Legal

Michelle Branch was arrested for allegedly slapping her estranged husband, Patrick Carney, in the face ... this in the wake of her claim he cheated on her.

According to docs out of Nashville, obtained by TMZ, on Thursday at around 2 AM police were called to their home for a possible domestic disturbance. Michelle admitted she had slapped Patrick in the face "one to two times," according to court docs.

Patrick did not have any visible injuries and Michelle was taken into custody. Her bail was set at $1,000 ... and it appears she was released from custody early because she's breastfeeding the couple's 6-month-old.

TMZ broke the story, Branch and Carney are splitting after 3 years of marriage. She told us Thursday, "To say that I am totally devastated doesn't even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

The split announcement came just hours after Michelle tweeted accusing Carney of cheating.

Michelle was previously married to Teddy Landau from 2004 to 2015, but married Carney in 2019.

If A$AP Rocky and Rihanna were at all concerned about his current legal battle, they certainly didn't show it during date night in NYC.

The new parents hit Emilio's Ballato Thursday, looking cool and casual. A$AP had what appeared to be a joint in his mouth, clutching a bottle of his Mercer & Prince booze.

RiRi showed off her legs with a black dress, white shirt, heels and sunglasses.

The outing comes on the heels of legal troubles for A$AP. As we reported, the "Fashion Killa" rapper is being sued for assault and battery by Terell Ephron AKA A$AP Relli ... over the alleged shooting that led to his arrest back in April.

Relli claims Rocky set up a meeting in Hollywood and pulled out a gun during the November confrontation ... firing multiple shots. Relli says he was hit by bullet fragments.

Jason Alexander seemed ready to fight the day of Britney Spears' wedding, but he threw in the towel Thursday in his felony trespass case, pleading no contest to some of the charges.

Jason, who was married to Brit for a grand total of 55 hours in 2004, was charged with 4 crimes, including felony stalking after he gained entry to Britney's home -- the site of the wedding last June -- and got within feet of the bride, who was inside her bedroom. Jason was armed with a knife. He fought 2 security guards before being subdued and arrested.

He plead no contest to two charges -- aggravated trespass and battery, both misdemeanors.

Two charges were dismissed -- felony stalking and misdemeanor vandalism.

Alexander was sentenced to 128 days in the Ventura County Jail. He's already served 64 days since being arrested and he will not serve the entire balance, which is protocol.

There's a protective order that requires Jason to stay clear of Britney until August 11, 2023.

Donald Trump and the Dept. of Justice may be playing a nuclear game of chicken, because Trump has just taken the Justice Dept's offer to advocate for the release of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant ... this after a Washington Post report that some of the documents secreted at the Florida estate contained information related to nuclear weapons.

Trump said late Thursday ... he wouldn't object to the release of the warrant. As you probably know, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday he would go back to court and ask the judge who signed the sealed warrant to make it public, citing, among other things, intense public interest.

Trump said on his social media Thursday, "Not only will I not oppose the release of documents related to the un American, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in of my home in Palm Beach, Florida, Mar-a-Lago, I am going a step further by ENCOURAGING the immediate release of those documents."

Given that both parties are now on board, it would seem likely the judge would unseal the warrant.

Garland was under pressure to release the docs after Republicans questioned the legitimacy of the raid, suggesting it was more political than legal. The A.G. took the highly unusual step Thursday to call for the release of the warrant, but even if that happens it may not fully answer all the questions. It's unclear if the judge will also release the affidavit attached to the warrant would establish probable cause that a crime was committed. That information could fill in the blanks.

That said, the search warrant should at least mention the scope of the search and the documents that are being sought. All eyes will be on a reference to documents related to nuclear weapons if that indeed was part of the raid.

There are reports the documents placed in the wrong harm could create "grave" danger to the U.S.

A$AP Relli claims he's been receiving death threats after allegedly being shot by A$AP Rocky ... and his legal team says it's gotten so bad they had to contact law enforcement.

A$AP Relli's attorneys, Jamal Tooson and Brian Hurwitz, tell TMZ Hip Hop ... their client has been subjected to constant harassment online and being labeled "a snitch" following Rocky's arrest in April.

Although Relli did not initially come out publicly as the person on the other side of the altercation, A$AP Bari proverbially pointed the finger at Relli — labeling him a "rat" online, causing the harassment to really pick up from there.

We're told things have gotten so bad, Relli's been in intensive therapy to cope with the situation, claiming the ordeal has disrupted his sleep and impaired his mental state.

Relli's attorneys also rejected the notion Relli "snitched" on Rocky or the Mob ... insisting a "snitch" is someone who initially agrees to do illegal activity with another individual, but then rats out that person to law enforcement when things go south. They say that's simply not what happened here.

TMZ broke the story back in April ... Rocky was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon shortly after returning from Barbados before the birth of his child.

As we reported, Relli sued Rocky in civil court, claiming Rocky shot him after the two got into an argument and said he suffered physical harm and emotional distress as a result.

The classified documents Donald Trump allegedly took from the White House to Mar-a-Lago include information on nuclear weapons ... according to a new report on the FBI raid.

FBI agents tore though Trump's Florida resort looking for classified info on nukes, the Washington Post reports, with the feds concerned the documents might be in danger of being seen by the wrong eyes.

It's unclear if the docs contain info on United States nuclear capabilities, or a foreign nation ... or if these alleged docs were even recovered from Trump's Florida home in Monday's raid.

If Trump did have material on nukes at Mar-a-Lago, it would be unprecedented ... those documents are super sensitive and typically only a small number of government officials have access ... and former Presidents aren't in that privileged group.

As you know ... the FBI executed a search warrant at Trump's resort Monday, with Trump grousing that agents broke into his safe and turned out Melania's wardrobe.

Chicago rap friends Polo G and G Herbo are being sued by a concert promoter for allegedly double booking concert dates in Tampa and Atlanta ... and now, the promoter is looking for $300K in damages.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Polo and Herbo signed contracts with concert promoter Charles Potter of NoNaNi Entertainment to perform at a festival in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims Polo got $105K and Herbo got around $43K in deposits.

NoNaNi claims to have dropped nearly $200K to pay for the venue, soundstage, lighting, advertising, promotion, and hosts such as Million Dollarz Worth Of Game hosts Gillie Da Kid & Wallo, Tonio Skits and Glo Jenna.

According to the lawsuit -- Polo G then booked and promoted an entirely different event in Tampa around the same time as the NoNaNi gig ... and G Herbo booked a different event in Atlanta that directly conflicted with the date of the NoNaNi show in Tampa.

NoNaNi claims both Chicago rappers also failed to promote the NoNaNi event on their social media, even though they agreed to do so in their contracts.

A bartender in Los Angeles allegedly laughed after being shown gruesome photos from the horrific Kobe Bryant crash scene, according to surveillance video screen grabs shown in court.

The Bryant crash scene photo trial continued Friday ... with Victor Gutierrez, a bartender at Baha Grill, testifying about the moments L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Joey Cruz showed bar employees and patrons photographs from the scene.

Gutierrez testified Cruz asked him if he wanted to see the Kobe pics ... and he said he did. When asked if he found the photos humorous, the bartender claimed he never laughed or found them amusing in any way.

That's when Vanessa Bryant's attorney showed the court still images from bar surveillance video where it appeared Gutierrez was laughing.

Gutierrez denied laughing ... saying you'd have to be psychotic to find those images funny.

The bartender also testified he believed the deputy showed the photos to unload the burden of the horrific crash.

The injuries to Kobe and the other people who died were described in court ... and it was ghastly.

Thursday is the second day of the trial ... which is expected to take about 10 days.

As we reported ... Vanessa sobbed in court Thursday during opening statements, with her lawyer telling the jury the 8 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies who snapped pics of Kobe and Gigi's bodies at the helicopter crash scene did it for personal use.

One Sheriff's detective said in a deposition he tried showing the photos to his wife, telling her they depicted "piles of meat." Another deputy is accused of showing the photos to a woman he met at a bar. Firefighters were allegedly shown the pics at an awards gala.

Vanessa's lawyer says she lives "in fear, anxiety and terror" of someday seeing the photos ... and she will be forever haunted by the deputies' actions.

In her lawsuit, Vanessa claims the deputies' conduct caused her severe emotional distress, saying the photos were an invasion of privacy. Lawyers for L.A. County say Vanessa's emotional distress is a result of the fatal crash, not the photos.

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who was Kobe's agent, took the stand Thursday, and was barely able to speak when talking about his close relationship with KB.

Pelinka says he was in church when he was notified of the crash, rushing to meet Vanessa at an airport, and going with her and deputies to the crash site, where he says they were promised the area would be kept private.

Trevor Bauer's assault accuser is firing back at the MLB star after he sued her earlier this year ... filing a countersuit for battery against the Cy Young winner in Los Angeles.

Lindsey Hill, from San Diego, filed a lawsuit for sexual battery and battery in federal court on Tuesday, again alleging 31-year-old Bauer beat her up on two occasions during sex, punching and choking her.

Bauer's always adamantly denied the allegations, maintaining he and Lindsey had a consensual, sexual relationship. The L.A. county district attorney's office investigated Hill's claims and opted not to file charges against the Dodgers pitcher. A judge also denied Hill a restraining order, calling claims in the petition "materially misleading"

In Hill's newly filed civil lawsuit, she claims her "life has been turned into a nightmare by a powerful man who mercilessly battered her and counted on facing no consequences whatsoever for his despicable conduct."

Lindsey claims Bauer got physical with her on two occasions ... in April and May of 2021.

"Last year, disgraced Major League Baseball player Trevor Bauer violently and sadistically abused Hill in the most appalling manner imaginable, sexually battering and battering a defenseless woman."

Hill doesn't specify how much she's seeking in damages.

Back in April 2022, Bauer sued Hill claiming she made up the damaging allegations in an effort to derail his career and secure a payday for herself.

Despite not being charged criminally, Bauer was hit with one of the longest suspensions in MLB history ... two years without pay. Trevor immediately appealed the suspension .. which is still ongoing.

He'd be eligible to return about 20 games into the 2024 MLB season.

Cops say Marshawn Lynch appeared to be completely wasted during his DUI arrest earlier this week -- falling in and out of sleep during questioning and reeking of booze -- while telling officers he had stolen the car he was in.

The allegations are all spelled out in new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports on Thursday.

In the report, cops say they initially found Lynch at around 7:25 AM on Aug. 9 asleep at the wheel of a 2020 Shelby GT500 near the strip in Las Vegas.

According to officers in the docs, Lynch's car was beat up -- missing a tire and rim, while displaying "dents and dings" elsewhere. They also said roadway markings seemingly showed Lynch's car had slammed into sidewalk areas repeatedly before it had come to a stop.

Cops also say in the docs, when they were trying to speak to Lynch, he would talk, but would "then fall back asleep several times throughout the encounter."

Cops noted Lynch had just one shoe on, and claim the smell of an "alcoholic beverage" was coming out of the former Seattle Seahawks running back's car.

During the stop, cops say Lynch "stated that he was not drinking and he does not do drugs, but that he stole the vehicle."

Lynch then allegedly refused to get out of the car after officers asked him to exit the ride.

The 36-year-old was eventually arrested about half an hour after the stop was initiated ... but cops in the docs claim he continued to be uncooperative after officers had obtained a search warrant to get a blood sample from him.

"Lynch was not cooperative or willing to comply with the Search Warrant and corrections officers from the City of Las Vegas had to use a restraint chair to force a blood draw," officers wrote in the police report.

Lynch was ultimately booked on several charges, including DUI.

Marshawn's attorneys, Richard A. Schonfeld and David Z. Chesnoff, released a statement on the matter Thursday afternoon ... saying, "Marshawn was not pulled over for a DUI. Rather the vehicle was safely parked and not in operation. We are confident that when all evidence is presented, this will not be a DUI under Nevada law. Marshawn appreciates and is thankful for everyone’s concern and support."

Britney Spears' lawyer is going scorched earth on Kevin Federline ... ripping him for yapping about her relationship with their boys and posting videos of family matters.

Attorney Mathew Rosengart says ... K-Fed's decision to post old footage of Britney arguing with boys Sean Preston and Jayden James was cruel, bottom-the-barrel behavior.

Britney's lawyer says in doing so, K-Fed violated the singer's privacy and dignity, undermined the children, demeaned himself as a father, and violated societal norms ... and now Rosengart is threatening legal action, suggesting a criminal cyber-bullying statute may have been violated.

Remember ... Britney and K-Fed are going back and forth in public over her relationship with the kids, with Kevin posting the videos and giving an interview to DailyMail, while Britney fights back with social media posts.

Rosengart says he's not about to let Britney be bullied like she was during her conservatorship ... and tells us he's working with Instagram to turn up the heat on K-Fed.

Britney's attorney says Kevin should keep their family matters private. In fairness, Britney also went public about her children Wednesday in her own IG post, calling the kids "hateful," and suggesting K-Fed's house is a marijuana den.

Britney Spears has not seen her 2 kids in 5 months, because they feel uncomfortable around her and have received some very upsetting texts from her ... this according to Kevin Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Kaplan spoke with Kevin after Britney posted her lengthy account of her relationship with Sean Preston and Jayden James ... and says his client has never trash-talked her to their kids ... he says the boys have made their decision to stay away from her on their own. Kaplan says they have not had a single overnight with Britney in years.

Kaplan says based on Kevin's discussions with his children and other evidence, Kevin was not comfortable having the boys go to Britney's house unsupervised. As Britney said in her post, a person acting as a monitor was present when the boys were there.

Kaplan adds Kevin believes the boys love their mom, but they're angry at her. Kevin doesn't believe he has any power or influence over 15-year-old Jayden or 16-year-old Sean Preston. They ultimately make their own decisions, and they have elected not to see their mom, at least for now.

Kaplan also says this ... Kevin is annoyed Britney said, referring to Kevin's house, "I can guarantee you, that house has more weed than Ludacris, 50 Cent, Jay-Z and Puff Daddy combined!!!!" Kevin's response, Kaplan says, was that neither Britney nor any outsider would have any basis in fact to make such ungrounded statements.

And there's this ... we're told Kevin believes Britney's recent posts about their kids, especially Wednesday's -- where she called them hard to deal with and "there's being rude then there's being HATEFUL" -- Kevin says the children are in fear they could be put in danger from overzealous Britney fans.

We're told Kevin believes Sam is a "stabilizing influence" on Britney and has no ill feelings toward him.

An Iraqi actress is irate over a story about "fat" women -- a story that used a photo of her to illustrate a point -- so she's suing.

Enas Taleb is a big deal in Iraq ... and she's publicly fuming over the story in the Economist titled, "Why Women Are Fatter Than Men in the Arab World."

The Economist went on to say men often gravitate toward women with "curves" and used a photo of her to make the point. According to the article, "Iraqis often cite Enas Taleb, an actress with ample curves, as the ideal of beauty."

The 42-year-old TV personality says she's going to sue the newspaper ... this according to New Lines mag.

She believes the pic was photoshopped and also says the newspaper had no authorization to run it. That said, it seems her lawsuit will go deeper ... she said, "I am demanding compensation for the emotional, mental and social damage this incident has caused me."

Her grievance goes beyond herself ... calling the story an “insult to the Arab woman in general and Iraqi women in particular.” She asks why the Economist “takes interest in fat women in the Arab world and not in Europe or the USA."

Beto O'Rourke is done playing nice guy -- especially when it comes to people who laugh about the massacre at Robb Elementary -- shutting one man down with a brash insult.

O'Rourke was at a campaign stop Wednesday in Mineral Wells, Texas ... a town about 260 miles from Uvalde. The Governor-hopeful brought up the shooting that killed 19 students and 2 teachers, railing on AR-15 rifles -- which O'Rourke says have no business being in the hands of civilians.

While Beto was describing how the weapons were designed for warfare, a man in the back of the crowd, who reports say was a supporter of Gov. Greg Abbott, started laughing obnoxiously.

Without a beat, Beto turned, addressed the man and said, "It may be funny to you, mother f****r, but it's not funny to me." The crowd erupted.

Of course, O'Rourke has challenged Abbott and Texas Republicans since the day of the shooting to take action, and create stricter gun laws -- even showing up at a press conference Gov. Abbott held to urge him to do something.

Anne Heche's horrific crash into a California home now has the potential to land the actress into even deeper legal trouble ... she's now under investigation for felony DUI.

LAPD sources tell TMZ ... they've now upped the investigation to a felony because the woman inside the home Anne barreled through with her Mini Cooper claims she was injured -- suffering cuts requiring medical treatment.

Cops believe Anne was driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol ... because she was driving erratically and recklessly, hitting a garage and a parked car before slamming into the home.

Cops also took note of a photo of Anne in the car just before the crash, with what appeared to be a bottle of alcohol in a cup holder.

Anne's rep says the actress is still fighting for her life ... she lost consciousness shortly after the crash, and has been in a coma ever since.

TMZ broke the story, Anne almost struck a woman before hitting another vehicle and crashing into a garage in the moments leading up to the fiery explosion.

8/11 -- We've obtained a teary-eyed Courtney's mug shot, law enforcement sources say she was detained in Hawaii and will be transported back to the main land.

Courtney's lawyer, Frank Prieto, tells TMZ ... her arrest is shocking because they believe there is clear evidence of self-defense.

Her lawyer claims Obumseli attacked and choked Courtney, leaving her "no choice but to meet force with force."

CT's attorney says she's been cooperating with the police investigation and offered to turn herself in if criminal charges were filed ... another reason they are disappointed in her sudden arrest.

We're told Courtney was seeking treatment in Hawaii for PTSD and other issues related to the case ... and her lawyer claims she is a victim of domestic violence and human trafficking.

OnlyFans model Courtney Tailor has been charged with murder in connection to the killing of her boyfriend earlier this year.

Tailor was reportedly arrested in Hawaii on Wednesday on a second-degree murder charge. She's said to have been in rehab there but, according to her attorney, who spoke to the Miami Herald, she's expected to be extradited to Florida soon.

Her lawyer adds ... "I'm completely shocked, especially since we were cooperating with the investigation and offered to voluntarily surrender her if she were charged. We look forward to clearing her name in court."

The arrest comes months after authorities were investigating the stabbing death of Christian Obumseli -- who was found deceased in the couple's Miami apartment. Tailor had previously told cops she did, in fact, stab him with a knife ... but insisted it was in self-defense.

Surveillance video from inside shows Tailor, after the fact, covered in blood from head to toe.

It initially seemed as though her explanation had worked, but now prosecutors apparently think there is enough evidence to prosecute her. Obumseli's family has insisted all along that they believe she killed him in cold blood.

Things weren't looking good for her, publicly, in the immediate aftermath of the incident. People dug up old interviews of her saying questionable things -- and she got confronted in a hotel lobby by an outraged bystander.