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Cops investigating the murder of a 15-year-old girl's grandparents and mother don't believe the teen was complicit in their killings in a stunning catfishing case ... and are urging other possible victims of the man responsible to come forward.

Riverside PD Officer Ryan Railsback tells TMZ his department has no reason to believe the publicly unidentified teen who came into contact with Austin Lee Edwards last week is anything other than a victim at this time given her age and the evidence they've gathered.

RPD won't yet say whether the teen was abducted or went voluntarily with Edwards, as they don't have enough information.

As for Edwards -- a cop from Virginia who's said to have driven cross-country to meet the girl -- Railsback doesn't believe it was his first time committing a catfishing-type crime.

We're told the cops think there could be some pattern of behavior from his past that could help explain things ... so they're investigating any digital fingerprints that he may have left on his phone, computer, or any social media sites he used.

At the moment, we're told cops don't know how Edwards first connected with the teen, or what may have caused him to kill her family and set their home on fire.

Edwards was involved in a shootout with cops Friday after a 911 call came in about a distressed teen in his car ... he was killed in the gunfire, and the teen was uninjured.

Autopsy results have not yet been released regarding the girl's mother's and grandparents' cause of death.

Washington Commanders star Brian Robinson's big hat resulted in some BIG sales for the company behind the massive lid ... 'cause TMZ Sports is told their business saw a whopping 2,000% increase in orders!!

Robinson's hat quickly went viral after Sunday's 19-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons ... and the running back hilariously told reporters -- "If you want a big hat, let me know."

Noggin Boss -- the company that sells big hats starting at $75 -- tells us the impact was immediate ... with Monday being one of the biggest days in the brand's history.

As it turns out, NB says a bunch of major television networks hit them up to get Noggins for their on-air talent following Robinson's appearance ... but ESPN's Scott Van Pelt was one of the lucky ones who got one "years ago" -- and he wore it on "SportsCenter" Monday night!!

If the look seems familiar, Noggin Boss co-founders Gabe Cooper and Sean Starner appeared on "Shark Tank" earlier this year. The guys were seeking $50k for 25% of the company ... and ended up sealing the deal with Daymond John for 30%!!

Robinson's hat -- customized with the Commanders' logo -- was a gift from a family friend ... and the dude almost certainly started a trend in the sports world, with teams even photoshopping big hats onto their players.

Kanye West says Donald Trump credits him with freeing former federal prisoner Alice Marie Johnson ... but Alice doesn't see it that way.

Alice tells TMZ ... she's convinced she'd still be behind bars if it weren't for Kim Kardashian lobbying the White House on her behalf. That's not to say Kanye deserves no credit, but Alice is steadfast ... Kim was her angel.

Alice says Kim leveraged her relationship with longtime friend Ivanka Trump to strategically make a case for Alice's freedom. Kim knew Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, carried unique power and influence, and spent hours on the phone and in person with Jared, making her case.

Once Jared was on board, Kim was more than game to meet Trump in the Oval Office to lobby for Alice's release. What's more, Kim knew she'd be criticized by lots of her friends and fans for interacting with Trump, but she believed in Alice and did so anyway.

It worked ... just days after that meeting, Trump announced he would commute Alice's sentence. Short story -- Alice would probably be behind bars were it not for Kim.

Alice was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1997 on drug conspiracy and money laundering charges -- her first offense.

Alice says Ye could have very well influenced Trump's decision... but Kanye and Alice did not speak while she was incarcerated -- she only spoke with Kim. She says Kanye was on her side, and when they met shortly after her release he was in tears.

Iran officials have reportedly threatened the families of their national soccer team's players ahead of their huge game with the U.S. -- insisting if they don't "behave" for the contest, "violence and torture" could ensue back home.

CNN, citing a World Cup security source, reported Monday that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps met recently with its country's players to get the point across.

Iranian players had previously shown support for protestors in their home country by refusing to sing its national anthem before its game against England back on Nov. 21. But, before their game against Wales just days later, players once again participated in the song.

According to CNN, the IRGC has made it clear to players it expects no further protests in the World Cup -- including when the team kicks off its hugely important contest with the U.S. on Tuesday ... or the consequences could be dire.

Circumstances surrounding the group stage matchup had already been tense ... after the U.S. altered an Iranian flag on social media this past weekend to show support for the protests in the foreign country.

Iran's state media had asked FIFA to boot the U.S. out of World Cup action over it all.

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter ended up apologizing Monday for the posts ... but insisted he and his team had nothing to do with them, and were solely focused on Tuesday's game.

The contest is set to kick off at 11 AM PT.

Will Smith says the Oscars slap on Chris Rock was an explosion of anger that was years in the making ... but also seemed to partially put the blame back in CR's court.

The actor was on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah Monday and once again tried breaking down what led up to him storming the stage to strike Chris across the face during the live broadcast. He says flat out ... it stemmed from rage going back to his childhood.

Will explains how he went back to being the little boy who used to watch his father beat his mother, and that he was going through things that night ... which erupted in violence.

He also makes a plea to the audience, telling them to be nice to each other ... because you never know another person's troubles, which almost felt like an excuse for the slap -- before WS explicitly noted, it doesn't justify his behavior.

Trevor, who admits some bias as Will's pal, ate it up.

Trevor says he doesn't believe what Will did is a reflection of who he really is -- and in the end, puts a bow on the convo by saying everyone makes mistakes. Will got emotional.

The reason he's going around talking about it again is because he's on a press run for his new movie, "Emancipation," which may well see him in contention for another award next year.

Of course ... the question of whether it's too soon for Will to make a comeback is top of mind, but he's forging on with his 2023 Oscar campaign anyway -- asking Hollywood to forgive and forget. The flick comes out in December.

A top Qatari official just made a shocking admission ... estimating between 400 to 500 migrant workers died while working on projects tied to the FIFA World Cup, significantly higher than previous official figures indicated.

Hassan Al-Thawadi -- chief of the iconic soccer event -- disclosed the amount during an interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV Monday ... saying hundreds of migrant workers died as a consequence of World Cup labor.

"Between 400 and 500," Al-Thawadi told the British reporter in a response that appeared off the cuff, adding, "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's being discussed."

"One death is too many. It's as simple as that."

Prior to Al-Thawadi's interview, the death toll was said to be around 40 ... with a large majority of those coming being non-work related deaths (think sickness instead of worksite accident).

It's possible Qatar is still not being forthcoming with the true statistics. In fact, other reports have estimated thousands of workers have died during W.C. prep. The conditions under which the mostly foreign-born work staff operated were also reportedly abysmal.

Despite admitting to the hundreds of deaths, Al-Thawadi claims the health and safety standards have improved since they won the bid to host in 2010.

"I think overall the need for labor reform in itself dictates that yes, improvements have to happen."

"This was something that was recognized before we bid. The improvements that have happened aren’t because of the World Cup. These are improvements that we knew that we had to do because of our own values"

The mother of the alleged Club Q mass murderer was arrested just after the shooting ... for going ballistic in her apartment and then going off the rails with cops.

Laura Voepel was allegedly screaming at the top of her lungs at 3:30 AM ... 3 1/2 hours after authorities say her son took a rifle and killed 5 people at the LGBTQ nightclub and wounding 17 others.

According to official documents, cops were on scene at her apartment when she was "warned multiple times to stop yelling or she would be arrested for disorderly conduct."

Cops say she continued her rant, and when officers tried to arrest her she became combative and physically resisted them.

Voepel was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Aaron Carter's going back to his home state, where his family intends to spread his ashes ... and some of his remains will be alongside his mother's when she eventually passes away.

Aaron's mom, Jane, tells us the family is planning to scatter Aaron's ashes in the ocean sometime in the spring, and they will be spread in the Florida Keys with some remains from his late sister, Leslie Carter.

We're told the family plans to save some of Aaron and Leslie's ashes so they can later be buried with Jane.

Aaron's mom says his remains are still with his twin sister Angel. Interestingly, she also told us Aaron's fiancée Melanie Martin will not be part of the family's ceremony next year in the Keys.

TMZ broke the story ... Aaron was cremated after his housekeeper found him dead in the bathtub at his Lancaster, CA home earlier this month.

Law enforcement also discovered canisters of compressed air scattered about -- AC publicly struggled with huffing and substance abuse throughout much of his adult life.

Aaron's sister Leslie, who starred in the family's reality TV show "House of Carters," died back in 2012 when she was only 25 years old ... and we're told her husband, Mike, has her ashes.

Jane also tells us Lance Bass recently reached out to Nick and Angel, offering the Carters the use of his Los Angeles home for a memorial service for Aaron ... but we're told the family paused those plans because people have made death threats against the family since Aaron's death.

A U.S. Marine Corps vet was the star of the show at the Laker game on Monday ... when she filled her prosthetic leg with beer and chugged it on video!!

The whole thing was displayed on the scoreboard during L.A.'s matchup against the Indiana Pacers ... when Annika Hutsler took advantage of her very first NBA game in epic fashion.

The fans in attendance clearly loved the stunt ... cheering her on as she downed her drink.

The move resulted in Hutsler earning the title of "fan of the game" ... which came with a $100 gift card.

Hutsler -- who enlisted in the USMC in 2017 -- decided to have her leg amputated in 2019 after several attempts to have a tumor removed from her foot ... and has since transitioned to careers in acting, modeling and sports.

In fact, she won silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter wheelchair races at the U.S. Department of Defense Warrior Games.

Jonah Hill is gunning to legally change his name, but you won't need to call him anything different -- it just means lots of paperwork for him ... or his assistant.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, the actor -- whose real name is Jonah Hill Feldstein -- filed a petition this week in L.A. to legally drop Feldstein from his name. So, he's just making his stage name official.

The docs say Jonah simply wants the name he's publicly gone by for years to be his legal handle. It is all the rage these days.

As we reported, Aaron Paul, whose last name is actually Sturtevant, also filed for a legal change to Paul earlier this month.

AP's wife Lauren, and their son Ryden Caspian, also want to change their last names. One big happy, legal Paul family.

Clarence Gilyard, the actor who played the wisecracking computer hacker in the film, "Die Hard," has died.

Gilyard passed away after a long battle with an unspecified illness, according to media reports. His death was announced Monday by the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had worked since 2006 as a Fine Arts professor.

His 30-year career in Hollywood landed him major roles in popular TV series, from the '80s and '90s ... notably, "Matlock," and "Walker, Texas Ranger." He worked with stars like Andy Griffith and Chuck Norris. He also scored his first big screen role as Sundown in "Top Gun."

Gilyard's breakout role was playing Theo in the OG "Die Hard." Theo was the sardonic tech wizard who took over a Los Angeles skyscraper with terrorists and hacked into a vault, attempting to steal $640 million in bearer bonds. In one scene, the terrorists bomb an LAPD vehicle and Theo famously cackles, "Oh my god, the quarterback is toast!"

UNLV Dean Nancy J. Uscher remembered Gilyard this way ... "It is with profound sadness that I share this news. His students were deeply inspired by him, as were all who knew him. He had many extraordinary talents and was extremely well-known in the university through his dedication to teaching and his professional accomplishments."

Uscher went on ... "His generosity of spirit was boundless - he was always ready to contribute to projects and performances however possible."

Gilyard was 66.

Elon Musk is going to war with Apple over Twitter ... but his verbal assault appears to be falling on deaf ears ... for now.

Musk posted a series of angry tweets Monday, directing his rage at Apple and its CEO, Tim Cook, over their treatment of the social media giant, which Elon recently purchased. But, Apple showed no interest in engaging with the billionaire.

Right from the start, Musk seemed annoyed ... "Apple has mostly stopped advertising on Twitter. Do they hate free speech in America?"

When he didn't get a response, Musk angrily asked, "What's going on here?," and tagged Cook's official Twitter account. But, Cook either ignored Elon or didn't see his tweet.

In any case, Musk continued his attack ... "Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why."

Of course, Apple didn't respond ... but such a move would restrict some new users from downloading the Twitter app -- which Musk referred to as "censorship."

Elon finally moved on after taking a few more jabs at Apple, which also failed to elicit a reaction.

Apple is among several big corporations to have pulled ads from Twitter since Elon bought the company for $44 billion in late October. General Mills, Pfizer and Volkswagen have also paused their advertising to evaluate the changes to Twitter under Musk's new leadership.

Kanye West stormed off from a podcast interview after the host challenged his negative views on Jewish people ... and it's all on video.

Ye went on Tim Pool's podcast Monday, where he was joined by radical right-wing extremist Milo Yiannopoulos and controversial and proud white nationalist Nick Fuentes ... and it didn't take long for the conversation to get uncomfortable.

Kanye starts railing on the Jews and after a few minutes of ranting, Tim starts to push back in the slightest way ... and that's all it takes for Ye to hop out of his chair and bolt for the exit.

Later on during the podcast, a producer says Ye, Milo and Nick all left together in a car ... claiming Ye told producers he wasn't angry with Tim, but his issue was getting cut off.

Tommy Lee's dealing with a new break-in at his crib ... no sex tape was taken this time, but the suspects did make off with some strange items and left his home looking like a hotel room after a Mötley Crüe party.

Cops alerted the Crüe drummer there had been a break-in at his Calabasas area home last week ... according to our L.A. Sheriff's Dept. sources. Tommy hasn't been living in this house, he's actually selling it, but he rushed over to check out the damage once he got wind of the burglary.

We're told, someone got in through a back glass door, and absolutely trashed the inside of the home.

LASD says the thief, or thieves, broke glass, lamps and even one of Tommy's side gates. As for what they stole -- just a bathroom mirror and some cabinet handles.

Remember, way back in 1995 ... a contractor infamously stole a sex tape -- yes, that one -- from Tommy and his ex-wife Pamela Anderson's home.

So far, there's been no arrest in last week's burglary, but the total damage/loss is estimated to cost the rock star drummer around $5K.

As we've reported, the rock star drummer listed the beautiful home back in September for a second time ... after having no luck with a sale in May of 2020.

Unfortunately for Tommy ... he's in good company when it comes to recent celeb burglary victims. TMZ broke the stories of Megan Thee Stallion and Nas' homes being hit while they were out of town, and Arsenio Hall's pad was hit twice while he was home.

Sean Taylor's half brother saw no issues with the Commanders' memorial of the late Pro Bowler on Sunday ... telling TMZ Sports the whole thing was "an honor" -- and he's expecting more to be added to it as time goes by.

Washington officially unveiled the Taylor tribute at FedEx Field on the 15th anniversary of the free safety's tragic death just before the team kicked off its game against the Falcons.

Fans poured out in droves to see it ... but many found it underwhelming -- noting it was simply a wire mannequin covered in mismatched gear.

But, when we got Jamal Johnson out at Reagan Airport in D.C. on Monday -- he told us it was all fine by him.

"It was greatly appreciated and an honor that his legacy lives on in D.C.," Johnson said ... adding, "I was at a loss for words."

Of the criticism, Johnson said "everybody is entitled to an opinion," but he noted he doesn't expect this to be the end of the Commanders' homages to Taylor.

"I don't feel like that's the finished process of it," Johnson said. "That's just a step."

Taylor was drafted by Washington in 2004, and went on to play four seasons in D.C. -- before he was tragically shot and killed in Miami.

Before this laid-back chick turned into a singer and a TV personality, she was just getting her feet wet in the music industry with her older brother in Oakland, California before making the big move to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams.

This cute kid started out her career as a backup vocalist for MC Hammer, but she's collaborated with music legends including Missy Elliott and Lil' Kim. Aside from her accomplished music career, she starred in a reality television show on the BET network and most recently hosted a one-on-one talk show on FOX.