Breaking News

ESPN will NOT suspend Katie Nolan after she called Donald Trump a "f**king stupid person" on VICELAND's "Desus & Mero" talk show on Wednesday ... a rep for the network tells TMZ Sports.

"We have looked into the totality of Nolan’s comments, they were inappropriate and we have addressed it with her," the rep said.

The diss came during a discussion about hand gestures associated with white supremacists ... with Katie saying Trump uses the thumbs-up emoji simply because he's "stupid."

She also appeared to use another offensive word to describe Trump, but that word was bleeped out of the broadcast.

Paul Haggis -- the Oscar-winning director and writer of "Crash" -- is being accused of sexual misconduct by 4 different women ... including 2 rapes.

Haggis was sued in December for allegedly raping film publicist Haleigh Breest in 2013 at his apartment after a movie premiere. Haggis denied the claims and countersued ... alleging she tried to score a $9 million settlement out of it.

Still, Breest's suit reportedly led to 3 new women coming forward with their own claims of sexual misconduct -- one similarly accusing Haggis of forcing her to perform oral sex then raping her.

Haggis had previously said he's used to defending himself against 'false allegations' because he's a notable critic of Scientology. He famously left the church in 2009 ... and appeared in the 2015 documentary 'Going Clear' about his experience.

Today's Gruden Grinder goes to JON GRUDEN'S AGENT -- who's reportedly landing a $100 MILLION contract for Chucky to coach the Raiders.

Just win, baby!!!!

The deal is reportedly $100 mil for 10 years, the longest coaching deal in NFL history according to Adam Schefter.

Gruden hasn't coached in the NFL since 2008 and has since worked as a color commentator and featured on-air personality for ESPN, where he's reportedly one of their highest paid employees.

Gruden famously won Super Bowl XXXVII with the Tampa Bay Bucs back in 2003 ... when he beat the Raiders.

Louis C.K. did not commit any acts of sexual misconduct during his time at FX ... according to the network's own investigation, anyway.

FX CEO John Landgraf told reporters Friday they "did not find any issues, complaints or incidents of misconduct of any kind in the 8 years we worked together." FX quickly cut ties with C.K. in November right after his accusers came forward to The New York Times, and the comic copped to the allegations.

FX yanked his production deals on "Better Things," "Baskets," "One Mississippi" and "The Cops."

Landgraf was speaking at the Television Critics Association's conference when he added his network "had no awareness" of C.K.'s pattern of sexual harassment before the Times article.

Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft have united to call BS on an ESPN report that their relationship has been fractured ... calling the report "unsubstantiated."

In a joint statement, the 3 most powerful members of the Patriots organization said:

"For the past 18 years, the three of us have enjoyed a very good and productive working relationship. In recent days, there have been multiple media reports that have speculated theories that are unsubstantiated, highly exaggerated or flat out inaccurate."

"The three of us share a common goal. We look forward to the enormous challenge of competing in the postseason and the opportunity to work together in the future, just as we have for the past 18 years."

Alex Trebek is taking a break from game show duties to recover from surgery he needed after taking a nasty fall a couple months ago.

The "Jeopardy!" host revealed Thursday he's out on medical leave to recover from a subdural hematoma suffered during the fall. Sounds very serious, but Alex downplayed it, calling it "a slight medical problem."

Trebek says docs discovered blood clots on his brain, but he's already undergone surgery and "the prognosis is excellent." He assures fans he'll be back soon.

Serena Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open ... saying she's not quite ready to compete on a tournament level after recently giving birth.

Serena posted the message to her Snapchat Thursday, saying ... "After performing in my first match after giving birth I realized that although I am super close I'm not where I personally want to be."

She adds ... "My coach and team always said 'Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.'" Serena defeated her sister, Venus, in the Australian Open last year.

The new mom competed in a tennis match just last month -- her first since giving birth to a baby girl in September. It was an exhibition match against Latvian player Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.

As for the Australian Open ... she says she looks forward to coming back and competing another time.

Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling legend Mt. Fiji -- real name Emily Dole -- has passed away after battling serious health problems for years. She was 60.

Fiji was one of the biggest stars in G.L.O.W. during its run from 1986 to 1992 ... never losing a single match. Fiji was so popular, she was invited on 'Regis and Kathie Lee,' 'Donahue' and "Card Sharks."

She also inspired the character Machu Picchu on the popular Netflix scripted series, "G.L.O.W."

Fiji's friend, Patricia Summerland (aka Sunny The California Girl), broke the news on social media Wednesday ... saying, "Rip Emily Dole! WE LOST OUR GLOW SISTER THIS MORNING. We are very sad that she passed away."

"She was the CHAMP IN THE RING. Fly high Mountain Fiji."

[h/t ProWrestlingSheet]

The Ball fam is officially ballin' out in Lithuania.

A day after getting MOBBED by photogs at the airport ... LiAngelo and LaMelo are tearin' it up at a private hoops sesh on BC Vytautas' home court -- with LaVar on commentary!!

Gelo's throwin' down 1-handed hammers, Melo's making it rain from deep ... and dad's hyping 'em up like the dude from the AND1 mixtapes.

If you're wondering where their teammates are -- this doesn't look like an official practice ... just the guys gettin' in some extra work.

Bonus: the Big Baller’s already trying to speak Lithuanian! Trying to ...

Don't try this at home, kids ... you won't get in the club.

But dress codes don't seem to matter for Odell Beckham -- who rocked shorts to one of the hottest nightspots in Hollywood on Thursday ... and still got the V.I.P. treatment.

The NY Giants superstar hit up Warwick in West Hollywood -- sporting shorts and a sweatshirt ... and witnesses tell us he slipped in the backdoor of the place.

Inside the club, the place was packed with big sports stars -- including Von Miller and OKC Thunder players.

The daughter of former Washington Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke allegedly yelled at a woman, "Hurry up, Jew" ... and then bashed her son with a purse.

She was arrested ... and there's video of the crazy aftermath.

The woman who wound up in cuffs is 29-year-old Jacqueline Kent Cooke -- her dad owned the NFL team from '61 to '97. He also owned the Lakers from '65 to '79. The family is rich as hell.

Fast-forward to New Year's Eve when Cooke allegedly got pissed off while waiting for her coat at Caravaggio restaurant in Manhattan ... and yelled at the 77-year-old woman in front of her, "Hurry up, Jew. I got places to be."

The situation escalated and the woman's son -- 52-year-old Matthew Haberkorn told the NY Daily News he followed Cooke and her boyfriend outside to confront them about the comments.

That's when Cooke allegedly struck Haberkorn with her glass purse -- causing 2 lacerations on his head.

The video begins right after the alleged purse strike ... you can hear Matthew say, "She just f*cking hit me!"

Cooke responds, "You called me a f*cking bitch. You called me a c*nt."

Matthew fired back, "You called me a f*cking Jew.”

Cooke then tries to tackle him to the ground. She fails. Cooke's boyfriend yells out, "What are you doing? You're throwing a woman on the floor."

Matthew responds, "I didn't f*cking touch her."

Rich Rodriguez's ex-assistant claimed the University of Arizona football coach terrorized her for years ... making several passes at her, forcing her to cover up his extramarital affair -- and grabbing his penis in front of her.

It's all laid out in the notice of claim she filed with the AZ Attorney General's Office -- the first step before filing a lawsuit.

In the document, both Melissa Wilhelmsen and her husband, Jason -- "a former Marine and DEA agent" -- describe Rodriguez as a monster who used his power to turn their lives into a living hell.

Among the allegations ...

-- Melissa claims U of A football players sent her screenshots of their genitalia and made illicit overtures via text. When she asked Rodriguez to intervene, he ignored her.

-- Melissa claims Rodriguez asked her to get a sideline pass to a 2015 football game against USC for a "friend" who turned out to be his sidepiece. Rich's wife was also on the sideline that day. Melissa claims she had to stand between the women to prevent a confrontation.

-- Melissa claims Rich's wife grew suspicious about his fidelity and grilled her at a private 3-hour lunch in 2016.

-- Melissa claims over the years, Rodriguez made advances on her despite the fact she was married ... and tried to kiss her at least once.

-- Melissa claims Rodriguez pulled her into a closed door meeting and began "grasping his penis beneath his basketball shorts which were pulled all the way up" in Feb. 2017.

-- Perhaps the most disturbing allegation ... Melissa claims Rodriguez ignored a warning from a team staffer about a player, Zach Hemmila, who seemed unwell and needed help.

Rodriguez allegedly "did nothing" about the warning -- and the next day, Hemmila was found dead from a painkiller overdose.

-- Melissa and her husband claim Rodriguez created a hostile work environment that caused dangerous amounts of stress on their marriage ... that led to her being hospitalized for severe migraine headaches.

They're seeking $7.5 million from Rodriguez.

For his part, Rodriguez has admitted to cheating on his wife -- but denies all other allegations.

2:47 PM PT -- A Secret Service rep tells us the fire started in the ceiling of the second floor. Agents were able to use fire extinguishers to put the blaze out ... the fire department came to inspect and ensure everything was safe.

2:12 PM PT -- A rep for Hillary says the fire started in the Secret Service facility on the property, which is not connected to the main home. The Clintons were not home when the fire started.

12:22 PM PT -- The fire appears to have been on the second floor of the structure ... according to the local department, it's been mostly extinguished but crews are checking for anything additional.

The New York home of Bill and Hillary Clinton is on fire.

The Chappaqua Fire Dept. tells TMZ a structure on the property is ablaze and they are on the scene trying to control it.

We don't know whether the main structure was involved or if an ancillary structure such as a garage or guest house was on fire.

The Clinton's bought the home next door to their Chappaqua mansion in 2016 and turned the properties into a single compound.

We will update when we know the extent of the damage.

Donald Trump has completely turned on Steve Bannon -- saying the guy has lost his mind ... this after Bannon called a meeting the President's son took with Russians "treason."

Bannon was quoted by author Michael Wolff in a sweeping new book detailing the alleged chaos from Trump's first year in office as saying Don Jr.'s meeting in 2016 was treasonous.

Trump responded Wednesday in an official statement saying ... "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind."

The Prez goes on to say that Bannon had little to do with his historic victory, and that while Bannon claims to be at war with the media ... he often leaked from the White House.

Trump says Bannon helped people -- presumably Wolff -- write phony books with his insights, which Trump says were actually limited.

LaVar Ball has touched down in Lithuania -- and he's getting mobbed like he's the damn POTUS!!

A hoard of photogs and reporters waited for hours in the Vilnius airport ... and went NUTS for LaVar as he made his grand entrance.

LaMelo and LiAngelo came out after their pops ... and had to fight through a crowd to make their getaway.

There was a celeb sighting too ... kinda. Famous local singer Jurgis Didziulis was also at the airport, jammin' out with his "Welcome to Lithuania" song.

Jay did it again ... signing another high profile college football superstar to his Roc Nation Sports agency roster -- this time, it's Penn State running back Saquon Barkley.

Saquon is projected to be a top 10 pick -- and has been hailed as the best running back in college football. He finished 4th in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Barkley is the 4th running back on the Roc Nation roster -- joining Todd Gurley, Leonard Fournette and C.J. Prosise.