Ride Me

Emmylou Harris is now in the crosshairs of the L.A. County District Attorney for allegedly hitting a car on an L.A. Freeway and then hightailing it out of there ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the alleged incident occurred on October 1 at around 10:00 PM. They say Emmylou was driving a rental car on the 405 Freeway when she struck a car and took off without stopping or exchanging info.

We're told the CHP opened a hit and run investigation after the other driver filed a report. The investigation is now complete and we're told the file was sent to the D.A., who will decide if the country legend should be prosecuted.

Emmylou's rep acknowledges to TMZ she was involved in a "minor traffic accident," adding "she unintentionally rubbed bumpers with another vehicle." The rep says Emmylou didn't realize the cars made contact so she took off.

The rep calls it a "garden-variety accident that happens everyday on the 405," and Emmylou has turned the matter over to her insurance company.

Richard Simmons got flat-footed by a driver who, well, let's just say propagated an age-old stereotype.

Richard was outside his Hollywood Hills home Thursday -- chatting with passengers from a tour bus -- when a passing motorist squarely ran over his foot.

The driver -- ok, we'll say it -- an Asian man -- stops his car, walks over to the pained weight loss guru, and apologizes.

Check out what Richard does when the driver leaves. Hilarious.

Blake Griffin escorted a hot blonde to his awesome ride -- totally fit for the superstar of the NBA's best team -- only issue is the car they got into ... is NOT made by the company paying Blake a fat endorsement deal.

The Los Angeles Clippers' human dunk machine slipped into a Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG -- a pimp sled for sure, which retails for about $140,000.

However, anyone who's watched an NBA game this season has seen Blake's hysterical Kia Optima commercials where he travels back in time to tell his young self how awesome the Optima is.

Still, Kia is paying him to pump up their product. Think about it ... ever seen Michael Jordan in an Adidas track suit?

Heidi Klum performed a supermodel magic trick Wednesday ... riding bitch with an extremely large helmet and then removing it ... only to reveal a perfectly coiffed head of hair.

Heidi was riding with her bodyguard-BF Martin Kristen in Venice, CA when she showed off her hat trick.

They've taken a serious step in their relationship, wearing similar get-ups, including hipster sunglasses.

"Big Time Rush" star Logan Henderson was in a nasty motorcycle wreck last week ... and might've James Dean-ed himself into the history books ... if not for a lucky jacket he was wearing ... TMZ has learned.

According to sources, the Nickelodeon boy bander was cruising through the Hollywood and Vine intersection on his way to the studio ... when a car turned right in front of him.

Henderson swerved at the last second to avoid an accident ... and was violently chucked off his bike in the process.

Remarkably, he was able to stand afterwards ... scraped and bruised from frisbeeing across the blacktop ... but still alive, we're told, thanks in part to his Marc Jacobs jacket ... which he claims saved his back from becoming a mangled mess.

The accident understandably put the kibosh on his trip to the studio ... but Henderson's gonna be just fine.

His bike, on the other hand? Not so much -- it's in the shop for the foreseeable future.

TMZ has obtained the last driver's license photo Michael Jackson ever took -- a big change from the singer's cheery license photo from the 1980s.

The latest photo was taken in 2005 -- four years before the King of Pop's untimely death -- and you can tell from the harrowing image ... MJ had become a tortured soul.

An image of MJ's 1980s driver's license was released by the FBI shortly after Michael died -- as part of the agency's massive file on the singer. The Bureau compiled the dossier during its investigation into child sex allegations involving the singer back in the 90s.

As you can see, Michael was a much different person back then -- smiling brightly for his photo at the DMV.

One L.A. parking enforcer just bought himself a one-way ticket to the naughty list ... 'cause he GAVE SANTA CLAUS A PARKING TICKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Claus -- who must have been letting all the reindeer rest before their upcoming gig -- parked his sedan at a meter in downtown L.A. Thursday ... while he ran some last minute Xmas errands in his classic red suit.

Enter the Grinch -- a.k.a. parking-ticket-man -- who noticed Santa's meter was expired, and slapped him with a ticket soooo fast ... even the elves were stunned (and everyone knows elves are fast).

According to an eye-witness on scene ... Santa tried desperately to get out of the fine ... but no cigar.

Famed White House Crasher Tareq Salahi wants to capitalize on Barack Obama's good political vibes -- because he rented Obama's former tour bus to use for his very own campaign for Virginia governor.

TMZ has learned ... Tareq sought out the company that rented Barack's bus -- even though he's a Republican -- because he thinks it was "good luck" for the Prez ... and hopes it rubs off on him.

Tareq has already provided the company with an artist's rendering of how the bus should look when it's finished (pictured above) and it contains all the essentials -- a giant face and a cheesy slogan.

The bus costs a grand total of $149,300 to rent from January to April -- and Tareq tells TMZ, he's already put down the $59,300 deposit.

Sounds worth it too -- the bus comes with a full kitchen, three 50" HDTVs, high speed wireless, a full office equipped with printers and copiers , sleeping quarters, full bath with shower and various seating areas ... the very same bus Obama used for his 2012 Presidential campaign.

Now all he has to do is win. Easy ... right?

Steve Jobs' $197 million super yacht "Venus" has been literally CHAINED to a dock in Amsterdam by Dutch authorities ... after the ship's designer claimed the Jobs family stiffed him on $4 million in unpaid wages.

The designer -- Philippe Starck -- claims the late Apple founder had agreed to pay him a fee that equaled 6% of the ship's building cost ... back when Jobs commissioned the yacht in 2009 ... but no formal contract was ever written up.

Starck claims the yacht cost roughly $197 million to build -- entitling him to an estimated $12 million fee.

But the Jobs family insists the boat only cost $138 million -- meaning Starck deserves no more than $8 million.

Starck has since obtained an Amsterdam court order, requiring the family to pay the $4 million balance ... or the massive 260 ft yacht stays chained to the dock.

FYI -- the boat was only launched a couple months ago. Jobs passed away in October 2011.

Nothing fake about this ... former WWE champ The Miz in a real life Navy fighter plane ... BREAKING THE SPEED OF SOUND ... and TMZ has the footage.

It all went down in Virginia Beach last week ... when Miz crawled into an F/A-18 fighter for the WWE's annual "Tribute to the Troops" show, which will air on NBC and the USA network on December 19th and 22nd.

We're told Miz had to complete a rigorous training process before he was cleared to fly with Squadron VFA-211 -- aka the "Fighting Checkmates." Once he got in the air, Miz hauled ass through the atmosphere at a speed of Mach 1.2.

Michael Madsen's September joyride continues to be a drag ... cause the actor has just been charged with 2 counts of DUI stemming from his arrest ... TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... The "Reservoir Dogs" star was popped while hotrodding around Malibu in his badass Pontiac GTO. According to cops, Madsen bombed his field sobriety test and blew .20 on the breathalyzer -- more than twice the legal limit.

At the time, Madsen's attorney Perry Wander insisted the breathalyzer was "flawed."

On Wednesday, the L.A. City Attorney filed 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI against Madsen -- one for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and another for driving with a BAC of .08 or higher.

If convicted on both counts, Madsen could face up to two years in jail ... but since it doesn't appear Michael has a prior DUI conviction, it's unlikely he'll serve any time behind bars.

Madsen's attorney tells TMZ ... "We intend to vigorously defend the charges."

Ashley Olsen was on board an American Airlines flight when smoke forced pilots to cancel the flight this morning ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on board AA flight 2421 tell us the plane was departing from Dallas when something went wrong with an engine shortly after pulling away from the gate.

According to fire officials at DFW ... the cockpit filled with smoke, and the pilots quickly returned to the terminal.

Our sources say Ashley was among the roughly 200 passengers who got off the plane safely.

Stacey Koon -- the former LAPD sergeant who did prison time for zapping Rodney King with a taser -- has changed careers -- he's now driving a limo.

An independent photog got Koon driving a limo for Music Express, the high-end private transport company. Koon, who was leaving LAX, scoffed at the photog, who asked if he had a reaction to Rodney King's death.

The beating occurred nearly 22 years ago. So we gotta ask.

It might look like Doc Brown was driving his time machine around, but it's really just the most famous replica of the famous DeLorean from "Back to the Future."

Paul Nigh -- who spent $150,000 customizing the car to look just like the one from the movie -- dressed in full Doc Brown garb and took the DeLorean for a spin in Woodland Hills yesterday.

Dr. Phil has been REUNITED with his stolen '57 Chevy ... TMZ has learned cops recovered the $100,000 ride after it was jacked from a repair shop earlier this year.

We broke the story ... some scumbag (or scumbags) smashed into an auto repair shop in Burbank back in August while Phil was having the transmission serviced ... and made off with the car.

Cops launched an investigation ... and this morning, law enforcement tracked down the car in Burbank at 7:25 AM ... INTACT ... with minimal damage.

We're told cops have arrested several suspects -- who they believe have been pulling the same stunt at vehicle repair shops all over town ... jacking multiple classic rides in the process.

Sources say ... at least 14 different classic cars have been recovered during the investigation.

We reached out to Phil who said, "I can’t say enough about the LA County Sheriff's Department and of the LAPD Trap West - particularly, Detective George Molina. Their tireless efforts and hard work resulted in the in-tact recovery of my car and the arrest of some prolific car thieves."

Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend Nick Gordon was listening to the Whitney Houston classic "I Will Always Love You" at FULL BLAST when police pulled him over for reckless driving -- and TMZ has obtained the dash cam footage of his arrest.

In the video, Gordon tells the police officer he keeps a 9mm gun in his glove box. The cop checks it out after putting Gordon in his cruiser, and based on the video, it appears the gun is legit.

We broke the story ... Nick was popped in Alpharetta, Georgia last week just after cops say he was going 82 mph in a 35 mph zone near a pedestrian-jammed shopping area.

You can see in the video, Gordon was driving a Chevy Camaro -- the same kind of car BK was driving when she crashed into an embankment hours before Nick was arrested.