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LaVar Ball tells TMZ Sports he expects to have an encounter with President Trump now that he's back in the U.S. ... and he expects it to go well.

"We're gonna run into each other. We'll be good," LaVar said after touching down at LAX Wednesday night with his youngest son, LaMelo.

The Big Baller was clearly being careful with his words -- and for good reason -- since his son LiAngelo is still in the middle of an international incident after shoplifting in China.

It seems LaVar is confident everything is going to be okay ... and he's using the media attention to put a spotlight on his favorite thing in the world -- Big Baller Brand!!!

Good news for The Weinstein Company ... It's being sued again, but not for sexual harassment.

The widow of the author of the novel, "The Amityville Horror" is suing Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein and TWC, for allegedly ripping off her dead husband's work by creating a 2017 sequel.

Lesia Anson says the sequel is derived directly from her husband's novel and the 1979 film, both of which her husband created. She says the 2017 sequel -- "Amityville: The Awakening" is "a cinematic mess and received dreadful reviews." She goes on to say it suffered one of the worst opening weekends of all times, grossing $742 from 10 theaters.

She says TWC never even approached her for permission ... they just ripped her off.

Robert Patrick did a real number on one of his "Scorpion" co-stars ... at least according to a lawsuit the actor's filed against Patrick and the show.

David Fabrizio, who had a recurring role on the CBS hit drama, says he was shooting a scene that involved him getting physical with Patrick, but the scene went SNAFU. According to the docs, Patrick -- best known as the T-1000 in "Terminator 2" -- "negligently struck" Fabrizio from behind.

In the docs, Fabrizio says he suffered severe injuries which required expensive medical treatments. He was not specific about his injuries, but says he's consulting with surgeons.

He's suing Patrick, CBS Television Studios, the stunt coordinator and the producers for his medical bills and damages.

The songwriter who sued Sony over Sam Smith's mega hit "Stay With Me" is this close to being unceremoniously thrown out of court, because a judge isn't buying what he's selling.

Mark Halper filed his lawsuit back in 2015, claiming Smith somehow heard Halper's rendition of "Don't Throw Our Love Away," which contained the lyric, "stay with me." His suit asks for an acknowledgment from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which gave Smith a Grammy for the song.

The magistrate judge -- who assists the trial judge -- wasn't having it, saying Halper didn't make a case that Sam had any access to his song. The judge went on to say ... even if Sam did have access, the lyric "stay with me" is not protected by copyright law.

The magistrate is recommending the trial judge toss the whole matter, which is most likely what will happen.

Darius McCrary is struggling so hard to get a role, he's only made $500 over the last year ... according to docs he's filed.

Darius says he can no longer afford to pay child support to his estranged wife, Tammy Brawner. In the docs he says his most recent acting gig was a 7-day shoot that paid him $125/day -- but he's still waiting on the paycheck.

He also says he still owes the IRS $90k.

The "Family Matters" star says he's so down and out he's had to move in with his aunt and uncle. As for seeing their daughter -- he says he can't afford to pay the fee for the court-appointed monitor. His visits have to be monitored because he and Tammy have restraining orders against each other.

Diddy did what Diddy does best at the Ace of Diamonds strip club this week -- be rich and blow stacks o' dough ... with some help from family and friends, of course.

Diddy and his son, Justin Combs, crashed AoD by Brand Group LA in WeHo Tuesday night with a grocery bag full of cash -- lots and lots of $1 bills based on these pics.

Sources involved in the money parade tell us Papa Combs spent close to $100k on strippers and booze. We're told 60 bottles of Ciroc were sent his way, which he then shared with other club-goers.

Blac Chyna's making a big change in her lawsuit against the whole Kardashian family -- she's apparently letting all the sisters, except Kim, off the hook ... for now, anyway.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Chyna is filing to remove Khloe, Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie from the legal battle, where she's accusing the fam of getting her show canceled. It's full steam ahead as far as Kim, Kris and Rob Kardashian are concerned.

Before the sisters start celebrating ... there's some fine print. Chyna lists "Does 1-100" as defendants -- that's legal speak for people you could later add to the lawsuit. It's entirely possible she'll refile against the sisters.

Turns out, there was a celebrity onboard the Southwest Airlines flight that was delayed due to a co-pilot WITH A GUN ... and that celeb is UFC champ Tyron Woodley.

The reigning welterweight champion touched down at LAX after the incident at St. Louis Lambert International Airport early Wednesday morning.

TMZ broke the story ... one pilot was arrested after taking a loaded gun through security though witnesses had told us there were TWO pilots in handcuffs.

Woodley says he definitely saw TWO pilots.

LiAngelo Ball and both of his UCLA basketball teammates just FULLY ADMITTED to stealing in China ... and THANKED President Donald Trump for getting them back to the U.S.

Ball -- along with Cody Riley and Jalen Hill -- spoke to the media for the first time since being arrested in Hangzhou for stealing sunglasses from Louis Vuitton.

As TMZ Sports reported, the guys stole from MULTIPLE STORES -- not just Louis Vuitton -- and LiAngelo Ball acknowledged that in his apology.

"I'm sorry for stealing from the stores in China."

All three men said they were extremely sorry for shoplifting -- didn't dispute the allegations one bit -- and promised they will redeem themselves moving forward.

Each player thanked Trump by name for the work he did behind the scenes.

Head coach Steve Alford announced all 3 players are suspended indefinitely -- will not practice, suit up or travel with the team until a complete review is done by school officials.

Sounds like there is a chance the guys will still be allowed to play this season -- as Alford did not give a timeline for their return.

R. Kelly royally screwed up his apology for making fun of an autistic fan and that's why the family's planning to sue his rude ass.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly bullied 27-year-old Lenny Felix into singing "I Believe I Can Fly" and then mocked him endlessly after a chance encounter outside a Hollywood nightclub. Kelly's since taken down the video in which he ridicules Lenny and replaced it with an apology video.

But the family's spokesman, Lenny's uncle Scott Lettieri, tells TMZ ... the apology was insulting because Kelly "would not take responsibility for disrespecting and getting a laugh at the expense of a sensitive young man who suffers from autism."

Lettieri went on to say Kelly used "Trumpian rationalization for shaming and bullying a sweet autistic young man ... [and] we feel there is no recourse but to pursue legal action."

We've reached out to Kelly, he had no comment.

Glenn Frey -- the late co-founder and guitarist for the Eagles -- left everything behind to his wife ... according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Frey's will lists Cindy Millican -- to whom he was married for more than 25 years -- as sole heir to his fortune. He also named her executor of the will ... leaving her responsible for distributing his personal items like jewelry, clothing and furnishings based on his wishes.

According to the docs ... Glenn suggested famed Eagles manager Irving Azoff and attorney Barry Greenfield serve as co-executors if, for some reason, his wife can't serve.

The will lists assets of $100,000 ... but, obviously, Frey had much, much more dough than that. The doc describes a family trust, which likely contains the bulk of his wealth.

We broke the story ... Frey died in January 2016 of complications from rheumatoid arthritis, acute ulcerative colitis, and pneumonia. He was survived by Cindy and their 3 kids. Only one of them is a minor.

There is a bit of bookkeeping as well ... in the docs, Cindy says she doesn't have the original will, just a copy. She has to disclose that to the court, but it shouldn't be an issue ... unless someone contests the will, and no one's expecting that.

Nicki Minaj went to see her brother behind bars for the first time since he was found guilty in his child rape trial, but she only did it to support her mother ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us she has not had a close relationship with her brother, Jelani Maraj, since he was charged for raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter. She made an exception this time, solely because her mom wanted to go.

We're told Nicki took her mother, Carol, to the Nassau County Jail last week. Carol hadn't seen Jelani since the guilty verdict.

Every dog has its day, but it has a better day when Verne Troyer shows up with a bag of treats!

Verne visited the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation Tuesday in Sherman Oaks. The place is awesome ... it rescues doggos from the Asian meat trade, and the ones in these pics just got flown in from Korea 24 hours earlier.

Verne greeted the pups -- including the ones nearly taller than him -- because his personal assistant volunteers at the rescue shelter. He didn't adopt one himself, but we're told Verne made sure they were all well fed.

So doggone great!

LiAngelo Ball might just be the answer to world peace ... 'cause Al Sharpton is actually BACKING Donald Trump after POTUS' involvement in the LiAngelo-China saga.

"I think that President Trump speaking to (President) Xi to make whatever arrangements were made ... was good," Sharpton told TMZ Sports in NYC. "He did the right thing."

But, don't expect to see Donald and Al hitting the links anytime soon ... 'cause Sharpton says "even a broke clock is right twice a day."

Also, probably worth noting that we got Sharpton BEFORE Trump publicly demanded 'Gelo and his UCLA bros show him some love.

Still ... it's a start.

Melissa Etheridge can keep on smiling' -- she made a plea deal in her marijuana possession case that keeps her out of jail.

Burke County State attorney Amber Fiesel tells TMZ ... Melissa pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, a Class B misdemeanor. She'll pay $1,000 in fines and fees and get 6 months of unsupervised probation. If she keeps her nose clean during that time, the case will be tossed.

Prosecutors wanted Melissa to submit to drug testing, but the judge shut that down after hearing Melissa has a medical marijuana card in Cali to treat her cancer-related pain.

As we reported ... Melissa's tour bus was stopped near the U.S.-Canada border in North Dakota back in August, and a K-9 detected her marijuana oil.

Donald Trump has a message to the UCLA basketball players who got out of China -- SHOW ME SOME DAMN LOVE!!!

"Do you think the three UCLA basketball players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" Trump tweeted.

Earlier this week, it was reported Trump personally spoke with the President of China to help free LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley after they were arrested for shoplifting in Hangzhou.

The players were released from China on Tuesday and touched down in L.A. late Tuesday night. They're expected to address the media Wednesday at 11 AM PT.