Legal

Cardi B is being sued for a case she was legally cleared of -- a point her attorney is reiterating as he slams the lawsuit!!!

Drew Findling tells TMZ Hip Hop ... The lawsuit against Cardi regarding the 2-year-old microphone incident is a transparent and pitiful attempt at a financial shakedown.

"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Clark County District Attorney’s Office closed this matter for insufficient evidence a long time ago, but apparently the opportunity to try to make money off of a celebrity was too much for some willing law firm to pass up."

Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly preparing "new evidence" to present during her upcoming meeting with the federal government this week.

As you know, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday it plans to meet with Maxwell to hear what she has to say that could help the government track down abusers connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's criminal enterprise.

Her brother, Ian Maxwell, told The New York Post via email that she "will be putting before that court material new evidence that was not available to the defense at her 2021 trial, which would have had a significant impact on its outcome."

7/24 -- 7:30 AM PT -- Milford Police confirmed to TMZ Sports that Eliezer Rosario Lebron, 19, was charged with assault and battery. He is a player on the East Springfield team.

A spectator, 17, was also charged with assault, disturbing the peace, and affray.

Two individuals involved in the violent brawl at a Massachusetts youth baseball game are expected to be charged for their actions, police confirmed to TMZ Sports.

The Milford Police Department relayed the update on Wednesday ... less than two days after the shocking fight between the crowd and players at the Milford Post 59 and East Springfield game at Fino Field.

The melee was caught on a MyMilfordTV livestream, showing a spectator who was heckling players run onto the field to throw hands with the East Springfield team.

Bryan Kohberger got under the skin of at least one of his fellow prisoners while in jail ... according to a neighboring inmate who told authorities what the convicted killer is like behind bars.

Among the hundreds of documents released by police after Kohberger was sentenced to life in prison -- obtained by TMZ -- one details a conversation between a Moscow, Idaho police officer and an unnamed inmate at Latah County Jail in September 2024.

The inmate had been housed next to Kohberger for about a month ... and while he described the convicted murderer as "highly intelligent and polite for the most part," he said Kohberger had habits that quickly became "annoying."

3:21 PM PT --  GloRilla is sharing her account of the events that led to her felony drug arrest, much which align with her attorneys' statement to TMZ.

The rapper says she was performing out of town in Indianapolis during WNBA All-Star Weekend when her home was invaded but the cops chose to pursue her reefer opposed to the robbers.

She claims she wasn't busted and we agree ... that's a great-looking mug shot photo!!!

GloRilla -- legal name Gloria Woods -- was arrested in Georgia on two serious drug charges ... TMZ has learned.

According to jail records obtained by TMZ, the rapper was booked Tuesday in Forsyth County for possession of a scheduled controlled substance and possession of marijuana over one ounce -- both felony offenses under Georgia law.

Details surrounding the arrest remain unclear, but police confirm she was taken into custody and released later that day after posting $22,000 bond.

We've reached out to her reps for comment ... so far, no word back.

Bryan Kohberger brutally "disfigured" Kaylee Goncalves' face and fought through a violent struggle with Xana Kernodle before fleeing the scene of the University of Idaho murders ... according to newly unsealed police reports.

Moscow Police documents just released say the November 2022 killings were even more savage than initially reported -- describing Goncalves' injuries as so severe her face was left unrecognizable. The responding police officer noted the disfigurement in his report, while others called the crime scene a bloodbath.

On the floor below, Kohberger clashed with Kernodle after she either saw or heard him kill her roommates upstairs. The police sergeant wrote that "an intense struggle" clearly took place, and Kernodle had deep defensive wounds between her fingers -- evidence she fought for her life.

The two NYC "crypto bros" accused of kidnapping and torturing an Italian millionaire to extract his Bitcoin password were granted $1 million bail each.

A Manhattan Supreme Court Justice handed down the decision on Wednesday for John Woeltz and William Duplessie, ordering neither can use cryptocurrency to post bail. If they have the funds, the pair will be released into home confinement with electronic monitoring and passport surrender pending trial.

Celebrity bail bondsman Ira Judelson will put together the bail packages for both men and fit them with ankle monitors.

7:38 PM PT -- TMZ has obtained Tonia Haddix's latest mug shot from Phelps County jail ... after being transferred from Camden County jail.

As you can see, the chimp lover looks a bit disheveled and down in her latest snap.

"Chimp Crazy" star Tonia Haddix -- the Missouri woman who once faked her beloved chimp Tonka’s death – is back in hot water ... and this time, she’s behind bars.

The 55-year-old exotic animal broker was arrested Saturday after a judge threw her in jail for dodging court orders to cough up $224k in legal fees owed to PETA. But get this ... when officials raided her home, they found another hidden chimpanzee living in her basement.

In court docs obtained by Rolling Stone, authorities say Haddix was secretly stashing a "mature female chimp" in a makeshift enclosure, complete with blankets, a Gatorade bottle, and half-eaten candy. They safely removed the ape during a surprise search earlier this month.

Ben Crump is now representing William McNeil Jr. -- the Florida man seen in a viral video getting his car window smashed in and his head punched repeatedly by Jacksonville deputies during a traffic stop -- and he tells us the newly released body cam footage strengthens McNeil’s case.

The civil rights attorney tells us the incident is a clear case of "driving while Black," arguing officers had pre-judged McNeil before pulling him over. He even likens it to a modern-day Rosa Parks moment -- saying McNeil was violently arrested for simply questioning the stop.

The footage has sparked nationwide outrage and reignited a debate over racial profiling and police use of force.

Salt-N-Pepa are currently in the fight of their career in hopes of getting their masters reverted to them from Universal Music Group ... Cheryl 'Salt' James outlines it as "Big Guy vs. Lil Guy" -- but don't confuse their case with Drake's lawsuit!!!

TMZ Hip Hop caught up with Salt in Manhattan on Wednesday ... she and her longtime groupmate Sandra "Pepa" Denton sued UMG back in May, citing a contract breach that hasn't been honored, but Salt tells us things have "unusually" gone cold in the case.

Salt explains that their original contract specified they'd get their masters back after 35 years ... but it's now been 40 and they're still waiting for justice to be served.

Cardi B has been accused of assault and battery by an anonymous woman who she allegedly threw a microphone at during a day party in Las Vegas a couple years ago.

This Jane Doe is suing the rapper for a 2023 incident where Cardi was performing at Drai's Beachclub when she asked people in the crowd to throw water at her to beat the triple-digit heat.

However, this individual says when she threw water at Cardi -- as several people in the audience did -- the rapper responded by pelting her with the mic instead.

Attorney Cierra N. Norris, who is representing Jane Doe, is holding a press conference on Thursday in Vegas.

Bryan Kohberger has finally been sentenced after admitting to murdering 4 University of Idaho college students -- with the victims' families telling him exactly how they feel.

The confessed killer was sentenced to four consecutive life sentences ... one for each of the first-degree murder counts he pled guilty to, without the possibility of parole.

Kohberger wore an orange prison uniform during sentencing ... different than the buttoned-up shirt and tie he wore last time we saw him in court.

1:22 PM PT -- Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney David Oscar Markus tells TMZ ... "We understand Speaker Johnson’s general concern—Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th—and that remains a big if—she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed. No previous prosecutor from the Southern District of New York or elsewhere has had the courage to meet with Ms. Maxwell and ask her these important questions.

So we are grateful to Mr. Blanche and his DOJ that they are approaching this with an open mind. That's how our system is supposed to work. As for the Congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds."

Ghislaine Maxwell has been subpoenaed by the United States Congress amid questions about the so-called Epstein Files.

Republican Congressman James Comer -- the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chair -- announced the news Wednesday ... sharing a statement which reads, in part, "The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein’s cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny."

Congress wants to set the deposition for August 11 at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee, where Maxwell is incarcerated.

Rex Heuermann is accused of hunting sex workers in a quiet Long Island beach town ... but could sloppy police work have allowed him to keep killing?

Our deep dive from 2023 is now officially on YouTube ... and it peels back the layers of the investigation, exposing critical mistakes and overlooked clues that may have cost more lives.

From the shocking discovery of multiple victims to the arrest of a seemingly ordinary man, we unpack how the system failed the victims and their families.

It’s a story of secrets, missed red flags, and a trail of tragedy that rocked a community to its core.

Tekashi 6ix9ine changed his OG not-guilty plea to guilty after being busted with drugs back in March -- and will learn his fate in September, come sentencing!!!

On Wednesday, the "Trollz" rapper was in federal court, where he admitted to possessing cocaine and MDMA feds discovered during a raid on his home in Miami back in March ... a complete and total violation of his existing probation terms, stemming from his infamous 2018 Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods trial.

We reported at the time that 6ix9ine was clinging heavily to his innocence, but he struck a deal with prosecutors to have 2 other charges dropped in exchange for owning up to the drugs.

Judge Paul A. Engelmayer oversaw Tekashi's RICO trial and warned him not to attract any more violations before the September sentencing -- or “consequences will be severe” ... which could still be the case, regardless.

Nancy Mace suspects way more people are tied to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking ring than we know about ... and she's calling for a full release of all related documents.

We got the South Carolina congresswoman out on Capitol Hill Wednesday, and she believes there's a cover-up in the case. As she puts it, "How do you have a thousand kids trafficked, only one accomplice in jail?"

Mace points to drivers, pilots -- even people who just opened doors -- as those helping Epstein carry out his crimes ... and says they need to be held accountable.