Weird News

A string of bad luck -- including two deaths -- has the staff at the "Dr. Phil" show wondering if their set is cursed.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ in the last few months two employees of the show have passed away and two others suffered medical emergencies. We're told one staffer recently died of cancer, while a young intern who had strep throat was dead by the end of the week. Our sources also tell us the wife of an editor recently suffered a family tragedy, while a producer suffered a concussion and a broken arm while on the Paramount Studios set of the daytime talk show.

Our sources say Phil and other execs have been trying to retool the show for the new upcoming season and that has some staffers feeling the bad luck may be a sign they should leave well enough alone. We're told Phil held a staff meeting this past Friday where he addressed the recent sad turn of events and attempted to boost the crew's morale.

Turns out the lady who incubated Ricky Martin's babies is a serial surrogate -- but that doesn't mean she'll squirt 'em out for just anybody.

Sources tell TMZ the 26-year-old mother works for an agency that hooks up surrogates, and Ricky's bambinos are her third surrogate (and second set of twins) -- but she says her womb isn't open to Britney Spears or Michael Jackson. Wonder why ...

We're told before the birth, the two only met a couple of times, and contact with Mr. Loca was mostly through phone and email.

Five out of five dentists say Michael Phelps is all wet -- when it comes to his choice of breakfast cereal.

Health experts are going nuts because Mikey likes Frosted Flakes, and is going to be on the FF box rather than a Wheaties box, like pretty much every other big-shot athlete. They're all up in arms because Flakes has three times as much sugar as Wheaties and only a fraction of the fiber. Not so grrrrrreat after all?!

We've put in a call to the Wheaties peeps, but haven't heard back yet.

Rumors of an apparent Jenna Jameson pregnancy have been swirling for weeks now -- so it's interesting that she is tackling the issue of birth control -- for pets!

In a new PETA ad campaign to promote the spaying and neutering of cats and dogs, the porn princess will appear nude in bed, with the tagline, "Sometimes Too Much Sex Can Be a Bad Thing."

TMZ has learned that Justin Berfield, aka the dude who played the second-oldest bro on "Malcolm in the Middle," will be going to space with Richard Branson. Rewind: That dude has the coin to blow $250K on a 150-minute space trip? Apparently so.

Berfield has ponied up for a seat on Virgin Galactic's White Knight Two, which should be ready for flight in a couple years. The celebs and rich people on board will go up in space for two-and-a-half hours, including five minutes of actual weightlessness.

That new "90210" show can't come along fast enough for Shannen Doherty.

We know Shannen went to the Sheriff's Department in Lost Hills (Malibu) to complain about paparazzi following her. The cops who talked to her were baffled ... because they had no idea who she was.

The deputy at the front desk confessed he had no idea who she was. Shannen retorted that she was on TV. The deputy, in a scene reminiscent of "Take the Money and Run," began asking others around him if they knew who she was, but none did.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, for the small price of $20 you can own your very own piece of the wildest, craziest, most splendiferous celebrity car chase since O.J. Simpson rumbled his white Bronco down the 405!

One unlucky bystander, who "almost got hit by this big a** truck being chased" was crafty enough to pick up the pieces of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's reputation -- in the form of one shredded monster truck tire.

A jury is about to decide if Dane Cook lets his dog s**t where he lives.

Cook's landlord is in court trying to evict him because his chihuahua mix -- named Beast -- had been pooping with abandon in the common areas of the building.

Dane still lives in the West Hollywood apartment. Sources say he was warned three times to pick up after Beast, but the dog still allegedly uses the common area as his own craperia. We're told the landlord has video of the B.M.

The landlord's lawyer tells us the only problem they have with Dane is the dog. We're hearing that it was Dane who pushed for this jury trial -- not the building.

Dane is in court right now, ready for what could be the first "not my poop" defense.

Pamela Anderson called Jessica Simpson a what?

TMZ has finally uncovered the connection between the HGTV show "Design on a Dime" and hardcore pornography -- a host who really enjoys interiors.

While the network continues to regularly air episodes featuring former host Lee Snijders, we've learned the guy who helped homeowners for more than six years is still giving advice to couples -- but purely of the girl-on-girl variety nowadays.

Snijders used the cash he raked in from "DoaD" and his stint as a Disney Imagineer to start his own porn company with porn star girlfriend Jett Angel. You can even catch Lee in several of the reality-style skin flicks manning the camera (or so we've heard).

In a letter to Stone, obtained by TMZ, PETA prez Ingrid Newkirk says "We are used to the indifference that you flaunt and the callous remarks that you make..." Newkirk mentions that whole China thing as well as comments about animals.

PETA makes an offer to pay for a brain scan "to determine if comments and actions that seem to demonstrate a lack of empathy are the result of a physical defect."

Well, sort of: Primary Wave, the publisher that owns most of the Hall & Oates catalog is shopping around a cartoon called "J-Stache" in which John's upper-lip hair is used as a weapon to fell such evil stache-wearing villains as Tom Selleck and David Crosby. (If you're sensing irony in all this, you win!)

Jeff, it's Lachey -- not "Latchee." And he was dating Vanessa Minnillo, not Alyssa Milano.

It's been one year since Paris Hilton turned Lynwood Jail on it's ass -- and since her former roommates don't have anything better to do -- they're celebrating!