You might not think being the CEO of Godfather's Pizza would be a stepping stone to the White House ... but yesterday at LAX, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain explained how he feels his experience there makes him right for the job.

We have yet to encounter a problem that pepperoni did not solve, so maybe he has a point ...

Mel Gibson's Hanukkah movie is in trouble -- TMZ has learned, another company is currently making their own Judah Maccabee film ... and they're racing to beat Mel to the punch.

Sources close to the production tell us, the untitled Judah film -- by producer Bruce Nash and writer Scott Abbott -- was fast-tracked once news broke that Mel was putting together his own Maccabee homage.

We're told Nash believes Mel is the wrong person to helm such an important Jewish story -- telling friends, the Hanukkah tale should be told by someone who has respect for the Jewish community.

As we previously reported, Mel's been developing his J Macc film for 10 years -- and sources tell us Nash has been working on his for 15. Nash doesn't have a shoot date yet, but the race is on.

Shana Tova!

It's only been a few hours since T.I. was officially declared a free man -- and his family is already throwing together a "welcome home" party for the ages ... filled with mountains of Southern-style cooking.

As we previously reported, T.I. was released from an Atlanta halfway house early this morning -- and we're told his aunt and wife whipped up a bomb-ass celebration dinner ... featuring a family-recipe mac 'n cheese, fried and BBQ chicken, fish, ribs, collard greens, salad, and RED VELVET cake.

It's going down any minute now -- and we're told the entire to-do will be potluck style ... with all of T.I.'s close friends and family bringing over even more food.

Consider this feast round 2 -- T.I. celebrated with a similarly soulful meal about a month ago on his way to the halfway house ... before he was thrown back in prison.

Divorce sucks ... especially when cuddly pets are involved -- just ask former '90s hairbander Matthew Nelson (from Nelson) ... who officially lost his dogs (and a cat) when his divorce became final.

Nelson and former Lingerie Bowl player Yvette Stefens were married for 16-years -- and while they had no kids, they acquired 3 adorable wittle animals ... 2 dogs (Cheyenne and Kaia) and a cat (Chaplin).

The divorce became final earlier this month -- and according to court docs obtained by TMZ, the animals were awarded to Matthew's wife ... who also got to keep her Porsche, clothing, jewelry and a bunch of cash.

Matthew walked away with a BMW, a Lotus, guitars and an upright Knabe piano that belonged to his famous father, Ricky Nelson. He also got to keep all of the publishing rights to his music.

As for the animals, Matt's rep tells us the singer is "sad that as a result of the parties’ divorce his pets are no longer part of his life, but he does not regret his agreement to have the pets stay with his former wife."

The rep explains, "With all the traveling Matt does for work, his decision was best for the pets. Matt has moved on. For nearly the last 3 years, he’s been in a very happy, solid relationship with his girlfriend."

Beverly Hills housewife, Lisa Vanderpump is packing up her pink clothes and moving  to her new, $10.2 million mansion ...  still in the 90210 area, though so big it might have its own zip code.

The 5-bedroom, 8-bath estate is huge -- over 8,000 sq. feet.  And a must for the rich ... a two story library, luxurious spa-like master suite, and a killer pool.

Vanderpump -- who just sold her mansion in the ultra-exclusive Mulholland Estates -- is clearly rolling in the dough, because in addition to the new house, she just leased another mansion in Oprah's Montecito neighborhood with an option to buy it outright.

So reality doesn't suck after all.

Sarah Silverman has figured out a totally plausible -- and glaringly obvious -- way to bring Israel and Palestine together!! Now if they could just find a way to clean up those Cheetos bags ...

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Ready-to-pop Spice Girl Melanie Brown showed off her bulging baby bump in a leopard print bikini in L.A. on Friday.


The tatted and glowing 36-year-old is due with her third child any minute day now.

Showing off his God-given talents, "90210" star Trevor Donovan was once again spotted on the set of the TV show sans shirt on Tuesday.



Sadly, Trevor -- and his pecs, abs and biceps -- will be leaving the series this season.

A 32-year-old high school student never looked so good.

John Legend is a no good song-stealer ... at least according to some unknown singer, who claims Legend listened to his demo tape and then ripped off his hard work for profit.




According to the lawsuit, filed earlier this week in New Jersey, songwriter Anthony Stokes passed his demo off to Legend back in 2004 ... after Stokes watched him perform at UNC.

Stokes claims Legend promised to listen to the song, but never heard back from him. Fast forward to 2006 ... Legend released a track called "Maxine's Interlude" -- and according to Stokes, it's a dead ringer for his track "Where Are You Now?"

Stokes wants to block Legend from selling the alleged rip-off -- and demands unspecified damages.

It's hard to hear the similarities if you listen to each song separately -- so we mashed them up ... the lyrics echo each other, and the key matches up nearly perfectly.

So we gotta ask ...

Kobe Bryant chose not to mix with scantily-clad women last night, and the night club that threw the shindig he was scheduled to host is pissed.

As we first reported, Bryant was splashed all over a poster promoting a party at Bacy's and sponsored by a magazine that features barely-clothed women.

Bryant, who you may remember had a little problem in Colorado a few years back, has done such a good job of rehabilitating his image -- the whole thing was a conundrum.

Kobe would never comment on the hosting gig, but the club insisted it had a signed contract. But when we arrived last night, there were signs posted saying Kobe would not be appearing ... the promoter and the patrons were none too pleased.

The sign read: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, Mr. Kobe Bryant will not be in attendance tonight. No refund beyond this point."

BTW -- the photo above shows Bryant sitting courtside at the Slam Dunk contest in Dallas last night.

"Bachelor" Andy Baldwin, former meth-addict/"Baywatch" star Jeremy Jackson and "True Blood" hunk Mehcad Brooks all flaunted their glistening chests after completing a triathlon this weekend in Hawaii.


Our question for you: Which of these guys would you want to take home and towel off?

And yes ... today happens to be especially ripe with half-naked men.