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Bobby Brown Jr.'s drug-related death raised a lot of red flags with the police ... which is exactly why we're told they opened a criminal investigation that's now in the hands of prosecutors.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the LAPD began looking at this as a possible crime pretty much from the outset due to the fact narcotics were involved, not to mention the specific type ... Percocet and coke. Officers quickly caught on to the drugs after talking to people Bobby was around shortly before his body was found.

We're told cops know street drugs like that are often cut with fentanyl -- which is cheap and easily hooks users. Sure enough ... that turned out to be the case for Bobby Jr. A toxicology test did, indeed, find the lethal substance in his blood.

The case is now in the hands of the L.A. County D.A.'s Office to determine if criminal charges should be filed or if the case should be kicked back to cops for additional investigation. We're told no arrests have been made ... yet.

Our sources say investigators interviewed Bobby Jr.'s girlfriend and other witnesses who saw him before his death. We're also told there were no drugs or paraphernalia found at the scene when his body was recovered.

We broke the story ... Bobby was found dead in his home in November. Like we mentioned, an autopsy showed he died from a toxic combination of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl. His death was listed as accidental.

This is the second child Bobby Brown has lost -- and the second to have drugs found in their system. Bobbi Kristina was pulled off of life support following a bathtub accident in 2015. She, too, had cocaine and alcohol in her system.

Of course, his late wife, Whitney Houston, also died a drug-related death ... she had drowned in a bathtub, and cocaine was listed as a contributing factor.

President Biden is apparently an even bigger believer in dogs than we all previously thought ... he says man's best friend might be able to help cure cancer!!!

The Prez showered dogs with tons of praise Tuesday during a visit to Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital, saying ... "Dogs may help cure cancer. Not a joke."

Biden's statement immediately raised a lot of eyebrows around the country, because even if ya love dogs -- CURING cancer??? Watch the clip, because the President did say something 100% factual ... which is that dogs can smell cancer, and some have been trained to give patients and/or doctors a heads-up.

But, that's really detection, stretching it out to curing cancer ... seems far-fetched. Sorry, Fido.

Biden's remark harkens us back to a time last summer when another POTUS suggested ingesting bleach would be a great way to combat the coronavirus. He's always claimed he was joking, but c'mon ... we all saw the news conference.

Of course, some are defending Biden's statement by pointing out early detection is key to a patient starting treatment ... and therefore, giving them a better shot at remission. We guess one could make that argument.

Deshaun Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, is going scorched earth on the attorney representing the QB's accusers -- claiming Tony Buzbee has "orchestrated a circus-like atmosphere" to unfairly paint Watson as a sexual predator.

In his statement, Hardin stands by his client -- saying matter of factly, "I believe that any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false."

Hardin says his team has already begun to investigate the numerous lawsuits filed against the NFL star, but it's been extremely difficult because Buzbee will not reveal the identities of the women making the claims.

"The tactic of refusing our requests to confidentially provide the names of the plaintiffs so we can fully investigate their claims makes uncovering the truth extremely difficult."

"Anonymity is often necessary as a shield for victims but opposing counsel has used it as a sword to publicly humiliate Deshaun before the truth‑seeking process can even begin."

Hardin says his own investigation has already uncovered "strong evidence" showing one of the accusers is lying.

Hardin also claims ... in January, "a woman attempted to blackmail Deshaun by demanding $30,000 in exchange for her 'indefinite silence' about what she stated was a consensual encounter."

Additionally, Hardin says his team has received "numerous unsolicited comments in the past week from many licensed massage therapists who have worked with Deshaun in recent years."

"These women describe him as a gentleman and a model client who never engaged in inappropriate conduct. Indeed, before these salacious claims, everyone who associated with Deshaun described him as an outstanding, respectful, and compassionate man."

Hardin had strong words for Buzbee ... saying, "Opposing counsel has orchestrated a circus-like atmosphere by using social media to publicize 14 'Jane Doe' lawsuits during the past seven days in a manner calculated to inflame the public and malign Deshaun’s otherwise sterling reputation."

In other words, Watson is not backing down and judging by the statement, he's digging in his heels to fight this thing out as long as it takes.

D.L. Hughley says folks who are splitting hairs about the Colorado shooter's race are missing the point -- and that point is this ... easy access to guns is the true root of America's mass shooting problem.

The comedian, author and activist gave us his thoughts Tuesday at LAX about the 10 people killed Monday in Boulder when cops say Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa opened fire in a grocery store.

Although the release of Alissa's name had the phrase "He's Muslim" trending Tuesday on Twitter, D.L. says people pushing that narrative are missing the point ... especially because the vast majority of mass shooters in America are white.

Regardless of what race or religion the shooter turned out to be, D.L. says it wouldn't change the bigger issue ... the ease with which folks can purchase weapons like an AR-15 -- which Alissa used -- and also stockpile large amounts of ammunition.

He draws an interesting parallel between hoarding guns and cold medicine -- explaining one of those purchases will get you more stares than the other ... and it ain't the one you might think.

Vanessa Hudgens and MLB player Cole Tucker are getting pretty serious ... 'cause the "High School Musical" star showed up to his spring training game Tuesday to cheer him on!!

The 32-year-old -- who made things Instagram offish with the 24-year-old Pirates utility man last month -- rocked a Pittsburgh jersey and sat just a few rows behind home plate to check out her BF.

Hudgens was there with her pal, GG Magree -- and you can see in the footage they shot out at LECOM Park in Bradenton, FL ... they were super into Cole's game!!

The two went crazy when Tucker nearly beat out a broken-bat ground ball to second base ... and then they jammed out to "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" later on.

The bad news? Tucker didn't impress much during the Pirates' 1-0 win over the Twins ... he was 0-for-2 with a walk while serving as his team's designated hitter for the day.

But, hey ... it's spring training after all -- AND the dude gets to go home to Vanessa Hudgens at the end of the day.

Ryan Seacrest says Katy Perry's right about Claudia Conway ... she's not quite ready for the next round of 'American Idol' just yet, but she's got a bright future in Hollywood ... perhaps in reality TV.

We got the 'Idol' host Tuesday in New York City and asked if Kellyanne Conway's teenage daughter got a fair shake on the show. Ryan seems to think so ... and even believes the show might've helped the Conway family image.

The mother/daughter dynamics between Kellyanne and Claudia were put on full display during 'Idol' and were much more positive than what we've seen on Claudia's TikTok.

We asked Ryan -- who helped build the Kardashian empire -- if the family's got what it takes for some solid reality TV ... and he certainly doesn't say no.

As for her idol elimination, Seacrest says Katy hit the nail on the head when she cut Claudia loose ... he says CC has some growing to do as a singer, but she should definitely try out for 'Idol' again. No wonder Katy's a judge.

Toby Flenderson may still suck all these years later, but his house that Michael egged on "The Office" sure doesn't in real life -- if anything, it's ballin' ... and the price tag reflects it.

'Office' fans will recognize this crib instantly -- it's the home that appeared in season 7, for 'Michael's Last Dundies' ... the penultimate installment of Steve Carell's tenure. In the cold open, Mike and Deangelo deliver Dundie noms to the employees, and yolk to Toby's place.

As humble (and perhaps crappy) as Toby's house may have looked in that quick shot ... the actual home is now hitting the market for a whopping $1.098 million -- and a closer look makes ya realize that Mr. Flenderson might've had a great salary at Dunder Mifflin Scranton.

The 3-bed, 2-bath pad isn't actually in PA ... it's in the L.A.'s Sherman Oaks neighborhood ... and from the inside out, it's a real beaut compared to what we saw on the small screen.

The house features a fully loaded upgraded kitchen and a huge backyard. It's also protected with its own gate, so you don't have to worry about other Michael Scotts running up on ya.

When it comes to how the house came to be featured on the show in the first place ... we're told production simply came up, knocked and asked -- and the owners said yes. How 'bout that?!? Oh, and BTW, Toby might've been divorced and lonely ... but the place ain't built for that. Check it out yourself.

Bobby Shmurda's gotta keep his nose clean now that he's out on parole, and though he's already back to living that rap star life ... he can't drink alcohol, hang out at bars or with gangs.

Shmurda's under parole supervision until Feb. 23, 2026, and there are some special conditions that come with it ... like an 8 PM curfew. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, he also has to submit to substance abuse testing and get counseling for aggression and anger.

The easy part for him is that he's gotta seek, obtain and maintain employment. Done, done and done. As we reported, he already had a few performances in Atlanta during NBA All-Star Weekend -- and right after his release from prison, Bobby boarded a private jet with Quavo to hit a studio.

TMZ broke the story ... Shmurda was released last month from New York's Clinton Correctional Facility, getting sprung about 10 months earlier than expected.

A guy claims he found the tail end of some shrimp in his cereal -- something General Mills assures him can't be the case, but he's definitely not buying it.

Writer/Producer Jensen Karp documented what he claims was a gross morning breakfast session Monday, posting pics of various artifacts he says he found inside his new box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. He says he found shrimp tails in there ... 2 of 'em to be exact!!!

Jensen started by asking (and officially tagging) CTC's Twitter account why there were apparently crustacean remnants in his just-unsealed box ... which sparked quite a journey of what he describes as excuses and gaslighting.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, at first, responded by apologizing and asking for more details ... while also offering a new box as a quick remedy. Then, CTC claimed, upon further examination, its quality control team came to the conclusion that they weren't shrimp tails ... but simply large, dried-up sugar clumps!

Jensen -- who's married to "Boy Meets World" star Danielle Fishel, BTW -- didn't seem to accept that answer ... as he posted close-up shots of the alleged shrimp tails. He claims he went digging even further and found more gross stuff ... including a small piece of string and tiny specks of black gunk on some of the cereal.

Some folks on the Internet theorized the stuff might be mouse or rat droppings ... which opens up a whole other can of worms that makes us gag just thinking about.

As for where things ended here ... Jensen says he's heading back to Costco -- where he bought the cereal -- to get some answers. He's also waiting for more from CTC's parent company General Mills.

We, too, have reached out to General Mills ... so far, no word back.

The Belize men's national soccer team was stopped by gunmen in Haiti just minutes after it had arrived in the country for a World Cup qualifier -- and video from the scene is beyond troubling.

The Belize national team officials said in a statement Monday they were making their way from the airport to their hotel 3 days prior to their big soccer match ... when a band of armed insurgents on motorcycles pulled them over at gunpoint.

You can hear the soccer players in the bus describing the demands the insurgents were making -- "They said, 'Pull over or else!'"

The footage shot from inside the team bus shows dozens of men -- some armed with large firearms -- order the driver to pull to the side of the road, despite the team having a 4-man police escort.

Belize officials said cops were forced to "negotiate" with the men in order to leave unharmed -- and, thankfully, they were allowed to move forward with no one getting hurt in the confrontation.

No word on what the team had to give the men in order to leave.

"The situation is one that the team should have never faced," team officials said after the incident, "but we are pleased to report that our Jaguars, although shaken by the terrible experience, are safely at their hotel."

The team added it's "currently in contact with respective authorities from FIFA and Concacaf and are doing everything possible to get them to safer grounds."

"It is unfortunate that our Jaguars faced such a traumatic experience."

Belize is slated to play Haiti in Port-Au-Prince on March 25 -- a key game for Belize as it attempts to qualify for the World Cup (set for 2022 in Qatar) for the first time ever.

THIS IS CRAZY VIDEO!!!

The fighting spilled into the stands at an MMA event in Florida over the weekend -- with punches and chairs thrown everywhere -- and culminated with someone firing a GUN twice!!!

... and TMZ Sports has the unbelievable footage.

Here's the deal ... the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident at the RIZE Fighting Championship event which went down on March 20 at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth Beach.

The event was promoted as a bantamweight championship match between Alexis Fernandez and Filipe Valentim -- but there was more action in the stands than inside the cage ... when fans started to attack each other!!

Unclear how the brawl started ... but as several groups of people engaged in fighting, one man opened up a bag, pulled out a handgun and fired it into the air -- apparently hoping the gunshot would scare everyone into behaving.

But, watch the clip ... there are people watching the fights on the balcony, directly above the shooter -- and it's a miracle no one was hit!

We heard at least one shot -- but cops say at least TWO shots were fired into the air.

Former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard -- who also fought in the UFC -- was in the crowd at the event and captured the shooting on video.

"This guy just shot his handgun in the middle of a melee at an amateur show," Lombard posted on IG ... "Shameful and pathetic cowardly behavior ruined a great night of fights."

When officials arrived on-scene, paramedics treated multiple individuals who were injured in the brawl portion of the incident.

So far, no arrests have been made -- but officials say they've launched an investigation in hopes of identifying the shooter and finding out why the hell he thought it would be a good idea to pop off a couple of rounds with so many people in close proximity!

Demi Lovato is celebrating the release of her highly anticipated docuseries, and getting support from friends like Kim Kardashian ... who attended the drive-in-themed bash.

The singer's guests pulled up in their rides Monday night outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel to watch the first 2 episodes of Demi's "Dancing with the Devil." You can see Demi and Kim K got together for a quick snap, keeping things safe wearing face coverings.

While everyone got to see the gripping documentary on a huge screen, they also got another treat ... Demi performing live on stage. When she wasn't singing, Demi watched the doc from the comfort of her hotel's balcony with close friends by her side.

The docuseries, of course, follows Demi's life leading up to, and after, her near-fatal heroin and fentanyl overdose in July 2018. As we've reported, Demi says she only had 5-to-10 minutes to live had she not been found by someone in her home that night.

The first 2 of 4 episodes are out now on YouTube and throughout the series, Demi bravely opens up about the depths of her addiction and losing control of almost every aspect of her life.

Well, that was fast! One minute Claudia Conway's on to the next round on 'American Idol,' and the next she's cut loose, but at least Katy Perry was nice about it.

Kellyanne Conway's 16-year-old was eliminated Monday night ... less than 24 hours after she squeaked by in the opening night of Hollywood week and shared some screen time with her politico mom.

This time, Claudia was on the chopping block for a duet round with another contestant -- Hannah Everhart -- in which they double-teamed Harry Styles' 'Sign of the Times.' The judges thought Everhart held her own, but not so much for CC.

When it was time to give the teenager the tough news, Katy played the bad guy and she offered Claudia some advice she could apply to singing ... and maybe her tumultuous life at home.

Check it out -- KP tells Claudia that she's just coming to life ... which is true, Claudia's super young and she's already out here making 'Idol' debuts and pretty much has TikTok in the palm of her hand.

Katy also applauded Claudia for taking control of her life -- seemingly a tip of the hat to her ongoing feuds with Kellyanne -- and even invited her back. For her part, Claudia was gracious in defeat.

No on-camera sign of Kellyanne here to embrace her child again, but they seemed to be smoothing things out while Claudia was on 'Idol.'

"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening needs to do something about Apu, because the character is the reason many Hindu kids get bullied ... at least according to a Hindu-American org.

Matt's getting pushback from the Hindu American Foundation for his recent comments on Apu -- he told USA Today he's proud of the character, despite HAF and many others claiming Apu is a walking stereotype.

Shereen Bhalla, spokesperson for HAF, tells TMZ ... Apu has been the predominant face in pop culture for the 3 million Hindus living in America, and the character makes the community feel marginalized.

Bhalla also says Apu's bad for kids growing up Hindu, because they may not feel proud of their identity due to Apu being used as a punchline, and she adds ... the stereotypes of him on "The Simpsons" lead to bullying in schools and online.

HAF, the nation's largest advocacy and education organization for Hindu Americans, says there are a few changes Matt could make to address the problem ... like taking longtime Apu voice actor, Hank Azaria's advice to hire an Indian actor to play Apu.

The Easter Bunny's making a comeback of sorts, and this time it doesn't just mean Spring is sprung, it's a sign Americans are getting ready to celebrate Easter like it's 2019 ... for better or worse.

The bellwether in this case -- bunny costume sales, and they're super hot with Easter less than 2 weeks away. A rep at HalloweenCostumes.com, the world's largest costume retailer, tells TMZ ... its Easter category sales are up over 75% year-to-year.

For instance, this time last year -- as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns were beginning -- the retailer had sold just 49 bunny costumes. This year, with COVID cases flat or dropping in most places, they've sold 171 ... and expect to sell out before Easter, which is April 4.

The easy explanation for biz boomin' is two-fold -- the decrease in cases and the increase in availability of COVID-19 vaccines. Not to mention the loosening of restrictions in many states, and total lack of them in others.

What's more ... the CDC also recently said vaccinated people can visit indoors with unvaccinated people of a single household without masks or social distancing if unvaccinated people are in the low-risk category. Great news for grandma and grandpa heading into the holiday!

Important to note, though, that if no one in your family's been vaccinated, the CDC is still recommending keeping celebrations within your household, and gathering virtually with others. And, of course, outdoor gatherings, if weather permits, are most ideal.

Marco Rubio is worried as hell about unidentified flying objects buzzing over military bases and he's on board with the government getting to the bottom of it.

We got the U.S. Senator from Florida out Monday at Reagan National Airport and asked him about UFOs and aliens. Our intent was a lighthearted convo, but Rubio got dead-ass serious about the potential danger the U.S. faces from unidentified aircraft flying over our military installations.

His argument's simple ... we don't know what's flying above our military bases -- or our not-so-friendly skies, for that matter -- and his colleagues on the Senate Committee on Intelligence need to figure it out because "maybe it's another country, and that would be bad news too."

Luckily for us humans ... the Pentagon's on it after forming a new task force last August to investigate UFOs spotted by U.S. military aircraft. Remember, the Pentagon had already declassified UFO videos they describe as "unexplained aerial phenomena."

And, just last month, an American Airlines pilot flying over New Mexico radioed saying, "I hate to say this, but it looked like a long cylindrical object that almost looked like a cruise-missile type of thing. Moving really fast and went right over the top of us." The FAA later refuted the pilot's sighting ... but it sure makes ya wonder as sightings keep happening.