Weird News

An out-of-control passenger is accused of causing a total disruption up in the air -- forcing a plane to make an emergency landing ... this after he allegedly hit on a flight attendant and tried to yank open the door mid-flight.

Feds have ID'd the alleged troublemaker as Eric Nicholas Gapco from Delanco, NJ ... who you can see in video footage captured by fellow passengers seemingly losing it on the American Airlines flight from Seattle to Dallas earlier this month.

You can see a shirtless Gapco wildly shouting as crew members scramble to restrain him near the bathroom. Panicked passengers also rush in, trying to calm the escalating chaos.

Tiffany Haddish is a hustler ... because she used to sell her used panties online, under the guise they belonged to Halle Berry.

The actress/comedian revealed one of the ways she used to make money when she was struggling to make ends meet ... explaining her side hustle on the "We Playin' Spades" podcast this week.

Tiffany says she would post an ad on Craigslist back in the day, claiming to be Halle's housekeeper ... and she says folks would shell out $300 for panties they thought belonged to HB.

U.S. triathlete Seth Rider admitted that in order to prepare his body for the dirty Seine River at the 2024 Olympics ... he actually spent weeks not washing his hands.

For real.

Rider explained his super gross unique strategy to The Athletic recently, saying that he believed by exposing his body to smaller amounts of E. coli at home ... he could prepare himself for Paris' body of water that's notorious for its high levels of bacteria.

Arguably the biggest accomplishment in United States history is now the subject of a popular conspiracy ... with lotsa folks convinced NASA never really went to the moon.

TMZ Studios' new series, "Strange & Suspicious," examines weird and unexplained stories ... and here we're taking a look at the possibility the 1969 moon landing footage was shot in a movie studio as opposed to the actual lunar surface.

Conspiracy theorists love to point to the famous photo of Buzz Aldrin standing next to the U.S.A. flag after planting it on the moon ... the flag is crinkled and looks to be waving, and folks say there's just no wind in space.

Sen. J.D. Vance is getting roasted 'cause people think he had sex with a couch, and while it might sound funny ('cause it is) ... one sex ed expert says all the jokes are shaming folks who do, in fact, like to bang furniture.

Here's the deal ... someone on X made a joke suggesting Donald Trump's running mate might have humped an inside-out latex glove shoved between 2 couch cushions, as described in a fake description of his NYT bestselling memoir, 'Hillbilly Elegy.'

Like we said, nothing like that is really in his book, but the post went viral anyway, and J.D.'s been ridiculed ever since. Thing is ... while most of us might be laughing, the mockery is actually harmful to a community of folks legitimately turned on by sex with objects ... and that's according to renowned doctor, Laura Berman.

Here's a frightening application for artificial intelligence ... a system where human brains are implanted with memories of things people never actually experienced, which may be happening now ... or perhaps in the near future.

TMZ Studios' new series, "Strange & Suspicious," is looking at unexplained and downright weird stories ... like the possibility of computers being used to replace prison guards -- or outright prison time. Stay with us here ... it's not as far-fetched as it may seem.

Technology companies are working on A.I. projects where people have false memories implanted deep inside their brains ... which, in theory, could be used on convicted criminals.

More than a dozen sharks in Brazil have tested positive for cocaine -- elevating concerns that the open waters in the area are being contaminated with drugs and affecting wildlife.

A handful of research groups recently published findings after collecting 13 sharpnose sharks from fishermen off the coast of Rio de Janeiro ... and after they cut 'em open and pulled out the insides, reports say their livers and muscle tissue were found to be laced with coke.

We're not just talking about a little white powder here -- according to these researchers, the concentration in their system was incredibly high ... as much as 100 times more than previously recorded data in other marine life.

Keanu Reeves is sharing his candid thoughts on mortality, and the fact is ... "the end" is something that's top of mind for him right now.

The actor joined author China Miéville on the BBC to promote their new novel, "The Book of Elsewhere," which follows an immortal character who is eager to die -- which explains why the morbid topic was brought up in the first place.

As Keanu put it ... at 59 years old, he's "thinking about death all the time," especially since he described himself as "young-old."

Karen Read is the Massachusetts woman accused of her police officer boyfriend's death ... and after a hung jury prompted a mistrial, it's fair to wonder if she was being framed.

TMZ Studios' new series, "Strange & Suspicious," dives into weird and unexplained stories -- and here, we're looking into the possibility Karen is getting blamed for a murder she didn't commit.

Remember ... she's accused of drunkenly running over John O'Keefe.

Elton John supposedly relieving himself in a shoe store has had unintended consequences for those who run the joint ... let's just say they're seeing a lot of yellow around the building lately.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the story about Elton allegedly leaking in the shoe store from a couple weeks ago has unfortunately inspired copycats ... all of whom seem to be taking their cues from EJ -- either as a prank on the shop, or just to be pricks.

Among some of the follow-up urine instances we're told have taken place ... one person peed in a bottle inside the store -- just like Elton himself allegedly did -- while another took a leak on the store's front steps, which our sources say the owner is sure was a streaming ode to EJ.

Serial killers limit the risk of capture by drifting from place to place and killing utter strangers ... so, what better profession to join than long-haul truck driving?

TMZ Studios' new show "Strange & Suspicious" dives into weird and sinister stories ... and, this time the team's breaking down the attraction of truck driving to those who hunt their fellow humans.

The "Strange & Suspicious" squad discusses the more than 400 murders authorities believe have been committed by truckers in the U.S.A. ... pointing out prostitute subculture and mental health issues truckers face contribute to the urge to kill for the predisposed.

A bleeding woman carrying a Samurai sword down a residential street in California flags down police in a wild video ... and she's allegedly involved in a fatal domestic dispute.

TMZ obtained footage showing a woman bleeding from multiple gashes to her leg and dragging a katana as she walks in a San Dimas-area neighborhood.

She tries to catch the police's attention a couple times before Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies pull up and order her to drop the weapon.

Believers in the paranormal may flip over this ... a purported ghost captured in Ring camera footage -- and the spot is said to be pretty spooky.

Check it out ... a floating specter floating in front of a home in Bellflower, California -- where a woman reportedly died of cancer. For those unfamiliar with the area, Bellflower is a stone's throw from Long Beach -- where the notoriously haunted Queen Mary ocean liner is docked.

For the non-believers out there, we've confirmed a lady did, in fact, die at that address earlier this year ... so, the story is checking out.

12:55 PM PT -- We have some more clarification on what was happening with the bear.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the bear was supposed to smoke as part of the show ... but there was a malfunction ... and it smoked too much. Out of an abundance of caution ... staff cleared the area.

Disney World's rejiggered Country Bear Musical Jamboree seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot -- one of their robots apparently malfunctioned ... but the Mouse House calls BS.

A parkgoer captured the moment Ernest -- a brown bear playing the fiddle -- started smoking in the middle of a recent performance. Since the Country Bear Musical Jamboree just re-opened, there was confusion on whether it was part of the rebooted show.

Some guests thought this was NOT an intended addition to the show ... and folks were reportedly led out of an emergency exit by cast members shortly after the smoke began.

The would-be assassin who got killed after taking a shot at Donald Trump is being remembered as an American hero ... at least in the mind of one man outside the RNC.

Ya gotta see this wild video from Milwaukee ... where a man with a dirt bike showed up on the outskirts of the Republican National Convention with a big sign in support of Thomas Matthew Crooks -- which had a "RIP" to boot.

The guy says he's dead serious about TMC deserving hero status. He struggles to explain what Crooks did that was so heroic before finally landing on this ... "He stood up to a dictatorship."

John Hinckley Jr. is speaking on the Donald Trump shooting -- and his position might take some people by surprise ... 'cause he's condemning the attempted assassination.

The ex-con -- who shot Ronald Reagan in the '80s -- took to social media Wednesday to address the fact Thomas Matthew Crooks tried putting a bullet in Trump's head ... the first attempted assassination on a current/former Prez since Hinckley did what he did.

He writes, "Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance."