Current Events

A federal prosecutor in California was found dead inside an office this week -- and police are now investigating.

The San Diego PD tells TMZ ... Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden's body was discovered Wednesday inside an office at a federal building in San Diego, which is home to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California.

Cops say officers received a report of a man who possibly disappeared Wednesday evening, and then they responded to the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building, where they found Haden's body.

Police said they do not suspect foul play ... but the medical examiner will determine the exact cause and manner of death.

The professor who accused former Cambridge academic Jason Arday of plagiarism before he quit his job and was found dead is now in hot water -- he’s been suspended from his job at a Belgian university.

Nathan Cofnas, a postdoctoral researcher for Ghent University, revealed the news Thursday on X ... adding he believes he will be fired.

In a separate tweet, he said he was under investigation by the university "for discriminating against Arday."

Nolan Wells' mom Christine Wonsley is still digging for answers ... and now she's going straight after the marine towing companies his friends called on the day he disappeared.

TMZ obtained two new subpoenas filed Thursday on behalf of Nolan's estate -- one for Sea Tow Services International and another for Ward Marine Services, which operates as Sea Tow South Mississippi.

For Sea Tow, she wants basically everything connected to the July 4 incident from 2 PM to 8 PM ... including calls, recordings, dispatch records and documents showing who handled the response.

A Colorado man has been charged with murdering his wife after claiming she died by suicide when she was found dead in their bathroom.

Patrick Theodore Barnett was arrested by the Lakewood Police Department in Colorado days after his wife, Lindsey Barnett, was found dead in their bathtub with her throat slit, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

In addition to the first-degree murder charge, he was also charged with tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence, the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced. All three charges are felonies.

According to the affidavit, Patrick called 911 and told dispatchers Lindsey had "cut herself and her throat."

He claimed he found her after spending the night in the basement because they had a fight the previous night. He also reportedly told police his wife was suffering from postpartum depression.

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle aren't cutting ties with the USA despite their move back across the pond -- we've confirmed they're keeping their SoCal home, because like a former CA gov once said ... they'll be back.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... there are no plans at all to sell their Montecito mansion, and reports claiming otherwise just aren't accurate.

We're told they love their home and the Montecito area ... as well as the great friend group they've built for themselves and their family.

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.