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Donald Trump is going after CNN in court -- alleging the network defamed him out of fear that he'll run for president again ... and he's asking for a boatload of cash over it.

The ex-prez just filed a federal lawsuit against the network, claiming it's been pushing a lot of slanderous rhetoric about him these past couple years -- and he says it's all an effort to paint him in the worst possible light in anticipation of a 2024 run.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Trump is pissed about certain labels he says CNN has used to describe him -- including "racist," "Russian lackey," "insurrectionist" and even comparisons to "Hitler." Those words simply go too far in Trump's mind, and he believes they constitute defamation.

We should note ... Trump's attorneys make a point about the alleged Hitler jabs, arguing CNN's repeated use of the phrase "The Big Lie" when referencing Trump contesting the 2020 election results is actually a direct reference to a term used by Hitler to incite hated of Jews and justify the genocide of the Holocaust.

So, in their minds, they see this as CNN associating Trump with Hitler by using the same term.

There's also this quote that spells out his beef ... "Beyond simply highlighting any negative information about the plaintiff and ignoring all positive information about him, CNN has sought to use its massive influence -- purportedly as a 'trusted' news source -- to defame the plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically."

Trump's team says CNN has blurred the line between opinion and news ... alleging it's now reporting these things about him as outright fact, which he says is a legal no-no. DT is seeking damages north of $475,000,000.

Navy SEALs are apparently using performance-enhancing drugs en masse -- a phenomenon under the microscope after a recent death -- and now ... the branch is cracking down.

This all came under increased scrutiny after 24-year-old SEAL trainee Kyle Mullen died suddenly earlier this year while he was participating in the training program ... specifically, during Hell Week, where would-be SEALs are put through extreme conditions.

While Mullen's mother denies her son was on any type of steroid/PED that could've adversely affected his health -- paraphernalia found in his car shortly after his death has caused concern among Navy brass, spurring them to request more testing to detect this stuff.

There's a list of banned substances -- including PEDs -- that the Navy doesn't want its recruits using ... even though, in reality, it seems many of them are. Mullen's mother told CNN that her son relayed this to her while he was alive ... that more often than not, prospective SEALs were juicing up for competitive advantages in the elite program.

Officials believe this problem goes beyond just human growth hormone, BTW -- the PED problem is said to be rampant and wide-ranging ... which is obviously worrying, seeing how much this stuff has been found to be bad for the average person's health, increasing heart rate and blood pressure levels beyond normal -- and that can lead to death.

After Mullen's death, other cadets were ordered to undergo urinalysis to test for PEDs, but the Navy wants blood testing approved (and funded) because they believe this issue needs to be weeded out and strictly forbidden.

A Naval senior officer told CNN ... there is "beyond a reasonable doubt that a significant portion of the candidate population is utilizing a wide range of performance-enhancing drugs."

Tyler Perry has long been dogged over his signature character, Madea, and stereotypes some feel she upholds -- but he's defending himself ... especially against Spike Lee.

The movie studio mogul sat for an interview with Chris Wallace as part of his new program on HBO Max -- "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace" -- which was scrapped from CNN+ ... and repurposed on their main streaming app.

Chris asks Tyler about a criticism that Lee once lobbed against him in describing his Madea movies -- in which he called the character and/or those movies "coonery buffoonery" in '09.

From Spike's POV ... Madea is a caricature of Black people, women in particular, and he thinks it's a cheap, over-the-top impersonation that Tyler has monetized with a lot of success. There are at least 10 movies of his in which the character appears.

While TP was once quoted as saying Spike can "go to hell," he's a bit more nuanced in explaining why he loves the character and the thinking behind her makeup. He says Madea represents women he grew up around, whose stories he wanted to convey in a humorous way ... with truth sprinkled in. In other words, he seems to see it as an homage.

Tyler also invokes Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance to reinforce his point ... noting this convo has been happening way before Spike's salvo.

Now, it should be noted ... this old beef, while still discussed today, seems to be long and buried. Back in 2019, when Tyler opened his movie studio lot in Georgia, Spike was actually among the many famous guests who came to check it out. And TP even named one of the soundstages after him ... telling us at the time that his legacy was bigger than their feud.

Bernard Shaw, one of the anchors who put CNN on the map, has died from pneumonia ... according to his family.

His family announced his passing Thursday morning, and said the pneumonia was unrelated to COVID-19.

When CNN launched in 1980, Shaw was the network's first chief anchor, and famously anchored presidential debates, and especially shined during the Gulf War in 1991.

Shaw reported live from Baghdad as the first missile strikes landed and launched the war. He frequently had to seek cover under desks and in bomb shelters while reporting.

A Marine veteran, who served during the Vietnam War, Shaw remained at CNN for more than 20 years ... finally retiring in 2001.

Prior to his time at CNN, Bernie -- as his co-workers called him on the air -- worked the Washington Bureau for CBS News, and was also at ABC News for a time.

Shaw was a proud Chicago native ... he actually started his broadcasting career there as a reporter and anchor, and eventually became the White House correspondent for Westinghouse.

He's survived by his wife Linda Allston and their 2 children. Bernie Shaw was 82.

Roger Waters got into a heated debate with a CNN host about who's really to blame for the war in Ukraine -- saying it's actually the U.S. and NATO that are fueling the ongoing conflict.

The Pink Floyd rocker sat down with Michael Smerconish on his weekend show, and they were getting into it over Ukraine and China as well ... with RW taking the position that not all is as it seems when it comes to who's at fault for the fighting dragging on this long.

Watch ... he says we, the States, are partly at fault for keeping it going by not pressuring Zelensky to strike a deal with Putin for a cease-fire -- but instead, continuing to fund/supply their military efforts (Ukraine's, that is).

Smerconish pushes back on that, pointing out that Roger here seems to be pointing the finger at the country that was invaded -- but there, too, Roger doubles down ... and says this thing has been going on for far longer than just a year, arguing NATO has stoked the flames.

When he's confronted with the notion that America has an obligation to step in and be "liberators" ... Roger kinda loses it, saying they have no such place in the world -- even contesting that they weren't going to get involved in WWII until Pearl Harbor was attacked.

One last thing ... they also talk Taiwan, and Roger once again takes a counter viewpoint that the nation does, in fact, belong to the People's Republic, despite what the U.S. might think.

Britney Spears is again bemoaning the fact that she's been the subject of documentaries and TV specials of late -- saying she considers it grade-A bullying by Corporate America.

The pop star posted lengthy thoughts about this on Saturday, which she's addressed before. She writes, in part ... "I feel like America has done a wonderful job at humiliating me," going on to explain that when she was in the conservatorship ... she'd apparently be forced to walk to her car from the airport, on purpose, so that paps could get a ton of shots of her.

Britney's words here are a bit all over the place, but her gripe seems to be with old paparazzi photos -- some of which she thinks are unflattering -- being resurfaced in docs and specials that have aired in the past couple years ... including on Hulu, Netflix and CNN.

On the issue of so much coverage of her now, she adds ... "I've never felt more bullied in my life in this country it's insane ... and come on seriously is it honestly legal to do that many documentaries about someone without their blessing at all??!"

Then, Britney invokes some celebrity names as examples of people who never get this amount of press and analysis without their permission or participation -- including Will Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Lopez and Halle Berry.

She also says the idea these specials are "helping her" are misguided, suggesting that rehashing this ancient history is embarrassing. BS also appears to believe that most of these docs focus on what led to the conservatorship rather than what she went through while actually in it ... the reality of which she says was far worse than what's been depicted.

The weird thing ... the above-mentioned outlets seem to be the only ones with big docs/specials that have been done about Britney, and the last one came out in fall of last year -- so it's unclear why Brit's talking about this now and what might be triggering her.

What Britney also doesn't seem to understand is this ... her story isn't over, as she and her legal team are continuing to go after her dad, Jamie Spears, and seem dead set on holding him accountable for what they say he put her through during the conservatorship.

Plus, she hasn't done a proper sit-down with anyone yet ... so the intrigue isn't going away anytime soon, especially as she continues to make headlines with her personal life.

Of course, Britney might just be biding her time to fully tell her story in her own words ... probably until she can finish her tell-all book, which she reportedly struck a deal to write to the tune of at least $15 million. In light of that, we're sure she'll speak up eventually.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem did her best to deflect how she and her state would handle the case of a 10-year-old girl who became pregnant after being raped.

Gov. Noem appeared on CNN Sunday and discussed her state's anti-abortion law, which prohibits such procedures except to save the life of the mother.

The Governor immediately tried to change the subject and talk about how a monster could do such a thing and how people like him needed accountability. CNN's Dana Bash pressed her to get back on topic, and the Governor danced around the subject.

The 10-year-old lives in Ohio, and was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant ... 3 days too late to get an abortion in that state. She reportedly traveled to Indiana for the procedure.

Bash couldn't pin the Governor down ... she asked, "Because [the] trigger law [in South Dakota] was passed before you became governor, I wanted you to be clear: Will the state of South Dakota going forward force a 10-year-old in that very same situation to have a baby?"

Noem's answer ...  "You know what I think is incredible, Dana, in this tragic story? What’s incredible is that nobody’s talking about the pervert, the horrible and deranged individual, that raped a 10-year-old. What are we doing about those individuals that do this to these children?​"

She added ... "Every single life — every single life is precious."

It seems the Governor is saying the little girl should be forced to give birth ... "What I would say is, I don’t believe a tragic situation should be perpetuated by another tragedy. And so there’s more that we have got to do to make sure that we really are living a life that says every life is precious, especially innocent lives that have been shattered, like that 10-year-old girl."

The celebration of Juneteenth as a federal holiday is a combination of solemn moments and all-out partying -- featuring multiple generations of music superstars -- to mark the occasion.

The biggest party went down Sunday at the Hollywood Bowl where Chaka Khan, Earth Wind & Fire, Khalid, Billy Porter and many more took the stage and got the sold-out crowd on its collective feet.

The concert event -- "Juneteenth: A Global Celebration of Freedom" -- aired live on CNN, and Chaka's performance was especially rousing, backed by The Roots, she belted out her hits "Ain't Nobody" and "I'm Every Woman" ... while EWF and Bell Biv Devoe also played crowd favorites "Groove Tonight" and "Poison."

President Biden and Vice President Harris recorded messages to address the Hollywood Bowl audience ... and called the holiday a "time to celebrate, time to educate and time to act."

Meanwhile, the activist who fought hard for years to get Juneteenth federal holiday status also marked the day.

95-year-old Opal Lee completed a 2.5 mile walk in Fort Worth -- symbolizing the 2.5 years it took for the enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, TX to get the news that President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

That happened on June 19, 1865 ... hence the holiday's name, Juneteenth. While it's long been unofficially recognized -- especially in the Black community -- it didn't become a federal holiday until last year.

Opal's suggestion for all Americans to recognize the holiday -- "I advocate that we celebrate from the 19th of June to the 4th of July. That would be celebrating freedom."

As the war in Ukraine drags on, its president has made it quite clear that failing to come to terms with Russia will result in what he calls World War 3 ... striking an ominous tone.

Volodymyr Zelensky said as much Sunday during an interview with CNN, in which he was asked about the prospect of ending all this via peace talks with Russia. He said he's obviously open to that, and has even tried negotiating with Putin for years now.

However, he was very blunt in saying ... if Ukraine and Russia cannot figure this out diplomatically -- as they've already tried several times thus far -- then it'll mean an even bigger global conflict.

That conflict would translate to a "third world war," according to VZ -- who didn't really elaborate on what exactly he meant.

Watch the clip for yourself, because it's pretty enlightening. He says Ukraine has done a good job thus far in maintaining its sovereignty and dignity, but that alone won't resolve this fighting. He seems to be alluding to the fact that NATO could get more involved than it already is ... which is almost certainly what it would take to spark an actual world war.

At this point, several countries within NATO have provided tons of aid to Ukraine in the form of money, weapons and other support ... but have stopped short of offering up troops on the ground, including the U.S. The reason, obviously, is because Putin would see that as a reason to start getting nukes ready for launch -- and that's the last thing anyone wants.

As far as what each country wants, it's simple ... Ukraine wants Russia to respect its borders and sovereignty while guaranteeing they won't be under constant threat of invasion. Russia, meanwhile, wants Ukraine to formally acknowledge the Crimean Peninsula is theirs, and to allow separatist territories to join Russia ... plus a promise of never joining NATO.

Van Jones is taking progressive to a new level -- the activist and CNN commentator is a proud new dad, and he and the baby's mother just might inspire a new movement in parenting.

Van tells TMZ, "After the COVID lockdown, I got clear that I wanted another kid. I discovered that my friend Noemi also wanted a baby. So, we decided to join forces and become conscious co-parents. It’s a concept that I hope more people will explore and consider."

He continues, "This month we welcomed to Earth a baby girl, whom we will raise as co-parenting partners. This is a special time for our families. I feel grateful, joyful and blessed."

Now, sources connected to Van tell us the mother's full name is Noemi Zamacona, and they've been friends -- through a shared interest in criminal justice advocacy -- for several years. In fact, we're told their decision to have a child together was literally made over a friendly meal. Ya know what they say about friends in need!

One source described Noemi and Van's current relationship this way -- "It's a very modern arrangement. They're not a couple, but they are a team that wants to raise a kid together."

Van has 2 children from his previous marriage, and we're told this is Noemi's first.

In his statement, Van adds ... "As we create a safe and loving environment for this blessed young soul, I respectfully ask for privacy. Thank you for all the love and support.”

No word on the baby girl's name yet, but we're really wondering if either Van or Noemi plan to trademark "conscious co-parenting."

Jeff Zucker just dropped a bombshell at CNN -- he's resigning as network president, because of a romantic relationship he kept hidden ... one that only came to light during the Chris Cuomo investigation.

Jeff, who is also stepping down from his post as chairman of WarnerMedia's news and sports division, blasted out a memo to co-workers Wednesday ... saying that during the Cuomo probe he was asked "about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years."

He doesn't say the relationship itself is the problem, he says it's because he lied. Jeff wrote, "I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn't. I was wrong."

Jeff did not name the colleague who he had a relationship with in his memo ... but CNN says the person is Allison Gollust, the network's chief marketing officer.

CNN says Allison is keeping her job.

It's interesting the Cuomo investigation also took down Zucker ... remember, Jeff initially stood by Chris when the anchor came under fire for advising aides to his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on how to fend off a sexual harassment scandal.

But, as the investigation dragged on, Jeff eventually distanced himself from Chris and dropped his support.

"Jeopardy!" ignored the recommendations of Alex Trebek when it came to picking a new host, and one of the people he picked is now talking about it.

CNN's Laura Coates was someone Alex thought was up to the task. TMZ interviewed Alex for an episode of "OBJECTified" back in 2018, and he said, referring to Coates, "There is an attorney, Laura Coates, she's African American and she appears on some of the cable news shows from time to time. Very bright, very personable."

Well, Coates appeared on 'Tamron Hall' and said she was thrilled beyond words, and decided to make her own luck by calling the show and putting her name in the hat. She says, "I asked for the opportunity. I was told 'no.'"

And, Alex had a second pick ... Alex Faust, the L.A. Kings play-by-play announcer. He too, was not invited to try out.

As for Laura, she was thrilled to hear Alex picked her, saying, "I thought, 'My God. This person that I have watched my whole life really, even knows my name let alone thinks that I would be worthy enough to fill his shoes which frankly can't be filled.'"

She also said she reached out to Alex when he was bravely fighting pancreatic cancer.

'SNL' is nothing if not predictable, and they were true to form Saturday night when they skewered 2 recently-unemployed brothers.

Dr. Anthony Fauci -- no, really it was Kate McKinnon -- was offering advice on how to navigate the holidays in the midst of another COVID surge. There was some pretty funny role-playing ... such as a worried passenger wonders out loud to a flight attendant about COVID and whether the mile-high club can get you pregnant.

But then the brothers Cuomo appear, and they introduce themselves this way ... "Hello, I am disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo. I'm disgraced former CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, and we both lost our jobs because of COVID."

Ted Cruz is hilarious, as he pretends to have the last laugh in his war with Senator Bob Dole, who died last week. Dole famously said no one liked Cruz ... well, watch the rest.

It is now clear what forced CNN's hand in firing Chris Cuomo -- the guy was accused of sexual misconduct this week ... this is as he was already on thin ice.

Attorney Debra S. Katz came forward Sunday to reveal she'd been retained by a woman who wanted to go public with an allegation against the ex-anchor ... something she was apparently inspired to do after hearing about his involvement in his brother's own scandal.

She says while Gov. Cuomo's mess played out in public, Chris came on the air for his own show and said, "I have always cared very deeply about these issues and profoundly so. I just wanted to tell you that." Katz adds, "Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN."

According to NYT, the woman -- who is remaining anonymous for now -- is a former junior colleague of Chris' from another network, and her claims are unrelated to Gov. Cuomo.

Katz goes on to describe how she contacted CNN on Wednesday -- a day after he'd been suspended -- to report her client's allegations against Chris ... and by Friday, she says she was already in discussions with the network to provide evidence and making the woman available for an interview with CNN's outside counsel.

She finishes by saying, "My client came forward at this time because she felt in sharing her story and related documentation, she could help protect other women. She will continue to cooperate with CNN’s investigation into her allegations. Given the nature of her allegations, she wishes to remain anonymous, and we ask that you respect this decision."

Chris Cuomo is without a cable news job -- the longtime CNN anchor just got fired ... and it sounds like there's more to the story on the help he offered his brother this year.

The network just announced Chris' termination, saying they retained a respected law firm to conduct the independent review of his conduct -- and in light of that digging, they say they found further evidence that they felt warranted kicking him to the curb.

CNN writes, "While in the process of that review, additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate."

This is a stunning turn of events, but perhaps not totally unexpected ... as the writing appeared to be on the wall here. The fact Cuomo had been suspended indefinitely raised red flags to many, who felt like his days at CNN were limited.

Of course, this all comes on the heels of an investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office ... which published its reports, plus transcripts, which suggested Chris' involvement in his bro's scandal back in the Spring was way more intricate than previously thought.

There are text messages he's purported to have sent to Andrew's staffers, including one that read "I have a lead on the wedding girl" -- pertaining to one of the ex-Gov's accusers.

Chris Cuomo will be off the air for the foreseeable future on CNN's airwaves -- the cable news network just suspended the guy ... all over his efforts to protect his brother.  The question ... does Chris survive this at CNN?

CNN just announced they're benching Chris indefinitely over newly released evidence put out by the New York Attorney General's Office, which shows purported texts Chris sent to people on Andrew Cuomo's team in the middle of his sexual harassment scandal.

They say the new transcripts and exhibits that were dumped Monday "shed new light on Chris Cuomo's involvement in his brother's defense. The documents, which we were not privy to before their public release, raise serious questions."

CNN goes on to add Chris told them he admitted he'd offered advice to his brother's staff, breaking their rules ... which the network acknowledged publicly some time ago.

A network rep says they understood where he was coming from at the time, but in light of this -- they say, "[T]hese documents point to a greater level of involvement ... than we previously knew." As a result, he's suspended pending further evaluation.

ICYMI ... Chris was revealed to have texted about specific accusers, including Anna Ruch -- who accused Andrew of kissing her at a wedding. CC allegedly wrote to a staffer of Andrew's ... "I have a lead on the wedding girl," which implies he was looking into her.

The NY AG docs also suggest Chris was reaching out to his media industry sources to get recon on who else might be coming forward with allegations against his bro.

As you know ... Gov. Cuomo ultimately resigned from his post, maintaining he never purposely did anything inappropriate. However, he has since been embroiled legally as well ... now facing criminal charges over some of the claims against him.

Cuomo's ratings have tanked over the last few months, and the fact CNN is characterizing his suspension as "indefinite" opens the door to the question ... will CC ever return to the CNN anchor seat?