Delonte West is on the road to sobriety ... but it ain't easy.
Sources tell TMZ Sports the former NBA player is currently in the detox phase of his treatment -- which is known to be extremely difficult for people trying to clean themselves up.
We're told detox is Phase 1 -- the process of removing all traces of drugs and alcohol from Delonte's system.
Detox ain't exactly a walk in the park -- in fact, it's a pretty taxing process both physically and mentally.
West is undergoing the process under the supervision of professionals -- but it's still extremely tough.
One person close with West told us Delonte is "doing fine" while "roughing it out" in order to move on to the phase of his treatment.
After detox is complete, we're told West will move to a new location where his treatment will focus on mental health and long term sobriety programs.
Bottom line ... it's not an easy process. It's not quick either. But, the people we're talking with tell us they're happy with Delonte's progress so far and they're optimistic he can overcome his challenges.
As we previously reported, ex-MLB superstar Daryl Strawberry -- who battled his own substance abuse issues -- has offered to work with West to stay clean when he finishes his treatment.
California-born athlete Randy Johnson (also known as "The Big Unit") was a household name in the '90s as the lanky lefty pitcher with one heck of a fastball and an equally epic mustache and mullet combination.
Randy has beamed balls across the plate for a bunch of great baseball organizations including the Montreal Expos, Houston Astros and New York Yankees ... but he was best known for his contributions to the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners.
Johnson was photographed on the mound for over two decades ... but has now taken on a career on the other side of the lens as a photographer.
Lena Hernandez, the "Karen" who was accused of a slew of racist tirades in Southern California over the past year, is taking a plea deal ... and she is getting jail time.
Law enforcement sources tell us Hernandez will take a deal on her misdemeanor battery charge, and in exchange, prosecutors will seek a sentence of 45 days in Los Angeles County Jail.
Our sources say Hernandez will be in court Tuesday for a judge to accept the deal. We're told Hernandez will be on probation for the next 3 years, and she's gotta complete a year-long anger management class. Our sources say she will also be ordered to pay about $1,500 and can't own a firearm for the next 10 years.
TMZ broke the story ... Hernandez was busted in July after launching a series of racist rants in a park and a mall. Police issued a warrant for her arrest and cops finally tracked her down in the SoCal beach city of San Pedro.
The battery charge is related to an incident last October at a shopping mall in Torrance. Our sources say Hernandez will be given stay-away orders from the mall and from the victim.
There's no video from that incident, but there's footage of 2 other incidents where she hurled racist comments -- once at a woman working out in a park, and the other at a man in a parking lot.
Kanye West isn't a top choice on the Presidential ticket in Cali -- but the reason he's been tapped to be VP to someone else is all about an attempt to screw Joe Biden.
You mighta heard Kanye will be a Vice Presidential candidate in the Golden State, the running mate alongside a guy named Rocky De La Fuente ... who's running for Prez from the American Independent Party. The AIP admits choosing Ye as Veep was an anti-Dems strategy.
Markham Robinson -- Vice Chairman of the AIP -- tells TMZ party leaders nominated Kanye to be on the ticket with De La Fuente at their state convention in late August ... and no, they did NOT run it by KW or RDLF for that matter. That's just how the AIP does it.
Anyway, Robinson says Kanye was right up their alley as far as political views -- but also, they thought he was perfect to help siphon votes from CA Dems, plus "Never Trump" Republicans. There's more of the former in California, so this move clearly has Biden in mind.
If you're wondering how De La Fuente feels about all this ... he's not all that happy about the process of choosing Ye, but accepts the way it worked out in the end and wants to make of the most of it at the polls. He tells us Ye's popular with voters in the 18-25 demographic, and even though he acknowledges he won't win CA ... he's hoping for a strong third place.
Here's the fatal flaw in the plan ... California is a winner-take-all state when it comes to Electoral College votes. The winner gets all 55 votes, and there's no chance Trump's gonna win in the Golden State. So putting Ye on the ballot won't affect anything.
Between De La Fuente and Kanye each running in several other states as the top-dog candidate -- it'll be interesting to see how their combined forces play on the West Coast.
5:30 PM PT -- Trump is feeling pretty confident after his hospital stay, wondering if he's already immune from coronavirus.
UPDATE
A maskless Trump just filmed a video at the White House, saying ... "maybe I'm immune, I don't know."
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The Prez, who was pumped full of drugs at Walter Reed, says he's feeling better than he has in 20 years and is again telling Americans to not let the virus "dominate you."
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4:08 PM PT -- POTUS is back at The White House, and made sure to let the cameras see him take off his mask as he arrived ... and stuff it in his pocket.
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It's a questionable move for sure, as it appears several photographers and staffers are standing near him on the WH balcony ... and he's still contagious. Fact is ... The White House is riddled with COVID, and Trump seems unconcerned about further spreading it.
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UPDATE
Trump just walked out of the front doors of Walter Reed, tapping the handrails as he made his way to a vehicle to take him to board Marine One ... and continue on back home to The White House.
UPDATE
The President gave a thumbs up and said "thank you" as he left the hospital, but ignored one reporter's question about if he thinks he's a coronavirus super-spreader.
President Trump says he's getting ready to leave the hospital, and is even telling Americans there's no reason to be afraid of COVID-19 ... despite the fact he wasn't treated like a typical patient.
POTUS says he'll be out of Walter Reed Medical Center at 6:30 PM ET. While at the hospital, he's been getting round-the-clock treatment while a team of a dozen doctors help him combat COVID-19.
The odd part of the President's tweet was his suggestion there's nothing to fear from the coronavirus ... which has killed more than 200,000 Americans.
Trump said, "Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life." He says his administration has developed great "drugs and knowledge" about combatting the virus, adding ... "I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
If the President's condition has improved that much, that's great for him -- however, his statement ignores the fact he's gotten, and will continue to get, treatment far beyond what the average American would get if they needed to be hospitalized with COVID-19. Remember, the Prez even got an experimental cocktail of antibodies not even available to the general public.
Not a great message from the President ... who just yesterday claimed to have finally learned so much about the disease which has been a deadly plague on Americans for more than 6 months now. His own physician, Dr. Sean Conley, declined to comment on Trump's tweet.
We now know Trump received supplemental oxygen over the past three days at least twice -- and that he's been placed on a number of medications, including Remdesivir and dexamethasone ... among others.
Here's the big problem and the most suspicious thing about these press briefings. Dr. Sean Conley mentioned certain meds and therapies the President was getting, but when it came to talking about lung damage and other potential complications, the doctor invoked HIPAA. Why is the doctor so willing to talk about treatment when the President is responding well, but when asked about possible serious problems, he invokes HIPAA ... something frankly we've never heard invoked by a President before.
It's unclear what exactly will be done at the White House to protect staffers from a potentially contagious COVID-19 patient. Doctors say they won't approve his return to the campaign trail until there is no trace of live virus in his system.
They also say he will get the same round-the-clock, top-notch medical treatment he's been receiving. Let's hope the same is true for the growing number of people around the President who've been exposed to the virus.
James Otis -- famous for destroying Donald Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star in 2016 -- is back at it again, he just got busted for the same stunt ... even with an elaborate costume.
LAPD arrested Otis for felony vandalism after he allegedly took a pickaxe to Trump's star last week, completely destroying it beyond all recognition.
The cops claim James recently went on social media expressing his intention to damage Trump's star -- plus, Otis told us he was the vandal who dressed up as the Incredible Hulk.
As we reported, he was first arrested for this before the 2016 election.
LAPD says video of Friday morning's vandalism appeared to show James as the culprit, and when they contacted Otis' camp they were told he wanted to turn himself in for the crime.
Cops say James did just that Monday, turning himself in at the police station in Hollywood. Our law enforcement sources say he's still in jail, where he's being held on $20,000 bail.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce estimated the damage to Trump's star to be over $3,000 ... and crews are already working to restore it.
Otis pled no contest in February 2017 to vandalizing Trump's star, the first time, and was sentenced to 3 years probation, community service and ordered to cough up $4,400.
Boosie Badazz has a deal for you, if you're looking for a brand new car ... that also happens to be freshly damaged by Boosie's nephew!!! Hey, we didn't say it was a good deal.
The rapper shared this amusing family drama Monday, saying ... "My nephew's stupid ass wrecked my Jag," which he claims is a one-of-a-kind 2021 model with only 2,000 miles on it.
Boosie, who sounds like he'd just rolled outta bed, said he's pissed off, tired, and looking to unload the car for a cool $75,000 ... despite a big dent and scratches over the front driver's side wheel well.
He doesn't say how much he paid for the brand new whip, or even which model it is -- so it's hard to tell if his list price of $75k is a deep discount. He also doesn't seem to know the extent of the car's damage either.
Okay, used car sales just ain't his thing.
Boosie says if he can't find a buyer soon, he's going to trade in the Jag for something else. Seems like he's not down with contacting his insurance provider or waiting around at a body shop.
BTW, anyone actually seen Boosie's nephew? Just checkin'.
Derek Carr and several Raiders teammates were just hit with hefty fines for going maskless at Darren Waller's charity event ... with the QB reportedly getting hit to the tune of $15k.
The Raiders tight end hosted a fundraiser in Henderson, LV last week -- which included an auction to help those fighting drug and alcohol addiction.
Several guys like Carr, Nathan Peterman, Jason Witten and more attended to show support ... and the event was a huge success, raising more than $300k!!
Only one issue -- several players and guests were pictured without any sort of face protection, which violates the NFL's strict COVID-19 protocol.
The league handed down the punishments on Monday ... with Waller receiving a $30k fine and his teammates reportedly getting $15k fines.
Carr recently spoke on the event, saying, "We should have kept the masks on, even if we are coming in and they're introducing us."
It's not the first COVID fine for the Raiders -- head coach Jon Gruden was slapped with a $100k punishment after Week 2 for improperly wearing his mask on the sidelines.
Silver lining?? NFL fine money goes to charity ... so maybe send it to Waller's??
Dan Emmett, a retired Secret Service agent who worked with 3 former Presidents, isn't slamming President Trump for his hospital stunt ... saying danger is routine for agents' -- coronavirus or not.
Emmett -- who spent 21 years in the Secret Service during the terms of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush -- was on "TMZ Live" Monday talking about the controversy Trump created by taking an SUV ride, while having COVID-19, just to wave to his supporters.
Dan downplays the outrage and provides some insider perspective, telling us any time the President is outside of The White House there's serious risk to the agents on his detail ... and Trump's not the first to add to it, strictly for PR purposes.
According to Emmett ... this is what signing up for the Secret Service entails -- POTUS can do what he wants, and it's up to the agents to protect him. Dan even offers a famous example from the Clinton era ... and it's a fair point.
Still, a pandemic's a different situation, but Dan suggests proper medical precautions were taken to be as safe as possible for Trump's brief hospital respite.
He also says with the mitigating circumstances, the agents who escorted Trump could have opted out if they felt uncomfortable with the COVID exposure and it would have been no biggie ... but that's not how Secret Service agents tend to roll.
For what it's worth, the 2 agents who did drive Trump around reportedly volunteered for the gig, which hammers home Dan's point.
Several others working under Kayleigh McEnany have reportedly tested positive for coronavirus -- including two key aides -- Chad Gilmartin and Karoline Leavitt -- as well as other mid-level staffers in the White House press shop.
Another White House staffer has tested positive for coronavirus -- this time, it's the Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, who says she's asymptomatic ... and eager to keep working.
McEnany shared the news Monday, saying she'd contracted COVID-19 after days of testing negative since Trump's positive diagnosis announcement Thursday. She says she's experiencing no symptoms, adding no members of the press are reported as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit -- so presumably, they should be alright.
She also claims she had no knowledge of Hope Hicks' positive status prior to holding her last press briefing last week, explaining she's been doing her public service for the American people as diligently as possible.
Now that she's positive, however, McEnany says she'll begin to quarantine right away -- but goes on to say she'll continue to work remotely. She's the latest person in Trump's orbit who's been infected over the past week -- at least 5 others have also tested positive.
Unclear who might've started the super-spreading going on at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., but what seems clear is that the virus was front and center at the Amy Coney Barrett nomination ceremony. Among those present who now have COVID ... Donald and Melania Trump, Kellyanne Conway,Rev. John Jenkins, Chris Christie,Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis as well as Hope Hicks.
TikTok star Bryce Hall and some members of The Sway Boys ganged up on one dude and delivered a beat down so bad, cops were called ... but somehow they all made up in the end.
The violence broke out when Bryce and fellow Sway members Jordan Rodriguez, Josh Richards, Nick Bean and Jaden Hossler all got dragged into a scuffle with an unknown man outside of Mel's Diner on Sunset.
Video of the Sept. 23 brawl shows Bryce -- who had his power turned off after throwing a massive party during quarantine -- in the red shorts trying to break up the fight as is Jordan. We're told Josh and Jaden are the ones throwing punches in the video claiming self-defense after Nick got punched in the face. The brawl was the group's response to Nick getting socked.
You can also hear someone hurling homophobic slurs at least 3 times -- we're told that was Nick, who according to witnesses, seemed pretty drunk and out of control.
We're also being told what triggered this was Nick allegedly putting a cone under the car of the unknown man ... who then confronted the Sway Boys and all hell broke loose.
For his part, Bryce says, "We don't condone violence, but if you punch someone in front of us, we'll have no choice but to defend ourselves."
Cops ultimately showed up to the scene and talked to the guy who got beat up, but we're told no one involved wanted to press charges or cooperate.
Makes sense. At the end of the vid you see some of the Sway Boys shaking hands with the guy. No harm, no foul?
How does Joey Chestnut celebrate National Taco Day??
By crushing a MASSIVE, 12-pound walking taco in 38 minutes!!!
(IMPORTANT STORY NOTE -- a "walking taco" is essentially a bunch of taco ingredients stuffed inside of a chip bag. Good stuff)
The food G.O.A.T. would have been competing in the annual Pacific Park World Taco Eating Championship on Sunday if it weren't for COVID-19 ... but NOTHING can stop this dude from eating insane amounts of tacos on the food holiday.
So, Jaws took matters into his own hands and made a humongous walking taco in the comfort of his own kitchen ... and the list of ingredients is wild.
-- 2 pounds of chips -- 3 pounds of ground beef -- 2+ pounds of cheese -- 1+ pound of salsa -- 6+ avocados -- onions and sour cream -- Joey's signature green hatch and jalapeno sauce
Now, no meal is too big for Chestnut ... and the guy was even ENJOYING eating the giant concoction while only needing 38 minutes and some change to finish it.
FYI -- Joey guzzled 82 street-style carnitas tacos in 8 minutes to win last year's eating competition in Santa Monica ... but at least he was able to take his time this year.
President Trump was up and at 'em this morning with one message on his mind that he felt the need to repeat over and over and over AND OVER again -- America, vote ... MAGA.
DT sent out a barrage of tweets early Monday, and they were all different versions of the same sentiment -- here's why folks oughta punch their ballots in for him ... with his signature all caps font, of course. In all, he had about 15 or so bullet point reasons to vote Trump.
Just to name a few of the most amusing ... 401(k), LAW & ORDER, STOCK MARKET HIGHS, STRONGEST MILITARY EVER, PRO LIFE, FIGHT THE CORRUPT FAKE NEWS MEDIA ... and, of course, SPACE FORCE!!!! There's more, but you get it, we're sure.
He also had a friendly reminder for residents in key swing states he needs to win to defeat Biden (who's ahead in the polls in a lot of these places). He told people in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Texas Monday was the last day to register and offered a link so they could sign up ... a link that leads to a site that literally pushes you to vote for Trump.
TODAY is the LAST day to register to VOTE in ARIZONA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, OHIO, AND TEXAS! Click below for more information, and let’s #MAGA! https://t.co/gsFSghkmdM
We'd give him credit for promoting the democratic process, but since he's leading would-be voters right to his own punch card ... we'll hold off on the kudos for now. One last note we'll make about Trump's back-to-business mentality on Twitter ... some are calling it "roid rage."
As you mighta heard, Trump's now on a steroid called dexamethasone, which helps fight off inflammation in the body caused by disease and/or viruses. While there are different reports on the potential side effects, one that keeps getting brought up is the possibility of "delusions of grandeur" and general outbursts or acts of anger -- y'know, 'cause of the 'roids and all.
IF YOU WANT A MASSIVE TAX INCREASE, THE BIGGEST IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY (AND ONE THAT WILL SHUT OUR ECONOMY AND JOBS DOWN), VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!
WWE legend Joseph Laurinaitis -- AKA Road Warrior Animal -- died during a romantic getaway with his wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary, this according to police documents.
Laurinaitis -- one half of the famous Legion of Doom tag team -- was with his wife, Kimberly, at the Margaritaville Lake Resorts in Osage Beach, Missouri on Sept. 22 for a quick getaway.
According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, Laurinaitis had set up a whole romantic evening for Kim -- starting with a fancy dinner and returning to their room, which was covered in rose petals and a gift basket.
But, after they arrived back to the room, Laurinaitis suffered a medical emergency -- and collapsed on the bed.
Kim tried to perform CPR, but unfortunately, Joseph could not be saved, according to officials.
The medical examiner launched an investigation into his death -- and notes medication for Laurinaitis was collected at the scene.
Laurinaitis is considered one of the best in-ring performers of all time -- he wrestled for most of his WWE career with Road Warrior Hawk and won multiple tag team championships as The Road Warriors/Legion of Doom.
As you know ... the trailer for "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" season 19 dropped last month, insinuating Kourtney and Scott are back together and she's having his baby.
Kourtney's recent Instagram post, featuring a shadow some eagle-eyed fans thought looked like a baby bump, kept the rumor mill churning ... but we've learned that's simply NOT the case.
Sources close to Kourtney tell TMZ ... she is not pregnant again and she's happy being a mother of 3. As for the'KUWTK' scene, we're told it was taken out of context as a teaser.
Bottom line ... our sources say Kourtney and Scott are not together as a couple, they're just very good friends and co-parents.
SZA confirms Drake's claim they used to date, but she also wants to set the record straight -- it didn't happen in 2008 ... 'cause that woulda been creepy.
The singer issued an important correction to what Drake raps about on the new 21 Savage track, "Mr. Right Now" ... where he says, "Yeah, said she wanna f**k to some SZA, wait / 'Cause I used to date SZA back in '08."
After people pointed out that SZA would most likely have been 17 at the time, if Drake's timeline of their dating history is accurate ... she took to Twitter to clarify.
SZA tweeted they actually dated in 2009 and explained ... "lol I think he jus innocently rhymed 08 w wait . Anybody who really knows me and was around during this time can confirm."
She added, "I just didn’t want anybody thinking anything underage or creepy was happening . Completely innocent . Lifetimes ago ."
It's interesting, because fans noticed SZA unfollowed Drake on Instagram shortly after "Mr. Right Now" dropped ... suggesting she wasn't happy about his lyric.
The 2 have been close for years though, and it seems like SZA's cool with everything now. As she says herself ... "it's all love and peace."
