Money

Australia is starting to look like Mars ... thick red smoke from the devastating wildfires is filling the air above the continent, and it's causing hell for the Aussie air force.

Check out this insane video from the cockpit of a Royal Australian Air Force plane ... the flight instruments are going crazy and the pilots can't see anything but a dense orange haze.

One of the RAAF's top commanders just shared the shocking footage on social media, and he says his best pilots are facing incredibly daunting flying conditions as they try to carry out support missions to areas hit hardest by the deadly fires.

The RAAF says it's taking several attempts for military aircraft to reach parts of New South Wales and Victoria. Planes and helicopters are airlifting firefighters and rescuing folks trapped in isolated towns destroyed by the flames.

As you know ... over 13-million acres have been engulfed in flames, and the prospects for the future are grim. NSW has 146 fires alone, and the summer heat is still raging on.

It's a huge crisis ... the fires have killed an estimated half-a-billion wild animals and at least 24 people, with over 1,500 homes going up in smoke.

All Mariah Carey wanted for 2020 was a massive place to celebrate a big year and ring in the new one ... and she got exactly that with a palace in the Dominican Republic.

Mimi spent just a little over a week in the Juanillo Estates in the luxury community of Cap Cana. She was there with her BF, Bryan Tanaka, and her 8-year-old twin kids, Moroccan and Monroe.

The estate's fit for an R&B queen -- 40,000-square-feet of interior space, its own private white-sand beach, 9 bedrooms, a 24-seat grand dining table, an expansive wraparound pool, and, not one, but TWO fully-equipped kitchens. Oh yeah, the pad's also fully staffed. #Baller.

MC celebrated two huge 2019 milestones -- her Christmas classic, "All I Want for Christmas Is You," made her the first artist to ever hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in four separate decades. She also released a new music video for the track ... which has already eclipsed 32-million views.

And, to ring in the New Year ... Mariah and the fam enjoyed a quarter-million-dollar fireworks show. Now that's getting lit.

Anyone looking to rent out Mariah's spot better get ready to shell out a pretty penny ... it costs around $18k per night to stay at the $30 million estate.

The Princess Diana Beanie Babies market's alive and flourishing ... 'cause 2 of them just sold for a whopping $12,000 each.

Our sources say, 2 of the Princess Di crystal-encrusted Beanie Babies edition were up for sale at Nordstrom's in NYC. We're told 2 of Nordie's VIP clients quickly snatched them up. The sale comes just a week after we reported Kylie Jenner also dropped a cool $12k for a similar Beanie Baby.

TMZ broke the story ... Kylie saw the super-rare Ireland Beanie Baby at Justin and Hailey Bieber's Paddle 8 auction. Kylie's new bear and the Princess Di bears are the work of Los Angeles-based artist Dan Life.

Gus Williams -- a two-time All-Star for the Seattle SuperSonics -- is being sued by a man who claims the ex-NBA champ didn't pay him for a house ... and trashed the place to boot.

The man behind the suit is Todd Mustin, who says back in 2017 ... he put his 5-bedroom, 5,000 square-foot Sherman Oaks, Calif. pad up for sale -- when things went awry.

Mustin claims he sold the house to a woman named Megan Zucaro ... but when she only coughed up $1 million of the roughly $1.9 mil she agreed to pay for the place, Williams stepped in.

Mustin says the 66-year-old -- who won an NBA title with the Sonics in the 1978-79 season -- agreed to take over the place and pay off the remaining $900K.

The problem? Mustin says the former point guard NEVER paid a dime ... and claims the guy and his family trashed the crib in the meantime.

Mustin claims Williams and his family left the place an absolute dump ... telling TMZ Sports they left feces in the toilets and trash all over.

To be clear, Williams had every right to trash the place -- he did buy it after all -- but Mustin claims the disaster he left behind on the property proves the dude is a complete jerk.

Now, Mustin claims Williams owes him $900K -- plus interest -- for never paying for the house after he agreed to take it off Zucaro's hands.

DaBaby is a free man again -- of sorts -- because he's been released from jail, but he's not out of the woods.

The rapper posted $1,500 and bailed out of Miami-Dade county jail late Saturday night.

DaBaby was being held on a warrant out of Dallas for organized criminal activity -- specifically, a fight at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport where a food stand worker was attacked. Here's the weird thing, Dallas cops withdrew the warrant for some reason, but they're not saying why.

As we reported, DaBaby was arrested Thursday after allegedly beating up a concert promoter who shorted him on his fee -- DaBaby was owed $30,000 for a performance but the promoter showed up with only $20k, so DaBaby's crew allegedly pounced on him, stole $80, a credit card and an iPhone 7.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have dug deep into their pockets to help in what seems like an impossible battle to fight the devastating wildfires in Nicole's country, and they have a very personal stake in all of this.

The donation will help the Rural Fire Service. As you know, 13-million acres have gone up in flames with grim prospects for the future. There are 146 fires in New South Wales alone, and the summer heat has been unforgiving.

An estimated half-a-billion wild animals have died in the fires, 1,500 homes have gone up in smoke and 24 people have died.

It's become the battle cry for the Baltimore Ravens -- "BIG TRUSS!!!" -- and someone has already filed for the trademark ... but it wasn't Mark Ingram!

Remember, it was the Ravens star running back who brought the phrase to prominence following a Nov. 17 victory over the Houston Texans.

During the post-game press conference, Ingram was introducing Lamar Jackson and called him the MVP frontrunner, challenging anyone who says otherwise to "come see me"

"I'm bout that! Big Truss!! Woo Woo! Lamar Jackson! In the Flesh!"

In fact, Ingram has already tapped an apparel company to sell "Big Truss" shirts and other merch ... it's on sale now!

But, the issue for Ingram ... someone else already went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and filed to own the trademark -- a Nevada-based fan named Lance Roehl.

Roehl has also been selling "Big Truss" merch -- and tells TMZ Sports he hopes to work with Ingram and the Ravens in some sort of capacity.

He insists he isn't a squatter who's holding the phrase hostage -- however, if he gets his application approved he could (in theory) go after Ingram for selling "Big Truss" merch without permission.

As for his legal claim, it generally takes about 3 months for the USPTO to approve the trademark application and usually the first to apply with a substantive claim gets it.

As of this post, neither Ingram or the Ravens have filed an application of their own.

So, what does it mean??? Most likely, Roehl will get approval and either Ingram and the Ravens will probably cut a check to buy it outright or work out a licensing deal.

In the meantime, Ingram and the Ravens are gearing up for the AFC Divisional Round playoff game which goes down on January 11 ... so, they've got bigger fish to fry.

What would you do if you won $1 million? Well, Kayla Harrison's got the money ... and some ideas on how to spend it.

Harrison -- one of the biggest stars in MMA -- beat Larissa Pacheco and won this year's PFL tournament ... which comes with an over-sized million dollar check.

So, we hit her up and asked how she's gonna spend the money ... and she's considering using part of the big ass check to honor her father.

"My dad passed away a while ago and he used to love fixing up old American muscle cars. So, the last car he had that he really wanted to fix up when I was a kid was a ’69 Camaro. So I’ve kind of been rolling around the idea of getting a Camaro."

Kayla says her dad actually unloaded his favorite old -school muscle car back in the day to get her, her bro and sis some quads ... so copping the Camaro would be special for her and her family.

"I just remember [the Camaro] from being a kid. He was fixing it up and he actually sold it to buy me and my brother and sister four-wheelers for Christmas. So I was like damn I need to get that Camaro in his memory."

That's not all ... Kayla -- who also says she's gonna donate a bunch of the cash to her Fearless Foundation -- says winning the money (and the tournament) is literally a dream come true.

"I feel good, life is good, I’m happy. Damn, I’m blessed. Like are you kidding me? I never thought that in a million years that, a million no pun intended, I never thought in a million years that I’d be making millions of dollars doing what I love."

"I’ve come a long way from that 16-year-old girl with $200 in her pocket, to a millionaire by 30. What the hell. Dreams do come true."

But, she isn't done ... Harrison says she's gunnin' for the million-dollar prize again next year.

Mark Zuckerberg has more money than one could ever possibly spend, but he's still pinching pennies ... and his hunt for a bargain brought him to Costco.

Check out this pic of the Facebook founder and CEO in the TV aisle of the budget store in Mountain View, CA ... it's not exactly the place you'd expect to find a multi-billionaire. He seems to be in the market for a monitor.

Seems Zuck's just like the 99 percent -- aside from his estimated net worth of $77.7 BILLION -- looking for a deal during a holiday shopping spree.

Most members of the three comma club would send an assistant to handle such pedestrian tasks, but not Mark ... instead, he's rolling up his sleeves and braving the outside world with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

No word if Mark and Priscilla also hit up Ross Dress For Less -- there's one in the same shopping mall -- we're guessing they got their fill of bargains at Costco.

"My parents taught me to help out wherever I can, so this is my way of helping out."

LaMelo Ball is reaching into his pockets to aid Australia wildfire victims ... pledging to donate one month of his National Basketball League salary to people in the region who need it.

Of course, Australia is home to the youngest Ball brother these days ... he signed on to play in the NBL this season before he enters the NBA Draft later this year.

As for how much 1 month's salary is for the 18-year-old, the NBL is reportedly paying him around $70,000 this season ... so it's a pretty good chunk of change for LaVar's kid.

Australia can certainly use the cash ... at least 17 people have been killed by fires that have raged since October, and at least 17 more people are still missing.

More than 1,000 homes and businesses have reportedly been destroyed by the blazes... and there are fears things could get worse before they get better.

"It’s sad to see what is happening on the South Coast of Australia," Ball said Thursday. "People have lost their homes and everything they own. My parents taught me to help out wherever I can, so this is my way of helping out."

Ansel Elgort hit up the perfect spot to ring in the New Year with his bikini-clad GF ... a villa in the Dominican Republic that had all the bells and whistles.

Ansel has spent a week in the luxurious beachside of Cap Cana. The actor clearly doesn't subscribe to the "twos company, threes a crowd mantra" ... because joining them on the trip was also Ansel's mom.

All good though ... cause there's plenty of space to spread around in this SICK villa. The rental pad -- known as Villa Las Hamacas -- is a $20 million estate featuring 6 bedrooms, an infinity pool and concierge service.

If the villa looks familiar ... it's cause Bella Thorne stayed in the same one just last month. It rents for a cool $15k per night ... but don't forget -- the rental includes a butler!!!

Ansel and his GF, Violetta Komyshan, have a knack for getting wild at some of the best beaches in the world. You'll recall the longtime couple was all over each other in Mexico around this time last year.

This time around, Ansel posted a picture of himself carrying Violetta and getting real handsy. He captioned it, "How you gon be mad on vacation?" Can't be mad ... especially after he was just named a presenter at this weekend's Golden Globe Awards.

International soccer superstar Franck Ribery is ringing in the new year in style ... by rockin' a sick, new Rolex from his wife ... and it's got a price tag of a whoppin' $120k!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the French baller has been talking for a while about getting a nice timepiece ... so his wife, Wahiba, decided to hook her hubby up with the one-of-a-kind Rolly!!

We're told Wahiba hit up Franck's longtime friend, Gabriel the Jeweler, to come up with the fancy Sky Dweller ... which features 35 carats of VVS diamonds.

On top of that, Gabriel hooked it up with Franck's jersey number right below the Rolex crown!!

We're told this is the only watch of its kind ... and is worth a total of $120,000!!!

A titan in the music biz is threatening a Guns N' Roses superfan with a huge lawsuit ... claiming the guy leaked a ton of the band's unreleased songs over the internet.

Here's the deal ... Guns N' Roses claims Rick Dunsford leaked 97 previously unreleased songs over the web after obtaining the recordings from a storage unit auction, and UMG -- which owns the copyrights -- is threatening to sue him for a ton of money.

UMG's legal team fired off a cease and desist letter to Rick -- obtained by TMZ -- claiming Dunsford violated an earlier settlement agreement in which UMG paid him $15k to return the recordings.

The dispute traces its roots back to when Guns N' Roses' former A&R guy Tom Zutaut auctioned off a storage unit filled with digital recordings of GNR music from 2000 and 2001.

It's time to start rooting for Nick Kyrgios ... because the Australian tennis star has pledged to donate $200 for every ACE he lands to help wildfire relief efforts in his home country.

"I’m kicking off the support for those affected by the fires," the 24-year-old announced ... "I’ll be donating $200 per ace that I hit across all the events I play this summer."

It's a big deal considering Kyrgios smashed 597 aces in 2019 ... so if he matches that total, we're talking around $120k.

At least 17 people (8 in the past week) have been killed in the Australia fires -- which have been burning since October -- with at least 17 more people missing.

More than 1,000 homes and buildings have been destroyed so far and officials are concerned things could get even WORSE in the coming days.

Several Aussie tennis stars have already been inspired by Nick's gesture -- and are following suit with ace-based donations.

Alex de Minaur said, "I like this I will go $250 per ace, just because I don’t think I’ll be hitting as many aces as you mate."

The NBA Championship rings Lamar Odom famously pawned a few years ago are hitting the auction block ... and they can be all yours if ya got $100,000 layin' around!!!

TMZ Sports has learned the bling Odom received for winning titles with the L.A. Lakers in 2008-09 and 2009-10 are set to go up for sale ... and we're told they could fetch $50K A-PIECE!

The rings are REALLY cool ... each one boasts a TON of diamonds -- and the special engravings on each include realistic portraits of Odom's face.

We're told the ice is pretty heavy too ... the '09 ring weighs in at 75 grams, while the '10 ring comes in at 69 grams -- and both come with their original display boxes.

As for how the rings got to the Heritage Auctions block ... that story is pretty wild, because Odom reportedly pawned them off for just a few hundred bucks during the height of his issues with Khloe Kardashian several years ago -- and he never fought to get them back.

We're told bidding will begin late next month ... and close sometime in February.

FaZe Selkoe -- aka the president of the famous FaZe Clan -- says Esports stars ain't making NFL player money yet ... but he tells TMZ Sports it could eventually happen.

And, why? The 44-year-old says their business model is just perfect for today's society.

Selkoe tells us because fans can watch and interact with players during tournaments AND in practice sessions, he says the potential for the growth of gamers' wallets is HUGE.

"They'll have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people watching them play and interact," Selkoe says ... "It's really this amalgamation of pop culture, actual sports and classic entertainment."

Of course, some gamers are already pulling in the hefty checks ... Esports star FaZe Banks is reportedly worth around $3 MILLION, while gaming legend Ninja has said he makes roughly $500,000 A MONTH.