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Killer mom Susan Smith’s ex-husband isn’t the only one standing in the way of her potential release -- her trial's lead prosecutor is also battling to keep her locked up for killing her two young sons back in '94.

Tommy Pope, the former solicitor for South Carolina’s 16th Judicial Circuit, tells TMZ he’s joining forces with the current solicitor, Kevin Brackett, to keep Susan behind bars at S.C.’s Leath Correctional Institution for the rest of her life ... saying he'll do anything to ensure she doesn't get out of prison. Smith has her first parole hearing set for Nov. 4.

Pope says actions have consequences ... and while mental health issues can be a factor in cases of taking someone’s life, he thinks Susan’s decision to drown her young kids just to stay with a man who didn’t want children was an extreme example of selfishness.

One of the biggest questions leading up to the next NBA season has been answered -- will Bronny James call LeBron "dad" when they share the court?? And from the King himself, the answer is HELL NO.

Now that his oldest son is his teammate on the Lakers, the four-time champion ended the speculation on how the work relationship will play out ... especially when it comes to how the rookie will address him.

"No, he can't [call me dad]," 39-year-old LeBron said on the upcoming episode of "The Shop" on Uninterrupted. "Cannot call me 'dad' in the workplace. Once we leave out the private facility and the gates close, I can be 'dad' again."

Machine Gun Kelly is opening up about Sean Strickland after their run-in at a Power Slap event back in February ... warning the UFC fighter to quit running his mouth!

The Cleveland native swung by Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast to chop it up on a wide range of topics ... including the disdain between Kelly and Strickland.

At a point during the conversation, the topic turned to Strickland ... and it's very evident MGK is far from a fan of the former UFC middleweight champion.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says Cheryl Hines doesn't deserve to be bullied over Donald Trump because his endorsement doesn't mean his wife is a Trump supporter ... quite the opposite.

RFK Jr. joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us Cheryl had some trepidation about him suspending his own presidential campaign and throwing his support behind Trump, even though she was the one who actually brought the two candidates together in the first place.

Cheryl's getting tons of heat for RFK Jr. hopping on the Trump train, especially from folks in Hollywood ... but her husband makes it clear ... she's NO Trump supporter.

Margot Robbie was out and about with her precious cargo ... proudly parading her baby bump while living it up in Sardinia with her hubby, Tom Ackerley.

The pregnant actress was soaking up the chill vibes Monday -- rocking a white blouse that was barely buttoned ... giving the world a good look at her belly.

Margot had Tom right by her side, both of them keeping it cool as they beat the summer heat in style ... and the pair sure look happy and relaxed with their baby on board 8 years after getting hitched.

Mariah Carey did NOT have any contact with her sister before she died ... because an alleged drug addiction drove a massive wedge between the two siblings.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Mariah never once contacted her sister, Alison, before she passed ... and instead spent the past week with their dying mother, Patricia.

Mariah was estranged from Alison ... and our sources say it's all because Alison suffered for many years from addiction. We're told Mariah tried supporting Alison, both emotionally and financially, but it wasn't enough to get Alison back on the straight and narrow.

Tom Girardi, the disgraced powerhouse attorney known for his marriage to "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne, has been found guilty of embezzling more than $15 million from former clients.

A federal jury issued the verdict Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the famed lawyer stood trial for running a fraud scheme between 2010 and 2020 ... in which he pilfered millions from settlement funds from several clients. Girardi was found guilty on 4 counts of wire fraud.

Girardi's defense attorney, Charles Snyder, painted a different picture for the jury ... claiming others at TG's now-defunct law firm Girardi Keese -- which represented plaintiffs in several high-profile cases, including the one against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. dramatized in the film "Erin Brockovich" -- stole the funds as Girardi's mental health declined.

Cops in New Jersey say a Florida man whipped out a steak knife and lunged at another diner during a heated argument over spilled wine in a restaurant ... and it's all on video!!!

Intense footage from inside celebrity chef David Burke's Red Horse restaurant shows the wild altercation ... and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

The video picks up with a restaurant manager trying to calm down two parties at neighboring tables ... and a guy in a white shirt, who cops say ultimately gets cut by a knife, tells the other group, "You shouldn't be doing medication and drinking martinis."

Brittany Cartwright is dropping the curtain on her marriage ... she just filed to divorce Jax Taylor.

The "Vanderpump Rules" alum and "The Valley" star beelined it to court Tuesday and filed divorce documents after 5 years of marriage ... according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

In the docs, Brittany is going with irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split. The estranged couple previously announced their separation in February, and Brittany lists the date of separation as January 24, 2024.

Matthew McConaughey has fans saying "alright, alright, alright" at his latest social media post ... stripping down to practically nothing for one notable pic.

The actor and his wife, Camila Alves, took to Instagram Tuesday, where they uploaded a pretty cheeky photo of themselves mowing the lawn in nothing but blue button-down shirts.

While the couple did censor the image -- choosing not to violate any of Insta's nudity guidelines -- they left enough of their bare legs visible to make a splash.

Channing Tatum made a splash joining Taylor Swift’s A-list squad ... popping up at her Rhode Island holiday home as the celebrity beach party raged on.

Channing was spotted enjoying some solo time on the wraparound balcony of the $17 million beachfront place Monday ... taking in the view of the private beach and snapping some pics of the scene.

Later, he linked up with everyone else at the 8-bed mansion ... and was seen chilling with Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Taylor's boo, Travis Kelce.

Two people are dead and a third is seriously injured after a Delta flight's tire blew up while it was being removed from the plane in Atlanta.

The explosion rocked an airport maintenance area Tuesday ... with firefighters and police officers rushing to the Delta TechOps hangar near the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson, just after 5 AM.

The victims haven't been publicly identified ... but the company confirmed one person killed was a Delta employee and the other person killed was a contractor. There’s no update yet on the injured person’s condition.

Wendy Williams is returning to public life ... resurfacing for the first time in more than a year.

The former talk show host popped up in public last week in her home state of New Jersey, shopping at a holistic wellness store in Newark with her son, Kevin Hunter Jr.

It's the first time we've seen Wendy in public since her dementia diagnosis ... she's smiling in a photo with the shop owner, holding shopping bags and a bunch of different colored roses.

8/29 -- 12:01 PM PT -- Roberto Orcí's spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister tells TMZ ...  "Ms. Taylor’s counterclaim is an attempt to retaliate against her husband with fabricated allegations after he got a restraining order against her, filed for divorce, and sued her in June for assault, battery, and financially abusing him when he was vulnerable and trying to get treatment for alcoholism. Her history of violent behavior is well documented, having been arrested at least twice during their marriage--once after she tried strangling her husband and he called the police, and once when a Vegas hotel called the authorities after Mr. Orci showed up in the lobby, locked out of his room by his wife, bloodied and half dressed. Ms. Taylor was also detained after assaulting immigration officials at LAX."

The statement concludes, "Before Mr. Orci’s recovery, Ms. Taylor would ply him with alcohol and beat him relentlessly. On separate occasions, she hit him with a baseball bat, shot him with a taser then sprayed him with Mace, threw him down a set of stairs, and punched him multiple times while he was driving. In 2022 and 2023, she transferred without her husband’s knowledge at least $1.2 million from their joint bank account to foreign banks. Now, she is fabricating salacious allegations in a desperate attempt to extract more money from him."

"The Blacklist" actress Adele Heather Taylor is responding to allegations of domestic violence from her estranged husband, screenwriter Roberto Orcí ... claiming in a new countersuit that she's the real victim ... accusing him of rape and assault.

8/27 -- 11:08 AM PT -- The Los Angeles District Attorney tells TMZ the Michael Madsen case has been declined for filing by our office due to insufficient evidence.

Michael's rep tells TMZ ... "We are thrilled that Michael Madsen is able to put this behind him and look forward to our continued collaboration with more great things coming from this veteran and respected actor."

Michael Madsen spent part of his weekend in jail ... because cops arrested him after he allegedly pushed his wife.

"Big Brother" star Zach Rance has issued a "cry for help" after receiving thousands of death threats and harassing messages in the 10 years since he appeared on the competition series.

The reality star took to YouTube Monday, where he explained at length the bullying he's faced ... mostly over fans' disappointment he never ended up in a relationship with fellow housemate, Frankie Grande -- and there've been many dark threats as well.

As Zach explained it ... "Big Brother" fans were really invested in his flirtationship with Frankie -- commonly referred to as "Zankie" -- repeatedly voicing their frustrations over the failed fling.