Legal

Stacie Orrico -- a former Christian music singer -- has filed a lawsuit claiming her manager sexually abused her when she was a child, and members of her label did nothing to stop it.

The singer-songwriter filed the lawsuit against her former manager, Britt Ham, and Universal Music Group earlier this week ... alleging Ham began touching her inappropriately when she was just 14 years old.

Orrico says Ham got her alone away from her parents under the guise of daily Bible study ... and impressed upon her the importance of secrecy after he allegedly sexually assaulted her by claiming they needed to protect her Christian image.

An ex-employee is suing the Anaheim Ducks, claiming she dealt with sexual harassment and other misconduct in a “frat house boys club environment" -- and was then allegedly silenced for exposing it.

Rose Harris, who worked in the Ducks’ IT department, filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the team, the NHL, and the team’s parent company, OC Sports & Entertainment, in the Southern District of New York ... accusing them of colluding to blacklist, defame, and retaliate against her.

President Donald Trump is planning to ban institutional investors from buying up single-family homes ... according to a new Truth Social post.

Trump said buying a home was the "pinnacle of the American Dream," but that's become nearly impossible under policies he blamed on former president Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats.

Trump claimed he'll take steps to keep institutional investors from purchasing more homes and said he'll call on Congress to make it official.

He promised to discuss proposals related to housing and affordability in his planned speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in two weeks.

Trump has previously pledged "some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history" during a televised address last month, The New York Times reports.

He claimed "the colossal border invasion" is one of the biggest factors in the rise of housing costs -- that claim is widely disputed by economists.

Kristi Noem claimed a woman shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday committed "an act of domestic terrorism" before being shot.

ICE agents got out of a truck in traffic and approached a woman in a Honda Pilot on a residential street in Minneapolis, and one directed the driver to get out of the vehicle. The driver backed up the SUV, then moved forward ... that's when an agent fired shots into the windshield, and the SUV crashed into a parked car on the street.

The unidentified woman was struck in the face and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told TMZ ICE agents were reportedly hurt -- though video doesn't appear to show much physical contact -- and were expected to recover from their injuries.

Kristi Noem held a press conference at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas later Wednesday and asserted the ICE agents who shot the woman were acting "defensively," Fox News reports.

Noem said the woman was trying to run the agents over or ram them with the SUV. She claimed sanctuary cities and states -- where local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration agencies is limited -- were protecting dangerous people.

10:43 AM PT -- Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman says prosecutors are confident a jury will find Nick Reiner guilty of murdering his parents, no matter who he has as a defense lawyer.

10:32 AM PT -- Alan Jackson just held a brief news conference where he said there's one thing everyone can take to the bank -- "Nick Reiner is NOT guilty of murder."

Jackson said the circumstances under which he had to withdraw from the case were beyond Nick's control. TMZ broke the story ... Nick was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder and there are issues regarding his meds that could lead to a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.

10:06 AM PT -- A spokesperson for the Reiner family released a statement on Nick's change of legal representation saying ... "They have the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings."

A source told The New York Times the change had nothing to do with Alan's "performance" and that he had been a pro.

9:52 AM PT -- Nick Reiner's new attorney is public defender Kimberly Greene, who has 19 years' experience.

The judge signed off on Nick's change of legal representation and set a new arraignment date for Feb. 23. Nick spoke up in court, saying, "Uh, yeah I agree with that."

Nick's leaving the courtroom and going back to jail -- he still has no bail -- and Alan is about to address the media ... tune into the live stream above.

Nick Reiner's lawyer is off the case, TMZ has learned, and Nick will -- at least for the time being -- be represented by a public defender.

Sources connected to the Reiner family, with direct knowledge, tell TMZ ... when attorney Alan Jackson appears in court Wednesday morning for Nick's arraignment, he will inform the judge he is no longer representing Nick.

Our sources say a public defender will step in for now, and the case will be continued. Nick will not enter a plea.

As for why Jackson is off the case, we're told the family will be releasing a statement as soon as the proceedings are over, and TMZ will post it.

Spencer Pratt has announced he's running for mayor of Los Angeles ... test your Pratt-ical knowledge about the TV star!

The reality star made the announcement Wednesday in front of a cheering crowd, saying, "This is not just a campaign. This is a mission. And we are going to expose the system!"

This mayoral bid begins on the first anniversary of the Pacific Palisades wildfire, which destroyed more than 6,000 structures -- including the house Pratt shared with wife Heidi and their two sons. Spencer has been engaged in a battle with California politicians ever since.

Spencer's ongoing war of words with California Governor Gavin Newsom escalated Tuesday in an Instagram post revealing a letter sent to him from the governor's office.

Nick Reiner had an eventful day in court ... he's now being repped by a public defender and his outgoing defense attorney made it clear he thinks Nick is NOT guilty of murdering his parents ... but the way Alan Jackson made his statement has our antennas up.

We got into every angle of Nick's appearance in a Downtown Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday on "TMZ Live" ... the change of lawyer, an interesting statement from the D.A., a possible defense strategy, and we even had a reporter inside the courthouse who told us how Nick was acting.

The big thing here is Jackson is out, and a public defender is in ... but Jackson left some breadcrumbs that seem to indicate Nick's got a strategy ready and a new defense team may be coming in to take over.

A federal judge has ordered Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues to use the title of "U.S. attorney" in the months since her appointment was ruled unlawful, CBS News reports.

Halligan -- a former personal attorney to President Donald Trump -- was named the head of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia in September. She had no experience in criminal law prior to her appointment, and primarily focused on insurance law.

Although she brought cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, they were dismissed after a district judge found Halligan's appointment to head that U.S. Attorney's Office was invalid in November.

The issue was noted following an indictment filed in early December in which Halligan was listed as a "United States attorney and special attorney."

Judge David Novak has since given Halligan seven days to explain why she continues to represent herself as a U.S. attorney and how her identification "does not constitute a false or misleading statement."

Aldrich Ames, a former CIA agent who was convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, has died, CBS News reports.

The former counterintelligence officer died Monday while serving a life sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland. His cause of death wasn't released.

Ames, whose father also worked for the CIA, began working for the agency in 1962 and married a fellow CIA operative in 1969. His first assignment was in Ankara, Turkey, and ended three years after his job performance began to decline.

He eventually divorced his first wife and married a cultural attaché from the Colombian Embassy in Mexico City, who was also a CIA asset. Ames later said financial pressure ended his first marriage, and said the responsibilities of his second marriage led him to start accepting payment from the Soviet Union for espionage in 1985.

Ames reportedly used the compensation -- which mounted into the millions -- to fund a lavish lifestyle.

The information Ames provided to the Soviet Union -- which dissolved in 1991 back to Russia -- reportedly led to the death of several agents, and the CIA was later criticized for missing warning signs about his activities.

Ames was arrested in February 1994. Ames and his wife pled guilty to espionage charges two months later. He received a life sentence; his wife was sentenced to five years in prison.

He later downplayed his spying activities and claimed the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States wasn't as dire as it had been perceived.

Justin Baldoni claimed Blake Lively was setting him up "for a trap" during the filming of sex scenes in their film "It Ends With Us" ... according to private messages unveiled in new court documents.

The papers, obtained by TMZ, contain a correspondence Baldoni allegedly sent to his former agent Danny Greenberg, venting about working with Lively.

In the message, Baldoni complained he just had a "really really bad week," writing, "She had the audacity to email me directly and invite me to a meeting at her house alone if I chose."

Baldoni went on to allege Lively refused to use a body double for sex scenes, writing, "Sony and [producer Todd Black] have to jump in to make sure that happens because that's just setting me up for a trap."

"M3GAN" needs a good lawyer ... not to defend her murderous rampage, but to defend her creators from allegedly ripping off another movie.

Universal Pictures, Blumhouse Pictures, James Wan and screenwriter Akela Cooper have been sued by a man named Carl Watts -- a former airline pilot and amateur filmmaker -- who claims their movie bears numerous similarities to his movie "Paranormal Adoption," released in 2012.

According to Watts, both films feature a girl orphaned at a young age who develops a strong attachment to a doll that grows violent toward other people in the girl's life when they try to get in between the doll and the girl.

Watts also points to the sequel potential of both films -- leaving the possibility of more rampage open at the end of each film -- as another defining characteristic.

6:40 PM PT -- Haley tells TMZ Sports she's "genuinely shocked and incredibly hurt" by the lawsuit.

"Litigation is a harrowing and emotionally draining experience, and I am heartbroken that he is choosing to subject us and our families to this ordeal," she said.

While Haley didn't address the comments in question, she pointed out six other times in the conversation with Marlon where she spoke highly of her ex, even referring to him as the "greatest guy in the world" at one point.

Matt Kalil is finally breaking his silence after his ex-wife, Haley, shockingly claimed his penis size torpedoed their marriage ... in the form of a lawsuit against the influencer and model.

TMZ Sports obtained the docs filed on Tuesday ... in which the former Carolina Panther says Haley's "invasive commentary" ruined his attempt at keeping out of the public eye after retiring from football.

In the lawsuit, Kalil says it all stems from Haley's appearance on popular streamer Marlon Garcia's "Mar-Athon" video in November 2025. In the clip, Kalil says Haley "implied that the size of Plaintiff's genitalia was a primary factor in the parties' divorce and claimed that sexual intercourse with Plaintiff would leave her 'in tears.'"

In that stream ... she described it as "two coke cans, maybe even a third" and said it contributed to them going their separate ways. As we previously reported, Haley filed for divorce in 2022.

Diddy's got a big payday problem, as in some of his employees are angry they're not getting paid while he's locked up in federal prison ... but his rep insists he has it under control.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Diddy's fortune is being handled by business management firm Tri Star Sports & Entertainment while he's in the clink, and we're told they're keeping a tight leash on his money -- too tight for some people on the payroll.

For instance, we're told some attorneys handling Diddy’s mountain of civil lawsuits have gone unpaid, and other staffers have been stiffed as well, and, as a result, at least one of them has quit.

Mary J. Blige can bank on at least a partial victory ... now that the lawsuit filed by her former sidekick Misa Hylton has been dismissed in New York court!!!

According to docs, obtained by TMZ Hip Hop, Blige and her legal squadron of Lisa Moore and Andrew Pequignot were granted the motion to dismiss the suit Hylton filed back in July 2025 ... without prejudice.

Which means, Hylton can still pursue sanctions against the megastar singer if she chooses, but her lack of movement -- after Blige labeled the lawsuit "frivolous" -- suggests there will be no more drama.

The children of a murdered dentist and his wife remain "unaware" of their parents' deaths ... according to one of their relatives.

FYI ... Dr. Spencer Tepe and his wife, Monique, were shot and killed at their home in the Weinland Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, in the early hours of December 30. Police said there weren't any signs of forced entry or weapons found at the scene.

Their children, ages 4 and 1, weren't harmed in the shooting, and they were placed in the care of Spencer's brother-in-law, Rob Misleh, before they were taken in by other relatives.

Misleh told NewsNation the murdered couple's children were "in loving hands" and had been "taken care of" in the days since the violent incident occurred. He believes the children likely didn't see anything at the crime scene and were "just as happy" as ever.

Misleh said he didn't have any ideas about anyone who would have had anything against the Tepes, and said they were respected members of their community.

Misleh did, however, comment about recently released video of a person of interest in the case walking near the Tepes' home around the time of their murders. He described the unidentified individual as "suspicious-looking" but surmised the person could have simply been "walking home drunk from a bar."

Tommy Lee has entered the chat! While Falling in Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke says he never wooed Tommy's wife, Brittany Furlan -- insisting she was catfished by fake social media accounts -- Tommy is telling him to get a life.

ICYMI ... Ronnie filed for a temporary restraining order against Brittany, accusing her of harassing him on social media and waiting outside his house.

The TRO was denied, but Ronnie alleged Brittany contacted some of his underage fans online and encouraged them to come forward with alleged inappropriate experiences with the singer.

Tommy broke his silence on the situation when a fan brought up the events in his comments.

Replying under a New Year's post Tommy shared of himself and Brittany, the user wrote, "I hear the wife is stirring up sh*t with Ronnie again. Maybe it time to let it go?"