TMZ.com Home

Congressman John Lewis, a central and powerful figure in the Civil Rights movement, is dead after a 7-month battle with pancreatic cancer.

Rep. Lewis, who represented Georgia's 5th Congressional District for 17 terms, died Friday. He had been diagnosed as stage 4 in December 2019. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, "Today, America mourns the loss of one of the greatest heroes of American history."

She referred to him as the "Conscience of the Congress."

Lewis had been in Congress since 1987, but had already had an inspiring impact on American history long before that -- having marched, shoulder-to-shoulder at times, with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for Civil Rights.

In 1961, Mr. Lewis was part of a protest against segregated buses in the South which became know as the Freedom Rides. He spoke at the landmark March on Washington in 1963, where Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, and marched for voting rights in Alabama in 1965.

John was one of the protesters brutalized by cops during the march from Selma to Montgomery, AL. As he led several hundred marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, John was clubbed in the head by a state trooper -- fracturing his skull and leaving a scar he carried for the rest of his life.

His second-to-last tweet, back on July 7, commemorated his release from prison after he'd been arrested during a Freedom Ride in Jackson, Mississippi.

Recently, the Distinguished Gentleman from Georgia had become a nemesis of President Trump. Rep. Lewis did not attend Trump's inauguration, openly called him a "racist," and they would frequently trade barbs in the media.

Former President Obama awarded the Congressman the Medal of Freedom in 2011. During the ceremony he said, "Generations from now, when parents teach their children what is meant by courage, the story of John Lewis will come to mind -- an American who knew that change could not wait for some other person or some other time; whose life is a lesson in the fierce urgency of now."

Rep. Lewis was 80.

RIP

This is really disgusting ... a California woman blocked a landscaper from doing his job as she refused to move out of his way until he produced papers showing he was in the U.S. legally.

She just stands there, repeating her demand that he show her his papers.

The landscaper, Juan Andrade, claims she's harassed him before, allegedly telling him to go back to his country. He says this time he wanted to get it all on video ... and he did just that.

Juan was trying to mow the lawn at the Rancho Mirage apartment building ... just outside of Palm Springs. He's been a landscaper there for 10 years, but that didn't matter to Karen, who planted herself firmly and refused to move, all the while asking him to show proof he was in this country legally.

Again ... Karen knew she was being recorded, but that didn't stop her one bit from acting like a rogue ICE agent.

Kanye West's presidential campaign just keeps rolling along, and he's now setting his sights on South Carolina ... where he's trying to grab enough signatures to get on the November ballot.

Kanye posted a tweet, urging S.C. voters to support him with a signature. His petition reads, "I am signing to put Kanye West on the ballot in South Carolina ... Click here to add your signature -- YE '20."  He needs around 10,000 signatures to qualify as the official Birthday Party candidate.

TMZ broke the stories of Kanye's efforts, including filing the necessary docs with the Federal Elections Commission and docs to get on the Oklahoma ballot.

There was a violent confrontation between police and protesters in Chicago Friday, all centered around a statue of Christopher Columbus.

It went down at Buckingham Fountain, where Black Lives Matter protesters attempted to take down the statue of Columbus -- a rapist and racist.  Demonstrators tied ropes to the statue to dislodge it.

As cops created a human barrier, protesters threw bottles, rocks and a few threw firecrackers at them, injuring several of them. Police then pepper sprayed the crowd with hoses. At least 4 protesters were injured and taken to hospitals.

Twelve protesters were arrested for battery on a police officer.

A black man with his arms up in the air was shot with bean bag rounds by cops, and then shot twice more as he lay on the ground.

It went down in Mesa, Arizona. Lorenzo Jones was arguing with his girlfriend and her sister, while 5 children watched nearby.

The video starts when the SWAT team is giving Jones commands. Jones was supposed to appear in court earlier in the day but failed to show, so an arrest warrant was issued. Jones tried telling the cops he had indeed shown up at the courthouse.

The cops gave orders for Jones to surrender, and when he put his hands up, one of the officers fired a bean bag round that squarely hit Jones, as he fell to the ground in pain.

As Jones lay on the ground, SWAT fired 2 more rounds, hitting him both times.

The Mesa Police Dept. is investigating, but there are signs the Police Chief thinks the force was warranted. Chief Ken Cost said, "They [the cops] felt that he was armed and dangerous." Thing is ... Jones was shot when he had his hands up in the air and when he was laying on the ground.

The Chief added, "Less-lethal tools are exactly that, less lethal, and were developed to prevent violent actions, protect the public, save the lives of suspects as well as officers."

A Haitian woman was told by a Palm Beach resident, "This is the f***ing United States of America," as he demanded to know why she was in his gated community, and he ended up calling the cops, insinuating the woman was a criminal.

It went down in a gated community in Palm Beach, where the woman was cycling on a bike path when she was confronted by the man who said she had no business in the community. He assumed she was not a resident because he hadn't seen her before. After telling him she didn't have to answer his questions, she said she was indeed a resident.

The man threatened to call the Palm Beach County Sheriff, and the woman encouraged him to do so.

Naya Rivera's ex-fiance, Big Sean, has been silent about her tragic death ... until now.

Sean posted a tribute to his ex, saying, "Rest in Peace Naya, God Bless your Soul! Thank you for blessing us all with your talent and presence. You are a hero!  Not just because of how you saved your son, also because of the barriers you knocked down for so many people to make them feel confident in themselves and to stand tall and be proud when they couldn't achieve that on their own."

He goes on ... "I appreciate and cherish everything that ever happened between us for making me wiser and a better person. I'm still grieving and in shock, I can't believe this is real."

As you probably know, Naya and Sean were engaged in 2013 after dating for only 6 months. They had a bad breakup 5 months later. Naya says the end of the relationship was hurtful ... "We'd been fighting for five straight days while he was traveling, and then on the one day he was back in LA, he said he didn't want to see me."

George Floyd's set to be honored in an historic way, and the City of Minneapolis just got some funding to move the process along.

The city was recently awarded the "Vision Grant" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, through its African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, to help preserve the memorials that have sprung up for George since his death.

The fund was created in 2017 to preserve sites and stories of Black history, and clearly ... Minneapolis has been a significant spot lately.

So, along with preserving the murals and other tributes already created for Floyd ... we're told the city is discussing plans to honor him permanently.

A Minneapolis city official tells TMZ ... they've held more than 40 listening sessions, inviting community members and local government workers to share thoughts on how to best memorialize George.

We're told the city is specifically designating 38th St. and Chicago Ave. -- the location where Floyd took his last breath -- as a location for a special tribute. A makeshift memorial popped up there shortly after he died at the hands of police.

So far ... street names, memorial plaques or statues and a community center are all being discussed as official ways to honor George with the new grant money, but nothing's set in stone yet.

BTW, $1.6 million was awarded to 27 different sites and organizations by the AACHAF ... Minneapolis got $50k.

The National Trust's Brenda Jones tells us the planning grant could potentially lead to "other opportunities to invest in the preservation and protection of African American history in Minneapolis, including the murals commemorating the sacrifice of George Floyd."

Don't let these two almost identical images of Sarah Jessica Parker have you feelin' like the shoe is on the other foot ... Just take a good look around and see if you can spot the sneaky little switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The actress was spotted visiting her flagship store in New York City just last week ... and we made a few changes to this footwear photo! Get out your detective hats and see if you have what it takes to figure out the differences between these two super similar snaps!

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are going back to work on the Puerto Rican movie set where they first met ... and set in motion her split from Brian Austin Green.

Megan and MGK arrived Thursday in San Juan after flying in together from the mainland, ready to get back to business on the set of their upcoming movie, "Midnight in the Switchgrass."

As you can see, Megan and MGK are still super close and lovey-dovey as their relationship continues to bud ... and now they're back where it all began.

They met during filming, way back in March, and then started spending a whole lotta time together when the coronavirus pandemic brought production to a grinding halt.

Megan split from her '90210' star hubby after getting chummy with MGK on the Caribbean island and they've been pretty much inseparable ever since ... going on fancy dates, making music videos, traveling the country, sleeping over and having fun in Palm Springs.

Nick Cannon couldn't win for losing this week. After apologizing for his anti-Semitic remarks, the people who embraced those remarks attacked him for apologizing. And, Kanye's serious about running -- who knew? So, we gotta ask ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov is NOT retiring from MMA, despite reports to the contrary -- and he WILL fight Justin Gaethje before the end of 2020, so says his manager.

We spoke with Ali Abdelaziz, who manages both Khabib and Justin -- and he tells us straight-up, both guys are on board.

"We have a blockbuster main event [Khabib] versus Justin Gaethje. Two of the best lightweights in the world today in the recent era."

There have been questions about Khabib's fighting future ever since his father passed away from COVID earlier this month.

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov wasn't just Khabib's father -- he was also his coach, mentor and best friend.

"Everybody understands how close Khabib and his father were," Ali says ... "We lost something very important and the UFC's been so awesome, especially Dana. He's been communicating with Khabib, the whole team has been amazing."

Ali says Khabib is "heartbroken" -- "but at the end of the day, Khabib's father has a legacy he wanted Khabib to accomplish."

In other words, Ali says Abdulmanap would WANT Khabib to continue fighting ... to share his talents with the world.

And, Ali believes Justin Gaethje is the perfect opponent.

"We see what Justin Gaethje did to his last opponent. He dismantled Tony Ferguson, he made him look an absolute amateur."

One of Elvis Presley's most famous guitars is hitting the auction block ... and acquiring it may require a king's ransom.

Elvis' historic 1942 Martin D-18 guitar -- which The King owned between 1954 and 1956 -- will be up for auction over at Gotta Have Rock and Roll, and no doubt it'll go to a serious collector with huuuuge pockets. The minimum bid starts at a whopping $1.2 million. It's expected to fetch up to THREE MILLION BUCKS.

The investment's totally worth it ... because the instrument oozes musical history. For starters, the guitar is often referred to as Elvis' "Sun Sessions" guitar. Elvis recorded at the iconic Sun Studios in Memphis, TN and also performed with the guitar onstage.

The King of Rock 'n' Roll bought the guitar at O.K. Houck's Piano Store in Memphis, trading in his Martin 000-18 model. He then went on to decorate the body of the guitar with adhesive metal letters spelling out "ELVIS." Today, the guitar's missing the "S." The extensive wear visible on the guitar, no doubt, is due to Elvis' hard strumming and the guitar's frequent use.

And, get this ... during the time Elvis owned the guitar, he also recorded the classics "That's Alright (Mama)," "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Good Rockin' Tonight," to name a few.

The new owner of this guitar will get TONS of paperwork proving the authenticity ... from a photocopy of the receipt from O.K. Houck Piano and photocopies of correspondence from the curator of the Country Music Hall of Fame to a historical note about the guitar ... which has been reported to be Elvis' first guitar. The auction opens on July 22. Good luck!!!

NBA prospect Cassius Stanley just copped a new piece that would make the Gloved One proud -- a diamond pendant of Michael Jackson doing his iconic tilt from the "Smooth Criminal" music video!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the projected 1st round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft hit up Clarity Custom Jewelry, a Black-owned business in L.A., to get himself a personal gift before jumping to the pros.

Jeweler Courtney Roy tells us the ex-Duke guard is a HUGE fan of the King of Pop ... so it was easy to decide what he wanted to get -- a pendant in the shape of Jackson's tilt pose from the 1988 music video!

You know what we're talking about ... about 7 minutes into the vid, MJ and his dancers defy gravity by leaning at a 45-degree angle. It's insane.

Roy tells us it took 3 different designs to get it right for the 20-year-old baller ... but ended up with a product that's decked out with white gold and 3 karats of VVS diamonds.

Roy -- who also designed jewelry for Shareef O'Neal and Patrick Beverley -- says this MJ piece is one of his favs and was thrilled (haha, MJ pun) to make it come together.

No word on how much the piece cost ... but the dude's just months away from cashing in ... so treat yo' self!!

Congrats!!

Get into the zone with these cheeky chicks passing the time in quarantine by posin' for pics in their sexy spandex while namast-aying safe at home!

These ladies are all about their comfort when they're workin' out from home, but they're still keepin' things hot ... and since they've got more time on their hands there's also been many more moments for these fit females to flex on social media!

Take a look at all the stars getting their stretch on by scrolling through our gallery of quarantine yoga booties ... And, while you're looking through, see if you can figure out which star is in the sexy shot!

There's a ring in Clemson superstar Trevor Lawrence's future even if the season is canceled ... 'cause the QB proposed to his longtime GF -- and she said YES!!!

Lawrence -- a Heisman hopeful in 2020 -- has been dating Marissa Mowry since early 2016 ... and decided to pop the question at Memorial Stadium in Clemson on Friday.

Pictures capturing the moment show a fully suited Lawrence get on one knee in the middle of the field and present the ring to a shocked Mowry.

"FOREVER," the 2018 national champ said on Instagram. "You’re everything I’ve dreamed of. I love you and can’t wait to marry you."

Of course, Trevor and Marissa have been together for several years ... dating back to way before he was one of the best players in college football.

In fact, Mowry famously predicted Lawrence would become a champ all the way back in 2017 ... when the dude was still in HS!!

"Easiest YES of my life!!!" Marissa said of the proposal. "I love you always Trevor"