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Hugh Hefner's son, Cooper, is forging his own path ... and it's taking him overseas to train with the Air Force.

Cooper, who infamously quit his father's beloved Playboy to start his own media empire, has already joined the Air Force after recently abandoning his plans to launch a digital content platform for millennials ... and this week he left for basic training overseas.

Hef's son says he's stepping back from the Stag and Hefner Media Corporation to move forward with a greater service to our community and country ... this after his March enlistment.

Cooper is one of Hugh's two sons with his second wife, Kimberley Conrad, and the 28-year-old previously took over Playboy back in 2016 when his father's health declined, bringing back nudity to the magazine's spread.

We're guessing Cooper will be a popular figure at basic training, with plenty of stories to share with his new comrades.

Orlando Jones is putting the new showrunner for "American Gods" on full blast ... saying he's responsible for getting the actor fired from the show.

OJ went on the attack Saturday morning in a video he posted to his social media, saying he was fired from the STARZ series a few months ago in September ... a decision he appears to be pinning on TV screenwriter Charles "Chic" Eglee, who got tapped to head up season 3.

Check out the clip ... Orlando -- who played Mr. Nancy for the first two seasons on 'AG' -- says the new showrunner apparently felt his character's "angry, get-s**t-done" attitude was the wrong message to broadcast to black America. Clearly, Orlando thinks that's BS.

He goes on to say, "That's right, this white man sits in that decision-making chair. And I'm sure he has many black BFFs who are his advisers and made it clear to him, that if they did not get rid of that angry god Mr. Nancy, he'd start a Denmark Vesey uprising in this country."

Orlando goes on to thank the OG showrunners -- Neil Gaiman, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green -- for letting him become a writer/producer on the show, as well as fans of course.

In a separate post, Orlando also blasts Fremantle Media, the production company behind "American Gods" and several other TV shows, including "America's Got Talent." Speaking of that, OJ tags Nick Cannon, Gabrielle Union, Mel B and other stars ... saying they've all claimed the company is a nightmare and treats its talent like "2nd class citizen(s)."

He seems to agree with that characterization. As far as Eglee, Orlando doesn't name drop him -- but there's only been one new showrunner announced for season 3, and it's him.

We've reached out to the guy for comment ... so far, no word back.

The guy who admitted to slapping a female reporter's backside while running a 5k race has been arrested.

Thomas Callaway of Georgia surrendered to authorities Friday and posed for this mug shot. He was booked for misdemeanor sexual battery and was released on $1,300 bond. If convicted, he faces a max sentence of up to 12 months behind bars and up to a $5,000 fine.

TMZ broke the story ... the WSAV-TV reporter -- 23-year-old Alex Bozarjian -- seemed intent of pursuing a criminal case against Callaway after his alleged "smack and grab" during the River Bridge Run last weekend ... when a shocked Bozarjian seemed to respond to contact.

She filed a police report soon thereafter, and went to blast Callaway on social media by saying she the moment was "violating" and "embarrassing." She later told "CBS This Morning" that he'd taken her power from her, and she was simply trying to take it back.

Callaway went on national TV to try and apologize, saying he had a lapse in judgment and got caught up in the moment. He said he hoped Bozarjian could forgive him. BTW, he's reportedly a teen church youth minister and a Boy Scout leader too.

His attorney said his client did not act with any criminal intentions, adding ... "Tommy is a loving husband and father who is very active in the community. We have been in touch with WSAV and representatives of Ms. Alex Bozarjian, as well as members of Savannah law enforcement."

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John gave a bunch of fans an evening that will trigger jealous rages across the country ... a "Grease" revival!!!

Olivia and John were front and center Friday night at the Meet 'n' Grease Sing-Along at the Coral Sky Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, Florida.

They recreated their iconic characters, Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson. And, they both look really good and sound really good!!!

So, check out the video ... 71-year-old Olivia sings "Hopelessly Devoted to You," and John sings "Sandy," and then joins the male chorus in "Greased Lightning'."

Olivia, as you know, has struggled in her battle with cancer, and she's always said John has been there for her during tough times.

Harry Styles packed The Forum in Inglewood, CA Friday night ... and the resale prices were INSANE!!!

Harry debuted his new album, "Fine Line" but didn't stop there. He rejiggered the One Direction hit, "What Makes You Beautiful" into a rock version.

And then ... Stevie Nicks walks out onstage and she and Harry did a duet of "Landslide" ... which was awesome. Harry also got in the xmas spirit, singing, "Wonderful Christmastime."  As he sang, confetti fell from the rafters. Hey, it's as close to snow as Los Angeles is gonna get, right?

As for ticket prices ... get this. All seats went on sale originally for $25. The Forum sold out in seconds. And then, the resale. $400 for nose-bleed seats. $1600 for floor seats!!! And people were paying.

Harry seemed extremely grateful for it all, telling the crowd how lucky he felt to unveil his album this way.

Donald and Melania Trump threw a bash at The White House for members of Congress and ... well, let's say it looked liked it snowed in D.C.

The annual Congressional Ball went down Thursday night, although the photos were just released.

45 posed for photos with guests in the Grand Foyer of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Among those who attended ... Democratic Reps. Antonio Delgado (NY.), Susie Lee (Nev.), Elaine Luria (VA.), Jim Costa (CA), Josh Harder (CA) and Gil Cisneros (CA).

As you know the House Judiciary Committee gave its thumb's up Friday to impeachment and sent the 2 articles on to the full House of Reps. All money is on the full House impeaching Trump next week, but it's virtually a foregone conclusion the Senate will not convict him, which means Trump will remain in office.

Philadelphia Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and will miss the rest of the season to focus on treatment, the team announced.

23-year-old Lindblom is a rising star in the NHL -- he already has 18 points in 30 games this season ... impressive for someone so young.

But, Friday the team announced Lindblom has been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma -- which is described by St. Jude's as "a cancerous tumor that grows in the bones or in the tissue around bones (soft tissue)."

Only about 200 children and young adults are diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma each year in the United States.

The good news ... the cancer is treatable and people diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma have a good chance of beating it, according to WebMD.

The Flyers say Lindblom "will undergo further testing and evaluation next week and begin treatment immediately thereafter."

"He is not expected to return to play for the remainder of the season."

The team added, "The Flyers will do everything possible to support Oskar and assist him in securing the best care available."

Come and listen to a story about a man named Lachlan ... a not-so-poor media mogul who bought a house for $150 MILLION!!!

That's right ... the L.A. estate known as Chartwell -- best known for being featured on "The Beverly Hillbillies" -- is off the market, and the mansion's new owner is Rupert Murdoch's son, 48-year-old Lachlan.

The real estate transaction is not only the most expensive in L.A. history but in the history of the entire state of California. And, get this ... it sold for $200 million LESS than the initial asking price.

Chartwell was listed off-market about 2 years ago at an astronomical $350 million but dropped to a slightly more affordable $245 mil when it entered the multiple listing service. The price dipped again to $195 mil this summer, before reportedly being sold to Lachlan for the cool $150 mil.

It's now the second priciest home sale in the U.S. ... trailing only the $238 million NYC penthouse purchased by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin in January.

The exterior was used for the credits of the legendary '60s show ... and it's become a tourist destination ever since, where people peer through the gates to get a look. The estate boasts a 25,000-square-foot main house, a tennis court, a guest house, and of course -- a cement pond ... and another house to go with that.

There are also acres of gardens with tall hedges and trees for privacy.

BTW -- Chartwell is actually located in Bel-Air, not Beverly Hills, and was last owned by late billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio, the chairman of Univision. The new owner is cochairman of his family's company, News Corp.

There's a massive battlezone unfolding in Jersey City, in which two reported shooters are holed up and firing out at police officers ... one of whom has reportedly been hit and wounded.

Reports of a shooting trickled out Tuesday morning, with initial reports indicating 2 different gunmen were barricaded in a bodega and firing out on the street with what's been described as a "long rife." Shots ringing out were captured on video, showing just how crazy the situation really is.

Several different agencies are reportedly responding and are on the move -- including ATF, local law enforcement and other authorities with guns drawn.

According to the NYT, at least one officer has been hit in the gunfire and is being transported to the hospital. One report says the officer was hit in the head. It's unclear how the shooting started, which still sounds very active.

A large crowd of people has gathered in the blocks surrounding the incident, many with their phones out and screaming as the whole thing unfolds.

Understandable ... this is pretty damn scary.

Clint Eastwood is apparently a dear to work with ... so says the director's latest leading man, Paul Walter Hauser.

We got the actor Saturday in NYC, and he dished on what it was like working with Clint on his new movie "Richard Jewell" -- which documents the scandal surrounding the real-life security guard who found a bomb ... and then got accused of being the drop man.

PWH says he had a great time on set with with Clint, telling us the dude's a straight up sweetheart -- an ego-less one that. Plus, he's a freakin' icon ... that's a given.

We also ask Paul if it was intimidating to work with someone of that caliber, and surprisingly ... he says it wasn't, even if it should've been. That's interesting, considering what more seasoned actors have said about CE, which is pretty much the exact opposite.

Tom Hanks famously said in 2016 that Clint "treats his actors like horses" in the sense that he wrangles everyone up as needed, and was seemingly a bit of a hard ass on set.

Saweetie is all about silver linings after she and Quavo were grounded by some serious issues with their private jet, and she got a painful reminder ... someone's always got it worse.

The rapper was leaving Nice Guy Friday night when we asked her about the fuel leak from her private jet that had the fire department rushing to the tarmac Thursday night -- and also prevented her from getting to a scheduled Bay Area gig.

Saweetie told us she was disappointed, especially for fans expecting to see her and Trey Songz perform -- but she was happy she and her Migos BF avoided tragedy.

Our photog helped cheer her up, though. Watch the clip, 'cause you gotta see the look on Saweetie's face when he told her about ... SCORPIONS ON A PLANE!!!

TMZ broke the story ... a United passenger claims a scorpion somehow got into her pants during a flight from San Fran to ATL and stung her multiple times.

The actor who played the husband in what some see as a "sexist" Peloton ad is afraid the backlash he's getting from keyboard warriors will have a negative impact on his career.

Sean Hunter is the man in the infamous holiday ad who gifts his wife a Peloton bike. When he's not acting he's an elementary school teacher ... and he's defending himself, and the controversial ad, in Psychology Today .. of all places.

Sean says initial reviews of his Peloton gig were mostly positive, but everything changed when the ad went viral. Now, his take is, "My 5 seconds of air time created an array of malicious feedback that is all associated with my face."

He adds, "My friend texted me today declaring that I’m ‘a symbol of the patriarchy' ... As my face continues to be screen shot online, I wonder what repercussions will come back to me."

Sean says he's "grappling with the negative opinions as none of them have been constructively helpful."

If it makes him feel better ... at least some of the memes about the ad have clearly been in jest -- and even comedian Sherri Shepherd had a laugh over it.

Anyways, the criticism is clearly doing a number on Sean, and he posed a laundry list of questions. "As I continue to reflect on the commercial, I consider these thoughts: Why are people creating so many additional narratives to the story? Am I allowed to view the commercial positively after receiving such negative feedback? If recognized on the street, what will people’s first opinions be of me?"

He also wonders if his "wife" in the ad is going through the same thing he is. For what it's worth, she's chosen to remain silent since all the buzz over the ad.

Guess Sean ain't buying Peloton's company line that folks actually like the ad.

George Zimmerman is going after Trayvon Martin's family, claiming they defamed him and created a conspiracy in an attempt to convict him of murder.

Zimmerman's suing Trayvon's parents, along with prosecutors and a book publisher, for $100 million in damages. In the suit, he alleges false evidence was used against him during his trial and cites a documentary that accuses the Martin family of engineering a phony testimony.

As you'll recall, Trayvon was visiting his father in Sanford, Florida on Feb. 26, 2012, and was returning from a store with candy when he was killed by Zimmerman, who had reported him to cops as suspicious.

According to the docs, Zimmerman claims the Martin family and prosecutors lied about the true identity of the woman Trayvon was talking to on the phone at the time of the shooting, In his suit, Zimmerman alleges they presented Rachel Jeantel as the witness during the trial, but he claims it was actually Brittany Diamond Eugene on the phone.

Of course, Zimmerman was eventually found not guilty in 2013 of second-degree murder in the 17-year-old's fatal shooting. Still, he's suing for defamation and conspiracy. He's also suing the state of Florida for malicious prosecution.

The shooting of Trayvon remains a lightning rod, as Zimmerman has maintained he was attacked by Martin and was defending himself ... but police, prosecutors and much of the general public viewed it as an unjustified killing of a kid in a hoodie.

Zimmerman's named Harper Collins and author, Ben Crump, as defendants due to their recent release of "Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People."

Nate Bain says his family is absolutely STUNNED at the $150,000 in donations he's received since Stephen F. Austin State upset Duke ... and he's telling us how the money will be spent.

Of course, Bain's story went viral after the Duke game -- his family home and church in the Bahamas were destroyed in Hurricane Dorian -- and people raced to his GoFundMe to help them rebuild.

The good news ... Bain tells TMZ Sports his family home is covered by insurance, so the GoFundMe cash (currently around $150k) will be used to help the scores of people who need help the most.

"That money is to help other families within the church and on the school," Bain says ... "It's going to help a whole lot of families."

In fact, Bain had this special thank you message to everyone who contributed ...

"To those people who are watching right now or you’ll see this later, just thank you so much! You have no idea how [many] folks you’re helping. How [many] families and lives you’re gonna change ... because there’s still folks back home without constant water, without shoes, without clothes that this money is going to go towards."

"You’re making an impact inside a little kid’s life, you’re changing somebody’s life for the better. Shows there’s still great people inside this world, still humane people that are still thinking about others so I just wanna say THANK YOU! My whole country thanks those who are still contributing!"

As for the basketball team, Bain says they've become rock stars on campus since the upset -- but they're not looking to slow down any time soon!

"The whole campus has been loving on us! But, the season isn't over!"

SFA is 6-1 and taking on Arlington Baptist University on Monday night -- and after beating Duke, they're expected to win big!

Rosa Parks was memorialized in the city where she was once arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person ... and where a statue of her now stands tall.

The bronze life-size figure was unveiled Sunday in Montgomery, Alabama with the help of Mayor Steven Reed -- who recently became Montgomery's first black mayor -- as well as Alabama's governor, Kay Ivey. There were other important people there too, though.

Mary Louise Smith was on hand for the unveiling as well -- she's one of the original plaintiffs in the Browder vs. Gayle case that ultimately desegregated buses in Montgomery a year after Parks was arrested. The Supreme Court upheld a lower court's decision after the city of Montgomery and the state of Alabama appealed the original ruling, declaring segregated buses were unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

On Dec. 1, 1955 ... Rosa Parks refused to follow a city bus driver's order to surrender her seat -- which was already in the "colored section" -- to a white passenger because the front part of the bus was already full. She stood her ground and got taken to jail for it.

Her refusal and the subsequent arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycotts, which lasted for a whopping 381 days ... and severely hurt the transit companies' bottom line. The city eventually changed its segregation bus law once SCOTUS weighed in the following year.

Rosa died of natural causes in 2005 at the age of 92. She remains a central figure in the civil rights movement of this country.

Colombian superstar J Balvin properly addressed the political unrest plaguing his native country ... taking the opportunity to do it in his own hometown to a packed house.

The reggaeton singer was performing Saturday night in Medellin, where he hosted tens of thousands of Colombians in the city's Atanasio Girardot Stadium -- which looked quite full.

He's on an international tour right now, and it's clear he wasn't about to pass up the chance to speak on the nationwide protests that have broken out down there over the last week or so ... which has left at least one student dead and several others injured.

The anti-government protests are in response to President Ivan Duque's policies, which many feel are stymieing economic opportunity, access to higher education and better healthcare. Violence is also a major issue. It's a dense topic, but people have taken to the streets.

Enter J Balvin, who's caught a bit of criticism for throwing up sympathetic social media posts on the situation ... but not actually using his voice and clarifying his opinion.

Welp, he didn't shy away from it this weekend -- making it crystal clear where he stands. J Balvin sides with the frustrated citizens (especially the youth) and made a plea to the government ... which got a resounding cheer from the crowd. It's pretty powerful.

Speaking in Spanish, he asked President Duque's administration to listen to people, because if they're demonstrating like they have been ... there's obviously something wrong that needs fixing. He went on to request peace, love and understanding from both sides as well.