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Joe Biden's ghostwriter got more than family stories during their recording sessions ... he also got repeated warnings that the material in front of them might be classified.

Newly released audio from Biden's 2016 and 2017 interviews with Mark Zwonitzer captures the former prez leafing through papers while working on his memoir, "Promise Me, Dad" -- and repeatedly pumping the brakes over what he was reading aloud.

At one point, Biden says ... "Some of this may be classified, so be careful with it. I'm not sure ... it's not marked classified, but ..."

In another recording ... Biden announces, "The next thing I have here is, um, this is classified."

Nolan Wells was drinking while partying with friends on Mississippi's Horn Island before his death, according to a new report.

Citing preliminary information in a document from the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, ABC News says witnesses told investigators the 18-year-old was drinking heavily with his buddies on the island on the Fourth of July before going missing.  

The document contains an email giving a physical description of Nolan as Marine patrols scoured the waters to try to locate the teen. On July 6, Nolan's body was found washed up on the northwest shoreline of Horn Island ... near where he was last seen alive.

Japan was rocked by a massive earthquake Tuesday, creating a path of destruction that trapped multiple people inside a mall.

The visuals from the aftermath of the magnitude 7.1 quake are terrifying ... buildings are on fire, bridges are collapsed, trains cars are derailed and laying on their sides, and a shopping center exploded.

The tremor hit Kumamoto on Japan's southern main island of Kyushu, shortly before 4:30 PM local time ... leveling the second floor at the Aeon Mall shopping center and trapping people inside.

Evidence apparently shows Nolan Wells was still on Horn Island when his friends' boat left ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge of the investigation claim authorities have evidence of Nolan being on the Mississippi barrier island after the boat departed on the Fourth of July ... which would be a huge development.

We're told at least two witnesses who were interviewed by law enforcement say they saw Nolan on the island after the boat headed back to the mainland.

Celeste Rivas' family is blasting D4vd's lawyers for what they see as an effort to blame a 14-year-old ... after his defense raised the possibility she killed herself and referenced text messages where she threatened to kill him.

Patrick Steinfeld, who is representing Celeste's parents, held court Monday following D4vd's preliminary hearing ... saying he was disturbed by the defense's tactics in court.

Steinfeld blasted the defense for "stopping at nothing" to discredit the prosecution's evidence ... saying Celeste's family was horrified to hear D4vd's defense attorneys attempt to place blame on their minor child.

Michelle Hadley spent 88 days in jail for a twisted stalking plot she had nothing to do with ... and now we know how much money was shelled out to her over the massive screw-up.

Here's the deal ... Michelle is the focus of a new Netflix documentary, "A Toxic Love Story," about a 2016 cyberstalking case out of Anaheim ... where she was tossed into the clink after her ex-boyfriend, Ian Diaz, and his fiancée, Angela Connell, framed her for outlandish crimes ... such as trying to arrange for Angela to get raped via a Craigslist ad.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Michelle settled with Anaheim police for $1.8 million back in 2021 ... after she sued the city for what the doc shows was sloppy, rushed police work -- all because Ian used his influence as a U.S. Marshal at the time.

The man who "No Jumper" cohost Ant Jefe allegedly murdered was high on meth during the 10v1 street fight that ended his life, TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained the Los Angeles Medical Examiner's report for Carl Welch ... and it says toxicology results showed he was high on meth, and had recently done cocaine when he died. 

However, the ME says drugs did not cause Carl's death ... instead, the ME says he died due to blunt force trauma to his head.

Investigators say Carl was attacked by Ant and nine others on January 31 in a parking lot ... and prosecutors charged Ant and a man named Johnnie Gray with Carl's murder.

The family of slain University of Idaho student Kaylee Goncalves is speaking out after her alleged murderer requested to withdraw his guilty plea ... and they're incensed.

In a statement, the Goncalves family called Bryan Kohberger "the mosquito you just can’t seem to swat."

Kaylee's family recalled how Kohberger pleaded guilty to the murders of Kaylee, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin ... saying, "He never cried foul, never claimed he was uninformed or pressured, and never suggested there were problems with the discovery materials he and his counsel had reviewed for two years that should have been challenged. He admitted his guilt."

Mitch McConnell dropped his second proof-of-life photo Monday, and his doctor put out a statement about the Senator's health ... but when a photog asked the doc about McConnell, he feigned ignorance.

Dr. Brian Monahan, attending physician of the U.S. Congress and Supreme Court, had just gotten his lunch on Monday when a photog peppered him with questions about McConnell ... and the doc refused to say anything of substance.

Dr. Monahan claimed he had "no information" about McConnell ... even though his office put out a long statement Monday discussing McConnell's slow recovery from a June fall at his home.

The doc didn't know much more about his Subway sandwich -- he had no clue what kind of cold cuts he was being served -- and the photog rightfully gave him grief about his fast food choice.

3:25 PM PT -- Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband Patrick Clancy took the stand after opening statements ... and as expected, he defended her. Patrick testified she fell into a shame spiral after the birth of their third child ... and threatened both suicide and harm to the children while on several prescribed medications by at least three different providers.

She also spent several days in psychiatric hospitals in late 2022 and early 2023 because she was still having thoughts of suicide, Patrick said. His testimony is expected to continue throughout the week.

The murder trial for Lindsay Clancy began Monday morning with opening statements ... in a horrific case of the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young children.

Clancy is accused of strangling Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan with elastic workout bands at her Duxbury home -- before she tried to kill herself.

Lindsay's lawyers are expected to make a case for insanity, intending to argue the mom was experiencing postpartum psychosis when she allegedly brutally killed her kids.

Bryan Kohberger wants to take back the guilty plea that spared him the death penalty ... claiming he's innocent and only confessed because of "false promises" and "blatant disinformation."

Kohberger -- serving four consecutive life sentences for allegedly murdering University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin -- told The New York Times he filed a petition seeking to reopen the case and go to trial.

He declared ... "My actual innocence is my truth" ... insisting his plea "MUST be withdrawn."

Kohberger even welcomed prosecutors to seek the death penalty again in a statement to the NYT.

Mitch McConnell just dropped another picture as proof of life ... along with an update on his health recovery ... and if history is any indication, there is no way in hell the internet is going to take this at face value.

In a written statement released Monday, the Senator from Kentucky says ... "I'm still working hard to get back to my full schedule of work in the Senate and in Kentucky, keeping up with intense physical therapy per my doctors' orders."

McConnell's statement also says he won't be able to attend an annual festival in Kentucky this upcoming Saturday and adds ... "As always, I appreciate all of your continued well wishes, and I'm looking forward to getting back to the Senate and to Kentucky soon."

The press release also included a photo of Mitch sitting in a geriatric chair next to his wife, Elaine Chao, presumably in the rehab center where he's been recovering.

Blake Garrett -- best known for his role in "How to Eat Fried Worms" -- was found unresponsive next to his bed in a sober living house ... with rolled dollar bills, a lighter, and foil with burnt residue nearby.

TMZ obtained the former child actor's full autopsy report, which describes the scene at the Tulsa residence where he was found dead back in February.

The Oklahoma Medical Examiner previously determined Garrett died from acute fentanyl toxicity and ruled the manner of death an accident ... and the autopsy shows alcohol testing came back negative.

Jeremiah "Shawn" Duffey allegedly inappropriately touched a juvenile girl he coached, just weeks before police say he killed his influencer wife, Sara Gilson, and himself in a suspected murder-suicide ... and cops say Duffey was the subject of multiple state investigations involving the same alleged victim.

According to police documents, obtained by TMZ, the player and a parent reported Duffey to Owasso Police on June 9 ... about an hour after the alleged incident at an Oklahoma elementary school.

Police say another coach witnessed Duffey allegedly touching the girl, immediately intervened, and alerted her parent. Duffey allegedly fled the school before officers arrived and was not seen by Owasso Police afterward.

A food vendor was captured on video running to safety after shots rang out at a Seattle food festival, claiming the lives of three people and leaving four others injured, including a 2-year-old child, according to police.

Cops say the bullets started flying Sunday night at the Bite of Seattle, a 3-day annual food festival held at the Seattle Center just a block away from the famous Space Needle.

In the video posted to X, the vendor kicks things off by giving his pitch to people to come buy his Hawaiian honeycomb treats, but before long, you can hear gunshots in the background followed by terrified people ducking for cover.