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Shakira's all about that single life ... straight-up saying being married weighed her down, and put a damper on her music career.

The Colombian singer was with soccer player Gerard Piqué for 11 years before they separated in 2022 amid infidelity rumors ... and she told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 that with Gerard outta the picture, she's now got a compulsive urge to work and make music like never before.

Shakira's singledom ain't all sunshine and rainbows though ... she's also keeping it real about the challenges of being a single parent to her sons, 11-year-old Milan and 9-year-old Sasha.

The "Hips Don't Lie" queen, who made the move from Spain to the U.S. post-split, dishes that her 2 kiddos are leaning on her big time ... and with no hubby in the picture, she's holding down the fort all by herself.

This ain't the first time Shakira's gently lashed out about how Gerard negatively impacted her career -- she also told the Sunday Times she sacrificed her music-making journey in the name of love.

But, Shakira's back in action ... after 7 long years, she's dropping her much-awaited studio album, "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" (Women Don't Cry Anymore), this Friday!

Uncle Sam is taking Apple to court -- claiming they have a monopoly on the smartphone business and that the interconnected nature of their products is a little too anti-competitive.

The Dept. of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Tim Cook's company Thursday, which makes a lot of allegations against the tech giant ... including that their whole business model is inherently gatekeeping, and has a stranglehold on the industry.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say the ecosystem of all things Apple -- including the iPhone, their Apple Watch and other apps and features connected to Apple's mainframe -- has created a "moat" that's unfairly shutting out rival companies and their own customers.

The lawsuit states, "For many years, Apple has built a dominant iPhone platform and ecosystem that has driven the company’s astronomical valuation. At the same time, it has long understood that disruptive technologies and innovative apps, products, and services threatened that dominance by making users less reliant on the iPhone or making it easier to switch to a non-Apple smartphone."

The feds add ... "Rather than respond to competitive threats by offering lower smartphone prices to consumers or better monetization for developers, Apple would meet competitive threats by imposing a series of shapeshifting rules and restrictions in its App Store guidelines and developer agreements that would allow Apple to extract higher fees, thwart innovation, offer a less secure or degraded user experience, and throttle competitive alternatives. It has deployed this playbook across many technologies, products, and services, including super apps, text messaging, smartwatches, and digital wallets, among many others."

In addition to their products -- which the feds allege are created to work only within Apple's system -- the suit claims Apple has gone out of its way to shut down apps/programs people have attempted to use to make communicating on iPhones easier with non-iPhone products. Essentially, they're alleging Apple has made it impossible to interact with Apple products/users if you're not also using an Apple product ... and they say that violates federal law.

The lawsuit also says this ... "If left unchallenged, Apple will only continue to strengthen its smartphone monopoly ... This anticompetitive behavior is designed to maintain Apple’s monopoly power while extracting as much revenue as possible."

Ya shoot one President, and suddenly ya can't buy a break ... that's John Hinckley Jr.'s gripe, essentially, after his latest folk singing gig got canned.

The man who opened fire on President Ronald Reagan -- and also injured Press Secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and cop -- has become a guitar-strumming folk singer, who actually gets booked for concerts, but they tend to get canceled before he gets onstage.

Hinckley's bitching about his latest yanked gig at Hotel Huxley in Naugatuck, CT, where he was supposed to perform on March 30 ... until the venue announced last week it was pulling the plug. He told the NY Post, "I think it's fair to say I'm a victim of cancel culture."

Referring to all of his canceled shows, he added, "It keeps happening over and over again."

Last week Hotel Huxley posted on its IG page, "You Guessed It: Postponed Until Further Notice (They're killin us here)." That last line seems to be a reference to the massive backlash the venue was getting for booking Hinckley -- but also feels distasteful, considering the concert date would've marked 43 years, to the day, since the attempted assassination of Reagan.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and spent nearly 30 years in a mental health hospital before he was released in 2016.

Since then, he's picked up the guitar and actually released songs on his YouTube channel.

His first concert was booked for Brooklyn in 2022, but again, was canceled due to backlash -- and that's subsequently happened for his other planned shows in Georgia, Illinois and Virginia ... where he now lives in Williamsburg.

Karma. It's a thing.

Bianca Censori must be working up quite the appetite struttin' around nearly naked ... 'cause she and Kanye West hit up the classic spot for oversized dishes and doggy bags.

The couple cruised over to the Cheesecake Factory Wednesday at The Grove in L.A., and Bianca was rocking her standard issue fit -- sheer nude-colored bodysuit paired with athletic shorts rolled up high on her booty. Naturally, that combo drew plenty of attention from photogs and shoppers.

But, it turns out they arrived a bit early for lunch, beating the restaurant's 11:30 AM opening time.

They looked eager to get inside, but found the doors still locked when they tried to enter.

BC looked around puzzled -- doors normally swing open for A-listers in this town, after all -- and that prompted Ye to whip out his phone to make a call.

Mall security immediately appeared and tried to clear all the paps and onlookers.

The Wests weren't hung out to dry for too long -- someone made arrangements for them to get VIP treatment at the CF ... as they were allowed inside 10 minutes early.

No doubt their celebrity status would've surprised the workers and any customers set to arrive during normal opening hours.

Seems like Cheesecake Factory is becoming a go-to spot for this couple ... last year, Ye and the missus were snapped at another CF location inside L.A.'s Topanga Westfield Mall.

Taylor Swift can not only rock the house, she can rock the earth itself -- something proven by the fact that her fans caused a mini earthquake last year ... which is insane.

A study was conducted by Caltech and UCLA, which monitored just how much the ground was shaking during one of Taylor's concerts in 2023 -- specifically, one of her six L.A. shows at SoFi stadium ... and as it turns out, the Swifties that day made the needle move.

Seismologist Gabrielle Tepp -- who oversaw this study -- says data shows that her Aug. 5 "Eras" concert, which hosted upwards of 70,000 fans, registered notable seismic activity.

Tepp and co. monitored each song from her long set list with remote stations that were within 5.6 miles of the stadium and he says their records show that her performance of "Shake It Off" clocked in at the highest point through the night, with a peak magnitude of 0.851.

He notes that the seismic stations recording this were capturing the dancing and jumping going on from fans -- and the reverberations from the music itself isn't included in this. Tepp says her performance of "Love Story" that night also left a notable impression on the meter.

All in all, Tepp says the L.A. show movement caused tremors that equated to a magnitude-2 earthquake -- which is relatively small ... but still pretty impressive from the Taylor fan base!

Her Seattle fans reportedly caused similar waves earlier last summer as well ... earthquake levels.

Derek Hough's wife, Hayley Erbert, appears to be feeling a whole lot better after her terrifying health scare ... because she's back on the dance floor!

The couple each posted a tender photo on their Instagram accounts Wednesday, showing Derek standing alongside Hayley in a dance studio with his arm around her. Hayley's head is resting on the shoulder of the popular "Dancing With The Stars" judge.

Their captions read, "Stepping onto this blank canvas together. Beginning to paint again."

The sweet image marked three months since Derek publicly announced that Hayley was recovering from brain surgery after she became disorientated following a dance performance and was rushed to a Washington D.C. hospital.

In his IG statement back then ... Derek said Hayley had a "long road of recovery" after she suffered a cranial hematoma, requiring and an emergency craniectomy.

What that means is blood forms within brain tissue or below the skull, putting pressure on the cranium. This is usually caused by a blood vessel that bursts in the brain due to head trauma, possibly leading to death.

All that sounds pretty bad ... but it seems as if Hayley – a pro dancer -- has bounced back and might be ready to boogie down again.

Donald Trump's hinting at deporting Prince Harry again, and opinions on the possibility are split -- even among reality stars who've famously emigrated to America to find bliss like Harry did.

We spoke with several stars from the hit show "90 Day Fiancé" about the former president suggesting he'd consider booting PH, if reelected -- and while they're split on whether that should happen, they all agree he shouldn't be treated differently than any other citizen.

Jesse Meester, star of season 1 of "90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days" told us he's lived in this country since coming over from Amsterdam, and he's never had any issues 'cause he says he doesn't break the law ... an easy way to stay out of trouble.

Jesse adds he's all for DT's strict approach to the country's border crisis, and he believes the former -- and possible future prez -- is the only competent politician out there.

And, Larissa Lima -- season 6 star of "90 Day Fiancé" who came to the U.S. from Brazil -- said she feels it's a huge privilege to get to live here, and not even famous people like Harry should get special treatment.

Despite that, LL also told us she's not for deporting the Duke of Sussex immediately ... adding that seems more than a little extreme.

We also spoke to Sam Wilson who starred in season 10 of '90 Day,' and he got candid about his own struggles as a former drug addict ... saying he's always judged for his past drug use. But, he's still against Harry getting special treatment, noting other people wouldn't get that kind of exemption.

Remember, Donald Trump sat down for an interview with GBN broadcaster Nigel Farage where he straight-up said Prince Harry wouldn't get special privileges if he lied about previous drug use on his Visa form to get into the country.

Harry talked extensively about using drugs in his book "Spare" -- something, theoretically, he would have had to disclose before getting a visa.

The speculation is he did not, and would, therefore, be subject to deportation.

Conor McGregor tells TMZ Sports his role in the new "Road House" reboot will be far from his last appearance on the silver screen ... saying this week he's got a whole lot more irons in the cinema fire.

The UFC superstar made no bones about it when we asked him about his acting future while he was out in NYC promoting the new Jake Gyllenhaal flick ... telling us "of course" he's planning to keep pursuing the new career.

It's unclear exactly what's coming next for the 35-year-old fighter ... but when we asked if he had any more roles lined up at the moment -- he said straight up, "For sure, for sure!"

"Oh, yes!" he added.

As for how job No. 1 in the new industry went for The Notorious, so far, it seems so good. Early reviews for the "Road House" reimagining are positive ... and the clips we've gotten to see so far show McGregor certainly knows how to kick ass on command on cam.

Of course, McGregor's still keeping up with his day job despite the foray into Hollywood ... he's been training hard for a future bout with Michael Chandler.

We're almost at the finish line of the week here at TMZ, but we're still chugging along on TV.

Let's start out on "TMZ Live," where Harvey and Charles talked about the latest development in Kate-Gate -- namely, a hospital staffer allegedly trying to access her medical records from when she was being treated at the London Clinic this year ... a major security breach, if true.

Next up, we have "TMZ on TV" ... where the gang discussed Megan Fox's new interview on "Call Her Daddy," with her addressing where things stand with Machine Gun Kelly.

Finally on "TMZ Sports" ... Babcock and Mojo talked about Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

American actor Hutch Dano was 16 years old when he started playing Ezekiel Falcone AKA "Zeke" -- who was determined to become the world's greatest skateboarder with his bestie, Luther -- on Disney's sitcom "Zeke and Luther" back in 2009.

Playing Zeke's best friend was actor Adam Hicks -- the cup-stacking champ and big-time gamer, Luther, Daniel Curtis Lee played Zeke and Luther's cocky skating rival, Kojo, and Ryan Whitney portrayed Zeke's smart, younger sister who played the flute, Ginger.

Dano got real on the "TMZ Verified" podcast and broke down his time on "Zeke and Luther".

3/21, 7:10 AM -- Ippei Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani knew of his gambling debts and agreed to pay them off in exchange for a promise -- the interpreter would never gamble again.

"Obviously, [Ohtani] wasn't happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again," Ippei initially said, adding, "He decided to pay it off for me.

But, Mizuhara then seemingly changed his story, saying, "I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again."

Ippei Mizuhara -- the Japanese interpreter who's been Shohei Ohtani's righthand man for nearly a decade -- has been fired by the Dodgers ... after Ohtani's attorneys claim he engaged in a "massive theft" of the two-way star's fortune.

The lawyers -- from the LA-based law firm Berk Brettler -- said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times they uncovered the alleged stealing after Ohtani's name had surfaced in a federal investigation of an alleged illegal bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer.

According to The Times, Mizuhara was accused of taking some of Ohtani's funds and using them to place bets with Bowyer. Ohtani's attorneys told the outlet they're now going to cops to have them investigate their findings further.

"In the course of responding to recent media inquiries," the lawyers said, "we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities."

The Dodgers confirmed Wednesday afternoon they let go of Mizuhara following the claims. No further comment from the team was added.

Mizuhara and Ohtani just joined the Dodgers this season ... after the two-time MVP signed with them in free agency on a 10-year, $700 million deal.

Prior to putting on Dodger Blue, the duo worked together throughout Ohtani's six historic seasons as an L.A. Angel.

Story developing ...

Karen Huger has been charged with driving under the influence and hit with several other traffic violations in connection with her car crash this week ... TMZ has learned.

According to online court records, the 'Real Housewives of the Potomac' star is facing one count of DUI over Tuesday night's wreck -- which notes she has to make a mandatory court appearance to answer for it. She's facing an additional DWI charge as well here.

There are several other alleged infractions she's been dinged with too -- per the docket -- that touch on everything from negligent and reckless driving to driving way over the speed limit and driving with a suspended registration. The 6 traffic violations she was cited with don't require court appearances ... and have fines attached ranging from $50 to $510.

We broke the story ... Huger was driving her 2017 Maserati late Tuesday night in Potomac, Maryland in what police described as an aggressive manner.

Cops told us Karen struck a median and crosswalk sign at an intersection before continuing on and colliding with a parking sign off the roadway. The car itself was badly damaged, but Karen told us she was doing fine after the accident ... which she chalked up to driving while in a super emotional state.

Huger said she went to dinner with a friend where she said the two talked about some pretty emotional topics -- including KH's deceased mother -- saying it left her bawling while trying to drive home and she says she swerved to avoid a car coming directly at her.

Huger did note she received citations, one of which she says was not related to the incident ... but, made no mention of being intoxicated or arrested in her statement to us. Cops didn't tell us she'd been arrested either ... and there's no record of her having been booked in their jail.

Montgomery County PD says the reason charges weren't mentioned earlier Wednesday is because all that was available at the time was a preliminary collision report -- and that a police report would have further info. We haven't obtained that police report just yet ... but clearly, cops felt something criminal had happened here -- evidenced in the court update.

Elon Musk has finally pulled back the curtain on what Neuralink has been doing behind the scenes -- showing off their very first subject using their tech ... and it's incredible.

The Tesla chief -- who also heads Neuralink -- posted a link from his company that featured about 9 minutes of video from Neuralink ... and it's a full-blown testimonial from a guy named Noland Arbaugh -- a 29-year-old quadriplegic who went under the knife for this.

He says he was in a freak diving accident about 8 years ago, and it left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. After hearing about what Neuralink could do, however, he signed up.

The clip goes on to show how exactly the technology works -- and sure enough ... you can see Noland using his mind to move a mouse around on a laptop that's set up in front of him ... on which the guy's playing chess. It looks pretty seamless, and he's got it down pat!

Noland is able to move chess pieces on the screen and even turn down music -- all by simply thinking about where he wants the mouse to go. He gets into the weeds a bit in describing how exactly he does it ... saying he's implementing something called imagined movement, trying to pivot away from attempted movement with a whole lot of brain power.

Like we said ... he certainly seems to have a knack for it now -- and even more amazing is how well he appears to be doing post-surgery, something else he touches on in this video.

Noland gives a ringing endorsement for Neuralink -- acknowledging there's still much work to do to perfect it ... but saying the progress they've made so far is promising. He says the number of people this could potentially help is staggering ... and he's happy to be patient #1.

It's pretty powerful visuals ... and you gotta imagine more folks are gonna put their names down to be guinea pigs for this effort -- especially seeing how well it's gone thus far.

Billy Baldwin's beef with Sharon Stone sounded fiery online -- but in person, the dude doesn't seem to wanna keep the battle going ... 'cause he's turning down the temperature.

We got the actor out in L.A. Wednesday, where our photog asked him about a number of things -- including what happened to his left eye. If you can't quite see, he's got a little nick there ... and Billy tells us exactly how it happened.

Eventually, we get to what everyone wants to know ... namely, whether his feud with Sharon -- whom he eviscerated online last week after she name-dropped him -- was alive and well.

Check it out ... Billy seems to have moved on from all that, refusing to further trash Sharon here on camera. Although, when we asked if he was still writing a book -- like he suggested he might do when he was first crapping on Sharon -- BB tells us what he'd put in it.

A would-be book wouldn't include any bad-mouthing or tea -- like he teased on X ... instead, he says it'd include all the positive things in his life, like his family and his career.

Good to see that Billy's not holding a grudge against Sharon ... 'cause like we said, he was fired up when she first invoked his name last week during a podcast interview, in which she alleged that a producer on a film they both worked on tried pushing her into banging him.

Beyoncé saddled up and unveiled her alternate "Cowboy Carter" album cover art Wednesday, and Erykah Badu's all fired up about it ... thinking it's a full imitation of her, and, no, she's not flattered!

She's accusing Bey of copying her signature beaded bob hairdo without so much as a thank you, prompting Erykah to repost the image with a mockingly curious "Hmmm" caption.

Fans, especially Beyoncé's, immediately took note of EB's allegation of a style jacking.

In fact, the Beyhive is so riled up, Erykah switched from IG to X, where she urged Jay-Z to come to her rescue, posting ... "Say somethin Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me??"

Tough position for her to put Hov in -- after all, that's his wife Erykah's insulting!!!

It's interesting for Erykah to single out on the hairstyle, because Beyoncé's alternate "Cowboy Carter" album cover art (for vinyl LPs) has a lot happening -- the singer poses in the buff, only covered in a sash with "Act II" and "Beyince," her cousin Angie's last name, stamped across the front.

Yet, Erykah's laser-focused on that hair.

Remember, Erykah also targeted Bey last year over hats she wore during her "Renaissance" tour, which she also thought ripped off her style.

Drake Bell is coming to Josh Peck's defense after fans blasted his former costar for staying mum amid his sexual abuse story ... basically telling everyone to stand down.

The former Nick star hopped online Wednesday to clear the air on where he stands with Josh ... and he confirmed that JP has, in fact, reached out to him after his appearance on 'Quiet on the Set' -- even though just about everybody assumed he hadn't.

Drake -- who opened up about being molested as a teen by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck in the docuseries -- says he noticed the hate comments flooding Josh's social media accounts these past several days ... which he says are unwarranted.

As Drake puts it ... Josh has been supportive in the aftermath of the doc. Josh's reach-out hasn't been made public until now because of the delicate nature of the situation -- so things are clearly going on behind the scenes that not everyone can see.

Drake says that he's been going through an emotional time in processing everything that has happened ... which is why certain things have been kept out of the public eye.

His update comes amid accusations that JP was purposefully ignoring the damning doc about their former network. The comment section of Josh's TikTok account even featured countless fans demanding that he say something in support of DB, instead of making silly uploads.

Of course, Drake and Josh have a rocky relationship of late. The two found themselves publicly beefing after Drake griped about not being invited to Josh's wedding.

The two actors eventually hugged it out at the 2017 VMAs -- but even after that ... it didn't seem they were particularly close.