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Luigi Mangione’s alleged unhinged manifesto might actually work in his favor -- at least according to one top defense attorney sounding off on the case.

Defense attorney Katie Cherkasky told us on "TMZ Live" Thursday ... there's no question -- Luigi gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in NYC back in December. But the real fight’s over the terrorism charge, and she says Luigi’s own words might be what gets it tossed.

Katie says Luigi’s own words lay it out -- in his chilling blueprint, he wasn’t out to spark mass panic or hurt anyone else ... he had one target, and one target only.

Elon Musk sent his escalating feud with Donald Trump into overdrive on Thursday ... when the billionaire tech mogul claimed the president is named in the Epstein files -- and that's why alleged documents have not been released.

Elon dropped the "bomb" minutes after Trump threatened to terminate EM's governmental subsidies and contracts to help save billions in the federal budget. Since departing the White House in his adviser role last week ... Elon has been taking swing after swing at Trump over his “disgusting abomination" known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Elon already clearly got under Trump's skin earlier in the day on Thursday ... claiming on X that Trump owes his 2024 victory to Elon after he poured hundreds of millions into supporting the president and the GOP.

Now this is breaking news -- literally. During the dramatic new "Real Housewives of Orange County" Season 19 trailer ... Gretchen Rossi is coming clean about her extra rough sex life with fiancé Slade Smiley.

In a no-holds-barred confession, the reality star claims she broke her partner's penis -- even trying to recreate the moment by eagerly bending her finger down while noting ... "Like this!"

Slade didn't seem bothered by the X-rated confession ... nodding his head to confirm his manhood did, in fact, snap like a twig in the heat of the moment.

Aaron Rodgers isn't hanging up the cleats just yet ... the 20-year NFL veteran is going to join the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2025 season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the 41-year-old is signing a one-year contract to link up with Mike Tomlin's squad.

The impending deal follows two rough years in New York for the 41-year-old QB. His first season lasted only four plays due to a ruptured Achilles. He did play in all 17 games for the Jets in 2025 ... but the team finished with a 5-12 record -- placing them third in the AFC East.

"Cheers" star George Wendt died from cardiac arrest, TMZ has learned.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released GW's death certificate Thursday.

The certificate lists George's immediate cause of death as cardiac arrest ... with congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension as underlying causes.

The sky's no limit when you're flying high ... Today is "Hot Air Balloon Day," and there are some daring stars addicted to altitude. Come soar to new heights with Hollywood!

Love is in the air with "Dancing With The Stars" pro Val Chmerkovskiy and wifey Jenna Johnson, who snapped a mid-flight selfie ... and the balloon life chose NBA player Kevin Love, who shot a moody pic before take-off.

And Olivia Rodrigo was on Cloud Nine, literally, while in Mexico City -- floating her first hot air balloon ride ever!

Sex parties and X-rated pranks -- not exactly kidnapping and torture, but new bombshell videos and photos reveal that kind of wild, bacchanalian atmosphere during the bizarre crypto kidnapping case that's landed John Woeltz and William Duplessie in jail.

TMZ obtained this footage showing their alleged victim -- Italian businessman Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan -- hanging out, grinning and frequently shirtless, with other partygoers inside the Manhattan townhouse Duplessie and Woeltz were renting.

Sean "Diddy" Combs' better quit making faces at jurors in his federal trial, or he'll be booted from the courtroom ... that's the stern warning the judge hit him with Thursday morning.

The 17th day of the trial began with Diddy's defense team peppering Bryana Bongolan on cross-examination -- questioning her about the alleged incident where she says Diddy held her over the edge of a balcony 17 stories above the ground.

After her testimony, once jurors left for a break, Judge Arun Subramanian admonished Diddy defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo for his client's courtroom behavior ... pointing out Diddy was "nodding vigorously" while staring down jurors.

Whitney Purvis is speaking about the unbearable heartbreak of losing her teen son Weston -- saying she’s struggling to even process the pain, let alone figure out how to keep going.

The "16 and Pregnant" star says she can’t escape the grief -- when she’s not crying over the loss of her 16-year-old son earlier this week, she’s just lying there, staring at the ceiling, trying to block out the pain that won’t go away.

Whitney tells PEOPLE she found out in the worst way -- she didn’t answer a call from Weston’s dad ’cause they were in the middle of a disagreement, but when he hit her with a "911" text, she knew something was really wrong. The second she heard the news, she screamed her lungs out in the car.

12:15 PM PT -- Elon Musk brought out his own big guns ... tweeting on X, "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.  Have a nice day, DJT!"

11:55 AM PT -- Well this is escalating quickly ... amid the back-and-forth flame war on the two men's social media outlets, Donald Trump just went nuclear on his Truth Social platform ... appearing to threaten Musk's deals with the U.S. government.

Elon has multiple contracts with the government, and benefits from federal subsidies as well ... Musk companies Space X and Tesla both have gotten tax credits and other benefits over the years totaling billions of dollars.

In another Truth Social post, Trump said he was the one who asked Musk to leave his administration, saying he had been "wearing thin."

Elon Musk says he's the country's kingmaker ... 'cause he says Donald Trump wouldn't have won the election without him -- and the whole Republican Party would be in shambles, too!

The tech mogul fired off a series of tweets directed at POTUS ... including one where he said, without him, Trump would be sitting at home watching President Kamala Harris at the country's reins.

He adds, "Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate" ... so, Elon's pretty sure he's the only reason for the Republicans' recent decisive victory. He followed it up by accusing Republicans of being ungrateful to him.

Ryan Lochte and Kayla Reid both described their marriage as "irretrievably broken," TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court documents we obtained, when Reid filed for divorce from the Olympic great in late March, she stated the grounds for the split were "the marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken." In his answer to Reid's petition -- which was filed in late April -- Lochte wrote the same.

Both agreed their date of marriage was Jan. 9, 2018 ... but the two differed on the actual date of their split. Reid called it March 7 ... while Lochte said it simply happened in April.

Greg Hardy's girlfriend claims the former NFL star pushed her onto a bed and held her down by her neck in an argument over cheating allegations prior to his arrest ... this according to documents obtained by TMZ Sports.

The woman called police around 2 PM on Wednesday to report a family violence in progress ... stating Hardy assaulted her and she had marks on her body. The woman also said Hardy fled their home in a white 2018 GMC Acadia after the physical altercation.

When cops arrived, the woman said the argument started when they were driving back from the park with their children -- Hardy asked his girlfriend what was wrong, and she replied they would address it when they were home ... as she didn't want to bicker in front of the kids.

Who wears short shorts?! THIS birthday boy does!!! It's Mark Wahlberg's 54th year around the sun, and while it's hard to believe this hot piece of meat is in his mid-50s, his pecs don't lie ... and neither do his beefy hot shots!

Marky Mark first ripped off his shirt (and dropped trout) back in 1993 on the Calvin Klein runway -- He was an aspiring rapper trying to get his big ole' foot in the door.

He skyrocketed to superstardom playing Eddie Adams -- aka "Dirk Diggler" -- in the 19977 comedy/drama film "Boogie Nights."

Today, the Wahlburgers restaurant owner has beefed up his frame, and his social media page is all bulked up with shirtless gym selfies!

He's leveraged his celebrity status into developing his own fitness clothing line "Municipal" -- which he also has no problem showin' off during his workout regime.

Feelin' hungry? We've got the meat stacked up for ya in our gallery ... Enjoy 😉!

Former "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta" castmate Khadiyah Lewis, who appeared as Yung Joc's GF and biz consultant on the hit reality series, has died ... a tragic moment that happened last week!!!

Her brother confirmed the 44-year-old real estate agent's death in a statement with The Shade Room ... declining to share the cause of Khadiyah's death.

“This has been an extremely emotionally devastating time. All prayers, condolences, and well wishes are sincerely appreciated,” the statement reads.

Brittany Eady was a no-show for the taping of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" reunion ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the series tell us the 'RHOA' stars are filming the show on Thursday in Atlanta, but Brit skipped out despite being invited to join her fellow costars and Andy Cohen.

Our sources tell us the reunion show is still moving forward without Brit ... it's Hollywood, after all, and the show must go on. Our sources say the rest of the cast is currently on set.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus offered a full-throated mea culpa to the LGBTQ+ community on Thursday ... saying his department made a mistake by so quickly dismissing the hate crime allegation in the shooting death of Jonathan Joss.

The "King of the Hill" voice actor was shot to death Sunday night on his own property in the city, allegedly by neighbor Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez during a heated exchange ... but Joss' husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, called the shooting a homophobic hate crime. The next day ... police said in a statement there was no evidence of a hate crime.

Chief McManus told reporters on Thursday that the announcement was "way too premature" ... and he took full responsibility. In the same breath ... the chief reassured the LGBTQ+ community their safety was of the utmost importance to police.