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Novak Djokovic has just been set free Down Under -- a judge ruled in his favor in his visa appeal case, clearing the way for the tennis star to compete in the Australian Open next week.

Djokovic had been in a quarantine hotel in Melbourne the last few nights ... after Australian government officials canceled his visa shortly after his arrival in the country last Wednesday.

Authorities argued Djokovic did not meet the proper requirements to be formally granted an exemption to Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination rules.

Djokovic, though, argued he did meet all the criteria ... saying he had been infected with COVID last month and therefore did not need to be vaccinated.

At a visa appeal hearing in an Australian courtroom on Monday -- a judge overturned the government's decision, pointing out that the 34-year-old had received vaccine exemption status from Tennis Australia and two medical panels prior to his arrival.

"The point I’m somewhat agitated about is what more could this man have done?" the judge said in the courtroom.

The judge's decision now paves the way for Djokovic to compete in The Open, which begins on Jan. 17.

"I'm pleased and grateful that the Judge overturned my visa cancellation," Djokovic said in a statement on Twitter following the decision. "Despite all that has happened, I want to stay and try to compete @AustralianOpen."

"I remain focused on that. I flew here to play at one of the most important events we have in front of the amazing fans."

There could still be more hurdles for Djokovic to leap ... Australian authorities have suggested they could still cancel his visa once again.

If that does happen, and Djokovic is deported, he could be faced with a 3-year ban from the country.

It remains unclear what the likelihood of a second cancellation is.

Britney Spears may be a free woman, but that's not the case for her ex Jason Alexander ... he's been tethered to probation after pleading guilty to stalking, TMZ has learned.

According to the Franklin Police Department, Jason was arrested on Dec. 30 and taken to the Williamson County Jail in Tennessee. He was eventually charged with violation of a protective order and aggravated stalking.

District Attorney General Kim Helper tells TMZ ... Jason pled guilty to misdemeanor stalking on Jan. 4 and was given 11 months, 29 days of probation. As part of the deal, he'll have to undergo a mental health screening and submit to random drug screenings.

Helper added Alexander won't be allowed to have any contact with the female victim. The nature of their relationship is unclear.

As you might recall, Britney and Jason dated back in '04. They abruptly got married in Vegas ... but that lasted all of 55 hours and the marriage was annulled shortly thereafter.

Jason later claimed Britney's team forced them to end the relationship and made it hard for the two to communicate afterward ... and while she seems to be in a better place these days, Jason's clearly struggling.

Last January, he was hit with a DUI and other charges related to drug possession ... later in August, he was arrested for trespassing into a "non-secure" area at a Nashville airport.

Sideline reporter Kristina Pink needed to be helped off the Crypto.com Arena floor on Sunday ... after she slipped on water and fell HARD following a postgame interview.

Pink had just finished up a post-win chat with L.A. shooting guard Amir Coffey, when she lost her balance and went crashing to the floor.

Pink horrifyingly landed on the court face-first ... and the thud of her fall could be heard loud and clear on broadcast microphones.

Somehow, though, Pink avoided serious injuries in the tumble ... writing on her social media page after the game that she's expected to be fine.

"For everyone asking, I’m ok," said Pink, who does games for NFL on Fox in addition to her role with the Clippers. "There was water on the court... Appreciate all the messages."

Kendall Jenner has a new issue with a man attempting to get onto her property, and while he was arrested ... he's already back on the streets, as it's becoming more and more challenging for cops to keep people safe.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ 31-year-old Arnold Babcock was stopped inside Kendall's gated community earlier this week by security. He claimed he was looking for Kendall, and we're told it's not the first time he'd been in the area trying to find her.

The community security detained Babcock until cops came, who then arrested him for trespassing. However, he was released a short time later without being charged.

Our law enforcement sources say L.A. County D.A. George Gascon's office rarely files charges on trespassing cases, which is increasingly frustrating to cops.

We're told the rank and file feel that without charges or consequences ... suspects have more of an incentive to commit crimes again.

The D.A. tells TMZ ... "Our office charges trespassing cases when appropriate based on the totality of the circumstances."

It's not the first, second or even tenth time a member of the Kardashian/Jenner family has had to deal with men attempting to get in their homes or on their property.

As we reported, it was back in March when a man jumped in Kendall's pool naked before he was arrested -- and just last month a man was arrested near Kylie's home trying to make contact.

Babcock is still under investigation for his other alleged incidents involving Kendall.

Bola Osundairo -- one of the brothers at the center of the Jussie Smollett scandal -- has a message for Jake Paul ... think you can fight?? Well, I'm coming for your ass!!

TMZ Sports talks to Abimbola -- aka Bola -- about his burgeoning boxing career ... when the conversation turned to The Problem Child.

"Kick rocks. More like the great white hype. And I want you Jake Paul, and I'm coming after you. And we're gonna wipe the hype."

Osundairo then had a message for Paul.

"Quit running. It's time for you to face a boxer. I'm not too advanced, you probably started before me. So we probably have the same amount of experience. What are you running from?"

He also took a shot at the opponents Jake's beaten.

"Stop going after old washed-up UFC fighters. They're not boxers. They don't want to box you. Leave them alone."

Of course, Bola and his brother became overnight celebs after admitting Smollett paid them to carry out the hoax attack in Chicago back in 2019.

That's about when Bola got into the sport of boxing ... and he's no joke in the ring.

Team USA Boxing ranks him the #1 86 kg (189 lbs.) fighter in their rankings. He also told us he recently fought 4 nights in a row, winning all the by unanimous decision.

But, the 24-year-old YouTuber turned undefeated boxer -- who just brutally KO'd Tyron Woodley -- isn't the only one on Bola's hit list. He's also got his eyes on a couple of other well-known fighters.

"We'll fight Tommy Fury. We'll fight Julio Cesar Chavez. Anderson Silva. See I'm naming real boxers, or people who actually do stuff in boxing. We'll fight any of them."

Before this baby belle was wowing audiences with her thrilling performances on television, she was just another rose-worthy runt cheesing big for the camera in Spokane, Washington.

This wide-grinning girl has made an impact in the acting world with her powerful performances on screen ... she has been featured on some of the most popular streaming series including "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Sharp Objects."

Most recently, she took on the role of a privileged college student in the popular HBO mystery "Euphoria" which just premiered its second season.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez probably regrets heading down to Florida last week -- because she just caught a case of coronavirus a full 7 days later ... and is apparently hurting.

The New York congresswoman announced Sunday that she'd come down with 'rona, saying she's received a positive test result -- but not really saying when exactly. She says she IS experiencing symptoms ... and is now recovering at home.

Her office's statement notes AOC is double vaccinated, and that she received her booster shot in the fall. And for good measure, she encourages everyone to get vaccinated and to follow all CDC guidelines.

That last part is catching a little bit of backlash at the moment ... seeing how the Representative was just down in the Sunshine State for New Year's with her boyfriend, where she appeared to be mostly maskless ... while hobnobbing with kinda big crowds, which included the likes of Billy Porter, among others at a drag show brunch event.

Granted, a lot of the photos and video of her in Miami (sans a mask) are outside -- which, by traditional wisdom at this point, seems to help.

Still ... considering AOC has been a strong proponent of strict 'rona protocols, many found it interesting she'd fled to a state whose governor she's been critical of in his handling of COVID.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is far from the first member of Congress to contract COVID -- Sens. Warren and Booker also announced they'd tested positive not too long ago.

An inferno engulfed a 19-story apartment building in New York City's Bronx borough, leaving 17 people dead ... including a reported 8 children.

The fire went down Sunday at the Twin Park apartments, with authorities saying the flames appear to have originated from a duplex between the second and third floors ... which quickly spread throughout the rest of the structure.

At least 200 firefighters responded to the scene in what ended up being categorized as a five-alarm blaze ... as they bravely ascended the edifice any way they could to get people out, including via ladders along the walls and into open windows.

Tons of video were captured of the horrific scene ... some of which showed firefighters lowering people down ladders and to safety. Still, the damage was devastating.

More than 5 dozen people are reported to have been injured in the fire, including 13 who are said to have been in critical condition. Most of the victims are suffering from severe smoke inhalation ... this according to FDNY officials.

Newly elected Mayor Eric Adams says it's one of the worst fires in NYC history ... and it's now being compared to the Happy Land social club fire of 1990, which took the lives of 87 people.

No word on what may have caused this to begin with ... that's currently under investigation. With that said, fire officials told local media that it doesn't appear to be suspicious in origin.

The artwork on Stefon Diggs' cleats knows no bounds, evidenced in his latest offering ... a tribute to the late Betty White.

The Buffalo Bills wide receiver honored the iconic actress Sunday with a pair of pregame footwear that featured BW's likeness, plus a famous song attributed to her as well. You can see a cartoon rendering of Betty throwing up the 'rock on' hand sign ... while smirking.

On the other cleat, the words "Thank You For Being a Friend" are emblazoned -- obviously a nod to the 'Golden Girls' theme song of the same name. The artwork was done by footwear designer Mache, who's famous for doing these mockups for athletes, especially Stefon.

No word if these babies made it on the gridiron or not -- SD usually flashes his custom cleats before kickoff, and then changes into what he'll actually wear for the game. But, it's not unheard of for him to rock tribute cleats on the field, like he did for Michael K. Williams.

Anyway, it's clear Betty left her mark on Stefon ... who proved himself to be a fan with a tweet he sent on the day she passed. He simply wrote, "Rip Betty White" ... and now, his love for her comes full circle.

We broke the story ... Betty died on New Year's Eve, not far from what would've been her 100th birthday this month.

Two of the most prominent strains of COVID have reportedly fused together in what sounds like a science fiction flick gone wrong -- churning out a mutated baby called ... "Deltacron."

Leondios Kostrikis -- a professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus and head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology and Molecular Virology there -- told local media this week that his team had discovered what they believe to be a new variant.

The way he describes it ... "omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes," which essentially means there are traces of both strains within this new monstrosity.

Kostrikis says they've identified only 25 or so cases thus far in people, with a majority of them befalling folks who were hospitalized for COVID. Their findings are being sent to GISAID, which is the leading international database for all things 'rona, to be studied further.

While it might sound pretty scary, Kostrikis says we shouldn't freak just yet ... because he truly believes it's just a bug that'll probably fall to the wayside. He explains, "We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail," adding that he thinks regular omicron will displace it in the end.

Josh Duhamel is lined up to be a married man once again -- but he didn't pop the question without first doing some serious work on the microphone -- as evidenced in these videos.

Josh and his now-fiancée Audra Mari were staying at the Bungalows Key Largo Resort in Florida last week, and decided to join in on some good karaoke fun. We're told there's a weekly event at a lounge overlooking the water, and at one point Josh got up on stage.

He's certainly got a mix of hits ... including "Tennessee Whiskey," "Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely" by The Backstreet Boys and a crowd-pleaser "My Neck, My Back" by Khia.

Audra didn't perform alongside Josh, but the audience seemed to eat it up regardless.

Saturday marked a big day for Josh and Audra -- who served as Miss World America 2016 --  the actor announced they had gotten engaged after two years of dating. Safe to say the proposal went down during the trip to Key Largo.

Masha Diduk, AKA Jeff Lowe's hot nanny from "Tiger King," may have taken the idea of "Sin City" a little too literal ... she was arrested for stealing a candelabra worth $5k from a Vegas nightclub, TMZ has learned.

According to a police report obtained by TMZ ... back in July, security at the Wynn hotel in Vegas watched surveillance footage showing a woman pilfering a candelabra from a private dining room in a club on the property. Moments later she was seen leaving the casino, wearing it on her forearm like an accessory.

But, what happened in Vegas that night didn't stay under wraps. Security was able to get the name on the ticket the suspect used to valet her car as well as the license plate. And, after some social media digging they were able to match Masha's posts to the suspect in the security footage.

She even posted at the club around the time of the incident on IG ... posing with one of their signature drinks.

She was later detained by Wynn security and arrested for grand larceny.

As you may recall, Masha raised eyebrows over her work ethic when she became a part-time nanny for 'Tiger Kings' former cohorts, Jeff Lowe and his wife, Lauren. She apparently met Jeff and his wife in Vegas a while back, where she had been living and working as a model.

BTK killer Dennis Rader has a take on himself ... he's both a monster and a good guy.

Rader appears on a new, Dick Wolf documentary on A&E -- "BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer" -- in which he chats with a psychologist about his killing spree and the motivations behind it.

The self-proclaimed BTK killer says he is indeed a "monster," but also a "good person who did some bad things." BTK, by the way, is short for bind, torture, kill.

As you know, Rader, a church leader, pled guilty in 2005 to killing 10 people to satisfy his sexual fantasies .... and the spree lasted from 1974 to 1991.

The psychologist, Dr. Katherine Ramsland, spent a decade interacting with Rader. They corresponded, spoke by phone and sometimes in person at the maximum-security prison where Rader will spend the rest of his days.

Dr. Ramsland says Rader's story doesn't line up with the public perception of serial killers ... "Dennis Rader challenges the idea we have about serial killers. He was a family man. He was a churchgoer, even a president of his church congregation. He had a full-time job. He was part of his community. So we have to be careful about some of the stereotypes we form about these kinds of offenders."

She goes on ... "In Dennis’ case, there wasn’t any particular reason in his background. No trauma. He was an all-American boy, the oldest of four boys in his family. He had an intact family and played on his farm. So where did it all come from?'

And, the psychologist says, Rader viewed himself as a victim once he was captured.

A horrendous tragedy unfolded in Brazil Saturday, after a massive rock formation came loose over a lake, careening into the water ... killing at least 7 people.

The video is terrifying ... literally, a side of a mountain cascaded down onto 4 boats in Minas Gerais. You hear boaters scream in disbelief, as the rock formation makes contact with the boats, hurling them into the air. Two of the 4 boats hit sank.

The collapse was thunderous ... as thousands of pounds of rock and debris hit the water. It's all the more horrifying that it was by all accounts a serene day and you see the boaters relaxing and enjoying themselves until disaster suddenly struck.

In addition to the dead, around 30 people were injured.

There were heavy rains in the area, and authorities are now speculating the torrent of water may have been the cause of the mountain collapse.

A Canadian dude -- a government official, no less -- is getting dragged every which way for giving his wife a public "atta girl" for shoveling snow after putting in a hard day as a hospital frontline worker.

Jon Reyes, the Minister of Economic Development and Jobs in Manitoba, tweeted Saturday what he clearly thought was a sweet pic of his wife, Cynthia ... captioning it ... "Even after a 12 hour night shift at the hospital last night, my wife still has the energy to shovel the driveway. God bless her and all our frontliners. Time to make her some breakfast."

In one of the least surprising reactions so far this year, people went nuts ... curious as to why Jon didn't get out there with a shovel and at least help.

It gets worse ... you'd think maybe Jon also had a tough day, dealing with the economic ramifications in the current COVID crisis, but he tweeted earlier in the day he was watching tennis.

Now here's the amusing thing ... Canadians are so much more polite than Americans. Here's the way Jon got dragged ...

"She only did it because you didn’t do it in her absence. I’m sure she was right pissed rolling up to the house after a 12hr day seeing it was not done. Decided to rage shovel."

"What was wrong with your hands? Its the utter audacity for me? This whole tweet is ashy and dingy."

"And the reason *you* couldn't be bothered to shovel instead of taking a picture from your room and tweeting is what, exactly? She just worked 12 hours. What were you doing?"

A Doja Cat fan is behind bars Sunday after making a bomb threat at her concert.

Doja Cat was performing at a concert in Indianapolis Saturday night, when the impatient fan wanted to cut the line to get inside.

A Deputy Police Chief told the IndyStar, "A fan wanted to advance in line so he exercised very poor judgment and told those around him in line he had a bomb in his backpack."

Cops were called and no explosives were found, but the guy was arrested for unrelated, outstanding warrants.

It's always insane for anyone to make such a threat, but especially in these times... and not just because of the political landscape. After the Astroworld tragedy, lots of people are on edge at concerts, so something like this predictably will cause chaos.

A concertgoer posted this ...  "Just waited 4 hours to see doja cat for their [sic] to be a literal bomb threat(???) scariest moment of my actual life the ground was covered in ice we were all running and slipping around literally so scary."

A fan was also freaked out ... "We were considering leaving before the bomb threat happened. Saw the front of the line push everyone back and dipped out of there. Not going back."

By the way ... another, smaller incident once the concert began. Doja Cat stopped the show for a short while because 2 fans were fighting.