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Dean Cain's become a real-life superhero for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ... with the agency saying he's giving their recruitment a major boost.

Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tells TMZ ... "We have certainly seen a pop in applications in the past few days -- we are grateful to Dean Cain for his efforts to highlight the work that ICE law enforcement is doing to remove terrorists, pedophiles, gang members and murderers from American communities."

As you know ... earlier this week, the actor took to social media, urging his followers to sign up as the agency worked to recruit loads of new officers.

Chris Appleton’s plugging his new memoir, and he’s opening up to TMZ about how writing it helped him confront his own mental health struggles he's experienced throughout his career.

We caught up with the celebrity hairstylist in NYC on Thursday, and he tells us writing "Your Roots Don’t Define You" was a brutal ride ... because if he wasn’t real about his journey, how could he expect to help others with theirs?

Catch the full clip, because Chris says the book is for anyone who looks like they’ve got it all together on the outside but really don’t -- and that was him for years.

Kelly Clarkson’s deep in grief over ex-hubby Brandon Blackstock’s death -- but her talk show’s still slated for a fall return, TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ ... "The Kelly Clarkson Show" is locked for a 7th season and the plan is to still drop fresh episodes in September.

Rumors circulated this year that Kelly was going to leave the show because of her numerous absences ... though we learned that was because of Blackstock's illness. We’re told the whole staff knew about Brandon’s illness -- but kept it under wraps out of respect for Kelly and Brandon's privacy.

Pro wrestling’s self-proclaimed "Indy God" Matt Cardona is picking a new kind of fight – one with Grand Tank Auto ... and paperwork!

The Deathmatch King joined the premiere episode of TMZ’s "Inside The Ring" to discuss his growing empire in life after WWE -- including a growing toy line that now features MLB stars ... and told us his longstanding feud ends this month in a one-on-one match with the new self-proclaimed "Indy God," Shotzi Blackheart, at GCW’s Homecoming episode August 23rd in Dallas.

At the center of this feud -- the copyright ownership of the title "Indy God." Cardona told us he outright owns the copyright of the moniker, and he wishes to protect that for any incoming wrestlers entering the Indie scene.

"Love Island" star Pepe Garcia-Gonzalez is still basking in the love -- and it’s not just his fans sending him heart-eyes, Iris Kendall’s still got him feeling some type of way too!

We caught up with Pepe while cruising on the TMZ Tour bus, and one of our visitors threw the juiciest question about him and Iris. If his smile didn’t say it all, he confirmed -- they’re both doing great!

IYDK, these two paired up after their strongest connections -- Thomas "TJ" Palma and Hannah Fields -- got the boot on the latest season of "Love Island USA." And yep, they stuck together all the way to the finale!

Leon Thomas needs a crown, robe and a royal scepter for the bang-up job he's doing in the R&B world -- words from his EZMNY label boss Ty Dolla $ign he's gotta live up to now!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Leon outside of producer Jae Murphy's single release party to celebrate the new bop "Stop Cryin'" and got his reaction to his whirlwind past 365 days ... even getting a cosign from rapper Siya in real-time!!!

Leon's blossomed into quite the draw since winning a Grammy with SZA for "Snooze" last year ... his signature hit "Mutt" has taken a life of its own with a Platinum plaque, remixes with Chris Brown and Freddie Gibbs.

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers found some more mud to sling ... Denise says she caught her estranged husband red-handed stealing her laptop.

The estranged couple had their lawyers duke it out in court Friday as part of a hearing for the temporary restraining order Denise has against Aaron ... and Denise's camp claimed they have security footage of Aaron running away from her home with her computer in hand.

Denise has claimed Aaron stole a laptop containing her nude photos ... but Aaron's denied it. His lawyers said Friday he doesn't have the laptop -- but her attorneys shot back with their claim that they have him on video with the laptop.

9:04 PM PT -- Terrell Suggs' rep, Denise White, said in a statement to TMZ Sports on Friday ... "There was an incident at a Starbucks drive-through in which Terrell attempted to safely back out of the lane when the individual behind him became hostile and falsely accused Terrell of making contact with his vehicle, which did not occur."

"The situation escalated when the individual exited his car and approached Terrell in a confrontational manner. Notably, the individual had not placed an order in the Starbucks line, which led Terrell to believe he might continue to follow him, causing Terrell to feel threatened."

"At no point," she continued, "did Terrell point a firearm at the individual. He made it clear that he was prepared to protect himself if necessary. Arizona is an open carry state, and Terrell is aware of the responsibilities that come with firearm ownership. He recognizes that he should not have displayed his weapon, but his actions were solely in response to feeling threatened and were not intended to escalate the situation further."

TMZ Sports has obtained the video of the Starbucks dispute that led to Terrell Suggs' arrest last year ... and in the footage, you can see the ex-NFL superstar did indeed brandish a gun during the tiff.

Baby oil and Astroglide were a big part of the government's case against Sean "Diddy" Combs ... but his lawyer used federal prosecutors' obsession with Diddy's personal lubricants against them ... and he tells us the moment he knew the jury was buying what he was selling.

Attorney Marc Agnifilo joined us on "TMZ Live" and we asked him if he mocked the baby oil and Astroglide elements of the case as a way to diminish the prosecution.

Agnifilo had been making light of the baby oil aspect since September 2024, when the feds started crowing in their federal indictment and ensuing press conference about finding 1,000 bottles of lubricant in raids on Diddy's homes ... and now the endgame is clear.

Hulk Hogan's wife -- not his daughter -- is the only one who can make the decision on an autopsy for the WWE legend, TMZ Sports is told.

The District Six Medical Examiner in Largo, Fla., said on Friday that despite Brooke Hogan's wishes for a probe into her father's body ... it'll ultimately be Sky Daily's choice.

For now, the official said, they have been given no indication Sky is seeking a report.

Dean Cain says he joined up with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement because he wants to support all of the law enforcement officers who are being vilified for doing their jobs.

We spoke with the actor on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... and, we asked him why he decided to go from actor to immigration officer -- a move that only worked out when ICE removed its age restriction.

Dean says he's got a lot of respect for law enforcement ... especially these officers who are caught up in the controversy surrounding the sweeping raids they're conducting.

Khamzat Chimaev is calling BS on Paulo Costa's claim that he slid into his girlfriend's direct messages ... telling TMZ Sports that's just not how it went down!

"Why should I DM somebody's wife, bro?" the 31-year-old UFC star said Wednesday from a pre-fight workout in SoCal.

"She DM'ed before the fight, when I announced the fight like, 'Khamzat, please don't take it seriously. We're just trying to make money and hype'," Chimaev recounted, before revealing what he said back.

Busta Rhymes is facing a lawsuit from a former personal assistant who claims the megastar rapper assaulted him ... however, Busta tells TMZ Hip Hop his allegations are complete BS.

We broke the story back in January ... cops questioned Busta over an alleged physical altercation between him and a man named Dashiel Gables.

Busta ultimately wasn't charged ... but Gables is preparing to host a press conference in New York later today to announce a lawsuit against the rapper for wage theft, emotional harm, and assault and battery.

Kelley Mack was feeling much better amid her cancer battle months ago ... but everything suddenly took a turn for the worse right before her death, TMZ has learned.

A family source tells us ... in February, "The Walking Dead'" star underwent treatment for glioma -- which is cancer of the nervous system. After her treatment, the source says Kelley experienced a "nice recovery."

The source says Kelley's cancer then relapsed out of nowhere, spreading through her body in recent weeks ... adding she had a "quick end."

Heidi Fleiss is over the moon that Aubrey Plaza  is playing her in an upcoming biopic ... but she's refusing to watch it because Heidi says she's not trying to go back to the past.

Fleiss also tells TMZ ... she's not involved in the yet-to-be-named biopic, which just cast Aubrey as Heidi, who became famous back in the 1990's under the nickname the "Hollywood Madam."

As you probably recall, Heidi ran an exclusive L.A.-based prostitution ring that catered to rich and prominent clients. But she was eventually arrested and convicted in state court for pandering and handed a 3-year sentence that was overturned on appeal. She was also convicted of money laundering and tax evasion in federal court and served a few years in prison before getting released in 1999.

Heidi tells us she's seen Aubrey's work in HBO's "White Lotus" franchise and feels she's a great choice to play her on the big screen and will do a spectacular job ... but she won't see what Aubrey does here, because "the past is dead" to her and she's not trying to relive her life.

Brooke Hogan's got a lot to say about her family, her late father's funeral, his sex tape and their complicated relationship ... but she's got a special message for some folks in Hulk Hogan's camp -- keep spinning lies about her, and prepare to lawyer up!!!

Brooke joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and opened up about why she skipped her dad's funeral this week, why they became estranged, why she wanted out of the will and why the last few weeks have been especially hard on her.

Hulk's daughter says people in her father's circle are spinning negative narratives around her and the lies have gotten so unbelievable it's laughable ... and also making her mad.