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SpaceX can check one more accomplishment off its list -- successfully completing an ISS mission, now that its astronauts have touched down on Earth in grand fashion.

Elon Musk's Dragon capsule safely landed Monday evening, parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico without a hitch ... but not before it was seen streaking across the night sky, especially in New Orleans -- where it looked like a shooting star, or even an asteroid.

This might've freaked some folks out ... but rest assured, it was just the Endeavor crew torpedoing back into our atmosphere after being up in orbit for more than 6 months. Indeed, this was the crew SpaceX/NASA shot into space back in April ... 'memba that?!?

The astronauts who went up were Shane Kimbrough, Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide and Thomas Pesquet ... and they linked up with the International Space Station, where they've been doing research and fieldwork for this entire time.

Now that they're back, and the mission's apparently a success, Elon can proudly say he's helped get the U.S. back into space after a multi-year hiatus. The last time we were up there for an extended period of time was way back in the early 2010s, but that program was paused by NASA -- that is, until SpaceX jumpstarted things with this launch.

Pretty sweet feat ... and it definitely puts Elon higher on the billionaire's space race totem pole, alongside guys like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson -- who haven't gone quite as far up as SpaceX rockets/capsules have.

Oh, and BTW -- the team here had a little bathroom trouble on the way down ... NASA advised them not to use the onboard toilet -- due to malfunctions that made it inoperable -- so they had to improvise for their bodily functions. Yep, you guessed it ... diapers for everyone!!!

NBD, they handled the crappy situation with professionalism and humor.

The Gabby Petito saga has raised questions about who the media focuses on in cases like these, and it seems disproportionally white ... so says a member of the Black Eyed Peas.

We talked to Taboo (Jaime Luis Gomez) -- who is of Mexican descent and identifies as an indigenous person -- and he broke down the phenomenon of "Missing White Girl Syndrome" ... something news networks/society has been accused of doing during this entire ordeal.

Put plainly ... the guy says it is, indeed, a real thing -- and the proof is in the pudding on wall-to-wall coverage of Gabby's story for weeks on end.

As Taboo eloquently puts it, there are scores of Black and indigenous women who go missing every single day ... but don't get even a drop of the same mainstream attention as Petito did -- or any number of missing caucasian girls/women over the years.

That's not to say this is criticizing Gabby or her family or anyone affected by the tragedy -- quite the opposite ... Taboo says he has all the empathy in the world for them.

However, he does feel an underlying issue exists and doesn't wanna shy away from hard talks like these out of fear of propriety. Check out this chat -- you can tell he's passionate about speaking up for his people and other marginalized groups, so this hits home for him.

The head armorer for "Rust" is pointing fingers, claiming the real culprit is the person who introduced live rounds on the set ... she says unbeknownst to her.

The lawyers for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed say in a statement, Hannah "is devastated and completely beside herself over the events that have transpired."

The attorneys go on to say, "Safety is Hannah's number one priority on the set. Ultimately this set would never have been compromised if live ammo were not introduced. Hannah has no idea where the live rounds came from."

Her lawyers went on to echo what she told authorities ... that the guns were locked up at night and during lunch.

And, the lawyers cast blame on producers for overloading her with work, saying, "Hannah was hired on two positions on this film, which made it extremely difficult to focus on her job as an armorer." This is an interesting statement because it almost assumes she didn't do her job properly because she had too much else to do. We are told her other job on set was as the key assistant for props.

The lawyers say, "She fought for training, days to maintain weapons and proper time to prepare for gunfire but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. The whole production set became unsafe due to various factors, including lack of safety meetings."

The statement seems to acknowledge there were at least 2 misfires of the weapon in the days prior to the fatal shooting ... "The first one on this set was the prop master and the second was a stunt man after Hannah informed him his gun was hot with blanks."

Authorities have already said there were lapses on the set, but they have not played their hand on whether criminal charges will be filed. What is clear ... a real gun should not have been used, there should not have been live ammo on the set and the crew should have cleared everyone in the line of fire to move away during the rehearsal.

Halyna Hutchins is being honored in more ways than one by her Hollywood peers -- including financial help for her family, with a major A-list actress and a ton of fellow cinematographers donating.

Sarah Paulson is among the many high-profile people who've donated to a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of Hutchins' loved ones ... which is well on its way to hitting a quarter of a million dollars at this point, with a mere $10k goal to begin with.

The 'American Horror Story'/'Crime Story' star plunked down $1,000 of her own cash toward the cause a few days ago, but she's far from the only notable figure chipping in for the director of photography.

Big-name DPs have also contributed to the GFM account -- including Larry Fong ("Super 8," "Sucker Punch"), Niels Alpert ("Sleepy Hollow," "Iron Fist") and Reed Morano ("The Handmaid's Tale," "I Think We're Alone Now") ... just to name a few.

They donated $2,500, $2,500 and $1,500, respectively.

There's more these folks are doing behind the scenes too, BTW, including Sarah ... who signed and shared a Change.org petition that seeks to ban the use of real firearms on sets -- not to mention demanding better working conditions for crew members.

Gabby Petito's father is not obsessing over what might be inside Brian Laundrie's notebook ... instead, he says the focus should be on the domestic violence issues plaguing the nation.

Joe Petito tells TMZ ... nothing in Brian's notebook is going to bring his daughter back, and whatever's in there won't explain how her tragic death could have been avoided.

As you know, Brian's remains were found last week in an area that was previously underwater, and law enforcement found some of his belongings, including a notebook, nearby.

Joe says he is never going to get closure from the notebook -- even if cops can recover any info from it -- and it's not going to help him get over losing a child. He says the only reason he would want to know what Brian wrote would be for his own selfish gratification.

Gabby's father also says the notebook won't do much for Brian's parents either, because they lost a child too, and the book won't bring their son back either.

Brian's parents don't know what's inside the journal either ... according to the family lawyer.

Instead of focusing on the notebook, Joe says he would rather put meaning behind Gabby's death ... and for him, that means making a difference with domestic violence issues.

Joe now wants the focus to be on how to avoid another tragic incident like his daughter's. He says it's "insane" to see research showing over 1 in 3 women in the United States have experienced domestic violence. He adds, society needs to figure out how to shift the shame from the victim to the abuser ... and maybe that starts by having conversations that reassure victims it's not their fault.

Jeff Bezos wants to get commerce going in the Milky Way -- something he's more than welcome to do, just so long as he pays Earthling taxes beforehand ... so says Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

We got the U.S. Senator Tuesday in D.C. where our photog asked what she made of Bezos' just-announced plan to get a space business park going via his rocket company, Blue Origin. Liz is totally good with that -- on the condition he ponies up to Uncle Sam first.

Check out this convo ... Sen. Warren says she doesn't care what JB does with his dough, but insists it should be money he has left over AFTER he gets fairly taxed on his wealth.

This is a hot debate right now, as Dems are trying to push through legislation that will see billionaires taxed annually on their unrealized capital gains -- which they say will help fund a lot of what President Biden is trying to accomplish with his infrastructure bill.

The Senator alludes to that here ... saying Bezos doesn't have an annual income that's easily taxable, which is why she says we've gotta be able to tax his overall wealth for true equity.

As you know, Bezos has been in a space race of sorts with other billionaires, who all seem eager to get the hell outta Dodge and conquer a new frontier.

Brian Laundrie fled into the woods looking incredibly upset -- but his parents still don't know why, or what may be written in his recovered journal ... so says their attorney.

Steve Bertolino tells TMZ ... Brian's parents, Chris and Roberta, have no idea why their son fled with such angst the day he went missing in September. he would only say they felt he was "out of sorts."

Obviously, everyone wants to know exactly what the parents knew and when -- but Bertolino insists they were in the dark on what the heck was happening with Brian as he fled from the house and vanished.

He says ditto on what might be in Brian's journal, which authorities found near his remains at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. Bertolino says cops haven't made the Laundries aware of its contents yet -- but says he has heard some of it may not be salvageable.

Of course, that leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Like, for example, how did Brian die, and what involvement, if any, he had in Gabby Petito's disappearance and death.

Brian Laundrie will not be laid to rest with a traditional funeral -- what's left of his body will be incinerated, and held onto privately by his family ... TMZ has confirmed.

The Laundries' attorney, Steve Bertolino, says that, yes, Brian's parents are planning on skipping a casket-style service ... and going straight for cremation. The ashes will be given to Chris and Roberta Laundrie once the authorities are done examining his remains.

What they do with that afterward is anyone's guess -- but one thing is clear ... they won't be holding any type of public gathering or remembrance, and probably for good reason,

Fact is ... there've been nonstop protesters and media outlets outside their home for weeks on end now -- blaring megaphones, leaving items on their property, creating makeshift memorials and other activity ... all in the name of Gabby Petito, who was murdered.

Cops have been called out several times of late, and have even told protesters (in some instances) to settle down. You can tell it's getting on the Laundries' nerves -- Brian's father nailed in a sign on his front lawn this weekend, which said "No Trespassing."

If they held a service of some sort ... it would almost certainly be protested to some degree -- which would be awkward, to say the least. Still, it appears some have sympathy for Brian's parents ... as it looks like they've been getting flower arrangements sent to their home since Brian was confirmed dead last week.

As we reported ... his belongings were found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, FL -- not far from where he lived. The feds said they hadn't discovered him sooner because a large part of that area had been underwater until recently. Of course, they only revisited the site after word from his parents they'd be doing just that.

A coalition of concerned fathers stepped up at their local high school after a series of disturbing fights broke out over the course of a week -- hitting the hallways to keep kids safe.

The watch group goes by "Dads on Duty" -- a team of about 40 papa bears in the Shreveport, LA area ... whose kids go to Southwood High School, which was plagued with melees among students that resulted in nearly 2 dozen arrests last month in just 3 days.

After so many brawls in such a short time span -- some of which were captured on video and shared on social media -- these fathers figured it was time to get involved directly ... and serve as hall monitors and patrolmen, of sorts, to help prevent more violence.

So far ... the effort is working. Per CBS, there have been zero incidents since September -- and students are confessing that having their dads there helps deter bad behavior.

One student says the "look" a dad may shoot at their kid works wonders on others as well -- and the mere presence of familiar father figures in the community appears to be making a major impact at Southwood in providing a sense of safety. Even on a tension level ... these guys have helped, joking with students and making sure everyone gets to class on time.

"Dads on Duty" break up their time on campus into shifts that work for everyone involved -- and their rationale for getting this together was ... nobody knows how to handle our own children quite like us ... so why not dive in and get hands-on on the ground floor.

They also believe having strong males around the students does a lot of good for some kids who may not have fathers in their own lives.

Queen Elizabeth's condition is a mystery ... and there are now allegations the Palace lied about it to keep everything under wraps.

The Queen was back at Windsor Castle Friday after being hospitalized for an undisclosed condition. The palace says doctors have a "preliminary investigation" underway to get to the bottom of the Queen's ailment.

As for the lie ... the Palace said Wednesday the Queen had canceled a trip to Ireland after doctors ordered her to get some rest. They had strongly intimated the problem was just that, the 95-year-old Queen had been working too much.

There was no mention that she was actually hospitalized until Thursday, after The Sun broke the story. At that point the Palace fessed up and acknowledged it.

Brian Laundrie was extremely upset when he left home for good about a month ago and his dad tried but failed to stop him ... so says the family's lawyer.

Steven Bertolino said on MSNBC Thursday Brian's father, Chris, tried to stop Laundrie from leaving the day he took off for the woods, but Brian was determined and there was nothing his dad could do.

The most interesting part of the conversation ... whether Laundrie's parents will reach out to the Petito family ... presumably to offer condolences and discuss what happened.

Bertolino hedged, saying certain conversations must happen first before there's any communication between the two families. He never amplified on the nature of those conversations, but he offered a hint ... that Bertolino needed first to have a discussion with the Petito family attorney.

This sounds like Bertolino is worried about a wrongful death lawsuit, which is definitely in the cards. The other fairly obvious concern ... whether cops have Brian's parents under a microscope to determine if they in any way helped him escape ... something Bertolino has dismissed as hogwash.

As we reported ... the remains found Wednesday at the Carlton Reserve -- a portion of a skull -- was positively ID'd as Laundrie's.

One thing that could be highly relevant in determining what happened to Gabby Petito -- the contents of Laundrie's backpack, which was found near the remains. The question ... did he leave a note detailing what happened to her.

Dog the Bounty Hunter has vacated the state of Florida amid his search for Brian Laundrie -- but that doesn't mean the guy's throwing in the towel ... quite the opposite, in fact.

Sources close to Duane Chapman tell TMZ ... he's back in Colorado -- where he normally lives -- and has plans to meet with his doctor over his recent ankle injury ... which he suffered while on the hunt for the elusive Laundrie.

He might be down and on the mend at the moment, but that doesn't mean Dog is out of the fight -- we're told he still has reason to believe BL is alive ... and will continue filtering through tips.

Speaking of those ... we're told that since he's been back in the Rockies, Dog's received upwards of 4,000 possible leads -- through which he's sifting for one that might be legit. As you can imagine, it's a daunting task -- but DTBH is up for it.

Consider this as well ... Dog was roughing it in the Sunshine State -- which our sources say took a toll on him. The guy was seen wading through marshy swamps in the area -- but even beyond that ... we're told he'd been putting in 20-hour days, and sustained injuries that he hasn't really made public ... leaving him cut up and bloodied.

Now, as to whether Dog will return to Florida once he's back to 100% ... we're told he absolutely will. Our sources say Dog is still invested in the case, and will get back into the field soon.

Cops were called to the scene where an abandoned bike was found just a few miles from where surveillance video was shot of a man who resembles Brian Laundrie ... TMZ has learned.

A used car sales manager named Jon in Hernando, FL tells us he discovered the bike near his shop -- he believes it was left there either Friday night or Saturday morning. Jon called the cops, who came to the scene and fingerprinted the bike Tuesday.

Jon says officers only spent about 15 minutes on scene, but told him Laundrie tips come in quite frequently to their department ... and most are dead ends.

The location of the bike is interesting ... considering we obtained a surveillance video shot in the area last week of a man who resembled Laundrie, riding a bike on a deserted road surrounded by heavy brush. In the video ... you see the man struggle to pedal on the sandy road, wearing a very large backpack. The area where the man was riding is 3 hours from the home of Laundrie's parents.

We should say ... the design of the two bikes appears to be different, but nonetheless, the abandoned bike was suspicious enough for cops to come out.

Laundrie has been on the run for more than a month now, and it's widely believed he had something to do with the murder of his fiancee, Gabby Petitio. Authorities say Petito was strangled to death, and her body was left in the wilderness for weeks before being discovered.

Another shooting went down Tuesday night in Bev Hills -- the latest one to hit the ritzy town this year ... which begs a serious question about violent crime in the 90210.

Beverly Hills PD says it responded to reports of a shooting late Tuesday night, which went down near Italian restaurant Via Alloro ... and left one victim with a gunshot wound to the leg. Cops say the shooting was the result of an attempted armed robbery.

It sounds like the perp(s) left empty-handed and the police are on the hunt ... but remember, something very similar happened a few short months ago at nearby celeb hot spot Il Pastaio, where a handful of men pulled off something similar -- in broad daylight, no less.

We broke the story ... cops ended up arresting 3 alleged gang members in May, whom they say had the audacity to pull an armed robbery in March, in pursuit of a $500k Richard Mille watch a man was wearing -- which they successfully stole, while leaving a woman shot in the leg as they fled. Here, too, somebody was left with a bullet in their lower half.

This is NOT a new phenomenon, BTW -- Bev Hills has long been a place where criminals have tried stealing jewelry off of people's bodies -- especially pricey Rolex watches, and other valuables -- but it now seems to be spinning into a violent endeavor, with guns blazing.

We looked into the crime stats too over the past couple years -- and sure enough, property crime in Beverly Hills is through the roof compared to the rest of L.A. and the rest of the country -- up 108% compared to the national average as recently as 2020, which is nuts.

Jay Caspian Kang sees a big problem with lumping every Asian American into one big group ... he says the practice leaves a huge number of folks behind.

The author joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us about some of the topics he explores in his new book, "The Loneliest Americans," and why there are inherent problems in putting too many people in the same bucket.

Jay says the Asian American community is extremely diverse, but that same diversity becomes diluted when they're taken as a whole ... and the ones who get left behind or forgotten are those with the fewest resources.

The solution, Jay says, is getting back to celebrating diversity ... and understanding just how different people can be within larger groups, like the Asian American or LGBTQ+ communities.

Brian Laundrie might have been pedaling along a country road -- purposely out of public view -- on a rickety old bike ... that is, if you buy what someone says they see in this video.

Check out this clip, obtained by TMZ, which one witness tells us was shot from a surveillance camera on the outskirts of his property on October 9 in Dunnellon, FL -- a tiny town, about three hours north of Laundrie's hometown of North Port, where his family resides.

We're told there are several acres of rural land behind this guy's property, which is apparently where this footage was taken ... along what we're told is a rugged sugar sand path that hardly anyone ever ventures down ... on foot or anything else.

Weirdly enough, this unidentified guy was cruising down the trail on a bicycle ... and having a difficult time at it, as you can see. He's riding with an oversized backpack on, and heavy clothing ... and in the homeowner's eyes, was trying to lay low.

Add on the fact this mystery man -- at least at first glance -- appears to bear a passing resemblance to Laundrie in the face ... and we might have a legit sighting on our hands.

We're told this video was submitted to the FBI for review, as the property owner felt it was enough of a match to flag it. Then again ... we've seen a lot of these that turn out to be red herrings, and some folks have even had run-ins with the law over a mistaken identity.