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The LAPD bomb squad's attempt to detonate illegal fireworks turned into a catastrophe when one of its trucks exploded ... injuring 17 people and obliterating a neighborhood.

According to the LAPD, its bomb squad officers were in the process of seizing over 5,000 pounds of illegal fireworks Wednesday night in South L.A. Cops say some of the fireworks were being stored in its bomb squad semitruck for precautionary reasons.

It's unclear why, but when the bomb squad detonated the fireworks inside the iron chamber of its semitruck, LAPD chief Michel Moore said there was a "total catastrophic failure of that containment vehicle."

Moore added, "Clearly protocols were followed and pursued, but something happened in that containment vehicle that should have not happened and we don't know why."

The blast was caught on video, and you can see it wreaked havoc. At least 17 were injured -- 10 officers and 7 civilians ... including 3 with serious, but not life threatening injuries. The blast also damaged several homes and displaced as many as 9 families.

Bill Cosby's surprising release from prison means he's free to live his life again, and -- according to one expert in the booking industry -- free to cash in on showing his face in public again.

TMZ spoke with a major player in the booking biz who tells us ... even though the market will be very limited for Cosby, he believes the disgraced comedian will eventually be able to bank $10-15k per public appearance -- and possibly up to $20k for speaking engagements.

Our booking source points to O.J. Simpson as a precedent, saying that despite what he was accused of and found liable for -- killing 2 people -- he still made cash for events afterward. Same will be true for Cosby, according to our source.

Of course, it's not likely to happen right away, but the feeling is there will be a certain demographic of people -- likely older fans who loved "The Cosby Show" -- who are either willing to forgive, or truly believed Cosby was innocent all along.

We're told these people, along with organizations sympathetic to the man once known as "America's Dad," might be willing to shell out dough to see and hear from him.

Not everyone's enthusiastic, though -- Darren Prince of Prince Marketing Group tells us there's no way he'd book someone like Cosby, for any reason. He tells us the guy is just off-limits ... he needs to take some serious steps toward retribution and rehabbing his image ... things he's refused to do, up to this point.

As we reported ... Cosby was released from prison Wednesday after Pennsylvania's high court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

The unveiling of a Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace should be cause for a royal celebration, but instead, the tension leading up to the event between Prince William and Prince Harry caused it to be a much smaller, somber affair ... so claims a famous photographer.

If you hadn't heard ... Diana would have turned 60 today, and her 2 sons just unveiled a statue in her honor in the gardens of Diana's home ... the home where Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement.

The ceremony was originally planned as a large gathering, but the royal brothers recently decided to cut the guest list down to a handful of close relatives ... blaming the change on renewed COVID concerns.

But, Arthur Edwards, Royal Photographer for "The Sun," is calling BS -- he says the ongoing friction between the princes is the real reason for the scaled-down event.

Edwards says the garden area is quite large, so if they wanted to have a nice-sized crowd that could still socially distance ... they could have easily figured that out.

The photog points out that 40,000 people were packed into Wembley Stadium recently to watch England beat Germany in the Euro ... so he says it's sad so many people who were close to Diana -- including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Edwards himself -- can't attend the unveiling.

Elton John reportedly was also axed from the guest list ... but there are plans for a later tribute for Diana in September.

Britney Spears's lawyer asked the judge in her conservatorship case to boot her father Jamie Spears as the conservator of her estate, but a judge just shot that down and says Jamie stays -- at least for now.

Britney's lawyer, Sam Ingham, actually asked the court to suspend Jamie from conservatorship duties back in November and the judge denied the request back then. We're told Ingham wanted Jamie replaced by Bessemer Trust, which would have become the sole conservator of her estate, but the judge wasn't having it.

Ingham, for whatever reason, just let things sit for months -- he was supposed to file certain papers for Bessemer's new role to take effect. Finally -- just recently -- Ingham filed legal docs that Bessemer be made co-conservator. The judge just approved that, but also said Jamie will stay as co-conservator himself. The judge also reiterated that Ingham's request to suspend Jamie was denied.

It's important to note, the judge signed this order keeping Jamie in place AFTER Britney's testimony last week.

As you know, Britney wants Jamie out entirely, so it's pretty clear her lawyer will file another motion to remove Jamie.

By the way, everyone has been assuming Bessemer has been acting as co-conservator of Britney's estate for months, but turns out that's not the case. Actually, Bessemer still isn't a co-conservator -- certain documents must still be filed before the judge's order takes effect.

Bottom line ... Jamie has been and continues to be the sole conservator of Britney's estate.

Allen Weisselberg -- the chief financial officer for The Trump Organization -- has surrendered to authorities in NY to face criminal tax evasion charges.

Weisselberg turned himself in Thursday morning ... though we're told his team has not received a copy of the indictment so they're not sure about the charges.

The indictment will be unsealed in NY State Supreme Court later in the day when Weisselberg and lawyers for the org appear in court.

The charges stem from unpaid taxes on perks that include bonuses, cars and school tuition for Trump Organization execs. Weisselberg is the first top exec to be indicted in a long-running probe by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office and NY Attorney General. The Trump org will also be charged, though no members of the Trump family are expected to face charges.

Weisselberg's lawyer has made it clear up to this point ... he will not cooperate with prosecutors, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize the end game here is not Weisselberg. The D.A. has set his sights on Donald Trump for years now, and it's pretty clear his end game is to get Trump's longtime accountant to flip on him

Weisselberg has worked for Trump since the 1980s and has a treasure trove of knowledge about the business ... something that could be problematic for the Trump family.

"I most definitely can knock Logan Paul out, without a doubt."

That's "Suga" Rashad Evans throwing down the gauntlet ... challenging 26-year-old YouTube star turned pugilist Logan Paul to a BOXING match.

41-year-old Evans -- inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019 -- hasn't fought since taking an L to Anthony Smith at UFC 225 in June 2018.

But, in case you forgot ... Suga's beat Rampage Jackson, Chael Sonnen (still undefeated), Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Michael Bisping and Tito Ortiz -- just to name a few.

Back to Logan ... rumors have been swirling that a fight between LP and Evans could be in the works -- and Rashad says he's 100% down to scrap.

"I don't know what [Logan's] looking for, for his next match. But, I'm gonna tell you right now what he needs. What he needs is a taste of 'Suga.'"

Of course, Paul is only a few weeks removed from his exhibition fight with 44-year-old Floyd Mayweather ... a bout that went the full 8 rounds.

Mayweather wasn't able to drop Logan -- who was about 50 lbs. heavier than Floyd -- something Evans says will NOT be the case if they fight.

Child actor Justin Shenkarow was only 12 years old when he took on the role of his life as the older of the two sons Matthew Brock -- who navigated the bizarre town in Wisconsin while his parents try to keep the peace in the madness -- in the classic '90s American drama "Picket Fences."

Justin was cast alongside some epic actors including Kathy Baker as the medical mom of three kids, Dr. Jill Brock, Holly Marie Combs as the eldest sister, Kim Brock and Tom Skerritt as the straight-nosed Sherriff, Jimmy Brock.

Bill Cosby's conviction has been overturned and he will go free.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court just ruled ... there are 2 reasons why the conviction could not stand -- the judge allowed prosecutors to call 5 other accusers during the trial, and Cosby should never have been criminally prosecuted based on an agreement he made with the former D.A.

As for the first reason ... the Pennsylvania high court ruled it was unduly prejudicial to allow 5 women with stories similar to Andrea Constand to testify, trying to show Cosby had an M.O. for drugging women and then sexually assaulting them.

The second reason was fought hard during trial ... former D.A. Bruce Castor cut a deal with Cosby that if he testified in a civil deposition he would not face trial criminally. During that deposition, Cosby made incriminating statements about drugging women, and it was presented at trial. The Supreme Court ruled the deal was broken by prosecutors.

The judge vacated both the conviction and the sentence and ordered the 83-year-old comedian discharged -- presumably immediately.

The Court ruled not only is Cosby now a free man ... he cannot be retried.

Cosby had served more than 2 years of a 10-year sentence.

Cosby's team is on its way to prison to pick him up.

Trevor Bauer's assault accuser says the MLB star choked her unconscious and then had non-consensual anal sex with her ... in court docs obtained by TMZ Sports.

The extremely disturbing allegations are all part of an 84-page temporary restraining order application filed by the alleged victim's attorney ... where she documents 2 meetings that she claims started as consensual sex -- but morphed into a violent attack.

The 21-year-old accuser says she met Bauer on Instagram ... before ultimately driving from San Diego to Los Angeles on April 21 to meet the Dodgers star.

The woman says she and Bauer were having sex ... when he began to aggressively put his fingers down her throat. The woman says she asked him to stop and he complied.

But then, according to the docs, the woman claims Bauer "wrapped my hair around my neck and choked me." The alleged victim says she "lost consciousness."

When she awoke, the woman says she was face down on the bed ... and Bauer was having anal sex with her. An act to which she says she did not consent or even want.

Later that evening, the alleged victim says she was in pain and bleeding from her anus. However, she didn't believe TB was an imminent threat to her, so she spent the night at his place.

In the morning, she claims Bauer attempted to joke with her, asking ... "You feeling a little sore this morning?"

The accuser in Bill Cosby's criminal trial says his overturned conviction could discourage sexual assault victims from seeking justice in court in the future.

Andrea Constand, who testified in court Cosby gave her 3 blue pills and then sexually assaulted her, tells TMZ ... the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's ruling overturning the comedian's conviction and setting him free is "disappointing" and she worries about its lasting effects.

Constand says the court's decision is concerning because "it may discourage those who seek justice for sexual assault in the criminal justice system from reporting or participating in the prosecution of the assailant or may force a victim to choose between filing either a criminal or civil action."

What's more ... Constand and her team say they were never aware of any agreement made between Cosby and the former prosecutor that would grant him immunity.

As we reported ... Cosby has already arrived home after being released from prison, where he served more than 2 years of a 10-year sentence.

TMZ broke the story ... three of Cosby's other accusers -- Sammie Mays, Sarita Butterfield and Angela Leslie also spoke out against his release, saying they still think he's dangerous.

The man who was punched in the face by Joe Schilling at a bar on Sunday is now planning to press charges against the MMA fighter ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The alleged victim, identified as 31-year-old Justin Balboa, has gone to police and will cooperate with prosecutors as he pursues a battery charge, his attorney, Robert Solomon, tells us.

"I cannot believe [Schilling] thought it was OK to just haul off and crack somebody twice like that," Solomon says. "[Schilling] is lucky we're not dealing with a manslaughter case."

In video of the incident, you can see Balboa got rocked in the head multiple times by Schilling on Sunday night at a bar in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The footage showed Schilling -- who last fought professionally in 2019 for Bellator -- whaled on Balboa after the two had bumped into each other in a walkway near the bar area.

In police docs, cops say Balboa told them he had no idea why Schilling hit him.

Schilling, meanwhile, claims Balboa had been bothering him and others all night ... and says he only hit Balboa out of self-defense.

"I was scared for my life," Schilling added.

In the docs, officers say a witness told them it appeared the confrontation all went down because Balboa "had possibly made an improper remark" about Schilling's significant other.

Solomon, though, tells us he believes his client did nothing to deserve the punches ... saying, "The video clearly shows another story."

"The reality of it is is this guy took this way too far," Solomon said of Schilling.

Solomon also says he'll be filing a civil lawsuit against Schilling later this week ... adding that his client suffered a head injury and facial wounds in the altercation.

Miya Ponsetto, who's been labeled "SoHo Karen," has just been indicted on a slew of charges -- including 2 hate crimes -- over the infamous iPhone incident in a hotel lobby.

According to court records, a grand jury indicted Ponsetto Wednesday, hitting her with 2 felony counts of unlawful imprisonment in the 2nd degree as a hate crime ... and 2 misdemeanor counts of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a child.

Ponsetto's attorney, Paul D'Emilia, pled not guilty on her behalf. D'Emilia railed on Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance, telling TMZ that "instead of helping to foster a civil and enlightened resolution to an unfortunate incident between two young people, DA Vance chose a craven and opportunistic path in indicting, with felony hate crime charges."

D'Emilia believes the charges are an overreach, calling it absurd and shameful.

Remember, the family wanted Miya to be charged with a hate crime ... and now she has been. She's due back in court in October.

As we reported ... the indictment stems from a December 2020 incident when Miya's seen on video attacking 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. at the Arlo Hotel in SoHo after falsely claiming he stole her iPhone.

She denied racially profiling Keyon.

Former Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who served under President George W. Bush when America was attacked on 9/11, has died.

Rumsfeld's family says he died surrounded by loved ones in Taos, New Mexico. The family released a statement saying, "History may remember him for his extraordinary accomplishments over six decades of public service, but for those who knew him best and whose lives were forever changed as a result, we will remember his unwavering love for his wife Joyce, his family and friends, and the integrity he brought to a life dedicated to country."

Rumsfeld had the distinction of serving as the youngest Defense secretary under President Ford and the oldest under President Bush. He was inside the Pentagon having breakfast on 9/11 when the highjacked plane struck the building.

Immediately following the attack, Rumsfeld was seen outside helping with rescue efforts ... before officials finally convinced him to find shelter.

In the aftermath of 9/11, Rumsfeld spearheaded the attack on al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Then, in 2003, Rumsfeld shifted his focus to Iraq ... invading the country in search of weapons of mass destruction -- there were none -- and the subsequent ousting of Saddam Hussein.

Rumsfeld will also be remembered as a controversial figure who was largely held responsible for the Abu Ghraib torture scandal for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Rumsfeld, a Chicago native, attended Princeton before he was commissioned as a U.S. Navy aviator and flight instructor. He was on active duty for 3 years in the mid to late 1950s.

He was a congressman from Illinois before serving under presidents Richard Nixon and Ford. He'd spend more than 2 decades in the private sector before returning to his old position under Bush.

Jamie Spears has fired back at his daughter's allegations he has taken away her freedom and even her right to marry ... he says that all falls on his successor.

Jamie filed legal docs claiming he has not had ANY involvement in Britney's personal conservatorship -- meaning making personal decisions on behalf of Britney -- for nearly 2 years.

Furthermore, he says he hasn't even spoken to his daughter in a long time because "he has been cut off from communicating with her."

Jamie lays any blame for the restrictive rules on the current personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery. He says when Britney's lawyer filed docs to appoint Montgomery, he claimed at the time Britney did not have the mental capacity to make decisions about her medical treatment and therefore it was left to the conservator of her person -- now Jodi Montgomery. Jamie says bluntly, the court never found she was unable to consent to medical treatment and the court never made such an order.

The upshot -- Jamie claims it was Britney's own lawyer, Sam Ingham, who has been seeking to take away his client's right to make medical decisions on her behalf and vest those decisions solely in Montgomery's hands.

According to the legal docs, "Ms. Montgomery has been fully in charge of Ms. Spears' day-to-day personal care and medical treatment, and Ms. Montgomery has made all decisions related to those matters."

Furthermore, Jamie says if Britney has been restricted from marrying or having a baby, it's on Jodi Montgomery, not him. In fact, Jamie says he consented to Britney's marriage when she got engaged to Jason Trawick in 2011 ... but, as you know, they broke up in 2013 before tying the knot.

In another document, Jamie's lawyer says, "Mr. Spears believes it is important for the integrity of the conservatorship proceedings and in the best interests of Ms. Spears for the Court to order an investigation into the issues and claims raised by [Britney] at the June 23, 2021 status hearing."

Jamie's lawyer goes on ... "Either the allegations will be shown to be true, in which case corrective action must be taken, or they will be shown to be false, in which case the conservatorship can continue its course."

The lawyer says, "It is not acceptable for Conservators or the Court to do nothing in response to Ms. Spears' testimony."

Four months after James Franco settled his sexual misconduct lawsuit we're now learning the financial terms of the settlement ... and it cost him a couple million.

The amount was revealed in court docs made public Wednesday ... and it shows Franco, his production company Rabbit Bandini Productions, the film school he founded, Studio 4, and others will shell out $2,235,000 to settle the suit. A judge still needs to sign off on it.

If the settlement gets the green light ... 2 of Franco's former students -- Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who filed the class-action suit in October 2020 at the height of the #MeToo movement -- will get $670,500 and $223,500, respectively ... but will have to hand over a chunk of that to their attorneys.

The other students who joined the lawsuit will get a cut of the remaining $1.341 million ... again, less due to attorneys' fees and costs.

As we previously reported ... Franco, who opened the school in 2014 and has since been shut down, was accused by students of putting them in gratuitous and exploitative sexual situations.

The students claimed Franco pushed them into performing intimate and explicit sex scenes in an "orgy type setting" ... something they say went way beyond the pale of shooting such scenes.

Two of Bill Cosby's accusers are afraid he didn't learn any lessons in prison ... with his conviction overturned and release in the works, they still think he is dangerous.

Sammie Mays, who claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, tells TMZ ... his release is "disrespectful and despicable" for Andrea Constand -- the accuser in his trial.

Mays thinks Cosby is anything but reformed after serving more than 2 years of a 10-year sentence.

Sarita Butterfield, a former Playboy model who claims Cosby groped her, echoes that sentiment -- while another accuser, Angela Leslie, tells TMZ, "I'm surprised and shocked with today's news of Cosby's release. It seems the justice system served the criminal, in this case, as opposed to the victims."

Angela continues, "At this point, I just hope that he took time to reflect on the pain and anguish his actions caused so many women. And, also puts in the work towards becoming a better person."

As we reported ... the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday Cosby's conviction had to be overturned and he couldn't be retried due to a deal Cosby had made with a former prosecutor ... who guaranteed him immunity if he gave a deposition for Constand's civil lawsuit.

As a result, Cosby is expected to walk free from prison at some point Wednesday.

Mays says she feels the ruling "shows that women do not have the respect of men." She says Cosby's release should be especially frightening for women.

Butterfield and Mays are also worried about Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell walking free too ... and Mays is planning to protest outside the prison when Cosby's released.