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President Trump came through for Lil Wayne with a full pardon that gets him off the hook for a gun charge that could've meant serious prison time, and rapper Kodak Black also got clemency with a commutation of his sentence.

Wayne's pardon announcement included a statement of support by Brett Berish of Sovereign Brands, who described him as "trustworthy, kind-hearted and generous." The pardon statement then reads, "Mr. Carter has exhibited this generosity through commitment to a variety of charities, including donations to research hospitals and a host of foodbanks."

Deion Sanders, also a supporter of the pardon, referred to Lil Wayne as "a provider for his family, a friend to many, a man of faith, a natural giver to the less fortunate, a waymaker [and] a game changer."

Weezy's pardon came just hours before the sun set on Trump's Presidency ... and it's just one of a stack of pardons, including Kodak Black. Black, who was sentenced to 46 months in prison for making a false statement on a Federal document, served nearly half his sentence.

The pardon statement notes he has been charitable in various ways, "such as providing educational resources to students and families of fallen law enforcement officers and the underprivileged." It goes on to note KB has provided funding to daycare centers, helped with food banks and worked with underprivileged children. And, the statement notes Kodak donated $50k to Dave Portnoy's Barstool Fund, which provides financial assistance to struggling businesses in the wake of COVID.

Wayne endorsed Trump in the final days of the 2020 election campaign -- posing for a photo, talking up Trump's criminal justice reform efforts and his proposed "platinum plan" to benefit the Black community.

With the pardon ... Weezy no longer has to worry about his federal gun case. As we reported ... he pled guilty in federal court last month to illegally possessing a loaded weapon while traveling to Miami on a private jet a year earlier.

He hadn't been sentenced, but faced the possibility of up to 10 years. That's all in Wayne's rearview mirror now.

After Kim Kardashian West was successful in lobbying President Trump to free Alice Marie Johnson, she went to work on doing the same for many others, including Chris Young ... and Trump delivered.

The Prez used his final day in office to grant pardons and commutations, and among the list of prisoners he commuted is Young ... who Kim began championing in 2018.

As you may recall ... Kim visited The White House in September 2018 -- a few months after Alice's release -- to continue to fight for criminal justice reform, and she lasered in on Young's case.

Much like Alice, Young was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2014 for non-violent drug offenses -- weed and cocaine possession -- as part of Tennessee's 3 strikes law. He was just 22 at the time.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... Kim stayed involved with Young's legal team since her WH meeting and continued to bring attention to the case. We're told Alice was also involved helping Chris -- they share the same attorney, Brittany Barnett.

The announcement from The White House says, "Mr. Young's many supporters describe him as an intelligent, positive person who takes full responsibility for his actions ..." While Kim was not mentioned among the several names of criminal justice reform advocates who assisted Young, her amplification of the case on social media certainly brought it much needed attention.

The statement says Young "lacked a meaningful first chance in life due to what another Federal judge called an "undeniably tragic childhood." adding the commutation gives Young a second chance.

With 25,000 National Guard members set to protect D.C. for Joe Biden's inauguration, each member has been subject to a heavy vetting, which includes high-tech facial recognition.

Federal law enforcement sources tell us ... FBI vetting -- which is normal for high-security events -- begins by checking social media accounts, looking for connections to extremist groups.

Along with reviewing posts, comments and photos ... we're told the feds are using facial recognition software to track the activities of guardsmen and women, specifically searching for photos or videos tying them to radical activities.

Our sources say all 21,000+ National Guard members currently in D.C. -- who have come in from all 50 states -- have been scrutinized by facial recognition and other high-tech methods to determine if they had any involvement -- direct or indirect -- in the Capitol riots.

As for how that works ... all Guard members were required to take a photo when they showed up in D.C. for duty. We're told that photo is then cross-referenced with security camera footage along with online content to make sure there's no connection to extremist, far-right or fringe groups.

Along with the high-tech vetting tricks, our sources say the more common criminal background checks are also conducted ... in order to pick up on any red flags such as arrests or police report mentions.

When it's all said and done ... the FBI's goal is obviously to weed out anyone who might not have national security as their top priority while serving with the National Guard.

Snoop Dogg is trying to sway President Trump to free Death Row Records co-founder Michael 'Harry-O' Harris from an attempted murder conviction ... but the clock's ticking.

During the presidential transition, Snoop's been secretly lobbying Trump to commute Harris' sentence and the rapper even enlisted Alice Marie Johnson to bolster his case ... according to The Daily Beast.

Harris, who started Death Row Records with Suge Knight way back in 1992 and helped sign Snoop and Tupac to the label, is serving time on attempted murder and drug charges at California's FCI Lompoc.

Supposedly a changed man, Harris has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years ... and he's not supposed to get out until at least 2028, unless Trump steps in.

Snoop's reportedly gotten Trump's attention ... Alice Marie says Trump, Ivanka, Jared and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows all know about Harris' case. Remember, Kim Kardashian helped Alice get her life sentence commuted by Trump.

What's remarkable about Snoop's effort here is that back in 2017 ... he made his hatred of Trump perfectly clear in his "Lavender" music video by pulling a fake gun on a Trump lookalike in clown makeup.

So, this could be an uphill battle for Snoop to get Trump to see things his way. There's a long list of candidates for potential pardons with less than 24 hours to go in Trump's presidency ... so stay tuned.

Philip Rivers is done with the NFL ... the Indianapolis Colts star quarterback announced Wednesday he's retiring after 17 seasons.

"It's just time," the 39-year-old told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "It’s just right."

Rivers ends his career with a super impressive resume ... he made 8 total Pro Bowls, threw for more than 63,000 passing yards and logged 421 passing TDs.

In fact, some believe the work he put in with the Chargers could eventually one day earn him a bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

As for why Rivers -- who had a solid season in his first year with the Indianapolis Colts in 2020-21 -- decided to finally call it quits, he said a growing desire to coach high school football helped him make the choice.

"I can sit here and say, 'I can still throw it. I love to play,'" Rivers said. "But that’s always going to be there. I’m excited to go coach high school football."

You'll recall, back in May 2020, Rivers accepted the head football coach role at St. Michael Catholic HS in Fairhope, AL ... and got emotional explaining why he took the job.

Now, Rivers says he can't wait to get started molding high schoolers ... saying after his retirement, "That’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s been growing. I can’t wait."

Rivers added he's "100 percent at peace" with the choice to hang up the spikes.

If you're thinking Joe Biden's Presidency is behind the 8 ball right off the bat thanks to the great divide in our nation ... buck up, there's reason for optimism, according to a guy who knows his stuff.

Dr. Allan Lichtman -- Professor of History at American University -- joined "TMZ Live" to share his take on what Biden's up against ... and spell out exactly what it's going to take for him to have a successful administration.

The prof. offers some great perspective here ... he came armed with loaded historical examples of past Presidents who took over during tumultuous times (does 2000 ring a bell?), but found a way to govern effectively and bring people together.

Dr. Lichtman thinks Biden can do the same if he takes a page out of a legendary POTUS playbook. Hint: It's not JFK or Biden's buddy, Barack.

Bottom line is ... Lichtman thinks both Democrats and Republicans have 2 major problems to solve right away -- the pandemic and the economy -- and everyone can benefit if they work together.

Pro surfer Makua Rothman successfully rode a wave that was estimated to be about 100 feet tall over the weekend ... and the insane ride -- which some believe is a world record -- was all caught on video!!

The drop-in went down in Hawaii on Saturday ... when Rothman and some of the rest of the country's best big wave surfers hit up a famous area known as "Jaws" in Pe'ahi to tackle some gnarly swells.

At some point during the day, though, Rothman beat out the other surfers to catch a Holy Grail type of ocean ride -- tackling a wave that was estimated to be between 80 and 100 feet high!!

Surf industry officials close to Rothman tell TMZ Sports the wave might very well be the tallest ever surfed -- beating Rothman's previous record of around 66 feet.

After he finished the epic ride, Rothman was PUMPED over it all ... telling us, "I'm so stoked on this ride and everyone who made that day possible!"

FYI, for as good as Rothman is ... he ain't a stranger to falling on these types of waves -- remember back in 2018 when he got thrashed by a huge one??

Los Angeles native Jenna Boyd was only 12 years old when she gained fame after landing the role of Bailey -- who helps Tibby film her documentary while battling leukemia and sadly dies while in the hospital -- in the 2005 denim drama "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

Jenna Boyd shared the big screen for the trouser-based film with some big names including America Ferrera as the father-feuding, Carmen Lowell, Alexis Bledel as the love-struck, Lena Kaligaris, Amber Tamblyn as the suckumentary filmmaker Tabitha "Tibby" Tomko-Rollins ... and of course, Blake Lively as the soccer camp crush, Bridget Vreeland.

Sen. Lindsey Graham -- one of President Trump's staunchest allies -- says he's riding with Biden, at least for Inauguration Day ... but what happens after that is kinda murky.

We got the Senator from South Carolina Tuesday at Reagan National Airport, and asked him about Wednesday morning's festivities, which on the surface seem like a logistical nightmare for him. His buddy Trump's getting an early sendoff ceremony at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland -- but of course, he's also on the guestlist for President-elect Biden's swearing-in on Capitol Hill.

Graham told us he's already decided to attend Biden's Inauguration. That's kinda surprising, considering a week ago he and Trump were still tight -- LG even flew to Texas with POTUS.

So, is he ready for the backlash from Trump supporters? Ask his platoon of bodyguards!! The Senator was flanked by at least 8 very serious-looking dudes.

It was a much different image from his last time in this terminal -- last week Trumpers gave him the business, blasting him as a traitor.

Despite his Wednesday plans, Graham's not completely turning his back on Trump. In fact, he's trying to get Sen. Chuck Schumer to dismiss the 2nd impeachment of Trump ... according to Politico. So, he's clearly not on board with voting to convict 45.

'Bachelorette' star Clare Crawley and Dale Moss are officially on a break, as they say ... effectively ending it after she cut her season short, just for him.

Sources close to the former couple tell TMZ ... Dale broke things off with Clare this past weekend.

As for why ... no word yet. One thing we do know for sure -- they were dating from a distance ... he lived in NYC, and she was on the West Coast in Sacramento -- which is always a toughie.

It's a very anticlimactic end for what many thought was a love-at-first-sight pairing. From the day Clare met all of her on-screen suitors, it was clear she was head over heels for the guy ... and didn't give the other fellas much of a chance to compete for her affection.

In fact, Clare was actually mocked pretty often for snubbing dudes in the house ... and constantly seeking out or talking about Dale, even if she was on a date with someone else.

The writing was on the wall that they were meant for each other ... or so they thought.

Clare -- the oldest 'Bachelorette' to head up a season -- ultimately bailed on the show entirely once Dale proposed to her (again, early) ... which made way for Tayshia Adams, the second Black 'Bachelorette,' who picked up the baton and finished things off with the remaining 16 men -- plus 4 new guys who were brought on. She ended up getting engaged to Zac Clark.

Whatever led to the break up here, it's a bummer for Clare, and has to have her wondering ... "what if?"

Made-for-TV relationships, man ... always hit or miss.

Halsey is the new owner of a zen paradise, after scooping up Liam Payne's oasis in Calabasas.

The "You should be sad" singer certainly has reason to be happy after dropping $10,161,150 for the former 1D singer's 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom crib tucked away in the hills above Malibu.

The 9,659 square-foot home is perfect for entertaining, with a home theater, beautiful backyard and wine cellar. It's also got a giant library for quiet nights at home.

The pool looks like it was plucked right out of a 5-star resort, with a koi pond, waterfalls and tons of surrounding gardens.

There's also a massage/meditation house, recording studio, pool house with a full gym and guest room. And, this is on TOP of an additional private guest house.

WWE hasn't had a live audience since March ... but that's about to change, 'cause Stephanie McMahon tells TMZ Sports WWE plans to have fans in attendance at WrestleMania 37!!

McMahon joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1) ... where she announced WWE's gunning to have an audience at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa at WM on April 10 and 11.

“I’m thrilled and excited because, hopefully, this will be the first opportunity for us to have our fans back in attendance," McMahon says.

"That’s the current plan. Of course, ticket information is not available yet cause we’re still trying to figure out all the machinations.”

McMahon tells us WWE is keeping an eye on the Super Bowl (Feb. 7, also at RJS in Tampa) ... for tips on how to make sure the massive event goes off without a hitch.

"We're going to learn a lot from [the NFL] logistically, etc., and really best practices, what works, what doesn't work. But man, we can't wait to come in and for 2 nights, really rock that pirate ship."

FYI, it's been 316 days (March 9th's Monday Night Raw) since the wrestling organization had live fans in the building.

Still, plans can change ... and McMahon stressed WWE's top priority is the health of everyone involved.

"Working with the local organizing committee, all of the health officials, health and safety is first and foremost, of course," Stephanie says.

"For our fans, for our performers, for the employees, for the staff working the building, there's a lot of different logistics that need to determined, but hopefully, it'll all work out, and this will be the first WWE event where we actually bring the WWE Universe back together in person, and I cannot wait."

As far as the exact number of fans they plan to admit ... Stephanie says WWE has a plan, but isn't ready to reveal the figure at this time.

For comparison's sake, WWE had around 100K fans at WM 33 at AT&T Stadium in 2016 (WWE's going back to Texas for WM 38).

Obviously, the number will be way smaller this April. But, bottom line ... humans will be there!

There's more ... we also talked to Stephanie about Rob Gronkowski AND Tom Brady.

Gronk is the former 24/7 Champ -- and host of last year's Mania -- so we asked McMahon if a cameo from Rob and his G.O.A.T. QB teammate was in the cards.

Donald Trump's pettiness apparently knows no bounds, because Joe Biden isn't getting what Trump himself got ... a government aircraft taking him to D.C. for his inauguration.

Biden just boarded a private jet for the short flight to Washington. Protocol has been for the incoming President to get the courtesy of a military aircraft. Aside from the fact this tradition is rooted in the transfer of power, it's gotta be safer, with all the bells and whistles that come with it.

FYI ... Donald Trump was afforded this courtesy when he flew to Washington on January 19, 2017, the day before he was inaugurated.

This is one in a series of protocol breaks. Among the others ...

-- Trump hasn't called Biden to congratulate him on winning the election

-- Trump has not invited Biden to the White House

-- Trump has offered tepid cooperation in the transition, making it much harder for Biden and his team to prepare for the ascendency to power.

-- Trump will not greet Biden on January 20th for tea at the White House before Biden heads to the Capitol

-- Trump will not attend Biden's inauguration

One more tradition ... an outgoing President leaves a note for the incoming President in the Oval Office. Trump was effusive about the note Obama left him. Joe Biden ... don't hold your breath.

Los Angeles Dodgers legend Don Sutton -- one of the greatest pitchers of his generation -- has died at the age of 75.

Sutton's son, Daron, made the announcement on social media on Tuesday ... saying his Hall of Fame father passed away overnight.

"Saddened to share that my dad passed away in his sleep last night. He worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever known and he treated those he encountered with great respect ... and he took me to work a lot. For all these things, I am very grateful. Rest In Peace," Daron wrote.

Sutton -- who was inducted into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998 -- pitched 23 seasons in the big leagues ... including 16 years with the Dodgers.

Don was a 4x All-Star and was MLB's ERA leader in 1980. He won 324 games ... and struck out 3,574 batters -- good enough for 7th all-time.

In addition to his time in Los Angeles, Sutton also pitched for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, California Angels.

The Dodgers retired his #20 jersey in 1998.

Here's a new idea that might entice more folks to get vaccinated for COVID-19 ... bags of free weed!!

Cannabis rights activist Adam Eidinger joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and told us about his big plans to use medical marijuana to get more shots in arms in our nation's capital.

Adam's the brainchild behind, "Joints For Jabs," a free ganja giveaway for folks in Washington, D.C. who get the COVID vaccine. The premise -- getting people to trust the science behind the vaccine by comparing it to the science behind pot's medicinal benefits.

Once mass vaccination sites are up and running in D.C., where Adam helped decriminalize weed back in 2015. He says activists from D.C. Marijuana Justice will be on hand giving away free chronic to anyone who gets the shot, and yes ... they're keeping it COVID safe.