Current Events

9:28 AM PT -- Mangione pleaded guilty to two federal stalking charges related to Thompson's shooting death ... one count of interstate stalking resulting in death and one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death.

He admitted to stalking Thompson to a healthcare conference and shooting him with a gun he printed on a 3-D printer. As Luigi pled guilty, Thompson's widow Paulette was visibly emotional and other members of his family were seen fighting back tears.

Mangione said ... "I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan. I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury. I knew what I was doing was illegal."

After Friday's court hearing, Thompson's family issued a statement saying ... "Today's guilty plea marks an important step toward justice for Brian and for our family. While nothing will ease the pain of losing him, we are grateful that the federal justice system has held the person responsible for this heinous act accountable. Now we look to the court to ensure that sentencing reflects the severity of this crime."

Luigi Mangione will have Brian Thompson's family looking on as he faces a federal judge Friday ... with the slain UnitedHealthcare CEO's loved ones sitting front row.

Thompson's mother, widow and several other family members entered the Manhattan federal courtroom ahead of Mangione's highly anticipated hearing ... taking their seats together in the first row.

Prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office have been pissed off at Luigi Mangione's team for trying to sabotage its case by striking a plea bargain with the feds.

The judge in the state case just unsealed docs, one of which was a letter to the court, dated July 2, 2026, in which Assistant D.A. Joel Seidemann wrote that his office had heard rumblings of a plea bargain in the federal case.

As TMZ reported, if Luigi were to plead guilty to stalking in the federal case, the state case would be dismissed based on double jeopardy.

The biological parents of the baby born to a surrogate who refused to have an abortion against their wishes have custody of the child for now ... at least according to their lawyer, who says the political theater surrounding the birth "devastated" them.

Lee Budner of Calabrese Budner, counsel to the baby's biological parents, tells TMZ ... their son -- named Gabriel by surrogate McKenna West -- was born Wednesday morning and is now in their physical custody while he receives medical care.

The couple's lawyer adds ... his clients are placing the baby's health first and following the advice of his medical team.

1:12 PM PT -- McKenna West will have no authority over the baby according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

10:33 AM PT -- The biological parents of the newborn baby born into surrogacy who refused to have an abortion against their wishes, now have temporary custody of their child.

A surrogate who refused to abort the baby she was carrying -- despite the wishes of the boy’s biological parents -- reportedly gave birth early Wednesday amid a bitter legal battle with the intended parents.

Here's the sitch -- McKenna West, a surrogate from Alaska, was carrying a baby for a California couple. At the fetus' 20-week scan, doctors discovered it had hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), a rare birth defect where the left side of the heart does not grow correctly ... and it needs 3 surgeries to correct when the child is born, per Boston Children's Hospital.

The surrogacy agreement had a clause that allowed the couple to choose to terminate the pregnancy if there was an "anomaly" found ... but McKenna refused and fled to Texas, where she would be seen as the birth mother, The Dallas Morning News reports.

An attorney for Nolan Wells' family says they're ready to examine his phone ... but they're waiting on the Jackson County DA's Office to set the date.

Liza Park -- a member of Ben Crump's team -- said Thursday the DA's office, the family's forensic team and possibly the FBI have agreed to jointly download and examine the device.

The plan, according to Park, is to examine the phone one time with everyone present ... but they're still waiting for prosecutors to provide the time and place.

Miss North Carolina USA winner Brittany Boltinhouse says she isn't sorry about using the n-word in the past ... even if she had to cough up her crown.

In a new interview with Daily Mail, the scandalized pageant queen was asked if she thought she should apologize for using the slur, but she doubled down, saying ... "No. Not at all."

She told the outlet she felt like she was "unfairly targeted," saying ... "It's a constitutional right, it's your First Amendment right to express yourself ... and I feel like I was ripped of that as a proud American."

Get ready for a new White House Press Secretary ... President Trump says Karoline Leavitt is stepping down from the job.

Trump announced Karoline's upcoming career move in a Truth Social post Wednesday ... saying she's leaving the gig at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her kids and family.

Karoline gave birth in May to a daughter ... her second child.

Trump says Karoline will be one of his top outside advisors and continue to be an influential voice within the GOP.

Emotional outburst from Lindsay Clancy ... she broke down sobbing in court while the medical examiner testified in her triple-murder trial.

When Dr. Barbara Olson took the stand on Wednesday, Lindsay started crying so hard that the judge had to call a break and get the jury out of the room.

Dr. Olson was describing 5-year-old Cora's autopsy ... mentioning bruising and discussing the pain and damage associated with dying from strangulation.

MAJOR twist in the Luigi Mangione case ... his legal team is in serious negotiations with federal prosecutors, sources tell TMZ, and it could have a dramatic impact on his fate.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the negotiations are "real," and it involves a possible guilty plea to murder, but the twist comes with sentencing. We're told one of the "possibilities" is an open plea where sentencing is not negotiated, but left to the judge after an extensive hearing. That would allow the defense to present mitigating factors -- including Luigi's strong feels about health care and corporate greed that altered his mental state -- that could lead to a sentence more favorable than life in prison.

The implications here are dramatic. When someone is charged in both federal and state court for the same offense and the federal case resolves first, the state cannot prosecute based on double jeopardy. Paul Manafort successfully made this argument in a New York state court when he was prosecuted for fraud back in 2019.

California bald eagle Jackie may soon soar over Big Bear once again ... with local officials considering several public tributes following the beloved bird’s death ... TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for Visit Big Bear tells TMZ ... officials are working to incorporate Jackie into the community's Labor Day drone show, potentially illuminating her likeness and name in the sky.

We're told officials are also discussing a sunset memorial at Big Bear Lake and a permanent statue honoring Jackie, who became a local icon alongside her longtime mate, Shadow.

3:51 PM PT -- The suspect surrendered to authorities. The driver, appearing to be a woman, pulled over in Ontario, CA and was arrested, ending the pursuit ... according to Fox 11.

California Highway Patrol are chasing a suspect through Los Angeles ... you can stream the high-speed pursuit right here.

Earlier, authorities were chasing the car on the I-10 freeway in the East San Gabriel Valley area, where the vehicle was reportedly clocked going 100 MPH.

At one point during the pursuit, aerial footage showed the passenger door open as a person did a tuck-and-roll out of the moving car.

One of Nolan Wells' friends is calling out the late teen's mother ... saying her social media posts were at least partially responsible for some of the hate being thrown their way.

In a new interview on "The Officer Tatum Show", YouTuber Brandon Tatum sat down with Nolan's so-called best friends Morgan Seymour, Warren Hudson, and Jax Pitalo ... asking the boys straight-up how they think the coverage surrounding Nolan's death should have played out.

Jax claims that -- aside from wishing "Nolan could still be here" -- "his mom blasting us on social media from the get-go" triggered a huge media frenzy.

A child's playtime inside a Kansas home turned deadly ... when a 4-year-old was allegedly electrocuted by a clothes dryer.

The Allen County Sheriff's Office says the child was playing at a residence in Savonburg on Thursday when they reportedly received an electrical shock from a 220-volt dryer.

Deputies responded to a report of a child not breathing shortly after 9:30 PM ... but by then, the parents were already racing their unconscious child to Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center in Chanute.

The man who claims to have the world's smallest penis is ready for a growth spurt ... 'cause his enhancement procedure is officially on the books.

Michael Phillips tells TMZ ... he has an appointment set for August 17 with a doctor in Charlotte, North Carolina ... where he'll get a little boost below the belt with an injection of semi-permanent dermal filler designed to increase girth.

Michael says the procedure will run him nearly $4,000 -- but he's got plenty of financial girth after his GoFundMe swelled past $13,000.

Beloved California bald eagle Jackie is dead ... just weeks after suffering a brutal attack carried out by two other eagles ... ending weeks of hope that the iconic Big Bear bird would pull through.

The Ojai Raptor Center announced Monday that Jackie died early Monday morning after more than three weeks of intensive medical treatment.

The facility shared a remembrance photo of Jackie on Facebook, writing, "Our team is heartbroken. It has been an extraordinary privilege to care for her."

Nolan Wells' friends say they wish they had never gone to Horn Island on the Fourth of July ... believing Nolan would still be alive if they had stayed home.

TMZ obtained exclusive clips from the group's sit-down with YouTuber Brandon Tatum and their attorney, J. Tyler Cox ... ahead of the full interview dropping Monday on "The Officer Tatum Show" ... and his friends talk regret, race and more.

Warren Hudson, Jax Pitalo and Morgan Seymour open up about the tragedy and the allegations that followed ... including claims race played a role in Nolan's death.