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The "Deadliest Catch" fishing boat kinda got entangled in geopolitics, after Russia launched a missile almost immediately after a nearby ship had a run-in with a Russian fishing boat.

The video is crazy ... the crew on D.C.'s Time Bandit was cruising along off Alaska, when someone screamed to look up toward the sun. Sure enough, they saw a missile shooting into the skies just as plain as day.

Apparently, another ship called Wizard had a run-in with a Russian fishing boat, near the U.S.-Russia border. The crews on each boat exchanged words before the folks on the Wizard told the Russian crew to scram.

During the back and forth, the Time Bandit was called for back-up. The Russian ship ended up retreating ... when suddenly things took a scary turn.

You hear someone from Time Bandit's crew scream, "Did Russia shoot a missile, dude?"

Someone responds ... "It's coming right for us, captain!"

Mattel is taking a snack company to court over a Nicki Minaj-themed chip that shares the name with everyone's favorite plastic doll.

Legal docs, obtained by TMZ, show Mattel filed a lawsuit in L.A. federal court last week against snack brand Rap Snacks ... claiming they "made the deliberate and calculated choice to launch a new product line using Mattel's famous BARBIE trademark."

Nicki is not being sued.

Rap Snacks recently launched its new "Barbie-Que Honey Truffle Chips" -- with Nicki front and center on the packaging. For those unaware, Nicki's known for calling herself a "Barbie" in her music, with her fanbase even being known as "The Barbz."

Mattel's claiming they weren't approached by the snack company prior to releasing their latest flavor ... and even tried to reach out to them to come to an agreement.

However, they say Rap Snacks "refused to cease use of the BARBIE trademark and issued no corrective advertising, thereby forcing Mattel to bring this lawsuit as a last resort to protect its rights and prevent further consumer confusion."

Christine Quinn is giving a big thumbs down to returning to "Selling Sunset" ... instead focusing her attention on her other ventures.

Production sources tell TMZ Christine will not be featured in seasons 6 and 7 of the Netflix show, which recently began production. We're told it was a mutual decision between Christine, Netflix and the production company.

Our Christine sources tell us she recently signed with IMG Models, and is already booking modeling and appearance gigs at various fashion events.

Christine is also heavily involved with RealOpen, her brokerage that allows you to buy/sell real estate through crypto currency with her husband Christian.

Christine has definitely had her fair share of drama with "SS" producers and her costars over the last few months, skipping the show's reunion after claiming she tested positive for COVID. TMZ broke the story, Christine was spotted on a commercial shoot just days after allegedly testing positive ... at a time when she should've been in quarantine.

She also bashed the show on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, saying producers manipulate and intimidate the cast to create more drama. She also claimed the show's executive producer told her "to go fall down the stairs" and "kill" herself after she was honest about a scene from the show during an interview.

We got Christine's now former co-star Emma Hernan outside The Oppenheim Group office Wednesday, and while she isn't calling Christine's leave a win, she admits the show's got a bunch of heavy hitters as it is.

The Cleveland Browns grounds crew rushed to plant new grass right after Machine Gun Kelly's homecoming concert at FirstEnergy Stadium on Saturday ... but it wasn't because the show got too rowdy -- TMZ Sports is told it was all part of the plan.

The Cleveland native played in front of a packed crowd this past Saturday ... giving a bloody performance that even included zip-lining throughout the stadium.

There's just one thing that had people concerned -- Cleveland hosts the Philadelphia Eagles for a preseason game on Sunday ... which means if the field were to have gotten damaged during the concert, the team could be in trouble.

As it turns out, we're told that wasn't the case at all ... because the Browns expected to replace the field after the show no matter what shape it was in.

The team tells us the "Mainstream Sellout" concert marked the end of the stadium's summer concert dates ... so after the rapper/rocker and fans left the place, it was the best opportunity to lay down some new sod for the start of the Browns' 2022 campaign.

There were rumblings the grass would simply not be ready in time for the 1 PM kickoff on the 21 ... but according to our sources, it won't be an issue.

The hits keep coming for Britney Spears' first husband Jason Alexander ... after serving his sentence for crashing Britney's wedding, he's now facing felony charges for an old alleged crime.

The Napa County Sheriff tells TMZ ... Jason was booked today on an arrest warrant issued back in 2016 stemming from an alleged jewelry theft, and he's been charged with two felonies.

We're told Jason is charged with grand theft and buying/receiving stolen property ... and he was picked up Tuesday from Ventura County jail by Napa authorities after serving a 60-day sentence for crashing Britney's wedding.

TMZ broke the story ... Jason had a felony warrant out for his arrest in Napa County when he got busted in June at Britney's ceremony. Cops in Napa say Jason swiped a $2,000 bracelet from a woman there in 2015 when he was a houseguest.

As we first told you ... cops say Jason had been living in the woman's house for only a few weeks when she claims she noticed jewelry missing from her bedroom. Police say Jason later admitted to the woman he stole her diamond and sapphire tennis bracelet, valued at $2k, and pawned it off.

Now, the alleged theft is coming back to bite him.

It's time for some of the boldest, bravest, most badass kids and teens in America to show off their personal neck warmers ... all in the form of a mullet competition.

The finalists have been picked for this year's USA Mullet Championship, and the entries certainly don't disappoint. Each kid and teen is given a spot on the competition's website, where fans can scroll through and pick their favorite Billy Ray Cyrus-inspired hairdo.

The first round of voting is open now, and the ultimate winner will take home $2,500 ... plenty to spend on hair products to maintain the perfect Camaro crash helmet.

R. Kelly's child pornography case from 2008 was front and center during opening statements in his new Chicago criminal trial ... something his attorney claims is a witch hunt.

Prosecutors kicked things off Wednesday in front of a jury, saying ... "The defendant, Robert Kelly, had sex with multiple children. He made videotapes of himself having sex with children," while also pointing at 2 co-defendants, ex-associates of Kelly's, whom they claim knew about it while it was going on and allegedly helped keep things quiet.

The woman at the center of the '08 case -- who was alleged to have been videotaped in sexual encounters with Kelly, at the age of 14 -- was mentioned too. She was referred to by prosecutors as "Jane" ... and they say she's going to testify in this case about what happened with RK.

According to prosecutors, Kelly went to incredible lengths to buy Jane and her family's silence at the time ... allegedly shipping them out of the country on his dime, and having his employees move mountains to conceal her identity or any connection to some tapes.

There are 4 tapes in play during this trial, and prosecutors say they'll have the jury watch three of them. At least one of those tapes appears to pertain directly to the alleged '08 victim, and the remaining ones might have to do with other alleged victims from over the years.

Prosecutors have accused Kelly of having sex with at least 4 minors, as well as rigging the '08 trial ... in which he was acquitted. Kelly's attorney, however, fired back.

Jennifer Bonjean, who's now repping Kelly, said her client was the victim of a mob mentality prosecution -- one that she says is way too late, and clearly intended to paint him as a monster, even though he's already been through this wringer once before.

She called his accusers "criminals" who have tried to extort Kelly, and who actually have immunity deals with these same prosecutors. Bonjean also said that one tape prosecutors have alluded to, but won't play, doesn't exist -- and leaned on the fact that the Jane Doe (who's the '08 alleged victim) has long maintained she is not on tape with Kelly.

An age-old debate about Bruce Willis' signature film seems to have finally been resolved once and for all by his own flesh and blood -- and yes, Santa's coming to town!

We got Rumer and Scout Willis Tuesday in Beverly Hills, and while they seemed to be in a hurry -- they were nice enough to quickly answer a burning hot question that we just had to ask on behalf of the public and cinema lovers everywhere.

Namely ... is 'Die Hard' a Christmas movie??? That's what our photog was trying to ask, anyway, but Scout cut us off before we could even get the words out with a firm answer.

Check it out -- SW doesn't just say it once, but twice ... seemingly clarifying that this isn't just how she feels personally, but that this might be the position of the Willis family at large ... including Bruce himself. Ya gotta imagine they've talked about it as a unit.

This is a pretty big deal, frankly -- people have gone back and forth on whether 'DH' is actually a holiday-time classic. The plot takes place on Christmas Eve, but it came out during the summer of '88 ... and became a box office hit. Plus, it takes place in always-sunny L.A.

Also, Bruce recently revisited the Nakatomi Plaza building where the flick was shot -- overlooking the city from the top, just like he did all those years ago. So, yeah ... full circle.

Scout's position is different than Bruce's mother, though, we spoke with her back around Christmas and she said she didn't think "Die Hard" was a Christmas movie.

A$AP Rocky has pled not guilty to felony firearms charges.

A$AP showed up at the Downtown L.A. criminal courthouse Wednesday all suited up for his arraignment. Arraignments are quick, and this was no exception. A$AP entered his plea to both charges of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

A$AP walked confidently to the podium with his lawyer, Sara Caplan of O.J. Simpson fame.

His bond was set at $550k and the preliminary hearing was set for November.

As we reported, A$AP is accused of firing shots at A$AP Relli during a dispute in Hollywood back in November. Relli claims bullet fragments struck him, causing an injury to his hand. He is suing Rocky over the incident.

You'll recall ... he was arrested at LAX back in April after landing in a private jet with Rihanna.

Ironman athlete Brian Kozera -- who was also a police officer and cancer survivor -- has tragically died at 44 years old ... after he was involved in a terrifying bicycle crash while he was training for an upcoming competition.

Kozera -- a 16-year veteran of the Norristown Police Dept. -- passed away after he struck a car on Saturday while he was biking in Caernarvon Township, PA.

According to a crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, at around 9:48 AM ... Brian ran a stop sign and hit the passenger side of a pickup.

Kozera, according to the docs, was thrown from his bike and ended up being caught in the car's rear wheel. Cops say he was transported to a nearby hospital, but died from the injuries he suffered in the accident.

Kozera had been training for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in October 2022 ... according to a statement from the Norristown Fraternal Order Of Police Lodge 31.

In 2014, Kozera was diagnosed with a rare cancer called Lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He later beat it in 2015 -- and said his battle with the disease gave him the push to become an Ironman athlete.

Kozera was slated to compete in three more events leading up to the competition in Hawaii ... before his untimely death, according to his blog.

Brian is survived by his wife and three young daughters.

Chris Brown and Lil Baby's show was at risk, though only for a short period of time, of getting canceled ... but a judge has decided the show will go on.

Ms. LaJuan Bailey, through her real estate company, filed legal docs asking the court to step in and block CB and co. from performing Wednesday at the Toyota Center in Houston ... a scheduled stop in his national 'One of Them Ones' tour, which is in full swing.

The paperwork, obtained by TMZ, is trying to achieve a few things -- first, filing a restraining order to prevent Chris from hitting the stage ... and second, asking Chris to address why he missed a charity gig in the area earlier this year.

We spoke to a source inside the courtroom who tells us the judge was quick to throw out the restraining order ... allowing Wednesday's show to happen.

As we reported, Bailey made a stink last month after claiming Chris bailed last minute on a hurricane benefit relief concert after Bailey claims to have shelled out $1 million to get Chris there.

Chris' camp denied her account, telling us there were contract stipulations that weren't met, and Chris gave at least a 2-day notice before canceling. He even tried forking over a 6-figure donation to make things right, but that apparently wasn't enough.

Joe Rogan got all fired up while talking about abortion with a conservative media personality -- invoking his teenage daughter to make a point ... which sorta had the guy stumped.

Seth Dillon -- who runs The Babylon Bee, a right-leaning satire site -- got into with Joe Tuesday on the latest episode of the 'JRE' ... with its host laying out a very personal hypothetical as they started discussing the overturning of Roe v. Wade and its ramifications.

Watch ... Joe asks about the possibility of a young girl being raped, and inserts his own 14-year-old, Lola, as the would-be victim. He asks the question ... you really think it's okay for her to be forced to carry that baby to term???

Dillon says yes, telling Joe he doesn't think "two wrongs make a right" -- the first wrong being the rape, and the second being the "killing" of a person.

JR continues to press him, though, not accepting his answer -- it almost sounds like he can't believe Dillon actually embraces that ... but the dude stands firm, insisting that there's simply no excuse in his eyes to warrant an abortion. Even the rape of a young girl.

Joe also drills down on when exactly Dillon considers a human life has actually formed, getting into weeks, days, and even seconds after conception. SD doesn't have a clear answer, other than to say ... he believes as soon as a sperm and egg merge, it's alive.

T.I. allegedly punched The Chainsmokers' member Andrew "Drew" Taggart in the face after a wild night in the club … which allegedly included an unsolicited kiss on the cheek.

Drew and his fellow Chainsmokers' DJ Alexander "Alex" Pall posted their Tip chronicles on TikTok, and captioned the encounter "When meeting T.I. Goes wrong."

Drew shamelessly admitted to kissing T.I. on the cheek ... chalking it up to being too comfortable around the megastar rapper. He says T.I. returned the kiss with a punch to the face, and turned to Alex, instructing him to "get your boy."

An exasperated T.I. woke up on Wednesday morning and went on Instagram to invite The Chainsmokers to his "ExpediTIously" podcast and attempt to hold in laughter retelling the story.

Devin Booker can't hold in his love for Kendall Jenner -- the NBA star dropped a flirty comment under the model's most recent batch of bikini shots ... proving their relationship is still going strong.

In case you haven't been keeping up with the Kevin (or is it Dendall?) relationship -- multiple outlets reported the couple of 2 years had called things off back in June ... but shortly after, they were spotted smiling from ear to ear together in Malibu.

While they have assumedly been together ever since, Booker made it clear he's still got his eyes on KJ this week ... posting the "🥵" emoji underneath her latest Instagram post.

As we previously reported, DB and KJ were first spotted together back in April 2020 ... but didn't confirm their romance until Valentine's Day 2021.

Kendall has been one of Devin's biggest supporters ... hitting up as many of his Phoenix Suns games as possible.

Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox haven't called it quits despite breakup reports, TMZ has learned ... in fact, he still refers to her as his wife.

Sources close to the couple tell us ... they're doing just fine -- no big issues. They obviously can't be together 24/7 -- both of them work and have kids, but we're told they're solid.

Megan's been posting pics online without MGK recently, with their last upload together back in June -- fans took his absence as a sign they're dunzo.

She also didn't show up to his hometown show in Cleveland over the weekend, and that fueled the breakup rumors.

We found this video from MGK's Cleveland concert where he said he talked to Megan before he got on stage, calling her his wife, which he's said before. The video was posted by a fan account who only has a few thousand views, so it didn't really circulate. If it did, it probably would have laid the breakup rumors to rest.

He went on and on about Megan. Earlier in the show he got so amped up he smashed a wine glass on his face, creating a bloody mess.

Sounds like all is well for the bloody lovebirds.

Multiple eyewitnesses claim Aqib Talib sparked the altercation that ended with a man being shot dead by the former NFL star's brother during a youth football game, according to The Blaze.

"Aqib incited the whole uproar," an opposing coach told Jason Whitlock, adding, "The game would’ve never been stopped had Aqib not come over to our sideline to yell at the refs."

It's been one of the primary questions since news of the tragic incident came to light ... what happened to spark the tragic and deadly incident?

According to multiple witnesses, Aqib became irate after a flag was thrown against the 9-and-under team he financed, spurring him to cross the field and confront the refs.

"That’s what was so weird. All of the tension was between them and the refs," the opposing team's defensive coordinator told Whitlock, adding Aqib, his brother Yaqub, and the other coaches, including the man who was ultimately killed, knew each other.

"There was no problem between the coaches. We all know each other. Kerry Lewis and Yaqub have coached together. I followed Aqib’s whole career, starting at Kansas. The other thing is that it was their event. They were the hosts. They hired and paid the refs. The refs weren’t cheating for us," the coach explained.

After persistent complaining and threats, the witnesses say the game was called. That's when the 43-year-old man -- a coach whose son played on his team -- attempted to retrieve a football that was located near the Talib brothers and others.

A witness claims as the coach began to pick up the ball, Aqib swung at the man. The coach retaliated, hitting Aqib with the yard marker.

Then the brawl was on ... the coach retreated, as is seemingly seen on video we posted earlier this week, as the man attempted to get away from a group of 5+ people who were advancing.

Seconds later, after the man dropped the yard marker, five shots rang out, leaving him dead on the football field.

Now, everyone's searching for answers.

"There’s no justification for having a weapon at a kids' football game," the opposing head coach said.

"It’s 90 degrees outside and you’re wearing a black hoodie. None of it makes sense. Our babies were all there. Yaqub’s kids were there. Mike’s kids. Football fields are supposed to be a safe haven for these kids. This is where they go to get away from the street life. They come here to feel safe. It’s not like that anymore."

Aqib's attorney told the outlet the story was "inaccurate."

Yaqub turned himself into authorities in Lancaster, TX ... and has been charged with murder.