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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could soon have friends and family members on both sides of the aisle ... as she walks down it -- she engaged to her longtime BF!

AOC confirmed she and Riley Roberts are officially taking their relationship to the next level by tweeting, "It's true. Thank you all for the well wishes."

Of course, this comes after folks noticed she was recently wearing a ring on THAT finger ... rocking her bling on the Hill and in her latest Instagram posts.

The Congresswoman has openly discussed her relationship with Riley before, and often praises him for supporting her.

They reportedly go way back ... having met during their Boston University days, while they were in a debate group named "Coffee and Conversation." In the words of AOC herself, their love blossomed in "true nerdy fashion."

There's an incredible case before the highest court in New York ... a case in which an animal rights org has filed legal docs asking the judges to give an elephant at the Bronx Zoo the same rights as a person ... to sue over illegal confinement in order to gain freedom.

The elephant in the room -- or in this case the Zoo -- is Happy, who was captured in Asia back in the '70s when she was 1-year old.

A group called the Nonhuman Rights Project has filed a writ of habeas corpus -- a legal move to get the animal out of confinement -- claiming Happy has effectively been imprisoned by the Zoo in a 1-acre facility. The group wants Happy removed from the facility and taken to a more spacious sanctuary.

The NRP claims Happy should be treated as a person in the legal system, arguing the animal is cognitively complex and autonomous ... worthy of protections afforded humans.

The org claims Happy is the first elephant to pass a self-awareness test ... she consistently touched a white "X" on her forehead as she looked in a mirror.

The New York Court of Appeals heard oral arguments yesterday, and the lawyer for the Zoo argued Happy is indeed happy, swimming, foraging and doing stuff elephants like to do.

At least one of the judges was skeptical, asking the lawyer for NRG, "So, does that mean that I couldn't keep a dog? I mean dogs can memorize words." The NRG lawyer shot back, elephants are way more cognitively complex than pooches.

If NRG is successful, it could literally open the gates of zoos in New York and possibly other states ... at least for the smartest animals in such facilities.

Robert Griffin III is firing back at the racist haters attacking LeBron James' son, Bronny, for taking a white classmate to prom ... saying, "LEAVE THESE KIDS ALONE!!!"

That's right -- grown ass people are mad about who a 17-year-old kid took to a dance.

Here's the deal -- LeBron's wife, Savannah, shared shots of Bronny's big day to social media on Wednesday ... showing the junior hooper and his date, a senior student at Sierra Canyon, all dressed up for the event.

Bronny was decked out in a flashy blue and black suit ... and his transportation of choice was a custom-print Mercedes with a sporty spoiler, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Pretty awesome, right??

Well, some disgusting haters took issue with Bronny's date not being black ... commenting some awful responses under Savannah's post -- even accusing the girl of being a gold digger.

Enter RG3, who defended the teenagers in a passionate tweet this week.

"LEAVE THESE KIDS ALONE!" Griffin -- who is married to Estonian athlete Grete Sadeiko -- said on Wednesday.

"People clowning Bronny for his prom date are just miserable. Let them enjoy their day."

RG3 followed up with a passionate video ... saying the hate is giving off creepy energy.

Griffin has previously shut down his own criticism for not marrying a black woman ... saying, "It is not anti-black to love someone outside your race."

Christine Quinn has an explanation for why she was on a film set 2 days after missing the "Selling Sunset" reunion due to having COVID ... saying she tested "positive" to go to set.

During a line of questioning from Andy Cohen, Christine told him she tested "positive" the night before and the morning of her poolside shoot with Melissa Gorga ... say what?!?

Christine's clearly flustered by Andy's probing questions as she tries clearing things up, explaining she tested positive to go to set, meaning she tested negative for the virus. This is some serious mental gymnastics.

TMZ broke the story ... Christine was seen filming something with 'RHONJ' star Melissa last month, only 2 days after missing the 'Selling Sunset' reunion, which her reps blamed on a COVID diagnosis.

Christine's co-star, Mary Fitzgerald, told us she thinks the COVID case was BS and was simply a convenient excuse to back out of the reunion show and avoid facing the heat.

But, as Christine told Andy on "What What Happens Live," her contract did not require her to film the reunion show. Still, her COVID timeline doesn't make much sense, even though she says she definitely had the virus.

Tensions are running high among mothers needing baby formula in the United States ... and that's even more apparent in a new video making the rounds on social media.

Unclear where the clip was recorded, but you can see empty shelves -- where formula should be -- and one woman confronting another, accusing her of taking the remaining formula to sell at a higher price.

After the heated exchange, one walks away with all the formula, leaving the other high and dry. The woman's brother posted the clip to social media, sharing the video along with her frustrations. She wrote, "People like this cause the shortages, not enough formula for kids but hey let's ban abortions."

Reports say the country has seen about a 40% drop in formula availability from last month, with some blaming supply chain issues caused by COVID as well as a formula product recall.

Music legend, Vangelis, the composer behind massive Hollywood hits like "Chariots of Fire" and "Blade Runner" has died.

A representative for Vangelis confirmed he died at a hospital in France, where he was being treated for an illness ... but it's unclear what he was fighting.

Vangelis was a self-taught musician that rose to fame after scoring the 1981 film, "Chariots of Fire." The soundtrack reached #1 on Billboard charts ... and remarkably, he ended up winning an Oscar for Best Original Score.

In addition to the Oscar, he scored Ridley Scott's 1982 film "Blade Runner" ... and wrote songs for films, including "The Bounty."

He was 79.

It's maybe the most incredible gaffe of the year -- and that's saying something -- former President George W. Bush tried to take aim at Vladimir Putin, and it boomeranged right back on him.

W. was speaking at SMU's George W. Bush Institute when he groused about Putin's invasion of Ukraine ... he was trying to say the war was the brainchild of a tyrant who brazenly invaded a neighboring country without any justification. But, here's how it came out ... "Political opponents are imprisoned or otherwise eliminated from participating in the electoral process. The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq."

Well, he quickly corrected himself, saying "I mean of Ukraine," and then just shrugged.

As you know, Bush launched a U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 on the pretext Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction ... there were no such weapons but lots of destruction in the wake of U.S. aggression.

Now check this out ... if you listen closely, after Bush corrects himself, he says, "Iraq too." That's an incredible statement, because that puts him in the seat of the aggressor without justification.

And then, he gets a laugh by saying, "75" -- his age.

A horrifying and heartbreaking video has surfaced of a kid's game of tag interrupted by gunfire which killed a man near a California playground.

The clip starts with two young kids going back and forth and then gunshots ring out, sending the kids running for their lives. In the video, you can hear parents screaming and a little girl yelling for help as she fights back tears.

Cops say more than 33 shots were fired in the exchange between the two groups in a Palo Alto neighborhood on Tuesday. 3 people were injured and 1 killed. It does not appear any kids were hurt.

In a press conference Tuesday, Police Chief Jeff Liu, said, "Shooting and violence, especially at our parks with kids playing is completely unacceptable. We need to come together as a community and send a message that this type of activity will not be tolerated."

Charles Barkley had a ruthless comeback after a bunch of Warriors fans heckled him on Wednesday ... saying, "If you don't leave me alone, I'm going to come to your house and f*** your mama!!"

Chuck was in the Bay Area to cover the Western Conference Finals with TNT's "Inside the NBA" ... and as he sat on set outside Golden State's Chase Center, some spectators in the background went after him about having zero rings.

"Charles, spell championship," one fan yelled out ... as others shouted to get his attention.

But, the Hall of Famer wasn't about to let the jab slide -- turning around and firing off his response.

Surprisingly, the Dubs fans loved the burn, with several dudes in the crowd smiling and laughing it off.

Chances are Barkley was just having some fun with the trolls -- he wasn't smiling as he clapped back, but he doesn't seem too pissed.

Barkley has had a love-hate relationship with hecklers for years -- he previously told TMZ Sports in 2018 how athletes need to handle trolls ... saying pros can't put their hands on anybody -- 'cause they could literally kill an average Joe.

After all, this is the guy who unapologetically threw a man through a window back in 1997 ... so take his word for it.

Tommy Hilfiger has the skinny on jeans, and he's crystal clear on one point ... baggy is out.

We got the fashion icon in WeHo Wednesday night at Craig's, and he's all about skinny jeans ... no hesitation -- skinny jeans are universal and timeless.

He seems to have a fav among those who model said jeans ... Shawn Mendes is at the top of his list.  BTW, Shawn's fronting Tommy's latest campaign for polo shirts and jeans.

Tommy is not a fan of cargo pants for sure ... they're the opposite of skinny jeans so it's no surprise.

TH likes to keep it tight ... 'cause that's what's right!

Newly retired Tyson Fury might be done throwing his hands ... but he's clearly not opposed to still using his feet -- 'cause the star boxer attempted to kick a cabbie's car after an apparent altercation with the driver in France.

The incident went down sometime Wednesday ... when Fury seemed to be roaming the streets of Cannes after having just a little too much to drink.

In video shot by a bystander, Fury -- wearing a white shirt and dark-colored shorts -- can be seen needing some assistance as he stumbled to a cab in the middle of the road.

But, even though Tyson and his entourage were attempting to get a lift from the cabbie, it seemed the driver wanted no part of it -- because the guy was continuously waving them off.

Eventually, the driver pulled away from the pugilist and his buddies -- and that's when the 33-year-old fight attempted to stick his boot into the car's bumper.

You can see in the video, Fury appeared to just barely miss. Fury's friend, meanwhile, also seemed to throw a kick at the ride too.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the altercation escalated any further -- and Fury appeared to joke about his level of intoxication in an IG post on Thursday morning.

"Strong beer!" Fury said while on a run with his father.

Fury -- who retired after beating Dillian Whyte last month -- has been in France for the last several days enjoying his newfound time off ... being spotted on a yacht as well as at different restaurants and watering holes in the country.

Korn co-founder James Shaffer got real with us Wednesday about addiction, the difficulty of staying sober on the road, and the tragedy that befell Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins.

We got James at LAX and asked about temptations when a band is touring, and he says it's a constant problem. James, who has been sober for a dozen years, says he still feels the pull of addiction when others around him want to party with drugs and booze.

He says rock stars always have folks offering stuff, and that makes sobriety difficult.

Our photog asks about Taylor Hawkins' recent death, and James says he's still heartbroken over it, and feels enormous sympathy for Taylor's family and Dave Grohl.

James has an interesting take on how his fellow musicians can manage the pull of addiction as well as mental health struggles ... by creating a community within his profession. James says musicians are sensitive people, so getting support from like-minded people is essential for the well-being of his community.

"General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco had some bad luck on Friday the 13th ... her home went up in flames, thanks to a cigarette that ignited the blaze.

Kelly tells TMZ ... she woke up late Friday morning to a fire raging on her front yard, with flames licking her windows. The flames quickly engulfed portions of the house.

Kelly was able to escape ... but the house did not fare well. The blaze caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to her Sherman Oaks home. It won't be livable for quite a while.

Kelly says she turned her security footage over to law enforcement and we're told arson investigators were able to determine the fire was started by someone tossing a lit cigarette butt on the empty lot next to her home. The investigators believe the fire was not started intentionally.

Talk about bad luck on Friday the 13th.

Kelly, who has appeared on soap operas for 22 years and counting, says she's been a part of some pretty wild stories on set ... but none of the scripts compare to living through a massive fire at her home.

She's got a message now that she's come face-to-face with flames ... "Something as little as a cigarette butt can cause casualties and devastation."

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker can't keep their hands or their mouths off each other -- we know that by now -- and that makes their latest revelation shocking ... no sex!

The fam's promoting its Hulu series with a clip of the now newly-married couple talking about their plunge into an extreme cleanse -- no caffeine, no booze, no sex. It's called a panchakarma cleanse, and it sounds awful!

They didn't make clear how long the abstinence would last ... typically it's 12, 14, 21 or 28 days.

They love sex, for sure. As for booze, well the night they tried to get hitched in Vegas shows abstinence from the bottle is a real thing!

Flavor Flav has a new mouth to feed -- after taking a paternity test, it's been confirmed he has a 3-year-old son, who will now bear Dad's surname.

The boy's name is Jordan and his maternal grandparents, Barry and Parchi, tell TMZ ... their daughter, Kate, used to be Flav's manager for a few years -- a period during which they had a romantic relationship.

At some point, Kate -- who no longer works for Flav -- got pregnant and had Jordan, but for a good while, we're told Flav wasn't sure the kid was his son.

However, since then ... Jordan's grandparents tell us FF submitted DNA which lined up with Jordan's. Sooo, as Maury would put it ... Flav IS the father!!!

We're told child support and a custody arrangement have been established. It also sounds like Flav is spending more QT with Jordan these days -- he's taught him how to play the drums a bit -- and he's talked to Kate about Jordan taking his family name ... Drayton.

They've already filed legal docs to make it official, and there will be a hearing later this year. Jordan is Flav's eighth child, so as he might put it ... yeahhhh little boyyyy!!!

Master P has been split from his estranged wife for over a decade, but he's only now been officially declared a single man in the eyes of the law.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Master P and Sonya Miller are officially no longer a couple ... it remains to be seen if their divorce is totally finalized or if they still have some things to work out.

Believe it or not, Sonya first filed for divorce all the way back in 2013, and Master P has previously claimed they settled everything in private in 2016 ... but never submitted it to the court.

Fast forward to December 2021 -- when Master P submitted docs asking a judge to declare him legally single -- which has now happened.

Master P and Sonya got married in 1989 -- the rapper has 9 kids -- including Romeo Miller (Lil Romeo).