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Russell Armstrong's family isn't buying suicide as the cause of death ... they believe he was murdered, and they're putting a private dick on the case.

Although the L.A. County Coroner ruled Russell's death was a suicide by hanging, sources close to the situation say the family is convinced ... Russell's money problems caused him to get involved "with the wrong people." They believe Russell may have screwed someone over out of desperation and that person or persons retaliated by killing him.

We're told the family is in the process of hiring a private investigator.

A system of stores run by the United States Department of Defense will NOT be stocking Soulja Boy's upcoming album -- so long as it contains the rapper's army-bashing song lyrics.

LTC Thomas Shrader from the Army and Air Force Exchange Service -- an agency run by the USDOD -- tells TMZ, Soulja's "Respect My Hustle" will have no place on the shelves of its 3,100 facilities ... whose MILLIONS in profits go to benefit armed services programs every year.

As we previously reported, the outrage is all over the rapper's new song "Let's Be Real" -- in which Soulja raps, "F**k the FBI and the army troops." Soulja has since apologized.

Shrader tells TMZ, Soulja's lyrics "are unacceptable and not the kind of thing we would want to market.”

The Game claims he's just been kicked out of a famous L.A. restaurant because he's BLACK -- even referring to the manager as a "slave master" ... but the restaurant insists they were simply enforcing the dress code.

Sources close to Game tell TMZ, the rapper dropped by Hillstone's in Santa Monica -- formally known as Houston's -- wearing a white tank top ... when the manager refused to seat him.

According to sources, the manager told Game he was in violation of the dress code, which requires men to wear sleeves. But Game's pals tell TMZ ... there were two white males in the restaurant with sleeveless shirts ... and it wasn't a problem.

Game believes the 86'ing was racially motivated -- and took to Twitter moments ago -- telling his 644,000 followers, "Houston's just went from my favorite resturant to the "RACIST-URANT" !!!!"

The rapper added, "Hillstone's racist-urant formerly known as Houston's & their slave-master manager Valerie has just made #1 on the RACIST resturant list !"

A rep for the restaurant tells us ... Game only pointed to a lone sleeveless woman at the bar -- NOT two men -- and says the sleeve rule does not apply to females.

Kurt Angle apparently believes he's been FRAMED in connection with his drunk driving arrest Sunday morning ... this according to sources connected with the famous wrestler.

As TMZ first reported, Angle was popped in Virginia after he was allegedly seen driving erratically on I-66.

But Angle's lawyer tells TMZ ... his client passed a breathalyzer test. The lawyer tells us, "We understand Kurt will be entering a plea of not guilty in response to any infractions and/or offenses."

Sources connected with Kurt tell TMZ ... cops are just trying to make an example of him.

The cops are mum, saying the case will be tried in court.

Jay-Z's 40/40 Club is undergoing a remodeling in New York City and a local union is protesting the fact they aren't using union workers for the job -- but Jigga's people tell us some protestors have gone too far ... by hurling racial slurs.

The New York City District Council of Carpenters erected giant inflatable rodents outside the club as part of their protests, claiming the company that was hired to do the job does not meet "area labor standards" and is paying their workers a "substandard wage."

A rep for the club tells TMZ they are in a non-union building and are not required to use union contractors. The rep tells us some protestors have been using racial slurs against the workers they are using, which the rep called a "poor tactic" to try intimidate people and scare away business.

The club is scheduled to re-open on November 1.

Gene Simmons is finally revealing what Shannon Tweed told him when he asked for her hand in marriage ... and SHOCKER ... she didn't say no.

Now, the couple is planning the wedding -- and they've already sent out invitations -- complete with a sarcastic wedding announcement from their kids.

The announcement says, "After 28 years of loose strings, our parents have finally decided to tie the knot."

"Our mother will share our horrendous hyphenate of a last name and our father's life ... well, it doesn't change that much."

It continues on a heartfelt note -- saying, "But we will be united as a family in spirit and in title forever."

The wedding is set for October 1 at the super-fancy Beverly Hills Hotel. Check out the invitation for the dress code ... funny stuff.

United Airlines is investigating a complaint made by an actor who appeared on the TV show "Barbershop" after he claimed he was kicked off of a flight simply because he was black.

Michael Colyar claims he was booted from his flight at Dulles International Airport in Virginia after he refused to allow a flight attendant to move his luggage from the overhead storage bin ... so a white passenger could stow her bag there instead.

Colyar claims the flight attendant gave him dirty looks when he denied her request -- so he inquired about filing a complaint. That's when Colyar says he was approached by security, who removed the actor from the flight.

Colyar blogged about the incident ... saying, "The flight attendant and her friend got just what they wanted, the n**ger off the plane. I'm sure they feel a great triumph in putting an uppity n**ger in his place."

He adds, "At the least I should be suing United Airlines for theft of services, public humiliation and defamation of character."

United Airlines tells TMZ ... "As a global airline with a diverse workforce, United has zero tolerance for any type of discrimination and we take every such matter seriously. We spoke to Mr. Colyar Wednesday so that we can address his concerns, and committed to get back to him as we learn more from our coworkers and other customers onboard.”

Rapper/actress Teyana Taylor claims she and a movie director got into an all out bloody brawl ... because he ignored her pleas to be taken home while she dealt with an abscessed tooth.

Teyana and the director -- Jean-Claude La Marre -- were filming "Gang of Roses 2" last weekend outside L.A. ... when Teyana asked to be taken home because the pain was just too much to bear.

According to 20-year-old Teyana, she asked multiple times to be taken home by car service -- and when La Marre continually refused to allow that ... she got in his face and started shouting. Teyana claims La Marre shouted back, "Don't f**king scream at me bitch" ... and pushed her in the face, hitting her aching tooth.

La Marre claims he only defended himself ... AFTER Teyana "jumped on me and began swinging" -- but says he never hit her.

Whoever started it ... we're told several crew members had to separate them. Teyana says during the scrap her shirt was torn open (above), she got popped in the nose and mouth -- and the blood ended up on her denim shorts.

Teyana's people say they are considering legal action. La Marre says the only reason he didn't file charges is because "she's 20 years old and I'm 40 ... kids lash out."

By the way, La Marre is finishing the movie -- a western also starring Amber Rose and Claudia Jordan -- but with a twist. He's killed off Teyana's character.

Justin Bieber has been victimized by a brand new cyber-enemy ... an enemy who found a way to get every single one of JB's official music videos REMOVED from YouTube.

It sounds so simple -- a YouTube user who goes by the name iLCreation submitted a copyright claim on each of Bieber's videos ... including the "Baby" video which has over 600 MILLION views.

YouTube has a yank first, ask questions later policy when a copyright claim is made -- so they simply pulled the videos off the site ... until the dispute is resolved.

iLCreation also went after a few Lady Gaga videos -- but only a few of her videos are missing in action.

Bieber's VEVO channel (a dedicated site for music videos) has been completely wiped out for the time being ... but a rep for VEVO tells us, "Someone is making false copyright claims against the Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga channels and YouTube has blocked access to the videos as a result. We are working with YouTube to resolve ASAP."

A call to Bieber's camp was not immediately returned.

The videos have been restored. All is now right with the world.

Cops raced to CBS Television City in Hollywood yesterday -- after talk show host Craig Ferguson received a letter in the mail containing some serious threats AND an unknown white powder.

Ferguson says the person who wrote the letter claimed the substance was anthrax -- and both of the CBS staffers who were exposed to the letter were quarantined while officials conducted an investigation.

According to the AP, detectives from the LAPD's Major Crimes Unit were working with federal and European agents to find out who sent the letter.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the substance was determined to be cornmeal.

Ferguson has since tweeted about the situation ... saying, "Ack! Someone mailed my show white powder & claimed it was anthrax. I'm not a big fan of that sort of thing."

Last night, Craig joked about the situation on the "Late Late Show."

"Girls Gone Wild" honcho Joe Francis was arrested in Los Angeles last night ... this according to the LAPD.

Francis turned himself in to police at an LAPD station Monday afternoon on 3 misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment, 1 count of assault and 1 count of dissuading the witness from making a report.

LAPD Sgt. Daryl Martin told the AP, "[Joe] was booked fingerprinted and his photo was taken ... He was held here at the station and released from custody after posting $50,000 in bail."

The husband of Lil Wayne's baby mama #1 Toya Carter -- who co-stars alongside her in the BET reality show "Toya: A Family Affair" -- was arrested today at an airport in Atlanta ... after he allegedly tried to bring a gun onto an airplane.

Law enforcement tells TMZ, Mickey "Memphitz" Wright put his backpack through the X-ray scanner at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport -- and TSA agents quickly discovered the firearm and called the cops.

According to police, Wright had a valid license to carry the weapon ... insisting he had simply forgotten the gun was in his bag -- but it's still illegal to bring it on a plane.

Kim Kardashian and her wedding posse of 460 were too loud for the neighbors ... law enforcement tells us the residents were so pissed off over the noise, they called the cops.

We're told several neighbors reached their limit at 11:30 PM and called the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department. Deputies paid a visit to the ritzy estate where Kim's bash was in full gear, and asked them to turn the music down, which they promptly did.

A Sheriff's official tells TMZ ... none of the neighbors wanted to sign an official complaint so no one was cited.

"Dancing with the Stars" is getting a MASSIVE upgrade this season -- and TMZ has learned ... the entire layout of the set will be changed ... to the tune of $3 MILLION!

Sources tell us ... the COOLEST change will affect the audience ... because producers are swapping out the boring bleacher seats for a TRIPLE-TIERED balcony-styled arrangement ... kinda like where the old grumpy guys sit on "The Muppets."

Another cool change -- the massive staircase in the middle of the stage will have the ability to SPLIT into TWO halves ... which will reveal the orchestra pit.

As for the dance floor ... which was basically hardwood planks placed on the ground ... it will NOW be an elevated PLATFORM ... so if the stars fall over the edge, it could REALLY hurt.

Trey Songz was at the center of a nightclub brawl this week in New York City, but it was the kind Kramer would approve of ... it was a CATFIGHT!!!

Sources inside the Juliet Supper Club tell TMZ ... a group of girls were trying to get close to Trey on Monday night, and his date for the evening was not pleased. We're told the girls exchanged words and someone from the group tossed a drink on Trey's girl ... causing a melee.

The owner of the club, Barry Mullineaux, tells TMZ his security team jumped right in tossed the group of girls from the club. Police were not called.

Lindsay Lohan arrived at a hotel in Santa Barbara in the wee hours of the morning as she gets ready to attend to the Kim Kardashian wedding today.

Sources close to Lindsay tell us the reason why she showed up to the hotel at 2:30 AM ... her mom Dina arrived on a late flight from NYC.