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A small group of angry adults destroyed "Black Lives Matter" artwork made by kids outside a Portland school, but the children are undeterred.

The 3 women tore down the BLM art hanging in front of The Cottonwood School on Sunday, while one of them -- appearing to be wearing a bulletproof vest -- expressed her disdain for the messaging on the signs.

According to the school ... the woman recording the incident is a community member, and despite her pleas for the 3 women to stop -- or at the very least not steal the kids' signs -- they ripped it all down and took off ... but not before the woman in sunglasses had a freak-out.

The good news -- the video's making the rounds, and members of the Portland community gathered Tuesday to support the students at the K-8 school with brand new signs ... while the students are working on making more of their own.

Cottonwood says that it "stands in solidarity with our Black families. Our goal is to nurture compassionate and confident students who possess the skills needed to confront racism in our community and beyond."

It continues ... "We are committed to fighting systemic racism, especially within our schools and neighborhoods, and we strive to model humility and non-violence for our children."

By the way ... the original artwork hung by the students went up in June. The school says the Oregon State Board of Education recently passed a resolution encouraging districts to support Black students, educators, and community members ... including renewing their commitment to anti-racism.

The officer who was shot on the night cops busted into Breonna Taylor's apartment and fatally shot her says he and his fellow cops were just doing their job ... and he's frustrated the case has been compared to the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was shot in the leg during the raid on March 13, and he's giving his account to Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" of what went down before Taylor was killed ... claiming he wants to clear up all the disinformation out there.

For starters, Mattingly describes how he banged on the door and insists that he -- along with several other officers -- announced their presence before entering. This is the key to the case, because if the police didn't announce themselves, they would not be entitled to use self-defense once inside. Mattingly insists they repeatedly said "Police, search warrant, open the door." He says they banged 6 times and repeated their announcement.

This, of course, contradicts what Breonna's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, claims ... as well as several neighbors. Mattingly says the neighbors have to be discounted, because they said they didn't even hear banging on the door, and Walker acknowledges he heard it.

Though Mattingly concedes Walker and Taylor may not have heard them, he refutes that Walker only fired a warning shot at the cops after they busted the door open. He says Walker had a gun pointed right at him ... and fired 4 times, hitting him once.

When Strahan presses Mattingly on whether things would have been different if the cops involved had body cams, Mattingly says yes ... because it would have shown they did nothing wrong ... and nobody would even know about Breonna Taylor.

The sergeant does suggest they could have done something different to avoid the tragedy, though -- bust in right away next time, thus preventing the people inside from grabbing a gun.

Finally ... Mattingly insists Breonna's death did not involve race, adding the case is nothing like what happened to George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery. He clearly feels he and his fellow officers have received unfair treatment from the public at large ... and says he's a victim too.

Rose petals?? Check. Sunset views on the beach?? Check. Candles and live music?? Check and check!!

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka and her rapper boyfriend Cordae had the most epic romantic dinner on the beach to celebrate her birthday this week ... and it legit looks like it came out of a dream.

The couple has been boo'd up in paradise for about a week to celebrate Osaka's 23rd (which was Oct. 16) ... posting up at the beach and other cozy spots.

The top highlight had to be their private dinner on the sand ... where the "Gifted" lyricist vibed to the tunes of the night as Osaka soaked it all in.

"I felt like I was in a movie," the 3-time Grand Slam winner said on Tuesday.

Of course, Osaka and Cordae have been together for over a year ... but this is by far the most romantic we've seen the couple!

Cordae has played the role of cheerleader this year as well, supporting Osaka from the stands during her U.S. Open championship run.

Young Buck might have dodged a bullet ... we've learned his girlfriend got busted by cops after allegedly firing a gun while squaring off with him.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the G-Unit rapper and his girlfriend were involved in a domestic incident Tuesday at a home in Tennessee, and at some point, she allegedly picked up a firearm and let off a few rounds.

As you can see, an image captured by someone who says they witnessed the incident appears to show Young Buck's girlfriend pointing a gun toward his truck at the foot of the driveway.

Our sources say it's unclear if anyone was struck by gunfire or where the girlfriend was aiming. We're told she was arrested and booked her for reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.

We reached out to Young Buck, who had no comment.

One of Michael Jackson's "Leaving Neverland" accusers just suffered a huge defeat in court ... the judge threw out his revived lawsuit over alleged abuse.

James Safechuck's 2014 lawsuit against MJ's companies -- MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures Inc. -- was brought back to life by the State of California earlier this year ... when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law extending the statute of limitations for alleged victims.

The upshot of the judge's opinion is that Safechuck and his legal team presented no facts to support their key argument -- namely, that honchos at MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures Inc. had a legal obligation to supervise MJ's behavior in the '90s ... when he allegedly abused James as a child back then.

The judge wasn't buying it, concluding MJ was the owner and sole shareholder of both of these companies, so how could his employees rein in their own boss?

The court found that since Mike was essentially the top dog, there was no evidence his subordinates had the power to supervise him. Safechuck had also argued ... while he was hanging out with MJ, the companies served a quasi-parental role -- meaning they would have had a duty to protect him.

The judge didn't bite on that either, finding James' side didn't lay out enough facts to support that claim.

James can appeal the ruling if he wants -- as it stands, however, he's lost this case against MJ's companies.

Bill Cosby is doing a lot better than what his latest mug shot might suggest -- this according to his team ... which wants to reassure folks who are concerned about his well-being.

A new photo of the incarcerated comic popped up late Tuesday, which shows him smiling and looking a lot more put-together than how he appeared in his latest portrait from the State Correctional Institution in Collegeville, PA ... where he's currently serving out his sentence.

The pic of Bill behind plexiglass was apparently taken by his publicist, Andrew Wyatt, last week during their first video chat together ... i.e. 'Rona. The caption reads, "We are posting this to reassure his family and supporters that he is doing ok during this pandemic."

Here, BC's hair is combed and he's in high spirits -- a stark contrast to what we posted straight from the prison's updated inmate yearbook. In his latest mug shot, Bill looks unkempt and somewhat disoriented as he cracks a coy smile and looks away from the camera.

While Wyatt might've picked up on people sympathizing with Bill online -- and there's certainly some of that happening on the bird app -- lots of others felt the opposite ... saying his mug served as proof he hadn't learned his lesson and was contemptuous to the process, while doubling down that he was rightly convicted for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand.

It's rewarding to be funny as hell ... Russell Peters just unloaded his Hidden Hills crib for a boatload of money.

Russell's 8-bedroom, 9-bathroom crib in an exclusive guard-gated neighborhood in Hidden Hills just sold for $7.8 million. The 11,638-square-foot crib sits on 1.4 acres. Russell must be a huge car guy ... cause the property also features parking for 20+ vehicles!

The pics of the place are insane ... dual curved staircases in the grand entry, a 14-seat movie theater to screen his next standup special, plus a wet bar, billiard room, gym and sauna.

Basically, everything someone needs to throw ridiculous parties.

TikTok star Bryce Hall can't seem to go out to eat anywhere in L.A. without getting into a fight ... this time, he and his crew were involved in an ugly brawl at a Mexican restaurant, but Bryce says it wasn't his fault.

The violence broke out Monday at Cinco Mexican restaurant near LAX, and video shows Bryce and his boys in a huge scuffle with staffers on the outdoor patio.

Sources with direct knowledge of the incident tell TMZ ... Bryce and his buddies were hanging out on the patio before playing golf at a nearby course, and things took a turn for the worse when a server told Bryce and co. to stop vaping.

It's illegal to vape at restaurants in L.A. but we're told Bryce and his boys refused to quit and Bryce allegedly blew smoke in a staffer's face when asked to stop.

Sources say Bryce and his friends were asked to leave and given the check. When their server went inside to run Bryce's credit card, all hell broke loose.

One source says it was Bryce and his buddies who jumped an employee, with Bryce throwing the first punch and continuing to brawl until other staffers broke it up.

Now, Bryce tells us he was vaping, but says he was cordial when the manager asked him to leave. He claims the trouble started when he had to ask to get his credit card back more than 10 times ... and the manager allegedly told him, "No, get the f*** off the property."

Bryce alleges the manager grabbed him and tried to drag him away, sparking the bigger all-out brawl. He claims he only put the guy in a headlock while defending one of his friends. In the end, Bryce says the manager kicked him in the nuts.

One employee claims to have suffered a potentially broken hand and bruised face in the scuffle ... and named Bryce as his attacker in a police report. We're told he wants to press charges.

Bryce and his friends had already left by the time cops arrived. Bryce claims he has witnesses and video to back up his version of events.

As we reported ... Bryce was also throwing haymakers outside Mel's Diner on Sunset last month.

An unreleased Notorious B.I.G. freestyle about his favorite cola is being turned into a slick commercial for Pepsi ... just in time to big him up for getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Biggie's bars were previously only heard during a HOT97 radio appearance he made in 1997 ... shortly before he was gunned down in Los Angeles. He was on with DJ Enuff when he busted the rap about Pepsi.

Not shockingly, Pepsi seized on the chance to promote with Biggie Small's own words and worked with his collaborators, Enuff and Cey Adams, to create an animated short music vid.

Some of the lyrics include, "Big slam, quick slam, tin can, whatever. Whether too cold or too hot, you got to keep Pepsi in the freezer. I keep a 3 liter for my crew. My girl like them diet joints too."

The spot shouts out Biggie's latest industry honor -- on November 7 he will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame -- so, great timing.

Tamar Braxton's suicide attempt shook her family to its core ... and their stunned reactions will be front and center when the new season of their reality show airs.

"Braxton Family Values" is gearing up for its 7th season, and the scary summer incident with Tamar will clearly be a focal point ... as her sisters and mother discuss coming to terms with what happened.

A new teaser for the show starts with Toni saying 2020 has been a hell of a year for their family, and reveals she was in a studio recording when she got wind of what happened to Tamar.

The mom, Evelyn, says Toni broke the news to her and the other sisters -- Traci, Trina and Towanda -- who were, of course, stunned.

As we reported, Tamar tried to take her own life at an L.A. hotel in July. Her boyfriend at the time, David Adefeso, called 911 to report it, and claimed it was all over beef with We tv.

Tamar later opened up about the incident, claiming years of mistreatment in reality TV pushed her to the brink and accusing the network of ignoring her cries for help.

WE tv cut ties with Tamar shortly afterward, but made the decision to still air her spinoff reality series, 'Get Ya Life!,' as it was intended.

Well, Cody Bellinger clearly learned his lesson ...

The Dodgers star balled out of his mind, again, in Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday ... but instead of celebrating with forearm bashes -- he turned to his feet to dap up teammates!

The scene was hilarious ... just two days after Belli dislocated his shoulder in the chaos following a game-winning HR in the NLCS on Sunday -- Cody hit another huge dinger off Rays starter Tyler Glasnow.

And, as the outfielder rounded 3rd base and headed for home, everyone wondered ... how was he going to celebrate this one?!

Turns out, Belli protected his arms at all costs ... and gave his squadmates love taps with his cleats!!!

The move was so epic ... even LeBron James gave Cody his stamp of approval, writing on social media, "Hahaha!! Leg tap celebrations for him."

As for Bellinger's take on the HR celly switch-up ... he told reporters after the game, "I said it today before the game: 'If I hit one, I’m not touching anybody’s arm.'"

He added with a laugh, "I think I’ll continue to do that, maybe my whole career."

Bellinger also had an insane catch later in the game ... helping the Dodgers seal the 8-3 victory over Tampa Bay.

Looks like pregame advice from Dad really paid off, huh?!

Your eyes and mind are not deceiving you ... Kim Kardashian is turning 40, and to celebrate, here are 40 of her best hot shots. Not that ya needed an excuse.

Yes, Kim K is celebrating the milestone bday Wednesday, which might have some of you wondering where in the hell the time goes. Thankfully, this gallery should help ease the sting of Father Time ... and just about anything else that's got ya down, really.

Check out the pics for the best possible hump day celebration most of us will muster today. It's a sweet stroll down memory lane that definitely includes Kim dressed to the nines.

BTW, a huge shout-out and big thank you to Paris Hilton for introducing Kim K to the rest of the world back in August 2006 as they sauntered into the Hyde nightclub in WeHo. Unforgettable moment ... even if you're not Tara Reid.

Carole Baskin's not only had 3 husbands, but also a wife ... but she says there's been one big difference between her male and female partners.

The 'Tiger King' star, who just this week came out as bisexual, tells TMZ ... she's had lovers from both sexes, and even had a "nonsexual wife" back in the day. Carole's said she could just as easily have married the woman in her life as she did Don Lewis, and then Howard Baskin.

However, we know Carole often sees things differently than most ... and marriage is no exception. First off, she says her "wife" was heterosexual, and that boundary was always respected.

So, with sex off the table ... Carole says they loved each other in a platonic way, and her partner did all the cooking, took care of their home and was even a secretary for Carole's real estate biz. BTW, she doesn't want to reveal the woman's identity to protect her from the media, but it seems they were together sometime in the mid to late '80s ... when same sex marriage was illegal, anyway.

As for Carole's rules of attraction -- she says for her it's more about who you are on the inside, and she doesn't have a preference for physical characteristics ... male or female. Of course, she takes it even deeper ... telling us human connection isn't about sex, gender, race or nationality because humans are ALL of those things.

Carole's also clearing up some statements about her sexuality ... telling us she doesn't identify as a transgender male despite telling PinkNews she feels she was born in the wrong body.

The Big Cat Rescue owner, who clearly believes in reincarnation, says you won't know why you were born as you were ... until you are between lives.

The man who slashed a footlong wound into MLB star Tommy Pham's back is still on the loose ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The San Diego Police Dept. tells us NO arrests have been made in the case ... this nearly 2 weeks after the Padres outfielder was stabbed outside Pacer’s Gentlemen’s Club on Oct. 11.

As we previously reported, cops say Pham headed out of the venue at around 10:37 p.m. and confronted a group of people who were quarreling near his car.

Police say things ultimately turned violent between Pham and the men ... adding the 32-year-old MLB player was attacked and cut with a blade.

In footage of the aftermath of the incident, the back of Pham's shirt was clearly soaked in blood. Later in the clip, you can see emergency responders worked feverishly to get him medical help.

Fortunately, Pham is expected to make a full recovery ... and Pham himself said in a statement after the incident, "I know I’ll be back to my offseason training routine in no time."

Before this happy kid became one of the worlds' most beloved celebrities starring in franchise films, he was just another cute kid reppin' Hawaiian shirts spending his childhood moving around to California, New Zealand, North Carolina, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Tennessee.

This smiling sweetheart is a renaissance man known for his variety of successful endeavors including wrestling and acting, to just name a couple. He even recently took on singing when he starred as a voice-over actor in a magical Disney animation film.

You may recognize him by his more popular nickname -- which originated to commemorate his father.

Tory Lanez says he still considers Megan Thee Stallion a friend despite her claim he shot her ... but Meg doesn't sound too friendly.

The rapper proclaimed his innocence for the first time on video Tuesday, hopping on Instagram Live to defend himself against Megan's accusations, and he really raised eyebrows when he said, in his book, they're still pals.

The friendship sounds like news to Meg ... she says Tory is "genuinely crazy."

It's not like they can hang out as friends anymore anyways ... Tory was ordered to stay the hell away from MTS after a hearing on his felony assault charge in connection with the shooting.

Tory's now calling the shooting a "debacle" and says the only people who really know what happened are him and Meg. Seems he's forgetting Meg's friend and his chauffeur were also there when a gun went off during an argument.