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Roger Ailes, the late CEO of FOX News, engaged in a campaign to cover up sexual harassment and racial discrimination, according to a lawsuit filed by shareholders ... which has just been settled.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Ailes paid former FOX employee Laurie Luhn $3.15 million in 2011 to keep quiet about 2 decades worth of allegations ... which include sexual harassment at the hands of Ailes himself.

The suit also alleges a similar cover-up with Gretchen Carlson -- claiming she was paid $20 mil and given a public apology to settle the sexual harassment lawsuit she'd filed against Ailes. The shareholders call out Ailes for his alleged treatment of Megyn Kelly, too. According to the docs, Ailes made sexually charged comments about her lingerie, and offered her promotions in exchange for sexual favors.

The suit was filed Monday against Ailes' estate, FOX CEO Rupert Murdoch and his sons, James and Lachlan, who are also FOX honchos. FOX News released a statement, also on Monday, saying a settlement had been reached. FOX News will now form a Workplace Professionalism and Inclusion Council.

The panel's purpose is improving reporting of misconduct, and recruiting and advancing female and minority employees.

2:56 PM PT -- CBS News has suspended Rose and PBS will halt production and distribution of his show.

Charlie Rose -- one of the most famous journalists in the country -- has just been accused of sexual harassment ... and he's apologizing for the alleged behavior.

The Washington Post published a story Monday in which 8 women accused the reporter of varying types of misconduct -- including groping their breasts, buttocks or genitals, walking around naked in front of them or making lewd phone calls. 5 women stayed anonymous.

The allegations go back as far as the late 1990s up to as recently as 2011. One woman, Kyle Godfrey-Ryan, says Rose would consistently walk around naked in front of her while she was his personal assistant in the 2000s, adding he'd often call to describe fantasies about her.

Rose released a statement to the Post apologizing for the behavior, saying "It is essential that these women know I hear them and that I deeply apologize for my inappropriate behavior. I am greatly embarrassed. I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate."

Reeeeelax ... Donald Trump's mouthpiece says POTUS was only tweeting "rhetorically" when suggesting he should have left LaVar Ball's son in a Chinese jail.

Yep.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders just addressed the media ... and was asked about Trump's tweets in which he said LaVar was "unaccepting" of what he did for LiAngelo Ball and said, "I should have left them in jail."

When questioned at Monday's White House news conference, SHS said, "It was a rhetorical response to a criticism by the father."

"Frankly it didn't seem like the father wanted the President to intervene which I think would've been a sad thing if he hadn't."

Meek Mill had a celebrity phone call during his time in prison -- speaking with Colin Kaepernick -- and he gave the QB a message to spread to his supporters.

"Spoke to Meek Mill & he wanted ppl to know regardless of his unjust situation, he’s in good spirits & humbled by the support the people have shown him," Colin tweeted.

"We'll continue to fight against the harsh sentencing practices that have affected Meek & millions of other POC for generations."

Colin had spoken out against Meek's sentence -- claiming 2 to 4 years in prison is way too harsh for a non-violent probation violation.

Meek was locked up earlier this month stemming from a conviction in a 2008 drug and weapons case.

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield will NOT start this weekend -- and has been stripped of his team captain status -- as a result of the junk-grabbing gesture during the Kansas game.

Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley got super emotional -- and had to compose himself to keep from crying -- while announcing the punishment moments ago.

Mayfield busted out the junk grab as a visual shot at Kansas on Saturday after they refused to shake his hand during the coin toss.

Mayfield will not start on Saturday against West Virginia -- but he will play.

Riley says Mayfield is still just a kid -- despite the fact he's 22 years old -- and still has a lot of growing to do as a person.

"LaVar Ball. Good lookin' out. I wouldn't have thanked the motherf**ker either."

That's Snoop Dogg heaping all sorts of praise on LaVar Ball and Marshawn Lynch in a heated rant about President Trump.

Snoop slams Trump as "garbage" and a "piece of s**t" for the way he's publicly treated the Ball family and Lynch ... he doesn't hold back.

"Let's suspend your ass motherf**ker," Snoop said in a response to Trump calling for the NFL to bench Lynch if he doesn't stand for the national anthem in the future.

Former NFL wide receiver Terry Glenn died in a car crash in Texas, officials confirm. He was 43.

We're told Glenn was in a single-car accident early Monday morning and was ejected from his vehicle. By the time officials responded to the crash site, it was clear Glenn had passed. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

Glenn had a passenger in his vehicle -- we're told it was his fiancee -- but she survived the crash. She's currently being treated at the ICU of a local hospital.

We're told officials plan on doing a full autopsy, including toxicology, to see if they can get more information on what led to the crash.

Glenn was the 7th overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft -- taken by the New England Patriots after an impressive run at Ohio State.

He went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL -- with the Patriots, Packers and Cowboys.

Terry also famously caught Tom Brady's very first TD pass in 2001.

Story developing ...

Kristin Cavallari doesn't seem happy with Jay Cutler's decision to return to the NFL -- and after her husband was knocked out of Sunday's game with a concussion, she cryptically sounded off.

"Sometimes I wish I could just say how I really feel about this football shit ... And give commentary about what I’m realllllly thinking," Kristin posted from the family area of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

"How great would that be."

Cutler had retired before the 2017 season -- but signed a 1-year deal with the Miami Dolphins back in August after their starting QB Ryan Tannehill suffered a season-ending injury.

Earlier this year, Cavallari told TooFab.com her husband was excited to play another year so their kids could see daddy at work.

Clearly, she isn't feeling the same way ...

Donald Trump has turned his sights on BeastMode -- blasting the NFL star for sitting during the U.S. national anthem -- but standing for the Mexican national anthem -- during his game this weekend.

Marshawn Lynch was clearly looking to send a political message when his Oakland Raiders played the New England Patriots in Mexico City on Sunday.

But it rubbed Trump the wrong way ... with POTUS tweeting:

"Marshawn Lynch of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders stands for the Mexican Anthem and sits down to boos for our National Anthem. Great disrespect!"

"Next time NFL should suspend him for remainder of season. Attendance and ratings way down."

5:00 PM PT -- Gabby has pulled a near 180, saying she didn't word her reply correctly and "regardless of what you wear, abuse under any circumstance is never acceptable." She's also apologized and says she stands by her teammates.

Simone Biles is publicly attacking her former Team USA gymnastics teammate Gabby Douglas -- and it's all over comments Gabby made insinuating some women invite sexual abuse by the way they dress.

It all started with Aly Raisman ... their 2016 U.S. Olympic teammate who recently went public with allegations she was sexually assaulted by ex-Team USA doctor Larry Nassar.

Raisman -- who famously posed nude for the ESPN Body Issue -- received hate from people who shot down her story because of the provocative pics.

Raisman clapped back with a message on social media Friday morning saying, "Just because a woman does a sexy photoshoot or wears a sexy outfit does not give a man the right to shame her or not believe her when she comes forward about sexual abuse."

That's when Gabby got involved ... saying:

"However it is our responsibility as women to dress modestly and be classy. Dressing in a provocative/sexual way entices the wrong crowd."

Biles saw Gabby's comment and went scorched-earth ... saying:

"Shocks me that I’m seeing this but it doesn’t surprise me... honestly seeing this brings me to tears bc as your teammate I expected more from you & to support her."

She continued, "I support you Aly 💕 & all the other women out there! STAY STRONG.

Chad Johnson totally tore it up at the skatepark on Friday!!!

JK. He ate it. HARD.

For reasons unknown to TMZ Sports, Ocho thought it'd be a good idea to hop on a board with no gear ... and pull up on a ramp WHILE SMOKING A DAMN CIGAR.

As the video shows, it didn't end well for the former NFL superstar -- who ollied right onto his ass.

Jameis Winston says reports he sexually assaulted a female Uber driver are FALSE -- and claims he was NOT the only person in the car that night as the driver has claimed.

Winston just tweeted about the BuzzFeed report in which Uber driver Kate claims Winston grabbed her crotch during a rowdy drive home from the Scottsdale bar scene in March 2016.

Kate claimed Winston was in the front passenger seat when the alleged assault went down. Winston is saying Kate is wrong about the allegations AND who was next to her that night.

"The story falsely accuses me of making inappropriate contact with this driver," Winston says ... "I believe the driver was confused as to the number of passengers in the car and who was sitting next to her."

"The accusation is false, and given the nature of the allegation and increased awareness and consideration of these types of matters, I am addressing this false report immediately."

"While I am certain that I did not make any inappropriate contact, I don’t want to engage in a battle with the driver and I regret if my demeanor or presence made her uncomfortable in any way."

The part that's unclear ... is Jameis leaving the door open to the possibility that whoever was in the passenger seat DID sexually assault the driver? He's not saying it didn't happen ... he's just saying, "It wasn't me."

Rev. Jesse Jackson has revealed he has Parkinson's disease ... but plans to dedicate himself to treatment in hopes of fighting the disease's progression for as long as possible.

The 76-year-old civil rights icon says he and his family began to notice changes about 3 years ago and couldn't ignore the symptoms any longer. After a visit to the doctor and a series of tests ... he got the diagnosis.

Jackson says his father also had Parkinson's.

'SNL' alum Bill Hader and his wife, Maggie Carey, are separated and getting ready to file divorce docs after 11 years of marriage ... TMZ has confirmed.

The couple's been separated since July, and although they haven't made it official yet it sounds like a done deal. They got married in 2006, and have 3 kids -- Hannah, Harper and Hayley. The Haders were big on H's.

Maggie is a director who's worked on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and 'Last Man On Earth.'

People first reported the breakup.

Jameis Winston is adamantly denying grabbing a female Uber driver by the crotch during a March 2016 ride despite a complaint the driver made to the company ... but now the NFL is investigating.

The woman who identifies herself as Kate told BuzzFeed she picked Jameis up from a nightlife area in Scottsdale, Arizona around 2 AM -- and Jameis got in the front passenger seat.

During the ride, Kate says the Tampa Bay Bucs star was out of control -- screaming homophobic comments to pedestrians -- before requesting a stop at a Mexican restaurant.

While in the drive-thru line to pick up food, Kate says Winston "reached over and put his fingers on my crotch. It wasn't accidental."

Kate says she wasn't just "creeped out" ... "I was frozen."

After the ride, Kate says she filed a complaint with Uber but did not go to police because she feared backlash from NFL fans.

Winston's camp says the allegations are completely false -- "We categorically deny this allegation. It is our understanding the Uber driver was unable to identify the specific individual who allegedly touched this driver inappropriately. The only reason his name is being dragged in to this is that his Uber account was used to call the ride."

Uber says Jameis has been banned from using the app in the future.

After Tyron Woodley called him out Thursday, Nate Diaz went to his brother's MMA studio in Stockton, CA begging the question ... is he finally gonna take the fight?!?!

Woodley announced on "The Hollywood Beatdown" that he already agreed to fight Diaz at UFC 219 in Vegas on Dec. 30 ... but he was waiting on Nate to sign his contract.

Nate's been radio silent ... but he popped up at the Nick Diaz Academy where a jiu-jitsu class was in full effect.

Unclear if Nate was participating in the training or just hanging out with his bro.

One thing's for sure -- Woodley doesn't think ANY amount of training will save Nate if they do face off in the Octagon.