Drugs & Alcohol

2:52 PM PT -- A spokesperson for The New York Times tells TMZ ... "Elon Musk’s statements today were inaccurate. Donald J. Trump’s lawsuit in Florida is against the Pulitzer Prize board, not The New York Times. The decision solely related to whether the case be temporarily suspended. It did not address the merits of the president’s claims."

"We understand the Pulitzer board will continue to defend its decision and we expect the case will show the quality of the reporting in The Times coverage. The Times has never received a request for a correction or been sued over the facts in our reporting. We’d also note that Musk didn’t deny any of the reporting we published this morning."

Elon Musk is scoffing at the New York Times report accusing him of abusing drugs ... claiming the Times isn't a reputable news source anyway -- so, don't read a dang thing they publish.

The "Crypto King of Kentucky" suspected of torturing a man for weeks inside a lavish multimillion-dollar townhouse hosted extravagant parties there ... and it seems he didn't raise any red flags when landing the swanky SoHo rental, TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... John Woeltz and William Duplessie are currently in custody for allegedly torturing Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan to get access to his crypto fortune ... until the Italian citizen finally made his escape and told police everything.

Multiple sources with knowledge tell TMZ … Woeltz started living in the Manhattan townhouse on March 17 … with a rent amount of $75K - $90K a month.

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, has been released from prison.

Hannah was serving 18 months after being convicted by a New Mexico jury ... and the state's Department of Corrections tells us she was let out of prison on Friday morning.

Authorities tell TMZ ... HGR will be on parole for one year as part of her "Rust" sentence and she has 18 months of probation on a separate firearms charge.

Federal prosecutors just dropped another document dump of evidence presented in court at Diddy's sex trafficking and racketeering trial -- and the pics give us a window into the music mogul's lavish and kinky lifestyle on Miami's Star Island.

As you know, Diddy lived in a huge mansion on the island -- and Homeland Security Investigations Agent Gerard Gannon testified Tuesday he was the head of the operation that conducted a raid on the property in March 2024. Gannon told the court the feds confiscated loaded assault rifles, sex toys and bottles of lubricant.

Now, the feds have publicly released a mountain of photos showing exactly what items the feds recovered from Diddy's sprawling estate -- which, by the way, is pretty darn high-end.

Meek Mill felt the need to go on "public record" about Diddy parties he's attended ... amid the spiraling allegations being flung around the Bad Boy mogul's federal sex trafficking case.

Speculation about Meek's involvement with Diddy has run rampant since he was linked in producer Lil Rodney's lawsuit last year ... which has since had several key complaints tossed out.

On Tuesday, Meek called all allegations an attack on his brand before flipping to his experience at Diddy parties ... he's claiming the craziest thing he's seen is "coke vibes."

SZA's Los Angeles stint for her "Grand National" tour is off to a depressing start ... the R&B star claims she persuaded a child to forfeit their fruity whippet at an In-N-Out parking lot!!!

The "Kill Bill" singer didn't specify how old she thought the young fan was, but says she convinced them to hand over a can of SuperWhip strawberry-banana-flavored nitrous oxide, in exchange for a photo/video for their IG ... where are the parents?!?

SZA says she'll do everything in her power to help change the scenario, but ripped America for making drugs so marketable and alluring to children.

Barack Obama's name is finding its way into the Diddy trial ... because Diddy's former personal assistant says his boss used to take ecstasy pills shaped like Obama's mug.

David James, who worked for Bad Boy from 2007 to 2009, testified for the prosecution Tuesday and told the jury he saw Diddy with a bunch of different pills, including one with a very specific feature.

James said one of the pills was ecstasy in the shape of a former president's face ... and when prosecutor Christy Slavik asked him straight up, "Which former president?," James responded, "Barack Obama."

A cannabis dispensary owned by Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher was burglarized over the weekend ... and the smash-and-grab is all on video.

Surveillance footage shows masked burglars in hoodies getting out of a car in front of The Weeds WeHo in West Hollywood ... shattering a glass window to make entry, then filling bags with merchandise before getting the hell out of dodge.

Elliot Lewis, who owns a cannabis shop of his own in town, says the burglary happened at 4:30 AM Saturday ... and he claims the same crew hit another weed shop in Santa Monica, ERBA, the following night.

Marcus Jordan appears to be making serious lifestyle changes following his recent legal troubles -- Michael's son says he celebrated 40 days of sobriety over the weekend ... months after he was arrested for DWI.

The 34-year-old former college basketball player shared the update on his Instagram Story on Sunday ... and it sure sounds like he's not turning back anytime soon, 'cause he's looking to add more days to that tally.

Jordan might be focusing on his wellness overall ... as he shared the news alongside a pic from inside a workout room.

One of Cassie's bombshells in Diddy's federal trial is her claim he suffered a 2012 drug overdose following a Playboy Mansion bash, and we've got hot shots from the fateful, celeb-packed event.

Cassie told the jury Thursday about the couple's on-and-off use of opiates over the course of their tumultuous years-long relationship, and she specifically referenced a wild night in February 2012.

She said, on that day, the couple had a freak-off, then went to a sex club in San Bernardino -- about 2 hours east of L.A. -- and later, Diddy went to the Playboy Mansion without Cassie.

Justin Bieber is shrinking his circle and some people who have been cut out say he's being isolated from longtime friends because he's in a cult and his church pastor is wielding a ton of influence over his life ... but the pastor says that's bogus.

TMZ has a new documentary, "TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber," now available on Hulu, and part of our investigation digs into Justin's involvement in his church, Churchome, in Beverly Hills.

Justin is no longer friends with Ryan Good, the best man at Bieber's wedding and the creative director at JB's fashion brand Drew House, and our sources say it has to do with Ryan leaving Churchome because he thought it was a cult.

Another whirlwind day in the Diddy trial is in the books ... and Cassie Ventura had a lot of important testimony while getting grilled by Diddy's defense team.

The singer was back on the stand Thursday for a third straight day, though this was the first instance where she was cross-examined ... with Diddy defense attorney Anna Estevao leading the line of questioning.

Jurors heard and read a bunch of communications between Diddy and Cassie from their decades-long relationship ... including messages where Cassie seemed to be showing excitement for freak-offs.

Diddy supporters and court pundits might think the prosecution hasn't proved any of the criminal counts he's facing, but Touré disagrees ... arguing the government is making a lot of progress on the racketeering front.

We caught up with the music journalist Thursday on "TMZ Live," and his take, after nearly 4 days of graphic testimony, is Diddy was allegedly committing "an ongoing rape of Cassie."

And, Touré sees prosecutors building a strong case for a criminal conspiracy -- aka racketeering -- carried out by Diddy's employees.

Haley Joel Osment's trying not to draw too much attention these days ... stepping out in an incognito ensemble in his first appearance since he used a slur while being arrested in Mammoth.

The actor took his dogs for a walk around the block Wednesday ... dark sunglasses covering his eyes and a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

He added a maroon polo, a gray jacket and black pants ... looking like any other normie out for a stroll instead of one of the biggest child stars of all time.

Justin Bieber's got nothing to hide ... because he's posting everything on social media -- including a new pic with a bong in his lap.

Check out the gallery -- just a day after the pop star went on a bizarre rant about God, people pleasing, fishing and more, he hopped back on Instagram to share a carousel of photos Wednesday night, the first of which shows him grinning from ear to ear with a bong placed front and center -- and possibly a vape of some sort in his hand.

The pics appear to be taken from his studio in Iceland, where he's been staying the last several weeks while he works on new music.

Spectacular "Blue" Smith has a new battle on his hands, now that his wild Disney lawsuit is dropped and accounted for ... helping his Pretty Ricky bandmate Corey "Slick 'Em" Mathis overcome his drug addiction is next.

Earlier this month, Pretty Ricky celebrated its 20th anniversary as a platinum-selling group with a sold-out concert in D.C. ... Pleasure P and Baby Blue both reunited with Spec onstage, and he tells TMZ Hip Hop that's the permanent lineup for now.

Spec says he set up everything for Slick 'Em to simply walk into a $60K-per-stay rehab facility to get the treatment he needs ... only for Slick 'Em's denial phase to rear its ugly head and refuse the help.