Family

Clay Matthews III is making a major push to get his dad into the Pro Football Hall of Fame -- saying the guy checks off all the boxes needed to punch a ticket to Canton.

The legendary Cleveland Browns linebacker has been eligible for the Hall for 20 years, and 2021 marks his last opportunity for selection by the Modern era committee.

Clay's son -- who also had a long and successful career in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and L.A. Rams -- is going to bat for his old man ... explaining why he's long overdue for the recognition.

"Peak Performance, Impact, Longevity, and Overall Value -- You CANNOT talk about my dad’s career without touching on each and every quality," Clay III tweeted Tuesday.

FYI -- Matthews played 16 of his 19 seasons with the Browns and is regarded as one of the best players in franchise history. He racked up 1561 tackles, 83.5 career sacks, 27 forced fumbles and 16 interceptions.

Clay III continued ... "His numbers are as good, if not better, than so many current, and deserving, members of the HOF. His longevity is unheard of. And his ability to do it all made him invaluable."

It’s not the end of the road if Matthews isn't selected -- he will be placed into the Seniors Committee for further consideration.

The Matthews family has been campaigning to get Clay Jr. in the Hall for years -- with names like Nick Saban, Bill Cowher, Jim Kelly and more vouching for his entry.

The daughter who publicly ID'd her own mother as a bloodied participant in the Capitol riots feels some guilt for calling her mom out ... but says she doesn't regret it, for several reasons.

Helena Duke joined "TMZ Live" Monday to add some context to why she decided to out her mother, Therese Duke, in a viral clip where Therese gets punched by a security guard outside the Capitol after the insurrection.

Helena says her mom lied to her about her whereabouts on January 6 -- claiming she was getting a medical procedure -- so she wouldn't have known Therese attended the riots ... if not for the video of her getting punched.

As for why Therese was in D.C. ... Helena believes Donald Trump radicalized her mother about a year into his Presidency. She says it was "unsettling" how her mom flipped from lifelong Democrat to far-right Republican.

If you missed it ... the day after the riots, Helena commented on the vid of her mother getting punched -- "hi mom remember the time you told me I shouldn’t go to BLM protests bc they could get violent...this you?"

Shortly afterward she went a step further by publicly ID'ing her mom, aunt and uncle as attending the riot.

Therese has since been fired from her job at a Massachusetts hospital ... which stated her termination was linked to her being involved in the Capitol violence.

A Capitol rioter from Texas threatened to shoot his own children if they snitched on him to the feds ... at least according to the FBI.

According to his wife, Guy Reffitt told his son and daughter, "If you turn me in, you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors ... traitors get shot" ... and it's all spelled out in an affidavit signed by FBI special agent Thomas Ryan.

In the affidavit, obtained by TMZ, the FBI agent says Reffitt was seen in restricted areas of the Capitol during the riots. Reffitt's accused of unlawful entry and obstruction of justice.

Reffitt's alleged threats didn't stop there, according to the feds ... he told his daughter he would "put a bullet" through her phone if she told friends her dad was at the Capitol.

Images of Reffitt from the insurrection show what appears to be a camera on his helmet, and the FBI says he admitted to his son he "stormed the Capitol" and told his family he had to scrub his Go-Pro footage from Jan. 6 because the FBI was on to him.

The guy's wife told the feds he's a member of a right-wing militia group, the Three Percenters, adding she didn't believe he would follow through with his alleged threats and was more disturbed by his extreme rhetoric.

Tom Brady beat a Brees and then scored with one later ... 'cause after the Buccaneers superstar bounced Drew Brees from the playoffs Sunday -- he threw a TD to the QB's son!

The cool moment all went down an hour or so after the Bucs beat the Saints in the Superdome in an NFC Divisional Round game ... with Brady and Brees having what appeared to be a pretty emotional talk.

Brady gave Brees (who had just finished likely the final game of his historic career) a handshake and a long hug ... and then suddenly Brees' son came up to the two.

The young Brees handed a ball to Tom -- and TB12 knew exactly what to do with it!!!

The Tampa Bay signal-caller fired a perfect strike into the corner of the endzone ... and the little Brees came down with a pretty impressive catch!

"That a boy!" Tom told the kid. "We could have used you tonight. Got to get that ball in the endzone!"

Brees' wife then gave Tom a hug ... and Brady provided some strong words of wisdom to Drew's other son -- "Be nice to your sister." Tom then bolted for the locker room.

Cleveland Browns linebacker Mack Wilson shoulda been booted from the game over his hit on Patrick Mahomes ... so says the superstar QB's mother, who called the play "trash football."

Mahomes suffered a concussion and was knocked out in the 3rd quarter of the Chiefs vs. Browns divisional round game on Sunday ... after Wilson brought down the QB on a run play.

Mahomes' mom, Randi, was FURIOUS over the play ... calling for Wilson to be ejected from the game.

"#51 Wilson that’s some trash football leading with helmet, pulling his head and pushing helmet," Randi tweeted Sunday. "why are you not thrown out!?? Come on NFL"

FWIW -- Wilson spoke out after the game ... saying he's NEVER been a dirty player, and wished Mahomes a speedy recovery.

"Never been a dirty player in my life," Wilson tweeted after the game. "I just try my best to play fast and make plays. Don’t try to insult me & keep the threats to yourself."

Liv Tyler has had a terrifying 2021, which began with a COVID diagnosis that left her in physical and emotional turmoil.

Liv said she found out on New Year's Eve she tested positive for the virus ... "Suddenly on The morn of the last day of 2020 ... boom it took me down. It comes on fast, like a locomotive, Owchie." She goes on ... "With it Feelings of fear, shame and guilt swirling through you, who could you have gotten it from and who could you have infected ... Terrifying. Luckily the rest of my family and bubble were negative."

And, then there are the symptoms ... "It F's with your body and mind equally. Everyday different. Being isolated in a room alone for 10 days is trippy to say the least."

The 'Lord of the Rings' star, who has 3 kids, says, "I missed My babies beyond but they visited my window and called up to me and I watch them play outside. Such a gift. They sent little messages and drawings under my door. Reminders of what's on the other side. What to get better for."

What's interesting -- and scary -- Liv took all sorts of precautions. In fact, she bowed out of returning to film "9-1-1: Lone Star" last year because she was so concerned about COVID.

Liv has now been reunited with 4-year-old Lula Rose, 5-year-old Sailor Gene, and 16-year-old Milo William, posting a pic of her embracing the 2 youngins, with the caption, "Reunited with my loves ... what a wild 2 weeks."

Devastating news for Karl-Anthony Towns ... the NBA star announced he's tested positive for COVID-19 ... just 9 months after his mother passed away from a lengthy battle with coronavirus.

The 25-year-old says he received the news prior to the Minnesota Timberwolves' matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies -- which has been postponed -- and will isolate and follow all protocols immediately.

"I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions," KAT said Friday.

"We cannot stop the spread of this virus alone, it must be a group effort by all of us."

KAT's mother, Jacqueline Towns, contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 and was put in a medically induced coma due to complications.

She tragically passed away on April 13.

KAT's father, Karl, Sr. also previously tested positive for the virus ... but made a full recovery.

Towns continued ... "It breaks my heart that my family, and particularly my father and sister continue to suffer from the anxiety that comes along with this diagnosis as we know all too well what the end result could be."

Towns sends an incredibly powerful message to his family ... vowing to beat the virus and be there for his loved ones moving forward.

As the anniversary of Kobe and Gianna Bryant's deaths approaches, Vanessa's sharing her daily battle to cope with such heartbreaking loss ... and offering some advice.

Vanessa says ... "Grief is a messed up cluster of emotions. One day you're in the moment laughing and the next day you don't feel like being alive."

She then speaks directly to people who understand her pain, adding ... "Find your reason to live. I know it's hard. I look at my daughters and I try to push through that feeling for them."

As you know ... Vanessa's husband and 13-year-old daughter were both killed in a helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 along with 7 others, including the pilot.

From time to time, Vanessa's shared her efforts to pick up the pieces and care for her and Kobe's 3 other girls ... but she's never spoken this openly about her struggle with grief.

President-elect Joe Biden isn't the only one being ushered into the White House with pomp and circumstance ... his rescue dog, Major, is getting "indogurated."

Major, a German Shepherd, is getting honored by the Delaware shelter where the Bidens rescued him ... with a special inauguration of his own this Sunday on Zoom ... and the "indoguration" is raising money for other pups like Major.

The Bidens adopted Major from the Delaware Humane Association back in 2018, and now Major's set to become the first shelter dog in the White House ... hence the big virtual celebration.

Major's "indoguration" is being hosted by 'Today' show's Jill Martin, and folks can join the Zoom event with a $10 minimum donation, with all proceeds going to the DHA.

Sunday's event sounds like a fun time ... it's being hailed as "the world's largest virtual party for dogs."

The last supper is here for "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" ... Kim Kardashian and her fam are about to sit down for lunch on the final day of filming.

Kim just posted video from the final day on the set of 'Keeping Up' ... showing the final time the reality show crew is setting up microphones for Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kendall, Kylie and Kris.

It looks and sounds bittersweet ... Kim tells her audio technician not to cry as the Kardashians get outfitted with mics for the final time after 14 long years.

Kim's also showing off the elaborate table set up for a final family meal ... the place settings for each family member are super cute, with personal emojis for everyone from Saint West to Scott Disick. Oh, and there's tons of flowers too.

A 3rd ring is on the horizon for Mookie Betts, 'cause the Dodgers superstar just popped the question to longtime GF Brianna Hammonds -- and she said yes!!!!

28-year-old Betts and Hammonds met way back in middle school ... and have been dating for 15 years. They have a 2-year-old baby girl together.

Of course, Mookie is fresh off winning a World Series ring with the Dodgers (his 2nd WS title) ... but says this is the real highlight.

"Winning another World Series was great, but putting a ring on MY MVP is the REAL BLESSING! I am a blessed man," Betts says.

"(Brianna) has been by my side since we were teenagers. Together we’ve grown mentally, physically, and spiritually. She is my best friend, mother of my child, my lover and my soon to be wife."

As for the ring ... it's a huge 7-carat rock, according to People.

And get this, Betts got an assist from his buddy C.C. Sabathia for the big moment -- the ex-MLB ace staged an awards ceremony to honor Mookie with his pitch in Foundation's 2020 Legacy Award ... but there was a huge surprise.

During his acceptance speech, Mookie revealed the real reason for the night -- he asked Brianna on stage, read her a heartfelt poem and then got on one knee!!

Kellyanne Conway should accept some responsibility for the violence in the Capitol ... at least according to her daughter, who's trolling her over the attempted coup and the Senate runoff in Georgia.

16-year-old Claudia Conway went to her favorite platform -- TikTok -- to air some family grievances Wednesday ... but really, it was about spiking the football on her mom and the Republican Party.

Claudia asked her mom how she feels about President Trump's "army" resorting to rioting. Claudia compares the coup to last summer's protests, which she says her mom didn't want her to join.

She also took a swipe at Kellyanne for campaigning in Georgia for Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who ended up losing. Claudia's far from the high road here, as she hit her mom with a Mitch McConnell joke. Too soon???

The Conway household is a pretty interesting dynamic ... Claudia says she can't find her mom in the house, so she's using TikTok as a conversation starter.

As you know, Claudia's beefed with her mom on social media before ... including this infamous exchange about COVID.

The family of the Southern California man who died after being arrested at a grocery store is following through with a lawsuit that describes the incident in eerily similar detail to George Floyd's death.

Ernie Serrano's mother, Maria Lowrie, has filed a wrongful death suit against the County of Riverside and its Sheriff's Dept -- along with the Stater Bros. Market where the incident occurred -- claiming they killed her son.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Lowrie claims Serrano was shopping on December 15 when store security began to pester him and then physically confronted him.

Serrano's mom says the security contacted the sheriff's office and falsely accused him of assault with a deadly weapon -- she claims he was unarmed. The store claims he had reached for the security guard's weapon.

According to the suit ... when deputies showed up they immediately were hostile toward Serrano and "escalated a very minor situation, into a fatal situation."

Lowrie claims her son was not aggressive toward the officers, but they responded with unreasonable brute force -- including beating him and using a Taser.

According to the suit ... the deputies were not satisfied with tasing and beating Serrano with a baton, so they took him down and pummeled him with their fists. Lowrie claims they continued to torture him for nearly 7 minutes, including slamming him on his stomach on a checkout stand and cutting off his air supply.

Lowrie says while her son was pinned down, he screamed out "I can't breathe man" and pleaded for help. Instead, a spit mask was placed on him, which allegedly restricted his breathing even more ... and Serrano's mom claims he was spitting blood into it as he begged them to take it off.

According to the suit ... after 6 minutes and 40 seconds of being pinned down forcefully, a deputy realized he wasn't breathing and had lost consciousness. Lowrie believes he was likely already dead by the time of this discovery.

Serrano's mom's accusing the deputies of ignoring all of the factors that can lead to death by asphyxia, denying him proper medical care, and assault and battery leading to his death. She wants the Stater Bros. held accountable for negligence as well.

The Black teenager who was falsely accused of stealing a woman's phone is now in need of therapy because the incident has seriously scarred him ... this according to his parents.

Keyon Harrold tells TMZ ... he and his ex-wife, Kat, are currently vetting therapists and looking to get their son -- 14-year-old Keyon Jr. -- into trauma therapy soon. Keyon (the dad) tells us his son is seriously traumatized ... and a lot has to do with Miya Ponsetto immediately zeroing in on him.

Keyon Jr. asked his dad a simple question that unearths lots of serious issues, including self-doubt ... "Why Me?"

Keyon says he's raised his son to become a proud, Black man, saying, "I have tried to instill dignity in my son. I'm trying to build his ego, because for so long egos of Black men have been shattered."

Keyon feels without professional help, his mission may be torpedoed by Ponsetto's vicious attack on his son. His dad tells us, "He wonders if he's good enough to own an iPhone, or whether he's out of place at a nice hotel." That, Keyon says, must immediately be nipped in the bud.

There's also a practical problem. Both parents are musicians and travel a lot, which means they stay at hotels quite a bit. Keyon says his son is now showing fear about going to hotels. Keyon Jr. has told his dad he's afraid someone will come from behind and tackle him. He's also afraid of being accused of a crime. In fact, he told his dad the day of the incident he felt like a criminal.

Keyon's handling it with broad strokes ... "You definitely belong, everywhere you go."

By the way ... long before the incident, Keyon and his son have talked about social justice issues, and the tragedies of Emmett Till, Michael Brown, George Floyd, and on and on.

The Jenner girls have hit the slopes to ring in the new year -- and they're shacking up in the Colorado Rockies inside what might as well be a castle ... which costs an absolute fortune.

Kylie, Kendall, Kris, Corey and some other pals -- plus young Stormi Webster -- are all on a winter retreat right now in Aspen ... where they're doing some snowboarding and taking in the fresh mountain air, while also kicking their feet up in a fortress of a rental home.

The 20,000-plus square foot, 4-story mansion comes equipped with 7 bedrooms, 9 baths, a massive deck, a patio, a fireplace, an in-home theater, a pool and spa, a bowling alley and a 4-car garage. It's also brand spanking new ... the place was just built in 2020.

If you're wondering what it might be costing the Jenners to stay here ... try something like tens of thousands. According to Realtor.com, the house goes for $450k/month for renters, and the crew's been there at least 3 days now. BTW, it's also for sale for a whopping $75 mil.

Kylie and Kendall have been posting shots from inside their sweet digs, and it's about as nice as its price tag indicates. Looks like the house is pretty secluded too ... exterior footage shows that it's on a mountain edge, and even a stone's throw from a resort there too.

Of course, the whole area is buried in snow at the moment, which the Jenners and co. are taking full advantage of (for recreation and fashion). That includes little Stormi, who's proving to be quite the snowboarder herself. Kylie posted a video of her kid going down what appears to be the bunny hill ... and, lo and behold, she's holding her own pretty well!!!

Just a day after Minneapolis cops shot and killed Dolal Idd, his family's home was raided ... and there's new body cam video showing the tense scene inside the home.

Idd was shot and killed during a traffic stop last Wednesday, after he shot at officers. He was a suspect in a felony.

Hours later, just after 2 AM the next day, cops served a search warrant on the family home. You see in the video, cops zip tied family members as they searched the home.

BTW ... it's significant this was a "knock and announce" warrant ... which became the central issue in the Breonna Taylor case. The police clearly ID'd themselves in the Idd case, screaming "Police search warrant! Let me see your hands" just before entering the house.

A woman inside the house pleads, "I have small children." She mentions one of the kids is a special needs child. At one point you see one of the cops carry a small child who appeared to have been hiding in the stairwell.

One of the deputies orders a colleague, "Make sure the 18-year-old male is cuffed behind his back."

It got extremely tense as time went on, with one of the occupants calling the cops "racist bitches."

It's unclear what, if anything, was seized from the home.

As for Dolal Idd's death, body cam video was released which, when slowed down, appears to show Idd fired a shot from inside his car, shattering the window before cops opened fire.