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The Los Angeles Lakers are honoring Kobe Bryant with their 2020 championship rings ... including 2 touching tributes to the late NBA legend in the design.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the rest of the returning members of the 2019-20 squad just received their rings prior to the season opener against the L.A. Clippers ... and they're MASSIVE.

The rocks are made of 16.45 carats and 804 stones ... with nods to the Orlando bubble, the league's social justice movement, regular-season wins and more.

The most notable parts of the design pay homage to the 5-time champ, who tragically passed away in a helicopter accident on Jan. 26, 2020.

The first tribute is a snake wrapped around each player's jersey number on the side of the ring ... representing Bryant's "Black Mamba" moniker and mentality.

The rings also feature a detachable top, which reveals each retired number in the franchise -- with Bryant's #8 and #24 jerseys in the team's Black Mamba uniforms worn during their title run.

One more cool thing -- LeBron's actual handwriting is used in the design ... with the team's playoff motto, "Leave a Legacy," etched on one side.

The pieces were made by Jason of Beverly Hills ... who told ESPN he completed the entire project in just 4 weeks due to the shortened offseason.

Joe Exotic says he's been reassured his pardon request has finally made its way to President Trump -- and the only thing left to do now is ... wait, but Trump's clearly in the pardoning mood.

The "Tiger King" filed new court docs Tuesday, dismissing his own complaint that he filed just last week ... in which he asked the judge to force the White House Pardon Attorney to get his application in front of DT's eyes for a final decision.

The reason he's reversing course ... Joe says he's now under the belief his pardon petition has, in fact, been received by 45, and that's all he wanted. Now he's got a shot at Trump signing off ... so Joe says there's no longer a need to pursue the legal action.

For now, Joe's just waiting on Trump to let him know one way or the other if he's gonna spring him from prison. It's something he and his team have been waiting on and lobbying for, literally for months.

Remember, Trump DID tell reporters months ago he'd "take a look" at his case and decide if a pardon was warranted.

Travis Scott is making sure kids in his old neighborhood have a safe and happy holiday ... hooking them up with toys, Christmas trees, food and more.

His Travis Scott x Cactus Jack Foundation held a holiday toy drive Tuesday at Sunnyside Park in Houston -- where Travis grew up -- giving away 2,000 toys to 1,000 elementary school students.

Travis' foundation really put the "drive" in toy drive. In order to keep it COVID-safe ... families, residents and school teachers drove through for the free toys, food, blankets, PPE gear and yes, even Christmas trees.

Sounds like no expense was spared ... the toys were from Mattel, and local celeb hot spot Turkey Leg Hut provided the free grub. Travis also had a special little helper, Stormi was there to make sure things were running without a hitch.

2,000 folks chowed down on the grub ... Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Reps. Al Green and Sheila Jackson attended, along with a couple City Council members.

Santa Scott!!!

Rajon Rondo appeared to nudge a woman into a car and then stand by as his girlfriend punched her in the face ... new video obtained by TMZ Sports shows.

Rondo, his GF and another woman were involved in an altercation at an apartment complex in Los Angeles back on July 28 ... and according to a lawsuit filed last week, it all stemmed from a dispute over a parking space.

In court documents, Toktam Jorshari says she parked next to Rondo's $300k Rolls-Royce SUV, which she claims was parked in a handicapped parking spot.

In the suit, Jorshari says the NBA star was pissed over how close she parked to his driver's side door ... and claims the Atlanta Hawks player and his GF cussed her out and then attacked her for it.

In video of the alleged incident, which does NOT contain audio, you can see the whole scene unfold.

Jorshari entered the parking structure and had an animated conversation with Rondo and his GF.

At one point, Rondo's GF got on her phone ... and that's when Jorshari got close to her and seemed to shout something.

Rondo then appeared to put his elbow into the woman's body and nudge her into the front of her car.

Rondo's GF then lunged at Jorshari, but Rondo briefly held her back. Suddenly, though, Rondo appeared to let her go ... and that's when the fists started flying.

Video shows Rondo's GF threw several punches at the woman, who never appeared to fight back.

In Jorshari's lawsuit, she claims she suffered injuries ... and is suing both Rondo and his GF for assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. She's seeking unspecified damages in excess of $1 MILLION.

In a statement released this week, Jorshari's attorneys -- Eddie Tehrani & Arnold Gross from State Law Firm -- say the video proves their client was the victim in the case.

"In the NBA, unnecessary and excessive contact is considered a Flagrant 2 foul, which can result in a fine, ejection and possible suspension of a player," the attorneys said. "Outside the NBA such conduct is considered an assault and battery. No man should ever put their hands on a woman, ESPECIALLY an NBA basketball player with superior height, and strength. The video speaks for itself."

The attorneys continued, "The defendants have no desire to resolve this matter and we will be looking forward to trying this case and obtaining a favorable verdict by a jury of her peers."

We reached out to Rondo's attorney, Mark D. Baute, over the video on Tuesday ... and received these statements:

"Mr. Rondo tried to separate them and keep them away from each other, he did not push anyone."

"I saw the videotape in July, during the first Covid surge. Rajon Rondo had a broken thumb in a cast at the time, and his vehicle was correctly parked in a handicapped spot while he was picking up his girlfriend."

"The plaintiff chose to park her car two inches from Mr. Rondo’s door, and the plaintiff was not in an assigned parking spot. The plaintiff refused to wear a mask during a short 30 second encounter, and also refused to move her car."

Baute continued, "The plaintiff and Mr. Rondo’s girlfriend had an unpleasant encounter that lasted roughly 10 seconds, and Mr. Rondo tried to prevent them from any further interaction, which was awkward due to (a) his thumb being broken, and (b) the plaintiff not wearing a mask."

"The plaintiff then left on her own, hired a lawyer, filed a lawsuit, and we have chosen to offer nothing, pay nothing and to defend the case on the merits, and win. The focus in July was on winning another championship with the Lakers. The focus now is on playing the best possible basketball for the Atlanta Hawks."

Several passengers who were on the same United jet where a passenger fell ill and died of COVID now fear they may have COVID themselves, and they're thinking about legal action.

Francois Montinat tells TMZ ... he's suffering from strong nasal and head congestion, and it's freaking him out because he had COVID back in May and those were 2 of the many symptoms he experienced.

Adding to his worries ... he can't get an appointment for a COVID test and he feels like crap and doesn't want to stand in a first-come-first-served line for hours. Montinat says he thinks United's safety protocol is deficient and he's pondering legal action for emotional distress.

Megan Hubbard and Cameron Roberts were also on the flight and they tell us ... Cameron's been experiencing symptoms since landing in L.A. He says he's developed a persistent cough and suspects he's come down with COVID.

Megan's not experiencing symptoms but the anxiety for both has reached a breaking point ... she says she's seeing a shrink to help her deal with it.  Megan feels someone should pay her medical expenses ... and you can guess who.

The jury selection process in the George Floyd murder trial is underway, and it's clear the judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys want to know where prospective jurors stand on social justice.

The Hennepin County Special Juror Questionnaire was just mailed out to citizens who could potentially decide whether the 4 accused cops are guilty of murder.

TMZ obtained a copy, and it begins by telling potential jurors they are to avoid viewing anything about the case from this day forward ... then digs into what they already know, and how they got that information.

A lot of it is basic stuff for highly publicized cases, but then it asks ... "Did you, or someone close to you, participate in any of the demonstrations or marches against police brutality that took place in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death?"

If the answer's yes, the next question is ... if they carried a sign and what the sign said.

The questionnaire continues with ... "Did you or someone you know get injured or suffer any property damage during the protests that took place after George Floyd’s death?" Also ... "Do you believe your community has been negatively or positively affected by any of the protests that have taken place in the Twin-Cities area since George Floyd’s death?"

Other questions focus on the media and law enforcement. Obviously, with police officers on trial, the intent here is to uncover biases ... either against or in favor of cops.

As we've reported ... former officer Derek Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for Floyd's death, and the trial is set to being March 8.

King Khan does have s*** on Rihanna, allegedly ... an artist by that name is suing her over a song he says she used to promote her cosmetics line.

Rihanna's being dragged to court by a German father-daughter musical duo -- King Khan and Saba Lou -- who claim she used one of their tracks in an Instagram post advertising Fenty brand accessories.

According to the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, King Khan and Saba Lou claim they created and own the music and lyrics for a song called "Good Habits (and Bad)," which they say showed up in RiRi's post.

In the docs, they claim Rihanna did not have their blessing, or legal permission, to use the tune. Their theory is she just ripped it from a music streaming platform.

The duo's going after Rihanna for damages, noting the ad got more than 3.4 million views ... and they want her to stop using their song.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left their posh Montecito estate for even posher Bev Hills, and they went pretty much unnoticed.

Harry was super casual and Meghan was all bundled up ... a little weird, since it's been in the 70's lately.

They entered a building with lots of medical offices and medical spas, but beyond that we don't know what suite if any they hit up.

They have increasingly ventured out in public. They've already connected with neighbors in Montecito, many of them famous like David Foster and Katharine McPhee. The foursome dined out recently.

Welp, here's a Christmas nightmare -- a guy with a painful grumbling in his gut quickly learned more than 100 worms had set up shop in his body, and had to be surgically removed.

This went down this week in the Vietnamese city of Thanh Hoa, where reports say a man wandered into a hospital with complaints of incessant stomach pain. A doc checked him out and discovered his stomach resembled a live bait shop -- it was basically worm city in there!

Of course, they immediately sent the dude into surgery, and recorded the whole thing -- which means you can watch what happened, but ya better be into this kinda thing, 'cause it is GROSS!!!

The doctor and his team literally fished out more than 100 parasitic worms -- which had apparently started with just one that laid a bunch of eggs. Word is ... the medical team chalked the infestation up to poor eating habits. Go figure.

The victims from one of Tekashi 6ix9ine's crimes are going after him in court ... demanding he pay up for what they suffered when Tekashi and co. robbed them.

Seketha Wonzer and Kevin Dozier just filed suit against the rapper, claiming he was part of the criminal conspiracy set in motion in April 2018 that led to them getting bum-rushed and robbed at gunpoint in NYC -- something Tekashi himself testified and pled guilty to in federal court.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Wonzer and Dozier say they lost a bundle during the robbery -- including shoes, master recordings, hard drives, precious jewelry, a camera and cash, among other items. They say the whole thing was a case of mistaken identity -- Tekashi and co. allegedly thought they were affiliated with Rap-A-Lot Records, but they say they weren't.

In the suit, filed by powerhouse attorney Joe Tacopina, they say although Tekashi didn't do the robbing himself ... he did film the whole thing from an SUV outside, while his cohorts in the Nine Trey Bloods did the dirty work. In any case, Wonzer and Dozier now want him to pay for the assault, battery and emotional distress they say they suffered.

The defendants say that because Tekashi copped to this crime in court already, his civil liability for the damages is beyond question.

We'd already spoken to Wonzer -- who also goes by Skyy Daniels -- after Tekashi testified against 2 Nine Trey members, and she didn't think his 2-year prison sentence was fair.

Skyy also told us flatly she wanted to see him pay for what he'd done to her. Tacopina, tells TMZ ... "If Tekashi69 thought his legal problems were over after pleading guilty to brutally assaulting my clients, he was woefully mistaken."

He adds, "We do know this now -- if he refuses to redress the injuries he caused my clients, he’ll sincerely regret that decision."

It appears there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for the nasty back and forth between "Dancing With The Stars" pro Gleb Savchenko and his wife, Elena Samodanova ... she's filed for divorce.

Elena submitted divorce docs Tuesday in L.A. ... the two got married back in 2006 and have two children together.

Elena's filing caps a long year of a very nasty and public split between the two. At one point, fans speculated that Gleb and "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause were seeing each other ... the two were partners on 'DWTS' before Chrishell was eliminated.

While it was never confirmed that Gleb and Chrishell were anything beyond friends, they've definitely stayed in touch, and recently vacationed to Mexico in a group that included Gleb's girlfriend Cassie Screbo and Chrishell's new boyfriend, Keo Motsepe, who is also a 'DWTS' pro.

Former U.S. Congresswoman Katie Hill is taking her ex-husband to court, claiming he's behind the leak of private photos and messages ... which, she says, ultimately sunk her political career.

The ex-Rep. from California filed suit Tuesday against Kenny Heslep -- who she recently divorced -- for what she says was a years-long campaign of making her life miserable ... up to and including the moment she stepped down from her post last year amid scandal.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, she says she'd been with Heslep since she was a teen ... and that, for years, he subjected her to torment, ridicule, physical and sexual abuse, as well as a constant environment of control and monitoring that carried over into their marriage.

Hill claims Heslep -- among other things -- demanded her passwords for devices, forced her to put her calls on speaker so he could listen, demanded to know her whereabouts, dictated her physical appearance, choked her without consent during sex, posted her nudes online ... and told her to kill herself during arguments.

In the suit, she also claims Heslep harmed pets of hers during their relationship -- including allegedly shooting and wounding her goat.

She says things came to a head in 2019 after she won a seat in Congress, and worked up the nerve to leave Heslep. She claims his response was to launch a scorched earth effort to smear her by supplying embarrassing photos and private messages to right-wing sites and other media outlets. Heslep insists he was hacked, but Katie clearly isn't buying that.

The barrage of headlines didn't stop until Hill announced she'd leave Congress ... but even after that -- and even after they'd divorced -- Hill claims reporters continued to badger her. Now, she's had enough ... and wants a judge to step in.

The man who went into cardiac arrest on a United flight 8 days ago had COVID, but the airline still hasn't notified passengers and says it's not their responsibility.

As TMZ reported, the Jefferson Parish Medical Examiner in Louisiana determined the 69-year-old man had COVID and died of respiratory failure. During the medical emergency on the flight from Orlando to L.A., the man's wife was heard saying her husband was suffering from COVID symptoms -- shortness of breath and a loss of taste and smell. He apparently didn't tell the truth before boarding and didn't disclose his symptoms.

United has still not notified the 179 passengers on board. A spokesperson for the airline tells TMZ they are not medical professionals so they can't make COVID determinations. The spokesperson said they have been in touch with the CDC and given them the flight manifest. The spokesperson says it's up to the CDC to contact passengers who may have been exposed.

We asked why the airline wouldn't immediately tell the passengers someone on the plane had COVID symptoms and, since he was in distress for nearly an hour before the emergency landing, wouldn't it be advisable to tell passengers so they could make decisions like staying away from elderly relatives during the Christmas holidays. The response ... they're not medical professionals so it's not up to them.

The spokesperson said they didn't know for nearly a week the passenger had COVID so they couldn't make any determination, but they clearly knew the guy had symptoms.

Many private companies notify their employees directly when they suspect someone in the office might be COVID-positive, so why not the airlines?

Dave Portnoy's sick and tired of waiting for the government to step up and help small businesses struggling during the pandemic ... so he's injecting his own stimulus package.

The Barstool Sports founder was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and revealed he kicked in $500k of his own money for the Barstool Fund he launched last week to support small businesses impacted by COVID shutdowns. And, with more than 31,000 people also contributing whatever amount they can ... that's created a fund of more than $2 million.

Dave's been vocal against COVID restrictions in NYC forcing restaurants, bars and other small businesses to shut down. Don't get it twisted ... he says it's not about politics and he understands the country is in a terrible situation with no perfect solution.

With that being said ... Dave says the government's not giving these businesses nearly enough for them to survive. For weeks now, the government's been negotiating a new stimulus package that would include $285 billion for a renewed Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses. President Trump's on the verge of signing the package.

Dave's tired of waiting around for Washington to act, hence his relief fund -- which he knows won't be able to save every deserving business, but as he says ... something is better than nothing.

One of the restaurants being funded is New York’s Trattoria L'incontro ... which made headlines after patrons braved freezing weather to dine outside. Dave recently held one of his fan-favorite pizza reviews there too.

One of the most notorious 'Survivor' contestants of all time is in hot water after a recent arrest ... and it looks like it's a family affair.

Jonny Fairplay was busted for larceny last week in his hometown of Danville, Virginia ... along with his mother, Patsy Hall. Based on their smirking mug shots -- they're not too bent out of shape about it, though.

It's unclear why Jonny and his mom were booked for larceny ... we're working on it. He does tell us though, "I (we) have been unjustly charged by a family member. I welcome the opportunity to vindicate myself (and my mother)."

Fairplay -- real name Jon Dalton -- earned a shady reputation way back in 2003 when he appeared on "Survivor: Pearl Islands" and had his visiting friend lie and tell him his grandma had died ... in order to garner sympathy from the other tribe members and win a reward.

He later revealed to the audience that his grandma was alive and well and at home "watching Jerry Springer." He ended up finishing the season in 3rd place.

Jonny's villain distinction would follow him for years in the reality TV world -- including a brief follow-up appearance on 'Survivor' -- along with a stint in professional wrestling.

The family of a Southern California man who died in police custody says he got the same treatment as George Floyd ... which can now be seen on video as authorities investigate.

33-year-old Ernie Serrano died last Tuesday after he was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon following an incident that required police assistance at a grocery store in Jurupa Valley ... which left him bloodied, battered and, ultimately, unresponsive.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Dept. released body cam footage as well as witness and surveillance video from that day ... and it shows Serrano at a Stater Bros. attempting to check out at the register, when for some reason security intervenes ... and they tussle.

The fighting goes on for a few minutes -- reports say the guard Tasered him and used pepper spray on him as well ... and that's when several Sheriff's deputies arrived. In the video, you can see one of the deputies unloads on a stumbling Serrano with his baton, striking him several times in the arm and stomach -- until, eventually, the whole squad tackles and detains him.

Body cam video shows Serrano bleeding from his face as deputies attempt to handcuff him -- while pinning his torso against a countertop. He's screaming for them to let him go as cops try to calm him down. Serrano actually screamed, "Excessive force" at one point.

They then put a spit mask on him, and he quiets down ... at some point after that he lost consciousness. Deputies put him on the floor and tried to resuscitate him. Serrano was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.

RCSD held a press conference Monday, saying the department and the District Attorney's Office were investigating. They also released a preliminary autopsy report they say lists his cause of death as acute methamphetamine intoxication ... which the Sheriff's Dept. says caused a fatal arrhythmia as he struggled with deputies.

The Sherrif's Dept. also says the autopsy shows contusions on his right arm and stomach, consistent with baton strikes. They add there's no sign of asphyxiation or other forms of trauma. Of course, Serrano's fam and their attorney, Humberto Guizar, see things differently.

Guizar says it's clear the deputies held him down in a compromised position for too long, which he believes led to Serrano's death. He's calling for an independent autopsy to be done, while also signaling he and the family are ramping up for a lawsuit. Guizar believes what happened to Serrano was not dissimilar to George Floyd.