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Just call him the Big Good Samaritan now ...

Shaq paid off some young guy's engagement ring debt at a jewelry store in Georgia this week -- and the amazing gesture was all caught on video.

The Big Diesel explained how it all went down on "NBA on TNT" on Tuesday night ... saying he was in a Zales in the Atlanta area on Monday shopping for some earrings when he noticed a man was stressing over a bill.

Shaq says the guy was trying to figure out a way to set up a payment plan for a ring he was purchasing for his girlfriend ... when the NBA legend felt like he just had to step in.

"I seen the guy come in -- he was just so shy," Shaq said. "He was saying, 'Hey, how much do I owe to pay off my ring.'"

"And I was like, 'My man, how much is the ring?' I'm not going to say the amount, but it's not a lot for me."

So, Shaq whipped out his credit card -- and paid for it right on the spot!!

"I was like, 'You know what? Tell your girlfriend I got her,'" Shaq said. "'I'll take care of it.'"

Shaq added, "At first, he didn't want to take it. He was like, 'Man, I can't do that.' I said, 'Don't worry about it. I do it all the time.' I'm just trying to make people smile, that's all."

The two then posed for a photo -- and it was all really freakin' awesome!!

The best part of the story, though? Shaq says he had an even MORE generous act at a furniture store recently, paying off a bill there for a sweet family.

"This lady, she had an autistic daughter," Shaq said. "And she was also looking to pay for some furniture and I just took care of her. So, I'm into making people happy."

"Whenever I leave the house, I just try to do a good deed."

Hate needles? Well, an oral coronavirus vaccine in the works could become the best protection against COVID-19 and its mutations ... that's the hope of one of the L.A. Lakers owners, anyway.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong is the founder of ImmunityBio as well as a Lakers co-owner, and his company is behind the tests being done at a research center in El Segundo, CA to determine if a series of pills can replace injections to inoculate the population.

Researchers are experimenting with healthy volunteers under the age of 55 who haven't had COVID yet ... with some getting shots, some getting capsules and some getting a combo.

Dr. Soon-Shiong says the value of ImmunityBio's vaccine is that it generates "killer T cells" that target the center of the coronavirus, which is less prone to mutation. Current vaccines create antibodies to the spiky part of the virus on the surface.

Though researchers are hopeful the oral T-cell-creating approach may result in greater protection against COVID ... the Lakers co-owner believes capsules and injections working together would be key. Sorry, needle haters.

Nike -- one of the largest sports apparel companies in the world -- has "suspended" its relationship with Deshaun Watson amid the investigation into sexual misconduct.

"We are deeply concerned by the disturbing allegations and have suspended Deshaun Watson," Nike said in a statement released Wednesday morning.

"We will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Watson has been with Nike since 2017 -- the year he entered the NFL Draft.

The bombshell news comes one day after the QB's first accuser came forward at a news conference and revealed her identity.

Ashley Solis says she was the first woman to file a lawsuit against the Houston Texans superstar, accusing him of sexual misconduct during what was supposed to be a routine massage therapy treatment.

"I'm a survivor of assault and harassment. Deshaun Watson is my assaulter and my harasser," she said Tuesday while sitting next to her attorney Tony Buzbee.

"I hope [Watson] knows how much pain he's inflicted on me physically and emotionally," Solis says.

20 other women have also filed lawsuits against Watson alleging he engaged in similar behavior while getting a massage.

Watson has denied the allegations -- claiming the women are lying in an effort to shake him down for money.

The Houston PD announced this week it has launched a criminal investigation into the allegations -- but so far, Watson has not been charged with a crime.

Demi Lovato was jolted when she learned of DMX's overdose ... a reminder of how lucky she is to still be alive.

Demi will be on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... talking about her incredible documentary, 'Dancing With the Devil,' and her new album, "Dancing With The Devil...The Art of Starting Over."

She covered a lot of ground for the show, and one of the highlights was her very honest reaction to X's current state -- he's on life support and it does not look good. She sees the parallels in her own life and says she suffers from survivor's guilt. She knows she could have been in DMX's state or even worse.

Demi's "Dancing With the Devil" album is autobiographical and, dare we say, spectacular. One thing clearly was NOT affected by the OD -- Demi's voice is better than ever.

Demi also talks about the way she's handling recovery, and it's not with abstinence ... she smokes weed and drinks alcohol in moderation. It's something her pal Elton John thinks is a big mistake, but Demi explains abstinence doesn't work for everyone, and she goes on to explain why "California Sober" works for her.

DMX remains on life support in a New York hospital, and Wednesday will be an extremely critical day that could determine his outcome.

X remains in a coma and his condition has not materially changed ... his manager, Steve Rifkind, tells TMZ.

Members of DMX's family visited him Tuesday night ... leaving at around 10 PM.

Rifkind says doctors will perform a battery of tests Wednesday to determine the level of brain function. As we reported, when DMX OD'd Friday night, his brain was deprived of oxygen for nearly 30 minutes. Multiple sources told us ... he had "little brain activity."

Although we're told the prognosis does not look good, Wednesday's tests will determine decisions the family may have to make.

One thing's for sure, millions of fans are pulling for him. The vigil outside the hospital where DMX lays in ICU was extremely moving. DMX's fiancee, mom and some of his kids have been at the hospital visiting him.

There's been a lot of inaccurate information floating around about X's condition, and Rifkind wanted to make it clear ... "DMX is currently on life support and in a coma. There are multiple people with inaccurate information about his well-being and it is not helpful and productive. Tomorrow he will undergo further tests on his brain function and his family will determine what's best from there. We appreciate your prayers and support."

Tom Brady admits he REGRETS drunkenly throwing the Lombardi Trophy from boat to boat during that legendary floating Super Bowl parade

... but hey, things happen when you're completely sloshed!

"First of all, there was not a lot going through my mind at that point," Brady told Michael Strahan on 'GMA.'

Remember, Tom and the rest of the Tampa Bay Bucs hit the Hillsborough River back in February to celebrate their Super Bowl LV victory over the K.C. Chiefs.

The booze started flowing ... and the QB started throwin' (trophies).

"I mean, that was not smart for a couple of reasons," a sobered up Brady says.

"One is, if we drop it, that's a little bit of a problem. But, the worst thing that could happen is the edges on that trophy are so sharp -- and had those things clipped one of my boys in the other boat, it would have been an ugly, ugly parade."

He's right -- but fortunately, his sure-handed teammates caught the trophy with no problems.

Brady says of the event, "From what I remember, yes it was pretty cool."

During his interview with 'GMA,' Brady also opened up about why he wants to continue playing the NFL.

Remember, in the wake of winning his 7th title, Gisele had asked him, "What more do you have to prove?"

"I don't think proving it for me is the motivation," 43-year-old Tom told Strahan ... "I still want to play, I got like a little sickness in me that just wants to throw a frickin' spiral, you know what I mean?"

"Once you stop you can't go back and do it, I got some more football [left in me] I mean not a lot, and I know that, but what I got left, I'm gonna go I'm gonna give everything I got."

Kodak Black was being targeted by hitmen when his security guard was shot in the leg ... at least according to cops, who are reviewing threats made against him before the shooting.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Monday morning's shooting down in Florida appears to be a hit and not just an armed robbery. We're told police are aware of a series of online threats to Kodak's life, and cops are looking into them.

We’re told cops are specifically reviewing threatening comments apparently made by music producer Southside during an Instagram Live Sunday, seemingly in response to Kodak's IG Live mention of Southside's girlfriend, City Girls rapper Yung Miami.

However, our law enforcement sources tell us they have no named suspects in the shooting right now ... and the investigation remains open and ongoing.

As we reported ... Kodak and his entourage were ambushed around 3 AM Monday outside a fast food joint in Tallahassee, resulting in a serious gunshot wound for one of his security guards, with law enforcement saying the shooter opened fire from a car that was tailing Kodak after he left a nightclub.

The rank and file within the Capitol Police are not feeling very reassured following last week's car-ramming attack that left one of their own dead -- and the reasons are startling.

Sources familiar with the day-to-day goings-on at the department tell TMZ ... there's been little to no communication from leadership over an action plan to help prevent this from happening again, which has left a lot of their officers fearing for their safety.

Fact is ... we're being told there simply hasn't been any type of formal gathering to specifically address the tactical breakdown that cost Officer William Evans his life Friday, when authorities say Noah Green slammed his car into a barricade outside the Capitol, and proceeded to try and slash the cops ... before ultimately being shot and killed.

Speaking of that, our sources say the positioning of officers that day has been called into question by lower-ranking members of the department -- namely, that the officers were stationed outside of the delta barrier, as opposed to inside, which is much more strategic and safer all around.

We're hearing officers who have been assigned to stand guard since Friday have now been pulled inside the barrier, but this change was not talked about at large ... just more evidence of what our sources say is the hush-hush nature of upper management.

Our sources say nothing else has been communicated regarding the attack other than what was discussed at a roll call meeting on Saturday -- where we're told a deputy chief provided a general apology for Friday's disaster, and told the 60 officers that day to "keep an eye out" going forward. A hands-off approach like that isn't cutting it for many of the ground -- contributing to an already growing sense of unease and a desire to book it for good.

'Real Housewives of Potomac' star Candiace Dillard no longer has to answer questions about living in a townhouse partially paid for by her mom ... 'cause she's sold it.

Candiace sold her Maryland pad for a cool $799k and talk about location, location, location -- the 3-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom crib is just 15 minutes outside of D.C. It's a stately 4-story property for sure, but Candiace could hardly enjoy it with her own castmates giving her crap about the fact her mother, Dorothy, helped foot the bill for it.

During an episode in season 4 ... Ashley Darby made a reference to Candiace's "momma's house," prompting all hell to break loose. There were times when other cast members also made sly remarks about how Candiace didn't fully own her own home.

For what it's worth, Candace later revealed she and her husband, Chris, took over the mortgage payments in full.

And, get this ... she and Chris dropped $1 mil last November for a new house, something she made crystal clear during the season 5 reunion. Candiace said, "It was purchased by myself and my husband."

In a nice jab at her castmates, Candiace added ... "My mother was generous enough to donate a rubber plant."

In any case, her old crib's off the market now, and the new owner can enjoy its 2,960 square feet ... even if their mother chipped in for it!

Another monster entry into the NFT space -- this time, it's gaming legend Tfue, who's dropping his very own collection ... and hoping to cash in like Rob Gronkowski.

The 23-year-old superstar -- one of the most popular Esports athletes ever -- is launching his own "NFTfue King of Gaming" collection.

NFTs -- aka non-fungible tokens -- are the newest rage in digital collectibles, built on blockchain technology.

In other words, you can buy, sell or trade them like you would a baseball card ... and the blockchain attached to each NFT essentially certifies the token as authentic (and not a knockoff).

But, back to Tfue ... who tells TMZ Sports he's stoked about his NFT collection and thinks collectors will snatch them up in record time.

The collection features custom animated videos, which Tfue considers to be legitimate works of art.

"They're pretty sick. They're not like, just like a picture like normal people usually do. We put a lot of time into this, a lot of effort into it. We wanted to make sure it was right. It's gonna come out pretty sweet. I'm pretty excited!"

Tfue says he was inspired by Rob Gronkowski who recently launched his own NFT collection and reportedly made $1.7 MILLION in sales!

In fact, Tfue says he bought one of the Gronk NFTs and hopes the NFL star will return the favor!

Before this pipsqueak in a ponytail was cooking up ballin' meals in the kitchen, she was just another cute kid wearing a Ninja Turtles sweater in Toronto, Canada.

This smiling sweetheart is not only the loving wife and rock for a famous professional NBA basketball player, but she is also a talented chef and television personality. She has made a name for herself by scoring features on multiple food themed reality shows ... both as a judge and host.

Now, a mother of 3, this warrior of a cook can be seen cheering on her husband from the bleachers.

Deshaun Watson's attorney claims accuser Ashley Solis -- who identified herself as "Jane Doe #1" on Tuesday -- demanded $100,000 in "hush money" before filing her lawsuit.

... and Watson's attorney claims he has the emails to prove it.

Solis was the first accuser to file a sexual misconduct lawsuit against the Houston Texans star back on March 16. She used a pseudonym to protect her identity.

She came forward in a news conference alongside her attorney Tony Buzbee on Tuesday and spelled out her case against Watson -- at one point explaining, "People say that I'm doing this just for money. That is false. I come forward now so that Deshaun Watson does not assault another woman."

But, Watson's attorney Rusty Hardin says this is absolutely about money -- claiming Buzbee approached one of Watson's reps back in February in an effort to "quietly settle the allegations the month before he filed the first lawsuit."

Hardin says he has emails sent by Buzbee associate Cornelia Brandfield-Harvey to one of Watson's representatives on Feb. 9 spelling out the demand.

"My client’s demand is $100,000" ... and ... "This offer remains open until Friday of this week."

Hardin claims Deshaun's representative pushed back against the demand in the following email response.

"We don’t believe that the alleged facts show that Deshaun did anything wrong with regards to Ms. Solis, but we are nevertheless happy to continue the conversation around a reasonable settlement figure because we believe he can learn a lesson about having put himself in this situation."

Buzbee's response to that ...

"We made a legit demand. You rejected it. We won’t be making another or bid against ourselves. We also won’t be having an extended dialogue about why you think your client did nothing wrong or how you want this to be a 'learning' experience for your 'high profile athlete,' as you refer to him. This is Houston, Texas. Perhaps you should find him a lawyer here so you can apprise both you and your client of the landscape here and who you are dealing with. Talk soon."

The lawsuit was ultimately filed on March 16 -- and 21 women have filed similar lawsuits against Watson since then.

The building workers who stood idly by in the lobby as an Asian woman was brutally attacked on the sidewalk are out of a job ... they've been fired.

The Brodsky Organization, which manages the building in question in New York City, tells us the doormen were canned for not following emergency and safety protocols ... in other words, doing nothing while the beatdown was carried out in front of them.

As we reported ... surveillance video captured the violence in Midtown Manhattan, where a 65-year-old woman who was on her way to church last month was viciously beaten by a complete stranger, who cops say is 38-year-old Brandon Elliot.

The beatdown was appalling, and so was this ... video shows the doormen taking in the action from a few feet away without lifting a finger, other than to close the door when the attacker bolts.

NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns has received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine ... one week before the anniversary of his mother's tragic coronavirus-related death.

The 25-year-old Minnesota Timberwolves center shared the news on Tuesday ... posting a pic of the moment he took the needle in his left arm, while giving a big thumbs up.

Of course, the Towns family was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic -- KAT's mother, Jacqueline, tested positive in March 2020 and the symptoms were severe. At one point, doctors placed her in a medically induced coma due in hopes of saving her life -- but it didn't work and she passed away on April 13.

Karl and his father, Karl Sr., later contracted the virus ... but both have since fully recovered.

A large number of NBA players have received the vaccine over the past month ... although commish Adam Silver says it is not currently a requirement to play.

KAT previously spoke about how the virus affected his family ... saying, "I pray every day that this nightmare of a virus will subside and I beg everyone to continue to take it seriously by taking all of the necessary precautions."

Ralo may soon benefit from a clemency program currently in the works under the Biden administration ... according to activist Weldon Angelos, who's been pushing for the rapper's freedom.

Weldon, a cannabis and clemency advocate, joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday, and said the White House reached out to him about a clemency program it's putting together that would primarily focus on cases with harsh sentences for non-violent marijuana offenses.

Ralo -- whose real name is Terrell Davis -- could become a primary beneficiary of the program, if it comes to fruition. The rapper was busted in 2018 with 444 pounds of weed on a private plane. He's been locked up ever since ... and faces up to 8 years in prison on conspiracy charges.

Weldon's been actively calling on the powers that be to grant the rapper clemency, given the laws on weed have changed exponentially over the last decade. It's now legal, in some form, in more than half the states ... although it's still illegal federally.

And, Weldon's main point is this ... Ralo's being punished "for violating the same federal statute many entrepreneurs and corporations violate every day in 36 states across the country, who are not subject to federal prosecution."

Drake, 2 Chainz, T.I. and Killer Mike are others joining Weldon's push as well. In fact ... they all attached their name to a letter Weldon sent to the Biden admin asking for clemency.

Weldon's been exactly where Ralo is -- he got a 55-year sentence in 2004 for $900 of ganja, but President Obama granted him clemency in 2016. He's crossing his fingers Biden will do the same for Ralo and many others.

The man who rammed into Capitol police and attempted to slice them with a knife, bought that weapon just hours before the fatal incident ... suggesting he premeditated the whole attack.

TMZ has obtained shots of Noah Green in a D.C. kitchen appliance store 90 minutes before authorities say he drove his car into a barricade at the Capitol last week and proceeded to get shot and killed after getting out to attack officers with a knife.

Green was in District Cutlery -- about a 10-minute drive from the Capitol -- and he purchased the blade you see here. We're told it's a Kurosaki Shizuku Sujihiki 270mm SG2 knife, and it retails for about $300.

You can see the knife he purchased at the store looks identical to the one police recovered at the scene after Green was gunned down, and a Capitol Police officer was killed.

Eyewitnesses say Green was calm and collected during his purchase, and didn't seem to raise any red flags to bystanders.