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The man bound for the West Hollywood Pride Parade and armed with an arsenal fled to California in the middle of an investigation targeting him for having sex with a 12-year-old girl.

TMZ has learned James Howell has just been charged with felony child molestation. Howell is accused of having sex in a car with the girl on May 31 ... less than 2 weeks before the parade.

Jeremy Mull, the prosecutor in the Indiana case, tells us authorities believe he left for California in flight, after getting a call from cops and going to the station for an interview.

Yolanda Foster didn't want to be treated like a second class citizen on 'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' -- and decided to leave the show rather than be demoted from the main cast ... TMZ has learned.

Foster announced she was leaving the show in an Instagram statement -- and implied that she was fired.

But our production sources say that's not exactly the case ... telling us Yolanda was offered a role as a "friend of the cast" -- which would give her more free time to address her health issues.

We're told Yolanda saw the move as a demotion -- since she was a full-fledged cast member in the past few seasons -- and refused to take a lesser role.

Our sources say Bravo isn't bitter about the split -- and has let Yolanda know she is still welcome to appear on future episodes ... as a friend.

Omar Mateen went ballistic during the BP oil spill, telling someone near the disaster the clean-up crews were only in it for the money.

Mateen was featured in a 2012 documentary about the spill, when he was working as a security guard near the disaster area.

Donald Trump is a great dad who figured out when to open the vault and when to keep it closed ... so says his middle son.

Eric Trump was out on 5th Avenue in NYC Wednesday when our photog threw it out there ... no matter what people think of Donald's politics, they give him high marks for raising his kids.

Cops have laid to rest any hope of rescuing the 2-year-old boy dragged into a Disney lagoon by an alligator, and they just revealed gators in the area have been a big problem for a long time.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings just said the boy is presumed dead. But a Fish and Wildlife official raised troubling questions about a hidden danger at Disney resorts ... gators populating its lagoons.

As we reported, the resort in question did not warn guests about alligators, but now officials say they routinely kill the gators they find in the waters, and that it's hard keeping them away.

Divers are now using sonar to find the child's body.

3:10 PM PT -- Attorney Todd Wilson, the Kardashian/Jenner General Counsel, has released a statement in response to the lawsuit, claiming -- "APA's lawsuit is frivolous and the height of dishonesty. The Kardashians and Jenners terminated APA in March 2015 for being incompetent and breaching their fiduciary duties, which cost the Kardashians and Jenners hundreds of millions of dollars. Now the real story of how APA totally failed its clients will be told and APA will have to answer for its incompetence and wrongful acts."

The Kardashians and some Jenners made untold millions and aced out a company that did nothing but help ... so claims the company that is now suing the family.

Agency for the Performing Arts caters to huge brands like Marriott hotels and Lamborghini. They claim they had a verbal agreement in 2009 with Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Kendall, but no Rob -- to help make deals. The Agency was supposed to get a 15% cut.

APA says the Kardashians made millions after they locked deals for clothing, footwear, accessories, and hair products.

The suit claims the family pulled the plug on their deal back in March 2015, and since then the APA claims it hasn't seen a dime.

Twitter, Google and Facebook are responsible for the Paris attacks because they let ISIS spread extremist propaganda and recruit on their social networks ... so says a victim's father in a new suit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ, Reynaldo Gonzalez is suing the social media giants for enabling ISIS to explode into the most feared terrorist group in the world.

Reynaldo's daughter, Nohemi, was one of the 130 victims killed in coordinated attacks last November fueled by ISIS' ability to easily create and maintain accounts ... including on YouTube (owned by Google).

The family claims the social networks were negligent by allowing ISIS to post beheading videos. What's more ... the suit claims the tech giants raked in profits from ad placements in ISIS postings.

Reynaldo -- whose daughter was the lone American killed in the attacks -- says the social sites failed to take action despite outcry from the U.S. government.

A resort just a few miles from Disney's Seven Seas Lagoon where a 2-year-old was attacked by an alligator had a clear warning sign -- BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS.

The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress has a lagoon similar to the one at the Disney Grand Floridian Resort. As we reported, the Disney resort has a sign saying NO SWIMMING, but no mention of alligators. The Hyatt went the extra step and warned of gators.

As we reported, a gator was allegedly caught on video in the Seven Seas Lagoon just days before the attack.

A video has surfaced showing an alligator in a lagoon ... and the person who shot it tells TMZ it's the same body of water where a 2-year-old boy was attacked.

The clip shows a lagoon that has the same markers as the Seven Seas Lagoon at the Grand Floridian Resort in Orlando. Check out the raised sandbar. You also hear a small child excitedly yell about seeing an alligator.

The person who shot the video tells us it was recorded a few days ago ... shot from the wedding pavilion at the resort.

And we got this photo (above) which shows a gator in the same lagoon back last month.

Search and rescue responders have pulled several gators from the water in the last 12 hours, yet there are no signs posted warning people that alligators are in the water.

We contacted Disney but so far no comment.

In a move that shocked a South African courtroom, ex-Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius removed his prosthetic legs in court Wednesday -- and walked around on his stumps.

There are mounting claims that Omar Mateen was gay and looking to hook up on apps and in clubs -- but it appears he was also actively hitting on women ... a strong sign of a possible struggle with his sexuality.

Cord Cedeno says he connected with Mateen a couple years ago on Grindr, but it was hardly titillating. Cedeno says Mateen -- whose profile was a pic of him in a tie -- would only say "Hi" over and over. He says he eventually blocked Mateen, but knows 4 friends who say the Orlando murderer remained active on other apps.

He says Mateen used Adam4Adam to send shots of his penis to men -- but never showed his face. Cedeno says he has no knowledge Mateen was ever successful in hooking up with a man.

On the other hand ... a female user on Plenty Of Fish says Mateen reached out to her 18 months ago. She says he was "nice, normal ... mentioned he had a child, but said he was single and looking for a good woman to marry."

She told us Mateen never said anything about being into men, but did rant about Islam and the Quran ... saying people misunderstood his religion. She says he wanted to meet face-to-face, but she too blocked him because he seemed "emotionally unstable."

10:30 PM PT -- Cops say the 2-year-old was with his parents and siblings wading in about a foot of water when the attack happened. A rep for the Orange County Sheriff's Department says the boy's father tried rescuing the child from the gator but was unsuccessful and suffered minor injuries. Cops say there are "no swimming" signs posted around the lagoon. It's estimated the gator was between 4-7 ft. long.

A rep for Disney added, "Everyone here at Walt Disney Resort is devastated by this tragic accident. Our priority is the family and we are doing everything we can to help law enforcement." The family was staying at the resort on vacation from Nebraska.

Florida Fish and Wildlife is currently trying to locate and trap the gator.

A 2-year-old child was snatched by an alligator and dragged into a lagoon at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa in Orlando, officials say ... and now cops are desperately searching the water.

Officials say the attack occurred around 9:30 PM Tuesday ... when the gator pulled the child into the Seven Seas Lagoon -- a man-made lake located between the resort and Walt Disney World.

Justin Bieber protege Madison Beer is understandably freaked out by the murder of Christina Grimmie, but she's not going to deny her fans face-to-face contact.

Our photog got Madison, who's managed by Scooter Braun, out in WeHo Tuesday, and she made it clear ... she is deeply affected by Christina's death, both personally and professionally.

Miley Cyrus is a serious triple threat ... just check out the merch.

Miley was all smiles with Liam Hemsworth Tuesday night in NYC. It's easy to see why she's got a wide grin ... she's got her man, a HUGE rock and dough pouring out of her purse.

Get it, Miley.

The guy who fought Justin Bieber last week wants a rematch, but no fists this time ... just a 1-on-1 chat about how they can avoid this turning into a lawsuit.

TMZ obtained a letter Lamont Richmond's rep fired off to Bieber's camp, saying Lamont wants a sit-down, and will take responsibility for the fight ... IF Justin does the same. Richmond adds, he thinks meeting face-to-face will "help seek a resolution."

It's unclear what needs to be resolved. The letter isn't any more specific, but the rep tells us if Justin's camp doesn't respond ... a lawsuit could be coming over the melee.

As we reported ... Lamont says he got death threats from Beliebers and lost his job after the fight.

Just a thought -- if Justin needs a bodyguard ...

David Arquette is unloading his historic pad and, note to the buyer ... you're gonna need a good landscaper.

Arquette's pad in L.A.'s Hancock Park neighborhood was listed for $8.495 million. The place was built in 1908, but it's since been renovated and updated.

The English craftsman is huge ... 7 bedroom, 8 baths and just under 10k square feet. The lawn's also big, thus the landscaper suggestion. Not only is there a pool out back, there's a meditation pond.