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Chucky abducted his son and is on the run while wielding a huge kitchen knife ... is what some Texans were led to believe after a faulty Amber Alert was released.

The Texas Department of Safety accidentally sent out the alert Friday morning ... featuring the "Child's Play" horror series character and his "Seed of Chucky" son, Glen Ray.

The Amber Alert blared this out ...  the "Abducted Child" Glen -- all 2'3" of him -- was last seen Thursday morning in Henderson ... and the 28-year-old "Suspect" Chucky was wearing blue denim overalls and was carrying a knife.

Clearly ... it was just a horrific mistake.

The Texas DPS tells TMZ ... "This alert is a result of a test malfunction. We apologize for the confusion this may have caused and are diligently working to ensure this does not happen again."

A judge is showing no mercy for a Michigan man who appears in new video of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, to strike several cops with a hockey stick.

The federal government released the footage it says shows Michael Foy assaulting the officers -- including a Metro PD cop on the ground -- by violently swinging the stick near their heads.

According to the feds ... Foy was one of the "most violent" rioters, and allegedly hit police officers guarding the doors at least 10 times with the hockey stick, swung at them, hit them in the face and neck, then rallied other rioters before busting into the Capitol.

A federal judge denied Foy bond this week ... so, for now, he'll remain behind bars until trial.

Foy -- a former marine -- was arrested on Jan. 21 at his home, after the FBI reportedly tracked him down through his father's Facebook page. The bond hearing judge said the video strongly suggested Foy brought the hockey stick to use as a weapon.

50 Cent says there's one guy he'd love to punch in the face -- Floyd Mayweather -- but he doesn't think Floyd would ever agree to throw down.

Everyone knows the backstory ... 50 and Floyd used to be super tight -- but they've had SEVERAL falling outs over the years and it seems like the relationship is still fractured.

So, when 50 appeared on V-103's "The Morning Culture" show Friday and was asked who he'd like to square off against in a celebrity boxing match, it wasn't too shocking when the rapper dropped Floyd's name.

"I'd fight Floyd," 50 Cent said ... adding, "I don't think I can make weight though."

50 pointed out Floyd usually fights around 150 lbs -- and the 45-year-old rapper says there's just no way he can slim down to match Floyd's weight.

50 claims the last time he dropped to 150, "I looked like a homeless person."

Instead, 50 says he thinks he could fight at 180 lbs ... which is closer in weight to Floyd's next opponent, Logan Paul, who fights around 190 lbs.

Let's get serious ... everyone would watch Floyd vs. 50 -- especially since 50 has real boxing training under his belt and reportedly stays in solid shape.

Remember, the two used to be super tight -- 50 famously walked Floyd to ring when he fought Oscar De La Hoya back in the day.

But, they've since beefed about everything from Floyd's reading skills to 50's financial situation ... and the hatchet appears to be far from buried.

Wendy Williams is beaming about Lifetime's movie and documentary covering her life and career, and not only because they're helping her get revenge on her ex-husband.

The talk show host joined "TMZ Live" Friday and in true Wendy fashion was not afraid to throw equal amounts of shade -- for Kevin Hunter -- and praise ... for the cast of her biopic.

Wendy tells us she developed a friendship with Ciera Payton -- the actress playing her in "Wendy Williams: The Movie" -- and says she really put her all into the role. Same goes for Morocco Omari -- who Wendy says she hand-picked to play Kevin.

As you know ... Kevin and Wendy were together for more than 20 years, have a son together and worked together, but things ended very bitterly. Actually, as she explained, it was bitter long before the end.

"Wendy Williams: The Movie" and the companion documentary, "Wendy Williams: What a Mess!" premiere Saturday night on Lifetime -- and yes ... she'll be watching.

Taylor Bracey, the FL high school student a deputy hurled onto concrete, is suffering serious medical consequences ... according to her mother and her family's attorney, Ben Crump.

Jamesha Bracey -- mom of 16-year-old Taylor -- and Crump joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" and told us Taylor's been suffering severe headaches and memory loss since the violent incident at Liberty High School in Osceola County.

Jamesha explained why she was so shocked to get a phone call Tuesday from the school saying Taylor was getting medical treatment. She says her daughter had told her some girls wanted to fight, but she had advised her to contact the Dean, and thought everything was handled.

As we've reported ... deputy Ethan Fournier is the school resource officer, seen in the video slamming Taylor on her head. The Sheriff's Office claims Fournier was breaking up a fight, but Jamesha says there was no physical fight at all -- and the students were only arguing.

Crump, who's been retained by Taylor's family, says the teen is now dealing with cognitive function issues as a result of the body slam ... and doesn't remember much after the deputy grabbed her from behind.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is under fire again, and this time from other members of Congress ... Rep. Cori Bush claims a maskless Greene berated her in a Capitol hallway.

The newly-elected Congresswoman from Missouri sounds shaken by the alleged incident ... she says she's moving her office on Capitol Hill as far away from Greene's as possible.

Rep. Bush says Greene wasn't alone during the incident ... she had backup from her staff. She also points out Greene had already targeted her and others on social media.

As we've reported ... Greene, the freshman Congresswoman from Georgia, is getting heat for old Facebook activity suggesting she was cool with executing Democrats like Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. MTG says it's just "fake news."

Rep. Bush doesn't want to just move her office away from Greene's ... she says she wants MTG booted from Congress for inciting the insurrection.

Cops say a fan in Cleveland heckled LeBron James so aggressively during the Cavs vs. Lakers game Monday night ... they were forced to boot him from the arena in an intense confrontation.

According to a police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops claim 49-year-old Joseph Bilgen was holding up offensive shirts and screaming profanity at LeBron and others during the big game.

Of course, with LeBron returning to his home state and playing the Cavs ... emotions were high -- and according to the report, several Cleveland players and employees, including GM Koby Altman, reported the fan to security.

Cops say they were informed the guy had held up shirts with offensive writing on them ... including, "Lebron is a racist," "La B**w J*b," and "Lebron is a narcissist."

Officers say when they confronted Bilgen about the inappropriate shirts and actions ... he became so combative -- security told officers he would have to be removed from the arena.

Bilgen, though, did not go quietly according to the report ... an officer says the man told him to "go f*** yourself" repeatedly, and at one point, even put his hands on the cop.

The report states as Bilgen was leaving, he then held up a shirt that read, "Gloria Goes West. Starring LBJ as king narcissist."

In the report, officers say that when a female security guard took the shirt from him, Bilgen grabbed her arms and struck her in her left side.

Officers say they were eventually able to boot Bilgen from the arena after several more minutes of struggling near the exits. Bilgen, according to Cleveland.com, was NOT arrested.

No charges have been filed against Bilgen, either, per Cleveland.com.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's in hot water following a report claiming his administration severely undercounted COVID-related deaths in nursing homes ... but he's not backing down.

Cuomo says he understands the pain and instinct to place blame, but Friday he adamantly defended his state's Department of Health ... claiming everyone has been doing the best they can do.

He also repeated his belief that the nursing home death count issue is a political attack started by President Trump's HHS. Cuomo claims his state health dept. was following federal guidelines ... and the whole issue's become a "political football."

As for the actual death count discrepancy ... both Cuomo and his health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, claim they've been transparent about how nursing home deaths were only counted if they were in-facility, and that there were additional deaths at hospitals.

Cuomo added ... the COVID-related deaths of seniors are a tragedy, regardless of where they occurred -- hospital or nursing home -- but he's not accepting blame for any alleged coverup or undercounting.

The governor's reputation took a blow Thursday when a report from the New York State Attorney General, Letitia James, suggested state nursing home deaths due to the virus were thousands higher than reported.

The Health Department later increased the public death tally of nursing home residents by 3,800 ... putting the new total at 12,743, about a 40 percent increase.

Jon Stewart's so pissed about the Robinhood controversy, he's doing something he's never done before ... all to stand up for the little guy against Wall Street big wigs.

The comedian and host fired off his very first tweet Thursday night to say "This is bulls**t" that Robinhood blocked the Reddit investor group in the GameStop-Wall Street beef.

Stewart joined Twitter -- @jon_actual -- specifically to share his take on the hottest story in the country ... saying the subReddit WallStreetBets isn't cheating at all. As Jon put it, "They're joining a party Wall Street insiders have been enjoying for years."

As you've heard, the trading app Robinhood blocked investors Thursday from buying stocks in failing companies like GameStop, AMC, Nokia and BlackBerry ... after investments from WallStreetBets helped them surge astronomically.

Robinhood was immediately blasted for the move, which was seen as protecting Wall Street's established hedge fund managers and screwing everyday folks. Friday morning, it reopened "limited buys" and of course ... GameStop stock is surging again.

Jon made it clear the Redditors are simply beating Wall Street at its own game. He said, "Don't shut them down ... maybe sue them for copyright infringement instead!!!"

You can tell fans have missed the ex "Daily Show" host -- he's already got over 700k followers -- and he promised, "to only use this app in a sporadic and ineffective manner."

GameStop's wild stock market ride is all the rage in the investment world, but to employees at the brick-and-mortar stores ... it's had little impact on their workday, unless they happen to work in Cleveland.

TMZ reached out to GameStop locations in 20 major U.S. cities to see if they've seen an increase in customers due to the frenzy caused by the WallStreetBets group on Reddit.

Sixteen stores -- including those in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Nashville, Portland, Phoenix, Seattle, San Fran and San Diego -- said it was status quo as far as customers.

One thing hedge fund managers, and even WallStreetBets founder Jaime Rogozinski, agree on is GameStop's future isn't bright. Hell, 3 stores -- in Miami, Philly and NYC -- told us biz has been slower than usual. Miami had a whopping 8 customers Thursday.

However, Cleveland is the exception, where they say sales are up 100% compared to last week. We're told several customers at that branch credited the stock surge story for inspiring them to visit and support GameStop ... so it doesn't go under.

On the flip side ... the manager of a Minneapolis location tells us he got an angry call from someone upset they couldn't trade GameStop shares on Robinhood.

As we've reported ... the stock-buying frenzy of GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry and a handful of other companies resulted in Robinhood shutting down trading for them, which pissed off retail investors who believe the move only benefits hedge funds.

Brian Williams put his dry-wit on full display to troll House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's meeting with Donald Trump -- and viewers never saw it coming.

The longtime anchor teed up the gag by earnestly telling his guests -- Baratunde Thurston and Bill Kristol -- that he'd obtained exclusive video of the highly criticized Thursday meeting between Rep. McCarthy and Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

What he ended up rolling, though ... was an iconic clip from the Oscar-nominated film, "Jerry Maguire."

The clip alone would've been funny, given the context, but Williams -- who clearly has late-night talk aspirations -- continued to sell the joke with his deadpan style ... claiming he thought it was going to be a vid of the meeting, and "someone’s gonna be, of course, in big trouble."

Trouble is a good word to describe how many anti-Trump folks feel about the Mar-a-Lago meeting between the former President and the House Minority Leader.

McCarthy's taking heat because 2 weeks ago he criticized Trump for inciting the Capitol riots, but now appears eager to work with him -- a sign Trump still has major power with the GOP.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns says he was hit by a drunk driver in Los Angeles before the 2020-21 NBA season ... and he was hospitalized.

The 25-year-old went public about the incident Thursday night during a social media Q&A with fans ... when he was asked how he's stayed strong after overcoming so much over the past few years.

Of course, KAT has been through a lot ... especially when it comes to COVID. He lost his mother to the virus back in April -- and several other family members have died since.

Also, KAT tested positive for COVID earlier this month -- but seems to be doing okay.

Towns gave a ton of credit to his girlfriend Jordyn Woods -- saying she's been there for him through it all ... including a car accident nobody knew about.

"My woman has held me down more than the world knows," Karl-Anthony said ... "From my mother and family members dying (1 on her bday in Cabo), getting hit by a drunk driver (was 2pm in the afternoon FYI) in LA this off-season and staying with me in the hospital for the night and helping me in rehab."

He also credited Jordyn for helping him through his current stint with COVID.

"My love for her knows no bounds and I would be remiss if I don't acknowledge the power a good woman can have in your life."

Just weeks before the country went into lockdown because of COVID, the cast of "Little Women: Atlanta" got in one last hurrah, which left a cast member bloodied and slashed.

The brawl went down in February of last year at Nouveau Bar & Grille. The initial fight pitted Amanda and Andrea against Abira. Ms. Juicy initially tried to act as peacemaker, but that went to hell quickly.

Unclear what started this and, for that matter, most fights on the show. Someone spit on someone and that was pretty much all she wrote. Glasses started flying, conking Juicy on the noggin, and leaving a big gash and a bloody mess. She ended up taking a trip to the ER where she got a CAT scan and stitches.

As we first reported ... Abria started clowning the twins over their plan to get in the rap game. As true 'Little Women' fans know ... they've been at each other's throats for some time ... but things really took a turn for the worse during their hangout that night.

Ja Rule is going nuclear on Robinhood for shutting down retail investors in the GameStop stock craze ... and he thinks the free-trading app revealed its true colors.

The rapper, and apparent day trader, tells TMZ ... Robinhood made a big mistake when it blocked customers from buying more stock in companies like GameStop, AMC and BlackBerry -- and as a result, he's having second thoughts about sticking with the service.

The way Ja sees it ... Robinhood rigged the system against everyday folks who were taking on Wall Street's establishment and winning, so it's time for retail investors to take their trades elsewhere.

While Ja's steaming about the Robinhood setback, he might want to take some stock advice from Jordan Belfort, who's suggesting a different way for normies to win in the market.

As we reported ... Robinhood says it will allow trading Friday for GameStop and all the other securities it blocked Thursday, but only for "limited buys" as it continues to monitor the situation.

But, listening to Ja go off, it sounds like Robinhood won't be able to mend fences that easily.

Brandon Marshall has the solution to all of Deshaun Watson's woes with the Texans -- telling TMZ Sports EVERYTHING can be resolved by forcing a trade to New York!!!

"The New York Jets are the perfect landing spot for Deshaun Watson," the ex-NFL star receiver says.

As for why ... Marshall -- who played two years of his NFL career with NYJ -- says it's simple, the team can offer him anything he wants.

"The salary cap, we got around $68, $69 million available," Marshall says. "Who do you want?!"

The 36-year-old -- STAR on HBO's "Inside the NFL" show and founder of House of Athlete -- says the Jets would be willing to buy any free agent, including former Bears star Allen Robinson, to make it all work out.

In fact, Marshall says NY brass would even give him some say on who the team should draft!!

"He's going to turn this thing around," Marshall says. "And, we've been waiting for someone like him to lead the way."

Of course, the Texans would have to be amenable to jettisoning Watson first ... but all indications are pointing toward Watson holding out if he isn't traded.

So, DW to NY?!

By the way, Marshall has some really cool stuff going on this offseason besides recruiting for the Jets.

With the cancellation of the NFL's annual combine (thanks, COVID), Brandon says he's holding his own showcase down in Florida to help athletes and teams alike prepare for the NFL draft.

Before this shaggy-haired sweetheart was entertaining audiences with his Southern charm on the big screen, he was just another bike riding runt growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas.

This cute kid scored his big break when he struck lightening with a sweet role in a romantic comedy set in the South. He wooed audiences across the country ... along with his co-star in the film, Reese Witherspoon.

Now, he most recently made an appearance in a 2019 Oscar-nominated racing film and secured his spot as a reoccurring character in an Neo-Western drama series.