Crime

Travis Scott is finally venturing out of his Houston home after the Astroworld tragedy ... flying to SoCal to golf with some A-list friends and spend the holiday weekend with family.

Travis hit the links this week with Michael Jordan, Mark Wahlberg, Kris Jenner's BF, Corey Gamble and actor Said Taghmaoui.

Witnesses spotted the famous group Tuesday on the course attached to the gated Palm Springs-area community where Kris has a home.

Travis still looked pretty somber in some shots taken while they were chilling off the course. The outing marks the first time the rapper's been seen out in public since 10 people were killed and hundreds injured during his Nov. 5 festival in Houston.

He had been laying low at his home in the Houston area for several weeks, devastated by what went down during the concert.

As we've reported ... Travis, Live Nation, Apple and several other organizers have been hit with multiple lawsuits since then. Most notably, one for $750 million and another for a whopping $2 billion.

His attorney, Ed McPherson, told us Travis was unaware of the scope of casualties during his performance ... and didn't learn of it until several hours after the show. Travis has vowed to pay all funeral expenses for the Astroworld victims.

Ahmaud Arbery's death was a cold-blooded murder -- this according to a jury ... who just decided on the issue definitively.

Travis and Gregory McMichael, as well as William 'Roddie' Bryan, were all just found guilty of murder and a slew of other charges.

All three defendants had been indicted on 9 counts each -- in addition to malice murder, the McMichaels and Bryan were also up against four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of false imprisonment and one count of criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment ... and now, they face life in prison come sentencing.

Gregory McMichael and Bryan were found not guilty on the charge of malice murder. Bryan was also found not guilty on one of the felony murder charges and a felony assault charge.

In attendance was Ahmaud's mom, Wanda, who was seated next to Rev. Al Sharpton.

The trial has been ongoing for a couple weeks now -- and the main defense -- for Travis McMichael, anyway, who shot and killed Ahmaud -- was that he was only acting in self-preservation ... with his defense attorneys arguing he feared for his life.

Travis claimed he didn't want to shoot Ahmaud, but felt he had to after they got into a scuffle on the road ... with TM alleging Ahmaud went for his gun, and he thought he'd use it.

As for the rest of them ... they all contended in court they were simply trying to make a citizen's arrest -- in the context that the McMichaels had previously been informally deputized to help out the local cops. Officers in the trial denied any such bestowment of duty.

In any case, it was a hard sell for the defendants from the beginning ... as prosecutors outlined what they described as a modern-day lynching of a Black man the defendants believed had committed a crime -- and then hopped into their vehicles to chase him down.

Prosecutors say Ahmaud was simply jogging through their neighborhood -- however, there was footage showing him stopping by a construction site and walking through. Because of this, the McMichaels say they approached Ahmaud to ask what he was doing there -- as there had been thefts at that same property in the weeks leading up to his arrival that day.

Before long, Ahmaud was off and running ... and the McMichaels gave chase in their truck, rounding up Bryan in the process, who trailed them and filmed the deadly moment on camera.

Despite the McMichaels' and Bryan's assertion they were just trying to rein Ahmaud in for questioning -- the jury felt they went too far, and crossed a line that cost him his life.

The entire trial has been marred with controversy from the start ... with 11 jurors being selected, all of whom were white -- save for one Black juror. People felt that would create a bias in favor of the defendants ... but, clearly, that didn't turn out to be the case.

Of course, there was also the issue of pastors in court -- or at least what one defense attorney argued was an issue, after Reverend Al Sharpton made an appearance in the gallery alongside the Arbery family.

The attorney suggested the mere presence of Black pastors could intimidate the jury -- but the judge shot him down ... as it was a ridiculous theory.

Now that their fates are sealed, sentencing comes next ... and considering the guilty verdict, many expect these men to serve out the rest of their lives behind bars. They'll appear before a judge in the near future.

Arizona Cardinals' defensive end J.J. Watt is stepping up in a major way ... by offering to pay for the funeral expenses of all the victims of the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy.

Watt was devastated after learning of the deadly incident ... calling it "horrific" and expressing concern for those who had been injured and killed.

The incident hits close to home for Watt, especially since he's a Wisconsin native and Badger alum. He also went to high school in nearby Pewaukee, just a few miles from Waukesha.

Now, the Cardinals star is putting his wallet where his enormous heart is ... 'cause he is offering to cover the funeral costs of all the lives lost as a result of the heinous catastrophe.

Of course, J.J. is known to give back -- in 2017, Watt was named the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year ... which recognizes recipients for their charitable efforts.

In 2018, he also offered to cover the funeral costs of the people who died in the Santa Fe High School shooting ... and he raised $37 million in an effort to help rebuild Houston and the Gulf region after they had been ravaged by Hurricane Harvey.

Watt's efforts come at a time where a community reeling from tragedy is looking for a reason to celebrate something positive.

Kyle Rittenhouse is making the rounds in right-wing circles -- and his latest stop was with none other than Donald Trump ... who's fully in his corner in the wake of his trial and acquittal.

DT was on Sean Hannity's show when he revealed he got some face time with Rittenhouse, who'd apparently just left "a little while ago" from his Florida resort home, Mar-a-Lago. It's unclear exactly when this meeting took place -- Hannity said he interviewed DT Monday.

Anyway, Trump wasn't shy to let the FOX News audience know how he felt about the whole case -- telling Hannity that Rittenhouse never should've been put through the wringer... calling the whole thing "prosecutorial misconduct."

DT also made it clear he's a fan of Rittenhouse, and seems to think he's a fine young man -- whom he says is a supporter of his, unlike "the other guy" ... whoever that may be.

The 2 of them posed for a couple shots in what looks to be Trump's office -- where there were tons of photos of the former President shaking hands with world leaders ... including a clear photo of Trump meeting Kim Jong-un.

As we reported ... Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges, with a verdict finding him not guilty of murder -- or any wrongdoing, as the jury felt he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed 2 people and injured a third.

Kyle Rittenhouse has denied being a white supremacist, and even claims to be fully in support of Black Lives Matter -- but a prominent leader in the org itself isn't so sure.

We spoke to Melina Abdullah -- the co-founder of L.A.'s BLM chapter -- and she's not buying Rittenhouse's assertion he's down with the cause. She tells us, from what she's seen ... it's total BS.

Check it out ... Abdullah tells us she thinks his claims of backing BLM don't match up to his history -- and she says the proof is in the pudding. Abdullah makes reference to photos of him flashing perceived "white power" signs online.

She was referring to the now-infamous image from last year that circulated all over social media -- showing Rittenhouse in a bar after his release from jail, flashing what looks like the OK sign ... which many see as a blatant white supremacist gesture. Rittenhouse has denied that's what he meant.

Still, Melina says something doesn't feel right ... she believes the fact he's cozying up to right-wing media types -- like Tucker Carlson, with whom he did an interview last week -- doesn't help Rittenhouse's case for being a BLM backer.

She suggests Rittenhouse is being used as a pawn, perhaps unsuspectingly, by folks she thinks are more interested in racial division than unity.

Again, Rittenhouse has firmly denied being a white supremacist and/or a racist -- and insists his case and actions last summer in Kenosha had nothing to do with race.

As we reported ... KR was found not guilty of all charges against him, as the jury felt he acted in self-defense when he shot and killed 2 people that night.

The man cops say is responsible for running his SUV through a Wisconsin Christmas parade, killing 5 people, and injuring dozens more has just been charged ... and is about to make a first appearance in court.

According to documents released Tuesday, Darrell Brooks Jr. has been hit with 5 counts of first-degree intentional homicide -- one count for each person killed. The docs recount how Brooks ignored attempts by both civilians and police officers to stop his vehicle.

Not only that, officers claim there were several moments when Brooks had the opportunity to exit the parade route and he stayed in ... increasing his speed and mowing people down.

In all, there were at least 62 injured by Brooks ... the 5 casualties were all adults, but we know children were among the injured.

As we reported, Brooks' arrest was captured on doorbell surveillance shortly after the massacre. He had asked the homeowners to use a phone, saying he was waiting on an Uber ... but cops were quick to catch up to him.

Brooks, who at one time had a very small-scale rap career featured the same vehicle he used in the attack in one of his videos.

Brian Laundrie died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head -- this according to the family attorney.

TMZ spoke with Steve Bertolino, who says both of Laundrie's parents have been informed the cause of death was suicide. He tells us both parents are still mourning the loss of their son, and "hope these findings bring closure to both families."

Of course, this news comes after Laundrie's bones were examined by an anthropologist.

As we reported, Laundrie's body was found out at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park by investigators, on the advice of his parents who suggested they search that same area again.

Remember, Brian's remains were in such a state that a medical examiner could not easily determine how exactly he'd died -- and this anthropology examination was commissioned to get to the bottom of it. One part of his remains that were intact enough were his teeth ... that's how they ultimately discovered this was, indeed, Brian -- with matching dental records.

This seems to finally close the book on this whole saga ... at least partially, anyway. We now know how exactly Brian and Gabby Petito died ... of course, we still don't know what happened in the middle -- namely, who killed Gabby ... and what Brian's role in that was.

As we reported ... Brian returned to Florida from a cross-country trip he'd gone on with his fiancee, but he came back by himself -- with no Gabby in sight. Shortly after touching down in North Port again and seeing his parents ... Brian himself disappeared without a trace.

There was a nationwide manhunt for him that carried on for weeks and weeks -- with different would-be sightings springing up all over the place.

In the end, the guy was literally in his own backyard (metaphorically) ... and the FBI said the reason they hadn't found him earlier is that the area he ended up being in was underwater for a majority of their initial search.

The man police believe plowed into a crowd of people in Wisconsin actually ran to an unsuspecting neighbor for help, moments before he got busted -- and it's all on video.

Darrell Brooks Jr. was captured on a doorbell cam at a home less than a mile from where he allegedly mowed down parade-goers with his Ford Escape. In the video, you see Brooks pounding on the door and pleading for help, saying he'd ordered an Uber that hadn't shown up -- while asking to use the homeowner's phone.

Crazy enough, the neighbor, Daniel Rider, actually obliged ... playing Good Samaritan and inviting the guy inside, making him a sandwich, giving him a blanket and letting him make a call on his personal cell.

Before long, though, Rider says he saw cop cars outside.

Unaware of what had just happened down the street, Rider told NBC News he started to feel nervous and asked Brooks to leave, which he did ... sorta. Brooks lingered on the front porch, and when he saw the police nearby -- he tried getting back inside Rider's home.

It didn't work out for him ... the cops swooped in, and told Brooks to put his hands up, at which point he was arrested.

Brooks has since been booked on multiple charges ... including 5 counts of intentional homicide, with more pending. Word is, he was actually fleeing a separate domestic disturbance when he allegedly drove through parade barricades and ran people over.

Carole Baskin was (again) painted as an unhelpful, suspicious character in the ongoing search for her missing husband, but despite what 'Tiger King 2' suggests ... she says the exact opposite is true.

Joe Exotic's archenemy tells TMZ ... she's done everything in her power to track down Don Lewis -- her one-time hubby, who mysteriously went missing in the '90s and was never found. The 'TK' sequel, however, might have you thinking otherwise.

As you know ... the 2nd installment debuted last week, and a detective with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Moises Garcia, is prominently featured as they continue to dig into Don's case all these years later. As they delve into Carole's suspected knowledge about his whereabouts, Cpl. Garcia flat out says Carole seems uninterested in helping 'em out.

The reason ... she hasn't cooperated with his office's request for information -- but that's all for a good cause, according to Carole herself ... who says she's done enough already.

CB tells us that since the inception of the original investigation, she's done tons of interviews, forked over scores of documents and given unprecedented access to the authorities to get to the bottom of where the hell Don is. Not just that ... but she put out a $100k reward!

Carole adds, "There is no one who has more to gain from solving the mystery of Don’s disappearance than I do because it would clear my name and stop the idiotic rumors." She further states, "There is nothing that I know that is not either in the Sheriff’s files or in the diary I have published at SaveTheCats.org and no way I am going to have a clearer memory or anything to add twenty-four years later."

While Carole acknowledges she's mostly snubbed Garcia -- she explains she did on the advice of counsel, as she simply has nothing more to contribute.

There's also this ... the new Netflix doc apparently reveals that the Dept. of Homeland Security has already found Don alive and well in Costa Rica. Carole says she hopes that's true -- and it is even more reason she wants to put all the speculation to bed about her alleged involvement, which she says is based on nothing but unfounded rumors.

Bottom line ... Carole isn't about to dig up the past to appease kooks who are hung up on this, and she means that literally. AKA, no septic tank dig is happening on her watch.

Ghislaine Maxwell seems to be full of secrets -- including what she knows about Jeffrey Epstein and his powerful pals, and one journo is hoping to unlock the mystery once and for all.

The British socialite -- who was tight with Epstein for years before he was charged anew in 2019, and subsequently killed himself -- is about to have her day in court over alleged sex trafficking, among other charges she's facing ... which will be decided at trial later this month.

Of course, many see Maxwell as the key to unlocking the long suspected malfeasance Epstein was conducting with underage girls -- and that goes doubly so for reporter Vicky Ward.

We talked to Vicky on "TMZ Live" about the "Chasing Ghislaine" documentary she's just released on Discovery+, and she tells us a lot of new information is uncovered through her investigation ... one she's been digging into and working on for over a decade now.

Something that's clear to Vicky about Epstein's alleged criminal acts is he clearly had a support system of influential allies spanning the entire globe. Many of those ties to powerful people have already been exposed -- but Vicky wonders how they could NOT have known what Epstein was doing.

She does not suggest any one of these men participated in anything unseemly themselves ... but in her eyes (and, frankly, the eyes of many) there's no reason they should've been as cozy with the guy ... especially knowing his sordid history.

Kevin Spacey cost the creative forces behind Netflix's hit 'House of Cards' a crap ton of money due to his alleged sexual misconduct -- and now, the guy's been ordered to pony up millions over it.

The disgraced actor lost an arbitration case he's been involved in for the past few years now with a couple of companies called MRC II and Knight Takes King Productions -- a distribution company and production company, respectively.

The two companies claimed they were doing the heavy lifting on 'HOC,' especially for the 6th season they were producing for the streaming giant ... with Kevin, obviously, being a huge part of it.

An arbitrator ruled last year that Spacey's alleged behavior did, in fact, cause MRC and Knight substantial harm by essentially torpedoing the final season ... but KS had appealed that decision, only to lose again earlier this month.

Now, the companies are asking the court to confirm the arbitration award ... which would leave Spacey and his loan-out and producing companies on the hook for about $31 million. The lion's share of the award is for compensatory damages -- more than $29.5 mil -- and the remaining million and change cover attorneys' fees and costs.

MRC and KTKP argued that there was an internal investigation of Spacey's behavior -- which included claims he'd sexually harassed/assaulted production members working on 'House of Cards' -- and after doing a deep dive, they say they found many of those accusations to be true and terminated his contract. They say his conduct caused them to suffer substantial losses ... which led to the litigation.

Spacey has avoided criminal liability thus far ... but on the civil side of things, this is a big ding. He's remained mostly low-key since the allegations surfaced -- although, he is getting back to work slowly but surely.

The man who's been reported as a person of interest in the Waukesha parade tragedy -- killing at least 5 people -- is a local rapper who used an SUV in one of his music videos that appears to be the same one that plowed through the crowd.

Darrell Brooks Jr. -- who went by the stage name Mathboi Fly -- released a music video a couple years ago set in Milwaukee. Several times in the video, you see the red Ford Escape, which looks like the one seen in the horrific videos of the Christmas Parade.

YouTube pulled the music video from the original account, leaving this message in its place -- "This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated."

However, it's since been re-posted by at least one other account.

CBS 58 News got Brooks' vehicle in his driveway shortly after the massacre -- the damage is clear, and beyond disturbing.

Brooks Jr. has a recent criminal history in the area ... getting charged on November 5 with resisting an officer, bail jumping, 2nd degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct and battery.

In addition to the 5 fatalities, cops said Sunday night at least 40 more were injured when the SUV rammed through the crowd of parade viewers and participants.

Tamir Rice's mother sees a parallel between the killing of her young son and the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse -- and it's an unjust one in her eyes ... one that warrants what she calls a takeover.

We spoke to Samaria Rice about the verdict from last week, and she makes no bones about it ... she thinks him being found not guilty is BS, and that KR should be behind bars. Of course, the backdrop to that is her 12-year-old, Tamir, was gunned down for doing far less.

You'll recall ... Tamir was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in 2014 after somebody called in saying he had a gun -- which turned out to be nothing but a toy.

With that in mind, Samaria breaks down exactly what she sees wrong with the Rittenhouse case ... detailing everything from him being there with a semi-automatic weapon, to being able to shoot two people in the streets ... and still avoid all consequences.

She makes a startling statement, saying "this country needs to be overthrown."

As jarring as her words are, it's probably how a lot of people feel in the wake of Rittenhouse ... despite the self-defense law that a jury clearly saw as applicable here, many feel justice wasn't served.

Mayhem has found its way to Wisconsin again -- an SUV reportedly plowed through a parade and opened fire into the crowd ... and there are several people who've been injured.

This happened Sunday in Waukesha, WI -- about an hour away from Kenosha -- where they were having their annual Christmas parade, with scores of folks both participating in the event and watching from the sides of the streets ... including lots of families.

According to reports and eyewitness accounts, a vehicle described as a red Ford Escape broke through some barriers that were blocking off a road for the parade's path, and started barreling down the pavement at full speed ... eventually smashing into a group of people.

The car can be seen driving by at a few different points, which was caught on video -- and there's no question ... this person was gunning to do damage.

One video shows the SUV zooming by a small child who was playing on the street, and it narrowly missed hitting her as it continued down its path. Eventually, it made contact and ran over a handful of people -- including several who are said to be part of a group called the Dancing Grannies and were part of the parade ... and many were found lying motionless.

As many as 30 people are reported to have been injured thus far ... but it's unclear if there are any fatalities just yet. Police went after the vehicle, which fled the scene -- but not before witnesses claim the driver started firing shots outside their window ... part of which was also caught on camera.

The shots could've easily came from police here -- but it's just too early to know for sure. Waukesha authorities have warned the public to stay indoors, as this is a fluid situation.

The parade began to get evacuated immediately ... and the area is in a sheer panic right now.

Story developing ...

The Green Bay Packers say they're heartbroken over the Christmas parade crash in Wisconsin that left 5 people dead ... calling the tragedy a "terrible, senseless act."

The NFL org. released a statement in support of the victims hours after the mayhem erupted on Sunday ... saying, "Our thoughts are with the community of Waukesha this evening."

As we previously reported, a red Ford Escape sped into a Xmas parade this weekend in Waukesha, WI -- two hours south of Green eBay -- running over several spectators.

Multiple witnesses captured footage of the chaos ... showing the SUV flying down the street before plowing into people who were marching in the parade.

At this time, Waukesha police have confirmed 5 people were killed and over 40 were injured.

"We are grateful for the first responders and others who assisted the injured and comforted those in need," the Packers said in their statement.

"We share our condolences with those who lost loved ones. As a statewide community, we must all come together to support each other in these difficult times."

Arizona Cardinals star J.J. Watt -- who is from the Waukesha area -- said he was also devastated to learn of the tragedy Sunday ... calling it all "horrific."

"Truly hoping everyone is going to be ok and those not involved are now safe," the five-time All-Pro said. "Thankful to everyone who rushed to action and helped the wounded."

Bay Area looters have coordinated by the dozens and descended upon high-end retail stores ... and on Saturday, Walnut Creek's number was called.

Check out this footage that was captured last night by NBC reporter Jodi Hernandez, who filmed a surreal scene at a Nordstrom store in the mostly upscale East Bay city. As she describes ... it looks like scores of people pulled up to the curb in a concerted effort.

She writes, "About 25 cars just blocked the street and rushed into the Walnut Creek Nordstrom making off with goods before getting in cars snd speeding away. At least two people arrested at gunpoint."

Indeed ... her video shows multiple individuals fleeing from inside, running out with several items in hand and throwing them into the line of waiting cars -- and then speeding off.

She captured more footage of Walnut PD officers arriving on the scene and apprehending a few of the thieves -- but by all accounts, a majority of them got away ... with only 3 arrests being made that night. Three out of about a reported 80 people -- so not even close.

It's a deeply troubling trend that started to make itself known in San Francisco just the night before, only a stone's throw away from Walnut Creek, where tons of people broke into a Louis Vuitton store and ransacked the place there as well.

It looks like the cops in that scenario were able to apprehend a few more suspects than here in Walnut -- but the fact that so many people showed up to do the same thing really makes ya wonder to what degree this was all planned. In the WC case, it's quite obvious.

BTW, this is far from a California-only problem ... there have been reports of mass looting all over the country for the past several days now, including another hit near Chicago -- where another LV store was cleaned out.

Some are tying all this to the Rittenhouse verdict, but it seems clear these folks had these plans well before his fate was read aloud. And besides, there's been virtually little to no unrest in the wake of him being found not guilty -- not like 2020, anyway -- so the protest angle just doesn't make sense.