Legal

Days after Isaiah Rider said he was prepared to go to court to deal with a protective order put in place by his wife … TMZ Sports has learned the former NBA hooper was arrested for failure to appear at his court date.

According to court documents we obtained, Isaiah was not present at the hearing earlier this week to determine whether the order should remain in effect. The docs say his wife, Vanessa, did attend the hearing ... and the judge signed off on keeping the order in place.

Law enforcement in Arizona says the no-show landed the former NBA star in cuffs, telling us, "An individual named Isaiah Rider was arrested earlier today on a warrant for failing to appear at a court hearing on December 15."

"He was booked and processed at the Gilbert-Chandler Unified Holding Facility."

Isaiah's attorney, Benjamin Taylor, told us his client is not going to comment further on the matter ... but the former Laker previously told us he believes his ex is only going through with the protective order because he is moving forward with their divorce.

Walter Cronkite, who was once regarded as "the most trusted man in America" when he was anchoring the evening news on CBS, is pictured with Jeffrey Epstein in new photos released by the feds.

The photos show the legendary newsman -- who anchored such historical events as the JFK assassination and moon landing -- sitting in a room with Epstein and an unidentified man. Walter is leaning forward in an armchair, talking with Epstein and the other guy, who is seated on a couch.

In between the men is a tray of food and drink and a bunch of magazines spread out across some ottomans.

There is nothing risqué or questionable going on ... and no one else is in the photos.

Ryan Lochte's fans have been gaining more than a few insights into his personal life lately ... and the former Olympian gave them plenty more when he shared a lengthy message on his Instagram account on Thursday.

FYI ... Ryan shared a post earlier this month and opened up about his rocky relationship with his estranged wife Kayla, and he said he ended up being kicked out of their home. She subsequently responded by sharing a video from their wedding day in 2018, which showed him reciting his vows, on her Instagram account.

It's worth mentioning Ryan and Kayla welcomed a son, Caiden, and a pair of daughters named Liv and Georgia over the course of their relationship. Kayla filed for divorce this past March.

Bombshells will likely be cropping up for days after a massive dump of Epstein Files began to be released Friday ... and now we have some high-profile names never-before associated with the disgraced financier.

In a new pic released by the U.S. Department of Justice ... Michael Jackson and Diana Ross are pictured on a plane with Bill Clinton and another person whose face is redacted.

It's not known whose plane they were on or where they were going.

While Diana and Bill flash smiles, Michael stares blankly with Bill's hand draped over the King Of Pop's shoulder.

Jeffrey Epstein framed nude photos of Ghislaine Maxwell and other women and displayed them inside his Palm Beach home ... and you see his overly-sexual interior decorating on full display, and new video from inside his pedophile lair.

The video is part of the Epstein Files release, and the grainy, old school footage is a tour through his Florida home ... it's like "MTV Cribs" but with a convicted pedophile.

Epstein's got a framed photo of Ghislaine on a beach, plus other nudes of some females who look like models. There's even a miniature replica of his plane, the Lolita Express.

Strangely, there appears to be a dental chair and equipment in one of the rooms ... similar to what we saw on his private island.

Never-before-seen photos show late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in his element ... snuggling up to a very young-looking female on a sofa.

The images are from the Epstein Files being released by the U.S. Department of Justice ... and there are several photos showing Epstein cozying up to an unidentified female on a couch ... it's unclear if she's underage.

Epstein has his arms around her, and they are horizontal, side by side on a couch ... wearing clothes. Her face has been redacted to protect her identity, indicating the government considers her a victim.

Nick Reiner is spending his days in an L.A. jail, dealing with the aftermath of the violent murders of his parents, and he's not been able to fully process it ... TMZ has learned.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Nick is not reeling in grief. Rather, he's "in a fog"  ... in no small part due to his medical condition and the meds he's taking.

Our source goes on to characterize Nick as "calm," "cognizant," and "dazed" -- adding Nick isn't even close to processing what happened.

TMZ broke the story ... Nick had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the weeks leading up to the murders, we're told he was out of control. Our sources characterized Nick as "erratic" and "dangerous." As we reported, he was recently treated at an L.A.-based rehab facility that specializes in mental health and substance abuse and was under the care of a psychiatrist.

David Walliams has been dropped by book publisher HarperCollins after he became the focus of allegations of misconduct, reports The Telegraph.

Walliams, who established himself as an actor and comedian before starting a career as an author of children's books, was reportedly the subject of an internal investigation last year centered on his alleged behavior toward female junior employees of HarperCollins.

HarperCollins reportedly started the inquiry after a junior employee was said to have complained about his conduct.

Tory Lanez is focused on being released from prison after 3 years into his 10-year sentence for his involvement in the 2022 Megan Thee Stallion shooting case ... because he believes there's new evidence to free him!!!

The embattled "Color Violent" artist gave his first broadcast interview from prison to NBC News this week and maintained his innocence ... citing the newly surfaced evidence is “overwhelming."

The evidence stems from Megan's recent defamation trial against blogger Milagro Gramz ... Tory is seeking the bullet fragments from the shooting that were never turned over, and Megan's medical records -- after Gramz's attorney discovered a document that wasn't originally identified in the 2022 trial.

Death and taxes are unavoidable, but Britney Spears is trying to get out of making a $600,000 payment to the IRS ... and she says the tax man is grossly mistaken.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the IRS sent Britney a Notice of Deficiency for the tax year ending 2021, claiming she owes over $600K.

Britney is disputing the figure ... and she filed her own legal response claiming the IRS miscalculated and that she doesn't actually owe the tax man so much as a dime.

Denise Richards' estranged husband Aaron Phypers appeared in court Friday to face charges of allegedly injuring Denise ... and he made an eyebrow-raising comparison between his situation and recent tragic events.

We got the 53-year-old actor as he exited L.A.'s Van Nuys courthouse for the first time since being arrested ... and he compared Denise to suspected murderer Nick Reiner.

Watch the video ... he tells us, "I never assaulted her ... this is all show ... she's just playing this as a game. It's like the Me Too movement."

Then, when asked what he thinks her motives are, Aaron answered, "What happened to Rob Reiner recently? There's a lot of influence there, guys. And I'm not calling stuff out, but do a drug test."

Kristi Noem said Donald Trump has directed her to pause the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program -- also known as the green card lottery -- on her X account on Thursday evening.

The Department of Homeland Security Secretary wrote Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, who police say killed two and wounded nine others in a campus shooting at Brown University last weekend, entered the United States from Portugal through the green card lottery.

Police say Valente also killed MIT professor Nuno Loureiro before taking his own life days later. The two men attended the same university in Portugal.

Noem described Valente as a "heinous individual" and wrote he never should have been granted entry to the United States.

The diversity lottery immigrant visa program makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available each year, according to the USCIS website. Visas are issued randomly to individuals from countries with lower rates of immigration to the United States.

Noem cited the perpetrator of a 2017 truck-ramming attack in New York City that killed eight people as prompting Trump's first-term attempt at ending the program.

It looks like the whole "don't kiss and tell" principle doesn't hold much weight with Brooks Nader -- because she said she slept with Gleb Savchenko the first day they met!

The model dropped the news about her personal life during Thursday's episode of "Watch What Happens Live," when Andy Cohen asked her about how long she dated the professional dancer -- and she admitted they hooked up right after their initial meeting.

FYI ... Brooks and Gleb were partnered up during Season 33 of "Dancing With The Stars" last year, and they ended up being the fifth couple to be eliminated. The two got really close while filming -- and matching tattoos -- but they ended their fling in October 2024.

Wisconsin state judge Hannah Dugan was convicted Thursday on a felony charge of obstructing federal agents as they attempted to arrest an undocumented immigrant outside her Milwaukee courtroom earlier this year.

Dugan was acquitted of a charge of concealing a person from arrest, the Milwaukee Sentinel-Journal reports. The split verdict came after nearly seven hours of deliberation by the jury of five women and seven men.

Dugan, 66, is facing up to five years in prison, and as a convicted felon, will likely not be able to retain her office as a judge following her conviction.

In April, Dugan was preparing to preside over a set of misdemeanor cases when she learned ICE agents were gathered outside her courtroom waiting to arrest Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, a 31-year-old undocumented immigrant who was facing domestic battery charges.

Dugan went into the hallway and told the agents to go to a different judge's office. Back in her courtroom, Dugan told Flores-Ruiz and his attorney to leave through a side door for staff. Agents saw Flores-Ruiz in a public hallway, chased him on foot and arrested him. A week later, Dugan was arrested and led out of the courthouse in handcuffs. Flores-Ruiz was later deported.

Dugan was subsequently placed on administrative leave and was temporarily removed from the bench, although she continued to collect her salary.

Steve Biskupic, one of the lawyers who represented Dugan, said the case was "a long way from over." Her legal team plans to appeal the verdict.

Claudio Manuel Neves Valente -- the man accused of shooting up Brown University Saturday and then gunning down MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his home Monday --used "sophisticated" tactics to hide his tracks as he attempted to conceal his horrifying actions.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah Foley laid it all out in a press conference Thursday night, revealing Neves Valente likely used an untraceable phone and avoided using credit cards tied to his name. He is also said to have switched the Florida license plates of his rental Nissan to unregistered license plates from Maine within 24 hours of the Brown shooting, and before he killed Loureiro.

As for his connection to the MIT nuclear physicist, prosecutors say the pair attended the same academic program in Portugal between 1995 and 2000. Loureiro was found shot at his Brookline, Massachusetts home Monday and died Tuesday. The specific motive for murdering Loureiro remains unclear.

Jelly Roll’s slate is officially clean ... Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted the country star a full pardon Thursday, scrubbing the country star's felon past!

The "Need a Favor" hitmaker has never tried to hide his troubled history ... he was in and out of jail for about a decade beginning at the age of 14 for convictions including aggravated robbery, drug possession, drug dealing and shoplifting. His felony convictions include a robbery when he was a teen -- for which he was tried as an adult -- and drug charges at 23.

Now, those felonies are removed from his record and he will have an easier time booking international tour dates, and carrying out Christian ministry-adjacent work without having to go through extra red tape.