Raquel Leviss, Tom Sandoval Together In His Hometown ... Family Rejected December Meetup

Before the world even knew Raquel Leviss and Tom Sandoval were a thing, he was comfortable enough to bring her home -- making the bold decision to bring her around his friends and family -- an offer his loved ones shut down ... TMZ has learned.

Check out the photo, obtained by TMZ, showing Tom and Raquel posing in front of the Apotheosis of Saint Louis in his hometown on December 29. We're told the two spent time together there ... Tom even brought her to hang out with some of his closest friends.

Our sources say Tom's family knew Raquel was with him in town, but had no interest in meeting her. We're told they thought it was inappropriate for him to bring another girl home while he was still with Ariana -- and they didn't support his seemingly new, secret relationship with Raquel.

As for his friends, our sources say Tom told them he was trying to break things off with Ariana right before the trip, and they were going to therapy together.

After the hometown visit, the two drove to Chicago for one of Tom's shows, but Raquel didn't attend out of fear she'd get recognized.

TMZ broke the story ... Tom and Raquel have continued to be an item even after the two were both roasted on the "Vanderpump Rules" reunion show. In fact, they grabbed dinner together at Musso and Frank Grill just hours after taping wrapped.

Turns out, the two were a serious thing wayyy earlier than anyone could've thought ... and the timeline just continues to get a whole lot messier.

We covered all the drama in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Druski Chloe Bailey's Sales Critics Are Bogus ... Just Like Quavo's 'Gospel' Album!!! 😆

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TMZ.com

Chloe Bailey's new album didn't get the attention she hoped it would, but her good pal Druski's telling her to brush the dust off her shoulder!!!

The '4Lifers' funnyman was out Tuesday in NYC as fans reacted to the news Chloe's debut solo album only ranked #119 on the Billboard 200 ... with just 10k records sold.

The album got a lot of attention for her "How Does It Feel" collab with Chris Brown ... and Druski himself even helped promote the single, "For the Night" -- which was aimed at Gunna -- but the track was eventually scrapped from the final album cut.

Druski tells Chloe to look on the bright side ... she sold more than a lot of other people -- including him, as he has music on streaming services as well.

Druski and Chloe got tight on the set of the upcoming film "Praise This," which also stars his homie Quavo ... and Druski had jokes for him.

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The former Migos frontman recently claimed he was open to creating a gospel album, as the film is centered around a church choir, but Druski has known Quavo for years and he thinks he was big capping for the sake of the interview!!! 😂

As for Nick Cannon's intention to have baby #13 ... Druski thinks he's wildin' out and needs to cut it on new fatherhood.

Expect these jokes to keep flying as Druski will be on his nationwide tour all the way through July.

Taylor Swift Getting Post-Breakup Support ... Dinner with Jack Antonoff

There's nothing like a familiar face for Taylor Swift in the wake of her split from Joe Alwyn ... as she's getting by with a little help from her pal and longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff.

T. Swift hit NYC's West Village Monday night for a bite at Via Carota, and, apparently, has no issues being the third wheel ... now that she's single. She dined with Jack and his fiancée, actress Margaret Qualley.

The timing of the trio's night out for some Italian is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, Taylor's hardly looking super sad -- at least on the outside -- which might support the theory her breakup from Joe didn't go down all that recently.

Secondly, freshly heartbroken folks rarely wanna hang out with freshly in love couples ... like Jack and Margaret, for instance. They got engaged last May after about a year of dating -- so, again, we'd guess Taylor wouldn't be in the mood to catch up on Margaret and Jack's wedding plans ... IF she and Joe had just broken up.

As we reported, news of Taylor and Joe's demise, after 6 years of dating, leaked over the weekend, but they hadn't been seen together in public in a long time -- and some fans noticed he hadn't been at any of her Eras Tour shows either.

So far, neither is saying exactly when they split ... or who called things off.

Of course, TS and singer/songwriter Jack have worked together for years ... he's co-written or co-produced several dozen of Taylor's tracks. Who knows, maybe they hashed out her next great breakup song while breaking bruschetta!

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SWIFT SUPPORT

Fair warning, Joe.

Millie Bobby Brown I'm Engaged!!!

Millie Bobby Brown and her boyfriend Jake Bongiovi are officially taking things to the next level ... the young couple's announcing their engagement.

The "Stranger Things" star shared her big news Tuesday morning by posting a pic of Jake -- the 20-year-old son of Jon Bon Jovi -- hugging her. It looks like the shot was taken moments after he popped the question, because his now fiancée is rocking a stunning diamond ring on her left ring finger.

19-year-old Millie's caption for the engagement post included a quote from Taylor Swift's song "Lovers" -- "I've loved you 3 summers now, honey, I want 'em all".

Jake and Millie have been together since 2021 when they initially met on IG. They became friends IRL, and have been inseparable since.

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JB, who happens to be the spitting image of his pops, also made sure to share the special moment with his followers -- the caption on his 2 photos simply read, "Forever 🤍".

It's unclear when exactly the engagement went down ... there had been recent speculation because Millie was seen potentially wearing the diamond ring in another photo, not too long ago.

Well, turns out that rumor is true. Congrats!

Fun fact: Neither Millie nor Jake used to work on the docks (IYKYK).

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Nick Cannon Would I Have My 13th Baby With Taylor Swift? ... 'I'm All In!!'

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YOU BELONG WITH ME
The Howard Stern Show/Sirius XM

Nick Cannon says he's open to the idea of having a 13th child ... but you would probably never guess with whom ... except yeah, we told you in the headline.

The "Masked Singer" host sat down Monday with Howard Stern, who asked Nick about increasing his already large family by one if the mother was none other than Taylor Swift.

Although Nick at first wasn't really sure where he stood on the issue, he perked up once he heard the name of the pop star, who just called it quits with longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn.

Nick couldn't contain his excitement over the Swift hypothetical, telling Howard, "That's the one. I'm all in!"

He then outlined why Taylor would be the perfect mate. "First of all, she's an amazing songwriter," Nick said, adding, "What I do love about Taylor Swift is that she has been so vulnerable and open with all of her music."

Nick noted that Taylor can relate to him through their "very similar" dating histories while joking that his "Spidey senses" were tingling. He ended the Taylor/baby convo with this, "That would be amazing."

As you already know, Nick has a whopping 12 kids by six different women. His latest child, Halo, came into the world in Dec. 2022.

The ball is in your court, Taylor, for lucky number 13.

Louisville Mass Murderer Suffered Lots of Concussions ... Federal Source Says May Have Been Mentally Ill

The Louisville shooter suffered multiple concussions in his youth as a star athlete -- and he continued his athletic career ... doing so by wearing a helmet in games.

25-year-old Connor Sturgeon -- who has since been ID'd as the one who shot and killed 5 people Monday in a bank -- had a history of serious injuries that he suffered while playing football ... this according to one of his ex-classmates, who talked to Daily Beast.

The former peer says Sturgeon was out of football for most of the year during 8th grade due to multiple concussions ... adding, "Then he had a couple more in high school. I’m not saying it’s the cause but I always think back to that. There were times I’d wonder, will this catch up with him? But never in this way. He’s the last person I'd expect would do this."

As a result of the concussions he suffered ... Sturgeon went on to wear protective headgear during sports he'd compete in during high school. By most accounts, he was a star -- playing on the Varsity basketball team and even running track. He was also supposedly popular.

There's an essay, unearthed from his college days as well in which he says he dealt with low self-esteem throughout his life and had hopes of bettering himself as he aged. Sturgeon wrote, "Making friends has never been especially easy, so I have more experience than most in operating alone." He also said he continues to "battle against myself."

Sturgeon worked at the bank. He's reported to have used a rifle to open fire on a crowd of people inside, which included police officers too. Sturgeon was ultimately shot and killed.

A federal law enforcement source told NBC news Sturgeon may have suffered from mental illness.

Taylor Swift Songs About Joe Alwyn ... Big Increase in Streams Post-Breakup

Taylor Swift's music is seeing a huge spike amid news of her breakup with Joe Alwyn -- but the interest is focused on specific tracks, with a specific muse in mind ... take a guess.

The numbers are in -- as aggregated by TS stan SpotifySwiftie -- and it looks like several songs from TayTay's past few albums have seen massive streaming increases in the past 48 hours ... but, perhaps unsurprisingly, they're all tunes rumored to be about her now-ex.

The songs in question span her last 5 projects -- which cover the time frame that she's been with Joe -- and they range in percentages ... from as low a boost as 23% to as high as 106%, and everything in between. There are 11 tracks we're talking about here, BTW.

'King of My Heart' from her album 'Reputation' and 'happiness' from 'evermore,' for example touch the low end of the totem pole (at 23% increases each) ... whereas other songs like 'Sweet Nothing' ('Midnights') and 'the 1' ('folkore') are at 30% and 39%, respectively.

Other songs, however, have even more plays ... cuts like 'New Year's Day' ('Reputation'), 'peace' ('folklore') and 'Daylight' ('Lover') have jumped 40%/48%/58% in streaming stats.

The song of hers that has the largest upswing is 'Cornelia Street' ('Lover') at 106%. Some of the telltale lyrics in there that allude to Joe include this line ... "And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends // I'd never walk Cornelia Street again // That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend." It's been reported they shared a home on this NYC street, for real.

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PAYING RESPECTS
TikTok / @scoutedbyjasmine

Funny enough ... there's actually viral video of New York-based Swifties leaving flowers at the rumored house they used to live in -- mourning the fact that Joe and Taylor are dunzo.

Sounds like the interest is just as big in digital listening as it is in person. Go figure!

Jeremy Renner Talks Snowplow Accident With Jimmy Kimmel ... 'Lucky' To Be Alive

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ABC

Jeremy Renner says it was pure luck that he made it out alive from his now-famous snowplow accident after shattering 35 bones in his body.

Using a cane, the actor hobbled into his Jimmy Kimmel appearance Monday to discuss the harrowing incident, and he seemed to be in great spirits despite his horrible injuries from which he's still recovering four months later.

As you know, Renner was almost killed on New Year's Day when he tried to stop a snow-removal tractor from hitting his nephew and was crushed under the weight of the machine.

Renner described to Kimmel his good fortune after getting hit by the snowcat. He said, "It's like a giant metal-like cookie roller, right? And it just missed every vertebra, did not hit any organs, membrane did not swell - my eye did pop out, that's weird. But I got pretty lucky that none of the organs got messed up."

Renner said his first thought was to protect his nephew, Alex, as the snowplow started rolling down the hill. After he was critically injured, Renner said he was concerned about how his nephew was dealing with the trauma of seeing his uncle torn apart. "I did not see any of this stuff, but the blood and the thing and the eye, and all that stuff right? I had to see what [Alex's] perspective was.'"

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Renner also said he remembered everything after the accident for 45 minutes, but then his memory went blank once he was transported to the first of two hospitals. He said doctors jammed an "emergency knife" into his chest and "I was like, "I got to go to sleep."

Renner went on to say he personally knew the first responders, all of whom seemed to think he was going to die. But, Renner told them, "No, man. I'm trying to get out of the hospital as soon as I was in it." I'm like, "I'm out of here."

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THE GORY DETAILS
ABC

At one point during the interview, Kimmel produced a photo of Renner in the hospital after the accident. Renner said his mom probably shot the image and then thanked his family -- who was in the audience -- for all of their support.

He also vowed to return to the first hospital -- from which he got booted -- to apologize for his erratic behavior while on heavy medications.

Renner said, "I'm going back this week to apologize to every one of those nurses. Yes, I'm going to apologize."

NBA YoungBoy Live Stream Album Release Party ... While Under House Arrest!!!

NBA YoungBoy’s new album title "Don’t Try This At Home" apparently applies to everyone but him -- the prolific rapper’s throwing a huge party in L.A. while he's home ... on house arrest in Utah!!!

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Sources close to the rap star’s camp tell TMZ Hip Hop the event goes down Thursday, April 20, and NBA’s team is paying $200K to rent party space at Elevate Lounge DTLA.

We’re told Team NBA is pulling out all the stops -- 50 Cent’s Branson Cognac is sponsoring, and there will be fully decked out with customized decor, sounds provided by DJ Carisma and a fan raffle. The winner gets to talk to NBA over the stream during the party.

Might sound like a standard Hollywood event, except the guy hosting will be several hundred miles away ... due to his lengthy house arrest for a gun possession charge.

NBA linked with Nicki Minaj for the album’s latest single “WTF,” which dropped last Friday and already has a couple million views.

The album drops at midnight that Friday while the party will be in full swing ... should be the hottest ticket in L.A., and NBA's Utah living room!!!

'Love & Hip Hop's Roccstar Stops Burglar On the Roof ... Held Man At Gunpoint!!!

Intruders beware at Leon “Roccstar” Youngblood Jr.'s home -- when the "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star found some guy creeping on his roof, he handled it on his own ... according to law enforcement.

Cops say the platinum-selling Chris Brown producer told officers he was awakened a little past 5:00 AM Monday by an alarm alerting him someone was on the garage roof at his Chatsworth, CA home.

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He says he went outside and, at gunpoint, ordered the guy off his roof ... but when he came down, an altercation broke out between them.

We're told Roccstar overpowered the guy, and then security for his gated community arrived to help detain the man until cops arrived.

The suspect was evaluated at the hospital for injuries before he was arrested for attempted burglary, vandalism, and possession of burglary tools.

We reached out to Roccstar to see where his mind is after going all Israel Adesanya on his visitor. We'll report back with the updates!!!

Antonio Brown Sued By Celeb Jeweler ... You Owe Me $1.1 Million!!!

A celeb jeweler who's become famous for providing diamond pieces to high-profile athletes like Floyd Mayweather is suing Antonio Brown ... claiming the ex-NFL star owes him over $1 million.

Shuki International spelled out the allegations against the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver in a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles this week ... claiming he gave Brown several pieces of jewelry back in 2022, under the promise that AB would pay him $1,095,000 for it all.

The problem ... according to the suit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Brown never paid up.

Among the items that Shuki said he gave Brown included Shuki's famous "Shuki International" diamond fingers -- which the jeweler said cost $500K apiece.

Shuki also said he hooked Brown up with a rose gold black diamond version of the finger piece, a white gold chain, and a ring.

According to the suit, Brown got at least some of the items on Feb. 24, 2022 ... and agreed to pay the nearly $1.1 million price tag for it all by Dec. 1, 2022.

Shuki's attorney, Steven H. Stone, tells us the jeweler is expected to address the claims publicly later this week.

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TMZSports.com

What's interesting ... we actually got Shuki out in L.A. days after he said he gave one of the fingers to Brown in March '22 -- and he seemed pleased with how AB was handling it all. What's even more interesting, Brown -- who's become a rapper following his NFL days -- has a song titled "Shuki Diamonds" ... a track he put out last year to pay homage to the celeb jeweler.

In fact, the two have actually hit the stage in the past year to perform the song together.

Brown has yet to publicly comment on the suit.

Guess Who This Birthday Boy Turned Into!

Before this cool birthday boy blowing out his candles turned into an actor and a social media star, he was just eyeing down his bday cake and growing up with his big sis in Whittier, California.

His viral Vine videos were just the beginning of his career ... It wouldn't take long before this handsome fella was starring in movies like "Expelled" and "The Outfield," and he even had his own Netflix reality show!

Need one more clue? After making it big with his Vine vids, he became a 'Magcon Star' right next to singer Shawn Mendes.

Can you guess who he is?

Jeremy Renner Strolling into 'Kimmel' ... With Cane Do Attitude!!!

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STEPPIN' FOR THE FANS
BACKGRID

Jeremy Renner continues to make a miraculous recovery from his near-death snowplow accident -- he strolled into Jimmy Kimmel's studio, fully on his own power.

The 'Avengers' star was using only a cane Monday in Hollywood, as he headed into the studio to shoot his appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

It's pretty incredible to see Jeremy using his legs like this ... remember he's only a little over 3 months removed from being completely crushed by a snowplow on New Year's Day at his Nevada home.

Jeremy's injuries included more than 30 broken bones, plus a collapsed lung and punctured lung ... just to name a few.

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ALL SMILES AT SIX FLAGS

When he took his family to Six Flags on Good Friday, he needed a motorized scooter to get around the amusement park ... and we've previously seen him using an anti-gravity treadmill to strengthen his legs and get those muscles working again.

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ABC

Jeremy's continuing his media blitz now that he's recovering at his L.A. home.

Before going on Kimmel, he described the enormity of his injuries and pain during a special interview with Diane Sawyer, which included a bone-chilling animation showing how he was hurt.

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Twitter / @jeremyrenner

All signs continue to point to a full recovery for Jeremy ... and you can tell he's happy to be walking again, even with a cane.

VIRGINIA SCHOOL SHOOTING 6-Year-Old's Mom Charged With Crime ... After Child Shot Teacher

There's now a parent being held responsible for their child shooting someone at school ... the mother of the 6-year-old who shot his teacher in a Virginia elementary school has been criminally charged.

Prosecutors in Virginia announced the charges Monday, with a grand jury indicting Deja Taylor with felony child neglect, plus a misdemeanor charge of recklessly leaving a firearm to endanger a child.

As we reported ... a first-grader at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News shot his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, back in January ... with the 25-year-old educator suffering gunshot wounds to her hand and chest.

Prosecutors say the 6-year-old student is not facing criminal charges but noted the mother's indictment follows a "thorough" police investigation.

What's more, prosecutors also say they are asking the court for a special grand jury to determine whether there should be additional charges over “any security issues that may have contributed to this shooting."

Meanwhile, the teacher is reportedly suing school administrators and the school board for $40 million.

East Palestine Truck Carrying Toxic Soil Overturns ... In Same County as Train Derailment

A truck carrying a ton of toxic soil out of the train derailment zone in East Palestine tipped over in an accident this week ... but the local EPA says there's nothing to worry about in terms of contamination.

Per law enforcement, a tractor-trailer was heading northbound Monday on SR-165 in Columbiana County -- which encompasses East Palestine -- and for whatever reason ... it was involved in a crash that overturned the vehicle and everything it was carrying.

As it turns out, that load included about 40,000 lbs. of contaminated dirt that was being transferred away from the train derailment crash site ... and the Ohio State Highway Patrol estimates that about 20,000 pounds of that spilled into onto the roadway.

It's unclear what caused the truck to run into trouble ... but first responders arrived on the scene to contain the situation. The Ohio EPA says there is no threat to nearby waterways as a result of the tipping. The driver is said to have suffered minor injuries.

It's not great news considering the community there is still reeling from the horrific crash from back in February -- not to mention the local government's decision to do a controlled burn of the chemicals onboard, which have reportedly affected a lot of people on the ground.

The cleanup effort is clearly still underway ... but the mishaps continue.

Matt Hardy Jeff Could Make AEW Return ... In 6-8 Weeks

Matt Hardy is optimistic his brother, Jeff, will return to AEW sometime soon ... saying the wrestling star is doing well and taking care of himself during his time away from the squared-circle.

Matt gave an update on Jeff -- who resurfaced last week in a pic with a fan in North Carolina -- during a chat with fellow AEW wrestler Isiah Kassidy ... where he confirmed his bro is recovering from a recent eye surgery.

"His eyes were just a little off-set, probably from wear and tear and beating his body up," Matt said. "They had to work on some ligaments and tendons in one of his eyes."

"So they corrected that [with] surgery, and they said probably in five, six weeks, he should be okay."

As we previously reported, Jeff found himself in some trouble outside the ring lately -- he submitted a written no contest plea in his DUI case in February ... and was given a 38-day credit for jail time he already served.

AEW suspended Jeff following his DUI arrest last June ... but Matt believes Jeff's hard work outside the ring is positioning him to return to action in the coming months.

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"You guys keep your fingers crossed," Matt said. "Maybe six, eight weeks from now, hopefully, we can see some Jeff Hardy on AEW."