News

"Arthur" -- the longest-running children's animated series in U.S. TV history -- is coming to an end. And it begs a question ... Hey, what gives?!

Carol Greenwald, executive producer of the PBS kids show, confirmed in an email to IGN that "the winter of 2022, the 25th and final season of Arthur will debut." For what it's worth ... she also said the production company and PBS KIDS will "work together on additional Arthur content, sharing the lessons of Arthur and his friends in new ways." Streaming, anyone?

Anyway ... sad to see "Arthur" go away on the small screen. The kids show debuted on PBS back in 1996 and produced over 240 episodes. The show's based on Marc Brown's "Arthur Adventure" book series.

The series -- which in its long run hauled in 4 Emmys and a Peabody Award -- tackled tons of social issues between family and friends in the fictional town of Elwood City.

Most recently, Arthur's longtime classroom teacher, Mr. Ratburn, married a guy in the season 22 debut. No question about it ... the theme was a monumental moment in TV history.

The children's TV show also forever etched its name in pop culture lore thanks to the memorable memes that bridge generations.

An Olympic gymnast made a powerful statement during her floor routine this weekend ... by getting on one knee and holding up her fist as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement.

18-year-old Luciana Alvarado is the first Costa Rican gymnast to EVER qualify for the Olympics ... and used her platform to shine a light on the fight for equality.

Of course, the International Olympic Committee is allowing athletes to demonstrate at the 2020 Games in Tokyo ... as long as it's not at a medal ceremony or during competition.

Alvarado found of a loophole by including the gesture into her performance ... saying she wanted to send a message of "the importance of everyone treated with respect and dignity and everyone having the same rights."

Alvarado says it's special to use her stage to show those fighting for equality that she stands in solidarity with them.

"Because we’re all the same," Alvarado said, according to the AP. "And we’re all beautiful and amazing."

DOH!!! A TV reporter in Germany was caught redhanded smearing mud on herself moments before going on air to pretend she'd been helping with a massive flood cleanup effort.

It all unfolded on a report covering the aftermath of torrential floods in Germany and across Europe. But little did the reporter, Susanna Ohlen, know ... some onlooker secretly recorded her casually smearing mud on herself before going live.

The network had apparently been so impressed with her faux effort, it posted a story with the headline "Cleaning up after the flood: RTL presenter Susanna Ohlen lends a hand in Bad Muenstereifel."

Ohlen is seen during her report talking about the extensive damage caused by the flooding. She's holding what appears to be a shovel and some gloves ... presumably to telegraph they were the tools she used before going on the air.

The secretly-recorded video was eventually uploaded on Twitter ... and just hours later the story applauding her help was yanked and Ohlen was suspended.

A spokesperson for the network said, "Our reporter's approach clearly contradicts journalistic principles and our own standards. We, therefore, gave her leave of absence on Monday after we heard about it."

So, what gives? Ohlen, who later apologized, explained it this way -- "After I had already privately helped out in the region on previous days, on that morning I was ashamed to appear on camera in front of the other aid workers with a clean upper body."

She added, "So I unthinkingly smeared mud on my clothing. This should never have happened to me as a journalist. It happened to me as a person whose heart was touched by the suffering of all those affected."

Jeff Bezos says he wants his virgin trip to space to become something everyday people can do on the regs -- almost like catching an airline flight ... which his company is aiming to do through their shuttles.

The richest man on Earth made the morning media rounds Monday, including a chat with Michael Strahan of 'GMA' -- who went down the line, introducing the 3 others accompanying Bezos to space Tuesday and hyping their launch.

82-year-old astronaut Wally Funk said she felt like her life dream was coming full circle; 18-year-old Oliver Daemen said he hoped he could serve as an inspiration for the youth, and Mark Bezos said he was excited to go on yet another adventure with his sibling ... with this trip obviously being the ultimate.

Standard pre-maiden trip to space kinda stuff -- but Jeff also dropped some new insight into Blue Origins plans with their shuttles -- namely, that they're planning to turn the spacecrafts eco-friendly by making them reusable for repeated voyages going forward.

He compared it to commercial airliners that zip back and forth in the skies now -- explaining that he and BO hope to get to that type of efficiency in the near future. So ... that's neat.

The implication (we think) is that it hopefully won't cost folks an arm and a leg to get up there one day. No telling what type of eventual price tag Bezos has in mind -- but if they're serious about the rinse and repeat approach ... maybe there's a future Groupon coming???

The remaining section of the collapsed condo building in Florida has been demolished ... it went exactly according to plan and could actually help in the rescue/recovery effort.

Explosives were detonated in the middle of the night Sunday ... bringing down the remaining structure of the tower. Authorities made the move to get ahead of a looming tropical storm, which could have caused the structure to fall to the ground ... severely hampering the search.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett warned extreme winds could have destabilized what remained of the Champlain Tower South, endangering search crews.

Residents in nearby buildings were urged to stay inside and close all windows to prevent debris and dust from coming in.

The demolition could actually assist in the search efforts ... rescuers are now able to access the underground garage, which had not been accessible before.

So far, 24 bodies have been found ... 121 people are still unaccounted for, but it's been 11 days since the collapse and after the first few hours no one has been pulled out alive.

Search teams resume their work Monday

John Stamos showed some major versatility Sunday as he played a variety of instruments when he joined the Beach Boys for a really cool performance celebrating the 4th.

John put his pipes on display for "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "California Girls," and "Sloop John B," in front of a huge crowd in Ft. Lauderdale as part of the CNN 4th of July special.

John's been a staple with the group, even showing up in the 1888 music video for "Kokomo."  He's been a frequent guest with the group on July 4th's past and also made a couple of appearances during the Beach Boys 50th reunion tour back in 2012.

Meghan McCain is leaving "The View," and the reason why is absolutely because of a series of nasty back-and-forths with her cohosts ... TMZ has confirmed.

Sources tell TMZ ... Meghan felt it was too hard for her being the only conservative voice on the show and it had become too challenging, as she felt she was getting ganged up on every day.

We're told McCain will address her departure Thursday on the show. It's unclear exactly what reason she'll give the audience for her departure, but make no mistake ... it's about the politics. Remember, she gave birth to a daughter back in September, so it's possible she may also mention wanting to spend more time with her baby girl.

The news comes a little over a month after Meghan and Joy Behar's last major on-air blowup -- the one that prompted ABC News President Kim Godwin to step in and call a last-minute meeting demanding all of the 'View' cohosts chill with personal attacks.

Our sources at the time also said ABC was getting flooded with pleas to fire Meghan over her latest tantrum and attacks on Joy ... which is what sparked the virtual meeting.

We were also told Godwin told the staff their personal attacks are coming off as toxic to the audience. The issue, we were told, weren't the debates ... but the attacks between the cohosts.

This is the latest shakeup in daytime talk shows. Remember, their competition over at "The Talk" just had to blow up their show, firing Sharon Osbourne after her very personal on-air battle with Sheryl Underwood.

A hot-air balloon ride in New Mexico quickly turned into a deadly nightmare -- as the gondola that was carrying the riders snapped clean off ... and plummeted to the ground below, killing several.

This tragedy happened Saturday morning in Albuquerque, where at least 5 people were riding in a hot-air balloon above the city ... when, according to preliminary investigations, their basket carrier somehow detached from the balloon -- leaving them in a free fall descent.

The balloon itself floated down after them -- crumpling under its own weight in the air -- which was captured on video by several different bystanders. Important to note -- the people are not seen falling in these clips ... presumably, they'd already hit the ground by this point.

Reports say the basket crashed into some power lines ... which sent the carrier up in flames, and caused an electrical outage in the area, not to mention a crazy crash scene in the road.

Four people are said to have died from the fall -- reportedly in the ages of 40-60 -- but one was transported to the hospital in critical condition ... and docs are working on saving them. Unclear, for now, what exactly went wrong up there for something like this to happen, but it's terrifying nonetheless.

The Miami condominium building that partially crumbled to the ground -- leaving at least 4 dead and dozens of others unaccounted for -- seemed to be an accident waiting to happen ... at least that's what an engineering report suggested as early as 2018.

The city of Surfside -- where this awful tragedy happened -- released a number of docs related to the building, known as Champlain Towers South, and its architectural history ... and one report from engineering firm Morabito Consultants has some potentially damning findings.

According to the study, the experts found "major structural damage" to a concrete structural slab below the building's pool deck -- where the waterproofing had been laid flat as opposed to at an angle (which would help drain water from the place) ... something MC thought needed to be addressed, and which would require extensive and costly repairs.

Here's what the engineers thought could happen if this wasn't nipped in the bud ... "The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas." They add ominously, "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially."

There's more ... the report also found "abundant cracking and spalling" in the concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Not just that, but what cracks had been found before were apparently repaired with shoddy labor, including slapping epoxy on top.

The collapse of a 12-story Miami condo building has left 4 people dead and more than 150 feared dead as search and rescue efforts continue ... but a lawsuit's already been filed over the disaster.

A class-action suit has been brought against the Champlain Towers Condominium Association following Thursday's tragedy in South Florida, seeking to "compensate the victims of this unfathomable loss."

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... "repair needs had been identified" concerning certain structural elements with the building, but allegedly those repairs were not done.

The condo association is accused of failing to protect the people and property "through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures, and oversight" that could have prevented the catastrophic collapse.

The suit seeks more than $5 million in damages.

As we reported ... the building's collapse destroyed at least 70 units of the 135-unit structure. At least 4 people were killed, and as many as 159 people are unaccounted for.

So far, the authorities have not released a possible cause for the collapse, but there are reports that the building has been sinking into the ground since the '90s.

Daredevil Alex Harvill -- a famous motorcycle stuntman -- died Thursday after crashing during a world-record jump attempt.

He was just 28 years old.

The scene was absolutely horrifying ... Harvill was trying to launch his bike off a ramp 351 feet at the Moses Lake Airshow in Washington -- when he came up short and crash-landed into a dirt mound.

Harvill was thrown over his handlebars, and tumbled dozens of feet before he finally came to a stop.

According to the Grant County Sheriff's Office, Harvill later died from the injuries he suffered during the accident.

The Sheriff's office added Harvill's family has been notified ... and said an autopsy will be conducted on Friday to determine the cause and manner of his death.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to Alex’s family, friends and loved ones," the Sheriff's office said.

The Airshow, meanwhile, had vowed to donate all of the proceeds from Harvill's jump Thursday to help pay his medical bills.

Harvill -- who just welcomed his second baby into the world last month -- was a very experienced stuntman ... he had previously set a world record in 2013 when he jumped from one dirt ramp to another 297 feet away.

RIP

The crew that kept up with the Kardashians for nearly 15 years got a proper goodbye along with the reality series ... in the form of a fun, heartfelt video highlighting all the good times.

Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian and her sisters, Khloe and Kourtney, all shared thank you tributes to the people behind the cameras for 20 seasons of 'KUWTK' ... folks they say are considered forever family.

The 'Krew Wrap Video' was shared by Cesar Castillo -- a member of the production team -- who said the series finale brought a 14-year journey to an end for many of them ... in which they made a lot of memories.

As the montage shows ... 'KUWTK' took the crew all over the world -- from South Africa and Bali to Rome and The Maldives -- as well as to events like the Cannes Film Festival and Kanye's tour.

There were also the spin-off shows with Kourtney, Khloe and Lamar Odom ... and so much more. As Kim says ... these people captured all their best and worst moments and knew and kept all their secrets.

The greatest show on Earth is in the sky above it in the form of the year's first solar eclipse -- and the "Ring of Fire" is pretty awesome to see.

The solar eclipse -- when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth to create a so-called "Ring of Fire" effect -- started early Thursday morning. The best views are in Canada, from north of the Great Lakes to northeastern Canada, on up to the Arctic Ocean.

It later passed over the North Pole before ending in northeastern Siberia.

NASA said other countries in the Northern Hemisphere -- like the UK and Ireland -- were also able to see a partial eclipse, but only saw a fingernail-shaped shadow.

Some parts of the U.S. ... including northern Alaska, the southeast, Midwest and northeast caught a glimpse too. Although, most Americans didn't get the full "Ring of Fire" effect ... it still looked pretty badass.

For instance, one of the coolest shots of the eclipse came out of the NY area with the Statue of the Liberty in the foreground. Wow!

If you missed this eclipse, don't fret. There will be another one on November 19 -- a partial eclipse of the moon viewable in North America and Hawaii.

Cops are searching for 2 brash, and slightly bruised, jerks who robbed a UPS driver in broad daylight -- and another driver's dash cam captured the whole incident, including the suspects' comical getaway.

The attack went down last week in San Francisco's busy downtown area, where one suspect -- wearing a face-covering -- hopped out of a car and started throwing a flurry of punches at a UPS driver named Minh.

Minh told KPIX-TV the attacker first swiped a package from his cart, and when he tried to retrieve it things turned violent. Although he tried his best to fend off the punches, he says he got hit in the face and lost 2 teeth ... in addition to suffering a black eye.

The guy who was punching Minh ended up dropping the package, and attempting to jump into his buddy's car -- but as they tried to speed away, the puncher fell HARD out of the moving vehicle!!!

That's the only awesome part of this video. Well, that and the fact the suspects' license plate is clearly visible.

No arrests made yet, but armed with this video, you'd think it's just a matter of time before cops track down these tools.

Mariah Carey's looking to downsize and try something new -- that's the real reason she's parted ways with Jay-Z's Roc Nation, not any personal feud ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the situation tell us ... Mariah prefers to work with a smaller team where she has more personal time with managers, and Jay's powerhouse agency has a more wide-ranging business model.

We're told at Roc, artists like Mariah could have 20 or more people working on her team in various departments -- marketing, social media, music, merchandise, etc. -- and she simply felt it was time to pare down to a more intimate team.

Our sources say there was no "explosive argument" between the 2 music legends as reported by some outlets -- something Mariah shot down on Twitter. We're told they actually decided a couple months ago to amicably end the business relationship that started in 2017.

Carey's joining Range Media Partners, a move we're told also coincides with her manager Melissa Ruderman doing the same thing. Ruderman left Roc in early 2021 to become a partner in the music division at Range, and we're told she's still going to be working with Mariah.

Range is no small agency, but our sources say it uses smaller teams of skilled managers for clients ... which is exactly what Mariah wants these days.

Simone Biles proved yet again why she's the G.O.A.T this weekend ... 'cause the gymnastics superstar just took home her SEVENTH national title -- becoming the first woman to EVER win that many championships!!

The 24-year-old Olympic gold medalist straight-up dominated the competition at the US Gymnastics Championships in Texas ... winning first place by an incredible 4.7-point advantage.

Of course, Biles is known to be a trailblazer in the sport ... and lived up to her reputation when she nailed her signature "Biles II" move -- two flips and three twists BACKWARDS -- during her floor routine.

FYI -- The move was named after Biles in 2019 ... after she became the first woman to successfully nail it in competition.

Biles explained her decision to go so hard after winning the competition, saying, "I feel like I did try to enjoy it because it could be one of my last championships that I'll attend."

"But it's also the road to Tokyo, and after this we have trials, so we just have to really embrace the moment."

To make things even better, Biles' NFL player boyfriend, Jonathan Owens, was able to watch her in person ... and raved about his girl in a super mushy Instagram post.

"What an amazing experience 👏🏽," the Houston Texans safety said Sunday.

"First time getting to watch you compete in person and you didn’t disappoint. It’s so cool that i get to watch you do what you love, and be the best at that ‼️ I’m so proud of you my lil champ 🥰❤️."

"Trials up next and you already know I’m there!! Love you baby."

Biles responded to the touching shoutout ... saying, "I love you so much 🤎 I’m so happy you got to come watch while in the middle of OTA’s 😘😘 you a real one."