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Josh Duggar has Homeland Security crawling around the car dealership where he works in Arkansas, and it's related to a federal investigation ... TMZ has learned.

Agents went to the dealership in Springdale, AR in connection to a federal probe ... according to sources close to the situation. There were reports the feds had raided the Duggar family home, but we're told that's not the case. Agents have only been at Josh's place of employment ... at least for now.

It's unclear exactly what the nature of the investigation is, or if Josh was the target. A Homeland Security spokesman would only confirm agents were at the dealership.

The Duggars rose to fame thanks to a pair of reality shows, '19 Kids' and "Counting On." But, as we reported, TLC eventually pulled the plug on '19 Kids' in 2015 following Josh Duggar's child molestation scandal.

Josh's only current legal dispute, that we know of, is a lawsuit filed against him for real estate fraud.

A Duggar family spokesperson says it's not true "any member of our family is the target of any investigation of any kind." The spokesperson added, "Living a life in the public's eye has taught us that it is best not to reply to every rumor and piece of 'fake news' that is circulated online. It would be a full-time job if we attempted to do so."

Story developing ...

Aaron Carter's going to have to wait at least a year to contact his brother because a judge just granted Nick a restraining order against him.

Aaron was a no-show in court in Vegas Wednesday for the hearing -- Nick did attend -- so the judge had an easy decision. The order will stay in place until November of next year.

The order comes a day after Aaron came out on the losing end of another restraining order hearing with his twin sister, Angel. Along with being prohibited from having any contact with her or her family for a year, the judge also enraged Aaron by telling him he's too dangerous to possess guns.

He went nuts in court, screaming that he would just go to another state to stock up and threatened to leave the courtroom ... but the judge ordered him to sit down.

Aaron's anger was still on display outside the courthouse when our photog tried to talk to him.

As we reported ... Nick first sought out legal protection in September after Aaron allegedly threatened to kill his pregnant wife. At the time, Nick claimed he was forced to seek the order against his younger brother "in light of Aaron's increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child."

Aaron blasted Nick online, saying he was done with him for life, but insisted he doesn't wish harm on anyone ... especially family.

Angel followed Nick's lead just days later and also got a restraining order. She claimed Aaron threatened to send hit men after her following a disturbing phone call.

Nick also alleged Aaron told Angel he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder ... something Aaron later claimed on Dr. Phil himself.

As we told you ... Aaron was briefly hospitalized last week, which his mother, Jane, attributed to the stress of the family drama. Of course, Jane's dog-smacking incident and subsequent squabble with PETA probably didn't help alleviate Aaron's stress.

Kanye West's plan to build an amphitheater on his ranch is drawing the ire of officials in Wyoming ... and they're ordering him to put the brakes on his construction project pronto!!!

Park County Wyoming Planner Joy Hill tells TMZ ... the County is ordering Kanye to cease construction on his property because he broke ground without a permit and that's a big no-no.

As we reported ... Kanye submitted docs to build a 70,684-square-foot amphitheater on his sprawling Monster Lake Ranch, and there were construction crews on the property moving large amounts of land to clear a footprint.

We're told Kanye's team was told to stop construction when county officials visited the site after he submitted his building permit application, but subsequent visits to the site by officials showed his team ignored the mandate and kept working.

And, get this ... we're told Kanye's proposed meditation space was on the agenda at a Tuesday meeting for the Park County Planning and Zoning Commission, but the topic never came up because a few hours prior, Kanye's team notified the commission he was changing the intended purpose of the site to residential use.

Now, we're told Kanye's about to get a letter from the County telling him to put an end to construction ... and he's gotta submit a whole new building permit application.

Jussie Smollett has taken the offensive ... he's now suing the City of Chicago, claiming officials created a narrative that he was the mastermind of a hoax attack, and that has cost him dearly.

In the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Smollett notes the Osundairo brothers were held for 47 hours and they adamantly denied any involvement in the assault. He says it was only after they were assured they'd get immunity that they started spinning the tale of a fake attack on the streets of Chicago.

Smollett insists the primary attacker was a white male.

He says to this day he doesn't know what involvement, if any, the Osundairo brothers had in the attack. He thinks the brothers were lured into the smear campaign by cops.

Jussie is suing the City, the Osundairo brothers and several officials, including Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

As we reported, the City of Chicago is suing Jussie to recoup the costs of the investigation.

It looks like Kodak Black is gonna be a superman when he walks out of a federal prison -- that is, if he sticks to his higher education plan, which includes a little nihilistic philosophy!!!

Sources close to the incarcerated MC tell TMZ ... on the heels of getting sentenced to 46 months in prison, Kodak's shooting to get a college diploma by the time he gets out. We're told he's interested in pursuing business and marketing. The federal prison in Florida where he's doing his time offers classes, and he plans to register.

That's not where his learning road ends. Our sources say Kodak's actually planning to take the SAT when he's eventually released in hopes of getting into the University of Florida and earning a bachelor's degree.

Of course, this follows his previous goal of wanting a GED about a year ago while he was locked up. We're told he ended up getting it, BTW.

And, as if biz and marketing reading isn't enough, we're told he'll be supplementing that with some other literature to get his creative juices flowing -- good, old-fashioned Friedrich Nietzche books, in fact. Ah yes, "The Death of God," "The Superman" and "The Will To Power." Heavy stuff, but time's on his side. Sorta.

In addition to his nearly 4-year sentence, Kodak was just hit with two new counts of gun possession last week and could get up to 30 more years for each charge.

Aaron Carter lost it in court when a judge ordered him to surrender his firearms.

Aaron was on the losing end of a hearing for a restraining order. His twin sister, Angel Conrad, convinced the judge to issue an order prohibiting Aaron from having any contact with her or her family for a year. Then the judge enraged Aaron, by telling him he's too dangerous to possess guns. He went nuts in court ... screaming at the judge that he would just go out of state and buy more firepower.

TMZ broke the story ... Angel filed docs back in September in L.A. for a domestic violence restraining order after claiming Aaron threatened to send hit men after her. She claimed that during a phone conversation Aaron told her, "I have people that would come and harm you."

Angel said she feared for her life because Aaron was brandishing firearms on social media. She said she also feared for her husband and her daughter.

After the judge lowered the boom on Aaron, he threatened to just get up and leave, but the judge ordered him to sit down.

What's unclear ... whether Aaron will surrender his guns. If he doesn't, the judge could hold him in contempt and throw him in jail. As part of the order, Aaron must also stay away from The Grove shopping center in LA where Angel's husband works.

As we first reported ... Aaron's brother, Nick, also filed for a restraining order against him claiming Aaron had "thoughts of killing babies." Nick claimed Aaron had made the claims during a FaceTime with Angel back in August.

Nick had also said Aaron told Angel he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Aaron's then-girlfriend, Lina Valentina, was there during the conversation and she chimed in, "Angel, how do you think I feel with him sleeping with a sword next to him?" According to the docs, Aaron got furious and said, "Shut up Lina, you are next on my list."

Kim Kardashian followed up her visit with Rodney Reed by coming face-to-face with his brother ... and then introducing him to the biggest stars in Houston.

The death row inmate's brother, Rodrick Reed, tells TMZ he got to meet Kim, Kanye and even Joel Osteen on Sunday at the Lakewood Church -- where Ye held a "Jesus Is King" performance that night with his choir.

Rodrick says he was brought backstage during Sunday's events and discussed his brother's case with Joel and the Wests. We're told Kanye said he still plans to visit Rodney, but needs to work out the legal kinks to make it happen.

Rodney even got a shout-out from Kanye while he addressed the Lakewood congregation of more than 45,000 -- and, of course, Kim visited with him Friday in prison. Remember, she was with Rodney when word came in the Governor had granted a stay of execution.

Rodney was set to be executed Wednesday, but now the courts are gonna hear his case again -- so, he could be vindicated after 20 years in prison.

His brother, Rodrick, told us he and Kim talked about how she became so passionate about Rodney's case, and she told him it was a Dr. Phil special that turned her on to it.

The 2 men who sued Michael Jackson's estate and were the subject of the gut-wrenching "Leaving Neverland" documentary ... are set to get their day in court to press their sexual abuse claims against the singer's estate.

As you may know ... Wade Robson and James Safechuck sued MJ for sexual abuse, but their lawsuits were dismissed in 2017 -- partly due to the statute of limitations. Both men appealed their rulings and the cases have been stuck in appellate court ... until now.

We've learned the California Court of Appeal just issued a tentative ruling which would overturn the dismissals, on grounds a new California law extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. That means Robson and Safechuck can have their cases heard before a jury.

It's not a done deal. As we said, the ruling is tentative. Oral arguments are set for this week, and the justices could change their minds, but typically the tentative ruling stands.

Now the MJ Estate has a number of other objections to claims, which will be addressed by the trial judge.

Wade and James' story aired on HBO in January, and their molestation claims sparked a movement to mute Michael Jackson and further tarnished his legacy. Jackson's family called "Leaving Neverland" an unfair "public lynching."

We reached out to reps from the MJ Estate and reps for the alleged victims. They all had no comment.

Graphic novel icon Frank Miller claims his ex-wife's being super sketchy by hiding and secretly selling some of his famous drawings ... this according to a new lawsuit.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Frank claims Lynn Varley's illegally holding onto a slew of sketches he drew as references for the final illustrations for his comics and graphic novels.

What's more, Frank claims Varley's already sold some of his sketches through her art dealer --- offering them for sale to "under the table" to collectors. Literally, under the table.

In docs, he claims one of Varley's reps kept Miller's sketches in a binder under a table at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego. Miller claims when a potential buyer would ask about the sketches, the rep would pull out a separate binder from under the vendor's table.

Frank claims Varley got some of his work as part of their divorce settlement, but also insists HE is the rightful owner of others she's been secretly selling. He's suing for her to turn over the sketches and wants a full accounting of what she's already hocked and for how much.

Miller, of course, is the famed comic book writer and artist behind "Sin City," "The Dark Knight Returns" and "300."

A bunch of vegans are suing Burger King because they want to have their Impossible Burgers their way ... pristine, without any meat residue on the grill.

Phillip Williams just filed a class-action lawsuit, claiming the burger giant advertises the Impossible Burger as a vegan alternative to its meat burgers, yet they're all cooked on the same grill.

Williams says his burger was contaminated by meat byproducts. He bought the burger in question in ATL.

The lawsuit says Burger King has no disclosures on its menu that would notify a consumer prior to the purchase of the Impossible Whopper that it was cooked in a manner that would result in meat by-products on the burger.

He notes there have been numerous complaints posted online by outraged vegans.

Amber Portwood's in the clear with her probation officer over alleged threats she made against a YouTuber ... because that woman has no direct connection to her case.

TMZ broke the story ... Katie Joy -- the woman behind the Without a Crystal Ball YouTube account that's been documenting Amber's domestic violence case, including publishing video and audio of the entire blowout between Amber and Andrew Glennon -- contacted authorities after Amber allegedly directed some threats on Instagram Live toward her.

Portwood's probation officer was notified of Katie's issue, but the Marion County Probation Department in Indiana tells us ... it doesn't amount to any sort of violation.

We're told Joy isn't listed on Amber's probation order, so any alleged threats in and of themselves don't constitute a probation breach. If Katie was listed, it would be a different story.

The MC Probation Dept. says the only way Portwood's probation would be affected is if Indianapolis PD arrested her or if she was convicted of making threats against Joy.

Considering Katie hasn't filed a police report in Indiana, that doesn't seem likely ... and our Indiana law enforcement sources confirm Amber's not under investigation. However, sources close to Katie say he HAS filed a report where she lives in Minnesota ... but was told by police there's not much they can do.

Kim Kardashian West isn't just lobbying to set a death row inmate free ... she met with him face-to-face with the clock ticking to try to figure out a plan.

We broke the story ... Kim's desperately trying to stay the execution of Rodney Reed -- which was originally scheduled for November 20 -- because she and many others believe there is substantial evidence to exonerate him of the murder he was convicted of more than 20 years ago.

Lucky for both Kim and Rodney, on Friday the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued the stay of execution -- recommending a 120-day reprieve.

Our sources say Kim -- who traveled to Texas with Kanye for his upcoming performance at Joel Osteen's church -- was granted special permission by authorities to meet with Reed Friday.

We're told she wanted the chance to speak with him in person, hear his story and hash out a last-ditch effort to save his life. As we told you, she's publicly pleaded for Governor Greg Abbott to stop the execution.

Rodney is on death row in Livingston, TX for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites -- where cops initially said he'd raped, assaulted and strangled her to death. Reed has claimed the 2 had a consensual affair, but he's maintained his innocence of killing her for over 20 years now.

Just recently, a former inmate claimed to know the real murderer -- the guy alleges Stites' own fiance confessed to him while behind bars that he killed her for sleeping around.

Lizzo may have bitten off more than she could chew by claiming a Postmates driver stole her food ... because the driver is now coming after her in court.

Tiffany Wells claims in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Lizzo has really screwed up her life when she went on social media and posted a picture of Tiffany claiming she pilfered the meal she was delivering to Lizzo's Boston hotel back in September.

Lizzo belatedly acknowledged she was wrong and Tiffany did nothing wrong. In fact, Tiffany went beyond what she had to do to find Lizzo in the hotel, but she was nowhere to be seen so Tiffany eventually left.

Tiffany also notes Postmates sided with her, and she moved on to the next delivery like she was supposed to after she couldn't reach Lizzo.

Tiffany says she's received threats and is concerned for her safety. She no longer works for Postmates because of the Lizzo incident. She says she lives in fear and is subject to ridicule and humiliation, along with stress and anxiety.

She's suing Lizzo -- who has more than a million twitter followers -- for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

President Trump's former confidante, Roger Stone, is guilty of lying to Congress during the Russia election interference probe -- a federal jury convicted him on all 7 counts he was facing.

Stone looked very optimistic on his way into a federal court in Washington, D.C. -- clutching his wife and a Bible closely -- but after one full day of deliberations, the jury returned guilty verdicts across the board.

He was facing 7 counts of making false statements to Congress, obstruction of justice and witness tampering.

Stone becomes the 6th Trump aide or associate to be convicted in trials stemming from Robert Mueller's probe -- and, of course, the guilty verdict comes with the backdrop of the Trump impeachment hearings.

FBI agents busted Stone -- who also worked on Richard Nixon's 1972 campaign -- during a January raid at his Florida home.

He was indicted for lying to the House Intelligence Committee during his 2017 testimony.

President Trump reacted swiftly to the news his pal got nailed by, predictably, calling out Hillary Clinton, Mueller and several FBI agents.

Amber Portwood allegedly threatened the YouTuber who posted clips of her machete incident with her baby daddy ... and that could get her in big trouble with her probation officer.

The Marion County District Attorney tells TMZ ... Katie Joy -- the woman behind a YouTube account that's been documenting Amber's domestic violence case -- reached out to the D.A.'s Office and accused Amber of making threats.

We're told the D.A. passed it along to the probation officer overseeing the "Teen Mom OG" star's case. As we've reported, Amber pled guilty to 2 felonies -- domestic battery and intimidation. She got 906 days of probation, but if probation is violated the judge can send her to the slammer for a long time.

In this clip from Amber's Instagram Live ... Katie claims Amber's speaking directly to her, when she says, "I know your address." Portwood says someone is going to get what she has coming to her, and Katie claims Amber's clearly referencing her.

Remember ... Katie's YouTube account, Without a Crystal Ball, published video and audio of the entire blowout between Amber and Andrew Glennon.

Sources close to Katie tell TMZ ... she's getting threats from Amber's fans hoping she dies, and she's afraid one of Portwood's fans will attack her.

We're told Katie has not filed a police report because she's not sure what cops in Minnesota -- where she lives -- would be able to do.

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.