Louis C.K. just called off 4 shows at the Houston Improv and is offering refunds to everyone who bought tickets ... or they can wait for him to reschedule.
TMZ's learned the comedian postponed the gigs -- starting tonight and going through Sunday -- due to an "unforeseen family emergency." Those who were planning on attending have been informed they can keep their tickets and exchange them for the rescheduled dates in May, or return them and get their money back.
According to the email sent to ticket holders, anyone who bought tix to Louis' postponed shows will also score a free ticket to see the replacement act this weekend -- comedian Joe Machi. Even those who chose to get a refund can take advantage of this offer.
It's unclear what family emergency C.K. is dealing with.
As we've reported ... Louis has been back on the stand-up circuit for the past several months, making a comeback of sorts after admitting in November 2017 to years of sexual misconduct and abusing his power in the comedy world.
His return has been met with a mix of criticism and support, but one thing he hasn't stopped doing is offending people.
Dr. Drew's beyond fed up with the media coverage of the coronavirus because he believes it's majorly overblown and causing hysteria ... while another major threat's being ignored.
The doctor was outside Beauty & Essex restaurant in L.A. Wednesday night went he went off on the media for misreporting the coronavirus, and even worse ... failing to point out facts in order to alleviate some of the panic.
According to Dr. Drew -- who was leaving sports agent Darren Prince's 50th bday bash -- coronavirus should be reported as being widespread, BUT, much milder of a virus than everyone is freaking out about. As he points out, there are tens of thousands of people infected ... but only a few hundred deaths.
By comparison, roughly 60,000 people die from the flu each year in the U.S. alone ... and it can be as high as 646,000 on average worldwide!!!
So, it's safe to say Dr. Drew's right when he says influenza is way more of a killer than the coronavirus ... so you should get your flu shot. We know Dr. Oz agrees too.
To be fair, though ... Dr. Drew's numbers are a couple hundred short when it comes to coronavirus deaths. So far, 563 have died -- all but 2 in China -- and there's more than 28,000 cases across the globe.
Dr. Oz is doing a major eye roll at anyone who's using the coronavirus as a way to scapegoat Asian people and spew their xenophobia, 'cause he says we're better than that.
We got the doc at Shaq's Fun House party in Miami heading into Super Bowl weekend, and while the mood was light ... things immediately got serious when our guy asked about the disease and the collateral damage Asians have been experiencing as a result.
I can't fucking believe it.
Because of some folks in China who eat weird shit like bats, rats, and snakes, the entire world is about to suffer a plague.
Like, is it not bad enough that your country tortures Uyghurs...
A lot of folks have turned to outdated tropes or outright racist remarks in characterizing the outbreak in China, which has spread to different countries ... including the U.S. Be it a nasty tweet or a French headline reading, "Yellow Alert?" ... other-ing is indeed happening.
Fast-forward to Dr. Oz ... who actually sticks up for Chinese people with a pretty impassioned callback to the time he's spent there and the culture he encountered. He even says the fear people are feeling is misplaced, as the virus isn't nearly as deadly as it's being represented in the media. If anything, DO says this should unite us in preparing for the "big one."
You'll recall ... Dr. Oz had told us about a week ago or so that while he was concerned about the coronavirus, he wasn't panicking just yet. Looks like he's doubling down here.
Oz also takes a chance to advocate for getting a flu shot, which he seems to think will help in avoiding contracting the virus in the first place.
Jeff Bezos just added BILLIONS to his massive fortune -- which is nothing new for him, but what's new this time ... it only took a few strokes of the clock to make that increase.
Stock for the Amazon honcho's company surged 12 percent in a matter of 15 minutes Thursday afternoon, which equaled an astounding 11-digit increase to his bottom line.
The astronomical math? Bloomberg says Jeff added $13.2 BILLION just from the surge, which raises his net worth to about $129.5 billion. Forbes was a wee bit more modest, reporting Bezos added $12.8 billion to his portfolio, with a new net worth of $128.9 billion.
Either way ... ya get the point. Bill Gates feels like a panhandler right now.
On an even grander scale -- the stock boost pushed Amazon's market cap north of $1 TRILLION!!! That's a lot of zeroes.
Oh, and Bill ... JK, buddy. The world's second-richest man is still worth about $110.8 billion. Said another way ... about one Laurene Powell Jobs (Steve's widow) less than Bezos.
Firefighters are pulling off daring rescues from a 25-story high-rise inferno in Los Angeles ... where several residents are trapped by the smoke and flames.
Helicopters and fire trucks are swarming around the building near L.A.'s Brentwood neighborhood. Flames are billowing out of the 6th floor, and at least one man was clinging to the side of the building ... waiting for firefighters to reach him.
They eventually did get to him as they extended a rescue ladder up to the 6th floor. Other residents made it to the roof, where rescuers dangling from helicopters were able to airlift them to safety.
The fire is raging in the apartment building that was reportedly constructed in 1961, and does NOT have a sprinkler system. It also has a dangerous track record ... another fire broke out there in 2013, and 5 people were hospitalized with injuries back then.
Team Roc, Roc Nation's philanthropic arm, is releasing video it says graphically illustrates the inhumane conditions inside a notorious Mississippi penitentiary ... as Yo Gotti continues fighting for federal assistance.
These videos and photos were shot by inmates using contraband phones, according to Team Roc. The images include what looks like a knife fight between 2 prisoners, gruesome injuries and horrific filth inside a cell.
TMZ broke the story ... Yo Gotti, with Team Roc's support, is taking legal action over the conditions seen in the video. Most recently, they've filed for an emergency protective order in federal court -- on behalf of dozens of inmates -- and they've now added some of these photos to that filing.
4:40 PM PT -- The NTSB revealed the helicopter was not equipped with a black box, nor was it required to be. There was, however, an iPad on board used for flight itinerary, weather conditions and other flight elements that investigators will look at. The NTSB is also asking the public for photos of the weather in the area Sunday morning to determine flying conditions.
UPDATE
UPDATE
The L.A. County Sheriff's Office has created a perimeter around the crash site -- with officers on ATV and horseback -- to make sure no one gets close to the wreck.
UPDATE
UPDATE
3:48 PM PT -- The NTSB is minutes away from a press conference about the crash ... we will have the whole thing live here.
The pilot of the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter and 6 other passengers got in big trouble with fog -- they seemed to abort the trip and tried returning home, barely clearing one mountain range, but never slowed down ... this according to the flight tracker and several experienced helicopter pilots in the L.A. area.
As we reported, the pilot had to circle near the Downtown L.A. area -- near the L.A. Zoo -- for 15 minutes because of bad weather ahead. As we reported ... the LAPD had grounded its helicopter fleet because of fog at around the same time Kobe's helicopter took off.
The pilot was following a visual flight plan and was cleared by the tower to proceed north, toward Thousand Oaks where Kobe was taking his daughter for a basketball game. When he got to the Calabasas area, the fog became blinding.
As we reported, the pilot was way too low -- at 1,250 feet. The pilots we spoke with say it's clear based on the abrupt change on the flight tracker ... the pilot panicked and quickly ascended to 2,000 feet. We're told he cleared a mountain range by 100 feet, and the pilots we spoke with say he was so low he almost certainly saw the tops of the mountain.
Dr. Oz isn't panicking yet about the deadly coronavirus arriving in America ... but he says there is something very concerning about it that could become a big problem.
The doctor was outside NBC's 30 Rock Monday when he dropped some knowledge about the coronavirus -- which has now killed 80 people in China and infected roughly 3,000 more, including 5 confirmed U.S. cases in the U.S.
So, first the good news -- Oz tells us the actual virus "doesn't seem to be as deadly as we fear." Awesome, right? Well, hang on ... 'cause he also said it gets into the lungs and isn't easy to get rid of, but that's not even the worst of it.
He let us in on the real reason to fear coronavirus, and it's all about how and WHEN it spreads. Let's just say it's near impossible to detect the danger ... which could lead to a bigger outbreak in America, as well.
As for the virus' name conjuring up thoughts of cervezas? Dr. Oz explains how scientists came up with the beer-like name. No, they weren't boozing, but it's definitely unfortunate for the makers of Corona.
Felicity Huffman wasn't able to escape to the U.S. criminal justice system, but she is trying to make a clean break from the coronavirus ... which has apparently made its way stateside.
The actor was out Saturday at JFK with her daughter, Sophia, who was roped into the college admission scandal last year. They were both wearing face masks, seemingly to combat the spreading super-germ, which has at least a couple confirmed cases here at home.
Looks like Felicity isn't taking any chances as she travels with her flesh and blood. We've been seeing that a little bit here in L.A. too -- Kristin Chenoweth was also rocking a mask just this past week ... and for good reason. This thing can be fatal in humans.
If you haven't heard, the virus reportedly starting breaking out in China first -- but, as we mentioned, there've been some folks within our borders that have contracted it.
Supposedly, it mimics a cold at first ... and then turns into a full-blown respiratory infection. And, if you're unlucky, it might even kill you.
Andy Dick was inconsolable, and understandably so, after a man walked into his art studio and shot himself in the head.
The tragic incident went down Monday around midnight inside Andy's downtown L.A. art gallery ... which opened late last year. Witnesses say the man had been waving a gun around before heading inside, where Andy and someone else was working.
Once inside, the man fired the shot. Witnesses say it appeared to be an accident.
It's unclear if Andy witnessed the shooting, but he was visibly shaken as LAPD and paramedics responded to the scene. The victim was transported to a hospital, and according to one source, he's currently on life support.
The video shows a traumatized Andy explaining to police what he'd seen.
We've reached out to Andy, but so far no word back.
Justin Bieber is singing, smiling and dancing again ... putting in the work for another new music video with his buddy and Migos rapper Quavo.
Biebs was spotted in L.A. Friday outside of a daycare facility, he also had a photo and video crew in tow. It's unclear if the visit was planned or a surprise ... but Justin had a bunch of people join him on the steps in front of the cameras.
It's hard to tell exactly what's playing on speakers set up around the crew, but there's definitely music and we're told it's a new single for the Beliebers.
Rapper Quavo from Migos was also there -- the two have collabed before -- so it makes sense the pair have another single on the way.
Justin has already released one single this year titled "Yummy" ... but he's got some big months ahead. He's got a documentary, tour and new album on the way ... and this new video could very well be a preview of what's to come.
Meghan Markle grew increasingly fed up with the media and the Palace as she fought for privacy for her son, Archie ... and this is one of several reasons she and Prince Harry decided to bail on the royals.
Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex tell TMZ ... she obviously knew she'd be world-famous when she married Harry, but underestimated how little control she'd have over the day-to-day media coverage ... and how much scrutiny she'd get for everything.
Things really began to sour, we're told, when baby Archie was born. The Duke and Duchess tried to be very private with him ... which irked the UK press.
There's no ignoring this elephant in the room, especially because he's taking over multiple rooms ... in a hotel!!!
Ya gotta see this unbelievable video of a wild elephant roaming around the Jetwing Yala hotel in Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, it gets a wide berth upon entering the joint ... no one's rushing him at the check-in line. Yes, he packed his own trunk ... and as you can see, used it to poke around the place.
Best of all, the full-grown Asian bull elephant, -- named Natta Kota by locals -- is a repeat customer!!! The hotel says he's been wandering in from time to time since 2013, spending days napping in the shade and stomping through the resort's walkways.
The pachyderm used to be a seasonal visitor, according to the hotel, stealing fruit from vehicles and grub from the kitchen -- but now he's got a permanent residence at Jetwing and he's left in peace.
No word if he's racking up rewards points, but he's definitely a bull (elephant) in a china shop. Someone's gotta pay for that lamp!!!
SpaceX had a great day Sunday ... its Crew Dragon spacecraft performed flawlessly in a maneuver critical to manned space flight.
The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 10:30 AM ET. The point of the unmanned mission ... to test the in-flight abort system. 84 seconds into the flight, when the spacecraft is 60,000 feet above mother Earth, the mission gets scrubbed and the rocket separates from the crew capsule, propelling it at warp speed away from the rocket.
It worked flawlessly, and it was a beautiful sight.
The crew capsule came down in about 10 minutes, parachuting safely to Earth so the folks at SpaceX in Hawthorne can study the data.
Elon Musk and co. are expected to send an astronaut into space sometime this year.
The San Francisco Giants just made a groundbreaking addition to their coaching staff -- the organization just hired the first full-time female coach in MLB history!!!
Alyssa Nakken -- who worked with the Giants' health and wellness initiatives and events the past 2 years -- was a superstar for the Sacramento State softball team from 2009-12.
The 29-year-old was a 4-time All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference selection and was first-team all-league in 2012.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler introduced Nakken and fellow assistant coach Mark Hallberg on Thursday ... saying, "Alyssa and Mark are highly respected members of the organization and I'm delighted that they will now focus their talents on helping to build a winning culture in the clubhouse."
"In every organization, environment affects performance, and baseball clubhouses are no different. That's why in addition to assisting the rest of the coaching staff on the field, Mark and Alyssa will focus on fostering a clubhouse culture that promotes high performance through, among other attributes, a deep sense of collaboration and team."
It's becoming more common for female coaches to join male pro leagues in recent years ... Jen Welter became the first female coach in the NFL in 2015 andBecky Hammonbecame the first full-time assistant coach in the NBA in 2014.
Manny Pacquiao is heartbroken over the devastation the Taal Volcano is causing in the Philippines ... and now he's begging for help, saying he'll double anyone's donations to relief efforts.
The small volcano -- located less than 100 miles south of Manila -- began erupting over the weekend ... and it's ravaged the region -- forcing tens of thousands out of their homes.
And, according to reports, there's still concern a massive, hazardous, explosive eruption could happen.
Pacquiao -- who was born in the Philippines and currently sits as the country's senator -- is trying his best to help in relief efforts ... donating food, items and money -- but he's asking for much more.
"Whatever we raise," Pacquiao said in a video message Thursday, "all the donations, whatever it costs, I will double that so we can help more people."
Pacquiao says the disaster hits very close to home for him ... not just because he grew up in the region -- but because he went through homelessness and poverty as a youngster as well.
"I've experienced not having anything to eat and not having a place to sleep," Pacquiao said. "These people need our help."
Per the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the volcano showed signs of "generally weaker" activity Wednesday ... but the threat of earthquakes and a possible explosion still remains high.
