Kids

Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise went to the mountaintop ... but were forced to come down ... though certainly not as dramatically as her ex-hubby would do it.

Katie had some downtime from shooting "The Giver" in Cape Town ... so she took Suri to Table Mountain -- a famed tourist spot with stunning views. It's one of the new 7 wonders of the world.

Turns out it was a bad day for sightseeing. It was cloudy, windy and cold, making it almost impossible to see in front of your face.

Suri was clinging to her mom while they waited for a cable car to take them down.

Tom surely would have strapped her to his back and rappelled down the mountain. After all, that's the way they do it in Afghanistan.

Charlie Sheen is going nuts over the judge's decision to give Brooke Mueller's brother Scott guardianship of their twins and then allowing her brother and the kids to live at her house -- a house Charlie owns.

What Charlie is telling friends is choice, so it just can't be paraphrased. Here it goes ...

-- "This pig circus overflowing with buffoons, sycophants and heretics cannot be trusted to safely raise a colony of ferrets."

-- "Brooke will fail and her brother [who lives by the beach] will be selling his ass under a pier and the evil nanny will die from ugly."

-- "When, not if, this psychotic and desperately irresponsible sham goes sideways, DCFS will burn to the ground, topped off with the smoldering robe of the judge."

The change of guardianship that just went down in the Charlie Sheen/Brooke Mueller custody war has just taken a radical turn -- TMZ has learned Scott Mueller, the new guardian, and the kids will be moving in with Brooke.

Sources connected with the case tell TMZ ... the judge who granted the guardianship today felt it was important for the kids to stay in the same school. Scott lives far away in a beachside community, so the judge ruled he could move in with Brooke.

This is hugely significant, because the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services has NOT given Brooke full custody rights. DCFS felt it was important to gradually reintroduce the kids to Brooke, because of her drug problems. But now it's as if she has full custody again.

In effect, Brooke is getting the kids back along with a babysitter.

There has been a changing of the guard ... Brooke Mueller's brother, Scott, has just gone to court and won temporary guardianship of Brooke and Charlie Sheen's twins Bob and Max ... TMZ has learned.

As TMZ first reported ... Denise Richards -- who had temporary guardianship -- made it clear to the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services during a meeting Thursday -- she could no longer handle Bob and Max because they were violent toward her daughters.

We've learned DCFS has signed off on Scott becoming guardian. We're told he will get the children tonight.

Story developing ...

Tom Cruise admitted that Katie Holmes left him partly because of his ties to Scientology.

Cruise sat for a deposition in his $50 million libel suit against a magazine company that claimed he abandoned his daughter Suri.

In the deposition ... Cruise squirmed in his chair as the lawyer for the magazine repeatedly asked if Katie fled their marriage because of the Church. Cruise hemmed and hawed, suggesting it wasn't true, and then the lawyer asked whether "Katie Holmes left you in part to protect Suri from Scientology."

Cruise answered: "Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes."

Cruise also admitted that Suri is NOT a member of Scientology anymore.

The story that triggered the lawsuit claimed Tom abandoned his daughter. In his depo, Cruise says for the period between June 18, 2012 and Thanksgiving, 2012, he estimates he only saw Suri 10 days. During one stretch ... Tom admits he didn't see his daughter for more than 100 days.

The lawyer for the magazine grilled Tom about his desire to see Suri. The lawyer pulled out aviation documents showing Tom flew from Pittsburgh to London on Oct. 15 for the International Association of Scientology convention. Tom returned to Pittsburgh the next day. Tom said it was very important to attend, and then the lawyer made it clear Tom never took such quick trips to see Suri.

And in another part of the deposition, the magazine's lawyer brought up the part of the story in which they claimed Suri was "upset and crying a lot" when Tom was absent. In the depo, Tom admits being absent, but adamantly denied Suri was upset.

Denise Richards told the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services ... she cannot care for Bob and Max, the twins of Charlie Sheen and Brooke Mueller, because she claims her own kids are in danger and she feels Brooke is insane ... sources tell TMZ.

TMZ broke the story ... Denise and Brooke had a sit-down Thursday with Dr. Charles Sophy, the DCFS Medical Director. We're told Denise told Sophy what we reported ... that Bob and Max were violent and attacked her daughters numerous times. She said she couldn't control the twins and could no longer serve as temporary guardian.

Sources say Denise told Sophy what we reported ... that the only way she would continue on as guardian is if the kids got the psychological help Brooke had blocked.

Our sources say Sophy has not given up ... he believes there is still room to keep Denise in the game.

Amber Portwood may be hanging out at a Panera Bread with her ex ... but that doesn't mean they're bangin' again ... this according to Amber and her baby daddy.

Amber and Gary Shirley made it clear outside the tasty food chain in Indiana today ... telling a photog they have no plans to get back together following her exit from prison this week.

As you may recall -- Gary and Amber had an extremely volatile relationship ... Back in '10 Amber was arrested for attacking Gary while MTV cameras were filming for "Teen Mom."

It was a whole thing.

For now, it seems the two are simply trying to get along for the sake of their kid ... but in case that doesn't work out -- hopefully Gary's learned to duck.

Brooke Mueller and Denise Richards were actually cordial with each other during a mandatory sit-down with a chief honcho from the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services ... but the drama is far from over ... TMZ has learned.

As we first reported ... Denise and Brooke showed up at an L.A. courthouse today and met with DCFS Medical Director Dr. Charles Sophy. We're told Sophy also asked Charlie Sheen to attend the meeting, but Sheen declined.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... although the 2 warring women were not openly hostile toward each other, their problems were NOT solved during the 4-hour session. We're told Denise is still waffling on whether she'll continue to serve as temporary guardian for twins Bob and Max.

Here's what our sources say happened in the meeting:

--- Sophy did a lot of clarifying as to what the goals were -- specifically, to gradually "reunify" Brooke with her kids

-- Sophy made it clear the goal is not for Denise to keep custodial control over the twins. Her role would diminish as Brooke became stronger and able to provide parenting. We're told this will be a slow process and Sophy established more specific guidelines as to how it will happen

-- There was an acknowledgment by all that Bob and Max have been significantly damaged psychologically by the turmoil in the family

-- There was also an acknowledgment ... there is no "magic bullet" to solve their emotional problems

-- Charlie is NOT being looked at as an option for custody

-- As for Denise, she still feels Brooke is interfering with the proper treatment of Bob and Max, and fears the twins will physically hurt her daughters

-- We're told there was no evidence Brooke has lapsed back into drug use

We're told no follow-up meetings are scheduled with Sophy and the women. We're told DCFS social workers will now take over. As for when Brooke gets full custody -- currently she's getting 2 overnights a week and 3 days. We're told the process of full custody will be fairly slow.

NOW GET THIS!!! Charlie, Brooke and Denise all live in the same exclusive gated community -- Mulholland Estates. Guess who else lives there? CHARLES SOPHY!

Only in Hollywood.

Bristol Palin's baby daddy Levi Johnston is tired of getting squeezed out of their son's life -- TMZ has learned, he just filed court docs to obtain 50/50 custody of 4-year-old Tripp Palin.

In the docs, Levi says he wants Tripp to be in his life as much as Bristol's because it's in their son's best interest. Bristol currently has full custody of the child, but now Levi wants Tripp on alternating weeks. (They both live in Alaska.)

Meanwhile, Bristol's attorney is insinuating it's simply a move to reduce Levi's child support payments, saying Levi owed roughly $66,000 in back child support as of October -- and now he wants to pay less.

Bootyful day for a stroll in Santa Barbara today -- Kim Kardashian and Kanye West ventured out this morning for a walk with baby daughter North West, and even though the sun was shining ... it was a full moon.

Nice break from L.A. court, where Kanye's lawyer Blair Berk pled not guilty on the rapper's behalf just a few hours ago in the photog-beating case.

For Kim, Kanye, and North West -- life is just a walk in the park.

Brooke Mueller and Denise Richards are locked in a conference room right now ... as officials from the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services try to force a truce in their war over Bob and Max ... but Charlie Sheen was a no-show.

Sources connected with the warring families tell TMZ -- Dr. Charles Sophy, the Medical Director for DCFS -- called the meeting and wants Denise, Brooke and Charlie to come face-to-face to deal with what has become a child-rearing crisis.

You may remember Dr. Sophy -- he's a highly-respected shrink who was a key player in the Michael Jackson molestation trial in 2005.

We're told Charlie was invited but didn't attend -- we don't know why.

The goal of the meeting -- to figure out a custody arrangement that keeps Denise in the picture and gives Brooke sufficient parental rights.

Charlie Sheen is a fantastic father who dotes over his children and is always there for them ... this according to Denise Richards.

TMZ has obtained a document submitted to the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services, written by Denise Richards. The title is "Visitation Log." Denise outlines Charlie's involvement with Sam and Lola -- the kids they had together, as well as Bob and Max -- the twins he had with Brooke Mueller.

The document -- which Denise was required to keep because she was Charlie's monitor when he visited the twins -- was included in her documents to show DCFS Charlie has been a capable, even excellent parent, whereas Brooke has been a disaster.

Here's the outline of Charlie's involvement:

-- Sept. 22 We all had dinner together. Charlie stayed until bedtime
-- Sept 25 Visit after school till after dinner
-- Sept. 29 We all went to watch our daughters ride, petting zoo, and dinner with friends
-- Oct 2 Boys and their dad and I took the girls to their dance class after school. Bob and Lola put on a dance show for all of us before bed. Their father stayed until bedtime
-- Oct 4 Boys field trip for school. We all went together. Spent the morning until 1:30 PM
-- Oct 6 Charlie was with us for the boys' drum lesson. Watched them play and went to play ball with boys. His friend and sons met us as well
-- Oct 9 I had friends and their children over for a dinner party. Charlie was with us. He left right after bedtime
-- Oct 16 The kids all came to my set at work. Charlie met us there. At my dinner break we all ate together
-- Oct 20 Charlie and his chef came over and she made brunch for us. Sam had a big project for school he spent time working on that. And also did art with boys
-- Oct 23 Dinner/homework with girls. Read stories to the kids
-- Oct 27 Spent late afternoon into evening with us
-- Oct 31 Went trick or treating with us, afterwards came back to my house to help me put everyone to bed

TMZ broke the story ... Denise has sent material to DCFS explaining how it has become impossible to care for Bob and Max -- she's the temporary guardian -- because of Brooke's interference.

Charlie Sheen was admonished by the judge in the war involving Bob and Max -- the twins at the center of the war between Charlie and Brooke Mueller -- if he opens his mouth again about the case, he's going to jail.

Here's the best part. We're told at one point the judge said, "Don't forget, I'm Italian!"

Sources connected with the case tell TMZ ... the judge issued a temporary restraining order against Charlie. The TRO re-instates the gag order, prohibiting them from talking about the case.

We're told the judge was upset with Charlie, who called the jurist a fatty and a douchebag on TMZ Live.

Under the TRO ... we're told Charlie is prohibited from going within 200 yards of Brooke. He's also not allowed to contact Brooke. To that we're told Charlie told the judge, "Thank you."

Brooke, who was in court as well, had her lawyers ask the judge to suspend his visitation rights with the twins, but the judge rejected her request. Sources tell us Brooke wants Denise Richards REMOVED as temporary guardian of the twins, but that didn't happen.

By the way ... Brooke's lawyer made a big deal about the pic of the birthday cake for Brooke with a grenade on top ... but the judge didn't make a big deal of it.

Pauly D will meet his 5-month-old baby for the first time today ... TMZ has learned.

We've learned the MTV star and his baby mama Amanda Markert have hammered out a temporary truce in their ongoing custody battle -- and Amanda has agreed to let Pauly meet their daughter Amabella.

Sources close to Amanda tell TMZ ... the meeting will take place at a neutral location somewhere near Amanda's home in New Jersey sometime in the next few hours.

It's a huge step for the parents -- who've hated each other's guts ever since the baby was conceived during a drunken night in Vegas back in 2012. Amabella was born back in May.

Pauly is fighting Markert for full custody of the little girl ... accusing Amanda of being a horrible mom who's using the baby as leverage for fame and to get money from him.

Markert says Pauly's interest in his daughter is all for show and is not real.

A rep for Pauly D had no comment.

Good to see they've put their differences aside ... at least for now.

Denise Richards was armed with an email when she went to the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services -- an email which she apparently believed would expose Brooke Mueller as a terrible parent.

The email -- obtained by TMZ -- was sent by Dr. Jay Gordon, an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UCLA Medical School. The email and documents obtained by TMZ make it clear ... Brooke is blocking psychological treatment for Bob and Max.

The email, dated August 23, 2013, reads:

-- "As we have discussed, because of recent events involving the boys' behavior I think that they need urgent evaluation. I am very concerned about their escalating violent actions; The apparent lack of understanding of the consequences and the safety of others is most worrisome. I would like them seen by Dr. Alessia Gottlieb for a complete developmental and behavioral assessment."