Anchorage PD 2 Officers Found in Violation For Selfies with 'White Privilege' Card Driver
Just to be clear ... Anchorage PD frowns upon cops joking and taking selfies with potentially impaired drivers who flash a "white privilege" card -- instead of a driver's license -- as identification.
Yeah, this is actually a thing that happened. The dept just announced its findings after investigating the July incident where officers pulled over Mimi Israelah at 3:30 AM for weaving. She recorded video, which she posted but since deleted, showing officers Nicholas Bowe and Charles Worland laughing as she presented the novelty I.D. card.
One of the cops said it was "hilarious." Many people online had a much different reaction when Israelah's video went viral -- they were outraged and called on law enforcement in the Alaskan city to do something.
For the record, the cops said Israelah showed no signs of impairment, and they didn't give her a ticket -- but lots of folks thought they just let her off because they loved her gag.
If nothing else she could've been cited for not having a license on her while driving.
On Thursday, Deputy Chief Sean Case said, "We recognize that the [Facebook] post, what was contained in that post, caused a bit of a public uproar, and there were a lot of people that saw that and did not like that post."
While the 2 officers were found to have violated department policy, Anchorage PD wouldn't go further into specifics ... nor would they say what punishment, if any, they're facing.
Both officers are reportedly still employed with the department.
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NASCAR Champ Kyle Busch Escapes Shooting At Mall Of America ... In Chaotic Video
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Scary moment yesterday for Kyle Busch ... the 2-time NASCAR champion and his family were at the Mall of America in Minnesota when gunshots erupted, causing chaos, and sending people running for their lives.
37-year-old Busch had been enjoying a day at the country's largest mall with his son, Brexton, and his wife, Samantha, before things took a frightening turn.
Chaos and confusion at @mallofamerica. Making people go outside. #mallofamerica pic.twitter.com/NzMvI7iK6m
— Andy Paras (@AndyParas) August 4, 2022 @AndyParas
In the video posted online, you see Busch, wearing a black and green shirt and white hat, holding hands with Brexton ... as everyone was trying to get to safety amid the chaos.
Soon after, Samantha sent an update to friends, family and fans, writing ... "If you are seeing the news about the @mallofamerica we got out and are safe."
"Praying others inside are too," she added.
"We are currently working an active incident inside Mall of America on the northwest side. Numerous officers are on scene. We will update when we have more information," the Bloomington Police Department's official Twitter account wrote.
We are currently working an active incident inside Mall of America on the northwest side. Numerous officers are on scene. We will update when we have more information.
— Bloomington Police (@BPD_MN) August 4, 2022 @BPD_MN
Police later confirmed that gunshots were fired ... adding the suspect fled the MOA on foot and officers were investigating the isolated incident.
After some semblance of order was restored, Bloomington PD Chief Booker Hodges addressed the incident in a press conference ... saying his officers heard gunshots near the Nike store at the famous mall.
"After reviewing video, we observed two groups get into some type of altercation at the cash register in the Nike store," Hodges said.
"One of the groups left after the altercation, but instead of walking away, they decided to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for human life. They decided to fire multiple rounds into a store with people."
Fortunately, neither Busch, nor his family were injured, and according to police, it didn't appear anyone else suffered any injuries. The chief urged the culprit(s) to surrender to law enforcement.
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Trevor Noah Griner's Sentence Is 'Bulls***' 'Get The F*** Out Of Here'
Hours after Brittney Griner was sentenced by a Russian judge to 9 years in prison ... Trevor Noah went IN on the foreign country -- dragging Vladimir Putin, while calling Thursday's ruling complete "bulls***."
Noah held nothing back on "The Daily Show," accusing Russia of using Griner and her drug trial as political pawns to gain leverage on the U.S.
"We all know Russia doesn’t care about what Brittney Griner did," Noah said. "This is the same country that’s breaking every human rights law on the planet, but they’re like, ‘That woman has vape cartridge. She’s real criminal.'"
"Get the f*** out of here, man!"
Noah went on to repeatedly call Thursday's ruling "bulls***."
The comedian, though, did say there is a sliver of positive news to come out of Griner's sentence -- the U.S. and Russia can now seemingly begin prisoner swap talks earnestly.
And, Noah's clearly all in favor of giving the country whatever it wants to get the WNBA star back.
"Yeah, it seems like they win, but don’t forget, that person now has to live in Russia," Noah said. "Yeah, yeah. They’ll get there and be like, 'This whole country is prison. I miss food in Alcatraz, no!'"
Griner's Phoenix Mercury teammates, meanwhile, honored their star center with a 42-second moment of silence before their game against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.
The Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut Sun stood in solidarity for 42 seconds following Brittney Griner's sentencing 🧡 pic.twitter.com/kVVJPpubXq
— ESPN (@espn) August 4, 2022 @espn
Players from both teams linked arms during the pregame ceremony -- and at the tail-end of it all, an arena-wide "Bring Her Home!" chant broke out.
Griner will have the opportunity to appeal her sentence -- though in all likelihood, her only way of getting out of Russia before the end of the 9-year sentence is through a prisoner trade.
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Disney World 'Toy Story' Hug Characters Need to Embrace Kids of All Races ... Says Fam in Viral Video
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The family behind the viral video of Woody and Jessie from 'Toy Story' making sure to hug their kids at Disney World say their experience needs to be the norm for all children ... regardless of race.
The parents, Candice and Harold, say they didn't know about the controversy swirling right now about costumed characters at other venues allegedly snubbing Black kids. They merely posted video because they were glad their daughter, Hayyn, got a hug from her favorite Disney character.
The parents say Hayyn would have been happy to get a wave from Jessie -- and it was a huge bonus when Woody flagged down Jessie to give the little girl a hug.
Hayyn was waiting on Jessie for the whole parade ... even wearing a Jessie dress, while holding Jessie and Woody dolls.
Of course, after posting their video they became aware of the allegations at Sesame Place and Chuck E. Cheese, and Harold and Candice say everyone's child deserves at least some kind of acknowledgment -- even if it's just a wave or blown kiss from their favorite character.
As we've reported, there's now a class action lawsuit filed against Sesame Place in Philadelphia.
There's no doubt that case helped fuel online interest in Hayyn's Disney World hug -- a prime example of how these interactions should ideally play out ... for all kids.
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Wiz Khalifa Sits with Envy & Drama ... Apologizes for Nightclub DJs Rant
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Wiz Khalifa's finally breaking his silence about his angry tirade toward a pair of L.A.-based DJs inside a nightclub ... and he's admitting he was outta line.
During a special edition Breakfast Club interview on Friday, DJ Envy took it upon himself to interview Wiz alongside DJ Drama to rep for all the turntablists worldwide … who may have been bothered at the sight of the star rapper trashing their backup support.
For his part, Wiz didn’t hide behind his celebrity, admitting he wasn’t too big to say he was sorry.
“I apologize to anybody I’ve offended … sincerely,” the Taylor Gang CEO said to kick off the interview, before explaining what went down, from his POV.
According to Wiz, he was booked at club Poppy in WeHo to promote his new album, “Multiverse,” but when it came for his time on the mic, the song order -- which his team sent beforehand -- was outta wack. Also, other songs not included in the setlist randomly popped up during the performance.
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Wiz admits that's when he lost his cool -- but in the aftermath, he's taken a lot of heat from the tight-knit DJ community, perhaps most notably from Kid Capri … who actually had a hand in staging the Breakfast Club summit.
Envy says Capri called him asking for Drama’s number and shortly after, the interview was set.
Wiz says he reached out to the DJ, Mikey Danger, multiple times … we have as well.
It sounds like everyone just had a bad day. Back to the "Multiverse!"
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Terrell Owens 'Karen' Incident 911 Audio ... Woman Claims T.O. 'Threatened' Her
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The woman involved in the heated dispute with Terrell Owens in a Florida neighborhood on Wednesday night told cops the NFL legend "threatened" her after nearly running her over -- new police audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals.
In the 911 call, you can hear the woman tell dispatch that around 10:30 PM, Owens was driving "aggressively" through her neighborhood street in Broward County and "almost hit me."
"And then [he] got out of the car to threaten me," the woman said in the call.
The woman -- who authorities have not identified -- described the former Dallas Cowboys star as "an African-American individual" who was driving a four-door, green Genesis.
"He got out of his car and started threatening me," the woman said ... before adding, "He was literally speeding and then got mad at me because we were crossing in the sidewalk and he nearly hit us."
Of course, Owens' description of the event differs significantly -- on a social media live stream during his confrontation with the woman, he said he was not driving erratically at all.
And, Owens claimed he only got out of his car to speak with the woman after she had been hurling profanities his way.
Cops told us they did respond to the scene -- but no arrests were made, explaining, "The parties were separated, and the situation resolved."
Owens has since started a change.org petition, claiming the woman made "a false police report" and insisting authorities should arrest her.
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Tyler Perry I Don't Want To Talk Race with My 7-Yr-Old Son Yet!!!
Tyler Perry won't be having "the talk" with his son any time soon, because despite increased racial tensions in the country ... he doesn't want a 7-year-old to have to think about those issues. Not yet.
Tyler opened up about this critical parenting decision, during an interview with AARP -- yes, he's over 50 -- where he said he wants to wait as long as possible to talk to Aman about race and racism in the world.
He explained, “I don’t want to tell him that there are people who will judge him because of the color of his skin, because right now he’s in a school with every race, and all these kids are in their purest form. When he describes his friends, he never defines them by race”.
In case you didn't know, Tyler had Aman with model Gelila Bekele, and although the couple reportedly ended things back in 2020 -- after more than a decade together -- they are happily co-parenting.
"The talk" ... as all Black American families know it ... has been a big topic in society in the wake of George Floyd's 2020 murder -- so, Tyler's approach is interesting. The sad fact is most Black children can't be shielded from the harsh reality of racism, but Tyler would be the first to say he's in an extremely fortunate position.
He says, "the moment [Aman] loses that innocence is going to be a very, very sad day for me" ... but, he acknowledged the day will come eventually, since his son is already asking tough questions.
More than anything ... Tyler says he wants to have the talk so his son will not tolerate injustice, and work to make a change in the world.
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John Lennon Scathing Letter to Paul Up for Auction
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An important piece of Beatles history is up for grabs -- John Lennon's nasty response to a Paul McCartney interview, and it provides tons of insight into the writing duo's complicated relationship.
John fired off a letter to Paul days after an interview critical of him and The Beatles appeared in a November 1971 issue of British music magazine Melody Maker, and John's reply is mostly scathing ... but also thoughtful and pleading.
From the jump, John's frustration with Paul is clear ... telling Paul he's ungrateful for all the money he's getting from The Beatles. As the 3-page letter rambles on, John takes issue with Paul dismissing his song "Imagine" and berates Paul for being indecisive over the band's breakup.
The Beatles had been broken up for more than a year at that point, and were haggling over money. In the letter, John pleads with Paul to meet him without any lawyers ... then turns around and accuses Paul of buying up shares of another record company behind his back.
George Harrison and Ringo Starr also get roped in, as John rips Paul for telling the magazine George and Ringo would break him -- and also accuses Paul of threatening Ringo and his wife, Maureen.
The typed letter, which includes some of John's handwritten additions and signature, is being auctioned off by Gotta Have Rock and Roll ... and it's expected to fetch at least $30,000.
John also sent the letter to Melody Maker magazine editor Richard Williams, scribbling a plea for him to publish it ... and it appeared in the magazine a few weeks after Paul's interview ran.
There's also a fascinating postscript. John says he's puzzled Paul's interview mentioned leaving their wives, Linda and Yoko Ono, out of the dispute ... to which John replies, "I thought you'd have understood BY NOW, that I'm JOHNANDYOKO."
It's worth noting ... Peter Jackson's Disney+ doc, "Get Back" framed John and Paul's relationship as friendly, but this letter shows just how much their friendship frayed after 1970.
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Monkeypox U.S. Asleep at the Wheel in Responding ... Report
There is growing evidence U.S. health officials ignored obvious signs monkeypox would become a health emergency, especially when it came to stockpiling vaccines.
The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services had significant stockpiles of the vaccine but simply didn't have the foresight to bottle it so it could be quickly distributed ... this according to New York Times sources.
And, there's more ... there's a small company in Denmark that manufactures the vaccine worldwide, and the U.S. was so slow in putting in orders to bottle the vaccines ... the company gave hundreds of thousands of does to European countries ... doses that had been initially earmarked for the U.S.
So now, with more than 7,000 reported cases in the U.S. and counting, the government is distributing just over a million doses, yet it will take a minimum of 3 1/2 mil minimum to fight the outbreak. And, it gets worse ... the U.S. has ordered 5.5 million additional doses, but only half a million will be delivered this year, and not until October. The rest won't be delivered until 2023.
Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, was grilled on CNN Friday about the U.S. response, and he struggled to explain why the U.S. was slow in responding.
Dr. Anne Rimoin, a UCLA professor of epidemiology, said on "TMZ Live" Thursday she has been studying monkeypox in Africa for 2 decades and this was a slow-moving train that inevitably would make its way to the U.S., yet officials were asleep at the wheel.
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Elon Musk Feds Drug Tested Me After Blazing with Joe Rogan
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Elon Musk says he fell under a government microscope after smoking weed with Joe Rogan ... claiming the feds randomly drug tested him.
The world's richest man sat down for a podcast Tuesday with the Nelk Boys, recalling the backlash he got from Uncle Sam over what he says was one measly rip from a blunt while on Rogan's show.
Remember, Elon blazed it up with Joe back in September 2018, sparking up on camera while talking about Tesla's plans for an airplane. The video went viral and then Tesla's stock briefly plummeted on the heels of the smoke sesh.
Elon says the federal response was "pretty nutty" ... explaining the problem is ganja is still illegal federally, and because he runs SpaceX -- which holds lucrative government contracts -- the feds tested him for a range of illicit drugs.
It's interesting ... Elon claims the real driving force behind the random drug tests were his SpaceX competitors, who he says pressured the feds to test his urine.
Elon's sit-down with the Nelk Boys featured a hard seltzer, but he won't have to worry about the feds hounding him over alcohol.
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Alyson Hannigan Finds Buyer For 'This Is Us' House ... With $16 Million Price Tag!!!
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Alyson Hannigan can break out the bubbly ... because she finally found a buyer for her home, which was a filming location for NBC's hit show "This Is Us."
Real estate sources tell TMZ ... the "How I Met Your Mother" star accepted an offer Thursday on her 5-bedroom estate, which she listed for $18 million.
The place is 7,605 square feet and it was featured in "This Is Us" as the home Mandy Moore's character, Rebecca, tells Justin Hartley's character, Kevin, to build in memory of Milo Ventimiglia's character, Jack.
Alyson's place was used in multiple flash-forward scenes over the final couple of seasons on the NBC show ... and she's on the record saying she liked having her digs converted into a filming set, because NBC footed the bill for a ton of repairs.
The house is a go-to for Hollywood producers ... it's also been used in "Fun With Dick and Jane," "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" and "Fractured," plus a Hyundai Super Bowl commercial starring Kevin Hart.
The estate sits on 3 acres of land in a gated community in Encino ... and includes a main residence, guest house, home gym and office space. The place is decked out with a pool, tennis court and a vegetable garden.
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The very private property is super green, too -- dotted with palm trees, orange trees, avocado trees, sycamores and succulents ... which can be seen from every room in the house.
Alyson and her husband Alexis Denisof bought the home in 2016 for $7.95M, and last month they reportedly bought a new home in Santa Monica.
Michael LaMontagna of Hilton & Hyland and Alexis LaMontagna of Coldwell Banker held the listing.
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Shannon Sharpe Betting NFL Calls Aaron Rodgers Over Psychedelics ... 'That's Not A Good Look'
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Roger Goodell could be on Aaron Rodgers' Line 1 very soon ... 'cause Shannon Sharpe says he expects the NFL commish to call the Packers star after the QB admitted to using psychedelics earlier this week.
"I'm sure the NFL is probably going to give him a call and say, 'That's not a good look,'" the Hall of Fame tight end said Thursday.
If you missed it, Rodgers said on the most recent episode of the "Aubrey Marcus Podcast" that if he hadn't had a psychedelic experience in South America after ingesting the ayahuasca plant -- which contains DMT -- he might not have won the NFL's MVP award the past two seasons.
Aaron Rodgers Credits Psychedelic Ayahuasca Plant For 'Best Season Of My Career'
Rodgers raved over the plant brew's psychoactive effects ... saying he "had a magical experience" that helped lead him to become a better person and football player.
Sharpe says he has no issues with Rodgers' trip -- though he told us out at LAX he's fairly confident the NFL probably ain't feeling the same way.
"I don't know the NFL is too happy about him taking hallucinogenics," Sharpe said ... before adding, "I'm sure the commissioner is going to reach out and have a conversation with him."
Sharpe says it's unclear to him if the NFL could ultimately punish Rodgers over it all.
But, again, the former Broncos star reiterated he's glad it all worked out for A-Rodge.
"It seems weird to me," he said, "but whatever helps a person become a better person and find his inner self -- I'm cool with it."
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Jordan On MTV's 'The Hills' 'Memba Him?!
American reality television star Jordan Eubanks was just 21 years old when he was cast to be a part of "The Hills" -- MTV's hit reality show, first airing in 2006 and taking place in Los Angeles, California.
Jordan contributed to the series' drama along with narrator and star Lauren Conrad as the fashion student who journeyed from Laguna Beach to Los Angeles, Heidi Montag as Lauren's bubbly bestie and party girl, Spencer Pratt as Heidi's 'bad boy' boyfriend and Whitney Port as Lauren's work buddy at Teen Vogue.
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Kylie Jenner Fires Back Over 'Unsanitary' Lab Photos ... I Would Never Put My Customers at Risk!!!
Kylie Jenner isn't about to let some Internet trolls rain on her cosmetics photo shoot ... calling out one poster in particular who bashed the beauty mogul for what he felt were some unsafe practices.
ICYMI, cosmetic developer Kevin James Bennett went after Kylie for posting a photo of herself in a lab coat while working with products from her beauty line. Bennett said Kylie was not only wrong, but posed a potential risk to her customers because she wasn't wearing gloves, a disposable mask or a hairnet.
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Kylie clearly saw Kevin's post, and put him in check, commenting, " ... this picture is not taken in a manufacturing facility. i would never bypass sanitary protocols and neither would any other celeb or beauty brand owner ... that's completely unacceptable i agree."
Kylie captioned her original post, "in the lab creating new magic for you guys" ... so it's possible that's why Kevin believed she was in a manufacturing facility. However, in her latest comment, she clarified she'd been, "... creating my own fun samples and taking pictures for content ..."
Her parting shot ... "shame on you kevin for spreading false information!!!!"
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Ahmaud Arbery Murderers Judge Upholds Federal Hate Crime Conviction
The 3 men found guilty of Ahmaud Arbery's murder are getting rejected by a federal judge ... who's affirmed their convictions for federal hate crimes.
Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddy" Bryan had filed motions to set aside the jury's guilty verdict, but on Thursday a federal judge told them there was "more than sufficient evidence" to nail them for the 2020 murder of Ahmaud.
Their federal convictions -- which came down in February -- were for killing Ahmaud based on his race and kidnapping. In denying their motion the judge relied on social media posts from the defendants that negatively compared Black people to white people, generally.
Specifically, the judge pointed out Gregory McMichael had posted, "all these blacks are nothing but trouble; I wish they would all die." ... and made disparaging comments about a Black tenant.
All 3 are still awaiting their sentences in the federal case, but whatever they get is more symbolic than anything after their Georgia murder convictions and sentencing. The McMichaels got life sentences with no parole, and Bryan got a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
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Alex Jones $4.1M In Damages To Sandy Hook Parents ... Jury Decides
Alex Jones' lies are going to cost him $4.1M ... an amount to be paid out to parents who lost their kids during the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary.
The decision, made Thursday by a jury in Austin, TX was for plaintiffs Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, who first requested $150M in compensatory damages when the trial started. Punitive damages will be determined during another trial.
As we reported, Jones -- who essentially said the mass shooting was a hoax -- was grilled during the trial ... during one moment that's now gone viral, an attorney for the parents revealed Jones' own legal team accidentally distributed his text messages, catching Jones in an apparent lie.
WATCH: "Spit your gum out Mr. Jones," Judge tells #AlexJones. He proceeds to tell her he had a tooth pulled and he was "massaging the hole with his tongue", then wants to show the judge. Judge, "Sit down". pic.twitter.com/Ws7ggjo1Uk
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) August 2, 2022 @cathyrusson
Other standout moments included the judge chastising Jones for a number of things, like lying ... and even chewing gum.
In closing statements, the family attorneys said "Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for" -- something that apparently resonated with the jury.