News

Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard is standing shoulder to shoulder with the men and women in blue.

Sugar Ray was catching a flight on Monday, and made a point of stopping to take a pic with 3 LAX police officers ... one of whom was heavily armed.

The current tensions over police brutality and police shootings were, no doubt, on Ray's mind and the cops' as well.

Now they've got Justin Bieber too.

He was just another "Pokemon Go" player in the crowd outside the Apple Store in NYC Sunday night.

Sure, JB could have opted to rest up before his Monday night gig at Madison Square Garden, but dude -- there was a very rare Hypno Pokemon in the area!

Witnesses say Justin was running out of Central Park with a pack of other players trying to catch ole Hypno.

As hobbies go -- it beats hanging out in trees.

Verizon customers addicted to "Pokemon Go" will not have to fear their next Verizon bill ... because turns out it's not a data hog.

A source at Verizon tells TMZ 10% of its 100 million smartphone users were using the game Tuesday -- the biggest day of the week -- yet they consumed only 1% of the network's data. Translation ... it's a lot of game for a little data and will cost you virtually nothing.

Turns out, the people who designed the game had your pocketbook in mind, and they created an app that sends info in bursts ... rather than a long stream.

The game shot to the top 25 apps ever used in the Verizon world.

Rihanna was in the middle of dinner at a restaurant in Nice when she learned 84 people were slaughtered just 20 minutes away.

We got these pics of the singer, whose scheduled concert Friday night was cancelled out of respect and security concerns.

Dani Mathers is now in the crosshairs of cops, because TMZ has learned there's now a criminal investigation over the pic she took in a gym locker room.

We found out the brass over at LA Fitness went to cops Friday and filed the report, accusing the former Playboy Playmate of egregiously violating a member's right of privacy by taking a pic of her while naked in the shower, and then humiliating her by posting the pic with a disgusting caption.

We're told the police investigation is based on a criminal law prohibiting the dissemination of private images.

The woman in the pic has not come forward ... the report lists "Jane Doe" as the victim.

Dani has already been punished ... we've learned Playboy has suspended her from all Playmate activities including her show on Playboy Radio.

On the criminal front Dani could get a big break ... if the victim never comes forward the case might well be dropped.

French soccer superstar Patrice Evra was in L.A. during the horrific terror attack in Nice Thursday ... but tells TMZ Sports he's crushed over the situation ... and sad for the future.

The 35-year-old -- who just played with France during the 2016 Euro Cup -- was leaving Mr Chow in Beverly Hills last night ... when he got emotional about the incident.

"We're really sad," Evra said ... "We have to stop."

Evra says he also realizes there will likely be more terrible days like this time to come -- "The future is no good. It's not looking good at all. That's why it's a sad day."

He left with one final message ... "We're all son of god."

7:30 PM PT -- Rihanna's concert has been cancelled, along with a jazz festival that was scheduled to begin Saturday in Nice.

Rihanna was in Nice -- preparing for a concert -- when a terrorist shot and drove over more than 80 people ... TMZ has learned.

Rihanna is scheduled to perform in the French city on Friday night, but that's all up in the air in the wake of Thursday's tragedy ... where a man drove a huge truck through Bastille Day crowds celebrating France's independence.

He also opened fire on civilians and police before he was taken out.

Our sources say Rihanna's people are trying to get her out of the city ASAP, out of an abundance of caution.

It's unclear if her show at Nice's Allianz Riviera Stadium will go on as planned.

"Something I've been told from a very young age is to comply. When a police officer asks you to do something, you do what he tells you to do" -- NFL tight end Ben Watson.

The Baltimore Ravens player appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 to talk about the recent wave of police violence ... specifically, when it involves black people.

Watson -- who wrote a book on race relations in America -- said the first step to reducing deadly police incidents is making sure people obey and submit to law enforcement ... though he acknowledges black men are on a "shorter leash."

Facebook is square in the middle of a shooting for the 2nd time in a week -- this time the victims are 3 men in Virginia who were chilling in a car when the shots were fired.

The incident went down in Norfolk on Tuesday while the men were listening to music, singing along to Lil Bibby's "Word Around Town" and smoking. They were also on Facebook Live when, without warning, a spray of bullets begins -- more than 20 shots fired.

The video is chilling and the camera remained on throughout the incident. Once the shots stop, you hear what appears to be a bystander telling them to stay awake and hold on for an ambulance.

All 3 were hospitalized and police say one of them has life-threatening injuries. So far no suspects, but police are aware of the FB vid and hope it can reveal any clues.

Exactly a week ago ... when Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer, his girlfriend used FB Live to stream the aftermath.

Rosa Parks has a God-given right to rest in peace ... but go tell that to "Pokemon Go" gamers.

The company that owns the Detroit cemetery where the civil rights icon is buried has had it with groups of players looking to do battle on their sacred ground. Midwest Memorial Group, which owns 28 cemeteries including Woodlawn Cemetery where Parks' gravestone prominently lies, has issued a warning.

It's become all the more disruptive because the players have invaded the grounds during funeral services. And we're told this is happening at numerous cemeteries around the country.

"Pokemon Go" ... the craze is enough to wake up the dead.

Pokemon Go creators want players to catch 'em all, but to avoid getting jacked while you're doing it ... they're warning you not to play on your own.

Alleged robbers in Missouri used the GPS location features on the game to lure in unsuspecting gamers -- then pulled guns on them, according to cops. Four suspects were arrested.

The Pokemon Company International and Niantic, Inc tells TMZ it's aware of the incidents while playing the game, and encourage all people playing to "be aware of their surroundings and to play with friends when going to new or unfamiliar places."

For the uninitiated ... Pokemon Go is a mobile app that uses GPS location to encourage players to walk around their immediate surroundings and collect digital creatures.

BTW, in just a few days ... Pokemon Go has added over $7 billion in market value to Nintendo.

Mary Wilson -- one of the original Supremes -- had an interesting take on police brutality in the African American community -- there was less of it when "we as black people knew our place."

Mary was by no means singing the virtues of the pre-Martin Luther King days, but she put in context the fact that there was less violence simply because the African American community wasn't standing up for its right to equality and full citizenship.

Mary, who was leaving Pump in WeHo, thinks things are gonna get worse before they get better.

Lil Boosie has a pretty pessimistic view of police/African American community relations ... it will never get better because it's too far gone.

Boosie tells TMZ he won't even let his kid play with a toy gun, because it's just too dangerous.

Public Enemy's Professor Griff is shutting down rumors he and Dallas shooter Micah Johnson were pals ... saying a photo of the two shaking hands was only a one time thing.

Social media exploded with the image Friday after the pic was uncovered on Johnson's Facebook page. Griff tells TMZ he never knew Johnson personally and was shocked to see his own face pop up following the shooting.

Griff says he's been bombarded with vociemails and other messages from people threatening to kill him and his family since the pic surfaced.

And get this ... Griff tells us shortly after the image came up, he was contacted by his local cops for an interview. Griff says once he told the cops he only had the one chance encounter with Johnson, they let him off the hook.

There is predictable fallout from the Dallas massacre in police departments all over the country. We've spoken with a number of cops and brass at LAPD and surrounding agencies ... and here are some top of mind concerns:

-- Cops are concerned about fake 911 calls ... that a copycat might use the emergency number to set up an ambush.

-- We're told cops are talking about carrying extra weapons to ensure they're prepared for the worst. It's a bigger issue now than ever before.

-- The brass is telling officers to always carry ballistic helmets, vests and other protective gear and have it instantly available.

-- There won't be 1-person patrol units for the foreseeable future.

-- Cops are being told not to advertise that they work in law enforcement while off duty.

NFL great LaDainian Tomlinson -- who lives in the Dallas area -- says the assassination of police officers and the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile should serve as a wake-up call to superstar athletes.

TMZ Sports got LT'S reaction to the violence that erupted in his home state, and he was deeply concerned about the future for his son. As for solutions to the issues -- he talked about why more athletes don't use their public platform to speak out.