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Nicki Minaj is the victim of a swatting prank ... one the Sheriff's Dept. says involved a caller falsely claiming Nicki's child was being abused, but also -- that her house was up in flames.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the attempted swatting went down earlier this month when child services got an anonymous call alleging child abuse at Nicki's L.A.-area home.

We're told sheriff's deputies rolled up to Nicki's place around 6 PM Monday, but after speaking with her and her husband Kenneth Petty ... and looking at their almost 3-year-old child, determined there was no abuse and everything was kosher.

Our sources say deputies chalked it up to a swatting call, and officers want everyone to know these sorts of calls are a huge waste of time and resources.

BTW, that wasn't the only thing being falsely reported about Nicki on this particular night -- sources with direct knowledge tell us another call came in around 3 AM to report that her home was on fire ... something that was also found to be completely untrue. In other words, 2 bogus calls came in a span of about 24 hours -- which is pretty jarring on its face.

For the uninitiated, swatting is a form of prank call where the goal is to get a big police response at someone's home ... and it's a growing problem for cops around the country.

Nicki's not the only celeb dealing with swatting calls. As we first reported, it's recently happened to YouTuber Adin Ross and influencer Madison Beer.

Megan Fox unleashed her fury on the guy who floated a now-debunked online rumor about her and her 3 kids, ripping him a new one for trying to capitalize on her celebrity and use her for political gain.

The actress took to Instagram Saturday and posted a vicious screed directed at Robby Starbuck who she says falsely claimed Megan was a child abuser for dressing her adolescent sons as girls, causing two of them to break down in a public park.

Starbuck's Twitter message was accompanied by a photo of Megan with the 3 boys she shares with ex Brian Austin Green, who categorically denied the story to TMZ.

In her IG post, Megan first called Starbuck a "clout chaser" who was desperate to "acquire wealth, power, success, or fame."

But, Megan warned Starbuck -- who unsuccessfully ran for a 2022 Tennessee congressional seat -- to "never use children as leverage or social currency, especially under malevolent and erroneous pretense."

As we reported, Megan's ex, and the father of the kids, Brian Austin Green, also went after Starbuck Saturday, telling us, "This person trying to claim this is true is a perfect example of someone with selfish motives that does not care about negatively affecting a parent-child relationship."

Megan went on to say ... "exploiting my child’s gender identity to gain attention in your political campaign has put you on the wrong side of the universe."

Megan also reminded Starbuck she has been "burned at the stake" by many "narcissistic" men, but she has nevertheless endured.

She ended with this ... "You f--ked with the wrong witch."

Amanda Nunes is done fighting ... the G.O.A.T. returned to the Octagon at UFC 289, dominated Irene Aldana, and laid down her gloves!

35-year-old Nunes won by unanimous decision in front of a packed house in Vancouver ... before having her gloves cut off, and put down in the center of the Octagon.

Nunes leaves as champ-champ ... holding the featherweight and bantamweight titles.

"Double champ forever, baby!"

"Tonight is the perfect night to retire and live happy forever," Nunes told Daniel Cormier as the crowd cheered, before dropping down to the floor and giving her belts a kiss.

Of course, Amanda is one of, if not the greatest MMA fighter to ever step foot in a cage. Over her amazing 15-year career as a professional, she amassed a 23-5 record.

Included in those wins are some of the baddest women ever ... Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko (twice), Holly Holm, Julianna Pena, and Cris Cyborg all fell victim to the Lioness.

Nunes' fellow fighters were quick to react, with Belal Muhammad, Aljmamain Sterling and others giving Amanda her flowers.

"Great career 🙏🙏 your a legend lioness" the welterweight contender Tweeted.

"Congrats on an AMAZING career [Amanda]!" Aljo wrote.

Superman has officially landed in Sin City, Dean Cain has scooped up a super stunning home outside Las Vegas ... after he swore off living in California.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dean closed the deal on his new pad on May 26, dropping just under $4M in the deal.

The 5-bedroom, 7-bathroom home comes with all your high-profile entertainment needs like a a movie theater, glass wine cellar and game room. It's even got an elevator if you don't feel like walking up or downstairs and wanna save some energy for the nearby Vegas Strip.

Speaking of The Strip, the master suite comes with a spa bath, and steam shower ... and incredible views of some of the world's most famous casinos.

If Dean feels like taking things outdoors, there's an infinity edge pool, spa, built-in outdoor bar and kitchen ... as well as fire bowls and a waterfall. And get this ... the home has a walk-on-water entrance and a 360 degree roof deck to take in even more views.

As we reported, Dean unloaded his Malibu home last month for a whopping $6.25M. Earlier this week, he told Fox News he was forced to leave the Golden State because of the homeless crisis and what he calls, "soft-on-crime policies."

The heated dispute between former NFL star Earl Thomas and his ex-wife three years ago did, indeed, involve a gun and a knife ... and the situation was terrifying -- new police video shows.

In the footage, obtained this week by TMZ Sports, you can see as cops responded to a disturbance at an Airbnb in Austin, Texas back on April 13, 2020 ... Thomas and his former partner, Nina Thomas, were arguing in a parking lot with weapons in their hand.

In Nina's grasp was a blade -- while in Earl's was a pistol ... and you can hear in the video, cops were desperate to get them to drop both when they arrived on the scene.

"Drop it now!" one officer said on the video while pointing his firearm at the couple. "Drop it!"

The footage shows both Thomases put their weapons down ... and then they both lay face-first on the asphalt.

Cops then slowly approached the two with their guns drawn -- imploring them to stay down.

"This is my wife," the former Baltimore Ravens safety can be heard saying in the clip. "She caught me cheating."

Added Nina, "I caught my husband cheating, officers."

"Whatever you do," one of the cops responded, "don't reach for that knife."

After a few tense moments, Nina was placed in cuffs without issue and taken to a different part of the parking lot for questioning. Earl, who was shirtless, was also put into custody without issue and moved away from Nina in the lot as well.

During ensuing questioning, Nina can be heard in the body camera video saying she and her sister-in-law had gone to the Airbnb earlier in the evening in order to confront Earl and his brother about cheating on them at the residence with other women.

"So," she said during the interview, "my husband has been leaving -- we've been having problems. He's been leaving off and on all weekend. And he said he was hanging with some buddies. And I didn't believe that, because we've had issues in the past. So I hacked his Snapchat and found his location here."

"I was calling, I was texting," she continued. "And I didn't know which room it was, and then from pictures, I recognized the lights inside. And I just so happened to turn the handle and the door was open."

Nina -- who had a cut on her hand -- also told the officers that she had brought Earl's gun to the location in order to scare him. She insisted it was not loaded while adding that she had grabbed the knife from the Airbnb during the dispute.

She said she and Earl had been involved in pushing and shoving during the altercation -- and told the cop, "My brother-in-law did get physical with my sister-in-law."

"I don't know exactly what happened because I was dealing with my own husband."

According to police documents, Nina also told cops at the scene that after she and her sister-in-law found Earl and his brother "naked in bed with other women," she pointed the gun at Earl's head, stating "that she took out the magazine thinking that the gun could not fire." But, cops said in the docs Nina was "unaware that the gun had a round in the chamber."

In the docs, officers said Earl was able to wrestle the gun away from her ... and eventually, the argument spilled out into the parking lot -- where cops intercepted them.

Nina was ultimately arrested and booked for burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon -- family violence. Earl was not arrested.

The former Seattle Seahawks star -- a Super Bowl champion and three-time All-Pro -- downplayed everything in a video in the days following the incident, saying, "Stuff like this happens." The two -- who were married in 2016 -- then continued to work on their relationship for several months ... before Nina filed for divorce from him later in 2020.

Kelly Rowland's looks over the years will be your "Motivation!"

Here is a 30-year-old version of the stunning star showing off a plunging neckline at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles back in 2011 (left). This was the same year she released her solo album "Here I Am" featuring the hit song "Motivation" featuring Lil Wayne.

And, 12 years later the now 42-year-old mom recently performed at the Mighty Hoopla Festival in London and was serving Catwoman in a head-to-toe leather look complete with some head-turning diamond bracelets (right).

"There's no other who do it like Kelly" but the question here is ...

Fetty Wap's just starting his 6-year prison bid after pleading guilty in his drug trafficking case ... but even when that's done, he'll be under very strict guidelines for almost as long.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Fetty will have to fully disclose his financial records and yearly income tax returns to the U.S. Probation Department.

Fetty is also prohibited from opening any new bank or financial accounts without prior approval from the feds, and will have to submit virtually everything he owns -- houses, vehicles, even himself -- to search whenever there's a reasonable suspicion he's violated any terms of supervised release.

He also must cooperate with the probation officer to get a sample of his DNA upon release from prison.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... last August, Fetty pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a whopping 500 grams or more of cocaine. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 5 years of supervised release.

Swirled into this backward-hat image is a famous rapper who is set to headline at this year's Governors Ball Music Festival, and even after all the success he's acclaimed over the years, he's quite the "humble" guy!

The performer in this pic has caught the eye of Anna Wintour, as he was seen rockin' this leather jacket look to the 2023 Met Gala. He's clearly a talent to reckon with and has worked with some of the music industry's hottest stars including Taylor Swift.

Clark Griswold and Cousin Eddie were face to face once again this weekend -- 'cause the actors who play 'em reunited for what seems to be the first time in a long time.

Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid were yukking it up Saturday at the Fan Expo Dallas ... a pop culture convention where a ton of old movie and TV stars roamed the halls for pics/meet-and-greets. They were actually just a couple of 'Vacation'-related stars in the building.

Beverly D'Angelo was also scheduled to appear -- although we haven't seen any photos of her hanging with her old costars just yet -- and Christie Brinkley even popped up too! And yes, that's Danny Trejo there as well ... the dude was also on hand and taking it in.

Of course, the highlight was seeing these 2 funny men embracing. You might recall -- in the movies, they're kinda familial enemies (Clark hates Eddie) ... but they couldn't have been kinder with each other in person. We're told this coming together actually hasn't happened in a while. Although, Chevy and Randy have been invited to the same events in recent years.

Sources tell us that Chevy made a crack when he saw Randy, saying something to the effect of ... "Well, this is a nice surprise" -- an obvious nod to one of Eddie's recurring lines throughout the 'Vacation' series. They talked, posed for pics and caught up on old times.

Now, if you're wondering why Chevy's in a wheelchair here ... not to worry, he's not there permanently. We're told he usually carts around at the conventions, but since one wasn't available this time around -- he opted for the next best thing. Obviously, he can still stand.

Flavor Flav might be a good old-fashioned hip-hop head, but that doesn't mean you can put the guy in a box ... evidenced in him completely fanboying at a Taylor Swift show.

The rapper -- who's one half of Public Enemy -- pulled up to TS's Detroit stop Friday for her ongoing 'Eras' tour, and the dude was ready to prove his love and dedication from the VIP tent ... posing with tons of fans who swung by, and flexing his Swiftie friendship bracelets.

It's pretty sweet ... you see Flav swapping bead bands with young girls, teens and adults alike -- and the guy was totally rocking out during the actual concert too, singing along and dancing.

In fact, it looks like he even had on some Taylor-inspired merch. While TayTay was performing 'Trouble,' -- Flav showed off his T-shirt ... which reads, "I knew she was trouble." Indeed, the guy is a complete and utter Swiftie ... and there's no shame in his game.

Leading up to the big show, Flav appeared to be hyping it up big time ... saying he got his Taylor shirt made just for the event, and even teasing the fact she was coming to town.

While his Taylor fandom might come as a surprise to some, it might've been in our faces the whole time. Earlier this year ... Flav posed with Taylor just a few months ago in March, when she won the Innovator Award during the iHeartRadio Award show ('memba the hoodie 'fit?)

In other words, it sounds like the dude's been in her corner for a while now -- and we're all just learning about it for the first time in public. And while he was sporting Taylor gear, Flav was still on brand ... his clocks and bling were on full display as well, plus his signature hat.

Gotta say ... the Eras tour has proven to be an endless well for news this year. Not only are there storylines surrounding Tay's personal life that feed the beast ... but moments like these cycle in as well and get people fawning over their fave pop star all over again.

Naomi Watts is a married woman for the first time in her life -- 'cause she said "I do" to Billy Crudup ... who also walked down the aisle as a newbie.

The actress announced their marriage on social media Saturday, posting a photo of what appears to be her and BC standing on the steps of a courthouse -- where he's in a blue suit and she's in a white dress of some sort ... complete with a bouquet and everything.

Photos of them heading back to their NYC apartment Friday made the rounds ... everyone suspected they might've tied the knot, on account of their matching wedding bands.

Amid all the speculation, NW finally confirmed it ... simply writing, "Hitched!" She's been dating Billy since 2017 -- they met on the set of their shared Netflix show, "Gypsy." Like we said, neither Naomi nor Billy had ever actually been married before this ... although they did each have long-term relationships with other people, which resulted in children, etc.

Billy had been with Mary-Louise Parker and Claire Danes before this. Meanwhile, Naomi was with Liev Schrieber for a long time. Now, at their shared age of 54, they're man and wife.

Conor McGregor punched the Miami Heat's mascot last night, and while it all seemed to be in good (planned) fun ... it actually ended up hurting the dude inside, per a new report.

According to The Athletic ... the man who was playing "Burnie" during Friday's game was sent to the ER after taking a couple of closed-fist dings to the dome ... courtesy of Conor, who was playing along in a clearly orchestrated sketch.

You see, the whole thing was designed to plug CMG's new pain relief spray -- TIDL Sport --which he actually used during the comedy bit. The mascot got socked, went down ... and then got socked again before being dragged away by staffers. Conor was spraying it on the way out.

Unfortunately ... while Conor might've thought Burnie was just hamming it up for the crowd -- the person wearing the costume was legitimately injured. The Athletic says the Burnie dude was treated at the hospital, and then released with pain medication ... and was OK.

So, no real harm or foul all things considered ... and it certainly doesn't sound like anyone in the league or with the Heat is mad at Conor. It's just one of those things -- a battle wound if you will.

Bryan Cranston recently made it seem like he was hanging up his Hollywood career as he approaches age 70 -- but that's not quite the case ... as he just clarified himself.

The actor posted an IG that attempted to set the record straight on comments he made in a GQ interview -- which strongly suggested he was going to retire from showbiz, and maybe even every other endeavor he's involved in professionally too ... including his tequila brand.

Of course, people were freaking out over the prospect of him leaving the spotlight -- but now, he's saying it won't be a full-blown retirement ... more so a long pause. BC writes, "I am not retiring. What I am going to do is hit the pause button for a year after I reach my 70th birthday in 2026." He says he's not sure what pausing means, but adds he'll take at least a year off to focus on other things in his life ... like his marriage, for example.

Bryan explains ... "First, it will allow me to spend time with Robin (my beautiful wife of 34 years now) in a way that I haven’t been able to in the last 25 years…not as a wife of a celebrity, but as a loving married couple entering into - well, let’s be honest, our latter years, with new hopes and goals and experiences."

Another thing Bryan's hoping to achieve with his career pause ... a newfound approach to acting. He says he's out of fresh ideas on how to play certain characters and feels as though he needs to replenish his soul to figure out another way to get into roles.

Plus, the dude wants to read and stuff -- so he says he's unplugging from all social media and business he's involved in to recenter and refocus. In the meantime, Bryan says there are more film and TV projects of his that'll be coming out before the 2026 deadline.

A Las Vegas-area family reported seeing aliens roaming their backyard after a supposed crash landing -- and the crazy part ... something strange was caught on police bodycam.

This happened in early May, but is just being reported now ... this after Vegas Metro released a bunch of footage related to the case. The family -- who haven't been ID'd -- called 911 on May 1 to report seeing 2 massive beings, standing at least 8-ft tall, roaming their property.

They say the ETs made their way into their backyard after what they described as a loud crash nearby ... part of which, it seems, might've actually been captured on bodycam footage taken by one of the responding officers that night. As you can see, it's a bright green glowing object that's descending from the sky ... and it was inadvertently recorded.

It appears another unit came out to further interview the family after the cop reported seeing the object -- giving credence, at least at first, to their story ... relayed via dispatch.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the only somewhat solid thing was filmed that night. Despite the family's claims -- they don't have any smoking gun picture or video of the "aliens" they described ... although there is 1 clip taken by them that's being picked apart.

The video shows the family reacting to something past their backyard gate and (possibly in their driveway). Some claim to see two aliens here, but it's eye of the beholder per usual.

In the end, Las Vegas Metro ended up closing the case as "unfounded" after not being able to find anything. Still, the interest it's generated has been huge -- with many believing this is one of the best accounts of an alien encounter possibly ever recorded in modern times.

Of course, it's interesting this is happening now ... on the heels of an alleged whistleblower going to the media to claim there's a secret UFO retrieval program that the US has been a part of for years -- with claims of research and attempted reverse engineering on our part.

Notorious domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, best known as the Unabomber, is dead ... according to prison officials.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says Kaczynski was found dead Saturday morning in his cell at FMC Butner in North Carolina. So far, officials aren't saying anything about the cause of death.

Kaczynski had served most of his life sentence at Colorado supermax prison since his 1998 conviction. He was transferred to NC in 2021, so he could get better medical treatment.

ABC News first reported his death.

The Unabomber evaded law enforcement for almost 20 years, while pulling off a string of bombings, several of them deadly. For the longest time, the only image the public had of him was an FBI sketch.

Authorities finally figured out who he was when his infamous manifesto, "Industrial Society and Its Future" ... was published in 1995 in the Washington Post. Kaczynski's brother recognized the writing and went to cops.

The FBI tracked him down and arrested him the following year at a remote cabin in Montana.

Kaczynski eventually pleaded guilty to setting 16 explosions that killed 3 people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995.

He was 81.

Garth Brooks says he isn't keeping any beers off his tap list when it comes to what he'll serve at his new bar -- and that apparently includes Bud Light ... despite the backlash.

In a recent interview with Billboard, the country singer alluded to having the embattled Anheuser-Busch brand featured in his soon-to-be-opened Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in Nashville -- which is gonna be on the famed Broadway strip there in downtown.

They were talking about the kind of vibe Garth wants to foster there -- and how he'll, perhaps, differentiate himself/his establishment from other honky tonks there -- and he said one thing they'll do to stand out is by serving beer that every kind of person can enjoy.

Here's the full quote ... "I know this sounds corny, I want it to be the Chick-fil-A of honky-tonks. I want it to be a place you feel safe in, I want it to be a place where you feel like there are manners and people like one another."

GB goes on to add, "And yes, we're going to serve every brand of beer. We just are. It's not our decision to make. Our thing is this, if you [are let] into this house, love one another. If you're an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway."

Of course, Garth didn't mention Bud Light or Dylan Mulvaney by name ... but it's obvious what he was referring to. Bottom line here is ... the dude's gonna have Bud ready to pour.

Garth's embrace of Bud Light is getting some flak from conservatives, who are accusing him of going "woke" and capitulating to left-wing viewpoints. There are even some who are vowing to boycott his bar and take their dollar elsewhere -- including Kid Rock's place.