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Shannon Sharpe says he's stepping away from his ESPN gig ... four days after a woman claimed in a lawsuit he raped her.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer announced the decision on his X page on Thursday afternoon ... stating he's "temporarily" leaving his seat at the "First Take" desk in order to handle "false and disruptive allegations set against me."

Sharpe added, as of now, he's planning to return to his spot next to Stephen A. Smith later this summer -- right around the start of the NFL's preseason.

Pope Francis died from a stroke and a heart issue.

The Vatican released the official death certificate for Francis on Monday, and Vatican doctor Andrea Arcangeli says the Pope died as a result of a stroke and irreversible heart failure.

Francis' death certificate also reveals the Pope had been in a coma before his death on Monday morning. That's interesting because we saw the Pope the day before, on Easter Sunday, meeting briefly with Vice President J.D. Vance at the Vatican.

Pope Francis -- the 266th pope in the Catholic Church's history -- has died ... the Vatican confirms.

"At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church," Cardinal Kevin Ferrell said in a statement on Monday.

Reports began to surface at the end of February that the pontiff was preparing for death after he was hospitalized with double pneumonia earlier in the month. He was also being treated for bronchitis at the time.

Numerous dignitaries visited him in the hospital while he was recovering ... including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said the pope was as "alert and reactive" as always

Wendy Williams seems happy to be out of New York City ... smiling wide while scootering through an airport in Miami -- all while her guardianship fight carries on.

The former talk show host was filmed Saturday afternoon shortly after landing at Miami International Airport ... fuzzy black boots and a matching black coat on while maneuvering through the travel hub.

The most eye-catching part of the clip has to be Wendy's face ... 'cause she's clearly overjoyed to be out and about -- a beaming on her journey to a black SUV.

10:50 AM PT -- TikTok has put a new message on their app ... thanking its users for their patience and lauding praise on President-elect Donald Trump for bringing the app back online.

TikTok is already coming back online in the United States on Sunday just hours after President-elect Donald Trump announced he would issue an executive order on Monday to restore the platform.

Not long ago, TikTok released a statement, explaining, "In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive."

They continued, "It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States."

TikTok is toast in the U.S. ... at least for now.

The social media giant, best known for its users sharing real-life videos, went dark for 170 million Americans late Saturday night.

As this was going down, the China-based company issued two statements with the first informing everyone that it would shut down Sunday -- but soon after a second message was released, saying that a U.S. law banning TikTok had unfortunately taken effect.

Dana White can add another title to his resume -- the UFC honcho is joining Mark Zuckerberg on the Meta Board of Directors!!

White announced the news on Monday ... saying being on boards has never been his cup of tea, that is until Zuck came calling.

The 55-year-old explained his love for social media, artificial intelligence and the importance it has on the future is what drew him to this opportunity ... and he's stoked to get to work.

The man responsible for the New Orleans terrorist attack used smart glasses to record the area where he would carry out his attack during a visit to the city in the months leading up to the deadly rampage ... authorities announced on Sunday.

The FBI said Shamsud-Dim Jabbar, who drove his pickup truck into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Day, visited the Big Easy in October for at least 2 days and used Meta smart glasses to record a video of him riding on a bicycle through the French Quarter ... the area where he would carry out the attack months later.

Authorities said Jabbar was wearing a pair of Meta smart glasses the day he carried out the terrorist attack but he didn't activate the glasses to record the horrific act which left 14 dead and several others injured.

Justin Baldoni is suing The New York Times for $250 million over the publication's bombshell article, in which they alleged the actor and others coordinated a smear campaign against his "It Ends with Us" costar, Blake Lively.

Baldoni, who directed and starred in the romance drama with Lively, was accused of sexual harassment by the actress in a legal complaint -- and subsequent lawsuit -- which was featured heavily in The Times' piece.

However, according to Variety, Baldoni has now accused the paper of libel, invasion of privacy, promissory fraud and breach of implied-in-fact contract over the article ... alleging the Times "cherry-picked" details and altered key communications to "deliberately" mislead readers.

Jimmy Carter -- the 39th President of the United States, a renowned philanthropist and a Nobel Peace Prize winner -- has died.

The news of his death was confirmed by his son, Jimmy Carter III also known as Chip to the Washington Post on Sunday.

The Carter Center tells TMZ ... Jimmy passed away at home surrounded by family. He was the longest living former president in history when he passed away.

Luigi Mangione planned the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson months in advance ... and, he'd clearly been thinking about it longer -- so say federal prosecutors.

In the federal criminal complaint -- filed Thursday -- prosecutors included several diary entries they claim Mangione made over the past few months ... all of which seem to point to Mangione as Thompson's killer.

An entry dated August 15 describes how he's "glad -- in a way -- that I've procrastinated" because it allowed him to learn more about a "Company-1" ... which is how the feds refer to UnitedHealthcare throughout the docs.

The student and teacher who were killed earlier this week in a horrific school shooting in Wisconsin have been identified.

According to The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office ... 14-year-old student Rubi Patricia Vergara and 42-year-old teacher Erin West died in Monday's shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison.

The medical examiner says Erin and Rubi "died as a result of homicidal firearm related trauma." The M.E. says their deaths remain under investigation by police and the medical examiner.

The suspect charged with fatally stabbing 3 little girls and injuring 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the UK has pleaded not guilty to all 16 charges against him.

18-year-old Axel Rudakubana stayed silent during his appearance in Liverpool Crown Court via video link from London's Belmarsh prison Wednesday, where Justice Julian Goose directed the clerk to enter not guilty pleas across the board.

Rudakubana is charged with 3 counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and additional charges for allegedly possessing ricin and an Al-Qaeda manual related to the attack on July 29 this year.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday Luigi Mangione has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

It's unusual to be charged with first-degree murder in the state of New York -- the charge is usually reserved for cases involving the killing of law enforcement officers, serial killers, and for acts of terrorism. Mangione had been facing a preliminary charge of second-degree murder after he was arrested last week.

First-degree murder sentences typically involve life without parole due to the element of premeditated intent. In contrast, second-degree murder might result in a 15-year-to-life sentence, where parole might be an eventual possibility.

5:54 PM PT -- In a statement to PEOPLE through her aunt Larie Pidgeon, Hannah says ... "My focus now is on my healing, my peace and my creativity. I am deeply grateful to my family and everyone who has shown me kindness and compassion during this time."

She continues ... "I was unaware of everything that was happening in the media while I was away, and I am still processing it all. I kindly ask for respect for myself, my family, and my loved ones as I navigate through this challenging time. Thank you for your understanding."

3:22 PM PT -- The LAPD has released an update to the case ... "The Los Angeles Police Department received notification from Customs Border Protection that Hannah Kobayashi had presented herself on December 15, 2024, for entry into the US and appeared in good health.

"This case is now closed. Hannah Kobayashi has been removed from the Missing and Unidentified Persons System (MUPS)."

Hannah Kobayashi -- the Hawaii woman who temporarily went missing back in November -- is back on American soil ... after crossing the border into Mexico.

Our sources tell us Hannah crossed back into California from Mexico over the weekend, and she was questioned by U.S. officials to make sure everything was OK.

We're told Hannah appeared healthy and was not under any duress ... and she met her lawyer at the border and left with him after crossing into the United States.