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Ash Armand, famous for appearing in the Showtime series, "Gigolos," has been arrested for murder -- cops in Vegas say he beat his girlfriend to death.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says Ash called 911 Thursday morning to report his girlfriend was unresponsive in their home, and when police arrived, they found the woman's lifeless body.

Cops say the woman, who was in her early 30s, showed signs of trauma and Armand was detained on the spot and detectives were brought in to investigate. Police believe Armand, who appeared in Season 3 of "Gigolos," was under the influence of narcotics and beat the woman to death.

Ash is a stage name, BTW -- he was booked for murder under his real name, Akshaya Kubiak, and is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center.

A flippin' awesome mako shark gloriously leaping out of the water barely avoided a crash landing in a passing boat ... then carried on with its sick jumps.

The crazy scene played out in Australia, naturally, where a group of friends were fishing off the coast of Queensland when they noticed the mako -- also known as a blue pointer -- putting on a spectacular show ... beyond SeaWorld-level stuff.

One of the guys began filming after the shark had already breached the water a few times -- getting several feet of air with each leap -- but fortunately, it was just getting started.

On the shark's third jump in the video, it damn near hit a fishing boat, but landed in the water right beside it. Then it swam on for a couple more stunts.

Makos are the world’s fastest sharks -- reaching top speeds of nearly 50 mph. They often jump in this manner to escape fishing hooks, but are also known to go free-jumping just because.

Looks like this was a case of the latter ... which makes it way flippin' better.

MLB outfielder Yasiel Puig says he just learned he has COVID-19... and will quarantine for the foreseeable future.

"Although I tested positive, I am asymptomatic, and I feel absolutely fine."

"I will be quarantined until I receive 2 negative test results, which I hope will arrive shortly."

Puig says he's sad about his diagnosis -- "but I believe that everything is in God's timing and that my return to MLB will happen in His perfect plan and timing for me."

"When I return to the field, I will do so knowing that I will have one less hurdle to overcome."

FYI -- the MLB's 60-game season is set to finally begin with Opening Day on July 23 and 24.

Puig says he never believed it could happen to him ... and is urging everyone to "take this pandemic seriously, this can happen to anyone, even the healthiest athlete."

The 29-year-old ended his statement with a reminder to his fans to wear a mask, social distance, and follow your local protocols.

"Please take care of yourselves. I will see you all very soon when I return to play ball."

LAPD is now officially looking into the allegation Megan Thee Stallion suffered gunshot wounds ... and they're taking a hard look at Tory Lanez as the potential trigger man.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... detectives have now opened an assault with a deadly weapon investigation into what allegedly happened early Sunday morning shortly before cops pulled over Tory's chauffeur-driven SUV in the Hollywood Hills.

As we reported, sources connected to the investigation say Tory allegedly shot Megan in the feet as she exited the SUV, on the heels of an argument that erupted in the SUV.

Remember, Tory was arrested and booked for possession of a concealed weapon ... a handgun found in the SUV. Upgrading the investigation to assault with a deadly weapon could mean new charges are coming.

Tory hasn't been named a suspect, but our law enforcement sources say cops are lasered in on him.

Now, sources connected to Tory say it seems he will claim it was accidental ... IF he's charged for the shooting. The fact LAPD is investigating it as assault with a deadly weapon -- as opposed to attempted homicide -- could mean they, at least in theory, believe it was accidental.

Right now, law enforcement sources tell us cops are still having trouble getting witnesses to cooperate, which could make it difficult to prosecute Tory.

Nick Cannon will NOT make his daytime talk show debut this fall ... it's being pushed to next year on the heels of his anti-Semitism controversy.

Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury -- the co-producers behind his nationally syndicated daytime talk show -- announced Friday, Nick's debut will be pushed from this September to fall 2021. The production company said, "After conversations with Nick, we do believe that his public comments don’t reflect his true feelings and his apology is heartfelt and sincere."

The company added, "We want to continue the healing process as he meets with leaders of the Jewish community and engages in a dialogue with our distribution partners to hear their views. We are standing by Nick in our hope that by fall 2021 he will be able to use his extraordinary talent and platform to entertain, enlighten and unite his audience on the ‘Nick Cannon’ talk show."

As we reported ... Nick said Thursday night the black community turned on him after he apologized for the anti-Semitic remarks he made on his "Cannon's Class" podcast. The comments triggered ViacomCBS to cut ties with him ... because the company said he refused to apologize

"Mob Wives" star Drita D'Avanzo wants the judge in her husband's federal gun case to cut him a little slack come sentencing, and she fired off a handwritten letter to make her case.

Drita wrote to Judge Kovner, pleading with him to show leniency on Lee D'Avanzo because he's a caring family man who needs to come home to his wife and kids.

In the handwritten letter, obtained by TMZ, Drita says Lee is an amazing father to their children who "never missed a soccer game and was very involved in our kids school work and any activities they were involved in. He is a family man and is missed!"

Drita adds ... Lee "has a family that is fully supporting him and hoping he comes home soon!"

Lee pled guilty to gun possession charges in March after the NYPD raided the family home and allegedly found 2 loaded handguns. Drita was eventually cleared of all charges.

Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme prosecuted the case against Lee, and the sentencing hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania cop who appeared on video to put his knee on a man's neck didn't commit a crime ... this according to the Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.

The D.A. concluded Friday the cop did NOT put his knee on the man's neck during an incident that sparked outrage last weekend. The D.A. insists the cop in question put his knee on the man's head ... not his neck.

Martin said, "Based upon my review and the totality of the circumstances surrounding this event, I have concluded that there is absolutely no evidence to support filing criminal charges against either of the Allentown police officers involved in this incident."

He went on to say, "I am satisfied that given Mr. Borrero's obvious intoxication and his actions, he was clearly a danger to himself and potentially to others."

Martin said he assigned several detectives to investigate. He says the detectives interviewed the man and he revealed he was a heroin addict who ingested powder cocaine and did so just hours before the altercation.

As we reported ... a man was driving in Allentown Saturday when he saw cops trying to subdue the man. A few seconds into the video, the officer seems to employ the type of neck restraint that killed George Floyd. The police department had recently banned the use of chokeholds and other neck restraints.

The felony charges against NFL receiver Kenny Stills and 'Real Housewives' star Porsha Williams stemming from a Breonna Taylor protest in Kentucky have been dropped ... prosecutors say.

But, they're not in the clear just yet.

Stills and Williams were just 2 of the 87 people arrested on Tuesday for demonstrating on the front lawn of the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

The group was chanting for justice for Taylor -- they want the police officer who killed her to be arrested and charged with crimes.

All 87 people were initially charged with felony intimidating a participant in a legal process -- and 2 lesser misdemeanors.

The felony charge is a big deal -- if convicted, people face a minimum of 1 year behind bars ... and up to 5 if the judge wants to make a point.

But, on Friday, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell says he is DROPPING the felony for all 87 people, effective immediately.

"After careful review of the law, I am dismissing the felony charge of Intimidating a Participant in the Legal Process against the protestors arrested on Attorney General Cameron's property on July 14, 2020."

"While we do believe the LMPD had probable cause for the charge, in the interest of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge for each protestor arrested this past Tuesday."

The bad news for Stills, Williams and the 85 other people -- O'Connell says the misdemeanor charges are still in play ... at least for now.

"We continue to review the misdemeanors and violations for prosecution at a later date."

Joey Lawrence is throwing in the towel on his second marriage ... he just filed for divorce.

The former "Blossom" star filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to divorce Chandie Lawrence as they approached their 15-year wedding anniversary.

Joey and Chandie met at Disney World way back in 1993, when he was 16 years old and on vacation. Joey says he invited her on an ice cream date at the Mouse House when they first met and joked about getting married at the theme park.

After Joey's first marriage to Michelle Vella ended in divorce in 2005, he quickly wed Chandie in July and their teenage wedding fantasies became reality as they tied the knot at Disney World.

It's not clear what led to the split, but Joey and Chandie will have to settle child custody and/or support issues -- they have 2 minor daughters, 14-year-old Charleston and 10-year-old Liberty.

Despite Disney's best efforts ... no fairytale ending this time.

Jeffrey Epstein's Palm Beach estate, where he allegedly sexually molested dozens of teenage girls lured in by money, just got vandalized with a very powerful message.

"GONE BUT NOT FORGIVEN" reads the mark left on the front gate guarding one of Epstein's former homes.

The image is in red paint, clearly intended to look like blood.

The house has been tied up in litigation since the charges against Epstein were brought. As you know, Epstein died in jail awaiting trial. Authorities say he hung himself, but a private autopsy raised questions. Medical Examiner Cyril Wecht concluded it is virtually unheard of for 3 neck bones to break when someone hangs themself.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently completed a round of chemotherapy to treat "a recurrence of cancer" ... but insists she's still fully able to sit on the Supreme Court.

RBG says she began the cancer treatment on May 19 after a February biopsy revealed lesions on her liver. She says the chemo is yielding positive results -- and no new disease -- and she'll continue biweekly treatments.

The legendary justice points out that her recent hospitalization was to remove gall stones and treat an infection, but was unrelated to the cancer.

Ginsburg adds ... throughout her health issues, she has maintained an active daily routine and been keeping up with all her Supreme Court work.

The 3 men charged with the murder of Ahmaud Arbery entered not guilty pleas in court and one of the defendants wants potential jurors to be asked probing questions in a private setting.

Gregory and Travis McMichael, along with William "Roddie" Bryan, all pled not guilty Friday in court. Bryan's attorney also requested bond for Bryan, but the judge denied the request citing a slew of concerns, including a sex crimes investigation by the GBI at the request of the Glynn County Police Department. That investigation is active and ongoing.

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, and Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr., gave statements requesting the court deny bond.

Bryan's attorney had brought up the coronavirus pandemic as another reason why his client should get bond ... claiming Bryan's in the high-risk category. Prosecutors countered saying the Sheriff's doing his part keeping things safe behind bars. The hearing's currently in a recess.

Bryan's attorney also filed a motion to submit certain questions to potential jurors in an attempt to weed out biases.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Bryan's attorney submitted a list of more than 50 questions for potential jurors to answer ... including: "What in your opinion is the principal cause of crime in America today?"

Another question ... "What steps do you think people who are frightened about crime should take to protect themselves?" as well as "Have you ever heard the statement, he looks like a cirminal? If yes, do you think that if someone 'looks like a criminal' they are probably guilty if they are arrested for a crime? Why/why not?"

Bryan's attorney wants everyone examined separately and privately, claiming there are "sensitive and potentially embarrassing questions exploring the prospective juror's bias and prejudice, especially with respect to matters of race."

Then there's this ... Bryan's attorneys also want to inspect all of Arbery's probation docs, any medical or mental health records, any juvenile court records, any DCFS records and any board of education records.

The issue of citizens arrest was also brought up in docs ... Bryan's attorney claims there was enough evidence to establish probable cause that Arbery had committed the offense of criminal attempt to commit burglary. According to the docs, this allowed McMichael to attempt a citizens arrest and then, when Arbery fought back, to defend himself.

Bryan's attorney also argues someone running in an attempted burglary case allows you to presume criminal intent ... and he notes that Arbery was running. Bryan's attorney also claims Arbery knew he was a convicted felon on probation for shoplifting ... so an objective observer would have reason to believe he was trying to commit a burglary when he ran from the house.

As we reported ... the men were all indicted by a grand jury for Arbery's murder on June 24. They are each facing 9 felony charges -- 1 count of malice murder, 4 counts felony murder, 2 counts aggravated assault, 1 count false imprisonment and 1 count criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

The 3 defendants have been in custody since their arrests in May, and last appeared in court in early June for a probable cause hearing ... where a judge concluded there's enough evidence to move forward with the case.

During that hearing, a GBI detective testified he found no evidence Arbery stole anything from the construction site he walked through before he was shot and killed. Gregory McMichael had claimed Arbery matched the description of a burglary suspect, which is why they were after him.

Gregory's son, Travis, fired the fatal shots during a struggle with Ahmaud on February 23. The GBI detective also testified Bryan told cops he heard Travis refer to Arbery as a "f***ing n*****" right after he shot him.

Travis and Gregory were arrested and charged with murder on May 8. Authorities allege Bryan -- who recorded the incident -- was working with the McMichaels to trap Arbery. He was arrested and charged 14 days later.

Nick Cannon is at his wit's end over his anti-Semitic comments and his apology for them -- he clearly feels he's in a no-win situation, and now some fans are concerned about his well being.

"The Masked Singer" host let his frustrations out Thursday night, saying ... "I hurt an entire community and it pained me to my core, I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then I watched my own community turn on me and call me a sell-out for apologizing."

He added ... "Goodnight. Enjoy Earth."

An hour later, he followed that up, tweeting ... "Y'all can have this planet. I'm out!"

As you know ... Nick came under fire for pushing anti-Jewish rhetoric on his "Cannon's Class" podcast, which resulted in ViacomCBS dropping him. Instead of apologizing, he initially stuck to his guns and was defiant.

But he changed his tune after a discussion with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, and posted a lengthy apology for his "hurtful and divisive words."

Nick's frustration is clear from his Thursday night tweets -- after initially getting backlash for the anti-Semitic remarks, he's now getting backlash for apologizing. It's interesting ... you could read the apology backlash as a reflection of just how much anti-Semitism there is out there.

Some fans online took Nick's tweets as a sign he might harm himself.

These coffee beans are GUARANTEED to wake you up.

Italian police thwarted drug-smugglers who sliced hundreds of coffee beans open, stuffed them with cocaine and carefully encased them with dark brown tape.

The perps might have gotten away with it too ... if it wasn't for that darn John Wick.

According to police, they became suspicious of the package containing the coffee beans when someone noticed the name on it was Santino D'Antonio ... a mafia boss villain in "John Wick: Chapter 2" as well as the third film in the franchise.

The coked-up beans were shipped from Medellin in Colombia to Milan's Malpensa airport, and all in all ... the 2kg package contained 150g of cocaine powder via about 500 beans.

The package was addressed to a tobacco shop in Florence, and cops busted the 50-year-old man who came to collect it.

Italian police named their operation "Caffe' Scorretto" -- which means Improper Coffee, which plays off the name of the country's popular drink, '"Caffe' corretto" ... corrected coffee.

Tamar Braxton may have attempted to take her own life.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a 911 call was placed at around 10 PM Thursday. The caller said someone at the Ritz Carlton hotel in downtown L.A. attempted suicide.

When EMTs arrived we're told they found Tamar unconscious inside her room. Her boyfriend, David Adefeso, told cops she may have overdosed on pills and alcohol.

Our sources say the boyfriend also told police Tamar had been upset earlier in the day and had threatened suicide. Our law enforcement sources say Tamar did not leave a note.

Tamar was rushed to the hospital. We do not know her condition.

Tamar and David do a YouTube show called, "Coupled & Quarantined," and the latest episode was supposed to run Thursday night, but earlier in the day they said it was being postponed. They did not say why.

They also have an upcoming show on WE tv called, "Tamar Braxton: Get Ya Life." The first trailer for the show was released Thursday, and in it, Tamar is seen arguing with producers about being portrayed as the "angry black woman."

Tamar, whose latest album was "Bluebird of Happiness" back in 2017, may be even better known for her reality series, "Braxton Family Values."

She also won the U.S. version of "Celebrity Big Brother" last year.

Hayden Panettiere's allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, is now facing serious criminal charges in California ... this, days after Hayden got an order of protection against him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Hickerson was charged Thursday in an 8-count complaint that includes domestic violence charges, assault charges. Seven of the 8 charges are felonies.

Panettiere recently reported her ex-BF to the Teton County Sheriff in Wyoming -- along with the Santa Monica police and LAPD -- for multiple incidents involving extreme domestic violence against her during their year-and-a-half relationship.

The former "Nashville" star tells TMZ ...  “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life."

Hayden's attorney, Alan Jackson, says ... "After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life. Hayden has found the strength and courage to share the truth about her abuse and her abuser, and she intends to assist the prosecution to see that justice is served. As a survivor, she recognizes that her arduous journey of healing has just begun."

As we reported ... Panettiere recently got court-ordered protection from Hickerson in  Wyoming, and a California judge just granted her that same protection in the Golden State.

Hickerson was arrested for domestic violence on Valentine's Day in Teton County, Wyoming -- after Hayden told cops he'd roughed her up after an argument and punched her in the face.