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Anyone have a staple remover??

The iconic Staples Center signage is officially coming down on Monday ... with workers slowly removing the red letters off of the building to make way for Crypto.com Arena.

As we previously reported, the cryptocurrency company bought the naming rights to the venue last month ... which came with a whopping $700 MILLION price tag.

While the name change won't officially happen until Christmas Day, AEG wasted no time kick-starting the rebrand ... which will undoubtedly have some fans upset.

Of course, Staples Center was often referred to as "The House That Kobe Built," as a nod to the late Lakers legend, who played at the venue for the majority of his Hall of Fame career.

No matter what people officially call the arena, Vanessa Bryant made it clear all the history that Kobe made inside will always live on.

Lil Wayne allegedly pulled an assault rifle on one of his own bodyguards during a dispute at his home, and now police are looking into the incident.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... one of the rapper's guards told cops he and Wayne got into a fight at Weezy's Hidden Hills, CA home, and cops say they were told the altercation escalated to physical violence and a brandished firearm.

We're told the guard claims Wayne told him to get outta the house after the initial dispute, but the guard went to the bathroom first and he claims that's when Wayne dramatically escalated things.

We've spoken with a source close to Wayne who strongly denies the incident even happened ... and tell us Wayne doesn't even have a gun.

That's not however, what the guard told cops ... our sources say the guard claimed Lil Wayne pulled out an AR-15 ... and that's when the guard booked it out of the house to the gated community's guard shack, where he called police.

We're told cops went to Weezy's place to get his side of the story, but he was already gone. The guard told police the fight started with Wayne accusing him of taking photos and leaking them to the media.

Other law enforcement sources involved in the case tell TMZ ... cops have issues with the guard's story, and they say he did not have any marks on his body or injuries from the alleged physical confrontation.

We're told the guard also does not want to press charges against Wayne -- and while police have doubts about some of the allegations, they will nevertheless investigate.

Tyron Woodley's getting his rematch after all -- Jake Paul just announced Tommy Fury has backed out of their December 18 fight ... with the ex-UFC champ taking his place.

24-year-old Paul just posted a video confirming rumors of Fury pulling out on Monday ... saying he will go head-to-head against Woodley once again in less than 2 weeks' notice.

"When my team woke me up on Friday to tell me Tommy Fumbles was pulling out, I told them I’ll fight anyone on December 18th," Jake said. "Troy, Trey, Trevor, Travis,… I don’t give a f*** who it is."

Naturally, Jake also had some words for Tommy.

"Tommy’s pulling out because of a 'medical condition' called vaginitis," he added. "Unlike the Furys, Tyron actually has some balls, is stepping in, and contractually he is getting an extra $500,000 if he knocks me out."

Of course, Paul and Woodley duked it out in Cleveland on August 29, with the YouTuber getting the split decision win over Tyron.

As we previously reported, Tommy agreed to fight Jake back in October ... after months of trash talk and failed contract negotiations.

Speaking of failed negotiations, Woodley initially lost his shot at the rematch after Paul claimed he took too long to get "I love Jake Paul" tatted on him.

Woodley eventually got the ink a month after the fight ... getting the phrase on his middle finger.

This time around, Jake is guaranteeing a different outcome.

"First time I outboxed him. This time I’m gonna punish him and leave no doubt."

It's a quick turnaround for Woodley ... but the dude's a pro, so we're sure he'll be fine.

President Joe Biden welcomes back the Kennedy Center Honors, post-pandemic, and immediately gets totally roasted by ‘SNL’ star Michael Che ... who said, "There’s no way he is awake right?"

The age-appropriate shot was well-received, though, during a night of jokes, laughter and great music. President Biden slipped into his tux for the Sunday night gala honoring 5 legendary artists for their lifetime achievements -- Motown Records creator Berry Gordy, "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels, famed actor Bette Midler, singer Justino Diaz and folk music legend Joni Mitchell.

This night was particularly special because the Prez and First Lady were in attendance --bringing back the tradition. President Trump had skipped the event since 2016 after honorees threatened to protest if he participated.

In fact, Biden got a standing ovation as he entered the event and praise from attendees such as late-night legend David Letterman, who also took a swipe at Trump, saying ... "It's quite nice once again to see the presidential box being occupied."

Several members of the Toronto Argonauts went into the stands to confront fans on Sunday -- with one player actually throwing a huge haymaker at a man who got in his face.

The wild scene all went down at the end of the Argonauts' playoff loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, when a few Argos players leaped over some railing and got into an altercation with patrons.

According to witnesses, some fans had spilled drinks on the players, causing the initial commotion, and you can see in footage shot by bystanders, things quickly turned violent.

A fan dressed in Hamilton Tiger-Cats gear ran into Toronto defensive back Chris Edwards, who then threw a looping right hand at the man's face in response.

Argonauts wide receiver Dejon Brissett then jumped in to try to break things up, pushing the fan into a wall.

Fortunately for everybody involved, security quickly stepped in ... subduing the fan and allowing the Toronto players to return to their locker room.

Things could have ended much worse for a family's dog had it not been for a pane of glass stopping a hungry mountain lion from making it dinner.

The video, taken by a woman in Colorado, shows her dog named Dash frozen in fear as the mountain lion spots it from outside. The mountain lion seems puzzled by the barrier, trying different ways to get in, even tapping on the glass with its paw.

You can hear the fear in the woman's voice as she records and tries to get Dash away from the door, without any luck. The dog is clearly terrified, not moving.

Joe Gorga might be great on reality TV, but he is definitely NOT killing it with his stand-up comedy routine ... at least not during a recent NYC gig.

The 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star bombed during a comedy set earlier this month at the Governors' Comedy Club, where Joe took the mic at one point and things went south quickly.

Check it out ... Joe tried telling a joke/story about some guy he knows, but it came out pretty incoherently -- and more importantly, not really funny at all. He ignored some light jeering and rolled on with his act.

It looks like the audience was trying to cut him some slack ... entertaining his repeated "Are you guys ready?" line, which he used to ad nauseam, but never really paid off with an actual punchline.

We're told the crowd eventually turned on him when he started to curse at them, which you can also hear in the video. One of his pals tried pulling him off stage, but Joe wouldn't go -- that is ... until his wife, Melissa, came on and gave him the hook.

She had a message for the crowd on their way out, and all seemed mostly forgiven in the end.

Yeah, it's good to be the King/Queen -- but Prime Minister's pretty badass too, especially when you're Finland's Sanna Marin out partying until the break of dawn!!!

The Finnish PM was all up in the VIP at Butcher's Nightclub in Helsinki over the weekend -- she was seen hanging with her husband and some friends at a private table. NBD, right?

Well, keep in mind Marin, at just 36 years old, is the Nordic country's youngest Prime Minister ever -- and the glamorous world leader's clearly not letting the gig hold her back from doing regular 30-somethings activities.

PM Marin reportedly stayed out until 4 AM and as you can see, neither she nor anyone else in the club was wearing a face mask ... so, they don't seem too worried about COVID-19 or the Omicron variant.

There's a good reason for that. Under PM Marin, who took over 2 years ago -- just before the pandemic -- Finland has achieved a staggering 72 percent vaccination rate! For comparison, the U.S. is still under 60 percent.

Julianna Peña is less than a week away from the biggest fight of her life against Amanda Nunes ... and the "Venezuelan Vixen" has a message for the doubters, telling TMZ Sports she isn't satisfied just being here -- she's gunning to win.

"I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on me and they think I'm a sacrificial lamb but I definitely think that, you know, I know that I'm definitely not a sacrificial lamb and everyone loves an underdog," Peña told us.

32-year-old Peña is the #3 ranked bantamweight in the UFC -- and has been all but demanding a title shot with the 33-year-old champ, Nunes -- because she truly believes she will get the W when they fight at UFC 269.

"I'm ready. I am in the zone. I have never felt more physically or mentally prepared in my life and it's my time. It just feels so great to know that I have literally left no stone unturned. I'm ready to go. I'm in the zone!"

Peña's been with the UFC since 2013 ... and has a professional record of 10-4. She's beaten some badass women like Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano.

Despite the impressive resume, Julianna's a big underdog against Amanda. In fact, bettors have to wager about $900 just to win $100 on Nunes.

And, it's not just the oddsmakers who doubt Peña can win ... 'cause Julianna told us she feels Amanda isn't taking her seriously.

"[Nunes] called me delusional. She said that I'm reckless. I don't think that she's taking me seriously at all and you know, that's fine."

DaBaby is putting his Sin City battery case behind him -- we've learned the charges against him have been dismissed.

According to online court records, the misdemeanor battery charge was dismissed with prejudice ... meaning the case is over and done, and can't be refiled.

The Clark County District Attorney's Office tells TMZ ... the charges were dismissed because DaBaby satisfied everything prosecutors asked him to do in order to resolve the case, including paying the alleged victim $7,500 and staying out of trouble.

TMZ broke the story ... a driver in Las Vegas came forward with allegations against DaBaby back in February, claiming the rapper attacked him during a ride in November 2020. DaBaby's camp described the allegations at the time as a "money grab."

DaBaby's attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, tell TMZ ... the rapper denied the allegations and was prepared to fight the case in court.

Minnesota model and actress Gena Lee Nolin was only 24 years old when she slipped into the iconic red swimsuit and slow-mo jogged along the silver shores of Los Angeles as Neely Capshaw -- who went against the normal flow of the life-saving cast -- on the babe-filled '90s drama "Baywatch."

GLN shared the small screen with an awesome squad of lifeguards including Pamela Anderson as the Malibu archetype, C.J. Parker ... and of course David Hasselhoff as the fuzzy frontman of the beach brigade, Mitch Buchannon.

Gena also got in the Holiday spirit back in 2001 by posing in the Christmas edition of Playboy.

President Biden resumed what had been paused for a good while in D.C. -- namely, POTUS being in attendance for the Kennedy Center Honors ... and hosting them afterward.

JB held a reception Sunday at the White House, with this year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award being in attendance, front and center. Among those who were honored -- Lorne Michaels, Bette Midler, Berry Gordy, Justino Diaz and Joni Mitchell.

There were a lot of other high profile people on hand as well -- including First Lady Jill Biden, VP Kamala Harris, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Steve Martin, David Letterman and others.

Biden -- who was suited and booted in a tux, delivered some remarks -- highlighting each person's contribution via their art -- going down the list one by one and singing their praises. He also shouted the late Stephen Sondheim, who recently passed away.

Each honoree showed off their rainbow-colored ribbons that were placed around their necks, and they each stood when called upon. The whole reception lasted a little less than half an hour -- but even so, it meant a lot to folks who hadn't seen this since 2016.

President Trump snubbed the ceremony for the first three years in office -- and never hosted any of the recipients after threats of a boycott came down in 2017, his first year in office

The fallout from the Oxford High School shooting was at the forefront of the Detroit Lions' collective minds Sunday -- which made for an emotional moment after their big win.

The Lions won their first game of the season on Sunday in a thriller of a match against the Minnesota Vikings. Prior to this, their record was 0-10-1, meaning they hadn't won a single game all season.

Turns out, their victory meant more than just what appeared on paper ... and the team's QB, Jared Goff, made that clear in the post-game interview  -- making sure to point out that the game was dedicated to those affected by the deadly tragedy ... which claimed 4 lives.

Check it out ... he gets pretty emotional talking about what happened this week, saying sometimes certain moments are bigger than just sports ... and this was one of them.

The Lions coach, Dan Campbell, echoed that with his own remarks ... bestowing the game ball to the township of Oxford, and reading off the names of the deceased, among others.

It is now clear what forced CNN's hand in firing Chris Cuomo -- the guy was accused of sexual misconduct this week ... this is as he was already on thin ice.

Attorney Debra S. Katz came forward Sunday to reveal she'd been retained by a woman who wanted to go public with an allegation against the ex-anchor ... something she was apparently inspired to do after hearing about his involvement in his brother's own scandal.

She says while Gov. Cuomo's mess played out in public, Chris came on the air for his own show and said, "I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that." Katz adds, "Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN."

According to NYT, the woman -- who is remaining anonymous for now -- is a former junior colleague of Chris' from another network, and her claims are unrelated to Gov. Cuomo.

Katz goes on to describe how she contacted CNN on Wednesday -- a day after he'd been suspended -- to report her client's allegations against Chris ... and by Friday, she says she was already in discussions with the network to provide evidence and making the woman available for an interview with CNN's outside counsel.

She finishes by saying, "My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women. She will continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations. Given the nature of her allegations, she wishes to remain anonymous, and we ask that you respect this decision."

The calls for Justin Bieber to scrap his Saudi Arabia performance appear to have fallen on deaf ears -- because the guy just went through with it ... this despite mounting criticism.

Bieber just hit the stage Sunday all the way over at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in SA, where the F1 Grand Prix is taking place ... and where he was scheduled to headline among a slate of other performers, with his name by far being the biggest.

Sources tell us JB was hired by F1 to do the event, but he wasn't the only act to perform ... David Guetta, Tiesto and A$AP Rocky all had shows -- and Lewis Hamilton won the race.

JB seemed pretty pumped for the performance ... with videos of him backstage surfacing online. Looks like he was shaking off some pre-show jitters, as you can hear the roar of the crowd just beyond the curtain.

Eventually, he made his way out to adoring fans, pointing at them for the grand entrance ... with at least one cameraman in tow. He was rocking a red outfit, apparently a jersey of some sort.

After that, he ran through a number of his songs ... including "Deserve You," "Somebody," "Hold On" and more. Unclear how long his set ran -- but it's pretty obvious the spectators were satisfied with the performance ... as Bieber seemed to give it everything he had.

BTW, he doesn't appear to have taken this long trip solo -- there's video of him and his wife, Hailey, moseying around on Saturday ... a day before showtime. Hailey was masked up and wearing a hat, seemingly trying to go incognito ... while JB just bared his face in full.

Of course, Justin's decision to carry on with the gig is disheartening to many -- especially those who were actively campaigning for him to nix the whole thing altogether ... including the widowed fiancee of one Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote an open letter for him to reconsider.

Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott are, indeed, legitimate love birds -- something that's called into question via a leaked magazine story, which suggests the exact opposite.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... KJ and TS are 100% together at the moment -- meaning they're romantically involved and, presumably, exclusive too. Not just that, but we're told they were a full-blown couple when this whole profile was coming together for W Mag.

The article/accompanying shoot seems to have been whipped up in early November.

Their relationship, as described to us now, is characterized quite differently in the latest issue of W -- for which Kylie and Travis were supposed to share the cover in a big feature story and photo spread ... but was scrapped in the wake of the Astroworld Fest tragedy.

W Mag scrambled to yank hard copy issues that had been mailed out -- but, clearly, some of them made their way to people's homes. TMZ obtained a copy, including the content inside -- and the author claims Kylie and Travis aren't actually together as a traditional couple.

The author writes, "Travis and Kylie seemed very comfortable under the sheets, but even though they will soon have two children together -- their daughter, Stormi, is 3 -- they are not a couple, and haven't been in two years. They're the modern family!"

W goes on to say Kylie seems to be following in the footsteps of her sisters, some of whom had kids with men ... without necessarily ever marrying them.

Like we said, the way W chronicles their relationship is pure speculation -- per our sources -- and you can tell as much because neither Kylie nor Travis is ever quoted directly about defining it or framing it. The writer just states it as fact, which is incorrect.