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Meek Mill isn't going to get his 2008 gun conviction tossed after all -- at least not entirely.

Philly's prodigal son went back to court with his legal team Tuesday, where his team was attempting to avoid a retrial after the original conviction was thrown out. Meek decided to end the battle ... 'cause he copped a plea.

Meek pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a license -- and remaining 6 charges for which he was originally convicted were all dropped. Back in 2008, Meek had been found guilty of 7 charges, 4 of which were related to the gun.

Meek spoke to the public briefly afterward, but wasn't all that chatty. He thanked his supporters and those who came out Tuesday as well. He said he wasn't on probation anymore, and that he was free at last. The D.A. in Philly has confirmed he's off probation.

He could've gone to trial if he wanted -- and very likely would've won -- but it looks like Meek is trying to put this saga behind him completely with the plea offer.

As we've reported, it's unlikely the case would've gone to trial again ... considering the key witness ended up being a dirty cop -- not to mention this would be taking place more than a decade after the alleged crime ... and any other witnesses' memories would be hazy at best.

You'll recall ... Judge Genece Brinkley sent Meek back to prison back in 2017 with a harsh sentence of 2-4 years behind bars after she found Meek had violated his probation in the 2008 conviction. A lot of people think Judge Brinkley had it out for him.

He ended up doing about five months before getting released.

Meek said Tuesday's hearing, "I’m extremely grateful that my long legal battle is finally behind me and I appreciate that it has sparked a much-needed discussion about probation reform and the inequalities that exist within our two Americas."

He added, "I have always told the truth — that as a teenager, who saw many around me die from senseless gun violence, I carried a gun for protection. I take responsibility for that and – in conjunction with my work on the REFORM Alliance – I’ll continue to use my platform to make communities safer and reform our criminal justice system."

Lori Loughlin and her husband showed up in Boston as a super united front, prepared to tell the judge they want the same lawyer to rep them in their college bribery case.

These pics were snapped as Lori and hubby Mossimo Giannulli arrived Monday at the airport in Beantown after flying in on a private jet.

They'll be in court Tuesday for a hearing ... to inform the judge they will waive any possible conflict of interest by having the same lawyer rep them both. It doesn't always happen this way ... sometimes, couples get separate lawyers and it turns ugly when they start finger-pointing at each other. Clearly not the case here.

As we reported ... both Lori and her hubby pled not guilty after prosecutors slapped them with a number of charges -- including conspiracy to commit money laundering that carry significant prison sentence. Prosecutors claim they paid upwards of $500k in bribes to get their daughters into USC. Lori and Mossimo claim they had no idea the scheme was to get the girls in on a rowing scholarship, despite snapping pics of them on a rowing machine.

If convicted, both Lori and Mossimo face a maximum of 40 years in prison.

Felicity Huffman chose a different path ... she pled no contest to conspiracy and money laundering and prosecutors are recommending 4 months behind bars.

The trial for Lori and Mossimo is set for early 2020.

Kanye West wasn't the only member of his family spreading goodwill in Dayton, Ohio this weekend ... Kim Kardashian used the trip as an opportunity for more prison reform.

As we reported ... Kanye brought his popular Sunday Service to Dayton in honor of those killed and injured in the mass shooting earlier this month. Kim and at least 2 of their kids were on hand for the service, but we're told she was busy with her mission as well.

Sources close to Kim tell TMZ ... she took time over the weekend to visit a prison just outside the city and met with officials, staff members and inmates. We're told she was given a tour of the facilities to check out the conditions the inmates live in and learn about programs available to them.

As you know ... along with pursuing a career as an attorney, Kim's big passion the past couple years has been working to free prisoners serving unjust sentences -- like Alice Marie Johnson -- and improve the lives on inmates both behind bars and upon release.

She's taken her efforts all the way to The White House, at least a couple times, and is filming a new docuseries about the criminal justice system in America.

A$AP Rocky has returned to the Big Apple, and his happy-go-lucky vibes are palpable ... this after his turbulent experience in Sweden.

We got the Harlem-based MC Sunday night going in and coming out of The Bowery Hotel in NoHo, Manhattan, where our camera guy asked how he was feeling being stateside again after being held in Swedish custody for about a month. "Happy AF" is an understatement.

Rocky was even more ecstatic as he was leaving, telling us what his takeaway is after going through what he did -- an arrest, a long holding period, a trial, and an eventual guilty verdict (but no further jail time), just to recap. Watch ... life's simple when you're free.

As we've reported ... A$AP's been on the West Coast quite a bit since touching back down in America -- going to Kanye's Sunday Service, and even headlining a show in Anaheim.

Based on how he's been acting since he's been back ... you can tell the dude's got a new outlook on life. As he says here, he's no troublemaker ... just a "pretty motherf***er."

"Black Ink Crew" star Alex Robinson is coming after the boss and a member of his family ... suing for $1 million over a vicious beating caught by VH1 cameras.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Robinson is suing "Black Ink Crew" star Ceasar Emanuel and Emanuel's costar/cousin, Teddy Ruks, for battery ... claiming they jumped him back in October 2018.

In docs, Robinson says they physically attacked him and struck him with a closed fist over and over. He also claims the beatdown left him with permanent pain and disability. He wants more than a million bucks.

The bad blood between Alex and Ceasar reached a boiling point last season during a pre-wedding party for a coworker. Long story short ... you see Ceasar pummel Alex while Teddy comes from behind and joins the attack. A brawl erupts ... leaving Alex with a HUGE bump on his head.

It didn't end there ... just days later, cameras followed Alex being rushed to the hospital where doctors told him he suffered significant tendon and ligament damage to his back.

Fast forward a few episodes ... Ceasar admits on camera hiring a P.I. to follow Alex to determine if he was faking the injury. Ceasar said the P.I. confirmed the injuries were real, and he felt terrible about practically putting Alex out of business ... since he can no longer sit and tattoo anymore. Ceasar said he was told Alex can't even pick up his son anymore.

Your favorite rapper's go-to spot for the freshest bling in NYC is probably gonna be closed for a sec ... 'cause the place got held up at gunpoint in the middle of the day.

The robbery went down Sunday afternoon at Avianne and Co. in Midtown Manhattan, when at least three guys who were posing as customers whipped out handguns and cleaned the place out. And, by cleaning 'em out, we mean making off with tons of high-valued goods.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the robbers bounded the employees with zip ties and then emptied out a safe and cleared out a good amount of their display cases. It's unclear how many jewelry pieces (or how much cash) they left with, but safe to say ... it's worth a lot.

Rappers like Blueface, Kodak Black, Big Sean, Offset and other Migos, Lil Pump, Lil Uzi Vert, Fetty Wap and a bunch of other famous folks have walked out with intricate custom pieces from this joint that are valued at tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars.

We doubt Avianne and Co. would have such pricey products out in the display cases, but an authentic Cuban link chain from a store like this could run thousands of bucks alone.

Based on all that, it's likely the guys who pulled off the heist walked away with quite the bundle.

Howie Day was arrested in NYC after a woman claimed he'd assaulted her -- this a year after he was arrested for something similar ... TMZ has confirmed.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Collide" singer was busted Friday after he allegedly got into an argument with a woman at a hotel in Manhattan's Financial District. Things got so heated that cops were eventually called ... and the woman reported that Day had grabbed her, thrown her around, wrapped his hands around her throat and squeezed.

When cops arrived, we're told 8 Xanax pills were found in Howie's pocket. The woman, whose relationship to Howie is unclear, reportedly sought medical attention and got a protective order against Howie as well.

He was booked on charges ranging from assault with intent to cause physical injury, criminal obstruction of breathing and possession of a controlled substance. Howie was reportedly arraigned Saturday, where he's said not to have entered a plea. He bailed out on $500 bond.

This, of course, is a huge deal ... seeing how Howie was arrested in April 2018 for a similar alleged incident -- only that one was caught on video. In surveillance footage, obtained by TMZ, you can see Howie shove his then-girlfriend, Carrie Pencek, at least once.

He's also on tape slamming the car door, throwing his music gear around and looking visibly upset, which promoted Carrie to get out of the vehicle in a panic. At the time, cops showed up at his house to arrested him for fourth-degree assault.

Terrence Howard's success heading into the final season "Empire" just bit him in the ass -- or should we say the wallet -- because a judge is ordering him to give his ex-wife a huge chunk of his TV earnings.

Michelle Ghent scored a 7-figure W Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court when the judge said enough is enough, and ruled Terrence must pay her $1.3 million. About $263k of that is reportedly back spousal support -- and another $1.05 million is based on the fact he's pulling in big money.

Terrence is reportedly now making north of $250k per episode of "Empire." Michelle and Terrence's money battles have been dragging on since 2013 -- and, by comparison, he was only hauling in somewhere around $120k per episode in 2015, when the show debuted.

TMZ broke the story, Michelle filed docs last year requesting her ex pay her more than $900k in back spousal support, so today's ruling -- first reported by the NY Daily News -- is a massive legal victory for her.

There's more bad news on the horizon for Terrence -- Michelle's attorneys fees.

On Friday, the judge said the fees looked "reasonable" and set a hearing for next week to determine exactly how much he'll have to pay -- but Michelle says the tab is expected to be more than $1 million.

Rapper Jackboy -- Kodak Black's protege -- was busted in Florida after police say they found him eating marijuana in an effort to hide the illegal substance during a traffic stop!!!

Jackboy was arrested Thursday in Pompano Beach ... and police say, after they pulled him over for driving around with tinted windows, his BMW sedan reeked of reefer and an officer noticed him chewing something strange.

According to the police report ... cops ordered Jackboy out of his whip, and told him to open his mouth, revealing what turned out to be chronic!

After spitting out the saliva-covered sativa, Jackboy was booked for possession of marijuana and tampering with physical evidence.

Jackboy only had a little bit of tree on him, but Florida ain't California or Colorado ... the Sunshine State still takes weed very seriously.

Seems Jackboy is taking the Kodak Black playbook a little too far ... Kodak's got a long rap sheet too and, as we reported ... KB just pled guilty to lying on federal gun applications.

Former 'Bachelor' Chris Soules is on board with a 2-year in prison sentence, but he's getting a pass on doing time behind bars.

Soules' attorney filed docs accepting the D.A.'s proposed sentence for his conditional guilty plea to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious injury. The D.A. recommended he get a 2-year suspended sentence, and Soules is officially accepting the deal.

The judge still has to sign off on the deal, but assuming it's approved ... Soules would effectively be on some form of probation under the supervision of Iowa's Dept. of Correctional Services for the 2 years.

As we reported ... Soules entered his plea in November. The crime is an aggravated misdemeanor.

Prosecutors say Soules slammed his pickup truck into a John Deere tractor in April 2017, sending the tractor and its driver flying into a ditch. Chris remained at the scene until EMTs arrived, but he bounced before cops showed up. He insisted he did everything in his power to help the driver, who eventually died.

Soules' attorney argued his client suffered a concussion during the crash and claimed Chris dialed 911 and administered CPR before paramedics arrived.

You'll recall ... Soules was arrested at his house after initially refusing to come out. Prosecutors say he bought booze before the fatal accident.

However, according to docs, Soules' lawyer says all witnesses at the scene agreed there was no indication he'd been drinking.

Soules appeared on season 19 of "The Bachelor" in 2015.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino only has a few weeks left to serve on his prison sentence, but the 'Jersey Shore' ladies can't wait that long ... so they're exercising their First Amendment rights to make it happen NOW ... but they picketed at the wrong building!

JWoww, Snooki, Angelina and Deena made donning "Free Sitch" t-shirts and carrying picket signs to get The Situation out of lockup early, but there was one problem -- they don't quite have the clout of Kim Kardashian ... who actually got inside The White House.

The girls' effort to jawbone with Donald Trump proved futile, but it looks like they got their landmarks wrong, because they ended up picketing outside The Treasury Building. Last we knew, the Treasury Secretary can't pardon felons.

Hey, it's the thought that counts.

In true 'Jersey Shore' fashion, at least one member of the cast had to embarrassingly eat sh*t on camera ... unsurprisingly, it was Deena.

She once said, "Face down, ass up ... that's the way I like to have a good time" ... looks like she takes that motto on the road.

As we reported, the Sitch officially started his 8-month prison sentence for tax evasion back in January. He's due to be released September 12 ... no thanks to his castmates ... or the President.

New episodes air Thursdays at 8 PM ET/PT on MTV

Britney Spears can travel far and wide in the United States, but her dad wants everyone to know, wherever she goes, don't mess with the conservatorship.

Jamie Spears just filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the judge in the L.A. case to allow him to file conservatorship papers in the following states -- Alabama, Arizona, Washington D.C. (we know, not a state), Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

The reason ... our Britney sources say Jamie wants to fend off people -- notably Britney's former friend and manager, Sam Lutfi, and her mom, Lynne Spears -- from going into states where Britney goes and file for a new conservatorship that puts them in charge.

Jamie has already done this in Florida, Louisiana and Hawaii ... all places Britney visits from time to time. As for the new states and D.C., we're told she has various connections there -- friends and family mostly.

Mr. T pities the fools over at Leafly ... the weed company he claims is ruining his rep by using his name ... so he says in a new lawsuit.

The legendary actor is suing Leafly -- think Yelp but for stoners -- claiming it's promoting a hybrid cannabis strain called Mr. Tusk ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ. The issue ... Mr. T's pissed Leafly's logo to promote the strain uses his iconic name ... "Mrt."

According to the docs ... Mr. T says the logo will confuse consumers into thinking he's in bed with the weed company. He says for nearly 40 years, Mr. T has authorized his name to be used for promotion and branded products but he is NOT and never was on board with Leafly using "Mrt."

Kodak Black just did an about-face and cut a deal in his federal firearms case.

The rapper was in court Thursday for a change of plea hearing where he told the judge he was now pleading guilty ... after initially pleading not guilty to lying on federal gun applications.

Kodak has been in federal detention since his arrest in May -- the judge denied his request to be released on bond, calling him a danger to the community. His sentencing is now set for November 13, and he could get several years in prison.

As we reported ... Kodak was busted at the Rolling Loud festival, when officers had warrants for his arrest after he'd been indicted on the false statement charges.

Kodak's alleged firearm application lie ... is that he was NOT under any indictment for a crime that could land him behind bars for over a year.

Of course, the rapper IS in the middle of a very serious criminal case -- he was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in 2016 at a hotel in South Carolina.

Paz de la Huerta, who's already accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, claims to have new explosive facts about him, but she's willing to keep it out of the courts -- IF he ponies up big time.

According to a demand letter obtained by TMZ ... the actress wants at least $2 million from the disgraced Hollywood producer or she'll file a new lawsuit against him. She's previously sued him over 2 alleged incidents in 2010.

To add some extra firepower, Paz is threatening more damaging allegations against Weinstein. Among them ... she claims Weinstein developed an "immoral and unwholesome interest in her sexually" when she was just 14, and working on the film, "The Cider House Rules."

The actress also alleges The Weinstein Company rented apartments in NYC that were used "exclusively for the illicit sexual activities of Harvey Weinstein" ... including a unit on the same floor of the building where she lived as a child.

She alleges this rental was used to track her as she grew and continued to offer her work ... and then he raped her when she came of age.

Even worse, de le Huerta suggests Weinstein's company -- including his brother, Robert -- knew about his proclivities and should have warned her.

As we reported ... Paz and her lawyer met with prosecutors last month, but so far the Manhattan D.A. has declined to criminally prosecute Weinstein over her allegations.

If she gets the multi-million-dollar settlement she wants, she promises not to file a new civil suit and to stop pushing for criminal charges.

Drake and Big Freedia have a New Orleans musician in his feelings ... according to a new lawsuit, he says the rappers straight-up jacked his beats and passed them off as their own.

Samuel Nicholas III -- who goes by Sam Skully -- is suing the rappers claiming they used his beat for their hit collab, "In My Feelings." He also claims Drake stole another one of his beats for his wildly successful track, "Nice For What"

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Sam Skully claims Drake and Big Freedia sampled a portion of his 2000 track, "Roll Call," but they never asked for permission and never forked over any dough.

In the docs, Sam Skully claims he published the beat on a CD he released in New Orleans way back in 2000, but says he didn't know his work had been stolen until years later ... when Drake and Big Freedia released songs that started climbing the charts.

Sam Skully is also going after a ton of huge record companies -- Asylum Records, Cash Money Records and Republic Records -- and he's suing for damages.