Kids

Jimmy Butler and the Heat turned a nightmare into a dream come true for one Argentinian fan who flew all the way to Miami to watch his favorite player ... gifting the kid a signed ball and a jersey after the NBA star missed the game due to an injury.

The young fan -- 12-year-old Felipe -- was spotted holding a huge sign that read, "Dear Jimmy: We flew over 4,405 miles to see you play. Can we get a photo or a big face coffee? ;)" before the game ... but unfortunately, Butler was ruled out with a back injury.

Cameras caught the moment the young fan and his sister, Zoe, found out Jimmy would not be playing in Tuesday night's matchup against the Boston Celtics ... and it's absolutely crushing.

But, this story has an amazing ending ... 'cause Butler and the Heat got wind of the kid's predicament and decided to hook him up with an even better experience.

The Heat gifted the fan with an autographed Miami Heat basketball and a new Butler Nike Mashup Vol. 2 Authentic jersey ... and gave him on-court access, which led to a photo with Heat point guard Gabe Vincent!!

Butler addressed the gesture on his Instagram story -- captioning a photo of the interaction, "I got you."

Of course, Butler always looks out for his fans ... with TNT's Jamal Crawford saying he's not one bit surprised the All-Star went above and beyond for one of his fans -- because he's done it throughout his career.

Awesome move, Jimmy.

Sesame Workshop co-founder Lloyd Morrisett, who famously got the ball rolling on "Sesame Street," is dead.

Lloyd died Monday, according to Sesame Workshop, but a cause of death has not been revealed.

Back in 1968, Lloyd and Joan Ganz Cooney created Children's Television Workshop, the organization that created the revolutionary TV show, "Sesame Street." CTW has since rebranded to Sesame Workshop.

Cooney says there would be no "Sesame Street" without Lloyd, because ... "It was he who first came up with the notion of using television to teach preschoolers basic skills, such as letters and numbers."

The idea started in December 1965, when Lloyd noticed how engaged his 3-year-old daughter Sarah was with the family TV set ... causing him to wonder if the medium could be used to educate kids. He posed the question to Cooney at a dinner party a few months later and they ultimately found the answer with "Sesame Street."

Sesame Workshop is remembering Lloyd as "a wise, thoughtful, and above all kind leader" ... who was "fascinated by the power of technology and constantly thinking about new ways it could be used to educate."

Lloyd was 93.

Before this Los Angeles native had millions of fans and was getting standing o's, she was just watching her parents sing and act, bonding with her big bro and sobbing over her unicorn birthday cake.

This blue-eyed gal is known for making tunes in her brother's bedroom, who by the way is anything but a bad guy. When she's not collaborating with other famous musicians like Rosalia and Khalid, you can find her on the 'Gram rocking her streetwear style and showing off her ocean eyes.

Need one more clue? She is a true "Belieber!"

Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton is opening up on the racism and bullying he faced as a kid ... saying his classmates called him the N-word during "the most traumatizing and most difficult part of my life."

The 7-time world champion made a rare podcast appearance with "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" this week ... where he spoke about the impact his childhood experiences had on his life.

"I was already being bullied at the age of six," Hamilton said. "I think at the time of that particular school, I was probably one of three kids of color and just bigger and stronger bullying kids were throwing me around a lot of the time."

"I was always the last picked, you know, when you're standing at the playground, and you're in the line of when they're picking teams for football, I was always the last one chosen, or not even chosen, even if I was better than somebody else."

38-year-old Hamilton -- who is mixed-race -- said the way his peers treated him made him question his identity and sense of belonging ... claiming people even threw bananas at him and used the N-word "just so relaxed."

"People calling you half cast and, you know, just really not knowing where you fit in," he added.

"That, for me, was difficult. When you then go into like history class and everything you learn in history, there are no pictures of people of color in the history that they were teaching us.”

FYI, Lewis' father, Anthony Hamilton, is Black and of Grenadian descent, and his mother, Carmen Larbalestier, is White British, hailing from Birmingham in England.

Hamilton, a prominent advocate against racism and champion of diversity in motorsport, suppressed the traumas he was experiencing ... but said racing helped him channel his emotions properly.

"I didn't want my dad to think I was not strong," he said. "And so, I would, if I had tears, I would hold them back. If I had emotions, it would be in a quiet place."

"It wasn't really 'til I started racing that I was able to channel this emotion that I had into my driving," Hamilton said. "And, it's like when I put this helmet on, Superman was my favorite. I loved how he fought for the people, and I loved how he did the right things."

"And, he was a really inspiring character for me. But again, no superhero was of color, so, you know, but you can still aspire to be someone that's if they don't look like you, you know?"

The names Brian and Bryan are now the male version of Karen ... because those names are plummeting in popularity, and the switch appears to be tied to 3 notorious owners of the monikers.

Admittedly, this would be rock bottom on the list of alleged crimes committed by Bryan Kohberger, Brian Laundrie and Brian Walshe ... however, a spokesperson for Babynames.com tells TMZ they're seeing a steep decrease in those names.

We're told since last August, not a single user added "Brian" to their list of favorites. While it had already been slowly decreasing in popularity -- it was considered "dated" from the 1970s -- it's now fallen off a cliff.

As for "Bryan," we're told it stands a little more popular, but has decreased by about 10 percent recently ... and it might be too early to see the full effects of the Idaho students case and the alleged quadruple murderer.

No doubt, it's been an odd and ominous run for Brians and Bryans, going back to the summer of 2021 ... when Laundrie -- Gabby Petito's boyfriend -- murdered her while on a road trip. His remains were eventually found in a nature preserve in Florida where he died by suicide.

More recently, Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has been accused of gruesomely killing 4 college students, and is being held without bail until his trial this summer.

Then there's Brian Walshe, who pled not guilty this week to killing and dismembering his missing wife, Ana.

Multiple first responders rushed to Pensacola Beach earlier this month to tend to Peyton Hillis after the former NFL star nearly drowned while trying to save his children ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the footage, captured on an Escambia County Sheriff's deputy's body camera, you can see Hillis was in bad shape on the Florida sand after he was pulled from the water on Jan. 4.

The ex-Cleveland Browns running back, who did not have a shirt on, appeared to be breathing heavily ... and seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

But, at least four medics on the scene provided him aid ... administering an IV while checking his vitals.

At one point, they even helped him roll over on his side to make him more comfortable -- while providing a beach towel as a pillow. They also urged him to keep talking in an effort to make sure his condition wasn't worsening.

They eventually got the 36-year-old off the beach and into a helicopter ... which flew him to a nearby medical facility for treatment.

Hillis' initial prognosis wasn't good -- his uncle said in a Facebook post he suffered damage to his lungs and kidneys in the swimming accident -- but, thankfully, his longtime girlfriend said last week he had a breakthrough and was "on the road to recovery."

Hillis now seems to be in far better condition -- he was just seen smiling in his hospital bed on Thursday after Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith popped by his room for a visit.

A song-and-dance troupe of pooping toy unicorns could be in steaming hot trouble, legally speaking, all because the lil' stinkers did a send-up of a huge Black Eyed Peas hit.

Let us explain … a company called MGA Entertainment created a popular line of toys -- dancing unicorns that excrete sparkling slime called Poopsie Slime Surprise. Every kid's fantasy, right?

In order to market the lil’ poopers, MGA ran a bunch of ads with animated unicorns singing and dancing to a song called "My Poops" – featuring the catchy hook "my poops, my poops, my poops, my sparkly glitter poops!"

If that banger sounds familiar, that's because it’s a play on BEP's classic "My Humps," and that's what lead to a lawsuit. Will.i.am and co's record label and music publishing company, BMG, owns the majority of the copyright to the 2005 smash hit, and it claims "My Poops" clearly rips off the melody, tempo, chord progression, and even features a vocalist who sounds a lot like Fergie.

BMG says MGA never got the rights to use the song, and now it wants at least $10 MILLION in damages. If that sounds a bit high, it’s worth remembering that "My Humps" was a HUGE hit, garnering more than 700 million views on YouTube alone and taking home the award for Best Hip Hop Video at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards.

If BMG ends up winning even a fraction of the $10 mil in court, this could be the most expensive poop joke in history! We reached out to MGA for comment … so far, no word back.

Before this blue-eyed boy with bleach-blonde tips turned into a successful actor, he was just chowing down on some crawfish and dreaming of becoming a Hollywood star while growing up in Arroyo Grande, California.

Although this talented dude with frosty tips was accepted into the University of Southern California ... he wound up skipping out to continue in show biz and sing in high school for the next couple of years.

Need one more clue? You can bet your bottom dollar he's used hairspray to keep all of his hairstyles in mint condition.

Multiple gunshots rang out at the end of a high school basketball game in Oklahoma on Tuesday ... sending fans scrambling for their lives -- and the horrifying incident was all captured on video.

It happened at Del City H.S. after the school's boy's basketball team beat Millwood High, 62-58.

In a broadcast of the game, you can see as fans were leaving John Smith Fieldhouse ... two shots went off, causing chaos in the gym.

Spectators immediately bolted for cover ... as the broadcasters of the game threw their stream to commercial break, and then ducked underneath the scorer's table to cover themselves.

DCHS Principal Steve Gilliland said in a statement following the contest that a gun was fired after a fight had occurred at the conclusion of the game.

"The Del City Police Department is onsite and investigating the incident," Gilliland said.

One adult male was shot, police told KOCO ABC 5 News, and taken to the hospital. His condition is currently unknown.

Cops told TMZ Sports on Wednesday they hadn't received any reports of students who were injured in the incident. No arrests have been made ... and an investigation remains ongoing.

Kevin Nash made dark and emotional comments regarding the three-month anniversary of his son's death ... sparking concern from fans after the WWE legend hinted at having suicidal thoughts.

Nash addressed 26-year-old Tristen's passing on his "Kliq This" podcast this week ... saying, "Today is week 12 that I lost my boy."

"Time flies when you got a gun in your mouth. I mean -- time flies when you're having fun."

Nash's cohost, Sean Oliver, was quick to denounce the morbid comment ... replying, "Don't play like that. You have guns, so you can't say those things."

But the 63-year-old doubled down on his statement ... saying, "I can do whatever the f*** I wanna do. Long as I leave a note."

The conversation changed to how Nash is actually coping with the tragic loss -- the wrestler says it's much easier to tell everyone he's doing fine ... when in reality, it couldn't be further from the truth.

Nash says he struggles to find a reason to get out of bed every morning ... but received words of support from fellow wrestler Tyrus.

Fans flooded the podcast episode's comment section following the discussion ... showing love and praise for Nash.

As we previously reported, Tristen died after suffering a seizure and going into cardiac arrest back in October. He was just 26.

Antonio Brown went too far on social media again -- the controversial former NFL superstar just shared a sexually-explicit private picture on his Snapchat with the mother of his children.

The post -- which has since been deleted from AB's profile -- showed the woman performing oral sex on the Super Bowl champ in bed. The picture quickly circulated on other social media platforms early Tuesday morning.

It's unclear when the image was taken, but we're assuming it isn't recent -- things have gotten ugly between the two sides, with Kyriss claiming AB sent "explicit videos" to their son during an alleged domestic violence incident back in November.

AB has become notorious for his Snap updates recently -- as we previously reported, he shared a poorly Photoshopped pic of Tom Brady's ex, Gisele Bündchen ... editing her face onto a nude body.

The former Steeler has also trolled Brady throughout the quarterback's divorce ... sharing memes mocking his old teammate.

It's unclear why AB posted the NSFW pic, but he's been active on Twitter as well ... saying, "Don't play wit me. Play Football."

A toddler waved around a loaded handgun at an Indiana apartment complex -- even pointing the barrel at himself at one point and pulling the trigger ... and his dad is now under arrest.

Check out this stunning Ring camera video showing the little boy in a diaper playing with the firearm on the second-floor landing of a Beech Grove, IN, residential building.

In the footage -- shot Saturday night -- the boy is seen standing at the foot of a staircase, holding the gun near his head and pointing it down at his neighbors.

The video cuts to the child aiming the firearm at an apartment door. The boy then moves around the landing, carelessly turning the gun barrel upward toward his neck.

He continues to walk around the landing, training the gun on various doors. CNN said he also pulled the trigger, but the gun likely didn't go off because there were no bullets in the chamber, although 15 rounds were in the magazine.

NBC News reported that the boy -- who appeared to be a toddler or of preschool age -- finally went inside one of the units.

Beech Grove police responded to the building after a neighbor called 911 to report a boy with a gun. The officers -- who were filming in real time for Reelz network's "On Patrol: Live," encountered the boy's father, Shane E. Osborne, who claimed that he didn't own a gun. But, cops searched his apartment and found the alleged firearm under a TV in the living room.

Before this cutie in her blue overalls turned into a singing machine and a piano-playing pro, she was just learning her way around the keys, hanging with her little brother and growing up on the streets of a concrete jungle.

You probably first started listening to her in the early 2000s, and she has hit it out of the ballpark ever since. And just to add to her coolness, she's collaborated with other musical geniuses like Usher and Jay Z. Needless to say ... 'this girl is on fire!'

Need one more clue? She was in "The Nanny Diaries" with Scarlett Johansson.

Several Texas high school football players were hospitalized after their coach allegedly forced them do 400 push-ups as a form of discipline, according to multiple reports.

John Harrell, head football coach at Rockwall-Heath High School, was suspended and placed on administrative leave after a group of his players required medical attention following an off-season workout, according to FoxNews4.

Harrell, who's been with the program since 2019, is accused of making the students do "a large number of push-ups" as punishment for the athletes.

The alleged incident occurred on Friday during an off-season workout program. School principal Todd Bradford sent a letter to parents saying students "needed medical attention," with "some" requiring hospitalization.

The Dallas Morning News reports at least eight students were hospitalized.

One parent, whose child is hospitalized, says the players were made to do hundreds of push-ups in just an hour with no water or break.

The parent, who didn't wish to be identified, said their child was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a severe medical condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. Rhabdomyolysis can be fatal or result in permanent disability.

However, not everyone believes the coach was wrong. Junior team captain, Brady Luff, told media water was available to the players, and they could've left if they wanted.

"[Coach Harrell's] treated us with nothing but respect, and he loves every single one of us like his own," Luff said.

Grizzlies star Ja Morant gave a young fan his game-worn jersey and Ja 1 sneakers from Wednesday night's showdown against the Spurs ... after her autographed basketball was sadly stolen Monday night at the FedEx Forum.

Ellie Hughes, an 11-year-old Grizzlies fan, was at the Grizzlies-Spurs game Monday night ... and was trying to get Ja's attention when she laid the signed basketball down.

When Ellie looked back up, the basketball was gone. Ellie has been to every Grizzlies' home game with her grandfather since she was five, and the ball had a ton of sentimental value since she had been collecting signatures from players after games, according to actionnews5.com.

Enter Ja ... the 23-year-old discovered what happened to Ellie and wanted to help make things right for her and her family.

The Hughes family was at FedEx Forum again Wednesday ... and after the game, Morant got some facetime with the youngster, where he gifted her his jersey and sneakers.

“I was trying to get in contact w the fam," Morant said in his postgame interview. "I reached out & offered them two of the courtside seats that I give to my fam & told them after the game I would give my jersey & shoes."

"Definitely a good feeling to have them there supporting us and see that smile on their face at the end," he added.

In addition to the jersey and Ja 1 kicks Ellie received, she also got to watch Morant drop 38 points ... en route to the Grizzlies' 135-129 win over San Antonio.

Amazing news ... Peyton Hillis' girlfriend says the former NFL star is off the ventilator and now "on the road to recovery" -- just days after he suffered significant trauma in a swimming accident in Florida.

Singer and actress Angela Cole, who's been dating Hillis since at least 2021, provided the positive update on her social media page late Wednesday night ... writing in a caption on a video of the couple, "Please continue to pray for he's still got a ways ahead of him, but thank you for all of your prayers and love and support thus far. It truly makes all the difference."

"Today was a good day," she added.

Hillis needed to be helicoptered to a hospital back on Jan. 4, after he reportedly jumped into the ocean on Pensacola Beach in order to save two of his children who were caught in riptides.

The former running back's uncle, Greg Hillis, said in a Facebook post after the accident that Peyton suffered kidney and lung damage in the rescue ... and in the ensuing days, things looked so dire, fans, family and friends actually held a prayer vigil for him in Arkansas.

But, according to Cole, Peyton's now on the mend.

"So proud of this man and so incredibly grateful for family and this incredible hospital," she said.