Breaking News

Doc Gooden says he fell into a "massive depression" after his mother died back in July -- but says he's now feeling great thanks to church and the right medication.

The ex-Mets pitcher sat down with Brandon Steiner in the wake of Darryl Strawberry's allegations that he's a "complete junkie addict" whose life is in danger.

"[I'm] feeling great," Gooden said ... "And I think the things that happened in the last couple days is a test to really see where I was at."

Gooden says he went through a tough time in the wake of his mother's passing -- but says, "I seek help for that, dealing with depression with that, got some great medication, things started going up."

Team USA swimmer Jimmy Feigen says Brazilian officials tried to shake him down following the gas station incident in Rio ... demanding more than $46,000 to let him leave the country.

Feigen just spelled out the situation in a statement through his lawyer -- saying on the day he was scheduled to leave Rio -- hell broke loose at a Brazilian courthouse.

Demi Lovato has been sued by the group Sleigh Bells for allegedly ripping off their critically acclaimed song, "Infinity Guitars."

Demi's song "Stars" -- released last year as a bonus track in her album "Confident" -- has "virtually identical content" to "Infinity Guitars" ... so claims the group. The lawsuit says, "The combination of the hand claps and bass drum, structured as 3 quarter beats and a rest ... is at least substantially similar in both works."

"Infinity Guitars," released in 2010, was a massive critically acclaimed hit, scoring in Rolling Stone as one of the best songs of the year.

Last November, producers said "We did not use any samples in Demi Lovato's song Stars. Demi was also not involved with the production. She only wrote top line."

Sleigh Bells wants some serious profits from Demi and the other defendants, and they want to yank her song from getting more play.

Ryan Lochte is finally doing a mea culpa for the lie he told on NBC that's become an international incident ... but he kind of doubled down on the version of events he told cops.

Lochte just posted ... "I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend -- for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics. I waited to share these thoughts until it was confirmed that the legal situation was addressed and it was clear that my teammates would be arriving home safely."

Lochte continues ... "It's traumatic to be out late with your friends in a foreign country - with a language barrier - and have a stranger point a gun at you and demand money to let you leave, but regardless of the behavior of anyone else that night, I should have been much more responsible in how I handled myself and for that I am sorry to my teammates, my fans, my fellow competitors, my sponsors, and the hosts of this great event."

He goes on to say he's proud to rep the USA in Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided.

He adds, "I accept responsibility for my role in this happening and have learned some valuable lessons. I am grateful for my USA Swimming teammates and the USOC, and appreciate all of the efforts of the IOC, the Rio '16 Host Committee, and the people of Brazil who welcomed us to Rio and worked so hard to make sure that these Olympic Games provided a lifetime of great new memories."

"There has already been too much said and too many valuable resources dedicated to what happened last weekend, so I hope we spend our time celebrating the great stories and performances of these Games and look ahead to celebrating future successes."

The statement is clearly crafted to thwart police efforts to have Lochte prosecuted. The biggest problem the swimmer faces ... going on TV, trashing the city by claiming armed men posed as cops robbed him as he was innocently taking a cab back to the Village.

How much does it cost to make an international bathroom scandal go away in Rio?? Just short of $11,000 ... at least for Team USA swimmer Jimmy Feigen.

WWE superstar Eva Marie has been suspended for violating the organization's talent wellness policy ... this according to Pro Wrestling Sheet.

The "Total Divas" star is just the latest WWE superstar to get busted -- following Alberto Del Rio, Paige and Roman Reigns.

The details surrounding Marie's violation are unclear -- but the policy covers everything from drugs to PEDs and more.

Ed Hartwell denies Keshia Knight Pulliam's claims he's trying to kill their unborn kid ... and says she's the one who was mentally and emotionally abusive during their relationship.

In new docs, obtained by TMZ, Ed says Keshia should be "ashamed" for saying he wants their baby dead, and thinks she's going over the top to make him look bad. He says Keshia's claims of his "deep-seated rage and uncontrollable anger" actually apply more to her.

TMZ broke the story ... last week Keshia said Ed was being abusive in an effort to kill their baby. She also said he was unstable and should be stripped of his guns. However, Ed says he's got no issues upstairs, and is more than capable of safely owning weapons.

Bam Margera spent a night in a Finnish drunk tank after getting into an argument with his wife.

Helsinki cops tell TMZ ... they detained the "Jackass" star on Sunday night outside the Sea Horse -- a landmark restaurant in that city. Witnesses say things were getting heated between Bam and his wife, Nicole ... when cops arrived and hauled off Bam at 11 PM.

We're told he was not booked for any crime, and they just let him sleep it off until 6 AM Monday.

Peyton Manning got himself a job this NFL season after all ... ROASTER ... and his target will be Rob Lowe.

The ex-QB will be on the dais during the "Comedy Central Roast" of Peyton's fellow DirecTV pitchman -- which airs on Labor Day.

David Spade will serve as Roast Master -- and will get some help from his old "Tommy Boy" co-star Bo Derek.

Ryan Lochte is changing his tune about the alleged Rio robbery ... sorta ... with new claims about the incident that don't exactly jive with the story he told Billy Bush.

First, Matt Lauer says Lochte now insists he did NOT have a gun pressed up against his forehead during the incident -- but rather, one of the gunmen was pointing the gun in his general direction.

Lauer says he noticed one other difference when he spoke with the swimmer on the phone Wednesday night.

Lochte now says he did not get "pulled over" by men posing as police -- but rather, 2 men approached their taxi while it was parked at a gas station, where Lochte had used the restroom. Lochte says the crew tried to tell the taxi driver to go, but he wouldn't.

Lochte says he feels the differences are nothing more than a "traumatic mischaracterization."

Lauer says he asked Lochte if he made the story up to cover up something else the swimmers were doing that night -- and Ryan adamantly denied that.

10:30 PM PT -- A rep for the USOC says Conger and Bentz have both been released by local authorities ... but will remain in Brazil to continue discussions on Thursday, along with James Feigen, who the rep says is also in contact with investigators.

Team USA swimmers Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz -- who were with Ryan Lochte during the alleged robbery in Rio -- got yanked off an airplane as they were trying to leave Brazil.

The USOC confirms to TMZ Sports ... Conger and Bentz were detained by authorities, but says it's still gathering information as to find out exactly why.

Earlier on Tuesday, cops in Rio said they were suspicious of the swimmers' claim they were robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning. The USOC says cops went to the Olympic Village to interview Lochte and teammate James Feigen, but discovered they'd already left -- Locate's actually back in the States.

NBC says Feigen was slated to be on the same flight with Bentz and Conger, but never showed up.

Looks like they nabbed Conger and Bentz at the last possible moment. Late Wednesday night, cops were still interviewing them at the airport.

Blac Chyna's old beef with Kardashian-Jenner sisters might get reheated -- depending on how Kylie Jenner receives a comment BC made about babysitting duties in the fam.

Chyna and Rob Kardashian did a Facebook Live Q & A on Wednesday afternoon to promote their upcoming reality show, and naturally someone asked which sister they'd trust to watch their newborn.

Kylie got the nod, but not only for the infant. Check out how Chyna slipped 3-year-old King in as a babysitting package deal. Watch, it kinda sounds like she's telling KJ ... if you wanna keep messing with Tyga then you're gonna have to watch his kid too.

"Total Divas" star Paige got an unpleasant gift on her 24th birthday -- she got suspended for 30 days for violating the organization's talent wellness policy, WWE just announced.

The suspension, a first for the wrestler, will begin Thursday.

It's unclear what triggered the violation.

The news comes the same day her BF and WWE superstar Alberto Del Rio got suspended for violating the same policy.

Nick Diaz says Conor McGregor HIT A KID in his water bottle throwing rampage at the UFC 202 press conference ... and even got an exclusive interview with the alleged victim.

Nick was standing right next to his brother when Conor launched the water attack -- and after the incident, he grabbed the pint-sized alleged victim for a video testimony.

"Aw, that's f***ed up," Diaz said.

"Bro, why you hitting kids with bottles??"

Pandemonium at the UFC 202 presser ... with Conor McGregor grabbing water bottles and THROWING THEM at Nate Diaz ... while calling Nate's crew a bunch of "crackhead eses."

It all went down in Vegas moments ago ... Conor arrived to the event 30 minutes late.

When he finally got there, Nate stormed off the panel ... setting McGregor off.

McGregor unleashed a bunch of f-bomb laden insults -- while grabbing any projectile he could find and throwing it at Nate and his crew.

Dana White warned Conor to stop throwing stuff and then canceled the rest of the event.

"See you Saturday."

Now that retired Peyton Manning's got all that free time on his hands, his brother, Eli, says he has NO EXCUSE to miss a NY Giants game ... and wants a post-game recap from Peyton to prove he watched!

Eli Manning called into "The Dan Patrick Show" and said he knows Peyton will be traveling a lot during football season -- but says he still expects full brotherly support.

"He'll definitely be watching the Giants games," Eli said ... "There's no reason he won't. I know he has DirecTV. I know he has the NFL Sunday Ticket."

Eli says he's informed Peyton about the schedule and how to watch games on the road (live streaming to phone) ... and demands a "full recap and maybe an essay about what he thought about each [game] to make sure he's watching."