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Elon Musk got into a big 'ol Twitter fight with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, trading jabs over the billionaire's intent to charge verified users a fee to maintain their status on the social media platform.

Musk -- Twitter's new owner -- announced this week he would implement a policy charging an $8 monthly fee for users to keep their blue check badges to prove their accounts are authentic. He originally set the price at $20, but then lowered it. It's unclear when he plans to make the $8 fee official.

This didn't sit well with many critics and AOC, who sent out a flurry of Tweets Tuesday/Wednesday, giving Musk a piece of her mind.

"Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that 'free speech' is actually a $8/mo subscription plan," the New York congresswoman tweeted.

AOC followed up with another zinger ... "One guy's business plan for a $44 billion over-leveraged purchase is apparently to run around and individually ask people for $8. Remember that next time you question yourself or your qualifications."

She even complained that her Twitter notifications weren't working properly.

Musk then got into it with her. The Tesla/SpaceX boss tweeted a photo of an AOC sweatshirt selling on her website for $58, seemingly defending his $8 subscription fee by showing she, too, is trying to monetize her business.

But, the Democratic lawmaker wasn't having it, tweeting ... "My workers are union, make a living wage, have full healthcare, and aren’t subject to racist treatment in their workplaces. Items are made in USA."

Musk fired back ... "Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8." AOC landed the last punch, though, declaring she had "gotten under a certain billionaire's skin" next to a laughing emoji.

Chief Keef is in legal hot water ... a California judge issued a bench warrant after the rapper failed to show for a court date.

Chief Keef was MIA from a Wednesday court hearing relating to his DUI case, so the judge issued a $10K bench warrant.

Things seem to have been unraveling for Keef, legally speaking, since his arrest for DUI back in June 2021.

According to our sources, there was an outstanding warrant in that case from missing a court hearing. Law enforcement sources tell us cops were running plates during a routine traffic stop last month and pulled Keef over for driving on a suspended or revoked license. That's when officers saw an active warrant in the system from the DUI case, and Keef was booked and released without bail.

Our law enforcement sources tell us Keef was ordered to appear Wednesday in court but never showed, which led to the new warrant being issued.

Halloween costumes like Jerry Jones' "blind referee" play into stereotypes that the visually impaired are incompetent ... so says the National Federation of the Blind, which tells TMZ Sports these kinds of outfits are "harmful."

Jerry dressed up in a ref uniform and sported sunglasses and a walking stick over the holiday weekend ... in an attempt to playfully go after NFL officials for missing penalty calls.

While Jones certainly isn't the first person to sport the costume, the NFB tells us it's an "unfortunate" choice ... especially because it leans into the underlying stereotype that the blind are "incompetent."

"When anyone perpetuates that stereotype, it's harmful," Chris Danielsen, the NFB's director of PR tells us ... pointing out nearly 70% of blind people are unemployed.

Instead of ripping into the Cowboys owner for his choice, Danielsen believes this can be a teachable moment for Jones and anyone else considering wearing costumes that make light of the blind.

"He does have blind Cowboys fans," Danielsen added. "They show up at games and put on headsets or listen on the radio. It may be something for him to think about."

Danielsen says there are plenty of blind people who want to be more involved in sports in any capacity ... and the "blind referee" costume only complicates things for them.

Before this baby with 'tude turned into a reality television star and a hot shot real estate agent, she was eyeing the camera and serving an adorable pout while growing up in Beverly Hills, CA.

This brunette babe has 3 younger sisters (who all resemble each other) ... and she has paved the way for them at her step dad's real estate agency. If you're a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan ...  you've definitely seen her with her famous momma.

Need one more hint? You can catch her on Netflix's "Buying Beverly Hills" this month!

The future is bright for Future when it comes to his real estate portfolio ... because he just dropped 10 figures on an island paradise.

Real estate sources tell TMZ ... the "Mask Off" rapper just bought a $16.3 million home on Allison Island in Miami Beach.

The place is absolutely palatial ... it's 8,897 square feet of pure luxury, as the 7-bedroom home features picturesque water views from the super exclusive island.

The master bedroom has a full wet bar and wine fridge, plus two huge walk-in closets and a private balcony spanning the entire length of the home.

Future's new crib has a backyard that sounds straight out of a tropical resort ... there's a pool and a spa, plus multiple dining areas and even a place to park a yacht. Miami living at its finest.

Jordan Karp represented Future in the sale, while Dina Goldentayer of Douglas Elliman repped the sellers.

Jemele Hill says she's had enough with rappers dying from gun violence ... and wants to see folks come together to talk about how to stop it once and for all.

We got Jemele at LAX Wednesday and asked her for solutions following Takeoff's death in Houston ... she's calling on artists, record labels and politicians to start tough conversations on gun violence.

While Jemele senses some of these talks may be going on behind closed doors ... she highlights why it's important to discuss issues and solutions surrounding gun violence in a public forum.

As we reported ... Takeoff was shot and killed this week while visiting Houston, the coroner's reports says bullets struck the Migos rapper in the head and torso.

Jemele also has strong thoughts on the practice of rappers "checking in" with certain people wherever they are traveling -- comparing it to "some slave s***." She says Black people should never have to feel unsafe going into another area.

For Jemele, she wants industry leaders to say enough is enough after the shooting deaths of Takeoff and PnB Rock -- lamenting the fact nothing's really changed since Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were gunned down back in the day.

Jay-Z wants to sell his D'Ussé cake and eat it too ... at least according to Bacardi, his partners in the top-shelf liquor, who now claim he's trying to double the brand's value and make a bundle.

Bacardi's subsidiary, Empire Investments, responded to Jay's lawsuit, and in the docs it says both parties actually had a "handshake deal" last December ... in which Empire agreed to buy  Jay's 50 percent stake in the cognac line.

But the company alleges Jay "abruptly reneged on its agreement and doubled its demanded valuation."

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Jay's company, SC Liquor, exercised an option last year for Bacardi to buy him out. They had been 50/50 partners in D'Ussé since its inception in 2012. Bacardi doesn't disagree with that, but takes issue with Mr. Carter's attempt to "outrageously inflate" the price ... in their words.

In the new docs, Empire/Bacardi doesn't say what, if any, price they'd agreed upon when they made the handshake deal -- much of the document is redacted as we're guessing neither side wants any valuation of D'Ussé to be made public at this point.

As we reported, Jay thinks Bacardi is trying to lowball him on the price, and that's why he filed the lawsuit.

As for his demand for his partners to open up the books ... the company says it already handed him more than 800 pages of financial records, and says any further documents he wants are not for his eyes, because they involve Bacardi data ... which they see as entirely separate from the D'ussé venture.

Nikolas Cruz, the monster who murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The 24-year-old's sentencing was made final Wednesday ... following an emotional couple days of victims' parents and loved ones addressing Cruz directly.

Before the sentencing was handed down, the judge spoke directly to the victims and families -- reminding them that they're a part of a strong community -- adding those they've lost will never be forgotten.

As we reported, the jury recommended life in prison for Cruz in October -- they were unable to unanimously decide on the death penalty. At the time, Family members of Cruz's 17 victims were very obviously angry sitting inside the courtroom -- many shaking their heads and crying in disbelief. Cruz sat expressionless.

You'll recall, Cruz pled guilty last year to 34 counts -- 17 charges of murder and 17 charges of attempted murder.

Aaron Paul, his wife, and their kid are all goin' Paul ... because the actor and his wife just filed a petition to change all their names -- and Aaron's included in the makeover.

Legal docs, obtained by TMZ, show that Aaron, whose last name is actually Sturtevant, is looking to legally change his last name to Paul ... a name he's obviously gone by in the industry for years.

His wife Lauren also wants to change her last name to Paul... and they want to change their kid's name -- currently Casper Emerson Paul -- to Ryden Caspian Paul. Yes, the kid's last name was already Paul, even though his parents didn't officially share that name ... but they're changing the youngster's first and middle name. They've been using the new name on social.

The reason Aaron and Lauren give for their name changes ... they say they want to conform to AP's professional name and keep the family name consistent.

In the docs, Aaron and Lauren explain they were required to give a name at the hospital and went with Casper Emerson ... but later came up with a name they liked better. It's only now that they're legally making the switch.

Migos rapper Takeoff was shot multiple times, resulting in his death ... according to the report from the medical examiner's office.

The Harris County Medical Examiner lists Takeoff's primary cause of death as "penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm."

As we reported, Takeoff was gunned down after shots rang out following an argument outside a Houston bowling alley early Tuesday morning.

In video obtained by TMZ, you see Takeoff's Migos partner Quavo in an argument before the shooting starts. Takeoff was standing just inches from Quavo during the heated exchange, but at no point did he seem to be a part of the back and forth.

While it's currently unclear who fired the fatal shots, we've also obtained video of one man holding a gun in the seconds leading up to the gunfire. Cops tell us that man is currently a person of interest in the death investigation.

A statement from Migos representatives Tuesday read, "Senseless violence and a stray bullet has taken another life from this world and we are devastated." Quavo and Offset have not yet made public statements about Takeoff's murder, though Offset did change his Instagram avatar to a photo of the rapper.

Takeoff was only 28.

Offset has yet to speak out about the loss of his Migos brother Takeoff ... but the rapper is paying tribute to his friend and family member through his social media profile.

Offset's Instagram page changed avatars Wednesday morning -- it now shows a picture of Takeoff smiling for the camera with a heart emoji.

Clearly, Offset's still reeling from Tuesday's fatal shooting ... although the artist hasn't joined the flood of friends and fans in posting about the loss of Takeoff.

As we reported, Takeoff was with fellow Migos member, Quavo, around 2:30 AM Tuesday -- Quavo was in a heated discussion with an unknown group of guys before someone in the crowd opened fire.

TMZ obtained this video -- a new angle of what went down only seconds prior to the gunfire -- and you can see a man dressed in black, with a handgun in his right hip pocket.

While nothing in the video proves the man fired the first shot, there is a point where he's seen raising his weapon and seemingly firing it -- but it's unclear if his weapon was pointed in the direction of Takeoff or Quavo.

Courtney's lawyer, Frank Prieto, tells TMZ ... "The evidence makes it very clear the two were in a toxic and dysfunctional relationship, from which Courtney had asked for help from both police and her family to leave."

"She's not going to trial for her lifestyle, her previous arguments, or recorded rants. She is going to trial for defending herself against a violent struggle with her ex-boyfriend for which she feared for her life; Courtney is a victim of domestic abuse."

Snapshots of "evidence" without any context will prevent our client from receiving a fair trial, where the evidence will show that Courtney acted in self-defense."

OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney was recorded by her boyfriend during an argument, one in which she repeatedly called him the n-word months before she killed him ... according to cops who pulled the audio from his phone.

Courtney's slain BF Christian Obumseli was recording her outbursts with his cell phone in the months prior to his stabbing death, and the recordings are now evidence in the murder case against Courtney.

In one extremely heated argument, Courtney was hurling racial slurs as she screams and curses out Christian because he didn't tell her about saying hello to a woman they knew while riding a bicycle. You can hear what sounds like Christian apologizing and Courtney repeatedly calling him the n-word.

Cops say they recovered the audio recordings, first obtained by the Miami Herald, from Christian's phone as part of the murder investigation.

The audio clips also include Courtney screaming at Christian to "man up, bitch" and threatening to slap him as she demands he find her phone and charge it.

As we reported ... police body cam footage from 2 days before Courtney killed Christian shows her telling officers Christian attempted to attack her, and she's very emotional as she asks for a restraining order against him.

Courtney and Christian got into a blowout fight 2 days later, where she stabbed him to death and now faces a charge of second-degree murder.

After Christian's slaying, Courtney fled to Hawaii and she was arrested there in August and extradited back to Miami to stand trial.

Courtney's claiming self-defense, pointing to Christian's alleged history of abusing her, but his family insists she's the aggressor.

An armed man, standing just feet away from Takeoff and Quavo moments before the fatal shots, is now a person of interest in the rapper's death ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained this video -- a new angle of what went down only seconds prior to the gunfire -- and you can see a man dressed in black, with a black satchel and a handgun in his right hip pocket.

You can very clearly see the weapon in the man's pocket -- he has his hand on it -- as Quavo was involved in the heated discussion that preceded the gunfire.

In fact, Quavo, in the bright orange shirt, walks behind the man 2 seconds before the first shot is fired.

Now, there's nothing in the video proving the man fired the first shot, but about 5 seconds later he is seen raising his weapon and seemingly firing it. It's unclear where Takeoff or Quavo were in relation to him at that moment.

Houston PD tells us they have seen this video, and have deemed the man a person of interest. They have not identified him yet.

As we reported, Takeoff was standing a few feet behind Quavo early Tuesday morning outside the Houston bowling alley when things got heated.

After the gunfire -- at least 10 shots were fired -- Takeoff had been hit in the head, and was pronounced dead on the scene.

Two other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Aaron Carter has certainly had his fair share of run-ins with cops ... but his latest one might be one of the more bizarre, and ended in the pop star clearing his name.

Law enforcement sources with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department tell TMZ ... deputies pulled the singer over Tuesday around 10:45 AM while he was driving an RV, after they got a call about a driver weaving in traffic and possibly driving under the influence.

Officers say they didn't even know the guy was Aaron Carter until they pulled him over. Once they did, we're told they conducted field sobriety tests and determined Aaron wasn't under the influence.

We're told it was a very windy day in the Antelope Valley ... which, possibly made it easier for the RV to get blown around and cross over the traffic lines.

You can see in the pics, Carter locked his keys in the RV and had to access the vehicle through a roof hatch.

Our sources say, it's not clear who made the 911 call but did note Aaron's off-again GF Melanie Martin, was driving behind him at the time in a white Range Rover.

Aaron posted on Instagram about the incident, saying "When you do the right thing, you don't get in trouble. Do the right thing, that's what you do."

As we've told you ... cops recently showed up at his house for a welfare check after fans got worried he might have been doing drugs on IG live. He later said it was all a joke and police found no drugs or criminal activity when they arrived.

Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson have moved on -- at least for the time being -- from being a couple ... and are not still in communication, despite some recent reports.

Sources close to the former pair tell us stories that Pete's been reaching out to Kim in light of Kanye's latest episodes are flat-out false. In fact, we're told the two have not seen each other or been in communication at all lately.

Our sources say Kim and Pete would remain friendly if they came face to face, there's no bad blood, but each has their own things going on right now ... Kim with her work and kids and Pete with various movie and TV projects.

As for whether or not the two will ever get back together as a couple -- we're told that scenario is "highly unlikely."

It was back in August when we reported Kim and Pete were calling it quits after dating for 9 months. During their relationship, we saw them date bi-coastal while Pete got closer to Kim's 4 kids, they attended big events together and shared cute pics through social media.

Kim has not been dating anyone, at least publicly, since the split ... and we're told her attention has fully been on her kids while Kanye West continues to fall from public favor after his antisemitic rants, dragging of George Floyd and his family as well as wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt.

The head of Takeoff's label wants his fans, the public and hip hop, in general, to take one thing from his death ... violence isn't the way to go when things get heated.

Pierre "Pee" Thomas, CEO of Quality Control, posted an emotional message late Tuesday night ... starting by saying anyone who knows them "knows how much I love you" -- noting the 28-year-old's death was incredibly unexpected.

Pee says the loss should remind everyone how valuable life is and adds, "I want our community to remember that we don’t have to continue to result to violence every time there is a disagreement. It’s ok to love your brother and sister."

Pee's message, largely written directly to Takeoff, ends with this heartfelt statement -- "You came from the stars so I know you will forever be up there watching down on all of us. I will forever love you. 💔."

As we reported, Quality Control co-founder Kevin Lee -- AKA Coach K -- suggested Takeoff was killed by a stray bullet. Police have yet to confirm that theory, but video TMZ obtained does prove Takeoff was not involved in the heated discussion that preceded the gunfire.

The face-off went down around 2:30 AM Tuesday, immediately after Quavo was having an argument with an unknown group of guys. While it's hard to make out what's being said exactly, Quavo's tone seemed to be let's just keep the peace and keep things moving.