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Kanye West is breaking ground on his very own amphitheater on his sprawling Wyoming ranch ... TMZ has confirmed.

Kanye and Park County, Wyoming officials are already deep into communications about the project -- and in docs, obtained by TMZ, Ye says he wants to build a 70,684-square-foot amphitheater. Photos from the site show he's already moved large amounts of land, apparently clearing a footprint.

Kanye describes the facility as the "West Meditation Space Large Impact Structure."

In the latest docs, County officials inform Kanye he'll have to construct 175 parking spaces, but the State says he could get an exemption to reduce that number in half. Kanye says in his application he does not intend to bring any utilities on the property -- no electricity or plumbing. Sooo ... strictly a port-a-potty situation?

Kanye says the facility will be open-air, the amphitheater will be a circular, concrete design with the ground sloping downhill towards the center of the circle. Sounds like a theater-in-the-round.

It's interesting ... the Park County Planning and Zoning Department is pushing back on some things, they submitted docs asking for more information on the impact construction would have on local wildlife. Officials are suggesting Ye avoid construction in winter months because it would disrupt local wildlife migration patterns.

Tyler Christopher -- best known for his appearances on "General Hospital" for 20 years -- got a break from the judge in his public intoxication case because the judge rejected the plea of a cop who begged hizzoner to put Tyler into a treatment program for alcoholism.

The Morgan County Prosecutor's Office tells TMZ ... Tyler pled guilty to 2 counts of misdemeanor public intoxication following his Monday night arrest in Martinsville, Indiana.

Tyler was booked Monday on his 47th birthday and stayed locked up until his release two days later.

Tyler was ordered to pay a $440 fine. He's got until next week to fork over the dough. And, that's it ... he didn't get probation and the judge did NOT order him to enter into an alcohol treatment program.

That's significant because according to the arrest report ... cops requested "the judge consider the possible sentence of a treatment facility for Tyler Christopher's alcohol issues, as well as consider restitution to [the Uber driver] for the damage to his vehicle from Tyler Christopher urinating in his back seat."

Tyler squared things up with the Uber driver. TMZ broke the story ... Tyler passed out in the back seat of an Uber driver's car and urinated himself on the night he was busted.

Memphis superstar James Wiseman -- the projected #1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft -- has been ruled ineligible once again ... after the player withdrew his lawsuit against the NCAA.

The story has been a back-and-forth since the NCAA initially revoked his eligibility last Friday, claiming ex-NBA star and current Tigers coach Penny Hardaway violated rules by providing $11,500 in moving expenses to Wiseman's family in 2017.

The 18-year-old immediately filed a court order which temporarily halted the suspension and allowed him to play for Memphis while the legal battle raged on last week -- but now Wiseman has waved the white flag.

"It has become clear to Mr. Wiseman that the lawsuit he filed last week has become an impediment to the University of Memphis in its efforts to reach a fair and equitable resolution with the NCAA concerning his eligibility status," Wiseman's attorneys said in a statement.

"Therefore, Mr. Wiseman advised his legal team that he wished to withdraw his lawsuit."

There are rumblings Wiseman is working on a deal with the NCAA to be reinstated this season -- but if not, he's a lock for the NBA next season anyway.

PayPal's making a ton of adult performers moan, and not in a good way because it's putting an end to processing payments on Pornhub.

The devastating news for independent porn actors was announced late Wednesday night when PayPal decided to join several other banks and apps refusing to help them get paid for personal video clips posted on the porn site.

Pornhub allows independent performers to upload and sell their own videos, but they need a method to collect money from users. Financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, Square and Venmo have been out of the Pornhub biz for awhile ... so PayPal was one of the last remaining ways for performers to get paid.

Not anymore ... Pornhub says it's devastated by PayPal's decision to stop payouts "to over a hundred thousand performers who rely on them for their livelihoods." The platform is now scrambling to help performers who have pending PayPal payments.

PayPal hasn't said exactly why they're bailing, but the other financial institutions started making the same move after Congress passed the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act in 2018.

This is the latest blow for Pornhub, which just last month cut off all content from Girls Do Porn -- a separate company that was accused of coercing dozens of women into adult videos.

Damon Dash is broke ... and he says so.

Dash filed legal docs in an ongoing business lawsuit in which he owes $2,400. Dash says he doesn't have the dough. He says he has no salary and depends solely on his business to make income, but the biz is making zero profits so he can't pay.

Dash says the only revenue stream he has is from Lee Daniels, who owed him $2 million. We posted video last year of Dash confronting Daniels at a Diana Ross concert, demanding payment. Daniels subsequently agreed to repay Dash.

Now, here's the twist. Daniels has been paying the loot back, but it appears the money has been garnished by creditors ... Dash is that deep in the hole.

He says, "My income streams have all been garnished ... and it is very difficult to address the mounting bills until I receive some relief from the courts."

This isn't the first sign of financial trouble. Dash filed legal docs in September asked the judge to terminate his child support obligations to ex-wife Rachel Roy. He said in 2018 he made just a hair over $56,000.

Dash says his fiancee is pregnant and he's had to pay unexpected expenses associated with her pregnancy.

Kim Kardashian West and her sisters loaded up with millions of dollars worth of jewelry for the launch of their new fragrance line -- and they also loaded up on extra muscle for protection.

Kim, Khloe and Kourtney recently had a shoot for their brand new KKW Diamonds line -- just in time for the holidays -- and our sources tell us they had 3 armed security guards on hand at all times.

We're told the guards helped transport the diamond earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings to and from the set ... and stood to watch the entire time.

Our sources say the jewelry was borrowed from designer Lorraine Schwartz ... so she obviously had a vested interest in protecting the merch too.

The 'Diamonds' promos raised some eyebrows because -- as you know -- Kim doesn't flaunt expensive jewelry anymore ... ever since she was the victim of the armed robbery in Paris.

She still only wears fake or replica jewelry, with the exception of red carpet events and shoots like this. When she does wear the real stuff, she's clearly not taking chances.

Ohio State just caught a HUGE break in the Chase Young saga ... the superstar defensive end's suspension will be over after 2 games, the NCAA determined on Wednesday.

Long story short, this means Young will be back for the Buckeyes' biggest games of the season -- #9 Penn State and big-time rival Michigan.

Young was forced to sit out OSU's blowout 73-14 win over Maryland last weekend ... and will miss the team's matchup with Rutgers on Saturday, which should be an easy win.

Of course, the 20-year-old was punished after he admitted to receiving a loan from a family friend to fly his GF out to last season's Rose Bowl.

Although Young paid the loan back in full, the NCAA ultimately suspended the pass rusher 2 games -- 2 less than what he was reportedly facing.

Young could end up being the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft ... and currently leads the country with 13.5 sacks.

L.A. Rams WR Robert Woods is going to bat for his QB Jared Goff -- telling TMZ Sports the team is still 100% behind Goff ... but acknowledges he's having a "rough year."

25-year-old Goff signed a $134 million contract extension in Sept. after leading the team to the Super Bowl in 2018 -- but the Rams are 5-4 in 2019 and Goff hasn't been playing great.

In fact, many critics are saying the Rams WAY overpaid the former #1 overall draft pick -- with some even suggesting the team needs to cut bait, ASAP.

But, now Woods ... who says Goff is still a monster with all the right skills -- tells us the QB just needs to get out of his funk.

"Jared's the same guy," Woods says ... "Still got that arm, still got that talent. It's just a rough year, it's a rough patch."

"He's just gotta put the ball in my hands and let's go," Woods joked ... "Just get it in your athletes' hands. Let us run! Let us do our work!"

Woods says he strongly believes the Rams are still solid playoff contenders and Goff is the QB that will lead 'em to the promised land.

As for Goff's stats -- he's thrown 11 TDs with 9 INTs this season. In 2018, Goff had 32 TDs and 12 INTs.

As for Robert's contract -- he's in the middle of a 5-year, $34 million contract which he signed in 2017 -- but believes he's got even BIGGER money coming his way down the line.

Pete Buttigieg is now the Democratic favorite in Iowa, but he might have even more good fortune based on how his odds stack up against Donald Trump's from 4 years ago.

According to USBookies.com, Mayor Pete is in a similar position to Donald Trump during the same time frame -- 1 year out from the 2016 election. Pete is sitting at a 6/1 chance to nab the Democratic nom, while Trump was 3/1 around this time in 2015. As for the Presidency -- Pete's odds are 12/1 and Trump was at 10/1. Pretty dang close, if you ask us.

The odds were set by gamblers betting on USBookies.com, BTW.

As for who's gonna take the big prize next November, Trump is still the odds-on favorite -- regardless of who runs against him -- at 6/5.

Back to Pete though ... the reason why it's interesting that he's got a bit of a Trump vibe (to his odds, that is) around the same time the guy did back then is because -- like DT -- Mayor Pete is very much viewed as a dark horse candidate.

Take into consideration that he is now the leading candidate out in Iowa as of Tuesday, and it makes ya wonder if he'll have the same success Trump himself had in the run-up to 2016.

Stan Lee's daughter is suing one of her father's former personal assistants for slander after he went on a podcast and claimed she grabbed Stan by the neck and slammed his head into a chair ... this according to a new $25 million lawsuit.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, Joan Celia Lee claims her father's ex-assistant, Bradley Herman, appeared on a podcast published a few days after Stan's death and said, "JC Lee took her father by the neck and grabbed his neck and slammed his head back into the wood portion of the chair."

According to the docs ... JC claims Herman's statement was totally false -- she says she never struck her father and never tried to choke him. Stan's daughter says she believes Herman, who she claims was fired in early 2018, made the false statement because he was seeking revenge against her.

In the suit, JC claims Herman stole from Stan before being fired, and she claims Herman regularly forged Stan's signature on loans.

Also in the docs, JC claims her father denied she ever hit, struck or strangled him in multiple interviews with the media. She claims Herman knew the narrative was false when he relayed it on the podcast.

JC is also suing the podcast's host, Alan Duke.

Another huge gamer is AGAINST the lifetime Fortnite ban on FaZe Jarvis -- this time it's MMA star Demetrious Johnson who says the punishment simply doesn't fit the crime.

As we previously reported, Epic Games permanently 86'd the 17-year-old gamer from all Fortnite-related activities after he admitted to using illegal software to gain an advantage.

Jarvis said he used the Aimbots -- which makes it easier to kill opponents -- for entertainment purposes while goofing around on YouTube and NOT in actual competition.

Enter DJ ... who's not only one of the best MMA fighters EVER, but he's also huge in the gaming world -- and he told us why the lifetime ban feels way too harsh.

The good news for Jarvis, Demetrious -- who's big into PUBG -- says the gamer is more than welcome to switch over and compete in his world as long as he doesn't cheat again!!

Chase Young is still practicing with the Ohio State football team -- despite being suspended indefinitely -- and team officials say they're hoping he's reinstated this week.

Young -- the projected #1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft -- admitted he accepted a loan from a family friend so he could fly his GF out to the 2018 Rose Bowl, which is a big no-no with the NCAA.

The 20-year-old defensive end claims he repaid the loan, but the NCAA put him on ice anyway and he could face a 4-game suspension.

OSU is going to bat for Young and has engaged the NCAA in hopes of reducing the punishment to a 1-game suspension since he already sat out last weekend when OSU played Maryland. OSU won 73 to 14.

This week, the Buckeyes are gearing up to play Rutgers -- and Tuesday, coach Ryan Day told reporters, "We're going to prepare for him to be back this week."

Young leads the nation in sacks (13.5) and is one sack away from the school's single-season record. Day says Young has been practicing with the team during the suspension.

It's feeling like the end of days for the stars of "Days of Our Lives" -- the entire cast just got released from their contracts.

TMZ has confirmed the producers of the more than 50-year-old soap opera let all their actors out of their deals ... meaning they're all free to get new jobs, but it doesn't necessarily mean the show's definitely sunk.

The NBC sudser, which is about to begin season 55, is going on indefinite hiatus. The network is expected to decide in early 2020 whether to bring it back for season 56.

The good news for 'Days' fans ... the soap shoots 8 months in advance, and there's going to be enough episodes in the bank when the show halts production at the end of November to last through Summer 2020. Whew.

So, to be clear ... "Days of Our Lives" -- which first aired in 1965 -- has NOT been canceled. Not yet. It's possible they'll bring everyone back, if the network re-ups, but at lower salaries.

We've reached out to NBC ... but no word back, so far.

Richard Branson's Virgin Fest company leeched onto one of its business partners in the music event world, taking 'em for everything they're worth ... such are the claims in a new lawsuit.

A music and entertainment company called KAABOO -- which puts on music festivals and other live events -- just filed suit against Branson's Virgin Fest co. and its subsidiaries, claiming Branson's lackeys there screwed KAABOO over big time with a pseudo coup of sorts that left the entertainment brand broke, desperate and holding the bag financially.

They attack Branson specifically, saying ... "Kaaboo fell victim to the culture spawned by Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson and practices by his Virgin Fest sycophants that treasured publicity, attention-grabbing headlines and greed above all else."

Here's the deal ... KAABOO says it recently partnered up with Virgin Fest -- a well-known company that puts on its own festivals, obviously -- but quickly learned VF was full of alleged back-stabbers that infiltrated their operation ... only to feed intel back to VF brass -- with the intent of completely taking over the KAABOO brand for pennies on the dollar.

KAABOO claims Branson had one of his guys, Jason Felts, sitting in KAABOO's board meetings, and when he heard they fell on hard times with money, allegedly reported back to his camp so VF could swoop in and basically buy them out.

The lawsuit describes Virgin Fest's alleged tactics as a "Trojan Horse strategy" that ultimately took control of the KAABOO's most valuable assets under false pretenses.

Adding insult to injury, KAABOO alleges Branson's company has violated several contracts they entered into with them and stiffed 'em on reimbursements for a recent festival they put on in San Diego. All in all, KAABOO says Virgin Fest has cost them HUNDREDS of millions.

They want damages -- lots of them -- and are demanding their case be heard before a jury trial. It should be noted ... Branson himself is NOT being sued.

Three homes the Mexican government confiscated from Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman -- including one he used as a hideout -- have sold at auction, but unlike his cartel ... the casas did not make big money.

According to reports ... Mexico raked in nearly $228,000 by selling 3 of the 6 homes it confiscated from Chapo, but failed to unload his most expensive residence. As a result, home sales fell well short of the $1 million expectations.

One of the sold homes is kinda famous in El Chapo lore because it was known for being a hideout spot for El Chapo after his first prison escape in 2001. Even so, it sold for a meager $107,530,

He was at the house when the Mexican military showed up to arrest him in February 2014, but he was able to escape via a tunnel ... hidden under the bathtub.

The escape allowed him to evade capture ... but only for another week. Of course, he escaped from prison again more than a year later ... only to be caught again in early 2016.

The 2 other homes sold at auction went for $64,589 and $55,725, the latter of which was also a place of refuge while El Chapo was on the lam.

BTW -- the expensive home that didn't fetch a buyer is valued at $587k ... it's a lavish 3-story residence El Chapo reportedly bought for the mother of his son, Ovidio Guzmán López.

Everyone wants to know if Cleveland Indians superstar Francisco Lindor will sign a new deal to keep him in CLE after the 2021 season.

So, we asked him about that ... and this video could have Indians Nation super worried!

Here's the deal ... Lindor was out in NYC this weekend and was super nice to our camera guy and other fans, talking about everything MLB related.

He gave love to Cleveland and called it "my home" -- but when we pressed him about staying with the Indians long term ... well, that's when the cat got his tongue.

Watch the video ... Lindor is chatty about every other topic except when we specifically asked about his career in Cleveland.

Of course, Lindor -- who's one of the 10 best hitters in the sport -- has a very uncertain future in Cleveland ... Indians owner Paul Dolan has already hinted he ain't willing to give the shortstop the FAT contract extension he probably deserves.

In fact, Dolan famously said before this past season, "Enjoy him. We control him for three more years. Enjoy him and then we’ll see what happens."

So, is Lindor's silence speaking volumes ... or is this a big ol' nothingburger?

It's not just the Indians fans in our office feeling some sort of way ... and even the non-CLE crowd was shocked by the non-answer answer.