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Murdaugh just appeared in a South Carolina court, going in front a judge and being read the charges against him.

Murdaugh has just turned himself in. He reportedly pulled up to the Hampton County Law Enforcement Center in a beige SUV.  Murdaugh was booked at the Hampton County Detention Center and is expected in court later in the day.

The disgraced lawyer faces a slew of charges ... including insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report.

"Dateline" correspondent Josh Mankiewicz knows the bizarre murder/assisted suicide case of South Carolina's Murdaugh family is right up his show's alley -- and he's totally into it -- but he says the location is a bit off.

Josh was leaving The Palm in L.A. Wednesday when we got his take on the endless twists surrounding prominent lawyer Alex Murdaugh, and the unsolved murders of his wife and son.

For starters, Josh, like everyone else, says the case is riveting and people are asking him about it nonstop. Comes with the territory when you're the go-to guy covering true crime cases.

For the uninitiated ... Murdaugh found his wife, Margaret, and 22-year-old son, Paul, shot dead outside their home in June -- and police have yet to make any arrests in that case.

Fast forward to September 4 ... when Murdaugh got shot in the head, but survived. He now admits he hired a hitman to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10M life insurance policy. The shooter's already been arrested and charged with assisted suicide, and Murdaugh's expected to surrender to authorities Thursday.

Josh is blown away by all of this, and that's coming from a "Dateline" vet who's seen it all ... so, ya know we're in uncharted true crime waters. In fact, he says one of the strangest parts of the case is that it's NOT happening in Florida!

Apologies to the Sunshine State, but y'know ... some insane stuff does happen there. 'Memba this and this??? Anyway, Josh also has a tip for Alex Murdaugh, although we suspect it's too late to help him now.

BTW ... S.C. officials announced they're also opening a new investigation into the 2018 death of a housekeeper at Murdaugh's home. 😲

'Bachelor' star Hannah Ann Sluss is not down with seeing her face on Downy laundry products, and she's fed up enough to raise a legal "stink" with a slew of huge companies.

Hannah just filed suit against Procter & Gamble, CVS Pharmacy, Target and Walmart ... claiming P&G is still using a pic of her to sell products on those store shelves, even though its license to do so has expired.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Hannah claims she licensed one of her modeling photos to be used on a single product from October 1, 2017, to October 1, 2019 ... but she says P&G continued using it on multiple products after she got way more famous following her stint on 'The Bachelor.'

In her suit, Hannah claims her image is still being used to hawk at least 6 Downy products ... nearly 2 years after the licensing deal ended.

She's particularly upset one of the products is associated with P&G's "Life Gets Stinky" campaign ... calling it "especially egregious because it associated [her] with the word 'stinky.'"

Hannah's going after P&G, CVS, Target and Walmart for money ... and she's asking the judge to order them to stop selling the products featuring her picture.

Jessica Alba's Honest Co. is being sued by shareholders who claim the company misled them by failing to disclose so many parents stocked up on diapers and other Honest products at the beginning of the pandemic that sales in subsequent quarters tanked.

The shareholders claim in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, they bought Honest stock after the company went public in May, 2021 because the financial reports from 2020 showed gangbuster sales. They figured, hey, this company is on the rise so let's get in now.

Just 2 months later, Honest released a report saying they lost $20 million in the second quarter of 2021, and stock prices plummeted nearly 43% from the public offering price.

The shareholders claim Honest hid an essential fact ... that consumers had stockpiled diapers, wipes and other wellness products because of the pandemic, and by the time the company went public Honest knew sales were falling in a big way.

Now the shareholders do concede ... Honest disclosed that COVID was a driver of high sales and there was no assurance that would continue. But, the shareholders says Honest actually KNEW sales were declining but didn't ante up the info.

Marilyn Manson's rape accuser just had her lawsuit against the shock rocker tossed out of court ... TMZ has learned.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge dismissed the suit Tuesday, ruling the statute of limitations had passed on the woman's claims.

TMZ broke the story ... Manson was sued back in May by a Jane Doe who claims they started dating in 2011 before things took a turn for the worse and he raped her.

Manson's accuser claimed she repressed her memories of the alleged rape ... but the judge dismissed the suit because the woman couldn't specify how her memory was repressed, or why she didn't learn of it earlier.

While this lawsuit is dismissed, for now, we've told you Manson is also being sued for sexual assault by 3 other women ... including his former assistant and "Game of Thrones" star Esme Bianco.

Rapper Mo Fayne's going away for a long, long time for his role in a PPP loan fraud case ... he's just been sentenced to 210 months in prison -- that's 17.5 years.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" star was hit with the prison sentence after pleading guilty to 6 counts, including bank and wire fraud.

Remember ... prosecutors alleged he funded a lavish lifestyle during the pandemic with money from the Paycheck Protection Program. The money was intended to help employees and small businesses hit hard by COVID.

Fayne had cut a plea deal with prosecutors ... who agreed to drop 14 other charges and recommend Fayne get a 151-month sentence. Instead ... the judge hit him with nearly 5 more years behind bars. The silver lining ... he was staring down a possible 30-year sentence if he didn't cut that deal, so take that for what it's worth.

According to the Dept. of Justice ... Fayne submitted a $3.7 million PPP loan application, falsely claiming his trucking business had 107 employees and an average monthly payroll of $1,490,200.

The feds say Fayne promised to use the PPP loan to retain workers and maintain payroll but instead used it for improper purposes ... including $40k for past-due child support, $85k for for jewelry, $136k for a Rolls-Royce, and $907k to start a new business in Arkansas.

Former "Smallville" star Allison Mack couldn't wait to start serving her prison term ... or so it seems, 'cause she showed up more than 2 weeks early to begin serving her sentence.

Allison reported to the facility Monday, according to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, CA. She was supposed to begin serving her sentence on September 29.

Mack was sentenced to 3 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering and one count of racketeering conspiracy in her highly publicized sex cult case. She recruited and directed women to have sex with the leader of the cult.

After her release ... Allison will be on supervised release for another 3 years.

BTW, if FCI Dublin sounds familiar it's because that's where Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman served their sentences for their roles in the college admissions scandal.

As we reported ... Allison was sentenced back in June. The sex cult leader, Keith Raniere, was sentenced to 120 years in prison. Mack was with him in Mexico when he got busted back in 2018.

Cardi B's a mother of 2 now ... so she's asking the judge to postpone the trial over her 'Gangsta Bitch' cover art, which she was sued over nearly 4 years ago.

If you don't recall ... the album cover for Cardi's debut mixtape -- "Gangsta Bitch Music Vol. 1" -- features the rapper sitting back, drinking a beer, while a man with an elaborate back tattoo puts his head between her legs.

Kevin Brophy sued over the image, claiming that's 100 percent him in the image, but he never posed for the photo or gave Cardi permission to use his likeness. He also claimed the ordeal ruined his life and wanted at least $5 mil in damages.

The trial was finally slated for next month, but Cardi's filed new legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- asking for a delay because she just gave birth to her son on Sept. 4.

According to the docs ... Cardi doesn't believe she should be required to travel all the way from the East Coast to Southern California next month, because she needs to be with her newborn for obvious reasons.

She also brings up the risks of COVID from travel and spending extended periods of time in public places, such as airports, hotels, and the courthouse. So, she's asking the court to put the trial on ice for at least 75 days.

A man was arrested after showing up at Ariana Grande's Hollywood Hills home in the middle of the night, then flashing a knife when security tried to get him to leave.

23-year-old Aharon Brown's facing a felony brandishing charge for the incident, which our law enforcement sources tell us went down around 2 AM Friday on Ariana's property.

We're told Brown arrived and demanded to see the singer, and when security told him to beat it ... he refused and pulled a knife. LAPD was called to the scene and arrested him.

It's unclear if Ariana was home at the time, but if she was ... we're told she never came out during the altercation or Brown's arrest.

Michael Che made a bad call when he did a "homegrrl" sketch on his HBO Max show, because he jacked it from a TikToker's "HomeGirl Hotline" bit ... or so she claims in a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... Kelly Manno says she's a popular TikTok creator who came up with the fictional idea of a service where "people unable to cope with certain social situations can call a hotline and order a 'home girl'" to help 'em out.

Manno says she created and posted a video of her bit in August 2020, and it racked up a couple hundred thousand views on TikTok ... while a second one in September 2020 got more than half a million views.

Fast-forward to April 2021 and the release of "That Damn Michael Che" on HBO Max ... Manno claims the sixth episode of the comedy series included 4 segments about a fictional service where people order a "homegrrl" to show up where they are and help them out of uncomfortable situations.

According to the suit ... Manno says each segment ended with a character saying a variation of "Thank you, homegrrl" ... which she claims infringes on her copyright that includes the phrase "Thank you, HomeGirl Hotline!"

Manno alleges this is willful copyright infringement, and she wants maximum damages and an order blocking Che and HBO Max from using it.

Linda O'Leary -- wife of "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary -- has been found not guilty in her criminal trial for a 2019 fatal boat crash on a Canadian lake.

As we reported ... Linda had been charged with careless operation of a vessel, and was accused of drinking alcohol before the boat she was driving struck another, killing 2 passengers.

The verdict was just read in court -- not guilty -- and the judge rejected any suggestion O’Leary was impaired by alcohol at the time of the boat crash ... concluding that alcohol played no part in the accident.

An acquittal will be entered in the case, and Linda's off the hook for any criminal charges.

However, the O'Learys are still facing a wrongful death suit for the fatal crash. They were sued in late 2019 by the family of one of the victims, alleging Kevin and Linda were incapable of safely operating the boat because their judgment was impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue.

Amanda Bynes isn't walking the same path as Britney Spears ... a judge just signed off on her conservatorship remaining in place for at least another year and change.

The former child star had a status hearing in her conservatorship case this week -- and the judge scheduled the next status hearing for March 8, 2023 ... so it looks like Amanda's case will continue until at least then, unless something changes.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the conservatorship must file its next update by January 2023. Amanda's mother serves as her conservator.

Amanda was placed under the conservatorship in 2013 after a string of bizarre episodes -- including a disturbing store surveillance video -- that revealed her mental health struggles.

Since then, she's been relatively low-key ... staying out of the spotlight and pursuing other things outside of acting, like a design career via the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She's also gotten engaged and dabbled in rap music too.

Vili Fualaau -- estranged husband of the late Mary Kay Letourneau -- was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after nearly hitting a police car ... law enforcement tells TMZ.

A Washington State Patrol rep tells TMZ ... Fualaau was driving erratically on the highway around 4 AM Saturday when he made an abrupt lane change and nearly struck a Seattle PD vehicle.

We're told Vili was pulled over and a state trooper was also called to the scene. Cops say Fualaau had bloodshot, watery eyes and performed poorly in field sobriety tests and after he submitted to a voluntary breath test ... he was arrested.

The result of his test has not been disclosed, but it clearly didn't help get him off the hook -- Vili was taken to the Snohomish County Jail and booked on a DUI charge.

As you'll recall ... Fualaau is best known for his notorious relationship with his teacher, Letourneau, which made headlines in the late '90s. She was 34, married and had 4 children when she began having sex with him -- her 6th-grade student. He was either 12 or 13 at the time.

Mary pled guilty in 1997 to 2 counts of felony second-degree rape of a child and ended up serving 7 years in prison, but also gave birth to 2 of Vili's kids ... and after she was released, they got married in 2005.

A death row inmate Kim Kardashian has been advocating for finally got a major break in his fight for freedom -- the guy got the green light, albeit partially, to maybe walk out one day.

There's a recommendation to commute Julius Jones' death sentence to life with the possibility of parole. The recommendation is from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board... which now means his fate lies with Gov. Kevin Stitt, who'll decide whether to follow the suggestion.

Stitt's office says he takes his role in this process seriously, and will carefully consider what the Board has recommended here -- as he does with all cases.

Jones isn't at the end of the tunnel yet ... but he's closer than he ever has been before. The decision came down on a 3-1 vote -- with one of the members recusing themselves after calls from the D.A.'s office to do so ... and allegations of bias and conflict of interest.

Alex Weintz -- one of the reps for Julius’ family -- tells TMZ … "We are overjoyed," with the rec, while adding, "Although that recommendation means he will not be walking out a free man as soon as we hoped, Julius would be able to spend his days inside prison no longer on death row and, in the future, be eligible for parole."

Weintz says the entire team is praying Gov. Stitt rules in their favor so Jones can return home for the first time in over 20 years.

As we reported ... Kim visited Julius on death row back in November of last year, meeting with his family and working behind the scenes to help out. She became interested in his case after watching Viola Davis' docuseries, "The Last Defense" ... which spotlighted Jones.

Jenn Harley won't be dragged into court over her domestic violence case from earlier this year -- because the charges have been dismissed.

According to the Clark County District Attorney's Office ... prosecutors are dropping the 2 criminal counts they'd filed against her this summer -- assault with a deadly weapon constituting domestic violence (a felony) and misdemeanor battery constituting domestic violence.

Unclear why they're letting it go -- we're trying to get clarity from the D.A. -- but in any case, Jenn is walking free from this one.

You'll recall, Harley -- who shares a daughter with "Jersey Shore" star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro -- was arrested and subsequently charged after her now ex-BF, Joseph Ambrosole, claimed she pointed a gun at him and threatened to pull the trigger during a nasty altercation while out on the town.

He also alleged she dropped the n-word repeatedly while doing so. This, of course, followed what we were told amounted to Jenn driving off with Joseph's car and leaving him behind following an argument they had at an establishment.

All the fighting was supposedly over Jenn's drinking -- something she'd addressed by checking into rehab. Her attorney, Michael Cristalli, had also told us the domestic violence charges against her wouldn't stick because they were "unsubstantiated."

A California man is in Capitol Police custody after cops found several weapons in his truck -- including a freakin' bayonet -- and Nazi swastikas all over on his ride ... as he camped out near the Democratic party's HQ.

44-year-old Donald Craighead was arrested early Monday morning in D.C. -- where cops say one of their officers noticed him lurking in his pickup outside the DNC headquarters. To the cop, he seemed suspicious ... having no visible license plate, and baring painted-on swastikas on the vehicle.

The cop approached to see what was up, and USCP says their guy saw a bayonet and a machete inside, plus a ton of other white supremacist symbols. Craighead -- who had come all the way from Oceanside, CA -- was booked for possession of prohibited weapons.

As for what the heck he was doing there in the first place, Capitol Police say Craighead told them he was on "patrol" ... and that he started spewing hate-filled rhetoric.

Cops posted pics of the weapons allegedly found during the bust, and it's a pretty eerie scene ... especially the swastikas.

Blueface allegedly attacked a club bouncer with the help of his 2 pals, leaving the dude in stitches ... and now, cops are on the case.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Blueface tried rolling up to Skinny's Lounge late Sunday night in the San Fernando Valley, but got stopped at the door by a security guard who asked to see his ID.

We're told Blueface noted he didn't have one, and asked the guard if he knew who he was ... apparently, whipping out his phone to Google himself and show he was famous. The guard didn't care though, we're told, and wouldn't let him in without proper identification.

That's when things allegedly turned physical ... our sources tell us Blue, and a couple buddies with him jumped the bouncer and then left. The guy had to be transported to a hospital by ambulance -- where we're told he was treated for bruises and scratches that required sutures.

We also got a hold of photos showing the alleged injuries, and they look pretty gnarly. You can see the bouncer was left bloodied.