Kids

Schoolchildren across America are being scarred for life because of gun violence, but there are ways to fix the problem ... so says author John Woodrow Cox.

John hopped on "TMZ Live" Wednesday for a sobering conversation about the impact of guns on our nation's youth ... something he's as passionate about as he is knowledgeable.

John's new book -- "Children Under Fire: An American Crisis" -- chronicles the scope of the problem. For example, 4 million students were impacted by school lockdowns in one year, and these are not drills ... they're actually incidents involving guns on campus.

John says these lockdowns can really mess with kids' heads ... with many thinking they were going to die. He says he's poured over tons of text messages by children to their parents saying goodbye because they thought they were living their final moments.

While mass shootings subsided during coronavirus lockdowns, John points out there were two -- one in Colorado and another in Georgia -- as soon as restrictions were relaxed.

Cops are on the hunt for a woman who pulled a gun on a skateboarder during an argument in Maryland ... and the video is terrifying.

The Montgomery County Police Dept. claims it has obtained cell phone footage of the Jan. 16 incident which shows the suspect pointing a handgun right into the chest of an underage boy.

Cops say the "male juvenile victim" was skating around with friends around 2:25 PM "when he became involved in a verbal dispute with a passing motorist."

The female driver got out of her car and began arguing with the skateboarder, according to witnesses ... and a crowd began to form.

This is where things get crazy ...

Cops say two RANDOM women who just happened to be walking down the street at the time of the incident decided to get involved.

"One of the female suspects approached the juvenile victim and interjected herself in the dispute," cops say.

"The second female suspect went to a red Volvo that was parked in the area and drove it close to the dispute. She then gave a handgun to the first suspect, who used it to threaten the victim. Witnesses captured the incident on their cell phones."

In other words, the woman with the gun is NOT the same woman from the initial argument.

Fortunately, the woman did NOT fire the weapon and no one was injured,

Now, officials say they're looking for the gun-wielding suspect as part of an investigation into a possible 1st-degree assault with a handgun.

Cops are asking the public to help identify the suspects.

A couple of Maryland cops went overboard to send a message to a little kid who allegedly left school without permission -- a disturbing encounter that's just now seeing the light of day.

This bodycam video from the Montgomery County Police Dept. was just released, capturing an ugly incident that went down January, 2020 ... when they tracked down a 5-year-old boy who was off school grounds, and proceeded to berate him to no end on camera.

It's tough to watch this ... you see a male and female officer scream in the kid's face over and over, as they throw him in the back of a cruiser and escort him back to campus. Both say the kid deserves to be beaten and spanked by his mom.

Eventually, they end up back in an office of some sort at the school ... where the kid's mother is called in to deal with the situation. There, too, they continue to get in the boy's face and lecture him on how "bad" he's being ... the child screams and cries throughout the ordeal.

At one point, his mom shows up ... and the officers proceed to give her advice on parenting. It's a bizarre interaction -- definitely overstepping, to say the least. The icing on the cake is when they put cuffs on the kid ... presumably to "scare him straight."

That's what a lot of people are also saying after seeing this -- there are calls for the officers to be fired, not to mention for these school officials to be disciplined ... as they just stood by and let this unfold. Even some Montgomery County City Council members are decrying this interaction ... as has Montgomery County Public Schools, the district overseeing this place.

The mother of a 12-year-old student whose teacher went on a racist rant on Zoom against her and her son is now filing a lawsuit.

Katura Stokes was on a Zoom call with her teacher from Desert Willow Fine Arts, Science and Technology Management Academy in Palmdale, CA, when the call ended.

Unbeknownst to the teacher, the mother was still listening when the teacher, Kimberly Newman, launched into a half-hour-long, despicable tirade about Black families, saying the student was lying and then zeroing in on the mom, "Since you've taught him to make excuses that nothing is his fault. This is what Black people do."

But, she wasn't done ... "I mean these parents, that's what kind of piece of s*** they are ... Black. He's Black. They're a Black family."

Tessica Brown's got more great news on the heels of finding out the masses in her breasts were not cancerous ... SHE'S PREGNANT!!!

Tessica's manager, Gina Rodriguez, tells TMZ ... Tessica and her fiancé, Dewitt Madison, are expecting their first child together. What's more ... they're going to blend their family. She has 5 kids from a previous relationship and he has 4 kids. Yup ... 10 kids together!!!

We're told they've been together for a year now -- and got engaged last June -- but dated many years ago. Btw, he owns his own lawn care and floor cleaning business.

Tessica -- better known to her legion of fans as the Gorilla Glue Woman -- doesn't know how far along she is ... but has an appointment next week for an ultrasound. For now, the proof's in the puddin' ... she's got not one, not two, not three but FOUR positive pregnancy tests. And, yes, the nausea's here ... and it's real.

And, for those who are wondering ... yes, Tessica's hoping the Gorilla Glue incident doesn't affect the baby whatsoever. #CrossingFingers.

We're told she had taken a pregnancy test right before her mommy makeover last month ... and it was negative. As we reported ... things went smooth after Bev Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng worked his magic ... but she got some scary news after the same doc -- working on a boob job -- discovered lumps in her breasts.

Emma Stone is glowing big time ... 'cause TMZ's learned she's given birth to her first child!!!

Sources tell TMZ ... the Oscar-winning actress gave birth Saturday, March 13 in the L.A. area. No word yet on if they had a boy or a girl, but we're guessing Emma and hubby comedian/writer/director Dave McCary are thrilled either way.

We last saw Emma out about last month in L.A. ... looking elegant, but very ready for the baby to arrive.

Emma and Dave met when she was hosting 'SNL' in 2016, and he was directing a taped sketch for the episode. They kept their relationship under wraps for quite a while ... until they went public by attending the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards together.

Dave eventually popped the question in December 2019, which they announced on social media -- Emma looked pretty damn proud, showing off the huge rock, and Dave captioned his post with a simple double heart emoji.

Bindi Irwin gave her hubby one helluva gift on their wedding anniversary ... their first daughter!!!

'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin's only daughter has announced she gave birth to Grace Warrior Irwin Powell on Thursday ... which also marked her 1-year wedding anniversary with Chandler Powell.

Grace weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 20 inches. She was born at 5:52 PM. Bindi shared the news on Instagram and captioned it, "Celebrating the two loves of my life. Happy first wedding anniversary to my sweetheart husband and day of birth to our beautiful daughter."

Bindi also explained the meaning behind Grace's name. She said, "Grace is named after my great-grandmother, and relatives in Chandler’s family dating back to the 1700s. Her middle names, Warrior Irwin, are a tribute to my dad and his legacy as the most incredible Wildlife Warrior. Her last name is Powell and she already has such a kind soul just like her dad."

As we reported ... Bindi and Chandler got married last March and she said "I do" at the Australia Zoo in front of a limited crowd due to the pandemic. Bindi had said a lot of their planning, spanning nearly a year, had to be scrapped last minute because of COVID-19 ... including the size of the guest list.

Baseball clearly runs THICK in the Harper blood ...

Here's Bryce Harper's 1-year-old son hitting a MOON SHOT home run off his toy tee ball set Wednesday ... and, yeah, safe to say Dad loves it!!!

The Philadelphia Phillies superstar's kid was getting in some hacks with his plastic baseball bat this week ... when suddenly, the little man fired off a rocket DEEP to left-center!!

Check out the swing ... little Krew Harper already has the one-handed follow-through down pat!

Bryce was impressed with his boy's ability ... writing of the clip, "That'll work."

The effort is pretty amazing ... Krew was only born in August 2019 -- so, only about 17 years to go until the MLB debut?!

By the way, baseball stars' infant sons crushing homers is becoming quite the thing in the MLB ... have you seen Freddie Freeman's kid with the bat??

A high school football coach in Massachusetts has just been fired ... after investigators say they confirmed he used anti-Semitic play calls during a game this month.

Officials involved in the case at Duxbury HS say head man Dave Maimaron used terms such as "Auschwitz," "rabbi" and "dreidel" to describe plays for his players in a tilt with Plymouth North on March 12.

And, after days of parents, fans and civil rights leaders calling for action ... the school finally made the move to can the coach Wednesday, blasting him for the naming of the calls.

"The fact that members of our school community used such offensive language, including anti-Semitic language, is horrifying and disappointing," Duxbury HS officials said in a statement.

Officials added they did not believe the terms were directed at players or used to insult opponents ... but said, "The outrage is real, warranted, and we hear it."

The school announced it's cancelling its game against Hingham on Friday after cutting ties with the coach. It has yet to make a decision on its future schedule past that.

For his part, Maimaron released an apology in a statement earlier this week ... saying the anti-Semitic words were "careless, unnecessary and most importantly hurtful on its face -- inexcusable."

"On behalf of the staff and players of the Duxbury High School football team," the coach added, "I want to extend my apology for the insensitive, crass and inappropriate language used in the game on March 12th."

Duxbury -- which had been playing its football season this spring after the pandemic postponed its usual fall season -- is known as one of the better football programs in MA. The school has won five state titles in the last 16 years.

Tiffany Haddish has ZERO art experience but that's entirely the point of partnering up with an org that'll auction off her painting ... with proceeds going to a great cause.

The comedian's hooking up with Painting with the Stars ... which raises money to help gain awareness and support for nonprofits that provide underprivileged youth access to the arts.

Painting with the Stars delivers art kits to celebrities with no art experience and asks them to paint something of their choosing that'll hit the auction block. Tiffany may not have legit art experience ... but she showed her true colors as one hell of an artist ... with her flowery, piano keys submission.

When the auction goes down this summer ... the L.A.-based nonprofit Inner-City Arts will be one of the beneficiaries. Inner-City Arts offers a safe and supportive environment where students can engage in a studio setting with help from teaching professionals.

Tiffany's just one of the celebs who've signed up. "American Ninja Warrior" alum Maggi Thorne is also on board. Thorne suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2019 while competing on the course. She'd later need physical therapy to regain her balance and speech therapy for cognitive learning skills.

This guy definitely ain't winning Dad of the Year -- a man brought his 2-year-old INSIDE a caged elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo... and fumbled the kid trying to make a run for it.

Check out this absolutely wild video of a father entering an enclosure that houses one of San Diego Zoo's African elephants, Shaba. The footage picks up with him already on dangerous ground with his toddler daughter in hand ... as shocked spectators look on.

He has his back turned to the elephant -- which is idiotic -- and before you know ... the beast is charging at him and his baby. Luckily, he notices in time and scrambles to get out -- but he almost forgets one important thing before fully exiting the area ... his damn kid!!!

Watch ... he actually drops the child on the ground, face-first, and it's left incredibly close to the elephant's feet -- which easily coulda crushed her. The dad picks up the baby in time, and makes a not-so-clean escape. All the while, the agitated elephant is roaring.

Now, if you're wondering if her pops -- aka Jose Manuel Navarrete -- had to pay a price for his stupid stunt ... the answer is a resounding yes. He was arrested by San Diego PD and booked on child endangerment charges -- Navarrete is being held on $100k bail.

The headmaster of a Long Island Catholic school reportedly made a black, 11-year-old student kneel and apologize.

An English teacher at the St. Martin de Porres Marianist school reportedly caught 6th grader Trayson Paul working on the wrong assignment in English class ... this according to the New York Daily News. The teacher reportedly ripped up his paper and sent him to the Headmaster's office.

Enter Headmaster John Holian, who allegedly told Trayson to get on his knees and confess his wrongdoing. Holian reportedly said he ordered the child to kneel because the father of a Nigerian student said it's the "African way" of apologizing.

The boy's mother, Trisha Paul, says her son was humiliated and feared he was punished more harshly because of his race.

Paul told the Daily News ... “Once he started mentioning this African family, that’s when it just clicked. Like, this is not normal procedure. I felt there was no relevance at all. Is he generalizing that everyone who is Black is African? That’s when I realized something is not right with this situation.”

It's good to have Kevin Hart for a dad ... just ask his daughter, Heaven, who just scored a Mercedes SUV for her sweet 16!!!

An unsuspecting Heaven came home after her parents -- Kevin and first wife, Torrei -- distracted her ... and she seemed genuinely surprised by the surprise party.

The big reveal, however, was the sweet Benz that was festooned with a big red ribbon in the driveway.

It was quite the bash ... executed by bDASHd Event Planning and Bakery.

The party theme -- ripped from the superhero manga series, "My Hero Academia." Not a bad theme coming out of COVID -- hopefully -- after a challenging year for students in the U.S. and around the world. But business is business, and Saturday studies took a back seat to a pretty awesome ride, especially for a 16-year-old.

Joey Bada$$ has a bone to pick with Mickey and co. -- he claims the Mouse House wouldn't let his autistic cousin into the park without a mask ... to which he calls foul.

The rapper posted a video Saturday which shows three Disney World employees on camera who appear to have been dispatched to deal with a situation. As Joey narrates and gets the names and positions of each worker ... it becomes clearer what's going on.

He says he came to DW with his family -- about 30 people or so -- to celebrate his daughter's birthday. Thing is, one of his relatives is an autistic child ... whom Joey says doesn't understand the concept of mask-wearing and finds it suffocating.

Joey adds, "These guys have completely ruined my family’s trip. We came out here 30+ for my daughter's bday and they turned my lil cousin away, can’t even enjoy this experience anymore" ... going on to tag a number of Disney handles on social media.

We checked Disney's official policy on mask-wearing in their parks that are open -- which, at this point in the States, is only in Florida -- and aside from kids younger than 2 years old ... there are no loopholes for the rule other than eating/drinking, which is standard.

Blue Ivy's showing there's a new queen in the making ... and she's drinking it all in.

Beyonce and Jay-Z's 9-year-old daughter celebrated winning her first Grammy last weekend in style ... wearing a gold crown to match the award.

The photos of Blue Ivy -- one in which she's holding her Grammy and smiling and another where she's sipping out of it with a straw -- were shared by her mom at the end of a video montage. The sipping one has major Notorious B.I.G. vibes with the crown and red background.

Beyonce's Instagram video -- set to her award-winning "Black Parade" -- features a timeline of her setting the record for most Grammy wins by a female artist and most by any singer, male or female, with 28 ... with the special tribute to Blue Ivy at the end.

Demi Lovato says she was sexually assaulted as a teenager and is opening up about it for the first time, publicly ... because it's taken her this long to process the trauma.

The singer made the shocking revelation in her new documentary, 'Dancing with the Devil' ... which premiered Tuesday night at SXSW. In the film, she says, "I lost my virginity in a rape."

The film infers the alleged assault occurred when she was 15 during her days as the Disney Channel star of "Camp Rock" and "Sonny With a Chance." Demi says she called the person back a month after the alleged rape and "tried to make it right by being in control and all it did was make me feel worse."

She says of the encounter ... "We were hooking up but I said -- hey, this is not going any farther, I’m a virgin, and I don’t want to lose it this way. And that didn’t matter to them, they did it anyways. And I internalized it and I told myself it was my fault because I still went in the room with him. I still hooked up with him."

Demi claims she developed a serious eating disorder to deal with the trauma, and beat herself up for years ... but she feels it's finally time to share her truth.

As we reported ... the new documentary details Demi's 2018 overdose -- including being declared legally blind in the hospital after she woke up -- along with her many other challenges and triumphs.