NBC

Casey Anthony and Matt Lauer could be meeting really soon, because she's been wheeling and dealing with NBC execs trying to hammer out a deal for a sit-down.

TMZ broke the story ... Anthony, who was acquitted in 2011 of murdering her daughter, flew to New York City last week. We got video of her and veteran producer Don Wood arriving, and according to our sources, NBC paid for the flight.

Since she's been in NYC, the NY Post says Anthony and Wood have met with a senior NBC booker who handles 'Today' and other NBC news programs.

As we've reported, Casey flirted with network interviews in the past, but never closed. As of now ... NBC's saying no deal yet -- and you gotta figure she's also talking to other outlets in NYC.

Stay tuned.

Nancy Snyderman has resigned as Chief Medical Editor at NBC News, but the handwriting was clearly on the wall.

Snyderman has been scarcely seen on the broadcast over the last few weeks. Fact is ... her profile has been much lower since her return after the Ebola scandal, where she violated a voluntary quarantine by going to a restaurant near her New Jersey home.

There was also an incident a few weeks back, where she appeared live on the air slurring her words and seeming kind of out of it.

Lester Holt gets the game ... he answered our photog's goofy question about the whole Brian Williams thing perfectly ... with a laugh.

Lester was leaving 30 Rock after anchoring "NBC Nightly News" when our photog tried projecting 6 months into the future, wondering if he would duke it out with Williams for the job.

There's something about the way he handled it ... he didn't answer but he didn't scoff either ... perfect.

Conventional wisdom is ... it's a long shot that Williams will return. Our NBC sources say Lester's contract allows him to walk if he's passed over for permanent anchor if Williams leaves.

A video appearing to be the isolated vocals from Mariah Carey's NBC performance Wednesday night has found its way online ... and she struggled.

The video was posted on a site called The Concourse and it seems authentic. It matches the version that aired on TV with full accompaniment.

Mariah seems fine during the meat and potatoes portion of "All I Want for Christmas is You" ... but she has difficulty when she exercises her upper octave range.

It's interesting for sure.

Mariah Carey hit the stage at Rockefeller Center for the NBC special -- nearly 24 hours late ... but whatever.

Mariah just performed her classic "All I Want for Christmas is You" for the tree lighting special ... and she did it LIVE ... as promised.

TMZ broke the story ... Mariah pissed off fans and crew members by making them wait in the cold for 3 hours last night when the rest of the special was recorded -- so NBC yanked her from the lineup.

Mimi got a second chance today when the Peacock agreed to tack on her performance ... but ONLY if she did it live. Worth the wait? Watch ...

NBC just realized Mariah Carey is worth the hassle ... because they have now booked her to perform live tonight ... this after pulling the plug on her Tuesday night.

TMZ broke the story that Mariah showed up more than 3 hours late for a taped performance that was supposed to air during the Christmas tree lighting ceremony Wednesday night in Rockefeller Center. She was delayed because she was yacking with her lawyer about the divorce settlement with husband Nick. When she finally showed up, frustrated NBC execs sent her packing.

But, NBC had a change of heart and they are now rolling the dice that she will show up tonight. It's interesting ... the decision comes after LeAnn Rimes tweeted that she would have more air time, insinuating it was because of 'the Mariah problem.'

The tree lighting ceremony just got more interesting.

Mariah tweeted about the ordeal Wednesday afternoon, writing, "Last night's situation was beyond my control. I apologize to all that showed up, you know that I would never want to disappoint you."

Mariah Carey was so consumed with divorce talk Tuesday evening ... she blew off her scheduled taped performance for the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony ... and when she finally showed up the pissed off NBC honchos sent her packing.

Carey was supposed to tape a segment for the live show that airs Wednesday night. But as fans waited for hours in the rainy, cold night , there was no Mariah in sight.

People connected to the hotel tell us ... Mariah was ensconced in her East Side hotel, yacking with her lawyer on the phone about her divorce. People who overheard her say it did not seem nasty ... she was going over the property settlement.

When she pulled up to Rockefeller Center more than 3 hours late, she was still on the phone and people overheard her continuing to talk divorce.

NBC execs were full on enraged -- ditto the crew -- and Mariah's people were told to just go home. We're told she really wanted to perform, but the network had clearly had enough.

We're told Mariah was upset because she didn't want to disappoint her fans or the network.

Calls to Mariah's rep were not returned.

Matt Lauer was more honest than any of his colleagues Tuesday ... telling our photog that Nancy Snyderman was squarely at fault for violating the Ebola quarantine ... something no one, including the doc, has said.

We got Matt coming out of the "Today" studios and asked about Snyderman's apology, in which she says her crew did indeed violate the quarantine ... she did NOT take personal responsibility, even though she was in the back of her Mercedes for a restaurant run recently.

Matt didn't mince words, and said Nancy's part of the crew and assessed the blame where it should lie.

NBC got back to us and said they couldn't comment "due to privacy concerns." They added their team -- including Dr. Nancy Snyderman -- was deemed "low risk" and agreed to follow guidelines. According to the Health Dept. ... someone didn't.

NBC News -- which has scared the crap out of American citizens by warning them of the dangers of Ebola and the cautions that must be taken -- did exactly the opposite.

The New Jersey Health Department just revealed the NBC crew that had agreed to a voluntary 21-day quarantine after one of its cameraman tested positive for Ebola ... VIOLATED the quarantine.

It's pretty ridiculous ... NBC seemed almost breathlessly excited in reporting that it's people became part of the story.

Now the health department has laid down the law and ORDERED medical correspondent Nancy Snyderman and the other crew members to stay put and comply with the basic safety rules.

Brace yourselves Dundler Mifflinites ... one of the stars of "The Office" -- who also ran the show behind the scenes for a few seasons -- says there will NEVER be a reunion.

Paul Lieberstein -- better known as Toby Flenderson -- was on his way out of Riva Bella in West Hollywood when we asked if there was a chance the cast would ever reunite.

The actor got right to the point without pulling any punches.

Matt Lauer places silver in the morning show ratings, but he's gold at NBC ... because the network has just re-signed him for multiple years.

Lauer has been through a rough few years, playing the role of scapegoat for NBC's botched firing of Ann Curry. And the show slipped from ratings dominance.

But the criticism has subsided and the show's rating have gone up some ... so NBC just re-signed Lauer with just a few months to go before his contract expired.

Lauer was earning around $30 million in his last contract, and it's a safe bet he got a raise.

This could be an interesting summer for the show. Savannah Guthrie is on maternity leave, and the plan was for Katie Couric to temporarily re-team with Matt.

Fitness guru Cara Castronuova isn't very discriminating ... she'll go on a date with ANYONE who's willing to pay the asking price -- $10,000.

Cara -- an ex-trainer on "The Biggest Loser" -- tells TMZ she's raising money for her charity -- Knockout Obesity -- by offering a romantic evening in NYC with anyone who ponies up 10 grand.

The best part ... she's open to men and women.

Cara says she hopes to go on at least 3 dates so she can send 50 overweight kids to fat camp. She's moved by the heartbreaking letters she gets ... including one from a boy who told her he desperately wants to shed lbs so other kids will stop pinching his stomach.

So what do you get for your money? Cara says the date consists of dinner at a really nice place and then seeing the new Rocky musical on Broadway.

But here's the deal ... you have to pick up the tab for dinner ... and pay your own way to NYC. She'll take care of the theater tix.

Josh Elliott was so disgusted with ABC ... he took a pay cut of more than a million dollars ... multiple sources connected with both ABC and NBC tell TMZ.

Our sources say ABC offered Josh between $4 and $5 million to stay, but he chose NBC despite the fact that they offered him just over $3 million.

We're told Josh was at the point of no return when Robin Roberts signed a $14 million a year contract to anchor GMA. He felt slighted by the ABC offer and just wanted out.

Sources say the feeling is mutual. As one source put it, "He's definitely an abrasive guy." Another source says, "People hated him. He was always just rude."

And get this ... we're told just weeks ago Sr. VP of ABC News James Goldston confronted Amy Robach -- Josh's replacement on GMA -- and called her "toxic" because she created tension on the set. Indeed, we're told Amy and Lara Spencer "hate" each other and can't hide their contempt.

Another source says Robin Roberts hasn't helped matters -- one person saying she acts like a "diva" on the set.

As for Josh's future ... our network sources say NBC did NOT promise Josh any role on "Today," but we're told there's no doubt he's got to the top of the heap as the likely successor to Matt Lauer.

Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell came thiiiiiis close to squashing their longstanding beef at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards -- Kel totally thought it was happening ... and then it didn't.

We caught up with Kel in Sherman Oaks Monday, and he told our camera guy he was under the impression during their segment Sunday night ... Kenan would give him a shout out.

For everyone above the age of 12 who missed it -- Nickelodeon gave one of the executive producers of "Kenan & Kel" a Lifetime Achievement award, and Thompson sent in a recorded speech where he never acknowledged working with Kel.

Sources close to Kenan say it wasn't meant to be a diss ... producers didn't tell him to mention Kel until after the piece had been filmed and he was too busy for a re-shoot.

Kel says he's not mad -- and even offers one final plea to Kenan in regard to a reunion.

David Brenner -- who holds the record for number of appearances on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson -- is on his death bed and people close to him say it's just a matter of days.

Sources close to Brenner say the 78-year-old comedian has cancer that has been aggressive ... spreading rapidly.

We're told Brenner slipped into a coma this week ... and doctors don't expect him to pull through.

David sat on Carson's couch 158 times ... and even hosted the "Tonight Show" a few times.

He was also a frequent guest on Howard Stern's radio show.

The personal injury lawyer who just got his ass sued by Judge Judy insists Judy's got her robe in a bunch for no reason -- telling TMZ, he wasn't using her image to promote himself ... he was using it to promote HER.

As we reported, Judy sued attorney John Haymond claiming he stole clips from her show to use in a commercial to promote his law firm -- but Haymond says that's just not the case.

He tells us, the commercial in question is actually for her OWN SHOW.

According to Haymond, the local ABC affiliate in New Haven, CT and NBC affiliate in Springfield recently asked Haymond -- a well-known personal injury lawyer in the area -- and his daughters to appear in the Judge Judy promo ... and he obliged.

Haymond says the promotions actually ran on the station several years ago, but recently stopped, and he's surprised the station isn't owning up. According to Haymond, "If the local affiliates would just release these Judge Judy Show promotions, everyone would see this is much ado about nothing."