's dress store, Pol' Atteu Couture, was completely destroyed during Saturday night's riots, and they're estimating they suffered more than half a mil in damages.

Patrik tells us he and his hubby, Pol Atteu, had just restocked the entire store before Saturday night's violence, as they geared up for a big reopening. The store had been shuttered for months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As you can see, it looks like a bomb went off in the store ... and Patrik says looters stole over 100 dresses, including custom wedding dresses waiting to be shipped to brides and some gowns intended for the Daytime Emmys.

It's pretty sad ... Patrik says his husband sews all the dresses by hand, so Pol has hours of work ahead of him as he tries to recreate the custom gowns the rioters stole.

The band that provided the magic for Joe Exotic's unique set of songs on 'Tiger King' has good news for everyone itching for more of their good musical vibes.

Vince Johnson of The Vince Johnson Band -- who made up one half of the music duo who wrote and performed Joe's tracks featured on the Netflix series -- just inked an exclusive licensing and distribution deal with BMG Rights Management and Create Music Group.

As part of the agreement, all those Joe tunes (which are actually Vince's) will be compiled onto an album for the first time and be released on streaming services everywhere in the coming months. There'll also be some new tunes, including a cut called 'Killer Carole.' Probably won't be a big hit in Carole Baskin's crib.

We got a little taste of this gem before it officially drops Friday -- we're thinking you can add this one to your back road country playlist. No sign of Joe, though, in the pseudo-music video -- he's a little tied up right now, unfortunately.

In any case, it's great news for Vince and co. ... whom, as we previously told you, were gunning for a record deal of some sort in the wake of the show's massive popularity. Unclear if they've gotten signed to a label yet, but a licensing deal is kinda like getting halfway there.

Of course, Vince lost his longtime music collaborator -- Daniel Clinton -- who helped him pen a lot of the songs on 'Tiger King,' after he passed away from a heart attack late last year. Here's hoping Vince does him proud with this streak of good luck going forward.