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Stephen "tWitch" Boss left at least one clue as to what his struggles were leading up to his suicide -- it came in a note alluding to challenges he's faced in the past ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us tWitch's note, left at the scene of his suicide, was an ambiguous reference to his past challenges. It's unclear exactly what he was referring to in the note.

We're told investigators have determined tWitch took an Uber from his home to the motel less than a mile from his home Monday morning, and switched his phone to airplane mode so no one could reach or track him.

TMZ broke the story, his wife, Allison Holker, was frantic when she showed up at an LAPD location Tuesday -- saying tWitch left home without notice and wasn't answering her calls.

As we first reported ... it was a motel staffer who discovered the popular DJ and TV host Tuesday inside his room, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In addressing her husband's death, Allison said, "Stephen lit up every room he stepped into. He valued family, friends and community above all else and leading with love and light was everything to him."

She continued, "He was the backbone of our family, the best husband and father, and an inspiration to his fans. To say he left a legacy would be an understatement, and his positive impact will continue to be felt. I am certain there won’t be a day that goes by that we won’t honor his memory."

Brittney Griner is finally breaking her silence on her return from Russia ... saying she's super grateful to be back in the United States -- while vowing to play in the WNBA again.

Griner released a statement on her Instagram page Friday morning ... thanking President Joe Biden and everyone else who helped get her out of Russian custody last week.

Griner shouted out her wife, her agents, her reps, the WNBA and more in her note ... adding, "It feels so good to be home!"

"The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn," she wrote. "I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help."

Griner also said in her message that she will play basketball again -- insisting she'll be ready to roll for the Phoenix Mercury this upcoming season.

"I look forward to being able to say 'thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon," she said.

Griner -- who also shared a photo of the moment she was reunited with her wife -- added that she's going to do everything in her power to help Paul Whelan and other detained Americans return home soon, too.

"Every family deserves to be whole," she said.

Tristan Thompson has hammered out a paternity settlement for his second-youngest child -- where he'll shell out monthly ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Tristan Thompson and Maralee Nichols have agreed to terms for Theo, their 1-year-old son. We're told Tristan will pay $9,500 a month in child support and also covered some of Nichols' lawyer fees.

The $9,500 may seem low considering his NBA contracts have totaled $100M over the span of his career -- but he isn't currently on a team and therefore not earning income, and income is the operative factor in determining child support.

Our sources say Maralee will have sole custody, and while they haven't figured out an official visitation plan yet, those talks will come in the near future.

What's more -- we're told Tristan will be listed as the father on Theo's birth certificate.

Our sources say the paternity settlement agreement will be filed today in L.A. County Superior Court.

Maralee gave birth to Theo in December of last year -- and things got ugly -- Maralee sued Tristan for child support, even claiming he offered to pay her $75,000 to keep quiet about the baby.

It was in January when he came clean after a paternity test, revealing he was Theo's dad, and apologized to Khloe, saying, "You don't deserve the heartache and humiliation I have caused you. You don't deserve the way I have treated you over the years. My actions have certainly not lined up with the way I view you."

While we didn't know it at the time, Khloe and Tristan were expecting a son via surrogate at the time of Tristan's apology -- that baby was born in July.

Elon Musk is dropping the hammer on Twitter, and he's in no mood to talk about it -- he fled an online chat as soon as upset reporters tried to grill him about suspending a bunch of journalists.

The Chief Twit jumped into a Twitter Spaces chat Thursday evening to lay out his new rules about real-time doxxing -- namely that anyone who shares real-time locations of individuals will be immediately suspended from the bird app.

After some back-and-forth in the chat, Elon finally said, "If you Dox you get suspended, end of story, that's it." Moments later, he hopped out of the chat without announcing his exit.

As we reported, Musk shut down a handful of reporters' Twitter accounts Thursday without explanation. Some of them say they never posted any location info, so they felt the suspensions were really due to negative reporting on Elon.

During the abbreviated chat, journalists challenged him -- pointing out he was shutting down journalism in the same way he's criticized the Twitter regime of killing stories about Hunter Biden. Y'know, the whole free speech thing Musk said he wanted to champion when he dropped $44 billion to buy Twitter.

BTW, Elon asked his followers when, if at all, he should unsuspend the accounts who doxxed him ... but he clearly wasn't a fan of the results, saying "Sorry, too many options. Will redo poll."

He did redo it, but was still met with a majority saying he should unsuspend now. He's also reportedly shut down all Twitter Spaces chats since last night. 😬

Donald Trump's getting jabbed over his digital trading cards -- the folks behind Amazon Prime's "The Boys" are taking his idea and turning it into satirical gold.

The Twitter account for Vought International -- the media conglomerate on the TV show that uses superhumans for profit -- posted its version of expensive cards Thursday, not coincidentally, just as Trump unveiled his $99 self-portraits.

The "company" promoted the Homelander-themed collection, writing, "Celebrate our greatest hero's life and crimefighting career by owning an authentic and non-fungible JPEG of him. Buy now for 777 VoughtCoin while you still can!"

In case you missed it, Vought's referring to Trump's NFT announcement ... showing off a ton of edited pics of him in a wide variety of action scenarios.

You can imagine, the Internet's having a field day ... and "The Boys" crew decided to join the fun.

One of Trump's trading cards showed him as a superhero, which looked like an obvious play off the TV show's Homelander character -- and probably prompted 'Boys' creators to drop their mock NFT.

This was bound to happen ... 'Boys' executive producer Eric Kripke's been very open about the fact they based Homelander on Trump -- something fans of the show have clearly seen.

The series revolves around a company with an endless amount of power that subliminally runs the world -- and draws direct parallels to the battle between woke folks and conservatives.

Pete Davidson hit up the NY Rangers hockey game Thursday night, but it wasn't with Emily Ratajkowski ... instead, he was with actress and costar, Chase Sui Wonders.

Pete and Chase -- who costarred in the 2022 movie "Bodies Bodies Bodies" -- took in the Rangers-Maple Leafs game at Madison Square Garden in New York City Thursday night.

The actor and actress sat side-by-side as they watched the game together ... and appeared to be having a good time with each other.

What's interesting ... Pete and Chase's public outing comes less than a month after Davidson was at the World's Most Famous Arena to watch a Knicks game with Emily Ratajkowski.

The Knicks game came just days after Pete was captured on video attempting to pick up Em Rata from her West Village home ... the first woman he was seen with following his breakup with Kim Kardashian.

Since, there have been multiple reports suggesting Pete, 29, and Emily, 31, are getting more serious. Though it should be noted, Ratajkowski was recently photographed out with DJ Orazio Rispo, who she was previously linked to in October.

The Backstreet Boys are unified in the midst of the rape allegations against bandmate Nick Carter ... according to fellow bandmate AJ McLean.

AJ was stoic at LAX Thursday, making it clear ... everyone in the group loves Nick and is standing strong with him during his legal battle.

TMZ broke the story ... Shannon Ruth, who is autistic and has cerebral palsy, filed suit last week, claiming Nick forced her to perform a sexual act on him while on his tour bus. She said she was 17 at the time.

Nick denies the alleged incident ever happened, but as we reported ... ABC canceled a Backstreet Boys prime time holiday special that was set to air this week.

Even though it was a school night, the stars still came out to celebrate Rich Paul's birthday on Thursday ... including his GF, Adele, and his BFF, LeBron James!!

The trio -- plus Tristan Thompson, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue, and others -- hit Olivetta in West Hollywood for the festivities ... despite everyone having a lot going on this week.

James' Lakers play Friday night. Adele's Vegas residency continues then, too. Lue, meanwhile, coached the Clips in a loss to the Suns before hitting the bash.

Still, everyone appeared to be in great spirits ... and most (aside from Adele, who bolted early to presumably get back to Nevada) stayed out until midnight -- when Paul officially turned 41 years old.

The sports agent looked dapper for the party ... rockin' an all-brown 'fit, capped off with a pair of brown shoes.

James, meanwhile, looked great as well -- as did his wife, Savannah, who accompanied him on the date.

Didn't seem anyone brought gifts to the dinner for Paul ... but we're pretty sure at least one of the millionaires at the table picked up the tab for the guy.

'Till' star Jalyn Hall says the film about Emmett Till is more than just art ... it's a form of activism and he's certain justice will be served, no matter how long it takes.

We got the 15-year-old Thursday outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and asked about the importance of sharing Emmett's story, whose death shocked so many when he was brutally killed in 1955 and a photo of his badly beaten body was made public.

Jalyn tells us he believes the movie will work as a movement, telling us filmmaker Keith Beauchamp worked on the project for 30 years, gathering missing evidence to create the movie.

If you didn't know, there's been a recent push to have Carolyn Bryant Donham indicted for accusing Emmett of whistling at her in a convenience store in 1955. Her claim led to a group of white men beating, mutilating and shooting Till in the head.

New evidence was recently uncovered -- including a 1955 arrest warrant with Donham's name on it for possibly lying about her encounter with Emmett -- but a grand jury declined to indict her.

The world's largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium is blown to smithereens ... creating a flooding disaster in Berlin that's also killed 1,500 fish.

The Friday morning catastrophe destroyed a 260,000-gallon tank at Sea Life ... the aquarium sat in a complex that also houses a museum, cafes and a Radisson hotel.

The huge tank stood 46 feet high, so you can imagine the tragic scene that was left when it shattered.

All of the water, glass and, sadly, fish ... spilled out into the surrounding plaza and washed through the hotel lobby out onto the street.

More than 100 first responders and rescue dogs reportedly swarmed the area, and amazingly there were no fatalities. A few people got minor cuts from pieces of glass, and 350 hotel guests were evacuated.

Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian wanted to get to the bottom of some family truths, so they gave each other ... wait for it ... lie detector tests!!!

As bizarre as it sounds ... the sisters were hooked up to a polygraph machine and took turns grilling each other on their famous family's most intimate secrets -- including their own sex lives. A polygraph examiner sat at a table nearby to gauge the veracity of their answers in the 14-minute video published Thursday by Vanity Fair.

Khloe was grilled first by Kourtney, who peppered her sibling with questions about family fights, their children, weddings and social media posts. But, Kourt wasn't letting Khloe off that easy ... she asked a real zinger, setting it up this way ... "Is there anything you'd like me to ask you?" To clear up any rumors?"

Then she hit Khloe over the head ... "Oh, are you still sleeping with Tristan?"

Surprisingly, Khloe seemed amused ... "No, I am not. I'm really not." Of course, Khloe was referring to Tristan Thompson, her cheating ex-fiancé and father of their 2 young children.

Unconvinced, Kourt turned to the polygraph examiner, who confirmed Khloe was telling the truth. "Bravo!," Kourtney shouted.

The rolls were then reversed. Khloe questioned Kourtney ... partially about her kinky activities with husband Travis Barker, beginning with the couple getting caught having sex in public. "Do you regret doing that?" Khloe asked Kourt, who responded, "Nope."

It got weirder ... Khloe asked if the spouses dressed as animal characters known as "furries" in order "to bone one another." Kourt fired back, "No!" But then, she admitted to having sex with Travis in their Halloween costumes last year when they dressed as the lead characters in the 1993 romantic crime film, "True Romance."

The polygraph examiner gave Kourt the thumbs up ... she was truthful!!!

Angela Yee says folks need to ease up on labeling Gunna a snitch -- just because he copped a plea deal in the YSL RICO case, she doesn't believe the rapper would ever sing to the feds.

We got the longtime 'Breakfast Club' host at the Allure Store in NYC, and asked her about Gunna's release this week from jail -- a move that's seemingly turned everyone on social media into legal experts, comparing him to Tekashi 6ix9ine ... who infamously ratted to get out of prison.

Angela admits she's no lawyer, but did tell us why she's hesitant to place the snitch label on Gunna.

As we reported, Gunna walked free Wednesday from the Fulton County Jail in Georgia, ending his 7 months of incarceration.

The Grammy-nominated rapper pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge as part of a pre-negotiated plea known as an Alford plea and was sentenced to 5 years behind bars ... with one of those years commuted for time served and the remaining 4 suspended, pending special conditions and community service.

Angela doesn't think Young Thug has any problem with Gunna's plea deal -- she believes Thug didn't want to see Gunna locked up with him in the first place.

Elon Musk is hitting journalists who make a living reporting on the billionaire where he can ... silencing their Twitter accounts.

The new owner of the bird app is suspending Twitter accounts for reporters from major news outlets like The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN ... plus independent journos and folks who report for Mashable and The Intercept.

Among those losing their ability to tweet about Elon ... Donie O'Sullivan from CNN, Drew Harwell from WaPo, Matt Binder from Mashable, Ryan Mac from NYT, Micah Lee from The Intercept, plus Keith Olbermann and Aaron Rupar.

Lots of folks getting the boot have been writing and tweeting critically about Elon ... but the fact is Musk owns Twitter so he can do what he wants with his private company.

Of course, Elon's claimed he's a champion of free speech ... and some folks say that's just not jiving with suspensions for reporters.

Here's what some of those banned reporters are seeing when they try to log in to their Twitter accounts ... a message telling them their account is permanently suspended for violating Twitter rules.

Elon's been changing Twitter terms of service on the fly ... and it's unclear what rules the journalists supposedly violated to earn a suspension.

It appears more accounts are being suspended.

Pop Warner has launched an investigation into a disgusting incident following a tournament game ... in which coaches were allegedly targeted with racial slurs by a man affiliated with the opposing team.

It all went down hours after the Hamden Hurricanes (CT) beat the Highlands Ranch Mountain Lions (CO) in the Div. 2 12U quarterfinals of the Pop Warner National Championships on Dec. 3 ... when coaches on both teams ran into each other at the hotel they were staying at in Orlando.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, the Hamden coaches are clearly trying to distance themselves from the Highlands Ranch staffers ... with one man explaining they were told by the "higher ups" to avoid any interaction.

Sources tell us the reason behind the tense interaction was due to coaches and fans of Highlands Ranch allegedly yelling racially charged words at Hamden, a team that consists of mostly Black players, throughout the game.

In the video, a Highlands Ranch coach continues to try to talk to adults with Hamden ... but they repeatedly say they aren't interested in talking, as they "have more s*** to lose."

Eventually, Hamden leaves the area ... and that's when a man -- who we're told is affiliated with the Highlands Ranch team -- hurled out the racial slurs, according to sources ... who claim he referred to them as "f***ing n*****s."

Pop Warner released a statement to TMZ Sports ... saying, "The disturbing behavior shown in the video is inconsistent with our code of conduct and the expectations we have of our adult volunteers."

The org. says it will conduct an investigative hearing on the matter next week ... and if the person in the video is, in fact, affiliated with a PW team, they will face discipline -- including suspension.

"One thing is clear: the abhorrent conduct and language exhibited in this video are unacceptable," Pop Warner added. "Our organization is committed to a safe, inclusive, and positive environment for all young people and their families."

"No one should ever encounter this kind of behavior. We will take all measures necessary to address the situation."

American actor, singer and dancer Sterling Knight was 20 years old when he was cast as Alex O'Donnell -- the insecure basketball player who was bullied in high school -- in the 2009 film "17 Again."

Sterling shared the big screen with Zac Efron as the star basketball player who is being highly recruited for college basketball, Mike O'Donnell, Matthew Perry as the older version of Mike O'Donnell and Leslie Mann as the adult version of the high school teen who becomes pregnant, Scarlet O'Donnell.

Sterling is also known from his days on Disney Channel's "Sonny With A Chance" playing Chad Dylan Cooper alongside Demi Lovato.

Jen Shah seems to have a thing for counterfeits ... because the feds say they seized a ton of fake designer bags and jewelry when they raided her Utah home.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the 'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' star was sitting on a treasure trove of knockoffs ... including more than 30 counterfeit luxury bags and around 40 pieces of counterfeit luxury bling.

Jen's counterfeit collection included knockoff bags from designers like Chanel, Balenciaga, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Gucci, Jimmy Choo and Fendi ... mostly made in China.

Jen's fake jewelry included pieces claiming to be designed by Bulgari, Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Hermes and Tiffany & Co.

The feds seized all of Jen's knockoffs when they raided her home back in March 2021 as part of an investigation into her fraud case.

As part of Jen pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, she was ordered to forfeit $6.5 million to help pay up to $9.5 million in restitution ... and the feds have now released the inventory of the items.

The list does also include legitimate designer purses and jewelry such as bling from castmate Meredith Marks' company -- that will hopefully put a dent in what she owes.