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The person who intentionally set off a massive explosion in Nashville has apparently died -- because authorities say they aren't actively searching for anyone who might be directly responsible ... which would be standard operating procedure if they were alive.

Cops and federal official held a news conference Saturday with an update on where things stood after an RV blew up in downtown and caused devastating damage ... and the main takeaway here is that there's no manhunt underway for the culprit, which is telling.

Considering law enforcement came out early and said this appeared intentional means somebody's to blame -- and there's no way in hell cops and agents wouldn't be pounding the pavement if they thought the person who did this might still be walking free.

Tie that with the fact that officials have also said it looks like they've found possible human remains at the scene -- that leads one to believe that the culprit was blown to smithereens.

Here's another thing that makes us think the bomber is a goner ... he was referred to as the "ultimate Scrooge" by the U.S. Attorney there -- that's not the tone one takes when your man is on the run.

Now, cops have said they're pursuing over 500 tips for possible leads about others who might've been involved ... and there's a report there is one person of interest. A raid's going down at a Nashville-area home, where neighbors apparently saw a similar looking RV parked in recent weeks.

There've been no reported arrests ... just a lot of speculation. Cops say there are no more active threats they're aware of either -- which also points to the fact this was probably a successful suicide bombing, and an isolated incident.

The how and why are still unknown -- but law enforcement is scrambling for answers.

The equivalent of a snack bar -- or perhaps even a food truck -- has surfaced in the ancient city of Pompeii ... and by the looks of it, those Romans sure liked their chicken and duck.

Archaeologists publicly unveiled a discovery Saturday in the ruins of the one-time flourishing Italian city -- which was buried under volcanic ash in an historic eruption nearly 2,000 years ago -- and it amounted to a street food vendor set-up that's incredibly well-preserved.

The technical term for it is "termopolium" -- Latin for hot drinks counter -- but it would appear the Romans served more than just beverages out of this thing ... diggers uncovered traces of really old animal parts in the counter wells you see here ... fish, pork, snails, beef and other protein that were apparently dished out to paying customers once upon a time.

Not just that, but check out the fresco paintings on the front and sides of this bygone eatery -- the Romans depicted chickens, mallards, dogs (supposedly as a warning, they say) and even an angel-looking figure. So yeah, they knew how to advertise their goods/services.

Some other related items that archaeologists found ... a bronze drinking bowl, ceramic jars for soups and stews, wine flasks and amphora (a long jar/vase used for transporting a variety of crops and/or food). It just goes to show once more -- the Romans were pretty damn advanced before things came crumbling down, but most of us already knew that.

A Utah football star is dead after accidentally shooting himself.

Ty Jordan, a freshman running back at the University of Utah, died early Saturday ... reportedly the result of an accidental shooting.

Cops responded to a call from someone who reported a gunshot victim. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. Authorities believe the shooting was accidental.

Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said Saturday, "Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, Ty Jordan. Ty's personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us." The Coach adds ... "All of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace."

Jordan was the 2020 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman Player of the Year, after rushing for 597 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns.

The 2020 Pac-12 Offensive Freshman Player of the Year allegedly died overnight in an ‘accidental shooting’ while in Texas.

Jordan was 19.

RIP

Ace Hood -- one of DJ Khaled's former artists -- was given an awesome Christmas gift to celebrate his success since going fully independent ... and it comes courtesy of his wife, who's got the perfect way to explain it.

The Florida-based rapper was greeted with custom commemorative plaques from his wife, Shelah Marie, on Christmas Day ... which she documented from her camera. She had them made special for him, as they account for the millions of streams he's racked up since leaving the grasp of Universal Music Group and all its subsidiaries (including We the Best).

Shelah writes, "When @acehood was last on a major recording label they were excellent about celebrating wins. Ace has so many plaques in the house from that era. Since Ace went independent, he hasn’t received any plaques for his projects. Ace is too damn talented not to have his flowers while he can smell them."

She goes on to explain that the plaques honor his first two independent projects -- 'Trust the Process' and 'Trust the Process II: Undefeated' -- while adding, "because in this house we don’t wait on the validation we want — we give it ourselves. I love you @acehood."

You can tell how much it meant to Ace ... he was damn near tearing up as he unpacked the sweet gift. It's also symbolic of how tough independent artists have it if they're not part of the massive machine that is a major record label. Not only do you not get formally recognized anymore ... but most albums ya might put out afterward get dubbed "mixtapes."

This kid needs driver's ed, stat. And, while he's at it, a conscience would also be helpful.

The teenager was driving his mom's car and, apparently, sideswiped a car in what looks like a mall parking lot ... we think it's in Alabama.

The kid drives away after being asked for insurance info, then crashes into another car before exiting and jogging off.

The kid tells the lady whose car he struck, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. It's my mom's car." For the record, not meaning to hit another car is still negligence.

Well, the law requires the kid to exchange info with the other driver. But, when she asks for his insurance card and says she's calling the cops, he gets in his Honda SUV and flees, but not for long. The kid then annihilates a pickup truck.

Donald Trump has too many grievances to count ... the latest being his anger that Melania has not graced a single magazine cover in the 4 years he's been President, and he thinks he knows why.

Trump tweeted his outrage that, as he called her, "the most elegant First Lady" has been blackballed from mag covers by "elite snobs," and without directly saying it, it seems he might be zeroing in on Anna Wintour.

Melania was on the cover of Vogue in 2005, shortly after her marriage to Trump, but that was it.

Michelle Obama, by contrast, was on the cover of Vogue 3 times during her tenure in the White House. The last cover was in November 2016 ... after Trump's victory. As you know, the Obamas popularity drives Trump insane, so no surprise here.

Melania was actually on one cover that we know of ... the February 2017 issue of Vanity Fair Mexico.

Wintour is not a Trump fan, for sure. She's been public about her political preferences, which include Kamala Harris, whom she profiled in April 2018.

It's good to know ... Canadians are now as crazy as us folks in the U.S. of A.

A group protesting the COVID vaccines dressed like zombies, kinda ... they had white masks, white hazmat suits ... the works, as they proselytized at the Fairview Mall in Toronto.

With an assist from a loudspeaker, they screamed, “Everyone loves the pharmaceutical companies” ... "Obedience is love ... questioning vaccines is murder ...  you are not essential. Big business is essential. The government is essential. The government is life. ...  questioning masks is murder ... thinking for yourself endangers the common good.”

It was peaceful, as zombies tend to be sometimes. At the end of the protest, for unsafe measure, they hugged and screamed, "Good job, everybody!"

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are joined at the hand ... having a super romantic holiday in Barbados.

RiRi and A$AP took a Catamaran cruise in Rihanna's homeland, partying with friends on Xmas Eve.

It's unclear how long they've been together, but they already started wearing matching outfits -- a cautionary tale for sure -- but they look like they're very much into each other.

As we reported, they've been seen a lot together, especially this month and last, in both Barbados and New York City.

The 2 have history -- A$AP opened for Rihanna during her Diamonds World Tour back in 2013. Rumors of them hooking up started almost immediately after Rihanna broke up with her BF of 3 years, Hassan Jameel.

It took 10 days -- TEN DAYS -- but finally, the United Airlines passenger who hovered over a dying, COVID-infected man for 45 minutes administering CPR has been contacted that he was exposed to the virus.

Tony Aldapa tells TMZ, he got a call late Thursday from the L.A. County Dept. of Public Health ... informing him what we've been telling and showing for a week -- that the passenger he was trying to save had the virus and died shortly after the plane made an emergency landing.

It's a scary case of buck-passing. Despite the fact the COVID-positive man had lost his sense of taste and smell and had trouble breathing -- something his wife blurted out during the in-flight emergency -- United did not notify any of the passengers they might have been exposed.

A United spokesperson told us it wasn't their job to notify passengers. Instead, the airline gave its flight manifest to the CDC, telling us that agency would contact passengers.

Then the CDC told us they were passing the information along to local health officials. Finally, 10 days after exposure ... Tony was notified.

Tony, an EMT, had some COVID-like symptoms but tested negative and is feeling better.

Tekashi 6ix9ine spent another Christmas without his daughter ... and this time he can't blame it on being locked up, his baby mama says it was all his fault.

Sara Molina, Tekashi's baby mama, tells TMZ ... she chose not to allow Tekashi to see their child this Christmas because he's been completely out of the picture, despite promising to get back in 5-year-old Saraiyah's life.

6ix9ine's baby mama says he told her back in August he wanted to create a genuine relationship with Saraiyah and was going to be more involved and present ... but Sara says it never happened.

Sara claims Tekashi told her he would support her financially and help with their daughter's expenses ... but she says it turned out to be an empty promise.

69's baby mama even says she gave him an "open door" policy where he could come see Saraiyah whenever and wherever he wanted ... but even that didn't pan out. Sara says early September was the last time Tekashi sent any money or saw his daughter.

What's more, Sara claims Tekashi missed his daughter's 5th birthday back in October, and she says he didn't send a present or even place a phone call. Sara says it was really offensive ... she felt it was the one day he could have really redeemed himself.

It's kinda sad ... Sara says her daughter wasn't even fazed by 6ix9ine's absence on her birthday, and she says the kid recently began referring to Tekashi as a "friend" ... even though the girl knows he's the father.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Lil Nas X have you starting to see double ... there are some key differences here between these photos and it is up to you to find out where they are!

The Grammy award-winning artist was recently seen picking up some festive goods from the store ... And we have made a few changes to the pic! Take a really good look around both of these photos, and see if you can point out what is so different between the two super similar snaps!

United Airlines has not contacted passengers on the flight where a COVID patient died, nor has the CDC and it's been nearly 2 weeks. And, how 'bout the cop who had sex on the Universal lot in front of the Bates Motel?! So, we gotta ask ...

NFL star Josh Norman says he expects to split $500k worth of donations ... and give it to hundreds of small businesses in Buffalo who have been devastated by COVID-19.

TMZ Sports talked to the 33-year-old star CB about the fundraiser he created to assist small businesses that have been decimated by the shutdowns associated with the pandemic.

Josh has donated $25k of his own money -- and countless hours of his time organizing the fundraising -- and says he's already received hundreds of applications.

"With Buffalo Business Blitz, what we're doing with that was pretty much helping out small businesses that closed down during the holiday season, during the pandemic time," Norman tells us.

So, in about 3 weeks, how many businesses have asked Josh for help?

"About 650 applications. It's crazy, but the thing is, a lot of people need help. A lot of people are struggling right now and it's pretty sad."

Of course, small businesses across the country have been badly affected by COVID-19 lockdowns ... and many are on the verge of going out of business.

Every dollar matters and Norman says BBB already has a healthy chunk of change in the coffers ... but believes there's a lot more on the way -- courtesy of some larger corporate donors across the country.

"Right now, we're probably at like $80 grand but that's just accounted into the box. There's other things that are coming on -- couple hundred thousand dollars, so we'll probably be at half a mil, probably a little more than that. Depends on if the donors come through."

Come January 1st, Josh will comb through the applications and select hundreds of businesses -- as many as the donations will allow -- and mail out checks.

Socks, gift cards, a knit sweater and even one of those fruitcakes are all some of the classic holiday presents people found under the tree yesterday, but these stars are all celebrating with a special gift this year ... the gift of life!

This year has been filled with new babies in the celeb world and stars like Lea Michele, Gigi Hadid, Evan Ross -- and a bunch more Hollywood parents -- have shared their new beautiful babies with the world via social media.

A vile woman whose son was being taken into custody did everything she could to make a simple arrest turn violent, as she ordered her son to escape the cops and then hurled obscenities at the officers.

This all went down in Valencia, about 35 miles north of L.A., where Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Deputies were searching for a stolen Tesla in the area -- and happened upon another stolen vehicle ... a Chevy Camaro.

Cops descended on a cul-de-sac with guns drawn, ordering the driver out of the Camaro.  He was taken into custody, but then cops set their sights on a passenger -- the woman's son.

She comes out of the house with her daughter and then gets crazy ... telling her son to come in the house, defying the cops. Remember, police had their guns drawn.

Her kid mouthes off to the cops, swearing at them ... "I see the bitch in all of your f***ing eyes." He then orders cops to unload their guns ... seriously.

His mother then totally loses it ... hurling epithets at the cops. They tried explaining to her they were investigating a crime, and she fired back ... "I don't give a s*** about your f***ing investigation."

She then orders the cops to "get the f*** out of here." When they approach her she screams, "Get the f*** out of my f***ing face." Oh, there's more ... "F*** you and your f***ing mother who birthed your f***ing ass."

BTW ... the woman recklessly let her dog out without a leash in the middle of all of this, and it sure looks like a pit bull.  It walked up to the officers, and she's lucky the dog wasn't shot.

Incredibly ... the mother, who gives Karens a bad name, was not arrested. Her son was arrested on weapons charges.