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Killer mom Susan Smith will not taste freedom after her plea to a parole board was unanimously denied following an emotional hearing.

The controversial convict, who has spent nearly 30 years behind bars for the drowning of her sons, Michael and Alex, appeared before a parole board in South Carolina via a video call Wednesday ... tearfully begging those hearing her case to let her go free. Michael was 3 years old and Alex was 14 months old when Smith killed them.

As Smith relayed in her testimony ... she now knows what she did "was so horrible" and claims she'd "give anything to go back and change it."

10:44 AM PT -- Jose Ibarra, an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

The judge in the case just issued the sentence ... Ibarra was found guilty on 10 charges, including malice murder, kidnapping and aggravated assault. Both the defense and the prosecution had opted for a bench trial, with a judge deciding Ibarra's fate, forgoing a jury trial.

The prosecution did not seek the death penalty in the case.

Jose Ibarra -- the man standing trial for nursing student Laken Riley's murder -- has been found guilty.

The verdict was announced minutes ago ... with a Georgia judge deciding Ibarra is guilty after the prosecution and defense agreed to a bench trial instead of a trial by jury.

Video and audio evidence played a key role in this trial ... with video of Ibarra unable to tell cops how he ended up with fresh scratches and marks on his arms just hours after Laken's death played in court earlier this week.

Zach Bryan has some folks thinking his onstage outburst while singing about "exes" was a direct shot at Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia ... but it's been part of his act since long before their nasty split.

The country star -- who has been at the center of a contentious breakup with the Barstool Sports personality -- hit the road for the next leg of his "Quittin' Time" tour, making his first stop since August in Edmonton, Canada over the weekend.

All eyes were on Zach during the show, as the crooner has been noticeably tight-lipped amid Brianna's many claims of abuse and infidelity in the weeks following their breakup.

Pete Davidson isn't keeping a low profile after inaccurate rumors about his personal life circulated on the Internet ... including a false claim he was in rehab after suffering a heartbreak.

Check it out ... the "Saturday Night Live" alum was all smiles while sitting courtside at the Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center Tuesday evening. Dressed in a brown Lehigh Athletics sweatshirt, white beanie, and jeans, Pete looked to be in high spirits ... which may've been because his mom, Amy, was by his side.

The Nets had a good game, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 116 to 115 in the Emirates NBA Cup face-off. So, Pete had plenty to smile about Tuesday night.

Alec Baldwin was absent from today's "Rust" premiere, hanging out instead in NYC this week -- as the film's opening focused on honoring cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who tragically lost her life on set of the movie in 2021.

Just days after Kazimierz Suwała, the director of the EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival, explained they didn’t invite Baldwin in order to avoid distractions ... the premiere in Toruń, Poland, went down without a hitch Wednesday -- Baldwin-free and drama-free.

It’s unclear if Baldwin would’ve attended even if invited, but he certainly looked off the clock, spotted pushing a stroller in NYC Monday. Regardless, Suwała made it crystal clear to The Hollywood Reporter the event wasn’t about Baldwin at all -- it was all about honoring Halyna.

Moviegoers will get a chance to see the world from Halyna Hutchins' point of view when they go see "Rust" ... so says the new cinematographer brought on to finish up the flick.

Bianca Cline -- the new director of photography brought on to finish the film -- spoke alongside director Joel Souza at Camerimage Film Festival in Poland Wednesday before the movie's world premiere ... telling the audience it's amazing so many people came out to support Halyna's vision.

Cline says all filmmaking is about being vulnerable, especially when it comes to cinematography ... explaining that, by watching the movie, viewers will really get a chance to see the world how Halyna saw it.

Harry Styles and members of One Direction arrived at a London-area church on Wednesday to say their goodbyes to Liam Payne ... just over a month after the singer's death.

The private service is taking place at St. Mary's Church in Amersham -- not far from Wolverhampton, the city near Birmingham where he was born.

Liam's coffin arrived in a horse-drawn carriage carrying floral tributes spelling out "Daddy" and "Son." Another floral display showed a bowling ball crashing through pins ... reportedly a nod to the star's love of the game.

Miley Cyrus is speaking out in defense of fellow pop star Chappell Roan ... who has faced an immense amount of backlash since skyrocketing to fame this year.

The former Disney Channel star addressed Chappell's bumpy road to stardom in a new cover story for Harper's Bazaar ... where she urged her fans to treat the newcomer with kindness, noting it's "really hard coming into this business."

As Miley put it ... she wished "people would not give [Chappell] a hard time," since being a celeb in the social media age is particularly tough.

Logan Paul pulled a switcheroo on a news outlet looking to do a deep dive into his cryptocurrency practices -- sending a look-alike to take part in an interview in his place.

It's all laid out in BBC's new documentary titled "Logan Paul: Bad Influence?" ... which claims to have "new evidence" to back accusations the internet superstar promoted crypto projects without disclosing to his fans he had a stake in them -- resulting in big paydays.

In the project, Matt Shea said his team tried to get Paul to sit down with them for months with no luck ... before he finally caved and agreed to host a Q&A at his gym in Puerto Rico.

Wayne Knight’s health glow-up is next level ... and now he’s spilling the tea on it all, including how his weight loss has negatively impacted his Hollywood career.

We caught up with the actor at LAX on Tuesday, and he told us he’s shed a whopping 100 pounds since 1993's "Jurassic Park" -- something he's achieved by trying everything from therapy to radiation… and in true comic Wayne fashion, even "being taken by aliens."

Jokes aside, you’ve gotta watch the full video -- 'cause Wayne reveals which method actually worked best for him. Plus, he gets real about how years of yo-yo dieting have impacted him.

Colin Farrell’s "The Penguin" transformation was so epic and convincing that a clip of him speaking in his native Irish accent while fully in character has left viewers speechless.

Take a listen for yourself… the actor was giving a speech after wrapping filming in a clip --now deleted by HBO -- to the crew off-camera, but his smooth Irish accent totally clashes with the villainous, Gotham-dwelling look he was rocking for the show, and the New York growl he uses in character.

The accent switch was so intense, it almost overshadowed Colin’s heartfelt message ...  "I have loved every minute of it even when I wasn't loving it. And, I just feel so grateful and humbled and blessed by being part of this collective."

It's happening -- just like we predicted -- Donald Trump's "Presidential" motorcade now includes a Cybertruck!!!

As Trump made his way to watch the launch of Elon Musk's Starship rocket, the fleet of Chevys had a disruptor smack in the middle -- courtesy of The First Buddy.

Now it's true ... this is not an official Presidential motorcade, since Trump is the Prez-elect, but it sure feels like an omen.

Paul Mescal can't believe his eyes after meeting his official doppelgänger ... who nabbed the title earlier this month in Ireland in a look-alike competition.

Unlike Timothée Chalamet, who made a surprise appearance at his own competition in NYC, the "Gladiator II" star didn't get the pleasure to attend the event ... though, the contest was clearly on his radar.

While speaking with the winner -- a recent college graduate named Jack Wall O’Reilly -- on Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 'Breakfast Show' Wednesday, the Oscar nominee confessed he "saw the photo" after the fact ... applauding the young man, who he said "captured the spirit of me very well."

The 2024 GQ Men of the Year Awards may've been about lots of tastemakers we love, but it was Nicole Kidman who left us wanting more.

Check it out ... the actress posed for photos at the London-based event in a red hot number -- which perfectly matched the award show's vibrant red carpet. Nicole looked like an early Christmas present at the party, as she turned and showed off her dress' satin ribbon detailing ... which was interwoven from her ankles all the way up over her backside.

The Oscar winner rounded out the look with a pair of matching stilettos ... making it clear she meant business with this ensemble. Nicole was one of the evening's honorees, so it makes sense she dressed to the nines for the event.

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Denzel Washington is getting real about his battle with alcohol, admitting his wine consumption ravaged his body.

The Oscar-winning actor sat down for a wide-ranging interview with Esquire while promoting his new flick "Gladiator II" — and, at one point, he went into detail about his love for expensive wines.

Denzel said it started in earnest in 1999 when he constructed a ten-thousand-bottle wine cellar in his house, which only served to enhance his booze intake.