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Sean Penn gets choked up remembering his face-to-face meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as war erupted ... and as Russia's invasion intensifies, he's commending Zelensky's bravery.

Speaking out for the first time since leaving war-torn Ukraine, Penn told CNN's Anderson Cooper he couldn't help but praise Zelensky for all he's doing to protect his people. He said, "I don't know if he knew that he was born for this, but it was clear I was in the presence of something ... that was new to the modern world in terms of courage and dignity and love that comes out of that man."

Penn says he met Ukraine's president before the invasion, and then again on the day it started -- amid the chaos and uncertainty, he says Zelensky showed nothing but courage ... which Penn says is also evident in all Ukrainians.

He described his escape to the Polish border as pure terror -- seeing thousands of families fleeing for their lives while the men were forced to stay behind and defend their country ... as the Russian shelling began.

Bill Cosby's breathing a deep sigh of relief -- the U.S. Supreme Court is refusing to weigh in on the Pennsylvania ruling that set him free.

SCOTUS voted 4-3 Monday to leave in place the PA Supreme Court's decision from last summer ... which nullified Cosby's 2018 conviction for aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand.

Cosby was immediately released from the Pennsylvania prison where he'd been serving a 3 to 10-year sentence.

The PA Supreme Court ruled Cosby's right to due process had been violated, because prosecutors had ignored the deal the previous Montgomery County D.A. made to not prosecute Cosby if he sat for a deposition in Andrea's civil case.

Cosby's prosecutors asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the decision to overturn, but the high court declined ... which means Cosby is free and clear in the criminal case.

He is still facing a lawsuit filed by Judy Huth for sexual battery.

"Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda scored big on his latest find ... unearthing tons of memorabilia that belonged to Olympic legend Florence Griffith Joyner -- Flo-Jo!

Rene tells TMZ ... his friend George bought Flo-Jo's storage locker 8 years ago in the San Diego area. Rene says he dropped several thousand dollars to take the Olympic content off his hands ... and the haul is impressive!

Rene walked away with Florence's Olympic jacket and even her signed track shoes -- the ones that she wore while breaking world records! As you'll recall, Joyner broke records in the 1988 Seoul Olympics ... for both the 100m and 200m dash! She took home 3 gold medals that year.

Also bought by Rene are rare photos, magazines featuring her, and autographed Flo-Jo Barbie dolls ... talk about a blast from the past!

Rene says he'll likely sell the pieces of history on eBay or through collectible auction house Heritage Auctions ... but if a member of Flo-Jo's family reaches out, he might work out a deal with them to return her personal items.

Flo-Jo died in 1998 after suffering a fatal epileptic seizure in her sleep. Apparently, her family paid the bills for the storage rental for years, but for some reason stopped, and that's why the locker went up for action.

The obvious tension between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West is having zero impact on Khloé Kardashian's wardrobe choices, as she's still rocking a Ye concert sweatshirt in public.

Khloe was leaving her daughter True's gymnastics class in L.A., decked out in the "Saint Pablo" black hoodie which Ye was hawking during that tour of the same name.

As we've reported, Kim and Kanye's recent divorce has been anything but smooth ... from legal roadblocks attempted by Kanye's team, a bombardment of social media posts attacking Pete Davidson and multiple attempts to win back Kim.

Kanye's latest music video for his song "Eazy" featuring The Game dug deeper into "Skete" Davidson ... featuring a claymation version of Pete being buried alive.

With all of that as a backdrop, Khloe's hoodie seems a bit puzzling. Then again, her ex, Tristan Thompson, was chilling with Ye last week in Miami ... so, seems ALL in-law Kardashian ties are intact no matter what's going on between Kimye.

Kim and Kanye were both pronounced single by a judge on March 2 ... at a hearing where she was present via Zoom. She'd been asking the judge to restore her single status since December, plainly stating, "I very much desire to be divorced."

DaBaby's legal woes are ebbing and flowing ... he's out of trouble in one matter involving a gun, but still in hot water over balls and pins.

The L.A. County D.A. has rejected the gun case against DaBaby that police have been working on since January 2021 -- when he was arrested in Bev Hills for allegedly having a weapon on him during a shopping spree.

You'll recall ... DB ended up in cuffs right there on Rodeo Drive, and was booked for carrying a loaded firearm.

In the end, the D.A. chose not to prosecute because of a lack of evidence -- which is apparent from the D.A.'s report recounting the incident.

The doc states DaBaby and co. were in a Gucci store, and a security guard says he saw DaBaby lift up his shirt. The security guard claimed he saw something in his waistband resembling a gun, prompting him to call the police.

The crew left, but weren't able to escape Rodeo Drive before a run-in with officers who searched the vehicle and did, indeed, find a gun under one of the seats. When nobody claimed ownership of the gun, cops took DB in based on what the security guard had told them. But apparently, that wasn't enough to file charges.

DaBaby's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... "We've been 100% confident in Mr. Kirk's innocence since the day of this incident and are appreciative that the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has made a similar determination."

Great news for DaBaby, obviously -- but he's not out of the woods ... there's still a looming case over his bowling alley scuffle with DaniLeigh's brother, which was caught on video.

Our law enforcement sources say there's a much stronger chance that case could actually get some real consideration by the D.A.'s Office, considering the evidence already out there ... and we're told a felony assault with a deadly weapon charge is very much in play.

That said ... we're told the cops are somewhat skeptical on that one too due to D.A. George Gascon. It's no secret ... Gascon isn't interested in pursuing low-level crimes in and around L.A. ... something he campaigned on. In other words.

Joe Rogan didn't mince words when defending Cain Velasquez in wake of the UFC legend's arrest last week ... saying straight-up he wishes the fighter had beaten his relative's alleged molester "to death."

The UFC analyst explained his stance on a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," telling Michael Bisping he's firmly on Velasquez's side.

"I mean, my only wish is that he did it with his hands," Rogan told Bisping during a conversation about the allegations against Velasquez.

"My only wish is that he just ran the car off the road, pulled that guy out of the f***ing car, and beat him to death. F*** you."

Bisping wholeheartedly agreed, telling Rogan, "And even that would have been too good for him."

As we reported, Velasquez is accused of attempting to murder Harry Goularte on Feb. 28 after authorities said Goularte molested one of Velasquez's "close" relatives days before.

Cops say Velasquez tried to chase down Goularte and two of his family members on the road in San Jose, CA. ... claiming the 39-year-old rammed his truck into their car, and fired several rounds into it in an attempt to kill Goularte.

Velasquez was eventually arrested and hit with 10 criminal charges over it all, and has been sitting in a jail cell for nearly a week. He's set for a bond hearing in court later Monday afternoon.

Rogan isn't the only one defending Velasquez following the arrest ... UFC fighter Derek Brunson made "Free Cain Velasquez" t-shirts, while Ronda Rousey also backed the former UFC star.

Reports of Kyler Murray being a bad teammate and a poor leader are flat-out false ... so says his Cardinals teammate Christian Kirk, who tells TMZ Sports he loves the quarterback.

Kirk had nothing but nice things to say about the Arizona star outside of JLT Performance GYM in Los Angeles this week ... explaining he has no issues whatsoever with the signal-caller.

"He's a great friend of mine and he's always treated me well and teammates around him well," said Kirk, who's played with Murray in Arizona since 2019. "Every time he steps on the field, he wants to win."

Of course, recent reports have contradicted Kirk ... particularly after Murray scrubbed his social media of Arizona Cardinals-related pics.

Multiple outlets reported the Cards' org. is unhappy with the QB -- hoping to see more maturity, better play and more leadership from the 24-year-old before they give him a monster contract extension.

Kirk, though, made it clear he hasn't seen any of those issues with the QB, saying, "I believe he deserves everything that he's earned and that he has coming."

There's a chance, however, that Kirk won't be able to play with Kyler anymore going forward ... Christian is set for free agency later this month, and rumors are swirling that he could become a Buffalo Bill after he vacationed with star QB Josh Allen last month.

Reports of civilian casualties in Ukraine are piling up, and now ... video footage appears to back up claims that Putin's Russian army is killing anybody and everybody it come across.

This clip was reportedly shot Sunday morning as Ukrainians were attempting to evacuate ordinary citizens out of the city of Iprin, just outside of Kyiv ... when, all of a sudden, they were fired upon by explosive shelling near an exit route along a bridge there.

You can see what appears to a Ukrainian soldier standing near some barricades, talking to people hiding behind a building not too far from him. You can also see some people shuffling along in the open streets behind him.

All seems calm, until seconds later ... when when what appears to be a mortar shell and/or a missile flies past him and explodes mere feet away, sending the man flying back.

Moments later, you can see a few bodies laid out in the distance with others rushing over to attend to them, calling for a medic. According to the NYT, at least 4 people were killed in this specific incident ... including civilians.

The place is being torn to shreds, and it looks like the Russians aren't letting anyone escape with ease -- especially if they're firing shell after shell toward the evacuation process ... and killing whoever may be unfortunate enough to be in their path.

Frankly, this is just a fraction of the footage that's out there showing civilians being targeted by the Russians ... so, it's clear they're not discriminating as they continue to invade.

The question that then poses is ... what is the U.S. going to do about it, if anything???

That was asked of Sec. of State Anthony Blinken by CNN's Jake Tapper this weekend -- and while Blinken acknowledged U.S. officials had, in fact, seen credible reports of civilians being wiped out such as in the instance depicted here ... all he said is they were documenting it.

Chris Brown's former ride is hitting the market ... and it's a super-fast sportscar Breezy customized himself!!!

The singer is the former owner of this 2012 Lamborghini Aventador and he's the one who picked out the Miami Blue paint, which is sure to turn a bunch of heads.

The current owner bought the car off Chris and is now selling it for just under $300,000 ... and we're told there's already been a ton of interest.

As you see from the gallery, the whip is freakin' awesome ... Chris picked out the black accents, which match the black rims and sleek black interior. The Lambo features a 6.5-liter engine, an upgraded suspension and only has about 16,000 miles.

The next owner is gonna wanna keep the Miami Blue paint job pristine ... and that should be easier to do thanks to the paint protection film already on the exterior panels.

Los Angeles local Amy Smart was in her early 20s when she blasted her way into the entertainment biz back in 2000 with some top-notch breakout roles including the college hottie Beth -- who gets involved in a wild night of partying, sex and camcorders -- in the 2000 college comedy "Road Trip."

Around that same time, Smart had some other epic acting gigs including James Van Der Beek's girlfriend Jules Harbor in the football film "Varsity Blues" and her classic character Ruby on the television drama "Felicity."

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally made sure to get a dig in against Vladimir Putin during the Spirit Awards this weekend -- using not just their words ... but their digits too.

The husband and wife duo are cohosting Sunday's award show, and toward the top of the show ... they sent out a message of solidarity, sending everyone there on the ground their best wishes.

Mullaly then added, "I think we speak for everyone here when we say we are hoping for a quick and peaceful resolution. Specifically, f*** off and go home Putin."

NO followed up by saying, "We hope Putin f**** off and goes home and to that end let’s all join together with a Spirit Awards salute to Putin" -- and then threw up his middle finger to the camera ... with MM following suit.

It looks like some audience members did the same, including Kristen Stewart ... who was caught on camera doing the same when the shot cut to her in her seat.

Unfortunately, a video clip of the awesome moment doesn't seem to exist online -- IFC is carrying the broadcast, and they didn't post it as a standalone segment. Still, it's encouraging to see Hollywood has Ukraine at their forefront of their minds as awards season carries on.

Britney Spears says she finally set foot in Las Vegas again after years of being away following the shuttering of her residency there -- and her message is ... this place is neat!

The pop star revealed Sunday that she'd returned to Sin City for the first time since 2017 -- when she wrapped up her 'Piece of Me' show that had run for 4 years ... and which also served as the last time she publicly performed in town.

Now, coming back in a normal setting -- where she's just a regular person as opposed to a show pony -- Britney says she loved it, but also resents her years of slaving away onstage.

In a lengthy IG post, Britney says her family used to get the VIP treatment because of the work she was doing there ... while also suggesting she never got the luxury of that high life herself, but was instead subjected to harsh conditions and a grueling schedule.

BTW, there were hints she might've dropped in ... because her fiancé, Sam Asghari, was posting a lot from his hotel at Resorts World Las Vegas -- looks like they were both there for the UFC fight ... and it would appear they got the red carpet rolled out too.

In that spirit, Britney writes, "It was absolutely lovely being treated like an equal in Las Vegas for the first time in 13 years ... huge difference." Brit goes on to say, "Moments like this all I do look up and say 'REALLY GOD??? ALL THIS TIME???"

Britney goes on to slam her family yet again, saying she no longer has to be their performance puppet -- and she wasn't done with bashing them just yet either.

In a separate post, Britney detailed what sort of hours she was working -- seemingly referring to her time in the entertainment industry at large ... saying she was on the clock 7 days a week, on an 8 AM to 6 PM schedule, with little to no privacy.

She explains ... "this happened to me for 4 months after I worked for my dad and my family for 13 f*****g years … I gave my all when I worked only to be literally thrown away … I was nothing more than a puppet to my family yet to the public I just performed on stage and did what I was told to do … but it was worse than that because it was accepted and approved by the people I loved the most."

Britney goes on to say that she's bringing all this up because she feels her parents have gotten away with what she deems criminal behavior, and vows to not stop the fight until they're held accountable ... even in the wake of her conservatorship ending.

Another brazen display of thievery at a Walgreens went down this week in the Bay Area -- but the difference now ... someone actually tried doing something, with nutritious help.

Check out this wild video of a guy literally going behind the checkout counter at one of these drug stores in the Richmond District of SF -- where these types of smash and grab thefts have become all too common ... with little to no resistance by anyone there.

Per usual, the dude is having his way back there ... snatching up whatever he can and throwing it in a bag, all while the staff standby and call 911 right next to him.

However, this time ... it looks like somebody was sick of playing bystander and wanted to get in the mix a bit, to at least let the thief know -- hey, this isn't cool ... and also, screw you! And so ... they got into a food fight of sorts, with fruit being the first weapon of choice.

The crook and customer trade banana blows, and eventually ... the former throws what appear to be cookies before getting out of Dodge. It's kinda funny, but also surreal.

BTW, this is far from the only incident like this that's occurred at a Walgreens -- not just in the Bay, but across the country it seems ... as thieves seem to have figured out the retail giant will literally not do a thing to stop anyone, as it's against their shoplifting policy.

All they'll do is call the cops, but by the time they show ... a lot of these folks are long gone. Even the hired security guards have orders not to interfere -- and it's becoming untenable, as Walgreens has recently announced mass store closures, citing these hits as a partial reason.

Aaron Rodgers may have disengaged from his fiancée, but he hasn't given up on love, because he officiated the wedding of one of his teammates.

TMZ Sports obtained this video of the Green Bay Packers QB front and center at David Bakhtiari's wedding ceremony.

Aaron and David are not just teammates ... they're good pals.

Rodgers was in the thick of it ... sipping drinks, mingling with guests and chatting with the bridesmaids.

BTW ... the nuptials went down at the Rosewood Miramar Hotel near Santa Barbara. It's become a go-to place for romance. As we reported, Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian got engaged there a few months ago.

Kristin Cavallari is living it up like a single lady -- and doing so with the help of some hunky Magic Mike dancers in none other than Sin City.

The reality star was in Vegas Saturday night where she was taking in the shirtless sights at the SAHARA hotel -- and wouldn't you know it ... she was actually lucky enough to get dragged onstage by one of these hunks.

In video obtained by TMZ, you can see KC getting a full-blown lap dance of sorts -- albeit one that had her lying flat on her back -- while the dude went to work on the whipped cream.

He sprayed some on her neck and licked it off, and then went for her legs -- at which point Kristin got a little slap-happy with his ass. Eventually, he was straddling her ... and squirt a little cream on his chest for her to get a taste -- but things were cut short after that.

A soccer match in Mexico this weekend got out of hand among fans -- to the point that their respective pummeling left many looking like they were on the verge of death.

This happened Saturday in central Mexico, between Queretaro (the hosts) and Atlas from Guadalajara ... the latter squad rocking red/black jerseys. During the 62nd minute in the game, several fights broke out in the stands, which then poured into the actual field itself ... forcing the refs to suspend the match and sending stadium staff scrambling for help.

Several videos have emerged showing the brutality that was occurring -- many of which are too graphic to post here. Let's just say ... a lot of these folks took things way too far.

There are clips showing multiple groups of guys ganging up on one or more individuals, and pounding them into oblivion with punches, kicks and strikes with objects like chairs and poles. A lot of the victims were entirely stripped of their clothes too, lying unconscious. And some were even robbed, with pickpocketers diving in to remove their belongings.

Many of these people were actually presumed dead -- understandably, especially when you see some of this stuff -- and unconfirmed reports out of Mexico stoked that even more ... claiming several fatalities emerged from the brawl.

However, the official line from the governor of Queretaro is that nobody died from this ... but that upwards of 26 people were hospitalized, including a handful that are in critical condition.

As you can imagine, there were families with children there who were running/hiding for their lives ... and there are even some eyewitness accounts saying parents had to remove their kids' jerseys out of fear of a rival fan trying to attack them.

The league these two teams belong to, Liga MX, halted the rest of the games for the weekend and condemned the violence ... saying they were launching a full investigation and would commit to holding those parties responsible -- including venue honchos themselves.

There's a lot of finger-pointing going on -- between security (or a lack thereof) but mostly at the brawlers themselves ... who apparently let a rivalry blow up into a life or death situation.