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2:40 PM PT -- A spokesperson for Young Thug tells us he "did not get shot at ... somebody took a shot at the car DJ Keyz was in. He is fine. It was a minor injury and not serious. Young Thug was long gone and not involved."

Young Thug's car and 2 party buses filled with his team were targeted in a hail of bullets early Friday morning in Miami, according to multiple witnesses ... and 3 people were injured.

Witnesses tell TMZ ... Thug was riding in a Ferrari alongside the 2 buses on I-95 around 6 AM when someone pulled up next to them and opened fire. Law enforcement sources say 2 men and a woman who were on the buses were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

Young Thug was not hit. While the witnesses say the rapper was on the scene when the bullets flew ... sources close to him say he had left the party an hour earlier.

It appears the whole group was on the way to the Miami Beach Hotel before the shooting went down. Young Thug had performed at LIV Nightclub Thursday night. He's scheduled to perform again Saturday at the Rolling Loud Festival in Miami.

Cops are investigating the shooting.

This is the second time this week a famous rapper's been targeted. As we first reported ... Offset escaped a shooting Wednesday night in Atlanta.

12:32 PM PT -- Darden just joined us on "TMZ Live" where he further explained his reason to back off of the case. He also said that while he's got a lot of haters ... his supporters really show out to help him as well. Darden hopes the same attention that people put into intimidating him off of the case will be used to stop violence in the streets.

Nipsey Hussle's alleged murderer is going to need a new lawyer -- Christopher Darden is quitting the case ... and it sounds like a wave of death threats to him and his family were just too much.

Darden says he's filed a motion to withdraw as Eric Holder's defense attorney. Holder happens to have a hearing scheduled for Friday in L.A. Superior Court, and Darden says it's the last time he will appear in court on the case.

Darden, who famously prosecuted O.J. Simpson in his double murder trial, says he's received death threats since taking Holder's case -- and the flood of hatred reminded him of the O.J. case. As he put it, "Just as they were in 1995-Cowards never change. These days these cowards don’t send letters instead they sit anonymously behind keyboards threatening a man’s mother and children."

Darden hinted he might reveal more in the future about exactly why he's bailing on Holder -- aka "Shitty Cuz" -- but made it clear to his haters that he won't forget ... "To those who issued those threats to my children please pay close attention so there is no misunderstanding. Later. F**K YOU!"

Truth is, Darden's been mercilessly berated ever since agreeing to defend the man accused of killing someone as beloved as Nipsey. One threatening tweet said, "Remember it was written in the book of life that the children shalt suffer from what the parents do."

But, Darden wants to make the point that under the Constitution, EVERYONE deserves a defense in court. He says, "After centuries of a history of black men hung from trees without trial, or after the thousands of cases of black men tried, convicted and executed without counsel ... I cannot understand why in 2019 some people would deny a black man his 6th Amendment right to counsel of his choice."

9:36 AM PT -- Sources close tell us baby #4 was born Thursday and weighed 6 lb. 9 oz.

5/10 9:05 AM PT -- The new baby West has arrived. Kim just tweeted, "He's here and he's perfect!" She continued, "He's also Chicago's twin lol I'm sure he will change a lot but now he looks just like her."

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are about to be the proud parents of a brand spankin' new baby boy -- their surrogate's in labor!!!

Kourtney and Kris Jenner taped an episode of 'Ellen' Thursday with all of the Kardashian kids ... including Kim and Kanye's. Kourtney acknowledged Kim was supposed to be on the show but couldn't make it because there were urgent matters to attend to ... i.e., labor! And, get this, we're told Kris didn't even know.

Our sources say Mom and Dad were at the hospital Thursday night with the surrogate. Don't know for sure if they'll be in the delivery room, but she was the last time around for the birth of Chicago.

As we reported ... KW and KK hired a new surrogate to carry their fourth kid to term -- not because they were dissatisfied with the last one ... she was simply unavailable. The woman -- who was in her early 20s -- had her own child this past December ... less than 12 months after popping out baby Chicago. As a result ... the couple had to go with another surrogate.

This new surrogate's profile never became clear ... but ya gotta imagine Mom and Dad went with someone who was equally capable.

Kim and Kanye used a leftover embryo they created to bring this newest baby to life. He'll join three siblings -- North, Saint and Chi -- as the sixth member of the family.

As you know ... Kim's got a full plate. Aside from studying to become a lawyer and running of beauty empire, she's dedicating much of her time to prison reform, helping first free Alice Marie Johnson and Matthew Charles. Just last week, she helped free a man given a life sentence.

We'll keep ya posted on when baby #4 pops out ... but here's an early CONGRATS!!!

Nipsey Hussle's brother wants to take control over the late rapper's estate ... and he's asking the court to be put in charge of about $2 million worth of assets.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Nipsey's brother, Blacc Sam, says he needs to take over Nip's affairs so he can make good on tons of business opportunities that keep flowing in.

In the docs, Blacc Sam says Nipsey died without a will ... and the docs list property worth $2,035,000. It's possible that's not all the money Nipsey saved away. As we first told you, Nipsey set up multiple trust funds for his kids and family.

Blacc Sam claims his brother's sudden death whipped up a media frenzy, and it's bringing loads of time-sensitive business opportunities because of Nipsey's life story and rap career ... so he wants to be the estate's administrator STAT.

TMZ broke the story ... Nipsey was gunned down March 31 outside his Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles.

12:07 PM PT -- Vladimir Putin FELL DOWN HARD while skating around the rink following the game.

Putin clearly didn't see the red carpet on the ice and when he hit it, Vlad fell face first.

One of his teammates tried to warn him but to no avail.

Thoughts and prayers for whoever put the carpet down ...

It's that time of year again ... when Russian president Vladimir Putin straps on the skates and plays ice hockey with a bunch of his famous countrymen, including ex-NHL players.

And, how did ol' Vlad do???

TOTAL DOMINATION, COMRADES!!!

Of course, it's easy to score on opponents who are in constant fear of being sent to the gulags ... but hey, PUTIN!!!

The 66-year-old crushed his enemies right from the initial puck drop ... posting 8 goals in the annual exhibition match alongside ex-NHL stars Slava Fetisov and Pavel Bure.

Hey, last year Putin only scored 5 goals -- so he's getting better!!!

Putin's teammate -- Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu -- scored 3 goals in the 14 to 7 victory.

The opposing team had some notable players too -- including Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin and Putin's longtime pal, Gennady Timchenko.

R. Kelly's ongoing criminal case and assortment of legal issues aren't stopping him from getting action ... at least according to several callers who want it to be known.

Sources close to the case tell TMZ ... the hotline Kim Foxx set up in January for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office -- so alleged Kelly victims could report their claims -- is being exploited by folks who want to report something else -- their sexual experiences with him.

We're told the hotline has gotten dozens of calls from mostly women, who phone in to inform prosecutors they slept with Kelly ... with some bragging about it or detailing multiple trysts.

Our sources say some men called in as well ... to gossip about women they know that allegedly banged Kelly.

We're told the volume of calls coming in from people with R. Kelly sex stories has been staggering to some involved with the case, but at the end of the day ... they are irrelevant.

Obviously, a person can have lots of consensual sex and still be guilty of sexual assault charges. Still, it's just another strange and unexpected aspect of Kelly's ongoing legal drama.

As we reported ... he just avoided another trip to jail by ponying up the back child support he owed his ex-wife Wednesday, and he's getting a do-over in a sexual abuse lawsuit he initially lost by not responding.

Of course, all of this is going down as he waits to stand trial on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving underage girls.

Billy Joel got a pretty special birthday gift -- 2 of his daughters, who are 30 years apart in age, joined him onstage at his show ... to wish him a happy 70th.

Mr. New York State of Mind put on a show for a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden Thursday night -- the 64th time he's done so -- but this concert happened to coincide with the legendary musician's bday.

So, his oldest daughter, Alexa Ray, made sure her big shot dad didn't get away without a song sung in his honor ... and brought out Billy's 3-year-old daughter, Della Rose, with her for the occasion.

Pretty sweet moment, and it even includes the awkward "... happy birthday dear Billy/Dad" confusion that almost always happens when you sing the song to a family member while surrounded by 20,000 friends.

Classic.

And, in case you're wondering ... Alexa is Billy's first child from his marriage to Christie Brinkley. He also has 2 daughters with his current wife, Alexis Roderick -- Della and 1-year-old Remy Anne.

Remy didn't get any stage time ... but we're sure Joel will have many more MSG shows to make it happen.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg had an opportunity to use his rescue dogs as a credential in his run for The White House, but he didn't bite.

We got the Prez candidate Thursday night in WeHo at The Abbey -- perhaps the most famous gay bar in the U.S. of A., where he held a fundraiser to a packed house at $25 a pop.

Our photog asked Pete about his 2 rescue dogs -- Truman and Buddy -- and how it might reflect on him. It's an opening, right, to talk about compassion for the forgotten, but Pete kinda left it with the fact he and his husband, Chasten, really dig dogs.

Buttigieg was in L.A. for a bunch of fundraisers ... after leaving The Abbey Pete beelined it for Gwyneth Paltrow's digs, starting at $250 a pop. And earlier, he had another fundraiser where tickets started at $250 if you were under 37 -- his age -- but more if you were older. If you wanted a pic, it was another $2,800 and if you wanted a John Hancock you had to shell out a grand.

Money ... the mother's milk of politics.

Jennifer Aniston went HAM on a fan trying to sneak a selfie vid with her on the street, but unlike Conor McGregor she won't be arrested for it ... 'cause it's all for TV.

Jen was shooting a scene for her new Apple TV+ show, "The Morning Show," in NYC Thursday night ... and it features her going off on a guy and snatching his phone.

Check it out -- Aniston unleashes an f-bomb rant and looks primed to punish the dude's phone, but fortunately ... Reese Witherspoon's there to talk some sense into her!

If only Conor -- or Offset for that matter -- had someone like Reese in their crew.

"The Morning Show" is an upcoming dramedy web television series starring Aniston, Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Billy Crudup. It's described as "an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning."

T-minus 4 days until Anthony Weiner is back on these streets.

The disgraced ex-Congressman will finally complete his stay at a halfway house on May 14, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. As we first reported back in February ... Weiner got out of prison, but was not yet a free man. He was transferred to a residential re-entry center in NYC.

Once he's officially out, he'll be under supervised release for 3 years and he'll have to submit to DNA testing with his probation officer. He also must register as a sex offender and pay a $10k fine.

As we've reported ... Weiner started serving his 21-month prison sentence in November 2017 after pleading guilty to sexting with a 15-year-old girl in North Carolina. He was initially supposed to get out in August 2019, but good behavior slashed his sentence 3 months to May 14.

As you know by now ... Weiner resigned from Congress after his sexting scandal in 2011. His NYC mayoral run fell short in 2013 after it was uncovered he was sexting Sydney Leathers under the infamous alias, "Carlos Danger."

He may be retired, but Rob Gronkowski's still training like a pro ... even while partying at the club!

The ex-NFL superstar was celebrating his girlfriend, Camille Kostek, being selected as a cover model for the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition at the Wall Lounge in Miami.

The party was crazy -- a bunch of the S.I. models turned up to turn up ... and when they displayed Camille's cover on the big wall, Rob and CK started dancing their faces off.

At one point, Gronk put CK on his back and began doing deep squats -- BECAUSE HE'S A BEAST AND HE'S ALWAYS LIFTING, BRO!!!

Before the club, a bunch of the models hit up Irma's at W South Beach for a kickoff party. Some of the stars in attendance include UFC's Paige VanZant, Tyra Banks, model Veronica Pome’e and Hailey Clauson.

Congrats!

Jermaine Jackson is slamming Quincy Jones for removing Michael Jackson references from his orchestral show in London ... Jermaine thinks Quincy's caving to outside pressure.

We got Jermaine at LAX and asked him about Quincy's decision to scrub all references to the King of Pop from his upcoming concert across the pond ... and Michael's big bro had a very stern message for the legendary producer.

Quincy's orchestral show at The O2 arena in London next month was originally billed as a live performance of 3 classic MJ albums -- "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- but now Quincy is calling it a "soundtrack of the 80s."

As you know ... Quincy produced Michael's 3 biggest albums, and the 2 will forever be linked. Jermaine tells us it's grossly unfair for Quincy to try and distance himself from Michael.

So far, Quincy isn't saying what prompted the change ... but there's been a lot of media pressure in the UK to mute Michael in the wake of "Leaving Neverland." Jermaine feels Quincy is listening to the wrong voices. BTW, the movement fizzled in the U.S.

Dennis Rodman claims he's NOT A THIEF -- telling TMZ Sports allegations he participated in a clothing heist at a yoga studio this week are just wrong.

Or as Dennis put it ... "We didn't steal sh*t!!!"

We spotted the NBA Hall of Famer leaving The Abbey in West Hollywood on Thursday with the same group of friends who were with him at the VIBES Hot Yoga studio in Newport Beach earlier this week.

As we previously reported, the owner of the studio claims Dennis and his crew stole more than $500 in clothing off the racks before breaking (and taking) a $2,500 crystal art piece. The whole incident was captured on surveillance video obtained by TMZ Sports.

But, Dennis claims it's all a giant misunderstanding -- insisting the staffers at the shop told the group they could take "a couple of gifts" in exchange for helping to move the giant crystal art piece ... which is why they grabbed the items.

Rodman never explains why his female companion tried to shield herself from view while stuffing shirts into her purse at the store ... or why the staff needed help moving the crystal in the first place.

"I tried to help ... as the good person I am," Rodman said.

When asked why the store owners filed a police report, Rodman and his crew insisted the yoga place was just looking for "exposure."

Remember, Rodman is still on probation from a 2018 DUI arrest -- but Dennis says he's not worried about this incident possibly triggering a violation because he's adamant he did NOTHING wrong!

"Am I going to jail? No."

Rodman also disputes claims he was drunk during the situation.

Cardi B has the Midas touch ... her new spring collection is nearly sold out after raking in over $1 MILLION bucks in the first 24 hours!!!

Our sources tell us Cardi's second collection with Fashion Nova is already vastly outperforming her first collab with the fast-fashion giant, a pretty tall order considering her first venture sold out within minutes.

We're told Fashion Nova prepared for "Season 2" of Cardi's spring-summer line collection by having nearly 5 times the amount of inventory as the first go-round ... and they're still struggling to meet the demand, with the vast majority of styles selling like hotcakes.

The numbers are impressive, but here's something else to give you a sense of just how wildly successful Cardi the businesswoman is ... Nasdaq is congratulating her with a massive billboard in Times Square!!! Now that's clout.

As we reported ... Cardi rolled out her new line as only she could, by shaking her ass and rapping during a launch party at the Hollywood Palladium. Tons of celebs showed up to support Cardi, including Master P, YG, Romeo, Lamar Odom, Nikki Bella, Swaggy P and Jeremy Meeks.

If you didn't get your hands on some Cardi B fashion merch, don't give up hope yet ... we're told Fashion Nova is planning weekly drops for each style to give everyone a chance to snag her new designs.

Just be sure to keep your finger on the trigger, or you might miss out. Okurrr!!!

"Jersey Shore" star Vinny Guadagnino needs a scooter to get around ... because he's nursing a severely sprained ankle that could throw a wrench in his new Chippendales gig.

We've just obtained video of Vinny cruising down the Las Vegas strip in a scooter ... and you can clearly see a huge black boot over his right foot. We're told Vinny recently suffered a really bad ankle sprain during rehearsals for Chippendales.

Vinny's scheduled to perform with Chippendales every weekend through the end of the month ... so a sprained ankle could seriously affect his new line of work. Anyone who's been to Chippendales knows the hunks put their bodies to the test to put on a good show.

But, Vinny's Jersey tough ... we're told he's been pushing through his injury, and he rides the scooter and slips on the walking boot during the week to keep his bum ankle from getting worse.

The NBA will NEVER make its employees play nice with Donald Trump ... that's according to league commissioner Adam Silver, who says if teams want to skip the White House, it's their prerogative.

No NBA champion has visited Donald Trump since he's occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., with last year's Warriors actually opting to visit Barack Obama instead of the sitting Prez.

It's been quite the controversy, with many people suggesting players from all sports should put patriotism over politics and go to the White House. Some think the leagues should compel the players to go.

We got the NBA commish in D.C. and he says that'll NEVER happen in his league, telling our guy if teams want to skip it ... so be it.

"It's a team decision, we'll see who the champion is this year, and what they decide."

There are 7 teams left in the NBA playoffs -- Milwaukee, Portland, Denver, Houston, Toronto, Philly and Golden State. Last year, the Warriors famously blew off Trump to meet with Obama.

"A lot of our players still have relationships with President Obama and I think it's wonderful," Silver told us ... "Players make their own decisions, organizations make their own decisions."

Speaking of Obama, Silver also talked about the NBA's ongoing relationship with #44, and how they're partnering to do some big things in Africa.

"President Obama is doing a lot with the NBA. We announced down in Charlotte at the All-Star game that he was gonna be involved in Africa with us, we're starting a league down there. He's one of our partners."

Silver's a busy guy these days -- on Thursday, he was a featured speaker at a 400-person luncheon at the Economic Club in D.C. where he talked about the NCAA's 1-and-done issue.

Among the high-profile guests in the crowd ... Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- who's a big basketball fan.

In fact, Kavanaugh famously still coaches his daughter's youth basketball team.