CBS

Dan Rather says he can handle a little Hollywood interference to make a Thailand cave rescue movie, because the story is just that great.

We got the CBS News legend Tuesday in NYC hours after it was announced that all 12 boys from a youth soccer team and their coach were successfully saved from a flooded cave after being trapped for more than 2 weeks. Dan had 1 word for it this AM ... any guesses?

Our camera guy also asks what he makes of Hollywood types rushing to crank out a movie about the rescue, which Dan acknowledges is definitely going on and seems to frown upon.

"Big Brother" houseguest Kaitlyn went from zero to stupid real quick when she dropped the n-word Thursday night during the show's online live feed.

She was talking to 2 other guests -- Tyler and Scottie -- about making a quick transition ... when Kaitlyn, who is white, decided it was the perfect time to quote Drake's "0 to 100" ... and NOT the clean version. She said, "I did go zero to 100 n**ga, real quick."

Seems like she realized her idiocy real quick too ... because she immediately said "Oops," and continued mumbling lyrics to the song as if to say ... I was just singing a song, I'm not racist!

All 3 of 'em must have remembered at that moment producers JUST finished warning them about this kinda crap ... after Angela and Rachel worried their tans would make them look too "ghetto."

More controversy out of the 'Big Brother' house -- this time two white housemates complained the sun was making them too dark ... and likened that to looking "ghetto."

'BB' contestants Rachel Swindler and Angela Rummans were captured on the show's live feed Monday saying some pretty racist sounding s**t. Rachel kicks it off by saying her stomach was as dark as fellow houseguest Bayleigh Dayton -- who is black.

Angela makes things worse by responding with ... "I know. I'm looking ghetto here with the skin coloration." Rachel continues to gripe that she can't be in the sun for more than two days, otherwise she would "change ethnicities." Yikes ...

A "Big Brother" houseguest tried using an ice cream scooper on the genitals of several of his housemates ... and fans are crying foul.

JC Mounduix was captured on the show's online live feed attempting to place the scooper in or around the privates of some other cast members -- namely Kaycee Clark, Kaitlyn Herman and Tyler Crispen.

At one point, JC told Kaycee to open her vagina because it "feels good." He tries it on Kaitlyn too, going under a blanket and trying to get it near her ... apparently against her will. JC also tries going for Tyler, who covers himself and says "no." Later, he's seen touching Tyler's genitals.

None of the housemates complained about JC's behavior -- not on camera, anyway -- but, many fans online are calling out producers for not disciplining JC, or kicking him out of the house entirely.

11:13 AM PT -- Jessica Peet tells TMZ ... "I want to apologize for what I posted as a 14-year-old teenager. In no way did I mean it in a derogatory nor racial way. I do hope people are willing to forgive, and understand I was immature and I've done a lot of growing up since then."

One of the 'Survivor' contestants from the upcoming season is catching heat before the show even airs ... for using the n-word so much on Twitter, you'd think she was Jay-Z.

19-year-old Jessica Peet is a cast member on "Survivor: David vs. Goliath" and, as it always does ... the Internet scoured her social media, and turned up scores of old tweets where she gratuitously drops the n-word.

She even defends using it, saying, "n***a isn't a cuss word !! Lol" -- and, in another, adds ... "I have a way with words..... N***a." Indeed.

The tweets, which 'Survivor' fans grabbed before they were deleted, are from 2013 to 2015. Many fans online are calling Peet a racist.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... CBS is aware of the situation, and Peet apologized by saying she was "young and dumb." She would've been between 14 and 16 at the time.

This drama comes on the heels of a pair of upcoming contestants getting into hot water for breaking their NDAs by posting a pic together ... before CBS revealed the cast.

Dan Rather gives President Trump props for talking peace with North Korea instead of making war ... but adds, so far, Kim Jong-un's the only one who's won anything out of the summit.

The CBS news icon told us Tuesday in NYC, he's hopeful -- but still skeptical -- the summit will be a win for the United States. He says N. Korea's supreme leader's already rung up a big W, while all Trump has up to this point is a great photo op.

Die-hard "Big Brother" fans might not be happy about this -- "The Amazing Race" just made some huge last-minute cuts to its upcoming all-BB edition ... including winners and fan favorites.

Our 'TAR' sources tell us ... America's Favorite Houseguest on Season 17, James Huling, and Season 18's Corey Brooks will no longer be partnering up on 'TAR' because CBS called them Thursday night to inform them they've been axed.

Caleb Reynolds, aka Beast Mode Cowboy, was also told he's no longer wanted for the upcoming season, and perhaps most shockingly ... former enemies turned friends -- Josh Martinez and Paul Abrahamian -- also got dropped from the cast.

We're told the news came as a huge surprise to the 'BB' alums because they'd all gone through the interview process and thought they were set ... but production just told them they are moving in a different direction.

On the bright side ... we've learned BB14 winner Ian Terry's been added to the cast, Rachel Reilly's still in and will team up with her sister Elissa, and past stars Da'Vonne Rogers and Bridgette Dunning will be a duo.

Charlie Rose just got hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit from 3 women he worked with at CBS, including his personal assistant.

The women include a broadcast associate, a news associate and Rose's executive assistant. In the suit, 2 of the women -- Katherine Brooks Harris and Sydney McNeal, his assistant -- say Rose told them they were hired specifically because he likes tall women.

They claim he also boasted about his sexual conquests and encouraged them to share their sexual experiences. Harris and McNeal say Rose would tell the women they should become lovers ... with each other, not him.

Harris says she once wore a mini-skirt with roses on it, and the ex-"CBS This Morning" anchor said they were HIS roses. All of the women say he would repeatedly caress and touch their bodies, including their arms, shoulders, waists and backs. They allege Rose pulled them close to his body and kissed them on the cheek.

According to the suit, Rose would berate and intimidate them. Harris says he once told her, "I didn't know that I hired a f**king kindergartner."

One of the women, Yuqing "Chelsea" Wei, was the news associate ... and in the suit she says Rose referred to her as "China Doll." She also claims he called her a "f**king idiot" when she booked him on a flight that didn't have lay-flat seating.

Harris and McNeal say Rose fired them after the November article in the Washington Post where 8 women accused him of groping and exposing himself. Shortly thereafter, Rose himself was suspended and then fired.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of 27 new women coming forward with allegations against their former co-worker.

Judge Judy is celebrating another judge's ruling that she absolutely deserves every penny of her $47 million salary, and says it's a victory for all women's salaries ... even if ya don't make 8-figures.

We got Judy Monday afternoon in Bev Hills, and congratulated her on the legal victory over a talent agent who claimed the enormous salary CBS pays her, screws him out of profits. A judge shot that down, saying she's worth the dough.

As usual, Judy cut through all the legalese and summed up the case as a lesson for society: Don't question a woman's paycheck, unless you're gonna scrutinize a man's too!

Judge Judy and CBS just won an enormous victory against an L.A. talent agency that sued the network claiming it conspired with the TV jurist to screw the agency out of profits.

An L.A. County Superior Court judge just ruled CBS' decision to pay Judy $47 mil a year was legit -- what she was worth.

Rebel Entertainment had a deal to get 5% of the profits from the show, but since 2010, CBS said the show was actually running in the red because it had to pay Judy an enormous salary. Rebel claimed it was a conspiracy between CBS and Judy to prevent the agency from getting any cut of profits. Rebel seemed to be saying Judy wasn't worth $47 mil.

The judge begged to differ, and it seems Judge Judy's deposition was a big factor. When Judy re-negotiated her deal, CBS tried to counter her demand but she made it clear there would be no real negotiation -- it was a take-it-or-leave-it offer, and CBS capitulated. The judge said Judy was worth it.

The judge noted Judy's show was a "resounding success" ... fact is, without her there would be no show.

Long before he was a $100-million NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo says he was just another kid peddling goods on the streets of Athens to help put food on the table.

The Greek Freak spoke candidly about his childhood in poverty Sunday on "60 Minutes" ... describing his daily grind before he found basketball.

"We used to sell glasses, watches, ... CDs, DVDs. I was the best (salesman)," Giannis said. "I didn't give up ... and I was cute, too. I was young."

Giannis' parents left Nigeria for a better life before he was born ... but he says life was tough for them growing up -- all living in the same room and often going hungry.

But Giannis says their struggle could never break his spirit -- and credits that mentality with becoming one of the top ballers in the NBA.

Stormy Daniels says she and her then-infant daughter were threatened by a strange man who told her to shut her mouth over the story of her alleged affair with Donald Trump.

Daniels sat down with Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" and chronicled what she says was a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 that ultimately resulted in threats and hush money.

Stormy says that after she sat down and dished about Trump with In Touch magazine in 2011, she was approached by a man in a Las Vegas parking lot, whom she says told her to "Leave Trump alone. Forget the story." She also claims he then looked at her daughter and said ... "That's a beautiful little girl. It'd be a shame if something happened to her mom."

She goes on to claim the guy ghosted after that, and she never saw him again. Anderson asks if Stormy took that as a threat, and she says ... "Absolutely." Stormy says she was "rattled" by the alleged encounter, adding that she never went to police over it out of fear.

One of the Florida "hot cops" who went viral last year is getting another 15 minutes of fame courtesy of CBS' reality TV -- and we know what you're thinking ... it ain't THAT "hot cop."

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that Officer Daniel Rengering of Gainesville, FL has taken a leave of absence to appear on the next season of "Survivor," which is about to start production. We're told his patrol job will be there for him if and when he returns.

In case you're unfamiliar ... Rengering and 2 of his cop buddies set the Internet ablaze during Hurricane Irma back in September, basically just for being "hot" and on the ground helping folks. Turns out, the guy in the middle -- Michael Hamill -- resigned after his anti-Semitic Facebook posts were uncovered. Rengering had nothing to do with that, though.

As for this latest shot at Hollywood ... sources tell us Rengering was approached by "Survivor" producers about 6 months ago, and that he agreed to be a contestant. He's getting paid for the TV gig ... no less than $10k ... and possibly up to $1M if he wins.

We're told he's flying out to Fiji to start filming season 37 by the end of this week. His last day at the Gainesville Police Department was last week. Good luck, bub.

Omarosa went to the hospital last week after a dizzying bowling competition on "Celebrity Big Brother" ... and the game seemed pretty intense on TV.

The former White House staffer was among the first guests to partake in the game -- aptly called Bowlerina -- in which players have to spin around to lower a gate guarding some pins ... and then try bowling them over from afar.

Omarosa went up against Marissa Jaret Winokur, and kinda got her ass handed to her in the process. More importantly, though, she had to spin around twice to lower her gate ... and appeared to suffer an asthma attack as a result.

As we reported ... Omarosa was sent to the hospital after the game, which left some house guests speculating she faked the attack to get some rest outside the house.

"Celebrity Big Brother" is out to spill secrets this season, because producers are plying the contestants with truth serum in the form of booze.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the bigwigs have changed the policy of limiting alcohol consumption ... the spigot is wide open and the cast is taking full advantage. Omarosa, James Maslow, Brandi Glanville, Ross Mathews and the other houseguests have partaken every night since January 31 when they entered the house.

The buzz we're hearing ... producers want Omarosa to spill the beans on her tenure in the White House. She's already started, turning on Trump ... saying everyone should be worried about the Prez, saying things in the W.H. are "so bad."

The show used to be stingy in the alcohol department ... it was typical contestants would share 2 bottles of wine and a few 6-packs each night, but producers are worried celebrities play things closer to the vest than the average Joe, so a little alcohol -- or a lot -- always does the trick.

Chuck Norris fact: he was the star of "Walker, Texas Ranger," and now he claims he's getting screwed out of some serious profits from the shows video-on-demand money.

Chuck's company, Top Kick Productions, is going after CBS and Sony Pictures for allegedly cheating him out of his share of the streaming VOD revenue ... according to new legal docs. The issue revolves around an alleged 23 percent cut of profits CBS agreed to give Chuck in 1993, which he claims he hasn't received from the on-demand revenue.

According to the suit ... CBS and Sony have conspired to promote 'Walker' more through on-demand services and less on TV and DVD to avoid paying him his share, and he hasn't seen a dime of his profits from S-VOD since 2004.