Weird News

As if 2020 couldn't get any weirder ... the Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game was paused Tuesday afternoon -- and it's all 'cause a drone flew over the field.

The scene was wild ... in the middle of the fifth inning, umpires pulled players off the diamond when they noticed a flying object cruising high above Target Field in Minneapolis.

The drone hovered over the ballpark for several minutes -- causing a lengthy delay in the game.

Of course, drone flying over ballparks during play is illegal even without fans in attendance -- the FAA still prohibits it -- and MLB was obviously worried about player safety.

No one was hurt, however ... and the unmanned aircraft eventually left the scene and play resumed.

Here's a unique, super interesting job posting ... an investor in the San Francisco Bay Area wants to hire a teacher to teach a small group of students in his backyard.

Jason Calacanis is the man behind the ad ... he says he's looking for the best 4th to 6th-grade teacher in the Bay Area who wants a 1-year contract ... teaching 2 to 7 students in an outdoor setting.

Jason, who's invested in startups like Uber and Robinhood, is offering the teacher a higher-paying salary and says anyone who refers the teacher he hires will get a $2,000 UberEats gift card.

The father of one is offering up his backyard micro-school to other Bay Area students in the 4th or 5th grade ... and he says half the spots will be given free to kids in need.

San Francisco students will be "distance learning" this school year due to the pandemic, a fancy way of saying online schooling, but Jason seems to think a micro-school could be the next big thing ... and there's a way of doing good for people in need in the process.

Sharon Osbourne says seeing is believing when it comes to paranormal activity and other-worldly beings ... she wants to believe we're not alone, but needs her own hard evidence.

Sharon joined us on "TMZ Live" and we wanted to know if she's a UFO believer like her son, Jack.

While Sharon says she's seen our footage of a possible UFO over the skies of Long Beach -- lots of folks reported seeing something flying over L.A. too -- she tells us why the video alone is not enough to convince her 100 percent.

Sharon's getting the hard sell on UFOs back at home ... the famous family has a new show on Travel Channel, "The Osbournes Want To Believe," where Jack tries to convince her and Ozzy about the existence of aliens, Bigfoot, poltergeists, haunted dolls and other strange beasts.

Jeff Lowe is pissed off at PETA over a Joe Exotic Halloween costume ... and the animal rights organization is taking some major swipes back as their beef heats up!!!

Here's the deal ... PETA is hawking a "Joe Exotic Tiger Killer Costume" for $159.99 ... but Jeff isn't laughing at the funny costume and says he's owed a slice of the pie.

Jeff's lawyer fired off a cease and desist letter to PETA, obtained by TMZ, claiming he owns the rights to "Joe Exotic" and "Tiger King" and threatening a lawsuit if PETA doesn't pull the costume or come to the bargaining table to work out a licensing deal.

As you know ... Jeff now operates Joe's old zoo, The Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma.

PETA fired back with a letter of their own, which we also obtained, calling Jeff's claims "absurd" and claiming that, even if Lowe owns the trademarks, the costume is an obvious parody and doesn't violate any trademark.

The animal rights org takes some jabs at Jeff ... the letter advises, "We suggest Mr. Lowe focus instead on his serious legal problems in Nevada, Oklahoma and elsewhere, including the numerous recent federal Animal Welfare Act violations perpetrated against endangered big cats at his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park."

Nothing like Halloween costume beef in July!!!

The more bizarre, the better, apparently -- a fashion collab between KFC and Crocs is a rousing success ... KFC says its fried chicken-scented shoes are already sold out!!!

Someone had the bright idea to pair the famous foam clog company with the fried chicken icon to make limited-edition kicks -- and they flew off (virtual) shelves Tuesday, selling out in less than 90 minutes.

The bucket clogs went for $60 a pair, with $3 from each sale going toward the KFC Foundation's employee scholarship fund. The Crocs look like a bucket of the Colonel's original and -- most shockingly -- have a chicken-scented Jibbitz charm shaped like a drumstick.

KFC says the bad news is the Crocs are sold out, the good news is real buckets of chicken are still available. We guess you could rub some secret recipe on your regular crocs. You'd fool your dog or cat, but that's about it.

The camera used to videotape LAPD officers beating Rodney King is about to go up for sale to the public, but this piece of history is gonna cost ya 6 figures.

Auction house Nate D. Sanders will put the original Sony camera up on the auction block this Thursday, and the opening bid is set at $225k -- which means they expect it to fetch wayyy more than that.

George Holliday used the camera on March 3, 1991 -- when he shot the horrific scene from his apartment balcony in L.A. What he captured eventually set off the 1992 L.A. riots ... after the 4 white cops involved were acquitted in the criminal trial.

Holliday referenced the significance of his camera and how it's more relevant today than ever, saying ... "I hope this video camera inspires people to use their power to record events that they find troubling." He added, "Don’t be afraid to use it."

It's unclear if the original videotape of the Rodney beating is included in the auction piece -- but Holliday has said that people to this day still seek him out to obtain and use it. It was most recently featured in a Netflix documentary about the riots.

Although King wasn't victorious in criminal court, he won on the civil lawsuit in 1994 -- with a jury finding the city of Los Angeles liable for his injuries, and awarding him nearly $4 million.

He died in a 2012 accidental drowning.

Benedict Cumberbatch knows how to make friends and influence Marvel fans -- try walking off the street into a comic book store while in his full Doctor Strange costume.

Scott Derrickson, who directed the movie, posted a never-before-seen clip of the lead star popping into a Manhattan comic book store while filming back in 2016. It was all done in the spur of the moment, and you can tell no one in the store expected it by the way they reacted to seeing Doc Strange.

He kept it caj, chatting it up with shoppers and having a little back and forth with the guys behind the front desk, who were clearly starstruck. He even posed for a picture with them.

Benedict jokingly asked if he could have a job there if the movie flopped -- it didn't, "Doctor Strange" went on to gross over $670 million, in the U.S. alone -- and the comic boys said yes ... but only if he rocked an American accent. True pro that he is, Ben switched up right on the spot and got into character as Strange immediately. It's pretty freaking awesome to see.

Again, it's an old clip ... but Scott decided to share it just now, maybe to lift Marvel fans' spirits after a slew of blockbuster delays across the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Bella Thorne is coming in hot -- she's got a hot-pink house she's trying to unload and it's truly a sight to behold.

The actress just listed this 5-bedroom home in Sherman Oaks for a cool $2.55 million ... and the 4,500-square-foot home is awash in a sea of rainbow colors, rooms full of red roses and some over-the-top murals.

The gated property stands out with its hot-pink exterior and you're gonna have to trust us here -- but the interior is just as loud! It's got a rainbow staircase, a colorful mural running the length of a two-story wall, and some golden wallpaper ... just for good measure.

Bella's former master bedroom -- or is it a primary bedroom -- features a huge walk-in closet and a marble bathroom covered in ivy.

Another room is called the rose room, which you guessed it, is a hot-pink room covered in roses with a pink chair ... that dangles from the ceiling. For real.

Bella's backyard is pretty tame compared to the rest of the house ... there's a lush lawn surrounding the swimming pool and spa, with a built-in grill decking out the rest of the patio.

Gayle King had some breaking news brought to her for once -- she got told that a bear was roaming around outside of Oprah's house ... and no, she couldn't sneak a peek.

The CBS News anchor is quarantining at O's pad in Santa Barbara, and as such ... she documented the message delivered to her by mogul's own guards who are standing watch at the crib. Long story short ... there was a black bear outside, and they wanted her to stay put.

You gotta watch how Gayle receives the word though -- it's pretty freakin' hilarious. While she seems shocked at hearing there's a fully-grown bear out there, she also sounds equally intrigued.

Unfortunately, the security personnel stands firm ... telling her she really shouldn't venture out to get a look. And, don't worry, Oprah herself was notified as well -- doesn't appear she was home for the bear scare ... a phenomenon we've been seeing a lot more of lately.

Maybe the fact people are cooped up indoors is reason enough for these fuzzy creatures to be a little bit bolder these days. That, or maybe they just got a whiff of some leftover grub.

That usually brings 'em out ... even to the homes of the rich and famous, apparently.

Because Gotham hasn't been through enough in 2020 ... the Joker's popping up his colorful head for some summer hijinks. Naturally.

Somebody dressed as the Clown Prince of Crime himself was spotted this morning riding a jet ski on the East River, in broad daylight no less. He cruised up to a group of bystanders who were recording him this weekend and flaunted his ride, his costume and makeup -- which we're on point -- then sped off.

As for which iteration of the Joker this fella went with -- probably the most popular among today's Batman fans ... Heath Ledger's portrayal from "The Dark Knight." He did it on camera more than a decade ago, but the look still holds up today.

If 2020 hadn't already brought a real-life pandemic that's killed nearly 20,000 in NYC alone, the sight of the Joker arriving in town might have fazed more citizens.

BTW, fun fact -- it seems like this jet skiing Joker has an annual tradition of hitting the water, assuming it was the same guy riding out on the East River with the same exact outfit in 2019.

He was spotted by some other New Yorkers around this time last year, and actress Olivia Wilde even seemed to confirm that she, too, had seen the Joker zipping along out there.

Take this with a big grain of salt, BUT ... we may have a legit UFO sighting on our hands here, people. Give it a gander and decide for yourself.

This footage was taken Sunday out in Long Beach, CA -- about 25 minutes south of central L.A. -- and it appears to show a UFO-like object in the air bolt across the sky at lightning-quick speed and disappear out of frame -- all while of-this-world fighter jets fly above.

The person who shot this insists it is not altered or edited at all -- if you buy that, then you gotta ask what the hell it is that zips across the camera's frame if only for a moment. Watch it as many times as you need to -- we even slowed it down/paused it for a close-up view.

If you look (and listen) carefully, you can see a black dot -- perhaps in a saucer shape, although it's hard to tell by how high it is -- flash across the screen and disappear.

At first glance, one could argue this looks like anything but a flying saucer -- could be a raisin, a fly or nothing at all. OR ... it could very well be aliens checking in on us (again?).

As for the jets you can hear in the background as well, we're told they were out there in LB flying around for no apparent reason for about 10 minutes or so. Unclear if their presence had anything to do with this alleged UFO sighting, but hey ... they could be related.

There's been other purported sightings in that area too of late -- about a couple weeks ago, someone posted another video of a strange object flying in the sky around sunset. They claim this was shot from about 2 miles away and at a height of 1,000 feet, more or less.

The YouTube user also says the thing disappeared on him when he stopped filming, but you don't see any of that on camera. Could just be a kite on a super long string -- or ... ALIENS!!

One last thing to consider ... the New York Times did a story this past week about Pentagon bigwigs working in their UFO Unit (yes, they have one of those). One of the subcontractors who used to work for the feds told the paper he recently briefed a Defense Dept. agency about "off-world vehicles not made on this earth" that they'd retrieved over the years.

A hostage situation in Ukraine ended safely when the country's president met one of the gunman's odd demands -- posting a video encouraging folks to watch a Joaquin Phoenix movie.

Here's the deal ... a heavily armed man took 13 people hostage on a bus in western Ukraine, leading to a tense, day-long standoff Tuesday with police.

The gunman told cops he rigged the bus with explosives and was holding the passengers hostage, and gave the government a list of demands. Sounds a lot like the plot of "Speed," right?!?

The hostage-taker, later identified as 44-year-old Russian-born Maksym S. Kryvosh, finally surrendered and freed all 13 people after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky fulfilled one of the demands -- posting a video on his official Facebook account recommending folks watch the 2005 documentary, "Earthlings."

Can ya believe it? The guy didn't even request "The Joker."

The documentary, directed by Shaun Monson and narrated by Joaquin, focuses on human exploitation of animals. Ukrainian officials explained Zelenskyy reached an agreement with the hostage-taker during a 15-minute phone call, with the gunman surrendering once Zelenskyy posted on Facebook.

Once the gunman was detained and the hostages were safe, Zelenskyy deleted the movie suggestion from his Facebook page.

Kanye West has the proverbial snowball's chance in hell to win the 2020 Presidential election  -- but still, it never hurts to be prepared ... which is why Madame Tussauds already has a presidential bust of the guy.

The famous wax museum has a tradition of making clay head sculptures of our nation's leaders -- they made one for Donald Trump 4 years ago before he won the presidency -- and now they made one for Mr. West.

Hey, you never know -- better to have it on deck and ready to go if the ultimate upset goes down. We've seen it happen before.

Now, bear in mind the sculptures are not the full, colored-in wax statues you might see at any one of its museums around the world. These are different -- we're told they actually place the presidential heads in an Oval Office exhibit.

Here's another thing -- our sources say MT and co. have only done a head-to-head presidential "face-off," if you will, one other time ... and that was for Hillary Clinton and DT. Now, they're running it back -- but oddly enough, they opted for Ye before sculpting Joe Biden.

It's true ... we're told Madame Tussauds' team has not yet completed the Biden bust, but they say should he win, they'll knock it out.

Just goes to show where people's heads are at these days 🤷🏽‍♂️

A volcano in Italy known for blowing its lid every now and then just did it again -- only this time, it was captured on camera at night ... which made for some scary fireworks.

This went down early Sunday morning on the Italian island of Stromboli, which has a very active volcano right in the middle of it that erupts from time to time -- sometimes killing a person or two, at least of late, but mostly just wakes people up and freaks 'em out.

Fortunately, this latest explosion was more of the latter ... the volcano starting going off around 3 AM, but didn't cause any injuries and/or deaths, and no significant damage either. Looks like most of the activity stayed closer to the crater and vent (the peak, basically).

However, according to the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology's observatory near Mt. Etna -- there appeared to be some debris and lava seeping down the slope ... where hikers sometimes visit during the day. So, yeah ... it could've been bad.

In any case, it's crazy to see the thing blowing up and throwing out lava bombs on camera -- webcams that are set up near the top of the volcano caught some of the action. According to reports, the whole thing lasted about four minutes before things settled down.

Scientists say that Sunday's eruption was strong, but not nearly as strong as a couple that happened last summer, which killed one person and sent other tourists running for the sea.

A runaway kangaroo hopping around the streets of Fort Lauderdale is now in a strange new habitat -- the inside of a jail cell!

Here's the deal ... cops captured the misplaced marsupial Thursday after getting tons of calls about the wild animal roaming some neighborhood streets. Yes, even in Florida, that's a strange sight.

As you can see, the kangaroo, whose name is naturally, Jack ... ended up behind bars in a stall at the Mounted Police headquarters, a barn normally reserved for equine officers.

It took a lot of manpower to get Jack in custody ... several police units were needed to surround and pen in the marsupial, who was eventually introduced to the back of a squad car.

Jack's owner, Anthony Macias, says the animal is 2 years old and means no harm.

Police say Jack won't be returned to Anthony because Fort Lauderdale is not zoned for kangaroos ... instead, Jack is being turned over to the South Florida Wildlife Center.

A poor kitty cat got stuck up in a tree, but based on the rescue mission ... it was more terrified coming down than going up.

This amusing vid comes from the city of Meishan in southern China's Sichuan Province, where the frightened feline got itself in a predicament -- but was saved by a Good Samaritan.

No need to call the fire department ... this man reportedly spotted the striped cat trapped about 10-feet high up into the tree, and fetched himself a ladder.

As you can see ... the cat put a death grip on to the guy's leg once he climbed up to it, and wouldn't let go for anything. It also let out some highly melodramatic meows. Cats, right?