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A Chicago news anchor is crying discrimination -- claiming she was fired for being drunk on the air, while other big-name journalists, like Elizabeth Vargas, got TLC for their alcoholism.

Edna Schmidt is a well-known Spanish-language journalist who made a name for herself while covering big national stories, including 9/11 and Obama's first election.

Schmidt claims in a new lawsuit she was recruited at Telemundo by people who knew about her struggles with alcohol ... and they knew it had been her downfall at another network.

Schmidt claims her bosses only cared about ratings and disregarded her disability. She says she was fired 2 months into the job ... after showing up drunk and unable to finish a newscast.

Schmidt names other journalists in her lawsuit who've admitted to drug or alcohol problems -- including Vargas and ABC anchor Dan Harris. Schmidt says they got compassion from their bosses ... and were allowed to get help and keep their jobs.

Schmidt says Telemundo made no attempt to get her treatment.

Schmidt points out alcohol dependence is recognized by the federal government as a disability. She claims Telemundo not only breached her contract ... but violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Jameis Winston's teammates are rallying around the QB -- telling TMZ Sports there's NO WAY Winston was shaving points during the Louisville game ... saying, "He cares about winning too much."

We spoke to FSU football players who didn't want to be named who told us ... Jameis was playing as hard and as intense as he always does when he took the field on October 30th.

We're told the team has been buzzing about the report that Jameis allegedly point-shaved in the 1st half to help his friend win a bet ... but the overwhelming opinion in the locker room is that it's complete B.S.

Miley Cyrus's business deal with the king of fake buckteeth really helped her bring home the bacon -- as in her pet piglet Bubba Sue.

TMZ has learned the micro pig Miley's been showing off in pics since August ... was a gift from her business partners at Billy Bob Products -- the company that just started cranking out those ridiculously popular Miley Bob fake teeth for $11.99 a pop.

Billy Bob founder Jonah White tells us he and his wife reached out to Miley back in August ... after her dog Floyd died, and set up a backstage meeting in St. Louis. He says that's when they surprised her with Bubba Sue -- complete with a birth certificate.

Around the same time ... Jonah and Miley also hammered out their business deal. Sources close to the negotiations tell us Miley is getting a 50/50 split of the profits from her line of fake teeth.

Sweet deal, sweet pig.

Derek Jeter fans can literally buy the DIRT he walked on -- because a sports memorabilia company is selling a collage of "dirt capsules" obtained from the 30 ballparks where #2 racked up his 3,465 hits.

We spoke to Brandon Steiner from Steiner Sports, who tells us ... his people went from stadium to stadium collecting the dirt -- which was all authenticated by Major League Baseball.

And the price ... $359.99 per collage.

One punch ... that's all it took for Princess Love to lay one of her castmates out flat ... during a brawl while taping the "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" reunion show.

Production sources tell TMZ ... Morgan Hardman was bad-mouthing Princess' BF, Ray J, while they were filming Monday in NYC ... so Princess allegedly hauled off and decked her ... knocking her flat on her back.

Hardman was telling everyone in earshot that Ray J physically abused her. She went on to say Ray J threw her son off his basketball team out of spite. Ray J fired back ... saying the kid wasn't old enough to be on the team, but will next year. He also said he never laid a hand on Hardman.

Apparently, Princess Love reached her breaking point and cold-cocked her. An ambulance came and paramedics treated her on scene.

"Alex from Target" has come under fire as being nothing more than an elaborate marketing campaign -- but little Al's employer tells TMZ the Internet phenomenon is 100% genuine grassroots.

The teen cashier, whose full name is Alex Lee, became the new "it" guy when his pic was retweeted more than 1.5 million times in the #Alexfromtarget campaign. Late Tuesday, a marketing company called Breakr claimed responsibility for the movement, saying it was an experiment to test the impact of so-called fangirls.

But a rep for Target tells us it has no affiliation with Breakr ... saying, "Let us be completely clear, we had absolutely nothing to do with the creation, listing or distribution of the photo."

Suge Knight was rushed to a hospital this weekend after taking TWO nasty falls behind bars.

Sources close to the rap mogul tell us he passed out in his jail cell and was taken to the medical ward ... when he arrived, Suge fainted once again while getting an X-ray.

Suge's lawyer Richard Schonfeld says he was transferred to a local hospital.

Our sources say Suge now has a blood clot in his lung. He's been on a heavy dose of blood thinners since getting shot, but sources close to Knight tell us he couldn't take his meds in the slammer and the going theory is that caused the clot.

Suge's bail has been set at $75K.

As we previously reported ... Suge and Katt Williams were taken to jail last week for robbery -- after a female photog claimed they stole her camera.

We got video of Suge moments before the alleged jack move and he was definitely pissed ... which is not good for your blood pressure.

Sugar Bear fainted at Mama June's house Sunday afternoon ... and EMTs were called to the scene to treat him during a scary incident.

Sources close to the family tell us Suge has been staying at Mama June's house for a few days -- and it's unclear if the couple were arguing when he took the header.

We're told Sugar Bear regained consciousness before the ambulance arrived ... and was able to walk outside and greet the EMTs before they ran a bank of tests.

Our sources say EMTs diagnosed the problem as high blood pressure.

The Cleveland Cavaliers tell TMZ Sports ... they have NO IDEA why a ball boy was serving players Gatorade masked in a Powerade bottle last night -- but they're gunning to find out why.

Twitter EXPLODED last night during the Knicks-Cavaliers game when a TV camera caught a Cavs ball boy making the switch behind the Knicks bench.

Now the Cavs -- who have a sponsorship deal with Gatorade -- tell us they're investigating why their official drink was poured into a competitor's bottle.

"We are looking into why the Powerade bottles were used. We're trying to figure out what happened."

The team made sure to clarify that the incident did not occur on their bench -- however. it was a Cavs employee who made the switch.

So what the hell happened? "That's what we're trying to figure out."

Ricki Lake's marriage is ending after just two and a half years -- she's filed docs to divorce her estranged husband Christian Evans, and wants out so badly ... she doesn't mind paying him to go.

According to the docs filed on October 16th ... Ricki cites irreconcilable differences, and says they legally separated on Oct. 9.

In the docs, she checked the box requesting to pay Evans spousal support ... which we don't see too often in Hollywood divorces -- then again, he's a jewelry designer. Translation: she's the breadwinner.

There are reports that they have a prenup agreement, and the docs do mention a written agreement to handle divvying up their property.

This is Ricki's second divorce. She split from Rob Sussman in 2004.

Former major league slugger Jose Canseco blew his middle finger clear off his hand while cleaning his handgun at home in Las Vegas.

Jose's fiancée Leila Knight tells TMZ Sports ... he was sitting at a table in their home cleaning the gun when it went off. She says he didn't know it was loaded -- and the shot ripped through the middle finger on his left hand.

Leila tells us 50-year-old Canseco is in surgery right now as doctors desperately try to save what's left of the finger. She says the bullet tore through the bottom part of the finger and doctors have already said he'll never have full use of it again ... even under the best of circumstances.

Worst case ... it may be amputated.

Joan Rivers' daughter Melissa has retained a law firm that will file a major lawsuit over her mom's death ... TMZ has confirmed.

We're told the firm -- Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz -- will file a medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic where Joan stopped breathing and the doctors who were involved.

Our sources say Melissa retained the firm Tuesday, but the suit won't be filed for around a month.

We're told letters are going out today to the various people involved in the fatal medical procedure, telling them NOT to destroy records involving Joan's treatment. The lawyers also want phone logs and other documents.

As we reported ... one of the driving forces for Melissa is to figure out how her mom died, but in the end, it's a lawsuit over money.

Kris Jenner says she is NOT banging the guy she took to Kim Kardashian's birthday party ... but who is she kidding?

The picture is the latest linking Kris and Corey Gamble -- one of Justin Bieber's road managers -- whom she took to Vegas for Kim's 34th over the weekend.

Our Kardashian sources are sketchy on the subject of their relationship ... they say it's "not serious." No one says that about a non-existent relationship, so clearly there is one.

One source says, "I wouldn't say they're dating yet." Yet.

Here's the other thing ... you don't bring random friends on a private jet to your daughter's birthday.

Your move Kourtney.

Officials in the Dominican Republic do NOT believe alcohol was a factor in the crash that killed St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We spoke with reps at the Metropolitan Police Department in the D.R. who tell us ... Taveras was driving "very, very fast" on a wet road when he lost control and slammed into a huge tree.

Both Taveras and his GF were killed in the crash.

Officials tell us an autopsy is currently being conducted on Oscar -- but we're told there was no immediate evidence at the crash scene to lead officials to believe he was drunk behind the wheel.

Officials tell us the weather may have played a role -- because it had been raining around the time of the accident and the roads were slippery.

We're told ... Taveras is not the first person to have lost control and slammed into that particular tree -- another person died in the same exact spot last year under similar weather conditions.

Jack Bruce -- who sang some of Cream's biggest hit songs -- has died at the age of 71.

The singer/bass player's family revealed the news on his website Saturday morning ... and his rep tells us he died from liver disease. We're told he had been sick since January.

Bruce sang lead vocals on classic Cream songs like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room."

The group also included Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker ... and they were all inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Bruce was considered one of the best bass players of all time.

Editorial ... He was awesome. RIP

Rapper iLoveMakonnen went DOWN on Tuesday night -- instead of "goin' up" like he says in his hit song -- when he was attacked on stage by a fan.

iLoveMakonnen was performing his hit 'Tuesday' at SOB's in NYC ... when a large man in a grey hoodie walked up to the front of the stage (:08 in the video), and then grabbed the rapper and started throwing haymakers.

Watch the clip ... after getting in several hard shots, the attacker actually managed to slip away -- but sources inside the club tell TMZ the owners know exactly who the guy is ... and describe him as a "jealous fan." We're told he's been banned for life.

Cops never got involved -- no one called 'em -- and iLoveMakonnen wasn't seriously hurt.