Kids

51 students from Kevin Durant's educational program are heading off to college ... and the NBA superstar was so excited for the kids, he showed up in person to celebrate with them!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the Brooklyn Nets star and his mother, Wanda, showed up to the "Launch to College" event featuring the inaugural College Track class of the Durant Center program on Monday ... which went down at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The stars of the day were the Prince George’s County high school seniors that took part in Durant's educational center that opened up in 2018 ... which focuses on helping students become the first in their families to get a college education.

Durant spoke about their achievement ... saying, "Meaningful accomplishments take time."

"I’m proud of our scholars who dug deep over the past four years, through some really challenging times, to graduate from high school and now to pursue their college dreams."

Some of the colleges the scholars will be attending this fall include Howard University, Northwestern, University of Maryland, and Tulane University.

"I can’t wait to see what they’ll accomplish next," Durant said. "We’ll be at their side as they work towards their next goals."

The Durant Center was an idea KD got when he visited College Track Oakland in 2017. He was inspired by the nonprofit organization's mission to "equip students confronting systemic barriers to earn a bachelor’s degree in pursuit of a life of opportunity, choice, and power."

So, he partnered up with the org. for a 10-year plan (worth $10 million) and launched his own branch in D.C -- the first center on the east coast -- which currently helps 230 students.

English actress and singer Julie Dawn Cole was just 13 years old when she was cast as Veruca Salt -- the spoiled and greedy daughter who demands everything 'now' and the second person to discover the Golden Ticket -- in the 1971 classic film "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."

Julie shared the big screen with the late Gene Wilder as the colorful and gleeful Willy Wonka, Peter Ostrum as the sweet and humble, Charlie Bucket and Denise Nickerson as the selfish and vain gal, Violet Beauregarde.

"I want it now!"

Cain Velasquez, on behalf of his 4-year-old son, is suing Harry Goularte -- the man who allegedly molested Cain's young boy from 2021 to 2022.

The plaintiff -- identified only as the guardian of "C.V., Jr." -- claims that "on numerous occasions," Goularte "sexually abused, molested, touched and harassed C.V."

Goularte was an employee at Patty's Childcare in San Martin, California, and was supposed to be caring for the young boy.

In addition to Goularte, the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, names Goularte’s mother and stepfather as defendants, asserting that they owned and operated Patty’s Childcare, and they "fostered, maintained, and allowed an environment for its attendees to fall victim to sexual abuse at the hands of Harry."

As we reported, Harry has already been charged with one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act for allegedly molesting the boy.

Velasquez -- a UFC legend -- was arrested on February 28, 2022 after he allegedly tried to shoot Harry outside his San Martin home.

Best sippy cup EVER?!?!

The Colorado Avalanche's championship celebration continues -- this time, Gabriel Landeskog's daughter, Linnea Rae, got in on the fun ... taking an adorable swig outta the Stanley Cup!!

Gabriel shared the video on Monday ... showing his cute little 2-year-old downing a beverage from the trophy.

In the video, you see Gabriel give the Cup a tilt so Linnea could reach it ... and you can tell whatever she was drinking, she really enjoyed it!!

Gabriel is enjoying his much-deserved time with the Cup ... after all, he finished with 11 goals and 11 assists in the playoffs ... and played a pivotal role in finishing off the Lightning, the two-time defending champs.

It's good to see that the Cup is being put to good use and is still intact ... after star wing Nicolas Aubé-Kubel slipped on the ice and dented it while trying to take a team pic.

Ghislaine Maxwell was just sentenced to 20 years behind bars for her role in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal.

Maxwell was sentenced Tuesday ... learning her fate nearly 7 months after being found guilty by a New York jury. She'll also have to pay a $750k fine and 5 years of supervised release once she's out.

As we reported ... Maxwell was convicted back in December on 5 of the 6 counts she faced in her sex trafficking trial, including a conviction on one count of sex trafficking of a minor.

Maxwell stood accused of soliciting and grooming minors for sex crimes and abuse at the hands of Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

During her trial, 4 women testified Epstein sexually abused them when they were all under the age of 18 ... and they also told the jury Maxwell recruited and groomed girls for Epstein to abuse and sometimes even joined in on the abuse.

At the sentencing, a few of Maxwell's victims spoke. One of the victims, Annie Farmer, said "Maxwell had many opportunities to come clean, but instead continued to make choices that caused more harm. She chose to lie about her behavior, causing additional harm to all of those she victimized."

Maxwell addressed the court as well and apologized to the victims. She said, “Your honor, it is hard for me to address the court after listening to the pain and anguish expressed in the statements made here today. The terrible impact on the lives of so many women is difficult to hear and even more difficult to absorb, both in its scale and in its extent."

"I believe that Jeffrey Epstein was a manipulative, cunning and controlling man who lived a profoundly compartmentalized life and fooled all of those in his orbit. Jeff Epstein should have been here before all of you. He should have stood before you in 2005, again in 2009 and again in 2019. ... All the many times he was accused, charged and prosecuted. but today it is not about Jeffrey Epstein ultimately. To you, all the victims ... I am sorry for the pain that you experienced."

Maxwell pled not guilty to all the charges and her legal team insists she's been made a scapegoat for Epstein ... who committed suicide in custody in 2019 while awaiting his own trial.

Seems only fitting the star of Khloé Kardashian's 38th birthday party is the woman who brought her into the world -- an event Kris Jenner brought up in a hilarious and boozy fashion.

Khloé popped up Monday in a sexy pink latex dress to celebrate her birthday with a lunch at her mom's $20 million mansion in Hidden Hills, and the drinks were flowing! Well, definitely for Kris who made a half-hearted attempt to reenact Khloé's birth -- something Khlo was NOT down to do.

Thank God Kim Kardashian was recording the whole thing, because, after that scene, Mom admitted during a toast ... "I know I'm a little wasted. But, what I want to say is how much I am so f***ing in love with you, Khloé Kardashian!"

Yeah, it was that kinda speech, but super sweet ... as Kris basically called her third-born the glue that holds the Kardashian-Jenner clan together.

Even with all the drinks, this was a true family affair, and the kiddos got in on the fun too -- Khloé posed with her daughter, True and her 5-year-old niece, Dream ... Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's daughter.

Before this million dollar baby turned into a genius musician and actress, she was just an east coast girl with big dreams, growing up in Portville, New York.

This cute kid can play the guitar like no other and has pipes that have landed her band millions of views on YouTube. In the early 2000s, she made her television debut with "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Titus" -- and later made her way to an even bigger screen playing Mardell Fitzgerald in the 2004 film "Million Dollar Baby."

When she's not in the studio or memorizing lines, she's taking care of her beautiful new baby.

Travis Scott is getting dragged for his latest purchase, a $5.5 million luxury car ... the family of a 9-year-old who died at Astroworld says it's just not a good look.

Bob Hillard, the attorney for the family of Ezra Blount, tells TMZ ... Ezra would still be alive today, enjoying his summer, if Travis would've spent half of what he paid for the Bugatti on simple safety measures at the deadly music festival.

As we reported ... Ezra, who was trampled at Astroworld, sued Travis before he died from his injuries ... and Travis recently splurged on a new Bugatti Veyron Chiron Super Sport despite the mountain of lawsuits he's facing.

While Ezra's attorney says Travis has every right to live life as he sees fit, including buying what he wants, Hillard rips Travis' choices as "excessive" ... and says everything Travis does should be questioned because of what happened at Astroworld.

Ezra's lawyer also has some choice words for Travis' camp ... ripping them for trying to make Travis look good with a $5.5 million car in his driveway as the Astroworld litigation heats up.

We reached out to Travis' reps ... so far no word back.

The beef's still hot between Noella Bergener and her ex-husband, James, 'cause she says they're not on speaking terms, nor are they "in a great co-parenting place" ... but she's not losing any sleep over the situation.

We caught up with "The Real Housewives of Orange County" star in NYC outside the Baccarat Hotel where she told us things are anything but amicable right now. She sounds hopeful things might change in the future, but for now, she's moving forward professionally and romantically.

Noella's partnering with Seeking -- she was walking into an event for the dating site --  and hoping her own experience inspires other women and men. She says she's single and mingling, but not just looking for fun -- she's actually down to marry again if she finds a Mr. Right.

BTW, she met James on Seeking back in 2015. Interesting, that she's not gun shy even after their split.

We broke the story, James Bergener -- a personal injury attorney known in SoCal as "Sweet James" -- filed for divorce in August 2021. The couple dated for 5 years and were married for one.

Post Malone has been on a promotional spree -- for his new "Twelve Carat Toothache" album and newborn baby -- and his "Tommy Lee" collaborator Tyla Yaweh couldn't be happier!!!

We chopped it up with the rager rapper Thursday outside LAX, and he says seeing Post Malone adapt to fatherhood is a beautiful thing.

As Posty's BFF and artist, Tyla is one of the handful of people to meet his baby girl, who was born last month. He also had nothing but kind words for Posty's mystery fiancée!

Of course, Tyla isn't settling down soon — he was in town to drop off his upcoming "RAGER BØY" to his record label, which he says he slapped right on their desk.

And, while he's always down for the turn-up and good libations amongst his fans, he wholeheartedly agrees with the recent Juul e-cigarette ban ... because he says it's killing fans!

He'll need them for his upcoming shows. Expect collabos with Machine Gun Kelly, Travis Barker and Post ... with whom Tyla has a platinum history.

Amy Schumer had to call it quits with Penn Badgley's wife, who was working as her doula while recovering from her C-section ... and looks had EVERYTHING to do with it.

Amy told the "You" star about firing his wife Domino Kirke on his podcast "Podcrushed" Tuesday ... she says qualifications weren't an issue here -- but she was like a goddess roaming her house, while Amy was feeling less than perfect.

A doula acts as a labor assistant for someone that's going through or just finished their pregnancy, providing emotional and physical support ... while it sounds like Domino did her job well, Amy just couldn't get over that perfect look.

She says the "floating siren" made her feel vulnerable after having her 1st kid ... and she couldn't stand melting to her touch for one second more. She admits she feels pretty bad about giving her the boot.

Amy and her husband Chris Fischer welcomed baby Gene in 2019 -- their first kid together. The comedian decided to document her entire experience through the docuseries, "Expecting Amy."

Before this bright-smiled kiddo evolved into one of America's favorite uncles, he was just a casual kid rockin' a collared shirt, growing up in Cyprus, California.

You probably first saw this guy's impressive acting skills on the soap opera "General Hospital" back in the early 1980s, for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

His prominent role in Hollywood has to be from one of the most iconic television sitcoms to date, taking place in San Francisco, California.

Still not sure who this chill kid is? Just ask his wifey Caitlin McHugh.

"Cheer" star Jerry Harris should spend 15 years behind prison bars for his child pornography case ... at least according to federal prosecutors.

In legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the U.S. Attorney's Office is recommending that sentence when the judge metes out Harris' punishment next week.

As we reported, the "Cheer" star is facing a maximum of 50 years behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography, and one count of traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Prosecutors called Harris' actions horrific, but noted his rough childhood also factored into their recommendation of a somewhat lenient 15-year sentence.

They've also requested he get 10 years of supervised release once he gets out of prison.

For his part, Jerry's legal team is trying to convince the judge to give him an even lighter sentence of 6 years in prison, and 8 years supervised release.

You'll recall, Harris -- a breakout star from the popular Netflix series -- had been under a 2019 FBI investigation for soliciting sex from minors at cheer competitions, and coercing teen boys to send inappropriate photos.

Ex-NBA star Vince Carter had a horrifying Father's Day ... 'cause police say his home was burglarized while his wife and two kids were inside of it -- and nearly $100K was taken in the incident.

According to an Atlanta Police Dept. incident report, obtained by TMZ Sports, suspects broke into Carter's Atlanta home at around 11:50 PM on June 19 ... while the Toronto Raptors legend's wife, Sondi, and her two sons were lying in bed.

According to the report, Sondi said she was frightened by loud noises that had come from the front of her home ... so she took her two boys, hid in a bedroom closet, and dialed 911.

Cops say Sondi told them she had heard suspects rummaging through their belongings in different rooms.

According to the report, an off-duty Atlanta cop arrived at Carter's home first and saw a man wearing a mask and all-black clothing fleeing the property, before eventually getting into an SUV and taking off.

Officers say they arrived a short time later and saw the front window of the home was completely broken. They also said they found $16,100 in $100 bills scattered outside the gated home.

According to the docs, officers said they spoke with Carter on the phone and he said the cash was from a brown bag he had in his closet. He said the $16K was only a small portion of the $100K that was inside of it.

Cops say they also recovered two guns outside the home -- a Desert Eagle that they say belonged to Carter, and a Glock 26 with an extended clip that they suspect belonged to the alleged thief.

Thankfully, cops say no one was injured in the incident. An investigation is ongoing.

Steph Curry's NBA championship celebration is STILL going on ... the 2x-MVP took a trip to a theme park in Northern California with his family on Wednesday to keep the good times rollin'!

TMZ Sports has obtained pics and videos of the four-time champion hitting up "Great America" in Santa Clara ... just two days after the 34-year-old was seen partying his ass off at the Warriors' championship parade on Monday.

Witnesses tell us ... Curry -- flanked by his three kids, Riley, Ryan, and Canon -- was all smiles throughout the day. Ayesha, we're told, didn't make the trip.

Of course, the greatest shooter in NBA history got on a bunch of rides with the crew ... and was seen enjoying himself on a kids roller coaster called "Lucy's Crabbie Cabbies."

Most championship winners tend to hit Disneyland following their big games ... but seems the Golden State superstar chose to keep the theme park celly local this time around.

This is awesome ... an outdoor basketball court in Los Angeles got a complete makeover this week -- with images of Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Magic Johnson, and other Lakers legends being painted all over it.

The artist behind the work, Gustavo Zermeno Jr., tells TMZ Sports he initially linked up with Veniceball and Project Backboard to repaint the court at Southside Christian Church in Inglewood to try to give it some TLC.

The Lakers theme was Zermeno Jr.'s idea ... saying he's been wanting to do this for years and "the pastor of the church is a huge Laker fan so it worked out perfectly."

Zermeno -- who's been painting professionally since 2016 -- tells us the focal point was Kobe (his favorite Laker) and other players who had their jerseys retired.

He also wanted to pay homage to Pau Gasol ... saying he "deserves to be up there with them."

And, after working alongside his friend Nick Flax for 2 weeks (10 hours per day using $3,000 worth of paint), he delivered a masterpiece.

Besides Bryant and Gasol, the court features Shaq, Magic, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn, Jerry West, and Jerry Buss in front of the downtown L.A. skyline and Staples Center.

"It means the world really," Zermeno said of the piece. "It's also right next door to the new Clippers arena so it also shows this is still a Lakers town haha."

The unveiling marks the start of Zermeno's upcoming nonprofit organization called "Heart In The Paint" which will focus on the betterment of young lives through sports, art, and education.