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The 2018 BET Hip Hop Awards turned into one big party onstage and off, with the best artists and biggest ballers turning up in South Beach ... showing off their ice, style and swag.

Some of the stars who were dripping extra hard ... award winners Lil Wayne and DJ Khaled, Gucci Mane and Keyshia Ka'Oir, Blac Chyna, T.I. and Tameka, O.T. Genasis, Fabolous ... and lots of other pairs and groups who reveled in the good times.

Also walking the red carpet at The Fillmore Miami Beach ... TMZ's Raquel Harper, in advance of her new TV show.

Hillary Clinton hit a snag on her way to a fundraiser ... well, to be exact, the SUV she was riding in smacked into a cement pole, and came to a screeching halt.

Hillary, reportedly accompanied by her trusted aide, Huma Abedin, was in a Secret Service van Monday night in New Jersey headed to an event for Sen. Bob Menendez. As the van pulled into a parking garage -- with camera rolling -- it looks like her driver just cut the turn way too tight, and ... DOH!

Moments later, Hillary seemed unharmed as she stepped out of the van. The Secret Service tells us there were no injuries reported, and Jersey City cops are investigating the crash. Should be a pretty quick investigation.

3:35 PM PT -- WWE tells TMZ Sports, "We recently received what appears to be a meritless lawsuit and we will vigorously defend ourselves."

When reached Ric Flair had no comment.

WWE superstar Charlotte Flair is being sued by her ex-husband who claims she defamed him in her new book by falsely claiming he shoots blanks.

It's all in new legal docs filed by Riki Paul Johnson and obtained by TMZ Sports ... in which he goes after Charlotte, her father Ric Flair and the WWE, demanding more than $5 MILLION in damages.

Riki's beef is with the book 'Second Nature' -- which Ric and Charlotte wrote together and released in Sept. 2017.

In his suit, Riki claims the Flairs wrote negatively about his relationship with Charlotte -- and falsely stated that he is sterile and incapable of fathering children.

FYI, Riki and Charlotte -- real name Ashley Fliehr -- were married from 2010 to 2011.

Riki says the allegations in the book have humiliated his family -- including his 3 children -- because they're now the subject of ridicule and shame by people who believe the Flairs.

Riki also claims the book contains "multiple false allegations physical and/or psychological abuse" -- which he believes he can prove based on police reports and dash cam footage.

He also claims the Flairs wrongly claimed he was fired from 2 jobs due to illicit drug use.

In his suit, Riki claims he was intentionally painted as a villain in order to make Charlotte seem like a "victim who overcame personal adversity and domestic abuse."

He also claims WWE was involved in the marketing of the book -- so, they should be held liable as well.

Ariana Grande put on a brave face and belted out a big tune in her first public appearance since ending things with Pete Davidson.

Grande performed "The Wizard and I" Tuesday in a pre-taped TV special for the Broadway musical "Wicked." Grande assured fans Monday she'd still be a part of the event, even after the split with Davidson, and she delivered on her promise.

TMZ broke the story ... Davidson was supposed to headline a comedy gig Wednesday at Temple University but dropped out last minute. He's being replaced by Adam DeVine.

Grande has already returned the $100k engagement ring from Pete, and she'll keep their pet teacup pig, Piggy Smallz.

The candidate Chance the Rapper's endorsing for mayor of Chicago says his support goes way beyond the typical celeb endorsement, because he's going to be a key player in her campaign.

We spoke with Amara Enyia Tuesday shortly after Chance announced he was endorsing her in the race to get Rahm Emanuel's office when he steps down next year.

She tells us Chance's backing is more than a "flash in the pan," and the proof will be evident on the campaign trail. Not that the hometown hero needs to prove himself -- Amara reminded us Chance has walked the walk in Chicago ... donating millions to the city's public school system and other services.

Amara compares Chance's shift into politics to people like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West, who've both gotten in some face time with the President over different issues.

Meek Mill can't lose these days ... first he gets his freedom back, then he squashes beef with Drake, and now he's winning a cool $50k by making a crazy over-the-shoulder, half-court hoops trick shot.

Meek was hanging out with his pal, Michael Rubin -- owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and one of MM's strongest allies when he was inside -- when the two men decided to have a little friendly wager.

Friendly, meaning $50k ... according to Meek.

Meek had 25 tries to make an over-the-shoulder, half-court heave ... and with about 9 tries left, he nailed it.

Listen, the NBA season kicks off Tuesday night and, while we think it's dope someone other than those guys are getting paid for basketball, this whole thing reminds of one very sobering fact.

There are better ways to voice your displeasure for President Trump than by dragging the First Lady through the mud, and T.I. has gone waaaay too far ... so says former Barack Obama cabinet member Julian Castro.

We got the former HUD Secretary Tuesday at Reagan National, and asked about T.I. portraying Melania Trump as his personal lapdancer in the Oval.

Julian says there's no room for lewd antics in our democracy. Although, we gotta say ... that's a funny response considering Trump's exchange with Stormy Daniels today.

He's adamant mafia rules should apply -- as in, spouses and kids are off limits when bashing Trump, or any other politician. Julian's speaking as a very interested party because he's said he's probably running for Prez in 2020.

Pete Davidson is doing everything in his power to keep a low profile after the collapse of his relationship with Ariana Grande.

Davidson was set to headline Wednesday at Temple University's event, "Comedy Night Live." In a statement for the event, we're told Davidson pulled out last minute due to "personal reasons."

TMZ broke the story ... Pete and Ariana ended their engagement and called it quits on their relationship over the weekend. Ariana has already returned her $100k engagement ring to Davidson and Ariana will keep the couple's teacup pig, Piggy Smallz.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... he and Khabib Nurmagomedov have worked out their issues and "The Eagle" will not be leaving the UFC.

"We're good with Khabib," Dana said ... "He's staying. This will all work out."

Remember, Khabib threatened to leave the organization if White fired his teammate, Zubaira Tukhugov, for his role in the post-fight madness at UFC 229.

"If you decide to fire him, you should know that you’ll lose me too," Khabib posted on Instagram last week.

So, when we saw Dana out in NYC moments ago, we had to ask if he felt there was a real risk that Khabib would walk.

"We worked it out. We're gonna get everything worked out. Obviously, he was a little upset and a little fired up."

He continued, "Listen, guys get very emotional man and that was a very emotional fight for him. At the end of the day, Khabib is a great guy and we've always had a great relationship with him."

The other question ... does this mean Khabib AND Zubaira will remain on the UFC roster?

"Well, [Khabib's] staying in the UFC," Dana said ... telling us he's not 100% sure about Zubaira's future.

He did assure us that Khabib is happy and "this will all work out."

Dennis Hof -- the owner of the famous Bunny Ranch, and Love Ranch where Lamar Odom overdosed -- has passed away at the age of 72.

Law enforcement sources tell us they got a 911 call from Hof's Love Ranch in Crystal, Nevada around 11 AM. We're told the call was for an unresponsive male. Detectives are currently on scene ... no foul play is suspected.

Hof had recently celebrated his birthday with a weekend-long bash that included celebs like Ron Jeremy, Flavor Flav, Afroman and Johnny Buss. According to Hof's campaign manager, Jeremy was the one who discovered his body.

Hof shot to superstardom as the star of the HBO series 'Cathouse' -- which followed him as he ran his famous brothels in Nevada.

Hof bragged about being a pimp -- and came up with his own catchphrase, "There's no business like ho business."

The most infamous incident under Hof's watch went down in October 2015 when Lamar Odom overdosed after a bender at Hof's Love Ranch South. Blood tests later revealed Lamar had cocaine in his system. Odom was placed in a coma for 3 days after the incident.

In a recent interview, Lamar revealed he suffered 12 strokes and 6 heart attacks while hospitalized for the incident.

Hof was a master when it came to publicity -- he famously hired Tiger Woods' mistress Devon James to work at the Bunny Ranch back in 2010. He fired her and at the time said, "I wish nothing but the worst for her."

Hof was currently in the middle of a campaign for State Assembly ... winning the GOP primary in June.

The Governor of Idaho is appalled at his former fish and game commissioner for slaughtering a family of baboons -- saying not only is the killing itself wrong -- posting a pic is just as disturbing.

Blake Fischer came under heavy fire after sending out an email to more than 100 people that contained a photo of himself posing with 4 baboons he killed during a hunting trip in Africa. One of the baboons was a juvenile ... and a bloody gunshot wound was visible on the animal.

Fischer resigned and Governor Butch Otter issued a statement, saying, "Every member of my administration is expected to exercise good judgment."

A rep for Otter tells us in Idaho hunter education courses -- taught by Fischer's own department -- participants are taught to exercise good judgment when they display images of their kills. This includes covering up wounds and not widely circulating images others may deem offensive ... Fischer broke both of those rules.

On a personal level, Governor Otter says he'd never kill the exotic animals, and urged others to act in accordance with his actions.

CHUBBS IS BACK!!!

Yeah, that massive 15-foot alligator sauntering through a Florida golf course has a name -- because he's become a "regular" ... and miraculously, no one's been eaten yet!

Chubbs was first spotted at the Buffalo Creek Golf Course in Palmetto, FL back in 2016 -- and has become a social media sensation ever since ... mostly because he's a giant, green monster.

But, the gator returned on Saturday -- with stunned golfers crapping their pants as the carnivore strolled through his home course.

Course officials have said Chubbs is almost like a pet -- he does his own thing and doesn't bother anyone.

Just as long as you keep your distance.

Grab your popcorn -- President Trump and Stormy Daniels are trading biting insults, directly at each other, and as you'd probably expect he started it, she finished with ... a d**k joke.

First, POTUS did what he does Tuesday morning ... brag about his victory over Stormy in her defamation lawsuit. As we reported, it was dismissed Monday -- and he celebrated by tweeting "Now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer in the Great State of Texas."

Ouch, right?

Not to worry, Stormy fired back, "In addition to his ...umm...shortcomings, he demonstrated his incompetence, hatred of women and lack of self control on Twitter AGAIN! And perhaps a penchant for bestiality."

Gotta give her 2 bonus points for the self-effacing humor. Her final low blow? "Game on, Tiny."

Here's how we're scoring it at the buzzer:
Trump - 1
Daniels - 3

We hope suspect this ain't over, though.

James Prince thinks it's stupid to avoid interacting with people who have a different world view, and that's why the rap mogul tells us he's willing to have a conversation with President Trump in the Oval.

J Prince was on Van Lathan's 'Red Pill Podcast' talking about his new book, 'The Art & Science of Respect,' when he said he'd accept an invitation to the White House ... promising to lobby for the black community if he goes to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

The Rap-A-Lot Records CEO has tons of experience with famous rap beefs ... so he's no stranger to reaching across the aisle to try and ease tension and settle differences.

Some critics have said Kanye West brought a circus to the Oval, but J Prince says his visit would be totally different.

Check out the full episode with James below, and catch 'The Red Pill' weekly on SoundCloud.