Weird News

WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO! WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, HOW 'BOUT YOU???

That's right, before UFC fighter Derek Brunson was a face-smashing bad ass ... he was a sweater-wearing, spirit-filled, HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADER with amazing moves ... caught on video.

Brunson -- who dominated in Strikeforce and is now making his Octagon debut in UFC 155 -- tells TMZ ... he ditched the "sport" after snagging a wrestling scholarship at UNC Pembroke.

As for his upcoming bout tonight, Brunson says ... "I'm getting my hand raised. GO BIG OR GO HOME."

Which kinda sounds like something a cheerleader would say ...

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.

Doing her best Dennis the Menace impression, Kristen Stewart hopped out of a truck in L.A. armed and not-so-dangerous ... with a slingshot in her back pocket.

We don't know what the 22-year-old was taking aim at yesterday, but as long as it's not married directors ... everything should be fine.

Russell Simmons could teach Halle Berry a thing or two about breaking up. He's on such good terms with ex-wife Kimora Lee, he kicked it with her AND new GF Hana Nitsche Wednesday on the beach in St. Barths.

Simmons and Kimora Lee divorced in 2009 ... but they stayed unusually and refreshingly close post-split ... sometimes vacationing together with their respective SOs.

There's no question Russell can pull some impressive ass -- but we gotta ask ...

Here's one way to become famous ... find "Gone Baby Gone" author Dennis Lehane's lost dog -- because if you do, he'll name a character after you in his next book.

Lehane -- who lives in Brookline, MA -- announced the bizarre award on his Facebook page, claiming his beloved beagle Tessa jumped a fence at his family home and got away ... and he concocted this plan as a way to get Tessa back.

Lehane says Tessa had been microchipped, but she wasn't wearing her tags when she escaped.

According to WCVB.com, Tessa was last seen Monday afternoon near a gas station in Allston.

The reward could be worth substantially more than your usual cash incentive -- Lehane's books are ridiculously popular ... he also wrote "Mystic River" and "Shutter Island" ... both of which were turned into successful movies.

Then again, that's all presuming he writes another book.

Talk about bringin' home the bacon -- "Young and the Restless" star Kevin Schmidt just scored a solid $5,000 payday after his famous pig booked a television gig with HGTV.

TMZ has learned ... the network booked Kevin's micropig Yuma for an upcoming show called "A-List Pets."

Sources close to Kevin tells us ... Yuma spent the day on the set with the host Ian Ziering ... who took a serious liking to the unkosher creature.

Of course, Yuma's blossoming career was almost torpedoed when he appeared on "TMZ Live" ... and FELL OFF THE STAGE!!!

Fortunately, Yuma's tough -- she got right back on her hooves and finished the show like a true champ ... unlike our fearless leader who squealed like a little piggie when NFL star Adrian Peterson squeezed his hand a little too hard a while back.

With "Jersey Shore" officially in the history books ... Vinny Guadagnino says he's looking to transition into a career with even more sex, booze and drama ... POLITICS!!

Vinny was leaving Bootsy Bellows nightclub in West Hollywood the other night ... when he told us he's still planning on going to law school -- even though he doesn't want to practice law.

"I want to get into politics," Vinny says ... "So I was gonna go to law school to get involved in politics."

He added, "I know this sounds weird stumbling coming out of a club ... but I actually have a brain."

Fun Fact: Vinny says he got a 3.9 GPA in high school

It's time to play ... "WHEEL OF FORTUNE"!!!! Everybody ready? Great, the category is "Living Things"... now guess this phrase:

SE _EN S_ _ NS _ -S_ _ MM _ NG

Pretty easy right? Not if you were a contestant named Renee on Wednesday night's show -- who correctly solved the puzzle, but mispronounced "Seven Swans a-Swimming" ... as "Swimmin."

Turns out, no "g" ... meant no cash (which in Renee's case was thousands) -- because even though the letter was clearly on the board, Pat Sajak and the "Wheel" honchos quickly rejected the answer and moved on to the next player.

But ya gotta check out the tape, because during the EPIC rejection of an obviously correct answer ... Renee managed to grin and bear it, despite getting ROBBED ...

Jane Fonda had an interesting guest at her birthday dinner last night ... Ted Turner ... the same guy she DIVORCED more than a decade ago ... and TMZ has the video to prove it.

Fonda -- along with her BF Richard Perry -- was celebrating birthday number 75 at Craig's in West Hollywood ... and for some reason, ex-husband #3 got a spot at the table.

In fact, Fonda and Turner even left together in the same car (don't worry, Perry was in the car too).

Fonda and Turner's ten-year marriage ended in 2001 ... after Jane converted to Christianity without discussing the move with her husband first. Ted said he was hurt by the fact she would make such a big life decision without including him.

Who KNOWS where his mouth's been??? At least that's Lindsay Lohan's explanation for shutting down a "Scary Movie 5" kissing scene between her and Charlie Sheen -- saying she refused to lock lips with him in the movie because of his spotty history.

Sources close to Lindsay tell TMZ, she was supposed to kiss Charlie three times during their "Scary Movie" bedroom scene, but she ultimately refused to do it because of Charlie's wild partying past.

It's unclear what Lindsay was so paranoid about -- but we're told BOTH parties had to sign releases that they didn't have cold sores.

Lindsay's telling friends she warned producers ahead of time that she had issues with kissing Charlie -- who's had considerable dental work done in the last couple years -- but they didn't change the script until it was time to shoot the scene.

According to sources, Charlie was cool as a cucumber about the whole thing, and never voiced any concerns with the rewrite ... or Lindsay's objections.

In fact, as we first reported, Charlie eventually gave Lindsay $100,000 to help pay off her taxes.

The guys from One Direction hit up a tattoo parlor in Hollywood last night lookin' for some fresh ink ... what they got instead was a straight DISS from the pizza man ... and it was all caught on tape!

Supermodel Kate Moss almost took a ball to the head while hanging out on the beach in St. Barts on Wednesday.

While trying to soak up the sun with husband Jamie Hince, the bikini-clad 38-year-old got photobombed by a completely naked dude checking his phone behind her.

"Dancing with the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba is super accomplished ... but she's definitely NOT the most famous person to graduate from her high school ... not even close.

C.A.I. was leaving Fred Segal in L.A. yesterday ... when she told us a pretty cool fun fact -- she went to the same high school in Hawaii as President Barack Obama.

Buuuuut ... Inaba might not even be the #2 biggest celebrity grad from the Punahou School in Honolulu either -- 'cause that place has churned out LOADS of famous people ... including:

-- Manti Te'o ('09) ... Notre Dame football star, 2012 Heisman Trophy finalist
-- Kelly Preston -- actress, married to John Travolta
-- Hiram Bingham III ... former U.S. Senator (Conn.)
-- Kaui Hart Hemmings ... wrote the book "The Descendants"
-- Ellery Chun ... invented the Aloha Shirt.
-- Charles L. Veach ... former astronaut

... and TWO former Miss USA winners.

WARNING:  If you're ever planning on going to space, DO NOT eat a burrito before launch ... 'cause it could KILL YOU ... this according to space jumper Felix Baumgartner.

Felix -- who jumped from the stratosphere during the Red Bull Stratos project -- was in L.A. yesterday, and revealed that he met with astronaut Neil Armstrong before his October jump ... and the topic of conversation was space-logs.

Justin Bieber issued a DEATH SENTENCE to his pet hamster PAC when he gave it away to a screaming fan (who promised to love and cherish it forever) outside of a concert earlier this month ... this according to the California Hamster Association (yes, there's actually a California Hamster Association).

TMZ spoke to a rep for the group ... who tells us Bieber committed an act of "animal cruelty" when he gifted away the animal ... even if his intentions were good.

The CHA tells us ... hamsters are fragile creatures that "often succumb quickly to illness and death," especially when faced with "sudden environmental change."

In short ... "The moment that hamster was handed off to a screaming girl in a harsh, frenzied environment was likely the moment it gazed at the short path to its doom."

DOOM!!!!!!

So what should Bieber have done instead? The CHA says if Justin no longer wanted the pet, he could have left it in the care of an animal shelter or rescue center ... so they could've handed it off to a responsible new owner in a safer manner.

As for PAC, he's currently alive and well in the care of Bieber's 18-year-old super-fan Tori ... who has vowed to treat the animal like a tiny rodent god.

So far, no comment for Bieber.

The juvenile who was arrested for phoning in prank 911 calls -- claiming there was gun violence at the homes of Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher -- is only 12 years old ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the boy tell TMZ ... he lives in California with his mother. He refuses to go to school and sits at his computer day and night, communicating with other hackers. We're told he is antisocial, preferring the keyboard to personal contact.

Our sources say Children's Services has been to the boy's apartment multiple times, trying to stabilize the situation, to no avail. We're told the mother has virtually checked out. We're told the family is "incredibly dysfunctional."

Our sources say the boy is smart, but by no means a Zuckerberg-esque genius. Still, he was able to evade cops for months.

We're told law enforcement is sympathetic and steps are afoot to remove the child from the home and place him in a stable foster environment. We're also told authorities are inclined to get the boy counseling rather than mete out punishment -- i.e., place him on probation and if he completes his counseling program all charges will be dismissed.

It's pretty remarkable ... a 12 year old concocted incredible fake scenarios to fool cops ... telling them gun-toting Russian thugs had held people in Ashton's house hostage.