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The man who killed Joe McKnight got out of his car and pointed his weapon at a Navy officer who rushed to the scene to try to help ... cops say.

Sheriff Newell Normand says they interviewed Ronald Gasser for more than 10 hours and spoke with more than 160 witnesses in the case.

They believe after Gasser shot McKnight following a verbal altercation -- he got out of the car to see McKnight's body ... and was approached by a military officer.

The Naval officer told Gasser to put his gun away because it was not in his best interest to shoot a Naval officer.

The Naval officer and cops then tried to help McKnight -- but it was too late.

Sheriff Normand says Gasser has insisted he was fearing for his life -- and that's why he pulled his weapon during the altercation.

Derick Ion Almena, director of the Oakland art commune that burned down, killing at least 36 people -- fell apart during a live interview on NBC's "Today."

Almena claimed his building was "up to code," and defended the space ... saying he let his own children sleep there. He quickly got agitated, started yelling and refused to answer questions.

He shouted at Matt Lauer, "I would rather get on the floor and be trampled by the parents! I'd rather let them tear at my flesh than answer these ridiculous questions!"

It got more bizarre as Almena lost it, begged for mercy and Lauer bailed out.

Donald Trump's backing up traffic -- not on the streets of NY -- but outside one of his favorite NYC restaurants.

The President-elect -- along with Melania, Ivanka, Eric, Donald Jr., and son-in-law, Jared -- paid 21 Club a visit Monday night, but now when he goes it requires an intense security search ... of every other patron.

We got video as a bunch of hungry customers waiting in line to get wanded and patted down by Secret Service. Last month Trump slipped away from the press pool and hit up the fancy midtown Manhattan spot ... pissing off reporters.

Peter Vaughan, the veteran British actor who gained a new following with his recurring role on "Game of Thrones" ... died Tuesday morning.

Vaughan's agent says the actor died peacefully this morning around 10:30 surrounded by his family. Vaughan played Maester Aemon -- the former leader of the Night's Watch -- on the hit show from 2011 until 2015.

During his 75 years in show biz ... Vaughan starred in several British TV series and feature films. He co-starred with the likes of Sir Anthony Hopkins, Clive Owens, and Frank Sinatra.

Vaughan was 93.

Angelina Jolie has an endgame in her claims Brad Pitt abused one or more of their children -- she wants to move to London with the kids and score a top position in the United Nations ... sources connected with the couple tell TMZ.

Several well-placed sources say Brad and Angelina have not gotten along for more than a year, and she's been looking for an opportunity to end the marriage and bolt for her dream job ... with all 6 children in tow. We're told she knew that would be nearly impossible unless Brad's right to joint custody was in jeopardy.

As we reported ... Angelina told L.A. County Dept of Child and Family Services officials Brad brutalized Maddox on a private jet and engaged in other conduct that endangered the children. We know Brad strongly denied intentionally striking Maddox or engaging in any abuse, and DCFS clearly saw it his way ... closing out the investigation without taking any action.

Our sources say Angelina's move to involve DCFS was orchestrated by 2 women she's been relying on for advice for more than a year. One is a member of England's House of Lords, and the other also holds a U.K. government position. We're told they've been in Angelina's ear, convincing her she could become Secretary General of the U.N. if she plays her cards right.

Angelina, who has been paying both women handsomely for their consulting services, is all in and taking their cue that a move to London would help get her closer to the U.N. gig.

The rub, of course, is in order to take her kids out of the country ... she'd have to prove some sort of parental unfitness on Brad's part. So far she's struck out.

Jolie's rep denies there's a move planned and says Angelina is focused on the health and well being of her children. The rep adds, Angelina wants to continue therapy with the kids and Brad.

Our sources are clear and insist Europe and the U.N. post is the ultimate goal.

The custody war is now in family court -- she wants sole physical custody and he wants joint. We're told Angelina has a slim to none chance of taking the kids 6,000 miles away from Brad.

Tim Tebow made an 89-year-old superfan's LIFE ... when he surprised her in Georgia and even let her kiss him on the face!

Desiigner had no business getting behind the wheel of a rented Ferrari, but since he wrecked it when he did, he needs to cough up some dough ... according to the rental company's lawsuit.

The rental company is suing the "Panda" rapper for destroying a 2014 Ferrari back in June. It had been rented by 2 of his friends, who are also named in the suit.

According to docs ... the friends gave Desiigner permission to drive the whip, and then he crashed it in NJ. The car's valued at $220k, but the company's suing for more than $500k because they say they're going to lose out on future rental money -- as in $1,599 per day.

The docs also included a cryptic tweet, supposedly from Desiigner, saying, "If you have a luxury car you better know how to drive." The rental company thinks it's a confession, but we checked and the account doesn't look like it belongs to Desiigner.

We reached out to Desiigner's rep, who tells us ... "This is the first that Desiigner or his team have heard about this lawsuit. The minute he has had a chance to consult with his attorney, his managers or his attorney will respond."

Phaedra Parks said she was officially single again, but Apollo Nida said otherwise -- now we know who was actually right ... turns out, it's all Phaedra.

Court docs unsealed Monday back up Phaedra's original claim 100% -- she's been officially single since July.

According to the docs, Apollo was served in March -- while behind bars -- and even asked the court for time to respond, which he was granted. Still, 4 months went by and he went radio silent ... so the judge went ahead and signed off on the divorce without Apollo's signature.

The docs also include a parenting plan. Phaedra gets physical custody of their 2 kids while Apollo finishes his 8 year bid. When he's out, he'll get visitation, but she gets final say over any parenting disagreements.

Apollo denied knowing anything about the divorce, and even went so far as to file his own petition last week. Clearly, he's got time to kill right now.

Nicki Minaj is getting more than social media backlash for posting video of a woman losing it in Miami -- now a mental health organization is dressing her down for allegedly mocking the woman.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI-Miami) is sounding off, just like several of Nicki's fans, saying the clip is an invasion of the woman's privacy, which dehumanizes her.

NAMI says it's pissed Nicki's used her fame -- she has 70 million IG followers -- to influence young people in a negative manner. A rep for NAMI says, "Nobody would make fun of a cancer patient, and mental illness is an illness like any other."

Margaret Whitton -- who played Indians owner Rachel Phelps in "Major League" -- has died at age 67.

She died peacefully at her home in Florida after a brief battle with cancer, this according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Whitton was GREAT in the 'Major League' movies -- playing an owner rooting against her team so she could relocate 'em from Cleveland to Miami.

Her most memorable scene ... when she crashed the Indians locker room when Lou Brown was complaining about the "bitch" who runs the team ... and responded, "You wanted to talk to the bitch?"

Awesome.

Besides "Major League," Whitton also appeared in "Little Monsters," "The Man Without a Face" and "9 1/2 Weeks" and more.

Florence Henderson secretly battled serious heart issues for 10 years before she died of a heart attack ... this according to her death certificate obtained by TMZ.

The 'Brady Bunch' star passed away at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica on Nov. 24th.

The death certificate notes she suffered from heart disease for 10 years.

5 years ago, Henderson was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.

The death certificate also notes Henderson was in the entertainment industry for 64 years ... legend.

R.I.P.

Shia LaBeouf's got a funny way of ending his rap beef with Lil Yachty and Soulja Boy -- he just dropped his final diss track, but he's going out with a bang.

TMZ got a copy of Shia's latest verse, which will air Monday afternoon on Power 106 in L.A.

On this one Shia compares himself to Marlon Brando (bad timing, maybe) ... and really gets out on a limb, by claiming he spits better than Eminem.

He saved his best for last, calling out Yachty one more time -- and Soulja Boy, who banned Shia from Atlanta after his last verse -- saying they're "just pop and MMMbop, and obscure fruit like kumquat." He also goes after Peter Rosenberg again.

Kumquat, y'all. He rhymed kumquat.

Johnny Manziel turns 24 on Tuesday ... and he's celebrating with a relaxing, peaceful vacation in Miami.

Just kidding ... he's pounding booze at 8 AM.

The ex-NFL quarterback has been partying in Miami for the past couple days -- probably because Miami is poppin' right now due to the Art Basel event that takes over the city.

He's dancing on yachts, he's hanging with celebs, he's been chillin' at fancy hotels.

Derick Ion Almena -- the guy who ran the Oakland art commune that went up in flames -- has a rap sheet, and not just in the Bay Area ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Almena was pulled over in L.A. County for having expired tags in March 2015, and while searching his car cops discovered he had 2 stolen license plates from vehicles registered in Oakland. We're told he was arrested and booked for petty theft.

Almena was never charged though -- the D.A. declined to prosecute.