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10:55 AM PT -- Eric Reid hasn't yet decided if he will continue kneeling during the national anthem ... telling reporters at his first-ever Panthers news conference today he's still considering it.

The newly signed safety -- sportin' an all-black "#IMWITHKAP" shirt ... says he needs to evaluate "the scope of our country" before he decides whether he'll continue to take a knee.

The 26-year-old says he's also considering other ways outside of pregame kneeling to continue his protests ... telling reporters, "I'll make that decision later."

Think Eric Reid is happy to be back in the NFL? Judging by this pic at Panthers practice Monday morning ... he's STOKED!!!

The 26-year-old rocked his new #25 jersey for the first time Monday -- it's a huge deal considering Reid sued the NFL claiming he was being blackballed for kneeling during the national anthem.

Reid was one of the top available defensive backs (he's a stud) -- but remained unsigned until last week when the Panthers finally pulled the trigger on the 2013 Pro Bowler.

After Reid signed his 1-year contract, he got love from a bunch of NFL stars who feel he should have been on a team months ago ... guys like Colin Kaepernick and Torrey Smith.

Reid flashed the black power fist while signing his deal -- leaving many wondering if he'll continue his kneeling protest now that he's back in the league.

The Panthers take on the Giants at home on Sunday ... so, stay tuned.

How does smokin' hot model Alexis Ren blow off some steam when she's not training for "Dancing with the Stars"?

Tiny bikini beach sesh ... and it's great.

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Rookie of the Year hit up the beach in Santa Monica (where she grew up) over the weekend and flaunted her insane physique for all to see.

Ren wasn't alone ... she was splashin' around with her boyfriend, Sky Bear (yes, that's his name) ... a handsome dude with a man bun.

The two were spotted flirting in the water and kicking around a soccer ball. She looked amazing. He was also there.

Monday morning, it was back to work for Ren -- training with her 'DWTS' partner, Alan Bersten, as they get ready for week 2 ... where the theme is "New York Night."

LeBron James did his best Kobe impression Sunday ... in the air ... 'cause dude took a private helicopter home from San Diego after his first-ever Laker game!!

Bron got his first minutes with the LakeShow down in San Diego for L.A.'s preseason opener ... and afterward -- to the chopper he went.

"Felt good back on court tonight," he said as he boarded.

Bron only played 15 minutes but had some good numbers -- 9 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Most importantly, he looked like he was really meshin' with his teammates (if only for 15 minutes).

Remember ... Mamba was famous for using his Kobe-copter to get from his home in Orange County to Los Angeles (and back) without having to battle that ridiculous L.A. traffic.

Big win means big dance party for the Chicago Bears -- who broke out the disco ball in the team locker room after beating the brakes off the Bucs ... and TURNED UP!!!

It's become a tradition for the Bears -- with head coach Matt Nagy believing his players should be able to celebrate the hell out of every victory.

So, after Mitch Trubisky and company dominated Tampa Bay in a 48-10 ass whooping at Soldier Field ... the ball came out and the music got loud!

The song -- "My Dawg" by Lil Baby.

"Great team victory. Unbelievable team victory," Nagy told the team after the game.

"That's a full team win right now and we protected Soldier Field."

A brief moment of panic broke out at the Global Citizen Festival in NYC when the crowd thought they heard gunshots, but Chris Martin came to the rescue ... by grabbing the mic to calmly explain it was just a barrier collapse.

The Coldplay frontman got on stage Saturday Night in Central Park to address frightened people in the audience who had scattered or moved toward the back after thinking shots were fired.

He said ... "A barrier I think fell down; of course it caused people to be a little frightened and stuff like that, but nobody is trying to hurt anybody. You're all safe, okay."

Chris also got NYPD Assistant Chief Kathleen O'Reilly to reassure everyone that it was indeed a barrier fence collapse and nothing more ... and the show would go on as soon as they could get it fixed and ensure everyone's safety.

Good thing, because like Martin said ... Janet Jackson's up next!

Elon Musk is getting a job title change ... because he'll no longer be a Tesla chairman after reaching a settlement with the SEC.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled with Musk after hitting him with a lawsuit this week for misleading investors after he tweeted in August ... "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured."

According to the legal docs ... Musk will have to pay a civil penalty of $20 million as part of the settlement and give up his role as chairman of the board for at least three years. He has 45 days to relinquish his chairman title.

Tesla will also pay a $20 mil fine and appoint 2 new independent directors to the board. However, Musk will remain CEO of Tesla.

As we reported ... the SEC alleged Musk's tweets caused significant confusion and disruption in the market for Tesla's stock, and ended up hurting investors' wallets. It also wanted to "prohibit him from acting as an officer or director" of any public company.

In losing his chairman role, it looks like the SEC will get part of its wish. It should be noted the settlement is still subject to court approval.

Sarah Palin's oldest son has been arrested on new domestic violence charges in Alaska.

Track Palin was busted Friday night after Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a disturbance at his home in Wasilla. Cops say their investigation revealed he assaulted a female acquaintance at the residence, then took her phone away when she tried to call authorities.

Track allegedly resisted the troopers while being placed under arrest as well.

The 29-year-old was arrested on charges of fourth-degree domestic violence assault, interfering with a report of domestic violence, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

He's being held without bail at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility.

This isn't a first for Track either. He was arrested last December for allegedly breaking into his parent's house and beating up his father -- Sarah had to call the cops on him. That case is currently being heard in Alaska's Veterans Court.

Kevin Spacey is getting sued by a masseur who claims the actor forced a rubdown of his testicles and attempted to kiss him ... TMZ has learned.

The masseur, filing as John Doe, says he was called by a third party to go meet Spacey at a home in Malibu in October 2016. According to the docs, Spacey led the man to a room where he set up his massage table.

Doe says he told Spacey to lay face down on the table, but he insisted on laying face up. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Doe says Spacey told him he was having pain in his "groin area" ... and then proceeded to grab the masseur's hand and push it onto his testicles.

Doe says he pulled away, and Spacey stood up naked ... then moved toward him and said, "you have such beautiful eyes." Doe believed the actor was trying to kiss him. The masseur says he continued to back away, but Spacey grabbed his genitals and said something to the effect of ... just let me give you a blow job.

The man says he grabbed his massage table and fled the residence. He's suing Spacey for sexual battery, battery, assault and false imprisonment.

Troubled NFL QB Trevone Boykin has been charged with felony aggravated assault for allegedly punching his GF and cracking her jaw back in March ... and now he's facing 20 YEARS in prison.

TMZ Sports has learned ... Boykin was indicted for 2nd degree felony aggravated assault-serious bodily injury by a grand jury in Tarrant County, TX on Friday.

At the time of the incident, Boykin's longtime GF, Shabrika Bailey, claims he choked her and broke her jaw during a physical fight before finally taking her to the hospital for treatment.

As for Boykin, he's vehemently denied any physical altercation took place.

Boykin was a stud at TCU but had issues off the field -- including a fist fight with cops days before the Alamo Bowl.

He was undrafted -- but later signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks and seemed to be doing well until the domestic violence arrest.

It's ironic ... the day 'Carter V' was released, we've confirmed Birdman is under investigation for allegedly plotting to shoot up Lil Wayne's tour bus.

The Cobb County, GA D.A. tells TMZ they are indeed investigating the man who calls Wayne his son.

We're told Young Thug is also being investigated in connection with the shooting.

TMZ broke the story ... Wayne's tour bus took on gunfire in Atlanta back in 2015, after Wayne performed at a nightclub.

The shooting went down just minutes after the bus pulled away from the club.

No one was injured, but not for lack of trying.

Huge victory for Dustin Johnson at the Ryder Cup in France -- Paulina Gretzky's letting him KISS HER again!!!

Seemed like it'd never happen again after she scrubbed him from her Instagram in the wake of cheating rumors ... but Dustin's put in the work and now he's back!!!

The couple arrived to Paris for the Ryder Cup recently and Paulina immediately put him to work -- making him shoot video of her for her IG page ... even though the page is still void of any DJ pics.

Dustin and his partner, Rickie Fowler, lost their matchup with Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose on Friday and the USA is currently losing to Europe -- but who cares, DJ's got his baby mama back!

As for the cheating rumors, the alleged "other woman" has denied hooking up with DJ.

Only one hurdle left for Dustin ... he's gotta get Paulina to put his pic back on her IG page.

2:30 PM PT -- POTUS has authorized the FBI to begin the Kavanaugh investigation that Sen. Flake called for right before the Judiciary Committee voted to recommend confirmation.

Several other Senators demanded such an investigation during Thursday's testimony, and Flake suggested the investigation should only delay the full Senate vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation by a week.

President Trump is one huge step closer to getting his guy, Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court -- the Senate Judiciary Committee just voted 11-10 to recommend he be confirmed.

The Committee has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats, so the tally comes as no shock -- even after Thursday's emotional day of testimony from Kavanaugh and his sexual assault accuser, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. The next step for Kavanaugh is the confirmation vote before the full Senate.

Before he cast his vote recommending confirmation, Sen. Jeff Flake came face-to-face with two sexual assault victims who confronted and cornered him in an elevator on Capitol Hill. The incident might have had some impact -- before the Committee voted, Sen. Flake requested the Senate vote be delayed for one week to let the FBI conduct an investigation. However, the Committee voted to recommend confirmation ... and did NOT insist on the one-week delay.

Emotions have been running high since Thursday's nearly 9 hours of testimony. Two other women -- Deborah Ramirez and Julie Swetnick -- also levied allegations but were not allowed to testify.

Ford recounted Kavanaugh's alleged attack on her at a house party when they were in high school. Kavanaugh followed, and vehemently denied the allegations ... seemingly coming unhinged at times.

Yasiel Puig doesn't seem too fazed about all the burglaries at his L.A. home -- he just went out and bought a bunch of expensive replacement stuff!

Puig and the Dodgers are in San Francisco to play the Giants in a hugely important 3-game series beginning Friday night ... but before Yasiel took the field, he hit Gucci and Louis Vuitton with some of his teammates, including Pedro Baez!

Of course, Puig could use some new stuff -- his home was hit 4 times in the past 2 years. In the most recent invasion, crooks raided his bedroom earlier this month while he was playing at Dodger Stadium.

The good news for Puig ... he's rich. Dude's in the middle of a $42 million contract.

In fact, back in November Puig told us he has "too much f**king money" to worry about burglaries.

So, Friday morning he proved it -- hitting some of the fanciest stores in San Fran and leaving with a ton of bags.

Daniel Cormier just went OFF on Jon Jones -- the latest in their nasty rivalry -- this time, DC's labeling Jones a cheating, coke-abusing "snitch" who rolled on one of his teammates.

Jon started the latest round this week ... taunting Cormier on social media for failing to accept the "truth" that PEDs had nothing to do with JJ's two UFC victories over him.

Jones says the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has backed his claims that he didn't intentionally ingest any prohibited substances ... and insists Cormier simply can't come to grips with the fact he's the superior fighter.

Enter Cormier ... who fired back on social media Friday morning.

"So here we go again Jonny boy. First off, if you did nothing wrong and were 'innocent' then you’d have never been suspended," Cormier said.

"And on top of all the cheating you’ve done around UFC 182, UFC 200 and UFC 214 that’s not even the straw that broke the camel’s back. You are actually a SNITCH!"

Cormier is referring to reports that Jones cut a deal with USADA for reduced 15-month suspension after his positive PED test -- and in exchange, Jones provided "substantial assistance" to the agency.

Many believe (including Cormier) the aforementioned "assistance" was info about other fighters -- aka "snitching."

Back to Cormier's attack ...

"You think you’re the only one that’s been offered this deal? No, you’re just the only scumbag low enough to take it!"

"Which one of your teammates did you tell on to get this joke of a punishment from USADA! I thought there was nothing lower than a cheater but it’s not surprising that you show me a whole new level."

"You’re a cheater and a SNITCH! Get off my page and go do some coke, or steroids or whatever you losers do in your spare time. #doublechamp"

Senator Jeff Flake is getting immediate, powerful and emotional feedback on his decision to support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh ... in the form of 2 tearful protesters who cornered him on Capitol Hill.

The AZ Senator stepped into an elevator Friday morning and, before the doors closed, the women -- surrounded by cameras and reporters -- tore into Flake. The gripping scene unfolded live on CNN as the women told Flake they were sexual assault survivors, they believed Dr. Christine Ford ... and they demanded to know how he could allow Kavanaugh to have a seat on the high court.

One protester said, "What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court. This is not tolerable!"

The other said, "Look at me when I'm talking to you. You're telling me that my assault doesn't matter ... and that you're gonna let people who do these things into power. That's what you're telling me when you vote for him."

It's an uneasy standoff to watch -- Flake is absolutely captive in the elevator, and there's NO security to protect him ... but it's also symbolic of the emotions of millions in the country.

LSU basketball player Wayde Sims was shot and killed near Southern University's campus early Friday morning, Baton Rouge PD confirms. He was just 20 years old.

Cops say the junior forward was shot at a Subway restaurant across the street from the SU's football stadium around 12:30 in the morning.

Sims was transported to a local hospital where he later died from the gunshot wound.

FYI, Southern University is also located in Baton Rouge ... about a 15-minute drive from LSU's main campus.

Baton Rouge PD released video of a violent altercation leading up to the fatal shooting ... and are trying to identify the person wearing a gray t-shirt and red pants seen toward the end of the clip.

“We are all devastated," LSU coach Will Wade said Friday morning. “We need your prayers for Wayde, for his family, for all of us. We are heartbroken.”

“Wayde Sims’ loss is simply unbelievable to us right now,” Joe Alleva, LSU's athletics director, added. “There are no words that can express our sorrow for his parents and family."

"He was such a lovable young man who was full of joy. We are circling around his teammates and friends who need all the love and support we can give them. We are praying for his family, for his parents. God bless Wayde Sims.”

"This is your worst nightmare as a coach," Wade said in a news conference Friday morning.

"Everybody liked him. Anybody he came in contact with you automatically just loved him and loved his personality. He was just a blast to be around at all times."

"Obviously, we're all still devastated and in shock about everything. But we're going to support Wayde's family and support our guys and slowly move forward from this."

LSU alum and former NFL star Marcus Spears shared his condolences, saying "Sick about the news of #WaydeSims of @LSUBasketball woke up to this, this morning and it’s heartbreaking for these young men to lose their lives at the hands of someone that shouldn’t make that choice for them! #RIP young Brah #Senseless"

Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari released a statement Friday morning -- "Saying a prayer this morning for Wayde and the @LSUBasketball family. Very tough news to hear we've lost a young man just getting started. My condolences to his family, friends and teammates."

Philadelphia Sixers superstar Ben Simmons dedicated an Instagram post to Sims, saying "Gone too soon. Sending my prayers to the Sims family and everyone back home at @lsubasketball Nothing but positive things to say about you brother #lsuforever"

Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl added, "Devasted to hear of the passing of Wayde Sims. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and the entire LSU community during this difficult time. Father God please take care of him!"

Sims -- whose dad Wayne also played for the Tigers from 1987-1991 -- averaged 5.6 points and 3 rebounds a game last season. He was a high school prodigy and was named the Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in 2015.