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A friend of the Nashville school shooter called police as Audrey Hale unleashed a murderous attack at a Christian school ... pleading for someone to go check on Hale.

In 911 audio released Thursday, the shooter's friend, Averianna Patton, tells the dispatcher Hale sent her a string of ominous messages on social media before Monday's shooting.

Patton says she's called different departments and then tells the dispatcher ... "I'm just trying to see can anybody ... I just don't want it on my conscious ... if somebody can go check on her."

Before the call, Hale sent Patton several suicidal messages on Instagram, saying ... "I'm planning to die today" and "You'll probably hear about me on the news after I die."

Hale sent the messages at 9:57 AM ... and about 15 minutes later went on a deadly rampage at the Covenant School in Nashville, shooting and killing three 9-year-old students and three employees in their 60s.

Patton made the 911 call around 10:20 AM ... just as armed officers were arriving at the private school to take down Hale.

Governor Matt Barnes?? Perhaps someday -- 'cause the ex-NBA star says he wants to run for political office by the time he turns 50!!

43-year-old Barnes -- who played 16 seasons in the NBA -- shared his political aspirations during an appearance on "Miss Understood with Rachel Uchitel" ... and he's not just talking being the president of his local PTO. He's eyeing some big-time positions.

"I gave myself a goal back in my 30s that by the time I turn 50, I wanted to run for some sort of office," Barnes said. "Whether that be mayor or governor or whatever it may be."

"It would be refreshing," he continued. "It's not something people expect, but I know I can make a difference. I still got seven years before that time is up."

Barnes -- who won a championship with the Warriors in 2017 -- says he'd love to be an example to people that they can make something of themselves and create opportunities for the under-represented members of society.

"I try to use my platform to speak up for those who don't have a platform or don't have a voice," Barnes said.

"I think I've been misunderstood my entire life. I try to give back. I try to motivate. I try to educate. In our communities, you have to see it to believe it. I always want to be a symbol of hope."

Gospel music vet Kim Burrell is claiming her music is therapy to Beyonce's ears ... or at least it was when her marriage with Jay-Z was on shaky ground.

Kim's confessional came in an interview with "We Sound Crazy!" back in October, but for some reason, this particular clip started making the rounds Thursday.

KB rolled the calendar back to 2017 when Jay recorded his last album "4:44," a project riddled with apologies to Bey for his infidelities.

Kim provided background vocals for the highly emotional title track -- a feature personally requested by Jay, as he came to align Bey's bad moods with Kim's music blaring through their house.

According to Kim's convo ... Bey even locked herself in a room for 11 hours while playing nothing but Kim's music, but came out refreshed and ready to resume the marriage.

Jay allegedly said he just had to meet the woman who lifted his wife's spirits and hence, the "4:44" collab was immaculately conceived!!!

Fans on social media grew upset with Kim for spilling the Carter family secrets, but she did note she and Jay spoke for "4 hours" ... and there were certain details from the convo she would never share!!!

Colleges in China are giving students a spring break mission -- don't just hook up, get to know each other and maybe even fall in love ... as the country's seeing a drastic decline in birth and marriage rates.

Nine colleges, all run by the Fan Mei Education Group, are asking students to use their annual week-long hiatus to "get in touch with nature, and with your heart feel the beauty of spring," and most importantly ... "Go fall in love."

The schools have a heavy focus on romance this time around, although the break's been an annual event since 2019 ... just without the boning angle.

The love-making plea comes at a pretty fitting time -- China's facing massive dips in marriage and birth rates, and the country's been going all-in on getting those numbers back up ... with this college instruction being one of the latest methods.

Many businesses and provinces have reportedly been trying to come up with other effective ways to boost the stats ... like implementing a 30-day paid marriage leave or campaigns looking for city women to hook up with older rural men. We smell a reality show!

Looks like all the schools participating are vocational schools, specializing in aviation -- so go do your homework and join that mile-high club!

Jonathan Majors' attorney says she has receipts regarding the assault claims against her client -- texts in which the alleged victim admits she's to blame, and says she doesn't want the actor prosecuted.

Majors' lawyer Priya Chaudhry tells TMZ ... the woman in question sent a few texts to the "Creed III" actor hours after his arrest last weekend, "admitting that she was the one who used physical force against him."

In the texts Chaudhry claims the woman sent, she says how angry she was Jonathan had been handcuffed ... and she adds, "Will make sure nothing happens about this. I told them it was my fault for trying to grab your phone."

The text exchange continued a few hours later, with the woman reiterating she's pushing hard to make sure the D.A. doesn't charge Jonathan for the incident.

Chaudhry says she has turned these texts over to law enforcement.

As we reported, Majors was arrested for misdemeanor assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment ... after the woman allegedly saw another woman texting him and tried to sneak a peek at his phone.

Chaudhry told us Sunday she was already working hard to gather evidence disproving the claims, which seems to include these texts ... and she believes there is also video footage from inside the vehicle where the alleged incident went down that will clear Majors.

Raquel Leviss is still spending quality time with Tom Sandoval, and they're cozy enough to be hanging together in the very home where Tom lives with Ariana Madix for years.

The "Vanderpump Rules" villainess -- to most fans -- was outside Tom and Ariana's place tossing a bag into the trunk of her car Wednesday around 4 PM.

Here's the thing ... Raquel was wearing some very comfy clothes and slides as she made her exit.

As for Tom's location, well he left his home about half an hour after Raquel ... on his way to catch a flight outta town.

Sandoval made his way to LAX around 7 PM, catching a Southwest flight to his hometown of St. Louis. He was flying solo, so apparently, he's not ready to bring Raquel home to meet the fam.

Photogs brought up the elephant in the room at the airport -- as well as a couple more Qs, but the guy wasn't in the mood to chat, instead makin' a beeline to check his bag.

However, the fact he and Raquel are close enough to kick it where he lived with his ex is pretty telling about how close they remain, now that the 'Scandoval' dust is settling.

As we reported, Raquel was a no-show in court Wednesday for the hearing over her restraining order against Scheana Shay. She'd alleged Scheana attacked her over the affair ... but since she skipped court, the restraining order was dismissed.

Now we know what, or who, was more important than court for Raquel.

Mama June's daughter Anna “Chickadee” Cardwell has been diagnosed with cancer, TMZ has learned ... and we're told the family has come together to help in any way they can.

Family sources tell TMZ ... 28-year-old Anna was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenal carcinoma in January. She initially was complaining about stomachaches and a series of tests were conducted, which is when the cancer was discovered in her liver, kidney and lung.

We're told she underwent her first round of chemotherapy last month, already losing hair as a result. Doctors are waiting to see how she reacts to the treatment before they make further decisions. Her family is "very hopeful" she'll pull through.

Anna's fam has been stepping up during the uncertainty ... we're told they've pulled together to help take care of Anna and her two kids, 10-year-old Kaitlyn and 7-year-old Kylee.

Billie Eilish isn't letting mother nature rain out her parade -- when a severe storm forced her to cancel a show in Mexico, Billie played on with an acoustic set for her drenched fans.

The singer hit the stage at the Foro Sol CDMX Wednesday night in Mexico City ... the latest stop on her Happier Than Ever Tour -- but instead of performing her usual concert, Billie announced she had to switch things up.

She told the crowd she'd be unable to perform due to the heavy rain ... and she'd been told everyone had to go home.

Clearly, though, Billie wasn't leaving that easily.

She told fans, "I thought it was stupid for me to leave without coming out saying thank you for being here, and standing in the f***ing pouring rain." Then she added she was still going to sing a few songs acoustically if the fans were down.

Of course, it wasn't the show anyone had planned ... but the mini-show seemed to go over well with fans as they cheered and sang along with Billie. She promised to make up the full concert at a later date. It's now been announced the rescheduled concert will be Thursday night.

Billie was joined onstage by her brother and music partner Finneas O'Connell ... who strummed an acoustic guitar as she sang her heart out.

The Nashville mass shooter was reportedly torn up over the death of a close friend months before unleashing a murderous attack at a Christian school.

Audrey Hale was totally devastated after Sydney Shere Sims was killed in a car crash in August, former classmate Samira Hardcastle told NBC News.

Hale "definitely admired" Sims as they together attended Isaiah T. Creswell Middle School of the Arts and the Nashville School of the Arts, Hardcastle said.

Maria Colomy, one of Hale's former teachers at another school, recalled that Sims' untimely death was an emotional wrecking ball for her former student.

Colomy paraphrased Hale's social media posts about the accident, stating something to the effect that Sims was "all that mattered" and "I'll miss you forever."

As we reported ... Hale went on a bloody rampage at Covenant School on Monday, fatally shooting three 9-year-old students and three employees in their 60s.

Two Nashville police officers shot and killed Hale on the second floor of the private elementary school.

Cops said Hale penned a manifesto detailing the school attack and identifying other potential targets.

Police Chief John Drake said Hale -- a 28-year-old biological female who identified as male -- was a former student at the school and resented having to attend classes there.

A Tennessee restaurant owned by hip hop star Yo Gotti is the site of a mass shooting that's killed 2 people, and left at least 5 others injured.

Law enforcement officials tell TMZ ... cops were called to Prive restaurant in Memphis around 11:30 PM Wednesday after a barrage of gunfire erupted in the parking lot, following a confrontation inside the restaurant that eventually spilled outside.

We're told one man was found dead in the parking lot, and the other passed away at a hospital.

Police say 4 other men and one woman were also sprayed with bullets. All of them were driven in private vehicles to hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not released.

While Gotti does own Prive, a source tells us he was not in Memphis last night ... and none of his family members are among the victims.

The assailant or assailants fled and are still at large. Police have not said what triggered the initial altercation.

Images surfaced online showing officers investigating the scene with crime tape around the perimeter of the restaurant and patrol cars parked in front.

You might recall, Prive was temporarily closed in November 2021 for fear of retaliation violence after rapper Young Dolph was murdered about 10 miles away in Memphis. Police officers stood guard outside the establishment, but nothing happened.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is amused by Elon Musk and others who think AI technology is a threat to humanity ... he thinks the doomsday bunch are watching too many movies.

We got the famed astrophysicist at LAX Wednesday, and he snickered at Musk, Steve Wozniak and 1,100 others who sounded the alarm in an open letter that AI has become a "dangerous race" that could imperil our very existence ... they want a 6-month moratorium on AI development to assess the risks.

The way Neil sees it ... it's nothing new. We have seen the twists and turns triggered by the technological revolution for more than 100 years. When jobs get replaced by machines, people find new jobs. And here's the big point ... if AI eventually takes over all jobs, we can all go to the beach. After all, going to work is not embedded in our DNA, so society could reimagine how humans live.

The beach vs. work ... so who you rootin' for?

Joshua Tylerbest -- a contestant on Katie Thurston's season of "The Bachelorette," who actually went pretty far -- has been arrested and charged with having child pornography on him ... TMZ has learned.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the IT consultant was busted last month in Miami -- law enforcement says a Google account registered to him was flagged for allegedly uploading approximately 50 images/videos showing child sexual abuse.

The cops got a search warrant of the Google account and claim they found evidence of Tylerbest interacting with the child pornography images.

Law enforcement says they then searched his residence and seized several electronic items, including his iPhone -- which they claim contained 15 files that fit the bill for child porn. Cops claim the clips include videos of kids -- some of whom are under 10 -- involved in graphic sex acts with adults.

He's now been formally charged with 15 felony counts of possession of materials showing a sexual performance by a child ... to which he has pled not guilty. Tylerbest is due back in court in June.

Like we said earlier, Tylerbest had a little bit of a run during Katie's time as the 'Bachelorette' in 2021. He made it through four weeks but was eliminated after that. There was nothing particularly scandalous about his time on TV and, at the time, he was relatively well-regarded.

He's continued to fraternize with fellow 'Bachelorette' stars, as documented on his social media -- he's hit the town with other contestants who were on the show.

Former NFL referee Bill Leavy -- who helped officiate Super Bowl XXXIV and Super Bowl XL -- died this week ... league exec Walt Anderson confirmed on Wednesday.

He was 76 years old.

Anderson did not reveal a cause of death ... but told Football Zebras in a statement that Leavy "was an outstanding official and an even better man."

"Always kind and thoughtful," said Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, "Bill was instrumental in mentoring countless young officials throughout his career."

Anderson added, "His integrity earned him respect at every step of his football journey and the entire officiating community mourns his loss."

Leavy began officiating NFL games in the 1995 season -- and worked six years before he was assigned to help ref the Titans vs. Rams SB XXXIV. Leavy was just yards away from Mike Jones' game-winning tackle on Kevin Dyson.

Leavy was later promoted to ref in 2001 ... and went on to work his second Super Bowl, XL, in 2006. He lamented his performance in the game, saying he regretted booting some of his calls in the Steelers' win over the Seahawks.

Leavy worked his final game for the NFL in 2014 -- a playoff matchup between the Colts and Broncos. He went on to work for the league in retirement, helping in the hiring process of new officials.

In 2019, Leavy won the Art McNally Award -- arguably the highest honor for NFL officials.

"Saddened to hear of the loss of Bill Leavy," former NFL ref Gene Steratore tweeted Wednesday. "Bill was an excellent referee and just a joy to be around. Life is just too short. He was a great mentor and friend."

Tory Lanez is not going down without a fight ... he has just asked a judge to throw out his conviction for shooting Megan Thee Stallion, claiming, among other things, prosecutors tried to dirty him up with irrelevant evidence.

Tory's lawyer, famed criminal defense attorney Jose Baez, claims in legal docs obtained by TMZ, prosecutors submitted a shirtless photo of Tory with a firearm tattoo on his chest. During trial, prosecutors said it was merely for identification purposes, but Baez is calling BS, saying prosecutors used the photo to underscore to the jury his client had a fondness for weapons.

There are numerous other grounds ... notably Baez says it was a reversible error for prosecutors to threaten to present Tory's rap lyrics to the jury.

And there's this ... Baez says the jury heard an 80-minute interview prosecutors had with Kelsey Harris -- Megan's friend who was in the car the night of the shooting. The audio was devastating to Tory's case, but Kelsey later recanted a lot of what she said in that interview.

Baez also says it was wrong to admit an Instagram post that included a comment from one of Megan's producers, claiming cops had matched bullets from Tory's gun to the fragments in Megan's foot.

Another claim ... it was wrong to allow statements Megan made to cops that Tory said to her immediately after the shooting, "Please don't say anything because I'm on probation."

Tory is facing 22 years in prison for three felony firearms violations. He's scheduled to be sentenced next month.

Ice Spice is not the victim of a chain-snatching, but rather the target of a big ol' attempt at clout-chasing for Internet fame!!!

Video of a man claiming to have possession of Ice's icy "Queen" necklace made its rounds across social media Wednesday -- and while many fans reacted with concern for Ice, the whole drama was merely a TikTok user looking to make a viral breakthrough.

The TikTok user fended off a wave of backlash ... we mean, he was bragging about robbing a woman for her chain 😐 ... and a source close to the "Munch" rapper doubled down against the shenanigans, assuring TMZ Hip Hop that Ice has never even owed such a piece.

"Queen" branding actually belongs to Nicki Minaj ... and a closer dive through Ice's jewelry box reveals the Bronx-bred rapper rocked her custom "Isis" name pendant the past couple of years as her star power grew.

In January, she dropped her "Like..?" EP and upgraded to her current $100k chain and showed it off when she pulled up on Kim Kardashian and North West ... for an authentic viral TikTok moment.

Justin Gaethje's gearing up for a title run, and the UFC star tells us he has the power to dethrone champ Islam Makhachev ... but he knows he has to earn the fight, and he's ready to run through Dustin Poirier to prove his worthiness!

34-year-old Gaethje, the #3 ranked UFC lightweight, joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where we talked about everything from who he wants next, to how he'd fare against the current champ, to how much longer he sees himself fighting, and Conor McGregor recently calling him "handicap" on Twitter.

On who Gaethje, who is coming off a dominating win over fellow contender Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 in March, wants next:

"I think that's the obvious choice, Dustin. He's sitting at number 2 right now, I gave the new guys a chance and I proved that I am elite, and I need to fight elite fighters to fight for a belt. I think Dustin's the obvious choice. I think the loser of Dariush and Oliveira is also an option, but outside of those two, I do not see an option."

FYI, Justin and Dustin fought back in 2018 ... a classic fight that Poirier won by fourth-round TKO.

Of course, Islam, who was just in battle with 145 lb. king Alex Volkanovski (Makhachev won by the thinnest margin), is the lightweight champ. We asked Justin how a fight between the men would look.

"I think [Islam is] a hard fight for anybody. Just create damage. I'd have to fight the perfect fight," Gaethje told us, adding he recognizes he wouldn't be on the Dagestani fighter's level when it comes to "submission grappling," but Justin believes with his power, he can shut anyone's lights out.

"I think I can knock him out. I think I can knock anybody out with the power that I possess."

We asked Gaethje, who lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 at UFC 254, to compare The Eagle and Makhachev.

"I think they're very similar. I think the biggest difference is Islam has been finished. He's lost a fight. He's been finished. So that aura of invincibility is there, but it's not based on 100% facts like Khabib has, I think that's the biggest factor, the biggest difference."

We also talked to Gaethje about retirement.

"I have never thought about retirement. I haven't thought about my life after retirement. I'm still working for the goal that I've set for myself," Justin said, explaining he has faith that his family and friends would tell him when it's time to hang up the gloves. But, that's likely years away, according to JG, who believes he's just hitting his stride as a fighter.

"34, I think we are at our peak, mentally, physically. Between 34 and 36, so I can't see myself being done in the next two years. I'd say two to four years is def a timeline that makes sense. I'm not trying to fight when I'm 40, and after 36, I don't see myself getting better."

Lastly, Conor recently tweeted "Justin Gaethje is a handicap," before deleting the message shortly after. We asked JG for his reaction.

"One of my best approaches in life is to make everybody think you're stupid and then go into a conversation or situation where you can take advantage of everybody feeling like that. It plays perfectly into my hands. I love when people think I'm handicapped or dumb -- that's not a guy, I don't believe I'll ever fight him."

Gaethje vs. McGregor is a fight fans clamored over for years ... but Justin says the guy simply doesn't want to step foot in The Octagon with him.