Weird News

"New Amsterdam" star Jocko Sims is shaking his damn head at the 2 young women in Florida who posed as grandmas to get the COVID vaccine ... but he concedes it just shows how desperate people are right now.

The TV doc -- he plays Dr. Floyd Reynolds on the medical drama -- was outside Rockefeller Plaza Friday in NYC when we downloaded him on the fake grannies who were somehow able to get their first dose ... but got busted trying to get their second vaccine shot.

Jocko's incredulous and calls the "little Mrs. Doubtfires" ridiculous for what they tried to pull ... especially when there's a clear reason why older people are getting vaccinated first.

He says it's an affront to those who've lost loved ones to the coronavirus and people struggling with it currently ... but at the same time, he does recognize it's a little funny.

What's better than NHL hockey?? NHL hockey outdoors, apparently ... 'cause check out how awesome the Avalanche and Golden Knights' practices were in Lake Tahoe on Friday!!!

The two teams are set to square off Saturday in the famous Stateline, Nev. town for one of the league's outdoor classic games ... and the scene there is seriously surreal.

Check out the trees that look like Christmas; snow-capped mountains; a big view of the blue lake; and even some spectators getting in a walk by the rink!

You can tell the players were pretty pumped about it all too ... they got in some intense work under the sun, with some guys even wearing eye black.

The Avs and Knights will drop the puck for their game at noon PT on Saturday ... and the Bruins and Flyers will follow it up with a game there on Sunday at 11 AM PT.

And, with no fans in the stands due to COVID ... TV execs are already raving about how awesome the broadcast is going to be.

"You're going to see some shots that you've never seen in a hockey game before," NBC director Charlie Dammeyer told NHL.com.

The first super clear images from NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover are in, and ... wow!

You can see it's going to be a rocky road -- literally -- for the Rover when it gets going and cruises around the red planet. NASA had a little fun with these images when the spacecraft's Twitter account (yes, it's got its own) tweeted the images ... saying, "I love rocks. Look at these right next to my wheel. Are they volcanic or sedimentary? What story do they tell? Can’t wait to find out." Same, TBH.

NASA also showed a clear image of the open horizon. The pics come one Earth day after the Mars Rover stuck the landing Thursday ... the tail end of an incredible 293 million mile journey.

As we reported ... Perseverance blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral back in July and touched down at exactly 12:56 PM PT on Thursday. Pretty cool moment when the folks over at NASA's mission control celebrated the landing and fist-bumped from California's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

It's going to be fun seeing more images rolling in soon. As we told you ... the SUV-sized spacecraft also brought along a small helicopter along for the first time ever.

Tessica Brown's Gorilla Glue ordeal is NOT over ... her attempt to pay it forward is getting blocked because too many people think she's a fraud.

TMZ broke the story ... Tessica's planning to donate $20k -- the lion's share of the money in her GoFundMe account -- to a charitable org that provides reconstructive surgery ... but now she can't withdraw the cash.

Tessica says GoFundMe has frozen the account after it got flooded with claims she's pulled a fast one. As you probably know, there's a conspiracy theory out there that Tessica didn't really Gorilla Glue her hair, and she cooked this all up to milk the Internet for sympathy dough.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... GoFundMe has asked Tessica for an update on where the $23,000 in the account will be donated. We're told she's provided that info, and is now waiting for a response.

When she first set up the fundraiser -- to cover medical costs -- she only asked for $1500, but as the saga dragged on for more than a month, the money kept coming.

Tessica's donation is going to the Restore Foundation. As we first reported, Dr. Michael Obeng -- who got the glue out of Tessica's hair for free -- is also reaping benefits. His Bev Hills practice has been flooded with new customers ... for regular plastic surgery, not glue removal.

"Ah, like O.J. Simpson!"

That's how Boris Johnson chose to describe his struggle with a pair of latex gloves at a COVID vaccination site Wednesday ... and the British Prime Minister is now taking all sorts of heat for the quip.

The 56-year-old was out in Wales checking in on and helping out a Cwmbran vaccine center ... when he was handed a pair of mitts that were clearly just a little too small for his paws.

As Boris struggled to get covering over all five of his fingers ... he giggled, and then blurted out the O.J. joke.

People at the site laughed awkwardly at the comment ... with one of the workers adding, "Absolutely!"

The reference, though, now has Johnson in a bit of hot water ... with many wondering if a joke with roots in a murder trial is really the right move to make, particularly at COVID vaccine site.

"Johnson is the prime minister of the UK," one Twitter user wrote. "Is it too much to expect that he behaves with some dignity? Johnson's 'joke' is in severely bad taste."

Some on social media did find the humor behind the comment, however.

Still, Johnson has yet to address the remark since making it.

Apparently, things got bloody on Valentine's Day for Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox ... and they loved it.

The actress and rapper's love day celebration was more odd/unique than yours, as MGK rocked an orb with a drop of Megan's blood inside it. He proudly displayed the first blood Valentine piece on a necklace.

Megan seemed pretty excited about it ... saying, "There goes my heart manifest outside of my body draped in the towering silhouette of a most unusually handsome boy." Pretty damn poetic!

She added, "The journey will likely be perilous but there is no destination without him."

MGK's bloody pendant ain't all that unique -- both Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie famously wore vials of each other's blood while they were married in the early 2000s.

Didn't exactly work out for that duo, but Megan and MGK are going for it, anyway.

Louise Linton's passion project with Ed Westwick is out, and they both agree their stunt scenes were crazy ... especially the one surrounding someone's family jewels!

Louise, who's married to now ex-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, is the writer, director and star of "Me You Madness" -- and she hit Craig's in WeHo Thursday night with her leading man Ed ... and her hubby.

We asked the trio what's the craziest scene in the action-comedy, and Ed mentioned getting his hand stabbed -- but we had to ask about the online chatter involving someone in the movie eating testicles.

It's interesting, because all signs point to Linton's character doing something like that ... but she suggests that's not the case.

Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" became a $100k nightmare for one Texas woman, who told cops she was hoodwinked into forking over a fortune to someone passing as the singer.

The alleged victim was 63 when she told cops in Houston she made an IG account in 2018, and connected with someone claiming to be Bruno. She says the person developed an online relationship with her and eventually asked for cash.

Of course, as is oftentimes the case with these stories, she says she cut a couple of checks and put 'em in the mail, as instructed -- one for $10k, and another $90k.

Police say the money found its way into the bank account of one Chinwendu Azuonwu -- a local man who was taken into custody on money laundering charges, along with an alleged accomplice, Basil Amadi, who's facing similar charges. Both men were in court this week.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, 2 cashier's checks were made out to "Chi Autos" at the behest of the fake Bruno, to cover “tour expenses” ... that's what he told the woman, anyway. She says he also told her he was leaving the tour to come be with her.

Cops told local news outlets they believe these men may be low-level crooks working for scammers overseas -- and are hoping they cooperate to help uncover a potentially bigger criminal ring.

Meat lovers and animal rights activists can finally rejoice together (we think) -- because there's now a slaughter-free steak you can eat right off the dish ... a petri dish.

A group of Israeli scientists and a restaurant group unveiled what they say is the first slab of beef cooked up in a lab, using a freakin' 3D printer!!! It's not the technology you see on Pinterest, however ... this is bioprinting, the same idea -- but with cells.

It's kinda complicated to explain, but basically they take the "natural building blocks of meat" -- tissue from a cow -- incubate it, and then build it out under a microscope. Eventually, you get what you see here ... a ribeye steak, free of genetic engineering or Frankenstein DNA.

The scientific breakthrough comes 2 years after biomedical engineers at the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology (same guys who did this ribeye) cultivated a thin cut steak, sans bioprinting.

Now that they've got the technique down, they say they're on to other cuts.

Goes without saying, this could revolutionize the meat production industry if widely adopted. So many outstanding questions, but the first and foremost being ... is it any good???

Taylor Swift's new album is creating a major mix-up between folks looking for her tunes, and those looking to get their goblin on ... at least according to a fantasy park.

The owners of the Utah-based park called Evermore are suing Tay-Tay for trademark infringement -- claiming they own the rights to the name “evermore,” and saying Swift trampled said rights when she started selling merch with that branding to promote her album by the same name.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, the Evermore park camp claims it's poured many millions of dollars into building the facility, branding and selling its own gear since the park was conceived in 2014 and, of course, when it opened in 2018.

The park owners say they've got 'Evermore' trademarked for a number of different purposes -- including clothing and other merchandise they sell ... all of which they claim was diluted once TS dropped 'evermore' in late 2020.

Evermore park brass alleges since the record came out, their search results are way down in Google, and that it's legitimately causing confusion in the marketplace ... which they say is hurting their bottom line.

They also allege Tay's team was aware that the trademark for 'Evermore' was snatched up, but proceeded with their own campaign anyway ... figuring they'd drown out the park.

NFL running back Mark Walton has been arrested again ... and this time, cops say it's all 'cause the 23-year-old lost his mind over a failed Pizza Hut order.

Walton allegedly tried to smash a glass window at a Pizza Hut in Miami at around 11 P.M. on Jan. 31, before getting into a fight with his cousin, who was trying to restrain the NFL player, according to the police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

So, what triggered the alleged pizza shop meltdown? This is where things get even more bizarre.

Walton told cops he was "disrespected over the phone by one of the employees" -- so he apparently went to the shop in person to confront the staff.

Once Walton arrived to the eatery, a witness says he flipped out because his order was canceled -- "and started banging on the windows trying to pull on the door to gain entry to the business to confront one of the employees."

At one point during the madness, witnesses say Walton's cousin tried to physically remove the running back from the premises ... but Walton refused to go and attacked the guy instead.

Cops noticed Walton's cousin had obvious injuries -- so they called for paramedics. Walton's cousin refused to explain exactly how he was injured.

Walton was eventually arrested and booked on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct. At the station, he took a smiling mug shot.

Of course, this is far from Walton's first brush with the law ... he's been arrested several times in the last couple years, including once in 2019 when a pregnant woman accused him of punching her.

Walton -- who was drafted by the Bengals in the 4th round of the 2018 NFL Draft -- was waived by Cincy in 2019 after an arrest.

The Miami Dolphins signed him a short time later ... but they too released him after an arrest.

The world's most famous groundhog just made its bold prediction for the rest of winter ... and it looks like we're in for a cold one, folks.

Punxsutawney Phil was awakened, once again, early Tuesday morning for Groundhog Day in Gobbler's Knob, PA and got put to work giving us a forecast for the rest of the season. Ol' Phil saw his shadow ... so, as they say, 6 more weeks of winter.

This year's celebration was a little more pared down compared to its usual gathering, which would include a way bigger crowd of in-person spectators.

Organizers of the annual event streamed it virtually for folks at home, but there was Phil's regular group of "Inner Circle" top hat buddies who attended -- most of whom were masked up ... carrying on tradition.

Now, the fact the woodchuck is expecting more cold days ahead isn't all that surprising ... the furry little bastards have predicted that 106 times over the course of a 135-year run that they've been looking to Phil for a weather report.

This year actually proves to be meaningful, especially up there in the Northeast -- where winter storm Orlena has covered several states in several feet of snow.

So yeah, Groundhog Day 2021 is pretty much spot-on.

The iconic Hollywood sign got a makeover, and though what went down is technically a crime ... it might be worth the time for supporting a good cause.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... 6 people were arrested for altering the sign to read "Hollyboob" Monday. We're told police were notified of what was going on and tracked the group as they made their way down the hill and busted them.

Our sources say the group -- which we've learned includes model Julia Rose -- told cops they did this to raise breast cancer awareness ... but they will also be cited for trespassing before they're released.

Julia -- who's no stranger to breast-related stunts -- is currently with Hollywood police being processed. We got video of her being led away in cuffs, too.

The timing of the stunt is interesting. As you may know ... Breast Cancer Awareness Month is October, so it seems these folks are several months early.

Anderson Cooper confronted a guy who used to legit believe the CNN anchor was part of an evil, devil-worshipping cabal that devoured children ... and got an apology out of him.

CNN ran a special report Saturday night, with Anderson in the driver's seat ... going down the rabbit hole of QAnon and its origin. If you aren't familiar, the QAnon conspiracy theory is multi-faceted and ever-changing -- and is what some of the Capitol rioters subscribe to.

Very long story short ... QAnon believers think high-level politicians (mostly Dems) and Hollywood folks are pedophiles, part of a child-trafficking ring ... who are out to control the world. They also believe Donald Trump was their savior, and was gonna expose it all.

Anywho ... in CNN's report, Anderson did an interview with former QAnon supporter Jitarth Jadeja, who was all in on it until 2019. Safe to say, it made for an awkward exchange.

Watch for yourself ... Jadeja literally says, "I apologize for thinking that you ate babies." He goes on to explain why Anderson was a focus in QAnon, and what was alleged about him among supporters. Anderson seems astonished to hear it first-hand ... rightly so.

Of course, AC goes out of his way to say that all of those theories are absolutely NOT true -- but really digs into why people are so inclined to buy into a bunch of bull crap.

We got another UFO sighting on our hands here in L.A., folks -- but this one stands alone, as it offers some the best clear shots we've seen of what appears ... well, you make the call.

An eyewitness shot these photos last Saturday while heading south on the 101 Freeway, just outside of Thousand Oaks as she was approaching Westlake Village around sunset. We're told she was on her phone when she saw this thing hovering in the sky, flying in the same direction she was heading ... with a group of lights trailing behind it.

The eyewitness says she shot three consecutive photos as quickly as she could, and as you can see ... the unidentified object appears to have changed positions, both tilting ever so slightly and moving to a new spot in the sky. We're told this UFO was only visible for a few seconds, before it literally vanished into thin air. We know ... far-fetched, right?

That's what we thought too -- but we've been assured these photos are NOT altered, and they show what they show. We were skeptical -- thinking these could've been tweaked in Photoshop -- so we had one of our art gurus take a closer look to see what she thought.

Turns out, our own photoshop wiz seems to agree ... these don't look like fakes.

Our graphic artist tried an experiment with stock images of "glowing discs," "UFO's" and "flying saucers" ... to see if the images could be manipulated in a similar fashion as the tipster's photos. She concluded it would be hard to cut/paste these images with the exact angles of the tipster's images. So, these photos do appear to be legit ... or at the very least, probably not photoshopped.

We also reverse image searched these pics, BTW, and couldn't track down ANY that were exactly the same -- so again, it lends credence to the idea these were taken on the spot, without being doctored after the fact.

So, where does that lead us in the end??? Welp, depends on what you want to believe. On its face, this looks to be a straight-up UFO sighting. IF that is in fact the case -- who woulda thought Hollywood had it right all along in its depictions?!?

Some Chinese officials have rolled out a whole new way to test for COVID-19 -- and it entails bending over and spreading 'em ... something we can now see in a test run.

You might've heard of this by now, but you haven't seen it quite like this -- check out this video of a Chinese health official demonstrating how their new anal swabbing method works ... doing the deed on none other than a life-size dummy, who is oh-so-compromised.

The doll -- which is weirdly wearing pajamas for some reason -- is bent over with its heinie out in the air and its arms spread out, almost like it was getting checked for weapons at a prison intake session or something. Eventually, the scientist goes in.

The guy dips the swab in a saline solution -- standard practice for this methodology -- and then inserts the cotton-end into the hole. He gets in there pretty deep -- an inch or so give best results, they say -- and then gives it a nice little twist for good measure before pulling out and putting in a plastic sample tube.

No big, right?!? Eh, not exactly ...

While some Chinese experts insist the anal swab test is much more accurate at detecting the 'rona -- a lot of people aren't too happy about the surprise screenings they're being subjected to at airports in parts of northern China, including in the country's capital of Beijing.

Word is this is NOT a country-wide mandated test, but it seems like some provinces and whatnot are running it on their own terms as they see fit -- and folks don't appear to have much of a say in the matter. If they suspect someone's exposed, they can request it.

They can either administer it to you on the spot, or they'll let you keep your dignity and sometimes let you do a self-test in the privacy of a room, before they cut you loose.