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The Playboy universe continues to generate controversy nearly 10 years after Hugh Hefner's passing ... because his widow Crystal Harris is firing back at 2 of Hef's former girlfriends, Holly Madison and Bridget Marquardt -- insisting their ongoing public criticism is fueling a wave of harassment against her.

Crystal tells TMZ ... the former 'Girls Next Door' stars have spent years building platforms painting her as the villain in the name of empowerment and accountability ... all while refusing to handle their issues privately. Instead, Crystal says, they’ve chosen to air grievances publicly.

Crystal tells us their commentary has led to her social media being flooded with gaslighting, hostile messages and even death threats ... adding that no disagreement justifies that level of mob behavior.

Bill Gates just dropped a bombshell ... the Microsoft cofounder has reportedly 'fessed up to having affairs with Russian women while married to his now-former wife, Melinda.

Gates made the admission Tuesday, telling his staff the shocking news during a town hall meeting of the Seattle-based Gates Foundation, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Gates dropped the stunning revelation ... admitting to having affairs with a "Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events" and a "Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities."

Gates said Jeffrey Epstein later discovered the affairs ... but to be clear, the women did not involve Epstein victims, according to the WSJ report. As you know, Gates has been dogged by his association with convicted pedophile Epstein over the years ... and it's all coming to a head with the recent release of the Epstein Files. Gates apologized for his association with Epstein Tuesday.

Four people aboard a speedboat registered in Florida are dead after a shootout with Cuban troops in Cuban territorial waters ... according to Cuba's government.

The deadly shootout happened Wednesday morning near an island in Cuba's Villa Clara province on the country's northern coast ... according to a statement from Cuba's Ministry of the Interior.

Cuba says people onboard the Florida-registered speedboat opened fire against a Cuban coast guard vessel that approached them ... the commander of the Cuban vessel was injured by gunfire ... according to the Cubans. In addition to the four people killed, six other people on board the speedboat were wounded in the shootout.

Audio of a 911 call from a Las Vegas mother-daughter murder-suicide before a cheer competition this month has been released by police ... revealing the moment officers responded to their hotel room, as well as the missing-person report the girl's father called in.

In the audio, obtained by TMZ, the first call to Las Vegas Metropolitan PD comes in from the local fire department, asking for an ambulance response to the Rio Hotel & Resort for 2 patients at the scene ... each suffering a gunshot wound to the head.

The caller notes a medication bottle located in the room with the mother's name on the label. Later, the fire department calls LVMPD back and confirms the incident was a murder-suicide involving mother and a juvenile.

Dispatch audio recorded the moment authorities raced to a reported shooting at the home of Martin Short's daughter, Katherine ... revealing the person who called in the incident was unable to enter the bedroom.

In the audio obtained by TMZ ... LAFD firefighters are heard responding to a call on Katherine's street Monday evening, initially for a shooting. Later, one firefighter asks if they are clear to enter, then confirms the incident was "self-inflicted" -- stating the caller is there with the patient but unable to enter the bedroom.

TMZ was first to report the devastating loss of Katherine Short, who took her own life Monday at her Los Angeles home. Law enforcement sources told us LAPD and the fire department responded to her place in the Hollywood Hills shortly after 6:40 PM PT, where she was found deceased.

During the State of the Union on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump paid tribute to the late right-wing political advocate Charlie Kirk, who was publicly killed last year ... saying there should be no political violence of any kind as Charlie's wife, Erika Kirk, is seen getting emotional in the audience.

While Trump was honoring those whose stories have impacted our country recently, he took a moment to honor who he called his "great friend, Charlie Kirk." As the broadcast panned to Erika in the audience, tears filled her eyes as the president described the fatal last moments Charlie lived.

Erika wiped away tears as members of the audience took to their feet and applauded for her late husband. Trump addressed the nation in regards to Charlie's death, saying we must remember we are "one nation, under God" and must "totally reject political violence of any kind."

Ghislaine Maxwell is a real stinker in federal prison ... as a matter of fact, she smells like "armpits," according to one inmate who knows her well.

The female inmate -- who we confirmed was incarcerated with Maxwell from 2023 to 2025 -- had daily contact with the convicted child sex trafficker at FCI Tallahassee in Florida ... and it was a smelly experience, to say the least.

Maxwell was transferred to FCI Tallahassee in 2022 after she was convicted on sex trafficking and other charges for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors. A judge sentenced her to 20 years in federal prison.

The inmate -- who only spoke on the condition of anonymity while still in Bureau of Prisons custody -- tells us Maxwell "has horrible personal hygiene" and "would shower once or twice a week," despite prisoners having regular access to the shower facilities.  

Texas Democratic Congressman Al Green got kicked out of the State of the Union on Tuesday after appearing to protest one of President Donald Trump's racist social media posts.

Green held a sign which read "Black People Aren't Apes" as he was escorted from the event. Watch the video to see the tussle he gets into as he exits.

As you know ... Trump posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes earlier this month. The post has since been removed from Trump's Truth Social page.

The father of Utah cheerleader Addi Smith called in a welfare check to Vegas cops after not being able to reach his daughter ... hours before authorities discovered her and her mother's bodies, TMZ has learned.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ ... Addi's father, Bradley Smith, called the cops to check on his 11-year-old daughter and ex-wife, Tawnia McGeehan, at the Rio Hotel & Casino February 15 after he hadn't heard from Addi in a while.

Once arriving at the scene, officers initially knocked on the door of the hotel room and called into the room several times without success. When they called Bradley back to see if he thought Addi could be in danger, Bradley told them he didn't believe that was the case and that she "should be safe with her mom," according to the report.

President Donald Trump just introduced the U.S. men's hockey team as his special guests at the State of the Union address on Tuesday -- showing the gold medal winners grinning from ear-to-ear.

They were honored for about five minutes full of applause, cheers and U-S-A chants that rang throughout the Capitol building. Trump congratulated them -- and noted it was the first time he saw Democrats rise from their seats.

"Here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud," he said as the team entered the House chamber.

Trump also congratulated the U.S. women’s team for its gold medal … saying they “soon will be coming to the White House.”

Everyone in Congress wants to know who was on Jeffrey Epstein's infamous "Lolita Express" private jet ... and now we have eerie pics from inside.

Go through the images ... the abandoned plane has been decaying in Georgia, and you can see the corrosion taking hold of the exterior.

Inside, you'll see a basket of toiletries with some pretty gnarly brown stains.

A woman who claims to have been attending service during the Minnesota church protest covered by Don Lemon last month is now suing Lemon and other protesters, saying she suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the incident.

In court documents, obtained by TMZ, Ann Doucette claims she was attending a worship service at The Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 18 ... when she alleges Don and others "unlawfully interfered" with her ability to "freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship."

Remember ... the demonstration was held in the wake of Renee Good's death and was meant to confront the Cities Church pastor David Easterwood, who is a Minneapolis ICE official.

Doucette is suing for an unspecified amount, claiming she suffered "severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma" as a result of the protesters' conduct.

The BBC is under fire for failing to edit out the N-word from its broadcast of the BAFTAs ... though the organization has reportedly told employees it did catch another slur.

Here's the deal ... Kate Phillips -- the Chief Content Officer for the British Broadcasting Company -- sent an email to staff members apologizing that the racial slur involuntarily thrown at Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo by Tourette's activist John Davidson wasn't edited out of the broadcast.

However, Phillips also seemingly praised editors in the staff email because they "removed another racial slur from the broadcast.”

Nancy Guthrie's kidnapper was at her house before the actual kidnapping, but the photo of the presumed kidnapper has not resulted in any significant leads ... law enforcement tells TMZ, and we're told it's becoming a "cold case."

FBI sources tell TMZ ... they don't know the precise day the photo was taken, because Nancy's subscription to Nest did not include video (the videos and photos were obtained through Google), which would have provided a time stamp. Based on the FBI's broad investigation ... they believe the man could have arrived on Nancy's doorstep January 11th -- weeks before the February 1st abduction -- but they are not certain. BTW, Kash Patel said weeks ago the photo was taken the morning of her disappearance -- that is incorrect.

Our sources say neither the still photo nor the video from February 1st has helped them identify the getaway car or the suspect. As we reported, authorities have been sweeping the area for video of suspicious persons and/or vehicles, to no avail.

As for The Guthrie family's new outreach -- offering up to $1 million for information leading to the return of Nancy -- we're told the family has been thinking about making this offer for a while. In the video, Savannah acknowledges it would be a "miracle" if her mom was alive ... our sources say the FBI never told the family the chances Nancy was alive were slim ... it's something the family came to terms with on their own.

Savannah Guthrie and her family are offering a hefty reward for their missing mom, Nancy .... as part of a new plea for information.

The "Today" host posted a new video on social media stating, “Someone knows how to find our mom and bring her home.”

Savannah then admits a gut-wrenching reality ... telling fans she and her family members know Nancy may have already passed away and "gone home to the Lord that she loves."

Teenager Anna Kepner was killed on a Carnival Cruise during a family vacation last November ... and now her 16-year-old stepbrother has been charged with her homicide, according to court documents.

An emergency filing on Friday obtained by TMZ says her stepbrother was charged with homicide as a minor in connection with Anna's asphyxiation death in her stateroom aboard the Carnival Horizon on November 7.

Anna was on a Caribbean cruise vacation with her dad, stepmom and three stepsiblings when she died. A housekeeper reportedly discovered Anna's body underneath her bed — and the ship returned to Miami, Florida, the next day, as the FBI launched an investigation.