News

Simone Biles is undoubtedly one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, but she may have just taken top spot with what is considered the hardest vault in women's gymnastics ... EVER.

Simone was competing at the 2021 GK U.S. Classic when she attempted what's called a Yurchenko double pike.

You see the intensity in her face as she prepares, and then races to the vaulting table and hurls herself in the air. You just gotta see it. Amazing!!!

The judges assigned a difficulty value of 6.6 and she scored a 9.5 for her execution.

Simone was happy though subdued, saying, “To finally just put it out in a competition was quite nice, I know it’s not the correct value that we want, but I can still do it, so why not show off my ability and athleticism.”

She goes on to the U.S. Olympic team trials at the end of June, and we're guessing it's almost a foregone conclusion she'll be competing in Tokyo in July.

Bella Hadid took to the streets over the conflict in the Middle East, marching in support of the Palestinians.

The march, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, drew thousands of people who showed their support. Bella, whose father Mohamed Hadid is from Palestine, wore a Keffiyeh, a traditional dress, as she waved a Palestinian flag.

The march fell on Nakba Day, marking the 1948 conflict which resulted in Israel declaring its independence and many Palestinians being displaced.

Both Bella and her sister, Gigi, have been active in speaking out about the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Bella posted photos of the march, saying, "The way my heart feels.. To be around this many beautiful, smart, respectful, loving , kind and generous Palestinians all in one place... it feels whole ! We are a rare breed!!"

Salt Bae is a gigantic hit in Bev Hills, judging from the long line of would-be diners that literally snaked around the corner.

His new restaurant, Nusr-Et, opened a few weeks ago but it was all very quiet. Seems word of mouth did the trick because it's filled to the gills.

Check out the video, and you'll see Salt Bae doin' his thing ... entertaining the crowd with his knife tricks and ... the move that made him famous.

The restaurant is right next door to Spago, which is also filled to capacity, so it's all good between Wolfgang and Salt Bae.

Lots of people were wearing masks as they waited in line ... interesting, considering the CDC's new pronouncement that vaccinated people could shed the coverings.

Phylicia Rashad's more than just a big name added to Howard University's faculty list ... she plans on doing big things as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts.

Provost Anthony K. Wutoh tells TMZ ... when the legendary TV mom takes on her new role at Howard in July, she's made it clear she'll be a present figure on campus and laser-focused from day one on re-establishing the fine arts school as a premier program in the country.

Wutoh says one of Rashad's major focal points will be the new building for the College of Fine Arts and School of Communications, adding that she'll be involved in designing it along with spearheading fundraising.

We're told Phylicia's also very interested in making sure the school's curriculum is contemporary, and she'll be recruiting excellent new faculty members to replace recent retirees. There's also hope she'll be able to expand enrollment in the fine arts majors.

That being said, the actress still has a number of performing obligations -- including 'Creed' in 2022 -- so she will be allowed to balance her work in the acting world with her work as dean. Rashad's stated that she will be a "working artist."

Of course, as soon as "The Cosby Show" star steps on campus she'll instantly become one of Howard's most famous faces, but the provost believes she'll have no problem managing the inevitable attention.

A woman and a toddler were reportedly shot in broad daylight just now in Times Square -- a random act of violence in which the suspected gunman still hasn't been caught.

Cops have swarmed the area and barricaded the streets, where they say gunfire erupted between West 44th Street and 7th Avenue around 2 PM PT. Law enforcement sources tell us one of the bullets struck the woman.

The child is also said to have been hit, but it's unclear where. In any case, both of them were rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition ... so it seems they're gonna make it. We're also hearing that a third person may have also been shot in the chaos.

The most disconcerting part -- besides somebody trying to gun down a lady and a kid in the middle of the day -- is the fact that the person who did this has NOT been caught yet ... as we're told they're still on the loose as of now. That might explain why there's such a massive police presence right now ... presumably, they're scouring the streets for the shooter.

No word yet on a motive, but this appears to have happened out of nowhere ... which makes it all the more terrifying. People captured video of people running upon initial word that a shooting had taken place ... as well clips of the aftermath as cops stood by controlling the crowd and securing the scene. Another video -- taken from an Earth Cam towering above Times Square -- seems to show the exact moment the shots were fired, two of them.

Someone also appears to have snagged video of the moment the victims were rushed into an ambulance by EMTs. Witnesses reportedly say the toddler was bleeding, and the woman was crying. Based on this video, it also looks like some people were booted from the bus.

It's an awful way to help people get ready for the re-opening of Broadway and other NYC venues that have been shuttered during the pandemic. As if folks hadn't already been on edge, this news certainly won't help them feel any safer ... especially considering Times Square is one of the most visible and frequented areas in the city.

If this can happen there, it's not a good omen for what could happen else in NYC.

Italians now have an option for who makes their most beloved food -- their favorite neighborhood pizzaiolo or ... a machine!!! Yeah, some folks ain't happy about option dua.

A company called "Mr. Go Pizza" rolled out pizza vending machines Thursday in Rome -- offering 4 kinds of pie which take just 3 minutes to make, and cost as little as $5. The machine kneads the dough, puts on toppings and bakes ... all in a small glass window, so customers can see the magic.

Well, as you can imagine, in Italy ... not everyone thinks it's magic. A couple early reviews: "Acceptable" if you're in a hurry, while a student from Naples (birthplace of pizza) said it tastes like a bread wrap.

Look, it's one thing if machines/robots wanna take over the world -- we all kind of expect that -- but can't we keep A.I. out of our pizzas???

No word on Mr. Go Pizza's expansion plans, but if it's in Italy today, can Brooklyn, the Jersey Shore and Chicago be far behind?

Remember when DK Metcalf ran 22.64 MPH to stop Arizona Cardinals' Budda Baker from a Pick 6 during the 2020 season?!

... well, the Seattle Seahawks receiver is now taking his speed to a real track -- signing up to sprint in the 100m race at the USTAF Golden Games and Distance Open on Sunday at Mt. SAC.

No joke! The 6'4", 229 pound Pro Bowler will put his speed to the test on May 9 against 16 experienced sprinters in Walnut, California.

And, we mean experienced -- Ronnie Baker is one of the 16 runners and that dude ran a 9.94 in the 100m earlier this year!!!

Keep in mind, Metcalf hasn't competed in a legit track competition since high school -- where his best event was the hurdles and the triple jump (though he also ran the 4x100 relay).

But clearly, DK has world-class speed -- which he put on display back in October when he sprinted 90 yards to chase down fleet-footed AZ Cardinals defensive back Budda Baker, one of the fastest guys in the league.

And, don't forget, he also clocked a 4.33 in the 40-yard dash at the 2019 NFL Combine -- which is insane for someone of DK's size.

The big question ... is DK fast enough to make the US Olympics team? Maybe!

DK would have to crack the 10.05 mark in the 100m race to qualify for the Olympic Trials, according to the USATF.

Yeah, he's a long shot but DK is confident -- even dropping a teaser clip on his social media page.

A metro train in Mexico City careened off the tracks and fell after a railroad bridge collapsed ... a deadly moment that was captured on video.

It happened late Monday night in the southeast area of town. The mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, told reporters it appeared a support beam on the track gave out as the train went over it.

That caused the entire structure to topple ... and sent the rail car careening to the street below, where cars were zipping by. Surveillance video captured the exact second it happened, and it looks like something straight out of a movie -- a horror flick, in this case.

So far, officials say at least 23 people were killed in the tragedy -- including an unspecified amount of children -- and dozens more were hospitalized with varying degrees of injuries.

A boat carrying dozens of people capsized in San Diego, killing 2 and injuring several more -- but it's clear the vessel did more than just flip over ... it was utterly destroyed.

The wreckage happened Sunday off the shores of Point Loma, a peninsula jutting out from SD's mainland. It's unclear what caused the boat -- which was reportedly carrying 25 people total -- to tip ... but once it did, emergency crews were called out to assist.

According to local reports, two people were pronounced dead at the scene ... while the 23 others were transported to area hospitals, with some requiring CPR on the spot.

However, somebody posted footage of the aftermath ... and it appears the boat got torn to pieces in the accident, with people onboard being washed ashore -- not to mention all the debris floating in the water as well. In the video, you hear someone say the boat "blew up."

The severity of the injuries isn't entirely known at this point, but officials have said different people were taken to different hospitals.

A search and rescue mission is underway at the moment to see if there's anybody else still in the water -- and an investigation will ultimately be headed up by the feds, as this appears to have happened in their jurisdiction.

There was a spectacular site above the Gulf of Mexico early Sunday, when the SpaceX Dragon capsule careened and then floated into the sea with 4 astronauts on board.

The 4 astronauts -- 3 from the U.S. and 1 from Japan -- ended their 167-day mission ... the longest ever for a crew capsule launching from the United States.

The Dragon capsule -- named Resilience -- had a welcoming party at the ready. Several ships were nearby to recover the capsule and the astronauts. It was a perfect landing, judging by how close the capsule touched down next to the ships.

The seamen jumped into action and recovered the spaceship in a half an hour. Some people were so impressed with the speed, they likened it to a pit stop at a car race.

The folks at Mission Control were ecstatic ... sending a message to astronauts ... “We welcome you back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX. For those of you enrolled in our frequent flyer program, you’ve earned 68 million miles on this voyage.”

Spacecraft Commander Mike Hopkins was more than willing to accept the perk ...“We’ll take those miles. Are they transferrable?”

Ghislaine Maxwell is sleep deprived and things are so torturous for her behind bars she's suffered a black eye ... so claims her attorney in a letter and photo she filed in court.

Maxwell's attorney, Bobbi Sternheim, filed docs attaching a picture showing what Jeffrey Epstein's associate is looking like these days while locked up at NYC's Metropolitan Detention Center.

It's clear she's suffered a bruise under her eye, but how she got it is a mystery. Her lawyer's filing included a letter to the judge stating Maxwell only noticed the bruise after catching her reflection on a nail clipper. She doesn't have a mirror.

Sternheim says Maxwell -- who's accused of trafficking underage girls to have sex with Epstein -- doesn't know how she got the bruise. It appears prison officials aren't buying that, because Sternheim claims officials threatened to put Maxwell in a Special Housing Unit unless she spilled the beans on how she got the bruise.

But, Sternheim says if Maxwell's ever placed in SHU "it would be ironic" because "it would signal that Ms. Maxwell needs protection from the very staff so intent on protecting her, since she has no contact with anyone but staff."

BTW ... there's one theory on how Maxwell got the bruise. Sternheim said, "There is concern that the bruise may be related to the need for Ms. Maxwell to shield her eyes [using a sock or towel] from the lights projected into her cell throughout the night."

Sternheim's concerned about Maxwell's sleep disruption every 15 minutes to check on her breathing ... to which the attorney also objects, saying it's a "myth" that "Maxwell's conditions of confinement are related to her being a suicide risk."

Alfred Hitchcock is smiling somewhere -- hundreds of birds overran a Southern California home, and even spent the night ... and the video is straight out of that very famous horror movie.

The nightmarish scene played out recently in Torrance, CA where a family says they counted at least 800 birds flapping around inside their pad.

Video shows the huge flock ominously circling above the home before diving in through the chimney and then causing all kinds of chaos inside.

As you can see, the avian invasion took over every nook and cranny of the home -- birds were on the ceiling, along the windows, in the corners, in the bedrooms, in the bathrooms, on the furniture, on the stairs ... everywhere.

Oh, and ya know what birds do -- there's poop. Lots and lots of bird poop!!!

The family says the birds, which are migrating north, were in their home for a few days and didn't seem to want to leave for some odd reason. They actually spent one night with the birds, but it was too much, and the next night they moved to a hotel.

A "Jeopardy!" winner flashing a hand gesture associated with "white power groups" is outraging hundreds of past players, who are calling out their beloved game show, but he insists they've got him all wrong.

The group of 467 former "Jeopardy!" contestants issued an open letter Wednesday, demanding "a statement and a disavowal" of the actions of Kelly Donohue ... who it accuses of racist messaging "either intentionally or unintentionally" on 2 separate occasions this week.

According to the letter, posted on Medium, the most egregious incident happened Tuesday, when Donohue made a 3-finger gesture to the camera that's extremely similar to the gesture "co-opted by white power groups, alt-right groups, and an anti-government group that calls itself the Three Percenters."

Donahue insists his hand signal was simply to indicate he'd won 3 games. In fact, Thursday morning he posted a long response to the backlash, saying, "I deeply regret this terrible misunderstanding. I never meant to hurt a soul and I assure you I am no friend of racists or white supremacists."

Even if that's true, the past players are still pissed "Jeopardy!" allowed the gesture to air without censoring it, and they point to a past example.

"A couple of years ago, a contestant unintentionally wagered a monetary amount that used numerical values coopted by white supremacist groups and, since the total didn’t affect the outcome of the game, 'Jeopardy!' digitally altered the numbers in the version that aired."

It should also be noted that Donahue held up one and two fingers after his first and second wins ... seemingly supporting his explanation that there was no hate behind it.

Even so, the former contestants believe it was on the production team to similarly catch Donohue's gesture and make an edit. The letter also alleges Kelly responded to a clue on Monday with a term for the Romani culture that's considered a slur.

Marvin Scott III -- a 26-year-old Black man who died last month in a Texas jail after being restrained to a bed for several hours -- died as a result of homicide, according to the medical examiner.

Scott was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in a Dallas suburb on March 14, and though he was first taken to a local hospital for reportedly acting erratically ... he was later transported to the Collin County Jail in McKinney.

It was there Scott began "exhibiting some strange behavior" according to Collin County Sheriff Jim Skinner, and officials say he was subsequently restrained, pepper-sprayed and had a spit mask put on his face by detention officers.

According to reports, sometime during the several hours of being restrained to a bed, Scott became unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Skinner called it a "profound tragedy" at a news conference.

But, Collin County's chief medical examiner, Dr. William Rohr, is calling it a homicide. According to Rohr, his findings show Scott's cause of death was "fatal acute stress response in an individual with previously diagnosed schizophrenia during restraint struggle with law enforcement."

Scott's family says he had schizophrenia and was experiencing a mental health crisis while in police custody, and family attorney Lee Merritt claims Scott was using marijuana at the time of his arrest "to self-medicate after being two years diagnosed with schizophrenia."

Merritt tells TMZ ... he got the news about Marvin's death being ruled a homicide around the same time he learned the suspects in Ahmaud Arbery's killing were being charged with federal hate crimes, so it was a bittersweet day.

Lee, who represents Arbery's family as well, adds ... "I now have another uphill battle, having to fight the system for justice. Again, the cycle continues."

Worth noting -- the Collin County sheriff announced earlier this month that 7 detention officers who were allegedly involved in Scott's death have been fired for violating department policies and procedures.

The teenager whose video was seen 'round the world of George Floyd being murdered by Derek Chauvin has spoken on the guilty verdict that just came down ... and she's elated.

17-year-old Darnella Frazier just reacted to the news Chauvin was found guilty on all 3 counts, and now faces a max sentence of 40 years. She says, "I just cried so hard😩This last hour my heart was beating so fast, I was so anxious, anxiety bussing through the roof. But to know GUILTY ON ALL 3 CHARGES !!!"

Darnella shared her emotions on Facebook ... the same platform where she first posted the infamous 9 minute-plus video, which was the critical piece of evidence in Chauvin's trial.

She added, "THANK YOU GOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU😭🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽George Floyd we did it!!🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️justice has been served✊🏽"

Darnella elaborated even further on IG, saying ... "My heart goes out to George Floyd’s family!❤️🙏🏽Although no amount of charges will bring back a loved one, justice was served and his murderer will pay the price. We did it❤️❤️✊🏽#justicewasserved."

It's no exaggeration to say Chauvin's conviction is due in large part to the fact Darnella captured every painful minute his knee was on George Floyd's neck ... nearly 10 minutes.

Her video was played almost daily during Chauvin's trial and, in the end, clearly helped the jury reach its unanimous decision in under 11 hours.

It's been a long road for Darnella -- you might recall, she was going through a hard time in the immediate aftermath of the video going viral -- with some people questioning her motives and even asking why she didn't do more. She and her fam told us she might need therapy.

President Biden saying he's "praying the verdict is the right verdict" in Derek Chauvin's murder trial is a breath of fresh air for Rev. Al Sharpton, who believes the Prez didn't do anything wrong by weighing in ... and showing he's human.

The Rev. joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday shortly before it was announced the Chauvin jury had reached a verdict in his trial for murdering George Floyd. Obviously, collective anxiety is high in the country -- which is why Biden's comments Tuesday morning were surprising to some. But Sharpton notes ... the President has a connection to Floyd's family, which the Rev. says makes his remarks appropriate.

Not only that, but Al says Joe should be allowed as President to show some empathy about a case that has greatly impacted the Black community and the nation as a whole. He says he welcomes empathy over contempt, which he accuses former President Trump of consistently demonstrating.

Sharpton also points out ... Biden waited to comment on the Chauvin trial until the jury was sequestered, so his comments couldn't have an influence on the outcome of the trial.

Finally, he takes issue with Chauvin trial Judge Cahill going off on Rep. Maxine Waters in court Monday. Rev. Al told us he thinks the judge was out of line and totally misconstrued Waters' remarks about protesting if the jury returns a not guilty verdict.