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Carlee Russell's parents are backing her boyfriend's claim she fought for her life to escape an alleged kidnapper -- but they're very tight-lipped over just about everything else.

Talitha Robinson-Russell and Carlos Russell sat with 'Today' to talk about the case -- which has been shrouded in mystery ... and which has come under public scrutiny due to the scant and inconsistent details following Carlee's 48-hour disappearance.

Despite the growing skepticism ... Carlee's family is standing firm she was abducted ... echoing her story she escaped her abductor.

Her parents say she was in a bad state when she arrived at their house Saturday night -- and she's disturbed by people questioning her honesty.

As far as any other details, however ... the Russells are refusing to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Some feel like the facts of the case aren't lining up ... not to mention the police apparently having left out some pertinent information in terms of what they knew about her recovery and when. As we reported, first responders were discussing Carlee possibly having been located at a local motel in town ... but in their statement, they totally omitted that.

There are also questions about this alleged child Carlee claimed to have seen on the side of a highway the night she vanished. Police say they received no other reports, besides the 911 call from Carlee, of a missing child.

So if there is, in fact, an abductor and a possible kid at risk -- why haven't the police issued any kind of alert to that effect? That's what people are asking.

Fair queries, and yet ... still not very many answers.

Post Malone is about to become the first artist to play a show on a permanent stage that's just been installed in Times Square.

The rapper/singer is set to perform Tuesday in the heart of NYC, and he'll be doing it on none other than the new TSX stage -- which has been getting worked over the past several months ... and which will have its big debut with Posty leading the way.

There's actually a billboard covering up the stage right now there in Times Square, teasing Post's concert -- with a plug of his forthcoming album, "Austin."

It's coming out next Friday, and we're told Post is expected to perform songs from his new project -- and probably some old hits of his as well. As far as how people are gonna see Post -- well, this billboard is actually going to open up and unveil the hidden TSX stage.

TSX Entertainment has actually been posting behind-the-scenes footage of the stage being built -- and it's pretty cool ... like we mentioned, this stands to be a staple in Times Square live entertainment going forward -- and it's cool they're having Post handling the debut.

We'll be watching ... 👀

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer may have had a female accomplice for the 3 victims ... at least according to a lawyer representing the families.

Attorney John Ray, who reps the families of slain Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, claims Rex Heuermann was not a solo operator and allegedly killed 3 prostitutes on Long Island with help from a mysterious cohort. Police have not linked the Gilbert and Taylor slayings to Heuermann as of now.

Ray pointed to the 2011 death of a 10-month-old baby girl whose body was found swaddled in a blanket near one of the confirmed Gilgo Beach victims. The lawyer insisted that a savage murderer would not have such maternal instincts to wrap the infant in a quilt.

"It's that kind of thing that, if you're such a depraved murderer, you don't take time to do. That to me seems like an act of a mother," Ray said, adding, "We also believe that some of the victims could've been lured by a woman."

Suffolk County Police officials have not commented on Ray's accusations on whether Heuermann had a cohort or if he's being eyed for the baby's murder.

But, Heuermann has enough legal problems to keep him busy. Detectives arrested him last week as he walked from his office in NYC, where he worked as an architect.

Prosecutors charged Heuermann with the murders of three sex workers and he's the top suspect in a fourth slaying. Heuermann allegedly wrapped their bodies in burlap and dumped them near Gilgo Beach between 2009 and 2015.

According to court documents, Heuermann was connected to the crimes through DNA testing and examining his cell phone records.

Zak Bagans and his crew are often chasing ghosts on TV -- but over the weekend, the roles were reversed ... with a phantom appearing to go after his partner when cameras weren't rolling.

The "Ghost Adventures" host tells us his cohost on the show, Jay Wasley, believes, hand-over-heart, he and his girlfriend had a real-life run-in with a paranormal figure Saturday night while they were road-tripping through the Nevada desert.

We're told Jay and his GF were stargazing that night in Tonopah -- one the best places in the country for that sort of thing -- and while JW was lying down with his dog, his girlfriend snapped pics for a time-lapse, trying to capture the star-filled sky and scenery around him.

While they didn't notice anything weird at first ... a second look gave them pause, as we're told they stumbled across this one photo where something appears to materialize over Jay.

Zak says what he sees -- and what Jay and his gf certainly believe they saw -- is some kind of shadowy humanoid figure ... with eyes, a mouth, arms and even hands appearing in the photograph (which we're told is NOT altered at all). 😱

The would-be apparition seems to be floating above Jay ... if only for a moment, as it only appears in a single frame of the many photos his gf took at that time.

Still, we're told it gave Jay the creeps, almost like he was taking his work on the road with him! Zak tells us he and Jay believe it's authentic and a legit ghost sighting ... and they challenge anyone in tech, or otherwise, to debunk it, if they think it's BS.

Ridley Scott allegedly has his actors interacting with live animals on the set of "Gladiator 2" -- something PETA has become aware of, and which it's urging the production to halt.

The animal rights org fired off a handful of letters over the past few days -- all obtained by TMZ -- and they're aimed at the director and his big-ticket cast ... Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and others.

In the correspondence to Ridley, PETA says it's received whistleblower complaints alleging he's using both horses and macaque monkeys on set while shooting in Malta ... including a claim at least one of the horses recently collapsed. PETA is presuming the alleged collapse is due to extreme temperatures on the Mediterranean island.

It says, "Scorching summer heat and oppressive costumes are a dangerous mix for horses, who are naturally skittish animals, prone to flight and injury, and vulnerable to the stresses of a film set. The film and TV industries have a past riddled with on-set horse injuries and even deaths. We sincerely hope Gladiator 2 avoids adding another death to that list."

PETA also lists the dangers of working with live macaques, saying they're unpredictable and can hurt humans. They also say these monkeys are often ripped from their mothers at a young age for these types of film settings ... calling their alleged use unethical.

Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike, PETA says it's heard rumors "Gladiator 2" is continuing production this week, and asks Ridley to leave live animals out of it completely, suggesting he use CGI animals instead.

We've reached out to Ridley, Paramount, and the production company behind 'G2' ... so far, no word back.

BTW, we're told a similar letter was fired off to all the actors attached to 'Gladiator 2.'

Ricky Martin's finding a way to have some fun while going through a divorce with the help of his twin sons -- his biggest fans joined him on stage during his latest show and the 3 of 'em had a blast.

The singer's 14-year-olds, Matteo and Valentino, joined their pops during his gig in Locarno, Switzerland Monday night ... something he called a "beautiful surprise!"

Ricky was clearly smilin' from ear to ear while his boys hyped up the crowd in the rare sighting ... no doubt a sign the bond between them is still strong as hell as RM re-enters the single life.

As we reported, the Puerto Rican pop star and his estranged hubby Jwan Yosef announced their divorce in a joint statement earlier this month ... saying they've made the tough call to "end our marriage with love, respect, and dignity for our children."

The couple tied the knot in 2018, with a prenup set in place. Along with the twins -- who Ricky had via surrogate prior to Jwan -- they also have 4-year-old Lucia and 3-year-old Renn.

Jerry O'Connell just needs a pair of glasses, 'cause the guy's a real-life Clark Kent ... leaping into action when he saw a food truck going up in smoke!

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... Sheriff's deputies came across the truck fire Sunday in Malibu, swiftly pulling a man out of the vehicle, and then started removing nearby propane tanks -- which is when Jerry got involved.

Jerry, who was in his car with his twin daughters, got out of his ride and we're told he immediately went to move a gas can near the food truck. Pretty heroic, when you consider another can was already on fire, and flames were spreading in a nearby field.

We're told he also scaled a fence to grab a fire extinguisher, attempting to keep the flames at bay until the pros in L.A. County Fire Department arrived to take over firefighting duties.

Jerry has experience battling blazes ... back in 2003, when a wildfire near the San Bernardino mountains threatened his home, he helped firefighters for several days, and eventually saved his pad.

James Worthy hasn't tuned into "Winning Time" but not because he's against a series on the Showtime Lakers ... on the contrary, the hoops legend says he wanted to be involved, but showrunners never reached out.

"I haven't watched it because I wasn't involved in it," Worthy recently told TMZ Sports.

"And I was hoping that they would come to us and get some really good interviews and some really good one-on-one sit-downs because we were willing to, like, share a lot of stuff. That decade was iconic. And I just wish we could have been involved."

"Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty" is an HBO drama based on the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Lakers squad. The show premiered in March 2022 and was renewed for another season which begins airing in August.

If you're wanting Lakers content, James, a 3x NBA champion, does have a suggestion that isn't "Winning Time ... Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers."

"I did the Hulu, the Legacy, which is the real deal. It's real footage with interviews of people who were there. So I understand satire, but I just think [Winning Time] could have been done really, really good. And I was disappointed that it wasn't."

We also asked James if he's discussed the HBO series with any of his former teammates.

"We never talked about Winning Time because we weren't involved in it. We talked a lot about the Legacy. So if you really want to know the truth, go watch Legacy on Hulu. Go watch the Legacy on Hulu, get the real deal."

Pras is doing A-OK in spite of his recent conviction for criminal conspiracy ... at least, that's the update Wyclef Jean is sharing about his fellow artist.

TMZ Hip Hop connected with Wyclef outside NBC Studios on Monday, looking spry and lively after surviving a burnout earlier this year after he denied all retirement rumors.

He also assured us Pras was still in good spirits since we last spoke to him in May after the guilty verdict.

Pras is currently awaiting sentencing for his role in a $20 million fraud political theater, the type of stuff that makes for a ripe movie script ... but Wyclef says don't expect to see a feature film of the legendary hip hop trio anytime soon.

Wyclef says Fugees' life story is still being written in real time and there's no way to put a cap on the saga just yet.

He, Pras and Lauryn Hill recently reunited at this year's Roots Picnic but haven't released an album together since 1996's Diamond-selling blockbuster album "The Score."

Norwegian singer Lene Nystrøm was 23 years old when her Europop band, Aqua, released their hit song "Barbie Girl" back in 1997. The catchy dance tune landed the group in the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 and propelled them to stardom.

Yes, the song gained much success in the United States, but it also reached number one in more than 10 countries. The flashy music video was uploaded to YouTube in 2010 and now stands at a whopping 1.2 billion views.

"Come on, Barbie, let's go party!"

Just when it looked like Bill Gates was about to join Jeff Bezos in the Recently Engaged Billionaires Club -- we've learned it just ain't happening ... at least not yet.

The Microsoft founder and his girlfriend, Paula Hurd, recently made news when the two were spotted out in NYC this weekend. Interestingly enough, Paula's been wearing a ring on THAT finger ... leading many to speculate the two were engaged.

We reached out to a rep for Gates who tells us Paula's ring is actually one she's owned for decades -- aka, it's nothing new or to symbolize an upcoming marriage.

Engagement or not, the pair still seem to be enjoying their time in the city ... spotted getting on a helicopter out of the city Monday.

Paula and Bill were linked early last year when they were photographed at a tennis tournament in Indian Wells, CA.

TMZ broke the story -- Bill and Melinda Gates finalized their divorce in August 2021 -- agreeing to follow terms of a "Separation Contract" which determined who walked away with what as far as money and property.

As for Paula, she's the widow of former Oracle co-CEP and president Mark Hurd.

Jordyn Woods and Kylie Jenner might be mending their relationship, but fans for both women aren't shy in voicing their opinions on the whole thing ... with some all for the rekindling and others totally against it.

The comment section on Jordyn's IG has become a very active chat room, where folks are expressing concerns over the model's rekindled friendship growing with Kylie. Kylie's comments are taking off too -- with a pretty mixed bag of reviews.

While some fans are supporting the move to be friends again, there's also a large portion who aren't ... in Jordyn's comment section, one user is bummed about her taste in pals, while another feels downright betrayed, commenting ... "Girl wtf was you doing out with Kylie after we fought vehemently for you." One fan even declared Jordyn's "better and happier" without Kylie by her side.

Kylie's comment section doesn't look much different than Jordyn's ... with fans offering up warnings on taking Jordyn back -- considering what happened the first time around.

While it's obviously not how either KJ or JW feels, the consensus among their fans is each is doing just fine after losing her former besties in the fallout of the Tristan Thompson drama.

TMZ broke the story ... Kylie and Jordyn had been hanging out for over a year, prior to their public sushi outing -- working on getting their friendship back to where it once was.

Wiz Khalifa is getting ready to throw that high cheese when he takes the mound at the Pirates game ... 'cause the rapper says he's planning on being "stoned af" for the ceremonial first pitch.

The Pittsburgh native -- who's in town for his "High School Reunion" tour -- will do the honors before his hometown team hosts the Cleveland Guardians on Monday ... and he's got a perfectly on-brand strategy in place ahead of his big moment at PNC Park.

"Finna get stoned af and throw this first pitch at the pirates game," Wiz tweeted to his 36 million followers.

It may not just be ganja powering Wiz through the toss, though ... 'cause he also added, "Shroomed out throwin a baseball is crazy."

To prove he wasn't kidding (not like he needed to), Wiz also posted a picture of his supply ... showing two big jars of weed, as well as some mushrooms.

You could say Wiz is sorta paying homage to former pitcher Dock Ellis, who famously claimed to have thrown a no-hitter while high on LSD back in 1970!!

High or not, Wiz will still probably throw a better pitch than 50 Cent.

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez couldn't make their marriage work in a post-Covid world ... because their lives were vastly different.

Sources connected to the former couple with direct knowledge tell TMZ, when Ariana and Dalton hooked up in 2020, they were everything to each other -- company, romance, support ... all of it.

When Covid restrictions lifted, we're told their differences became alarmingly apparent. Dalton, an L.A. realtor, was taken aback by Ariana's celebrity. He had not dealt with her schedule, the paparazzi and the various opportunities that took her out of L.A.

We're told Dalton would sometimes question why they needed to go around town with security, something that was a must for Ariana.

Their differences started to make the marriage unravel, and it was greatly exacerbated when she went to England last December to begin filming "Wicked."

By January, they were separated, but still on friendly terms. They began living separate lives until May, when they decided to take a shot at it again. That lasted 2 weeks before they both threw in the towel.

Fact is ... we're told Dalton has been dating over the last few months, which was fine with Ariana. Our sources say both Ariana and Dalton were "shocked" no one picked up on the separation until today, when TMZ broke the story they had gone their separate ways and were headed for divorce court.

It's splitsville for Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello -- as the couple just announced they're throwing in the towel on their marriage ... and going their separate ways.

They issued a joint statement Monday, telling Page Six ... "We have made the difficult decision to divorce. As two people that love and care for one another very much, we politely ask for respect of our privacy at this time as we navigate this new phase of our lives."

The outlet reports they've been growing apart for quite some time and have recently been spending time apart to figure out a path forward.

The two actors got together in 2014, and were engaged 6 months later. They got married in 2015 --- but never had any children together ... although Sofia has a son from a previous relationship. They've often been considered one of Hollywood's big-time power couples.

Vergara -- whose been overseas celebrating her 51st birthday over the past several weeks -- appears to have been telegraphing she may be a single woman ... posting a ton of hot shots of herself in a bathing suit, with no sign of Joe in any of her recent snaps. Granted, the guy's been busy on the East Coast lately filming a new movie with Vince Vaughn ... pre-strike.

This is Sofia's second marriage and Joe's first. SV was in a long-term relationship with businessman Nick Loeb before she hooked up with Joe ... the remnants of which proved to be dramatic, as their embryo case dragged on for years in court.

Here's hoping this uncoupling isn't as eventful.

Lindsay Lohan is officially a mama for the very first time ... giving birth to her baby boy.

A rep for Lindsay tells us the actress and her husband, Bader Shammas, welcomed Luai Shammas -- which means "shield or protector" in Arabic -- after Lohan delivered the baby boy in Dubai ... where she and Bader call home. The rep adds, "The family is over the moon in love."

A source close to Lindsay tells us she gave birth Monday, and some members of her family are soon to be on their way to Dubai to meet Luai.

Remember, Lindsay revealed she was pregnant back in March ... which, of course, came with an outpouring of support from her famous friends and family.

TMZ was first to report Lindsay was going to be giving birth to a boy.

As we told you, Lindsay and Bader spent some QT time with her fam in the Big Apple in April, before flying home to Dubai to prepare to give birth. It was the first time her parents, Dina and Michael, her brothers Cody and Michael Jr., and her sister, Aliana had been together in at least 7 years.

Since announcing the news, the actress has been beaming with excitement ... showing off her baby bump and telling us... "We are very excited for our new family member to arrive and we are looking forward to this next chapter of our lives!"

As we reported, Lindsay and Bader tied the knot last summer ... an announcement that came on her birthday. The two started dating just before the pandemic shut down the world, and in November 2021 she announced their engagement.

And now, they have started growing their own little family.