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Up-and-coming Los Angeles rapper MoneySign Suede was stabbed to death in a California prison ... cutting his life short as his career was catching steam.

Prison officials for the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, CA tell TMZ Hip Hop ... they're currently investigating MoneySign's death as a homicide after discovering he was absent from a headcount check Tuesday around 9:55 p.m.

According to our sources, the "Back to the Bag" rapper was found unresponsive in another area of the prison. Prison personnel attempted to administer emergency aid ... but were unsuccessful as he was pronounced dead around 10:00 p.m.

We're told the death has prompted officials to restrict prisoner movement while they conduct their investigation ... with assistance from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office and the Monterey County Coroner, the latter of whom will determine MoneySign's cause of death.

Nicholas Rosenberg, MoneySign's attorney, told the Los Angeles Times the rapper was stabbed in the neck in the shower and that those who knew him were shocked.

As news of MoneySign's death circulated, his rapper friends Fenix Flexin and Baby Stone Gorillas took to IG to pay emotional tributes.

Anthony Edwards has been cited for assault, TMZ Sports has confirmed ... after the NBA superstar swung a chair in frustration following the Timberwolves' loss on Tuesday night.

The incident happened just after Minnesota dropped its playoff series to the Nuggets in Denver ... when Edwards was running off the floor, ticked off over the 112-109 defeat that sent the Wolves into their offseason.

Video shows as the 21-year-old was on his way into the locker room, he grabbed a folding chair and swung it around. He ultimately dropped it ... before he continued on his way to Minnesota's dressing area.

But according to the Denver Police Department, two women who were working the game at Ball Arena claim they were struck by the chair as Edwards spun it in his arms. Cops say they suffered injuries during the incident.

According to police documents, Edwards was cited for misdemeanor third-degree assault -- knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury.

If convicted, Edwards faces up to 18 months in jail and/or fines totaling $1,000.

He's due in court for a hearing on the matter in June.

The Wolves said in a statement Wednesday evening they were aware of the citation and "are in the process of gathering more information. We have no further comment at this moment."

Fat Joe is fed up with the medical industry duping its patients into paying unfair prices ... personally flying himself from NYC to Washington D.C. to do something about it!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the Don Cartagena as he visited Capitol Hill to rep "Power to the Patients" ... the nonprofit that targets and tackles hidden healthcare fees.

As we told you earlier this week, Joe will be in town through the weekend alongside Busta Rhymes, French Montana and Rick Ross for a special PTTP-helmed concert to bring awareness to the millionaire CEOs of nonprofit orgs. and other associated horseradish ... but today, he was all bars without the beat!!!

We also caught Joe's speech as he addressed the crowd as a proud Bronx native but lashed out at the economic forces that hold Black and Brown people back ... comparing their cries for help as effective as a "dog barking at the moon."

Pras is guilty of committing fraud according to the jury in the federal trial where the Fugees rapper was accused of trading political influence in exchange for millions from Malaysian fugitive Jho Low.

During the trial Pras admitted accepting $20 million from Low for a photo-op with then-President Barack Obama as he ran for reelection -- and also helped set up a scheme to illegally funnel money to the Obama campaign through straw donors. Prosecutors were not going after the Obama campaign.

High-profile witnesses Leonardo DiCaprio and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions took the stand during the case.

Pras reportedly blamed his decision to participate in the schemes on the bad advice of an attorney, but that clearly didn't sway the jury as he's now looking at up to 20 years in prison.

We spoke to Pras outside court during the heat of the trial and he didn't have much to say. The jury clearly felt he said more than enough in court.

Glen Powell is looking really single amid all the Sydney Sweeney speculation -- at least that's what his now ex-girlfriend is making clear, 'cause she's done with him.

The model posted a pretty big red flag Wednesday -- a video of her walking in NYC in a 🔥fit that screams revenge, with the telling caption ... "know your worth & onto the next."

If ya need an exhibit B, try the fact she no longer follows Glen on social media.

There was already some smoke about a split -- remember, Gigi had recently unfollowed Sydney as well, which many thought meant something was up between Sydney and Glen ... especially seeing how flirty they've been together on and off set of their new movie.

Now, we've been told Sydney is still very much with her fiancé Jonathan Davino -- and there appeared to be proof of that Tuesday when he took her dog for a walk.

Based on Gigi's social media activity ... it doesn't seem like she's buying that.

Her confirmation of the breakup comes a couple days after Glen and Sydney looked really cozy together at an event promoting the rom-com they shot down in Australia -- and it seems like Gigi didn't dig the public flirting, even if it was just to pump up the flick.

Does make ya wonder if Jonathan's, at the very least, thinking the same thing about Sydney and Glen's chemistry.

Gigi and Glen were together for 3 years.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Alex Bowman suffered a fractured vertebra in a horrifying car accident at a sprint car race this week ... and now, he'll be sidelined for up to a month.

The scary incident took place in the opening heat of a race in the High Limit Sprint Car Series in West Burlington, Iowa. Bowman -- in the #55 car -- collided with Conner Morrell after hitting his rear tire -- resulting in both cars flying through the air.

Looking like a scene out of an action movie, both cars suffered significant damage. Somehow, both drivers got out of their vehicles and were able to walk away. But unfortunately for Bowman, he later discovered he had a fractured vertebra.

In a statement released via his Twitter, Bowman said he is feeling okay and is focused on healing and resting to ensure he can return to the race track ASAP.

"Being out of the car is never an update any driver wants to make," Bowman said. "I’ll be doing everything I can at home to help ensure my recovery is as quick as possible to get back in the 48 car soon."

Bowman -- whose first cup series came in 2014 at the Daytona 500 -- has won seven races in the series. He has also raced in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

No word on Conner Morrell's status following the crash ... but being able to walk away from a scary scene like this at least inspires confidence that Morrell will be good in the long run.

Bam Margera is on the run from the police with his girlfriend and her 8-year-old child, and to make matters worse, he's developed an addiction to meth ... at least according to his brother, Jess Margera.

The former "Jackass" star's sibling is making the alarming allegations on Twitter, claiming Bam is in a really bad place right now.

Jess says Bam is traveling by car with his girlfriend and her daughter, and he says he "can't even imagine the environment in that car night now," worrying about the kid's safety and adding ... "she doesn't deserve this unnecessary trauma."

Bam's brother claims he's picked up a meth habit recently and is now "unrecognizable." Jess says he doesn't know what Bam's capable of when he's using meth and says it's been "scary" and "heartbreaking" to see Bam "hallucinating."

TMZ broke the story ... Bam's got a warrant out for his arrest in Pennsylvania, where State Police say Bam got into an altercation with his family and then made a getaway into the woods.

James Brolin is giving the recipe for success in his 25-year-year marriage to the great Barbra Streisand -- getting surprisingly candid about what works ... and what doesn't!

We got the actor -- who's Josh Brolin's dad, and a well-established celeb in his own right -- while he was outside of the ABC Studios in NYC Wednesday ... where he was signing autographs and, apparently, feeling pretty chatty about his personal life.

Our photog asked if he had advice for people on how to keep a good thing going in the relationship department -- and James has an answer ... essentially, it amounts to therapy.

Check out how he describes it for himself ... JB says, sometimes, you need a third party to help break up the log jam a husband and wife might experience. So, in his experience, it makes sense to get somebody in on the conversation ... whether it's a pro or not.

There's a couple other X factors that'll keep a marriage together, according to James -- which amounts to a little give and take in picking your battles ... and shared waterworks.

Drake Bell looks to be in a bad place -- inhaling from a balloon that appears to be filled with nitrous oxide ... a troubling move that comes amid some tumultuous weeks for him.

The former child star was sitting in his car Tuesday outside of his L.A. home sucking on a fully inflated balloon. In one of the photos, you can see a cannister of some sort -- which resembles a typical nitrous oxide container.

Of course, huffing nitrous is a dangerous but popular method of getting high -- a few seconds of euphoria and head rush -- without using hard drugs.

BTW ... this is not Drake's first rodeo with nitrous oxide -- he was pictured doing the exact same thing back in December, and, in that instance his young son was in the car too.

And yes, inhaling nitrous oxide without a medical professional's supervision or guidance is, indeed, bad for one's health.

As we reported ... Drake's clearly been going through it of late. He told Twitter users last week that he was contemplating suicide after the trolling and attacks over his child endangerment conviction in 2021 -- which has led to people labeling him a "pedophile."

On top of that ... his wife filed for divorce just a couple days prior, this after he was reported missing in Florida -- only to pop up on the radar again in what turned out be a false alarm.

We know Drake has been thrust into a child custody battle with his now-estranged wife -- and, apparently, it's gotten so ugly behind the scenes ... he's been sending scary messages to his family that made them worry for his safety and his life.

The guy's had a lot of ups and downs in recent years -- everything from a choppy music career to even more legal issues like a DUI bust and bankruptcy.

As we reported, family members called police a couple weeks ago, because they were so worried about Drake. These images won't ease those concerns.

Gisele Bündchen's new chapter of life has her going all in on philanthropy work -- givin' back in a major way to help battle the growing childhood homeless crisis in Florida.

The supermodel announced Tuesday she'd be gifting a whopping $1 mil to the Miami chapter of Lotus House, the nation's largest women's shelter, which just broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility called The Children's Village.

We're told the new facility's goal is to focus on the needs of the community's youth, and to keep the momentum going on preventing homelessness in the area. Gisele's gift will go toward a new playground as well as more programming within the village.

The 7-figure donation was a no-brainer for Gisele, who said ... "Building a solid community for children is so important, especially for those who are vulnerable and in need."

She's stoked about the playground, too ... adding it'll be extremely beneficial to kids' physical health, social interactions, and overall self-confidence.

Lotus House has been open to those in need since 2006 -- growing from 34 beds to serving more than 10,000 women and children. Today, the facility has more than 80% of its guests successfully exiting... far above the national average.

Disney is escalating its beef with Ron DeSantis ... it's now suing Florida's Governor for what Disney claims is a targeted campaign of retaliation, and one that's hurting the company's bottom line.

The Walt Disney Co. filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against DeSantis, ripping the Republican presidential hopeful as being "patently retaliatory, anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

In the suit, Disney claims DeSantis is waging a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" to punish Disney's political views ... with Disney saying the Governor's actions are now threatening its business, jeopardizing its economic future in Florida and violating its constitutional rights.

Disney says it regrets having to sue DeSantis, but the company says he gave them no choice ... pointing out DeSantis recently talked publicly about wanting to tax the hell out of Disney and build a state prison next to Walt Disney World.

In the suit, Disney says it's being "forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment" ... with Disney claiming DeSantis is orchestrating a retaliation campaign against the company simply because Disney "expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed."

Although the suit references the "government" in several places, Disney is not suing the state of Florida.

Remember ... the beef started when Disney came out in opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which DeSantis has championed. DeSantis then started targeting Disney's special tax district, which has essentially allowed Disney to self-govern in Florida since the 1960s.

Disney says the lawsuit is a response to DeSantis' hand-picked board of supervisors moving to undo a recent development deal Disney struck to strip the board's power over WDW.

Kim Kardashian says she'd be happy to give up reality TV to become a lawyer full time -- 'cause she sees it as just as fulfilling ... if not more so.

The beauty and fashion mogul was being interviewed at the TIME100 Summit Tuesday and talked about her criminal justice reform efforts ... getting into the nitty-gritty of her work to help secure the release of Alice Marie Johnson from prison.

As she was diving into this chapter of her life -- which she says has been eye-opening and life-changing on several fronts -- Kim was asked point blank ... could she ever see herself living a life not in front of the cameras? She answered quickly -- absolutely!

Kim goes on to say she and her extended family have come to cherish the private moments they share off-camera -- so a transition to post-reality TV wouldn't be that difficult.

Plus, it sounds like KK legitimately loves the art of law ... not to mention the idea of helping people in need. They discuss her progress in that regard -- Kim says she's taken and passed the baby bar exam.

Kim says she'll take the real bar exam in February ... so she could be a real-life attorney and actually pursue this new career that she's mulling over here in this chat -- IF she passes.

Kim's passion for law/justice has been well-documented over the past several years -- in addition to trips to D.C. for lobbying efforts, she's continued to speak out and highlight cases where she feels certain people have been wrongly imprisoned, including death row inmates.

It's interesting to hear her say she'd leave TV (and presumably the spotlight that comes with it) behind ... frankly, she's been an entertainment staple for about two decades now.

It'd certainly be the end of an era ... and we might be coming up on it sooner than later.

We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms!

Sydney Sweeney and Jonathan Davino seem to still be going strong despite breakup rumors ... as evidenced by her fiancé's latest outing with Sydney's close childhood companion.

Jonathan spent some QT Tuesday with the actress' dog Tank, taking the pup out for a walk. We gotta say, if Jonathan's worried about Sydney romancing her costar Glen Powell ... he wasn't showing it in his shades and athletic wear. Cool as a cucumber, this guy.

FYI, Tank has been in Sydney's life for years ... she adopted her 4-legged friend when she was a teenager. So, the pooch is definitely hers, and not JD's -- another sign the couple's still together.

It's further confirmation of what we first reported ... Sydney and Jonathan's engagement is still intact.

As you know, Sydney and Jonathan got engaged last year, but recently rumors started to swirl they might have called it quits -- a theory fueled by Sydney and Glen seemingly getting very cozy while filming a rom-com down in Australia.

And even after filming ended ... a vid of Glen and Sydney goofing off together recently went viral.

On top of that, the costars were at CinemaCon this week to promote their new flick, and were looking super into each other. Plus, Glen's GF Gigi Paris unfollowed Sydney on social media.

Our sources are shutting down the idea SS and GP are really an item ... making it clear all the flirting was just to pump up their movie.

Lia Thomas -- the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship -- is firing back at her critics ... saying a lot of them are simply transphobes who are "using the guise of feminism" to hide their true, hateful beliefs.

Thomas opened up about her detractors in a lengthy interview this week with Schuyler Bailar -- the NCAA's first trans swimmer -- and she said it's just not possible to claim to be a feminist but to also not support her when it comes to competing against biological females.

"They're like, 'We respect Lia as a woman, as a trans woman, whatever, we respect her identity, we just don't think it's fair,'" the former collegiate swimmer said on the "Dear Schuyler" podcast.

"You can't really have that sort of half support, where you're like, 'Oh, I respect her as a woman here, but not here.' They're using the guise of feminism to sort of push transphobic beliefs."

Thomas -- who competed against males but switched to female competitions after she started hormone therapy in 2019 -- received backlash following nearly every event that she won over biological women. Her critics argued she had an unfair advantage ... and should be forced to compete in a separate category.

The issue became such a big deal, it sparked legislators to introduce bills in parts of the country to place restrictions on transgender athletes.

Outspoken supporters of those rules -- such as former swim star Riley Gaines and even some of Thomas' ex-teammates at UPenn -- have called themselves feminists who are trying to fight to protect women's sports.

But, during her interview with Bailar, Thomas said she believes that's all just an oxymoron.

"I think a lot of people in that camp sort of carry an implicit bias against trans people," Thomas said, "but don't want to, I guess, fully manifest or speak that out and so they try to play it off as this sort of half support."

Bailar agreed, adding, "In order to exclude anybody in the trans category, you have to reduce women to reproductive capacity, which is, in my opinion, extremely anti-feminist."

"Big Brother" alums Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott were involved in a wild fight outside their Florida bar with a couple of upset patrons ... and the vicious beatdown was caught on video.

The whole thing went down in January outside their Ft. Lauderdale spot, No Man's Land. As for what sparked the violence ... one source tells us the couple walked inside and asked for drinks, but Memphis told them they were closed, and when they refused to leave things got heated.

However, a different source -- who was inside the bar -- tells us the couple wasn't in the establishment, and the fighting all started and ended outside.

Memphis and Christmas' attorney, Brian Karpf, says Memphis was attacked by the guy.

Karpf says Christmas -- who was awaiting surgery for a neck injury -- tried to pull Memphis away but got hit by the other woman. You see a bartender trying to break things up.

Christmas says she called the cops and filed a report because the couple continued to throw things at the windows and wouldn't leave. According to her attorney, she opted to not press charges but got assurance the couple would not return.

Kim Kardashian look-alike and OnlyFans model Christina Ashten Gourkani has died, possibly after a plastic surgery procedure gone wrong.

Christina's death was detailed in a recent GoFundMe made by her family, who say they got a call last week from another family member, frantically screaming that she was dying ... something they say "instantly shattered our world."

They quickly arrived at the hospital where they were told her health went in a steep decline after suffering a cardiac arrest and she didn't make it. Her family says the death's being investigated as a potential homicide -- related to a "medical procedure that took a turn for the worse."

There have been reports that the procedure Christina was undergoing involved plastic surgery ... but the family says they aren't going into more detail at this time.

As for the fundraiser, they're asking people to help reach their $40K goal to go towards Christina's memorial.

For those unaware, the model -- who also went by Ashten G -- didn't just garner a ton of followers on OnlyFans, but also had over 600K on IG at the time of her death ... getting a ton of attention for bearing a striking resemblance to Kim K.

Christina was 34.