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Boxer Jermain Taylor has finally been hit with charges for SHOOTING his cousin at his Arkansas mansion back in August -- and if convicted, could face up to 26 years behind bars.

Taylor's wife called 911 immediately following the August 26th shooting ... and Jermain can be heard on tape admitting he shot a man. He also warns police, "Better come get him before I kill him."

At the time, Taylor claimed the man was an intruder and he was protecting his property -- but prosecutors are calling BS ... telling us they're not buying Taylor's self-defense story.

Now, he's been charged with battery and making terrorist threats -- both felonies. If convicted on both counts, he could face a maximum of 26 years in prison.

As for the victim, we're told he survived the shooting. No word on his current condition.

Don Lemon apologized for suggesting an alleged Bill Cosby rape victim should have bitten him during oral sex -- pleading he wouldn't intentionally be insensitive because he's a sexual abuse victim himself.

In case you missed it ... during Tuesday's interview Lemon suggested the woman could have prevented Cosby from allegedly forcing her to perform oral sex. It came off like he was blaming the victim and angered a lot of viewers.

Lemon revealed in 2010 that he was molested as a child.

Lil Twist is officially a wanted man -- a felony warrant has been issued for his arrest in the Chris Massey beatdown ... and the warrant is for home invasion and robbery.

We broke the story ... Twist, and 4 other guys, allegedly busted into Kyle's apartment and pummeled Chris with brass knuckles last Friday and stole his wallet and cell phone.

The Massey brothers' attorney says a judge issued the arrest warrant and claims Twist has been charged with felony home invasion and robbery, but the D.A. says no charges have been filed ... yet.

Author R.A. Montgomery -- founder of the "Choose Your Own Adventure" book series -- has died.

If you'd like to know more about his death ... go to paragraph 2.

If you'd like to learn the author's history ... go to paragraph 3.

Montgomery passed away at his home in Vermont last Sunday. His family hasn't released the cause of death.

The author created the series in the '70s and more than 200 "CYOA" titles were eventually published. It's one of the best selling children's book series of all time.

If you'd like to give your condolences ... go to the comments section.

If you'd like to tell your friends ... share the story on social media.

St. Louis Cardinals rookie Oscar Taveras' blood alcohol level was 5 TIMES the legal limit at the time of his fatal crash last month ... officials in the Dominican Republic say.

The 22-year-old MLB rising star died on October 26th when the car he was driving smashed into a tree. Oscar's 18-year-old girlfriend, who was a passenger in the car, was also killed in the wreck.

Initially, cops said preliminary evidence did not lead them to believe Oscar was intoxicated at the time of the crash ... but toxicology reports showed his blood alcohol was at an extremely high level.

Cops also say he was driving "very, very fast" at the time of the accident.

12:13 P.M. PST -- Federal investigators tell TMZ they want to know what caused the scaffolding to malfunction. We're told OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Admin.) has launched "an inspection" into the incident.

11:23 A.M. PST -- Both window washers have been rescued. NY firefighters broke open a window and pulled the workers to safety. The FD just updated its Twitter feed, reporting "scaffolding emergency, under control."

Two window washers are stuck on a scaffolding outside the 68th floor of 1 World Trade Center in New York City ... and the FDNY is staging a rescue.

The workers were reportedly heading to the top of the building at around 12:42 PM ET when their scaffold's motors or cables broke.

The FDNY will reportedly break through the glass of the building in order to get to the workers. More than a dozen FDNY units have been dispatched to the scene.

The lead singer of Survivor died from a stroke and methamphetamine abuse ... according to autopsy results.

Jimi Jamison had a narrowing of his arteries and cardiovascular disease ... according to the report -- however it lists the brain stroke as the ultimate cause of death. He died back in September at his home in Memphis.

Jamison took over as the band's frontman in 1984 -- after their biggest hit, "Eye of the Tiger" -- but was responsible for several other hits like ... "The Search is Over" and "Is This Love?"

Jamison was 63.

Justin Bieber is $80K poorer -- and he's a lot calmer because he's paid his former neighbor the cost of undoing all the damage from the egging, and Biebs has taken steps to control his temper.

Bieber's attorney Shawn Holley said to a judge Monday Bieber has done what he's supposed to do to complete his probation.

In addition to the money, Bieber is required to take 12 anger management classes ... and he's completed 6. He's in the process of doing his 5 days of community labor.

It's interesting ... Bieber was at a bible studies class over the weekend, so maybe he really is mellowing out.

Bieber is on track to finish everything by Feb 10th. He'll still be on probation until 2016.

TMZ posted the video shot by the neighbor after the egging incident last January ... and Bieber's voice can clearly be heard. And surveillance video taken from Justin's home showed he was part of the egg attack.

Nike will no longer pay Adrian Peterson to "just do it" -- the company has fired him on the heels of the plea deal in his child abuse case.

Nike had suspended its contract with Peterson in September, right after he was arrested for hitting his son with a switch -- but today the company fully cut ties with the Vikings running back.

Nike has not said why it finally decided to 86 him altogether -- but it comes just 2 days after he entered a no contest plea to one count of misdemeanor reckless assault. So, it certainly seems tied to the conviction.

Molly Shattuck -- the 47-year-old former cheerleader accused of raping a 15-year-old boy -- has been barred from the alleged victim's school ... which is the same school her 3 kids attend.

McDonogh School Headmaster Charles W. Britton addressed the scandal in a letter to parents, saying he reported the allegation to the Baltimore County Police Department as soon as it was brought to his attention.

Britton sent the letter to inform parents Shattuck -- a former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader -- had been barred from the school, and additional security measures were now in place.

Adrian Peterson just dodged a bullet -- striking a plea deal in his child abuse case that will allow him to plead no contest to a lesser charge and avoid jail time ... this according to multiple reports.

The Minnesota Vikings running back was originally charged with felony child abuse for repeatedly striking his 4-year-old son with a "switch" ... causing multiple bruises and lacerations.

Peterson had claimed it was just strong parenting -- not illegal.

But now, ProFootballTalk.com is reporting AP has agreed to plead no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault ... which carries a much lighter punishment.

Peterson is expected to appear in court later today to make it official.

As for when he can return to the NFL, the league has yet to decide.

Story developing ...

Amanda Bynes's lawyer started without her ... showing up in court at 1:30 PM Friday and making a beeline into the judge's chambers trying to free his client of her parents' conservatorship.

Amanda's parents showed up. Our sources say they will say little if anything. This is Amanda's hearing to convince the judge she's stable enough to live on her own.

Amanda didn't show up on time ... she was otherwise occupied eating watermelon in Hollywood less than an hour before the hearing started in Ventura County.

TMZ broke the story ... Bynes was released Thursday from the psychiatric facility where she had been held for more than two weeks. A judge overruled the doctors and felt she should NOT be held against her will.

But in the hours since her release, Amanda has resumed her bizarre conduct ... wandering the Sunset Strip and throwing a fit when she couldn't get a hotel room ... then unleashing one of her trademark Twitter rants.

Mike Tyson says he was sexually abused as a child ... by a man who snatched him off the street when he was only 7-years-old.

Tyson visited "Opie Radio" on SiriusXM earlier this week and opened up about how an old creepy man he didn't know abducted him and abused him roughly 41 years ago.

During the interview, Tyson explained ... "[the man] bullied me, sexually abused me and stuff ... snatched me off the street. I was a little kid. Never seen him again."

Mike says he never spoke with police about the incident.

The genius behind "Sons of Anarchy" was rushed off set and into an L.A. hospital where he lost some weight -- in the form of an appendix -- and then Instagrammed the gruesome photos.

TMZ has confirmed ... Kurt Sutter went under the knife Monday morning after experiencing serious pain on the set of the hit FX show.

We're told Sutter is resting comfortably. It doesn't appear it will impact shooting.

Kat Von D's famous tattoo shop is on fire ... and firefighters have been trying to put it out for several hours.

LAFD got the call around 4 AM about the blaze at her High Voltage Tattoo shop in West Hollywood. It's unknown at this point if anyone was inside the shop when the fire started. As of 6:30 AM ... there are no flames, but crews are still on scene.

Kat's tat palace became extremely popular from her now cancelled reality TV show, "LA Ink."

We've reached out to Kat ... but so far no word back.

"X-Men" director Bryan Singer is having a baby ... and the baby mama is his longtime friend ... TMZ has confirmed.

Michelle Clunie is now living a few houses away from Singer ... something he clearly wanted because he bought the West Hollywood pad so she could be close to him.

Our sources say she's around 7 months pregnant.

We're also told the decision to have a baby has nothing to do with the recent accusations by a man who claimed Singer sexually assaulted him when he was a minor ... something Singer denies. The accuser dropped his lawsuit against Singer.