Current Events

As investigators continue to put together clues regarding Nolan Wells' mysterious death, officials revealed it's been years since someone has drowned off Horn Island.

The Jackson County coroner told PEOPLE they have no recorded drowning deaths at the Mississippi barrier island within the last six years.

But officials did tell the outlet there was a drowning death investigation at nearby Petit Bois Island within the last several years.

Plus, they said a teenage girl got stuck in the waters at nearby Dauphin Island and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

There's a new way out of "The Happiest Place on Earth" ... Disneyland is warning guests they will be kicked out of the park if they stand up on the famous log-flume ride ... with new warnings going up after a string of concerning incidents.

In the past couple of weeks, new warning signs have been added around Tiana's Bayou Adventure -- along with a PA announcement -- warning guests they will be given the boot if they fail to remain seated.

A source tells TMZ ... the signage was added so guests waiting in line are well aware there is a big drop at the end ... and tomfoolery WILL NOT be tolerated.

And it's not just in the line queue ... there are also signs along the ride telling guests to "remain seated at all times" or else.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are booking it out of the U.S. and moving back to Britain ... a pretty shocking turn of events considering it's only been six years since they shunned their royal duties.

Perhaps the decision has been in the works for a while ... but PEOPLE reports they are bouncing back to the United Kingdom by the end of this month ... and Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will start school in September and are already enrolled across the pond.

Lips are sealed as to where in the UK they're moving ... but PEOPLE reports they're keeping the home in Montecito, California, and their vacation property in Portugal.

The biological parents of the child born by surrogate McKenna West are demanding a hefty sum in damages for her "outrageous conduct" ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained the countersuit Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed filed against McKenna weeks before McKenna gave birth to their child in Texas. McKenna named the baby "Gabriel" while the biological parents say the kid's name is Rumi.

In the suit, Nausheen and Omar are asking a judge to award them more than $100K in damages from McKenna for breaching the deal ... plus unspecified damages for the "malicious, outrageous conduct" they believe she committed.

A California woman's disappearance after leaving work last month may have involved foul play, police announced Tuesday.

The Fairfield Police Department said in a news release that Chantel Brooks' vanishing potentially involved "foul play" -- but it's unknown how detectives came to that conclusion.

According to the release, investigators are making every effort to find the 36-year-old, executing dozens of search warrants, performing numerous ground sweeps, and conducting aerial searches using drones.

McKenna West is fighting back against the temporary restraining order preventing her from seeing baby Gabriel ... claiming she is presumptively the legal mother of the child in the state of Texas, where the baby was born.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, McKenna says a Texas judge signed off on the temporary restraining order ... but she says they got it all wrong.

McKenna gave birth last week to the baby she calls Gabriel after the biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, asked her to abort the baby due to a heart defect. The temporary restraining order gives custody and full decision-making authority to the infant's biological parents, who are from California.

In the new filing, McKenna claims the judge issued the order in violation of the law. She says she is the presumed parent under Texas law and insists the order violates her rights.

A sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln is so worn down, when his mom asks how he's doing he tells her, "Just get me a gun and a bullet."

The sailor's mother, Danielle, joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us morale aboard the carrier has plummeted during its extended deployment in the Middle East.

Danielle says her son recently finished a 16-hour shift and sent her a photo of his meal -- one lonely pile of slop resembling dog food. He sarcastically called it "great" before heading off to pull another six hours of watch.

New legal drama with McKenna West and baby Gabriel ... the surrogacy company she's suing for allegedly threatening to force an abortion is firing back ... and they want her lawsuit thrown out of court.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ, Vicki Ferrara, who runs Worldwide Surrogacy Specialists, denies all claims of wrongdoing in the case brought by McKenna in Alaska.

You'll recall ... McKenna was the surrogate for Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, who sought to terminate the pregnancy after doctors determined the baby had a heart defect.

McKenna initially scheduled an abortion but later refused and flew to Texas to have the baby.

An Illinois mother saved her 7-year-old son from a river ... but lost her own life moments after getting him to safety.

Angelina Khalimendik was fishing with her three children Sunday evening at Independence Grove Forest Preserve when her youngest son got swept into the Des Plaines River.

Officials say Angelina jumped into the water and managed to help her son reach another family member ... but she then went underwater herself.

Jason Arday -- the former Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism who was found dead in London Friday -- feared leaving the house amid the media scrutiny just before he died ... according to a longtime friend.

Simon Baron-Cohen, the director of the Autism Research Center at the University of Cambridge, appeared on BBC Radio 4's "Today" Saturday ... and he discussed his last conversation with Arday, which he says took place hours before he passed.

Baron-Cohen says Arday confided in him that he was afraid to leave home ... because he felt "bombarded" by the media calling him a fraud.

An overnight shooting has rocked the campus of Virginia State University ... with five people being reported injured, one of whom is in critical condition.

Campus police say officers responded to the 3300 block of Boisseau Street at around 1:28 AM, where they located five individuals suffering from gunshot wounds. All five were transported to local hospitals ... four sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while one is in critical condition.

The VSU police department said the shooting occurred outside the Quad Annex buildings and warned all students to stay away from the area while the campus is on lockdown. The school has since announced the lockdown has been lifted.

No information about a suspect or motive has been released. The shooting remains under investigation.

Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor who resigned after being accused of plagiarism, has died, according to the university.

In a statement Friday, Deborah Prentice, the Vice-Chancellor Professor at the University of Cambridge, confirmed Arday's death, saying "we are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news" and "our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time."

The Metropolitan Police in London said officers responded to a man's home Friday afternoon after receiving a report that he was found unresponsive. Police declared the man dead at the scene and notified his next of kin without releasing Arday's name publicly.

A Florida woman fatally shot her mother and two of her children before taking her own life after she got into a heated argument with her husband over porn found on his phone ... according to police.

Plant City Police Chief Richard Mills held a press conference Thursday after investigators concluded their investigation into the May 3 murder-suicide.

Mills said Hailey Dempsey fatally shot her mom, Valerie DeBoe, at their residence in the Tampa Bay area and then ran away with her three young daughters. Dempsey then allegedly shot and killed her 4-month-old and 4-year-old and also tried to shoot the 2-year-old but missed.

McKenna West says she couldn't go through with terminating her pregnancy, despite Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed insisting she do so ... even though she previously stated she talked it over with a psychologist and was willing to do so if they wanted it done.

A new legal filing includes the surrogacy agreement the parties signed back in August 2025 ... and one section clearly states there "shall be a termination of the pregnancy for a fetal abnormality" upon request of Gilkar and Ahmed.

As we reported ... the baby, who West named Gabriel, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome -- a congenital heart defect -- during the 20-week fetal scan.

McKenna West claims she was facing the threat of a six-figure fine under her surrogacy contract if she didn’t abort the baby she was carrying for a California-based couple ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained the lawsuit McKenna filed against Worldwide Surrogacy over the baby she was carrying for Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed. As we've previously reported, the parents wanted the baby aborted due to health issues doctors found.

McKenna refused and gave birth on August 12 in Texas to a baby boy she named Gabriel ... which the couple says is not the child's name.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton spoke out in favor of McKenna ... and took steps to ensure two Texas hospitals would provide medical care.

Surrogate McKenna West sent an emotional plea to the surrogacy clinic and the biological parents, saying she was not sure she could live with herself if she went through with an abortion, days before the procedure was scheduled.

The biological parents wanted to terminate the pregnancy, per the surrogacy agreement, after an ultrasound revealed the fetus had a serious heart issue.

According to letters filed in court documents, obtained by TMZ, McKenna notified Worldwide Surrogacy on May 4, 2026 to say she could not go through with the scheduled termination ... writing, "After careful thought, I have decided that I cannot terminate this pregnancy. This baby is in my body, and I care for him very much."