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COVID is derailing the best-laid plans of New Year's Eve ... because some big bands have just pulled the plug.

CBS's "New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash" will air minus the Zac Brown Band, because Zac tested positive.

Sam Hunt and Elle King have also pulled out, citing COVID-19 protocols, organizers told The Tennessean.

As for Zac, he said, "To Our Fans, We are deeply disappointed to share that Zac Brown Band will no longer be performing at Nashville's Big Bash tomorrow night on CBS," adding, "Despite taking precautions, I've tested positive for COVID-19."

Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and countless other country stars are still scheduled to perform and keep the good vibes rolling into 2022!

Detectives working to find out who killed Drakeo the Ruler are fighting an uphill battle, finding it hard to get anyone who may have info on the suspect to come forward and talk ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... investigators are mostly relying on surveillance and cellphone footage to crack the case. As we reported, he was stabbed in the neck backstage at the Once Upon A Time in L.A. festival on Dec. 18.

Our sources say detectives attempting to chat with witnesses to the scuffle ... but they're not talking, which makes it hard/next to impossible to nab the culprits.

Detectives are starting to go another route -- looking to see if the Slim 400 murder might be connected to Drakeo the Ruler's demise.

As we reported, there's a lot of tension between gangs in the City of Angels as of late, so cops are well aware of the chance for retaliation.

Nothing's been made public to connect the Drakeo and Slim murders -- but our sources say cops aren't ruling it out.

Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and 50 Cent were among the acts set to perform at the festival where Drakeo was killed ... Snoop posted a heartfelt message, saying, "My prayers go out to everyone affected by the tragedy. Please take care, love one another and stay safe y'all."

He ended with, "IM PRAYING FOR PEACE IN HIP HOP."

Apparently, buyers like the thought of sharing the same living space once inhabited by Hollywood and political legends ... because Bing Crosby's former estate has attracted offers like bees on honey.

Crosby's pad in Rancho Mirage was listed this week, and agent David Emerson of Compass says interest has been intense ... with a dozen calls a day for the property, and of those ... around 15 real buyers, some of whom have already seen it.

We're told those who have shown interest run the spectrum -- from celebs to wealthy CEO's -- and people all around the world.

The estate is listed at $4.5 million and has hosted the likes of John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. In fact, there's a guest house called the "JFK Wing" where he used to stay on the down low with MM, with 2-bedrooms, 2-bathrooms, plus a full kitchen and living room.

In all, the place has 5-bedrooms, 6,700 sq feet of living space, a giant pool, movie theater, 1.36 acres to spread out on and stunning views.

Francis Ngannou is known for his striking and downright scary power ... and now the UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he'd like to box a top heavyweight like Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.

We talked to the 35-year-old, 16-3 (12 KO's) UFC star ... and asked him if he still had designs on hopping to the boxing ring.

"It's always been down the line. This is something I'm not taking my eyes off of. It's gonna happen, either way. Even if, when the UFC and I finalize a deal, the boxing part has to be into it because I can't see myself retire without boxing," Francis says.

FYI, Francis has 1 fight left on his deal with Dana White's organization ... a title defense against interim champ, Ciryl Gane.

But, Ngannou isn't looking to box a tomato can ... he literally is going straight to the top for an opponent.

"Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level," Francis told us.

"It's not the same sport, although I'm the champion, I'm in the top in this division. At the end of the day, it's just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs and I'm sure that if I deliver my own punch, it's pretty good, I can make some damage."

Of course, Fury -- the top heavyweight boxer in the world -- recently beat fellow great Wilder in one of the best heavyweight fights of all time.

Fury is likely to fight Dillian Whyte early next year. Wilder's next move is currently unknown. But, a Ngannou fight vs. either man would obviously be a huge event.

The year 2021 was SO last year  ... and to help you remember we've broken into 2022 and wrapped up a big batch of stars chucking up two handfuls of peace signs to get you into that '22 vibe.

There's plenty of celebs like Kendall Jenner, Pedro Pascal, Emma Thompson, Idris Elba and many more celebs who have been photographed busting out the double deuces to bring you a little peace and joy.

Check out all 22 celebs in the gallery of A-list hotties breaking out the double digits to put your mind in a peaceful place.

"Selling Sunset" star Emma Hernan has a secret connection to former NFL stud Julian Edelman ... she played matchmaker and is now his daughter's godmother!!!

Emma's the one who introduced Julian to Swedish model Ella Rose, and now that the two have a kid together, Emma's got a very important role in their lives.

Julian and Ella's daughter, Lily Rose, just celebrated her 5th birthday ... and Emma was there, of course, because she's the godmother.

The connection is 10 years in the making ... because it was about a decade ago when Emma and Ella met at an after-party for the Oscars before becoming roommates.

In fact, Emma introduced Ella to Julian -- she knew him because she has family ties to Boston and Julian, of course, played for the New England Patriots -- the rest is history.

Our sources say when Ella became pregnant with Julian's child, it was only natural for her to pick Emma as the godmother ... they were best friends after all.

Emma's super hands-on ... she was even in the delivery room with Ella when Lily was born -- she had her hand on Ella's leg during the birth.

Before this dressed-up darling was one half of an epic comedy duo, he was just another tuxedo tot ready to celebrate a big occasion in New York City, New York.

This top hat kid started his comedy career at a young age when he was cast in a sketch show catered to children of the same age. Most kid actors have started their careers from this hilarious series -- just like him -- by starring in spin-offs on the same television network ... one funny fella even made it on "Saturday Night Live."

Cheers to that!

The truck driver who caused the crash that killed 4 and whose sentence of 110 years behind bars motivated more than 5 million people, including Kim Kardashian, to get behind his cause has been granted clemency by Colorado's Governor ... and his sentence has been reduced to 10 years.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos was driving an 18-wheeler in 2019 when the truck's brakes failed, causing the horrific pileup crash. His 110 year sentence was mandatory, but caused public outcry from those who felt it was harsh and unfair given the whole thing was an accident.

In his clemency letter Thursday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said, "The crimes you were convicted of are serious. Four individuals lost their lives and others were seriously injured because of your bad decisions.”

He continued, "Though your actions have caused immense pain, I am encouraged by your personal reflection and the commercial vehicle safety changes that were made in the wake of this tragedy to ensure this type of event never happens again.”

As we reported, Kim Kardashian was made aware of the case after Rogel's sentencing, and urged the Gov. to get involved to reduce his sentence.

Rogel will be eligible for parole in 2026.

A man went off the rails at LAX Thursday afternoon, attacking a cop and then getting tackled to the ground and arrested ... in a wild scene that underscores the nightmare we call holiday travel.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, the man was denied boarding a Delta fight to New York because he was allegedly intoxicated.  Police were called and they tried escorting him out of the terminal, but when they all got to the bottom of the escalator, he attacked an officer. That's when cops taken him down.

The man struggles with LAX police officers for several minutes as they try subduing him.  You hear him say, "I'm not going to comply until you tell me why."  He goes on ... "It's people like you.  You ruined my f***ing night, dude." And that's wasn't the end ... "Now I have to travel a whole other day."

He was arrested for battery on a police officer.

Our law enforcement sources say cops would have simply let him leave had he not attacked an officer.

Petra Ecclestone, the fashion designer/socialite, has filed legal docs to change the names of her 3 kids -- from her ex-husband's name to hers ... and it underscores the bitterness of their divorce.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Petra wants the last name of her three kids -- Andrew Kulbir Stunt, James Robert Frederick Stunt and Lavinia Stunt, to Ecclestone.

As for why, according to the docs, "To conform children's last name to mother's last name ... difficult in both daily life and traveling with children with a different name to mother."

The doc goes on to give another reason for the name change ... "Change and remove last name of absentee father who is subject to regular negative media and tabloid articles and criminal investigation."

The father of the 3 kids, James Stunt, is awaiting trial for money laundering, forgery and racially abusing a black police officer ... charges he has denied.

Stunt, a gold bullion dealer, and Ecclestone divorced in 2017, and it there is clearly still a lot of bad blood.

Petra, whose dad is Formula 1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone, is engaged to Sam Palmer ... they have a one-year-old daughter together.

H&M's store in NYC has been shut down while the clothing retailer investigates a disturbing photo claiming to show hoodies crawling with dozens of tiny bugs.

Twitter user @Madesonee_ posted the photos Wednesday, explaining, "I work at the H&M in the Oculus at World Trade & today a customer discovered lice on a rack of hoodies."

The 3 images showed a close-up of several light-colored hoodies covered with insects.

She continued, "They're not closing the store nor are they notifying employees of the problem. The section was just blocked off."

It apparently didn't take long for H&M brass to find out about the post, because they released a statement hours later, reportedly saying, "Out of an abundance of caution we have closed the H&M store at Westfield World Trade Center in order to investigate fully."

South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer either loves mayo, or he's got a strong stomach ... as evidenced in the BUCKET of the condiment he was doused in after his team's victory.

The Gamecocks took down North Carolina 38-21 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl Thursday, and part of the victory celebration for the winning team included Beamer getting a mayo bath.

Apparently, a mass quantity of mayo can get heavy, as it took two people to lift it -- and slightly drop it -- over Beamer's head ... but he took the whole thing like a champ and with a smile on his face.

It's not the first time the Duke's Mayo Bowl has gotten some post-game-celebratory attention ... it was back in 2020 when Wisconsin took the trophy -- and then shattered it into a million pieces -- that garnered the game some big-time coverage.

This time, it's just a little less glass to tidy up, and much more mayo.

"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis' wife wants the world to know the former couple's daughters are A-OK despite recent claims from Joe they'd been kidnapped and missed celebrating Christmas with him.

Abbey Wilson posted a pic smiling with Athena and Alexandria Thursday with the caption, "Buenos Dias." While the pic might seem innocent on it's face ... there's clearly a message Abbey wants to convey, the girl's are just fine.

TMZ broke the story ... legal docs claimed Abbey had ignored court orders to let Joe see his daughters, and had seemingly disappeared -- ignoring attempts to make contact.

In legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Joe says he was supposed to have the kids for Christmas and accused Abbey of family violence.

As we reported, police in Naples, Florida shot and killed a Malayan tiger named Eko Wednesday night, after a custodian allegedly went into an unauthorized area and, according to cops, either tried petting or feeding the animal. Eko clamped onto the guy's hand, and you hear him wailing in pain as cops approached.

This video is hard to watch, but it shows the consequences when someone goes rogue and gets way too close to a wild animal.

Police are unable to free the custodian, and then they shoot the tiger in the head at point-blank range, killing him.

It's a terrible tragedy that has been repeated many times before ... where someone put himself/herself and the animal in danger by getting way too close.

Buckingham Palace nearly put the kibosh on one of Elton John's most legendary performances to honor his friend Princess Diana ... only allegedly giving him the go-ahead in hopes the display would help turn public opinion in favor of the Royal Family.

According to newly released documents, obtained by SkyNews, the Palace believed lyrics to Elton's "Candle In The Wind" were "too sentimental" to be played at Diana's service in 1997.

The report states it was only after a letter from the Dean of Westminster, who believed giving Elton the chance to sing would be "imaginative and generous" to the public (who was pissed at the Royal Family) that the song got the green-light.

Of course, at the time of her death, Diana had been divorced from Prince Charles for a year ... and many felt the Palace -- including the Queen -- hadn't done enough to mourn her.

Diana had bashed Charles for cheating, saying there were, "Three of us in this marriage," referring to Charles' mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, who he went on to marry. Many thought the Royal Family's lack of empathy when she died was tied to her public bashing of the Prince.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are already acting like an old married couple ... because they're already doing the thing that seems inevitable with time -- wearing matching outfits!

Ben and Jen were leaving the Hotel Bel-Air in L.A. Wednesday, after having lunch with her dad, David, and her kids Max and Emme.

Check out the photos ... they're both wearing tan-colored jackets. Maybe that's not a big deal, but it's the start of a relationship that has been cemented for a while.

J Lo and Ben have been spending lots and lots of time together, on both coasts and in other countries over the last 6 months. TMZ broke the story ... they're on the hunt in L.A. for a house together where, presumably, they will blend the 2 families.