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3/21, 7:10 AM -- Ippei Mizuhara told ESPN that Ohtani knew of his gambling debts and agreed to pay them off in exchange for a promise -- the interpreter would never gamble again.

"Obviously, [Ohtani] wasn't happy about it and said he would help me out to make sure I never do this again," Ippei initially said, adding, "He decided to pay it off for me.

But, Mizuhara then seemingly changed his story, saying, "I want everyone to know Shohei had zero involvement in betting. I want people to know I did not know this was illegal. I learned my lesson the hard way. I will never do sports betting ever again."

Ippei Mizuhara -- the Japanese interpreter who's been Shohei Ohtani's righthand man for nearly a decade -- has been fired by the Dodgers ... after Ohtani's attorneys claim he engaged in a "massive theft" of the two-way star's fortune.

The lawyers -- from the LA-based law firm Berk Brettler -- said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times they uncovered the alleged stealing after Ohtani's name had surfaced in a federal investigation of an alleged illegal bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer.

According to The Times, Mizuhara was accused of taking some of Ohtani's funds and using them to place bets with Bowyer. Ohtani's attorneys told the outlet they're now going to cops to have them investigate their findings further.

"In the course of responding to recent media inquiries," the lawyers said, "we discovered that Shohei has been the victim of a massive theft and we are turning the matter over to the authorities."

The Dodgers confirmed Wednesday afternoon they let go of Mizuhara following the claims. No further comment from the team was added.

Mizuhara and Ohtani just joined the Dodgers this season ... after the two-time MVP signed with them in free agency on a 10-year, $700 million deal.

Prior to putting on Dodger Blue, the duo worked together throughout Ohtani's six historic seasons as an L.A. Angel.

Story developing ...

Karen Huger has been charged with driving under the influence and hit with several other traffic violations in connection with her car crash this week ... TMZ has learned.

According to online court records, the 'Real Housewives of the Potomac' star is facing one count of DUI over Tuesday night's wreck -- which notes she has to make a mandatory court appearance to answer for it. She's facing an additional DWI charge as well here.

There are several other alleged infractions she's been dinged with too -- per the docket -- that touch on everything from negligent and reckless driving to driving way over the speed limit and driving with a suspended registration. The 6 traffic violations she was cited with don't require court appearances ... and have fines attached ranging from $50 to $510.

We broke the story ... Huger was driving her 2017 Maserati late Tuesday night in Potomac, Maryland in what police described as an aggressive manner.

Cops told us Karen struck a median and crosswalk sign at an intersection before continuing on and colliding with a parking sign off the roadway. The car itself was badly damaged, but Karen told us she was doing fine after the accident ... which she chalked up to driving while in a super emotional state.

Huger said she went to dinner with a friend where she said the two talked about some pretty emotional topics -- including KH's deceased mother -- saying it left her bawling while trying to drive home and she says she swerved to avoid a car coming directly at her.

Huger did note she received citations, one of which she says was not related to the incident ... but, made no mention of being intoxicated or arrested in her statement to us. Cops didn't tell us she'd been arrested either ... and there's no record of her having been booked in their jail.

Montgomery County PD says the reason charges weren't mentioned earlier Wednesday is because all that was available at the time was a preliminary collision report -- and that a police report would have further info. We haven't obtained that police report just yet ... but clearly, cops felt something criminal had happened here -- evidenced in the court update.

Elon Musk has finally pulled back the curtain on what Neuralink has been doing behind the scenes -- showing off their very first subject using their tech ... and it's incredible.

The Tesla chief -- who also heads Neuralink -- posted a link from his company that featured about 9 minutes of video from Neuralink ... and it's a full-blown testimonial from a guy named Noland Arbaugh -- a 29-year-old quadriplegic who went under the knife for this.

He says he was in a freak diving accident about 8 years ago, and it left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. After hearing about what Neuralink could do, however, he signed up.

The clip goes on to show how exactly the technology works -- and sure enough ... you can see Noland using his mind to move a mouse around on a laptop that's set up in front of him ... on which the guy's playing chess. It looks pretty seamless, and he's got it down pat!

Noland is able to move chess pieces on the screen and even turn down music -- all by simply thinking about where he wants the mouse to go. He gets into the weeds a bit in describing how exactly he does it ... saying he's implementing something called imagined movement, trying to pivot away from attempted movement with a whole lot of brain power.

Like we said ... he certainly seems to have a knack for it now -- and even more amazing is how well he appears to be doing post-surgery, something else he touches on in this video.

Noland gives a ringing endorsement for Neuralink -- acknowledging there's still much work to do to perfect it ... but saying the progress they've made so far is promising. He says the number of people this could potentially help is staggering ... and he's happy to be patient #1.

It's pretty powerful visuals ... and you gotta imagine more folks are gonna put their names down to be guinea pigs for this effort -- especially seeing how well it's gone thus far.

Billy Baldwin's beef with Sharon Stone sounded fiery online -- but in person, the dude doesn't seem to wanna keep the battle going ... 'cause he's turning down the temperature.

We got the actor out in L.A. Wednesday, where our photog asked him about a number of things -- including what happened to his left eye. If you can't quite see, he's got a little nick there ... and Billy tells us exactly how it happened.

Eventually, we get to what everyone wants to know ... namely, whether his feud with Sharon -- whom he eviscerated online last week after she name-dropped him -- was alive and well.

Check it out ... Billy seems to have moved on from all that, refusing to further trash Sharon here on camera. Although, when we asked if he was still writing a book -- like he suggested he might do when he was first crapping on Sharon -- BB tells us what he'd put in it.

A would-be book wouldn't include any bad-mouthing or tea -- like he teased on X ... instead, he says it'd include all the positive things in his life, like his family and his career.

Good to see that Billy's not holding a grudge against Sharon ... 'cause like we said, he was fired up when she first invoked his name last week during a podcast interview, in which she alleged that a producer on a film they both worked on tried pushing her into banging him.

Beyoncé saddled up and unveiled her alternate "Cowboy Carter" album cover art Wednesday, and Erykah Badu's all fired up about it ... thinking it's a full imitation of her, and, no, she's not flattered!

She's accusing Bey of copying her signature beaded bob hairdo without so much as a thank you, prompting Erykah to repost the image with a mockingly curious "Hmmm" caption.

Fans, especially Beyoncé's, immediately took note of EB's allegation of a style jacking.

In fact, the Beyhive is so riled up, Erykah switched from IG to X, where she urged Jay-Z to come to her rescue, posting ... "Say somethin Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me??"

Tough position for her to put Hov in -- after all, that's his wife Erykah's insulting!!!

It's interesting for Erykah to single out on the hairstyle, because Beyoncé's alternate "Cowboy Carter" album cover art (for vinyl LPs) has a lot happening -- the singer poses in the buff, only covered in a sash with "Act II" and "Beyince," her cousin Angie's last name, stamped across the front.

Yet, Erykah's laser-focused on that hair.

Remember, Erykah also targeted Bey last year over hats she wore during her "Renaissance" tour, which she also thought ripped off her style.

Drake Bell is coming to Josh Peck's defense after fans blasted his former costar for staying mum amid his sexual abuse story ... basically telling everyone to stand down.

The former Nick star hopped online Wednesday to clear the air on where he stands with Josh ... and he confirmed that JP has, in fact, reached out to him after his appearance on 'Quiet on the Set' -- even though just about everybody assumed he hadn't.

Drake -- who opened up about being molested as a teen by former Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck in the docuseries -- says he noticed the hate comments flooding Josh's social media accounts these past several days ... which he says are unwarranted.

As Drake puts it ... Josh has been supportive in the aftermath of the doc. Josh's reach-out hasn't been made public until now because of the delicate nature of the situation -- so things are clearly going on behind the scenes that not everyone can see.

Drake says that he's been going through an emotional time in processing everything that has happened ... which is why certain things have been kept out of the public eye.

His update comes amid accusations that JP was purposefully ignoring the damning doc about their former network. The comment section of Josh's TikTok account even featured countless fans demanding that he say something in support of DB, instead of making silly uploads.

Of course, Drake and Josh have a rocky relationship of late. The two found themselves publicly beefing after Drake griped about not being invited to Josh's wedding.

The two actors eventually hugged it out at the 2017 VMAs -- but even after that ... it didn't seem they were particularly close.

4:25 PM PT -- Karen Huger tells TMZ … "Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes during this very frightening experience. I am still in shock from last nights incident, but grateful to be alive today. With the  passing of my Beloved Mother, Grief comes and goes in waves, and with Mothers Day approaching it has felt more like a tsunami."

She adds, "Last night I met a girlfriend for dinner, we talked and brought up some very emotionally sensitive topics. I was crying on my way home and saw a car heading right for me. I swerved to avoid the head-on collision, hit the divider and then a tree. I'm hurt, bruised up a bit, but so grateful I am alive! I did receive citations, one of which was unrelated to the incident which is understandable, but what was most surprising is that the car that almost hit me just drove away!"

Karen finishes by saying, "I would like to stress, it’s important to understand your emotional state when driving and may this be a reminder to all to use their seatbelts, my Mother may be my Guardian Angel but the seatbelt saved my life."

Karen Huger was involved in a scary crash this week ... with officers telling us she wrecked her car so badly, it was no longer operable.

A representative for Montgomery County Police tells TMZ ... the 'Real Housewives of Potomac' star was driving a 2017 Maserati late Tuesday night in Potomac, Maryland in what they describe as an aggressive manner -- too fast for the conditions, they say.

Police say Huger struck a median and crosswalk sign at an intersection before continuing on and colliding with a parking sign off the roadway where the car came to a rest.

We're told the airbag deployed in the car but no other passengers were in her vehicle. No word on whether she or anyone else was injured.

The car itself was allegedly damaged so badly it couldn't be driven and a tow truck was called to retrieve it ... the extent of the damage is not yet known.

Cops say KH received multiple citations -- unclear exactly what they were for at this time -- but, we're told she was not arrested.

We've reached out to Huger -- a main cast member on all eight seasons of 'RHOP' -- about the accident ... so far no word back.

Aaron Rodgers almost scored the coveted position of "Jeopardy!" host in the aftermath of Alex Trebek's death ... so says the show's former producer and one-time host.

Mike Richards -- who infamously lost the "Jeopardy!" hosting gig after one day due to old controversial comments he'd made -- told People that the NFL star was a frontrunner for the job after impressing as a guest host on the trivia show.

As Mike puts it ... Aaron was the most prepared guest host -- which is saying something since he guest hosted alongside TV pros like Anderson Cooper, Bill Whitaker, Savannah Guthrie, George Stephanopoulos, LeVar Burton, and Robin Roberts, among other notable names.

But, according to MR, Aaron prepped for the show very intensely and was still lovely to everyone on the staff. So, the professional quarterback was seriously considered to replace Alex -- and he was apparently interested, too.

When asked how he would juggle both hosting duties and football, Aaron supposedly told Mike that the "Jeopardy!" team would figure it out.

Alas, the job ultimately went to Mike ... who was eventually replaced by famed "Jeopardy!" champ Ken Jennings and actress Mayim Bialik after his swift firing. A less surprising contender was Katie Couric, who Mike says brought a different look to the quiz show.

On the issue of his infamous exit from the show ... Mike notes that a lot of half-truths led to his exile from the entertainment industry. For starters, he defends that he did not pick himself for the highly sought-after gig -- a panel selected him for the role in 2021.

The guy seen in video throwing a devastating punch at one of Nardo Wick's fans has a new issue on his hands -- he's lost his bond money by skipping out a court appearance.

TMZ Hip Hop obtained docs confirm 34-year-old Zachary L. Benton's $2,000 cash bond was forfeited after he missed a March 18 court date for the case.

We broke the story back in December ... Benton and a 15-year-old minor are accused of viciously attacking George Obregon Jr. -- a Nardo fan who was trying to get a selfie with the rapper.

In the video, Benton throws one sucker punch, and then the minor follows up with multiple shots to George's face, knocking him out cold on the pavement and causing a concussion.

Nardo wasn't with the smoke, and distanced himself from the attack ... while Benton later surrendered to police, and was charged with felony aggravated battery.

Johnny Depp's not taking accusations from a former costar lying down ... he's firing back over an actress blasting him for treating her poorly on the set of "Blow."

The actor's rep is coming out swinging, saying Lola Glaudini's allegation Johnny was verbally abusive while filming one particular scene in the 2001 movie -- saying, "Johnny always prioritizes good working relationships with cast and crew and this recounting differs greatly from the recollection of other members on set at the time."

As for Lola's side of the story ... she actually said it back in January while on the "Powerful Truth Angels" podcast, but it's been resurfaced online. During the appearance she claimed Depp went off on her after director Ted Demme told her to burst into laughter at one of his lines.

According to Lola, Depp didn't catch wind she was following Demme's direction, leading him to think she was intentionally interrupting his scene.

Lola's full description of the alleged incident definitely ain't for kids' ears -- "Johnny Depp, when they say cut, walks over to me, comes up to me, sticks his finger in my face -- and I'm in a bikini on the ground like this -- and he comes over, and he goes, 'Who the f*** do you think you are? Who the f*** do you think you are? Shut the f*** up. I'm out here, and I'm trying to f***ing say my lines, and you're f***ing pulling focus."

Need a few more f-bombs? Why not? Lola claims the rant continued ... "You f***ing idiot. Who the f*** do you think … Oh, now, oh now it's not so funny? Now you can shut up? Now you can f***ing shut the f*** up? Oh it's not funny now? The quiet that you are right now, that's how you f***ing stay.'"

She says she was just trying to hold back the tears after he screamed in her face -- and claims Depp offered a "non-apology" afterward.

M. Emmet Walsh -- who was memorably in "Christmas With the Kranks" and "Blade Runner," among several other films -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The actor's manager, Sandy Joseph, tells us Walsh passed away at a hospital in Vermont Tuesday as a result of cardiac arrest. No word on what exactly landed him in the hospital, or what sort of ailment he might've been battling.

Walsh was a veteran in Hollywood, and one of the most prolific character actors in the biz -- having racked up a whopping 233 acting credits to his name, with roles dating back to the '60s, playing Jason Randall on an episode of "The Doctors."

Since then, he'd starred in countless well-known films and TV shows spanning decades.

In addition to his work on 'CWTK' -- where he played Tim Allen's cranky neighbor and archenemy, Walt Scheel -- Walsh has acted in flicks like "Ordinary People," "The Jerk," "Fletch," "Blood Simple," "A Time to Kill," "Romeo + Juliet," "Wild Wild West," and many, many more.

His TV work is equally impressive ... Walsh had worked on TV series like "Starsky and Hutch," "Baretta," "The Rockford Files," "The Sandy Duncan Show," "East of Eden," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Twilight Zone," "Unsub," "The Flash," "Home Improvement," "The X-Files," "NYPD Blue," "Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot," "Damages," "Adventure Time" and others.

Walsh is survived by his nieces and nephews. He was 88.

Megan Fox says her paranoia surrounding surgery has been her saving grace in not going under the knife too much ... even though she admits she's had quite a lot of work done.

The actress appeared on Wednesday's episode of "Call Her Daddy," where she opened up about all her plastic surgery experiences -- including a lengthy pre-op routine she says she requires all her surgeons to follow, 'cause she wants to make sure there's no bad energy.

MF says she responds poorly to general anesthesia, so she demands that her doctors tell her if they've seen any bad omens before cutting into her ... take a listen to what those are.

On the actual procedures themselves -- Megan admits to having had three separate boob jobs, and insists she's only had her nose worked once, despite what some people think. She also teases a mystery surgery she's had as well ... but wouldn't disclose what that was.

Megan also says she's considered a BBL -- but notes she doesn't have the body fat for it.

Anyway ... there was more Megan talked about -- including the fact she and Machine Gun Kelly drink each other's blood ... which has been accused of being Satanic.

Megan defends the practice here ... saying it's a lot more innocent than folks think -- likening it to two kids putting their bleeding thumbs together on the playground when they think they've found their "soulmate." She says she and MGK share that kind of bond.

She's also got a pretty graphic comparison in making her point -- saying she finds girls who engage in oral sex so freely to be way more gross than anything she's doing with her man.

Kaley Cuoco is mourning a loss in her family ... as she announced the death of her beloved dog, Blue.

The actress shared the sad news Wednesday, saying she was in tears over the loss. As Kaley explained, Blue's loss was even more upsetting because he was the third dog she's had to put down in the last year.

Remember, Kaley announced the passing of King last month -- less than a year after her rescue pup Dump Truck died last May.

While Kaley's clearly heartbroken over Blue, she says she's also particularly sad for her partner, Tom Pelphrey ... who's the dog's original owner.

According to Kaley, it took some time for Blue and her to grow comfortable with one another -- naturally, he favored Tom over her.

However, "After some time Blue finally realized we were a family and we were all sticking together. Something changed. He was amazing. Protective of me and the rest of our pup crew, always on guard. I felt so safe home alone with him and when anyone came to the door I would put Blue on the leash and have him sit right next to me."

Kaley went on to add that Blue was incredibly patient and gentle with their young daughter Matilda, who was born last year.

It's no secret Kaley is an animal lover, having rescued several dogs over the years, and she also owns a few horses.

But, Blue was clearly a family favorite, with Kaley and Tom wearing the pup on Christmas sweaters one year.

Jonathan Majors isn't sweating Grace Jabbari's lawsuit against him -- but he is working up a sweat ... continuing to train for what sure sounds like a new movie role.

We got the actor out Wednesday in L.A., where he was just leaving a gym session with his trainer -- strength and conditioning guru Jason Best -- and JM was actually willing to chat ... this, of course, while walking out shirtless and looking absolutely ripped.

BTW -- Best is the same guy who got him in peak condition for his bodybuilding role in "Magazine Dreams" -- and clearly, they're still working together ... 'cause JM looks great here.

Anyway, we chopped it up with Jon about a number of things going on in his life right now -- including this potential gig we've been hearing he has lined up for a film project ... although, the exact details are still a little murky. Jonathan did confirm to us, though, that he's getting in shape for "work" ... and when we asked if it was for the role, he certainly didn't deny it!

Our photog also talked to Jon about his relationship with Meagan Good -- which is going strong ... as the lovebirds continue to hit public events together ... and pack on PDA.

We asked Jon what makes MG different than other girlfriends he's had ... and he's got a pretty telling response, strongly hinting that Meagan's captured his heart and then some.

Jonathan called Meagan, who stood by him during his highly-publicized trial, his heart and credited their connection for their success as a couple.

Our chat with Jonathan here comes a day after it was revealed that his ex, Grace Jabbari -- who testified against him in December during a criminal trial -- sued him, claiming he assaulted her over the course of their relationship and defamed her as well.

Remember, Jonathan was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment in December ... and is currently awaiting sentencing. His legal team has filed to have the conviction tossed out -- and told us that they weren't surprised by Grace's recent filing.

Sen. Bernie Sanders recently introduced the "Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act" ... and he explained to us exactly why he thinks it should become the new norm in America.

The federal lawmaker made his case on "TMZ Live" Wednesday ... telling us that working 5 days straight -- the way we all currently do -- leaves people drained, less productive and completely stressed and tired. To him, it's no wonder they show up to work feeling burnt out.

In contrast, Bernie says if we give people 3 days off, Corporate America will reap the benefits long-term -- as he argues worker bees' productivity and focus will soar when they come back to the job after a nice little break ... adding that a bunch of scientific studies back his claims.

Bernie makes the point that because the rich keep getting richer -- with the middle class staying stagnant -- a lot of regular folks would love this change ... which is why he's proposing it becomes a law. Whether it actually has a chance to pass ... different story.

It certainly sounds good on paper, though. Bernie tells us that his proposal won't cut salaries or pay for workers if implemented -- meaning employees will still get paid as if they'd worked a 5-day workweek ... even though in actuality, it'll just be 32 hours instead of 40.

The bill still needs to get through the Republican-controlled house and a 60-vote approval in the Senate ... so like we said, it'll be an uphill battle for sure.

In any case, Bernie's hoping the whole thing ignites a larger convo about the American grind, and what's important in life. No surprise Bernie's taking this position fighting for the people -- it's his M.O., and you can expect more of the same from a new podcast he's launching this week. It's "Bernie: The Podcast" and in the first episode, he'll be discussing his book.

The title of that ... "It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism" -- lots of good insights, of course.

12:40 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us Christine Quinn was offered an emergency protective order against Christian Dumontet. Sources with direct knowledge tell us she accepted this protective order, which will be in effect for 7 days.

11:38 AM PT -- TMZ has confirmed that Christine and Christian's 2-year-old son was, in fact, transported to the hospital Tuesday via ambulance -- and we're told Christine went with him.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us that an ambulance arrived on the scene to treat the child -- and in the end, we're told first responders thought it'd be best if the kid went to the hospital ... so they took him.

Christine Quinn's husband was arrested this week -- and the charge he was booked for is incredibly serious ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tells us Christian Dumontet was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon near his L.A.-area home -- where he was seen wearing a bathrobe -- and hauled away by cops, who put him in a cruiser and took him to jail.

We're told a call for a domestic incident is what spurred officers to show up. In terms of what allegedly happened -- our sources tell us there was a verbal argument between Christian and Christine ... and Christine told cops Christian threw a bag with glass in it at her.

We're told the bag missed Christine and it actually struck their young child, a 2-year-old, and at this point ... our sources say the call to 911 was then placed. We're told that an ambulance arrived, but the toddler didn't need to be transported ... getting treated at the scene.

We're told Dumontet was booked for assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. As of this writing, he appears to still be behind bars on $30,000 bail. His arrest was first posted by Page Six.

She and Christian have been married since 2019 -- and he's also been featured on "Selling Sunset" ... although, his involvement has been minimal as he's mostly behind the scenes. Their December wedding was well-documented on the show at the time.

In terms of his background, Christian comes from the tech world ... and fancies himself as an entrepreneur these days. He and CQ share one kid together ... a son also named Christian.

On its face ... there was never any real drama between them that was captured on camera.

We've reached out to Christine's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.