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Congress appears to have a rash of COVID spreading amongst its ranks -- with Sen. Cory Booker being the 2nd elected official this weekend to announce he's positive.

Booker broke the news Sunday, writing ... "I learned today that I tested positive for COVID-19 after first feeling symptoms on Saturday. My symptoms are relatively mild." He threw in a plug for vaccines, adding ... "I’m beyond grateful to have received two doses of vaccine and, more recently, a booster – I’m certain that without them I would be doing much worse."

Booker's COVID news comes on the heels of Sen. Elizabeth Warren declaring the same just hours earlier ... saying she too had caught the 'rona.

SEW writes, "I regularly test for COVID & while I tested negative earlier this week, today I tested positive with a breakthrough case."

She also expressed gratitude for being vaccinated, saying ... "Thankfully, I am only experiencing mild symptoms & am grateful for the protection provided against serious illness that comes from being vaccinated & boosted."

Of course, this just proves that being vaxxed (and boosted) can still result in someone contracting the virus -- especially with the Omicron variant on the loose and spreading fast all throughout the nation. But, as the Senators mentioned, they'd be doggone sick (if not worse) had they opted not to get vaccinated.

Interestingly enough, these cases follow Southwest Airline's CEO also coming down with 'rona late last week -- this after testifying during a Senate hearing (which didn't include either of the above Senators, BTW) ... where he was noticeably seen coughing and mask-less.

Bradley Cooper's newest movie did abysmally bad at the box office -- and ticket sales were apparently so poor ... theaters actually started bumping BC for Peter Parker.

The flick -- titled "Nightmare Alley" and directed by Guillermo del Toro -- raked in just under $3 million over its opening weekend across a little over 2,000 theaters nationwide ... this with a reported price tag of about $60 mil to make it, and future projections looking grim.

Not just that ... but it would seem some ticket buyers had to nix their scheduled outing after getting word from the local theater that they were swapping a one-off "Nightmare Alley" screening to make room for yet another "Spider-Man: No Way Home" slot.

One person writes, "True s***. Just got an email from my theater asking if I wanted to cancel my tickets for NIGHTMARE ALLEY because they cancelled every other show to free up the screen for more Spider-Man showings."

It also appears 'NA' is getting yanked out of cineplexes pretty quickly -- if it was ever playing at all, that is -- in the wake of its terrible performance, with yet another person pointing out there's only one single screening for it this upcoming week at a Marcus Theaters location.

And where "Nightmare Alley" *was* playing ... not very many people were rushing in to see it. There are few photos online showing very empty theater rooms. Bottom line ... hardly anyone caught it. Ditto for 'West Side Story' ... which did worse this weekend than last.

Meanwhile, 'No Way Home' absolutely crushed ... pulling in over $250 million this weekend, even in the midst of the pandemic and a new variant causing COVID cases to rise again.

So the question ... what gives??? Many are lamenting the lopsided numbers -- pointing out that if Spider-Man can get asses in seats during a still-scary time ... it must mean the death of "real cinema" as we know it, with tentpole popcorn franchises fully taking over.

Jay-Z may be a rap icon, but he doesn't carry as much weight with today's average hip-hop head like he used to, especially compared to someone like Future -- so says ... well, Future.

Mr. Hendrix himself made the bold statement this weekend -- going on a little tweet spree to declare he's not only bigger than Jigga in the streets but that he'll run up a B (billion) perhaps even faster and easier than Jay did. The latter hit the mark (per Forbes) in 2019.

In addition to his Jay-Z tweet, Future had other things to say, including ... "Everything I do legendary or it want get done. Tuh," as well as ... "I’m the only one can get YE to pull up whenever wherever..tuh." And let's not forget ... "100M’s not the goal anymore."

Sounds like Future was on one for whatever reason, and wanted to puff his chest a bit. Still, that original claim of his -- that he's "bigger" than Jay -- is getting A LOT of pushback ... and at the same time, some agreement as well.

Of course, lots of users responded ... giving Future the virtual side-eye and even laughing him off. Even at Jay's billionaire status -- many say Future will never have the pull (not to mention the music bona fides) that Shawn Carter has ... and to compare is ludicrous.

One person pointed out Jay's accolades (there are many) ... while openly wondering why it's become fashionable for modern-day rappers to size themselves up against living legends.

And yet ... there's a small handful of folks who actually seem to agree with Future, saying ... yeah, the guy IS actually bigger than Jay (in the streets), suggesting HOV simply doesn't have the street cred/influence on the culture from the ground floor ... like he once did.

Interesting take ... and is obviously up for debate. Sounds like that argument boils down to relevance, and to whom it applies. We can acknowledge Future's music does tend to be popular (among the youth) today and generally performs better on the charts than recent Jay-Z releases.

L.A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler is dead after a stabbing at the Snoop Dogg-headlined Once Upon a Time festival concert ... TMZ has learned.

Drakeo was one of the dozens of billed performers at the huge all-day event Saturday in L.A.'s Exposition Park.

He was backstage around 8:30 PM when a fight broke out -- and during the altercation, he got stabbed ... according to law enforcement sources

We're told LAPD, California Highway Patrol and the fire department responded, and Drakeo was rushed to a hospital -- but multiple sources tell us he died from his injuries.

There are reports he was stabbed in the neck, but we haven't confirmed that yet.

We're told cops are investigating and will try to interview all artists and their entourages who were in the area when the fight started.

After the fight and Drakeo's stabbing, concert organizers shut down the festival -- so headliners like Snoop and 50 Cent never even took the stage.

Louis C.K. comedy comeback is in full swing -- and his latest stop is over at "Saturday Night Live" ... which gave him a nice time slot for a new ad plugging his stand-up special.

The controversial comedian appeared across TV screens all over the NY area Saturday while 'SNL' was airing, with a local promo showcasing his latest offering, 'Sorry,' which he just released on his own site. The ad ran at about the 10-minute mark into the broadcast.

The spot runs for 30 seconds, and it features the song "Louie Louie" by The Kingsmen playing in the background ... as clips of LCK dishing his latest joke play throughout.

Unclear where he filmed this, or when -- but it's no secret the guy's been touring all over the country these past several months ... and word is, his live shows have been packed to the gills and selling out like crazy -- even in places like L.A. and NYC.

Like we said, this special isn't airing or being sold anywhere besides his own online presence -- so folks definitely have to go out of their way to buy and watch it -- but still ... people are pretty pissed that he's attempting to resurface at all, let alone with an assist from NBC.

Of course, 'SNL' probably has no say over the placement of the ad -- there's a whole other department handling that -- but the idea NBC was cool with taking Louis' money at all is what seems to be irking the Twitter crowd. And yes, "cancel culture" is again being dissected.

NeNe Leakes and her new man are already at that stage -- the we're close enough for some public affection stage, and they're flaunting it in Miami.

NeNe and businessman BF, Nyonisela Sioh, hit up Mr. Chow in MIA Saturday night ... and on their way out of the hot spot they were smiling and holding hands. He also had a grip on a stogie in his other hand as they were reportedly celebrating his birthday.

Her smoking hot leopard print catsuit would've drawn plenty of attention on its own -- but the PDA with Nyonisela was even more eye-catching. It's a big deal, because, as we first reported ... this is Nene's first relationship since her husband Gregg's death earlier this year.

The ex-Real Housewife and the couture suit company owner first turned heads last week at her birthday party in ATL, where they were dancing together and clearly getting close.

We're not sure when exactly they started dating, but we know Peter Thomas played matchmaker for them. Peter and Nyonisela know each other from North Carolina.

MMA legend Chael Sonnen was hit with 5 battery citations after allegedly getting in a brawl at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas, TMZ Sports has learned ... and we have video of the MMA star being led away in handcuffs.

Law enforcement sources tell us the 44-year-old fighter was detained ... but was ultimately not arrested because cops didn't personally witness the alleged incident.

Sonnen was given 5 misdemeanor battery citations. However, police are still investigating.

A witness tells us she saw Sonnen banging on the door of a hotel room at the Four Seasons around 7 PM Saturday night.

The witness says a couple walked by and a physical altercation broke out -- the reason why is unclear.

Sonnen, 6'1", 200-ish lb. former fighter was easily handling the man, according to the witness.

We're told the woman accompanying the man began to scream, and someone called the police.

Cops responded and detained Sonnen, leading him away in cuffs.

We're told paramedics also responded ... though it's unclear if they treated anyone for injuries.

Sonnen last fought in 2019 ... losing to Lyoto Machida. However, Chael had an incredible career spanning Bellator and the UFC ... beating everyone from Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva, and Michael Bisping.

Over the last few years, and especially since retirement, Sonnen has become one of the most respected and sought-after voices in MMA, becoming a cult figure.

Tyron Woodley is NOT retiring despite getting knocked out by Jake Paul ... telling TMZ Sports he plans to fight several times next year.

We talked to the 39-year-old UFC legend at Amalie Arena in Tampa after he was KOd by Paul in the 6th round of their rematch fight ... and asked if he'd hang up his gloves after losing to Jake for the second time, but T-Wood's adamant he'll be back.

"I didn't look like a fighter that was slow. I didn't look like a fighter that didn't have fight in him. I gotta make that choice. I already planned to stay super busy in 2022, and that doesn't change."

We also asked Tyron how he was feeling after the fight.

"I'm good. I'm healthy. Bummed obviously, I didn't wanna lose. I felt like I was winning the fight," Woodley said.

As for his performance in the ring ... Woodley believes he was winning the fight up until he dropped his hands right before the knockout, and it's eating him up.

"One f***ing hand drop. And I'm looking at it, why did I drop my hands? That's driving me crazy."

Woodley -- who looked sharp, especially early on -- was clearly more aggressive this time around ... moving forward for much of the fight.

And, Tyron says you might not just see him in a boxing ring, 'cause he wants to take several different kinds of fights in 2022.

"I just wanna do four different forms of combat sports. One being boxing, at least one time. One MMA, for sure. And just finish out like a winner."

Lil Durk's finally locking it down with his longtime GF, and he definitely put the pressure on when he popped the question ... in front of a packed arena in their hometown of Chicago.

Durk performed Saturday night at a local radio station's Big Jam concert at the United Center, and at one point he brought India Royale out on stage with him ... and then did it all traditional, getting down on one knee.

LD first buttered her up ... thanking India for holding him down and being "the realest," and then said, "Do you wanna be my wife?"

Before India -- an IG model and influencer -- could even answer, the crowd erupted with cheers -- makes sense, they're both from Chicago ... so, you know they had tons of support onstage and off of it. India did eventually say yes.

The couple got together back in 2017, and had a baby girl, Willow Banks, back in November 2018. India has a cosmetics line called India Royale Beauty, which Durk often promotes ... sometimes in his songs.

They've been through a lot together -- besides parenthood, Durk and India were the victims, back in July, of a home invasion and aggravated assault in Georgia.

Good times ahead, though -- now, they've got a wedding to plan. Gotta wonder if Durk's new collab partner, Morgan Wallen, will make the cut for the guest list ... or maybe even perform. Although, "Broadway Girls" is hardly first dance material.

Everyone says they hate the 'Island Boys' -- the Florida twins behind that train wreck of a TikTok "song" -- and it turns out lots of those haters were waiting for the boys in the crowd at Jake Paul's boxing match.

The brothers did NOT get a warm welcome Saturday night in their home state -- as soon as they entered Tampa's Amalie Arena and walked to their ringside seats, the boos started raining down.

Now, we're not saying they had targets on their backs, but Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd's bleach-blond spiky faux locks make 'em stand out in any crowd -- and after the boos came actual booze. Several objects were hurled their way, including at least one full beer.

We all know, stadium beers ain't cheap ... so you gotta really hate to toss one of those. Then again, we present exhibit A.

The 20-year-old twins dropped their poolside freestyle back in October, which instantly went viral ... and not because people were loving it.

Still, the Island Boys persisted ... cranking out an official music video this month to go with the nonsensical bars they dropped -- and yeah, that's a viral hit too.

Thanks a lot, COVID ... poor Paul Rudd's feeling "extremely disappointed" his 5th time hosting 'SNL' turned into a patched-together show with almost none of the regular cast, and 2 big guests.

As we reported ... multiple 'SNL' staffers had tested positive, and Lorne Michaels decided to pull the live audience and most of the cast. Tom Hanks and Tina Fey opened the show, explaining most of that, and then did what they were really there to do ... induct Paul into the 5-timers club.

Kenan Thompson brought out Paul's 5-timers robe ... but joked Rudd was really only hosting 4 and a half times.

Most of the show was a best of previous holiday episodes with a few fresh pre-recorded videos from earlier in the week. Tina stuck around to do Weekend Update with Michael Che. She immediately addressed Jost’s absence saying, “It’s not what you think. He’s getting some work done.”

Fey and Che didn't even sit behind the usual update desk ... and instead sat on the main stage, delivering their jokes to Kenan, Tom and Paul.

Che had the night's most timely joke when he did a news item about the judge in Louisiana who was caught on video saying the N-word -- saying it's "the kind of story that makes me wonder, why are me and Kenan the only cast members here?”

As we'd told you ... even musical guest Charli XCX was scratched hours before the broadcast due to the scaled-down production -- but she did appear in one of the pre-recorded bits.

Unbelievable.

If you ever had any doubt about Jake Paul's skills in the boxing ring, the guy just flatlined a UFC legend -- beating Tyron Woodley in the 6th round of Saturday night's matchup.

Of course, Jake was initially slated to go against Tommy Fury, and he had a message for the "Love Island" star after putting Tyron on the canvas.

Check the video -- Jake celebrates the major win ... and says he's ready to face Jorge Masvidal or Nate Diaz to follow up -- calling them bitches in the process.

The win is by far the best of Jake's career -- he took the fight on less than a month's notice after Fury backed out.

The knockout was beautiful. Jake faked to the body, forcing Tyron to drop his hands. Then Paul came over the top with a right that landed flush on Woodley’s ear, sending him falling to the canvas. It was clear Tyron was out, so the referee didn’t count … the fight was over.

As for Woodley, he looked sharp up until the KO. The future UFC HOFer was far more aggressive ... and landed some nice, powerful punches.

Now that Jake erased any doubt this time around vs. Woodley, it seems likely a Paul vs. Fury fight will be in the works.

It all went down at Amalie Arena in Tampa .. and Jake's definitely gonna celebrate his ass off tonight.

Trevor Noah will never be the same after he says a hospital and surgeon messed him up for life.

Noah says in the lawsuit ... he went under the knife last year for an undisclosed condition and the defendants -- the Hospital for Special Surgery and Dr. Riley J. Williams -- were "careless in failing to treat and care for [him] in a careful and skillful manner."

Although the lawsuit is unclear, it seems Noah's complaint focuses on both the surgery and aftercare. As for aftercare ... the suit claims the defendants did not "discontinue certain prescription medications" and the medications themselves were improper.

The suit claims, soup to nuts, the surgery was a disaster ... from improper diagnosis, the surgery itself and the aftercare. It goes on to claim had Noah been adequately informed of the "risks, hazards and alternatives," he would have refused treatment altogether.

As a result, the 37-year-old host of "The Daily Show" says he suffered "serious personal injury" -- and the damage he says is "permanent, severe and grievous."

It goes on to use boilerplate language ... alleging his claim of malpractice rendered him "sick, sore, lame and disabled," and he "suffered a loss of enjoyment for life."

Dr. Williams' specialty is knee, shoulder and elbow surgery." Again, the lawsuit doesn't specifically claim the doctor botched the surgery ... rather, the aftercare between August and December 2020 is what's in question.

Noah is suing for unspecified damages.

Cases of COVID-19 are ramping up again in the United States -- and the omicron variant has firmly planted roots -- but that doesn't mean things will slow down on the Las Vegas Strip, which is set to go buck wild for NYE.

We've spoken with club sources across Sin City who all tell us the same thing -- their hyped-up party plans to ring in 2022 aren't changing a bit. In fact, Vegas might become an even bigger party destination for the big night if other cities start to shut down.

As for some of the bigger events ...
- The Chainsmokers will be at XS Nightclub
- Zedd at Zouk Nightclub
- Lil Jon at JEWEL Nightclub
- Rick Ross at Drais
- Steve Aoki at Omnia

Almost every party still has tickets available online, meaning venue capacity can still hold more people.

However, we are told casinos and clubs will continue to adhere to the mask mandate put in place by NV Governor Steve Sisolak. The mandate asks patrons to wear masks while inside indoor spaces unless eating or drinking, but as you can imagine, there will be plenty of drinking on NYE.

Of course, those government regulations could get much stricter if the situation worsens -- but as of now, it's full steam ahead.

Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian are enjoying a little quality time before cameras start to roll for 'Saturday Night Live' -- going on a date night on his home turf (again) ... with none other than Scott Disick tagging along.

The couple was spotted apparently heading into a movie Saturday at the Atrium Stadium Cinemas on Staten Island -- where Pete was wearing a light-colored jacket and his blonde 'do, while Kim was in black and looking caj. PD also appeared to have a backpack on him.

Like we said, it looks like they may be heading in to watch a film ... but it's hard to tell for sure if they were coming or going. Unclear if Pete's participating in tonight's 'SNL' show.

It appears the Lord was in attendance as well ... although it's hard to say if he was third-wheeling, or if he had an entourage in tow. In any case -- Mr. Disick was in the mood for a flick too, it seems.

Interesting trio, that's for sure. Anyway, as for when Kim got into town ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ she touched down Friday. No word on how long she'll stick around.

As we reported ... 'SNL' is supposedly going to be pretty bare-bones tonight, as at least 4 cast members have come down with Covid -- this as cases start to spike again there in NYC. Even the musical guest, Charli XCX, announced she was pulling out at the last minute.

Angela Simmons is NOT joining the cast of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" -- despite some signs pointing to her shooting scenes for the reality show ... TMZ has learned.

Our production sources tell us reports of Angela coming onboard 'RHOA' and getting in front of cameras to film are simply not true.

While Angela popped up at Marlo Hampton's party at Le'Archive in Atlanta, which was crawling with 'RHOA' stars, we're told she wasn't there to shoot scenes for the new season.

Still, her coincidental appearance led to wild speculation she was joining the cast.

Sources close to Angela tell TMZ ... she moved from New York City to Atlanta, but it's not because of 'RHOA' and she's still working on her other reality shows -- "Growing Up Hip Hop" and "Just Angela."

So, she's out ... but we're told the cast for the upcoming 14th 'RHOA' season will include Kandi Burruss, Kenya Moore, Drew Sidora, Sheree Whitfield, Marlo and Sanya Richards-Ross.