Legal

U.S. Senator Susan Collins knows tough times are coming for her, the country, and possibly President Trump ... which is why today she's finding some solace at the MLK Memorial.

We got the 4-term senator from Maine on her way there Monday in Washington D.C., and it's clear she thinks every senator should do the same ahead of the Senate trial for Trump's impeachment ... which is set to kick off Tuesday.

Collins says she wishes every senator would visit MLK's Memorial before performing their constitutional duty. She says she hopes her visit brings her strength and she's gonna need it.

The senator is in a unique position as one of just a handful of moderate Republicans. In fact, nearly 21 years ago, she broke party lines and voted to acquit President Bill Clinton.

Some Republicans are still furious with her for letting 42 off the hook. What's more, Collins is seeking re-election but the Senate trial puts her in a no-win situation -- a vote to acquit Trump means facing the democrats' wrath while a vote to convict Trump would trigger relentless attacks from Trump himself.

Atlanta Hawks forward Chandler Parsons suffered several serious and permanent injuries after getting hit by a drunk driver last week ... and now his NBA future is in jeopardy, his attorney claims.

The 31-year-old was on his way home from practice around 2:00 PM on January 15 when a man -- who admitted to drinking and had alcohol in his car -- hit Parsons and caused a 3-car wreck.

Parsons' attorneys, John Morgan and Nick Panagakis, say he may never fully recover from the accident ... claiming he suffered a brain injury, disc herniation and a torn labrum.

The guy who helped create the children's movie, "Pete's Dragon" claims he got screwed over by his own kids when they pulled the wool over his eyes to line their own pockets.

Malcolm Marmorstein's now battling 2 of his 4 kids in court over his living trust ...which he claims they duped him into altering so his wife will be left out in the cold after he dies. Malcolm, who's 91, says his boys, Mitchell and Wayne, picked him up ... took him to meet with lawyers and shoved a stack of papers in his face.

He says he naturally trusted his sons and happily gave them his John Hancock -- only to later discover what he signed changed the way his money will be divvied up among his heirs. Even shiftier, he claims the new document forces Barbara, his wife of 14 years, to get the hell out of her home a year after Malcolm dies.

Harvey Weinstein says he's been had by jurors who are pretending to be impartial when in fact they want him locked up and the key thrown away.

Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, filed legal docs Friday to further support his motion for a change of venue ... claiming the 12-person jury was comprised of "stealth jurors" who lied during the jury selection process, claiming they could be clean slates when it came to hearing evidence when in fact they held secret prejudices.

The lawyer cites examples of 2 prospective jurors who claimed impartiality but later revealed their feelings on social media. One wrote, "Goodbye Jury Duty. And goodbye Harvey Weinstein. I hope they convict you on all counts...I was told not to talk about the trial if I was a juror...I don't know if it's my past as a lawyer or my past at Disney but I'm free for the next 4 years- unlike Harvey!"

The other prospective juror also took to Facebook, writing, "Ok that was my time on the Weinstein case. Do I get paid? I don't get up before 5 for free. Harvey you cant [sic] act for sh*t with that walker you made it look like a prize on The Price is Right. Also they're gonna crucify you."

Vic Mensa's learning a tough lesson about Cali life -- a little weed is legal, but a little piece of metal could land you in prison ... at least if you're talking brass knuckles. And, we are.

The rapper/punk rocker was riding a motorcycle in Glendale, CA earlier this month when police saw him make an unsafe turn ... according to law enforcement sources.

An officer pulled over Vic, and at some point during the stop, patted him down. We're told the officer found the brass knuckles in Vic's pants pocket.

Here's the thing -- while the "fist-load weapon" is considered legal in most states for self-defense purposes ... they're banned in California. Bad news for Vic.

Cops booked him for felony possession of brass knuckles, and he was later released after posting $20,000 bond.

The guy who followed Slash as Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist is THIS close to putting his DUI case in the rear view mirror ... after cutting a plea deal.

DJ Ashba -- member of GNR from 2009 to 2015 -- pled guilty to 1 count of DUI ... this according to the State Attorney's Office in Livingston County, Illinois. In return, prosecutors dropped a separate charge of running a stop sign.

Ashba was sentenced to 24 months of court-supervised probation and 30 hours of community service. He must also submit to alcohol treatment and pay a fine. We're told he was also ordered to attend meetings where victims of DUI's tell their stories.

Jillian Michaels and her ex have come to an agreement to end their domestic partnership ... which includes joint custody of their 2 children.

The fitness guru and Heidi Michaels-Rhoades settled custody and other important matters to officially become single as of January 16 ... according to new legal docs.

The now-exes agreed their kids -- 9-year-old Lukensia and 6-year-old Phoenix -- will live with Heidi 60 percent of the time and Jillian the other 40 percent. Both also agree not to speak poorly of each other in front of the kids.

As for financial issues ... "The Biggest Loser" star is forking over $2.4 million to Heidi as an advance in child support and will pay an additional $2k a month. Jillian's also agreed to pay for the kids' schooling, clothing and extracurricular activities.

According to the docs, they're splitting their properties -- Jillian gets the $5.8 mil Malibu beach house and Heidi gets the $2 mil pad in Topanga, CA. Both waived their rights to spousal support.

As we reported ... Heidi filed docs to end their domestic partnership about a year ago ... on the heels of Jillian announcing they'd broken up after 9 years.

Harvey Weinstein's attorneys claim one of the 12 jurors on his sexual abuse trial covered up one crucial fact -- she wrote a novel about older men pursuing sex with young girls ... and as a result, they want a mistrial.

Weinstein's attorneys, Donna Rotunno and Damon Cheronis, pointed out the alleged lie in court Friday ... telling the judge the juror lied on her juror questionnaire by not disclosing she was the author of "Age of Consent" ... a novel about boarding school girls and their sexual relationships with older men in NYC.

Cheronis argued the themes of the book are too similar to some of the sexual harassment claims made against Weinstein. Cheronis argued this was grounds for a mistrial.

The novel isn't slated to be released until July 2020, but someone in Weinstein's office obviously did their research.

Delta Airlines just got hit with a lawsuit because one of its jets allegedly dumped fuel on an L.A. elementary school.

Video showed Delta flight 89, a Boeing 777 bound for China, turning back to LAX Tuesday to make an emergency landing, and spewing fuel as it went in preparation for landing.

Unfortunately, that fuel ended up dousing children at Park Avenue Elementary in the city of Cudahy, CA.

Four teachers at the school have hired Gloria Allred to take on Delta. In the suit, obtained by TMZ, they say the pilot was asked by air traffic control if there was a need to dump fuel before landing ... and the pilot said no.

The suit alleges the pilot dumped the fuel without notifying the control tower ... and the big problem is ... it was done at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. According to docs, that's simply too low to allow the fuel to evaporate before it reaches the ground -- it should be done at 5,000 feet or higher.

In the suit, the teachers say their clothes, flesh and eyes were coated in jet fuel -- and it also got into their mouths. They say they had trouble breathing and needed medical treatment.

Rapper Pop Smoke, who features on Travis Scott's new album, "Jackboys," is taking that title too far, according to federal agents who busted him for allegedly transporting a stolen Rolls-Royce.

According to court docs, Pop Smoke was arrested Friday morning in New York on a federal charge of interstate transport of a stolen vehicle ... specifically a 2019 Rolls-Royce Wraith from Cali.

Law enforcement sources tell us Pop Smoke met the Rolls-Royce's owner in November at an L.A. recording studio, and they entered into a verbal agreement for Pop Smoke to use the car in an upcoming music video. In exchange, he would give the owner VIP treatment at a future show.

Our sources say the car's owner told Pop Smoke to return the car the next day. When that didn't happen, the owner tracked the car to Arizona using GPS, and then reported it stolen.

Ariana Grande straight-up ripped off the lyrics and melody to "7 Rings" -- so claims a songwriter who says he recorded basically the same song 2 years earlier.

Josh Stone claims in a new lawsuit -- obtained by TMZ -- he wrote a song called "You Need It, I Got It" in January 2017 ... 2 years BEFORE Ariana recorded "7 Rings."

Stone -- who goes by Dot -- notes in his suit, the hook to Ariana's song is, "I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it." His hook is, "You need it, I got it. You want it, I got it."

He also says the 2 songs have identical metrical placement of the paired phrases.

Pornhub has shut one man out of enjoying his favorite naked vids to their full potential -- and violating federal law in the process -- so he's filed a class-action lawsuit.

Yaroslav Suris is suing the popular porn site claiming it's denied the deaf and hearing-impaired access to its videos that others can easily enjoy. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Suris says a lack of closed-captioning violates their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In docs, Suris says the deaf and hearing impaired can't understand the audio portion of videos on the websites. Some of the titles Suris says he watched but was completely lost on dialogue -- "Hot Step Aunt Babysits Disobedient Nephew," "Sexy Cop Gets Witness to Talk" and "Daddy 4K -- Allison comes to Talk About Money to Her Boys' Naughty Father."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro has filed for legal protection against his baby mama, Jen Harley, after she allegedly got violent at the "Jersey Shore" star's Las Vegas home.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Ronnie called cops around 6 PM Saturday claiming Jen struck him in the face. When officers arrived, Ron told them he came home from a photoshoot to take a nap and was woken up by an enraged Harley, who accused him of cheating after finding another woman's makeup in the trash.

We're told Jen got physical, trying to poke Ronnie in the eye and striking him in the face multiple times. Our sources say Ronnie had cuts and bruising on his face and swelling under his right eye.

By the time officers got to Ronnie's house, Jen had left -- she has not been arrested -- and the incident is still under investigation. As a result of the alleged attack, Ronnie went to court and got a temporary restraining order against Harley.

Raz B blew a red light in his Mercedes-Benz, then blew well over the legal limit on a breathalyzer ... according to law enforcement sources.

The B2K singer was arrested for DUI in Burbank, CA around 3 AM Wednesday after a cop allegedly saw him run the red light ... then pulled him over.

Our sources say Raz told the officer he was lost and didn't have his driver's license on him. We're told the cop smelled alcohol on his breath, and Raz admitted to drinking and smoking marijuana earlier in the night.

At that point, we're told field sobriety tests were conducted -- including a breath sample -- and Raz didn't pass. He was arrested and booked into jail on suspicion of driving under the influence.

He was released after posting $5,000 bond.

It looks like it's a new year of legal issues and drama for Raz B. You'll recall, in 2019 he was arrested for domestic violence, cleared of charges, joined the cast of "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" ... and had a brief beef with Lyft over a missing Louis Vuitton bag.

The B does NOT stand for boring.

More trouble for Odell Beckham ... a warrant for his arrest has been issued by a judge after the NFL star slapped a security officer in the ass during the LSU locker room celebration.

"We can confirm a warrant has been issued on a charge of simple battery," a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports.

And, get this ... authorities initially sought to charge Beckham with misdemeanor sexual battery, according to Nola.com ... but a judge wouldn't approve it. Instead, the judge agreed the simple battery charge was more appropriate.

Footage of the incident went viral ... Beckham was celebrating with the LSU football team after they won the National Championship at the Superdome on Monday night when the incident went down.

A guard -- who TMZ Sports has confirmed is part of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome security team -- appeared to be policing players over cigar smoking in the locker room when Odell reached back and slapped the guy HARD right on his ass.

If convicted, 27-year-old Beckham faces up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Gigi Hadid will not have to look at Harvey Weinstein for weeks on end ... she's been dismissed from jury service in Manhattan.

Gigi showed up Thursday morning at the courthouse to re-enter the panel of potential jurors -- but it was a quick trip.

Shortly after the 8th day of jury selection began, Ms. Hadid was excused from the panel ... and not shockingly. As we reported, Gigi told the judge earlier this week she'd met Weinstein once.

The bigger issue with her being a juror -- for the defense, certainly -- is the fact she's BFFs with Cara Delevingne ... who's publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

The good news for Gigi -- she did her civic duty by even responding to the jury summons ... more than most of us can say, right? She also gets to pocket $40! That's the daily stipend for NYC jurors.