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Miya Ponsetto falsely accusing a Black teen of stealing her iPhone and attacking him had nothing to do with racism ... at least according to her lawyer, who says she was having a panic attack.

Attorney Sharen H. Ghatan is representing Miya and her mother, Nicole Ponsetto, and Ghatan tells TMZ ... the NYC incident that led to Miya getting labeled "SoHo Karen" is not what everyone is making it out to be.

Her lawyer says she was in NYC visiting her father for Christmas, and like everyone else -- her whole life is on her phone and she needed it to navigate the city. He says she started feeling anxious when she realized she'd lost it.

Ghatan claims Miya has a history of anxiety attacks and was experiencing one when she accused Keyon Harrold's 14-year-old son of stealing her phone and went after him. Ghatan isn't excusing her aggression -- she says that wasn't right, but insists it was anxiety-induced ... not racially charged.

All of that is, no doubt, info NYPD will want to hear. Detectives investigating the iPhone incident are flying to L.A. this week to speak with Miya ... but that could become an issue, because Miya's off the grid.

Ghatan says Miya left home and turned off her phone -- she's not responding to messages from her mother or her attorney, who say they're concerned about her well-being.

They say strangers have shown up at their L.A.-area home, followed them and made threats.

Assuming everything is alright, Ghatan says Miya and Nicole are open to speaking with the Harrold family to gain closure. As for NYPD ... Ghatan tells us detectives will need to talk to her first before getting to Miya.

As we first reported, Miya and her mother have other legal troubles -- they were both arrested in February 2020 for allegedly being drunk in public at the Peninsula hotel in Bev Hills.

Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand on one of the "Deadliest Catch" crab fishing boats, died from a drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

Mahlon's cause of death is listed as acute cocaine intoxication ... according to Flathead County Sheriff and Coroner, Brian Heino. He also tells us the death has been ruled accidental.

TMZ broke the story ... Mahlon died in Whitefish, Montana back in July, after suffering a massive heart attack and going on life support. His wife told us his death came as a complete shock to the family because he had no known existing health conditions.

Mahlon's death came while he was rehabbing a torn Achilles, suffered while crabbing, and we were told he was working his butt off to make it back to Alaska for another crab season.

"I know y'all scared and sh*t, but let's just make the fight happen for the fans. Let's just do that. Don't overprice yourselves. If y'all believe y'all the best and y'all think that y'all can take this, then let's make the fight happen! Man, don't be p**** about it!"

That's 23-year-old boxing champ Teofimo Lopez throwing down the gauntlet to rivals Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney ... 3 of the sport's youngest, most-talented stars.

TMZ Sports talked to the undefeated, lightweight champ about his next move ... as he plots his return just months after dethroning pound-for-pound king, Vasyl Lomachenko.

"Our goal is to shoot for three fights this year whether it's my mandatory [boxer George Kambosos], Garcia, Haney, Tank Davis, those guys at 135 lbs., that's where our goal is."

22-year-old Garcia (21-0, 18 KO's) beat Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell Saturday night ... and then demanded a fight with 26-year-old Davis (21-0, 20 KO's), telling us he'll knock out Tank inside 2 rounds.

Why isn't anyone calling out Lopez?? Teo says it's fear.

"It's because they're scared! It's really what it comes down to. They're scared."

Unbeaten Tank Davis, scared?

"Yeah, he is [scared]. He is. He's not scared of the opposition he's facing right now because it's light work. I mean he knocked out a 122 pounder [Leo Santa Cruz]. C'mon yo! I can do the same sh*t and I can do it better, in a better fashion," Teofimo says.

"But hey, I take my hat off to [Davis], he's doing his thing and I congratulate all of them. Haney, Garcia, Tank. But, when it comes to it man, I'm the king of the division. I'm the kingpin!"

American artist Huey Lewis (real name Hugh Anthony Cregg III) shot to international fame in the mid-'80s after he and his band, Huey Lewis and the News, released their 3rd album "Sports" which included the rock and roll anthems "Heart and Soul," "If This Is It," "I Want A New Drug" and "The Heart Of Rock & Roll."

Huey Lewis and the News followed up their breakthrough record with the swinging single "The Power Of Love" that landed number 1 on the charts after it was featured on the iconic 1985 movie "Back to the Future."

Lewis continues to make music and even released the album "Weather" last year.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been in marriage counseling, and we've learned the subject of divorce was looming for much of 2020, but they haven't given up.

Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, the marriage was in deep trouble for the last half of 2020. In fact, we're told Kim was ready to pull the plug on the marriage at one point but it was when Kanye was going through a serious bipolar episode and she felt it was cruel to do it when he wasn't well.

They have been living separately for a few months ... with Kanye spending the majority of his time in Wyoming while she has been in Calabasas with the kids. They were absorbed in personal business projects and didn't focus on making any final decisions.

Kim has gone back and forth, we're told ... at times thinking divorce was the only option but other times believing there was a chance to save the marriage. That's why they took a family vacation late last year ... to see if they could repair things.

Everything got put on hold for the Christmas holidays, but now the issue is front and center. Kim's had disso queen Laura Wasser on retainer for years for various reasons, and the subject of divorce was discussed months ago, but Kim never gave the green light to file.

Her ambivalence is understandable, what with 4 small kids. They married in May, 2014.

We're told no final decision has been made, and it's telling they've been in counseling for a while.

We're told their issues have been neither contentious nor ugly, but they do have lots of differences ... from lifestyle to politics. They are, however, fully aligned on parenting.

One thing our sources wanted to make clear ... there is no third party.

Tanya Roberts' feared she had contracted COVID-19 before collapsing at home ... but doctors believe a serious infection -- not COVID -- is what killed the actress.

The late actress's partner, Lance O'Brien, tells TMZ ... Tanya said she felt short of breath, tired and had tightness in her stomach just days before her collapse on Christmas Eve. Lance says when Tanya collapsed he helped her up ... and realized she had virtually no strength. An ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital, giving her oxygen along the way and helping her to regain consciousness.

Once Tanya was hospitalized, Lance says her condition quickly deteriorated -- which Lance himself recounted on camera Tuesday. BTW, we're told she was tested for COVID several times while in the hospital, but all of the tests came back negative.

So the question remains ... what could have taken her life so quickly? Lance tells us that doctors informed him it might be related to a UTI that spread to her kidneys and liver. We're told Tanya also had Hepatitis C, and doctors told Lance that was causing complications as well.

An autopsy has yet to be performed. Tanya was 65.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott might wanna trademark the cool catchphrase he dropped on a COVID-19 heckler ... 'cause if he doesn't, Dr. Anthony Fauci should!

The Mayor held a news conference Tuesday about his city's coronavirus restrictions when a man in the crowd repeatedly tried to talk over him. Scott finally looked up and put the guy in his place by saying, "Shorty, pull your mask up."

You gotta see how hizzoner said it, though -- it just might be the chillest political clap back ever, and something tells us you're gonna see it on merch soon.

Now, the heckler persisted for a few more seconds ... trying to use the maskless sign language interpreter as justification for presumably not wearing his mask properly. Mayor Scott wasn't having it and kept his responses to the man swift and swaggy.

Hey, it's not exactly how Fauci might handle a similar situation, but Mayor Scott's phrase delivers the same sentiment and is, arguably, more effective with young people. Behold the benefit of youth in politics -- Mayor Scott's only 36!!!

Bottom line ... mask up, because as Mayor Scott puts it, "people dying, shorty."

Police say the incident started when the woman started talking to a mail carrier about late-arriving mail, and she started shouting racial slurs when approached by a neighbor.

A new "Karen" in NJ, who went on a disgustingly racist tirade, is the last straw for an elected official who says it's time to stop excusing this behavior ... and she's calling for an investigation.

Tameka Bordeaux posted this video of her encounter with an elderly woman in Bayonne, NJ -- the woman hurled n-word after n-word as she followed Tameka down a street. Tameka captioned the video with, "The racism I had to endure walking to the store. 2021 started with a bang. Thank god for my neighbors."

At one point, a man stepped in to berate the older woman, saying ... "Why do you keep following her?" and points the opposite way while saying, "Go that way."

The video caught the attention of NJ Assemblywoman Angela McKnight who is calling for an investigation into the incident. McKnight said, "This behavior is becoming so common now that we simply refer to these racist people as 'Karen' and let it go. I can’t just do that."

She added, "This matter needs to be investigated for sure but regardless of the outcome of the investigation, one thing for certain is that Tameka was incredibly wronged today."

McKnight was also alarmed at the number of people defending the behavior. As she put it, "To read the comments of some white people now making an excuse or defense for this behavior is alarming and gets us to the real problem of this systemic situation."

The white police officer who shot Jacob Blake -- an unarmed Black man -- at point-blank range seven times won't be criminally charged ... and neither will any of the other cops involved.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael D. Graveley announced his decision Tuesday, saying Kenosha PD officer Rusten Sheskey would NOT be charged for shooting Blake in August during an attempted arrest.

Graveley explained his decision, saying that after careful review and investigation ... officials simply couldn't find a law he'd broken under the circumstances. D.A. Graveley basically chalked his decision up to self-defense, and it was necessary for Officer Sheskey to use lethal force to stop Jacob from potentially harming him (Sheskey) or others.

According to Wisconsin law, that decision is based on a reasonable belief that Jacob might've done any of that if Sheskey hadn't acted ... and Graveley explains that in their state, that belief falls under the discretion of said officer, who has to make a snap decision.

Graveley goes on to explain that if prosecutors were to go after Sheskey, the burden would be on them in court to disprove a need for self-defense ... which he suggests would've been a losing battle in this case.

He also mentioned this ... Jacob Blake won't face any new criminal charges stemming from this incident either.

Remember, Sheskey, a 7-year vet, chased Blake down as he walked away from him and refused to obey orders to halt. The officer pursued around the other side of his SUV, and when Blake tried opening the door ... Sheskey opened fire into his back from around two feet away. He unloaded seven shots, and somehow Blake survived.

He wasn't unscathed though ... Blake is now paralyzed from the waist down, and spent a good amount of time recovering in the hospital. He's now undergoing spinal cord rehab and has since gained some upper body strength as he navigates his painful new life situation.

Blake's shooting sparked renewed racial justice protests across the country, and it seems like authorities are ramping up for the second wave of unrest. Just this week, Wisconsin's governor, Tony Evers, mobilized 500 National Guard troops to help local law enforcement.

Kenosha's Common Council passed a resolution to enforce a pre-emptive curfew for up to 8 days after Graveley's announcement. There are other measures going into effect too ... reduced bus service, road closures, designated spaces for demonstrations, concrete barricades and fences going up to protect certain buildings ... and, of course, businesses are boarding up.

Hank Aaron got his COVID vaccine shot on Tuesday -- and he did it in front of cameras in the hopes of inspiring other Black Americans to follow his lead.

The 86-year-old Hall of Famer masked up and went to the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta along with his wife Billye to receive the first of two doses of the Moderna vaccine.

"[It] makes me feel wonderful," Aaron told the Associated Press ... "I don’t have any qualms about it at all."

"I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country."

The Aarons were joined at Morehouse by civil rights leader Andrew Young and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who were also vaccinated.

The decision to go public with their vaccinations stems from mistrust many Black Americans have about medical research -- mistrust that stems from the Tuskegee experiment, which began in the 1930s.

The federal government essentially lied to Black people for decades -- telling them they were getting free health care, when in fact they received horrifically improper care so the U.S. Public Health Service could secretly study the effects of syphilis when untreated. 128 people died and many others suffered.

In fact, the AP conducted a survey back in December which showed 40% of Black people in America would not get the COVID vaccine, even though COVID has hit the Black community particularly hard.

Hammerin' Hank Aaron is one of the greatest baseball players of all time -- he famously broke Babe Ruth's home run record in 1973.

Serena Williams' husband is clapping back HARD at a billionaire who criticized the tennis legend ... with Alexis Ohanian calling the guy a straight-up "racist/sexist clown."

Here's the backstory ... Ion Tiriac -- the super-rich ex-tennis star who's the director of the Madrid Open -- went on a Romanian television show recently and jabbed at Serena.

"At this age and the weight she is now, she does not move as easily as she did 15 years ago," Tiriac said, according to ProSport in Romania.

"Serena was a sensational player. If she had a little decency, she would retire! From all points of view."

FYI, Tiriac has quarreled with Serena in the past ... he's criticized Williams' weight while pining that the sport needs to shine a spotlight on players outside of her. Williams, meanwhile, called those comments in 2018 both "ignorant" and "sexist."

This time, however, it was Williams' husband who fired back at Tiriac ... and the co-founder of Reddit didn't pull punches.

37-year-old Ohanian went after Tiriac on social media ... blasting the 81-year-old in a series of tweets.

"Safe to say no one gives a damn what Ion Țiriac thinks," Ohanian wrote. "Had to Google it... turns out my 3 year old has more Grand Slam victories than this [clown]."

Ohanian added, "2021 and no holding back when a racist/sexist clown with a platform comes for my family."

Tanya Roberts' longtime partner says he was distraught and confused during his final moments with her ... which may explain why he prematurely told folks she had died.

Lance O'Brien told a photog Tuesday ... when he visited her Sunday at the hospital she was in bad shape -- unresponsive on a ventilator -- but he says when he told her he was there, she sat up and opened her eyes.

This led him to believe she was responding, but he says hospital staff told him it was just a reflex ... and she was "out" shortly afterward. Lance tells us he was beside himself, so he got in the elevator and left.

Lance says Tanya's rep Mike Pingel -- who's driving Lance in this video -- picked him up from the hospital and asked what happened ... and this might help explain her bizarre premature death announcement.

He tells us he responded, "I just said goodbye to Tanya," and that was it ... then he went home and fell asleep, only to wake up later to phone calls about her passing.

Lance seems to be suggesting Mike interpreted his statement as proof Tanya had died, though Pingel also says Lance told him ... "She died in my arms."

Either way, it makes sense in wake of a devastating, tragic moment that there could be a communication breakdown ... and Lance says the ordeal was made all the more difficult due to COVID.

Lance also tells us Tanya had her initial health scare on December 23 -- not Christmas Eve -- but he thought it was just a blood sugar issue and she would be fine.

We broke the story ... Tanya died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Despite the strange story involving her death, she'll be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress ... most recently for starring on "That '70s Show" as Midge.

Tanya was 65.

Dr. Dre's full of it if he says he doesn't have the cash to keep supporting his estranged wife's lifestyle ... at least that's what her accountant says in new legal docs.

Nicole Young filed docs detailing how much she claims the couple spent over a 3-year period and how much dough Dre has on hand right now ... and it's impressive.

According to the docs ... Young's CPA says Dre has a whopping $262 MILLION available right now in cash and Apple stock. The accountant says selling Apple stock was the primary source of funding their lifestyle from 2017-19, and believes that will continue to be the case.

So, just how much were they spending during that time? The CPA claims their marital living expenses were $2.3 mil PER MONTH -- and despite spending about $245 mil over that 3-year period ... their available cash still increased by $26 million. Hey, Apple's been a good investment.

Based on these figures, Nicole's accountant insists Dre's got plenty of funds to contribute to Nicole's attorney fees, and "maintain the status quo" of their lifestyle.

Of course, that's a big part of the spousal support battle in their divorce. We broke the story ... Dre has warned Nicole she needs to learn to start spending less and claims he's giving her more than enough to live on for now.

As we reported ... he says he's been dishing out $293,306 a month to her while their divorce plays out, but she's filed docs seeking $2 million a month in temporary spousal support.

A renowned Harvard physicist has a bold theory -- a celestial object that hurled through our solar system in 2017 was actually not of our galaxy ... but from another, perhaps light-years away.

Avi Loeb -- whose new book, "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth," delves more into his hypothesis -- came on "TMZ Live" Tuesday to explain why a massive, sleek unidentified piece of debris that crossed our path in 2017 might've been other-worldly.

Check it out ... Avi says when it was studied by physicists and other scientists at the time, it had none of the makings of a typical asteroid or meteor that we would see from a distant star in the Milky Way. On the contrary, he explains that it was actually propelled by an unknown source, and appears (to him, anyway) to have pierced through from a faraway place.

The Chairman of the Harvard Astronomy Dept. goes on to break down how he and his contemporaries think the object was catching flight ... it's a technology that's beyond our grasp at this point, but one that could describe how the 100-yard entity moved how it did. Think 'Star Wars' hyperspace ... and now, add light to the mix. That's pretty much what Avi believes happened here.

As for what exactly it could be ... Avi's said it might be nothing more than space junk. But, whose space junk is the key question. In his eyes, it ain't ours ... which is extraordinary.

Tyler Perry wanted to vote in the Georgia runoff THIS BAD ... he hopped on a jet and flew all the way to Georgia to cast his ballot in person ... because his absentee ballot never showed up.

Tyler says he waited and waited for more than a month for his absentee ballot, but for some reason it never came. Tyler was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so he hopped on his jet and flew to the Peach State so his voice could be heard, along with more than 3 million others who cast ballots.

Tyler got his prize ... the "I voted" sticker which he proudly displayed.

He raised the issue Monday, asking Georgians ... "Hey Georgia, Is anyone else having this problem? I ordered my absentee ballot on December 2nd. I’m told it was mailed on the 4th. I still don’t have it!" Stacey Abrams responded to him, and Tyler answered back.

He replied, "Hey @staceyabrams, I flew home because I didn’t get it. I will be there early in the morning. Too important to miss. Too important to miss!"

What's unclear ... how many other Georgians didn't get their ballot. It's also unclear why this is happening.

Boosie Badazz has lost his voting booth virginity -- the rapper's voting for the first time in his life ... and he's so determined, he wouldn't let his gunshot injuries stop him.

The wheelchair-bound rapper rolled up to a Futon County, GA polling place Tuesday to make his voice heard in that state's crucial Senatorial runoff election -- and he was singing a tune about change as he did it.

Boosie says he's been paying close attention to the campaign and explains why he's casting his ballot for Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat going up against Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler. It's a big election ... as it will determine which party controls the Senate.

As you know ... Boosie's in a wheelchair because he suffered some gruesome leg injuries when he was shot last year in Dallas.

He says if he can vote for the first time, from a wheelchair no less, every eligible voter in Georgia needs to get to the polls.

Seems like Boosie's message is being heard loud and clear ... folks are lined up at polling places across Georgia for what appears to be another massive voter turnout.