CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Joan Rivers' throat clinic just got a huge slap on the wrist after a federal investigation -- and now a ton of patients will have to get treatment somewhere else.

As we've previously reported ... the Dept. of Health and Human Services found a ton of flaws at Yorkville Endoscopy Center after Joan's death -- and gave the clinic a list of things to improve ... or else.

Well, according to a new DHHS report ... Yorkville still doesn't pass muster in a bunch of areas -- most interestingly ... failing to properly complete and document post-anesthesia evaluations of patients.

TMZ broke the story ... the clinic director Lawrence Cohen is on record saying it's not cost-effective to pay an anesthesiologist for procedures like the one Joan was getting when she died.

As a result, feds are cutting off Medicare reimbursement to Yorkville -- meaning, if you're a Medicare or Medicaid patient ... your benefits will no longer be accepted there as of January 31.

An ex-boyfriend of Bill Cosby accuser Beverly Johnson is suing CNN for allegedly defaming him by talking crap about him to TMZ.

Johnson was contacted by CNN for a special that focused on her accusations. TMZ broke the story ... Cosby's lawyer urged the network to interview Mark Burk because he lived with Johnson for 4 years, and would say she only had praise for the comedian and never mentioned drugging allegations.

We contacted CNN before the show aired, and ended up with a letter the network sent to Cosby's lawyer saying Burk was a criminal with an ax to grind and lived with Johnson long after she was allegedly drugged. As a result they said he was not included in the special.

Burk is now suing CNN ... claiming the network gave TMZ the letter it sent to Cosby's lawyer, attacking his credibility and as a result his reputation has been damaged.

In the lawsuit Burk says, "CNN is not a tabloid periodical 'picking on the little guy.' CNN is a giant that has absolutely ruined the reputation of one man."

Burk is suing for $19 million.

We contacted CNN ... so far no word back.

"The Doctors" star Dr. James Sears will be leaving the show under a cloud TMZ has learned ... he's being investigated for allegedly threatening a man's life and it's all over a woman.

According to law enforcement and other sources ... Sears' girlfriend was at his Huntington Beach home near L.A. last month and something happened to make her feel uneasy. She told cops she called her ex-BF Pete Scalisi to pick her up and he obliged.

She claims Sears flew into a rage, called Scalisi and accused him of kidnapping her, then drove to Scalisi's house and chased him through his gate, and began screaming, "I'm going to kill you."

That was enough for Scalisi to file a police report for allegedly making criminal threats.

We're told Sears will be leaving the show very soon.

Cops are still investigating and would like to speak with Sears but they can't find him.

We reached out to Sears and the show, but they both declined comment.

11:00 AM PT -- An attorney for Dr. Sears tells us the allegations are "completely fabricated," and claim Dr. Sears never threatened to kill anybody.

"Deadliest Catch" star Elliott Neese isn't happy with his latest catch -- the salty captain just caught a stiff fine for hauling in undersized crabs.

We found out Neese was busted back in November at Dutch Harbor after Alaskan officials sampled his ship's cargo -- highly valuable red king crab -- and pulled 13 undersized "bugs." That's a rookie mistake and huge no-no, especially when you catch professionally on TV.

Elliott pled guilty and the fine was slashed from $6,000 to $3K.

Question: What has 16 pound balls and just pissed off former NFL star Shawne Merriman??
Answer: Some bowling company in Utah that's hawking balls with his catchphrase.

The ex-linebacker has just declared legal war on a bowling company called "Storm" -- which hawks various bowling products on its website ... including a ball emblazoned with the words, "Lights Out."

Of course, Merriman claims he owns the trademark to "Lights Out" -- the nickname he's had since high school -- and demanded the company stop selling the balls ASAP.

But in a lawsuit filed in California, Shawne claims the company refused to comply with his demands -- so now, he's asking a judge to force them to pull the balls from their cyber-shop.

It only took a matter of hours before the website that posted a GIF making it appear Calvin Klein artificially endowed Justin Bieber with muscles and genitalia folded like a cheap suit.

TMZ broke the story ... Justin's legal team fired off a threatening letter to BreatheHeavy.com, demanding a retraction after the site posted a GIF making it appear that Bieber was way scrawnier and "smaller" than the Calvin Klein photo would suggest.

BreatheHeavy just caved and you can literally feel the fear. The site says, "Bieber denies the photo is real, and I respect that and will believe him."

But the site didn't stop there, quoting Bieber's personal trainer ... who said, "I can definitely confirm that he is a well-endowed guy. I sound weird saying that, but yes.”

Bill Cosby's hecklers grew in number Friday night at his show in Ontario ... but the comedian walked into the eye of the storm with ease.

Cosby's final stop on his Canadian tour featured 30 people standing up and chanting "We believe the women" ... Bill repeatedly telling other concertgoers to let them vent.

In fact, Bill told the crowd before the concert began they should brace for trouble and remain cool.

One heckler repeatedly screamed, Cosby was an "arrogant piece of s***." That started a verbal duel between friends and foes of the comedian.

The hecklers were escorted out of the building as one audience member shouted in support of Bill -- which drew big cheers from the crowd.

8:33 AM PST -- Zimmerman just appeared in court, and now we know he was arrested for allegedly throwing a wine bottle at his girlfriend. He's been ordered to surrender all firearms and bond was set at $5K.

And get this ... Zimmerman laughed and joked with a bailiff as he signed court docs.

Trouble has found George Zimmerman yet again ... he is sitting in a jail cell without bail after getting arrested for domestic violence -- and cops say a weapon was involved.

Zimmerman was busted Friday night near Orlando, Florida. It's unclear who the alleged victim is but Zimmerman does have a history. Cops say they pulled someone over who claimed she had been involved in a domestic altercation with George.

Zimmerman was arrested back in 2013 for allegedly attacking his girlfriend and again ... a gun was involved.

The man who shot Trayvon Martin, but in the end was found not guilty, cannot post bail ... apparently the charge is that serious.

Zimmerman has had numerous run-ins with the law.

Justin Bieber is angry a website made it look like Calvin Klein pumped up his muscles using Photoshop, and unless he gets an admission he's going to court.

Justin's team fired off a demand letter -- obtained by TMZ -- threatening breatheheavy.com with a defamation case for posting a GIF showing Justin transformed from mildly muscly to jacked.

The Biebs and company say the puny photo is fake ... clearly Photoshopped, and it's damaging his brand.

Justin Bieber made a splash with his Calvin Klein ad, with a few hairy enhancements, and Bill Cosby continued his comedy tour and weirdly told jokes that warned women not to drink around him. So we gotta ask ...

Teresa Giudice doesn't have access to MAC products, but a company has jerry-rigged a Sephora-like experience that will keep her fresh and young-ish.

PRIV -- an app that sends a beauty expert straight to your door -- sent Teresa a letter offering beauty hacks for pretty women behind bars. The products generally have a primary purpose that is not cosmetic, but they work in a pinch. They include:

-- Vaseline, which acts as a lip exfoliant. PRIV advises that Teresa gently use a toothbrush to buff her lips with the lubricant, wipe with cool water and dab dry.

-- Advil Liqui-Gels. Break open the capsule. It's great for acne.

-- Protein Powder. Add a few scoops to the commissary conditioner. It boosts hair growth and locks in the moisture and shine.

-- Uncooked Oatmeal and Coffee Grinds. Great for the skin. Combine in equal parts and add just enough water to make a paste for a simple scrub. The oatmeal soothes while the coffee invigorates the skin.

Rapper Xzbit -- who was arrested for DUI after his wedding reception -- will now have to tell a judge either "I do" or "I do not" plead guilty.

Xzbit has just been charged with 2 counts of DUI, for a bizarre arrest last November. He left his Laguna Beach wedding reception, presumably with new wife Krista Joiner, and was stopped by cops who say they saw him speeding. They said he reeked of booze and was cuffed and taken to jail.

According to the charging docs, the rapper blew a .14 ... nearly twice the legal limit.

Next time, tie those tin cans to an Uber.

Don't shoot the messenger ... Comedian Hannibal Buress says he never accused Bill Cosby of raping women ... he merely reminded people LOTS of women did.

The former SNL writer credited for re-invigorating Cosby's rape allegations during a show last fall cleared things up for a crowd at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn a couple weeks back.

Buress says he's sick of being called the catalyst and wants people to know he isn't a detective and doesn't have a smoking coogie sweater to take Cosby down.

A man who says a detective planted crystal meth in his home and appeared on Dr. Phil's show, has filed a lawsuit claiming the good Doc made him look mentally ill.

Matthew Barasch says he appeared on the show a year ago to talk about stalking. Barasch believes he's a victim at the hands of cops and others.

Barasch says the show had a second theme -- mental illness and paranoia, but he says he told producers the only way he'd participate was if they didn't make him look delusional.

He says the show was cut to make him look crazy, so he's suing for $100 million.

A rep for Dr. Phil tells TMZ ... "We stand by our broadcast. This guest was treated with the utmost dignity and respect, and every effort was made to help him find some peace in his life. We believe the attached clip speaks for itself. We will vigorously defend this frivolous and baseless lawsuit and will pursue dismissal and our attorney fees."

Check out the clips and judge for yourself.

Bill Cosby has been accused of rape again ... but this time it was face-to-face at his concert, and the comedian clearly had pre-planned how he would deal with it.

Cosby performed a second concert Thursday night in Ontario, Canada when a heckler began screaming, "You're a rapist!"

It riled up Cosby's die-hard fans for sure, but he strategically got everyone to lower the volume ... almost in a hypnotic way.

Speaking of the performance, there was reportedly a bizarre interaction between Cosby and a woman who got up from her seat. Cosby asked her where she was headed. When she explained she was going to the bar, Cosby shot back, "You have to be careful about drinking around me."

Miley Cyrus has been burglarized for the THIRD time ... and this time the thief made off with a bundle.

We're told the singer's Toluca Lake home was hit December 16 and the thief made off with a large amount of both her and her brother's personal property. One law enforcement source says the thief got Miley's bank card.

We're told the thief broke into the home. We don't know how.

But cops think they got their man. Rusty Edward Sellner was charged with felony first-degree residential burglary, receiving stolen property and grand theft. He pled not guilty Wednesday.

This is the third time Miley has been hit in a little more than a year. Last June two thieves broke into Miley's home and got her Maserati, jewelry and other items. They were both arrested and convicted.