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JoJo's coming through with an uplifting message for folks disillusioned by the first presidential debate ... and it's all in her new song.

The singer joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live" to download us on her track called "The Change" ... which was written by mega hitmaker Diane Warren. JoJo says it will remind you why it's so important to vote, and although it's not a political song -- she admits it has added meaning coming so soon after President Trump and Joe Biden's showdown.

"The Change" drops Friday, which is gonna be a huge day for JoJo ... she's been a huge fan of the Crash Bandicoot video game ever since she was a kid ... and Friday also marks the release of "Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time" on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Earlier this week, we surprised JoJo by getting Crash himself to make a cameo on Sunset Blvd, and ya gotta see her reaction!!! Yeah, you can tell she's ready to play the first brand-new Crash game in more than 10 years.

Van Jones can't stop smiling about the REFORM Alliance's big win -- the new law he says will improve the lives of tens of thousands of Californians ... and it's just the start, he hopes.

The REFORM CEO and esteemed news commentator joined "TMZ Live" Thursday, still riding high after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the AB 1950 bill into law ... which Jones calls a "transformative" piece of legislation.

Van says it's all about giving people a fair shot and setting them up for success, and gives props to Newsom for working with REFORM to make a much-needed change to the state's probation system.

As we reported ... the new law limits adult probation sentences to a maximum of 1 year for a misdemeanor, and 2 years for felony offenses. Van says ideally, this will lower petty probation violations and keep people from going back to prison when they're not even committing crimes.

More importantly, Jones says the law is set up to give people in the criminal justice system a "springboard to success, and not a trap door into failure" ... in order to lead productive lives after they've done their time.

Jones also believes this progress is a result of all the protesting for change, and even though the alliance was founded by big names like Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Michael Rubin and Robert Kraft ... everyone involved in the movement helped.

Get a load of this ridiculous lawsuit -- Tamron Hall's being sued for a whopping $16 million after telling a mom during a nationally-televised episode she wouldn't want her own kid to hug the mom's unvaccinated son.

Jeanine DiAngelo just sued Tamron individually and on behalf of her son, claiming they were embarrassed after Tamron compared her son to a "leper" during an episode about vaccinations that aired on ABC back in September 2019 ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ.

In docs, DiAngelo claims Tamron said she would NOT let her son anywhere near DiAngelo's son much less hug him because he's not vaccinated. DiAngelo says Tamron violated NY law by discriminating against her and their religious beliefs.

What's more ... she claims Tamron wasn't prepared for the segment ... arguing Tamron's lack of education on the topic caused her and her son to suffer colossal emotional distress.

Thing is ... the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said, should parents choose NOT to vaccine their kids, they should be prepared for the risks and responsibilities that come with that. One of those risks ... parents with kids that ARE vaccinated are probably told to stay clear of kids who aren't.

DiAngelo's suing Hall, Disney and the production company for $16 million in damages. For what it's worth ... Tamron did hug DiAngelo's son.

A Black woman arrested by an Aurora, CO police officer was cuffed, hogtied and thrown in a patrol car ... where she rode upside down, begging for help for 20 minutes, as she feared she would die.

The disturbing video shows 28-year-old Shataean Kelly being arrested on Aug. 27, 2019 on charges resulting from a fight. After Officer Levi Huffine cuffs her and puts her in the back of the patrol car, he claims she tried to escape by grabbing the door handles. Huffine then decides, "I'm going to hobble her" ... tying her handcuffed hands to her feet ... also known as hogtying.

While on the backseat, Kelly unloaded insult after insult on the cop, clearly feeling she should not have been arrested. But, the situation turned much scarier for her when she slipped off the backseat headfirst onto the floor with her legs up in the air.

Almost immediately she started pleading for her life, fearing she might break her neck or her arms ... or suffocate. At one point she sadly whimpered, "This is some slavery s**t," and "How many times I gotta beg you master?"

Aurora PD is releasing the footage because Huffine was fired in February over the incident, and is appealing his termination.

Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson points out that the backseat door handles are inoperable and she believes Huffine was "punishing" Kelly.

Chief Wilson says she believes this was a form of torture by the officer, and adds he's lucky Kelly didn't die of asphyxiation, "Because he would be -- in my opinion -- in an orange jumpsuit right now" if she had.

Despite Kelly repeatedly screaming, "Please don't let me die back here" ... Huffine never replied or stopped the vehicle to move her into a safer position. Kelly at one point is heard saying, "I never felt so much racism in my life."

All criminal charges against Kelly were eventually dropped, and Huffine's termination appeal is under review.

It should be noted ... this incident occurred just 3 days after the Elijah McClain incident in Aurora on Aug. 24, 2019, during which he was allegedly placed in a chokehold by police and sedated by paramedics.

Rihanna's sharing a sneak peek into her annual Savage X Fenty show ... and it's got performances from top artists and sexy stars modeling lingerie.

Rihanna rocked the runway, where she was joined by the likes of Bella Hadid, Paris Hilton, Cara Delevingne, Irina Shayk, Erika Jayne, Laura Harrier, Alva Claire, Abby Champion and Willow Smith. Hot!

The new looks are great, and so are the performances ... we're talking Miguel, Bad Bunny, Roddy Ricch, Big Sean, Rosalía and Christian Combs.

The treasure trove of Kobe Bryant memorabilia found in an abandoned storage locker has been returned to the NBA star's family, TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... someone recently won an auction for an abandoned locker in L.A. -- like a scene out of "Storage Wars" -- which contained everything from Kobe Bryant shoes to jerseys and even a mink coat from a photoshoot.

In total, there were 35 pairs of shoes, jerseys, Lakers practice gear, a Lakers all-access badge that says, "Mamba," tax paperwork and more.

The buyer ended up selling the items to "Storage Wars" star Rene Nezhoda for roughly $13,000 ... and the original plan was to make a fortune on the open market.

But, we're told Vanessa Bryant learned about the auction and felt the items belonged with the Bryant family -- so her reps reached out to Rene before he put them up for sale in hopes of working out a deal.

We spoke with Rene who tells us, "Everything has been worked out. A number of personal items, worn items, and paperwork were sold directly back to the Bryant family."

Rene wouldn't tell us the sale price because of the terms of the agreement -- but sources close to the deal say it wasn't about turning a profit, it was about getting the items back to the family in a fair way.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend just suffered an unimaginable loss ... their son has died.

Chrissy shared the devastating news Wednesday, saying their son, who they'd named Jack, couldn't survive complications. Chrissy said, "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before."

Teigen was recently hospitalized for severe bleeding during her pregnancy and revealed their baby boy was in the "danger zone." In her post, she said, "We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough."

She continued, "We never decide on our babies’ names until the last possible moment after they’re born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack. So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever."

Jack was the couple's third child ... they have a daughter, Luna, and a son named Miles.

Chrissy ended her post saying, "We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we’ve been able to experience.  But everyday can’t be full of sunshine.  On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it."

Towanda Braxton apparently didn't tell her family she's getting hitched ... which explains the shock her sister, Trina, and mom, Evelyn, had when a photog broke the news to them.

Trina and her mother were at LAX Wednesday when they found out about Towanda's secret, apparently, engagement to family friend and music producer Sean Hall. Check out the video ... the photog tells Trina, and the absolute surprise is written all over her face -- and then she had to break it to the Braxton matriarch.

Ya gotta see Evelyn's reaction too!

Now, the reason the photog had this info is he'd seen Towanda and Sean on Tuesday, and they let the cat out of the bag about getting married.

Somehow, it slipped their minds to clue in Trina and Evelyn ... and we gotta wonder if anyone else in the fam got the engagement alert.

Speaking of the other Braxtons ... Tamar's feud with her now ex-BF, David Adefeso, and the ensuing restraining order are still weighing on the family. Naturally.

Bonni Lou Kern -- one of the original 'Mickey Mouse Club' Mouseketeers in the '50s -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Bonni died Monday in Wooster, Ohio ... according to the Wayne County Health Dept. We're told she died of natural causes.

As a Mouseketeer, the very first episode of "The Wonder Mouseketeers!" was named after her -- titled, "Save Bonni Lou Kern!" -- in which the other Mouseketeers help her out because she's caught in a fishing net.

Bonni appeared alongside famous Mouseketeers like Annette Funicello, Judy Harriet and Eileen Diamond, and was also seen in the film, "Save the Wonder Mouseketeers!"

According to her family ... Bonni was given the Mousecar Award, the highest award Disney gives out, as well as the key to Fantasy Land.

She went on to be known as Bonni Carr after marrying Harold "Bud" Carr in the late ’60s in Hawaii -- and is survived by 3 daughters, 6 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Bonni was 79.

Landon Donovan's pro soccer team straight-up walked off the field in protest Wednesday ... after a member of his squad claimed an opponent used a homophobic slur on the pitch.

Donovan's San Diego Loyal team was playing against Phoenix Rising FC in a USL game in San Diego ... when one of Landon's players said a verbal insult was hurled his way just before halftime.

The player, Collin Martin -- an openly gay man -- reportedly claimed Junior Flemmings called him a "batty boy" ... which is known in Jamaican dialect as an anti-gay slur.

Donovan, Martin and the whole Loyal team were livid over the alleged comment ... and demanded referees or Phoneix Rising FC's coach remove Flemmings from the game.

In video of the argument between Donovan, the refs, and the Phoenix coach ... the U.S. Men's National Team legend can be seen and heard animatedly explaining his team's outrage.

"We need to get this out of our game!" Donovan said. "We need to get this out of our game!"

Donovan continued, "It's homophobia!"

When Flemmings was not removed at the start of the 2nd half ... Donovan's Loyal team took a knee and then left the field -- forfeiting a game it was leading 3-1.

Afterward, Donovan explained that since one of his players had been racially abused in a game just a week ago ... they weren't going to stand for any kind of insensitive comments or actions on the field going forward.

"We went through a really hard incident last week in the L.A. match and we made a vow to ourselves, to our community, to our players, to the club, to USL, that we would not stand for bigotry, homophobic slurs -- things that don’t belong in our game."

The USL says it's investigating the incident, adding in a statement, "Foul and abusive language of any type has absolutely no place in our society and will not be tolerated in USL matches."

For Flemmings' part, he denies ever saying the comment ... writing in a post on social media, "At no point did I say a homophobic slur towards Collin Martin."

"I do not know Collin personally, but I respect all of my opponents equally, Collin included."

Shia LaBeouf allegedly transformed into a bully and thief over the summer ... and now he's being charged over it.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Honey Boy" star and a man got into some kind of verbal altercation that turned physical back in June in L.A. Our sources say after the dust-up was over, Shia took off the man's cap and left the scene with it.

It's unclear what led to the altercation or where exactly it went down but we’re told there were no major injuries to either guy. We're told the man filed a police report and cops investigated ... determining Shia was the aggressor.

The L.A. City Attorney ultimately charged Shia earlier this month with battery and petty theft, both misdemeanors. It's the first time in a while Shia's run into trouble with the law. You'll recall several incidents -- from his drunken arrest to his scuffle in NYC -- in 2017 that got him in hot water.

We've reached out to Shia's rep for comment, so far no word back.

John Wayne Bobbitt -- yes, that John Wayne Bobbitt -- is facing the very serious reality of losing another body part ... this time, his left foot.

If you need a reminder -- Bobbitt's name became notorious in 1993 when his wife Lorena cut off his penis while he was asleep and threw it out her car window. He got it reattached successfully, but for more on that story ... look it up.

As for his current foot problem ... John tells TMZ he was working construction in Buffalo in 2013 when he stepped on a nail, which went through his boot and punctured a toe on his left foot. He says it became infected a couple months later.

Bobbitt says he got treatment at 2 different hospitals, but a doctor later diagnosed him with osteomyelitis -- an infection of the bone in his left foot.

We're told John has been aggressively treated with antibiotics, but the infection never fully healed. Now, he says he's back in a hospital in Las Vegas, and as you can see for yourself ... it doesn't look good!!

Bobbitt says doctors are telling him the bone is so infected they need to determine whether or not to amputate.

JWB's got his fingers crossed for the left foot decision, especially because -- get this -- he already lost a toe on his right foot last year! He says that little piggy was also infected after an accidental cut.

We don't believe in curses, but ... damn.

Brad Williams says he wouldn't trade his life and take a drug that could make him taller, but he understands why others would, and adds ... he and his wife are considering it for their daughter.

We got the comedian at a Starbucks in L.A. Wednesday and got his take on the controversial new drug, Vosoritide, which has been shown to restore nearly average bone growth rates of children with achondroplasia ... the most common form of dwarfism, which Brad has.

Brad lays out the potentially significant impact of the drug and how it can improve the lives of kids with dwarfism, but on the flip side ... he's well aware giving it to a child creates an ethical conundrum.

He even gives us a personal example demonstrating how difficult this decision might be for little people ... and that sets up his larger point. Brad says no matter what a person thinks about the drug ... it should be left up to those actually affected by dwarfism to make the call.

As for Brad's 9-month-old little girl ... he shared a video a while back showing off one of her special attributes due to her dwarfism.

Before this smiling sweetheart was a well-known activist and actor with numerous award wins under his belt, he was just another cute kid laughing in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This grinning guy has shaken audiences across the globe with his undeniable talent in critically acclaimed films. One musical role landed him a Grammy Award while another villainous character sent him home with an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

Since being in the industry as a child, he has been vocal about his animal rights activism -- he has even been a vegan since he was 3 years old!

REFORM Alliance -- the criminal justice reform org launched by Jay-Z, Meek Mill, Michael Rubin and others -- is celebrating its first major victory with CA Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a new bill into law.

Newsom just put pen to paper on AB 1950 ... legislation which will drastically reshape Cali's probation system and give hundreds of thousands of Californians a better shot at exiting the criminal justice system for good.

Specifically, the new law limits adult probation sentences to a maximum of 1 year for misdemeanor, and 2 years for felony offenses. The theory is that will greatly reduce probation violations. REFORM campaigned hard for the bill, generating more than 3,000 emails to Newsom's desk.

As you know, Meek knows personally how probation violations can unjustly derail someone's life, and his experience is part of the origin story of REFORM.

Meek's pal, and 76ers partner, Rubin says ... "This is exactly why we created REFORM -- to change laws and create a smarter criminal justice system focused on rehabilitation and redemption all while keeping communities safe."

He adds ... "We’re grateful for Governor Newsom and Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove’s commitment to making such meaningful change in California and we hope it sets a necessary precedent for state leaders across the country."

Mariah Carey is opening up about her first sexual experience with Derek Jeter ... going as far as to detail his "honey-dipped skin."

Carey spoke out about their romance in her new book, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey", saying she met the MLB legend at a dinner party back in 1997 ... but she admits they didn't hit it off right away.

It wasn't until they shared their experiences about being biracial that Carey saw Jeter as a "Prince Charming" ... and they started to get serious feelings for each other.

The two began to secretly talk ... and shared "a warm, slow, intoxicating kiss" on Jeter's roof (which inspired her song, "The Roof") ... but they never took it further because "Neither of us had wanted to cheapen our romance by cheating on my marriage."

Once her divorce with Sony music exec. Tommy Mottola was complete, Carey says she wasted no time and flew to Tampa to do the deed with Jeter.

"Everything was so new and sweet, down to the smooth texture of his honey-dipped skin. It was how it was supposed to feel," Carey says, according to TooFab.

Carey called the experience "so sensual" ... and admitted he was only the second guy she had slept with.

As special as it was, Carey knew it wasn't going to last ... saying they were both huge stars and could not "live up to each other's fantasies," but they both fulfilled each other's needs at the time.