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The collapse of a 12-story Miami condo building has left 4 people dead and more than 150 feared dead as search and rescue efforts continue ... but a lawsuit's already been filed over the disaster.

A class-action suit has been brought against the Champlain Towers Condominium Association following Thursday's tragedy in South Florida, seeking to "compensate the victims of this unfathomable loss."

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... "repair needs had been identified" concerning certain structural elements with the building, but allegedly those repairs were not done.

The condo association is accused of failing to protect the people and property "through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures, and oversight" that could have prevented the catastrophic collapse.

The suit seeks more than $5 million in damages.

As we reported ... the building's collapse destroyed at least 70 units of the 135-unit structure. At least 4 people were killed, and as many as 159 people are unaccounted for.

So far, the authorities have not released a possible cause for the collapse, but there are reports that the building has been sinking into the ground since the '90s.

Britney Spears' decision to speak out against her conservatorship is inspiring others in California who are feeling trapped in similar situations ... and they want out too.

It's pretty incredible ... the day after Britney's impassioned court testimony, a California lawmaker spearheading legislation to change the way conservatorships operate tells us his office started getting flooded with calls from folks feeling burdened by their own conservatorship issues ... and they're feeling energized by Britney.

Assemblyman Evan Low tells TMZ ... the citizens reaching out said they were afraid to share their own conservatorship horror stories until Britney spoke out, and they feel her testimony helps to legitimize their claims and concerns.

Low says there are a lot of recurring themes between what folks are reporting to his office, and the conservatorship struggles Britney highlighted in court.

For example, we're told a 60-year-old woman and her husband want to end her mother's conservatorship, and they've spent about $3 million fighting in court to no avail.

Others have been even less fortunate ... we're told a woman told Low it's already too late for her mother, who took her own life after her conservator allegedly put her in isolation and started draining her finances. Before her death, we're told the woman stressed the need for conservatorship changes ASAP.

As we reported, Britney railed on her dad and other conservators Wednesday, saying she wants to end the conservatorship that's been in place for 13 years, and expressed anger at her family for the alleged abuse she's suffering.

Richard Branson just cleared one huge hurdle in his quest to beat Jeff Bezos into sub-orbital space ... the FFA just gave Virgin Galactic the green light to fly passengers.

The Virgin Galactic honcho got the all-clear Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration reviewed extensive data gathered from his aerospace company's May 22 test flight. The review reportedly confirmed the flight performed well.

BTW ... it's the first time the FAA has licensed a spaceline to fly customers. Huge deal.

Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said, "We’re incredibly pleased with the results of our most recent test flight, which achieved our stated flight test objectives. The flight performed flawlessly, and the results demonstrate the safety and elegance of our flight system."

He added, "Today’s approval by the FAA of our full commercial launch license, in conjunction with the success of our May 22 test flight, give us confidence as we proceed toward our first fully crewed test flight this summer."

It should be noted, there were reports Branson was going to be traveling in one of his rocket-fueled flights over the July 4 weekend -- but the company has not announced any plans yet to do so -- aka, it almost certainly won't happen in that timeframe.

If it did takeoff ... that would edge out Bezos' Blue Origin flight by a couple of weeks.

White Claw's all fired up over a company taking its popular hard seltzer cans and turning them into candles... according to a new lawsuit.

Mark Anthony International -- the maker of White Claw -- is suing M. Caitlin Minges and California-based Fun Club, LLC claiming they are removing the tops from their famous White Claw cans ... inserting wax and a wick in the empty cans and then selling them as candles.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, White Claw says its adult beverage launched in 2016 and scored enormous success ... so much so that just 4 years later it's become the leading brand in the category with over 50% of the market share.

But, the company claims all of that success could go down the drain if the defendants don't cut it out. White Claw says if an improperly labeled, insufficiently insulated or defectively manufactured candle with its logo ends up burning someone or causing a fire ... all of its hard-earned goodwill could be destroyed in an instant.

Translation: To wax poetic, if we may ... they don't wanna see their reputation get White Claw wasted!

White Claw also says the candles could cause confusion for customers. It's suing for trademark infringement, asking the court to block sale of the candles and force the defendants to fork over any of the profits they've made off the White Claw brand.

We've reached out to M. Caitlin Minges and Fan Club, so far no word back.

Kanye West is going after Walmart for allegedly selling a knockoff version of his well-known foam shoe design ... at a fraction of the price.

According to new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Kanye and his company, Yeezy, claim the retail giant copied his famous Yeezy Foam Runner and left customers confused about whether they were buying the real thing or an imitation.

Kanye claims Walmart could be costing Yeezy hundreds of millions of dollars in sales by doing so.

According to the docs ... Yeezy introduced its Foam Runner in 2019 and the footwear made its public debut in June 2020, selling out instantly at $75 a pop.

Yeezy claims Walmart then made an "unauthorized exact copy" and has been selling it -- at just under $25 a pair -- in order to cash in on the popularity of Kanye and the Foam Runner.

Kanye's side claims it sent a legal warning to Walmart and told them to pull the shoes from its site ... but it has failed to do so.

So, Kanye and Yeezy are suing for major damages. We reached out to Walmart ... no word back so far.

Britney Spears railed on her dad and her management team during Wednesday's explosive court hearing ... saying she wants the conservatorship to end now, and she's so angry she thinks her family has abused her so much that she'd like to sue them.

She also said she wants to get married and have another baby but she's being blocked by the conservatorship. She says she has an IUD but the conservator will not let her have it removed.

Britney said she's "not here to be anyone's slave" ... which apparently is how she feels.

Britney said she does not want further medical evaluation. She wants out now.

She said her family did nothing to protect her. She was sent to a small home in Beverly Hills for rehab once and it cost $60,000 -- she says they were trying to hurt her and her dad "loved it."

She said the people who did this to her should not be able to get away with it. She wishes she could sue her family.

Britney says she was "forced" to do her Vegas residency. She said when she was doing the Vegas show, she told her management she didn't want to do it because it was too much. She said she was forced to do the tour and the next thing she knew they changed her medication, putting her on Lithium, which had a terrible effect on her. She said she was scared and her whole family did nothing.

Britney said even her therapist was uncaring. She says after she wanted to put an end to Vegas, the therapist said she was being difficult and not taking her meds. That's when she was put on Lithium. She said her family -- and especially her dad -- didn't care.

She says she pled for a break from Vegas after 4 years but wasn't heard. She said she was told she was uncooperative, which was absolutely not true.

As for why she's now asking to end the conservatorship, she said she didn't know she could until now.

She said she has absolutely no privacy and when she was at home there were times she couldn't see her boyfriend or kids. The caretakers of the conservatorship would violate her privacy and watch her change while she was naked.

She said she doesn't want to work for the people she pays, saying even if she's sick she's required to go to at least 3 meetings a week. She wants that limited to 1 therapy session a week.

Britney said she should be able to sue a conservator who threatens that if she doesn't do what they say in terms of therapy they can withhold her money and deny her a vacation in Maui.

Britney claims, "The conservatorship from the beginning ... it makes no sense. I pay people money and they control me. I worked since I was 17 years old and this conservatorship is abusive. I don't feel I can live a full life. I don't even believe in therapy. I always thought I could take it to God."

She repeated she wants the conservatorship to end. She says she is being hounded by paparazzi and the conservatorship is not protecting her or giving her any privacy.

Britney said she wants to end the conservatorship and doesn't want to be evaluated as a pre-condition.

Britney said, "They make me feel like I'm living in a rehab program and not my home. I will do therapy once a week because I do need it."

She continued, "I want to get married and have a baby. I wanted to take the IUD out and have a baby but the conservator won't let me because they don't want me to have a baby."

Britney stressed that it took a year during COVID for her to get self-care methods.

She says she's scared of people and doesn't trust people. Britney made a point that she's stuck going to therapy in Westlake, which is very public. She said the paparazzi saw her crying as she left therapy Tuesday.

Britney doesn't understand why she can't do therapy sessions at home -- and is upset with Jodi Montgomery, her personal conservator, who she says has become heavy-handed.

The judge thanked Britney and said it took a lot of courage to speak out.

Britney's lawyer was asked if he wanted to file a petition to end the conservatorship, but the lawyer said there were confidentiality issues. He said if Britney wants to file a petition he would do that, but she hasn't asked as of yet.

Lynne Spears' lawyer said in 2019 when Britney was in court she didn't feel she was heard, and it's important today that she be heard. Today is the day the court put an action plan in place to provide the relief Britney is asking for -- to end the conservatorship.

The judge said she would entertain any request to end the conservatorship and start the process of holding hearings.

The singer appeared live, via Zoom, in the Downtown L.A. courtroom, to voice her issues with her father, Jamie Spears ... who we now definitely know she wants removed as one of her conservators.

Earlier Wednesday, Sam Asghari seemingly provided some evidence on his t-shirt Britney would ask to terminate the conservatorship. He's the only person with day-to-day contact with Brit, and the "Free Britney" message emblazoned on his shirt was one big clue.

Britney called for this hearing and, as you'd expect, she had throngs of supporters from the #FreeBritney movement gathered outside the courthouse to support her.

Jamie already stepped down as co-conservator of Britney's person back in 2019 -- Jodi Montgomery is now her permanent personal conservator -- but we've been told Brit wants him out as the co-conservator of her estate as well ... so he can no longer manage her business affairs.

In fact, Brit's stated she will not perform again as long as Jamie is part of the conservatorship -- something she seemed to reiterate when she recently told fans on IG she has "no idea" if she'll ever take the stage again. Today's hearing could impact her decision.

Of course, all of this is why Britney's fans couldn't wait for what she had to say in court.

As we reported, Britney asking the judge to end the conservatorship is only the beginning, because the issue is whether she's able to safely care for herself.

For answers, the judge will look to a throng of doctors, psychiatrists and others who have evaluated her over the years. Our sources say, in the past, the medical professionals determined her condition made the conservatorship necessary -- and they have weighed in over the last 13 years in court.

The judge will no doubt hear from the doctors, and they believe she's now able to safely care for herself, the judge would/should end the conservatorship. If not, it's unlikely she'd win the day, although the judge could still make changes to the conservatorship.

John McAfee -- the software mogul behind the famous antivirus software -- has died by suicide ... according to reports out of Spain.

McAfee was found dead in his jail cell in Barcelona ... just hours after the Spanish High Court ruled he could be extradited to the U.S. to face tax evasion charges.

McAfee's lawyer, Andrew Gordon, confirmed to TMZ he passed away. He had no information about the cause of death.

According to the Spanish outlet El País, McAfee was pulled from his cell and police are investigating the cause of death -- but McAfee's lawyer told Reuters the software tycoon hung himself.

McAfee had been busted in Spain back in October after years of allegedly failing to pay income taxes. A grand jury had slapped him with a 10-count federal indictment for ducking taxes from 2014 to 2018.

And, just a few months ago, McAfee was reportedly charged in Manhattan federal court for his role in a cryptocurrency scheme in which he's alleged to have bilked investors out of more than $10 million.

McAfee's death comes about a year and a half after he tweeted he was "getting subtle messages from U.S. officials saying, in effect: 'We're coming for you McAfee! We're going to kill yourself.'" He posted a photo of a "$WHACKD" tattoo he says he got on his arm, just in case. As McAfee said, "If I suicide myself, I didn't. I was whackd."

A little context here ... McAfee showed off that tat a little over 3 months after convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide also while behind bars.

McAfee was briefly back on U.S. soil in 2012 after he was booted from Guatemala. He had sought asylum there after fleeing Belize ... the place he had called home since 2008. Authorities in Belize had wanted to talk to him about his neighbor's murder.

McAfee founded his antivirus software company in 1987 and he left in 1994. Intel eventually bought it in 2011 for $7.7 billion.

Three years after Intel bought the software company ... McAfee created a parody video telling users how to uninstall the software.

He founded several other tech companies, but he was always known for his self-titled antivirus software.

Blueface is the proud new owner of a soul food restaurant in SoCal, but it might never have happened if he hadn't had a little misfortune ... with his car.

The rapper joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday on the heels of opening a new eatery called Blue's Fish & Soul in Santa Clarita -- which he says is the only spot to get legit soul food in the area -- and told a serendipitous story of how it went down.

Blueface says it all started when he got back from a trip, and discovered his car had been stolen from the airport valet ... bummer of a welcome home.

He didn't let it get him down, though, and just went to a Mercedes dealership to buy a new ride ... and on his way home, he stopped at a restaurant called SCV Fish Market. He says the owner was literally minutes from selling the place to someone else.

That's when Blue seized his opportunity, and outbid the other buyer on the spot ... and the rest is history.

For those interested, the menu at Blue's features his mom's Southern recipes for fried fish, shrimp and hushpuppies, chicken platters, mac and cheese, collard greens and a lot more. Plus, his signature Blueface lemonade!

Michael B. Jordan almost went the way of other celebs when it comes to booze and cultural appropriation -- but he saw the early warning signs, and decided to pivot.

The actor's been under fire since this past weekend for photos that leaked, apparently showing him at some sort of a launch party for a new rum line, with which he seemed to have a direct connection. The rum was called "J'ouvert" -- the name of a traditional Caribbean festival, akin to Carnival.

The photos seriously pissed off some people -- especially those with Trinidadian roots, where J'ouvert is said to have started -- who accused MBJ of cultural appropriation, exploitation and outright insensitivity in trying to commercialize something to which he has zero ties.

There were rumblings he might have partnered with someone with a Trinidadian background for this venture -- but even still, it didn't look good ... and Michael was silent for days over it.

Now, he's finally speaking out and promising to rebrand in the near future, writing in part ... "I just wanna say on behalf of myself and my partners, our intention was never to offend or hurt a culture (we love & respect) & hoped to celebrate & shine a positive light on."

Quavo giveth ... he taketh ... and now he selleth.

It looks like the rapper did in fact take back his ex, Saweetie's, 2020 Bentley Continental, despite what Quavo sources had insisted, because that exact same car -- complete with "icy" headrests -- is up for sale on the luxury and exotic car dealership Jakes Motorcars.

The GTC V8 convertible is being marketed as a used luxury whip that has only 2,191 miles. It's still pricey tho ... at a cool $279,888.

You'll recall the Migos rapper once gifted Saweetie the Bentley, but after their very public breakup .... there were rumors he took it back as payback. At the time, our Quavo sources insisted the whip was a lease and that he struck a deal with the dealership that allowed him to end the contract early, which Quavo allegedly did when the relationship went kaput.

We reached out to Quavo's team to tell them we found the listing, and they refused to comment.

It's not Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers ... no, the NFL player with the top-selling jersey over the last 24 hours is none other than Carl Nassib!!!

According to the ultra-popular fan gear website Fanatics, Nassib's #94 Las Vegas Raiders jersey has been flying off the shelves ever since the D-lineman announced Monday he's gay.

It's unclear the total number of Nassib jerseys that have sold so far on Monday and Tuesday (we're working on it) ... but as the #1 jersey seller in America's most popular sport, it's safe to say A LOT of Nassib units have been moved in the last 24 hours!!

Of course, the support for Nassib since he made his announcement has been overwhelming ... everybody from Saquon Barkley to Roger Goodell to even O.J. Simpson has praised the 28-year-old for coming forward.

In fact, the NFL was so moved by Nassib's announcement and simultaneous charitable donation to The Trevor Project -- an org. established to help prevent suicides in the LGBTQ community -- it agreed Tuesday to match the pass rusher's $100k.

As for Nassib's head coach, Jon Gruden also threw his support behind his player Monday evening ... telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great."

Losing a bunch of money on Dogecoin?? Here's a new investment opportunity -- an autographed ticket from Kobe Bryant's last NBA game is hitting the memorabilia stock market ... and it has the potential to go to the MOOOON!!!

The late NBA legend played his last game on April 13, 2016 ... putting up an iconic 60-point performance against the Utah Jazz.

Now, a ticket stub from that memorable night -- signed by the Black Mamba himself -- is making its way to the Otis investment app ... and folks can get a piece of the history for $10!!!

The ticket is valued at $31,700 and has a PSA VG 3 grade -- only 4 other tickets have ever been graded higher ... so, that's pretty good!!

Bryant memorabilia has skyrocketed in value since his heartbreaking death in Jan. 2020 ... with collectors paying up to 20x more for items in the days following the tragedy.

As we previously reported, the Otis app works just like the stock market -- the ticket will go up for trading once all the shares are sold ... and shareholders will be able to keep or sell their shares.

COOL RANCH DORITOS EARRINGS FOR THE WIN!!!

Check out U.S. track star Christina Clemons -- who rocked the snacky jewelry during her 100m hurdles race this weekend ... AND MADE THE OLYMPIC TEAM!!!

The 31-year-old -- who had never made the Olympics team in the past -- put up a scorching 12.53 finish at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials in Oregon on Sunday ... earning her a spot on Team USA!

Now, Christina is smartly hitting up Doritos for an endorsement deal -- and we gotta say ... IT'S GENIUS!!!

Not only does Christina have an incredible backstory ... overcoming injuries and defying the odds ... but she also apparently LOVES the chips!

"I made the Olympic team wearing a bag of @Doritos on my ears," Clemons tweeted ... "Twitter, I need y’all to do your thing! We need to blow Doritos mentions UP 🙌🏾😂"

Hey, the Doritos slogan is "For the Bold" -- and what's bolder than wearing chip bags on your ears for the biggest race of your life ... and then winning!?!?

So far, Doritos hasn't responded to Christina -- but we gotta imagine they're gonna jump all over this.

And, if they need more convincing ... just watch Christina's emotional post-race speech when she explained all that she's overcome.

"I've been going after this team since 2012," Clemons said.

"I ruptured my Achilles in 2013. I wasn't healthy enough in 2016. We had to wait a whole year in 2020 and now here I've been looked over, I've been counted out but when God is with you, it doesn't matter! I'm just so happy!"

"I'm just ready! I'm ready! My teammates, America, we go so hard!"

LET'S GOOOOO!!!!!

Damon Dash is taking the L -- at least for now -- in his attempt to auction off Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt" album as an NFT ... but he's not likely to give up just yet.

A source close to the case tells us the court ruled in favor of Roc-A-Fella Tuesday by ruling Damon's prohibited from selling the NFT of Jay's debut studio album, and any planned auctions to do so must be halted.

Of course, the ruling is only temporary, but we're told the federal judge said Jay and Roc-A-Fella's arguments were "deemed credible and correct." That being said, more filings are almost certain to come in the future from Dash's side.

We broke the story ... Roc-A-Fella sued Dash -- one of its cofounders -- claiming he did not have rights to sell "Reasonable Doubt" because the company owns it.

RAF -- repped by powerhouse attorney Alex Spiro -- claimed Damon was trying to cash in on the NFT craze, so they took him to court to stop any potential sale and make him turn over any NFTs he'd already minted.

But, Dash told us the lawsuit wasn't going to stop him and clarified he wasn't just trying to sell Jay's album, but his ENTIRE stake in Roc-A-Fella. Dame claimed Jay-Z lowballed him with an offer to buy out his 1/3 stake in the company ... so he's shopping around.

Britney Spears doesn't seem to be stressing over her highly anticipated court appearance this week ... she just keeps on dancing.

Just days after Brit told her fans she has "no idea" if she'll ever take the stage to perform again, she busted out some serious moves in a silver bodysuit ... grooving to Prince's "Sexy Motherf***er."

She posted that she was going on a boat for dinner Monday night and asked her followers if she should wear the bodysuit or go with a dress. Spears also revealed she just took a trip to Maui with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, and didn't want to leave.

Britney had to leave though, because she's due in court Wednesday for her conservatorship case ... where she's planning to testify before the judge, instead of letting her lawyers do the talking.

As we've told you ... Britney's made it clear that she won't be on stage again until her father, Jamie, is no longer in control of the conservatorship, so it's interesting she's answering fan questions about it on IG.

She said, "Will I ever take the stage again? I have no idea. I'm having fun right now. I'm in a transition in my life, and I'm enjoying myself so, that's it."

It's unclear what she means by that, but our sources say as recently as a few weeks ago Britney was not making any moves to launch a tour or plan a show or anything.

VP Kamala Harris didn't rip Nina Simone's family from her estate, as the late singer's kin claim ... at least according to a business associate of Nina's, who claims Kamala was ensuring Nina's vision for her trust was realized.

Here's the deal ... Nina's daughter, Lisa Simone Kelly, and granddaughter, RéAnna Simone Kelly, are ripping Harris -- then-CA Attorney General -- for allegedly icing them out of Nina's estate, but legal docs seem to tell a different story.

According to Nina's will, obtained by TMZ, Nina put the bulk of her estate assets into a charitable trust to benefit the musical education of Black African children from Ghana, Liberia and South Africa.

The docs show Nina named South African singer Miriam Makeba as the trustee, and if Miriam was unable to act as trustee, MM could appoint a successor to continue to run the trust for the benefit of Black African children.

As you know ... Nina died in 2003, and Lisa was ultimately put in charge of her estate and trust. Later, in 2013, she was accused of misappropriating funds tied to the charitable trust.

That's when AG Harris and her office got involved. In the end, they reached a settlement where Lisa relinquished the rights to Nina's work and stepped away from the role.

While Nina's descendants are ticked off, the way the icon's business associate sees it ... Kamala played it by the letter of Simone's will, and carried out her very clear wishes.