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Meek Mill is in court right now fighting for his freedom and his girl ... his lawyer's telling the judge Nicki Minaj "would not marry a criminal or a bum."

Meek is in court on a probation violation ... because he violated the ground rules for leaving Philly. Meek's on probation for a 2009 drug and gun conviction, and one of the conditions of parole is getting approval before traveling. It looks like he violated the rules by going to L.A. for the AMAs.

Nicki is ready to testify on Meek's behalf. His lawyer told the judge his client and Nicki are serious about getting married.

Nicki added fuel to the fire by posting a pic Wednesday of a massive ring on her hand ... sure looks like an engagement ring.

The ex-CEO of Jared Fogle's charity foundation was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for child porn and child exploitation.

Russell Taylor was in an Indianapolis court Thursday morning when the judge handed down his sentence. Prosecutors wanted him to get 35 years ... while Taylor pushed for less -- 15 to 22 years -- because he played the victim card -- claiming Fogle was psychologically abusive to him.

In court, Taylor referenced that again, saying ... "I was always an outcast who never fit in and I met someone famous and rich and he wanted to be my friend."

NFL legend John Madden is recovering after undergoing open heart surgery -- and is "expected to fully recover" ... so says NFL commish Roger Goodell.

Cops showed up at Justin Bieber's hotel in London ... after a woman who was allegedly partying with the pop star freaked out in the hotel lobby.

Police in London confirm they went to the Rosewood Hotel around 6:15 AM Monday to check on the welfare of a woman there, and determined she was safe and in good health.

According to the Daily Mail that woman had been partying with Justin and several other girls after he performed at a Jingle Ball concert Sunday night. The woman reportedly ran into the lobby yelling, "Where's my friend? I'll call the police!"

Police say there was no crime committed and no further action was taken. It's unclear if the officers even went to Justin's room. We've reached out to his camp, no word back yet.

Wu-Tang Clan's one of a kind double album is absolutely something to f*** with if you're controversial pharmaceutical tycoon Martin Shkreli ... who's been revealed as the secret buyer.

You'll recall the Wu's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" was recently sold to an anonymous buyer, and now Bloomberg says Shkreli is the guy who pulled the trigger -- dropping $2 million to snatch up the album.

32-year-old Shkreli is the hedge fund manager and pharmaceutical exec who made headlines earlier this year for jacking up the price on a cancer/AIDS medication ... from $13.50 to $750 per pill.

Shkreli, who grew up in Brooklyn, said he loves the Wu-Tang classic "C.R.E.A.M." ... naturally. Unbelievably, he also says he hasn't listened to 'Shaolin' yet! He says, "I could be convinced to listen to it earlier if Taylor Swift wants to hear it or something like that" ... but otherwise he's saving it for a rainy day.

As part of the Wu-Tang purchase, Shkreli has to keep the music under wraps for 88 years -- so, he's gonna die with it. And you can start pouring the haterade now because he's already bragging about his next potential purchase.

The guy who played Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez in "The Sandlot" is now facing serious prison time ... after getting charged in a Halloween night beatdown.

According to docs, Michael Vitar and 2 friends got into a fight with a 22-year-old man who was walking abound their neighborhood and handing out candy to children. The L.A. County D.A.'s Office says the men chased the victim, jumped him and threw him to the ground.

All 3 men were charged with felony assault. LAPD arrested Vitar last week and he was released on $30,000 bail.

After his acting career, Vitar went on to become an L.A. firefighter. The LAFD says Vitar and one of his friends, also a firefighter, have been placed on administrative leave with pay while the case proceeds.

Vitar faces up to 4 years in prison if convicted.

USC is firing back at Steve Sarkisian -- claiming the ex-football coach repeatedly DENIED he was an alcoholic and resisted the school's effort to get him proper help.

USC's general counsel, Carol Mauch Amir, issued a statement in response to Sark's $30 MILLION wrongful termination and discrimination lawsuit -- calling allegations "patently untrue."

Amir says the school usually doesn't comment on pending litigation, but felt compelled to answer Sark publicly -- ripping him as a liar who has mischaracterized the facts.

"Mr. Sarkisian repeatedly denied to university officials that he had a problem with alcohol, never asked for time off to get help, and resisted university efforts to provide him with help."

"The university made clear in writing that further incidents would result in termination, as it did. We are profoundly disappointed in how Mr. Sarkisian has mischaracterized the facts and we intend to defend these claims vigorously."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Sark claims SC knew he suffered from alcohol issues back in August when he was reprimanded for an incident at the Salute to Troy event.

Officials have found a homemade SHANK in Aaron Hernandez's prison cell ... where he's serving a life sentence for murder ... this according to reports.

Once officials discovered the weapon, Hernandez was removed from the general population at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (a super max prison) and put in solitary confinement ... according to FOX 25 in Boston.

Russell Taylor, ex-CEO of Jared Fogle's charity, is asking for a lighter sentence ... claiming he was under the thumb of Fogle, who masterminded their deviant exploits.

The feds want Taylor to serve a 35 year sentence for child porn and exploitation charges, to which Taylor already pled guilty. But Taylor's lawyers filed new legal docs asking the judge to make it a much lighter 15 to 22 years.

In the docs, the lawyers say Taylor and Fogle were in a "psychologically abusive relationship." They say Fogle referred to himself as Taylor's "daddy" and used Taylor to carry out his sexual deviant behavior. Taylor does say he's "deeply remorseful" for the humiliation he's caused the victims.

Nicki Minaj's brother, Jelani Maraj, has been charged with first degree rape.

Maraj allegedly raped a 12-year-old ... this according to Newsday.

Nicki is close to her older brother, and even paid $30k to help foot the bill for his wedding back in August.

Melvin Williams -- the Baltimore drug dealer whose life inspired the classic television show "The Wire" -- died Thursday in Maryland. He was 73.

Williams was a powerful drug dealer in the '70s and '80s and served several years behind bars for trafficking. He was profiled for the Baltimore Sun in 1987 by David Simon, who went on to create "The Wire."

Williams -- who had a small role on the show as Deacon -- is believed to be the inspiration for the show's Avon Barksdale character, played by Wood Harris.

Tiger Woods says he STRONGLY regrets lying to his ex-wife about all the cheating back in the day -- but says they've moved past it ... and now Elin Nordegren is "one of my best friends."

The golfer opened up to Time Magazine ... saying if he could change anything about 2009 ... "it would be having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife."

Of course, Elin kicked Tiger to the curb that year after learning he had been banging an army of skeezers behind her back.

But now, Tiger says he's busted his ass ... and worked hard to rebuild his relationship with the mother of his 2 children.

"Having the relationship that I have now with her is fantastic. She’s one of my best friends. We’re able to pick up the phone, and we talk to each other all the time. We both know that the most important things in our lives are our kids. I wish I would have known that back then."

When asked if there was anything he would've done differently ... Woods said, "When it comes down to it, right down to it, it’s just having a more open, honest relationship with my ex-wife when we were married."

"Our frustrations would have come out if we had talked about it and been open and honest with each other. Which we are now, and it’s absolutely fantastic."

Woods says he's already spoken with his kids about why he and Elin are no longer together -- explaining, "Guys, the reason why we’re not in the same house, why we don’t live under the same roof, Mommy and Daddy, is because Daddy made some mistakes."

'Real Housewives' star Yolanda Foster and mega music producer David Foster are calling it quits after 4 years of marriage.

The couple's been together for a total of 9 years, and say, "During that time we experienced love, friendship and the inevitable challenges that come with managing a marriage, careers, blended families and health issues."

The joint statement to is a clear reference to Yolanda's battle with Lyme disease over the last 3 years. Bella and Gigi Hadid's mom and stepdad tied the knot back on 11/11/11. This was her 2nd marriage, and David's 4th.

People first reported the break-up.

It's unclear if either's actually filed divorce papers. They never used the D word in their statement, but added ... "We are grateful for the years we've spent together and believe wholeheartedly that we did our best."

Most dads hand out cigars ... Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg celebrated the birth of his daughter Max on Tuesday by handing out a freakin' fortune to charity.

Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla, announced the birth on his FB page with a heartfelt letter to their newborn. In it, they say she gives hope for the future, a future they hope includes "advancing human potential and promoting equality."

To do his part, Mark and Priscilla pledged to give away 99% of their FB stock -- worth $45 billion right now -- over the course of their lives. He doesn't specify who will get the dough, but says it'll go to people who improve "this world for the next generation."

"Love & Hip Hop: New York" star Mendeecees Harris is apologizing for all his coke and heroin slinging -- on his way to starting a prison sentence.

Harris was sentenced Tuesday for his federal drug trafficking charges -- and got 8 years and 1 month in the slammer, plus 5 years supervised release.

He got credit for already serving 15 months ... so, he'll be in for less than 7 years.

Mendeecees has reportedly already paid back the feds more than $100k from his earnings and appearances on 'Love & Hip Hop.'

After court, he posted a message saying, "I completely accept responsibility for all that is going on" ... and thanked his family and fans for their support.

A judge ordered Kate Major go straight to rehab after she was busted for threatening to slash someone's throat during a flight -- and it's pretty clear she was wasted before getting on the plane.

According to the criminal complaint, Michael Lohan's estranged wife started trouble before the flight took off ... bitching about having to put her seat forward. The situation quickly escalated in the air -- a witness told a crew member Major was harassing a passenger and was possibly drunk. Kate allegedly yelled the witness' wife was a "bitch," and then threatened to "slit her throat."

Flight attendants moved Kate to a different seat to keep an eye on her. When she asked for a glass of wine, the flight attendant refused. So, Kate whipped out her phone and started recording the flight attendant.

The last straw came when she allegedly threw the phone and then rushed at a flight attendant. A passenger had to step in to hold her back -- and that's when the pilot decided to divert the plane to New Orleans.

Kate was arrested at the airport and booked for interfering with flight crew members, a federal offense with a very stiff penalty -- up to 20 years in prison.