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The "Saturday Night Live" cast and host, Chris Rock, are trying like hell to keep up with the constantly changing news about President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis ahead of the season premiere.

Leading up to Saturday's Season 46 kickoff, the first Presidential debate was the big story we all expected to see lampooned, but that all changed early Friday morning with the President and First Lady testing positive.

Sources close to the situation tell TMZ ... writers and producers are now trying to figure out how to address the topic, and what adjustments, if any, have to be made the cold open or Rock's opening monologue.

We're told it's a very fluid situation, but 'SNL' wants to be sensitive ... and our sources say meetings and discussions were going on late into Friday night.

The good news -- for 'SNL' cast and crew anyway -- is we're told production and the writing staff isn't making drastic changes to what they had planned. Of course, you can expect to see the President's health addressed during the "Weekend Update" segment.

Our sources say the episode still won't shy away from the debate or campaign battles. Aside from Rock hosting, the premiere's heavily anticipated because Jim Carrey is taking on the role of Joe Biden, while Maya Rudolph returns as Kamala Harris.

If that wasn't enough for ya ... Megan Thee Stallion is the musical guest.

Here's a couple of Joe Exotic's former zookeepers making their first dive into commercials ... a hilarious 'Tiger King' spoof with Todd Bridges as their old boss!!!

Saff Saffery and John Reinke -- who were featured in 'Tiger King' and used to care for the big cats at Joe's GW Zoo -- star in the ad for Insurance King, opposite the "Diff'rent Strokes" star doing his best Exotic impression.

The 'Tiger King' references are everywhere ... from the tiger roars, to Todd dropping infamous Joe quotes and rocking his signature mullet. Oh, and eagle-eyed viewers will notice the Insurance Company logo, which usually features a lion, swapped out for a tiger wearing a crown.

As we first told you ... Saff and John reunited for the first time in 3 years this week in Rockford, IL, celebrating Carole Baskin's 'DWTS' exit and meeting Todd ahead of the commercial shoot.

Donald Trump's COVID diagnosis has sent the campaign and The White House into a crisis, and the new audio of the Grand Jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case is disturbing. So we gotta ask ...

Don't let these two almost identical images of Hugh Jackman overwhelm you ... Just take a moment to look around, and you should be able to spot a few sneaky switches that have been made to this tricky pic!

The "X-Men" actor was seen out and about while in New York City earlier this week ... and we have made some changes to this photo! Give it your best inspection and see if you have what it takes to figure out what the difference is between these two super similar snaps!

Sergey Kovalev pled guilty Friday in a criminal case stemming from an alleged violent incident with a woman and dog in 2018 ... and the boxing star will now have to spend the next 3 years on probation, TMZ Sports has learned.

Kovalev was accused of punching a woman in Big Bear, Calif. back in June '18 ... after the alleged victim claimed she turned down his sexual advances.

The woman, Jamie Frontz, said the two had met at a boxing gym-opening party ... and began kissing at her rental cabin shortly after.

But, she says when she pulled away from the fighter after feeling like he was too aggressive ... he became violent.

Frontz says Kovalev kicked her dog ... and then later socked her in the face.

In an interview with TMZ Sports about the incident, Frontz claimed the punch caused a broken nose, a concussion and facial lacerations.

Kovalev was eventually arrested and hit with a felony assault charge ... and faced YEARS behind bars.

But, according to court docs, Kovalev cut a deal with prosecutors Friday ... and got the felony charge dropped.

In exchange, 37-year-old Sergey pled guilty to misdemeanor fighting/noise/offensive words ... and was sentenced to 3 years probation.

Kovalev was also ordered to serve a 2-day jail sentence ... but he received credit for time served and won't spend any more time behind bars.

Court docs also show Kovalev must attend/complete an anger management program, as well as pay $220 in court fees.

We've reached out to the boxer's attorney for comment ... but, so far, no word back yet.

Incubus co-founder and drummer Jose Pasillas took a nasty spill on his bike thanks to a defective handlebar, and it's wreaked havoc on his wrist and his career ... so he claims in a new lawsuit.

According to the legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Pasillas bought a brand new Specialized S-Works Tarmac bicycle from a high-end California bike company, Specialized Bicycle Components, near the end of 2015.

About 3 years later on Jan. 24, 2019 ... he says he was out for a ride on the bike on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas, when out of nowhere the right handlebar broke.

According to the docs ... the handlebar "disintegrated" and caused the front wheel and the bars to turn sharply, which threw the drummer over the top with his shoes still clipped into the bike pedals.

Pasillas claims he was traveling approximately 25 MPH when he got thrown and landed on the road mostly on his hands -- which he says took the brunt of the fall -- but also on his left shoulder and knees.

The Incubus drummer claims he sought immediate medical care and learned he had a broken wrist, which he says required surgery to repair.

Pasillas claims he suffered severe injuries and has needed continuous medical treatment since the crash. What's worse -- Jose says his ability to drum for Incubus has been impacted and he's lost money because of it.

He's suing for negligence over the allegedly defective handlebar and wants reimbursement for his medical costs and other damages, including lost earnings.

We reached out to the bike company ... no word back yet.

Ex-NBA star Stephen Jackson says his fight for social justice is just getting started ... telling TMZ Sports it's become his mission to be there for those who need help following the death of his friend, George Floyd.

Jackson made his presence known shortly after Floyd's death in May ... speaking out in hopes of bringing awareness to the cause.

We spoke with Stack about his new calling on Thursday ... and he says he's been called to make an impact on society.

"What I do know is, is that I'm leading with my heart and I'm doing what God wants me to do," Jackson tells us.

"I didn't ask to be in this position, I wish I could get my twin back. It is what it is."

Jackson says his new journey has made him realize there are more people who need his help ... and he's up for the task.

"So, it's become my passion and I've been embracing it. I know I'm doing God's work. So, wherever it takes me, I'll find out how I'm doing sometime soon."

Jackson -- who was close friends with Floyd -- was one of many to speak out and demand justice by calling for the arresting officers to be prosecuted ... but he says it's not the only incident he will speak out on.

It's 'Mean Girls' day and there's no better way to celebrate October 3rd than to check up on Aaron Samuels and the rest of the fetch cast!

Most of these famous faces could be recognized as just a few of the characters that felt personally victimized by Regina George in the famous teen comedy, 'Mean Girls' ... The film stars Rachel McAdams, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Lindsay Lohan and plenty of others!

Scroll through our gallery of the cast and see what these grool guys and gals look like now compared to the film.

President Trump will be flown to Walter Reed Military Hospital for continued treatment for COVID-19.

The White House just announced the President will be flown to the renowned Bethesda, MD facility on Friday afternoon. It's a dramatic turn, considering the administration previously said he was "fatigued" and experiencing "mild symptoms."

The Marine One helicopter has already landed on the South Lawn at the White House ... ready to transport Trump.

The White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany says, "Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.”

Sources connected to the White House tell us the move is primarily because they want an added level of safety for the President, considering he's high risk due to his age and weight.

We're told his illness was obvious Friday during conference calls, and he was unusually quiet. There were early signs Thursday night when he called in to Sean Hannity's show on Fox News around 9:30 PM Eastern time -- he sounded like he had low energy and a case of the sniffles.

We're told, at that point, Trump already suspected he had COVID-19 ... although, he didn't announce his test results on Twitter until almost 1 AM Eastern time.

Story developing ...

Shoe designer Salehe Bembury got stopped by police in Beverly Hills after shopping at the store where he works ... and he thinks it reeks of racial profiling.

Bembury -- VP of Sneakers and Men's Footwear at Versace -- shared video Thursday night of his encounter with 2 Bev Hills cops ... which he called frightening and unjustified.

The cops allegedly stopped and searched Salehe after he left the Versace store with a bag of goods he purchased. He suggests he got hassled because he's Black, but one of the officers in the vid denies that and says Bembury's changing the story.

After checking his ID and determining he had a clean record, the officers let him go. Salehe later claimed he had just left the store and was walking to his car when a patrol car pulled up. He says it was startling, especially because the cops quickly jumped out and confronted him ... over jaywalking.

Bembury claims he told the cops he wasn't aware he had jaywalked, but they stopped him, patted him down and took his phone. That's when he says he asked to have his phone back to record the incident.

Bembury insists he did nothing to warrant the police harassing him -- despite the cops claiming otherwise.

We've reached out to Beverly Hills PD ... no word back yet.

President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have both contracted the coronavirus.

The President broke the news with a tweet -- at nearly 1 AM Friday in D.C. -- saying ... "Tonight @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER."

The alarming news comes hours after we learned one of the President's aides, Hope Hicks, had tested positive. Hope had been traveling on Air Force One all week with POTUS ... going to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland ... and also to his rally in Minnesota.

The impact is far-reaching. Trump came into contact with numerous people over the last 5 days, including Joe Biden on the debate stage, and his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. And, then there's his treasury secretary -- someone who frequently meets with the president -- who had a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Vice President Pence has tested negative, but there's still a window of risk since he's been in contact with Trump over the last week.

Trump was not feeling well on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg News, so it's also unclear how long Trump has been COVID positive.

Furthermore, what's unclear -- who gave the virus to whom? Did Trump contract the virus from Hope Hicks or vice versa, or did they contract it from someone else?

There's no good time to contract the virus, but it comes at a particularly critical time for the President ... less than 5 weeks before Election Day. We don't yet know if he and Melania are experiencing symptoms, but the First Lady tweeted that they are "feeling good."

Trump has made no secret of how much he hates wearing face masks, and has done it in public very rarely since the pandemic began.

The last time we saw him wearing one in public was a week ago at the public viewing for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg outside the Supreme Court.

During the debate on Tuesday night, he did pull one out of his pocket as he claimed to have no issue with wearing face coverings. It's worth noting, at 74 years old he is in a high-risk category for COVID-19. Melania is only 50.

As you know, Trump has logged a lot of miles this week -- traveling with his inner circle of aides and attending large scale events. Once contact tracing is done ... it's possible a large number of people will need to be tested immediately and quarantined.

So far, the administration is saying the Prez and Melania will remain in their White House residence while they quarantine. It's unclear how long that will last, but typically doctors recommend 14 days.

And, if you're wondering ... the next presidential debate is exactly 14 days away.

Steve Barnes -- co-founder of the personal injury law firm, Cellino & Barnes -- has reportedly died after a plane he was piloting crashed in upstate NY.

Barnes and a female passenger were reportedly killed Friday when the single-engine, propeller-powered Socata TBM 700 6-seater plane crashed in a wooded area in Genesee County. Barnes and the woman were the only ones on board.

Officials have not yet identified the victims, but The Buffalo News is reporting that a lawyer at Barnes' law firm confirmed Steve was piloting that plane.

A Buffalo TV station also reported the plane is registered to an address matching that of Cellino & Barnes' offices. While the name Steve Barnes may not be universally known, his firm's jingle definitely is. That toll-free number, 800-888-8888, at the end of the commercials really does stick in your head.

Barnes and his former partner, Ross Cellino, worked together for almost three decades before splitting back in June.

The Grand Jury audio in the Breonna Taylor case reveals important information about the central issue in the case -- whether the Grand Jurors were adequately informed about whether cops identified themselves before breaching the door to Breonna's apartment.

According to the audio, a police lieutenant testified one of the neighbors did NOT hear police identify themselves. It's unclear why the neighbor didn't testify in person before the grand jury. We know there were 12 neighbors in all who said they did NOT hear the cops ID themselves.

Another cop testified one neighbor DID hear the cops announce who they were before entering the apartment. The key -- what about the 12 who didn't hear it?

This is critical because if police did not identify themselves, then Breonna's boyfriend had every right to fire a shot, and cops couldn't use self-defense as a justification for shooting in the apartment.

Cops say they announced themselves as law enforcement before entering Breonna's apartment, according to the testimony we've heard so far. It's about 20 hours of audio, and we're continuing to going through it.

Police Lt. Shawn Hoover said in an interview, recorded the same day Breonna was shot, cops knocked on the door and announced themselves as police before waiting another 10 or 15 seconds to repeat the announcement.

Hoover said cops waited another 45 to 60 seconds before approaching again and breaching the door -- and, as you've heard, cops had a "no-knock" warrant, but Cameron later said police did ID themselves.

Taylor family attorney Ben Crump says his team has spoken to the 12 witnesses who claim cops did not announce before the raid.

As we reported ... Cameron announced earlier this week he would release the recording after an anonymous grand juror filed a motion asking a judge to allow the grand jurors to go public.

The juror who filed the unusual request blasted Cameron for hanging the grand jury out to dry when he announced the indictment of ex-cop Brett Hankison.

Cameron insisted a grand jury is meant to be a secretive body, but relented it's "apparent that the public interest in this case isn't going to allow that to happen."

He added ... "Once the public listens to the recording, they will see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the Grand Jury."

Of course, the very next day the Kentucky AG admitted he never recommended the grand jury indict either of the 2 officers for shooting and killing Breonna Taylor. Instead, he said the case he presented to the grand jury is that the officers were justified in firing their weapons because Breonna's boyfriend had fired first at them.

All new wrinkle to the old saga of President Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame getting destroyed -- this time cops are blaming a superhero, a not-so-jolly giant green one.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ...a man dressed as the Incredible Hulk showed up around Friday around 5 AM and took a pickaxe to Donald's star ... completely destroying it beyond recognition.

The man who says he destroyed Trump's star, James Otis, tells TMZ ... he didn't know Trump had coronavirus when he took a pickaxe to the star.

Our sources say a felony vandalism report was taken after the star was left with more than $5,000 in damage. Nobody's been arrested and police are still investigating. Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rana Ghadban tells TMZ ... "Any star, which is vandalized or destroyed, no matter which honoree it belongs to will be replaced by the Hollywood Historic Trust, a non-profit, non-partisan group."

Seriously, they've gotta have replacing this thing down to a science by now.

Ghadban added, "When people are angry with one of our honorees, we would hope that they would project their anger in more positive ways than to vandalize a California State landmark. Our democracy is based on respect for the law. People can make a real difference by voting and not destroying public property.”

The star, of course, has been a lightning rod for bad vibes toward Trump ... from vandalism to even all-out brawls. As we've reported, the star was most recently messed with back in June after someone used black spray paint and completely blacked it out. Someone also left behind a bag of poop on top of the star.

Nearly a year ago, someone spray-painted Trump's name in broad daylight. Over the years, the star's also been jackhammered and someone else took a pickaxe to it. Even George Lopez fake peed on the star back in July 2018.

President Trump has been in close, maskless contact with many, many people -- in his administration and otherwise -- over the past several days ... people he may have exposed to the coronavirus.

As you know ... POTUS and First Lady Melania tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday night and Trump says they've begun their quarantine and recovery process.

Still, Trump contracting the virus now has everyone tracing his steps the past week. Even though he didn't test positive until Thursday, he could have been contagious for several days prior. As we reported, his adviser Hope Hicks tested positive hours before Trump, and they had traveled together.

But, let's go back ... to Saturday 9/26, when Trump nominates Amy Coney Barrett and walks right next to her as both are not wearing masks.

On Sunday, Trump holds a conference meeting at the White House and later goes golfing at the National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia.

Monday's a big day -- the Prez meets with reps from Lordstown Motors out of Ohio on the South Lawn of the WH, as well as 2 members of Congress. Later, he's in close contact with VP Mike Pence, members of his administration and Congress, and state officials during a conference, coincidentally, about COVID test kits.

Then, of course, Trump travels with Melania and family to Cleveland on Tuesday for the first presidential debate. Though members of his family are seen wearing masks, Trump is not. Hope Hicks was among the team that traveled with Trump for the debate.

Now, several people, including VP Pence, Barrett, Joe Biden and his wife have tested negative -- but that doesn't mean everyone's out of the woods because the virus has a gestation period.

On Wednesday, Trump travels to Minnesota for a private fundraiser and an outdoor rally. Again, Hicks is with him. At the rally, Trump tossed out hats to the crowd. Yikes!

On the return trip, Hicks reveals she feels ill and isolates herself on Air Force One. Despite her illness and close proximity to Trump, the President flies to his Bedminster, NJ resort Thursday for a private fundraiser. Several aides who were in proximity to Hicks scrap plans to accompany him.

Meanwhile, Ivanka -- who also had close contact with her father, FLOTUS and Hicks -- heads to Charlotte to meet with supporters. Soon after, it's revealed Hicks has tested positive ... as well as POTUS and FLOTUS.

Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, said Friday they've tested negative.