Kids

The Uvalde massacre has traumatized the entire community ... and now we've learned the U.S. government is stepping in to offer mental health services -- to some members of law enforcement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection earmarked a little over $15,000 for a mental health specialist to counsel Border Patrol agents who were present during the shooting.

The agency hired trauma expert Carrie A. Elk -- who runs a practice out of Florida. She'll be providing "psychological health training in response to the Uvalde TX School Shooting for Government personnel"... this according to federal procurement docs obtained by TMZ.

The exact amount USCBP dropped to bring Dr. Elk in ... $15,450. This will cover 6 days of therapy.

We spoke to Dr. Elk ... who wouldn't comment on specifics, but did tell us that she's often contracted by Border Patrol and the military to provide counseling after events like Uvalde.

It's unclear if Elk is doing one-on-one sessions with folks at Border Patrol -- whose agents ended up being the ones to take out the shooter in the slow-moving raid -- but she does say she'll often teach techniques to agents about how to identify emotional triggers, how to process painful memories and how to cope with trauma they experience on the job.

'RHOC' star Meghan King is being slammed by ex-hubby Jim Edmonds for posting about their child's challenges ... Jim says she didn't even get the kid's medical condition right.

The retired MLB player and current baseball broadcaster is upset over one of Meghan's recent Instagram posts, where she asks for help getting her and Jim's son, Hart, potty-trained ... with Meghan telling folks the kid has a hard time learning new skills because he has cerebral palsy.

Problem is ... Jim says 4-year-old Hart does NOT have cerebral palsy, and was actually diagnosed with a different medical condition known as periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL, which is a softening of the white brain tissue near the ventricles.

Jim's rep, Steve Honig, tells TMZ ... Jim wishes Meghan would respect their children's privacy and stop putting their son and his challenges in the spotlight ... he says to get attention for herself.

Edmonds' rep also points out the discrepancy over their son's medical condition and adds this parting shot ... "If Meghan wants to improve her ability to co-parent with Jim, it might be a good idea for her to stop constantly disparaging him."

Before this cutie with cropped bangs turned into a singer and songwriter topping the charts, she was just a goofy little kid, sticking her tongue out and growing up in Thousand Oaks, California.

Beginning to sing at the ripe age of seven years old, this musician was expected to take her pipes to the Coachella stage back in 2020, but COVID, unfortunately, prevented that performance from happening. She is commonly known for collaborating on a track with rapper Gnash.

Need one more clue? Her songs 'Josslyn' and 'i hate u, i love u' went viral on TikTok.

Polo G complains about not being able to enjoy his birthday on his latest hit song "Distraction," but his son certainly doesn't share his father's pain.

This past weekend, the "Hall of Fame" rapper went all out for his son Baby Cap as he celebrated his 3rd year around the sun.

Here's what we mean by all out ... Polo G splurged for this 13x10 foot blue and silver display from a company called Balloon & Paper.

If you're thinking your kid needs a massive balloon display like this to tower over their next birthday party, we hope you've saved well. Sources involved in planning the event tell us Polo plunked down about $10k in "RAPSTAR" money.

That'd be a baller move for a 30-year-old's party, much less a 3-year-old's!

Polo called his little man his "main priority" and tossed additional spoils his way in the form of a Lamborghini toy car, a slippery slide and the type of love that's gonna tire a toddler all the way out!

He may not remember the party as he gets older ... but he can always link back to this post. 😉

One of the Black girls who allegedly got snubbed by a character at Sesame Place is still reeling from the incident ... and is now isolating with a family member to regain stability.

B'Ivory LaMarr -- the attorney for the family whose kids interacted with Rosita at Sesame Place -- tells TMZ ... the girl in question has been traumatized by the incident, and is staying with her grandmother so she can be shielded from the publicity in a safe environment.

LaMarr tells us the little girl has been overcome with emotion, crying and upset because she can't understand why Rosita would treat her differently than white kids.

One of the things we're told ... she asked her mother in the immediate aftermath whether she'd done anything wrong ... seeing how the Sesame mascot refused to touch her or the other Black girl, but had interacted with white girls just moments earlier.

LaMarr says he and the family are working on setting her up with therapy sessions.

As for what's on the horizon ... we're told a Change.org petition has been set up to ID the person in the Rosita costume ... with the goal of accountability. LaMarr previously told us they're also mulling over a lawsuit.

As we reported ... similar videos have now surfaced -- Sesame Workshop has apologized and promised more bias training.

Sesame Place might not be too friendly a neighborhood after all -- more videos are surfacing showing the park's costumed characters acting messed up to Black kids ... and now the parent company's bailing water.

A few other clips have come to light since the initial video showing Rosita apparently snubbing a couple little Black girls at Sesame Place in PA ... and these new ones seem to demonstrate more of the same -- namely, that the mascots kinda mistreat or ignore children of color.

One, in particular, is pretty nuts ... it shows one of the Honkers rushing a very young girl, who's African-American, and literally knocking her down with its protruding belly.

Another video shows Bert going down a line of kids and high-fiving them, but then blatantly refusing to do so with an older Black girl -- who looks back at the camera shocked.

There are even more accounts of similar behavior ... but none seem to have been more crystalized than what went viral this weekend. Sesame Place said it was a misinterpretation/misunderstanding, and they'd apologized to the fam to make it right.

Of course, the family isn't buying it and is weighing their legal options amid suspicions of racism ... as TMZ first reported.

Now, in light of all these other videos -- which appear to show a pattern of this sort of thing at Sesame Palace -- the parent company Sesame Workshop, producers of the TV series "Sesame Street," is promising to tighten things up with bias training ... plus a thorough review of how the park workers are engaging with guests.

They stop short of saying the recorded incidents were intentional -- which bias training wouldn't really fix, frankly -- but at least it's on their radar, and everyone else's too.

A 25-year-old pizza delivery guy rivals any Marvel superhero, by running into a burning house and saving the lives of 5 kids, risking his own life and suffering serious injuries in the process.

Nicholas Bostic was driving along a street in Lafayette, Indiana last week just after midnight, when he saw a house fully engulfed in flames. There were no firetrucks or other emergency vehicles in sight, so Nicholas decided to act ... he ran into the burning house and began yelling to see if anyone was still inside.

He heard nothing, but still felt there may be people trapped, so he walked through the house which was filled with choking smoke and made his way upstairs, where he found 4 kids ... they ranged in age from 1 to 18. They were sleeping, and Nicholas woke them and they ran to safety.

They were all outside, when one of the kids told Nicholas there was a 6-year-old child still inside the house. Nicholas ran back inside, but he had no idea where the child was ... he screamed for the child as he meandered through the burning home, even looking under beds.

He made his way upstairs, but then heard a child crying in the downstairs area. Problem was ... smoke was everywhere and it felt like an oven. Nicholas couldn't see but he wrapped his shirt around his mouth and took the plunge downstairs, where he located the child.

Nicholas scooped up the little girl in the blinding black smoke and looked for the door but he couldn't see it. So, he ran back upstairs with the child and jumped from the second-floor window, making sure he landed on his side so the child was protected from impact.

The child incredibly was unharmed. Nicholas, however, suffered severe smoke inhalation and, according to cops, "gravely cut his right arm."  You see in the video EMTs use a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He was flown to a hospital where he was treated.

His cousin has created a GoFundMe account and so far he's raised north of $200,000.

A viral moment at Sesame Place amusement park appears to show Muppet character Rosita ignoring, or rejecting, 2 Black children -- and now their family's retaining an attorney to investigate, and possibly sue.

B’Ivory LaMarr is the attorney repping the family who interacted with Rosita at the Philadelphia park, and he tells TMZ ... they want to investigate the incident by interviewing other people who were in attendance, and evaluating other Rosita videos popping up online.

The other clips allegedly show similar situations -- Rosita refusing to high-five or interact with kids of color.

LaMarr says all options are on the table for them, including a lawsuit.

In case you missed it, video spread of Saturday's incident, showing the character giving high fives to people in front of the 2 young girls, then allegedly gesturing to them, but denying them the opportunity to interact as well.

The family says they're "completely appalled" by what they call the intentional mistreatment of the young girls -- they claim they were verbally told "no" during the brief exchange.

They also aren't buying Sesame Place's response, which came soon after the clip went viral ... saying they quickly addressed the behavior of the employee.

LaMarr says, "While we hate to rush to judgment to consider 'race' as the motivating factor to explain the performer's actions, such actions both before and after the young girl's request only lead to one conclusion."

Activist Tamika Mallory joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" -- she was one of the first to put Sesame Place on blast after its response.

She says it's nothing more than gaslighting, and it adds insult to injury ... she spoke with the mother of the girls who is "really hurt" by what she sees as a lack of apology.

More videos have spread since Saturday's incident ... which the family thinks shows this is a pattern and not an isolated incident.

A rep for Sesame Place Philadelphia tells TMZ ... the park sincerely apologizes for the family's experience, and adds, "We will conduct training for our employees so they better understand, recognize and deliver an inclusive, equitable and entertaining experience to our guests."

Before this bright and innovative child turned into a self-made millionaire and a big-time philanthropist, she was just an innocent flower girl with big goals and dreams growing up in New York.

This ex-housewife is known for her beverages and has led the charge in the liquor industry. Some might say she's a modern-day Martha Stewart ... because she expanded her brand, tapping into other industries like clothing and ultimately creating an empire.

Need one more clue? When she's not public speaking and diving into her charity work, you can find her hanging with her daughter and making lots of TikToks.

Texas lawmakers digging into the Uvalde disaster seem astounded 21 people were killed after so many cops -- nearly 400 -- responded to the shooting scene, and they're blaming “egregiously poor decision-making.”

The 80-page investigative report, released by a committee from the Texas House of Representatives Sunday, reveals a total of 376 officers responded in May to the tragedy at Robb Elementary School, yet it's “almost certain” at least 100 shots were fired inside before they entered.

According to the report, no one assumed command once arriving on the scene, despite there being hundreds of officers from all over the area.

A commander of a Border Patrol tactical team also waited for a bullet-proof shield to arrive for them, as well as a master key for the classrooms, further delaying the response inside.

Pete Arredondo, the now-former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief, tried locating keys as well, but no one checked to see if the doors were locked, according to the report.

The report says he also considered the shooter a “barricaded subject,” because he didn't have visual contact with the gunman.

One Uvalde officer said he heard about 911 calls coming from inside a classroom -- his understanding was that police on a certain side of the building were fully aware that victims were trapped inside, yet nothing was done.

The report puts the blame on law enforcement, saying "they failed to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety.”

Xzibit thinks it's absurd for him to pay his estranged wife spousal support ... he says he's struggling to make ends meet while she's living in their $3 million home with her new boyfriend.

The "Pimp My Ride" star just filed a response to Krista Joiner's legal docs seeking spousal support in their divorce ... X says he simply doesn't have the cash because a huge chunk of his income dried up during the pandemic.

According to the new docs, obtained by TMZ, Xzibit says he's no longer the breadwinner he was before the divorce ... claiming he hasn't worked in Hollywood since 2019, isn't getting any money from his cannabis ventures and lost tons of income when COVID scuttled the concert scene.

X says in the docs he's "struggling to make ends meet at the same time trying to uphold being a public figure, pay my own expenses and provide for my son."

Xzibit paints Krista as someone who is doing just fine without spousal support ... he says her recent income was around $175,000 a year and claims she's living in their home with her new boyfriend and the man's kids.

X says Krista's boyfriend has been bragging about the digs on social media, filming a pilot in the home and taking down Xzibit's artwork and recording plaques.

Xzibit says he asked Krista to agree to sell the home after she filed for divorce in February ... but he says she only recently agreed to unload the property and now the housing market is starting to cool.

X says the home is estimated to be worth $3,715,600 ... but he thinks they could've sold for a higher figure if she played ball earlier, and says they had to take out short-term loans to pay the mortgage pending a sale.

Oh, and get this ... Xzibit claims Krista went behind his back to obtain a new lease on a 2021 Bentley and signed for the lease under his company name, Xzibit Inc., even though she's not an exec there. He also alleges she forged his name on a check for the down payment.

Talk about first-world problems ... Tom Brady just revealed the toughest thing he has to deal with as a parent is trying to keep his kids grounded despite their rich and famous lifestyle.

TB12 opened up about being a dad to Ford honcho Jim Farley on the "DRIVE" podcast earlier this month ... and he explained one of his biggest parenting struggles is teaching humility to his kids while also being one of the most wealthy families in the nation.

"We have people that clean for us," said the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star, who's made over $300 MILLION in NFL contracts alone. "We have people that make our food. We have people that drive us to the airport if we need that. We get off a plane and there's people waiting there for us and we get ushered in."

"And it's just, that's my kids' reality. Which is the hard part to say, 'Guys, this is not the way reality really is.'"

Brady -- who has two sons and one daughter -- called balancing it all "probably the hardest thing for us as parents."

Of course, the words were met with immediate backlash -- as there are certainly millions of people across the globe who would happily take those issues.

But, Brady said they are real problems for him and his wife, Gisele -- and they're things he says he has to deal with daily.

"I know that I've screwed up a lot of things -- that's the reality of being a parent," he said. "You just hope you can show them enough things to realize that when they are doing things that are selected for Mom and Dad to make our lives more convenient that that is a treat. You know, that is something that is not what every kid goes through."

Before this munchkin getting washed up was known for her rapping skills, she was just blowing bubbles, making big splashes and growing up in Santa Clara, California.

She tapped into the music industry by posting her talents on Instagram. Just years later, her song "Icy Grl" made big waves and accrued millions of views on YouTube. The rap star sensation has collaborated with other icons in the music industry including Post Malone and DaBaby.

Still not sure who this cute kid is? She owns the fact that she's a tad high maintenance but always sweet.

Before this trendy kid turned into a striking model and actor, he was just looking up to his three older siblings and growing up in New York City. With his auburn hair, this cutie has made iconic magazine appearances including Vogue.

He first stepped into the spotlight as a baby in the classic film "The Parent Trap." Years later, after filming a family reality show in 2008, he began dabbling in acting and took part in HBO Max's "Betty." His older sister was never a mean girl even though she was a member of 'The Plastics.'

Horrifying moment on a Little League baseball diamond over the weekend ... gunshots rang out near the field, sending kids and coaches running for cover.

The terrifying scene happened on Sunday in North Carolina ... when South Durham's 8U Orange All-Star team and Wilmington's 8U Machine Pitch squad were playing at the Gillette Athletic Complex in Wilson, NC.

Video shows three gunshots -- appearing to be VERY close to the action on the field -- went off, forcing the 7 and 8-year-old players, along with coaches, umps, parents and spectators to hit the ground and sprint away in a panic.

Thankfully, cops say no one was hurt in the incident ... though, according to WITN, a minivan's window that was parked near the field was struck by the gunfire.

Despite everyone making it out physically unscathed, the two teams have since pulled out of the tournament -- with South Durham officials saying it was best for the kids.

"It was a terrifying situation for all involved," the team said in a statement. "Video shows coaches bravely covering players with their bodies and crawling off baseball fields."

"No child or parent should ever experience anything like this."

The Wilson Police Department, meanwhile, said in a statement that it is investigating the shooting ... but added there's currently "no evidence that this situation was an active shooter incident."

New video shows the horrific scene inside the Uvalde school where a gunman murdered 19 children and 2 teachers, and you see the police try and approach the shooter and then run for cover when the gunman shoots at them.

KVUE TV obtained the surveillance video ... 3 minutes after the shooter entered the school and began firing rounds into 2 classrooms, you see the police enter the hallway inside the school and approach the door outside the classroom where the shooter was firing rounds at the children.

The shooter then begins firing rounds outside the classroom, presumably at the cops. The police then flee the immediate area and retreat a distance away ... looking for cover in the hallway.

Two cops touch their head and neck area, as if to see if they were shot.

For the next 45 minutes, you see reinforcements arrive ... but they never try to breach the classroom. They eventually set up right outside the classroom but don't attempt to enter for another 30 minutes. That's when they enter a classroom and they see the shooter emerging from a closet and a Border Patrol cop shoots him dead.