Weird News

Dennis Rodman plans to take a spin in the Popemobile during his trip to Rome ... but he tells TMZ, that's only the BEGINNING of his plans to change the world by meeting the new Pontiff.

Rodman was at Miami International Airport yesterday -- where he boarded his flight for Rome -- and we were able to fire off a bunch of questions before he took off.

Among the highlights ... Rodman discusses the most surprising thing he experienced in North Korea (involving a mummified Kim Jong Il), how he plans to broker peace between North Korea and the U.S. and what his agenda is for Vatican City ... we weren't kidding about the Popemobile.

But our favorite part ... Rodman tells us who the "pimpest" Pope of all time is.

But according to divorce documents obtained by TMZ ... the items in question were purchased in 2003 for approximately $100,000. The divorce judge valued the items in 2012 at $125,000 and plans to order Randy to pay Patrice half -- $62,500.

Short story ... by getting $62,500, Patrice wouldn't be out a penny and would have no claim to the goods.

What's more ... the divorce judge slammed Patrice, saying at times during the case she "lacked integrity" and was "untruthful."

Patrice's lawyer, Perry Wander, tells TMZ ... the divorce judge's ruling on the items in question was only tentative, and they're determined to change the judge's mind before the decision becomes final. Wander adds, if the judge sticks to his guns, Patrice will appeal.

Perry also notes in 2009 -- yeah, it's a bad divorce -- the judge ordered Randy to undo the sale of the china. That's true, but it looks like the court is now changing its tune.

Kelsey Grammer says the WORST investment he ever made in his life is directly related to "blowing" ... but it's NOT his ex-wife Camille -- it's windmill technology.

Grammer was leaving Bouchon in Bev Hills yesterday when he told us how he took a high-6-figure loss after investing in windmills a while back.

"Big wind is doing OK ... but it was a small wind investment and it cost me a lot of money."

The Backstreet Boys are still a bunch of jackasses ... just ask Nick Carter, who went Johnny Knoxville all over AJ McLean's balls today ... WITH A BASEBALL BAT ... and it was all caught on tape.

The stunt took place during a photo shoot with celeb photographer Tyler Shields. We really have no other explanation for why this happened.

Now ... here are a couple of our favorite BSB songs ... Quit Playin' Games (With My Testicles), Ball I Have to Give, and Everybody (Backstreet's Sack).

No doubt Dennis Rodman knows how to rebound -- but heading to Vatican City to meet the new Pope might not be the smartest follow-up to his North Korean trip. Cardinals ... you've been warned.

Here's a shocker ... "Moonshiners" star Tickle -- who makes a living distilling blindingly high-proof alcohol -- was arrested last week for public intoxication.

Law enforcement tells TMZ, Steven Ray Tickle was popped in Danville, Virginia last Thursday afternoon after a police officer discovered him boozing alone in his car, which was parked at a convenience store parking lot.

According to police, the officer approached the car and smelled alcohol coming from the vehicle.

The officer says he attempted to make arrangements for someone to pick Tickle up and take him home, but to no avail. The officer subsequently placed Tickle under arrest for being drunk in public.

Judge Judy got a really good deal on some used china and flatware ... problem is the woman who owned the stuff claims the TV jurist essentially stole it right out from under her and now the scorned woman is out for blood.

Here's the lowdown. Judy has a producer named Randy Douthit, who was going through an epically nasty divorce from Patric (that's the way she spells it) Jones. The former couple had some expensive, Christofle tableware.

Jones has filed a lawsuit against Judy, claiming the jurist and Douthit entered into a fraudulent scheme to screw her out of the china and flatware, which she values at $514,421.14.

Jones alleges in the suit, filed by Bev Hills attorney Perry Wander ... Douthit sold Judy the goods for a measly $50,000, without her knowledge or consent. Jones claims Judy knew full well the deal was revenge against her.

And the conspiracy allegations get even worse. Jones claims Randy agreed to reduce his profit participation in the Judge Judy show so he wouldn't have to fork over as much money in the divorce settlement.

Jones wants Judy to either fork over the china and flatware or pay her $514,421.14. She's also gunning for punitive damages.

Judge Judy tells TMZ, "I have not seen any complaint by the former Mrs. Douthit, however, I don't owe this lady a cent. And if this 50-year-old woman would spend her time more productively at trying to find a job, instead of abusing the judicial system with frivolous lawsuits, we would all be a lot better off."

We spoke to Jones' lawyer after he filed the lawsuit today ... and the attorney had a few things to say.

The hackers responsible for exposing multiple celebrities' financial information fancy themselves heroic outlaws ... because they secretly idolize Dexter, the vigilante serial killer from the Showtime show.

The first clue ... there's a quote from "Dexter" at the top of the hackers' website -- "If you believe that God makes miracles, you have to wonder if Satan has a few up his sleeve." The quote is from the Season 2 finale episode entitled "The British Invasion."

But there's another more secret message ... if you search the website's source code ... you'll discover a link to a hidden YouTube video that doesn't appear anywhere on the hackers' page. The video contains the "Dexter" end credits theme music.

Then there's the obvious parallels between Dexter's "code" -- only killing murderers -- and the hackers' self-righteous vigilantism.

Among the celebs hacked ... Kim Kardashian, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Mel Gibson, Ashton Kutcher, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Donald Trump, Al Gore, and Hulk Hogan. It's still unclear how the hackers selected their victims.

It costs a FORTUNE to feed 23 mouths ... just ask TLC reality star Jim Bob Duggar who took his enormous family out for burgers in NYC yesterday -- and we know exactly how much they spent.

Jim Bob -- along with his wife Michelle and 21 other family members -- hit up Bill's Bar & Burger in Manhattan ... splurging on burgers, shakes, fries, onion rings, you name it.

FYI -- Burgers start at $7.95 and could double in price if you want cheese and/or another burger patty. Shakes run in the $6 range ... $4 for fries ... $8 for nachos ... $2 per soda.

Buuuuut ... the "19 Kids & Counting" fam did get a nice discount ... 6 of the children qualified for the kids menu -- $7.95 per meal.

So, what was the final bill??? We'll give you THREE options -- click on the image for the answer!

Yep ... that's what he said.

Dennis Rodman -- fresh from his basketball summit in North Korea -- is now setting his sights on fixing those pesky problems plaguing the Catholic Church ... because he's jetting to Rome today in hopes of meeting the new Pope.

Rodman tells TMZ ... his "people" in Rome have been in touch with the muckety mucks at the Vatican and they're trying to arrange a sit-down with the next person to don the big funny hat.

Rodman -- who wants to be there when the white smoke fills the air -- is gambling just a bit, because the Cardinals are voting today and Rodman won't land until late tonight. But our top Catholic source -- Shevonne -- tells us ... it's unlikely anyone will get the nod on the first vote.

As for what Dennis wants to accomplish ... he tells TMZ, "I want to be anywhere in the world that I'm needed ... I want to spread a message of peace and love throughout the world."

Rodman cites his March North Korean excursion -- where he met with leader Kim Jong Un -- as proof he's the right man to hash out a peace plan ... claiming he broke barriers in the DPRK nobody else could.

Internet sensation Grumpy Cat got swarmed at the South by Southwest festival, and to prove just how big a star she's become -- she peed all over a certain human celeb we all know!

Paris Jackson could go straight from high school to the pros ... because she's already drawing interest from the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleading squad ... TMZ has learned.

In fact, Eagles cheer-honcho Barbara Zaun tells TMZ ... she's seen the footage of Paris shaking her pom poms for her prep school's varsity squad recently and was super impressed ... saying, "We think Paris will make a great Eagle cheerleader!"

"We thought that she had a lot of poise, confidence, and enthusiasm in her cheer performance," Zaun says ... adding, "Paris has that 'wow factor' that makes a great cheerleader."

But Michael Jackson's 14-year-old daughter will have to wait a few years before she can join the squad ... because the ShEagles (we just made that up) require members to be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma.

Still, Barbara says when Paris is ready to don that Midnight green, black and silver ... Philly is more than happy to give her a shot.

"She is already very comfortable in the limelight, so we think she would definitely stand out and impress the judges ... We hope that she will try out for the team and be an Eagles cheerleader!"

Russell Crowe did NOT see an alien spaceship outside his Australia office recently ... despite some pretty convincing footage he posted on the Internet ... so says a rep for the biggest UFO-debunking agency on the planet.

Russell posted the clip last week ... showing time-lapse video footage shot from the balcony outside his office in Woolloomooloo. Russell had wanted to capture video of fruit bats behind his office, but recorded some eerie-looking flying lights instead.

The aircraft in the clip is definitely weird-looking ... but Marc D'Antonio -- the chief video analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) -- tells TMZ, it's definitely not other worldly.

D'Antonio says the aircraft is likely a plane or a helicopter instead -- the colors of the lights are consistent with common aircrafts, the linear light patterns can be attributed to the camera's long exposure time, and the other light patterns can be attributed to lens flare.

D'Antonio says misidentifying UFOs is common in long-exposure photography.

But here's where it gets creepy -- D'Antonio says real UFOs tend to exhibit strange flight patterns, unexpected color shifts, weird shapes, and extreme speeds. Yes, real UFOs. We asked D'Antonio to give us an example of a UFO he was unable to debunk ... and he sent us this.

In case you doubted how pampered Grumpy Cat really was this week in Texas ... TMZ has obtained photographic evidence of her lavish lifestyle ... replete with limo rides and king-sized beds.

The limo pic might be the best -- but you gotta see GC curled up on her very own king-sized bed ... it's ridiculous.

TMZ broke the story ... Grumps has been living the life in Austin this week where she's been shooting Friskies commercials -- endless steak dinners, bottled water, constant fluffing ... and raking in a 5-figure paycheck for all her hard work.