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Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert dropped by each other's late shows Tuesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a crossover episode ... and shed some light on the high-stakes drama both programs have been through.

Obviously, Kimmel had the most to get off his chest ... finally spilling on just what happened when the 'Live' host learned ABC was pulling his show off the air "indefinitely" after his comments about Charlie Kirk's alleged killer created a firestorm.

As you know ... JK's show has since resumed ... but as you can see in the video, Kimmel tells Colbert when he first learned of the suspension, he thought the program was toast. Of course, he added some levity to the moment, and said he took the call in the bathroom.

William Shatner’s bouncing back from last week’s blood sugar scare ... spotted behind the wheel, cruising back to his L.A. pad.

TMZ got the Monday snaps -- the 94-year-old "Star Trek" legend looked chill and back to form, rocking shades and a sharp blue shirt while driving along.

Quite the turnaround from last week... when Shatner was rushed to the hospital and his agent, Harry Gold, confirmed to us it was a blood sugar issue.

Ted Cruz just served up his own late-night hot take ... and Jimmy Kimmel's talk show return is squarely in the spotlight.

TMZ got the Senator talking Monday -- and he didn’t mince his words, saying Jimmy used to be hilarious, but somewhere along the way, he traded punchlines for political rants ... and, in Ted’s view, that’s when the laughs (and ratings) nosedived.

Still, Cruz isn’t cheering for a cancellation -- in fact, he says the FCC needs to butt out completely, 'cause according to him, the government threatening comedians is a slippery slope that could bite everyone in the bum.

Three members of the Putman reality television family have died in a tragic car accident, the family announced Saturday morning.

The devastating news was shared on the family's Instagram page, and they revealed "Papa, Neenee and Aunt Megan" have passed. While they did not say Papa's real name -- the family's patriarch, Bill Putman, was referred to as "Papa." His wife, Barb, was known as "Neenee."

Meanwhile, several family members -- Uncle Blake, Lulu, Alena, Noah, and Gia -- remain hospitalized.

Jimmy Kimmel ain't holding back after 'Live!' was reinstated on ABC ... taking to Instagram to mock President Donald Trump's escalator mishap at the United Nations General Assembly this week.

Check out Jimmy's post on his show's official Instagram Friday -- he shared a photo of his longtime sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez smiling down at him on an escalator and captioned it ... "Headed to Brooklyn! Escalator is working great!"

As you know, the prez was PO'd after he and First Lady Melania Trump stepped onto the escalator ahead of the general assembly Tuesday and it suddenly halted, jerking them forward.

Ellen DeGeneres shares a heartfelt tribute to Tayt Andersen-- a young boy born with only half his heart -- after he passed away on Friday.

The former talk show host shared a video on Instagram in which she expresses her grief at Tayt's death and sends condolences to his mother, Chrissy Becker ... calling him a very special guest.

Fans will remember Tayt as a little boy who called Ellen his "girlfriend" ... and, Ellen called him her "boyfriend" in return -- which she jokes came as a shock to her wife, Portia de Rossi.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy is doing some of his own verbal dance moves, walking back comments he made about his brother's "Dancing with the Stars" partner, Alix Earle.

Maksim tells TMZ ... his prior criticisms of the Alix not putting enough emotion into her initial performance this season, thereby hindering the couple's performance, were premature ... 'cause she kicked ass the next time out!

We got 'DWTS' icon on Thursday in Calabasas, California, where he hosted a party for his Tetya KAPA Napa Valley Vodka ... and he shared thoughts on who has the best chance to win it all this season ... spoiler -- he thinks Alix and his brother Val have damn fine odds.

Carmen Electra’s one of the OG "Baywatch" bombshells ... so naturally, we had to ask if she’s suiting up for the just-announced reboot.

Check out the video ... Carmen tells TMZ she’s actually in talks with the reboot team ... but admits the big question is how much she can really dive in, since hitting the ocean is a total no-go for her.

Catch the full clip … because Carmen explains why she's all about the ocean life, just not the ocean work life.

2 PM PT -- Hours after Sinclair's update, Nexstar has also announced the company's ABC affiliate stations will return "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to the air starting tonight.

The Jimmy Kimmel extended blackout is seeing more daylight ... starting tonight, 'Live!' is storming back onto all of Sinclair Broadcasting Group's 38 ABC affiliate stations, the company declared Friday.

Sinclair said the past week had brought a flood of feedback -- from viewers, advertisers, and community leaders -- all pushing them to decide keeping Kimmel on-air is key to fostering respectful dialogue across a spectrum of differing voices.

Earlier this week, ABC announced Kimmel would return to the airwaves Tuesday night ... but Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group -- two media companies that own a significant amount of local affiliate stations -- said they were both resisting bringing Jimmy back ... leaving about 20% of the country without his show while talks with Disney dragged on.

Danielle Fishel is promising fans her leg injury sustained while rehearsing on "Dancing with the Stars" looks worse than it feels ... and that's really good to hear ... 'cause it looks wicked!

Here's the deal ... the "Boy Meets World" star recently revealed she "snapped a tendon" in her right leg during practice ... but she didn't need surgery and will be able to keep competing.

On Friday, Danielle dropped a short video on the 'Gram that showed severe bruising in her leg ... with the caption, "I promise my leg feels better than it looks 😂"

New details have emerged in the death of Kelsey Bateman ... the 'Rock of Love' contestant was found with a bunch of pill bottles near her body.

According to a St. George police report, obtained by TMZ, Bateman was found dead inside a bedroom in her Utah apartment on August 27 with several prescription pill bottles nearby.

Police say Kelsey's boyfriend got worried when he hadn't heard from her in a while and called a friend, who went to her apartment and discovered her corpse. The friend then called 911.

“Big Brother” contestant Ava Pearl is making it clear she wants nothing to do with fellow housemate Vince Panaro once the show wraps ... blasting him just moments before her eviction.

It all went down Thursday night ... when Ava made a desperate plea trying to convince Vince -- who held the sole vote -- to keep her, despite their rocky relationship all season long.

Things came to a head when Ava got up on her feet and said, "Vince, the only thing I can ask of you is to not contact me at all outside of this."

Chanel West Coast says "Ridiculousness" secret to success is simple ... in a world full of negativity, people just want to laugh!

We caught up with the TV personality and musician at Craig's in West Hollywood on Thursday ... and, we had to ask her about how the MTV staple is still on the air while other beloved shows have ultimately gotten the axe from the network.

CWC says "Ridiculousness" fans are just incredible, and they love to laugh ... adding they aren't the only ones -- everyone can use a little laughter in their lives these days!

Brittany Cartwright is facing her fears head-on in "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test" ... but not without a serious struggle when it comes to jumping from a helicopter.

TMZ obtained an exclusive clip from tonight's episode showing "The Valley" star battling major nerves as she prepares to make the leap. With the chopper blades spinning overhead, Cartwright admits just how overwhelming the moment feels, telling the camera how terrified of heights she is.

In the clip, she hesitates, inching toward the door, desperately clinging to the rope as she hangs over the helicopter skids, unable to let herself go, as the guy in charge yells at her to  "Go, go, jump!"

Jimmy Kimmel’s back and everyone’s cheering -- even a bunch of A-listers signed a letter of support for him after ABC tried to bench him ... and yep, Ethan Hawke’s in the mix too!

Ethan hit the stage during Jimmy’s return this week, calling him a hero and flashing the ACLU-backed letter signed by 400 celebs defending his right to speak.

The actor was all smiles on stage on Kimmel's second night back on the air Wednesday, telling Jimmy man-to-man that signing the letter was one of the greatest privileges of his life.

"Love on the Spectrum" star Dani Bowman is ripping President Trump for claiming Tylenol use among pregnant mothers is linked to autism ... and she's got a couple middle fingers she's extending his way.

We got the Netflix reality star at LAX and our photog asked her about Trump's recent autism announcement.

Dani says Trump isn't qualified to weigh in on the potential causes of autism ... and as far as she's concerned, autism is genetic.