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The interim president of the University of Louisville told Rick Pitino the school believes FBI documents incriminate him and his coaching staff in an NCAA bribery/recruiting scandal.

Despite the fact that neither Pitino nor any member of his staff was mentioned by name in the FBI charging documents, Gregory Postel sent Pitino a letter on Sept. 27 saying the investigation clearly points to him.

"The information provided by the Office of the U.S. Attorney ... is disturbing and unprecedented in its allegations of willful misconduct, violations of NCAA Bylaws, and dishonesty, and serve to severely damage the reputation of the University of Louisville."

"The allegations contained in the complaint ... insinuate a scheme of fraud and malfeasance in the recruitment of student-athletes involving you and multiple members of your coaching staff in violation of federal law and NCAA Division I Bylaws."

FYI, the FBI alleges a high-profile Adidas exec teamed up with a D1 basketball coach to funnel huge payments to high school players in an effort to get them into Adidas sponsored D1 basketball programs. The University clearly believes the coach referenced in the documents is Pitino.

Postel told Pitino he would be placed on unpaid administrative leave -- but would be given the opportunity to defend himself before a final decision is made on termination.

Postel told Pitino he would know his fate no later than April 30, 2018.

As for Pitino, he has lawyered up -- insists he's innocent -- and insinuated he's ready to sue the school for wrongful termination if need be.

The Mandalay Bay hotel room where Stephen Paddock opened fire Sunday night has 2 windows obliterated by gunfire.

The curtains in the 32nd floor room were billowing Monday morning through the massive holes left after the shooting. Police stormed the room to find Paddock already dead ... apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot.

He'd reportedly checked in to the hotel on Thursday.

Paddock killed at least 50 people and injured more than 400 people Sunday night who were attending the Route 91 country music festival.

U.S. Olympic pole vaulter Sandi Morris says she was "across the street" from the Vegas shooting Sunday night -- and was kept in lockdown at the Luxor Hotel for 5 hours until officials deemed it safe to leave.

The Luxor is actually closer to the site of the shooting than the Mandalay Bay -- and Morris says she was inside the hotel watching The Blue Man Group show when the incident began.

Morris -- who won silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio -- details how officials stopped the show and locked down the building to keep everyone safe.

She says show officials passed out blankets, water and food -- including bananas that were supposed to be used in the show.

Stephen Paddock is an outlier for police profilers ... at least so far.

The 64-year-old Nevada resident lived in a retirement community. He has no criminal record, at least none we've been able to find so far.

We found Paddock has a hunting license in Alaska. He got a pilot's license in 2003, which means he's undergone some physical and mental evaluation.

As we reported, Paddock, died in his hotel room after slaughtering more than 50 people and injuring more than 400. It appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

LeBron James has weighed in on the deadly shooting in Las Vegas -- saying he's praying for the victims ... while asking the question, "What the hell is going on people!?!?"

"Pray for Vegas!" James tweeted ... "What the hell is going on people!?!? My prayers sent to the heavens above for all the families."

Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz also commented -- saying, "So much hate and evil. So sad. The World needs Jesus in a bad way. Praying for all those affected in Vegas."

Jim Carrey has fired back at the mother of his former girlfriend who committed suicide, saying the girlfriend tried to extort him by falsely accusing him of giving her herpes.

Jim is in a battle royale lawsuit over the death of Cathriona White, who killed herself in 2015, shortly after Jim broke up with her.

White's widower and her mom are suing Carrey, claiming he was responsible for her death. They allege in their lawsuit she was distraught over getting herpes, allegedly from Jim.

Carrey says White did indeed text him back in 2013 that she had bumps on her vagina, but he says she actually got those bumps from a wax job. He goes on to say White, with her lawyer, falsely tried to shake Jim down for several million dollars, claiming he gave her an STD.

Jim says the reality ... White had herpes before they even met. As for the wax job, Jim says White and her lawyer used the bumps she got as trumped up evidence of what they said was herpes and tried to pin it on him.

The embattled Health and Human Services Secretary, Tom Price, couldn't weather the firestorm of criticism for his use of private jets -- he's offered his resignation and President Trump accepted.

The news comes just 1 day after Price said "taxpayers won't pay a dime for my seat on those planes." But even that drew ire among his harshest critics because he reportedly totaled over $400k after repeatedly chartering private planes for personal travel. Price said he'd cut a check for only $51,887, the cost of HIS seat.

Trump said earlier Friday he would make a decision "sometime tonight" but Price -- reportedly worth $13 million -- beat him to the punch.

Price didn't seem bothered when we got him in D.C. and used the flu shot to evade our questions.

Luke Bryan just made official what we told you about early Friday morning -- he and Lionel Richie are joining Katy Perry as judges #2 and 3 on "American Idol."

The country star made the announcement in a video he posted on Twitter just moments ago and hours after TMZ first reported the pending news.

Luke -- all the way from Hayfield, Kansas -- said he's excited to join "the beautiful Ms. Katy Perry and my hero Lionel Richie and my fellow Georgia boy, Ryan Seacrest."

As we reported ... signing all 3 judges didn't come cheap.

Atlanta Hawks star Dennis Schroder was arrested for battery, according to police in Georgia -- and the team says its scrambling to gather info.

Details are scarce, but ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting the 24-year-old guard was busted on suspicion of battery, a misdemeanor. Police records confirm Schroder was arrested for battery.

The Hawks have issued a statement saying, "We are aware of an incident involving Dennis Schröder earlier this morning."

"We are still gathering information as it pertains to the situation, and out of respect for the legal process, we will have no further comment at this time."

It was date night for Michael Jordan in NYC on Thursday.

Hot wife? Check.

Chauffeur driven SUV? Check.

MJ's trademark overly baggy dad pants? Check.

Expensive, rare Air Jordans? Of course.

The NBA legend took Yvette Prieto out to Marea bar and restaurant in Midtown. He was in a great mood. He was super nice to the paparazzi and fans on the street.

But we wanted to know what the face of one of the biggest shoe lines on the planet rocks out for a fancy dinner.

The answer -- it appears MJ's wearing the Air Jordan 1 Pinnacles ... brown leather kicks with 24K gold-plated accents. They retail for $400 a pair.

Wonder if he ever wears the same pair twice?

Colin Kaepernick took it all the way back to 1995 this week ... surfacing in Manhattan with a Tupac shirt that reads, "Me Against the World."

The song essentially encapsulates the message Kaepernick is trying to send. As a reminder, here are some of the lyrics ...

"When will I finally get to rest through this oppression? They punish the people that's askin' questions."

And this one ...

"Dreamin' of riches, in a position of makin' a difference. Politicians are hypocrites, they don't wanna listen."

Kaepernick hasn't sat down for an interview with anyone since his national anthem demonstration began last season. But he's been spotted out in NYC twice this week. Something coming?

Cristiano Ronaldo's got a shiny, new $2.9 MILLION toy ... and he's already takin' it out for a victory lap.

The international soccer superstar posted a vid showing off the brand new 2017 Bugatti Chiron on Thursday ... with his ever-so-lucky son, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jr., ridin' shotgun.

CR7 pauses to say something to the camera -- we're not sure what -- but it's probably something like, "I'm rich, beeeyotch!!"

And, since we knew you were wondering ... the car goes from 0 to 60 in 2.3 seconds.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus says she has breast cancer ... and the "Veep" star took a shot at President Trump and Congress while announcing her diagnosis.

Julia just posted, "1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one."

She added, "The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union." 56-year-old Julia didn't say anything about what stage she's in, or if doctors caught it early.

She did however take a shot at the battle over health care, saying not all women have the benefits she does, "so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality."

The Denver Broncos players say the days of kneeling for the national anthem are over -- and beginning Sunday, they will all STAND together.

The players issued a statement moments ago ... acknowledging the split this past Sunday when several players took a knee and others stood for the anthem before playing the Bills.

"Last week, members of our team joined their brothers around the NFL in a powerful display of unity ... As controversial as it appeared, we needed to show our collective strength and resolve."

But now, the players say they will be united in standing together moving forward.

"We may have different values and beliefs, but there's one thing we can all agree on: We're a team and we stand together -- no matter how divisive some comments and issues can be, nothing should ever get in the way of that."

"Starting Sunday, we'll be standing together."

Black Lives Matter and one of its leaders, DeRay McKesson, won't be held responsible for an officer's injuries during a protest last year, because a judge tossed the cop's lawsuit ... TMZ has learned.

According to new docs ... the case is dismissed because BLM is considered a social movement and "not an entity of any sort," so it can't be sued. As for McKesson, the federal judge ruled he was expressing his right to free speech at the July 2016 demonstration where the cop got hurt ... but it wasn't his fault.

As we reported ... the Baton Rouge cop filed a suit against DeRay and BLM, claiming McKesson incited violence at the protest and blaming him for injuries he suffered after getting hit in the face with a rock.

Washington Wizards baller Kelly Oubre is setting the record straight -- saying he's "NOT a lesbian" ... despite what some fans say.

The 21-year-old rising star was talking to CSN Mid Atlantic about some of the crap he gets from opposing fans ... and dropped this shocker.

"People call me a lesbian a lot. They think I look like a female girl or a teenage girl or something."

So, why the lesbian jabs? Oubre says he thinks he knows why ...

"I understand I'm a pretty dude. They might be mad that their wife likes me or something."

But to be clear -- "I'm not a lesbian. I'm a grown man."

"I've heard that multiple times. I guess it's something to try to get under my skin, but at the end of the day I know who I am."

And now you know.