Kids

It's time for some of the boldest, bravest, most badass kids and teens in America to show off their personal neck warmers ... all in the form of a mullet competition.

The finalists have been picked for this year's USA Mullet Championship, and the entries certainly don't disappoint. Each kid and teen is given a spot on the competition's website, where fans can scroll through and pick their favorite Billy Ray Cyrus-inspired hairdo.

The first round of voting is open now, and the ultimate winner will take home $2,500 ... plenty to spend on hair products to maintain the perfect Camaro crash helmet.

R. Kelly's child pornography case from 2008 was front and center during opening statements in his new Chicago criminal trial ... something his attorney claims is a witch hunt.

Prosecutors kicked things off Wednesday in front of a jury, saying ... "The defendant, Robert Kelly, had sex with multiple children. He made videotapes of himself having sex with children," while also pointing at 2 co-defendants, ex-associates of Kelly's, whom they claim knew about it while it was going on and allegedly helped keep things quiet.

The woman at the center of the '08 case -- who was alleged to have been videotaped in sexual encounters with Kelly, at the age of 14 -- was mentioned too. She was referred to by prosecutors as "Jane" ... and they say she's going to testify in this case about what happened with RK.

According to prosecutors, Kelly went to incredible lengths to buy Jane and her family's silence at the time ... allegedly shipping them out of the country on his dime, and having his employees move mountains to conceal her identity or any connection to some tapes.

There are 4 tapes in play during this trial, and prosecutors say they'll have the jury watch three of them. At least one of those tapes appears to pertain directly to the alleged '08 victim, and the remaining ones might have to do with other alleged victims from over the years.

Prosecutors have accused Kelly of having sex with at least 4 minors, as well as rigging the '08 trial ... in which he was acquitted. Kelly's attorney, however, fired back.

Jennifer Bonjean, who's now repping Kelly, said her client was the victim of a mob mentality prosecution -- one that she says is way too late, and clearly intended to paint him as a monster, even though he's already been through this wringer once before.

She called his accusers "criminals" who have tried to extort Kelly, and who actually have immunity deals with these same prosecutors. Bonjean also said that one tape prosecutors have alluded to, but won't play, doesn't exist -- and leaned on the fact that the Jane Doe (who's the '08 alleged victim) has long maintained she is not on tape with Kelly.

Multiple eyewitnesses claim Aqib Talib sparked the altercation that ended with a man being shot dead by the former NFL star's brother during a youth football game, according to The Blaze.

"Aqib incited the whole uproar," an opposing coach told Jason Whitlock, adding, "The game would’ve never been stopped had Aqib not come over to our sideline to yell at the refs."

It's been one of the primary questions since news of the tragic incident came to light ... what happened to spark the tragic and deadly incident?

According to multiple witnesses, Aqib became irate after a flag was thrown against the 9-and-under team he financed, spurring him to cross the field and confront the refs.

"That’s what was so weird. All of the tension was between them and the refs," the opposing team's defensive coordinator told Whitlock, adding Aqib, his brother Yaqub, and the other coaches, including the man who was ultimately killed, knew each other.

"There was no problem between the coaches. We all know each other. Kerry Lewis and Yaqub have coached together. I followed Aqib’s whole career, starting at Kansas. The other thing is that it was their event. They were the hosts. They hired and paid the refs. The refs weren’t cheating for us," the coach explained.

After persistent complaining and threats, the witnesses say the game was called. That's when the 43-year-old man -- a coach whose son played on his team -- attempted to retrieve a football that was located near the Talib brothers and others.

A witness claims as the coach began to pick up the ball, Aqib swung at the man. The coach retaliated, hitting Aqib with the yard marker.

Then the brawl was on ... the coach retreated, as is seemingly seen on video we posted earlier this week, as the man attempted to get away from a group of 5+ people who were advancing.

Seconds later, after the man dropped the yard marker, five shots rang out, leaving him dead on the football field.

Now, everyone's searching for answers.

"There’s no justification for having a weapon at a kids' football game," the opposing head coach said.

"It’s 90 degrees outside and you’re wearing a black hoodie. None of it makes sense. Our babies were all there. Yaqub’s kids were there. Mike’s kids. Football fields are supposed to be a safe haven for these kids. This is where they go to get away from the street life. They come here to feel safe. It’s not like that anymore."

Aqib's attorney told the outlet the story was "inaccurate."

Yaqub turned himself into authorities in Lancaster, TX ... and has been charged with murder.

The 12-year-old who suffered severe injuries in a fall from his bunk bed at the Little League World Series is showing encouraging signs of recovery ... with his family announcing Tuesday night his breathing tube is now out.

Easton Oliverson -- who pitches and plays the outfield for the Snow Canyon Little League team -- is still in a hospital bed and still being monitored, but the family called the removal of the breathing tube "a big step."

Oliverson's family also said he received results from an MRI scan that "came out very promising."

"Easton keeps proving himself to be the fighter we have always known he is!!" the Oliverson family said in a statement. "The prayers are working! Please keep them coming. We love you all!🤍"

Oliverson was initially injured on Sunday night -- shortly after he and his Little League teammates made it to Williamsport, Penn. for this week's World Series.

His uncle, Spencer Beck, told TMZ Sports Easton was sleeping on the top of a bunk bed when he suddenly fell out and hit his head. He suffered, among other injuries, a fractured skull -- and required emergency surgery.

The family has set up a Venmo account, @MiraclesForTank, to help cover his medical expenses.

His team, meanwhile, has said it will still play in its LLWS-opening game later this week.

A 12-year-old baseball player gearing up to compete in this week's Little League World Series in Pennsylvania is now fighting for his life -- after he fell from a bunk bed at the Williamsport venue's dormitory complex over the weekend.

Easton Oliverson -- who pitches and plays outfield for the Snow Canyon Little League team that's making its first-ever LLWS appearance this month -- sustained a fractured skull in the incident Sunday night, according to his uncle, Spencer Beck.

Beck tells TMZ Sports ... Oliverson was sleeping on the top bunk, when he suddenly fell out of the bed and hit his head. He was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

Beck tells us Oliverson, who's earned the nickname "Tank," is currently in a medically induced coma -- though he and the rest of the family are optimistic the boy will make a recovery.

"He's a really good kid, very loving," Beck said. "Full of smiles. Just a fun, fun kid -- so we're all praying for him."

Little League officials released a statement Monday regarding Oliverson's condition ... saying, "At the request of his family, Little League International encourages all to join us in keeping the Snow Canyon Little League player and his family in our thoughts and prayers, as we wish for a full and complete recovery."

"Little League International will continue to use all available resources, including those provided by UPMC in North Central Pa., through the Player Wellness Center, to support the player, his family, and his coaches and teammates, as we navigate this unfortunate situation."

Oliverson's team, meanwhile, said it will still compete in its first game of the World Series in Williamsport on Friday -- writing in a statement that Oliverson's father, who's a coach on the squad, wanted them to continue onward in the tournament.

"While our hearts are heavy," the team said in the statement, "we are committed as a team to have an opportunity to take part in something that is only dreamt about by others."

Beck tells us the family has set up a Venmo account for Oliverson -- @MiraclesForTank -- to help with medical expenses.

Before this bold blondie was waving her golden hair on TV screens as a big-name soap star, she was a child actress hustling her way through the entertainment industry with small roles in Hollywood ... and growing up in sunny Los Angeles, California.

This cute kid has spent many of her adult days hosting television shows such as 'The Biggest Loser.' When she's not in front of the cameras, she enjoys spending time with her hubby and two kiddos and even gives her Instagram followers an inside peek.

Need one more hint? It is said that she will make a return to her soap opera days.

Capri Sun is working overtime to recall thousands of the popular juice pouches for possible contamination.

Kraft Heinz -- which manufactures the child-centric drink -- has issued an official recall of 5,760 cases of Capri Sun that they say might be contaminated with a cleaning solution used at one of their production plants, which could've gotten into the product.

According to KH ... the problematic batch in question is tied to their Wild Cherry flavor, and it's hard to tell where exactly the possibly contaminated cases might've gone.

Reports of consumers complaining about the taste supposedly prompted an investigation, so Kraft is pumping the brakes, and telling their customers to refrain from poking into any of the cherry Capri Suns for a bit, while they try to wrangle 'em in.

Kraft says *if* cleaning solution did make it in, it was totally inadvertent.

Former NFL star Aqib Talib's brother, Yaqub Talib, is a wanted man in Texas -- this after cops say he was involved in a fatal shooting at a youth football game this weekend.

The Lancaster Police Department fired off an announcement Sunday saying that they were looking for Yaqub in connection to the death of an adult male Saturday ... who was shot and killed during an argument at the conclusion of a match that parents were angry about.

The man is said to be a coach for one of the teams ... there's a name circulating online, but we'll refrain from ID'ing him at this time until the family and/or cops confirm. In any case, he succumbed to his injuries ... which police say was a direct result of a discharged firearm.

There's video of the alleged shooting which eyewitnesses claim shows a man pull out the gun and fire. We're told people in the crowd identified the man wearing all-black and a bucket hat as possibly being one of the Talib brothers -- but it's hard to make out who this person is, or if they have a weapon at all. What is depicted ... a scuffle/apparent shooting.

Lancaster PD says they've identified the suspect in this case as Yaqub, and note there's an active warrant for his arrest. It's unclear what charge, exactly, they wanna bring him in on ... but some say this looks to be outright murder. We've reached out to LPD for clarification.

A former mugshot of Yaqub was attached to the press release, and Lancaster is asking for any and all help in finding him. BTW, Aqib was also there for this tragic killing.

His attorney tells TMZ ... "Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life. He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

Aqib famously played for the Bucs, the Broncos (with whom he won a Super Bowl ring) and several other teams over the years. He was not named in Lancaster PD's release.

Before this golden gal with blunt bangs turned into one of Hollywood's newest and hottest upcoming stars, she was just swinging her bat, dressin' up for her t-ball banquet and growing up in Spokane, Wash.

This cute kid now stars in a popular TV show that first hit the big screen in 2019, and her career has continued to sore. When she's not memorizing lines, you can find her under the hood of her truck fixing up her Ford Bronco.

Need one more little nudge on guessing this cutie? Just ask her on-screen sister Maude Apatow.

Britney Spears has not seen her 2 kids in 5 months, because they feel uncomfortable around her and have received some very upsetting texts from her ... this according to Kevin Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Kaplan spoke with Kevin after Britney posted her lengthy account of her relationship with Sean Preston and Jayden James ... and says his client has never trash-talked her to their kids ... he says the boys have made their decision to stay away from her on their own. Kaplan says they have not had a single overnight with Britney in years.

Kaplan says based on Kevin's discussions with his children and other evidence, Kevin was not comfortable having the boys go to Britney's house unsupervised. As Britney said in her post, a person acting as a monitor was present when the boys were there.

Kaplan adds Kevin believes the boys love their mom, but they're angry at her. Kevin doesn't believe he has any power or influence over 15-year-old Jayden or 16-year-old Sean Preston. They ultimately make their own decisions, and they have elected not to see their mom, at least for now.

Kaplan also says this ... Kevin is annoyed Britney said, referring to Kevin's house, "I can guarantee you, that house has more weed than Ludacris, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy combined!!!!" Kevin's response, Kaplan says, was that neither Britney nor any outsider would have any basis in fact to make such ungrounded statements.

And there's this ... we're told Kevin believes Britney's recent posts about their kids, especially Wednesday's -- where she called them hard to deal with and "there's being rude then there's being HATEFUL" -- Kevin says the children are in fear they could be put in danger from overzealous Britney fans.

We're told Kevin believes Sam is a "stabilizing influence" on Britney and has no ill feelings toward him.

Kevin Federline has had enough of Britney Spears' public attacks on their two sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and now he wants to show the world just how contentious he says Britney's relationship has been with the boys for years.

Federline posted a series of videos Wednesday night, saying, "I can not sit back and let my sons be accused in this way after what they’ve been through. As much as it hurts us, we decided as a family to post these videos the boys took when they were 11 & 12. This isn’t even the worst of it. The lies have to stop. I hope our kids grow up to be better than this."

In the first video, Britney's engaged in a bedtime argument with the boys, exclaiming, "This is my house, if I wanna come in here and give you lotion for your face cuz it is coarse, and all you tell me is "it's fine, it's fine" NO it's not fine." She continues, "You better all start respecting me, are we clear? And when Robin calls ... even Robin is a f*****g kid."

It's not clear which Robin Britney is referring to, but Robin Greenhill was the Tri Star exec who was heavily involved in Britney's life ... so it's possible it's her.

The video ends with a pissed-off Britney saying, "You all need to start treating me like a woman with worth. I am a woman, ok? Be nice to me. Do you understand?"

A second video, filmed during a car ride, is seemingly an argument stemming from Sean Preston not wearing his shoes, or exposing his feet in public. You can hear the boys, clearly on the same team, argue with Britney over the fact she took Sean's phone.

The convo then takes a turn to discuss possibly going ice skating.

Federline's posting comes on the heels of an attack Britney posted to Instagram earlier in the day Wednesday where she called her 15 and 16-year-old boy's conduct "hateful" ... saying they never wanted to spend time with her when they'd visit.

Aaron Rodgers gave a group of kids from the Washington County Boys & Girls Club the experience of a lifetime yesterday ... surprising them with some facetime while on a tour of iconic Lambeau Field!

The Green Bay Packers star QB was in the building, as he gears up for his 18th NFL season, when he ran into a group of about 20 kids who were soaking up the sights of historic Lambeau.

That's when the tour took an awesome turn for the kids. Rodgers, who was leaving the locker room, emerged and asked, “Does anyone know which locker is Aaron Rodgers?” ... as the youngers looked at him in disbelief.

Aaron stopped and posed for a group photo with the kids ... and dished out a few high fives to the little ones.

It's not uncommon for groups to run into Packers players during the tour (the tour route takes you by the locker room), but tour participants never know who, if anyone, they may see.

It just so happened to be perfect timing for the B&G Club ... because they got some facetime with a future 1st ballot Hall of Famer.

Beto O'Rourke is done playing nice guy -- especially when it comes to people who laugh about the massacre at Robb Elementary -- shutting one man down with a brash insult.

O'Rourke was at a campaign stop Wednesday in Mineral Wells, Texas ... a town about 260 miles from Uvalde. The Governor-hopeful brought up the shooting that killed 19 students and 2 teachers, railing on AR-15 rifles -- which O'Rourke says have no business being in the hands of civilians.

While Beto was describing how the weapons were designed for warfare, a man in the back of the crowd, who reports say was a supporter of Gov. Greg Abbott, started laughing obnoxiously.

Without a beat, Beto turned, addressed the man and said, "It may be funny to you, mother f****r, but it's not funny to me." The crowd erupted.

Of course, O'Rourke has challenged Abbott and Texas Republicans since the day of the shooting to take action, and create stricter gun laws -- even showing up at a press conference Gov. Abbott held to urge him to do something.

Madonna roller skated back to the '70s during a disco-themed celebration ... and while she needed some assistance to keep on her feet, she still had a blast.

The legendary pop star strapped on her roller skates and took a few spins around the Wollman Rink Wednesday in Manhattan's Central Park ... with a ton of strobe lights and disco balls to boot.

The pop legend had a little help from her friends ... one woman was seen taking the Material Girl's hand and guiding her around the rink. Other pals crowded around her on the couch, primping her face and helping her put on the skates.

And, get this ... two of Madonna's kids, Stella and Estere, were right there to shadow their mom the whole time.

Nile Rodgers, who produced Madonna's iconic "Like a Virgin" album, also got in on the action, taking a whirl around the rink himself. At one point, Nile and Madge hit the stage to hype up the crowd. Nile's DiscOasis has had disco and skating fans celebrating throughout the country.

Madge took us back to her '80s heyday, showing off her dance moves with Nile and shaking her booty under a massive disco globe.

Horrible news from the sports world ... Ben Stelter, the 6-year-old Edmonton Oilers super fan battling brain cancer has passed away, his father announced Wednesday.

"The world lost the most special boy and an absolute hero last night," Ben's dad wrote on social media.

He continued ... "Ben, you were the best son we could ever hope for, and you were my best bud ever. Your sisters were so lucky to have you as such a sweet brother."

"You fought so long and hard and beat so many odds," he added.

Ben -- who was diagnosed with glioblastoma (an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord) about a year and a half ago -- got a chance to meet the Oilers team in March, even accompanying team captain Connor McDavid onto the ice before a game.

That night, Ben -- gearing up for another stint of chemotherapy -- wore a custom Oilers jersey with his last name "Stelter" and the number 2 ... as the fans and players provided support and words of encouragement.

Ben attended many Oilers games throughout the season ... and became a good luck charm for the team, evidenced by their impressive record with him in attendance.

"Ben’s coming to the game tonight and has his eye on the cup," Mike wrote in June. "The @EdmontonOilers are 10-0 with Ben in the building at Rogers Place. #LetsGoOilers #BenOilersStrong."

The organization addressed Ben's passing online, Tweeting ... "We are mourning the passing of our dear friend, number one #Oilers fan, good luck charm & inspiration, Ben Stelter. Although small in stature, Ben's impact on our team & community were massive.  Play La Bamba, baby. 💙🧡"

The Oilers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Avalanche in game 4 of the WCF. Colorado went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Ben's presence will forever be missed on the ice and in the locker room going forward.

Ludacris is currently beaming with positivity -- even if the world is drenched in negativity.

We ran into Chris Lova Lova out in NYC … defending Snoop Dogg's gray dreadlocks and pounding the pavement in support of the 3rd season of his Netflix children’s special “Karma’s World” and he says the overall goal is to spread light and energy in the places that need it the most.

It’s been a helluva career for Luda, one he tells TMZ Hip Hop he can't believe bounced from blockbuster rap albums and movies to dropping his own toy line.

Luda, ever the proud Girl Dad with four daughters, also connected with Barbie toymaker Mattel for a line of 'Karma’s World' dolls -- with accessories ranging from microphones, portable stereos, high fashion sneakers -- y’know, everything needed for ladies to become the next big thing in rap!