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The shoplifters who allegedly used a bowel movement as a distraction to make off with a basket full of goods are no longer on the loose ... cops arrested the people they believe are the pooping bandits.

The incident happened back in December but now police say they have identified and arrested the couple, who they refer to as "Mr. Clean" and "Ms. Dookie."

Cops say 57-year-old Tina Joyce is the one who dropped a deuce in the store ... after helping 36-year-old Nikevee Curry load up a shopping cart with cleaning supplies and beer.

Dwyane Wade doesn't have a single issue with the way LeBron James publicly beefed with Stephen A. Smith last week ... in fact, he tells TMZ Sports he would have done the exact same thing if he were in the Lakers superstar's shoes.

Bron, of course, ignited the feud with the ESPN commentator while the two were at Crypto.com Arena for L.A.'s March 6 tilt with the Knicks ... after he had gotten upset over the way Stephen A. had previously spoken about Bronny James.

Video from the scene showed LeBron got inches from Smith's nose -- and yelled at him in an apparent effort to get him to stop being critical of his relationship with his oldest son.

Big update in the Menendez Brothers case ... California governor Gavin Newsom just revealed when Erik and Lyle will appear before the parole board.

Gavin dropped the bombshell news Tuesday on his new podcast, announcing the convicted killers will go in front of the parole board June 13 for a hearing.

The Governor says after the hearing, the parole board will finalize their risk assessment and send it to his desk ... and he'll consider their findings as part of his decision on whether to grant clemency in their case, which would set them free.

More legal issues for former "Big Brother" winner Mike 'Boogie' Malin ... he just got busted for the second time in three months ... and this one involved another 'BB' winner.

TMZ has learned ... Mike was arrested and thrown in jail Friday after a bench warrant was issued when he was a no-show at court.

We're told the hearing was in regards to Mike recently violating the terms of a restraining order his former 'BB' costar Will Kirby has against him ... with Boogie disobeying the order by directly contacting Will's wife.

Sydney Sweeney made herself comfortable at a swanky hotel ... but she wasn't living the good life with her fiancé ... he was NOT with her and it's raising concerns about their relationship.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Sydney had been staying at the Beverly Hills Hotel since around the middle of February ... and fiancé Jonathan Davino has NOT been part of the extended stay.

She's now in Paris for Fashion Week ... and it appears Jonathan isn't there, either.

"Love on the Spectrum" is gearing up for its third season, and one of the main stars, Connor Tomlinson, is using his experience on the show to dish out dating advice.

We caught up with Connor and his mom, Lise, at LAX Tuesday, and let’s just say we got a crash course in dating from him -- He’s got some very handy tips and tricks for all the single guys out there looking for love.

Having been on the show for S2 and the upcoming third season, which follows young adults on the autism spectrum navigating dating, it’s clear Connor’s picked up a ton of pointers -- so you’ll want to catch them all in our full clip!

Gal Gadot is making a strong case for everyone to go check out "Snow White" ... especially with Disney doing the bare minimum for its premiere later this week.

We caught up with Gal -- who plays the Evil Queen in "Snow White" -- at Equinox Los Angeles on Tuesday, and she’s brushing off all the movie’s controversies ... telling us that according to her, the live-action remake is totally worth catching in theaters!

Gal’s comments come the same day Disney confirmed that while the "Snow White" premiere will take place Saturday at Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre, don’t expect the usual fanfare.

A new bill proposed in Texas could charge transgender people with a state felony if they lie about their biological sex assigned at birth ... and two lawmakers are defending the harsh punishment.

Texas State Reps. Steve Toth and Nate Schatzline joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and we asked them about the proposed bill that would add a new form of fraud related to gender identity.

As Toth and Schatzline explain, the bill -- Texas House Bill 3817 -- says a transgender Texan would commit "gender identity fraud" if they lie on state records or to employers about their biological sex ... and they would be charged with a state felony, which is punishable by up to two years behind bars.

Le'Veon Bell is vehemently denying a woman's claims he raped her for years when she was an adolescent ... with his attorney telling TMZ Sports the default judgment in the alleged victim's favor is completely "bogus."

Jada Bell said in a lawsuit filed in Franklin County, Ohio last year that she's Le'Veon's cousin ... and when she was just six or seven years old, Le'Veon began having nonconsensual, incestual relations with her.

According to the suit, Le'Veon -- who Jada says is eight years older than her -- would use "slang terms" to direct her when she was just a minor, which incestual acts he wished for her to perform upon him."

Infamous wife-killer Scott Peterson got an ass-whoopin' from another inmate in a California state prison -- in an altercation over pickleball ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources tell TMZ ... Peterson got into the heated confrontation Sunday in the yard near his housing unit at Mule Creek State Prison, about 40 miles southeast of Sacramento.

Our sources say Peterson hit the ball directly at the other inmate, triggering the assault. We're told Peterson got "beat up" by the other prisoner, but his injuries were not serious enough to land him in the hospital.

Tourists hoping to marvel at a majestic black panther at a Chinese zoo may have thought they wandered into the hippo section ... because the predator's belly was dragging nearly down to the ground!!!

Superhero movies have given black panthers global notoriety in the past decade, but video from inside the Chengdu Zoo in Sichuan Province this week revealed a jungle cat more closely resembling Garfield.

The fat feline gingerly waddles around the enclosure ... each step appearing to be a calculated task to keep her stomach from scraping the dirt.

3/14 10:23 AM PT -- Emily Osment is officially a single woman ... a judge just signed off on the split.

Emily Osment is making a clean break from her estranged husband ... because she just filed docs settling their divorce in near record time.

Emily filed the settlement docs on Monday, after she beelined it to court Friday and filed to divorce her husband Jack after only 5 months of marriage.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Emily and Jack each gave up their rights to seek spousal support and they have signed a confidential marriage settlement agreement.

Fascinating twist in the story of the dead body caught by fishermen in the waters off Massachusetts ... turns out the corpse was meant to be buried at sea and no foul play is suspected, according to authorities.

The Suffolk County Chief Medical Examiner in Boston just announced the body is a woman in her 60s with cancerous tumors all over it. The M.E. says the unidentified body was embalmed and apparently intentionally deposited into its watery grave.

Prosecutors say the case is now closed, adding the dead woman will likely stay nameless forever.

Wendy Williams is at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City for an independent examination as to whether her cognitive functions are sufficiently intact to end her guardianship.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... a caregiver not associated with the guardianship -- Gina Monterroso -- ordered the trip and the test ... this after the NYPD paid a visit to Wendy Monday morning to determine if, as Wendy says, she's effectively being held prisoner.

The NYPD has asked about Wendy being confined to the memory unit of the assisted living facility, where she cannot leave the floor without permission. She rarely gets out.

Wendy Williams' guardianship is being investigated by Adult Protective Services in New York City, and TMZ has obtained the call for help that sparked the whole thing.

A caregiver not associated with the guardianship -- Ginalisa Monterroso -- sent a letter recently to APS formally requesting a probe into what she saw as "troubling circumstances" surrounding Wendy's treatment.

In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Ginalisa raises issues about Wendy's restrictions at a New York assisted-living facility, where she's confined to the 5th-floor memory unit and not allowed to leave without approval from staff.

New footage shows authorities removing a decomposed body from a fishing vessel in Boston ... after a group of Massachusetts fishermen caught the body in their net.

TMZ obtained photos and videos showing the body being lifted from the boat and onto a pier in Boston's Seaport District ... with officials from the Medical Examiner loading the corpse onto a gurney and into an SUV.

A heavy police presence was there when the body, wrapped in a tarp, was removed from the boat ... with Massachusetts State Police and Massport cops, in addition to the fire department and EMTs.