Kids

The little girls who had to use a Taco Bell's Wi-Fi for school have been blessed with thousands of dollars in donations -- money that'll be put to good use ... TMZ has learned.

Jackie Lopez, the woman running the GoFundMe page soliciting funds for the family in the viral photo, raised $142k-plus thus far ... and a good chunk of that will go toward the children's education.

Lopez says the girls' mom, Juana, plans on starting a college fund for her three kids -- two of whom were seen sitting outside of a Taco Bell with their laptops and notepads. The third child is only a year old, but Juana's focusing on the long play.

Juana also wants to use some of the money for therapy for her kids. She says the family's been in and out homelessness and it's likely had an effect on the kids, so she wants her daughters to talk to a professional.

Juana's now looking to buy a mobile home in Salinas. On top of that, Lopez says Juana will upgrade the ice cream cart she uses for work ... one of many things she does to earn a living.

You'll recall ... the photo of Juana's two girls caused quite a stir. Elected officials said it was emblematic of the digital divide in minority communities, and clearly folks were concerned.

Child actor Hailey Anne Nelson was only 8 years old when she landed the role of the little shoe-tossing Jenny -- who lives in the picturesque town of Spectre with her father the Mayor -- in Tim Burton's 2003 tall tale "Big Fish."

Hailey Anne Nelson was cast alongside an impressive batch of actors including Missi Pyle as the welcoming Spectre blondie, Mildred, a little Miley Cyrus as the witch-hunting, Ruthie, Helena Bonham Carter as the older version of Jenny and the all-seeing-eyeball Witch ... and of course Ewan McGregor as the big fish himself, Ed Bloom.

The tributes to Chadwick Boseman keep pouring in, and the latest honor for the late "Black Panther" star is all about education.

Walter Mayfield, principal at T. L. Hanna High School in South Carolina where the actor attended, tells TMZ ... they're forming the Chadwick Boseman Memorial Scholarship for a yearly honor to a deserving student.

Mayfield says the goal is to create a sustainable scholarship for years to come, and the school is aiming to raise $100k toward that end. The principal says a bunch of people have already reached out about contributing in Chadwick's honor -- without even publicizing the idea yet -- so they're off to a good start.

We're told the school is trying to work with Boseman's family on the plan -- Mayfield feels it's essential they be involved to help formulate criteria for the award.

Chadwick's former H.S. basketball coach, Wayne Jones, is pushing for the school to retire the number he used to wear -- 32 -- in his memory.

He tells us the cinematic superhero was an all-around solid player on the court who played 4 years on the varsity squad ... and could do a little bit of everything. T. L. Hanna has never retired a number before, but Principal Mayfield says this is the time to consider it.

If the Boseman scholarship gets up and running, it will be the second one in honor of a T. L. Hanna legend ... the first is James "Radio" Kennedy. His scholarship goes to a student pursuing a career in special ed.

As we told you ... Chadwick's South Carolina hometown is also set to honor him soon.

Scott Disick has more time on his hands following his split from Sofia Richie, and he's spending a lot of it with Kourtney Kardashian ... but the exes aren't getting back together.

Sources close to Scott and Kourtney tell TMZ ... they're NOT a couple, even though they've been hanging out more since his breakup with Sofia.

We broke the story ... Scott and Sofia called it quits last month ... this time for good.

As you know ... Scott and Kourtney hit up Nobu in Malibu over the weekend, where they ate under the same roof as Sofia. Sushi by the ocean is a hot date for a lot of folks, but we're told not so for Scott and Kourtney.

Our sources tell us Scott and Kourtney still consider themselves a family and co-parenting their 3 children is a priority for both. Hence, the time they spend together, even when the kids aren't there, is still all about fam.

Consider their recent trip to Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. We're told the kids had a blast, and Scott and Kourtney realized it's good for the fam and they want to do more of it.

These family outings were rare when Scott was dating Sofia.

The mother of Trevor Ariza's 12-year-old son claims the NBA star has physically abused their child on multiple occasions and she's demanding a restraining order on the child's behalf, ASAP.

But, Ariza says the allegations are patently false -- and he's fighting back in court docs of his own.

The 35-year-old Portland Trail Blazers star opted out of the NBA restart in the Orlando bubble -- reportedly to spend time with his son.

Ariza and the mother of his child, Lana Allen, have been locked in a custody battle for a while.

But, Allen recently filed new court documents in Los Angeles accusing Ariza of carrying out a pattern of domestic violence against the child, dating back to 2019.

The details are graphic -- but the allegations are that Ariza, a strong, pro athlete, clearly crossed a line when dishing out corporal punishment on at least two occasions.

Allen claims she reported the alleged abuse to the LAPD, which documented the alleged injuries and looped in the Dept. of Child and Family Services.

In new court docs, Allen is requesting a restraining order against Ariza in hopes of keeping him away from the child.

She claims the child "fears" his father and is "not safe in his care."

Ariza has filed a response to the allegations -- strongly denying the accusations of child abuse and vowing to clear his name.

Ariza says it's Allen who's been alienating him from the child -- causing a rift in their relationship.

Ariza says, "what is occurring here is in fact [Allen's] abuse of the minor child by her relentless, cruel loyalty conflict for [the child], alienation campaign and selfishly driven attempts to interfere in father and son's relationship."

This is the most adorable video you'll see today!!

Toronto Raptors star Fred VanVleet reunited with his 2 kids after more than a month inside the NBA bubble on Monday ... and they were so excited to see their daddy, they ran right into his arms!!

Of course, players and families are starting to reconnect during the 2nd round of the playoffs ... with a limited number of loved ones allowed to enter the bubble after quarantining.

FVV's high school sweetheart, Shontai Neal, shared the emotional moment on Instagram ... showing 1-year-old Fred Jr. and 2-year-old Sanaa overly excited to see their dad on the Disney World campus.

The VanVleets have been supporting their dad from home ... with Sanaa cheering on Fred from home in a cute video last month.

Tiffany Haddish says don't be fooled by loud-mouthed promoters of racism and hate -- especially toward African-Americans ... because they're outnumbered by good people.

Tiffany joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday, and she got choked up talking about events in Kenosha and Portland this past week, but some rays of hope surfaced.

While fighting back tears, she says that she considers herself an optimistic person ... but it only goes so far in the wake of all the strife and violence.

Tiffany, who's become a leader in the social justice movement ... thinks 15% - 25% of the country harbor extreme hatred toward blacks, but she seems to think there's security in numbers, and the numbers are in favor of racial equality.

Tiffany raised eyebrows a few weeks back on Carmelo Anthony's podcast when she said she's scared to have kids because she's worried about them growing up Black in America. She has a solution that is awesome and inspiring.

A Taco Bell proved critical for two little girls who were briefly using its Wi-Fi for school -- something that sparked some true help from the community.

A photo of two young girls sitting outside of a Taco Bell in Salinas, CA -- just outside of Monterey -- recently went viral ... which shows them plopped down on the concrete with their laptops and notepads out, while two TB employees come out to talk to them. It's quite sad.

The photo prompted a two-pronged response -- one group was utterly outraged at the lack of resources these kids had, understanding this is the best they could do in a desperate situation. On the other hand, some folks were concerned ... thinking it was neglect.

On that first part, a handful of elected officials spoke out on the photo ... pointing out the digital divide among certain underrepresented communities. Salinas City Elementary School District copped to the fact the kids were their students and said they were already working to remedy the situation by providing them a hot spot with internet access.

The fam was allegedly about to be made homeless by their landlord because of renovations scheduled on their unit.

Fortunately, enough people in the community pulled resources together and put them up in a hotel for the time being while they get back on their feet. They've even started a GoFundMe for them too.

Chadwick Boseman's impact on the youth cannot be overstated ... some children are remembering their fallen hero ... with action figure memorials.

Mark Ruffalo -- who starred opposite Chadwick in the 'Avengers' movies -- posted a couple of touching photos of two little boys holding their own versions of wakes for Black Panther with their toys, placing the Marvel figurines in a circle around a laid out T'Challa.

He writes, "This is his power and impact on the next generation. #ChadwickForever." Mark's right here -- other kids were doing this as well in other parts of the country, including one boy named Kian ... who created a casket for his Black Panther action figure.

A guy named King Westbrook posted a photo of his son holding his own memorial outside their garage, with Kian throwing up a Wakanda Forever X-sign across his chest.

The proud papa says of his child, "Kian wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of his heart for all the loving and kind words given to him for this post." King goes on to add, "When he found out about Chadwicks passing, he was heart broken. But he knows death is a part for being human, and wanted to cope with losing his hero this way."

Dave Grohl just took up an awesome challenge from a drumming prodigy who's only 10 -- and he also put the ball back in her court ... which means there's more rockin' to come.

The Foo Fighters founder was called out by 10-year-old Nandi Bushell -- who's a bit of a percussion sensation across the pond. She did a cover of FF's "Everlong," taking care of Dave's drum section with incredible precision and flair. She then kicked it over to him.

Welp, Dave saw the challenge ... and picked up the baton. He did the same song digitally on his end with an assist from his daughter's drum set ... it's hard to say who won. Obviously, Dave's the OG and is just about flawless, but Nandi certainly held her own.

Anyway, the challenge didn't end there -- Dave dared her to try an older track he did with a supergroup he formed in 2009 called Them Crooked Vultures, featuring Josh Homme on guitar, John Paul Jones on bass and Dave, obviously, on drums.

A small child got the scare of her young life as she was lifted in the air -- WAY up in the air -- by a very large kite.

Video captured the incident at a kite festival in Taiwan. A 3-year-old girl was there enjoying the majesty of the long, flowing kites, when she became entangled in the strings of one of them.

The crowd watched in horror as the girl was propelled in the air by an orange kite ... high up in the air, as people on the ground watched helplessly.

Chadwick Boseman was doing more than just putting on a brave face during his 4-year battle with cancer -- the guy was actively visiting and inspiring kids while privately suffering from the same disease.

St. Jude Children's Hospital paid tribute to the fallen star, reminding folks he popped into their facility in 2018 to meet with patients ... bringing gifts and words of inspiration for the kids.

They write, "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our friend Chadwick Boseman. Two years ago, Chadwick visited the St. Jude campus and brought with him not only toys for our patients but also joy, courage and inspiration." The organization sang his praises, adding ... "He was an incredible role model for our patients and children from all around the world. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time."

At the time, St. Jude's posted more photos from the face-to-face ... and it's clear the guy made the rounds and met with a bunch of kids who couldn't have looked more overjoyed to meet a Marvel superhero. The fact he was right in the thick of his own cancer battle just makes this gesture all the more heartbreaking, especially considering he didn't utter a word about his battle.

Chadwick discussed meeting some of these kids and how much of an impact it had on him -- he even broke down during the Sirius XM interview while talking about two terminally ill children who passed before the next Marvel movie could come out. Dude was a true saint.

As we reported ... Chadwick succumbed to his illness and died Friday, shocking the entertainment world -- scratch that, shocking the entire world. He was just 43 years old.

Angelina Jolie faced one of her toughest challenges ever -- getting all 6 of her kids organized and loaded into one vehicle for a family dinner, but she pulled it off.

The actress and her squad of not-so-little-ones -- Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Vivienne and Knox -- made a rare public appearance together Thursday night in Malibu to grab some grub at NOBU.

Angelina was looking pretty fancy, while her brood showed off an array of styles as they headed into the trendy restaurant ... and the whole fam rocked face masks.

As we reported ... pops Brad Pitt is outta town this week after jetting to France with stunning German model Nicole Poturalski.

So far, he's managed to keep his relationship with the model pretty low-profile, which is impressive ... but not quite as much as Angie's feat at NOBU. Seriously. Ever tried to hang with as few as 3 siblings?

It is a MIRACLE neither Derrick Lewis nor his young son were injured in an ATV crash at their home ... in an incident caught on video.

The UFC superstar pulled out an ATV on his driveway and invited his young son to sit on his lap ... when things went terribly wrong.

The boy accidentally grabbed the handlebar, which caused the vehicle to accelerate -- zipping right into a stone planter area.

Somehow, Derrick was able to maintain control of the ATV and kept it from flipping over -- eventually bringing it to stop.

Neither Derrick nor his son were wearing helmets or any other kind of safety gear when the incident took place.

Afterward, Lewis posted the footage to social media and said, "We're OK."

But, it's clear the UFC community -- a bunch of tough people -- were rattled.

Dana White commented, "Very lucky."

Jon Jones added, "Geez, Hope the little guy wasn’t too shaken up."

Michelle Waterson said, "Yikes. Glad you're ok."

We reached out to Lewis to find out more about the incident -- we'll let you know when we hear back.

By the way, Lewis is reportedly gearing up to fight Curtis Blaydes on Nov. 28.

This girl is incredible!!!

12-year-old skateboarding sensation Sky Brown is already taking her talents to new heights -- literally -- just 2 months after suffering a devastating injury.

Remember, Brown was training at Tony Hawk's skate park when she had a bad wipeout ... suffering skull fractures, a broken wrist, broken hand and a black eye.

But, Sky wasted no time getting back on the board again ... and now she's even taking on greater challenges by attempting to tackle pro Elliot Sloan's mega ramp!!!

Why's it called a mega ramp, you ask?? Uhh, 'cause it's freaking MASSIVE!!!

But, that didn't bother one bit to Sky, who took a few moments to compose herself ... and then nailed the ramp within her first few tries.

"Sky was the first girl to jump the mega at my place and she made it look easy," Sloan said of the accomplishment.

"Not only did she clear the gap but she did the full line. She blew us all away and I can't wait to see what's next for her."

Oh ... and for those freaking out, Hawk makes sure to point out there was an airbag ready to catch Brown, just in case.

Illinois internet sensation Keenan Cahill was only 15 years old when he became a viral sensation for his one-of-a-kind lip sync skills to iconic songs like "Party In The USA," "Bad Romance," "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love Again" and even "Don't Stop Believin'."

While Keenan Cahill was already getting millions of views to his YouTube channel ... it was his surprise collaboration with 50 Cent on "Down On Me" that launched him to the next level and opened the door for a bunch more famous guest appearances including Pauly D, David Guetta, Nick Cannon, Lil John and many more!