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Bad news for Bryan Kohberger ... prosecutors in Idaho just got the green light to seek the death penalty if he's convicted of murder in his upcoming trial.

A judge ruled Thursday that capital punishment will be on the table if Kohberger is found guilty of murdering four University of Idaho students.

Kohberger's legal team was trying to have the death penalty ruled out ... citing his recent autism diagnosis ... but the judge ruled against him.

Gary Richards -- the legendary promoter behind Electric Daisy Carnival and HARD -- is telling TMZ he actually knows how to throw a destination festival … unlike, well, Billy McFarland.

Hot on the heels of Billy’s doomed Fyre Festival 2.0, Gary tells TMZ he’s giving away 10 cabins for his upcoming FriendShip 2026 cruise to folks with the wildest Fyre Fest stories -- past or present.

Gary tells us watching the Fyre Festival docs seriously fired him up ... telling us that as a festival producer, all your fans have is your word -- and your track record -- so seeing all the chaos at their expense is straight-up unacceptable.

Al Sharpton just got done meeting with Wendy Williams at her assisted living facility ... and he says they prayed over her situation.

We got Al going in and out of the Coterie in New York City on Thursday -- the place Wendy likes to refer to as a "luxury prison" -- and our photog asked him about what he's doing to help Wendy and how she's holding up.

Wendy's fighting to get out of her guardianship and Al says they spent about 40 minutes together ... including time spent praying.

Jennifer Lopez's ex-lover Casper Smart got smoked by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office ... 'cause he was just charged with operating an illegal marijuana grow operation at his home ... TMZ has learned.

We're told the City Attorney filed 2 misdemeanor charges against Smart -- one count of participating in unlicensed commercial cannabis activity and and one count of engaging in commercial cannabis activity without a temporary application license.

The charges stem from a December 2024 raid, when police executed a search warrant at Casper's L.A. home, where cops say they found evidence of a small-to-medium-size grow operation.

FYRE Festival's on the auction block ... and, a man who already owns the IP for the broadcast and streaming rights might try to purchase the whole dang thing.

We spoke with Shawn Rech -- the man who cofounded TruBlu, a true-crime streaming service with "To Catch a Predator" star Chris Hansen -- and, he says he's considering buying the rights from the festival from Billy McFarland, who announced yesterday he's selling.

Rech explains he purchased the IP, which allows him to use the FYRE name to create a streaming service unrelated to the overall event ... admitting he secured it for a pretty reasonable price.

The world's first-ever sperm race is on deck and it's shaping up to be a heavyweight fight ... with plenty of trash talk on the eve of the main event.

Two young sperm donors, Tristan from USC and Asher from UCLA, are preparing to do battle in Friday's live event at the Hollywood Palladium ... so they joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to give us some insight into what it's like being full-blown sperm athletes.

Tristan and Asher say healthy lifestyles and diets are key to getting their little swimmers ready for the big race ... and abstinence is coming in to play too ... just like before a big boxing match.

4/25 -- 8:27 AM PT -- As promised, Trey Songz has released his new "Gimme a Chance" record ... which is more of a booty call request than an apology for past transgressions.

On the track, Trey's asking for a "sexy freaky lil' b****, suck it with a lotta spit ... And that p***y got a grip on it."

Trey Songz can clearly see what folks are saying about him on Instagram -- but wants fans to know his career has plenty of life -- and love to give!!!

Sources close to Trey tell TMZ Hip Hop he's releasing his new single, "Gimme a Chance," for New Music Friday tomorrow ... a track that will shed light on everything that has happened to the R&B superstar in the public eye

The song will touch on topics of redemption and reconciliation -- not just romantically, but in the broader sense -- think someone who knows they've messed up, but is owning it somewhat and asking for another shot. One thing missing from the song is an apology to anyone he might have wronged.

12:37 PM PT -- According to high school hoops insider Tarek Fattal, Alijah Arenas was placed into the induced coma due to smoke inhalation ... and did not suffer any broken bones.

12:26 PM PT -- Alijah's mom, Laura Govan, appeared to address the news in an Instagram post ... pleading with her 1.5 million followers to send wishes.

"I NEED ALL YOURE (sic) F***EN PRAYERS," Govan said minutes ago.

High school basketball phenom Alijah Arenas, the son of former NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas, was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after crashing his Tesla Cybertruck early Thursday morning ... TMZ Sports has learned.

It's unclear what caused the wreck, but the luxury vehicle was completely mangled on the side of the road of a Los Angeles neighborhood based on images we have viewed.

We're told emergency responders raced to the scene at 4:55 AM -- after fire personnel responded to a "trapped patient" ... but when help arrived, everyone inside the vehicle had already made it out.

Gisele Bündchen, Ivanka Trump and Karlie Kloss brought a ton of star power to a beach in Costa Rica this past weekend ... dressed in the proper revealing attire.

The tremendous trio hung around on the sand, surrounded by family members and chatting amicably -- with Ivanka seemingly breaking out into a big laugh.

Ivanka wore a bright blue bikini top for the day out ... adding a tropical floral skirt to the ensemble.

Roseanne Barr’s breaking her silence on "The Conners" TV series finale, which stirred the pot with a nod to her old character in a graveyard visit -- and interestingly, it looks like she's trying to find the silver lining in it all.

Jake Pentland, Roseanne’s son and rep, tells TMZ that while she definitely got screwed over and written out of her own revival show after a controversial tweet ... she and the fam are still glad "The Conners" crew got seven solid seasons of work out of the show she built.

Off the back of that, the family says there’s no need to dangle anyone’s job over her head anymore -- "The Conners" had their run, and that chapter’s officially closed.

Shannon Sharpe says he's stepping away from his ESPN gig ... four days after a woman claimed in a lawsuit he raped her.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer announced the decision on his X page on Thursday afternoon ... stating he's "temporarily" leaving his seat at the "First Take" desk in order to handle "false and disruptive allegations set against me."

Sharpe added, as of now, he's planning to return to his spot next to Stephen A. Smith later this summer -- right around the start of the NFL's preseason.

Jillian Lauren's leaning on her husband, Scott Shriner, during this difficult time -- quite literally -- in her first sighting since being arrested for the attempted murder of a cop, using her husband to help her traverse their driveway.

The Weezer bassist's wife was seen leaving their home in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon ... holding tightly to his wrist with one hand while carrying a red leather travel bag on her right arm. No injuries are visible, but she may be needing the extra support due to a gunshot wound to her shoulder following her police encounter earlier this month.

The two are packing up the car ... unclear where they're going -- but, we doubt it's far given the charges facing Lauren.

Shocking moment in the Karen Read retrial ... with her defense team getting one of the prosecution's key witnesses to admit a major part of her testimony to the grand jury that indicted Read wasn't true at all.

The bombshell admission happened Wednesday in court, when Kerry Roberts was getting cross-examined by Read's legal team.

Roberts, a close friend of late Boston police officer John O'Keefe, admitted she did NOT hear Read ask Jennifer McCabe to search Google about hypothermia on the morning the three women found O'Keefe dead in the snow.

Those close to Shannon Sharpe are adamant his relationship with his rape accuser was "purely" a BDSM one -- where the two would meet up for rough sex about once a week ... and nothing more.

Sources close to the Pro Football Hall of Famer told TMZ Sports on Thursday the ex-NFL star engaged in kinky, consensual sexual activity with Jane Doe "about 100 times" in both Los Angeles and Nevada -- from late 2022 to January 2025.

They insist that while the intimate encounters featured choking and role playing -- none of it was ever nonconsensual, forcible sex.

Just another day in the life of social media star Alix Earle ... She's always on the go and hittin' the hottest spots. Of course, she does it all lookin' cute and chic! This week's destination: Alix hit up the beautiful Turks and Caicos!

The blonde bombshell rocked several cute 'fits and hands down brought the party to the beach ...

Earle revved up the fun and hit the water on a Jet Ski with her friend, and in typical content creator fashion, she documented the thrills!

Kanye West and Bianca Censori are shopping till they drop over in Spain ... picking out her new outfits from an erotic store!!!

Check out this new footage of Kanye going in and out of a sex shop in Palma, Mallorca ... he's trying to be low-key with a black hoodie, but he couldn't evade the paparazzi.

Folks who work in the store say Kanye came in first, left, and then returned with Bianca ... and then they spent about an hour browsing around.