NBC

Lara Spencer and Megyn Kelly may have hugged, kissed or schmoozed before the camera rolled, but it certainly wasn't apparent from what we see at baggage claim at JFK.

The 'GMA' host and the soon-to-be NBC talk show host were feet from each other Monday night, but not a word was spoken ... at least as far as we can see.

ABC and NBC are in fierce competition, but then again competitive anchors still chew the fat.

NBC sent a "goon squad" to manhandle a "Today" show audience member because he's a known Trump supporter and they hated his t-shirt ... according to the guy's new lawsuit.

Mark Gallagher claims NBC security descended on him and roughed him up last month because he was pro-Trump ... according to the docs. He says he was doing nothing wrong at the time -- just chatting 2 ladies and wearing an anti-Clinton shirt.

Gallagher admits he had a motive for being in the "Today" audience ... he believes Bill Clinton is a rapist, and wanted to get some TV time for a shirt with Bill's face and the word "RAPE" on it. He says he was successful doing this the day before on "Good Morning America."

According to the suit ... Gallagher was assaulted by the goons before he even had a chance to take off his sweater and reveal his shirt. He claims he was struck in the back of the head with a security radio and sustained injuries to his neck, lower back, ribs, arms and ankle while being removed ... and has bruises to show for it.

Gallagher is suing NBC Universal for more than $53 million. We reached out to NBC for comment, so far no word back.

Billy Bush and NBC have reached a financial settlement on his "Today" contract ... officially ending his employment with the network after the Donald Trump tape leaked.

Sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations tell us Billy is happy with the final numbers ... which are confidential. As we reported, Bush had just joined NBC's flagship show in August, signing a 3-year deal for $3.5 million per year.

NBC suspended him after the "Access Hollywood" tape came out 10 days ago. Our sources said Bush felt the punishment was unfair because he'd openly talked about the tape in front of his bosses ... and was never disciplined.

We're told he felt like a scapegoat and was cut loose purely for PR reasons.

An NBC memo to staffers said, "While he was a new member of the TODAY team, he was a valued colleague and longtime member of the broader NBC family. We wish success as he goes forward."

Billy Bush showed up to a law office Friday morning ... to hash out a settlement with the NBC execs who want to give him the ax ... TMZ has learned.

Our sources say an NBC lawyer and a senior executive from NBC News "with full negotiating authority" were across the table from Bush and his attorney, Marshall Grossman.

Grossman tells TMZ the AM negotiations were "positive," adding, "I anticipate a favorable resolution in the near future."

Millions of dollars are on the table ... Billy was just months into a 3-year contract with "Today" and our NBC sources say he was pulling in $3.5 million a year.

We're told NBC made a decision Thursday to sit down at the table because Billy's people made it clear they would sue if the network tried firing him for a cause.

As we've previously reported, Billy was talking openly about the "Access Hollywood" tape in early August and NBC honchos knew what he had said, but had no problem with the tape until it was leaked.

The negotiations are continuing Friday afternoon, and Billy and NBC could be parting company by day's end.

NBC execs had a plan to time the release of the Donald Trump audio to have maximum impact on both the 2nd presidential debate and the general election ... sources connected with the network tell TMZ.

Multiple sources connected with NBC tell us ... top network execs knew about the video long before they publicly said they did, but wanted to hold it because it was too early in the election. The sources say many NBC execs have open disdain for Trump and their plan was to roll out the tape 48 hours before the debate so it would dominate the news cycle leading up to the face-off.

As we reported, Billy Bush was bragging about the tape -- in front of NBC execs at the Rio Olympics -- in early August. NBC says it's only known about the tape for a little more than a week.

We're told the plan was to edit the tape to keep the focus on Trump and not Billy. "Access Hollywood" we're told was not going to air the portion where Trump and Billy got off the bus and Billy goaded Trump and the soap star to hug. Our sources say the tape was going to be "sanitized" to protect Billy as much as possible.

Case in point ... after The Washington Post ran the story, 'Access' aired their footage and cut out the parts where Billy looked worse -- saying things like, "Jeez! Your girl's hot as s*** in the purple!"

We've told you the plan got derailed by Hurricane Matthew. Execs decided the wall-to-wall coverage of the storm would mess up the plan to dominate the news with the Trump tape, so they were going to hold it until Monday. It didn't sit well with some staffers who wanted it out pre-debate, so it was leaked to the Washington Post.

Billy Bush has been all but fired by NBC for his part in the "Access Hollywood" Donald Trump outtakes, but his bosses had no problem with Billy's offhanded remarks about women ... for years.

Sources connected to "Access Hollywood" tell us, Billy and others would talk openly in the newsroom about women ... and some of it's even on tape. We're told some of the comments -- "Man, you look hot today," "Look at her legs," and "Man, she looks hot today!"

Billy was particularly impressed with Gigi Hadid and Taylor Swift's legs. He also, somewhat infamously, asked J Lo point-blank about her butt ... although that comment was at least on camera.

The point is ... we're told no one complained, and Billy wasn't the only one making those kinds of remarks.

What's more ... we're told a number of people knew about the Trump/Bush conversation when it went down in 2005, and again ... no one complained.

People at NBC knew about Donald Trump's crude convo with Billy Bush for at least 2 months ... because Billy was bragging about it back then.

TMZ has confirmed ... Billy was telling NBC staffers in Rio about the tape back in early August, when he was still working for "Access Hollywood." We're told word circulated because Billy made it clear Trump was trash-talking Nancy O'Dell.

NBC News says it didn't know about the outtakes until a week ago Monday, but the word around the network is people knew, including executives at 'Access,' which is an NBC property. We're told those executives had full knowledge of Billy's comments on the tape ... which creates a potential problem if NBC is serious about firing him.

We're told Bush's camp will argue they can't 86 him based on a "morality clause" because execs knew what he had said, and didn't discipline him at the time ... 11 years ago.

Sylvester Stallone's training and weight loss show, "Strong" was jacked from the mind of a personal trainer ... according to the suit the guy just filed.

Robert Fletcher says he created a show called "America's Next Great Trainer" and shopped it around Hollywood in 2014. He says he sent his pitch materials to Stallone's publicist, and also to agents at William Morris Endeavor ... which reps Stallone.

Fletcher thinks it's no coincidence that in early 2016 he started hearing about "Strong" -- the NBC show that lists Sly as one of its executive producers.

"Strong" features male and female trainers competing in various physical challenges -- and in his suit, Fletcher says that's almost a carbon copy of his show idea.

He says it's also fishy that one of the "Strong" trainers is a guy named Todd Durkin. Fletcher says Durkin was attached to 'ANGT' ... but went radio silent in 2015.

He's suing Stallone, NBC, Durkin and other "Strong" producers for at least $7 mil.

"The Biggest Loser" needs to drop more than weight ... its new logo is a total rip-off, according to a new lawsuit filed by former NFL lineman LeCharles Bentley.

Donald Trump has settled his legal disputes with NBCUniversal and Univision by using his best resource ... money, money, money.

The Donald just announced he bought out NBC's half share of the Miss Universe Organization ... making him 100% owner.

Trump threatened NBC with a lawsuit after they yanked the Miss USA pageant off the air, following his remarks about Mexicans. Miss USA is a part of the Miss Universe Org. He sued Univision for $500 million, which also pulled the plug on the pageant.

Casey Anthony and Matt Lauer could be meeting really soon, because she's been wheeling and dealing with NBC execs trying to hammer out a deal for a sit-down.

TMZ broke the story ... Anthony, who was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her daughter, flew to New York City last week. We got video of her and veteran producer Don Wood arriving, and according to our sources, NBC paid for the flight.

Since she's been in NYC, the NY Post says Anthony and Wood have met with a senior NBC booker who handles 'Today' and other NBC news programs.

As we've reported, Casey flirted with network interviews in the past, but never closed. As of now ... NBC's saying no deal yet -- and you gotta figure she's also talking to other outlets in NYC.

Stay tuned.

Nancy Snyderman has resigned as Chief Medical Editor at NBC News, but the handwriting was clearly on the wall.

Snyderman has been scarcely seen on the broadcast over the last few weeks. Fact is ... her profile has been much lower since her return after the Ebola scandal, where she violated a voluntary quarantine by going to a restaurant near her New Jersey home.

There was also an incident a few weeks back, where she appeared live on the air slurring her words and seeming kind of out of it.

Lester Holt gets the game ... he answered our photog's goofy question about the whole Brian Williams thing perfectly ... with a laugh.

Lester was leaving 30 Rock after anchoring "NBC Nightly News" when our photog tried projecting 6 months into the future, wondering if he would duke it out with Williams for the job.

There's something about the way he handled it ... he didn't answer but he didn't scoff either ... perfect.

Conventional wisdom is ... it's a long shot that Williams will return. Our NBC sources say Lester's contract allows him to walk if he's passed over for permanent anchor if Williams leaves.

A video appearing to be the isolated vocals from Mariah Carey's NBC performance Wednesday night has found its way online ... and she struggled.

The video was posted on a site called The Concourse and it seems authentic. It matches the version that aired on TV with full accompaniment.

Mariah seems fine during the meat and potatoes portion of "All I Want for Christmas is You" ... but she has difficulty when she exercises her upper octave range.

It's interesting for sure.

Mariah Carey hit the stage at Rockefeller Center for the NBC special -- nearly 24 hours late ... but whatever.

Mariah just performed her classic "All I Want for Christmas is You" for the tree lighting special ... and she did it LIVE ... as promised.

TMZ broke the story ... Mariah pissed off fans and crew members by making them wait in the cold for 3 hours last night when the rest of the special was recorded -- so NBC yanked her from the lineup.

Mimi got a second chance today when the Peacock agreed to tack on her performance ... but ONLY if she did it live. Worth the wait? Watch ...

NBC just realized Mariah Carey is worth the hassle ... because they have now booked her to perform live tonight ... this after pulling the plug on her Tuesday night.

TMZ broke the story that Mariah showed up more than 3 hours late for a taped performance that was supposed to air during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony Wednesday night in Rockefeller Center. She was delayed because she was yacking with her lawyer about the divorce settlement with husband Nick. When she finally showed up, frustrated NBC execs sent her packing.

But, NBC had a change of heart and they are now rolling the dice that she will show up tonight. It's interesting ... the decision comes after LeAnn Rimes tweeted that she would have more air time, insinuating it was because of 'the Mariah problem.'

The tree lighting ceremony just got more interesting.

Mariah tweeted about the ordeal Wednesday afternoon, writing, "Last night's situation was beyond my control. I apologize to all that showed up, you know that I would never want to disappoint you."