Family

El asesino convicto Kenneth Eugene Smith fue ejecutado el jueves por el estado de Alabama utilizando un nuevo procedimiento mortal. Todo esto, mientras su esposa y su pastor miraban con horror absoluto su reacción al insoportable dolor.

Smith fue introducido en la cámara de ejecución del centro penitenciario William C. Holman de Atmore, donde el personal penitenciario lo inmovilizó y le colocó una máscara de gas en la cara para asfixiarlo con hipoxia de nitrógeno. Se convirtió así en el primer recluso condenado a muerte por este método.

Antes de que comenzara la ejecución a las 8:07 PM CST, Smith hizo una señal de corazón con su mano izquierda a su familia que estaba presente antes de decir sus últimas palabras a través de su máscara: "Esta noche Alabama hace que la humanidad dé un paso atrás... Me voy con amor, paz y luz".

Los 18 minutos siguientes se convirtieron en una pesadilla para Smith y sus dos confidentes más cercanos: su esposa Deanna y su guía espiritual Jeff Hood, quienes estaban presentes.

Hood dijo más tarde al Daily Mail que la ejecución fue lo "peor'" que había visto nunca, e incluso causó el impacto de algunos funcionarios de la prisión mientras Smith fallecía, mucho más lento de lo previsto.

El pastor también dijo que Smith comenzó a convulsionar en la camilla después de que los funcionarios le pusieron la máscara de hipoxia de nitrógeno y lo obligaron a inhalar altas concentraciones del gas.

En un momento dado, Deanna gritó por su marido mientras este se agarraba a sus ataduras, dando sus últimas bocanadas de aire antes de asfixiarse. Smith fue condenado a muerte en 1996 por matar a la esposa de un predicador, Elizabeth Bennett, como parte de un complot de asesinato por encargo valorado en 1.000 dólares

Fue declarado muerto a las 8:25 PM CST.

Rick Harrison got a call from 2 of Donald Trump's sons after his own son, Adam Harrison, died from a fentanyl overdose.

A rep for the "Pawn Stars" patriarch tells TMZ ... Donald Jr. and Eric Trump reached out to Rick after learning of Adam's death. We're told the Trumps spoke to Rick on the phone to offer their condolences.

The Trump and Harrison families have a long relationship. Rick's been a vocal supporter of the former president for years -- at one point referring to himself as a "Trump guy."

When DT was in the White House, he and Rick met in September 2018 ... snapping a photo together with Rick's youngest son, Jake.

Even before the phone call, Don. Jr commented on Rick's tribute post to Adam, "I'm so sorry man."

TMZ broke the story ... Adam died last week from a drug overdose.

Rick told us fentanyl killed his 39-year-old son and added, "The fentanyl crisis in this country must be taken more seriously. It seems it is just flowing over the borders and nothing is being done about it. We must do better."

Rick Harrison recibió una llamada de dos de los hijos de Donald Trump después de que su propio hijo, Adam Harrison, falleciera de una sobredosis de fentanilo.

Un representante del patriarca del "El Precio de la Historia", le dice TMZ que Donald Jr. y Eric Trump llegaron a Rick después de enterarse de la muerte de Adam. Se nos dice que los Trumps hablaron con Rick por teléfono para ofrecer sus condolencias.

Las familias Trump y Harrison tienen una larga relación. Rick ha sido un partidario vocal del ex presidente durante años y en un momento se refirió a sí mismo como un "tipo Trump".

Cuando Donald estaba en la Casa Blanca, él y Rick se reunieron en septiembre de 2018 y se tomaron una foto juntos con el hijo menor de Rick, Jake.

Incluso antes de la llamada telefónica, Don. Jr comentó en el post de homenaje de Rick a Adam: "Lo siento mucho hombre".

TMZ publicó la historia, Adam murió la semana pasada de una sobredosis de drogas.

Rick nos dijo que el fentanilo mató a su hijo de 39 años de edad, y agregó: "La crisis de fentanilo en este país debe ser tomada más en serio. Parece que simplemente fluye por las fronteras y no se hace nada al respecto. Debemos hacerlo mejor".

The father of singer-actor Harry Connick Jr. has died in Louisiana, according to the Associated Press.

Harry Connick Sr. passed away peacefully in his New Orleans home Thursday, the AP reported, although his cause of death was not disclosed. He was surrounded by his wife, Londa and two children, daughter Suzanna and his famous son Harry.

Connick Sr. was the New Orleans District Attorney for three decades, winning his first election in 1973 and unseating incumbent prosecutor Jim Garrison. He stayed as the city's D.A. for many years, getting reelected four times by developing biracial support among the city's politically powerful African American base.

After his retirement in 2003, Connick Sr. faced harsh criticism for allegedly hiding evidence that could have tipped the scales in favor of several defendants, who later had their convictions overturned.

In one case, John Thompson was exonerated for a murder he did not commit after 14 years on Louisiana's Death Row.

Thompson filed a lawsuit in state court against the New Orleans D.A.'s Office, accusing Connick Sr. of withholding key evidence that would have found him innocent at trial. The judge awarded Thompson $14 million, but the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the decision by a 5-4 vote.

In 2014, Connick Sr. again came under scrutiny when a judge tossed out the 1990 murder conviction of Reginald Adams.

Adams was released from prison after serving 34 years. His attorneys proved that Connick Sr. kept vital evidence under wraps during his trial.

Later, Adams sued the D.A.'s Office, agreeing to a $1.25 million settlement.

Over the years, Connick Sr. kept silent about his controversial reign as D.A., but he finally defended his legacy in a 2012 interview with The Times-Picayune.

He was 97.

La hija de Kim Zolciak, Ariana Biermann, mantiene la fe, diciendo que el divorcio de sus padres se resolverá y que su mamá se mantiene fuerte a través de un momento muy duro.

Ariana estaba abordando un vuelo el jueves en LAX cuando un fotógrafo le preguntó cómo es que Kim y Kroy Biermann están llevando en casa. Se podría decir que ella realmente no quería hablar de esto, pero se abrió un poco de todos modos.

La ruptura parece bastante dramática desde el exterior, pero Ariana dice que toda la familia está muy bien estos días, aunque suena como que no quiere añadirle tensión al asunto. La verdad es que todos sabemos que lo contrario es la verdad.

De todos modos, Ariana está dejando las cosas en manos de Dios y ni siquiera quiere opinar sobre si Kim y Kroy deben ser más civilizados entre sí en el futuro, y con razón, señalando que son adultos... y lo más importante, ella no está en la relación.

Recordemos que NeNe Leakes, se refirió a la separación este mes y nos dijo que Kim estaba pasando un momento muy duro al separarse de Kroy.

Pero Ariana dice que Kim es una mujer fuerte y que su padrastro lo está haciendo "genial". Si somos francos, definitivamente está poniendo una cara valiente para sus padres, porque el Señor sabe que su situación en estos días es cualquier cosa menos tranquila.

Como te hemos dicho, Kim y Kroy siguen bajándole el precio a su mansión en Georgia para tratar de venderla y poder salir de una montaña de deudas y evitar una posible ejecución hipotecaria.

Kim Zolciak's daughter, Ariana Biermann, is keeping the faith ... saying her parents' nasty divorce will work itself out, and that her ma's staying strong through a really tough time.

Ariana was boarding a flight Thursday at LAX when a photog asked her how Kim and Kroy Biermann are holding up at home. You could tell she didn't really wanna chat about this -- but she opened up a bit nonetheless.

The split looks pretty dramatic from the outside, but Ariana's saying the whole family's actually doing great these days ... though it sounds like she doesn't want to add to the tension or say anything bad about her parents. Truth is ... we all know the opposite is true.

Anyway -- Ariana's leaving it all up to God in terms of the fallout ... and she won't even weigh in on whether Kim and Kroy should be more civil with each other moving forward, rightly pointing out that they're adults ... and more importantly, she's not in the relationship!

Remember ... Kim's former 'RHOA' costar NeNe Leakes ran into Kim earlier this month and told us Kim was having a hard time uncoupling from Kroy.

But Ariana says Kim's a strong woman and her stepdad's doing "awesome." If we're being frank ... this is definitely her putting a brave face on for her parents -- 'cause lord knows their situation these days is anything but.

As we've told you ... Kim and Kroy keep lowering the price of their Georgia mansion to try and sell it so they can climb out from a mountain of debt and avoid a potential foreclosure.

Taylor Swift al parecer no tenía problemas con Jason Kelce a torso desnudo en el partido de los Bills el domingo, porque Travis Kelce dijo que su novia "absolutamente amaba" a  Jason.

Los hermanos Kelce dedicaron casi media hora de su pódcast "New Heights" del miércoles a analizar el comportamiento extravagante de Jason en su primer viaje como aficionado al Highmark Stadium y no pasó mucho tiempo para que el mayor de los Kelce explicara por qué prescindió de su parte superior delante de la mayor estrella del pop en el planeta.

Jason dijo que quería vivir la experiencia de los Bills Mafia y se sumergió en la experiencia de ser un aficionado de los Buffalo, pero bromeó con que todo esto casi causa una pelea con su esposa, Kylie.

"Ella ya me estaba diciendo que me portara lo mejor posible porque íbamos a conocer a Taylor", dijo Jason.

El hermano de Travis, sin embargo, luego dijo hilarantemente: "Yo estaba como, Kylie, el primer día que te conocí estaba borracho y me quedé dormido en el bar. Esto es parte del encanto. Es parte del encanto de Jason Kelce". Quiero causar mi mejor primera impresión... esta es mi mejor oportunidad".

¿La buena noticia? Travis dijo que a pesar de que Jason pasó la mayor parte de la noche cerca de Swift bebiendo cervezas sin camiseta... el cantante de "Bad Blood" no tuvo ningún problema con él.

"Bueno", dijo Travis, "Tay dijo que te quería absolutamente".

Parece que casi todo el mundo alrededor de Jason también lo hizo esa noche. Como recordaréis, después de que subiera a unas niñas al palco para saludar a Swift, los fans le suplicaron que se uniera a los Bills.

Taylor Swift apparently had no issues with Jason Kelce freein' the nip in front of her at the Bills game Sunday ... 'cause Travis Kelce said his GF "absolutely loved" him despite the shirtless antics.

The Kelce brothers dedicated nearly half an hour of their "New Heights" podcast on Wednesday to breaking down Jason's wacky behavior on his first trip as a fan to Highmark Stadium ... and it didn't take long for the elder Kelce to explain why he dropped his top in front of the biggest pop star on the planet.

Jason said he wanted to get the full Bills Mafia experience and immerse himself into Buffalo fans' famous "pageantry" ... but he did joke it all almost caused a tiff with his wife, Kylie.

"She was already telling me to be on my best behavior because we were meeting Taylor," Jason said.

Travis' brother, however, then hilariously said, "I was like, 'Kylie, the first day I met you I was blacked-out drunk and fell asleep at the bar. This is part of the charm! This is part of the Jason Kelce charm!' I want to make my best first impression -- this is my best chance."

The good news? Travis said despite Jason spending most of the night near Swift slugging beers without a shirt on ... the "Bad Blood" crooner had no issues with him whatsoever.

"Well," Travis said, "Tay said she absolutely loved you."

Seems most everyone else around Jason did that night, too. You'll recall, after he brought some little girls up to the box to say hi to Swift, fans pleaded with him to join the Bills.

Cher's son Elijah Blue Allman is doubling down against the conservatorship his famous mom is seeking to control his estate ... he says he's cleaning up his act.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Elijah and his wife, Marieangela King, lay out the reasons why he doesn't need his mom to step in as conservator of his estate ... and he’s taking shots at Cher and leveling some pretty serious accusations in the process.

Elijah claims he's now sober, paying his bills and is committed to managing the quarterly payments he gets from the trust set up by his late father, legendary musician Greg Allman.

As we reported ... Cher claims she's concerned her son has substance abuse and mental health problems and can't manage the money he gets from the trust ... but here he says that's just not true.

Elijah's wife goes a step further in the docs ... alleging Cher essentially orchestrated a kidnapping of Elijah and had him held at a Mexican rehab facility against his will.

In the docs, Marieangela claims Elijah was brought to Mexico in October and told by a doctor Cher hired that he would be doing holistic alternative therapy ... but she claims it was actually a "makeshift prison-type facility known as the 'Baja Rehab' where he was being held against his will."

Marieangela claims she traveled daily from L.A. County to Rosarito "to rescue Elijah from the captivity his mother arranged." She says Elijah "was held captive" there for 2 months until Mexican federal agents escorted him out and dropped him off at the border.

For her part, Cher has vehemently denied the kidnapping allegations.

Elijah's wife also takes some shots at Cher in the docs ... she says she's known Cher for 11 years and says the singer is "categorically unfit to serve" as Elijah's conservator.

Marieangela claims Cher doesn't drive, doesn't make her own food or dress herself, and has told Marieangela she's "manic depressive."

While Elijah's giving his reasons why he doesn't need a conservatorship, there's a court hearing set for March 6 to determine whether Cher will be appointed conservator anyway.

Shaquille O'Neal and Zach Randolph's daughters are following in their giant footsteps ... the ex-NBA stars' offspring were just named McDonald's All-Americans -- just like their dads!!

The final rosters were revealed Tuesday ... and, sure enough, both Me'Arah O'Neal and Mackenly Randolph were selected to play in the prestigious event, which will go down April 2 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

17-year-old Me'Arah -- a 6-foot-3 guard/forward out of Episcopal High School in Texas -- recently committed to play for the Florida Gators ... and she was stoked to learn of the new honor on Tuesday.

"God did❤️🙏🏽," she wrote on her Instagram page after the announcement was made. "Grateful is an understatement."

Meanwhile, Randolph's daughter -- a 17-year-old forward out of Sierra Canyon in California -- was pumped to earn the spot in the big game as well ... going crazy after she saw her name pop up on TV during the announcement special.

The duo's famous fathers, of course, both starred in their iterations of the MCDAAG ... with Shaq winning co-MVP in 1989 and Randolph winning the award in 2000.

Other notables who were selected for the annual all-star game -- which features 48 total boys and girls -- included Cooper Flagg, Joyce Edwards, Sarah Strong, Dylan Harper and Jaloni Cambridge.

Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella is finally kicking back for a much-needed pool day ... after wrapping up her last radiation treatment to tackle her brain cancer.

The 19-year-old posed away with her twin sister Sophia in a series of bikini-clad IG snaps Monday from their sunny vacation ... captioning it, "In good company."

Isabella also enjoyed some R&R at the beach ... smiling wide as she made the most of the break before starting chemotherapy next month.

She said she was excited to be done with radiation during a candid YouTube video last week ... nearly 3 months after doctors found a malignant brain tumor.

She explained on 'GMA' earlier this month her cancer is known as medulloblastoma -- noting docs discovered a tumor as big as a golf ball lodged toward the base of her skull.

Upon the discovery, Isabella underwent emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai in L.A. ... where she's attending college at USC. The procedure to remove the mass appears to have been a success.

Her dad dropped everything in NYC at the time ... booking a flight to the West Coast to be by his daughter's side -- which explained why Michael had been off the air so much back in the fall.

Michael Phelps and his wife, Nicole Johnson, are popping out babies like PEZ ... 'cause they just had number 4!

The Olympic swimming legend announced the exciting news with Johnson on Instagram Monday, while posting a photo of them cradling their little cutey swaddled in a blanket. They named their week-old son Nico Michael Phelps, who already has a full head of black hair just like his gold medalist dad!

In the caption, the happy couple wrote, "@mrs.nicolephelps and I wanna welcome Nico Michael Phelps to the world. Born on 1/16."

They continued, "We're so blessed to be given a 4th child. We're now a family of 6!"

Last October, the pair revealed their clan was going to grow by one in another Instagram post, but Nico waited until recently to make his big debut.

Phelps and Johnson have three other sons: Boomer, 7, Beckett, 5, and Maverick, 4. With Nico now in the mix, Michael certainly has his hands full teaching his boys how to become Olympic champions.

Madonna gave her daughter one of the biggest birthday presents imaginable -- getting a packed crowd at Madison Square Garden to sing along and help her ring in the big 1-8.

The pop star brought out her kid, Mercy, onstage Monday night during her show at MSG and showed off her incredible talent by having her play a little piano for the arena -- that is, before Mama Bear helped lead a full-blown sing-a-long for her to celebrate her born day.

It was a pretty sweet moment ... not only did Madge come over and belt out the tune, but a lot of her backup dancers and stage crew members also rushed the stage to join in.

Once they were finished with the song -- which almost everyone helped sing -- they brought out a little cupcake with Mercy for good measure ... complete with a candle and everything.

Madonna gave Mercy a hug afterward ... and it seems she stuck around to play more too.

Nia Long just got what she wanted in her custody battle with Ime Udoka -- a judge made it so she'll get monthly support ... plus, a majority of the parenting time for their child.

The actress and NBA coach -- who split up in 2022 amid claims of infidelity -- came to terms in court Monday ... with a judge signing off on a custody agreement that hashes out who's paying who, and who their son will live with/spend most of his time with.

Per the docs, obtained by TMZ, it's actually Nia who'll be receiving monthly child support -- and even though the court said she might be entitled to upwards of $56k ... the 2 parents ended up landing on about half of that, with Ime agreeing to pay her $32,500/month.

The couple went through their financials -- as did the court -- and found Ime makes way more money coaching the Houston Rockets right now than Nia does ... noting he's got more than $400k in net monthly disposable income, whereas she's only got about $20k.

Now, in terms of custody ... they'll continue to share joint legal custody -- but Nia will get sole physical custody with reasonable visitation for Ime as time and scheduling permits.

They note in their docs that Ime is constantly traveling with the team, and this arrangement works better for everyone. Everything else pertaining to their kid, Kez, is pretty even-Steven.

Remember, Nia had filed for pretty much exactly this situation back in August -- and earlier this month, she and Ime had come to these exact terms in a settlement. Now, she's got it all in writing with a stamp of approval ... with the court entering the judgment, making it official.

Dexter Scott King, el hijo menor de Martin Luther King Jr. ha fallecido tras una batalla contra el cáncer.

El King Center anunció la triste noticia el lunes, señalando que Dexter sucumbió a un cáncer de próstata con el que parece haber estado lidiando en privado. La organización añadió que su esposa, Leah Weber King, estuvo con él durante su muerte y dijo: "Él transición pacíficamente en su sueño en casa conmigo en Malibú".

No está claro cuando Dexter fue diagnosticado, pero es el segundo hijo de MLK que ha fallecido desde que su padre fue asesinado en 1968.

Yolanda King fue la primera de los hijos en morir -falleció en 2007 como resultado de un cáncer de ovario, entre otras dolencias- y ahora, Dexter también ha fallecido. El resto de los hijos vivos son Martin Luther King III (el mayor) y Bernice King (el más joven de todos ellos).

Dexter continuó el legado de su padre en la lucha por los derechos civiles en el siglo 21, pero fue notable por enfrentarse a James Earl Ray -el hombre condenado y encarcelado por asesinar al Dr. King- y le preguntó a quemarropa si lo hizo, solo para recibir un "no".

En aquel momento, dijo que le creía a James... y lanzó teorías conspirativas sobre quién orquestó realmente el asesinato de su padre, sugiriendo que el gobierno federal estaba implicado.

Dexter también interpretó a su padre en un telefilme de 2002, "La historia de Rosa Parks", no está de más decir que siempre se habló de su parecido con el Dr. King.

Solo tenía 62 años.

Dexter Scott King -- the youngest son of Martin Luther King Jr. -- has died after a battle with cancer.

The King Center announced the sad news Monday -- noting Dexter succumbed to prostate cancer ... which he seems to have been dealing with privately behind the scenes. The org added his wife, Leah Weber King, was with him during his death ... and she said, "He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu."

It's unclear when Dexter was diagnosed -- but he is now the second child of MLK to have passed since their father was assassinated in 1968.

Yolanda King was the first of the children to die -- she passed in '07 as a result of complications from ovarian cancer, among other ailments -- and now ... Dexter has passed on too. The remaining living kids are Martin Luther King III (the eldest) and Bernice King (the youngest out of all of them).

Dexter continued his father's legacy in fighting for civil rights into the 21st century -- but he was notable for confronting James Earl Ray -- the man convicted and imprisoned for actually assassinating Dr. King -- and asking him point blank if he did it ... only to receive a "no."

At the time, DSK said he actually believed James ... and floated conspiracy theories about who really orchestrated his father's murder, suggesting the federal government was involved.

Dexter also portrayed his dad in a 2002 TV movie, 'The Rosa Parks Story' -- it goes without saying, his resemblance to Dr. King was something that was always talked about.

He was only 62.