TMZ.com

Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino -- the man who the L.A. County D.A. alleges killed 13-year-old Oscar Omar Hernandez -- deserves the death penalty, one U.S congressman says ... and, he blames California Governor Gavin Newsom for making that impossible.

We spoke with U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) Wednesday about this case ... and, he tells us the moratorium on the death penalty instituted by Gov. Newsom in 2019 has had disastrous consequences.

Among them, Kiley says, the people of California voted to keep the death penalty legal ... and, the governor stepped in to override the rule, making criminals less afraid of committing major crimes. California Proposition 62 -- which would've repealed the death penalty -- failed back in 2016.

So much for Wendy Williams' guardian insisting Wendy is allowed to leave the confines of her assisted living facility to visit with family, because the guardian just torpedoed a night out with Wendy's niece ... according to sources with direct knowledge.

Wendy planned a night out with her niece, Alex Finnie and her new personal lawyer, famed attorney Joe Tacopina. They were going to have dinner at a New York City restaurant ... that is, until Wendy's guardian, Sabrina Morrissey, put the kibosh on Wendy leaving the 5th floor of the facility, which Wendy calls "a luxury prison."

Interesting ... since the lawyer for Morrissey recently sent TMZ a letter, insisting Wendy was not being kept from her family and she could see them whenever she wanted. Well, it seems clear that's not the case.

Bryan Kohberger's autism diagnosis may come up at his murder trial, but the state won't argue it elevated his alleged crimes to an even more severe level ... because a judge just ruled they can't.

Kohberger appeared in court Wednesday, and the conversation turned to his recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder ... which the judge made clear should not be used by the state of Idaho during the sentencing phase -- if he's found guilty -- as an "aggravating factor." BK's attorney argued the diagnosis should keep him from being sentenced to death.

An "aggravating factor" is a factor in the case which makes the crime even more heinous ... such as premeditation, committing the act in front of a child, or showing a lack of remorse, for example. So the judge is basically granting the defense's request.

11:15 AM PT -- Marieangela King tells TMZ ... "We had a beautiful 13-year journey, filled with memories I’ll always cherish. I know we’ll remain friends, and Elijah will always hold a special place in my heart. As we turn the page to this next chapter, we kindly ask for privacy and truly appreciate your understanding."

Elijah Blue Allman's wife has filed for divorce again ... a little more than a year after claiming Allman's mother, Cher, once orchestrated a kidnapping of him.

Marieangela King Allman filed for divorce Tuesday, citing the boilerplate irreconcilable differences.

She lists the date of separation as March 31 ... a little more than 12 years after the two married in December 2013.

Liam Payne's friend Roger Nores -- who was with the One Direction singer in his final chaotic days in Buenos Aires -- is taking legal steps to drop a lawsuit he filed against Liam's dad.

Roger beelined it to court Wednesday and filed new legal docs to dismiss his defamation lawsuit against Geoff Payne.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Roger says he wants to dismiss the suit without prejudice ... meaning it could be refiled in the future.

8:55 AM PT -- A spokesperson for The New York Times tells TMZ ... "Our comprehensive investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against Mr. Weinstein was rigorously reported over many months and based on on-the-record interviews, legal settlements paid to accusers and other documents. None of the facts in our coverage are in dispute. Mr. Weinstein acknowledged his misconduct in a statement that was published in full in The Times. He's since been criminally convicted of rape and sexual assault."

Harvey Weinstein is inserting himself into the Justin Baldoni-Blake Lively legal battle ... and blasting the New York Times for allegedly doing the same thing to him that the paper of record did to Baldoni.

The jailed Hollywood producer issued a scathing statement to TMZ about the NYT's role in the bitter legal fight between Justin and Blake over their 2024 movie, "It Ends with Us."

As you know, Blake and Justin starred in the film and Justin directed it, but it ended with both filing lawsuits against each other -- Blake accused Justin of sexual harassment and smearing her name ... Justin accused Blake and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, of waging their own smear campaign to destroy his reputation.

Sada Baby is going into the mug shot hall of fame ... after striking this epic expression while being booked in jail on a felony drug charge.

The Detroit rapper posed for his mug shot during his booking process this week at the Macomb County Jail in Michigan, where he's being held on a drug charge stemming from a traffic stop ... according to FOX2 Detroit.

Sada Baby was pulled over in January for allegedly driving with tinted windows and an outstanding warrant. Cops say they searched his car and found "possible illegal contraband."

Hip Hop music industry legend Kevin Liles is preparing to try and dismiss a sexual assault lawsuit against him.

Kevin filed new legal docs Tuesday asking for permission to file a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this year by a woman who claimed he raped her way back in 2002 while he was an executive at Def Jam Recordings.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Kevin claims he will argue to dismiss the case on the grounds that the woman waited too long to file her claims and the statute of limitations on her claims has run.

4:38 PM PT -- Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman tells TMZ ... "In denying parole for Sirhan Sirhan ... Governor Newsom took into account his young age at the time of the crime (24), his lack of any prior arrests or convictions, his difficult upbringing in the war-torn Middle East, his success in getting college degrees and engaging in rehabilitation in prison, his risk score which was the lowest on the scale, his age (77 years old), his diminished health, and the amount of time in prison (54 years).

He continues ... "Notwithstanding those factors, Governor Newsom stated that his lack of full insight into actions and taking complete responsibility for them overweighed the other facts to show that he remained an unreasonable risk of danger to society. Sirhan Sirhan never made up a self-defense defense, never suborned or attempted to suborn perjury, and never lied repeatedly at trial under oath."

He concludes ... "In contrast, while the Menendez brothers have many of the same positive characteristics of Sirhan Sirhan in favor of parole or resentencing, they have never accepted responsibility for lying about their self-defense defense and suborning and attempting to suborn perjury concerning their fabrications of stories of their father violently raping Lyle's girlfriend, their mother trying to poison the family, and their friend supposedly giving them a handgun the day before the murders. As a result, if Sirhan remains an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, then so too do the Menendez brothers -- who have never come fully clean of their lies in over 30 years -- constitute an unreasonable risk of danger to the community."

Sirhan Sirhan's lawyer is calling out Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman ... saying the new D.A. is getting some bad information about RFK's alleged assassin.

Hochman's been trying to use the Sirhan case to keep the Menendez Brothers behind bars in their bid for freedom ... but Sirhan's attorney tells us Hochman is confused about some basic facts.

Angela Berry, who represents Sirhan, tells TMZ ... Hochman is pushing a common misperception about Sirhan when he says Sirhan admitted to the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and then later claimed his innocence, and she says Hochman is making an unfair comparison to Erik and Lyle.

An Ohio teacher who was convicted of having sex with an underage student has accused her estranged husband of "extreme cruelty" amid their divorce, TMZ has learned.

Emily Nutley pled guilty Monday to two counts of sexual battery after being accused of having a sexual relationship with a student at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati ... and her plea comes in the middle of her messy divorce.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Emily's husband, Jonathan, filed for divorce in November 2024 ... only weeks after prosecutors indicted her for having a sexual relationship with a teenage student.

Tony Buzbee is taking legal steps to try to dismiss a Jay-Z lawsuit against him, claiming they struck a deal and Jay reneged -- but Jay's camp says Buzbee is full of it.

Buzbee, the Texas lawyer famous for representing 120 alleged Diddy victims, filed new legal docs Monday to dismiss the defamation lawsuit Jay-Z filed against him in Alabama.

Tony was representing the Jane Doe who claimed Jay-Z and Diddy raped her in New York back in 2000. She ultimately dropped the rape lawsuit ... and Jay-Z then sued her and Buzbee in Alabama, where she lives, over bringing the case in the first place.

Erik and Lyle Menendez are firing back at Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman ... telling him it's stupid to compare them to Sirhan Sirhan because they actually admitted to killing their parents.

The Menendez Brothers distance themselves from RFK's assassin in new legal docs where they push back on Hochman's motion to withdraw his predecessor’s motion to resentence them.

Hochman's on the record saying Erik and Lyle should not gain their freedom, comparing their case to the denial of parole for Sirhan ... but the brothers say there's no way to seriously put them on the same plane as Sirhan.

Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan aren't worried about being on the radar of some powerful federal prosecutors in New York ... their lawyer's brushing off an SDNY investigation as "merely a formality."

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the Tate brothers' attorney, Joseph McBride, confirms the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating Andrew and Tristan ... and then said the probe is no biggie.

McBride claims he talked Monday with Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Kelly about the Tate investigation ... he says he asked Kelly whether Andrew and Tristan needed to come in for questioning and claims he was told they did not.

Russell Brand says sex is a big reason why he wanted to be famous in the first place ... and he claims he would never have sex with someone without their consent.

The British actor and comedian just went on a long rant on his Rumble show, "Stay Free with Russell Brand," doubling down on his denial of rape and sexual assault charges against him in London.

Russell notes the charges all stem from alleged incidents from 1999 to 2004 ... and he says back then he must have been "captured by some kind of darkness" because his life was all about sex, drugs and alcohol.

Russell Brand is being sued for sexual assault for an alleged incident on the "Arthur" movie set, and the studio behind the film is offering to turn over unseen footage from the production.

Warner Bros. Discovery told a court the company is ready to hand over outtakes from "Arthur" as part of a civil sexual assault case against Russell in New York ... according to a new report in The Times of London.

As we reported ... a woman sued Russell and WB in 2023, claiming Brand exposed his penis to her on set and then sexually assaulted her in a bathroom on the same day of filming.

Cassie plans on testifying during Diddy's upcoming trial -- and it won't be anonymous, TMZ has confirmed.

"Victim 1" is "prepared to testify under her own name" during the upcoming trial, where Diddy will defend himself against charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Cassie is the person known as "Victim 1." There are three other alleged victims who have requested their identities remain secret during the trial. Prosecutors say using pseudonyms instead of real names will prevent harassment and other adverse consequences for the alleged victims.