Legal

The California man facing federal charges for allegedly texting Nancy Guthrie's family about the bitcoin ransom payment has been granted bond by a judge -- and may be outta federal custody in no time.

Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old man from Hawthorne, made his first court appearance Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen E. Scott ordered Callella to be released on $20,000 bond ... and he's been ordered to not to contact the alleged victims or witnesses.

Federal prosecutors claim Callella texted Nancy's daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

Big win for hockey sensation Gavin McKenna -- the felony assault charge levied against him has been tossed!

The Penn State hockey phenom -- widely projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft -- was originally staring down a serious legal mess after police charged him with felony aggravated assault ... plus misdemeanor simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct following an alleged altercation earlier this week.

The allegations stemmed from a confrontation near campus last weekend between McKenna and another man that escalated, according to the State College Police Department. Investigators initially claimed McKenna punched the alleged victim twice in the face ... leaving him with fractures to both sides of his jaw and a missing tooth, injuries prosecutors believed justified the felony charge.

But after reviewing video of the incident, the District Attorney’s Office says the evidence doesn’t support the claim McKenna intended to cause severe bodily harm -- a key requirement for aggravated assault.

"Home Alone" star Daniel Stern is off the hook after getting hooked by police for allegedly trying to hire a hooker ... 'cause the criminal case against him has been legally terminated.

According to court officials, Daniel's attorneys appeared in court Friday for the first time since prosecutors in California charged the actor with soliciting prostitution ... he wasn't there himself, but his case was heard and dismissed.

A rep for the Ventura County District Attorney tells TMZ ... "The defendant did what he was supposed to do. He completed his education class and earned a dismissal. This is our standard disposition for first-time prostitution offenses."

Actor Timothy Busfield has formally been indicted on child sex abuse charges in New Mexico.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman announced the charges against Busfield, which include four counts of Criminal Sexual Contact of a Child.

The development comes weeks after the 68-year-old filmmaker was arrested on charges of child abuse and criminal sexual contact of a minor. We told you all about it ... Busfield was accused of touching young brothers -- ages 7 and 8 -- on the set of "The Cleaning Lady" several times between November 2022 and spring 2024.

Luigi Mangione piped up for the first time in court ... claiming his case is clearly one of "double jeopardy" since he's being charged at both the state and federal level -- though it appears he's mistaken.

The alleged murderer appeared in court Friday while his legal team and federal prosecutors argued over a whole host of issues ... including whether state or federal prosecutors should get the first crack at him.

After the judge adjourned the court, officers led Luigi away ... and, he said, "One plus one is two, common sense tells you this is double jeopardy."

Finally, an arrest in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping, but it's not one of her captors ... it's a guy the feds claim sent text messages to Nancy's family asking them about bitcoin ... and the FBI says they don't believe the guy has any connection to the ransom note.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the feds say a Los Angeles man named Derrick Callella texted Nancy's daughter Annie and her son-in-law Tommaso Cioni, "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction."

The FBI says the texts were sent Wednesday, shortly after 'TODAY' anchor Savannah Guthrie uploaded a video of her siblings making a plea to Nancy's captors. In the video, Savannah mentioned the ransom note, begged for proof of life and said they were ready to talk.

A teenage boy in Florida is facing a felony charge over a video that law enforcement says shows him intentionally setting his friend on fire on a beach.

The Marion County Sheriff's office says a 17-year-old kid in a viral video is seen creating a trail of gasoline from a campfire on the sand ... and splashing gas on another boy sitting nearby, causing him to light up. That kid ran into the lake to extinguish the flames.

The victim told his mom he got burned when he tried to throw a water bottle filled with gas into a fire ... but his dad found the video and called the sheriff. Cops later found the gas container in nearby shrubbery ... along with some "empty alcoholic beverage cans."

Progress in the nasty divorce involving Kim Zolciak and Kroy Biermann ... it appears they've hammered out a child custody agreement ... but it's only temporary.

The estranged couple sat down for a mediation session Tuesday last week, according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... which resulted in a temporary custody agreement signed by Kim and Kroy.

It's unclear what the custody agreement entails ... all the docs say is they signed a deal.

Authorities are taking the lid off the alleged Nancy Guthrie ransom demand we received earlier this week ... confirming they're looking into a note that carries two deadlines.

Several law enforcement officials spoke at a press conference Thursday morning ... and, while they'd previously been cagey with the public about what the note says, they're now divulging certain details -- including the first deadline, which lapses at 5 PM local time today.

The second deadline, as confirmed by authorities, is set for Monday, February 9.

They wouldn't say what exactly changes after the deadlines hit ... but -- as Harvey and Charles said on "TMZ Live" -- we know if the first is missed, that changes the demand ... while missing the second has a more serious consequence.

Authorities in Tucson have revealed the timeline of the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy ... as a deadline looms in an alleged ransom plot.

According to authorities -- including Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos -- Nancy left her own house at approximately 5:30 PM Saturday. After several hours of playing games and having dinner with loved ones, Nancy returned to her home.

Nancy got home around 9:48 PM, at which time the garage door opened. The garage door closed at 9:50 PM. The doorbell camera disconnected at approximately 1:47 AM. At 2:12 AM, the software for the camera detected a person ... and Nancy's pacemaker disconnected at 2:28 AM. No cameras around the property were smashed or destroyed.

It's only a matter of time until Ilia Topuria's back in the Octagon ... 'cause TMZ Sports has confirmed the lightweight champ has struck a deal with his ex-wife Giorgina Uzcategui, after previously claiming he was the victim of bogus domestic violence allegations.

The agreement, first reported by Marca in Spain, comes after Topuria posted a photo to Instagram on Thursday, showing him back in the gym training ... with a caption reading, "The Champ is back!!!"

We're told the 155 lb. champion went back to training "weeks ago."

It's still unclear when Ilia wishes to return to the cage, but it'll likely be sometime in the middle of 2026 ... and fans are pumped!

Jeffrey Epstein was put on the hot seat during a 2010 deposition over his criminal conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution ... but the pedophile financier didn't have a clue who his victim was, and even asked a lawyer, "What minor?"

In the stunning clip, Epstein tells the lawyer deposing him that he didn't know the name of his underage victim, but pled guilty anyway in 2009 to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He also pleaded guilty to another count of soliciting prostitution and was sentenced to 18 months in jail in Florida under a plea deal with prosecutors.

The 2010 deposition, released in the latest tranche of Epstein Files, opens with the lawyer repeatedly asking Epstein if any female he interacted with was a prostitute prior to meeting him. Epstein gives the same response each time, saying he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution. He then falsely claims he never pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from an underage prostitute.

While most of the country was aghast at Anthony Weiner's relationship with a 15-year-old girl back in 2016, Woody Allen's wife, Soon-Yi Previn, seemed more disgusted with his victim ... according to an email exchange with Jeffrey Epstein.

In just-uncovered messages -- part of the millions of Epstein Files documents released by the Department of Justice -- Soon-Yi calls the minor "a despicable and disgusting person."

In one email, dated September 22, 2016, Soon-Yi writes ... "I know. It's an incredible story. You have to feel sorry for him. He can't seem to learn," referring to Weiner.

Then she takes a turn, going right at the underage female involved, writing ... "I also thought it was disgusting what the 15-year-old did to him."

She continued ... "I hate women who take advantage of guys and she is definitely one of them. She knew exactly what she was doing and how vulnerable Wiener was and she reeled him in like fish to bait."

One of Hollywood's biggest nightlife empires is now facing a major legal showdown ... and it's coming from someone who says she helped build the brand that celebrities made famous.

According to court documents, obtained by TMZ ... Marsha Molinari, a longtime business partner of The h.wood Group -- the hospitality company behind celebrity hotspots Bootsy Bellows, Delilah, The Nice Guy, and The Peppermint Club -- is suing the company and its founders, claiming she was denied her share of a massive deal after more than 16 years helping grow the brand.

Molinari, a marketing and branding executive, says she was a co-founder and equal-thirds partner in The h.wood Group along with the two other founders, John Terzian and Brian Toll ... and she says she was treated publicly and privately as a co-equal partner for years.

Bella Hadid's boyfriend Adan Banuelos was arrested for public intoxication last weekend ... and now we have more details from cops about how it all unfolded.

The papers, obtained by TMZ, state that Bella had been pulled over in a traffic stop by deputies at Gator's Cantina in Weatherford, Texas, when Adan approached them in the parking lot.

The arresting officer writes, "I immediately noted that Adan's speech was slurred and his eyes were bloodshot and glassy."

Bella Hadid is mentioned in the arrest report and identified as Adan's girlfriend ... that should dispel those breakup rumors.

Ryan Routh has been sentenced to life in prison ... months after he was found guilty of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon handed down Routh's sentence, which includes an additional seven years for a firearm offense, at a Fort Pierce, Florida courtroom on Wednesday, NBC News reports.

Prosecutors called Routh "totally unrepentant" for his crimes in a sentencing memorandum, adding ... "the heinous nature of this assassination attempt -- his selfish, violent decision to prevent the American voters from electing President Trump by killing him first -- that warrants severe criminal punishment."

FYI ... Routh was arrested after he tried to kill Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in September 2024, two months after a previous attempt on the presidential candidate's life in Butler, Pennsylvania. Authorities said Routh brought a weapon --  identified as an SKS-style rifle -- as well as two backpacks and a GoPro camera to the golf course.

The attempt was foiled after a Secret Service agent noticed the barrel of the gun poking through a fence and shrubbery and fired a shot at Routh. Trump was reportedly about 400 yards from the scene on the course.

Routh fled in an SUV parked nearby ... he was apprehended by authorities later in the day about 50 miles from the club.

Routh left a letter with an admission of guilt at a residence near Trump's Mar-A-Lago resort, which partially read ... "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you. I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job."

Routh represented himself during his trial, and he was found guilty on several felony counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and assaulting a federal officer, in September 2025. Routh tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen in court when his verdict was read.