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Actor Steven Seagal, a vocal supporter of Vladimir Putin, showed up at a Russian-controlled prison camp ... the site of an explosion on July 29 that slaughtered at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners.

Seagal seems to be surveying the wreckage ... eyeballing some of the shrapnel that killed the Ukrainians. There were hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners in the camp at the time of the blast.

Putin bestowed Russian citizenship on Seagal back in 2016 ... this after Seagal spoke out in favor of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Seagal is been vocal in his support of Putin, calling him "one of the greatest world leaders, if not the greatest world leader alive today."

Ukrainian military officials have accused Russia of intentionally moving prisoners to the facility, knowing it would be the site of an attack.

As for Seagal, he was banned back in 2017 from entering Ukraine territory.

A plane crash on a busy California freeway certainly caused for some serious traffic delays, but video from the incredible scene shows just how lucky the pilot and passenger were to escape.

The footage, obtained by TMZ, shows billows of black smoke towering above the crash on the 91 freeway in Corona, CA Tuesday. Surrounding drivers were forced to slow down and pull over, after a witness says the plane "blew up" on impact.

You can see the plane's pilot and passenger escape the flaming wreckage, sprinting away as the whole vessel becomes engulfed. ... luckily, authorities say both people riding in the plane escaped uninjured.

The flames have also since been put out, but there's some serious cleanup still to do to clear everything out.

Ja Rule is defending his name against Fat Joe’s scorn … after Joe Crack accused him of being a passive participant in Irv Gotti’s explosive “Drink Champs” interview about sleeping with Ashanti.

Fat Joe recently took to Instagram ... calling out both Irv and Ja — referencing Gotti as a straight “sucka” for kissing and telling about his previously unknown relationship with Ashanti.

But the Terror Squad leader didn’t let Ja off the hook either … slamming him for not silencing Irv before the interview got outta control.

The Murder Inc. rapper hopped in the comments of Hollywood Unlocked on Tuesday to defend his own rep writing, “STOP saying I didn’t defend sis and all women when I clearly told Gotti stop calling Ashanti/women the B word same way I told Joe at Verzuz watch the interview before you talk sh*t… NOW LEAVE ME TF OUT THESE GROWN FOLK BUSINESSES… ❤️”

Irv has been taking all sorts of heat since the interview aired, a moment that Joe says tarnishes Irv’s credibility regardless of his legendary work with Jay-Z, DMX and Murder Inc.

We recently spoke to Judge Mathis, who even went a step further and says Ashanti wouldn’t be foolish to pursue legal action if the fallout from the interview was causing her any stress.

Prepare to be blown away.

Duke OL Chance Lytle has some pipes on him ... the 6-foot-7, 300-plus pounder showed off serious vocal skills, putting on a full-blown opera performance in front of his teammates, and the entire thing was awesome!

In a video posted on the Duke football team's TikTok, the big man was front and center as he stood on a chair ... serenading his fellow Blue Devils.

"The voice of an angel," Duke's official football team Twitter account wrote in a tweet. "Always a pleasure singing for ya'll," Lytle replied.

The team stood silent as Lytle performed ... but once the big guy finished, they went crazy, jumping up and down as they crowded around him, yelling, "Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay!"

Lytle joined the Blue Devils football program after graduating from the University of Colorado ... with a dual degree in music and voice performance and psychology, according to The Fayetteville Observer.

Of course, Chance hitting high notes should come as no surprise. In a video posted to the ACC Network's official Facebook page, Lytle introduced himself in vintage fashion -- performing a sweet-sounding opera.

"Meet Duke Football's renaissance man Chance Lytle," the account wrote.

Lytle announced in March he would suit up for the Blue Devils in his final college football season.

Prince Harry's underwear from his infamous strip billiards game in Sin City is hitting the open market ... a former stripper says she kept the undies for a decade and is now ready to sell.

The 10-year anniversary of Harry's wild night in Vegas is coming up this month, and ex-stripper Carrie Royale feels the timing is right to sell the Prince's royal undies from that fateful night in a high roller's suite.

The exotic dancer claims she was in the hotel room with Harry when he stripped down to his birthday suit playing pool ... and she's also auctioning off the dress and swimsuit she says she wore that same night.

What's a royal family keepsake like this worth? The stripper believes the winning bid could reach as high as $1 million.

The photo was snapped in Vegas back in August 2012, with Harry cupping his genitals with a seemingly topless woman and bear-hugging another woman who appeared to be nude as well.

Carrie Royale says word on the street is Prince Harry dropped by Larry Flynt's Hustler Club during his wild trip to Vegas, so the strip club is hosting the auction.

The stripper believes the underwear sale is a full circle moment for Prince Harry, saying ... "I am holding the auction to help remind him of his fun side, the side that his marriage to his wife Meghan has tried to control." Wow.

The live and online bidding starts Thursday at 10:30 PM PT, with a starting bid of $10,000. If the bidding reaches $800k, the winner gets a vintage 3-liter bottle of 1996 Dom Pérignon Rose wrapped in 24 karat gold, valued at over $200k.

Bernie Sanders is firing up the meme machine again -- this time by posing in the thick of summer and looking dog-tired while hard at work ... a shot that's worth a thousand words.

The Vermont senator was photographed Sunday laying out on the Capitol Hill steps, where he appeared to be kind of exhausted after a marathon day of work known as Vote-a-Rama ... where congressmen and women are going through hours of debate/votes on legislation.

According to the photog, reporter Kent Nishimura, the Senate was entering its 13th hour of the overnight marathon when this pic was taken ... and as you can imagine, it's catching fire.

For starters, some say this makes a great album cover ... if BS was into music. Others say he very much resembles the 'School of Rock' cartoon, Bill, from the famed sketch, "I'm Just a Bill," where the rolled-up paper character is also lying down on the Capitol steps.

In other words ... it's just a great (and hilarious) photo, perhaps equally meme-able as his other famous photo from 2021 when he was captured nestled up in a sweater and mittens during Biden's inauguration ... which also set the internet ablaze with jokes up the wazoo.

This seems to be the summer version ... and funny enough, it's kind of the exact opposite vibe as his mitten meme. Bernie out here trying to beat the heat and letting it all hang out.

BTW, there's actually some serious business going on indoors ... including votes on amendments to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act -- a major spending package addressing climate change/taxes -- which Bernie was actually against without some major tweaks.

Kevin Federline is spilling the alleged tea about his kids' relationship with their mom, Britney Spears -- saying their boys don't want to see her right now ... for myriad reasons.

The singer's ex-husband -- with whom she shares two boys, Jayden and Sean -- did a wide-ranging interview with DailyMail ... portions of which are apparently going to be aired on ITV this coming week. Still, some juicy quotes surfaced in the print version of their story.

For starters, Kevin says their sons are deliberately choosing to avoid Britney right now. He doesn't give a clear-cut reason or explanation in DM's post -- but there are hints that they might wanna keep their distance over a number of things, including Brit's behavior of late.

He says, "The boys have decided they are not seeing her right now. It's been a few months since they've seen her. They made the decision not to go to her wedding," going on to add that they were happy for her and that they still wish their mother the best.

One possibility for why they're keeping her at arm's length ... it's actually Britney's constant social media posting -- her nudes, specifically -- that have caused her teenagers embarrassment. KF says he's tried to explain it away, but it's hard on them regardless.

Kevin goes on to say the very public nature of the conservatorship battle has been difficult, generally speaking, and he's tried to shield them from it/the spotlight as best he can ... despite their constant questions about it over the years, some of which he couldn't answer.

He also says Jamie Spears "saved her life" -- and that he'd welcome their grandfather back into his and their life at large, despite the drama that's gone down between them recently.

Anyway, back to Britney. Kevin also had this to say ... while the boys would visit Britney amid her conservatorship, they saw things that made him (and presumably them as well) fairly uncomfortable, but he declines to go into detail with DM.

In light of that, though, as well as her recent lashing out on social media ... he says Sean and Jayden have reached their decision -- and that choice, for now, is to stay away.

Kevin adds, "They tried to give her the benefit of the doubt but at the same time, I can tell that sometimes, it hurts to be in that position. So, I made sure all my kids can come to me at any moment and discuss anything. The boys -- all my kids -- know that they come to me and to my wife and discuss anything."

The family behind the viral video of Woody and Jessie from 'Toy Story' making sure to hug their kids at Disney World say their experience needs to be the norm for all children ... regardless of race.

The parents, Candice and Harold, say they didn't know about the controversy swirling right now about costumed characters at other venues allegedly snubbing Black kids. They merely posted video because they were glad their daughter, Hayyn, got a hug from her favorite Disney character.

The parents say Hayyn would have been happy to get a wave from Jessie -- and it was a huge bonus when Woody flagged down Jessie to give the little girl a hug.

Hayyn was waiting on Jessie for the whole parade ... even wearing a Jessie dress, while holding Jessie and Woody dolls.

Of course, after posting their video they became aware of the allegations at Sesame Place and Chuck E. Cheese, and Harold and Candice say everyone's child deserves at least some kind of acknowledgment -- even if it's just a wave or blown kiss from their favorite character.

As we've reported, there's now a class action lawsuit filed against Sesame Place in Philadelphia.

Elon Musk says he fell under a government microscope after smoking weed with Joe Rogan ... claiming the feds randomly drug tested him.

The world's richest man sat down for a podcast Tuesday with the Nelk Boys, recalling the backlash he got from Uncle Sam over what he says was one measly rip from a blunt while on Rogan's show.

Remember, Elon blazed it up with Joe back in September 2018, sparking up on camera while talking about Tesla's plans for an airplane. The video went viral and then Tesla's stock briefly plummeted on the heels of the smoke sesh.

Elon says the federal response was "pretty nutty" ... explaining the problem is ganja is still illegal federally, and because he runs SpaceX -- which holds lucrative government contracts -- the feds tested him for a range of illicit drugs.

It's interesting ... Elon claims the real driving force behind the random drug tests were his SpaceX competitors, who he says pressured the feds to test his urine.

A hockey player from an adult league in Canada straight-up kicked an opponent in the face with his skate during a mid-game scuffle ... and the incident was so reckless, police now tell TMZ Sports they're investigating it all.

The scary scene happened during an Adult Safe Hockey League game on July 29th at Scotia Barn in Burnaby.

You can see in the video from the arena, two players from opposing teams were fighting each other in the 3rd period ... when, suddenly, one of the guys appeared to intentionally kick the other with the blade of his skate.

The player wearing a #90 jersey immediately fell onto the ice and covered his face. His teammates, meanwhile, went after the kick suspect before refs ultimately intervened. The guy was issued a penalty, and ejected from the game.

The Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police tells us the victim received medical treatment for injuries he suffered from the kick -- adding that they've since launched an investigation.

"Burnaby RCMP is continuing to investigate the circumstances and actions that led to the player’s injuries," the officials said.

"Burnaby RCMP is in possession of video showing one angle of the incident, which has been collected as evidence. Investigators are still in the process of speaking with players and witnesses."

In addition to the ejection, the kick suspect also received an indefinite suspension from the ASHL, which said in a statement, "The conduct and on-ice behaviour depicted in the video in no way aligns with the values of our league and the rules of the game."

The pilot who mysteriously died just before a plane made an emergency landing last week -- allegedly "jumping" out of the aircraft -- may have actually fallen after trying to examine the damaged landing gear.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... one of the operating theories is that co-pilot Charlie Crooks went to the back of the cargo plane and opened the back cargo door to inspect the landing gear that was damaged and accidentally fell out as the plane headed for the airport.

As reported first by WRAL, the pilot radioed air traffic control that Charlie had "jumped" out of the plane. A close friend of Charlie's who has flown with him tells TMZ, the notion of Charlie jumping is absurd. The friend tells us, Charlie was excited a few days before the fatal flight at the prospect of being promoted to captain. The friend says he was in a great head space.

The 23-year-old told his friend, the day before he died, the chief pilot from the company that owned the plane was coming out from Colorado Springs to fly with him for 2 days last week ... to evaluate Charlie with an eye toward making him a captain.

As for Charlie jumping out of panic, the close friend scoffs at that notion as well, saying Charlie was cool as a cucumber in the air, recalling that there was a mechanical mishap in one of the planes a while back and Charlie landed it so well -- although the landing was rough -- the company he was working for at the time actually gave him a piece of the plane as a thank you.

The photo (above) shows Charlie at the back of the plane ... sitting on the very door that is being looked at as the one he possibly opened to look underneath at the landing gear.

He posted the pic on social media with a joke "If there's anything we can do to make your journey more comfortable, there is an exit ramp at the rear of the airplane that we will gladly open for you."

The NTSB and other federal agencies are currently investigating the fall and the plane.

Chuck E. Cheese has a hot mess on its hands -- and no, we're not talking about its pizza ... it's a possible lawsuit from the mom of the child who was snubbed by their mascot.

Naney D. Muhammad is the mother of the young Black girl who recently got the cold shoulder at a CEC in New Jersey -- and she tells TMZ ... yes, she's preparing to take legal action against the pizza chain for what she considers overt and blatant racist behavior.

Nancy says she's noticed a pattern of this sort of thing at amusement parks and indoor play areas for children -- and finds it heartbreaking she and her daughter were on the receiving end of it at Chuck E. Cheese.

She tells us CEC corporate fired off a standard statement she feels is empty and void of an apology ... and, as a result, says she's consulting with her lawyer for next steps so justice can be achieved. In her eyes, no kid should be made to feel how hers did that day.

Of course, this might just be the latest in what could become several lawsuits -- we've already seen things like this happen at Sesame Place. One class action lawsuit's already been filed against that Pennsylvania theme park.

Someone at Disney World is reading headlines, or so it seems based on how a Woody character went out of the way to engage Black children waiting along a parade route.

Check out this video posted by a proud dad who took his 2 young kids to Disney's Orlando theme park this week -- it shows the little ones shouting out to a costumed Jessie mascot from the 'Toy Story' franchise as the characters walk down the street lined with cheering fans.

Jessie was on the other side of the street and appeared preoccupied entertaining that part of the crowd, but her pal Woody notices some Black kids and actually responds to them.

Check it out ... Woody flags Jessie down, points to the young'ns ... and they both head over to interact with them -- which is obviously awesome, since they were desperately trying to get Jessie's attention and seem to be really big fans.

Not to turn this into a negative story -- because it's obviously very sweet -- but one can't ignore this happened in the midst of what's become a disturbing trend lately ... namely, mascots/costumed characters at theme parks and such snubbing Black children, allegedly intentionally.

It's been happening all over the country, it seems ... whether it's Sesame Place, Disneyland or even Chuck E. Cheese. All over, some messed-up videos have circulated appearing to show classic characters either ignoring or walking away from kids of color.

While most of the establishments have denied any overt racist intentions, people are having a hard time buying that.

A 911 call was placed by 2 FAA staffers after they got word a pilot of the cargo plane that was about to make an emergency landing had jumped from the plane.

One of the FAA employees is on the call telling the North Carolina 911 dispatcher, "This is from Raleigh Airport ... We have a pilot who was inbound to the field. His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates."

The employee went on to say the co-pilot, 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks, "jumped out without the parachute, so he might have impact to the ground."

He went on ... "I am sure the pilot is going to be shaken up. I have no idea. He literally just said, 'My pilot just jumped out.'"

And, then there's this ... 'I guess at this point in time, all we can do is recovery. I don't know. I don't know. This is the craziest thing ever."

Presumably, the 911 call was placed so local authorities could recover the body, which they found in a backyard 30 miles from the airport.

The plane, which had landing gear issues, crash-landed ... the pilot suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital but released the same day.

There is something bizarre about this investigation ... It's been days, and the pilot who landed the plane still has not been identified and nobody -- the NTSB, FAA, FBI -- has said a word about interviewing him or what he said.

Demi Lovato has been more in touch with her feminine side lately ... so much so, she has decided to include "she/her" pronouns with "they/them."

It was a little over a year ago when Demi announced she was nonbinary, but just opened up about her own personal change on "The Spout Podcast" -- saying she now goes by the pronouns they/them/she/her.

Demi said, "Recently I've been feeling more feminine, and so I've adopted she/her again... But, I think what’s important is, like, nobody’s perfect. Everyone messes up pronouns at some point, and especially when people are learning, it’s just all about respect."

We're told Demi actually made the decision to include she/her back in April ... but this is the first time she's spoken about the change in depth.

Demi says last year she didn't necessarily feel like a woman or a man, when she was faced with a choice, like walking into a bathroom. Back then, she felt her masculine and feminine "energy" was balanced.

Paraglider Kevin Philipp is lucky to be alive after his glider lines became badly entangled while plummeting to the ground -- before literally getting his rescue parachute open about one second before impact!

And, the entire death-defying ordeal was caught on video.

Philipp shared the terrifying clip Monday ... showing him paragliding thousands of feet in the air when suddenly his lines become tangled. Badly tangled.

KP -- who's an aerobatic paraglider (think crazy stunts under a large glider) -- desperately tried to straighten out the lines, but the attempt was futile.

It appears Philipp attempted to deploy his reserve chute, but that wouldn't open, either.

Then, about a second before the would-be impact, Kevin ripped the bag containing the rescue chute, which then opened ... in all likelihood, saving his life, and at the very least, averting serious injury.

"Oh my God!" Philipp yells after landing (hard) into a small tree.

Philipp posted the video on YouTube, explaining "strong turbulence" caused the lines to tangle.

As for how close he was to disaster, Kevin wrote ... "The falling speed increased a lot due to the twisting wing. Very last chance was to manually open the rescue package. Estimated time left about 1 second This was not the day to die!"

Despite the close call, Philipp says incidents like this are uncommon.