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A driver in Ohio got in serious trouble when he tried to avoid a weed bust by swallowing the green, and he's damn lucky the state trooper who pulled him over knows the Heimlich.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... the crazy traffic stop went down in Portage County, when Trooper Charles Hoskin pulled over Stephan R. Elash for speeding. Police say he also wasn't wearing a seat belt, but that was the least of his worries

As you can see in Hoskin's dash cam footage of the July 3 stop ... he realizes Elash is having trouble breathing, so he tells him to step out to try to dislodge what's caught in his windpipe.

After a few Heimlich thrusts, the driver tries to throw up, but it's still not working. That's when Trooper Hoskin had to really apply some force ... which saved Elash's life.

You can see the driver admit he swallowed a gram of weed, and apologize to the officer. EMS checked him out and he was okay, medically. Legally? Well, he was cited for speeding, failure to wear a seat belt -- and yes, hit with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession. It's still illegal in Ohio.

After Elash's stop, the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued an important, though pretty obvious, warning -- "Don't try to swallow a bag of drugs prior to getting pulled over in an attempt to keep a trooper from finding them."

Dana White says former President Donald Trump won't be able to hide from the spotlight at UFC 264, because he'll be right next to the Octagon ... where fans can loudly cheer and jeer him.

The UFC honcho joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to pump up Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier's third fight ... and, in the process, he settled a debate about where Trump will sit Saturday night in Vegas.

It's the first major sporting event Trump's attending since leaving the White House -- and with all that's happened since he lost the election, it's a good bet (even in Vegas) the ex-prez will hear plenty of boos.

Dana, a longtime Trump supporter, says his pal isn't one to shy away from any heckling.

As Dana tells us ... Trump "don't care, he's not that guy, he's not hiding in a box somewhere, that's not his style." Instead, he says Trump will sit right behind him.

No doubt he'll be flanked on all sides by Secret Service, and Dana says agents have been sweeping T-Mobile Arena for a few days now to ensure Trump's safety.

Presidential sideshows aside ... the fight itself should be awesome. McGregor and Poirier have been talking tons of smack leading up to Saturday's showdown, and Dana even took a knee to the ribs during Thursday's press conference.

"Marrying Millions" star Bill Hutchinson has just been charged with raping an unconscious teenager while vacationing in Southern California.

Prosecutors from the Orange County D.A's Office revealed Friday the 63-year-old real estate developer allegedly sexually assaulted two 16-year-old girls vacationing with him in the ritzy beach town of Laguna Beach.

Prosecutors say Hutchinson raped one of the teens while she was unconscious. He's accused of bringing the two 16-year-old girls on vacation on 2 different occasions in April. He's accused of raping one of the girls while she was unconscious and committing four acts of sexual battery against the girl.

What's more ... prosecutors say when the alleged victim declined to go back to Laguna Beach again, Hutchinson is accused of returning to his vacation home with the other 16-year-old girl at the end of May and committing sexual battery against her during the trip.

He's been charged with 1 felony count of rape of an unconscious person and 5 misdemeanor counts of sexual battery.

Prosecutors say, if convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 8 years in state prison and 2 1/2 years in Orange County jail. The news comes on the heels of Hutchinson's arrest in Texas, where he's accused of assaulting a 17-year-old girl at his Highland Park home.

He turned himself in to Highland Park police earlier this week but later posted $30k bond. There's now an active arrest warrant in Orange County for Hutchinson.

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton look like they're happy anywhere following their holiday weekend wedding ... and they're still rocking those country vibes.

The newlyweds just arrived in L.A. via private jet following their July 3 ceremony at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma ... and were all smiles as they drove off in a Chevy pickup truck. See? Still keeping it country.

"The Voice" stars were joined by Gwen's son, Zuma, who was sitting in the backseat, but it was hard to see him past her sparkly new wedding ring.

As we told you ... the singers tied the knot in a Fourth of July weekend event after first getting together back in 2015. They met on the popular singing competition show when they were both judges.

Their wedding seems to have been a pretty small, private affair ... but still looked stunning.

Tiffany Haddish got an up close look at tiger sharks mating for "Shark Week," and she says the experience is gonna stick with her for a long time ... and she might need therapy.

Tiff joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and told us about her deep dive into shark reproduction ... with a fun lesson on why female sharks have two uteruses and male sharks have two penises.

There's a future in marine biology for Tiffany if she wants it -- she says she was hardly afraid as she swam with the man-eating sharks, performing ultrasounds to look for babies. She tried to blow off the fear, telling us it was no worse than anything she faced growing up.

It's pretty interesting, and graphic ... Tiffany says she got to see the sharks having sex. There's lots of thrashing and wrestling moves involved, and Tiffany says she sympathized with the female sharks.

Tiffany's shark adventure airs Sunday at 9 PM ET on Discovery and Discovery+ and she's not the only celeb getting in on the "Shark Week" fun ... Brad Paisley, William Shatner, Snoop Dogg, Eli Roth, Ian Zeiring, Tara Reid and the 'Jackass' stars are also involved.

Sharon Stone is hilariously denying she's dating rapper RMR ... and we say hilarious because she couldn't stop laughing when a photog raised the rumor about her and the 25-year-old.

Sharon was out Thursday in Beverly Hills with her son, Roan, when paps asked whether it's true she's dating the up-and-coming artist. You gotta see the reaction from Sharon and her 21-year-old son. Lots of 😂😂😂 .

The actress straight up says she's NOT dating the rapper ... and Roan even tells the photog, "You couldn't have asked a funnier question."

Now, the reason it's even been a rumor is because she was photographed last month at an L.A. club with RMR ... and not just hanging with him, but wearing one of his trademark face masks.

Based on her reaction in this video ... we'd say those pics were nothing more than a friendly photo op for RMR.

BTW ... one other thing Sharon did not find quite as funny was what happened to one of the photogs shooting her. Dude wiped out hard, but Sharon kept a straight face, and was actually super gracious.

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is not backing down from a controversial song in the wake of what they claim is a wave of death threats coming their way.

Here's the deal ... the SFGMC recently posted a song across social media where they satirically sing, "We'll convert your children," but they say it's being taken out of context and they're getting lots of hateful backlash, including violent threats.

The Chorus is laying the blame on "far-right conservative media" ... claiming the song's tongue-in-cheek humor is being lost on folks and instead used to "support a narrative that suits their intolerant and hateful needs."

Their intent with the "convert" line is a double-entendre -- when you hear the full song, they're singing they'll convert children "not to hate."

The SFGMC claims the death threats are coming their way in emails and social media comments, and the group says it won't be threatened and will not back down in the face of violence. The Chorus says it's working with national and local law enforcement to address the alleged threats.

Drake took full advantage of the Dodgers being out of town Thursday ... setting up a date on L.A.'s field with Johanna Leia -- and the whole thing looked like it was taken right out of a Drake song.

While Justin Turner and the boys were in Miami wrapping up their series with the Marlins ... the rapper took advantage of the opportunity to borrow their arena for a cozy date night -- and it's clear, he balled out for the occasion.

A helicopter camera spotted the 34-year-old at a table with Leia near the dugout on the third-base side of the field ... and there was a white table cloth, multiple dishes, flowers and even a personal bartender for the couple.

In fact, the two appeared to have gotten personalized Dodgers jerseys for the occasion ... with Leia rockin' hers right at the table!

Drake recently sat between Leia and Michael B. Jordan at a Sierra Canyon H.S. basketball game. If you're unfamiliar, Leia is the mom of Sierra Canyon star and UCLA commit Amari Bailey, who's teammates with LeBron James' son, Bronny James.

And, with Drake often attending the games to catch Bronny in action ... it's possible the new relationship started courtside.

Only fitting basketball would bring new love to Drake's life, right??

Tekashi69 is a reputation slayer ... so says a Japanese tattoo artist in a new lawsuit claiming the rapper jacked his name and defamed him by calling him a heroin addict.

The tattoo artist, Takashi Matsuba, filed legal docs in NY claiming his reputation is in danger thanks to Tekashi69. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Matsuba claims 6ix9ine "has created confusion and the false public perception that" Matsuba is associated with Tekashi69. He says he’s not.

Matsuba says the confusion is easy to see … the rapper’s moniker is substantially similar to Matsuba's first name. Only 1 letter's different.

Matsuba says in the Hulu documentary "69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez" ... there's a scene where the tattoo artist's name "TAKASHI MATSUBA" is superimposed on the screen. He claims the director's then heard saying "Peter's roommate, a Japanese tattoo artist named Takashi would inspire Danny's new persona, Tekashi69."

Matsuba also has beef with Showtime, claiming the documentary on that channel defamed him in the March documentary "Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine."

Matsuba says Tekashi's heard in the doc saying, "There was this tattoo artist named Takashi from our neighborhood. And he was this heroin addict. He did heroin to create. He did it to get himself in his little world. He did it to be himself. And that’s where I got the name Tekashi from. And that’s who I am.”

Matsuba says the quote is false and defamatory because he has never used heroin.

The tattoo artist says the quote is damaging to his profession because "tattooing requires the use of needles, and heroin is connected in the public’s mind with hypodermic needles.”

Matsuba says he demanded producers to edit the documentary to remove his image, name and likeness from the Hulu doc ... but says they've refused. He's suing for damages.

"American Pickers" star Michael Wolfe is already off the market ... he's got himself a hot new girlfriend on the heels of his wife filing for divorce.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Mike's dating a model named Leticia Cline. She's a bit of a reality TV star herself, having appeared on the old WB dating show "Beauty and The Geek."

It's unclear how long they've been dating and how they met, but we're told the relationship is "pretty serious."

Mike and Leticia have been hanging out since at least April, when they were spotted together at a printing shop in Norfolk, VA, where she customized a jacket.

Our sources also say Leticia's been accompanying Mike on 'Pickers' shoots, including one at the end of June in San Francisco, and another this week at a different California location.

TMZ broke the story ... Jodi Catherine Wolfe filed for divorce back in November after nearly 10 years of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. She says they separated in June 2020 -- so, Mike's wasting no time getting back on the horse.

It appears Mike and Leticia have known each other for a few years ... back in early 2018, she posted a photo of them together.

In addition to her reality TV background, Leticia's also appeared in "Playboy" and "Maxim" ... and once went on Howard Stern's radio show and rode his Sybian vibrator in the nude.

Tristan Thompson's pockets could get a little more swollen soon ... he's just been awarded a nice chunk of change in the libel case against his paternity accuser.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the court has entered a default judgment in favor of Tristan against Kimberly Alexander for the amount of $50k ... plus 10% interest per year until it's paid off. She's also gotta fork over $2,901.75 in court costs.

TMZ broke the story ... Tristan was headed to a victory after the court said it was leaning towards awarding Khloe's ex more than $50k. He sued Alexander for libel last year and wanted $100k in damages after claiming her allegation he fathered her child hurt his reputation, and cost him endorsement deals because companies saw him as a brand hazard.

The judge ultimately slashed the damages in half because Tristan didn't specifically lay out which endorsements he lost due to Alexander's allegations.

Christina Haack's new relationship is all thanks to smoking TOAD venom -- an experience that helped her re-center, figure things out ... and land a new man.

The "Flip or Flop" star revealed she's got a new boyfriend, Joshua Hall, who she says she met in the spring when she was in a "state of fear or fight-or-flight" and after she smoked toad venom to get rid of her anxiety. Anyway, they immediately hit it off.

Haack says the trippy experience helped her "reset" her brain and brought her into a better headspace ... something she credits to being able to work on finding love once again.

Christina also addressed her haters, who took shots at the mother of 3 getting back into the dating world so soon, saying ... "So yes 'another relationship' and guess what. I’m 38 -I’ll do what I want."

Like we told you ... Christina and her ex, Ant Anstead, announced they were separating in September, before she filed for a divorce a few months later. It was finalized just last month.

They first linked up in 2017 while she and her "Flip or Flop" costar, Tarek El Moussa, were going through their own split at the time.

How do you spell "most interesting teenager in America?" Zaila Avant-garde!!!

Zaila entered the history books Thursday by winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, becoming the first Africa-American champion. The 14-year-old also became the first winner from the state of Louisiana.

The teen took home the title after she correctly spelled "murraya" -- a type of tree -- but not before she joked that the word contained the last name of a comedian ... to the delight of Bill Murray fans everywhere.

Along her way to becoming the first Black American to win in 93 editions of the competition, Zaila also had to spell words like "querimonious," "solidungulate," and "Nepeta." The only other Black winner was Jamaica's Jody-Anne Maxwell in 1998.

There's much more to Avant-garde than her spelling though ... which she only began doing competitively 2 years ago. She's also a gifted basketball player who holds 3 Guinness world records for dribbling skills ... and even her last name is special. Her father changed it from Heard to Avant-garde in homage to the jazz legend, John Coltrane.

The #FreeBritney movement is feeling extra artistic after Britney Spears' impassioned testimony -- a massive art display, made of yarn, is echoing her call to end the conservatorship.

The artist behind the impressive yarn art, London Kaye, tells TMZ ... she used about 36,000 feet of yarn to create 5 iconic Britney looks and the "Free Britney" signage, and the whole thing stands 15-feet tall.

London hung the art outside the Britney Spears The Zone Museum in Los Angeles, it went up Wednesday and she says it will stay there for about 2 weeks.

London is an L.A.-based street artist who ya might recognize from "The Amazing Race," season 29. She says the Brit tribute recreates the singer's outfits from "...Baby One More Time," "Oops!...I Did It Again" and "Toxic" ... and took her about a week to make.

As you know ... Britney wants to end her conservatorship after 13 years. Celebs like Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus have had her back ... and now she can add these yarn figurines to the movement.

Lil Baby and NBA star James Harden have been stopped by police in Paris ... with a report claiming the rapper was arrested for weed.

Harden and several other men were swarmed by cops during an apparent search on the popular Avenue Montaigne. In one video circulating on social media, the Brooklyn Nets superstar can be heard saying he doesn't understand what's going on as cops begin to search him.

One photo shows an officer holding what appears to be a vaping device ... unclear who it belongs to or whether is contained the alleged marijuana.

Baby was seated in the back of a police van and appeared to be handcuffed ... local reports say he was among 3 people arrested for some sort of marijuana-related charge. The report said the vehicle the men were traveling in was pulled over and officers could smell marijuana. There were allegedly 20 grams of weed discovered.

We reached out to the Paris Police Dept. who would only tell us the incident was currently an active investigation.

Lil Baby and Harden are in the French city for Paris Fashion Week.

The fence around the U.S. Capitol is coming down in a move signaling a desire to put the January 6 attack in the nation's rearview, but Capitol Police are pissed ... especially because it's being replaced with bike racks.

Sources within the law enforcement agency tell TMZ ... the rank and file are upset about officials deciding to remove the perimeter fencing -- beginning Friday -- that was put up following the insurrection due to ongoing security concerns.

Capitol Police officers were informed via email Wednesday that bike racks will replace the fence to restrict access to the building's West Terrace -- the area where Trump-supporting rioters clashed with police -- but we're told that's the part that has them the most enraged.

If you recall ... bike racks were used by the insurrectionists as weapons against the police, and our sources say the Capitol cops feel the much larger fencing provided more safety and protection from potential future riots.

Also, the bike racks didn't do much to stop an attack last time ... so we're told, many Capitol Police officers are incredulous at this plan being repeated.

In addition, our sources say there are concerns over Capitol Police having enough manpower to secure the building without the fence ... because more than 75 members have left the force since Jan. 6, and we're told more are planning to quit.

We're told the remaining officers want the fence to be kept up until proper training's completed to prepare for potential future attacks, but until then many are feeling apprehensive ... especially with D.C. tourism back in full swing.

Worth noting -- the extra barricades around The White House that were installed over the past year, beginning with the riots following George Floyd's murder, were taken down earlier this week ... allowing people to walk right up to the fence on the North Lawn.