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LeBron James is playing his hand on COVID, or at least it seems this way ... suggesting we've gotten a little crazy with panic over contracting the virus.

LeBron posted a meme called "Spider-Man Pointing at Spider-Man" ... featuring 3 Spidies -- one representing COVID, another representing the flu and the third repping the common cold.

When you break it down ... it seems LeBron is shading the NBA for protocols that have sidelined a bunch of players -- even some who have tested negative -- and canceled a number of games.

The Lakers have benched head coach Frank Vogel, along with Trevor Ariza, Kent Bazemore, Avery Bradley, Malik Monk and Austin Reaves ... all because of its COVID rules. There's a big game set for this weekend -- Lakers vs. Nets -- but Kevin Durant is out because of COVID protocols.

You'll recall ... LeBron played his cards close to the vest for a fairly long time before finally acknowledging back in September he was vaccinated, but he made it clear -- he wouldn't pressure other players to get jabbed, saying, "That's not my job."

There's gonna be less space in space, because the newest clutter is the most powerful telescope ever hurled into the heavens, and it promises a new, never-before-seen look that could alter the way earthlings live.

We're talkin' The James Webb Space Telescope, which lifted off early Xmas morning from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

NASA described the launch this way ...  "At 7:20am ET (12:20 UTC), the beginning of a new, exciting decade of science climbed to the sky. Webb’s mission to #UnfoldTheUniverse will change our understanding of space as we know it."

That may not be an overstatement ... the telescope is the most powerful and most complex ... a space observatory that will study exoplanets -- those are planets outside our solar system.

Thing is ... scientists think some of the exoplanets could be habitable, and that means 1) is there existing life on any of them? And 2) could we live there either by choice or necessity?

There have been years of delay in launching the scope for various reasons. As for specs -- its mirror can extend more than 21 feet, which gives it the ability to capture more light from the objects it's photographing ... and that will enhance the details scientists will study.

The mirror has 18 hexagonal, gold-coated segments ... fancy!

Bottom line ... scientists should be able to see things, including planets, they've never seen before.

For NeNe Leakes, Christmas will be different this year -- very different -- because Gregg won't be around.

Our sources tell us the 'RHOA' star is bracing for an extremely hard holiday for herself and her family, their first Xmas without Gregg.

NeNe's got a new man in her life, businessman BF Nyonisela Sioh, but our sources say there are no big plans for him to join the fam for Christmas.

Remember ... NeNe's new boyfriend has met her family, spending time with them at her surprise birthday party in Atlanta, which was organized by her son ... so he could in theory still join the fold.

NeNe's just now trying to move on with her life, getting back into dating some 3 months after she lost her husband of over 20 years to a long battle with cancer ... but the holidays are always tough for those who've lost loved ones.

Britney's promising new music, but it's unclear when, and how 'bout that Jake Paul?!!? So, we gotta ask ...

Santa baby, hurry down the chimney tonight!

Christmas is here so it's time to indulge in presents, sweets, and these sexy Santa Clauses coming to town!

These festive females -- including Remy Ma, Chanel West Coast, and Sabrina Carpenter -- are draping themselves in their best red rendition of St. Nick's classic clothes ... and it's up to you to figure out who's who!

Dash through this gallery of sexy celebrity Santas and see if you have what it takes to guess which holiday hottie is bringing the best gifts this season!

Brett Favre says, at most, there are only 4 NFL QBs who have ever played better than Aaron Rodgers ... telling TMZ Sports the Packers star is a top-5 signal-caller of all time.

The Green Bay legend made the claim just days after Rodgers tied his Packers record for most passing TDs ... saying he thinks Aaron has just been that prolific in his 17-year career.

"You have to put Tom Brady and Joe Montana right at the top," Favre says. "And I think Aaron Rodgers falls in the top five."

Favre didn't elaborate on who the other two quarterbacks on the list would be ... but it's obviously high praise for Rodgers nonetheless.

A top-five ranking would mean Rodgers could be considered to be better than Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Dan Marino, John Elway, Troy Aikman, and a bevy of other Hall of Famers.

"I think Aaron should be in the top five," Favre said. "If he quit today, he's a top five guy."

Rodgers' resume is certainly deserving of the honor, he has a Super Bowl ring, 3 MVP trophies and he's been selected to 10 Pro Bowls.

Don't let these two almost identical images of Amanda Holden put you on the naughty list! Get your milk and cookies ready and see if you can spot the sneaky switches!

The celebrity personality and judge of "Britain's Got Talent" was dashing and prancing while festive as one of Santa's helpers in London earlier this month ... and we have made a few changes to the original pic! Use that shining red nose to guide your sleigh towards all the foggy differences in these two super similar snaps! Merry Christmas!

There may be a supply shortage in the U S of A ... but there sure ain't no supply shortage of youngins over at the Kardashians.

The fam unveiled its ever-reliable Xmas card, featuring pretty much everyone, save adult males. There's Kris, Kim, Khloe, Saint, North, Chicago, Psalm, Dream, and True.

Absent -- Kourtney, her kids, Kylie, Stormi, Kendall, Rob, Kanye, Tristan, Corey, Travis ... yeah, some more missing than others.

As we reported, the Kardashian/Jenner Christmas party has been massively scaled back this year due to COVID. The plan is just immediate family and a few close friends ... but after looking at these photos it could be big enough for sure.

Saweetie is another living example ... certain people look awesome bald ... especially when it's bald by choice!!!

It's pretty stunning ... she shaved off all her hair, and all that's left is a blonde buzzcut. She snapped the pics poolside, first posing in a pink bikini and then trading it out for a white one, before taking a dip.

No word on what inspired her to change her noggin, but for whatever it works the consensus here is thumbs up.

Truth be told ... this isn't an out-of-the-blue thing for Saweetie ... she likes to change it up. A few days back she posted pics of her with fiery red locks. And there are plenty of other examples ... girl doesn't want to bore herself with the same look for very long.

Vanessa and Natalia Bryant have ventured into the world of advertising, and gotta say --  they are one effective duo.

Vanessa and her 18-year-old daughter fronted a new Lancome commercial, and for a bunch of reasons, it's super effective. First of all, they look great -- a prerequisite for hawking makeup.

Second, the way it's shot it fees really authentic ... a mother talking to her daughter about makeup and reminiscing about her oldest daughter growing up. At one point, Vanessa confesses she was in tears when she watched Natalia come down the stairs, all dressed up for homecoming.

And finally, they vibe really well on cam -- especially because of the way it's shot. It feels like a real conversation ... like viewers are just flies on a wall, and that's the mark of a successful ad.

Kate Middleton kicked off Christmas on the keys and on key ... for the first time ever, she played the piano publicly ... backing up Tom Walker's Xmas performance.

The Duchess of Cambridge showed off some pretty serious skills as she played, "For Those Who Can't Be Here" at Westminster Abbey ... which, BTW, looked awesome.

The vid was released Friday, though it was recorded a few days back at a royal Christmas carol service called "Together at Christmas" -- which Kate hosted. She had tweeted... "I’m so excited to be hosting #TogetheratChristmas here at @wabbey, a place that’s really special to William and me."

She was dressed in red, giving Walker the spotlight, although most eyes were on her. Walker dedicated to those who "can't be at Christmas."

Tom raved about the night they shared the stage ...  "WHAT A NIGHT🤯 I can’t thank enough for being a part of this performance. This is dedicated to those who can't be here this Christmas including my grandad."

Caitlyn Jenner's days as an Olympic star have caught up to her in a painful way -- in the form of knee replacement surgery.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the decathlon gold medalist went under the knife at Cedars-Sinai in L.A. December 14. We're told the surgery lasted 3 hours and so far, so good.

The before-and-after X-Rays pretty much tell the story.

Caitlyn's up and about again ... walking gingerly around her Malibu compound, where she's staying for at least another week before venturing out.

Her goal right at the start of 2022 ... to walk normally, drive and get back to all the stuff she likes ... including golf. She loves skiing -- something that was off the table before surgery -- but her goal is to hit the slopes next winter.

BTS's Suga has joined the ever-growing crowd, testing positive for COVID ... and that makes him the second major K-pop star to catch the virus in the last month.

Suga tested positive Friday ... according to his management team. It seems he was flying back from the U.S. to Korea Thursday and tested negative before getting on the plane, but that's a test given 72 hours before flying.

He took the test in Korea Thursday and got the positive results the next day. So, it's possible/almost certain he flew with COVID.

Suga was quarantined after getting tested and even before he got his results -- this per Korean guidelines. According to his team, he was not in contact with other BTS band members, although the time frame here is unclear.

Suga's been fully vaccinated since August, so this was clearly a breakthrough infection. Also unclear if it's Delta or Omicron. His team says he's experiencing no symptoms.

Last month, the group performed a bunch of shows in California ... and Suga stayed on for "personal engagements" and has been working on side projects, according to Big Hit Music.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas for some homeless military vets in L.A., thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger ... 'cause they now have new homes.

Arnold just paid a visit to some of the vets, now ensconced in the 25 tiny homes he bought for them. They've finally been installed, and Arnold's thrilled ... "It was fantastic to spend some time with our heroes and welcome them into their new homes."

Schwarzenegger also shared photos of the homes and selfies with the vets and everyone was stoked, including The Terminator, who said, "I am ecstatic! I am really ecstatic. To me, this is the greatest Christmas gift."

Arnold bankrolled the houses to the tune of $250k. It's become a thing in L.A. and elsewhere ... a way to abate the homeless crisis. Jon Cryer and his wife, Lisa Joyner, have also been super involved with tiny homes.

The homes are fully equipped with electricity, air conditioning and room enough to settle in. Arnold's optimistic ... "We proved that when we all work together, we can solve any problem."

A woman is dead after suffering injuries in a car crash where the driver was Washington Football Team Safety Deshazor Everett.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Deshazor was behind the wheel of the car when it hit multiple trees, killing a female passenger, 29-year-old Olivia S. Peters, who lived in Las Vegas. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Everett was taken to a local hospital, where he remained Friday morning. His injuries are reportedly serious but not life-threatening.

The accident occurred at around 9:15 Thursday night in Loudoun County, Virginia. Everett was driving a 2010 Nissan GT-R and actually hit a few trees before it rolled over.

Cops tell us the crash is under investigation but so far ... no arrests and no charges.

The cause of the crash has not been disclosed.

The annual Kardashian/Jenner Christmas Eve party will be scaled way back for the second year in a row thanks to COVID-19 ... but that doesn't mean the fam won't be able to do a little celebrating themselves.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us ... Kris and the family made the decision to hold off on the elaborate bash the family has become known for over the years due to the alarming rise of COVID cases in the area, and all over the country for that matter.

Our sources say Kris will still get her daughters and grandkids together on Christmas Eve, but that's it ... nothing over the top.

Parties in the past have seen huge celeb guests, like J Lo, Paris Hilton, Dave Chappelle, Chrissy Teigen, Toni Braxton, Babyface, Kanye (of course) and even performances by John Legend and Sia.

The big question, of course, is if Kim's new dude, Pete Davidson, will spend part of the Christmas holiday with her. We're told Pete's headed back to NYC to spend time with immediate family. But he's been bouncing back and forth between coasts, so ya never know.

TMZ broke the story, Kim and Pete were spotted grabbing breakfast at the Bev Hills Hotel earlier in the week before Pete cruised around the city in Kim's tricked-out Rolls.