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The Return of the King goes down on Christmas Day this NBA season ... so how should Lakers fans treat LeBron James after he bolted for the Sixers??

If ya ask Magic Johnson, he says hold the boos -- show the four-time champion some love!!

TMZ Sports caught up with the Hall of Famer and Lakers legend outside "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on Tuesday ... and had to get his thoughts on the big matchup going down on December 25.

Influencer Brianna Olsen says her baby daddy's arrest has been totally blown out of proportion ... claiming an attempted murder booking goes way too far.

Photogs caught up with the star on Saturday and asked her about Santos Salazar -- the father of her recently born child who was arrested early Thursday morning.

Brianna says she's hired an attorney to spearhead Santos' defense ... and they're keeping details of what allegedly went down private for now.

The viral Waffle House employee who laid down a track as sweet as the company's syrup says he's now been fired ... and he's asking fans for help.

Here's the deal ... Rockstar Riley -- who made headlines for rapping a song about Waffle House -- has set up a GoFundMe ... telling fans he was fired from his job after 20 years.

Riley says he poured everything into the gig ... and calls management's decision "painful, disappointing, and honestly hard to process."

Riley tells TMZ ... he was contacted by the area manager a couple days after sitting down for an interview with us and shooting a music video for the song -- and he was told to delete all the content he did on social media while wearing his Waffle House uniform.

Brooks Nader looks ready to star if they ever make an R-rated version of "Baywatch" ... opting to go for a swim sans bikini top!

The actress and model was spotted in all her topless glory near Positano, Italy earlier this week ... along with her sister Sarah Jane Nader and model Jack Lumsden.

Brooks and Jack went with similar ensembles ... throwing on a pair of bottoms -- and nothing up top.

The Nancy Guthrie investigation was in trouble from the get-go because of the team's shocking lack of experience ... so says a sergeant connected to the case.

We sat down with Sergeant Aaron Cross -- the president of the Pima County Deputies Organization, a union representing sheriff's deputies -- to discuss the problems that have seemingly plagued the investigation.

Sgt. Cross notes the relative lack of experience among investigators who jumped on the case shortly after Nancy went missing ... noting many of them had just 3 years' experience -- which isn't much when it comes to homicide.

Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun kicked off their weekend by having some fun under the sun during a yacht escape off Mallorca.

Check out the pics -- the lovebirds jetted off to a massive superyacht on Friday ... just to jet-ski away on the stunning Mediterranean waters. Sydney showed off her beach buns in a cheeky blue swimsuit and kept her top covered with a rash guard.

The music exec matched her with a light blue top of his own ... pairing it with blue swim trunks and a baseball cap.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph is dragging her landlord to court … claiming she rented a luxury home for $17K a month … only to have to deal with pests and plumbing issues ... TMZ has learned.

The Oscar-winning actress is suing a leasing company, 421 NRD LLC, claiming its $5+ million rental turned into a nightmare with a whole host of problems.

Da’Vine said she leased a high-end 5-bedroom, 6-bathroom, 4,452-square-foot home in Los Angeles for $17,000 per month in September 2024.

Dana White's knocking out the biggest UFC conspiracy theory!

It all centers around the massive storm bearing down on the D.C. area before Freedom 250, only to split right before soaking 1600 Penn., saving the historic event, but also sending the internet into a frenzy.

Whispers started flying around Reddit and other conspiracy theory hotbeds accusing the U.S. government of deploying secret military weather-modification tech to clear the skies for the fights.

Nick Reiner is calling BS on the executor of his trust ... telling the court he didn't give any consent to withhold money from him he says was owed to him under the terms of the trust when he turned 30.

Reiner filed a new legal document on Friday in which he says successor trustee Jodi Pais Montgomery's claim that he told a past trustee he'd leave the money in the account as "trust property" isn't true.

He also says the claim that his mother, Michele Reiner, told a previous trustee that he knew he could take the money when he turned 30 and therefore was consenting to leave it in the account when he didn't remove it is also not valid consent ... because he didn't authoritze his mother or anyone to make such a statement.

Ryan De Nino, who appeared on Lifetime's "Married at First Sight," is dead.

A family member tells TMZ ... Ryan died suddenly earlier this week in New Jersey.

We're told the family is not releasing details about the circumstances surrounding his death at this time.

Ryan was introduced to "Married at First Sight" viewers when he appeared on Season 2 of the Lifetime reality series in 2015.

Dr. Terry Dubrow has a whole different kind of "Botched" situation on his hands ... cybercriminals breached his plastic surgery practice and accessed sensitive patient information.

Terry tells TMZ ... cybercrooks have become so sophisticated with A.I. and other technology that "literally no business, big or small, is safe." He says he spent a tremendous amount of money and resources protecting his patients' data -- and stresses there's no evidence any of it has been misused or shared.

Terry's also trying to give patients some peace of mind ... telling us he has a $1 million cyber protection insurance policy for them and set up a free monitoring service going forward.

The California couple who are fighting their surrogate, McKenna West, for custody of their baby boy are slamming Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for helping out McKenna ... TMZ has learned.

In court docs filed in Texas, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, the parents fighting for their biological baby, called out Paxton for interfering in the case.

Nausheen and Omar say the state's request to intervene and get authorization for medical treatment for the child would deprive them of their "fundamental constitutional interest in the care, custody, control and medical decision-making for their child without constitutionally adequate notice, process, and opportunity to be heard … in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."

Jax Taylor and Lori Krebs aren't letting all the drama spoil date night ... stepping out together for dinner in L.A. Thursday ... and we've got them on video.

TMZ obtained footage showing Jax and his publicist strolling side by side toward Laurel Tavern before joining a friend inside.

Folks who were there tell TMZ ... the trio settled into a corner booth around 6 PM, laughing and keeping the conversation light. When they left, we're told Jax helped Lori into his car and closed her door before getting behind the wheel.

As we first reported ... their romance surfaced last month when we obtained photos of them embracing in a Puerto Vallarta resort pool during Jax's birthday trip.

The romance caught many by surprise ... including Jax's estranged wife, Brittany Cartwright, who used to pay Lori to be her publicist too.

'Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Dorit Kemsley scored a small victory in her nasty legal battle with her ex-husband, PK Kemsley, over their $6 million mansion ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ … a hearing was held today on PK's emergency motion to list the 6-bedroom, 10-bathroom home Dorit is living in with their two kids.

Dorit's powerhouse lawyer, Samantha Spector, argued in court there was no emergency … and the court agreed. A hearing on the matter is set for August 26, when the judge will go over the matter once again.

Surrogate McKenna West says she knows a person who was born with the same heart defect as Baby Gabriel ... and she claims they are now a "thriving teenager."

According to court documents obtained by TMZ, McKenna says the baby was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, just like Gabriel ... and they underwent at least three surgeries.

The docs say McKenna's maternal-fetal-medicine specialist got in contact with the biological parents to explain to all three of them how approximately 70% of children with HLHS live beyond their fifth birthday.

The specialist made it clear McKenna would need to travel out-of-state to successfully deliver this child ... and that's exactly what she did.

McKenna West says she couldn't go through with terminating her pregnancy, despite Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed insisting she do so ... even though she previously stated she talked it over with a psychologist and was willing to do so if they wanted it done.

A new legal filing includes the surrogacy agreement the parties signed back in August 2025 ... and one section clearly states there "shall be a termination of the pregnancy for a fetal abnormality" upon request of Gilkar and Ahmed.

As we reported ... the baby, who West named Gabriel, was diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome -- a congenital heart defect -- during the 20-week fetal scan.