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Elton John is firing back at the former employee who's accusing him of groping and sexual harassment ... calling the guy disgruntled and litigious.

Elton's attorney says Jeffrey Wenninger is just looking for an easy payday with his lawsuit. TMZ broke the story ... Wenninger's suit accuses Elton of grabbing his genitals multiple times while on the job.

The singer's team says, "These claims are patently untrue and contradicted by numerous previous statements made by this plaintiff. We will not give into his latest abuse of the legal system."

2:20 PM PST -- The shooter has been identified as 66-year-old Larry Russell Dawson from Tennessee. Back in October 2015 he was arrested after an outburst in the chamber of the House of Representatives where he stated he was a "prophet of God."

12:53 PM PST -- The Capitol office buildings have reopened ... still no word on the shooter's condition.

12:30 PM PST -- The temporary lockdown on the White House has been lifted and the Easter Egg Roll has commenced.

An alleged gunman has been taken down by cops at the U.S. Capitol ... and several buildings remain on high alert after the incident.

According to reports, a Capitol police officer shot a man who brandished a gun inside the Visitors Center of the Capitol complex. The suspect was not killed, and was being transported to a hospital for treatment. A female bystander was reportedly injured by shrapnel during the incident.

Officials put the Capitol and the White House on lockdown following the shooting. The annual Easter Egg Roll is being held on White House grounds.

Janice Dickinson has been diagnosed with breast cancer ... but is vowing she will beat it just like so many other challenges she's faced.

The ex 'Top Model' judge revealed doctors found a pea-sized lump in her right breast during a routine medical exam, and immediately ordered a biopsy. She says the results came back positive on March 12.

So, Vader's naked penis was unleashed on the world Friday via Twitter ... but the ex-WWE superstar says it was a MISTAKE -- and he's pointing the finger at a vengeful ex-girlfriend.

The pic of Vader's junk was quickly removed from his Twitter page shortly after it went public -- and the 60-year-old was quick to explain how it happened.

"I want to apologize to everyone. My ExGirlfriend hacked my account and sent out an inappropriate picture. Please except my apology."

Drake and Meek Mill's beef got physically violent when Meek took out his anger on Quentin Miller -- the guy he accused of writing Drake's raps -- by allegedly attacking him in Bev Hills.

Miller claims the beatdown happened at the Nike Store. He's not specific on when, but says it was after the whole feud blew up in Meek's face. You'll recall, Meek attempted to out Miller as the guy who wrote Drizzy's rhyme on "10 Bands."

Miller refused to take full credit and denied ghostwriting, which fueled the fan backlash against Meek.

The basketball player who was seriously injured in the Brussels terror attacks says he was thinking about his wife and kids in the moments after the blast ... and how he NEEDED to live to see them again.

Sebastien Bellin suffered major leg and hip damage in the explosion at the airport -- the photo of the former Oakland University basketball star laying in a pool of his own blood went viral.

Bellin was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery -- and Thursday morning, he spoke with ABC's David Muir in an extremely emotional interview from his hospital bed in Brussels.

You gotta watch the clip ... Bellin details the moments after the attack and how his family is motivating his recovery.

#GetWellSoon

The Chicago Blackhawks have announced they've suspended Garret Ross -- after learning he's being prosecuted in an alleged revenge porn case.

Donald Sterling just got CREAMED in his billion dollar lawsuit against the NBA -- with the judge throwing out the suit claiming Sterling's allegations were weak as hell.

Erin Storm, who competed for the affection of Matt Grant on "The Bachelor," has died in a plane crash.

The single engine plane went down Monday shortly after taking off at Hawthorne Airport. A nearby construction crew witnessed the crash and pulled the 41-year-old from the wreckage. She was taken to a local hospital but could not be saved.

We're told Erin was flying the plane. There were no passengers.

It's unclear what caused the wreck ... but cops say no one on the ground was injured.

Erin was eliminated from the show in 2008 after the third episode.

R.I.P.

12:36 PM PT -- Oakland University coach Greg Kampe issued a statement about Seb:

"The Oakland basketball family was very sad to hear about the attack in Belgium and one of our own was in the midst of it. We send our prayers to Seb and his family."

"Seb has remained very close to our program through the years, he's in constant contact with our players and staff here at Oakland University and has been one of the biggest supporters and cheerleaders for the Oakland basketball program. One in which he led us to a championship while he was here."

"Saying that, all I can add is that I hope everybody who knows or has ever met Seb can give their prayers or do whatever they need to do for him. He is a tremendous competitor and he will fight through this."

One of the people badly injured in the Brussels terror attacks Tuesday morning is a former college basketball player who turned pro in Europe ... who just underwent emergency surgery after badly injuring his leg in the blast.

Images of Sebastien Bellin laying on the ground at the airport went viral -- his leg twisted and bleeding from the explosion.

37-year-old Bellin played college basketball at Oakland University in Michigan from '98 to '00 before heading to Europe where he's been playing pro ball ever since. He's currently a member of BC Telenet Oostende, a pro team in Belgium.

We spoke with a rep from Oakland University who tells us ... "Coach has been in contact with Sebastien's family and what we know is he injured his leg and hip and he will be okay."

NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo was at the airport in Brussels at the time of the terrorist attack early Tuesday morning -- but wants to assure his fans ... "I am fine."

Mutombo took to Facebook and wrote, "God is good. I am in Brussels Airport with this craziness. I am fine."

The captain of the Belgian national soccer team is lashing out against the terror attacks in his country -- begging his countrymen to "act with dignity" in the wake of the violence and "reject hate."

Hulk Hogan just scored $25 million in punitive damages in his sex tape lawsuit, bringing his total haul to $140 million.

A jury just awarded the famed wrestler the punitive award, with this breakdown. Gawker Media must pay $15 mil, site owner Nick Denton is on the hook for $10 mil, and A.J. Daulerio, the Editor responsible for posting the tape, must pay $100,000.

As we reported, the jury awarded Hulk $115 million Friday for actual damages.

Gawker just issued a statement saying it is confident the verdict will be overturned on appeal. The site maintains it has a right to post the tape because it was newsworthy and therefore protected by the First Amendment.

With Johnny Manziel officially out ... the Cleveland Browns are reportedly "moving forward" with plans to replace him with RG3.

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson said the team had a "great meeting" with Robert Griffin over the weekend and hailed him as a "tremendous talent and a great young man."

Now, according to Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot, the team is "moving forward on possibly signing [RG3] and that the team is doing its due diligence."

No word on when the deal is expected to be done.

"Gold Rush" star John Schnabel, one of the great Alaskan gold miners on the Discovery show died Friday morning. He was 96.

Schnabel's family broke the news he passed away peacefully in his sleep, saying ... "He was a true legend."

Schnabel was a military vet who got into gold mining later in life when doctors suggested he keep active after a triple bypass. He became an anchor on Discovery's hit gold mining show -- which focuses heavily on his grandson, Parker Schnabel.

Parker took over responsibilities at the Big Nugget Mine when John's health declined.

#RIP

Talk about a leg drop ...

Hulk Hogan just won BIG in his war with Gawker -- with a jury awarding the WWE legend a $115 MILLION judgment against the company for publishing part of his sex tape online.

Hogan had only sued for $100 million ... but the jury decided it wasn't enough and bumped it up to $115 million.

The breakdown -- $55 million for economic injuries and $60 million for emotional distress. He could get even more with punitive damages.

Hogan had argued that he had no idea he was being recorded when he had sex with his friend's wife at their home in Florida back in 2007.

Gawker published 1 minute and 50 seconds of the video without Hulk's permission. Hogan claimed it was the ultimate invasion of his privacy.