Fairly Legal

Start the countdown for Erik and Lyle Menendez ... the brothers could be released from prison before Christmas ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... The Menendez brothers' lawyers will be in court December 11, where a judge will make a decision that could set them free immediately thereafter.

Our sources say the hearing date was scheduled during a meeting Wednesday between Erik and Lyle's defense team, prosecutors and the new judge assigned to their case, Michael V. Jesic of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Lil Durk is hanging in there despite his recent murder-for-hire arrest ... with sources telling us his only complaint is about the food on the inside.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us the Grammy-winning rapper -- who is currently locked up at the Federal Detention Center in Miami -- says he's in "great spirits" while he's going through processing.

We're told he's getting along well with the FDC Miami staff as well as his fellow inmates inside ... with those in the know describing the guy as "super charming" and "agreeable."

Armie Hammer is back on the Hollywood horse ... making his return to the silver screen almost 4 years after accusations of cannibalism temporarily derailed his career.

The actor posted several pics on Instagram early this morning, featuring him with a cowboy hat on, wistfully looking to the horizon ... with a script on his lap.

One of the shots shows the script more closely ... showing it's titled "Frontier Crucible" -- an independently financed Western costarring "Hung" actor Thomas Jane. Armie captioned the post, "Back in the saddle."

Megan Thee Stallion is suing a content creator for allegedly promoting falsehoods about her ... claiming she is posting lies about the Tory Lanez case, and spreading deepfake porn.

The rapper filed the lawsuit against Milagro Elizabeth Cooper -- an X user with nearly 30k followers -- alleging she's routinely posted lies about MTS, while working as a mouthpiece for Lanez to promote a false narrative about shooting her.

Among the untrue content Milagro has posted -- according to Meg -- is a totally artificial video that Thee Stallion's lawyers claim shows the star engaged in sexual acts. They say the video has caused Megan severe emotional distress and reputational harm.

Keke Palmer is getting real about her tumultuous relationship with ex Darius Jackson, saying she had to turn to the courts in a desperate attempt to bring back order when things spiraled out of control.

The actress told PEOPLE it was the toughest experience she’s ever faced ... revealing that a lot was happening behind closed doors, especially with the birth of their son Leo last year and her fame putting major stress on their relationship.

Keke dives into it all in her upcoming book, "Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative," dropping Nov. 19 -- and she needed plenty of pages to unpack everything -- including that infamous moment when Darius publicly called out the outfit she wore to an Usher concert last year.

Keke also sought a temporary restraining order against Darius, alleging instances of domestic and emotional abuse.

Despite things having spiraled so deeply out of control, the estranged exes settled amicably and got joint custody of their son months later ... and looking back, Keke admits she wished she could say Darius was terrible the entire time, but the situation wasn't that black and white.

Sharon Osbourne says Erik and Lyle Menendez are right where they deserve to be ... in prison.

We got Sharon and her son Jack Osbourne on Tuesday in Larchmont Village and our photog asked them if they thought the Menendez brothers deserve to be set free after spending nearly 35 years behind bars.

Sharon and Jack say the brothers should remain in lockup ... pointing out they shot their parents to death with shotguns ... and they don't think the molestation allegations against Jose Menendez should be enough to spring Erik and Lyle.

8:50 PM PT -- According to Metro Boomin's (real name Leland Wayne) lawyer Lawrence Hinkle II of Sanders Roberts LLP tells TMZ ... “This is a pure shakedown. These are false accusations. Mr. Wayne refused to pay her months ago, and he refuses to pay her now. Mr. Wayne will defend himself in court. He will file a claim for malicious prosecution once he prevails.”

Metro Boomin is facing a new lawsuit from a woman who claims she knew and trusted the Grammy-winning super producer -- before he allegedly raped her in 2016.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained docs filed today by a woman named Vanessa LeMaistre, who claims she was suffering from depression after the death of her 9-month-old son at the time, but hit it off with Metro during a getaway trip to Vegas in the spring of that year.

Vanessa claims Metro invited her to his studio to hang back in Los Angeles, where she says she observed Metro abusing codeine, even against the warnings of his friends.

Erik and Lyle Menendez are gunning to be released from prison before Thanksgiving and their legal team has a new strategy for freeing the brothers ... seeking clemency from California's governor.

Mark Geragos, the attorney repping the Menendez brothers, joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" and told us he's filing documents today asking Gavin Newsom for clemency.

That's pretty significant on its own, and sources connected to the Governor's office tell us they have the clemency petition on their radar ... which is pretty interesting, considering Newsom talked about the Menendez brothers in a recent podcast.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is laying down some relationship ground rules using Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella as examples, serving up a little wisdom on healthy boundaries.

We got the pro dancer leaving his Tetya Kapa Vodka launch party in Beverly Hills -- and with Artem recently cleared in his domestic violence case, Maksim's glad he stuck to his guns on "The TMZ Podcast," where he had said he'd reserve judgment until the case wrapped -- and now, it looks like that was the right call.

But, Maksim didn’t hold back on the bitterness between Artem and Nikki ... saying people need to learn to let go before it’s too late.

12:45 PM PT -- Tekashi 6ix9ine's lawyer, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ ... Tekashi was notified 2 weeks ago he violated the terms of his probation. He was ordered to appear before a federal judge today in New York ... but he was an hour late to the hearing -- and the judge dispatched U.S. Marshals to find him.

Lazzaro says Tekashi arrived on his own and surrendered voluntarily.

Lazzaro says there were 3 violations, according to the government -- Tekashi performed in Las Vegas, Nevada without permission from his probation department ... Tekashi failed a drug test, testing positive for meth ... and also failed to take a required drug test at another time.

The suspect who's accused of fatally stabbing 3 little girls who came together to dance to Taylor Swift music this summer is facing 2 new criminal charges ... including a terror offense.

Police in England say 18-year-old suspect Axel Rudakubana is charged with producing the deadly poison ricin, and having an Al-Qaeda jihad training manual in his possession.

Cops say they found the ricin and the Al-Qaeda manual in searches of Rudakubana's home following the July Southport stabbings. Ricin, derived from castor bean plants, is considered one of the world's deadliest toxins.

Big twist for Erik and Lyle Menendez ... a judge who may have been sympathetic to their bid to get out of prison is off the case, and a new judge is coming on board.

The case has been transferred to the Van Nuys Courthouse, which is where the brothers were originally tried for murdering their parents, and the new judge coming into the fold is Michael V. Jesic of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Jesic is a former district attorney who is known as a law and order guy and for being prosecution-oriented ... and he's described as being very smart and fair.

UFC superstar Jon Jones just caught a break in his drug test-gone-wrong case ... agreeing to attend anger management classes to resolve his charges.

Officials announced the deal prior to the bench trial that was slated to begin in New Mexico on Tuesday ... which will dismiss the two charges stemming from the incident if Jones completes four hours of treatment and keeps his nose clean for 90 days.

Jones initially pleaded not guilty to assault (petty misdemeanor) and interference with the communication (misdemeanor) in July ... and, at the time, he accused a tester of being unprofessional and catching him by surprise during the visit to his Albuquerque home.

Adidas and Kanye West reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement 2 years after facing off in a number of lawsuits.

The sportswear company’s CEO, Bjørn Gulden, who oversees the Germany-based business, issued the update in a conference call with reporters Tuesday ... sharing a resolution has been reached after Adidas ended its working relationship with Ye over his past antisemitic comments.

The CEO reportedly said there are no more open issues, "and there is no … money going either way, and we both move on."

10/29/24 6:52 AM PT -- Attorney Shawn Holley is strongly denying allegations Tory Lanez brought in an ethics complaint he filed with the State Bar of California last week.

TMZ has learned of a letter sent by Holley's counsel to the State Bar in November 2023 ... saying in no uncertain terms that Holley "has no relationship whatsoever with Roc Nation." The letter goes on to emphasize "Ms. Holley has never represented Roc Nation, nor has Roc Nation ever been a client of our law firm."

Good news for Erik and Lyle Menendez ... the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office tells us they're open to considering a change in conviction that would set the brothers free at the bang of a gavel.

Here's the deal ... L.A. County D.A. George Gascón has filed legal docs asking Judge William C. Ryan to resentence the Menendez brothers at a November hearing. If that happens, the brothers would be eligible for immediate parole, but that would require an affirmative ruling by the California Parole Board.

TMZ broke the story, we've learned Erik and Lyle's attorney, Mark Geragos, will ask the judge to change their conviction from murder to voluntary manslaughter ... and under a new law, the judge has the power to do so. If that were to happen, Erik and Lyle would be free men, because the maximum sentence is 11 years and they've served 35 years.