News

The ball is in Jill Zarin's pickleball court ... because a lawsuit has just been filed against her and her boyfriend, Gary Brody.

Noah Springer is suing Zarin, Brody and GNG Enterprises ... with Springer claiming he invested $500K back in 2022 in exchange for a 25% share of a company called Pickle Pro Labs, LLC. He says he was promised a monthly salary of $5K while he and the company developed a machine called the Go-No-Go.

Around May 2024, Springer says he stopped getting paid ... and, around the same time, he claims Zarin and Brody founded GNG Enterprises -- a new company -- without his knowledge.

There have been several deaths and disappearances of scientists and government workers in the past few years ... and now the FBI is looking into whether or not these cases are linked, NBC News reports.

The House Oversight Committee announced Monday they're wondering if there's a possible connection between at least 10 people who have died or gone missing since 2023.

The Committee says two of them are linked to Los Alamos National Laboratory, and two of them are affiliated with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

And multiple disappearances involve the person in question leaving their phones behind.

These high-profile cases have even reached President Donald Trump, who told reporters Thursday it's "pretty serious stuff … hopefully a coincidence, or whatever you want to call it."

The president said we'll know in the next week and a half whether or not it's random.

But for now, we're breaking down each mysterious case.

Air Force Major General William "Neil" McCasland was reported missing by his wife, Susan McCasland Wilkerson, after he vanished from his home in Albuquerque, NM on February 27, 2026.

Neil spent his final two years in the USAF as a commander at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which many people believe contains evidence of aliens from a mysterious 1947 crash in Roswell, NM.

In the 911 call reporting his disappearance, Susan told the dispatcher she had "some indication that he planned not to be found."

Police say he left his phone and glasses at home, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office reported a .38-caliber revolver was missing ... along with his hiking boots and wallet.

Steven Garcia was reported missing on August 28, 2025, last seen in Albuquerque, NM, wearing a green camo shirt and glasses.

According to a flier posted to the ALERT NEW MEXICO Facebook Group, he left his home with a handgun and "may be a danger to himself."

The Hill reports Steven was a property custodian with top security clearance at Kansas City National Security Campus, which manufactures "80 percent of non-nuclear components that go into the nuclear stockpile," according to the KCNSC website.

Monica Jacinto Reza went missing on June 22, 2025 while hiking in the Mount Waterman area of the San Gabriel Mountains in California, according to the Crescenta Valley Sheriff's Station.

According to SpaceNews, Monica is a scientist who, in the '90s, helped invent a "nickel-based superalloy" called Mondaloy to be used in rocket engines. The article notes she was working at Aerojet Rocketdyne at the time.

The press release from the House Oversight Committee on Monday said she worked as the director of NASA Lab's Materials Processing Group, and had previously worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The New York Post reports the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department searched for months, but never found her.

Melissa Casias went missing on June 26, 2025. Her husband, Mark, told Dateline she dropped him off at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, where they both worked.

Their daughter, Sierra, told "Dateline" she heard her mom return home a little after 7:30 AM. When Sierra asked what she was doing back, Melissa said she had forgotten her badge, but ultimately told her daughter she was going to "either work from home or call out for the day."

Sierra then went to work at a cafe -- noting her mom brought her a sandwich a little before 1 PM ... and police confirmed they spoke then. She said her mom's behavior "wasn't out of the ordinary" ... but that was the last time she saw her.

Meanwhile, Mark told "Dateline" he got a concerned call from Melissa's boss ... who said she wasn't at work. When he was reportedly unable to reach his wife, Mark asked Sierra to contact her ... since they'd spoken recently.

Sierra says she texted her mom and the message was delivered, telling "Dateline" ... "I assumed that she was just gonna call him."

New Mexico State Police PIO Sergeant Ricardo Breceda told "Dateline" Melissa was last seen around 2:18 PM, when an acquaintance saw her walking along the NM 518 state highway ... which was also captured on nearby surveillance cameras.

According to "Dateline" ... Mark started frantically calling Sierra around that time because he still hadn't heard from Melissa. Sierra told "Dateline" when she texted her mom again, the message didn't deliver.

When she got home later that afternoon, Sierra told "Dateline" Melissa had left her keys and work phone on the kitchen table.

According to her LinkedIn ... Melissa had been an administrative assistant at LANL since March 2023. The lab "addresses national security challenges by advancing breakthroughs in science and technology" ... according to its website.

Mark told "Dateline" he "can’t grasp" Melissa's disappearance, saying ... "I don’t know. I can’t figure it out."

Anthony Chavez also worked at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico -- multiple outlets report -- and vanished just a month before Casias did.

According to the Los Alamos County Police Department, Anthony was reported missing on May 8, 2025.

In a Facebook post ... the LACPD said he is "not believed to be endangered," but his friends and family say his disappearance is "out of character."

It's unclear what Anthony's job at LANL entailed.

Frank Maiwald -- a scientist with experience in space research -- died on July 4, 2024 at the age of 61, according to his obituary.

The memorial says Frank spent years at JPL managing the development and delivery of several NASA instruments -- the SBG-VSWIR instrument and instruments for the AMR-C program.

According to the obit ... Frank worked on a bunch of other projects and has won multiple JPL and NASA awards.

There's no mention of his cause of death.

MIT professor Nuno Loureiro was shot in his home in Brookline, MA on December 17, 2025, and died at the hospital the following morning ... according to CBS News.

In an obituary, MIT confirmed Nuno was a professor of nuclear science and engineering, as well as a professor of physics.

MIT says Nuno was a "lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist," and his research "addressed complex problems lurking at the center of fusion vacuum chambers and at the edges of the universe."

According to CBS News, the suspect in Nuno's murder was identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente ... who had opened fire at Brown University just days before.

CBS News reports Valente was found dead in New Hampshire later that week ... and had died after shooting himself in the head, according to his autopsy.

No word on what his motive was.

Scientist Carl Grillmair was shot and killed on February 16, 2026 on his porch in Llano, CA in Antelope Valley ... according to Pasadena Now.

In an obituary, CalTech confirmed Carl was an astronomer for their Infrared Processing & Analysis Center. According to its website ... IPAC works closely with NASA and JPL to "advance exploration of our Universe."

Pasadena Now reports 29-year-old Freddy Snyder was charged with the murder and is set to be arraigned April 29.

No motive has been published.

The body of Jason Thomas -- who worked for the Novartis biomedical research institute -- was found in a Massachusetts lake on March 17, 2026 ... three months after he had been reported missing.

According to a news release from the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, Jason's wife reported him missing to Wakefield Police on December 13, 2025 ... because he didn't come home the night before.

Jason was a senior investigator with Novartis, according to his Linkedin profile.

The D.A.'s office says in the release that the medical examiner hasn't determined cause of death yet ... but authorities are ruling out foul play.

Scientist Michael David Hicks died on July 30, 2023 ... according to an obituary written by the American Astronomical Society.

The memorial says Michael was 59 years old and living in Sunland, in L.A., at the time. It says Michael worked as a research scientist with JPL, where he worked on projects about asteroids and deep space.

Anna Kepner’s accused killer isn’t showing up in court -- but he is showing his legal strategy ... pleading not guilty while staying out of sight.

The 16-year-old stepbrother -- identified in court docs only as T.H. -- waived his personal appearance at the arraignment Tuesday and entered a not guilty plea. He was originally expected to be in a Miami courtroom Wednesday morning.

The teen, who is now being prosecuted as an adult, is facing first-degree murder and aggravated sexual abuse charges tied to the death of his 18-year-old stepsister aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship back in November 2025.

Mark Geragos is sticking to his guns ... telling us Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman is full of it when he says the D.A.'s office and the LAPD worked in lockstep to arrest and charge D4vd with Celeste Rivas' murder.

The famed defense attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and called BS on some of Hochman's claims from Monday's news conference, where Hochman refuted what Geragos told us -- that LAPD went rogue in arresting D4vd -- on the "2 Angry Men" podcast.

Geragos says Hochman is just trying to put on a united front when, in reality, cops were fed up with a lack of action from prosecutors and moved to arrest D4vd to force their hand.

Rep. James Comer is telling people not to worry about aliens snatching up American scientists, because he says hostile foreign nations are more likely to blame. Great!

The reality is nearly a dozen scientists with knowledge of America's nuclear and/or space programs have either died or gone missing since 2022 ... and House Oversight Committee Chairman joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" to talk about government investigations into the mystery.

Comer makes it clear he doesn't think aliens are beaming up scientists to learn about humanity's weaknesses -- as some are theorizing online -- though he knows some of his colleagues think otherwise.

Instead, the Congressman from Kentucky says it's more likely the usual suspects are involved ... Russian, Iranian or Chinese agents who want info on the USA's nuclear capabilities.

ICYMI ... the mystery surrounding 11 scientists is now on the radar of the FBI, and even President Trump was briefed on it last week.

Donald Trump Jr. isn't rushing down the aisle just yet, because he and Bettina Anderson are still figuring out what their big day will actually look like ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the couple tell TMZ ... there's no wedding date on the books, and nothing has been officially decided. Instead, we're told they’re actively weighing two very different options.

One possibility is a quick elopement within the next month, with a larger celebration coming later. While a White House event has been floated, our sources say a formal ceremony there isn't feasible in the immediate future, though celebrating there down the line is still being considered.

Kylie Jenner just wrapped up 2 weekends of partying at Coachella ... and has returned to a lawsuit from a former housekeeper who claims she was subject to discrimination over religion and national origin.

According to the legal docs, filed last week in Los Angeles by Angelica Vasquez and obtained by TMZ, Angelica claims she started working for Kylie as a housekeeper at her Beverly Hills residence on September 10, 2024, and then was moved to her Hidden Hills residence one week later, where she says she reported to a woman named Elsi and head housekeeper Patsy.

Angelica claims she was "treated with hostility and exclusion" as soon as she began her employment and was "subjected to severe and pervasive harassment" by Patsy, Elsi, and other staff members. Specifically, she alleges she was "belittled and humiliated in front of coworkers" due to her race, national origin, and religious beliefs.

1:00 PM PST -- Frederick Alfred Jr. has been dropped by the Chainsaw Caucus just weeks after their endorsement. They tell TMZ ... "We take child safety and parental responsibility extremely seriously, and these allegations are inconsistent with the standards we expect from candidates we support. We have no further comment at this time."

A Republican running for a state senate seat in Colorado was arrested in Florida ... after cops say his daughter started drowning in a pool when he left his kids unattended while going to the bar for some booze.

Frederick Alfred Jr. was arrested Monday in Key West on two counts of felony child neglect without great harm.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops say his 4-year-old daughter began drowning in the pool, became unconscious, started foaming at the mouth, and eventually needed CPR from someone at the pool.

An English driver is looking at a long jail sentence ... after he led cops on a high-speed chase which ended when he flipped his BMW multiple times at a roundabout.

The North Yorkshire Police Department shared video of officers chasing down a driver barreling down the road at breakneck speeds ... which they say reached nearly 140 mph.

Watch the vid ... at first, it looks like the driver plans to pull over -- before executing a last-second maneuver, crossing over a hatched area on the road and speeding off.

8:35 AM PT -- Burbank Police just announced a suspect was arrested Monday night … 30-year-old Sergio Fraire was taken into custody by a SWAT team serving a search warrant. Police say evidence related to the stabbings was recovered at the residence where he was detained. Fraire had been identified as a person of interest by investigators earlier Monday.

He was booked for murder and attempted murder. Police were working to determine a motive for the crime and the relationship between the suspect and the victims. The residence where Fraire was detained is about 2.5 miles from the scene of the crime.

Meera was listed in stable condition Tuesday morning.

A first-grade teacher in California has been killed and her daughter was critically injured in a stabbing early Monday morning ... and police are still looking for the suspect.

Burbank Police say officers got a call around 6 AM about a stabbing in a single-family home ... and found two women had been attacked at the scene.

Police later identified 59-year-old Arti Varma as the woman who was killed ... neighbors told news outlets her 25-year-old daughter Meera is the other victim.

BPD said they were taken to a nearby hospital, where one woman died from her injuries and the other remains hospitalized.

A day at one of Mexico’s most iconic landmarks turned deadly in a flash -- gunfire erupted at the famed Teotihuacán pyramids and sent tourists into full-blown panic.

Authorities say a gunman opened fire Monday near the Pyramid of the Moon ... killing a Canadian woman and injuring at least 13 others before turning the weapon on himself.

Officials identified the suspect as Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, who they claim climbed up to the mezzanine level of the pyramid around 11 AM and began firing. A witness told Reuters they had just come down from the structure when they heard what sounded like “pops,” followed by a stampede of visitors scrambling to get out of harm’s way.