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Chris Pousson grew up with Shamsud-Din Jabbar -- the terrorist who killed 14 people in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day -- and reconnected with him online in recent years ... but he says Jabbar never gave any indication of being a killer.

Chris joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and told us about his relationship with Jabbar, who he knew as Sham.

The friends went to high school together after meeting in middle school, and Chris says when they graduated he enlisted in the Air Force and Jabbar went to the Army ... so they lost touch for a while before finding each other on Facebook.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the terrorist who wreaked havoc in New Orleans in the early hours of New Year's Day, earned a ton of medals during his service in the Army ... TMZ has learned.

The armed forces veteran served in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015 as a Human Resource Specialist and Information Technology Specialist -- and he was a decorated service member ... an Army spokesperson tells TMZ.

We're told Jabbar earned 23 medals, ribbons and badges ... including the Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Investigators are meticulously examining the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in a possible terrorist attack ... and they even used a drone to peer inside the vehicle's burned-out carcass.

TMZ obtained exclusive video showing the drone hovering over the Cybertruck in the valet area as inspectors in white hazmat suits looked over every inch of the Tesla near the entrance of the hotel in Las Vegas.

Law enforcement personnel commonly utilizes drones for emergency situations to provide investigators with aerial views of incident locations or to document scenes where crimes and accidents occurred, among other things.

3:11 PM PT -- Jabbar made a series of recordings just hours before the attack in which he said he was planning to kill his family. This makes the story below way more ominous. According to CNN, which got the information from an FBI source, Jabbar pivoted and decided to conduct the terrorist attack in New Orleans in the name of ISIS, because he wanted to kill.

The terrorist who killed at least 10 people in a violent attack in New Orleans early Wednesday had a divorce that was acrimonious enough that his then-wife got a restraining order against him.

Shamsud-Din Jabbar, seen above in a video he had posted, was in the throes of a divorce during the pandemic, when his wife, Shaneen Chantil Jabbar, went to court to get a restraining order.

We do not have a copy of the wife's petition, but we do have the order of the judge who granted the restraining order. It says, among other things, "both parties are prohibited from "threatening the other party or a child of either party with imminent bodily injury."

A Former wife of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the terrorist at the center of the New Year attack in New Orleans, is in disbelief ... but recounts a marriage she says was "abusive" -- and this is a different wife from the one who got a restraining order against him.

The ex-wife, Tiera, tells TMZ … she was married to Shamsud-Din for about 5 years before they divorced in 2016. She says their union was unhappy, saying Shamsud-Din abused her ... though she would not get specific.

Still, Tiera tells us she didn't think he was capable of mass murder and had no clue how such hatred washed over him.

It is going to be quite the New Year for Gypsy Rose Blanchard ... who is now a new momma!

Gypsy and partner Ken Urker tell TMZ ... she gave birth Dec 28 in Louisiana to Aurora Urker ... and that exact date just so happens to be on the one-year anniversary of Gypsy’s prison release date.

Ken added ... "Aurora is healthy and we are so happy."

Matthew Stafford is pulling out all the stops to make sure he's not the next athlete targeted in the recent string of burglaries -- TMZ Sports is told the Rams quarterback invited police officers and NFL security to inspect his L.A. area home for any potential weak spots.

Law enforcement sources tell us league staffers and cops met at the Super Bowl champ's residence this month to scope out his current setup ... and provided tips and safety measures on what his family can do further to deter crooks from targeting his pad.

While Stafford himself was not present, we're told the NFL specifically asked the cops about the South American burglary crews believed to be behind all the hits ... as well as how they can work together to make it more difficult for the criminals to execute their operation.

Joe Manganiello's birthday cakes tasted awfully familiar this year ... his girlfriend, Caitlin O'Connor, bought his sweet treats from a bakery often frequented by his ex-wife, Sofía Vergara.

Bakery sources tell TMZ ... Caitlin ordered 2 birthday cakes for Joe’s birthday from Cake and Art bakery in West Hollywood, Calif. ahead of his 48th name day ... which certainly raised eyebrows given Sofía's history with the hot spot.

We're told the cakes -- which came out to a whopping $400 total -- each had their own design and flavor. The first dessert was an edible 3D Steelers helmet made from chocolate cake with mocha filling.

Jesse Metcalfe is feeling optimistic about the possibility of a "Desperate Housewives" reboot in the not-so-distant future ... telling TMZ a new chapter "could happen."

We caught up with the actor in Beverly Hills, where he weighed in on the chatter surrounding the rumored revival of the popular ABC drama ... which starred Jesse, along with Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria, and Nicollette Sheridan.

Though the show wrapped its 8-season run back in 2012, the series is as popular as ever, thanks to its availability on streaming services like Hulu and Prime Video.

Blake Lively has just filed a lawsuit making a formal demand for money, suing Justin Baldoni and others for mental pain and anguish, severe emotional distress, and lost wages.

The lawsuit mirrors the complaint filed with the California Civil Rights Commission -- but this action has been filed in federal court in New York.

In addition to Baldoni, Blake is suing Baldoni's crisis managers, Melissa Nathan and Jennifer Abel, along with Wayfarer Studios, which produced the movie "It Ends with Us."

Week 18 might be meaningless to the Eagles, but Chris Johnson tells TMZ Sports he'd still advise Saquon Barkley to suit up ... and go chase history!!

After a 167-yard performance against the Cowboys on Sunday, Barkley is now just 101 yards away from Eric Dickerson's all-time single-season rushing record of 2,105 ... but with nothing on the line for Philadelphia, many have wondered if the tailback will play.

Birds fans would love to see him rest up and be ready for the playoffs ... but Johnson -- a former Titans superstar who once rushed for 2,006 yards in 2009 -- said this week he'd advise Barkley to put on his helmet.

And the Emmy goes to ... Adam Copeland?? It could happen ... and the AEW superstar tells TMZ Sports it's surreal to even be considered for the prestigious award!!

The 51-year-old wrestler and actor chopped it up with Mojo Muhtadi on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ahead of his in-ring return at AEW Dynamite: Fight For The Fallen ... and we got his thoughts on being up for the Best Supporting Performer in a Preschool, Children's Or Young Teen Program for his role in Disney's "Percy Jackson and the Olympians."

Even though he's got a growing resume in front of the camera, Copeland said he didn't really think of himself to be much of an actor until recently.

Platinum producer RoccStar thinks VH1 is due for some changes in its 'Love & Hip Hop' schedule ... mainly putting him and Hollywood back on primetime and giving the Miami series the boot!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with RoccStar in L.A. as the last of 2024 wound down, and we got an explanation on why 'L&HH' has been missing from the Thirty Mile Zone since 2019 ... RoccStar says the network didn't want to pay anyone!!!

Omarion, Soulja Boy, Jason Lee, and of course, Ray J & Princess Love were among his 'L&HH' counterparts -- but RoccStar remembers himself being a ratings draw.

Brad Pitt isn't looking to get down on one knee to propose to girlfriend Ines de Ramon ... at least, not yet ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... reports claiming Brad is planning to get married next year after settling his divorce from Angelina Jolie are a bunch of hogwash. We're told the Oscar winner has no imminent engagement plans ... though, he is still very happy in his relationship with Ines.

Per our sources, Ines is currently living and constantly traveling with Brad as he wraps up filming his upcoming sports action flick, "F1." So, it's clear these two are still going strong after first linking up in 2022.

Ryan Seacrest is pulling back the curtain on "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve" ... revealing it's a longer day than many realize -- and, he needs some pain relief to weather the storm.

The talk and game show host stopped by "TMZ Live" Tuesday while walking around Times Square before the night's festivities kick off ... saying it looks beautiful in NYC right now -- but, it's expected to start pouring when they get on the air.

While the show doesn't start until 8 PM ET, Ryan's already preparing for the show ... explaining the production is in dress rehearsal mode -- and, as performers do a dry run of their shows, Ryan and the rest of the crew will run what they can too.

11:30 AM PT -- The judgment has been signed by an L.A. County Superior Court judge, officially finalizing the divorce.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have finally closed the book on their divorce after taking more than 8 years to hash things out ... TMZ has learned.

In new court docs, obtained by TMZ, Angelina signed off on their long-running divorce on Christmas Day and filed the paperwork Monday ... with Angie forgoing spousal and family support from Brad.

The documents do not include an agreement regarding the former couple's 6 children together ... but only 2 of the children, twins Knox and Vivienne, are minors.