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Pope Francis is strongly in support of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, comparing abortion to "hiring a hitman to solve a problem."

The Pope reiterated the position of the Catholic Church ... that life begins at conception.

He spoke from his residence at the Vatican ... "I ask, is it legitimate? Is it right to eliminate a human life to resolve a problem?"

Then the 85-year-old Pontiff was asked about a hot topic in the Church -- whether someone, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is pro-choice should be allowed to get communion. FYI ... Pelosi was denied communion by the archbishop in San Francisco where she lives, although she received the sacrament at the Vatican last week.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem did her best to deflect how she and her state would handle the case of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped.

Gov. Noem appeared on CNN Sunday and discussed her state's anti-abortion law, which prohibits such procedures except to save the life of the mother.

The Governor immediately tried to change the subject and talk about how a monster could do such a thing and how people like him needed accountability. CNN's Dana Bash pressed her to get back on topic, and the Governor danced around the subject.

The 10-year-old lives in Ohio, and was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant ... 3 days too late to get an abortion in that state. She reportedly traveled to Indiana for the procedure.

Bash couldn't pin the Governor down ... she asked, "Because [the] trigger law [in South Dakota] was passed before you became governor, I wanted you to be clear: Will the state of South Dakota going forward force a 10-year-old in that very same situation to have a baby?"

Noem's answer ...  "You know what I think is incredible, Dana, in this tragic story? What’s incredible is that nobody’s talking about the pervert, the horrible and deranged individual, that raped a 10-year-old. What are we doing about those individuals that do this to these children?​"

She added ... "Every single life — every single life is precious."

It seems the Governor is saying the little girl should be forced to give birth ... "What I would say is, I don’t believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. And so there’s more that we have got to do to make sure that we really are living a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered, like that 10-year-old girl."

Josh Duggar is set to spend the next 12 years of his life behind bars, and while it was assumed it wouldn't be easy ... we have details now on just how strict his prison day-to-day will actually be.

Duggar is expected to keep his cell and surrounding area squeaky clean -- he'll need to have his bed made military-style by 7:30 AM on weekdays -- as well as complete daily chores that include sweeping and mopping floors, cleaning walls and emptying the trash.

While he's serving his sentence in a low-security prison, the strict conduct rules also state inmates must stop all loud talking, card, domino and game playing at 9:15 PM. Prisoners must return to their rooms by 11 PM and all noise, including TVs, must be off by midnight.

The facility, the Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville, Texas ... issues each inmate a set of 5 shirts, 5 sets of underwear, 1 pair of shoes, 5 pairs of trousers, 1 belt and 5 pairs of socks that must remain clean and tagged with the inmate name and registrar number ... or the inmate faces discipline.

There are also jobs available around the prison -- like painting, welding, landscape detail and food service.

D.L. Hughley says Donald Trump belongs behind bars for his role in the insurrection ... strongly believing any lesser outcome signals the end of justice as we know it.

We got the comedian/social activist at LAX and asked about the January 6th hearings, including shocking recent testimony about Trump's actions on that fateful day.

D.L. says he's already seen enough evidence to conclude Trump committed sedition ... and he says if the Department of Justice does NOT indict Trump and everyone else who was involved, the idea of justice in America is dead.

The way D.L. sees it ... Trump weaponized the mob that stormed the Capitol and he was also behind the fake electors' scheme, committing the very election fraud Trump wouldn't shut up about.

D.L. says the hearings show the insurrection was way worse than Watergate ... and he says the reluctance of Trump and his defenders to go under oath speaks volumes.

It's clear Canelo Alvarez doesn't like Gennady Golovkin ... 'cause the boxing star tells TMZ Sports GGG is a straight-up "a**hole" who talks too much -- and he's planning to KO the guy because of it.

"He's a f***ing a**hole," Canelo said of his upcoming September opponent. "He's not honest. He pretends to be a good person and be different but he's not."

Canelo says his opinion of Golovkin basically boils down to this -- he believes the 42-1-1 boxer is just flat-out two-faced.

"He talks a lot of s*** about me," Alvarez said. "He'll say, 'I respect him, his career.' And, other part, 'He's an embarrassing boxer, he's embarrassing for Mexican boxing.'"

"I hate that motherf***er because of that."

Earlier this week, GGG told us he knew Canelo felt that way about him ... but he believed it was because the 57-2-2 fighter can't handle his honesty.

The beef will all be settled on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas when the two square off for the third time in their careers ... and, according to Canelo, he'll get the last laugh.

"My goal is to end this fight before the 12 rounds," Canelo said.

After that, Canelo said he'd like a rematch with Dmitry Bivol -- the only boxer he's ever lost to outside of Floyd Mayweather.

"I'm 100% focused on this fight [with Golovkin] because it's a dangerous fight," Canelo said, "but 100% looking for a second fight with Bivol."

Ignite your patriotic flame and get into the 4th of July spirit with these stars who have slipped into their finest American flag swimsuits!

Celebs are showing off their bods with pride, and now you have full access to the 'American Flag Suit Show' ... taking place at a beach or swimming pool near you!

Sammy Hagar makes most of his money from booze, books and bars ... which he says is the precise reason he enjoys rocking out with his band. We will explain.

The Red Rocker joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked if he made more money outside of music ... he does, and he tells us how his success in the business world benefits his art.

Sammy says the only reason he's still playing shows with his band, The Circle, is because he doesn't have to play music to pay the bills ... a big bonus for a 74-year-old rock star.

The former Van Halen frontman says whenever he plays a show nowadays, it's for fun and not about the paycheck. His wealth allows him to pay his band more, making everyone happy and giving him the feeling they're just like a good ol' garage band.

In addition to being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sammy's a savvy businessman ... with legendary restaurants like the Cabo Wabo Cantina, where he sells his own lines of spirits. He also writes books, including his latest, "Sammy Hagar's Cocktail Hits: 85 Personal Favorites from the Red Rocker."

Adam Hicks, the former child star of several Disney movies and TV shows, is living life on parole after doing time for second-degree robbery.

Hicks was arrested in 2018 for allegedly pulling a bunch of armed robberies in Burbank, CA -- and eventually, in July 2021, got sentenced to 5 years behind bars.

He caught a major break though, because the judge gave him credit for 1,460 days he served while awaiting sentencing, and he was released back in March.

TMZ broke the story ... Hicks, who starred in "Zeke and Luther," "Pair of Kings," and "Lemonade Mouth" and his girlfriend Danni Tamburo were arrested after cruising the Burbank area and pointing a gun at pedestrians -- taking their cellphones, money and other property.

While Hicks got 5 years in prison, his GF got off with 3 years of probation.

The actor had shown a history of violence before his arrest -- he once shot himself in the leg while hanging out with friends, and court docs said he was "very uncooperative" with police.

American singer and songwriter Don McLean was just 26 years old when he released his hit song "American Pie" -- the eight-and-a-half minute track that is commonly associated with national pride and patriotism -- back in 1971.

The song's success has led to many other iconic musicians renditioning the classic, including John Mayer, Madonna, Jon Bon Jovi, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks ... not to mention, "American Pie" was steadfast on numerous music charts for decades!

"Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie."

California Governor Gavin Newsom just took out an ad in Florida for what seems to be nothing more than a troll effort ... poking fun at Gov. DeSantis, and conservatives at large.

Newsom's campaign ad is 30 seconds, and the word is -- he bought airtime on Fox News in Florida markets for this cheeky spot, set to run through the holiday weekend. It's pretty funny, 'cause GN's embracing rhetoric the right often use, including "taking your freedom."

Check it out ... the Gov. is addressing Floridians directly, telling them that their freedom and rights are under attack in their state -- via book banning, voting restrictions, limiting speech in classrooms, as well as criminalizing women and doctors (a la the new abortion ruling).

He goes on to say that he urges everyone living in the Sunshine State to "join the fight" ... by coming over to California, where he says the idea of freedom is still very much alive.

The whole thing is super ironic and full of satire -- and Newsom's getting a lot of praise online for going out of his way to stick it to DeSantis (seen as an up-and-coming star in the GOP) and right-wingers generally. Others, however, are raising an eyebrow over this.

Some have noted this stunt -- which has no bearing on his re-election chances in November, since no one in Florida can vote here anyway -- was expensive ... and probably unnecessary.

So, why do it??? Well, as political pundits have articulated ... Newsom seems to be ambitious beyond just California politics, and may be trying to lay the groundwork as a go-to Dem voice on the national stage in the not-too-distant future. He also probably sees DeSantis as a good foil ... because he too is seen as a GOP leader going forward, post-Trump.

Janet Jackson was not impervious to technical difficulties that plagued Essence Festival -- losing audio midway through her performance ... but powering through to kill it regardless.

The singer was one of the big headliners at the NOLA concert series this weekend at Caesars Superdome ... where TONS of huge stars performed in an event comparable to Coachella. What was also comparable ... audio issues often experienced in a live show.

No exception for Janet, unfortunately, because during her set ... her mic seemed to cut out while she was in the middle of either talking or singing, seen here in video obtained by TMZ.

The good news is that this little hiccup appeared to go mostly unnoticed, and the rest of Janet's time on stage was a smash hit ... as she rifled through hit after hit after hit for more than an hour -- leaving fans more than satisfied with the tunes and choreography.

Now, it's worth mentioning ... there seemed to be quite a bit of sound issues throughout the past couple days of acts -- including some complaints about Halle and Chloe Bailey's set, with folks saying their levels were off and that they sounded funky to the live audience.

The audio for C/H were the least of some people's concerns though ... even more viewers at home were pissed that Hulu only live-streamed their very last song ... a recurring theme for the festival -- namely, who subscribers watching on Hulu actually got to see.

This was perhaps most notable during Friday's show, when Nicki Minaj was the headliner for the night ... even though her performance didn't end up making it onto the Hulu broadcast.

Angela Yee -- who was on hosting duties that night -- noted they weren't going to be able to show Nicki's set for audiences at home, citing "circumstances beyond our control." NM did indeed perform ... and she aired out her frustrations with whatever was going on BTS.

In light of Nicki's mishaps -- as well as other artists here and there -- many were daring Essence/Hulu to screw up Janet's set (jokingly), saying there'd be problems if they did.

Welp, they did end up screwing the pooch a little bit for JJ after all ... but no harm, no foul. She carried on like a pro, and appears to have put on a helluva number for everyone.

A man claiming to be an off-duty Chicago PD officer pinned a 14-year-old boy to the ground with his knee after accusing him of stealing his own son's bike -- and the whole thing was caught on video.

The boy's parents tell TMZ the incident happened Friday at a Starbucks in Park Ridge, IL -- just outside of Chicago. They say their son, who is Puerto Rican and an honor student, athlete and member of the local church was at the coffee spot with a group of friends and saw an abandoned bike laying on the sidewalk.

We're told the boy -- who also had his own bike with him -- attempted to move the abandoned bike out of the way ... and that's when the alleged off-duty officer pounced.

The parents tell us the man grabbed the boy by the wrist, slammed him to the ground and pinned him with his knee -- accusing the 14-year-old of having stolen the bike from his son.

We're told the man's son's bike had allegedly recently been stolen from a nearby location.

You can see in the video, the situation is tense, with the other teens coming to their friend's defense ... eventually pulling him away from the man.

A spokesperson for the Park Ridge PD tells us the man told their officers, who responded to the scene, that he was an off-duty Chicago Police officer. We spoke to a rep for The Chicago Police Department who tells us they're conducting an internal investigation into the situation.

The 14-year-old's parents are pissed -- pointing out their son was the only kid in the group who was of a different ethnicity ... and have plans to file a formal complaint in the near future.

Tom Cruise wasn't born on the Fourth of July, but came close -- and on his special day, a filmmaking partner is honoring him by basically saying ... never change, you nutty bastard.

The actor turned 60 Sunday, and to ring in the milestone ... director Christopher McQuarrie posted a wild photo to celebrate TC and the death-defying stunts that he still carries out himself to this day ... including on the forthcoming 'Mission: Impossible' movie(s).

As you can see, there's Tommy dangling from the wing of an old-timey biplane ... without anyone in the cockpit, it seems. Just Tom hanging on solo, without much assistance.

McQuarrie didn't add much context to this pic -- other than wishing Tom a happy 60th -- but it's pretty obvious this is from either "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One" or 'Part Two' ... both of which CMQ is helming with Tom in the driver's seat.

One description of this stunt -- which was reported on last year, as eyewitnesses saw Tom practicing in the U.K. -- explains he'll apparently slip out of the cockpit, make his way to the wing of the plane, hang there as the plane nosedives, and then do a barrel roll to boot.

Unclear if this will be featured in 'M:I 7' '8' ... but in any case, Chris seems to have thought its worthy to throw up as an homage to Tom -- who continues to live like a daredevil.

In fact, this plane thing is just a taste of what he'll do in the new flick -- as we learned from the teaser trailer last month, Tom is also going to jump off a cliff while on a motorcycle ... only to be saved by a parachute. Indeed, his reputation only gets cemented with each flick.

Lots of reasons to be happy if you're Tom Cruise today -- not only is it his born day, but his latest blockbuster, "Top Gun: Maverick," hit a huge benchmark that he's never achieved ... the film has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide at the box office. And, it's still rolling.

As for what the guy's up to today, he was actually spotted at the British Grand Prix ... where he did a stop-and-chat with Sky Sports' Martin Brundle and cheered on Lewis Hamilton.

Even on his bday, he's got time for an impromptu interview and is pleasant about it. Just one more reason we love Tom ... one of the last true iconic movie stars of this generation.

Michael Pena might be getting flashbacks watching this ... a cop throwing hands with an unarmed civilian, and losing his own gear to get on equal footing.

Check out this wild fight between a police officer and a regular schmoe from the streets ... where they both decide to square up and duke out whatever issue they're having. It's pretty nuts -- the cop actually takes off his vest (but still keeps his gun) to throw down properly.

They exchange minor blows for a good while, with the cop seeming to have the upper hand -- he's way bigger for starters -- and the dude in green coming back for more each round.

In the end, they appear to leave their differences right there on the pavement ... seemingly without further incident. Of course, many have pointed out that this doesn't look to have happened in the States -- where a civilian would surely be busted for scrapping with a cop.

Of course, the other observation here ... this is very much like a scene from the 2012 movie "End of Watch," in which both Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal star ... where they play wayward cops. At one point in the flick -- Pena's character, Mike Zavala, brawls with a perp.

Jayland Walker was shot and killed by cops in Ohio last week -- and video of the incident was just released ... confirming accounts that he'd been hit by dozens of bullets.

The 25-year-old was pursued in a police chase early Monday morning in Akron, where officers attempted to pull him over, citing a traffic violation. Walker didn't stop and led cops on a bit of a lengthy chase through the city, with multiple units being called in to help.

Akron Police says officers heard a gunshot ring out from Walker's vehicle as they followed him -- and they claim surveillance video from the area shows a muzzle flash coming from inside his car, leading officers to believe he was armed ... which they announced to dispatch.

Eventually, Walker stopped and fled by foot with a ski mask on ... with officers telling him to halt and surrender. They say they tried using Tasers on him, but the efforts failed.

Walker continued running, but finally stopped and turned around ... at which point several officers opened fire, gunning him down. In the end, the ME says he was hit at least 60 times.

Cops say they tried life-saving measures when they stopped firing -- but Walker died on the scene. Ultimately, he was found to be unarmed there on the ground ... but cops say they discovered a handgun and a loaded magazine in his vehicle upon a subsequent search.

8 officers who were involved in the shooting have been on administrative leave pending an investigation. Protests have taken place in Akron for about a week, crying foul over his killing. On top of an internal probe over this, the DOJ says it's looking into it as well.

The city of Akron canceled its 4th of July firework show this weekend in the wake of the shooting. LeBron James -- who's famously from Akron -- tweeted Sunday, "I pray for my city."

One of the elements of this story that has outraged the community and beyond is how Walker was found after he'd been shot. Reports say when the ME arrived, he was found lying on his back in handcuffs ... with wounds on his face, abdomen and upper legs.

Amber Heard wants a do-over in court, demanding a judge toss the verdict against her in the Johnny Depp defamation trial ... because of shoddy evidence and an alleged fake juror.

The actress's lawyers filed new docs this week in VA, asking the judge to either set aside the verdict in favor of JD entirely, dismiss the complaint or order a new trial. Take your pick!

The reasons they lay out are many, but essentially fall into 3 categories -- one, she argues there wasn't sufficient evidence presented on Johnny's side to convince a jury that her words had hurt his career/cost him roles ... and yet, they somehow decided she had anyway.

Amber's attorneys argue that Johnny's career was already on the ropes -- including within the 'Pirates' franchise -- before her op-ed in Dec. 2018, and yet ... she was found liable for that. Furthermore, AH's team claims JD and co. failed to prove she acted with actual malice in the sense that there was little to no evidence offered up showing she ever believed she hadn't been abused by him and didn't believe every word uttered or written in the op-ed.

They're also harping on the fact that Amber never named Johnny in the piece, and more importantly ... insist that the defamatory lines in question were, in fact, true on their face.

There's also this ... Amber and her team claim that one of the jurors who decided her fate may not have actually been the person summoned to court, and that the court apparently missed it by not properly vetting them. It's Juror #15, whose birth year on paper is 1945.

Amber's team says they've done a quick search on this would-be imposter -- whom they say is clearly younger than that -- and it appears this person might've been born in 1970. As a result, they want the court to investigate the matter further. If it's found they did erroneously end up on the jury ... just another reason to scrap this whole thing and start from scratch.

Mind you ... this is NOT Amber's appeal of the case -- which she's vowed to carry out, even though it would cost her a fortune she apparently doesn't have. Because of that fact, this seems to be a roundabout way to achieve the same thing, sans throwing down any dough.