Legal

A Salvation Army bell ringer got drunk during his volunteer shift and attacked the manager of a Florida Publix he was collecting money in front of on Christmas Eve.

The rogue "Santa's Helper" -- 63-year-old Steven Pavlik -- was "belligerent" and "aggressively confronting people walking by" during his shift, which is when the store's manager got involved, the Martin County Sheriff's Office says. When the manager came outside to speak to Pavlik, "he became violent" and allegedly "attempted to impale" him with the donation kettle tripod.

He then fled the scene, but deputies tracked him down to his residence, where he was cuffed and then transported to the Martin County Jail. He has been charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest. He has since been released, online records show.

A man who once starred on a reality show about swingers has been arrested in Ohio and charged with 2 sex charges -- one involving an animal.

Tony McCollister, who starred on A&E's short-lived "Neighbors with Benefits" reality series about swingers, was cuffed in Warren County Tuesday on charges of pandering obscenity involving a minor and sexual conduct with an animal. His bail was set at $250,000 when he was arraigned in court this week, which he satisfied.

He is next due in court on Dec. 30, per WLWT5, who was first to report the news.

Todd Nepola's no longer interested in suing Bravo and NBC for defamation ... dismissing his lawsuit earlier this week.

The "Real Housewives of Miami" star filed a short document with the court voluntarily dismissing his action against the major corporations ... dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, so he can't bring it again.

The document does not provide a reason for the dismissal.

Kim Kardashian is pulling back the curtain and sharing the vulnerable moment where she found out she had failed the bar exam ... and her sister Khloé says it's all due to her distractions from filming "All's Fair."

In the season 7 finale of "The Kardashians," Kim gets her California Bar results -- as we know, it was a fail -- however in the scene where the audience witnesses the moment Kim found out on her own ... Khloé immediately points the finger at possible distractions.

In the episode, Kim, Khloé, Kris and little Saint are seated on the couch ... anxiously waiting the results. Once 5 PM hits, Kim refreshes her screen and reveals her negative results, saying, “I didn't make it. It's okay I figured that" ... barely holding it together.

When asked by Khloé as to why she "figured" she would fail, Kim confesses she knew her essays weren’t strong enough and that’s what tripped her up.

Kris, unable to hide her sympathy, says, “It sucks because you worked so hard" ... whereas Khloé goes straight for the punch and chimes in during a call with Kim and her professor Chris, saying she shouldn't be shooting "a TV show during this time when she's needing to memorize lines and memorize law."

Santa baby! Stella Maxwell dressed up and then partially undressed for Christmas Eve shots that are sure to get her on the naughty list!

Check out the pics ... The former Victoria's Secret Angel let her breast spill out of her open top, crouching in front of the Christmas tree.

And gave a show-stopping come hither glance at the camera while lying invitingly on a white-sheeted bed.

There's even more Epstein documents coming -- more than a million in fact ... that's according to a post Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ reports the FBI and Attorney for the Southern District of New York have given them the new trove of documents to "review for release."

They wrote, "We have lawyers working around the clock to review and make the legally required redactions to protect victims, and we will release the documents as soon as possible. Due to the mass volume of material, this process may take a few more weeks. The Department will continue to fully comply with federal law and President Trump’s direction to release the files."

This new stockpile of files could contain names and images of celebrities never-before linked to Jeffrey Epstein.

LWD -- livestreaming while driving -- is why TikToker Tea Tyme is behind bars on Christmas Eve ... nearly 2 months after she allegedly ran over a pedestrian, cops have her in custody.

Tea Tyme -- or Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, IRL -- was arrested Tuesday in Zion, IL and booked for 2 felonies ... reckless homicide and aggravated use of communications resulting in death.

As that second count describes ... cops say Tynesha was livestreaming Nov. 3 in the suburb north of Chicago while she was driving, and ran into 59-year-old Darren Lucas as he walked across an intersection.

Diddy's legal team is ripping Judge Arun Subramanian, accusing him of crossing a line with the 50-month sentence ... and acting more like a juror than a judge.

Diddy filed a new appeal late Tuesday evening, demanding his conviction be overturned, and his release from prison ... or, at the very least, his sentence be lightened. While his lawyers have previously filed multiple appeals, this one singles out Judge Subramanian for acting as the "thirteenth juror" in Diddy's criminal trial.

In the docs, lead appeal attorney Alexandra Shapiro claims the judge's "draconian" 50-month sentence is based on the conduct for which the actual jurors acquited Diddy -- namely, the racketeering and sex trafficking counts.

Shapiro claims Subramanian incorrectly said during sentencing he could consider Diddy's behavior related to the more violent charges -- even though he'd been acquited of them -- which she calls a violation of Diddy's constitutional rights.

Mariah Carey may have some extra Christmas cash this year ... because the judge who dismissed a lawsuit filed against her over her popular Christmas song just ordered the folks who dragged her to court to pay her more than $92,000 in sanctions.

According to new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the judge ordered sanctions against the people who filed the action against Mariah, finding it lacked merit and determining there was good reason to deter people from filing baseless lawsuits.

The FBI purchased several armored BMW X5s at director Kash Patel's request this year, sources told MS Now ... an expensive break from the traditional fleet of armored vehicles used by U.S. officials.

A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the news about the lawman's new vehicles and stated the bureau had been planning to acquire newer cars. The spokesperson also said the purchase would save taxpayers millions of dollars without providing documents regarding the cost of the cars.

Patel is the first FBI director to utilize armored BMWs, law enforcement personnel told MS Now. The government reportedly had a contract with General Motors to provide Chevrolet Suburbans for officials' use.

Patel reportedly requested the cars to make his travel less noticeable to the public. FBI directors have historically been transported in Suburbans -- and have been protected by security details.

An individual said to be close to Patel said buying a new armored Suburban would have cost the government $480,000 ... which is more than twice the cost of the BMW.

Patel also reportedly requested the FBI purchase a new jet for his use earlier this year, although the proposal ended up being dropped.

New photos show Jeffrey Epstein's injuries from a possible suicide attempt weeks before his August 2019 death.

The images are included in the Justice Department's Epstein Files ... there are photos of his neck, arms, hands, legs and feet ... plus a makeshift ligature that looks like it's made from ripped clothing tied together in knots.

As we reported at the time ... on July 23, 2019 Epstein was found injured and semi-conscious in his jail cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

James Cameron's developed a reputation for being one of the most intense guys in show biz ... but Amy Poehler apparently got under his skin when she joked about his past marriage to Kathryn Bigelow during the 70th Golden Globes Awards ceremony in 2013, based on his comments in a recent interview.

Here's what went down ... Poehler served as one of the annual awards show's hosts, when Bigelow was up for the award for Best Director for "Zero Dark Thirty." The film's cast and crew were also up for several other awards.

Poehler took a shot at Bigelow's former marriage while talking about the torture scenes in the flick ... she said the filmmaker knew all about torture's finer points, as she "spent three years married to James Cameron."

FYI ... Bigelow was Cameron's third wife, and their marriage lasted from 1989 until 1991. They remained on friendly terms following their divorce, and the "Avatar" director eventually ended up with Linda Hamilton -- who he married and divorced -- before he tied the knot with Suzy Amis in 2000.

Cameron described the dig as "ignorant" in a December 14 The New York Times interview, and said while he was cool with being the butt of a joke every now and then, Poehler's quip about his marriage "went too far."

Cameron touched on the 2010 Oscars race, when he was pitted against Bigelow for the award for Best Director -- which she ultimately won for "The Hurt Locker" -- saying the headlines focusing on their competition could have detracted from her "credibility as a filmmaker."

President Trump's name just came up in the Epstein Files in a huge way ... there's an FBI document where someone apparently told authorities Trump and Jeffrey Epstein raped a female.

The claim is part of an unclassified FBI intake form from October 2020 ... and the document says someone called the FBI National Threat Operations Center Unit to report potential information related to Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

In the intake report -- essentially a detailed summary of a tip received by FBI personnel from a civilian -- there's a redacted name that states "he raped me" in reference to Trump. A redacted name is also quoted as saying, "Donald J. Trump had raped her along with Jeffrey Epstein." The age of the alleged victim is unclear.

2:09 PM PT -- Russell Brand is seemingly addressing the new charges against him in a video he just uploaded on social media.

In the selfie video, Russell says ... "This is a time of great darkness, a time of confusion and dispute and conflict, but I have learned in my own life that attack can bring about grace."

He adds ... "I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to atone for the many things over the years I did wrong, and the opportunity for the people to understand the truth of my situation."

Ex-NBA player Sebastian Telfair got a special holiday gift -- he's out of prison.

TMZ Sports has learned the 40-year-old was released from the Bureau of Prisons custody this week ... after spending the past few months at Fort Dix FCI in New Jersey.

Telfair said he's feeling good and rehabilitated now ... telling Antoinette Media he's ready to get home to his loved ones after taking care of himself.

12:40 PM PT -- The DOJ has just released a statement on X that the FBI confirmed the letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Larry Nassar is "FAKE."

Jeffrey Epstein may have had a pedo pen pal in Larry Nassar ... and President Donald Trump is also in the mix as a lover of "nubile girls," according to new documents released by the Department of Justice.

The DOJ just dumped a new batch of Epstein Files, in which there's an August 2019 letter allegedly written by Epstein to Larry Nassar while both men were incarcerated in separate federal prisons.

Nassar had been convicted of sexually assaulting hundreds of young female gymnasts and sentenced to life behind bars. Epstein was awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in NYC for allegedly sex trafficking minors ... but he died by suicide the same month -- August 2019 -- he allegedly penned the missive to Nassar.

The letter opens, "We shared one thing ... our love & caring for young ladies and the hope they'd reach their full potential. Our president also shares our love of young, nubile girls."