Carlee Russell DON'T LET HER CASE IMPACT SEARCHES FOR OTHER POC ... Says Missing People Org.

Carlee Russell's "disappearance," which cops can't confirm actually happened, could have a negative impact on people of color who really do vanish ... but one organization wants to make sure that doesn't happen.

Natalie Wilson, co-founder of Black & Missing Foundation, tells TMZ ... the details police provided this week about Carlee's alleged disappearance were certainly disappointing to hear, but shouldn't set a precedent for similar cases.

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ODD ACTIVITY
Hoover Police Department

She says her org has been working hard the past 15 years, lending a hand to families whose loved ones' cases don't make headlines -- and Natalie doesn't want Carlee's example to knock down all that progress.

Natalie feels something good did come out of the Carlee story, though ... telling us the country really came together to bring awareness to her case, and hopes that same energy can be put into finding others.

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CARLEE'S VEHICLE
WBRC Fox 6 News

As we reported, police said they found searches for Amber Alerts, taking money from a register and the movie "Taken" on Carlee's phone -- and those were all in the days and hours before she went off the grid last week.

Plus, they added there's no evidence to support her claim of seeing a child get abducted.

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CARLEE'S 911 CALL

All that being said, Natalie's org has helped bring people home and add closure for more than 400 families -- and she says those without a voice need help now, more than ever.

Frontier Airlines Female Passengers Get Physical ... Beef W/ Flight Attendants

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FLIGHT FIGHT
TMZ.com

New footage from a diverted Frontier Airlines shows several women involved not only verbally attacking flight attendants and travelers ... but getting physical with them, too.

The video, obtained by TMZ, shows a different angle of the altercation aboard the Frontier flight from Philly to Las Vegas. You see flight attendants trying to restrain two women from going after other passengers.

Folks on flight 2143 last week tell TMZ ... the women got into a dispute, and it spiraled out of control ... eventually leading to hands thrown.

Passengers tell us one of the women may have spilled a drink on a man sitting nearby, kicking off a verbal dispute between the women ... eventually, we're told, another man shouted at them to "shut the f*** up."

The witness tells us one of the women then turned her attention to that man ... before flight attendants stepped in to try to stop her.

Frontier tells us the flight was diverted to Denver, and the women were taken off the plane and met at the gate by officers from the Denver Police Department. The airline says the plane then took off for Vegas after 67 minutes on the ground in Denver.

Meanwhile, Denver PD tells us they did not arrest the women ... and we've reached out to the FBI, which usually handles crimes that occur on planes midflight.

But, the FBI says its agents did not respond in person to the incident, adding that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado will file criminal charges in the case if prosecutors have enough evidence.

Gillie Da Kid's Son YNG Cheese Shot Dead In Philly

Gillie Da Kid's son YNG Cheese was shot and killed in Philly on Thursday evening, TMZ Hip Hop can confirm as heartfelt tributes flowing in for the "Million Dollarz Worth Of Game" podcaster.

Philadelphia police tell us they responded to a shooting around 8:24 PM on the block of 5800 Mascher Street and when officers arrived, they found three shooting victims, including YNG Cheese, real name Devin Spady, who had been shot in the back.

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We're told YNG Cheese later succumbed to his injuries after being transported to a nearby hospital ... prompting his cousin and Gillie's 'MDWOG' cohost Wallo to take to IG for a heartfelt eulogy, where he promised to continue to speak out for good.

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Cops are still investigating but tell us they are currently looking for a potential suspect with a light complexion male, either Black or Hispanic.

YNG Cheese was 25.

RIP.

Wee Man 'Snow White' Movie Making Big Mistake ... Taking Jobs From Us!!!

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DISNEY BLEW IT
TMZ.com

Wee Man is ripping Disney for swapping out "dwarves" for taller actors in the upcoming live-action version of "Snow White" ... he says it's another existential threat facing his community.

We got the "Jackass" star at The Apple Pan in L.A., and asked about the Disney movie losing the little people in favor actors of average height.

Wee Man says it's a really big mistake for Disney ... he says it's costing little people jobs, and he's equating it to the looming threat of artificial intelligence in Hollywood.

It's not just changes with "Snow White" that are drawing serious side-eye from Wee Man ... he's also taking shots at Hugh Grant for playing an Oompa Loompa in the upcoming "Wonka" flick with Timothée Chalamet.

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"WHAT ARE YOU DOING???"
WTF with Marc Maron

Wee Man's takeaway stands in stark contrast to another celeb ... Peter Dinklage went viral early last year in a tirade where he railed against Disney for even remaking "Snow White" -- a tale he says horribly typecasts little people.

Disney's pivot to non-little people actors isn't scoring points with Wee Man, though he tells us the Mouse House can get back in his good graces with one small fix.

Drake I Got That Dog in Me

Drake is letting the dogs out ... as in, he's leaving his hotel in a dog mask -- which, let's be honest, beats him covering the Baha Men.

The rapper made a major fashion statement Thursday as he headed over to his performance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn wearing a doberman mask over his head.

Champagne Papi also had a glass of wine with him ... and paid homage to his Big Apple surroundings with a New York Yankees baseball jersey.

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Drake's currently on the road for his "It's All a Blur" U.S. tour with 21 Savage, and Thursday marks the third of 4 straight shows at Barclays ... with three more NYC shows on deck at Madison Square Garden.

It will be interesting to see if Drake busts out the dog mask during his set. Woof!!!

UFC Star Jamahal Hill Vows Return To Octagon I Do Hard S*** All The Time

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ROAD TO RECOVERY
TMZSports.com

"It's not an easy injury to come back from, but I do s*** that's not easy all the time."

That's former UFC light heavyweight champion Jamahal Hill talking about the devastating injury he recently suffered during a pickup basketball game ... admitting he doesn't know how long the torn Achilles will keep him out of the Octagon while vowing to make a return.

TMZ Sports caught up with 32-year-old Hill at LAX earlier in the week -- who was using a scooter to get around -- as he arrived in Los Angeles before surgery ... and we asked Hill how he was doing.

"Good," Jamahal told us, saying, "I'm about to get the surgery and back on the road to recovery. I'll do what I gotta do to get back."

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BE RIGHT BACK
Instagram / @sweet_dreams_jhill

Hill got the injury hooping with Daniel Cormier ... we asked him how it happened (he didn't want to say), but did tell us he's always used basketball to stay in shape.

"I've been using basketball to work out, stay in shape with cardio and s*** since I've been [fighting]. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, out of the regular."

Just days after the injury, Jamahal, who obviously won't be able to fight for some time, made the decision to give up his belt (which he won vs. Glover Teixeira in January) ... we asked him why.

"It was the right thing to do."

Speedy recovery, Jamahal! 🤜

Guess Who This Barbie Lover Turned Into!

Before this ecstatic kid in her Barbie pajamas turned into a "Bachelor" star and an Internet personality, she was just a gleeful pageant kid with her Barbie balloon growing up in Birmingham, Alabama.

After making it to the top 2 on Colton Underwood's season of "The Bachelor," she would later put a ring on it during season 6 of "Bachelor In Paradise" back in 2019. Today, she's big on TikTok and has a YouTube channel where she vlogs with her soon-to-be hubby, Dylan!

Need one more hint? She recently decked out in a pink blazer-dress for the "Barbie" premiere.

Can you guess who she is? 

Kevin Costner Ex Takes Tropical Vacay With The Kids ... After $129K Child Support

Kevin Costner's estranged wife Christine Baumgartner is soaking up the sun with her kiddos in Hawaii ... just over a week after she was awarded a massive chunk of change in child support.

Christine seemed to be having the time of her life on the sandy beaches Thursday, snapping selfies with her daughter as waves crashed on their feet.

She looks to be in great spirits -- to be fair, it's kinda hard to frown while on a Hawaiian vacay, but the weight of her ongoing divorce doesn't seem to be affecting her one bit.

As we reported, Christine's getaway comes after a judge determined Kevin's gotta cough up $129,755 monthly in child support -- while the ruling was tentative, these decisions rarely change when the hearing takes place.

Might sound like a lot of cash, but Christine was actually gunning for $248k a month ... and Kevin's accountant claimed that total included more than $100k for cosmetic procedures.

AMC Theater Attack Man Gets Beat Up Over Seats ... Cops Looking For Suspect

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AUDIENCE ASSAULT
Broward Sheriff’s Office

Cops in Florida are on the hunt for a man who was caught on camera beating the daylights out of a 63-year-old man ... allegedly because he was asked to switch seats.

Broward County Sheriff's Office just released video of the brutal incident, which went down earlier this month in a Pompano Beach AMC movie theater. You see the suspect violently shove the elderly man up against a railing, then land several blows to his head.

According to cops, the victim said he bought VIP tickets, which means he picked assigned seats for his wife and himself -- but when he got inside, he saw the suspect and a woman in his seats, so he asked them to move.

Cops say the suspect quickly became angry and hostile, getting in the man's face -- which is where the video begins.

The man and woman in question fled the theater right after the attack ... but surveillance cameras captured pretty clear shots of their faces in the lobby.

The victim was taken to a hospital with several injuries, and cops want anyone with info on the suspects to contact the Broward County Sheriff.

Larsa Pippen, Marcus Jordan Major PDA On Golf Course ... Putter There, Babe!!!

Forget the PGA, Larsa Pippen and Marcus Jordan were all about the PDA at a golf tournament Thursday ... touchin' and smoochin' each other all over the course.

The couple attended DJ Khaled's inaugural "We the Best Foundation Golf Classic" in Miami ... and the two -- as they've been for most of the past few months -- were inseparable.

They shared a golf cart for most of the day -- planting kisses on each other while riding from hole to hole. They could hardly keep their hands off each other on the greens as well ... getting in embraces in between putts.

Jordan, though, was able to separate himself from Larsa for at least a few minutes to get his ball up and down the fairways -- and his swing didn't look too bad!

His attire wasn't shabby either ... check out the sweet, pink Jordan 4 cleats he sported for the occasion!!

As we've previously reported ... Jordan and Pippen began their romance in late 2022 -- and despite Michael Jordan's apparent disapproval of it all, they've been going as strong as ever.

In fact, Pippen said on her and Marcus' "Separation Anxiety" podcast earlier this month she's "never been this happy with anyone."

Sorry, Scottie.

Kim Kardashian Oh, Baby ... First Look at 'AHS' Character

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to holding babies of her own over the years, and that's apparently what she'll do in the upcoming season of "American Horror Story."

The show sent out a teaser video Thursday from the highly-anticipated project -- showing Emma Roberts, Cara Delevingne and Kim K all in character.

Each actress carries a similar vibe, glasses with snow white hair ... but Kim's character is also seen holding a newborn in an eerie video sequence.

There's not a whole lot known about the show, but we did see Kim carrying what appeared to be a script into a meeting back in May.

This season is reportedly based on a book called "Delicate Condition" -- a short story about an expecting mother who believes there's evil trying to take over her pregnancy.

With the new teaser, we're officially interested.

Ben McKenzie Rips Celebs For Pushing Crypto ... Leave It To Finance Pros!!!

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BIGGEST PONZI SCHEME EVER
TMZ.com

Ben McKenzie says celebrities should not be selling digital currencies ... instead, he says they should stick to the usual stuff, like overpriced water, so folks won't go belly up.

The former "O.C." star joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday and we asked him about the huge ad blitz from celebs who were pushing crypto during the Super Bowl and beyond ... only for the market to crash.

Ben's since written a book about the rise and fall of crypto, "Easy Money," and he's got some strong opinions ... like how celebrities should never be giving financial advice.

Ben thinks all the folks featured in those Super Bowl ads for crypto ... like Tom Brady, Lindsay Lohan, and Larry David, just to name a few ... would be better served selling car insurance, soap and H2O.

For Ben, the big difference here is the unregulated status of cryptocurrency ... plus the fact celebs are not licensed financial advisors ... and he feels Hollywood contributed to what he sees as the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Tons of folks lost money when the crypto boom went bust and lots of folks got sued ... and Ben says fraudsters used the lure of celebrities to reel in marks.

Ben's taken the issue in front of Congress and now he's written a book about it all ... so it's interesting to hear his takeaways here.

Superstar Pride RAPPER CHARGED WITH MURDER

Popular rapper Superstar Pride has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, after police say he's the triggerman in a shooting death.

The Panola County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi says deputies were called to a residence Wednesday afternoon, where they found a 40-year-old man dead from gunshot wounds ... cops say the ensuing investigation led them to believe Superstar Pride was the suspect.

The "Painting Pictures" rapper surrendered to authorities a few hours later, and deputies say he was booked at the Panola County Detention Center. Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder.

Superstar Pride recently blew up in the music industry ... his song first went viral on TikTok and he's since made a music video and the track's reached the Top 25 on the Billboard charts.

'Final Destination' IRL Fatal Car Crash With Log Truck ... Lumber Falls On Car

A woman in Florida suffered a horrific death after her car collided with a log truck -- causing the contents to tumble onto her vehicle ... a terrifying ordeal that's eerily familiar to "Final Destination" fans.

The 25-year-old woman was driving her SUV on SR 200 Tuesday around 12:45 AM when the incident went down. According to Florida Highway Patrol, she was in the outside lane behind a semi-truck that was hauling logs, but allegedly wasn't keeping a safe distance.

The woman reportedly hit the truck, which caused the lumber to fall on her car -- the Fernandina Beach local was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

If this sounds like something out of a horror movie, it is ... because 2003's "Final Destination 2" -- a franchise known for freaky deaths -- featured a scene involving a fatal car crash and falling logs.

In the movie, Kimberly, played by A.J. Cook, has a vision of the fictional Route 23 pileup in New York, killing 18 people. The devastation starts after logs fall off a truck, smashing through a cop car and killing the officer.

What makes this week's real-life tragedy even more ominous is its location -- in the movie, Kimberly is heading to Florida for spring break when the pileup occurs.

Ariana Grande Dating 'Wicked' Costar Following Split with Hubby

Ariana Grande is dating one of her "Wicked' costars ... TMZ has learned, following her split with hubby Dalton Gomez.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us she and Ethan Slater -- who plays Boq in the film adaption of the Broadway musical -- started dating several months ago during production of the flick.

It was back in March when a photo circulated, showing Ariana and Ethan next to each other as the cast of "Wicked" celebrated Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win in London.

TMZ broke the story, Ariana and Dalton have yet to file divorce docs -- though our sources say those are coming -- but their relationship has been over since January. We're told Ariana and Dalton remain friendly, and he's been dating as well.

As for Ethan, he's been married to singer Lilly Jay since 2018, and they welcomed a son last year. Our sources say Ariana and Ethan did not start dating until after he separated from Lilly.

Ethan's a talented dude, working as an actor, singer, composer and writer. He got his big break recently as SpongeBob Squarepants in the Broadway musical -- for which he earned a Tony Award nomination.

We covered Ariana's split from Dalton during a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

'RAQUEL' LEVISS GIVES UP DOG TO EX-FIANCÉ JAMES ... Look Who's 'Back Home'

UPDATE

10:52 AM PT -- A source with direct knowledge tells us Graham was recently dropped off at a shelter, and was having behavioral issues -- mostly a biting problem. Vanderpump Dog Foundation got alerted to Graham's situation and worked out the reunion with James and his pooch.

UPDATE

Our sources say James has the dog in training classes, and they've seemed to work. We're told James is super happy to have Graham back.

Rachel Leviss is making some more big changes in her life ... she changed her name, and now, she's no longer a dog mom.

James Kennedy posted some photos with Graham, the dog he once shared with Leviss when they were dating, claiming the pup is back with him for good. Sources with direct knowledge tell us James found out through a mutual friend Raquel was trying to find a new home for Graham ... she didn't connect with him directly.

Clearly, the "Vanderpump Rules" star is thrilled to have his pooch back, kissing him in photos with the caption ... "Look who made his way back home, back into my life, I'll take care of you forever and I love you. ❤️"

It appears the images are from the 'VPR' trip to Lake Tahoe ... where some of the cast members are currently hanging out. James is with his girlfriend Ally Lewber in one of the pics, kissing the dog while on a boat.

Remember ... Leviss and James originally got Graham back when they were dating, but she took the pooch with her when they ultimately split.

Now, James has the dog ... and the timeline suggests Graham Cracker made his way back to James when Rachel went to the mental health facility she ended up calling home for 2 months.

In any event, it looks like Graham Cracker has a loving home.

Originally Published -- 9:31 AM PT