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The 45-year-old man who stole and destroyed a Jackie Robinson statue in Kansas pled guilty on Thursday to multiple charges, including theft, and is now facing over 19 years behind bars!

Remember, the large Jackie statue was stolen on January 25 from a youth baseball park in Wichita, KS ... only to be found burned and destroyed days later at a nearby park.

Multiple people were captured on surveillance video taking the statue, but only one person, Ricky Alderete, has been arrested and charged.

The FedEx driver who carelessly tossed over a dozen packages into his truck has been fired by the delivery giant ... after Dana White captured the incident on camera before posting it on social media, where it went viral!

In case you missed it, White was being chauffeured in the Big Apple on Tuesday when he saw the delivery man throwing box after box ... as if he was Steph Curry shooting jump shots.

"FedEx. We'll get your shit there, but we'll f*** it up," White said. "My boy don't give a f***." While Dana and many others online found the video comical, FedEx didn't.

There's a new 'Lord of the Rings' movie coming out that's all about Gollum -- and amid the news, a famous short film about it got yanked ... only to be revived on YouTube a day later.

A viral short film called "The Hunt for Gollum" -- which got uploaded to YT about 15 years ago -- has been praised among Tolkien fans for years as a stellar piece of fan fiction and art, which while not sanctioned by Warner Bros., still held its own and looked damn good.

On Thursday, WB announced they were making a brand new installment to their film franchise with the same title -- which led to the short being taken down on a copyright claim ... but it seems Warner has backed off, 'cause about 12 hours or so later, it's up again!

John Mayer's pissed a journalist asked his pal Andy Cohen if he and John are hooking up -- calling the question demeaning to Andy, himself and the general public.

John put all his emotions down in an open letter to The Hollywood Reporter's co-editor-in-chief, who conducted the interview with Andy -- and in it, he says, "To suggest that people are dubious of a friendship like mine and Andy’s is to undermine the public’s ability to accept and understand diversity in all facets of culture, be it in art or in real life."

ICYMI ... THR told Andy, fans are "dubious" of his friendship with Mayer -- in other words, people think they're banging. Andy responded, "I honestly love John Mayer, and he loves me. But because we are so affectionate to each other, people don’t know what box to put that in." He also flatly denied they're sleeping together.

Forget Drake and Kendrick Lamar, there's a new beef taking over -- Shaquille O'Neal vs. Shannon Sharpe ... with the NBA legend sending shots at the NFL Hall of Famer for claiming he's "jealous" of Nikola Jokic.

The drama started after the "Inside the NBA" crew presented the league's Most Valuable Player award to Joker during Wednesday’s show ... when during their interview, Shaq told the Nuggets superstar he's the best player in the league -- but felt Shai Gilgeous-Alexander deserved the award this season instead.

Sharpe then went on his "Nightcap" podcast to react to Shaq's comments with Chad Johnson and Gilbert Arenas ... suggesting O'Neal is envious of Jokic's accolades.

Kimora Lee Simmons says she felt a "little embarrassed" when she saw pics of her 21-year-old daughter kissing a 65-year-old ... especially because she feels like Aoki got played.

We caught up with the fashion mogul Thursday in NYC, and asked her all about Aoki's short-lived tryst with restaurateur, Vittorio Assaf -- she doesn't think it was ever a real relationship, and even referred to him as just a toad Aoki kissed.

KLS adds she feels her daughter was set up ... and, while she doesn't exactly come out and say what she means by that, she certainly implies the vast age difference screwed with her daughter's head.

Abby Lee Miller is blaming her time behind bars for the reason she's confined to a wheelchair these days ... suggesting she was punished for her celebrity status.

The "Dance Moms" star stopped by Bethenny Frankel's "Just B" podcast ... where she touched on her time in prison, having previously been convicted of bankruptcy fraud. As Abby put it ... she wasn't able to get access to her meds while incarcerated, allegedly on purpose.

Abby says she was "punished" in prison -- adding that's why she is now in a wheelchair. She says ... "That's why I'm in a wheelchair, because in prison I was punished and taken off all my medication, cold turkey."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are unfazed by the flak she's gotten over missing her hubby's Invictus Games anniversary ... zipping on over to Nigeria, and putting on big smiles.

Per the Daily Mail, the couple quietly reunited Thursday at London's Heathrow Airport before taking off on their unofficial royal tour. Meghan was noticeably absent from her husband's stop in London though, where he celebrated the 10th anniversary of his charity.

Nonetheless, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex weren't apart for long ... as MM and PH reportedly linked up at Heathrow's VIP Windsor Suite before grabbing a flight to Nigeria's capital, Abuja -- where they were invited by the country's Chief of Defense Staff.

Either someone was REALLY excited about the Mavericks' big win, or they forgot to clear their phone of some freaky content before Luka Doncic's postgame interview ... 'cause loud sex noises interrupted the whole presser -- and the NBA superstar's reaction was priceless!!

The hilarious moment went down just seconds into the Dallas baller's Q&A following the Mavs' Game 2 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday ... when out of nowhere, moaning rang through the room.

Doncic's eyes got super big and he put his head down to cover his face as a reporter said, "Okay, umm ... okay, moving on."

Justin Bieber's mom, Pattie Mallette, is over the moon about her son's huge baby announcement -- but she's even more excited about becoming a grandma.

Mallette posted a video Thursday, mere hours after Justin and his wife, Hailey, broke the news they're preparing for their first child.

The famous couple kissed and embraced as Hailey showed off her baby bump in a wedding gown. Other images showed Justin snapping photos of his pregnant wife.

Hunter Biden reportedly has a new documentary in the works all about his life -- and now, it looks like Sean Penn has entered the chat ... who's a bit of a doc head himself these days.

The President's embattled son -- who's in the middle of a criminal case right now, and who'll be going to trial soon on gun-related charges -- was photographed out in Malibu Thursday, cozying up next to none other than the Oscar winner ... and they were chopping it up.

The pics were taken outside of Soho House, a social club there, and it looks like SP was enjoying a smoke while HB was trying to go somewhat incognito with shades and a hat.

The sight of a Miami Police Department patrol car swerving on a highway early Thursday morning made another motorist record the dangerous scene ... which is prompting an investigation.

The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows the clearly marked police vehicle driving on the Florida turnpike, and repeatedly drifting into the shoulder over the course of 20 miles, we're told.

Check out the clip ... the driver can't seem to keep the vehicle in a straight line and regularly corrects course -- though the adjustments never appear to last for very long. At times, the car is remarkably close to the center divider, but never hits it.

12:35 PM PT --  Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Hailey Bieber's a little over six months pregnant, so sounds like she's entering the third trimester soon and we might have Baby Bieber by late summer!!!

Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber are having a baby -- something the couple just announced ... and it looks like Hailey is somewhat far along, 'cause she's got a bump going.

The Biebers just posted the same thing -- a carousel of pictures and videos that show them engaged in a photo shoot out in a field somewhere ... with Hailey dressed in white and showing around her midsection.

A woman in New York City was strangled with a belt in a horrific attack earlier this month -- which rendered her unconscious and left her vulnerable to be sexually assaulted.

The attack happened about a week ago in the Big Apple, and it's on video. You see a woman walking down a street at night, when a man wearing a white face-covering sneaks up behind her, tosses the looped belt over her head and tightens it around her neck.

By the time the woman realizes what's happening, it's too late ... and the man's dragging her with the belt down the sidewalk as she gasps for air. Eventually, she goes limp -- and he pulls her in between two cars, seemingly manipulating her body before the video cuts out.

A cryptic death post, a royal public appearance and a history-making award. Check out the hottest takes from Thursday.

On "TMZ Live," Charles and Derek discuss the cryptic death post Drake put on Instagram Thursday.