Fairly Legal

LWD -- livestreaming while driving -- is why TikToker Tea Tyme is behind bars on Christmas Eve ... nearly 2 months after she allegedly ran over a pedestrian, cops have her in custody.

Tea Tyme -- or Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, IRL -- was arrested Tuesday in Zion, IL and booked for 2 felonies ... reckless homicide and aggravated use of communications resulting in death.

As that second count describes ... cops say Tynesha was livestreaming Nov. 3 in the suburb north of Chicago while she was driving, and ran into 59-year-old Darren Lucas as he walked across an intersection.

Diddy's legal team is ripping Judge Arun Subramanian, accusing him of crossing a line with the 50-month sentence ... and acting more like a juror than a judge.

Diddy filed a new appeal late Tuesday evening, demanding his conviction be overturned, and his release from prison ... or, at the very least, his sentence be lightened. While his lawyers have previously filed multiple appeals, this one singles out Judge Subramanian for acting as the "thirteenth juror" in Diddy's criminal trial.

In the docs, lead appeal attorney Alexandra Shapiro claims the judge's "draconian" 50-month sentence is based on the conduct for which the actual jurors acquited Diddy -- namely, the racketeering and sex trafficking counts.

Shapiro claims Subramanian incorrectly said during sentencing he could consider Diddy's behavior related to the more violent charges -- even though he'd been acquited of them -- which she calls a violation of Diddy's constitutional rights.

Mariah Carey may have some extra Christmas cash this year ... because the judge who dismissed a lawsuit filed against her over her popular Christmas song just ordered the folks who dragged her to court to pay her more than $92,000 in sanctions.

According to new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the judge ordered sanctions against the people who filed the action against Mariah, finding it lacked merit and determining there was good reason to deter people from filing baseless lawsuits.

The FBI purchased several armored BMW X5s at director Kash Patel's request this year, sources told MS Now ... an expensive break from the traditional fleet of armored vehicles used by U.S. officials.

A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the news about the lawman's new vehicles and stated the bureau had been planning to acquire newer cars. The spokesperson also said the purchase would save taxpayers millions of dollars without providing documents regarding the cost of the cars.

Patel is the first FBI director to utilize armored BMWs, law enforcement personnel told MS Now. The government reportedly had a contract with General Motors to provide Chevrolet Suburbans for officials' use.

Patel reportedly requested the cars to make his travel less noticeable to the public. FBI directors have historically been transported in Suburbans -- and have been protected by security details.

An individual said to be close to Patel said buying a new armored Suburban would have cost the government $480,000 ... which is more than twice the cost of the BMW.

Patel also reportedly requested the FBI purchase a new jet for his use earlier this year, although the proposal ended up being dropped.

New photos show Jeffrey Epstein's injuries from a possible suicide attempt weeks before his August 2019 death.

The images are included in the Justice Department's Epstein Files ... there are photos of his neck, arms, hands, legs and feet ... plus a makeshift ligature that looks like it's made from ripped clothing tied together in knots.

As we reported at the time ... on July 23, 2019 Epstein was found injured and semi-conscious in his jail cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

James Cameron's developed a reputation for being one of the most intense guys in show biz ... but Amy Poehler apparently got under his skin when she joked about his past marriage to Kathryn Bigelow during the 70th Golden Globes Awards ceremony in 2013, based on his comments in a recent interview.

Here's what went down ... Poehler served as one of the annual awards show's hosts, when Bigelow was up for the award for Best Director for "Zero Dark Thirty." The film's cast and crew were also up for several other awards.

Poehler took a shot at Bigelow's former marriage while talking about the torture scenes in the flick ... she said the filmmaker knew all about torture's finer points, as she "spent three years married to James Cameron."

FYI ... Bigelow was Cameron's third wife, and their marriage lasted from 1989 until 1991. They remained on friendly terms following their divorce, and the "Avatar" director eventually ended up with Linda Hamilton -- who he married and divorced -- before he tied the knot with Suzy Amis in 2000.

Cameron described the dig as "ignorant" in a December 14 The New York Times interview, and said while he was cool with being the butt of a joke every now and then, Poehler's quip about his marriage "went too far."

Cameron touched on the 2010 Oscars race, when he was pitted against Bigelow for the award for Best Director -- which she ultimately won for "The Hurt Locker" -- saying the headlines focusing on their competition could have detracted from her "credibility as a filmmaker."

President Trump's name just came up in the Epstein Files in a huge way ... there's an FBI document where someone apparently told authorities Trump and Jeffrey Epstein raped a female.

The claim is part of an unclassified FBI intake form from October 2020 ... and the document says someone called the FBI National Threat Operations Center Unit to report potential information related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In the intake report -- essentially a detailed summary of a tip received by FBI personnel from a civilian -- there's a redacted name that states "he raped me" in reference to Trump. A redacted name is also quoted as saying, "Donald J. Trump had raped her along with Jeffrey Epstein." The age of the alleged victim is unclear.

2:09 PM PT -- Russell Brand is seemingly addressing the new charges against him in a video he just uploaded on social media.

In the selfie video, Russell says ... "This is a time of great darkness, a time of confusion and dispute and conflict, but I have learned in my own life that attack can bring about grace."

He adds ... "I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to atone for the many things over the years I did wrong, and the opportunity for the people to understand the truth of my situation."

Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair got a special holiday gift -- he's out of prison.

TMZ Sports has learned the 40-year-old was released from the Bureau of Prisons custody this week ... after spending the past few months at Fort Dix FCI in New Jersey.

Telfair said he's feeling good and rehabilitated now ... telling Antoinette Media he's ready to get home to his loved ones after taking care of himself.

12:40 PM PT -- The DOJ has just released a statement on X that the FBI confirmed the letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is "FAKE."

Jeffrey Epstein may have had a pedo pen pal in Larry Nassar ... and President Donald Trump is also in the mix as a lover of "nubile girls," according to new documents released by the Department of Justice.

The DOJ just dumped a new batch of Epstein Files, in which there's an August 2019 letter allegedly written by Epstein to Larry Nassar while both men were incarcerated in separate federal prisons.

Nassar had been convicted of sexually assaulting hundreds of young female gymnasts and sentenced to life behind bars. Epstein was awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in NYC for allegedly sex trafficking minors ... but he died by suicide the same month -- August 2019 -- he allegedly penned the missive to Nassar.

The letter opens, "We shared one thing ... our love & caring for young ladies and the hope they'd reach their full potential. Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls."

Former Republican senator Ben Sasse publicly revealed he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last week in a lengthy message posted on X Tuesday morning.

Sasse didn't mince words while talking about the diagnosis ... describing it as a "death sentence," and adding he is "gonna die." The cancer has metastasized, already spreading to other parts of his body.

Sasse acknowledged he has "less time than I’d prefer" and admitted he is concerned about the future well-being of his family.

He added he wouldn't be "going down without a fight" and pointed to the advances in research into cancer treatment over the past few years as a sign of hope in his situation.

Sasse said his family has embraced "gallows humor" about the whole situation and wrote he'd have more to say about his health in the future.

Sasse's note was met with support from many of his former colleagues, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance, who replied he's "very sorry" to hear about the former senator's diagnosis.

10:27 AM PT -- A rep for Kevin Spacey tells TMZ ... “The 2002 trip to Africa with President Clinton to support AIDS causes and meet Nelson Mandela remains a genuine highlight in Kevin’s life. The fact that the plane was owned by Jeffrey Epstein is immaterial considering it was three years before Epstein was ever investigated. Whatever wrongdoing may have been taking place in the background has nothing to do with Kevin, any more than a hotel guest is responsible for actions occurring in a neighboring room. Kevin never saw or spoke to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell ever again.”

Kevin Spacey -- who vehemently called for the release of the Epstein Files this summer -- has been included in the trove of pics just released today.

In the image released by the U.S. Department of Justice ... the "American Beauty" star leans on the back of a chair alongside Bill Clinton, appearing to be in mid-conversation. They're standing in a room before a conference table littered with pads and writing utensils, suggesting they're preparing for a meeting of some sort.

According to CNN, the pic was taken inside the Cabinet Room of the Churchill War Rooms -- which is an underground bunker in London.

Clinton reportedly took Epstein's private jet on a humanitarian trip to Africa with Spacey in 2002.

The "60 Minutes" segment reporting on El Salvador's notorious CECOT prison -- that was abruptly abruptly pulled from the program hours before it was set to air in the United States Sunday night -- was aired in full in Canada, and later became available on a Canadian streaming service.

The segment, titled "Inside CECOT," investigates the brutal treatment of Venezuelans who were deported from the U.S. and sent to CECOT.

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss yanked the segment and promotional materials were scrubbed online. She said in a statement to CBS employees Sunday the segment wasn't ready for air -- even though it had been vetted and legally reviewed and was cleared by the network on Friday night -- and said the show's producers needed to get on-the-record statements from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department, and if possible, televised interviews.

The segment was included with the rest of the episode in its original version released on Global TV's streaming service, and it was available as of Monday evening, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original program had shipped Friday night to international media partners ... before it was pulled on Sunday from American air.

Viewers have reportedly been taking videos of the segment and posting them on platforms like YouTube and X in the hours since it was made available on streaming. CBS took steps to have the program removed from YouTube and elsewhere, but the content has spread wide.

Donald Trump flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet at least eight times ... according to an internal DOJ email written by an assistant U.S. attorney in January 2020.

The email -- which dropped in a new batch of Epstein docs Monday night -- says Trump was listed as a passenger on flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four trips where Ghislaine Maxwell was also onboard.

One 1993 flight listed Trump and Epstein as the only passengers ... and another flight included just Epstein, Trump, and an unidentified person who was 20 years old at the time, according to the email. Marla Maples, Tiffany Trump and Eric Trump are also listed as passengers.

Kyle Chrisley, the son of "Chrisley Knows Best" stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, punched three cops and threatened to kill the officers ... at least according to the police who arrested him in Tennessee.

TMZ obtained the affidavit from Kyle's Saturday arrest in Rutherford County, and cops say they got a call from Kyle's wife, who told dispatchers he was making suicidal and homicidal threats.

Police say when they arrived, Kyle walked away from them and refused their commands ... and they say he eventually turned around and got aggressive and combative with them.

Longtime character actress Helen Siff, who filled small roles in dozens of films and shows throughout her multi-decade career, has died.

The performer's Thursday, Dec. 18 death was announced by her family, who told The Hollywood Reporter she'd died from complications from a surgery for a "long, painful illness."

Siff was born in Woodmere, New York, in 1937, and she began acting professionally nearly 40 years later, when she appeared in a commercial for Subaru in 1976.

She went on to play small roles in numerous films throughout the 1980s, including "The Karate Kid" and "Big Top Pee-Wee."

Siff continued well into the 2000s, filling parts in movies like "Hail, Caesar!" and "You Don't Mess With The Zohan."

Siff also appeared in scores of television shows, including "Will & Grace," "Modern Family," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm," as well as various stage productions.

Her family said she had the ability to make "even the smallest part memorable." She's survived by two sisters, five of her children, and seven grandchildren.

Siff was 88.