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UCLA star Johnny Juzang has made himself a WHOLE LOT of money over the past 2 weeks ... so says Kenny Smith, who tells TMZ Sports the hooper is now a surefire 1st-round NBA draft pick!

Juzang has been a BEAST for the Bruins in their march from the First 4 to the Final 4 in this year's NCAA Tournament ... he's scored 20 or more points in 3 of UCLA's 5 games so far.

And, when we asked The Jet about the kid out at LAX on Wednesday ... he gushed over the former Kentucky transfer -- saying his stock has skyrocketed after UCLA beat Michigan on Tuesday.

"This puts him -- this year, next year -- in the first round," Smith said of Juzang's tourney performances. "And, high in the first-round possibly. For sure."

Smith also said Juzang's accomplishments will help UCLA for years to come.

The NBA on TNT analyst said the Bruins' run to a potential national championship should help the Bruins' recruiting tremendously ... telling us they've got a way better shot of keeping all the California 5-stars in California now.

"UCLA basketball is back," Smith says.

As for what's next for Juzang and UCLA ... they've got Gonzaga -- the best team on earth right now -- on Saturday night.

Before this giggling guy was the big man of the rapping world, he was just another smiling sweetie growing up in Detroit, Michigan.

This bibbed baby got his start breaking into the music industry when he was signed to Kanye West's record label, G.O.O.D. Music ... which stands for Getting Out Our Dreams. His career goals kept climbing as his hit songs rose in the charts, he found a way to bounce back from any lows he faced.

Now, with numerous accolades, he has also been featured in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty fashion show.

Two people died in Mexico when a plane being used for a gender-reveal stunt crashed into the sea, as the parents-to-be and guests cheered for the big moment ... that never came.

The deadly crash happened this week off the coast of Cancun, where expecting parents hired a plane to fly a banner announcing they were having a baby girl.

As you can see, the plane is doing a series of stunts over the water before it takes a nosedive straight down, disappearing into the water with a huge splash.

You can hear the family watching the flyover from a boat screaming in horror as the plane crashes and sinks.

There were 4 people on board the aircraft, and 2 of them died ... according to local reports. One person died before rescuers could reach the victims, and another died while receiving first aid.

The North Carolina cop seen on video hanging and choking a K-9 with its leash is off the force ... he just resigned after an investigation determined he should be fired.

The Salisbury Police Department says an independent investigation found officer James Hampton engaged in "inappropriate discipline" of the police dog, Zuul ... in full violation of department policies.

SPD says while Hampton was recommended to be fired, he was allowed a due process hearing ... and before he could be canned, he tendered his resignation, effective immediately.

As we reported ... Hampton came under fire earlier this month when video surfaced showing him manhandling the crap out of the police dog he was supposed to be training.

PETA got involved too ... with demonstrators protesting outside Salisbury PD HQ and demanding justice for the K-9. BTW, Zuul was ok, at least physically, after the brutal encounter.

The investigators tasked with finding the cause of the Tiger Woods crash have determined the cause of the accident -- but they're not releasing the results, citing "privacy issues."

L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva confirmed Wednesday the investigation into Woods stemming from the Feb. 23 crash has wrapped up -- but when pressed on the findings, he told the media he won't go public with the findings until he gets permission from Tiger's camp.

"A cause has been determined, the investigation has concluded," Villanueva said.

"We have reached out to Tiger Woods and his personnel ... There's some privacy issues on releasing information on the investigation so we're going to ask them if they waive the privacy and then we will be able to do a full release on all the information regarding the accident."

Villanueva did not expand on why he would need Tiger's permission to release the info.

As we previously reported ... the investigation had unearthed some troubling evidence after law enforcement sources told us they believed Tiger never hit the brakes as he spun off the road. We were also told there was no evidence he took his foot off the gas either.

We were told investigators believed Tiger did nothing to prevent the crash once he lost control of his expensive SUV rental. Our sources had said before Tiger got to the scene of the crash he had been driving "normal" and not speeding. Evidence indicated he accelerated and was speeding when he lost control.

As we reported, the Sheriff's Dept. said Tiger told one of the first responders he had no recollection of the accident. Even still ... the Sheriff said almost immediately after the crash there was no evidence of impaired driving nor any evidence of alcohol. That being said ... the Sheriff also never attempted to get a warrant to draw blood to test for medications and was adamant Tiger wouldn't face criminal charges for the crash.

Tiger, of course, suffered major injuries in the single-car crash -- like major damage to his right leg, comminuted open fractures to both his upper and lower tibia and fibula -- which required emergency surgery.

YouTube stars Alan and Alex Stokes are gonna dodge jail time for faking, and recording, a series of bank robberies in SoCal ... now that they've both entered guilty pleas.

The twin brothers pled Wednesday to false imprisonment and reporting false emergencies, both misdemeanors, in their fake bank robberies case. In exchange for the guilty plea, the Orange County judge reduced their original felony false imprisonment charges to a misdemeanor.

The 24-year-old twins, who had been facing a maximum of 5 years in jail if convicted, were each sentenced to one year probation and 160 hours of community service.

As we reported ... the YouTube stars were charged in August for staging the 2019 heists in Irvine, CA in order to produce a prank vid for their YouTube channel. One of the pranks led to cops holding an unsuspecting Uber driver at gunpoint.

A witness who watched George Floyd die in the street was left sobbing on the stand after having to relive the nightmare moment again in court.

Charles McMillian broke down while giving testimony Wednesday about the events he says he witnessed on May 25, 2020 ... as one of the early bystanders who watched Chauvin pin George down just feet away while standing on a curb.

As prosecutors played back body cam video from one of the officers on top of George -- as he shouted out repeatedly he couldn't breathe and calling for his mother -- McMillian started bawling ... which prompted the court to recess as he collected himself.

The prosecution asked what he was feeling right then watching it anew, and McMillian gave a telling response ... saying he felt helpless and sympathized with George's call for his mom. It was pretty heartbreaking to watch ... and made for a compelling moment in the trial, which is on its third day.

Like we said, McMillian was one of the first civilians on the scene as police began to struggle with George while trying to get him into their squad car. He told George before the man was laid down on his stomach that he should stop fighting, and that he couldn't win.

Also in court Wednesday, surveillance footage from inside the Cup Foods store was played showing the minutes leading up to Floyd's death. Floyd can be seen using the alleged fake $20 bill at the root of police being called.

In other video played during his testimony, you can hear McMillian talk directly to Chauvin at the time ... whom he called a "maggot" as the police finally dispersed. McMillian confirmed the "maggot" remark to prosecutors ... and was excused without cross-examination.

The guy cops say was caught on camera viciously beating an elderly Asian woman to the ground and kicking her in the head has been arrested ... and he's facing several hate crime and assault charges.

According to law enforcement ... cops arrested 38-year-old Brandon Elliot shortly after midnight Wednesday, and he's been booked on 2 counts of assault as a hate crime.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... during questioning Elliot identified himself as the man in the still image police released. We're told he repeatedly asked investigators if he was being questioned for an assault or a homicide, because he didn't know if the victim had died.

He's also been charged with attempted assault as a hate crime, assault and attempted assault for Monday's vicious attack in Midtown Manhattan on the 65-year-old woman who was walking to church.

According to police, Elliot was ID'd and investigators determined where he lived thanks to multiple tips to the NYPD CrimeStoppers Unit. Turns out he has a serious record ... we're told Elliot's already on lifetime parole for the 2002 murder of his mother. He was released in November 2019.

As we reported ... the attack on the woman was witnessed by building staff members nearby, who can be seen on video failing to help her. Cops say the attacker made anti-Asian statements like "F*** you, you don't belong here," and then left the scene like nothing happened.

We're told the victim suffered a broken pelvis and head and leg injuries.

The workers who did nothing to help her were suspended, according to the company that manages the building, while an investigation into their conduct is underway.

Ice Cube is about to melt -- the dude is heated because he says Robinhood used his face to plug their services without his permission ... so now he's taking them to court over it.

The rapper just filed suit against the financial services company -- which a lot of people use to buy and trade stocks -- for allegedly using a photo of him in an ad featured in their news service, Robinhood Snacks, just this past month.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Cube claims Robinhood took an image of him from another project he'd worked on ... and slapped it into a newsletter update talking about stock/market corrections -- and captioned it with a riff on a famous lyric from one of his songs.

The quote ... "Correct yourself, before you wreck yourself" -- which is obviously a play on his famous track "Check Yo Self." Cube says that by the company inserting his image and likeness into their Snacks service, they falsely associated him with their brand ... making it seem like he endorses them, which he makes more than clear here -- he does NOT.

Cube goes so far as to say Robinhood is the "antithesis of everything that Ice Cube stands for" and refers to their products and services as "horrible." He goes on to claim Robinhood has a habit of doing this ... namely, linking celebs and other rappers -- like Jay-Z and Nas -- to endorse its products and services ... but Cube makes it clear he wants no part of that.

IC's also got a theory on why he believes Robinhood roped him in here -- he says his biz partner, Jeff Kwatinetz, has been railing on the company (both in public and in his own lawsuit against them) ... and suggests this is Robinhood's way of sticking it to both of 'em.

Claudia Conway's been hospitalized and thinks she might have appendicitis, but don't cry her a river ... 'cause she's dancing the pain away.

Kellyanne Conway's 16-year-old daughter revealed she's in the hospital by doing what she does ... posting it on TikTok. In the video, she's dancing from her hospital bed and flexing while attached to an IV. Not sure her doctors, or parents, would recommend that, but Claudia's gonna be Claudia.

She captioned the video, "Let’s hope that my appendix isn’t about to burst." She put the text, "drip too hard? yall rocking w/ IVs?" over the video ... a reference to Lil Baby and Gunna's track "Drip Too Hard." Yeah, she's a natural TikToker.

Claudia's status at the moment is unclear but based on her moves things may turn out OK.

The hospital trip comes a little over a week after Claudia was axed from "American Idol." Katy Perry applauded her, though, for taking control of her life, and invited her to audition again next year.

Schoolchildren across America are being scarred for life because of gun violence, but there are ways to fix the problem ... so says author John Woodrow Cox.

John hopped on "TMZ Live" Wednesday for a sobering conversation about the impact of guns on our nation's youth ... something he's as passionate about as he is knowledgeable.

John's new book -- "Children Under Fire: An American Crisis" -- chronicles the scope of the problem. For example, 4 million students were impacted by school lockdowns in one year, and these are not drills ... they're actually incidents involving guns on campus.

John says these lockdowns can really mess with kids' heads ... with many thinking they were going to die. He says he's poured over tons of text messages by children to their parents saying goodbye because they thought they were living their final moments.

While mass shootings subsided during coronavirus lockdowns, John points out there were two -- one in Colorado and another in Georgia -- as soon as restrictions were relaxed.

Hailey Bieber is learning how to unplug from social media, while silencing online trolls at the same time ... a process she says her hubby, Justin, is guiding her through.

Hailey was talking to Dr. Jessica Clemons -- a world-renowned psychiatrist -- about mental health and social media when she dished on how she navigates Instagram, Twitter and other apps these days ... while also processing vile comments from complete strangers.

For starters, Mrs. Bieber explained how she's actually come to limit her Instagram use ... swearing it off Monday through Friday and only hopping in on weekends. That's apparently helped drown out a lot of noise ... and so has completely nixing Twitter from her rotation.

Check it out ... she describes it as very toxic, and is realizing what a lot of users have about the bird platform in 2021.

There's more Hailey does to filter out unnecessary negativity on IG -- she explains how she limits her comments to just people she follows, from whom she knows she won't get any out-of-pocket/mean-spirited remarks just 'cause. She also says good old-fashioned therapy has helped her deal with relentless bullying.

Hailey also heaped praise on Justin for giving her great advice and much-needed perspective on how to look at these sorts of things ... seeing how he's been through this on the biggest stage.

The Cleveland Indians will NOT allow fans to wear headdresses or mimic Native American facepaint at Progressive Field this season ... the team officially banned it all Wednesday.

The club -- which is reopening its doors to fans at games in 2021 -- says it's all part of a team effort to eliminate cultural appropriation at its stadium.

In the announcement, Indians officials said violations of the new rules could result in ejection or a straight-up denial of entry into games.

As we previously reported, the Kansas City Chiefs issued a similar ban on headdresses and facepaint at their Arrowhead Stadium games in 2020.

Cleveland's baseball team is also currently in the process of changing its team name -- the same way Washington's NFL squad parted ways with its longstanding nickname last year.

The Indians -- which eliminated the offensive Chief Wahoo logo from its uniforms in 2019 and instead has opted for a block C emblem -- say the change could happen as soon as the 2022 season.

The coronavirus pandemic's actually helping Baltimore curb violent crimes, thanks to a change in policy ... according to the city's top prosecutor.

Marilyn Mosby, the State's Attorney for the city of Baltimore, joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us how an experimental approach to limiting the spread of the virus is paying big dividends.

Under Mosby, Baltimore stopped prosecuting low-level offenses like drug possession and prostitution when the pandemic first hit ... and ever since, she says violent crime is down a whopping 20 percent.

Marilyn tells us there are other benefits, like fewer folks entering the criminal justice system and less crowded jails, and that's why Baltimore is making the changes permanent.

Now, the city's blazing a new trail ... Baltimore's partnering with a local behavioral health service to help folks in need seek treatment, instead of placing them in handcuffs.

President Biden's dog, Major, is still hanging around 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after his latest biting incident ... but now it looks like he's got his own team of aides.

Biden's rescue German Shepherd was back on the White House South Lawn Wednesday for his morning stroll ... the first time we've seen the pooch since he nipped at someone Monday while walking on WH grounds.

As we reported ... Major's latest bite victim needed medical attention. The pup was previously sent home to Delaware after nipping at a White House staffer, but the Prez said that bite didn't break the skin.

As you can see, Major's got some extra handlers with him now ... and the man with the white hair is reportedly Major's new main trainer, Dale Haney.

Biden's older German Shepherd, Champ, is also rolling with Major, but interestingly the older dog's allowed to be off-leash. Keep in mind, Champ hasn't bitten anyone.

'Real Housewives of Salt Lake City' star Jen Shah is out on bond from federal custody following her arrest for wire fraud ... but there are some big strings attached.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Shah is banned from traveling outside of Utah without permission, had to forfeit her passport so she can't leave the U.S. and she can't use her credit cards without prior permission either.

In addition, she's prohibited from transferring any assets worth more than $10k, and of course ... can't engage in any telemarketing activities while out on bond.

As we reported ... the 'Housewife' was busted by the feds Tuesday in Salt Lake City and is facing a conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge and a conspiracy to commit money laundering charge.

Shah is accused of participating in a nationwide telemarketing scheme with her assistant, Stuart Smith, in which they allegedly targeted many elderly people.

She's scheduled to appear before a federal judge Wednesday afternoon for her arraignment.