TMZ.com Home

President Biden's just declared monkeypox a public health emergency, and while it's already having a huge impact on gay communities, it could quickly spread outside that bubble ... according to a doctor on the front lines.

Dr. Anne Rimoin, a UCLA professor of epidemiology, joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" and revealed there's already been a spill-over between communities in the U.S., and that won't stop unless we take appropriate action.

She explains "an infection anywhere can be an infection anywhere" -- meaning, it's time for ALL Americans to draw the line before the virus becomes more prevalent in society, in general.

The World Health Organization's put Dr. Rimoin on its Emergency Committee to tackle the monkeypox crisis, and she says this virus has been a simmering problem for years in Africa ... where she's been doing research since the early 2000s.

She recalls a 2017 outbreak in Nigeria and the symptoms were different from the ones she'd seen prior, showing how it can mutate over time.

Ne-Yo's wife is putting an end to the couple's marriage ... filing for divorce, and claiming the singer recently fathered a child with another woman.

Crystal Renay -- who married Ne-Yo in February 2016 -- filed divorce docs earlier this week in Atlanta saying the couple's marriage is "irretrievably broken with no hope for reconciliation."

What's most shocking, Smith says that while she and Ne-Yo have three children together of their own -- he recently fathered a child with another woman. Crystal lists the couple's date of separation as July 22, 2022 ... and says she's been taking care of the three kids since the split.

Crystal is asking for primary physical custody of the kids and joint legal custody -- she's also asking for child support and alimony.

Ne-Yo and Crystal have had their ups and downs over the years, she filed for divorce back in 2020 but later withdrew her petition. TMZ broke the story, the two celebrated their love once again in 2022 in Vegas with a "second" wedding.

Machine Gun Kelly is not getting a warm welcome on his tour stop in Nebraska ... one of his buses was just tagged with graffiti, including a homophobic slur.

As you can see, someone spray-painted both sides of MGK's red tour bus ... with one side reading, "RAP DEVIL F*****." The other has an image of a penis ejaculating along the side of the bus.

MGK is playing a show Thursday at CHI Health Center in Omaha ... and folks who are there say the bus was tagged while it was parked on a curb downtown.

The rapper's brought at least 4 tour buses to Omaha ... one yellow, one red, one blue and one green ... but it appears only the red bus was tagged.

It's the latest incident on MGK's cross-country tour, where his opener is Willow Smith ... as we reported, a fan fainted in the crowd during Willow's set on Tuesday in Pittsburgh, but she stopped the show until the fan was moved to safety.

A hockey player from an adult league in Canada straight-up kicked an opponent in the face with his skate during a mid-game scuffle ... and the incident was so reckless, police now tell TMZ Sports they're investigating it all.

The scary scene happened during an Adult Safe Hockey League game on July 29th at Scotia Barn in Burnaby.

You can see in the video from the arena, two players from opposing teams were fighting each other in the 3rd period ... when, suddenly, one of the guys appeared to intentionally kick the other with the blade of his skate.

The player wearing a #90 jersey immediately fell onto the ice and covered his face. His teammates, meanwhile, went after the kick suspect before refs ultimately intervened. The guy was issued a penalty, and ejected from the game.

The Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police tells us the victim received medical treatment for injuries he suffered from the kick -- adding that they've since launched an investigation.

"Burnaby RCMP is continuing to investigate the circumstances and actions that led to the player’s injuries," the officials said.

"Burnaby RCMP is in possession of video showing one angle of the incident, which has been collected as evidence. Investigators are still in the process of speaking with players and witnesses."

In addition to the ejection, the kick suspect also received an indefinite suspension from the ASHL, which said in a statement, "The conduct and on-ice behaviour depicted in the video in no way aligns with the values of our league and the rules of the game."

Malia Obama is taking in all the sights and attractions L.A. has to offer ... this time joined by a mystery male companion, who's got Malia grinning from ear to ear.

Malia and her pal were spotted on a trip Wednesday to The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Planned or not -- Malia and her friend sported some similar colors in their outfits -- she wore teal pants and he chose shorts.

Unclear if the pair are just friends or something more ... but both certainly seemed content, sporting big smiles.

Mark Zuckerberg was apparently a baseball star for a very small part of his life, and a signed piece of that history is hitting the auction block.

The card's being sold at auction by ComicConnect.com in September ... it's allegedly been held by one of Mark's old camp counselors all these years.

Allie Tarantino remembers Mark standing out amongst the rest at Elmwood Day Camp in Westchester, NY back in 1992. Allie had an extensive baseball card collection, so when the 9-year-old kid came up to him with one of his own, he knew it had to get signed.

Since Mark's rise to the top, Allie's used the card as a big talking point in conversations, of course -- he decided to sell it off to help with his kids' college funds.

Collectibles expert Stephen Fishler, says it's tough to value because there's nothing like it --they're opening the bid at $1, but it'll be an unpredictable fight to the top. It will also be auctioned as an NFT.

Rookie cards seem to be all the rage right now, at least as far as price points go -- one of Lebron James recently sold for a whopping $5.2M!!!

FYI -- Zuck's stats are great, too ... the 48-pound infielder hit 23 of 25 at-bats that season, cleaning up with an impressive .920.

Brittney Griner was emotional in Russian court on Thursday ... apologizing for "my mistake that I made," while pleading with the judge to hand down a light sentence.

Griner issued the mea culpa at another hearing in her drug case ... telling the Moscow courtroom she was deeply sorry for inadvertently packing hashish oil in her luggage back in mid-February.

"I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of [Yekaterinburg] for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them," the WNBA superstar said.

"I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home."

According to Associated Press reporters on the scene, Griner -- wearing a gray T-shirt and dark pants -- appeared to be very emotional while saying she was sorry.

Griner later urged the judge to take it easy on her when her sentence is eventually handed down ... saying she hopes the ruling "does not end my life.”

Prosecutors, though, reportedly argued in the courtroom Thursday that Griner did intentionally bring the cannabis oil ... and urged the judge to sentence the 31-year-old to 9.5 years behind bars. They also reportedly argued Griner should be hit with a big fine.

The judge is expected to make a ruling in the case as early as Thursday afternoon.

As we reported, Griner pleaded guilty to the drug charges against her last month. She's facing a sentence of up to 10 years behind bars.

U.S. officials, meanwhile, have classified her as wrongfully detained ... and have confirmed they've made Russia a substantial trade offer to ultimately bring her home.

The U.S. Department of Justice just made a significant move in the investigation into the police raid that resulted in the killing of Breonna Taylor ... charging several officers involved that day and in the events leading up.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges Thursday against four former and current Lousiville cops. Charges include unconstitutional use of force, unlawful conspiracies, civil rights offenses and others.

Brett Hankison, a former detective is said to have "willfully used unconstitutionally excessive force ... when he fired his service weapon into Taylor's apartment through a covered window and covered glass door."

Ex-Detective Joshua Jaynes, and Detective Kelly Goodlett and Sergeant Kyle Meany were charged with submitting a false affidavit to search Breonna's apartment and then allegedly put together a "false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information."

It was back in March 2020 when officers stormed Breonna's apartment in a forced-entry, shooting and killing the emergency room technician.

The pilot who mysteriously died just before a plane made an emergency landing last week -- allegedly "jumping" out of the aircraft -- may have actually fallen after trying to examine the damaged landing gear.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... one of the operating theories is that co-pilot Charlie Crooks went to the back of the cargo plane and opened the back cargo door to inspect the landing gear that was damaged and accidentally fell out as the plane headed for the airport.

As reported first by WRAL, the pilot radioed air traffic control that Charlie had "jumped" out of the plane. A close friend of Charlie's who has flown with him tells TMZ, the notion of Charlie jumping is absurd. The friend tells us, Charlie was excited a few days before the fatal flight at the prospect of being promoted to captain. The friend says he was in a great head space.

The 23-year-old told his friend, the day before he died, the chief pilot from the company that owned the plane was coming out from Colorado Springs to fly with him for 2 days last week ... to evaluate Charlie with an eye toward making him a captain.

As for Charlie jumping out of panic, the close friend scoffs at that notion as well, saying Charlie was cool as a cucumber in the air, recalling that there was a mechanical mishap in one of the planes a while back and Charlie landed it so well -- although the landing was rough -- the company he was working for at the time actually gave him a piece of the plane as a thank you.

The photo (above) shows Charlie at the back of the plane ... sitting on the very door that is being looked at as the one he possibly opened to look underneath at the landing gear.

He posted the pic on social media with a joke "If there's anything we can do to make your journey more comfortable, there is an exit ramp at the rear of the airplane that we will gladly open for you."

The NTSB and other federal agencies are currently investigating the fall and the plane.

Chuck E. Cheese has a hot mess on its hands -- and no, we're not talking about its pizza ... it's a possible lawsuit from the mom of the child who was snubbed by their mascot.

Naney D. Muhammad is the mother of the young Black girl who recently got the cold shoulder at a CEC in New Jersey -- and she tells TMZ ... yes, she's preparing to take legal action against the pizza chain for what she considers overt and blatant racist behavior.

Nancy says she's noticed a pattern of this sort of thing at amusement parks and indoor play areas for children -- and finds it heartbreaking she and her daughter were on the receiving end of it at Chuck E. Cheese.

She tells us CEC corporate fired off a standard statement she feels is empty and void of an apology ... and, as a result, says she's consulting with her lawyer for next steps so justice can be achieved. In her eyes, no kid should be made to feel how hers did that day.

Of course, this might just be the latest in what could become several lawsuits -- we've already seen things like this happen at Sesame Place. One class action lawsuit's already been filed against that Pennsylvania theme park.

Terrell Owens got into such a heated argument with a woman in his neighborhood on Wednesday night, cops had to get involved ... and when they arrived, the woman quarreling with the football legend screamed at T.O., "You're a Black man approaching a white woman!"

Parts of the incident were captured by Owens on his social media live stream -- after he and one of his neighbors apparently got into a dispute over the way he had been driving around his neighborhood.

Owens began filming the incident moments after cops had arrived on the scene.

In the footage, the woman accused T.O. of driving recklessly, nearly hitting her with his car, and then getting out of his ride to intimidate her. Owens adamantly denied the allegations, saying he was driving safely, and only got out of his vehicle because she was screaming profanities at him.

"You don't yell at me and tell me I almost hit you and I didn't," Owens can be heard telling the woman in the video.

"But, you didn't have to get out of your f***ing car!" she replied.

Owens continued, "You didn't have to talk to me that way, either! Karen!"

That's when the woman yelled back, "You're a Black man approaching a white woman!"

The woman then broke down in tears a few moments later. Owens accused her of hamming it up for the cop on the scene.

The police officer attempted to de-escalate the situation -- separating the two -- but it's unclear how it was all resolved ... Owens signed off before the cops left.

The 48-year-old former Dallas Cowboys star did caption the video by writing, "KAREN IS REAL!!!!"

"Wow!! JUST A NORMAL NIGHT OF BEING A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA 🤷🏾‍♂️😂😂," he continued. "I want to say I can’t believe it but y’all know what it is. #karenonbikes #tears #falseaccusations #hernameiskate"

"Selling Sunset" star Heather Rae Young is going after a strip club she says used her image to promote NFL viewing parties ... and now, she wants them to pay.

Heather and two other women just filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- claiming Platinum West and Platinum Plus Gentlemen's clubs in SC and PA, respectively, plastered their images on promo posters to get patrons into the club.

In the docs, Heather includes the flyer she says Platinum West used with her image for Sunday and Monday night football events ... with the phrase, "Cheerleaders for Every Fan."

Heather says she never had any sort of agreement, or communications at all with Platinum ... and to use her image to allure guests is plain old false advertising. Not only that, Heather claims the club is defaming her by making it appear she works there as a stripper.

As for the two other women -- Amber Lancaster and Jaime Edmondson Longoria -- suing the club ... Lancaster works on "The Price is Right" and was previously crowned Miss Washington Teen USA, Longoria has worked for Playboy and as a Dolphins cheerleader ... and is married to SF Giants All-Star Evan Longoria.

Gabby Petito's mother says the organization formed in her daughter's name is making a huge donation to fight domestic violence, and adds ... she's not buying the story Brian Laundrie told in his journal.

Nicole Schmidt announced The Gabby Petito Foundation's $100K gift to the National Domestic Violence Hotline -- part of the org's "Hope Can't Wait" initiative -- while talking to Kate Snow Thursday on 'Today.'

She says she's certain domestic violence was the cause of her daughter's untimely death ... and wants to do good by Gabby and everyone else who might also be in her situation.

She was joined by the National Domestic Violence Hotline CEO Katie Ray-Jones ... who says their call center has been flooded with calls this summer -- nearly twice as many conversations compared to last year.

The huge donation comes in just under a year after Gabby was found dead near a Wyoming campground. As you know, a manhunt ensued for Brian, and a month later his remains were found along with his notebook.

A group of pigs were pronounced dead for hours as part of a study .... and then, incredibly, scientists got it beating again!

The implications here are staggering for humans ... being able, potentially, to regenerate what is essentially a dead heart and bring people back to life.

Researchers from Yale began pumping synthetic fluids through the bodies of dead pigs, finding their hearts began to faintly beat ...  according to a peer-reviewed study published by Nature.

The team used 2 systems for its test -- the first group of pigs got OrganEx, a device that resembles heart-lung machines ... they also got an experimental mixture of fluids that are supposed to reduce inflammation and provide cellular health.

Some motor function also returned -- the head and neck of some of the dead pigs began to move ... something that shocked everyone. The movements appeared involuntary.

Aaron Rodgers says the secret to his recent NFL dominance is a psychedelic experience in South America ... claiming the ayahuasca plant helped him improve his mental health and have the "best season of my career."

Ayahuasca -- which contains DMT -- has been used socially and medically for centuries ... and some consumers credit the plant brew for spiritual healing.

The Super Bowl champ says it's not a "coincidence" he returned from South America and won his next two MVP awards in 2020 and 2021 ... and is speaking out to change the negative stereotypes around using ayahuasca.

"I think there's so many myths and rumors about it," Rodgers said on the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast."

"The fear around it is, you're going to s*** yourself, it's just a big throw-up fest ... but the negative framework of it is that is the experience, not the deep and meaningful and crazy mind-expanding possibilities and also deep self-love and healing that can happen on the other side."

Rodgers says his intention for the first experience was to find out what pure love feels like ... and it worked.

"I had a magical experience with the sensation of feeling a hundred different hands on my body imparting a blessing of love and forgiveness for myself and gratitude for this life from what seemed to be my ancestors," he added.

38-year-old Rodgers says a previous experience with mushrooms led him to try ayahuasca ... and because he did, he has a new perspective on life.

Meghan Markle is celebrating her 41st birthday ... and some of the royals are, at least publicly, setting aside their very deep differences to wish her well.

Prince William and Kate Middleton marked their sister-in-law's big day on social media by posting a photo of Meghan dressed in all white with the caption ... "Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"

Not exactly warm and fuzzy, but kind of a big deal when you consider the beef between Meghan, Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family. As you know, tensions have been high for some years now ... especially since Meghan and Harry resigned as senior royals in 2020.

Anyway, there's clearly a royal plan afoot to at least make it seem they're all making nice -- in addition to William and Kate's message ... Prince Charles and Camilla also posted, "Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!"

The Meghan pic they posted was from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year, the last time they all saw her in person.

You'll recall, Meghan and Prince Harry attended the Jubilee in the U.K. back in June, and, there was a clear divide -- physically and otherwise -- between them and some of the royal fam.