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Michael Jackson accuser James Safechuck and his mom are about to get grilled under oath ... as his long-running legal battle over his alleged childhood abuse by the King of Pop barrels ahead.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, James is scheduled to sit for a deposition Monday, Sept. 14 ... while his mother, Stephanie Safechuck, is slated to be questioned over two days -- Oct. 15 and 20.

Stephanie could be a key witness given just how close she says the Safechuck family became with Michael.

One of the three people who died at Burning Man this year had been dealing with heart problems before attending the festival ... TMZ has learned.

Armando Ramirez's mom and sister tell TMZ ... he had gone to the emergency room twice for heart-related issues in the weeks leading up to Burning Man and had a doctor's appointment scheduled for November.

His friends noticed he was having difficulty breathing while helping set up a tent after arriving at the festival.

We're told medics resuscitated Armando once before he was airlifted to a hospital, but he died before reaching it. His family suspects he suffered a heart attack, but toxicology results are still pending.

Lauren Boebert went to bat for her son Tyler in court Thursday ... asking a judge to punish him for his identity theft case without derailing his future as a young father.

The Colorado Congresswoman spoke during Tyler's sentencing hearing ... telling the judge she was there "as Tyler's mother" and "as a granny to his son" ... and insisting, "He's not a bad kid, he's not a bad man."

Lauren acknowledged Tyler was given a second chance with a deferred sentence, but failed to stay out of trouble ... later pleading guilty last week in a separate child abuse case.

Jake Paul and his Olympic gold medalist fiancée Jutta Leerdam kept clothing to a minimum in Capri ... just when you thought Italy couldn't get any hotter in August!

The Problem Child and the champion speed skater have been livin' it up on their European vacay on the sun-drenched island in the Mediterranean.

The couple jetted over in Jake's PJ ... and it's clearly been nonstop fun ever since they touched down.

Matt Damon says the possibility A.I. wipes out humanity within the decade is definitely something to lose sleep over ... but he's got a solution that may be easier said than done.

We got the actor at LAX on Thursday, and our photog asked how he's feeling after an A.I. whistleblower claimed the people building A.I. "earnestly believe it could kill us all by the end of the decade."

Matt says people's fears are definitely warranted ... telling us it's "a big thing to worry about.

Cassie's mostly kept to herself since testifying against Diddy during his sex trafficking trial ... but she did make a rare public appearance recently -- showing up to a classy London premiere.

The singer-songwriter attended the "Mobland" showing Thursday -- about a week before the wide release of the show's much-anticipated second season.

Cassie stunned in a low-cut gray dress while posing arm in arm with Alex Fine, who donned an all-black ensemble. The pair flashed small smiles for the camera.

Ne-Yo’s team is firing back at the lawsuit over a canceled concert in Sri Lanka … denying a promoter’s claims that it shelled out $300K and got no show in return. 

A spokesperson for Ne-Yo tells TMZ, “The claims made by Brown Boy Presents are categorically fraudulent and misleading. Brown Boy Presents isn’t owed money by NE-YO—the promoter owes NE-YO answers regarding its misconduct.”

The rep added that the promoter was contractually obligated to pay Ne-Yo in full prior to the performance and cover roundtrip travel for the musician and his team.

B2K singer Raz B and his wife, Mona Li, announced the devastating loss of their baby son Astro Monte Thornton ... just three months after he was born.

Sources close to the family tell TMZ ... Astro died earlier this week, and his death was unexpected and sudden.

The cause of the infant's death is unclear.

A family spokesperson tells us ... "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of Astro Monte Thornton, beloved son of Mona and De'Mario 'Raz B' Thornton of the R&B supergroup B2K. The family asks for privacy as they navigate this difficult time. They truly appreciate your love and support."

The Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, doesn't sound like a model inmate ... because he was reportedly caught with drugs and disciplined for smuggling a package into prison.

The convicted murderer allegedly tried to smuggle a package into the Clinton Correctional Facility in July and was later found with drugs ... this according to disciplinary records obtained by The New York Post.

Unclear what was in the alleged package, or what specific drugs he allegedly had ... but he's set to face the music next week ... there's a Sept. 18 hearing scheduled.

A California football mom accused of siphoning over $400,000 from a nonprofit created to support a high school football team has been arrested and charged ... and federal prosecutors say she used the money to pay her mortgage and credit card bills.

56-year-old Aliso Viejo resident Julie Hanway Molina was arrested Thursday at her Orange County home ... according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.

Molina was reportedly the treasurer for a booster club benefiting the Aliso Niguel High School football team. The feds claim she defrauded the nonprofit out of approximately $411,761.

Cute couple alert!!! Post Malone and Christy Lee were spotted for the first time since announcing their plans to tie the knot.

The lovebirds were snapped Wednesday in Los Angeles, holding hands while Christy flaunted the massive rock on her ring finger.

The bride-to-be looked cute and casual in a ruffled pink top and a pair of jeans ... while the "Better Now" rapper sported a brown set.

B2K's tour is still scheduled to move forward in December ... despite the fact Raz B and his wife, Mona Li, just lost their 3-month-old son, Astro Monte Thornton.

Music industry sources familiar with the plans tell TMZ ... B2K will proceed with its three U.K. shows as part of the RnB Winter Ball tour.

The group is set to perform in Birmingham, Manchester and London.

As we reported ... Astro died earlier this week in what sources close to the family described as an unexpected and sudden tragedy. His cause of death remains unclear.

Kodak Black is off the hook in one of his criminal cases after prosecutors charged him with fleeing and resisting arrest during a traffic stop in Florida.

On Tuesday, a Broward County judge granted Kodak's motion to dismiss the case, saying prosecutors produced no evidence supporting the charge that the rapper tried to elude police officers. As a result, the judge dismissed all charges against Kodak and closed the case.

Kodak's powerhouse attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... "We are glad the court signed the order granting the motion to dismiss. This case was not a fleeing and alluding and we demonstrated that fact through the video and deposition of the deputy."

Aaron Rodgers has shared exactly how his watershed reconciliation with younger brother Jordan Rodgers went down ... and it wasn't without its difficult moments.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback told his teammate Cam Heyward on the "Not Just Football" podcast that he met up with Jordan after reuniting with his estranged parents, Ed and Darla Rodgers, in his hometown of Chico, California, back in April.

Aaron said ... "A couple weeks after that, [I] went out to Nashville, met up with my older brother, and a couple weeks after that, met up with my little brother.”

Celebrities flocked to the U.S. Open, bringing plenty of Hollywood glam to the stands as they soaked up the tennis action with the sport's biggest names.

Check out the gallery -- name a more legendary selfie than Colman Domingo cozied up next to none other than Anna Wintour.

Always serving looks, Martha Stewart had her game face on, and Bravo's Carl Radke set aside the reality TV drama to watch the tennis pros battle it out on the court.

The Ohio lawyer convicted of attempted murder after he was caught on camera trying to shoot his ex-wife in a restaurant allegedly lied and said he was a police officer in order to secure a firearm ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained court docs filed by prosecutors in the case against Matthew Exton, which lay out a history of criminal issues.

In the docs, prosecutors point to a police report from 2024 when Matthew allegedly represented himself as a law enforcement official to buy a new firearm.

They also say there are voicemail messages he left in April 2024, threatening to kill the victims in this matter, a postcard sent to the victim, texts from him threatening to kill the victims, and a Ring camera video where they say he loses his "composure."