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Prince Harry reportedly waited until the last minute to let the Royal Family know he's writing a memoir ... one for which he's getting a big fat 8-figure check.

Penguin Random House -- the publisher Harry's partnered with for this -- made the announcement Monday, saying the Duke of Sussex's book is due out sometime late next year, and which will essentially be the "definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him."

So, essentially ... it's Harry's story in his own words. Well, sorta -- he's rumored to be using a ghostwriter, who's apparently getting a small cut of Harry's reported $20 million advance. Harry's reps say whatever profit the book makes will go to charity.

As for Harry, he put the news about his memoir this way ... "I'm writing this not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become." He adds, "I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I've learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that's accurate and wholly truthful."

PH's rep told British outlets he is not expected to get formal permission from Buckingham Palace or Queen Elizabeth to move forward -- and it's unclear if he's even going to run the final thing by them for accuracy. Word is he's almost completed the first draft.

Of course, there are reports the Royals are kinda pissed, as Harry supposedly didn't loop them in on his plans until very recently -- and, of course, they see it as yet another opportunity for him to bash them -- a la the Oprah interview.

It's interesting ... especially since Harry's had some facetime with his fam since the Oprah sit-down, including earlier this month with his bro, Prince William, at an unveiling of a statue honoring their mother, Princess Diana.

Nicki Minaj is hooking up the mall cop who let one of her fans rap in a Zara, and it sounds like his 15 minutes of fame comes with an added bonus ... some social media clout with the Barbz!!!

We got the security guard, Michael, out Monday in NYC after he'd gone viral for letting one of Nicki's barbz, Zha Chanel, perform a cover of the new track, "Whole Lotta Money" ... on which Minaj features.

Michael was actually with Zha when he told us what went down when Nicki let her followers know she was looking for him to give him a gift for looking the other way during Zha's impromptu gig.

Sounds like Zha -- along with Michael's store manager -- went out of their way to get him connected to Nicki, and he says he couldn't believe it.

After Nicki got proof it was really him, she told Michael she was going to like one of his Instagram pics to get the likes rolling in ... and he says his phone's been blowing up ever since.

Even better -- she also tagged him in one of her IG stories ... so now his follower count's skyrocketing too!

Michael says he's enjoying the ride, and he's not sure if he's going to get in any trouble for letting Zha do her thing, but he doesn't care if he does -- he's just happy to support Black artists, and get some positive vibes in return.

Jeff Bezos says he wants his virgin trip to space to become something everyday people can do on the regs -- almost like catching an airline flight ... which his company is aiming to do through their shuttles.

The richest man on Earth made the morning media rounds Monday, including a chat with Michael Strahan of 'GMA' -- who went down the line, introducing the 3 others accompanying Bezos to space Tuesday and hyping their launch.

82-year-old astronaut Wally Funk said she felt like her life dream was coming full circle; 18-year-old Oliver Daemen said he hoped he could serve as an inspiration for the youth, and Mark Bezos said he was excited to go on yet another adventure with his sibling ... with this trip obviously being the ultimate.

Standard pre-maiden trip to space kinda stuff -- but Jeff also dropped some new insight into Blue Origins plans with their shuttles -- namely, that they're planning to turn the spacecrafts eco-friendly by making them reusable for repeated voyages going forward.

He compared it to commercial airliners that zip back and forth in the skies now -- explaining that he and BO hope to get to that type of efficiency in the near future. So ... that's neat.

The implication (we think) is that it hopefully won't cost folks an arm and a leg to get up there one day. No telling what type of eventual price tag Bezos has in mind -- but if they're serious about the rinse and repeat approach ... maybe there's a future Groupon coming???

If the show "America's Dumbest Criminals" is ever revived it's got prime content courtesy of a woman in Oklahoma who got herself arrested after commenting on Tulsa PD's "Most Wanted" Facebook post ... about her whereabouts.

So, here's the deal, Tulsa PD posted Lorraine Graves as the "Weekly Most Wanted" for accessory to murder in a homicide that went down earlier this year. Graves' comment was about the reward money. She asked, "What's where's the reward money at." Not smart.

The post was quickly flooded with comments from others ... including a woman who said, "Giiiiirl you better stay off social media they can track you!!" A man responded, "Ain't gonna be as funny when you get processed." The post drew around 1,200 comments.

The day after the post ... cops say detectives tracked down Graves and arrested her and charged her with accessory to murder. Her bond's been set at $500k.

Two other suspects had previously been arrested earlier this year and were reportedly hit with murder charges for a shooting that killed a 30-year-old man at an apartment complex.

Nicki Minaj sure does appreciate the fan love she receives -- but she loves it even more when her adoring base can worship her uninterrupted ... for which one mall security guard is getting a personal shout-out from the Barbz herself.

The rapper reposted a video originally shared by TikTok user @zhachanel2 ... in which they take an impromptu karaoke sesh -- with a new song NM is featured on, "Whole Lotta Money," -- right into a designer fashion store in a what appears to be a mall somewhere in NYC.

So, imagine a Times Square street performer busting into a Zara and literally cutting loose with a portable speaker. That's exactly what happened here, and that's when security stepped in to shut it down ... well, kinda. The dude half tried, but didn't seem to care.

Check it out ... he tells Zha and their photog that they can't be "doing that" in here -- but he makes no real attempt to stop it ... instead, choosing to walk and throw his hands up.

Nicki loved the fact that the dude let the show go on ... taking to IG to write in part, "it's the security guard sayin "y'all can't do that in here" while walking AWAY from the festivities chile I am TIDE," going on to explain that the whole interaction was absolutely hilarious to her.

Queen Nicki wasn't done there though ... she followed up with another message on her story, and it sounds like she wants to hook the guard up for not being a jerk and letting Zha do the damn thang.

She says, "Someone tell the security guard in that video I posted that I'm lookin for him." Nicki adds, "I wanna send him a gift for being such a sweetheart to one of my babies."

The sleeping arrangements for the Olympics have surfaced -- athletes will crash on boxes, limit 1 per customer ... something honchos apparently don't want tested with bedroom shenanigans.

Check out the beds that have been set up all throughout the Olympic village in Tokyo, where world-class athletes will arrive by the end of next week for the start of the games. As you can clearly see, these babies are made out of good old-fashioned cardboard ... seriously.

The beds' frames and modest mattresses are designed by a company called Airweave -- and they've cranked out upwards of 18,000 for the Olympics. Yes, they're somewhat intricate in their structure and configuring ... able to be adjusted to an individual's liking/contortion.

However, a running theory is that the beds are made this way for a reason -- namely, the International Olympic Committee and other organizers supposedly want to discourage sex among athletes ... a pastime at the games that's getting pooh-pooh'd this year due to COVID.

A handful of Olympic athletes -- some who've already touched down in Tokyo, and others who haven't -- are testing positive for the virus ... including U.S. tennis player Coco Gauff.

Still, U.S. track and field star Paul Chelimo got in on the joke, explaining that it was clear to him the Olympic powers that be don't want any banging going on ... because these beds, theoretically, only support the weight of one person. NBD for runners, though!!!

He writes, "I see no problem for distance runners,even 4 of us can do😂." The implication being ... runners are light, so a couple of them probably wouldn't break the bed.

There's also the tradition of handing out condoms, which got a 2021 asterisk. The Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee reportedly told a Japanese outlet the condoms aren't supposed to be used, but brought back to an athlete's home country for safe sex education.

In other words ... keep it in your pants this time around. That, or risk hitting the floor.

The 'Fast and Furious' crew's got nothing on this driver ... who is miraculously alive after her car flew through the air -- nearly clipping power lines -- and crashed back down on a highway.

The video was captured by the dash camera of another driver who had impeccable timing. Last Wednesday, they were driving on Highway 99 in Yuba City, CA ... when suddenly a white compact vehicle came flying over an embankment!!!

It looked exactly like a scene out of 'Dukes of Hazzard' -- but there's was added danger from power lines!!! Yeah, the car appears to have threaded the needle, narrowly missing the lines as it flew, flipped and smashed down onto the highway.

The family whose camera captured the scene immediately called 911, and cops say the driver was taken to a hospital for treatment. Not only did she survive, but we're told she walked out of the hospital after somehow suffering only minor injuries.

Police tell us alcohol was not a factor. An eyewitness told Sacramento's CBS13 the car had sped by his business moments before it failed to maneuver a sharp turn. Instead, it went off the road, up the embankment and into the air.

Los Angeles County is now under a new mask mandate (again) -- which went into effect at midnight -- but before the clock struck 12 ... Angelenos got in their last bit of maskless fun -- especially at SoFi Stadium ... with Kaskade behind the wheel.

The venue was jam-packed with people Saturday during the EDM DJ's headlining set -- with Deadmau5 as the surprise opener -- which got underway not long before people would be forced to cover their mouths and noses once more ... due to a new surge in coronavirus cases, of course.

Check out the video ... concert-goers were huddled close together, and there didn't seem to be very many masks (if any) among the crowd. Seems they were milking the opportunity down to the last hour, because as of 12:00 AM PT -- the mandate went into effect.

It's unclear just how many people showed up for Kaskade and co. ... but considering the place has a capacity of 70,000 seated (and even more standing), we'd say it was probably close to that, based on how crowded it looked from a quick glimpse.

If COVID numbers are, in fact, surging again like they say ... then this definitely doesn't seem like the best way to spend one's time right before another masking rule gets ushered in.

Popeyes is gearing up for the release of its chicken nuggets in more ways than one ... because it desperately wants to avoid the violence that came with its sandwich chaos.

Who can forget the nationwide madness in fall 2019 when folks were scrambling, kicking and even punching to get the restaurant's new chicken sandwich. Long lines were the least of their troubles, as multiple fights got out of hand ... and there was even a fatal stabbing.

Nearly 2 years later, a rep for Popeyes tells TMZ ... the sandwich release problems are still fresh in their minds, and "across the system, franchisees have worked to increase staffing to better meet the demand for Popeyes new Chicken Nuggets."

We're told corporate execs are visiting locations all over the U.S. in person to "identify ways first-hand the brand can quickly meet the excitement and interest from our guests of our new product."

Likewise, Amin Dhanani -- President of Popeyes Operations for Dhanani Group -- tells TMZ it's staffing up at all of its roughly 300 franchises and insists employees will be ready for the high demand for nuggets.

He says everyone was caught off guard by the 2019 sandwich craze, but now they know what to expect and will be more properly equipped to handle it. Dhanani is a bit concerned about running out of supply when the nuggets roll out July 27, but Popeyes is reportedly already stockpiling ... just in case.

Bill Burr tore into CNN for what he claims to be a fear-driven agenda that seeks to keep viewers restless and divided ... and one which needs Trump to keep ratings high.

The comedian absolutely obliterated the 24/7 cable news station in his latest installment on his "Monday Morning Podcast," the newest episode of which he just dropped a couple of days ago. He starts out talking about his day-to-day life/observations ... and then dives into the news.

Check it out ... Bill says his mother-in-law will come over to help watch his kids, and flip on CNN habitually -- which he says pisses him off, because he considers them "f****** morons" who do nothing but talk Trump, day in and day out ... even after he's left office.

The reason for that, he muses, is because President Biden is a "bore" -- that ... and he wears a "blue tie."

We'll let Bill do the talking here -- but his rant is worth a listen. In his eyes, he considers CNN just as bad as FOX News and MSNBC ... and any other cable news outlet, as he seems to think they're two sides of the same coin -- pounding one POV into viewers' heads.

He also gets into the dreary approach to news coverage in general -- constantly harping on negative stories like fires, racial tension and the pandemic. Bill says if he ran a news show, he'd go with the 1-step forward, 2-steps back approach ... giving a positive story every now and then instead of making people want to put a "gun in their mouth," as he puts it.

Usher is officially playing Vegas -- and the one thing we imagine he/his team are probably thinking now that show #1's in the books is ... why the hell didn't we do this sooner???

Not kidding here -- the singer's debut residency show Friday at Caesar's Palace turned out to be everything anyone could've expected ... and perhaps more. And, based on the footage that's surfaced from the performance ... fans seem to be guaranteed to walk away satisfied.

Just check out some of these clips of Mr. Raymond doing his thaaang onstage in front of a reported 4,300 spectators -- selling the place out to the last seat -- who sang along, danced and did callbacks with a crazy amount of enthusiasm. Almost like it was 2007 again! 😆

Frankly ... it might be one of the best received Vegas residency shows we've seen in a while -- which just goes to show the strong fanfare Usher carries, even today. BTW, the dude's still got it bad ... but as "bad" as he was being with his moves (humping the stage, pelvis thrusts, etc.), the audience might've had it even worse, 'cause they were eating it up.

Usher is said to have gone through a bunch of his hits, including "Nice & Slow," "Yeah!" "My Boo," "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love," "OMG," "Caught Up" ... and, of course, "Confessions."

His stage design was something to behold too -- it looks like they made a full-blown makeshift club for him ... complete with an upper deck, stripper poles and lights galore. Usher was even seen throwing his now-infamous "Usher bucks" ... which make sense in this setting.

In other words, Usher and co. pulled out all the stops for opening night -- and it looked like one helluva party. Word is ... his next several shows are completely sold out for a good while -- proving that, yes, the demand is there ... he may just be the hottest ticket in Sin City right now. Again -- getting him on the Vegas slate was clearly a no-brainer good move.

We must confess -- it's a little surreal seeing him here. Residency shows are usually reserved for your favorite acts of the past (no hate on the legends who play there) ... and it would appear Usher's crossed over in that regard. He was still hot stuff some 7-8 years ago!!!

A video of two women being tossed from a swing along the edge of a 6,000-foot cliff AND SURVIVING might have you saying 2 things -- thank God, but also ... HOW?!?

Check out this gut-wrenching clip from this past June -- just now surfacing -- of what appears to be a group of tourists visiting Russia's Sulak Canyon near Dagestan ... the bottom of which lies a little more than a mile below where these folks were to get a view right before things drop off ... thousands of feet up high.

For some reason, it looks like someone installed a swing set right on the ledge -- where people can get on the bench and be pushed over into the canyon side for a thrill/better view of what's below. Sounds neat in theory ... that is, until you see what happened next.

The two ladies plop down into the seat -- which looks to be connected to the swing set by a couple chains -- and then a man starts to give them a few pushes to catch momentum ... and catapult further and further over the edge. All seems to be going okay, at first, until their last swing forward.

Suddenly, one of the chains snaps, and the two women literally get flung from the seat and fall over ... and down. It's absolutely terrifying -- and you can tell as much by how people reacted around them. The video cuts out shortly after that, but there's a happy ending.

Reports say there was a wooden platform just beneath the ledge here -- good thinking on whoever put it there -- and that these women landed safely on that not too far down below ... suffering minor injuries and being able to be successfully rescued by family members.

Damon Dash almost followed in Alice's footsteps back to Wonderland -- walking face-first into a see-though wall he apparently didn't see ... perhaps speaking to where his head's at lately.

The rap mogul arrived for a podcast sesh Thursday with TV producer Rob Weiss, Shawn Chase and O'Neal McKnight to be a special guest on their weekly offering of "The Cray" ... where the gang talks all things culture, lifestyle, politics ... and just real-life experiences.

As you can imagine, they were stoked to have Dame come on and share some knowledge -- but the dude had a bit of a whoopsie-daisy moment trying to enter the recording room ... slamming right into a clear, glass wall separating the spaces of their floor.

Don't worry -- he didn't hit it too hard ... but it definitely knocked him back a bit -- and it got a laugh from the rest who were around. Understandable, we suppose ... DD has been in a bit preoccupied lately on more serious fronts, like with Roc-A-Fella and Jay-Z.

Remember ... he's been in a legal war with his old company and biz partner over IP/interest he's trying to unload for some dough -- namely, selling Jay-Z's first album, "Reasonable Doubt" as an NFT, plus ... trying to sell off his 1/3 stake in RAF, which a judge just shot down.

Unclear if he got into any of that with the Cray crew -- but it sounds like we'll find out soon enough ... we're told this episode is set to air soon on PodcastOne.

A terrifying video has surfaced showing the moment a 6-year-old girl in Kentucky was dragged by her school bus for 1,000 feet ... while the driver remained oblivious to what was going on.

The video of the incident -- which went down in 2015 -- is expected to be shown in Jefferson County Court as part of a civil suit against the driver, Melinda Sanders, and the school district. The video -- first obtained by WAVE-TV Louisville -- starts with the little girl exiting the bus ... but then things go horribly wrong when her backpack gets caught by the doors.

You can see the girl desperately trying to get the bus driver's attention ... but the driver takes off and doesn’t seem to check if the girl had properly exited the bus first.

In the video ... a student's seen standing next to the bus driver but the student doesn't notice the girl's little body being dragged. The bus even makes a left turn and you can hear cars honking at the bus.

The driver tells a student to sit down and THEN seems to finally notice the little girl's caught in every parent's worst nightmare. The bus driver was promptly fired after the incident.

The New York City model who went viral for her chic outfit is finding work easier to come by now, thanks to her biggest fan ... Gigi Hadid.

Here's the deal ... Gigi was riding around NYC Thursday when she saw a woman crossing a street, and she snapped a pic and posted it on her Instagram story, saying the woman was her "inspiration of the day."

The woman in the photo is a model herself, Nanga Awasum, who tells TMZ ... Gigi's viral post is quickly helping her book new gigs, including a job with Maybelline and a brand ambassador partnership with Nasty Gal.

Nanga also tells us a pair of major modeling agencies reached out to try to sign her ... and folks on Twitter are petitioning to get her on "Gossip Girl," because she's tweeted about wanting to act on the show.

Nanga's viral moment was quite serendipitous ... she says she was leaving a Nike set when Gigi spotted her. Naturally, Nanga didn't even really like her outfit, and was self-conscious about the look.

She was actually shopping for something to change into when other customers came up to her and told her she was going viral on Gigi's IG story.

Nanga tells us Gigi is one of her favorite models, and she's been dishing out some industry advice since their chance meeting.

Gigi's approval means the world to Nanga ... as a Black model in NYC, she says she hears "no" all the time from folks in the industry, and to have one of the biggest models in the world shout her out makes her feel validated.

Golf star Tyrrell Hatton melted down on the course at The Open on Friday ... snapping his club in half in a wild temper tantrum that was all caught on broadcast cameras.

The 29-year-old -- who's currently the #10-ranked golfer in the world -- completely lost his cool on the 18th hole at Royal St. George's Golf Course at the end of his second round.

Hatton hit his approach shot into the green about a dozen yards off target ... and after the poor shot -- he took his anger out on his iron.

Cameras captured the dude going BALLISTIC ... stomping on his club twice, before breaking it in half with his hands.

Somehow, despite the outburst, Hatton was able to get up-and-down for par ... but it likely won't matter, 'cause the dude is probably still going to miss the cut with a +2 score.

It seemed Hatton figured that was likely going to be a reality throughout his round on Friday ... 'cause the club snap was just one of THREE incidents he had on the course.

In a prior hole, cameras caught him flipping off somebody near the green.

And, at another point in the round, hot mics also captured the England native dropping an F-bomb.