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An ex-federal prosecutor is weighing in on Diddy's assault video -- and she says while this isn't necessarily a smoking gun in the investigation he's facing, it certainly doesn't help him.

We talked to Katie Cherkasky -- who's had years of experience with these sorts of legal matters -- on "TMZ Live" Friday ... where she declared that the now-viral video, in which Diddy can be seen beating Cassie -- should make him and his camp worried.

Katie says the tape gives credibility to Cassie on multiple fronts -- both in the public eye, but also with the feds who are drilling down into major allegations against Diddy right now.

Warning -- if you're enjoying your Friday supper, ya may wanna put down the quinoa bowl before reading this one.

NBA great Paul Pierce found himself in the hospital on Friday ... after suffering an incredibly gnarly finger injury that resulted in a ton of blood and a few broken bones.

The Boston Celtics legend alerted his fans of his current medical status just minutes ago ... showing him decked out in a gown while in a hospital bed.

Jennifer Lopez liking romance advice online happened organically -- as the relationship coach behind the post has no connection to her, but her inbox is getting flooded regardless.

Lenna Marsak -- who threw up the IG post that J Lo liked Thursday, touching on unhealthy relationships -- tells TMZ ... she definitely doesn't know J Lo personally, noting that they don't even follow each other, but has a sense of how her upload made its way to Jen's feed.

Lenna says the post in question had already been doing well -- in terms of performance and shares -- so it's possible Jenn just stumbled across it on her explore page on IG and liked it.

Dabney Coleman -- an absolute legend in Hollywood best known for his villainous turn in "9 to 5" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

The actor's daughter, Quincy Coleman, tells TMZ ... "My Father, Dabney Wharton Coleman, took his last earthly breath peacefully and exquisitely in his home on Thursday May 16th, 2024 at 1:50 PM."

She adds, "My father crafted his time here on earth with a curious mind, a generous heart, and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity. As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery."

Melissa Joan Hart feels a lot of regret over introducing a then-underage Britney Spears to her first clubbing experience in the nineties ... something she says she wishes she didn't do.

BS and MJH's friendship began in 1999 when the 'Sabrina' actress appeared in Spears' "(You Drive Me) Crazy" music video, and Britney guested on Melissa's ABC show.

Being 6 years older, Melissa says she felt a sibling-like bond with Britney ... hence why she feels she should've known better than to take her to a nightclub at 17.

Donald Trump took a break from his NYC criminal trial and presidential campaign to celebrate a major milestone ... his son Barron's high school graduation.

The former prez and wife, Melania Trump, were in attendance at the graduation ceremony for Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach Friday ... where they watched with pride as their son received his diploma.

Both Donald and his father-in-law, Viktor Knavs, were seen waving at Barron ... who towered above his peers and teachers while wearing a navy blue cap and gown, as well as a red stole.

Jessica Biel's been hitched to Justin Timberlake for 12 years now -- but even now, they still hit bumps in the road, including when they're apart ... something she says they work on.

The actress appeared on Thursday's episode of "The View" ... telling the panel that navigating distance and their busy schedules was a work in progress, and a balancing act they're always fine-tuning in their marriage.

Jessica gave a shoutout to Zoom and FaceTime for helping her and her sons, Silas and Phineas, stay connected with JT while he's on the move ... or vice versa, herself as well.

1:13 PM PT -- A rep for InterContinental Hotels & Resorts tells TMZ ... "This hotel is no longer under IHG management, and we do not have any access to prior incident records or footage."

10:56 AM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... there is no record cops can track down as it pertains to this 2016 incident at the InterContinental, so it doesn't appear to have been mentioned to cops in a police report, or otherwise reported to the authorities.

In terms of cops opening a case on this now, LAPD tells TMZ ... For cases before January 2020, it's a 3 year statute of limitations -- and after January 2020, it's 5 years. In other words, there's no chance cops will dive into this specific incident for potential criminal charges at this point, at least as far as the LAPD is concerned.

Diddy brutally beat up his ex-girlfriend Cassie at a hotel in L.A. 8 years ago -- something she detailed in her lawsuit ... and which we're now seeing for the first time on camera.

Scottie Scheffler used at least some of his time in jail on Friday to prep for the PGA Championship ... admitting he actually got some stretching in while he was locked up.

The 27-year-old just addressed his arrest following the conclusion of his second round at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. ... and he was frank with the gaggle of reporters who had gathered to talk about his early-morning run-in with cops.

He said repeatedly he was very confused as to what was going on during the encounter ... and he said, candidly, it all really rattled him.

Steve Buscemi's alleged attacker has been arrested in NYC -- and cops say they picked him up after responding to a call at a homeless shelter ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Clifton Williams -- the man police believe is the guy who walked up to the actor and punched him in broad daylight -- was taken into custody Friday after cops responded to a harassment call at a homeless shelter in Manhattan.

We're told cops say Clifton started making a lost property police report and showed officers ID ... when they recognized his name and then took him into custody. The NY Post broke the news first.

Zac Brown wants a judge to force his estranged wife to take down an Instagram post that he says is incredibly damaging to him ... and he went to court to make it happen.

The country singer filed documents Friday against Kelly Yazdi -- whom he married in August ... only to split up with her four months later through a joint statement, amounting to a complete 180 on their relationship.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Zac claims that an Instagram post Kelly has up on her feed is in violation of confidentiality agreements she has signed with him.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce didn't let some bad weather derail their romantic getaway in Lake Como ... flaunting some serious PDA on a boat, where it was just the 2 of them.

Check out these awesome pics ... the singer and the NFL star share a sweet kiss while enjoying a boat ride in the scenic Italian resort town. Taylor, dressed in a black dress and tan overcoat, cuddles up to Travis ... who stayed warm by wearing a black and white sweater.

There's no question Taylor and Travis enjoyed their outing ... as they happily posed for several pics for a photog who was snapping away, both on the boat and the lake's dock.

John Oates is showing love for his longtime partner turned legal adversary Daryl Hall ... calling him one of the all-time greats, despite the dispute that's blown up the Rock Hall of Fame duo.

The legendary singer-songwriter opened up about their early days recording together, telling the New York Post -- he ended up taking more of a backup singing role to Daryl because he quickly learned what an amazing voice he has.

John actually called his ex-partner one of the greatest singers ever -- extremely kind words, especially considering DH filed a lawsuit against John late last year.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are still on speaking terms as they go through whatever they're going through -- they briefly reunited for the sake of their kids, but they're still not under the same roof.

The couple was photographed together for the first time in well over a month Thursday evening, coming together for a school play starring Ben's kid, Fin.

We're told Ben and Jen arrived separately, but both showed up with flowers for Fin ... and they didn't keep their distance. They were chatting it up with each other ahead of the play.

Faye Dunaway's owning up to her rep for being a bit of a handful ... but she says there was more to it than just her being difficult, 'cause she was actually dealing with bipolar disorder.

The "Bonnie and Clyde" legend dives deep into her diagnosis in a new Cannes Film Festival doc about her life called "Faye" which premiered Wed -- and she reveals a team of docs really dug into her behavior, hooked her up with some meds and it helped her a lot.

Faye says she finally understood the reason for the way she was ... adding, "It’s something you need to be aware of, you need to try to do the right thing to take care of it.”

Paul Pelosi's attacker has received his sentence ... a federal judge has given David DePape 30 years for his brutal 2022 hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband.

Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley sentenced DePape to 30 years for assault and 20 years for attempted kidnapping for the incident -- the maximum sentence for the crimes. The sentences will run concurrently, so it comes out to 30 years instead of 50.

CNN reports the judge said the sentence had to reflect the serious nature of the incident.