Breaking News

Columbus Short is now on the Lindsay Lohan plan ... as in, he just dodged a jail sentence for a serious crime, but he's gonna have to keep his nose clean for a long time.

Short pled no contest on Thursday to felony assault for knocking out a guy at a West L.A. restaurant in March 2014. As we previously reported ... Short broke the victim's nose, leaving him bloodied and unconscious.

The ex "Scandal" star was immediately sentenced to 3 years probation, 60 days community labor, and 26 anger management classes. He will also have to pay restitution to the victim.

Michael Sam is dead set on making his way back to the National Football League ... and has fired his agent and his publicist in an effort to get his career back on track.

One of Sam's biggest hurdles will be convincing NFL teams he's serious about football -- and no longer cares about stuff like "Dancing With the Stars" and working with Oprah Winfrey. Firing his publicist and agent could go a long way to proving to teams he's only focused on football.

Sam told KMIZ he's brushing up on his media skills during his break from football. He's taken a gig working for the Mizzou Network after his stint in the CFL didn't work out ... but Sam says he plans on working hard to make an NFL roster in 2016.

Sam's recent career track closely mirrors that of Tim Tebow ... who told TMZ Sports on Thursday he's still figuring out what he's going to do next ... after he was cut recently from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Keep the dream alive, fellas.

Glenn Close's third marriage was not the charm ... she's getting divorced again.

Close and her biotech entrepreneur husband David Shaw are calling it quits after 9 years of marriage. The couple married in 2006.

Close was previously married to singer-songwriter Cabot Wade from 1969-1971, and then to businessman James Marlas from 1984-1987.

The split is reportedly amicable, which is good ... because we all know what a contentious split from Glenn Close looks like.

Michael Sam has landed a job in football, but it's not on the field ... it's on television.

Sam has scored a gig working for the Mizzou Network, where he'll be talking about his alma mater, the University of Missouri Tigers.

The job comes after Sam announced his retirement last month after a failed stint with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL.

Bombshell allegations in the Patrick Kane rape case ... with the accuser's lawyer claiming someone stole the rape kit evidence bag and dropped it off at her mother's doorstep.

The accuser's attorney, Thomas J. Eoannou, held up the bag during a news conference -- verified its authenticity -- and said, "The rape kit evidence bag has been tampered with."

Eoannou says the bag was delivered anonymously -- and he's demanding law enforcement immediately open an investigation into how the bag was removed from police custody in the first place.

Eoannou added, "In my 30 years plus of being both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, I have never seen an evidence bag outside a of police lab, a prosecutor's office, or a courtroom, let alone find one in the door way of a rape victim's mother's home."

"This evidence bag has been ripped open. The purpose of an evidence bag is to protect the items of evidence from tampering. The bag itself is even critical evidence to the chain of custody."

Yogi Berra, a New York Yankees legend and one of the most beloved American sports stars in history, died Tuesday.

Yogi was an All-Star catcher for the Yankees from 1946 to 1963, and also played one year with the Mets before retiring as a player in 1965. He played in the Bronx alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle ... earning a record TEN World Series rings.

Yogi also caught pitcher Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

He was just as famous for his quirky sayings, known as "Yogi-isms," as he was his Hall of Fame baseball career. Some of the best include:

- "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."

- "It gets late early out there."

- "If you come to a fork in the road, take it."

- "It's like deja vu all over again."

Miller played off Yogi's idioms for a popular 1987 beer commercial that happened to co-star a young Jason Alexander -- who, coincidentally, worked for the Yankees years later on "Seinfeld."

Yogi, whose birth name was Lawrence Peter, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and participated in the D-Day invasion. He started playing pro baseball when he got out of the service.

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in NJ announced his death. Yogi was 90.

Nick Prugo -- the guy who masterminded the Hollywood "Bling Ring" -- got busted for another nefarious plot ... this time he allegedly tried to hire someone to rape his longtime nemesis.

Prugo was arrested and charged with solicitation to commit sexual assault, as well as 3 counts of stalking. Prugo's friend, Edward Feinstein, was also taken into custody and charged with the same crimes.

The D.A. says Prugo and Feinstein posted an online ad in January 2014 ... looking to hire men to go to Dawn Daluise's home and rape her. Prugo has a sordid history with Daluise.

She's an esthetician who was also arrested for trying to hire someone to murder a rival skin care shop owner last year. When she got busted she told cops Prugo violated his parole by going out of state ... and he ended up going back to jail briefly.

Jack Larson -- the first person to play Clark Kent's sidekick Jimmy Olsen -- died Sunday at his home in Brentwood, CA. He was 87.

Larson starred alongside George Reeves on "The Adventures of Superman" from 1952-1958. He acted sparingly after the series ended. He did make an appearance on a 1996 episode of "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" ... and also in 1991 on the series "Superboy."

However, Larson stayed in showbiz -- after acting, he went on to become a playwright and producer.

"American Idol" alum Constantine Maroulis just got a big win in court because the domestic assault charges he was facing have been dropped ... but there's a catch.

A judge dismissed the case after Maroulis and his baby mama, Angel Reed, agreed they wouldn't get violent with one another.

The judge said if their relationship -- whatever it is -- is violence-free for the next 6 months, Constantine is in the clear.

Reed had claimed Maroulis kicked her in the groin and pulled her hair during the August fight at their NJ home. Maroulis claimed he had acted in self-defense and got a restraining order against her.

The couple has a 4-year-old daughter.

There's only so much T.I. can do -- the rapper and music mogul has cut ties with Iggy Azalea after standing up for her time and time again.

T.I. went on Ebro in the Morning on NYC's Hot 97, and said there were no hard feelings now that their biz relationship is over. He even stood up for her one last time, saying ... "She had a lot thrown at her at one time. It's very difficult to be the new kid and to be the butt of the jokes."

T.I. had been managing Iggy's music career, but in the last year has seemed more like a bodyguard -- defending her every time she had beef with other celebs like ... Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, and Azealia Banks.

We kinda saw the wheels coming off back in January when we asked Tip about Iggy's feud-of-the-moment with shoe mogul Steve Madden.

Ex-L.A. Kings star Slava Voynov is taking his talents back to Mother Russia in the wake of his prosecution for domestic violence -- choosing to leave before getting deported.

As we previously reported ... Voynov pled no contest to domestic violence stemming from an incident where his wife accused him of kicking and choking her. Immigration officials have had Voynov in custody since earlier this month when he completed his jail sentence.

Deportation was on the table, but Voynov just announced he would leave on his own.

He says, "I sincerely apologize to those in and around the game of hockey, who have been affected by my situation, and I also wish the players of the L.A. Kings success in the future.’’

The Kings say they had already decided to cut Slava, and were going to announce it later this week.

"The View" co-hosts did nurse damage control Wednesday ... with one of the ladies squarely owning up and another doing the moonwalk.

Michelle Collins and Joy Behar lampooned Miss Colorado who came out during the "Miss America" talent portion in a nurse's uniform. Thing is ... she's really a nurse, and the jokes didn't go over well.

Joy was very honest and said on Wednesday's show she just screwed up.

Michelle, on the other hand, kinda pulled a "my-best-friends-are-nurses" thing, talking about how much she loves them.

"The League" star Steve Rannazzisi -- who copped to lying about escaping the 9/11 attack -- just got publicly ripped by Pete Davidson from 'SNL' ... whose firefighter dad was killed on 9/11.

Appropriately, Davidson was one of the first celebs to react to Rannazzisi's confession that he lied for years about being in the World Trade Center. Pete sarcastically tweeted, "It's ok @SteveRannazzisi people make mistakes ... Can't wait to meet my dad for lunch later."

Rannazzisi then stepped in a pile of s**t by replying, "thank you pete. i really appreciate it."

That's when Pete owned him with a simple, "I think you missed the point." However, he added the whole thing sucks because he thinks Steve is "actually a funny comic and I love The League. It's f**ked up."

Pete and Steve have since deleted their Twittter exchange.

"The League" star Steve Rannazzisi has pulled a Brian Williams ... he's been lying for years about narrowly escaping from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Rannazzisi was forced to admit he made the whole story up after the New York Times put the heat on him. Rannazzisi now says, "I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry."

Rannazzisi's tale was that he was working for Merrill Lynch on the 54th floor of the south tower when the first plane struck the north tower. He said he escaped before the second plane hit. He says it was a life-changing moment and decided to pursue his dream ... a career in Hollywood.

The comedian is featured in commercials for the restaurant chain Buffalo Wild Wings. The company told the Times they're re-evaluating their relationship with him. As for "The League" ... it's a moot point -- the show is in its last season.

James Harden went and bit the hand that's feeding him $200 million -- and now Adidas is pissed.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Harden was spotted wearing Nike Air Jordans as he left a movie theater with GF Khloe Kardashian -- even though he just signed that sweet deal to endorse Adidas.

Make no mistake ... Adidas expects a change. The company's North American pres told ESPN, Harden wearing their brand off the court as well is "part of the deal."

The Beard's deal kicks in on Oct. 1 ... so he's got 15 more days to enjoy his Jordans. After that, he better hide those suckers away for 13 years.

Giants fans looking for a boost, look no further than this video of Jason Pierre-Paul -- ON HIS GRIND, in the gym, and apparently ... ready to bounce back from his horrific hand injury.