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Paul Shaffer's kid is following in her old man's footsteps -- not so much with the music, per se, but certainly with spreading positive vibes for dogs in shelters and the people who love them!

We talked to David Letterman's longtime bandleader and sidekick, as well as Mr. Shaffer's daughter, Victoria, on "TMZ Live" about this new initiative she's got going that puts an emphasis on dog ownership via adoptions/fostering from shelters.

It's called Pup Culture Rescue, and basically ... Victoria and co. are here to educate people on the process of becoming a pooch parent, and why shelters should be the first place to look for a furry friend.

She's also got an accompanying book out -- "Pup Culture: Stories, Tips, and the Importance of Adopting a Dog" -- which helps serve as a guide to picking out the right pup, where to look and how to help your new pet get acclimated to its new home.

It sounds like VS and the rest of the folks working for Pup Culture Rescue have been pretty busy during the pandemic -- when people were adopting dogs like crazy while stuck at home ... but she says a lot of owners are now returning canines to those same shelters.

That's pretty sucky, in Victoria's view ... as she notes, adopting a dog isn't just a hobby or a fad you pick up for a while -- it oughta be seen as a lifelong commitment.

East Coast comedian and actor Tim Kazurinky was in his early 30s when his life changed forever after his work in Improv swung open the doors to a career as a writer and character on "Saturday Night Live" alongside comic greats like John Belushi, Joe Piscopo and even Eddie Murphy.

Shortly after his ride on the late-night sketch show ... Kazurinsky then landed the role as the nerdy up-and-coming copper Officer Carl Sweetchuck in the iconic funny franchise "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment," "Police Academy 3: Back in Training" and "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol."

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is spreading some holiday cheer -- and jokes -- this Thanksgiving, surprising an unsuspecting group of fans with a funny warning.

The WWE superstar turned Hollywood megastar posted a video Thursday of himself driving up on a Hollywood tour bus. You can see, the passengers are stunned, everyone's got their phones out ... and Rock asks, "Have you seen my house yet?"

The bus responds with a resounding "no" ... to which Johnson jokes, "Good, keep it that way! Happy Thanksgiving!"

It's not the first time Rock has surprised and interacted with a tour bus, we got him a few years back on The TMZ Celebrity Tour where he was just as gracious, chatting it up with passengers for a while before heading into a meeting in L.A.

It would make sense for Johnson to continue to act as a man of the people, remember it was earlier this year when a poll suggested nearly 50% of people asked would be happy to have him as President.

The family of 14-year-old John Hilgert -- who lost his life at Astroworld -- are devastated by the loss of their son, and want to hold those responsible accountable ... reportedly filing a lawsuit against Travis Scott, Live Nation and others.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Houston, claims Travis and concert organizers failed to provide a safe environment for those in attendance. Among the security failures listed, according to People, a lack of personnel, barriers and emergency medical staff.

A statement from John's dad, Chris, reads, "The pain of our loss from our son John not making it home alive from an event such as this is intolerable. He was a beautiful young man who simply wanted to enjoy his first concert event with friends, whom he treasured spending time with more than anything else."

He continues, "If this lawsuit prevents even one family from having to go through the extreme pain and anguish that we have endured, then it is the least we can do to honor John's memory."

The suit, filed by attorney Richard Mithoff, is reportedly seeking in excess of $1 million in damages.

Of course, the Hilgert lawsuit is just one of dozens filed against Travis, Live Nation and others. As we reported, one filing asks for $2 billion in damages, another asks for $750 million and represents hundreds of alleged victims -- whether those injuries be mental or physical.

Hilgert was one of 10 to lose his life at the show. The main questions to be answered by investigators, what happened and who is to blame?

Sources close to Travis have been adamant, he didn't know the extent of what was happening in the crowd. There was also a clear breakdown in communication among emergency workers, after we obtained video of cops enjoying the show more than 25 minutes after the Houston Fire Chief allegedly called the concert a "Mass Casualty Event."

Joy Behar has some advice for those struggling to share both their sexual orientation and political beliefs this year at Thanksgiving with the family ... just come out!

During Wednesday's episode of "The View" Whoopi Goldberg posed the question of the best way to avoid talking politics during this year's celebrations. While the cast believes politics might not be as controversial as year's before ... Behar had some other advice.

The host said, "Come out, just come out ... see what happens."

Not exactly sure what she meant, a confused Whoopi asked, "Come out ... of the door?"

But, Behar didn't mince words, saying, "Come out gay. Be yourself ... life is short." She continues, "Don't let anybody tell you what you have to be in this life."

While Joy's intentions were clearly positive, some certainly felt she missed just how difficult it can be for people to come out ... especially in non-accepting families.

One Twitter user wrote, "hey Joy I have a transgender son and am so proud of him however most parents are not like me some will resort to violence just because their child is gay so please don't tell people to come out just to see what happens that can be disastrous."

Another said, "It's incredibly dangerous to be telling people to come out to their families just to 'see what happens.' Many of our fellow community members face real threats to their lives if they come out to family."

Jessie J gave an emotional, 2-hour performance Wednesday night, just a day after her miscarriage.

Jessie says she found out about the devastating news when she went for her third scan and was told the baby did not have a heartbeat.

Jessie showed up in L.A. for the acoustic show at The Hotel Cafe, and told the crowd ... "I decided to have a baby by myself and by a miracle it worked for a while and yesterday it was f***ing s***." She went on ... "This year has been hands down the hardest year I've ever had to get through ... I lost my baby and I know I'm going to be OK."

As for how she mustered the strength to put on a performance, she answered that before the show, saying, "What I do know is that I want to sing tonight. Not because I'm avoiding the grief or the process, but because I know singing tonight will help me."

Before the show, Jessie posted, "I started singing when I was young for joy, to fill my soul and self-love therapy, that hasn't ever changed and I have to process this my way," adding, "I want to be honest and true and not hide what I'm feeling. I deserve that. I want to be as myself as I can be in this moment. Not just for the audience but for myself and my little baby that did its best."

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is back in all its glory, celebrating 95 years with floats, balloons, celebs and plenty of people in attendance.

The annual spectacle is happening right now in NYC, and you can see from pics, there was just about something for everybody in this year's installation. Spongebob, Baby Yoda and Boss Baby balloons towered over the crowd to thunderous applause.

Among the celebs performing in this year's parade were Kelly Rowland and Jon Batiste -- who has had an incredible week himself -- topping Grammy nominees with 11.

Of course, the always appreciated turkey float made an appearance as well as marching bands from across the country.

A vaccinated Big Bird and his buddy Elmo also sat atop a float for Sesame Street and had the younger fans in the crowd super excited.

Of course, 2021 marks the return of large crowds to the annual event. The parade still went down last year, but without droves of people lining the streets.

Bobby Shmurda is celebrating Thanksgiving outside prison walls for the first time since 2014 ... and doing so by giving back to those less fortunate.

The rapper was in Brooklyn Wednesday night to help distribute 300 turkeys at the Marlboro Houses, an area with residents in desperate need of assistance. We're told Bobby spent several hours there, chatting it up and taking pics with volunteers and those who came through for groceries.

Following the bird giveaway, Bobby made his way to an outreach program in Ridgewood in Queens to talk with troubled teens. Bobby, joined by Rowdy Rebel, talked to the kids about their experiences in prison and just how important it is to stay out of trouble.

As for how the whole night came to be, we're told Bobby and his team first reached out to Maurice Ballard, who runs a nonprofit called Game of Life.

Bobby was first taken into custody in December 2014, but copped a plea deal in 2016 to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon. He got credit for around 2 years of time served before the sentence.

YFN Lucci and Allison Mack are spending their first Thanksgiving behind bars and they're about to get a crash course in what R. Kelly, YNW Melly, Suge Knight and Harvey Weinstein learned the hard way ... the turkey tastes better on the outside.

TMZ's obtained prison and jail menus from across the country, where locked-up stars are being treated to your typical Turkey Day faire ... turkey, stuffing, gravy and pie.

Here's a breakdown of their Thanksgiving feasts:

Kelly at MDC Brooklyn:

-- Roast turkey or roast eggplant, turkey gravy, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, biscuit and pie

Mack at California's FCI Dublin

-- Roasted turkey with pan gravy, country ham, mashed potatoes or baked potato, candied sweet potatoes, cornbread stuffing, steamed green beans, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, dinner roll and pie

Lucci at Georgia's Fulton County Jail:

-- Sliced turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, green beans, sweet potatoes, dinner roll and dessert

Suge at San Diego's Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility:

-- Roast turkey, green salad with dressing, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables, dinner roll or biscuit and pumpkin pie

Melly at Florida's Broward County Jail:

-- Turkey breast, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, breadsticks and bread pudding

Weinstein at Los Angeles County Jail:

-- Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, tossed salad with dressing, dinner roll and pumpkin muffin

Harry Styles makes it almost impossible for folks to keep their appendages in check ... and if you don't believe it, check out this security guard who was dancing up a storm during Harry's concert.

It appears this is the concert at the Toyota Center in Houston earlier this week. The guard is all about Harry, dancing to One Direction's "That's What Makes You Beautiful." It's one of 1-D's biggest hits, and given the group is no more it had to be a big surprise Harry sang it, which may be why everyone was going crazy.

Now the video is a little jarring ... given what happened at the Astroworld Festival in the same city earlier this month. You'll recall, cops and security seemed oblivious to the tragedy that was unfolding behind them. They didn't seem to have a clue a full 25 minutes after fire dept. officials declared it a "mass casualty event."

This concert is clearly different. There's assigned seating, and Harry's concerts are way tamer than Travis Scott's ... Travis has, in the past, encouraged and egged on the crowd to do crazy things ... Harry has not.

Posters have been plastered on buildings and bus stops in Europe, showing images of some very famous women who appear brutalized ... in an effort to grab people by the collar so they better understand domestic violence.

Artist AleXsandro Palombo has doctored images of Vice President Kamala Harris, along with British Dutchess Kate Middleton, Queen Letizia of Spain, French politician Christine Lagarde and others ... making them appear to be D.V. victims in her series, "She reported him, but she was killed anyway."

The caption under the battered faces reads, "She reported him -- But nobody believed her - But she was left alone -- But she was not protected - But he was not arrested - But she was killed anyway."

The posters have been seen in Milan and Spain, and presumably beyond.

The artist says his end game is to "draw attention to the poor responses from politics regarding the problem of gender-based violence and highlights the ineffectiveness of the support and protection system to the victims."

Jennifer Lopez is hunkering down with her kids for Thanksgiving, 2021, but there should be no doubt ... one Ben Affleck will almost certainly join them.

J Lo flew into the City of Angels Wednesday night with her 13-year-old twins Max and Emme. She has a house in a swanky part of L.A., not too far from Ben's.

There have been various configurations of outings with Ben, J Lo and their kids, and Thanksgiving weekend will probably, at some point, blend the 2 broods.

Of course, Jen flew back in style, on a private jet.  She was wearing a brown fur coat ... apparently she didn't get the animal cruelty memo.

As for taking the plunge by introducing the kids into their re-formed lives ... well, the dye has already been cast. They've been looking to buy a home together in the L.A. area, but as far as we know they haven't sealed the deal.

Tom Brady assiduously avoids caffeine, sugar, dairy, tomatoes, eggplant, even mushrooms ... but on Thanksgiving day ... f*** it!!!

Tom and Oprah had a chitchat, but this one was different because it was Tom mostly asking the questions. O jumped on Tom's SiriusXM show, "Let's Go," and it was only a matter of time before she took the reigns.

Oprah wanted to know what we were thinking ... what the hell does Tom eat on Turkey day ... given his aversion to food that causes inflammation.

Tom revealed Thanksgiving is his cheat day ... "That's the one meal where I'm just like, 'screw it, let's go for it."

The convo pivoted to retirement, and Tom seems to have that in his head. He told Oprah, "Thanksgiving, there's a lot to be thankful for, but you only get 4 hours to enjoy it. Practice usually ends at about 1 or 2. You eat about 3:30, then you're getting ready for the next day of practice.  Same with XMAS."

He went on ... "I'm looking forward to the time when I'm done playing football, so I can have those more normal holidays that I had growing up that were important where the family's all together."

The reality ... the 44-year-old QB is on a roll, with the Bucs Super Bowl Win this year. He's threatened to retire at 45, but sometimes threats are hollow.

Cedric the Entertainer is in Bill Maher's corner when it comes to cancel culture, as in he thinks it's gotten ridiculous.

We got Cedric out Wednesday in L.A., and asked about Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. both getting Grammy noms, despite calls for their cancellation. Cedric is clearly pleased the folks over at the Grammys paid homage to both.

Cedric says things have gotten so out of hand it's unclear what people get canceled for, but he lays it on groups on social media ... all of whom think they embrace the truth with a capital T.

He never uses the word "mob," but that's certainly the sentiment as he talks about gaggles of outraged folks who band together on Twitter to zero in on their perceived enemies.

Cedric also seems to think the majority of folks have had it up to HERE with cancel culture.

LeBron James was ejected on Sunday, but it was his turn to do the booting on Wednesday ... with the Lakers superstar getting two courtside fans removed from the game during an overtime thriller.

The moment went down with 2 minutes left in OT against the Indiana Pacers ... right after Bron hit a three-pointer to put L.A. up 117-114.

It's unclear what set James off, but whatever it was triggered him to approach an official and point at a man and a woman sitting in the front row.

In the video, you can hear a fuming LeBron say "right f***ing here" and pointing directly at the fans.

Shortly after, they were being escorted out of the arena by security ... with the female fan getting one last jab in at Bron by making an animated crying gesture towards him.

Eventually, the game was resumed and the Lakers held on for the win, 124-116.

It's not the first time James has had fans removed -- last season, he had a "Courtside Karen" escorted out after being heckled in a game against the Atlanta Hawks.

Tyga just got a little bit of good news in his domestic violence case ... we've learned he will NOT be hit with a felony.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the police passed the rapper's DV case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office so they could decide if they wanted to file charges against Tyga.

But, according to the L.A. County D.A. ... the case has now been kicked over to the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office ... and that means he won't be charged with a felony because only the D.A.'s Office can charge folks with a felony.

TMZ broke the story ... Tyga was arrested for felony domestic violence last month, turning himself in to authorities after his ex-girlfriend, Camaryn Swanson, claimed he got physical with her.

Camaryn filed a police report, claiming Tyga hit her ... and she later posted video showing her alleged injuries. Tyga's camp claims her allegations are "false and will be disproven."

The exes reportedly started dating early this year, and in March they went Instagram official. It's unclear when they split, but we're told it happened before the alleged incident.

We're told, Camaryn's injuries and the evidence did not rise to a felony charge and that's the reason it was kicked to the City Attorney.