Crime

Joel McHale knows a thing or two about 'Tiger King' -- and he also knows this ... just because Carole Baskin's husband might still be alive, she's not totally off the hook.

We got the comedian/actor at LAX and asked him about this big revelation in the 'TK' sequel -- namely, what the documentary asserts is a legit form from the Dept. of Homeland Security that alleges Don Lewis is actually alive in Costa Rica. Not just that ... but apparently he's chillin'!

Our camera guy asks what a lot of people thought when they saw this ... that Carole has been vindicated from all the claims of having something to do with his disappearance/presumed death.

Joel -- who hosted the original 'Tiger King' post-show special -- says not so fast ... as he sees this in a different light, and actually convinced our photog to come on over to his side.

Check it out ... Joel says that if this document is legit -- and if DL is, in fact, alive in CR -- then it's still a harsh indictment of Carole, especially if she's known about it all along.

Now, in Carole's defense ... she seemed to know nothing about this alleged DHS form -- and has maintained since the beginning ... she did her part in trying to find Don, and had absolutely nothing to do with his disappearance in the '90s.

The former 'Soup' host thinks this doesn't really paint her in that fond of a light. And, he even has suspicions about how the guy could've remained missing for so long if he is actually out there somewhere.

BTW, he isn't saying Carole deserves any sort of retribution -- but he does insist this latest development wouldn't make her any kinda saint.

The Twitter posse is at it again ... this time trying to cancel Seth Rogen for daring to call out a YouTuber who called Seth's stomping ground a "crime riddled 3rd world s***hole of a city."

Seth saw a post from Casey Neistat, who groused that his car had been burglarized and then added some choice comments about the City of Angels. He said his 7-year-old daughter's birthday party decorations were taken and the burglar left bloody handprints on the car.

Rogan responded, "Dude, I've lived here for over 20 years. You're nuts haha. It's lovely here. Don't leave anything valuable in it. It's called living in a big city."

Neistat fired back, saying he felt violated and wanted to know if he's allowed to be mad. Seth's response -- "You can be mad but I guess I don't personally view my car as an extension of myself and I've never really felt violated any of the 15 or so times my car was broken into," adding, "Once a guy accidentally left a cool knife in my car so if it keeps happening you might get a little treat."

That sent some cancelers into orbit, slamming Seth for acting "privileged." True, not everyone can blow off a car burglary, but Seth was responding to someone who is also a multimillionaire.

Truth be told ... L.A. is getting hammered by crime, including a massive number of burglaries -- 10,000+ in 2021, with car burglaries up 10%.

The family of 14-year-old John Hilgert -- who lost his life at Astroworld -- are devastated by the loss of their son, and want to hold those responsible accountable ... reportedly filing a lawsuit against Travis Scott, Live Nation and others.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Houston, claims Travis and concert organizers failed to provide a safe environment for those in attendance. Among the security failures listed, according to People, a lack of personnel, barriers and emergency medical staff.

A statement from John's dad, Chris, reads, "The pain of our loss from our son John not making it home alive from an event such as this is intolerable. He was a beautiful young man who simply wanted to enjoy his first concert event with friends, whom he treasured spending time with more than anything else."

He continues, "If this lawsuit prevents even one family from having to go through the extreme pain and anguish that we have endured, then it is the least we can do to honor John's memory."

The suit, filed by attorney Richard Mithoff, is reportedly seeking in excess of $1 million in damages.

Of course, the Hilgert lawsuit is just one of dozens filed against Travis, Live Nation and others. As we reported, one filing asks for $2 billion in damages, another asks for $750 million and represents hundreds of alleged victims -- whether those injuries be mental or physical.

Hilgert was one of 10 to lose his life at the show. The main questions to be answered by investigators, what happened and who is to blame?

Sources close to Travis have been adamant, he didn't know the extent of what was happening in the crowd. There was also a clear breakdown in communication among emergency workers, after we obtained video of cops enjoying the show more than 25 minutes after the Houston Fire Chief allegedly called the concert a "Mass Casualty Event."

Soledad O'Brien says there's a reason it's so difficult for a lot of missing persons cases to make the national news ... she says the woman has to be pretty, and they better be white.

The veteran TV journalist joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked her why mainstream media outlets tend to cover cases like Gabby Petito and Natalee Holloway while ignoring stories involving minorities.

Soledad's a bit of an expert on the topic, and not just because of her background in cable news ... she produced a new docuseries on HBO, "Black and Missing," examining media bias as it relates to missing persons.

The way Soledad explains it ... the Petito case, which made headlines right when the docuseries debuted, is a perfect example of what many call "Missing White Woman Syndrome."

Soledad says media tend to run with missing persons stories involving pretty, white women because that's what they think will resonate with the audience ... and she rattles off countless examples.

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.