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Jeff Daniels doesn't just have friends in low places -- a newly discovered, and pretty damn vicious, worm now bears his name ... and tarantulas everywhere are quaking in their boots!!!

Here's the dirty lowdown ... scientists discovered a new species of parasitic worm that's particularly deadly to the hairy spiders and decided to name it Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi. If you're wondering why Jeff, you probably haven't seen his 1990 flick, "Arachnophobia."

In the movie, Jeff's character saves a town from an invasion of deadly spiders ... and the scientists at UC Riverside must be fans of the cult classic.

The actor clearly digs his new place in the animal kingdom, saying ... “Honestly, I was honored by their homage to me and Arachnophobia. Made me smile. And of course, in Hollywood, you haven’t really made it until you’ve been recognized by those in the field of parasitology.”

BTW, jeffdanielsi do some pretty nasty things once they infect tarantulas -- the spiders' limbs are slowly paralyzed ... making them walk on their 8 tiptoes, and their mouths and fangs are rendered useless. They eventually starve to death.

A woman frantically hurried kids into lockdown while NFL player Malik McDowell was roaming naked nearby ... new 911 audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.

In a call to dispatch ... a female can be heard on the line saying a man -- later identified as Cleveland Browns defensive lineman McDowell -- was "naked walking the premises" in Deerfield Beach, Fla.

The call is redacted, so it's unclear where the woman exactly is, but it seems she's calling from the school that cops say McDowell had walked near before his arrest on Monday afternoon.

"You're going to go into lockdown," the woman can be heard saying on the call. "You're going to have to take these kids into the bathroom, OK? Yes. One-by-one."

The woman then told dispatch McDowell was "out front."

"He's just walking up and down in front of the building," she added ... "He's completely naked."

At another point during the call, the woman can be heard again appearing to rush kids into lockdown, saying, "Whitney, help them get into their safe places!"

Two other callers, meanwhile, urged dispatch to get cops out to the scene ASAP ... describing McDowell as fully nude.

As we reported, cops say they were able to eventually tase McDowell at the scene and take him into custody. In video of the arrest, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see McDowell was completely naked while interacting with cops.

McDowell was ultimately booked on charges of aggravated battery on an officer, resisting and exposing sex organs in public.

The Browns released a statement on the arrest on Tuesday, saying, "We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information."

"We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. … No further comment at this time."

Well, forget reconciliation ... Britney Spears has threatened to sue her sister, Jamie Lynn, if she dares lie about her while hawking her book.

Britney's lawyer, Mat Rosengart, fired off a cease and desist letter -- obtained by TMZ -- to Jamie Lynn Monday. Rosengart was blunt, demanding, "you cease and desist from referencing Britney derogatorily during your promotional campaign. If you fail to do so or defame her, Britney will be forced to consider and take all appropriate legal action."

The letter, first obtained by Page Six is biting ... Rosengart writes, "We write with hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her."

Rosengart also says, "Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain. She will not tolerate it, nor should she."

And then he dumps hard on Jamie Spears ... "You of all people know the abuse and wrongdoing Britney had to endure during the conservatorship, after initially growing up with a 'ruinous,' alcoholic father." He points out Jamie echoed the same sentiment in her book.

And then he goes after Jamie Lynn ... "Britney was the family's breadwinner and she also otherwise supported you. Publicly airing false or fantastical grievances is wrong, especially when designed to sell books. It is also potentially unlawful and defamatory."

The Betty White Challenge raised tens of thousands of dollars for animals in need -- and probably even more -- and one dog, in particular, is getting the ultimate benefit ... a new lease on life.

We surveyed some of the shelters and animal rescue orgs that participated in Monday’s nationwide fundraising effort -- and the haul from coast to coast was impressive. Even sweeter ... the real-world impact this money is going to have on their four-legged beneficiaries.

That’s perhaps most evident for Golden Retrievers In Need (aka G.R.I.N.) whose president, Lisa Kine, tells us a lot of the dough they raised is gonna help out one of their most beloved pooches, Zilly. Kine says they collected about $7,600 from about 200 people on the #BettyWhiteChallenge Day -- much of which, we’re told, is going toward life-saving surgery Zilly needs to walk properly.

You see ... he suffers from hip dysplasia, and while he already had one procedure for his right side -- he still needs the other one done as well. Luckily for him, this cash will help cover the cost of both surgeries ... and should help him get back to 100%.

There’s also places like K9s for Warriors, Puppy Jake and Days End Farm Horse Rescue ... which raised $4,390, $1,190 and $4,200 for their institutions Monday, respectively. The money will go toward everything from training service dogs for veterans (which we're told can cost thousands of dollars per dog) to rehabbing horses ... not to mention helping pay for equipment, tools and gear all these critters might need along the way.

One of the biggest winners of the #BettyWhiteChallenge, it seems, is the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association ... a rep for which tells us they pulled in over $70k on Monday ... accounting for 1,731 donations from 49 different states and 11 countries.

All told, GLAZA says it’s banked a little over $94,000 in Betty White-inspired funds ... which means the donations were coming early and often these past two weeks.

Like Novak Djokovic, Kelly Slater could also find himself barred from competing in Australia this year if he's COVID unvaccinated ... a high-ranking Australian government official announced this week.

The surfing legend hasn't said publicly if he's gotten the shots or not -- but after leaving anti-vax rhetoric in a recent social media post, the speculation is that Slater is, indeed, unvaxxed.

And, according to Australian Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, if that's the case -- Slater has "no chance of getting into the country" to surf in upcoming major events Down Under.

Colbeck made the comments to The Age, saying the 49-year-old can apply for an exemption like Djokovic did. But, he insisted no preferential treatment would be given to Slater just because he's a surf legend, and he could end up facing a similar fate as Djokovic if he goes down that path.

"I reckon he knows the rules. It doesn't matter whether you're a surfer, or a tennis player, a tourist or anyone else, those are the rules. They apply to everyone," Colbeck said.

"I don't like the chances of him competing in Victoria, and I'd hate to think of what the chances were of him competing in Western Australia."

The World Surf League has two big events in Australia slated for April.

Slater, meanwhile, ripped the Djokovic Australia COVID vaccine saga earlier this month on social media ... writing "Maybe Stockholm Syndrome can now change its name to Melbourne/Australia Syndrome."

"It's sad to see the celebrated division by the 'virtuous' vaccinated," Slater added. "If you're vaccinated why are you concerned/worried about anyone else's status...unless, of course, it doesn't protect you?"

Britney Spears has already taken the gloves off when it comes to her dad, but she's now ready for war as Wednesday's hearing approaches because she's saying Jamie Spears lined his pockets with millions of dollars she earned and claims it was all blatant self-interest ... and that's just a small fraction of what Britney paid members of the conservatorship.

Britney's lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, has filed legal docs, claiming Jamie "engaged in self-dealing, financial and business mismanagement ... engaged in abusive and bullying conduct toward his daughter, deprived his daughter of fundamental civil liberties ..." and that's just for starters.

He claims Jamie got $6 million over the 13-plus years of the conservatorship.

And the legal docs go on to claim Jamie had engaged in "chronic alcohol abuse impairing his ability to serve faithfully."

And there's this ... Rosengart claims some of $6 million was used by Jamie to pitch a show called, "Cookin' Cruzin' & Chaos." The docs also claim to sell the show Jamie converted one of the tour busses into a food truck.

Rosengart says in addition to Jamie's $6 million, millions and millions more were spent on lawyers to keep the conservatorship going.

Rosengart says the legal fees amounted to more than $30 million. So with what Jamie made, that would bring the total to more than $36 million.

Jamie has said all of the money he made during the conservatorship was court-approved.

The hearing is a petition by Jamie for more attorney's fees. Rosengart's filing is in opposition to that.

Those new beginnings are already over for the cast of 'The Hills' -- the reality show's reboot is getting the ax ... TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources connected to the MTV show tell us "The Hills: New Beginnings" is officially not coming back for a third season, and late last week the cast got the bad news from production.

There are a few reasons the reboot met its demise: one source close to the show tells us producers recently explored the thought of bringing younger cast members into the fold to diversify things, but several of the original stars were not on board.

We're told some of those OGs also had major issues with the reboot ... believing it wasn't the show MTV promised them, and feeling like it was, at times, forced with fake storylines and confessionals. Our sources say some of the OGs refused to continue to play along, which ultimately led to the cancelation.

All in all ... we're told many of them said the reboot didn't have the same feel as their first go-round and it created an impasse between some stars and the network.

However, another source blames the cancelation on COVID-19 ... citing all the hurdles in booking filming locations for a big ensemble cast while following social distancing protocols. We're told producers feel like they squeezed as much juice from the lemon as possible, given the dynamics.

"The Hills: New Beginnings" was rebooted in 2019 with Audrina Patridge, Brody Jenner, Heidi Montag, Spencer and Stephanie Pratt, Whitney Port, Brandon Thomas Less, Kaitlynn Carter, Frankie Delgado, Justin Brescia, Jason and Ashley Wahler and former 'O.C.' star Mischa Barton.

But the biggest star was always missing ... Lauren Conrad ... who, as we first told you, was too busy with her other business ventures to join the reboot.

The OG show aired from 2006 to 2010 ... and while the reboot wasn't as impactful, we're told producers were proud of what they were able to do in the middle of the worldwide pandemic.

Danny Cooksey's ex-wife claims he's gone off the rails again — but this time, she's alleging a beating that actually required a judge to step in.

Amber Cooksey filed for and was granted a temporary restraining order against her "Diff'rent Strokes" ex ... because she claims the guy thrashed her on NYE ... and in front of their young son, no less.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ, Amber says Danny came over to her house on the holiday to be with their boy ... but his presence quickly became unwelcome, Amber says, because he allegedly started boozing and turning aggressive.

Amber claims she repeatedly asked him to leave, to no avail. She claims he hurled insults at her and "grabbed [her] breasts and crotch violently." She says she was terrified and tried to escape but claims Danny grabbed her by the neck and choked her until she passed out and he then stomped on her.

Amber says cops came the next day. In the meantime, she says she fears for her safety and needs court-ordered protection. The court agreed, giving her the TRO until a hearing later next month.

Keep in mind ... this isn't the first time Amber has asked for help with Danny — she got a restraining order against him in 2019, when they were in the thick of their divorce.

Pete Rose has a shocking revelation ... and no, this time it's not what you think -- the all-time MLB hits leader claims he was much better at football than he was at baseball.

Rose made the comments on Rob Gough's brand new podcast, "Talking to Titans With Rob Gough" show (entire convo can be heard here) ... telling the host that his father -- who was a great football player himself -- was the reason he was a far superior football athlete than baseball star.

"Back in the '40s, '50s and '60s, that's all we had to do was sports," Rose said. "We didn't have the iPads, we didn't have the computers, we didn't have the iPhones. We didn't have none of that stuff."

"We had sports and I was a three-sport player but, to be honest with you, I was a much better football player than I was a baseball player because of my dad."

It's a pretty shocking statement ... especially considering Rose would be a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame had it not been for his gambling controversy.

Pete says growing up, he simply wasn't into school ... but that he did well enough so he could remain eligible to play.

However, looking back, Rose -- who almost attended the University of Tennessee -- said if he knew then what he knows now ... he'd have put more emphasis on his education.

"If I was growing up, I would have been a ding dong," Pete said, "Because I just didn't give a darn about school ... I just went to school and got your grades enough to stay eligible."

"But if I was playing today in high school, I'd probably try to get really good grades knowing what's ahead of ya as far as going to college. We didn't worry about going to college back in the '50s and early '60s."

Rose -- who spent 7 seasons as a manager for the Cincinnati Reds -- had a message for kids who might have the same feelings towards school as he did when he was younger.

European actor Dafne Keen wasn't even a teenager when she took on the life-changing role of the genetically created mutant weapon with claws, Laura -- who's made from Logan's (Wolverine) DNA and is ultimately saved by her biological dad -- in the 2017 action-adventure finale "Logan."

DK was cast alongside some X-Men icons including Patrick Stewart as long-lost leader of the mutant team, Charles Xavier ... AKA Professor X ... and of course, hunky Hugh Jackman as the run-down retired X-Men and limo driver turned father figure, Logan .... AKA Wolverine.

There's been a break in the investigation into the Brianna Kupfer murder case in Los Angeles ... law enforcement says they've identified a suspect.

The Los Angeles Police Department says the man is 31-year-old Shawn Laval Smith and he's now wanted in connection with Brianna's murder.

Cops released a mug shot of the suspect Tuesday and say Smith should be considered armed and dangerous. LAPD says he's been all over Southern California recently and is likely to be using public transportation.

Brianna, a grad student at UCLA, was murdered Thursday while working at a furniture store in what cops are calling a random daytime attack.

Police say Smith did not know Brianna and they do not have a motive. Cops say the suspect attacked Brianna with a knife and fled the store using the back door.

Jamie Lynn Spears is disturbed by Britney's behavior on social media ... and she's taking it as a sign her older sister is spiraling out of control.

Sources close to Jamie Lynn tell TMZ ... Britney's Instagram post harkening back to a moment she wanted to slap her 12-year-old sister over a milkshake is "terrible" and not something Britney should be sharing on social media.

We're told Jamie Lynn is upset by the posts, and believes Britney has immense jealousy over JL's childhood.

Our sources say Jamie Lynn and her children get death and rape threats from Britney's followers whenever BS rips her sis on social, and Jamie Lynn's told Britney about this and asked her to stop ... but Britney's ignoring her pleas. Jamie Lynn says she and Britney have been texting.

We're told Britney explained to Jamie Lynn she's just having fun on social media, and didn't have any idea what her fan army was saying ... and even apologized.

But, as we reported ... a truce between the sisters went up in flames Tuesday ... and now we're told Jamie Lynn believes Britney is continuing to attack her on social media because, in JL's view, Britney finds delight in her sister and nieces being harassed.

Our sources say Jamie Lynn is saying she only wants to support her sister and hopes Britney can learn how to readjust after the conservatorship, which JL thinks went too far.

Jamie Lynn's new book, interviews and her own social media posts continue to garner angry reactions from Britney ... and we're told Jamie Lynn feels like she deserves to have a chance to tell her story, and doesn't get why Britney is criticizing her over her own experiences.

And just like that ... the truce between Britney Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears is over, 'cause Brit's now openly wishing she'd slapped some sense into her sister and their mom when she had the chance.

Jamie Lynn's new book, interviews and social media posts continue to trigger angry reactions from Britney -- and in the latest one she laments not being "strong enough to do what should have been done" to Jamie Lynn and Lynne.

In the post, speaking directly to her kid sis, Britney says she should've "slapped you and Mamma right across your f***ing faces!!!!!"

Britney's rant is basically about how, in her view, Jamie Lynn was a spoiled younger sibling riding Britney's coattails and living the good life at home while Britney worked her butt off to make tons of money for her family.

BS also accuses her mom of being high on pain meds after splitting from her dad, Jamie Spears, claiming Lynne "was more messed up than anything !!!!"

As you know ... Britney's been taking shots at Jamie Lynn over claims her little sister makes about life with Britney in the book, "Things I Should Have Said."

Abby Lee Miller endured a painful nightmare when a hotel door fell over on her, crushing her for nearly a dozen minutes ... according to the lawsuit she just filed.

The "Dance Moms" maven says she was staying at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Santa Monica back in August 2020 when she wheeled herself into the bathroom of her room. Remember, Abby's been in a wheelchair since 2018 due to her lymphoma battle.

In docs obtained by TMZ, Abby says she was leaving the bathroom when her back left wheel got caught under the sliding bathroom door -- and when she attempted to free herself, the more than 300-pound door came crashing down. She says she was pinned in her wheelchair and trapped in the doorway for 6 to 12 minutes.

According to the suit, Abby screamed for help until 2 hotel staffers came to lift the door off of her. She was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, and Abby says she's still going through physical therapy for the injuries she suffered to her head and shoulder.

The alleged falling door would've been more than enough trauma, but in the docs, Abby says she endured other hardships during an extended stay from March to October 2020. For instance, she claims the laundry room was not accessible to wheelchairs, her hallway was often blocked by housekeeping carts ... and she was unable to open doors to the pool or gym areas, presumably due to her disability.

Abby is suing the hotel's parent corporation for negligence, emotional distress, discrimination and false imprisonment ... and she's seeking compensation of at least $8.5 million.

Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Malik McDowell was completely naked while he was being arrested on Monday ... new video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the footage, you can see the 6-foot-6, 290-pound football player did not have a single article of clothing on his body ... as officers tried to subdue him in Deerfield Beach, FL.

McDowell, who had cuffs on his wrists and shackles around his ankles in the clip, appeared to be very agitated with cops, writhing on the ground nearly every time an officer got near him.

At one point, you can see in the video, a cop appeared to kick McDowell to keep him on the ground.

Eventually, McDowell was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away from the scene.

As we reported, cops say in police documents that McDowell stripped naked and was seen walking around near a school.

Officers say when they found him and confronted him, he attacked -- with one cop alleging the football player told him "f*** you" and then "charged at me ... at full speed with closed fist."

The officer claimed McDowell struck him so hard and so many times, he suffered injuries in the altercation -- including a badly swollen eye.

Cops say they were eventually able to take down McDowell using a taser. He was ultimately booked into jail on charges of aggravated battery on an officer, resisting and exposing sex organs in public.

The Browns released a statement on the arrest on Tuesday, saying, "We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information."

"We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. … No further comment at this time."

Beloved actor Sidney Poitier died from a combination of heart failure, Alzheimer's dementia and prostate cancer ... according to his death certificate.

According to the document, obtained by TMZ, the 94-year-old Hollywood icon died at home in Beverly Hills. The certificate lists his occupation as an actor with an astonishing 76 years of experience in the field.

As you know by now ... Poitier was the first Black man in Hollywood to take home an Oscar for best actor -- opening the door for progress as far as how Black people are portrayed on the big screen.

He had many groundbreaking roles in the '60s, including 3 legendary films all released in 1967 -- “To Sir, With Love,” “In the Heat of the Night” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner."

While his death prompted hundreds of tributes from Hollywood celebs, one of the most touching came from his daughter, Sydney Poitier, who wrote ... "My grief is because I lost my dad, but it is also because the world lost so much goodness."

Scottish singer Lulu -- who co-starred with Sidney and sang the theme song for "To Sir, With Love" -- also reflected on working with the icon.