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How’s this for locker-room lore -- Rep. Eric Swalwell says the real political tea ain't spilling over cable news... it’s going down at the gym, where he claims Republicans are quietly trashing Donald Trump between sets.

We caught up with the California congressman on Capitol Hill Tuesday, and he tells us the congressional gym is where the truth really gets a workout ... with GOP lawmakers privately unhappy with Trump, but way too scared to say it out loud in public in case he claps back with threats.

Now you may be thinking, "no whey that happens" -- but we bench-pressed Eric a little harder, and he says it's abs-olutely true ... in fact, he compares it all to WWE, saying once the cameras are off -- especially in the gym -- Republicans switch personas real fast!

Christian McCaffrey isn’t crying over the 49ers' season ending early, he's counting his wins -- and they start at home.

The 2026 Pro Bowler popped up at Raising Cane's in Colma, California, to kick off Super Bowl LX festivities alongside his brother, Commanders WR Luke McCaffrey, where the NFL siblings went head-to-head in a playful "Raising Cane’s Challenge" … and even hopped behind the counter to serve fans in the drive-thru.

But while CMC was all smiles slinging chicken fingers, he got real with TMZ Sports about San Francisco falling short of a title run ... saying he has no hard feelings about how things played out.

12:59 PM PT -- The Pima County Sheriff's Department posted on X they are "aware of reports circulating about possible ransom note(s) regarding the investigation into Nancy Guthrie."

The tweet says the department is taking all tips and leads very seriously and anything that comes in "goes directly to our detectives who are coordinating with the FBI."

Another scary twist in the disappearance of "TODAY" host Savannah Guthrie's kidnapped mother ... TMZ has received an alleged ransom note demanding payment for the release of Nancy Guthrie.

The note, which was sent to us Tuesday morning, demands a specific substantial amount of Bitcoin ... the amount is in the millions, and the note demands the cryptocurrency be sent to a specific Bitcoin address.

TMZ has verified the Bitcoin address is real.

Quinton Aaron's recovering in the hospital from a spinal stroke, but his family says the woman who is by his side and making medical decisions for him is fibbing about being his wife ... though she begs to differ.

The actor's brother, Jarred Aaron, tells TMZ ... the woman claiming to be his wife, Margarita Aaron, is actually married to another man. His immediate worry is she's misrepresenting herself as his legal wife to the medical staff at the hospital and is helping to make "crucial and life-saving medical decisions."

Margarita tells us ... she and Aaron "got spiritually married."

Floyd Mayweather says he made over a billion bucks in earnings over his legendary career, but the 50-0 fighter claims all the money didn't make it to his bank account ... and now he's suing Showtime, claiming they played a big role in his ex-manager screwing him out of hundreds of millions of dollars!

In the lawsuit, filed by Floyd in California, and obtained by TMZ Sports ... Mayweather says he's gunning to "recover hundreds of millions of dollars in the misappropriated funds and damages resulting from a long-running and elaborate scheme of financial fraud," allegedly perpetrated by his longtime advisor Al Haymon ... and now he's claiming Haymon got "substantial participation and aid" from Showtime and former Showtime Sports president, Stephen Espinoza.

Showtime and Espinoza are listed as defendants ... while Haymon is NOT being sued.

Representative Jasmine Crockett says she can't divorce the art from the artist ... and that means she straight-up ain't listening to Nicki Minaj tunes anymore.

We spoke to the Democratic congresswoman from the great state of Texas on Tuesday -- and she made it clear she's always been more of a Cardi stan anyway -- but Nicki's foray into right-wing politics has certainly upped her distaste for the "Starships" rapper.

JC says she can't do "sellouts" -- especially not in a moment as politically fraught as this one -- and, she feels that's exactly what NM is, given she's an immigrant cozying up to an administration obsessed with hunting down undocumented immigrants.

Former "America's Next Top Model" star Lisa D'Amato ain't smizing no more ... she's using some very choice words to describe Tyra Banks while accusing her of trying to one-up her with a new Netflix doc tied to the infamous modelling series.

Lisa was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday ... labeling Tyra a "slimy little snake" and claiming that even though she isn’t officially listed as producer on "Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model," she’s all over it BTS to soften accusations of mistreatment while dodging accountability.

It gets messier... Lisa claims Tyra caught wind of her own 'ANTM' exposé set to air on E! in March -- and rushed to lock down Netflix so she could get her version out first on Feb 16th.

Nicki Minaj says she's got no problem with transgender people, as long as they're adults ... but minors are a different story.

TMZ obtained a clip from Nicki's interview with Katie Miller ... and Nicki explains her thoughts on trans folks.

In a nutshell, Nicki says adults can do whatever they want with their bodies -- more power to them -- but she says it's a different ballgame when kids are seeking out gender-affirming surgeries.

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will get a proper introduction before Super Bowl LX ... with Jon Bon Jovi and Chris Pratt slated to welcome their beloved teams to the field!!

TMZ Sports is told the two celebrity backers will take on the same roles Jon Hamm and Bradley Cooper had for the Big Game last year, when the actors got the crowd pumped for the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles players to come out of the tunnels.

JBJ is a longtime fan of the Pats -- it actually goes all the way back to when Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells were coaching the Giants ... and he followed them to Foxborough, where he continues to be a familiar face to this day.

Jason Lee is right there with the masses ... furious over Nicki Minaj riling up the LGBTQ+ community, and he says it all boils down to one thing -- d***.

TMZ caught up with the "Hollywood Unlocked" boss in West Hollywood Monday, and he didn’t mince words ... saying Nicki claiming Chrissy Teigen has a d*** just proves she’s weirdly obsessed with penises -- pointing out she recently called Don Lemon a "c***sucker" on a podcast.

Watch the clip, 'cause Jason goes further, arguing Nicki’s fixation is flat-out embarrassing for the culture ... especially when it comes to her disregard for the LGBTQ+ community.

Singer and "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kandi Burruss is trying her heart out to maintain a friendship with estranged husband Todd Tucker for the sake of their kids ... but it hasn't been easy.

We caught up with Kandi in NYC last week, where she told us -- like anyone going through a divorce -- she and Todd have their good days and their not-so-good days, but they're making the best of it.

She said, "We're just trying to get used to our new normal."

Kandi previously told "TODAY" she and Todd still spent the holidays together ... 'cause their top priority is keeping things as smooth as possible for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter.

Usher's ex-wife Tameka Foster had maybe the most friendly arrest in history ... newly released police body cam footage shows her exchanging casual banter and even getting a few laughs out of her arresting officer.

So here's what happened ... According to Hot97, Foster shared in an Instagram Live that she had gotten a ticket last year for driving a car without current insurance. After immediately updating the insurance on the vehicle, she thought the issue had been resolved ... the only problem was she needed to show up to court in person to show proof before a judge.

Her failure to appear reportedly resulted in a warrant being issued for her arrest, and Brookhaven Police nabbed her just after her plane landed in Georgia after a tropical vacation last month.

Could Cameron Brink be the next hooper to hop from the WNBA to Playboy?? It's entirely possible ... 'cause the L.A. Sparks star tells TMZ Sports she'd consider posing for the magazine ... but her fiancé has to be on board.

Pro baller Kysre Gondrezick paved the way -- she was announced as the publication's Miss June last year -- and ditched her clothes for a stunning photoshoot to fulfill her duties.

Now that Gondrezick became the first pro basketball player to be named a "Playmate," could there be a second??

If so, Brink would make sense -- she has experience in modeling and expressed interest in going nude for the now-defunct ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue" in the past.

Erika Kirk wants the cards on the table when the guy charged with killing Charlie Kirk stands trial.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Erika says any request to close court proceedings from the public eye should be denied.

In other words, Erika is calling for transparency when Tyler Robinson is put on trial for murder ... and she wants the public to have access to the evidence as it is presented in court.

Bad Bunny sent fans into a frenzy with one flashy "engagement" ring at the Grammys this weekend ... but the only lucky thing he took home last night was his album trophy ... TMZ has learned.

A source familiar with the situation tells TMZ the global superstar is not engaged ... despite fans going into full detective mode after spotting a ring on that finger during the awards show.

The ring sparked speculation almost immediately online, with fans questioning whether BB had quietly proposed to a mystery lover after flashing the jewelry throughout the night. But according to our source, there’s no romantic milestone behind it.

Jarrell Miller went viral after an uppercut knocked the toupee off his head in the middle of his boxing match at Madison Square Garden, but the incident might not be the worst thing ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports his DMs have been flooded with companies hoping to work with him!

Babcock chopped it up with Miller after his win over Kingsley Ibeh Saturday night at the World's Most Famous Arena and -- of course -- asked about what happened with his hair.

"I felt a cold breeze in my scalp, and I said I know I ain't got no AC up there," Miller said.