Olympics

The Olympic event everyone's been talking about is finally here -- the OG breakdancing competition, and lucky for the IOC, Snoop Dogg is there to drop the mic and introduce the epic showdown!

To hell with ancient Greece ... the Games got a whole lot more fly Friday as the rapper rolled into the stadium to his own track, “Drop It Like It’s Hot" ... with 17 B-girls busting their best moves for the event officially titled Breaking.

Contestants from all over -- USA, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and beyond -- brought their A-game.

Jake Paul is taking matters into his own hands to bring USA Boxing back to the top of the Olympic podium -- he just announced his plans to compete at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles!!

El Gallo dropped the surprising news on his "BS W/ Jake Paul" podcast on Friday ... saying he's fed up with the Red, White and Blue coming up short in the ring.

The 10-1 fighter actually worked with USA Boxing leading up to the Paris Games ... teaming up with the athletes to help with branding and meditation at its headquarters.

Sha'Carri Richardson continues to show she's one of the fastest women alive ... blowing by a German runner and hitting her with the side eye during a qualifying relay race in Paris on Thursday, and the moment was pretty epic!

It all went down during the last leg of the women's 4x100m relay when Richardson got the baton from teammate Gabby Thomas (and 200m gold medalist) ... who was behind in the race after a shaky exchange from Twanisha Terry going into the third leg.

The misstep meant Team USA was in second place (despite being favored to win the race) ... with Germany's Rebekka Haase leading with less than 100 meters remaining in the race. If USA failed to qualify, there would be no running for another gold.

But, Richardson wasn't gonna let her squad down.

The alleged terror plot for a Taylor Swift concert, Nelly's casino arrest and Katie Ledecky's emotions are all part of today's TMZ TV Hot Takes ... and there's a lot to cover.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles break down the foiled terror plot that targeted Taylor's Vienna concerts.

Over on "TMZ on TV," our crew reacts to Nelly's roller coaster experience at a Missouri casino ... where he went from jackpot winner to being under arrest.

Team USA skateboarding star Nyjah Huston isn't entirely happy with his first Olympic medal ... 'cause he says his bronze is already going to crap -- and he shared video/photo evidence to back his claim.

Huston -- one of the greatest skateboarders alive -- went to Instagram to give a review of his hardware after winning the bronze with a 279.38 score in the Men's Street Final at the Paris Games ... revealing to his 5.3+ million fans how it currently appears.

"They look great when they're brand new, but after letting it sit on my skin with some sweat for lil' bit and letting my friends wear it over the weekend, they're apparently not as high quality as you would think," the goofy-footed skater said.

If you’ve seen photos of Kim Jong Un strutting around the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, don’t panic -- it’s just a look-alike causing all the chaos!

An Australian music producer, who goes by Howard X on X, is notorious for his side hustle moonlighting as the North Korean dictator ... and he struck again, making a dramatic entrance to cheer on North Korea’s Pang Chol-mi as she battled China’s Chang Yuan in the women's boxing semi-finals.

Howard was also spotted waving North Korea's flag ... and he took a bold swipe at China’s leader Xi Jinping by flaunting a Winnie the Pooh teddy bear last Sunday. ICYDK, the character’s been banned in China due to satirical comparisons with Xi.

3:59 PM PT -- It sounds like Noah Lyles' 2024 Olympics are officially over ... despite being scheduled to run as part of the USA's 4x100m relay team.

The 100m gold medalist made the announcement on Instagram, writing "I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics."

The news comes after Noah finished third in the 200m race, and then revealed he'd tested positive for Covid on Tuesday.

Team USA track superstar Noah Lyles shockingly finished with a bronze medal in the 200-meter race at the 2024 Olympics ... that is, until it was revealed he is currently battling Covid, but elected to participate in the event.

"I woke up early about 5 AM on Tuesday morning and was feeling really horrible," Noah told NBC minutes after the race.

"I knew it was more than just being sore from the 100. Woke up the doctors and we tested and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for Covid. And my first thought was not to panic."

The USA men's basketball team almost saw their gold medal dreams disappear on Thursday ... as the Red, White and Blue narrowly escaped an upset in a nail-biter against Serbia in the Olympics semifinals.

America was playing catchup for the majority of the game ... with Nikola Jokic and Bojan Bogdanović ballin' out for Serbia. The Joker finished with 17 points and Bogdanović led the squad with 20 of his own.

But in the waning moments of the contest, Stephen Curry, LeBron James and the rest of Team USA found enough in the tank to erase the lead and pull out the dramatic victory -- punching their tickets to a finals matchup with Team France and Victor Wembanyama.

The U.S. women's basketball team serenaded star hooper A'ja Wilson ... who is celebrating her 28th trip around the sun in Paris!

The 2x WNBA champ is in France for the 2024 Olympics, and with it being Wilson's big day, the team gathered around her at practice to sing HBD -- the Stevie Wonder version!

A'ja dances a bit ... but ya gotta imagine Wilson and the rest of the women are exhausted.

Scary scene during the Olympic men's steeplechase race in Paris ... Ethiopian star Lamecha Girma took a terrifying fall, crashing to the ground where he lay motionless -- before being loaded on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital.

The accident happened during the final lap of the 3000m race on Wednesday where Girma -- the world record holder and 2020 silver medalist -- attempted, in a crowded pack, to clear one of the race's final obstacles when his right leg made contact with the hurdle.

Girma went down hard, with his back/neck/head area seemingly taking the brunt of the impact.

Canadian pole vaulter Alysha Newman had an all-time celebration after securing a bronze medal at the Olympics ... busting out a quick twerk in front of the entire stadium!!

The epic moment went down on Wednesday ... after the 30-year-old cleared the crossbar at 4.85 meters -- a new record for her country.

Newman initially faked an ailment after hopping off the mat ... before putting her hands on her knees and shakin' it for all to see.

Before this pool-lovin' boy -- from Chicago, Illinois -- turned into a three-peat Olympic swimmer, he was just slipping into his float, hangin' in the shallow end and dreaming of going to the Olympics at just 7 years old!

He became known in the college swimming scene from 2014 - 2017 where he competed as a California Golden Bear!

While at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, this dude dominated the backstroke events, taking home gold medals in the 100 and 200 meter races. You may also recognize him from his relay race with Michael Phelps.

French Olympian Alice Finot might not have earned a spot on the podium during the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, but she did win in the love category ... 'cause she dropped to one knee and proposed to her boyfriend -- and he said yes!!!

The wholesome moment happened after Tuesday's final ... when Finot approached her man, peeled back her race tag -- which had a bag attached to it -- and pulled out an Olympic pin in lieu of a traditional ring.

Her BF -- Bruno Martínez Bargiela -- was understandably emotional about it all ... and once he was able to get it together, he gladly accepted the proposal and embraced his bride-to-be.

Pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati seems conflicted on whether he's allowed to joke about his own pole ... 'cause the French athlete posted a TikTok joking about his viral member, then quickly deleted it.

The overnight sensation shared a clip of himself eating in a dining common area ... a thousand-yard stare plastered on his face while chowing down on a pastry.

In the vid, AA writes a French sentence that translates to, "POV: You make more buzz for your package than for your performances" ... so, clearly he knows his pole's getting more attention than the pole-vaulting final.

12:31 PM PT -- Tom Craig just addressed the arrest to reporters ... and said he's sorry for what he did, especially embarrassing his loved ones and teammates.

"I'd firstly like to apologize for what has occurred over the past 24 hours," Craig said on Wednesday. "I made a terrible mistake and I take full responsibility for my actions."

"My actions are my own and in no way reflect the values of my family, my teammates, my friends, my sport and the Australian Olympic Committee. I've embarrassed you all and I'm truly sorry."

Australian field hockey player Tom Craig has found himself in some trouble while out in Paris ... he's currently behind bars -- after authorities say he bought cocaine following his participation in the Olympics.

According to the Herald Sun ... Craig was arrested on Tuesday -- two days after Team Australia's elimination from the Games.

The outlet reports Craig allegedly purchased drugs from a dealer in the streets of Paris ... and both he and the alleged seller were thrown behind bars by cops who say they witnessed the transaction go down.