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Elizabeth Vargas' home is seeing lots of police activity ... we're told her ex-boyfriend barricaded himself inside after she called cops, and now one person is in custody.

Sources close to the 'RHOC' star tell TMZ ... she’s been having ongoing issues with an ex-boyfriend and called cops Tuesday to report him for possible extortion. We’re told the guy showed up at Liz’s home when police were there and barricaded himself inside.

Our law enforcement sources tell us one person is in custody ... but we're told they’re sweeping the place just to be sure no one else is inside the home.

As you see, there were at least 7 police officers outside Liz's place on the strand in Newport Beach ... and there's a guy in handcuffs at the side of a police car.

It sounds like a pretty scary situation for Liz ... but we're told she was not held hostage and was not harmed during the standoff.

Pastor Michael Todd is the spitting image of a man who knows when he's done wrong -- which is why Montell Jordan's ready to forgive and forget his gnarly salivary moment.

We got the singer-turned-church leader at LAX and asked if Pastor Todd's viral spit sesh from a couple of weeks back will hurt his ministry in the long run ... and Montell tells us it won't, with some solid rationale.

For starters, he says Todd's made good with his congregation -- not to mention the public at large -- by owning up to what he did, and acknowledging it wasn't cool. The fact Pastor Todd did this so quickly with a sincere apology goes a long way for MJ, and he thinks Todd's parishioners will register it that way too.

Big picture ... Montell says Todd's humility flies in the face of what he says so many other people do these days ... namely, doubling down on bad takes/behavior.

The mere act of fessing up to his mistake shows goodwill that Montell says he appreciates. Furthermore, he also (rightly) points out ... the vast majority of the outrage from the face-wipe seen 'round the world was mostly spreading via social media ... and by extension, a bunch of randos who don't even know, follow or attend Todd's services on the regular.

The Washington Football Team finally has its new name ... the Washington Commanders.

The NFL's D.C. org just announced the rebranding -- nearly two years after it dropped its old moniker due to its racist ties.

Commanders co-owner and co-CEO Tanya Snyder said in a statement the team landed on the new name after "40,000 fan submissions and countless surveys, focus groups and meetings."

The team unveiled three new logos with the name change -- a capital W, a stylized "Washington Commanders" insignia, and a team crest.

The Commanders also showed off their new uniforms -- red and burgundy kits that aren't too much different than what they've been wearing the past few years.

"As an organization," team co-owner and co-CEO Dan Snyder said Wednesday, "we are excited to rally and rise together as one under our new identity while paying homage to our local roots and what it means to represent the nation's capital."

Lisa Vanderpump's hubby, Ken Todd, says the 'RHOBH' star will likely never ride a horse again ... after her last ride ended with a badly broken leg.

We caught up with Ken on Tuesday, just as Lisa was having surgery to repair the shattered bones. Ken confirms she broke her leg in 3 places, and will have a bunch of new hardware by the time you're reading this.

He says he's not completely sure how long it will take Lisa to fully recover, but he's guessing about 8-10 weeks.

One thing at least he's sure of ... LV's riding days are over. Ken says the horse she was riding Sunday was a gentle and amazing animal, and despite the ol' saying, it doesn't sound like he wants his wife to risk it by getting back on the horse. Of course, we'll have to see what Lisa thinks once she's recovered.

As we've previously reported, the 'Real House Wives' star was riding in L.A. when her steed apparently got scared, reared up and bucked her off.

Ken saw it happen, and was in complete shock -- he says Lisa immediately knew something was broken.

"Friday" star Anthony Johnson is getting a fancy tombstone on his grave ... designed by the guy who honored Eazy-E and Nate Dogg with awesome grave markers.

Cemetery Tim, the man behind the cool celeb gravestones, tells TMZ ...  he got in touch with Anthony's family after the actor/comedian died back in September. The goal was to create and install the headstone for what would have been Anthony's 56th birthday.

The gravestone chronicles Anthony's career with images ... showing him as Ezal on "Friday," and another image of Anthony as E.Z.E. in "House Party." The inscription reads, "Don't cry for me, I lived and made your ass laugh ... tell me I'm lying!"

Cemetery Tim says Anthony's widow, Lexis Jones Mason, worked with him on the design ... which also includes the late actor's signature.

TMZ broke the story ... Anthony was found lifeless in an L.A. store and his family was scrambling to pay for his funeral before a bunch of celebs picked up the tab.

Cemetery Tim says all of his work on Anthony's gravestone was done free of charge.

Maluma celebrated another trip around the sun in style ... because he got surprised with a birthday party at a massive mansion, and a five-figure dessert was the icing on the cake!!!

A rep for Maluma tells TMZ ... Hennessy V.S.O.P surprised Maluma Sunday with a birthday bash at a $25 million mansion outside Vegas.

Maluma's collabing with the alcohol brand on designing a new bottle ... and we're told his surprise party included a chocolate cake designed as an exact replica of his Hennessey bottle, and it cost $10,000.

We're told the cake's designer, Flora Aghababyan, has also made cakes for celebs like Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Will Smith and Celine Dion, just to name a few.

Maluma didn't spend the night at the mansion, but the place is incredible ... the 4-bedroom estate is decked out with 2 infinity saltwater pools and a spa!!!

The 28th birthday celebration also included a boozy brunch with Maluma's closest family and friends, with a DJ and mariachi band performing some of his favorite classic Spanish songs.

Canadian actor Robin Duke is known for her standout role as the quirky waitress Doris -- who serves coffee and deals with Phil's dining disasters -- in the classic 1993 film "Groundhog Day."

Robin shared the iconic redundant role with Andie MacDowell as the news-driven darling, Rita Hanson ... and of course Bill Murray as the french-speaking, piano-playing, Ned Ryerson-punching news anchor Phil Connors.

Other big roles under Duke's acting belt include her stint as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" in the early '80s and the shop owner Wendy on "Schitt's Creek."

Tommy Dorfman's husband apparently has some reasons why they should end their marriage ... because the "13 Reasons Why" star's spouse just filed for divorce.

Peter Zurkuhlen beelined it to a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday and filed divorce docs after more than 5 years of marriage to Tommy ... according to online court records.

Tommy and Peter were first introduced through a mutual friend way back in 2005, and they eventually got engaged in April 2015 before walking down the aisle in November 2016 up in Portland, Maine.

As you know ... Tommy, who played Ryan Shaver on '13 Reasons,' came out as a transgender woman back in July, and also announced she had "redefined" her relationship with Peter, explaining they would become friends rather than romantic partners.

Sharon Stone says Joe Rogan's new approach to discussing COVID-19 is empty lip-service if he continues spreading misinformation, and adds there's only one thing he needs to disclaim.

The actress and activist held nothing back when we saw her Tuesday in Bev Hills, and brought up Rogan's podcast.

We pointed out several celebs had come out in support of Joe, but Sharon's not buying his and Spotify's new policy -- namely, adding a disclaimer at the beginning of episodes, and offsetting controversial COVID viewpoints with a "mainstream" take as well.

Sharon tells us the only "disclaimer" she wants from Joe is for him being an "a**hole." Watch the clip (pardon the soft focus due to equipment snafu) ... but, in a nutshell ... she says it's too late for Rogan's new balanced approach.

In her mind, his interviews and COVID theories have already cost people their lives. Might sound harsh, but that's her POV, which she says it's based on doing significant work in the field of infections diseases.

SS lays out her creds, particularly on HIV ... seeing the horrors of deadly viruses while working with leading doctors and scientists, including Dr. Anthony Fauci.

And when it comes to COVID, it's personal for Sharon. You'll recall, the virus killed her grandmother and godmother ... and her sister and sister's husband were both hospitalized because of it.

Simon Cowell did it again ... he crashed his e-bike and landed in the hospital with broken bones.

Sources tell TMZ ... Simon was tooling around on the bike in London last Thursday when he turned a sharp corner ... or at least he tried to turn. The road was wet and the tires went out from under him and he crashed to the ground.

We're told Simon broke his left arm and badly bruised his cheek. He may have also have suffered a concussion.

Simon went to the hospital where he was treated and released the same day, sporting a bright yellow cast.

As we reported, this was not Simon's first crash ... in August, 2020, he got a brand-spankin' new e-bike and literally got on it in his driveway and it lunged forward, crashing and as a result, Simon broke his back in 3 places.

Now, if Simon happens to read this ... wear a helmet, dude!!! He wasn't wearing one in either crash, and but for the grace of God, he could have suffered way more severe injuries.

Brian Flores is going scorched earth on the NFL and New York Giants ... filing an explosive lawsuit where the former Dolphins head coach alleges the team's hiring practices were rooted in racism, and he claims a text from Bill Belichick proves it.

The 40-year-old coach filed the class action lawsuit through attorneys Douglas H. Wigdor, Michael J. Willemin, David E. Gottlieb in district court in New York on Tuesday ... and it's shocking.

Flores says he received a text from his former boss and Patriots head coach days before he interviewed with the Giants. During the conversation, Flores says BB congratulated him on landing the new gig.

BF was confused by the comment because he had yet to go in for his scheduled interview, and asked Bill if he had an inside track to their decision.

Belichick eventually admits he misread the information he received ... and tells Flores it was actually a different Brian -- Brian Daboll -- who landed the Giants job.

Flores insists this is proof he was only brought in for an interview to satisfy the Rooney Rule -- which requires teams to interview a minority candidate when a head coaching job opens up.

FYI, Flores and Daboll both worked together under Belichick in New England.

BF claims he was then "forced to sit through a dinner" with new Giants GM Joe Schoen despite "knowing that the Giants had already selected Mr. Daboll."

And Flores says this wasn't the first time he's been subjected to a "sham interview that was held only in an effort to comply with the Rooney Rule."

The fired coach says he interviewed with then-Broncos general manager John Elway and other Denver execs in 2019 ... however, Brian says "it was clear from the substance of the interview that Mr. Flores was interviewed only because of the Rooney Rule."

Flores also claims Elway and the other Broncos execs showed up an hour late for the interview and "looked completely disheveled, and it was obvious that they had drinking heavily the night before."

Brian -- who points out there's only 1 Black head coach (Mike Tomlin) and 6 GMs -- is suing on the behalf of all prospective Black coaches and front office employees.

Flores is asking the court to fix the NFL's alleged discriminatory hiring practices, in addition to damages.

There's more ... Flores also accuses Dolphins owner Stephen Ross of offering to pay him $100K per loss -- in an effort to tank the season and get a better draft pick.

Flores says when he refused to play ball, he was labeled as being difficult to work with, and ultimately fired.

"This is reflective of an all too familiar 'angry Black man' stigma that is often casted upon Black men who are strong in their morals and convictions while white men are coined as passionate for those very same attributes," the lawsuit reads.

Flores -- who is currently without a coaching gig -- understands the lawsuit could possibly prevent him from landing a job in the future.

"God has gifted me with a special talent to coach the game of football, but the
need for change is bigger than my personal goals," Flores said in a statement released by his lawyers.

No one takes steak more seriously than these pissed-off Golden Corral customers -- who got way more heated than the food, sparking an all-out brawl, and beef might be behind the beef ... TMZ has learned.

It all went down Friday night at a Golden Corral in Bensalem, PA, where things got totally outta hand -- punches, booster seats, chairs ... pretty much anything that wasn't bolted down was tossed. The video shows lots of people getting nailed and taken down too.

The reason for all this violence? Well, a rep for the restaurant tells us things escalated when someone cut the buffet line, and grabbed someone else's steak.

Police don't dispute steak playing a role, but they say they're still investigating the motive.

A Bensalem Police Department Spokesperson tells TMZ ...  there were approximately 40 people involved, and most of 'em had cleared out by the time officers arrived.

Surprisingly, police say there were no serious, or even minor, injuries suffered. They also so say GC staffers stayed out of the chaos.

We're told Golden Corral has been very cooperative and no arrests have been made, but police are still trying to ID people involved ... so that could change.

Steve Kornacki certainly knows his way around stats, but says a poll asking if we should get back to normal -- as it pertains to COVID -- isn't as clear as the numbers make it seem.

We talked to NBC's go-to data journalist at LAX about a recent Monmouth University poll which posed the question: "Time to Accept Covid and Move On?" The responses were somewhat surprising.

The overall consensus seems to be yes, we oughta just learn to live with COVID and start getting back to normal, but as SK points out to us here ... that means different things for different people.

While Monmouth's poll indicates a majority of Americans agree with that general sentiment about the virus, Steve notes it's a bit ill-defined as to what folks might consider "normal" these days. He even suggests a more precise poll question would net further splintered results.

As you might know, there's a growing chorus of opinions that we should do away with all 'rona-related mandates -- masks, vaccines, etc. -- and literally go back to how we lived our lives pre-2020 ... which has been echoed by the likes of Bill Maher and his guests.

Of course, there are just as many people who continue to be wary and insist we're still very much in the midst of a deadly pandemic.

Tragic news ... Paraguayan soccer star Ivan Torres says his wife Cristina Vita Aranda was killed after being shot in the head while the two attended a concert.

She was only 29 years old.

Aranda's death was confirmed by Itaugua Nacional Hospital director Yolanda Gonzalez, in a statement via the Sun.

"She was intubated when she arrived and attempts were made to resuscitate her for at least 25 minutes after she went into cardiac arrest," Gonzalez said. "She died after the lengthy attempts to save her life."

Torres and Aranda were reportedly at a concert at the Jose Asuncion Flores Amphitheatre ... when gunfire erupted, according to the outlet.

The shooting is still under investigation by authorities, but preliminary reports say there were 4 other victims -- between the ages of 23 and 40 -- who were also wounded during the incident.

Torres, however, did not sustain any physical injuries, according to the reports.

Police chief Benicio Ramirez said law enforcement officials do not believe she was the intended target, but rather a "collateral victim" in the incident.

“This is how I will remember you my love, with that beautiful smile and that big heart," Torres wrote on social media.

He continued ... "I promise that I will miss you very much, nothing will be the same without you, just to thank you for these 11 years by my side, for teaching me to recognize my mistakes, to forgive, to believe, to be better, to love unconditionally, that Despite the difficulties we had to be prepared for the next opportunity, you told me that you wanted to reach the heart of each woman and impact them."

“I know that God granted it to you and will continue to do so, and THANK YOU for those three children you gave me, I will honor your name by giving my best so that they look like you. LOVE YOU.”

Aranda posted last December she and Torres were getting a divorce after being married for 10 years ... but the two were reportedly working on reconciling even in the last moments of her life.

As ecstatic as the Internet's been about Rihanna revealing she's expecting her first baby ... her Dad is even more excited, and sharing his hopes for the new grandchild.

Granddad-to-be Ronald Fenty opened up about Rihanna's bun in the oven, saying she gave him the heads up the day before the pics of her and A$AP Rocky went public. He says he's met A$AP a few times, and is totally confident he and RiRi will be great parents.

As for the baby... Ronald says he's hoping his daughter has a girl, since he already has 2 grandsons. If it doesn't happen this time around, he could possibly get more chances ... cause he tells us that Rihanna's told him she wants to have 3 children.

Ronald also says he's looking forward to a wedding in the near future, because he wants them to make things really official.

It's nice to see Ronald singing Rih's praises -- as you might remember, they haven't had the best father-daughter relationship in the past.

Back in 2019, Rihanna sued her dad for allegedly using her Fenty brand and his relationship with her to launch his own entertainment company. They eventually squashed the dispute and she dropped the case a few weeks before it was scheduled to go to court.

The confusion surrounding Tom Brady's future is finally over ... the quarterback just said he is officially retiring -- though he made one glaring omission in his goodbye note.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB announced on his Instagram page early Tuesday morning that he's done ... saying, "My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, it's best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes."

Brady then thanked his family, friends, teammates, coaches and Buccaneers execs in the post ... but he notably made no mention whatsoever of the New England Patriots.

There's no note to Bill Belichick or Robert Kraft -- two guys he spent 20 years of his career with before he bolted for Tampa Bay following the 2019 season.

It's unclear if the omission signals some sort of rift between the QB and the org. -- or if he felt he had already said his appropriate goodbyes to them when he left two years ago.

Either way, Brady's announcement officially ends arguably the greatest sports career ever. Tom played in the NFL for 22 seasons and won seven Super Bowls. He also won three MVP awards and was selected to 15 Pro Bowls.

In his career, he logged 84,520 passing yards and 624 passing touchdowns. He's considered the greatest football player of all time.

As for what's next, Brady has his hands all over several business projects -- but he mentioned in his post he has no real idea what he'll do from here.

"I'm fortunate to have cofounded incredible companies like @autograph.io @bradybrand @tb12sports that I am excited to continue to help build and grow," Brady said, "but exactly what my days will look like will be a work-in-progress. As I said earlier, I am going to take it day by day."

"I know for sure I want to spend a lot of time giving others and trying to enrich other people's lives, just as so many done for me."