its not me

Nobody has Miley Cyrus' back like Disney.

TMZ has learned some seriously concerned big wigs at the company informed the LAPD about the recent arrest of a 53-year-old obsessed fan in Georgia who claims Miley sends him "secret messages" through her TV show.

Georgia cops arrested Mark McLeod for disorderly conduct on June 23 in Tybee Island, GA -- and during the incident cops say the guy made some very frightening statements about Miley.

According to the police report, McLeod claimed he was "great friends with Miley" -- and that Miley had "told him to come see her today."

Cops say McLeod also said, "I will f***ing be with Miley ... we're supposed to be together and [the cops] couldn't stop it."

dui

The guy who played the Black Ranger on "The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" TV show was busted in 'Bama for DUI this weekend.

We're not trying to be insensitive in a Harvard sort of way. His character, Zack Taylor, was the guy who dressed up in the black spandex costume and fought evil monsters back in the day.

We're told the actor -- whose real name is Walter Jones -- was arrested around 4 A.M. Sunday morning by Alabama State Troopers in Huntsville and booked into a local jail.

Law enforcement sources tell us Jones was arrested without incident.

He eventually met bail and was released.

tucker

California's $31 billion debt crisis is all Chris Tucker's fault -- at least some of it is -- records show the actor owes Cally over $3 million worth of back taxes.

According to The Detroit News, the state filed a $3,594,409 lien against Tucker on June 24 -- four years worth of unpaid taxes.

Tucker better watch out -- or Governor Arnold

kidney

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn called himself a "matchmaker," but his business wasn't romance. Instead, authorities say, he brokered the sale of black-market kidneys, buying organs from vulnerable people from Israel for $10,000 and selling them to desperate patients in the U.S. for as much as $160,000.

The alleged decade-long scheme, exposed this week by an FBI sting, rocked the nation's transplant industry. If true, it would be the first documented case of organ trafficking in the U.S., transplant experts said Friday.

"There's certainly cross-national activity, but it hasn't touched the United States or we haven't known about it until now," said University of Pennsylvania medical ethicist Arthur Caplan, who is co-directing a U.N. task force on international organ trafficking.

boaters

Costumed boaters will race around the lake this Sunday to benefit a local literacy group.

By Ramie Becker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
July 23, 2009

Bored with baseball? Tormented by the Tour de France? This Sunday, those hankering for spectator sportsmanship will have an especially amusing -- and local -- option, as Echo Park readies itself for the second annual Echo Park Lake Paddle Boat Regatta.

With team spirit (and goofy costumes) on board, about 90 participants will embark on the park's trusty paddle boats to navigate the lake's treacherous waters, dodge the geese, round the fountain and arrive victorious -- all in the pursuit of charity donations.

This eccentric fundraiser is the brainchild of 826LA, the local chapter of a national nonprofit that tutors students ages 6 to 18 in expository and creative writing skills.

comedy

Comedian Katt Williams is officially off the hook -- the two weapons possession charges he faced in New York City have been rejected by the D.A.

Sources tell us the charges -- filed against Katt back in November after cops allegedly noticed two guns in his car -- were dismissed because the D.A. wouldn't be able to prove them beyond a reasonable doubt at trial

sign me up

Car Dealer Offers AK-47 With Purchase

By RICHARD S. CHANG

Last year, we wrote about Max Motors, the car dealership in Butler, Mo., that offered buyers the option of getting a $250 coupon for gas or a $250 coupon for a handgun (most chose the handgun). Now Max Motors is offering vouchers for AK-47s.

“Max Motors is giving away an AK-47 with every truck purchase!!!” says the promotion on the dealership’s Web site. In reality, it’s providing a voucher that can be used at an area gun store, According to Mark Muller, the owner of Max Motors, in an interview with CNN (via Slashdot), an AK-47 can cost $450 to $500.

Mr. Muller added that the dealership sold around 35 more cars last year with the handgun promotion. And he said he hoped to sell 100 trucks with the new promotion.

kimo

former UFC superstar Kimo Leopoldo is dead. He was 41.

Several MMA websites are reporting Leopoldo died from a heart attack ... we're still trying to confirm that fact.

Leopoldo's last fight was in October 2006. He finished his career with a 10-7-1 record.

Kimo's last few years were riddled with a slew of legal problems -- including arrests for drugs, assault and battery and domestic violence

I'll buy it for a dollar

Someone is trying to sell the secret videotape of ESPN'sErin Andrews and it's clear -- there's a pervert on the loose.

We will not publish the video nor did we purchase it. It's a clear invasion of privacy. But this is what we can tell you.

It appears the video was shot from some sort of spy cam. It looks as if someone drilled a small hole in her hotel room from an adjoining room.

The camera is clearly being operated by someone. It follows Erin as she moves about her room.

It looks like a high-end hotel, but Erin's people claim they have no idea where or when it was shot.

It's also clear Erin has absolutely no idea she's beingvideotaped.

lets race

81-year-old qualifies for NASCAR West series race

(AP) – 20 hours ago

PORTLAND, Ore. — 81-year-old Hershel McGriff has become the oldest driver to take part in a national NASCAR series race after qualifying for a Camping World West Series event at Portland International Raceway.

McGriff took part in Sunday's pre-race qualifying but made the race as one of 26 drivers competing for 28 spots in the field.

McGriff has not raced in a NASCAR series event since 2002.

In a career that has spanned six decades, he won four NASCAR Cup races, and 37 races on the West series.He is a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame.

The Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops 125 at Portland's road course was scheduled later Sunday.

bond the state worker

Former 007 Wants Money Galore from Wife

Posted Jul 19th 2009 1:45AM by TMZ Staff

George Lazenby -- who once played James Bond -- is challenging his prenuptial agreement on grounds his wife is so rich he's become a joke to his kids.

Lazenby -- who played Bond in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" -- is asking a judge to void his prenup, then award him $16,133 in spousal support, according to divorce docs filed in L.A. County Superior Court.

The 69-year-old actor claims his estranged wife, 47-year-old former tennis pro Pamela Shriver, is "30 times a millionaire" and he doesn't want to explain to their three kids why mommy's house is so much bigger than daddy's.

It's not like George is broke -- he's got over a mil to his name -- but apparently 1/30th of $30 mil = poor.

bruno

ow does the actress Isla Fisher cope? After ten minutes in the company of her other half, Sacha Baron Cohen, you start casually wondering about such matters. After 20, you are forced to conclude that she deserves some sort of medal.

Living with the many personalities Baron Cohen has inhabited over the last few years can't have been easy. First, he was Ali G; then Borat, the bumbling Kazakh TV presenter – each new incarnation more irritating than the last. This time round he is Bruno, a gay Austrian fashionista extraordinaire, and the star of Baron Cohen's latest film.

In recent weeks, we have seen more of Bruno than is perhaps comfortable, as Baron Cohen – who has turned getting media attention for his films into an art form – has thrown himself into a series of outrageous stunts. He has dressed up as a bull in Spain, a pink cow in Germany, and turned up in his native London in leather shorts and a bearskin, leading a marching band.

wow

Man in Klan robe prompts L.A. council to walk out, weigh limitation on public comments

3:43 PM | July 15, 2009

Los Angeles City Council chambers went dark early today after an African American man wearing the distinctive white robe and hood of the Ku Klux Klan tested the limits of his 1st Amendment rights — and council members' patience — by refusing to remove his hood while addressing the council.

It was at least the second day that Michael Hunt, who recently challenged the city’s vending ordinance in federal court as a violation of his rights, had worn the outfit to the meeting, leading council members to seek advice from the city attorney about their legal options.

Hunt submitted a card to speak during the standard public comment period and was called to the microphone by Councilman Dennis Zine, who was presiding officer.

“Mr. Hunt, you’re going to have to remove your hood,” Zine told Hunt twice. “Are you refusing to remove your hood? ... Mr. Hunt, we can’t hear you. Remove your hood.”

“No, this is part of my 1st Amendment privileges,” Hunt replied. Zine turned to the lawyer who sits on the dais to advise members during meetings.

“His getup that he’s wearing arguably has some 1st Amendment protection as symbolic speech, as distasteful and misguided as it is,” Deputy City Atty. Dion O'Connell said. “However, it’s not an issue of anonymous speech because he’s taken his hood on and off throughout the meeting. If his wearing that causes a disruption, then he could be told to remove it.”

By that point, a number of council members had forced the adjournment of the meeting by leaving the chamber in protest. They included Councilman Greig Smith and the chamber’s three African American members: Bernard C. Parks, Jan Perry and Herb Wesson.

Council President Eric Garcetti rose to state for the record that Hunt could keep the hood on. “I want to say as a human being, I wish you wouldn’t have it on, but that is your right to keep it on. We did lose quorum because council members left, so we do not have public comment, we do not have a meeting right now.”

Later Garcetti said the council had a “very narrowly tailored policy that is one of widest ones, I would say in the country — we definitely err toward the side of free speech.”

Perry said she couldn’t bear to look at Hunt. Parks called the display offensive. “This person has used the N-word in the past, and that has led to the council changing its rules,” Parks said. “No one who is in attendance, at home watching on Channel 35 or online should be subjected to his indiscretion.”

Wesson said he and Smith are working on a policy to tighten the rules on decorum in the council chambers, possibly by adopting a more rigid policy like that of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

The interchange with Hunt, Wesson said, may have accelerated that process. “Whenever I see that, it send chills down my spine and then to have it worn by him is triply offensive. How could an African American in his right mind use that just to attract attention,” Wesson said. “Over the next 24 hours, I will be having discussions with whoever I can to find out legally just how much flexibility we have, because I would prefer to never see that again in my life.”

In April, a federal jury awarded Hunt $264,000 after he sued the city challenging its vending ordinance. The city has filed an appeal. Hunt could not immediately be reached for comment.

fish

The tiddler who caught a monster: Schoolgirl angler nets record catch that's twice her size and weighs 14stone

ByDAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:21 AM on 16th July 2009

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There should only have been one winner. On the riverbank was Jessica Wanstall, 4ft 10in tall weighing less than six stone (84lb) and something of a tiddler among anglers.

In the river was a monster, a near 9ft catfish that hit the scales at a record 13st 8lb (193lb).

But despite its size and whiskery age, the fish was no match for the skills of 11-year-old Jessica who waged a 20-minute battle to land her prize.

What a catch: Jessica Wanstall with the 9ft-long, 14 stone catfish she caught during a trip to Spain's River Ebro

Jessica, from Sittingbourne, Kent, hooked the fish during a trip with her father to the Ebro River in North-East Spain. She said: ‘I didn’t realise just how big it was until I saw the photos afterwards. I look tiny next to it.

‘My dad thought it was going to be a small one and I told him it didn’t feel small when I picked up the rod. It was really hard work pulling it in and my arms turned to jelly.

‘My dad helped lift it on to the bank and I just laughed when I saw it. It was massive.’

Her father Mark, a 49-year-old engineer, helped return the catfish to the river after his daughter’s triumph was photographed.

He said: ‘Jessica normally catches tiddlers but just loves a day’s fishing.

Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1199848/Now-huge-fish-Schoolgirl-angler-nets-record-catch-twice-size-thats-9ft-long-weighs-14stone.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0LX2fqkSj

bad news for porn

L.A. County has failed to curb HIV in porn industry, lawsuit contends

An activist group asks that the L.A. County Health Department be ordered to enforce regulations on condom use in adult films or take other steps to keep sexually transmitted diseases from spreading.

By Kimi Yoshino
July 17, 2009

A prominent AIDS advocacy group filed a petition in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday alleging that county public health officials have failed to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the pornographic film industry.

The petition, filed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, asks the court to order the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to enforce regulations that require condom use in adult-film production or take other reasonable steps to stem the spread of disease.

glad its not me

Antoine Walker's nickname used to be Employee Number 8 -- now it's Employee Number minus 822,500.

Walker has been charged with three felonies for allegedly obtaining gambling markers by passing $1 million in bad checks to three Las Vegas casinos: Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Red Rock Resort.

Walker has paid back some of the bad markers, but still owes $822,500.

Good luck shimmying out of this one, 'Toine.

bums

These bums are costing you a fortune.

Ricky Alardo, a homeless alcoholic nicknamed Ricky Ricardo, swigs cheap vodka by day at his favorite corner in Washington Heights, then calls an ambulance to chauffeur him to the hospital for a free meal and a warm place to sleep, courtesy of taxpayers who fund his Medicaid benefits.

For a chronic caller like Alardo -- who phones 911 four or five times a week -- the annual medical bill can be as high as $300,000. Over 13 years, the length of time he has been abusing the emergency room, he has cost the medical system an estimated $3.9 million.

In Midtown, another bum, Robert, has faked emergencies to get food and shelter in ERs about 40 or 50 times in the past three years -- and taxpayers pick up his tab, too.

Ricky and Robert are among the dozens of "frequent fliers" who clog the 911 system, tie up city ambulances, crowd emergency rooms and burn through Medicaid money.

An ambulance ride alone can run as much as $800, and an ER visit can cost, conservatively, $400 a pop, according to estimates from medical experts.

City officials don't track frequent fliers or the costs associated with their transport and hospital care, but anecdotal numbers from ER and EMS workers suggest there are dozens throughout the city.

"We have a system that is extremely dysfunctional. We have no place to put these people," an EMS medic said.

A paramedic working downtown said some frequent fliers think they'll get faster treatment if they arrive at an ER by ambulance, rather than walk in.

"They know what to say to our call takers," he said.

Or they'll tell a bystander, "Oh, I have chest pains," the medic said.

Alardo, 53, phones 911 so regularly, medics know which calls are likely his.

"When Ricky passes on, I'll probably even go to his funeral," said one medic who works in Washington Heights. "I've seen him almost every day for the last 13 years."

An inebriated Alardo lauded the medics last week, saying they "treat me like a king."

A few hours later, he called for an ambulance to pick him up on Bennett Avenue. He went into the hospital at about 4 p.m. and slept for hours.

His fellow frequent flier Robert said he has called 911 as many as 50 times since becoming homeless three years ago.

He said he would tell the 911 operator he had chest pains or was suicidal.

But, he confessed last week, "I'm not really suicidal."

Robert, 40, said he was looking for a place to sleep, get a meal and get the medications he takes for depression.

He said he stopped his 911 habit after an ambulance driver "chewed him out."

"I haven't called an ambulance for about a month," Robert said.

By law, EMS workers can

green lantern

Ryan Reynolds has landed the coveted role of “Green Lantern,” getting the starring role in Warner Bros.' live-action film based on the DC Comics hero.

Martin Campbell will direct. The studio is still working on the picture’s budget, but production is expected to begin in January.

The news caps off a memorable summer for Reynolds, who played Deadpool in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” a performance that prompted Fox to begin development on a spinoff film. Reynolds followed that by starring opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy “The Proposal,” which crossed the $100 million mark this week.

Warners and Campbell chose Reynolds, who vied for the superhero role along with “The Hangover” star Bradley Cooper and Jared Leto. The momentum built for Reynolds in the last week, as he was the only actor whose option was extended.

Greg Berlanti wrote the script with Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green. Donald DeLine will produce with Berlanti. Reynolds’ reps at UTA are working out his deal.

The actor will next star in “Buried,” a dark indie drama that will begin filming shortly in Barcelona with Spanish director Rodrigo Cortes. Reynolds will play a civilian contractor who is kidnapped in Iraq and awakes in a coffin, struggling against time to coordinate a rescue even though he doesn’t know where he’s buried in the desert.

$$$$

It certainly would have been cheaper to buy an alarm clock -- Lil Wayne is being sued for nearly half-a-million bucks for sleeping when he should have been performing.

Red City Entertainment claims it fronted $432,000 for a Wayne concert appearance in the Bahamas. On September 27, 2008, there were plenty of lights and cameras... but no action, because Wayne was passed out in his hotel room. When he didn't show for the performance, cops went to his hotel and found him unconscious. 

In the lawsuit filed today, Red City claims it gave Wayne a $210,000 advance. The balance is for his hotel expenses and various costs involved in throwing the failed concert.

Calls to Lil Wayne's rep were not returned.

I'll be back

Eddie -- who starred in "Terminator 2" -- and Rachael Bella had been married for almost 3 years. They had one child together. Bella is asking for joint custody of their 2-year-old son, Ethan, and spousal support.

crazy

The wallet was snatched on October 24, 1982, while Bendik, now 69, was in Central Park watching the New York marathon. She went to greet runners at the end of the race and, "when I got out of the crush of people, I realized my purse was much lighter," Bendik told CNN. "I was just so grateful not to have been harmed."

Last week, Josh Galiley, tree-care supervisor for the Central Park Conservancy, was chopping down a hazardous black cherry tree near Rumsey Playfield when he discovered her blue leather wallet in the trunk of the tree, which he estimates is around 65 years old and 50 feet high.

"I started poking in the soft stuff and this wallet turned up. Having been that low in the tree ... the location indicated it had been there for quite some time," Galiley told CNN.

The old wallet was a unique find, he said. "When you're cutting a tree and it's hollow, you expect stuff inside, shreds of material, old marbles, really just knickknacks compared to this," he said, "Nothing with a story. ... We peeked in and there were dates from the early '80s. We figured this was different."

After the wallet was recovered, Galiley said, officials were careful to inform Bendik properly. "We thought she may not want to relive it," he said.

Bendik sang praises for the individuals who returned her wallet, including detective Frank Irizarry, who helped track her down. "The lengths they went to find me, the extent that they went through and the fact that they were concerned about my feelings really impressed me," she said.

The wallet still contained her old driver's license and credit cards, she said, although $20 was missing. "Twenty dollars was a lot of money then," she said.

Regal Beagle

"Three's Company" star Joyce DeWittwas arrested for DUI on July 4th in El Segundo, California.

Law enforcement sources tell us DeWitt drove past a barricade Saturday afternoon -- and when an officer approached her, she smelled like booze. She was given field sobriety tests and then arrested for suspicion of DUI.

The 60-year-old actress, who played Janet Wood on the 80's sitcom, posted bail for $5k.

smack down

We've learned legendary wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper was busted for suspicion of DUI early this morning in Hollywood.

Law enforcement sources tell us 55-year-old Roddy, real name Roderick Toombs, was stopped by police at around 1 AM -- he was given field sobriety tests and then arrested.

Roddy's bond is $5,000.

Karl Malden

Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich, March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009^[1][2]) was an Academy Award winning American actor. In a career that spanned over seven decades, he featured in classic Marlon Brando films such as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks. Among other notable film roles are Archie Lee Meighan in Baby Doll, Zebulon Prescott in How the West Was Won and General Omar Bradley in Patton. His best-known role was on television as Lt. Mike Stone on the 1970s crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco.