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It looks like this summer is going to be a hot one all the way to the core ... and judging by the looks of these sexy celebs putting on a hot front we know for sure that Hollywood is going to be ab-solutely packed with ripped stars.

From reality stars, models, actors and much more ... see all the hot summer stars showing off their season-ready abs by going through our gallery! And, while you are at it, put your celeb skills to the test and see if you can guess which stud is in the shirtless shot!

Incredible moment from Vanessa Bryant ... who just delivered an emotional speech as her husband Kobe Bryant was inducted into the the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame -- and there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Vanessa -- flanked by Michael Jordan -- talked about KB's incredible accomplishments on and off the court ... from his 5 NBA championships to being a great dad.

"Congratulations baby. All of your hard work and sacrifice has paid off. You once told me, if you are going to bet on someone, bet on yourself. I'm glad you bet on yourself, you overachiever.” Vanessa said.

MJ didn't speak ... but his presence on stage was powerful and clearly very meaningful. Vanessa told Jordan ... "Kobe admired you. This means so much to us."

Of course, Kobe famously idolized MJ growing up -- and they later became great rivals on the court ... and even better friends off of it.

In fact, the two would grab dinner and text each other all the time just to check in.

So, when Kobe passed away back in January 2020, Vanessa knew the obvious choice to present her husband into the HOF would be His Airness.

Vanessa closed with the following message ... "You did it. You're in the Hall of Fame now. You are a true champ. You're not just an MVP. You're an all-time great. I'm so proud of you. I love you forever and always. Kobe. Bean. Bryant."

Lil Reese has reportedly taken another bullet in his hometown of Chicago -- this less than two years after he almost died from being shot not too far from the Windy City.

The rapper was among three people shot Saturday morning in a parking garage in the River North neighborhood, where a shootout appears to have gone down among a group of men ... with all of them supposedly shooting at each other, according to local outlet CWBChicago.

When cops arrived, per CWB, they found three guys who'd suffered gunshot wounds -- plus a stolen Dodge Durango found littered with bullet and crashed at the site. Chicago PD tells TMZ two of the men were transported to one hospital, and another was hospitalized elsewhere. Two are reported as being in critical condition, and the third in serious condition.

It's unclear what Reese's status is at this point ... we're still working to confirm he was involved and how he's holding up.

CWB reposted a video that purportedly captures the aftermath, showing up and apparently detaining someone. CPD tells us there are two possible offenders in custody right now.

Unclear what might've sparked the violence -- but in any case, it's not great news for Reese ... who had just gone through something similar in late 2019, when he was shot in the neck and miraculously survived. The situation then was reported as eerily similar to this one.

Reese is perhaps most famous for his work with Chief Keef -- notably, being featured on the latter's hit 2012 single, "I Don't Like" and his own single, "Traffic."

BTW, Reese is only 28.

A former prosecutor and super lawyer who reps celebs like Jay-Z and Mick Jagger now has a new client -- the family of Carole Baskin's first husband who wants him to crack the case.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Alex Spiro has been retained by the family of Don Lewis to investigate his disappearance back in 1997.

Our sources say Spiro's goal is to get to the bottom of the Lewis mystery before "Tiger King 2" drops.

Spiro has the chops to figure out what happened to Lewis. As a prosecutor, he was involved in the case of serial killer Rodney Alcala. He's also investigated the cold case of Robert Durst's first wife. His client list is long and impressive. Aside from Jay-Z and Mick, Spiro's clients include DeMarcus Cousins, Charles Oakley, Thabo Sefolosha and Julian Edelman.

We're told he's in the gathering evidence phase and has already interviewed a key witness who turned over information our sources call "key."

The Sheriff in the area where Don was last seen is convinced he was killed and has been investigating, but so far, no results.

Our sources say Lewis' family wants Spiro to identify a possible murderer and turn the information over to prosecutors.

As you know by now, a lot of people think Carole Baskin was involved in Don's disappearance ... something she has strongly and consistently denied. Don's assistant told TMZ the day he disappeared he told her he was filing for divorce and moving out of the country.

Fat Joe seems to think DJ Khaled is the "Quincy Jones of hip-hop" -- but a lot more people seem to think he's dead wrong ... and outright disrespecting the legendary record producer.

Joe made the inflammatory comment this week while chopping it up with N.O.R.E. on his 'Drink Champs' podcast ... talking about the new Jay-Z/Nas song "Sorry Not Sorry" that appears on Khaled's latest album, "Khaled Khaled."

They were gassing up the song -- rightfully so, it's solid -- but then FJ turned the focus back onto DJK ... saying the guy really doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

Joe said people believe all Khaled does is get the biggest names in hip-hop/pop and throw them together on catchy songs -- but he insists there's a lot more to it than that, as several other DJs/producers attempt to do the same time and again and don't get the same results.

Then came Joe's hot take ... saying Khaled's the Quincy of the rap game, and A LOT of people were NOT having it. Joe caught wind of the backlash, however, and tried clarifying a bit.

He writes, "All these back seat drivers Monday morning quarterbacks always got an opinion but can’t do it themselves shit crazy." Joe adds, "To me the term Quincy jones of this time was used in reference to the work khaled has put in years and years of hit obviously there’s only one Quincy but f*ck it tune in tonight EXPLOSIVE lol."

The reason folks are pissed for the comparison is because, well, DJ Khaled doesn't make his own beats ... which isn't a secret either, BTW. He mostly curates, collecting tracks he likes ... and ad-libbing his famous lines over them while getting his music industry pals to feature.

President Biden is just like us -- meaning, the guy sends quick cash to his friends and family on Venmo, which might sound like no big deal ... but it really might be, big picture.

Joe's private Venmo account was tracked down in a rather quick fashion Friday by BuzzFeed, which says it only took them about 10 minutes or so to find it after an NYT article went up earlier in the day saying he sends his grandkids money on the peer-to-peer money app.

The outlet reports all they used were in-app features to quickly find associates to Joe's -- and before they knew it, they landed on 46 ... plus a small network of his immediate family, like his wife and children (Jill and Hunter), extended family (grandchildren) and senior White House officials.

They weren't able to see his transaction history itself -- since it was set to private, which is NOT the default setting for Venmo -- but they say some in Biden's extended Venmo network weren't private ... and they could see what they'd been up to in recent days on there.

Here's the problem, as BFN points out ... a hacker/troll and/or a freakin' adversary spy could easily locate these people and harass them, or even attempt to infiltrate Biden's inner circle -- potentially posing as someone while gathering intel and activities and patterns.

Joe Exotic believes he may have prostate cancer, among many other ailments, and he's begging President Biden, Vice President Harris and others to step in and help.

Joe says his PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer. He seems to say it's clear he has prostate cancer, because he says, "The prison has approved testing to verify what state it is in." It appears there has been no diagnosis by a doctor.

Joe's lawyer, John M. Phillips, tells TMZ, Joe is scheduled to undergo further testing in prison, however, the facility is limited in what it can do. Phillips is trying to get Joe a new trial.

Joe says he's riddled with disease ... "I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat. I don't want anyone's pity, what I need is when John Phillips gets the evidence he is working on, I need the world to help him get President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General to listen to the evidence."

He's asking again for the elusive pardon so he can go home and get medical treatment.

Jake Paul is under investigation ... this time by officials in Puerto Rico for riding a motorized vehicle on a protected beach.

To use a bullfighting metaphor ... Jake waived the proverbial red flag in front of a bull by posting a video of him and some friends tooling around a beach in golf carts, smack in the middle of turtle-nesting season. That's illegal.

It looks like the driver is his brother, Logan, although we haven't been able to confirm.

Jake deleted the vid, but it's too late because the investigation has been launched by the territory's Dept. of Natural and Environmental Resources.

Logan said back in February he was moving some of his businesses, including Maverick Clothing, to Dorado, Puerto Rico ... which is near San Juan. Logan said on his podcast back then, “I thought it was more third-world than I suspected, so I went out there to scout it and I just fell in love with it.” Jake and Logan snagged a $10 million beachfront mansion.

They fell in love with Puerto Rico, but it doesn't sound like everyone there feels the same.

The clock is now ticking for NBC to choose the successor to Ellen DeGeneres' coveted time slot, and although they have a star in their pocket, a lot has to go right to make it work.

Sources at the network tell us -- long before COVID -- NBC honchos launched the Kelly Clarkson Show as the heir apparent to Ellen's syndicated hour. They knew back then Ellen was probably going to pull the plug on the show, and Kelly seemed like a likely successor.

The thing is ... Kelly's show struggled during COVID. Producing the show with guests joining remotely was challenging and the ratings slumped -- but that was the case with most shows through the pandemic. We're told a lot depends on the next few months ... whether the show experiences a surge in popularity as production comes back full force.

If that doesn't happen, NBC may well look beyond its current lineup to find a replacement, and a name that's been bandied about is one Tiffany Haddish. There are many reasons why Tiffany's name has bubbled up to the surface ... one of which is that she has guest-hosted for Ellen with considerable success.

The fact is ... Tiffany would probably kill in the timeslot, but we did some checking and no one in her camp is willing to say if she would even entertain the idea of doing a Monday-thru-Friday talk show, which is a real grind.

If she were interested, given the unbelievable number of projects Tiffany has, it would take the contents of a bank vault to seal the deal.

Here's more evidence there's something flying around our skies with out of this world technology ... and at this point, it's hard not to be a UFO believer.

Ya gotta see this leaked footage taken aboard the USS Omaha in July 2019 when the warship was sailing off the coast of San Diego ... you see the UFO zipping along, parallel to the water's surface, before disappearing down into the depths.

The UFO appears spherical in the grainy, black and white video ... and you hear voices, presumably U.S. Navy sailors, exclaiming when the object gets close to the ship and when it splashes down.

The Navy sent a submarine to hunt for the UFO and didn't find a trace, lending credence to a theory the object is a trans-medium vehicle ... meaning it's capable of traveling through both water and air. Pretty cool stuff.

As we reported ... the Pentagon confirmed last month another leaked video, taken by a Navy Pilot, showing a triangle-shaped object gliding through the sky is the real deal ... and the U.S. Government is calling it an unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

It looks like the world is transitioning from brawls over mask-wearing to the ol'-fashion variety.

This one went down at London's Luton Airport after a man threw a bottle at another passenger who was insulting his female traveling companion.

For some reason, lots of onlookers decided to get in the game, and when the dust settled 17 people were arrested. Three people received serious injuries and were taken to the hospital.

A police spokesperson said, "We take a zero tolerance approach to violence and continue to assist the police with their inquiries. We would like to sincerely apologise to any passengers affected."

It's really crazy ... dudes are clobbering each other with suitcases right in the terminal area around all the stores. And, it happened at 8 AM ... way too early to brawl.

Salt Bae is a gigantic hit in Bev Hills, judging from the long line of would-be diners that literally snaked around the corner.

His new restaurant, Nusr-Et, opened a few weeks ago but it was all very quiet. Seems word of mouth did the trick because it's filled to the gills.

Check out the video, and you'll see Salt Bae doin' his thing ... entertaining the crowd with his knife tricks and ... the move that made him famous.

The restaurant is right next door to Spago, which is also filled to capacity, so it's all good between Wolfgang and Salt Bae.

Lots of people were wearing masks as they waited in line ... interesting, considering the CDC's new pronouncement that vaccinated people could shed the coverings.

Phylicia Rashad's more than just a big name added to Howard University's faculty list ... she plans on doing big things as the Dean of the College of Fine Arts.

Provost Anthony K. Wutoh tells TMZ ... when the legendary TV mom takes on her new role at Howard in July, she's made it clear she'll be a present figure on campus and laser-focused from day one on re-establishing the fine arts school as a premier program in the country.

Wutoh says one of Rashad's major focal points will be the new building for the College of Fine Arts and School of Communications, adding that she'll be involved in designing it along with spearheading fundraising.

We're told Phylicia's also very interested in making sure the school's curriculum is contemporary, and she'll be recruiting excellent new faculty members to replace recent retirees. There's also hope she'll be able to expand enrollment in the fine arts majors.

That being said, the actress still has a number of performing obligations -- including 'Creed' in 2022 -- so she will be allowed to balance her work in the acting world with her work as dean. Rashad's stated that she will be a "working artist."

Of course, as soon as "The Cosby Show" star steps on campus she'll instantly become one of Howard's most famous faces, but the provost believes she'll have no problem managing the inevitable attention.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Miley Cyrus rock your world too much ... keep your focus here and try your best to see if you can spot any of the sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The sexy singer was seen out and about in New York City just last week ... and we have made a few changes to the original photo! Look really close and use your detective skills as you attempt to uncover some of the differences between these two super similar snaps!

J Lo took over celeb news this week by hooking up with Ben, and America is unmasking itself!!! So we gotta ask ...

No bad blood between Robert Kraft and Tom Brady -- in fact, the Patriots owner tells TMZ Sports he can't wait to welcome the QB back to New England!

"Excited to have him," Kraft told us Friday afternoon in Beverly Hills ... "He's a great guy and he did so much for us. I love him."

Of course, Tom will make his highly anticipated return to Boston during Week 4 of the 2021 NFL season -- the first time he'll play in Gillette Stadium as a visitor!

Tickets for the game are already in ultra-high demand -- with some ticket brokers fetching 4-figures for seats in the nosebleed section!

We asked Kraft how he feels about the big matchup -- and he told us, "We should have a fun night! But, I'm excited for Week 1 … and we play Miami."

There's more!!!

We also asked Bob about the Pats QB situation -- they recently selected Mac Jones in the 1st round of the NFL Draft after re-signing former NFL MVP Cam Newton.

So, who'll end up with the starting gig?

"We're excited to have [Mac Jones] but I'm excited to have Cam Newton, too," Kraft said ... adding, "I pay Bill Belichick a lot of money. He can decide that."