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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky deserves the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize ... according to several world leaders now pushing to get him the high honor.

It comes as no shock ... Zelensky's become a beacon of courage around the world for the way he's inspired and rallied Ukrainians against the Russian invasion. That's clearly why a group of European politicians now want the Norwegian Nobel Committee to reopen the nomination for its 2022 peace prize.

The politicians issued a statement, saying ... "We therefore humbly call upon you, the Committee, to consider: Extending and thereby re-opening the nomination procedure for the Nobel Peace Prize until March 31, 2022 to allow for a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine."

The extension is necessary because the nomination process closed on January 31.

For the uninitiated, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to an organization or person who has done the most/best to advance fellowship among countries, or the reduction of standing armies ... and have advocated for peace.

Translation: hand the thing to Zelensky.

Nearly 251 people and 92 orgs applied for this year's honor, but for some politicians -- and millions of citizens around the world -- this year's winner should be a no-brainer.

Post Malone might be the nicest superstar ever … so says one mom, after he helped wish her autistic son, and fan, a happy 21st birthday.

Nicole Schumacher tells TMZ ...  she and her son Andrew, who's a huge fan of Post's, ran into the "White Iverson" rapper at Matsuhisa Restaurant in Bev Hills to celebrate his 21st birthday.

She tells us Andrew follows the law and had been eagerly waiting to have a beer for the first time ever! While he waited for the brewsky, he was in for a big surprise.

The table next to them sent PM a bottle of sake, so Post came over to thank the group, and as he was about to walk back to his table, Nicole told PM that her son was a big fan and would love to meet him. Post more than obliged.

Check out the video ... Post gives Andrew a warm smile and a handshake, and there's a little chitchat, which means everything to the young man.

Andrew's mom tells us he has a hard time speaking, and rarely are strangers as patient and kind with him as Post.

Mom and son hail from Canton, Ohio ... they were in town visiting her other son who works in L.A. ... so this surprise meet and greet was the icing on the cake.

Brittney Griner was in a Russian court on Thursday ... and will remain in custody for AT LEAST another two months after they extended the arrest of the WNBA star, who's accused of bringing drugs into the country.

Video was released showing the Phoenix Mercury center walking, presumably outside the Moscow-area courtroom, flanked by two female guards. The footage is the first we've seen of 31-year-old Griner since she was taken into custody weeks ago.

Russian news agency TASS says the Moscow court granted more time to investigate the alleged crimes ... and "extended the period of detention of the U.S. citizen Griner until May 19."

Griner has been in custody since February after Russian customs officials claim they found hashish oil (vape cartridges) in her carry-on luggage at an airport.

As for the conditions of her "detainment," TASS reports she's sharing a cell with two other women who have no prior convictions. They also reported the 6'7" athlete was issued a bed too short for her frame.

After her arrest, Russian officials said they opened up a drug trafficking investigation into Griner.

Everyone from NBA and WNBA stars, actors and actresses, to Griner's wife has called on the country to release Griner ... to no avail.

"There are no words to express this pain," Griner's wife, Cherelle, said earlier this month.

"I'm hurting, we're hurting. We await the day to love on you as a family."

Several prominent politicians have spoken out about Griner's arrest -- including Hillary Clinton, who recently wrote "Free Brittney" on social media.

U.S. Congressman Colin Allred -- who also happened to attend Baylor U. -- recently told us he hopes Griner doesn't become a political pawn during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Many fear Griner -- who has played pro basketball in Russia for years -- could be used as a bargaining chip against America ... as the west has levied very stiff sanctions against the country.

A driver for "Grey's Anatomy" is accusing LAPD of racial profiling after officers pulled him over at gunpoint and arrested him in front of the cast and crew ... only to discover they had the wrong guy.

Ernest Simon Jr., who is Black, says he'd just dropped off crew members near a Tarzana, CA set in March 2021 when he got pulled over. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, he says officers told him an automated license plate reader linked his vehicle to a stolen BMW sedan, which was pretty shocking to Ernest ... because, at the time, he was driving a Ford van rented by Disney.

Ernest says the parking lot attendant where he'd pulled over told the cops Ernest was part of the 'Grey's' crew ... still, with guns drawn, they made him lie face down on the asphalt, and even called for backup. In the suit, obtained by TMZ, he says no fewer than 7 cop cars raced to the scene ... and he claims they also called for helicopter support.

Other crew members recognized what was happening, and Ernest says they tried explaining to cops they had the wrong guy -- but in docs, he says cops only yelled at them "Get out of the line of fire." He says that, combined with the fact he was Black, had him terrified he was about to get shot.

Now handcuffed, while still lying on the ground ... Ernest claims the crazy scene went on for about 30 minutes. According to his lawsuit, it only ended when a white male co-worker reiterated to officers they had the wrong guy -- which is the same story he claims a Black male co-worker had already told cops, but to no avail.

At that point, cops took off the cuffs and released Ernest, but he doesn't think it's a coincidence this happened in Tarzana -- an L.A. suburb, where he points out the population is 70.7 percent white, and only 3.6 percent Black.

The family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer killed on the set of "Rust," is dealing with another crisis ... they have relatives who can't get out of Ukraine.

Halyna's husband, Matthew Hutchins, says her family is trapped in the capital city of Kyiv due to Russia's repeated attacks on areas that had been designated as safe passage corridors.

Matthew says Halyna's mother knows she cannot leave safely and is instead continuing to work in the same hospital where she's been a nurse for more than a decade, and Halyna's father is hunkering down too.

As we've seen, Vladimir Putin's shelling has taken out several unarmed civilians as they attempted to flee through what they believed to be a humanitarian safe zone.

There is one glimmer of hope -- a rep for Matthew tells TMZ, Halyna's sister and 3-year-old niece have just made it to the Romanian border, attempting to get evacuated.

Matthew himself firmly believes there needs to be a no-fly zone over Ukraine, and he's calling on China to step up and enforce it if NATO won't.

He thinks Chinese intervention would guarantee both sides stay out of the sky, and Russia stops using rockets on Ukraine's ground forces.

Matthew is also applauding Ukrainians for inspiring the world with their bravery in defending their homeland ... and for showing the truth about Putin's invasion and the atrocities being committed by Russian forces.

Tony Hawk -- who suffered a career-threatening broken femur just last week -- is already up and walking without crutches ... further proving the skateboarding legend is simply built different.

The 53-year-old posted the update on Thursday ... showing a slow and steady walking pace with only a slight hobble.

It's pure insanity -- given how gnarly the break was -- but it shouldn't come as a surprise ... after all, Hawk was putting weight on the busted leg just one day after his skating accident.

Tony seems to be having some fun during his recovery ... playing Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way" as he takes his steps.

As we previously reported, Hawk feared the injury could keep him from ever returning to 100% ... but with this kind of progress, it seems like he'll be on the board again in no time.

"I've said many times that I won't stop skating until I am physically unable," Hawk said last week. "A broken leg -- with plenty of hardware -- will probably be the biggest test of that creed. I'll be back ... maybe not at full capacity but I resigned to that notion years ago as I approached 'mid-life.'"

A copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book sold at auction for $2.4 million, so presumably if the buyer does a Capital One commercial, the answer to the question, "What's in your wallet?" -- "Nothing."

Vincent Zurzolo, COO of ComicConnect.com tells TMZ ... the prize was "Marvel Comics #1," first released in 1939. The issue features characters like "The Human Torch" and "Masked Raider."

The opening bid -- a measly $1. Fast-forward to 33 bids later -- the winning, eye-popping number -- $2,427,777.65, making it the most expensive version of issue #1 ever sold.

We're told the buyer is a passionate comic collector who understands the significance of the comic and its place in superhero history. Of course, Marvel has taken off since its first issue, but this is the one that started it all.

This copy -- in near-perfect condition -- is known as the "pay copy," because it was used by publisher Lloyd Jacquet to record payments for his artists ... featuring hand-written reimbursement notes to the artists.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are escaping all the drama with Kanye West by filling up on comfort food ... but their attempt to do it on the QT was a pretty hilarious fail.

The couple rolled up to an In-N-Out in the L.A. area, and got in line at the drive-thru ... and immediately drew plenty of attention. First of all, there's nothing low-profile about Kim's custom gray Mercedes-Benz sedan ... so, the paparazzi certainly spotted them.

And then there's the passersby on foot, and the restaurant employees who obviously recognized Pete and Kim -- they're only the most talked about couple in the country right now.

While waiting in the line for their food, Kim seemed to lean over for a little PDA with Pete ... as they're clearly not trying to hide their affection for each other anymore.

We hadn't seen them together in public for a while, but after recently going IG official, doesn't look like they're holding anything back now -- no matter how much it might upset Ye.

Seeing these 2 indulge in classic fast food makes us wonder, though -- animal style?

"The Challenge" star Johnny Bananas is overseas helping as many Ukrainian refugees as he can, and says the heartbreaking effort is shining a light on just how good we have it here in the U.S. of A.

Right now, Johnny's splitting his time between Poland and Ukraine -- he's joined a humanitarian convoy with the Humanosh Foundation, and earlier this week helped deliver 3 ambulances and 3 vans loaded with food, military gear and medical equipment.

He says the mission's made him realize American issues pale in comparison to what Ukrainians are facing.

With people in the U.S. currently upset about soaring gas prices and inflation at the supermarket -- Johnny thinks we should imagine a world where there is no gas to be found!

Johnny says Americans have gotten "too comfortable," and coming to a war-torn country like Ukraine really put things into perspective for him.

BTW ... the Humanosh Foundation is a nonprofit that provides shelter and aid to refugees and soldiers.

Last week Johnny's friend called asking if anyone he knew with a big platform would be willing to help show the world the good the nonprofit is trying to accomplish.

Chris Johnson is opening up on the shooting that took his friend's life -- and severely injured the NFL star -- explaining he feared his professional football career was over.

The 36-year-old former All-Pro sat down with journalist Omar Kelly and Brandon Marshall for an episode of the ex-Pro Bowlers' "I Am Athlete" show ... and detailed the March 2015 morning where CJ2K's was shot in the shoulder, and his friend was murdered.

"We're at the red light, just happened so quick. Just hear windows shattering, next thing you know I'm in the car, one of my other friends in the back seat, my other friend driving," Chris says.

"So I'm sitting there and the next thing you know, I look to the left, I see one of my friends, he's leaning on the horn. He gone. I shake him like wake up, wake up. Outta there. I call my homeboy in the back seat, he's talking to me whatever. So whatever, we go to the hospital."

Chris' friend Rollie died in the shooting.

Johnson, who played 10 seasons in the NFL, and was one of the best running backs of his era, was badly injured as a result of the shooting ... and feared it'd end his football career.

"When I got shot, it went collarbone, shoulder bone, rib, all that. So at this time, now I'm on bed rest. So probably like three weeks after I get shot, my nerves start messing with me. Now my hand goes out like, so painful. I can't use it. If I touch something, it's burning sensational."

"So now I can't use my hand, my right hand is my dominant hand. I can't use my hand so I'm like damn, my career over with."

Chris tells Brandon he was only in Florida to attend a concert put on by a friend who was about to head to prison for several years ... so CJ wanted to hang and say goodbye to his buddy.

However, the night took a turn for the worst ... and Chris nearly paid with his life.

Identical twins Brent and Shane Kinsman were 5 years old when they ran across our screens while playing Kyle and Nigel Baker -- a boisterous set of twins who made up two of the dozen Baker children in the 2003 film 'Cheaper By The Dozen.'

The OG family comedy was packed with big named stars including Hilary Duff, Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Dax Shepard and Ashton Kutcher were also cast in the movie.

Recently graduating from college, The Kinsman twins are now 24 years old and have plans to step back in front of the camera soon.

Trevor Noah's response to Kanye West hurling a racial slur at him is filled with compassion for what he sees the rapper becoming -- a situation the 'Daily Show' host calls heartbreaking.

Trevor went right to the source, posting a comment on Ye's IG that seeks to deescalate their feud -- initially pointing out how much of a positive impact West has had on his life.

Then Trevor tugs at Ye's heartstrings, saying ... "You're an indelible part of my life Ye, which is why it breaks my heart to see you like this."

Trevor says he doesn't care if Kanye supports Donald Trump or roasts Pete Davidson, then adds ... "I do however care when I see you on a path that's dangerously close to peril and pain."

Keep in mind, Trevor left this comment on Kanye's since-deleted post where he called Trevor a "k**n" ... which Kanye posted in the wake of Trevor warning Ye's feud with Kim Kardashian and Pete could turn violent.

Trevor urges Kanye to understand there's a difference between fighting for his family, and simply fighting his family -- because he doesn't want to wake up one day to news Kanye did something terrible.

As we reported ... Julia Fox told us her ex-BF is harmless, and just expressing himself as an artist when he goes after Pete and Kim online. However, Trevor says he'd rather be the idiot who takes Kanye's words seriously and speaks out ... as opposed to staying silent and later regretting it.

Trevor also addresses the racial epithet, telling Kanye, "Don't ever forget, the biggest trick racists ever played on black people was teaching us to strip each other of our blackness whenever we disagree."

As we reported ... Kanye's attack on Trevor was part of the reason he's been suspended from using Instagram.

Trevor's comment ends with some comedy to lighten the mood ... he says Kanye's diss was actually funny and wishes Ye well, hoping they can laugh about the beef one day.

Folks on the set of 'NCIS' are getting sick ... and sources say the mystery illness has more than a dozen people who work on the show puking.

The long-running CBS program is currently filming in Valencia, CA just outside of L.A. ... and one source tells us at least 18 people on set fell ill Thursday morning.

One show exec told us they have been having Zoom meetings to figure out how to message what happened to everyone involved.

A CBS source tells TMZ it appears to be something like food poisoning, which the source describes as a minor illness with "mild symptoms."

So far, we're told the source of the illness is not known.

We're told they are still in production.

Zac Efron continues to prove he's been able to maintain one of the best bods in Hollywood for years ... taking a shirtless jog on the beach in Costa Rica.

The actor was spotted with some friends -- both male and female -- in Central America this week, unclear if he's down there for biz, pleasure or both ... but he's doing it all in a swimsuit.

Zac's been quite the globe-trotter over the last few years, including his Netflix project "Down to Earth with Zac Efron" where he worked to find healthy, sustainable ways to live.

You can see in the pics, at one point Zac busts out a camera and also takes a dip in the water -- so at the very least, he was shooting some content.

Logan Paul's wrestling Rey Mysterio and his WWE Superstar son Dominik in less than 3 weeks ... but WrestleMania might not be the last time you see Paul in a squared circle 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he's down to wrestle on a regular basis.

... but, only if the WWE fans want him.

We talked to the 26-year-old YouTuber and combat sports star ahead of his WrestleMania 38 tag team match (more on that later) ... and asked Logan how training was going with his tag team partner, The Miz.

"Bro, I am so ready, it's ridiculous. I'm not kidding, I'm very good at this sport. It comes so natural to me. I've been training but honestly bro, it's light work," Paul told us.

FYI, The Miz told us a few weeks ago Logan was an "Absolute natural."

We asked Logan if he'd consider signing with WWE ... and wrestle on a regular basis.

"To be honest, I don't think it's up to me. I think it's up to the fans. I think it's up to the fans to see if they agree with me thinking I'm good," Paul said.

"I think I'm good, I'm f**king biased though because I'm me. If they like my performance and they like what I can bring to the table, then maybe I'll entertain that convo."

And, if the fans want him?

"Yeah, absolutely. It's fun, dude. It's really, really fun. I just got done with training this morning and I come back like 'Yo!' Yeah dude, it's awesome."

Logan -- who boxed Floyd Mayweather last year in an exhibition bout -- says he's been training with The Miz leading up to the Mania matchup.

"He's an awesome partner and mentor. Obviously, he's been in this business forever and is a star himself, so having him by my side to kind of like handle me through the basics is fantastic. I'm learning quick and the more I learn, the quicker I'm learning. It takes me one attempt at a thing before I got it and once I know the ins and outs of the sport, I mean sky's the limit, to be honest."

As much as he loves The Miz, we asked Logan if he'd ever team up with his brother Jake.

"That's a fantastic idea. I never thought about it. That's a great idea, oh my God. Yeah, man I could definitely see that happen. Sheesh, that'd be nutty!"

WM 38 goes down April 2 and 3!

Some of Hollywood's biggest names are in the spirit -- rockin' green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Warning: Images may contain green beer and Guinness.

Olympic athlete Simone Biles shared green bikini shots while on vacation in Turks and Caicos -- while Danny Trejo, made special holiday donuts at his L.A. restaurant ... rainbows and Lucky Charms included!!!

Of course, we can't forget "Too Hot To Handle" star Francesca Farago, who did an entire shamrock photo shoot for the occasion.

Other celebs went out all for the holiday ... John C. Reilly was the international guest of honor at the St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland.

Pretty special moment for John and all of Ireland, really. This year marks the first time in 2 years they've had the celebration there ... due to COVID.

Other notable mentions include Jeff Ross ... sharing a throwback photo with his late pal Donny Davis dressed as a leprechaun.