Kids

The white woman who shot and killed her Black neighbor -- a mother of 4 -- is getting off easy when it comes to charges ... so says attorney Ben Crump and the victim's mother, who both say race is very much a factor.

Crump and Pamela Dias joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live," to reveal everything that led up to Friday's tragedy. Police say 58-year-old Susan Louise Lorincz opened fire through her front door, killing 35-year-old Ajike Owens, who was knocking on the door to defend her kids.

Lorincz was arrested Tuesday night, and charged with 2 counts of assault, battery, culpable negligence, and manslaughter. That last charge is offensive to Pamela, as she firmly believes her daughter was murdered.

Crump pointed out prosecutors still have the discretion to upgrade the charges against Lorincz, and he says that's warranted in this case.

Pamela and Ben claim Lorincz has been tormenting neighborhood kids -- including Ajike's -- for years about an open field where they play. They say her anger was completely unwarranted as Lorincz didn't own the land, which is adjacent to her apartment.

Perhaps most tragically, Pamela says 2 of her grandkids witnessed their mother get shot.

And, Crump says he has no doubt racism is a critical factor in this case -- he claims Lorincz has hurled epithets and insults at kids on previous occasions.

A massive group of parents broke out into an all-out brawl as a California school board met about the inclusion of LGBTQ+ topics in classes ... with folks on both sides of the argument getting into it as cops intervened in an effort to keep the peace.

The Glendale Unified School District was holding a meeting Tuesday when about 200 people -- some parents of students -- took to the streets, according to KTLA ... some voicing concerns, and others supporting the proposed curriculum.

You can see things get really intense, with the anti-LGBT+ protestors hurling a slew of insults at the other side as the physical attacks escalate.

You can also see a man dressed in mint green sucker-punch a woman in the crowd, while someone on a megaphone pleads for people to stop fighting. Cops eventually stopped the skirmish with the help of their batons, arresting at least 3 people after the incident.

Cops say a good chunk of the folks protesting the district were also at a North Hollywood elementary school last week when another violent exchange went down over a Pride event.

Glendale school officials told the local outlet the district's been including the Pride-inclusive studies since 2019, but it's a reconsideration meeting they hold every year for approval.

Before this youngin' with her blunt bangs and beaded hair ties turned into an A-list celebrity and actress, she was just playing soccer, competing in gymnastics and singing in the local plays in Boulder, Colorado.

This star has been in a hand full of iconic shows and movies like playing Lara in "Rules of Attraction," the sole survivor in 2003's "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and playing Mary in "7th Heaven." When she's not exploring the world with her hubby ... she loves spending quality time with her two kiddos.

Need one more clue? She's always "bringing sexy back!"

A pursuit of a foul ball nearly turned into a tragedy for one college baseball fan over the weekend ... 'cause video shows as the man was hightailing it for a souvenir, he dropped a little boy on his head.

The scary scene happened on Sunday afternoon during the Campbell vs. N.C. State regional elimination game in Columbia, S.C. ... when in the seventh inning, Wolfpack third baseman LuJames Groover III rocketed a ball into foul territory down the first base line.

Video from the game's broadcast shows the baseball careened through a nearby concourse ... as one man holding a toddler jogged after it.

But, you can see as the guy went down to grab it, he lost his balance ... and collapsed to the ground. As he was falling, the child he was holding smacked his head hard on the pavement.

The kid seemed to be in pain ... and even the game's broadcaster noticed it all go down, letting out an audible, "Oh!" as the two tumbled to the ground.

Thankfully, it doesn't seem the boy was significantly injured.

Before this cute kid in his navy tee turned into a grooming expert and a TV personality (with some impressive facial hair), he was just playing with his little fur-ball pet and tumbling and flippin' around Quincy, Illinois.

Today, when he's not residing in Austin, Texas or New York City ... you can watch some of his finest work on the Netflix series, "Queer Eye," where he shows his comedic and unfiltered side. All jokes aside, he's an inspiration to many!

Need one more hint? He was in an Uber Eats commercial with Olympian Simone Biles.

Kanye West and his family wanted to touch base with the man upstairs this weekend -- but it appears they were interrupted by the paparazzi ... which set Papa Bear off.

The rapper-producer was heading to church Sunday in L.A. with his "wife," Bianca Censori, and at least one of his kids -- 4-year-old Psalm. They were being hounded by photographers the whole time ... and at one point, Ye had to stop his car and deal with them himself.

It's unclear if this happened while he was going to church or leaving -- but, in any case, it got ugly on the side of the road ... where KW berated some of the paps tailing him.

In video, obtained by TMZ, you can see and hear Ye losing it -- yelling at the paps and demanding that they stop following him. He even used an expletive to get his point across.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they left him alone ... because photos later popped up that show Ye and co. at what seemed to be their final destination. In the lot of whatever facility they were at for church, Ye could be seen playing with Psalm ... who brought his bike.

Bianca, meanwhile, was standing right next to them ... and she had an interesting outfit on, as did Kanye. It seems like whatever service they were going to might've been themed, because others who were heading inside also appeared to be thematically dressed.

It's great to see Kanye doing the dad thing as he and Kim continue to coparent/blend families -- but it's a bummer that they can't do it without a lens in their face 24/7. Catch-22.

Gov. Gavin Newsom isn't happy that a SoCal school board banned lessons on the late Harvey Milk for kids ... and it sounds like he's going to do something about it.

California's top governmental dog sounded off Saturday in response to a report about the Temecula Valley School Board recently voting to nix any literature about the former SF politician -- who was openly gay, and who served a member of the Board of Supervisors.

Board president, Dr. Joseph Komrosky, was hearing out a fellow member ... who wanted to ban a biography of Milk -- which was apparently available to 4th graders at a local elementary school as part of their social studies teachings -- which touched on his homosexual lifestyle in the supplemental resources section ... as a footnote.

The board member who raised this issue says he was made aware of the material, finding the information in it to be highly inappropriate for children -- and Komrosky agreed.

In fact, Komrosky shocked many in the audience by calling Milk a "pedophile" ... which several people, including some teachers/faculty/board members, pushed back on by strongly denying that characterization. They explained that he was instrumental in achieving gay rights in the U.S. ... and that that historical fact shouldn't be hidden from grade school kids.

Komrosky held his ground ... arguing that Milk's private life -- and presumably his public life at large -- wasn't relevant and not worthy of being in their curriculum. In the end, the board voted 3-2 to get rid of the Milk literature ... and now, Gov. Newsom is aware of it.

He took to Twitter and wrote, "An offensive statement from an ignorant person. This isn’t Texas or Florida. In the Golden State, our kids have the freedom to learn. Congrats Mr. Komrosky you have our attention. Stay tuned." Newsom didn't elaborate further.

Of course, GN's spoken out against other states trying to limit the scope of education as it pertains to issues like these -- especially in Florida, where Gov. DeSantis has set a tone.

As for the whole "pedophile" claim ... it's unclear why Komrosky referred to HM as that. It's possible he might be referencing Milk's one-time relationship with Jack McKinley, which is believed to have begun while McKinley was a teen ... but that part of history is a little hazy.

Paul Stanley is firmly on board with Pride celebrations -- which might shock critics of his comments about gender identity and kids -- but he says all folks should be free to embrace who they are ... with one caveat.

We caught up with the KISS frontman in L.A.'s Beverly Glen neighborhood, and when we asked him if had any message for the transgender community on the first day of Pride month ... he offered his view of what everyone should take from Pride.

Paul says, "Everybody has a right to be who they are, and life's too short to be anyone else." As for being proud of who you are, he says absolutely, but adds that has nothing to do with your gender or sexual preference ... it's about being a "good person."

You'll recall, PS came under fire in April after tweeting his thoughts on gender reassignment for children -- namely, that there's a difference between teaching kids acceptance of all people, and encouraging them to question "their sexual identification."

Some folks backed him up, but for the most part, he got a ton of flak from people who took his tweet as being anti-LGBTQ ... and, fairly or not, found it hypocritical because members of KISS were makeup-wearing glam rockers.

Paul told us he didn't feel the need to clarify that statement any further than he already has.

Before this pretty-in-pink girl turned into an American deejay and model, she was just your typical kid playing dress up and throwing on her tiara while growing up with her two younger siblings in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

If you haven't jammed out to her song "Wait," maybe you've seen her on stage at music festivals across the country. Earlier this year she spun her discs at the Pegasus World Cup and is quite the frequent performer at the Miami club, LIV.

Need one more hint? Just talk to her blonde bestie Sarah Snyder!

Grimes is showing off her new look ... a tattoo in red ink covering her whole leg!!!

The singer and mother to two of Elon Musk's kids revealed her latest tattoo Thursday on social media ... and it looks like she spent a lot of time in the tattoo parlor.

Grimes got the out-of-this-world design in red ink ... and that tattoo stretches from her ankle all the way up to her thigh, covering most of her shin and a good amount of her knee.

Ya gotta imagine it was a pretty painful experience ... but Grimes seems super pleased with the final results here.

It looks like Grimes got the tattoo done in Los Angeles, hitting up a tattoo artist named Daniela.

LeBron James is giving his stamp of approval to the actors who played him and his high school teammates in an upcoming movie ... saying the talented group of guys knocked it out of the park.

The NBA superstar and the rest of the St. Vincent-St. Mary "Fab Five" squad attended the "Shooting Stars" premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday ... and King James was super complimentary of the final product as he addressed the crowd before the start of the flick.

James admitted it was a weird experience for him, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton, Willie McGee and Dru Joyce III to see their lives played out on the screen ... but said the cast perfected every last detail.

"You guys did an unbelievable job," James said.

Of course, the Peacock project -- produced by Bron's SpringHill Entertainment -- is based on the book James released alongside Buzz Bissinger in 2009 ... which focuses on James and Co.'s journey to winning high school state championships.

Tom Brady is NOT coming out of retirement to play quarterback for the team he'll soon own ... emphatically saying a return to the football field simply ain't happening, despite endless speculation.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the 46-year-old 7-time winning Super Bowl champ made it clear he's done for good ... and there will be no unretirement this time around.

"I'm certain I'm not playing again. I've tried to make that clear and I hate to continue to profess that 'because I've already told people that lots of times but I'm looking forward to my broadcasting job at FOX next year," Brady said.

Tom, who retired for the second time in February, continued ... "I'm looking forward to the opportunity ahead with the Raiders and we're in the process of that along with the other different things I'm a part of professionally and in my personal life."

Brady recently agreed to terms with Mark Davis and is in the process of becoming a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

During a conversation with Troy Aikman last week, the NFL legend told us he could envision a situation where Brady came down from the owner's suite, threw on pads, and played QB for the team.

The 3-time Super Bowl champ was far from alone in considering the possibility. Add to it, the NFL allows owners to play, provided 75% of the teams approve via a leaguewide vote. Getting the votes would presumably not be a problem ... as Brady is great for business.

But, it's all just talk ... 'cause Tom says it simply isn't going to happen. His days as a signal caller are over.

As for what he will do, Brady's plans center around his children.

"Just spending as much time with my kids as I can and seeing them grow up and support the different things that they have going on. That's a very important job. I take them all pretty seriously."

Kim Zolciak has taken a good parenting course in the midst of her nasty divorce -- kind of ironic given the trash-talking between her and Kroy Biermann that has to be adversely affecting their 4 minor children.

Kim completed a mandatory course in Georgia -- the "Navigating Family Change Seminar" -- which she took and completed last Thursday. She filed a certificate of completion with the court, obtained by TMZ. There's no record Kroy has completed the course, at least not yet.

The object of the course is to soften the blow of divorce for the sake of the children. Thing is ... this divorce has been like nuclear war, with Kim accusing Kroy of being a pothead, demanding he drug test and submit to a 5-panel hair follicle drug screening, and demanding he not cut or remove any hair until the screening is complete.

Kim is asking for primary physical custody, and that's a signal the divorce is nasty. Typically, when the parties get along they ask for joint custody. Kroy has gone in even harder, asking for sole custody of their kids.

The estranged couple has had plenty of financial struggles, including home foreclosure and delinquent tax bills. Kroy has claimed Kim is essentially a gambling addict who is so drawn to betting she doesn't properly take care of their kids.

Kroy has asked the court to order Kim to submit to a psych exam, suggesting her alleged gambling addiction is symptomatic of a mental health problem, such as depression, narcissistic personality disorder or ADHD.

The Island Boys are setting the record straight on a rumor swirling around the internet ... they say they are NOT the kids who took a photo with Jeffrey Epstein back in the day.

Here's the deal ... an old photo showing Epstein posing on a tropical beach with four young kids recently resurfaced online, with lots of folks claiming the kids flanking JE were the Island Boys.

Flyysoulja tells TMZ … he and his twin brother Kodiyakredd have seen the viral photo but the kids in the image are NOT them.

There's speculation the photo was snapped on one of Epstein's private islands in the Caribbean, and Flyysoulja says he and his brother never left Florida until they were 18, and the photo doesn't look like it's from their home state.

What's more, Flyysoulja says he looked exactly like his fraternal twin when they were growing up ... meaning they didn't have different colored hair like the boys in the Epstein photo.

Flyysoulja also points out that the boys in the photo appear to be Caucasian, while the Island Boys are Cuban.

Before this cute kid playing on his electric keyboard turned into a talented musician and deejay, he was just hangin' around the house in his pj's while watching his parents play the guitar and piano in Dansenberg, Germany.

Perhaps you've heard of one his breakout songs -- "Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" -- a collaboration he worked on with Skrillex, but if you need some more "clarity" on who this cool dude is ... he's worked with some of music's hottest stars including Hailee Steinfeld and Ariana Grande.

He's also performed at Coachella a time or two!

Something about the new live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" isn't sitting right with singer Paloma Faith ... who says the movie's plot is a really hard one to explain to her kiddos.

Paloma took to social media over the weekend, first congratulating Halle Bailey for her performance in the new Disney flick -- before dragging the story's main focus, saying "I don’t want my kids to think it’s ok to give up your entire voice and your powers to love a man."

She added, "Wtf is this s***?! Not what I want to be teaching next gen women at all.” Of course, she's referring to Ariel giving up her own voice to become a human to be with her love interest, Prince Eric.

For those unaware, it's the same trope that was used in the original 1989 version, so it seems Paloma might've forgotten the story before watching this new adaptation.

However, Halle told Edition earlier this year that her new version "definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy ... It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants.”