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Boyz II Men will be keeping an extra close eye on UFC 307 on Saturday night ... 'cause the legendary R&B group has a special and tragic connection to Khalil Rountree.

Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris, two-thirds of the 4x Grammy Award-winning group, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where they talked about the Rountrees.

Back in 1992, Khalil's dad, Roderick "Khalil" Rountree, was Boyz II Men's road manager. After a May 1992 show in the Chicago area, Khalil was gunned down by three men who'd been caught trying to break into his hotel room, according to reports.

Danielle Bregoli, AKA Bhad Bhabie, has a drastically better relationship with her estranged father, Ira Peskowitz ... TMZ has learned he is fully back in her life.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Danielle reconciled with her dad back in the summer of 2023. We're told she's the one who reached out to him ... resulting in a few initial conversations over text and the phone.

Danielle then saw her dad during a past visit to Florida. The trip clearly went well, as she later invited Ira, his wife and Danielle's 2 half-brothers to L.A. last month to celebrate her daughter, Kali's half-birthday.

If it were up to David Ortiz, there would be no debate over Pete Rose's Hall of Fame candidacy ... as he tells TMZ Sports the Reds legend should have been inducted years ago.

Big Papi made his opinion loud and clear while out at LAX on Friday -- just four days after Rose died from heart disease -- saying straight up, "I thought he should have been a Hall of Famer a long time ago."

"Mistakes are mistakes," the former Red Sox star said. "But sometimes there's exceptions to the rules, you know what I'm saying? And, he's one-of-a-kind."

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker aren't taking any risks when it comes to the safety of their home ... requesting local police keep a close eye on their pad.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the reality TV star and the blink-182 drummer, who own multiple properties across Southern California, requested extra patrols for their marital home earlier in the week.

We're told the couple has made the request due to past trespassers who've made their way onto the property ... though, there isn't a current threat they're concerned about.

Bronny James' NBA gear is rakin' in bank before ever playing a regular season game ... 'cause the young hooper's first Summer League jersey sold for over $38K!!

The purple and gold uniform top from the July 12 tilt between the Lakers and Houston Rockets at the Las Vegas SL was recently sold by Sotheby's (in mid-September) ... and is now part of "Lakers Shrine," one of if not the most impressive private collection of Lakers memorabilia in the world.

Bronny played 27 minutes, scoring 8 points in the contest.

LeVar Burton is paying tribute to John Amos following news of the actor's death ... crediting the late star for making history in Hollywood.

We caught up with the actor outside ABC Studios in NYC Friday, where LB had nothing but good things to say about the late TV legend. As LeVar put it ... John's legacy is to be celebrated, especially regarding his work as James Evans on "Good Times."

He noted ... "For me, personally, John's legacy will be that he changed the way Black men were perceived on television in America. James Evans was a householder and, prior to that, Black men were really portrayed as absentee fathers, deadbeat dads, that sort of thing. Only good for prison and jail. John Amos changed that."

Lana Del Rey's new husband Jeremy Dufrene has a dark sense of humor ... which takes center stage in his alligator act down in the bayou.

Check it out ... the airboat captain faces off against a massive alligator during one tour down in Louisiana. Jeremy proves to be a pro at handling the large reptile ... though, he jokes he's less skilled in his personal life -- taking a jab at his ex-wife in the process.

He tells the tourists aboard his boat ... "Me and [the alligator] have been pretty tight ever since I fed him my ex-wife. I'm just kidding. I'm kidding."

Lyle and Erik Menendez's lawyer is feeling confident after the L.A. County District Attorney's Office announced they're reviewing new evidence in the Menendez brothers case ... which could potentially result in the brothers' release from prison.

We had Mark Geragos on "TMZ Live" Friday, where he explained why he has a positive outlook about his clients' case following Thursday's press conference. As Geragos puts it ... D.A. George Gascón is brave to touch the controversial 35-year-old case in an election year, as Gascón himself is on the ballot in November.

The lawyer feels the D.A. is serious when he said his office is reviewing sexual abuse claims Lyle and Erik have made against their late father, Jose Menendez. Those allegations were not allowed to be presented in the brothers' 2nd murder trial ... which led to their life without parole convictions.

The mother of Fernando Tatis Jr.'s two-year-old daughter is dragging the MLB superstar to court in an effort to try to get him to dole out more child support ... but the San Diego Padres outfielder's attorney claims she's spewing lies in the process.

Jennifer Rodriguez claimed this week in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, that back in September 2021 -- following a yearslong, non-exclusive relationship -- she became pregnant with Tatis Jr.'s child.

She said in the docs that, initially, she had hoped the two would work together to co-parent their kid ... but following a paternity test that confirmed Tatis Jr. was the father -- the baseball player and those close to him began treating the "impending birth like a business deal."

Erik and Lyle Menendez are experiencing newfound fame behind bars thanks to the popular Netflix series about the gruesome murders of their parents ... and there's a weird request that keeps coming up in the fan mail that's been pouring in, TMZ has learned.

A source with knowledge at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego tells TMZ ... the infamous Menendez brothers have seen a "huge" increase in mail from fans (and, of course, some haters) thanks to wild interest in Netflix's "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story."

Perhaps the most interesting item the brothers are being sent ... 1990-91 Hoops Mark Jackson NBA cards -- the brothers are on the card, snapped sitting in the Knicks crowd, after the murders, before their arrests -- and people want 'em autographed.

Alison Eastwood has been championing animal welfare and rescue for over a decade -- and she's stepping up her game as California shelters are euthanizing cats and dogs at an alarming rate.

We chatted with Alison on "TMZ Live" Friday, and she said her Eastwood Ranch Foundation is hard at work providing a solution as shelters are putting down roughly 110,000 pets annually -- shocking figures, especially with Gov. Gavin Newsom's $50M pledge in 2020 to make California a "no-kill state."

Alison’s clearly heartbroken over the whole situation, and breaks down why this animal crisis is happening -- check out the clip to hear her full take on the devastation.

Bigfoot is buzzing again after a TikTok went viral this week, with non-believers pointing and laughing ... but one Ph.D. expert on the subject tells TMZ the joke is on them.

Here's the deal ... on Thursday, an apparent Bigfoot made its TikTok debut ... recorded just chilling against a tree in a wooded area of Lawton, about 3 hours from Oklahoma City. It was quickly dismissed as an obvious fake -- but it also piqued some legit new interest!

Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, tells TMZ Bigfoot finding such a popular foothold in pop culture is a double-edged sword … 'cause it does poke fun at those who truly are investigating its existence … but the silliness also encourages more people to ask questions.

Lil Durk and the cast of "Power Book II: Ghost" bang out the series finale in epic fashion -- and take it from LaToya Tonodeo, the Chicago rapper's acting skills are the real deal!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with LaToya, who also has a big role in the grand closing as her long-standing character Diana Tejada in 50 Cent's hit show ... and she says Durk has the acting chops to go far in this biz, after seeing him pull off drills on-screen for her loved ones!!!

Durk posted up with "Power II" costars Michael Rainey Jr. and Gianni Paolo on-set ahead of his scenes and they echoed the same sentiment.

Aries Spears makes a living speaking his mind even when the public doesn't agree -- but he's not hopping on the Diddy joke train before all the facts have been displayed!!!

We caught up with the comedian at LAX Thursday en route to his upcoming Apollo gig, and he's siding with Dr. Umar Johnson's recent viral comments ... Diddy's an innocent man until the courts rule that he's guilty!!!

Johnson has set ablaze several fiery rants in favor of Diddy, questioning the lack of evidence while claiming America is running a successful Black man through the wringer to distract from the presidential election.

Interest in the 35-year-old Menendez brothers murder case has skyrocketed thanks to the wildly popular Netflix series ... and neighbors on the affluent block of the infamous family home are livid about it!

Beverly Hills authorities tell TMZ ... police have received a slew of calls from irate neighbors who are tired of the influx of foot and car traffic on their block ... and they want cops to intervene.

Calls to police have been coming in for more than a week ... and it all started after "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" dropped on the streamer, we hear -- so it's pretty clear what's happening.