Drugs & Alcohol

Recently-leaked videos show Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin having the time of her life ... and now politicians are calling on her to take a drug test, claiming her wild behavior is a major red flag.

The clips show the 36-year-old PM partying with Finnish musicians, TV stars, and fellow politicians -- it was found on an unknown, private Instagram account.

Finnish Member of Parliament Mikko Kärnä went after her when the video leaked ... calling on her to take a drug test -- and to put the results on display for all to see.

The Prime Minister addressed the blowup Thursday during a press conference, saying she was drinking, but never took drugs ... she's got no problem taking a test, but adds "I also think it's quite special that something like this is required."

She claims she knew she was being filmed, but had hoped the clips would remain private -- admitting it "feels bad" that it's out there now.

Marin, who's been called "the coolest Prime Minister in the world" by Bild, a publication company in Germany, has been in hot water before for having a good time.

Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are forever enshrined in bronze in the city of Albuquerque -- something conservatives there are up in arms about, claiming the statues glorify meth.

Late last month, Mayor Tim Keller unveiled 2 statues to honor the 'Breaking Bad' stars -- they're now on display at the Albuquerque Convention Center -- after a ceremony where BC and AP were actually on hand to pose with their metal counterparts.

It was a kitschy, fun thing that seemed fairly innocent -- as a shout-out to the actors and show for putting a spotlight on their city and state -- but now, some Republicans in the state are fuming over the honor.

Conservative radio host Eddy Aragon and state representative Rod Montoya say the statues send the wrong message about who should be glorified in the community.

Montoya says "meth dealers" shouldn't be the shining example in Albuquerque, and Aragon adds ... "It’s not the type of recognition we want for the city of Albuquerque, or for our state."

Aragon goes on to gripe about how city officials tore down a controversial statue of Albuquerque's first Spanish governor, Juan de Onate, because he was a conquistador ... but now turn around and throw these two fictional characters as proverbial beacons.

This sort of backlash was actually expected, Mayor Keller warned of this when they were first getting unveiled, saying he understood, but defended having Jesse Pinkman and Walter White statues because of the cautionary tale they represented, and the jobs they gave to NM.

Aaron Rodgers is going all-in on his Nicolas Cage obsession -- the superstar quarterback now has a bust of the actor's head in his locker ... and he showed it off to reporters on Tuesday.

38-year-old Rodgers was all smiles as he brought the Cage head down from the top shelf of his changing space to give a closer look ... chatting it up as folks in the crowd got their jokes off.

Some said the bust doesn't really resemble Cage ... but we gotta admit -- it looks pretty spot-on. Another joked there was a camera inside it ... and uh, yeah. Let's hope not??

The 4-time MVP's been really leaning into his inner Nicky C recently -- as we previously reported, he even showed up to Packers training camp fully dressed as the Cameron Poe character from "Con Air."

It's clear Rodgers is having a lot more fun at the start of this season -- something he says was a result of his use of the psychedelic ayahuasca two years ago.

Brittney Griner's plan to appeal her 9-year Russian prison sentence over a weed pen is underway ... but Onyx rapper Fredro Starr feels there are bigger political forces in play.

In a new interview clip from VladTV, Fredro actually admitted to smoking plenty of weed on Russian soil on several occasions!!!

According to Fredro's travels, Russia not only has better weed than top dog California, but they grow it too ... and from the picture he paints, recreational use sounds pretty common in the region.

He also suggests the country's hip hop scene is very liberal, alluding to the notion a 9-year punishment for a simple weed pen doesn't add up.

Griner officially filed her appeal on Monday, in conjunction with the United States government actively working for her release, calling her detainment unjust.

The last time we talked to Fredro, he was talking about a different kind of smoking ... as in torching Cypress Hill during their somewhat underpromoted Verzuz.

Jonathan Papelbon went scorched Earth on Fernando Tatis Jr. -- suspended 80 games by MLB for a positive PED test -- saying if he was still pitching in the Majors, he'd drill the Padres star every chance he got!

The former Red Sox star closer shared his feelings on Tatis' blockbuster suspension on the "The Bradfo Sho podcast" ... and he didn't mince his words.

"I'll tell you right now, if I was pitching, every single time I face that dude, I’m drilling him," Papelbon said, adding ... "I don’t care if I'm bringing in a run and losing the game."

"This whole Tatis stuff, man, it almost enrages me. "I worked my ass off so long and so hard and did it the right way. For me, to see something like that, it hurts me so bad."

Papelbon -- who played 12 seasons in the big leagues -- said the problem with Major League Baseball now is players aren't allowed to "police" the game the way they used to when he toed the mound.

"That's the problem with the game today now, is it's changed," Papelbon said. "You throw [at] people now, and you get suspended and all the other BS, and it's like just let the players police the game."

"That's what I miss about the game now is, you look in the past, and the players were the ones who policed the game. Not the damn umpires or the coaches, or any of them. It was the players."

"[And] that's what the game lost," he added.

As we previously reported, 23-year-old Tatis was hit with an 80-game suspension Friday after testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

Former NY Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez expressed disappointment with Tatis ... saying the PED suspension may cost him a shot at the Hall of Fame down the road, something A-Rod, unfortunately, is experiencing.

"I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame probably because of my own mistake," A-Rod said. "And, that's heartbreaking for me. It's heartbreaking to explain that to my daughters. But, that's on me."

"I wish that a lot of these young players who I admire so much would learn from my stupidity and my debacle."

Fernando Tatis Sr. came to his son's defense yesterday ... claiming Tatis Jr. developed a fungus on his skin after receiving a bad haircut and used the banned medication to fix the issue.

Ultimately, JP understands why ex-MLBers, and potentially Tatis' fellow Padres teammates, are upset with his alleged actions ... and Jonathan thinks the distraction could prevent the team from reaching their full potential come playoff time.

The Australian actress whose family claimed she went missing after going on a date with someone she met online has been found ... turns out, cops say she's been in jail the whole time!!!

Here's the deal ... Laura McCulloch, an actress and singer in Los Angeles, scared the crap out of her family back in Australia when she seemingly fell off the grid after going on a first date.

Laura's family cried to Australian news outlets over the weekend, saying she was last seen Friday at a restaurant in Santa Monica, then failed to show up to her day job and yoga class. The family says they became concerned when they couldn't reach her by phone and reported her as missing to the LAPD.

But, here's what really happened.

Santa Monica Police tell TMZ ... Laura was arrested Friday night in Santa Monica after police got a call to the popular 3rd Street Promenade for a reported battery.

Cops say when they got to the scene, they were told Laura threw a drink at a fellow diner and their kid.

It doesn't sound like Laura is getting a second date with her mystery man ... police say when they approached her, she showed obvious signs of intoxication and charged at the officers while shouting expletives.

Cops say they tried to calm her down, but Laura continued being aggressive ... and when police went to detain her, officers say she became physically combative, kicking at officers and biting a cop on the shoulder.

Laura was booked into Santa Monica Jail early Saturday morning for public intoxication and resisting arrest, and we're told she spent the weekend behind bars and did not contact anyone she knows.

We're told the actress went before a judge Tuesday and is still in custody.

Fernando Tatís Jr.'s father says his son's positive PED test all happened because of a haircut that went very, very wrong for the MLB superstar.

Fernando Tatís Sr. explained the situation to MLB insider Héctor Gómez on Monday -- saying after the Padres outfielder got a chop recently ... he developed a fungus on his skin.

Tatís Sr. said his 23-year-old son turned to a medication to fix the issue -- but one of the ingredients in the remedy just so happened to trigger a positive test. Those results eventually led to the MLB hitting the slugger with an 80-game suspension last week.

Tatís Sr. wants it to be known that his son is definitely not a cheater -- and simply didn't look closely enough at the ingredient list in medicine for a skin condition.

"All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue," Tatís Sr. said. "This is something for the skin, that’s something that’s not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."

Tatís Sr. slammed baseball's decision to hand down the ban -- and said it's ultimately going to hurt the game more than the MLB realizes.

"It was a mistake that could have been handled differently," Tatís Sr. said. "Destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this is a catastrophe not just for Tatís Jr., but for all baseball."

"There’s millions of fans that will stop watching baseball."

For his part, Tatís Jr. took responsibility for it all -- explaining he had "no excuse for my error." He did also blame the test results on a skin condition (ringworm) and the medicine he took for it.

"I should have used the resources available to me in order to ensure that no banned substances were in what I took," he said. "I failed to do so."

Kim Zolciak's daughter, Ariana, denied drinking and driving after crashing into another vehicle ... but cops say she did admit to vaping the night before.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, the 20-year-old reality star denied drinking any alcohol during her DUI bust over the weekend. Officers informed Zolciak they could smell alcohol on her breath and she allegedly stated the smell could be coming from her clothing.

Cops say Ariana admitted she "smoked a THC vape pen the night before but did not drink." During the back and forth, she maintained she had not been drinking -- but cops say she had a "noticeable sway" during field sobriety tests.

TMZ broke the story -- Ariana was arrested in Forsyth County, GA, Saturday, and booked on 3 charges ... misdemeanor DUI, misdemeanor improper/erratic lane change, and misdemeanor underage alcohol possession/purchase of alcohol.

The whole thing happened after she allegedly hit another vehicle.

Ariana's attorney, Justin Spizman tells us, "Despite Ariana’s constant invocation that she was upset and anxious from the minor accident, the officer incorrectly concluded she was impaired by alcohol. That was not the case. She wholly denies these allegations and intends to fight these charges because she is not guilty of them.”

Alex Rodriguez kept it real when talking about Padres star Fernando Tatís Jr. -- who received an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test -- saying he wishes young players would "learn from my stupidity" and not make the same mistakes he made as a player.

A-Rod made the comments during the "KayRod" broadcast of "Sunday Night Baseball" ... with the former NY Yankees slugger saying the young shortstop may never see the Hall of Fame after getting popped, and that disappoints him.

"I wish that a lot of these young players who I admire so much would learn from my stupidity and my debacle," Rodriguez said, "And, it almost brings me to tears to see a kid like Tatis who's 23 years old, that for the rest of his career, he's just going to play it out."

"There's probably no Hall of Fame," A-Rod continued, before acknowledging he will likely never make it to Cooperstown, despite deserving to be there, steroids aside.

"I'm not going to go to the Hall of Fame probably because of my own mistake. And that's heartbreaking for me. It's heartbreaking to explain that to my daughters. But that's on me."

As we reported, Tatis Jr. -- one of the best players in the sport -- was suspended 80 games by MLB for testing positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

On Friday, shortly after the suspension was announced, Fernando issued a statement claiming he accidentally ingested the banned substance when taking medication for ringworm.

Rodriguez -- who played 22 seasons in MLB (3x AL MVP, 14x All-Star -- was suspended in 2013 by commissioner Bud Selig for using performance-enhancing drugs and violating the league's drug prevention and treatment program.

A-Rod, the Yanks third baseman at the time, received a 211-game suspension ... which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2013 season and the entire 2014 campaign.

Rodriguez has admitted to taking the PEDs and recognizes his mistake will be inextricably linked to his career, something he didn't want to be the reality for rising superstars like Tatis.

Brittney Griner is fighting back in her drug case in Russia -- formally filing an appeal of her conviction in the foreign country, days after she was sentenced to 9 years behind bars there.

Griner's attorney confirmed the filing to CNN on Monday. It's not immediately known what the grounds of the appeal are, or when it will be heard in court.

The move, though, was expected -- after Griner was convicted and sentenced on Aug. 4. The WNBA superstar admitted to having hashish oil in her luggage at a Moscow airport, but she told a courtroom she packed it inadvertently and had no intentions at all of breaking the law.

Regardless of the appeal process, the U.S. -- which has called Griner wrongfully detained -- is continuing attempts to strike a prisoner swap deal with Russia in order to bring the 31-year-old home.

"I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates," Biden said following her conviction earlier this month.

"My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible."

"Outer Banks" star Chase Stokes is making a plea to get folks to stop drinking and driving after his stunt double was tragically killed in a hit-and-run car crash.

We caught up with Chase at LAX Friday, and he opened up about the devastating loss of 22-year-old Alexander 'AJ' Jennings. Chase tells us he's still processing the tragic loss, adding it's been tough on the entire cast.

TMZ broke the story ... AJ was killed on July 5 in a hit-in-run crash in South Carolina ... where "Outer Banks" was shooting season 3.

While Chase is completely heartbroken, he hopes this will be a HUGE lesson to other folks on the road. He says he's a big believer in people taking responsibility for their own actions ... saying drinking and driving is a downright stupid decision with real consequences.

Kodak Black says the Florida cops who arrested him for allegedly trafficking oxycodone are still holding onto his car and thousands of dollars in cash nearly a month later ... and now he's out of patience and wants it all back.

Kodak is asking the court to make the Florida Highway Patrol officers who busted him return a Dodge Durango and $74,960 in cash they seized during the arrest ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says his client can prove the car and cash belong to Kodak and were not involved in any illegal activity.

For starters, Cohen claims the Durango is registered to Florida-based record label Sniper Gang, and Kodak is a manager of that entity.

Since Kodak has already turned over the prescriptions for the pills found in the vehicle, Cohen claims there is no legal basis for the police to continue to hold the Durango and should return it pronto.

As for the roughly $75K in cash, Kodak's attorney says he carries so much dough around because he's a rapper and it goes with the territory ... claiming Kodak needs large sums of money on him to pay various expenses on tour. Also, he's often paid in cash for his gigs.

Remember ... cops pulled Kodak's car over last month and say the ride reeked of weed, prompting a search that turned up the cash and 31 oxycodone pills ... this according to cops.

Kodak's attorney claims he ended up providing cops with a prescription for the pills ... and insists there's no basis for cops to continue holding the car and cash as evidence.

The court has yet to rule.

Kim Zolciak-Biermann's daughter, Ariana, was arrested for DUI this weekend ... TMZ has learned.

The 20-year-old social media influencer and reality star was busted Saturday in Forsyth County, GA, and then booked on 3 separate charges ... misdemeanor DUI driving under the influence of alcohol, misdemeanor improper/erratic lane change and underage alcohol possession/purchase of alcohol -- this according to jail records and personnel.

We're told she bonded out the same day -- unclear what time of day this was, but we imagine it was early morning. There's no narrative yet on what exactly may have happened, but we do know her on-and-off boyfriend, 20-year-old Hudson McLeroy, was also arrested on alcohol-related charges this morning ... seemingly while he was with Ariana in the car.

He was also booked for DUI, plus furnishing/purchasing alcohol under 21 and violating his driving permit. Based on Ariana's charges, though, it would appear she was behind the wheel in this instance. Hudson has since been released on bond ... so they're both out.

The only other thing of note is that Ariana was processed with the surname Zolciak (her mom's maiden name), and not her adopted father's name, Biermann. Kroy Biermann adopted both Ari and Brielle back in 2013 -- but it's unclear who their biological father(s) are.

In any case ... she's got a court date ahead of her. And, she'll have company too, it seems.

Shocking news in the baseball world ... Fernando Tatis Jr. -- one of the best players in the MLB -- has just been suspended 80 games!

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the ban on Friday afternoon -- after he and the league say the San Diego Padres' all-world shortstop tested positive for Clostebol, a performance-enhancing substance.

According to the MLB, Tatis' suspension will begin immediately.

The Padres, meanwhile, said in a statement that they were "surprised and extremely disappointed" to learn of the positive test.

The team added that they "fully support" MLB's joint drug prevention and treatment program and "are hopeful that Fernando will learn from this experience."

After sitting out all of this season with a wrist injury, Tatis Jr. was just about to return to the Padres within the next few days.

And, everyone in the org. was stoked for it -- because the team just added stars Juan Soto and Josh Bell at the trade deadline ... and figured the duo, plus Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and the rest of the roster, would then push for a World Series run.

Tatis Jr. will now be ineligible to compete in the postseason this year -- and due to the length of the ban, he'll have to serve part of the suspension in the 2023 season as well.

Kim Kardashian has a million friends ... Jose Cuervo ain't one of them!!!

Kim was on a yacht with the fam celebrating Kylie Jenner's 25th, and what better way than with a round of shots.

Problem is ... the mom of 4 can't throw it back the way she used to, and she choked like Bill Buckner.

KK laughs it off ... at least it appeared so through the hacking fit. The woman clearly loved it. For the record, none of the others had any problem downing the spirits.

As for anyone watching this video who wants to drag Kim because she can't down a drink ... well, she's on a yacht, and you're not!!!

Marshawn Lynch was dragged out of his car by the hood of his sweatshirt and forcibly thrown to the ground during his DUI arrest earlier this week ... new police video shows.

In the footage, which was captured shortly after cops had begun questioning the former NFL star on Aug. 9 in Las Vegas, you can see Lynch was leaned back in the driver's seat of a 2020 Shelby GT500 -- appearing to be uncooperative with cops who were asking him to get out of the ride.

The officers can be heard in the video asking Lynch repeatedly to step out of the car -- but Lynch refused continuously, asking over and over again why he had to leave the vehicle.

After officers told him he was "obstructing an investigation," one of the cops reached in and grabbed him by the orange sweatshirt he was wearing.

The cop then threw the ex-Seattle Seahawks running back on the ground ... and told him, "Roll over. Hands behind your back. No more games today."

Officers then can be heard on the video saying he smelled like alcohol.

In police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops say when they got Lynch back to the station, he was uncooperative there -- and said they "had to use a restraint chair" to draw blood from him after obtaining a search warrant.

Lynch was ultimately booked on several charges, including DUI. He's due in court for a hearing on the matter in December.

The 36-year-old's attorneys, Richard A. Schonfeld and David Z. Chesnoff, released a statement on the matter Thursday afternoon ... saying, "Marshawn was not pulled over for a DUI. Rather the vehicle was safely parked and not in operation. We are confident that when all evidence is presented, this will not be a DUI under Nevada law. Marshawn appreciates and is thankful for everyone’s concern and support."