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The judge who presided over Casey Anthony’s murder trial thinks prosecutors made a strong enough case to win a conviction ... but he's giving her lawyers props for their strategy.

Judge Belvin Perry Jr. joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live," and we asked if he was surprised the jury acquitted Casey of murder, manslaughter and child abuse following 2-year-old daughter Caylee's death. Casey was only found guilty of lying to cops.

Perry Jr. says he thought prosecutors presented enough evidence for the jury to convict Casey ... but still, he wasn't shocked when the jury acquitted her, because he's learned there are no locks when it comes to criminal trials.

Judge Perry Jr. is now retired from the bench, and told us a lot of what Casey's saying in a new Peacock documentary is the same "crap" she floated during the trial. Of course, she was acquitted, but Perry says that doesn't mean the jury bought what Casey was saying back then.

Instead, he gives credit to her defense attorneys, Jose Baez and Cheney Mason, who "littered that case with as much reasonable doubt as they possibly could."

Casey didn't take the stand during the trial and is now giving her version of events in an upcoming Peacock documentary -- but the former judge told us there are all sorts of problems with her claims, the new ones and the old ones.

Ellen Pompeo is officially bidding farewell to "Grey's Anatomy" ... the series lead just said goodbye after reports of her leaving the long-running drama.

Ellen made the announcement Thursday on social media, saying she's "eternally grateful and humbled by the love and support," she's received the last 19 seasons playing Meredith Grey on the ABC show.

In her goodbye post, Ellen naturally thanked the fans and said they are the ones who made her run on 'Grey's' so fun and iconic.

As fans of the show already know, a teaser for the upcoming "Grey's Anatomy" midseason premier shows Ellen's character saying her goodbyes to her fellow doctors as she moves away from Seattle and heads to Boston. There were also earlier reports of Ellen scaling back her role to only 8 episodes on the current season 19, and she's so far appeared in 7 episodes.

Ellen's appeared in over 400 episodes during a long run on the series, and while there were recent rumors she might reunite with former 'Grey's' costar Patrick Dempsey on a new show, Patrick shot the reports down.

Aaron Judge's 62nd home run ball could be yours -- the record-setting baseball is about to hit the auction block -- after the fan who caught the historic piece of memorabilia turned down a whopping $3 million offer!

The ball will soon be on the block at Goldin Auctions ... one of the most prominent online sports sellers in the world.

As we previously reported, Cory Youmans caught the baseball on October 4th ... while he was seated in the outfield for the Yankees vs. Rangers game in Texas. The Yanks tried to convince the fan to give up the ball that night, but the fan refused to part ways with it.

In the weeks since, Youmans -- who's been living it up -- has received increasingly larger offers for the ball ... culminating in a massive $3 million offer.

Clearly, the fan believes he can make even more at auction ... and he's got company.

“The ball has the potential to become the highest-priced baseball ever sold,” Ken Goldin said, adding ... “Three million plus would be my estimate.”

Of course, Judge set the NY Yankees and American League single-season home run record this season ... topping the 61 HR mark set by former A.L. MVP and Yanks star, Roger Maris, in 1961.

If the baseball is to set the record, it'll need to sell for at least $3,005,001 ... in order to surpass the sale price of Mark McGwire's 70th home run (the slugger played in the National League), which he smashed during his historic 1998 season in which he went toe-to-toe with Sammy Sosa.

Chiefs defensive back Juan Thornhill will honor the lives of the three UVA football players who were tragically killed last weekend ... by wearing custom tribute cleats during K.C.'s primetime matchup on Sunday night.

Thornhill -- who attended UVA before he was drafted into the NFL in 2019 -- showed off what the spikes will look like on his social media page on Wednesday ... and they're amazing.

The shoes feature the Cavaliers' blue and orange colors ... and also have the names of the three victims -- D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler -- etched into them.

The trio of football players' jersey numbers, surrounded by angel wings, were also painted onto one of the sides. The other side, meanwhile, has replicas of the guys' UVA jerseys.

"1.15.41 👼🧡💙," Thornhill tweeted while announcing the fashion choice. "Wearing these Sunday to celebrate you 3."

As we reported, the football players were gunned down on campus after returning from a class field trip on Sunday night. Two others, including Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins, were shot in the incident as well -- though both survived.

Former UVA running back Christopher Jones Jr. -- who actually played with Thornhill at the school in 2018 -- has been arrested and charged in connection with the killings.

The late Tupac Shakur called many places home in his lifetime -- including Baltimore, and the residence where he began to hone his legendary penmanship is currently up for grabs.

The Greenmount Ave block where the 2-unit building resides has already been dubbed "Tupac Shakur Way," and now the home is listed for $179K.

Pac and his family moved into the first-floor apartment in 1984 when he was 13 and he eventually attended Baltimore School for the Arts ... where he met and befriended Jada Pinkett Smith.

The "Hail Mary" rapper's time in Baltimore famously developed his appreciation of the arts and theater and he began writing poetry ... with Jada sometimes being the subject of his prose.

Last year, the "Red Table Talk" host unearthed one of his writings for the world to see in celebration of his would-be 50th birthday, and an extensive collection of his poems was compiled for the 1999 book, "The Rose That Grew from Concrete."

Pete Davidson and Emily Ratajkowski are very much a thing, but the relationship may cause a serious riff among Pete and his buddies -- namely because he used to pal around with Emily's ex-husband.

Emily filed for divorce from Sebastian Bear-McClard earlier this year after 4 years of marriage ... reports alleged he was unfaithful. Interestingly enough, Pete and Sebastian used to be buddies -- taking in a Knicks game in NYC back in 2020 -- while Sebastian and Emily were still married.

Unclear just how close Sebastian and Pete were, but if there was a legit friendship, you gotta think Pete's new relationship might ruffle some feathers.

Interestingly enough, Emily was on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" last year and gushed about working with Pete on a previous photoshoot -- saying, "He's got the height, obviously women find him very attractive ... He seems super charming, he's vulnerable, he's lovely."

As we reported, Emily was spotted entering Pete's NYC apartment Wednesday night -- the comedian greeted her with a hug before bringing her inside.

Pete Davidson might've been busy hanging out with Emily Ratajkowski, but Kim Kardashian had no problem reminding the world just how hot she is with a series of lingerie pics ... showing off her billion-dollar SKIMS brand in the process.

Kim just opened up her online SKIMS holiday shop, and to christen the launch she modeled some of the lingerie pieces available for customers -- and she looks incredible.

While the shop did just open up, the timing of Kim's post is interesting -- considering it came just a few hours after we posted photos and video of her ex, Pete Davidson, hanging out with Emily Ratajkowski in NYC.

First, Pete attempted to pick Emily up at her place, but when paps foiled that plan, she took an Uber to his place before entering a back door to be greeted by the comedian with a hug. We should also note -- it was Pete's bday.

A new episode of "The Kardashians" also launched Thursday -- and in a cute exchange between Pete and Kim (when they were still dating) -- they joke about the time Pete asked Kim for her number at The Met Gala and she politely denied him, saying she couldn't type it into his phone with her gloves on.

Kim's going to be plenty busy this holiday season, not only with her 4 kids, but she also just opened up a SKKN BY KIM holiday shop at The Westfield Century City in L.A.

Nancy Pelosi is stepping back from leading her party in the House of Representatives ... she says she will NOT seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress.

The Speaker of the House made the big announcement Thursday at the Capitol, in the wake of Democrats losing control of the House to Republicans in the midterm elections.

Nancy says instead of serving as House Minority Leader, she will serve as a member of the House representing San Francisco ... explaining it's time for the party to move boldly into the future with a new generation of leaders.

Pelosi, the first woman to ever lead a party in Congress, was swarmed by her colleagues after her speech ... sharing hugs and shaking hands on the House floor, and getting emotional.

First elected to the House in 1987, Nancy rose to become the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House ... and she says she's proud to see more women and minorities among the House ranks, increasing from only a dozen when she started to nearly 100 now.

During her speech, Nancy mentioned landmark legislation accomplished with former presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden ... while snubbing Donald Trump, who she staunchly opposed when she was the House Minority Leader during the Trump administration.

Nancy, who grew up in Baltimore as the daughter of a politician, started her speech by recalling the first time she laid eyes on the Capitol when she was 6 years old ... cementing how she knew politics would be her future.

Pelosi was previously reelected to serve as House Speaker in January 2021, only three days before the January 6 riots.

As we previously reported ... CNN obtained video shot inside the Capitol on January 6, as Pelosi's Chief of Staff tells her Trump won't show face to turn back the angry mob because Secret Service didn't have the resources to protect him.

Nancy wasn't having it, angrily declaring she was ready to throw hands with Trump and saying ... "I'm gonna punch him out, and I'm gonna go to jail and I'm gonna be happy."

Drake was toting a camcorder for weeks leading up to his and 21 Savage's No. 1 album "Her Loss," and now that footage's coming out in their "Rich Flex" music vid -- a party romp featuring various celebs and pro athletes.

The visual lives up to his exorbitant billing -- Drake captured A-1 activities ranging from courtside at a Toronto Raptors game with head coach Nick Nurse and DeMar DeRozan to soaking up Jack Harlow's “Come Home The Kids Miss You Tour" ... where the "First Class" rapper stopped the show to give him a special shout out.

Brooklyn Nets hostage Kevin Durant, comedian Druski, 2 Chainz and plenty of strip club singles help round out the star power for the Drake-shot clip.

Drake also got exclusive footage of Lil Wayne's grill during his surprise set at this year's Weezyana Fest, and Lil Yachty is also spotted in the clip ... having brought the Wock back from Poland.

Drake and 21 might have royally pissed off Megan The Stallion, Serena Williams, Nas and Kodak Black with their album rollout, but their antics paid off in Billboard and streaming numbers.

Their "Her Loss" debut was the biggest for an R&B/hip-hop album in 2022 with 404,000 equivalent album units -- making it Drake's 12th No. 1 album and 21's third.

Screw a cage ... two Jiujitsu practitioners fought inside a convertible, and one of the men nearly choked his opponent unconscious using an actual seat belt from the car -- and the video is wild!

The competitors were Kalinkin Kir and Leonid Fedorenko ... and the event was Punch Club Car Jiujitsu. The location isn't known ... but Russia is a good bet.

The fight started with the two men each sitting in a front seat. When the bell rang, Kir was somehow able to wrap the passenger side seatbelt around Leonid's neck ... as KK squeezed as hard as he could.

The belt looked incredibly tight, but somehow, Leonid didn't tap and was eventually able to fight out of the position.

The final violent touch ... the promotion uses Grand Theft Auto-style text and graphics.

Seatbelts are nothing new in jiujitsu ... but not like this.

In traditional jiujitsu, a "seatbelt" is a position of control when the person in the dominant position (top) locks their hands across the chest of the competitor much like a seat belt strap.

Of course, choking your opponent with an actual seat belt is very different.

Car jiujitsu isn't the only crazy event Punch Club has put on. They've also done car MMA and phone booth boxing (it looks exactly like you think it would).

Jay Leno is on to a new stage of his recovery after his horrifying car fire accident -- he's undergoing treatment in a hyperbaric chamber for his burns.

As you can see, the procedure requires Jay to lie down on his back in a tube-like chamber ... with his arms and hands bandaged up.

The treatment helps with swelling and increases blood flow with good oxygenation to the burns on Jay's arms, shoulders, neck and face. Dr. Peter Grossman of the Grossman Burn Center told Inside Edition the process will also decrease bacteria around the injuries.

TMZ broke the story, JL suffered second and third-degree burns when a car erupted into flames while working on his 1907 White Steam Car in his Burbank garage, fixing a clogged fuel line.

Earlier this week, Grossman said Jay had already had one surgery to repair his skin, and would undergo another one at some point this week.

Most importantly, he said Jay was expected to make a full recovery.

Dr. Grossman said the patient remains in good condition and is up and moving ... even finding time to make a few jokes and pass out cookies to other patients.

As far as the scars, Doc says they will most likely be visible in the foreseeable future, but the hope is they won't remain apparent.

He has high hopes for Jay's healing journey ... saying he thinks the comedian could be back to work in no more than a couple months.

Pete Davidson's gonna mess around and get himself an NBA contract, 'cause no one rebounds like this guy ... who now looks pretty official with Emily Ratajkowski.

Pete and the model/actress suffered a case of new couple interruptus Wednesday night in NYC, but they persevered ... and these images are now the first hard evidence of dating rumors that started this week.

Their hookup adventure started with Pete -- ever the gentleman -- driving to Em's West Village apartment to pick her up, but when paparazzi started snapping pics ... he bolted. Guess he was still trying to keep it on the DL.

Not to worry, they had a backup plan. Emily -- dressed ultra-casual in sweats and a midriff-baring top -- ordered a rideshare, which took her to a Brooklyn rendezvous with Pete.

She bolted into a building, and they greeted each other with a long, warm hug and a smile. It's unclear if the meeting point was Pete's place, but he reportedly bought a pad in Brooklyn earlier this year.

Anywho ... Pete had been out of the dating game since breaking up with Kim Kardashian in August -- but our boy's clearly back, and in a big way!

Emily filed for divorce in September, ending her 4-and-half-year marriage to Sebastian Bear-McClard ... the father of her 1-year-old son Sylvester Apollo.

Reps for Em and Pete have been silent about the dating buzz, but now we can all see for ourselves.

Police in Idaho are reportedly on the hunt for a Rambo-like knife in the ongoing investigation of the killing of 4 college students ... and the department's now saying they've learned 2 other roommates were in the home during the attack ... yet no one called 911 for hours.

Cops in Moscow, ID are looking into a very specific type of knife ... according to the Idaho Statesman. The owner of a building supply store says officers showed up several times this week, asking about the sale of a KA-BAR brand combat knife.

Scott Jutte reportedly told them his shop doesn't sell the specific type of knife they're looking for ... but described it as a blade used by Marines in the 1940s. It looks similar to the one Sylvester Stallone used in "Rambo."

Police Chief James Fry also gave an update on the horrific events Wednesday ... 2 roommates of the slain students were also inside the home at the time of the attack. Cops say the victims were murdered in the early morning hours Sunday, yet no one called 911 until noon.

The roommates were unharmed and cooperating with investigators, according to a spokesperson for the department.

4 University of Idaho students, Ethan Chapin, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Kaylee Goncalves were all found dead in their 6-bedroom home over the weekend ... and Fry calls the killings the "worst they've ever seen." It appears there was no forced entry.

Avert your eyes, Camille Kostek ... Rob Gronkowski does, indeed, get flirty with 84-year-old actress Jane Fonda in the new Tom Brady flick -- and it's kinda steamy!!!

The official trailer for "80 For Brady" dropped Thursday morning ... showing Hollywood's take on the true story of four women in their 80s who traveled to Super Bowl LI in Houston to get a glimpse of Brady on the field.

The movie looks awesome -- Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sally Field and Rita Moreno go through all kinds of hoops to ultimately get to the TB12 game -- and, at one point in the film, Fonda apparently gets pretty dang close to Gronk.

In the clip, the two seem to be in a locker room setting ... with Fonda in awe of the former Patriots tight end's size.

"So big!" she says.

"Thank you!" Gronk fires back with a charming smile on his face.

No further info about the scene was revealed -- but we're sure Kostek, Gronk's longtime girlfriend, is interested in seeing the full thing now!

Brady also makes a cameo in the trailer -- yelling out his trademark, "Let's go!" line as the four women cheer him on from the stands.

Of course, Tom will have a bigger role in the movie when it ultimately comes out -- as he's been seen teasing scenes from the flick on his social media pages for months now.

The judge who presided over Casey Anthony’s criminal trial isn't buying her latest explanation for the death of her daughter.

Judge Belvin Perry Jr. tells TMZ … he doesn't think Casey's version of the events — namely, that her father George was responsible for 2-year-old Caylee's death — adds up based on what he remembers from the case.

Perry Jr. thinks Casey's story hasn't been consistent and believes she was caught in a few lies that undermine her credibility. He says she blamed a babysitter for kidnapping Caylee earlier. The judge also said there's some damning evidence ... namely, the smell of death inside Casey Anthony's car trunk at the time Caylee disappeared.

Judge Perry Jr., now retired from the bench, also notes there was no hard evidence Caylee drowned in the pool or that Casey's dad sexually abused her.

Long story short ... the judge also doesn't think her new story lines up with the facts of the case.

Andy Warhol is long gone, but his artwork lives on ... and is still selling for INSANE amounts of money!!

Case in point ... the iconic artist created a series of 1963 ink and graphite canvas prints depicting a horrible car accident, which just sold for a WHOPPING $85 million.

You heard it right. Sotheby's in New York put the collage of images dubbed "White Disaster (White Car Crash 19 Times)" on the auction block Wednesday night.

Within minutes, two buyers were throwing out HUGE bids -- $74 million and $85.4 million -- to try to snag the morbid masterpiece. We already know who emerged victorious, but the buyer's name was kept under wraps.

As part of Warhol's "Death and Disaster" series, "White Disaster" depicts a single black and white image of a crashed car 19 times on a 12-foot-tall canvas.

What's even crazier ... in 2013, another Warhol piece from the same series fetched $105 million, setting a record for the pop culture legend, best known for his portraits of Marilyn Monroe.