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J.R. Smith says he's disappointed in himself for opening a can of whoop-ass on an alleged vandal ... saying it was a "random act of stupidness" on both sides.

TMZ Sports posted the video of the incident ... where Smith is seen unloading a bunch of violent kicks on a man who allegedly smashed his car window during the protests in L.A. this weekend.

Smith joined the "Pat McAfee Show" on Monday to give more insight into the situation ... and the NBAer admits he wishes the incident never happened in the first place.

"Granted, if he would've seen me, and seen somebody outside the car or outside the house or whatever, do I think he would've broke it? Absolutely not," Smith says.

"It was just a random act of stupidness, and I give him that. But, that ass whooping was a random act of stupidness on my behalf."

J.R. says he's supporting the peaceful protests in honor of George Floyd, but condemns the looting and vandalism.

"This man was down there for 8:46 for no reason. Literally, taking the life from him. Calling for his dead mother."

"And then, we go out here and try to represent his name in a good way and between tarnishing people's shops -- like so many people have nothing to do with the situation."

Smith continued ... "We should be able to lock arms and stand in front of somebody's store and say no this is not right. Being able to do stuff like this isn't right."

As for the moment he unloaded on the alleged vandal, Smith says he regrets how it went down.

"When it happened, I seen red. Then when I finally snapped to... I'm still disappointed with myself."

"For me, I'm 34 years old. I have 4 little girls at home. I don't want that image, regardless of the fact whether it was right or wrong, I don't want them to have that image of their dad being capable of doing that, and doing something like that."

Two Atlanta cops have been fired over this violent incident -- a black couple yanked from their car and tased while trying to leave a protest ... all captured on police body cam.

APD released the video showing just how chaotic and scary it was Saturday night for the 2 college students as they were being swarmed and attacked by the cops. The officers smashed the windows when the couple refused to comply with their orders of exiting the vehicle, and then they fired their tasers on them.

The young woman can be heard shrieking as she's violently ripped from the car, and eventually ... they get the guy out too and put both of them in cuffs and lead them away.

It's still not clear what led up to this -- some have said these folks were out past curfew, other reports say they attempted to drive around a cop when ordered to stop -- but in any case ... this excessive force cost 2 of the officers their jobs, and sent 3 others to desk duty.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said she understands the police are under distress ... they still have a responsibility not to escalate situations. She called it a clear case of "excessive force."

As for the 2 students -- both are not going to face charges. The guy was initially arrested Saturday night, but Mayor Bottoms has told APD to drop the case entirely.

Atlanta Braves legend Dale Murphy says his son nearly lost his eye while peacefully protesting over the weekend ... claiming an officer fired a rubber bullet at his kid's face.

The two-time National League MVP explained the terrifying situation Sunday ... saying his son was protesting George Floyd's tragic death in Denver, Colo. when cops opened fire with less-than-lethal weapons.

Murphy says his son needed to be rushed to the hospital ... but, fortunately, the former MLB star says he appears to have avoided serious injury.

"Luckily, his eye was saved due to a kind stranger that was handing out goggles to protestors shortly before the shooting and another kind stranger that drove him to the ER," Murphy says.

Murphy claims others who were protesting with his son were not so lucky and suffered "permanent" disabilities as a result of the cops' actions ... and now, he's pleading for change.

"As terrible as this experience has been, we know that it's practically nothing compared to the systemic racism and violence against Black life that he was protesting in the first place," Murphy said.

"Black communities across America have been terrorized for centuries by excessive police force."

Murphy added, "If you're a beneficiary of systemic racism, then you will not be able to dismantle it at no cost to yourself. You will have to put yourself at risk. It might not always result in being physically attacked, but it will require you to make yourself vulnerable."

Murphy implored his followers to continue to peacefully protest ... as well as donate to Black Lives Matter charities that have been set up throughout the country.

Protests decrying the killing of George Floyd have been in full swing here in the States for days now -- but over the weekend, a bunch of celebs got in on the action ... as did international partakers who seem just as outraged.

Several stars were spotted out in L.A. over the weekend taking part in the protests -- many of which started out peacefully, but eventually turned destructive -- including folks like Nick Cannon, Halsey, Machine Gun Kelly, Yungblud, Mod Sun, Tinashe, Ariana Grande, Paris Jackson, Madison Beer, Courtney Easton, Ross Lynch, Tyler the Creator, Emily Ratajkowski, Kendrick Simpson, Jeremy Meeks, Lauren Jauregi, Jaz Sinclair and more.

Elsewhere were even more famous faces, like J. Cole and Meek Mill. Tons of celebrities also spoke out online, like Billie Eilish who bashed anyone who backed "All Lives Matter."

That was just here in our own backyard -- but the demonstrations for George did NOT end at our borders along the Pacific or Atlantic oceans ... a handful of other countries held their own protests from afar. Places like Berlin, London, Tokyo, Toronto and others featured their own BLM protests ... with many citizens facing off with their own police forces.

It was awesome and picture-perfect, as the 2 U.S. astronauts hitched their space capsule onto the International Space Station.

It went down Sunday AM Earth time ... 19 hours after the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

It's the first time in the history of U.S. space exploration that astronauts were hurled into parts unknown by a rocket manufactured by a private company -- in this case, Elon Musk's SpaceX.

A cam from the Space Station captured the docking procedure ... check out the red, white and green lights that signify the progress as the Dragon capsule bellies up to its host.

The 2 astronauts -- Robert Behnken and Doug Hurley -- took over the controls during part of the maneuver. The actual docking was computer-driven.

The docking follows a picture-perfect launch Saturday afternoon. The docking indicated that the first portion of the test flight with crew aboard was successful.

The trip will be considered a complete success once the astronauts return to Earth in the near future, opening the way for more travel to the space station and orbit by astronauts and perhaps space tourists in the years to come.

George Floyd appeared to be getting roughed up in the back of a police car shortly before he was pinned and killed -- and a new angle shows one cop was definitely standing watch.

The new surveillance footage -- obtained by activist Shaun King -- shows what happened after George was led away by Minneapolis police after he was cuffed and detained from across the street. This seems to show what happened right before George was taken out of the car and forced to endure the weight of 3 grown men on top of him ... which ended with Derek Chauvin as the last man kneeling on his neck, costing him his life.

Now, we see that something hectic was happening in the back of the SUV officers had Floyd in -- it looks like two officers on the street side had their door open, as did one officer along the sidewalk ... and they were all moving about frantically, which appears to indicate some type of physical altercation taking place. The 4th officer stands watch nearby.

Eventually, they get George out of the car -- and, well, we've all seen what happened next. What's crazy about this is that the one guy who was assigned as lookout clearly sees the surveillance camera that caught all this ... as he looks directly at it for a brief second.

He's also got his head on a swivel, making sure no one else is around or videotaping.

As you know by now ... all four cops here lost their jobs, and one of them has been arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter. These two newest videos showing what role the other officers played leading up to George's final breaths are quite revealing though.

As more riots break out into straight-up looting across the U.S. in the wake of George Floyd's death ... high fashion luxury stores are preparing for the worst as well.

A bunch of top-shelf retail giants out in D.C. scrambled Saturday to have their windows and doors boarded up, once again, on the heels of massive looting that's been taking place in several cities ... where some protesters are starting to hit up and bust through the priciest shops to take what they can amid all the chaos. Case in point, Dior and Gucci out in ATL.

Someone captured video of some guys trying to break through Gucci's windows at Phipps Plaza about a day or so ago, and not too far away ... a Dior store had been ransacked and cleaned out. Reports of looting going down at the ritzy Lenox Square mall surfaced as well.

In light of all that craziness, it would seem managers heading up this strip of high fashion retail in the middle of CityCenterDC got the memo ... and hired construction crews to start barricading their shops. It's crazy -- some of these guys said they'd just gotten done taking the wood panels down at a lot of these stores ('cause of D.C. being allowed to open up again) but were called shortly thereafter and told to board these places back up once more.

Ditto for some shops out in Beverly Hills, including the Gucci location there. Workers were quickly putting up wood boards on their windows as well. Not just that ... they were clearing the sidewalk trash cans, too, which they said was being done as a safety precaution.

Check it out -- sounds like L.A. protesters are coming in hot around the corner. 😬

Elon Musk and co. are officially ready for round 2 of takeoff, just days after calling off their monumental space mission ... and TMZ is streaming the event live.

A couple of NASA astronauts are set to be launched into orbit Saturday via SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and accompanying the Crew Dragon capsule, which will be blasting off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission has been dubbed, Demo-2.

Of course, Saturday's mission was supposed to go down Wednesday -- but it got pushed back due to bad weather ... something the space team there didn't wanna toy with and risk. Now, they're running it back with a predicted 50/50 chance of acceptable conditions.

The team is sending these astronauts to the International Space Station -- 250 miles or so above the Earth. This would mark the first spaceflight launched from U.S. soil in just under a decade. The point of the mission is to see if we're able to taxi astronauts to and from the ISS and Earth -- something Elon's rocketship proved to be capable of a few years ago when SpaceX first secured a multi-billion dollar contract with NASA and passed some tests.

Looks like the two American astronauts being sent up there -- Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken -- are already suited up and aboard the spacecraft. SpaceX says all systems are a go (for now) ... and everything seems primed for an actual launch -- barring any unforeseen mishaps (like an explosion at the launchpad or a lightning storm or something).

Originally Published -- 11:53 AM PT

Killer Mike was true to form Friday night, using his powerful voice and eloquence to empathize with everyone who feels rage and anger over George Floyd's brutal killing, but at the same time ... imploring Atlanta residents not to burn down their homes and their city.

Mike spoke at a news conference where Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms excoriated rioters for destroying parts of the City. Mike started by saying how much he did NOT want to be there but felt it was his duty.

His message was complex. He said the other day he woke up and wanted to burn the world down because he was tired of seeing black men die, but realized it's not the solution. As for what that solution is ... "plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize."

He and the Mayor were clear ... vote out the people who are not serving the community, including prosecutors.

He condemned the violence, but at the same time, he made it clear he understood it ... but it all comes down to this -- "Don't burn your own house down."

Violence erupted all over the United States Friday night, in the wake of George Floyd's horrific death ... and there were some horrific moments on the streets.

A protester was bodyslammed early Saturday at Atlanta's Lenox Square Mall. She was running from cops with her male friend ... they ran to their car.  After she got in the passenger seat, a cop dragged her out of the car and a struggle ensued. The officer picks the woman off the ground and bodyslams her.

The woman was handcuffed and taken to jail. We don't know what lead to the confrontation.

There were many other violent incidents as protests took over the streets in D.C., New York City, Atlanta, Philly, Los Angeles, San Jose, Kentucky and many other cities. Buildings were burned, confrontations between police and protesters were abundant.

A protester in New York City was viciously thrown to the ground by a cop, and at least one NYC City Councilman is asking that assault charges be filed against him.

Atlanta's Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, was irate that protesters were looting the CNN building.

The White House was the site of an angry protest as well, while demonstrators fought with Secret Service and other law enforcement, knocking down barriers that resulted in the White House being placed on lockdown.

A reporter became a police target as she covered the protests surrounding the killing of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ... getting hit with pepper balls live on air.

Protests erupted in cities across the country Friday night, including in Lousiville, Kentucky. Reporter Kaitlin Rust of WAVE was on the ground covering the events when a police officer intentionally opened fire on her and her camera operator, seemingly striking them both with pepper balls.

Rust was certainly not in any type of disguise -- she was wearing a reflective vest, holding a microphone and not in a crowded group of people -- so it begs the question ... what the hell was the officer doing?

Luckily, Rust appeared to be okay and continued to broadcast from the scene.

As we reported ... a police car was set on fire in Atlanta and The White House placed on lockdown as protests continued Friday.

The girl who captured the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on video is not in a good space right now ... and it's all because of hate she's receiving online.

17-year-old Darnella Frazier tells TMZ ... she is utterly traumatized after recording the officer using his knee to suffocate George. Odd as it might sound, Darnella tells us a lot of people have criticized her for doing nothing more than shoot the encounter.

She says people on social media are telling her she should have done more to help George, like physically step in and intervene. While that emotion might be understandable, it's not really a practical notion for an African-American teenager.

Not just that, but folks are accusing Darnella of only posting the video for "clout" or attention, and possibly a payoff. She's vehemently refuted that.

She's also been facing a media frenzy surrounding her video -- dealing with reporters, and an onslaught of attention. And, of course, just witnessing George's death first-hand has scarred her as well, we're told.

Darnella's mother tells us her daughter was simply out making a store run, and never should have experienced this, including the nasty aftermath. She's concerned going forward because she says Darnella already suffers from social anxiety.

However, Mom believes her daughter was where she needed to be -- in order to capture the tragic event and share it with the world. To that point, without Darnella's video, we might not know what really happened.

As for those saying she should have done more. Keep in mind, she and several others on the scene shouted for several minutes at the officers ... pleading with them that George was dying.

The fact is ... Darnella's video could ultimately be the evidence that brings George's killer to justice. Internet trolls should think about that before attacking a teenage girl.

Elon Musk is looking to make more space history ... SpaceX is attempting to launch 2 NASA astronauts to the International Space Station ... and TMZ will be live streaming the mission.

Dubbed Demo-2, the mission marks the first time ever a commercial aerospace company is sending humans into Earth's orbit. The milestone is a decade in the making, as human spaceflight finally returns to American soil.

The launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon is set for 4:33 PM ET from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ... and the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the capsule is taking off from the historic Pad 39A, which famously launched Apollo 11 way back in 1969, the first moon landing.

SpaceX and NASA are streaming the launch from takeoff all the way until Crew Dragon docks with the ISS, and it should take the capsule about 19 hours to travel from Florida to the space station.

The two veteran astronauts aboard the Dragon spacecraft are 49-year-old Robert Behnken and 53-year-old Douglas Hurley.

NASA says it wants to keep the astronauts on the ISS until another Crew Dragon capsule is ready to send more humans on SpaceX's next mission. Robert and Douglas say they're expecting to spend 1 to 3 months in space before returning home in Crew Dragon, which will land in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Crew Dragon into Earth's upper atmosphere, where the capsule will separate and use its own thrusters to make its way to the ISS. The capsule is fully autonomous, so the astronauts won't have much to do, unless something crazy happens. The rocket, meanwhile, should land on a drone ship after launch.

SpaceX has a $2.6 BILLION contract with NASA ... and the launch marks the first time the United States is sending its own astronauts into space since 2011, when the Space Shuttle Program ended.

Oh, and the capsule has a toilet, which could come in handy during the 19-hour ride.

Pablo Escobar's brother says his life was threatened because of lax security protocols on his phone ... so, now he wants Apple to cough up billions.

The notorious Colombian kingpin's bro, Roberto, is suing Apple for a whopping $2.6 BILLION, claiming someone hacked his smartphone and found his address through FaceTime, even though he claims an Apple employee assured him the iPhone X was the most secure on the market.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Pablo's brother bought an iPhone X back in April 2018, and he claims the security promise fell horribly flat. One year after buying the X, Roberto claims he got a life-threatening letter from someone named Diego, who said he found Roberto's address through FaceTime.

In the docs, Pablo's bro says he had to relocate for his safety, and lost a ton of money beefing up his security ... not to mention the emotional distress he says he suffered as a result of the security breach. Roberto claims he had several assassination attempts on his life before buying the iPhone X, and only bought the phone because he'd been assured his info would be safe from hackers.

In the suit, Roberto says he conducted his own investigation after receiving the letter, and found his iPhone had been compromised due to a FaceTime vulnerability.

Pablo's brother is not stopping at a lawsuit ... Roberto is also going after Apple's bread and butter.

Roberto just launched a limited edition gold-plated iPhone 11 Pro 256GB, which his Escobar Inc company is hawking for $499. Roberto says it's his way of fighting Apple -- selling their phones at a lower price, with gold-plating and sexy girls showing off the phones.

Pablo's brother says ... "Apple can never do that."

Roberto also bought and launched the domain name www.ripapple.com, which links to his gold-plated iPhone. He says the website will have "proof showing how the people of the world were scammed by Apple Inc, buying crap for crazy prices."

If he wins the lawsuit, Roberto says he will share the dough with people who bought iPhones and "ultimately donate it all."

We reached out to Apple ... so far, no word back.

An Asian man was attacked in Seattle by a guy who slapped, shoved and spit on him ... and it was all out of revenge over the coronavirus, and now cops are on the hunt.

As awful as it is, it's actually even worse because cops say the culprit has been threatening Asian residents all over the City.

The man allegedly told the Asian couple "it's all your fault" ... clearly referring to the coronavirus pandemic and the fact it originated in China and the government was hyper-secretive.
Cops say this is the same guy who was harassing Asians at Golden Gardens Park.

In one attack, police say the man approached an Asian woman in her car, knocked on her window, asking, "Where are you from? Where is your ID?" Cops say the man was also taking pictures of the victim's car and yelling, "Chinese disease ... they bring it here!"

The lawyer for Ahmaud Arbery's family says the federal authorities met with them last week and said they have launched a criminal investigation into the conduct of 2 district attorneys and members of the police department that allegedly covered up Ahmaud's killing.

Lee Merritt appeared Monday on "TMZ Live" and said the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia informed the family they were looking at both civil and criminal action against the officials.

Merritt also talked about the text message the police sent to a homeowner, telling him if there was "action" on his doorbell he should call Gregory McMichael, one of the accused murderers.

Merritt worries the police conduct may have effectively deputized the elder McMichael, such that the citizen's arrest laws don't apply and he would be treated as a law enforcement officer. As you know, McMichael's son, Travis, is the one who fired the shots, but Merritt says it could still be a problem given what the police did.