News

Peanut the Squirrel's owners are gearing up for an upcoming legal battle ... filing an official notice of their intention to sue the State of New York for the death of their beloved pet.

Mark Longo and Daniela Bittner filed a notice of their intention to make a claim against the government for the death of Peanut and their raccoon, Fred ... alleging unlawful search and seizure, violation of freedom of speech, and other due process violations.

Longo and Bittner say the incident was the result of negligence, carelessness, and recklessness by the state of NY and its agents ... saying they may have violated due process laws by not revealing to a judge their intention to kill the animals after raiding Longo and Bittner's home.

John Shahidi, who manages the popular podcasters the Nelk Boys, is the driving force behind Donald Trump considering adding a modern twist to the White House Press Briefing room ... and he's telling us how this media landscape-altering idea came about.

John joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and explained why the President-elect seems responsive to his grand idea to credential bro podcasters for the administration's upcoming daily media briefings.

Trump hit the podcast circuit hard during the election and John says that helped him gain traction with younger generations of voters, particularly men, who consume podcasts as opposed to traditional news outlets ... like the ABCs, CNNs and NBCs of the world.

Explosive footage out of Brazil shows the terrifying moment a burning, out-of-control bus crashes into an electrical pole ... sparking a fiery blast, and sending people running for cover.

The scary situation unfolded Monday on the streets of Sao Paulo, and the video picks up with the bus already engulfed in flames, and rolling down the street.

The public transit bus crashes into a light pole outside a business on a busy street ... and then there's a big explosion ... with flames shooting out of the bus' roof and windows, and smoke billowing into the air.

This is no way to score an upgrade -- new video shows a United Airlines passenger standing on his seat, furiously kicking and trying his level best to destroy it.

The man flew into a full rage during the United flight from Austin to L.A., silently doing all he could to smash his coach seat to smithereens ... while other passengers on the flight watched in horror, no doubt wondering what the hell was wrong with the guy.

Decked out in gray sweatpants, the unidentified flyer's bizarre violence streak continued until another passenger, Gino Galofaro -- who recorded the Nov. 16 attack -- stepped in to hold him down. Gino says 2 other passengers ran to get zip ties, and all 3 of them eventually restrained him.

It's not safe anywhere these days ... thieves jumped 2 people right on Rodeo Drive in broad daylight and the attack was so intense, one of the victims appears to have suffered a seizure.

The video (below) is shocking ... a man and a woman were strolling on the famed street in Bev Hills, walking with designer bags.

Bill Maher went off the rails Friday night over liberals who are boycotting Trump family members during the holidays.

The "Real Time" host got down and dirty over folks who view their political opponents as enemies and not worthy of company.

He has a great story ... writer Larissa Phillips and her husband -- both Brooklyn liberals -- moved to upstate New York and had a swarm of neighbors who were Trumpers. Their fear turned into gratitude when they saw how their non-like-minded neighbors ended up being caring people. Bill's words -- "It's almost like there are fine people on both sides."

The Osundairo brothers -- the two men who helped Jussie Smollett stage his hate crime hoax -- say they were taken aback ... not by his conviction being overturned, but because he never copped to what he did.

Abel and Ola sat down for an interview on "Fox & Friends" Friday morning ... and, they were asked about their thoughts on the Illinois State Supreme Court throwing out Jussie's conviction.

The two bros say they were taken by surprise initially ... 'cause, even though they understand Jussie has due process rights, he never actually admitted to his role in the hate crime hoax.

Travel nightmare for a man flying out of Dallas ... he got shot with a Taser and arrested after being barred from boarding his flight ... and the intense police interaction is all on video.

The incident went down Wednesday night at Dallas Love Field airport, and the footage picks up with the thwarted traveler on his knees in the middle of the terminal, holding his hands up as three cops close in.

In the video, the guy hurls expletives at police ... telling them not to get near him and egging them on when one Dallas police officer pulls out his Taser.

One flight had to handle some serious turbulence -- courtesy of a fitness influencer launching into an extreme "bodypump" workout, much to the horror of the other passengers, one of whom recorded the scene.

Barbara de Regil, a former Mexican soap star turned fitness queen with over 9M IG followers, decided to unwind on a long-haul flight by turning the aisle into her personal gym.

Most people usually stick to light stretching or a casual stroll up and down the aisle, but Barbara clearly has zero social anxiety, crowding other passengers' already-cramped personal space to get in her exercise.

Jyoti Amge and Rumeysa Gelgi may have a 5-foot difference in their height, but the world's shortest woman and the world's tallest woman have learned they have more in common than they might realize.

The record-holders recently came together for a girls' day in London for the 20th annual Guinness World Records Day ... where they enjoyed a fancy afternoon tea at The Savoy Hotel and got to know one another.

Watch the video ... Jyoti and Rumeysa beam wide as they sip on their respective cups of tea, which look noticeably different in each of their hands.

One church in Switzerland is taking religion into the modern age ... introducing an A.I. hologram of Jesus, who is doling out advice to parishioners.

Theologian Marco Schmid, who works for the church, tells TMZ ... the experience is similar to that of a Catholic confession, with churchgoers stepping into a confessional booth at St. Peter’s Chapel in Lucerne for a private moment behind a closed door. However, rather than a priest greeting them behind a screen, the face of A.I. Jesus pops up, looking exactly as you'd expect -- with a young face, long black hair, and a beard.

A.I. Jesus has already left an impact on the faithful, speaking more than 100 languages and moving in sync with the words it dishes out. We're told more than 1,000 conversations have already taken place between churchgoers and the A.I. Immanuel over a 2-month period ... but A.I. Jesus is currently viewed as an experiment, not a permanent replacement for priests. St. Peter's is the oldest Catholic church in the city, BTW.

Jim Carrey's older sister Rita has died ... this according to her husband of 16 years, Alex.

Rita's husband posted the update on Facebook Friday morning, where he shared the radio personality passed away "peacefully and quietly" on Thursday.

As he continued, Rita's husband remembered her as his "bestest friend," "lover" and "beautiful wife."

The Pentagon is coming clean about a number of unidentifiable flying phenomena in a new report ... including one "near miss" encounter between a commercial plane and a UFO on the East Coast.

The eyebrow-raising case, which was among 757 instances explored in the report, took place in the past year off the coast of New York state. Per the annual report, an airline crew flagged a "near miss with a ‘cylindrical object’ while over the Atlantic Ocean" to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Though it's unclear when exactly the instance took place, or which airline was involved, the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is investigating the matter ... as there may have been a "flight safety issue" during the unexplained encounter.

Alex Jones having his InfoWars website taken over by The Onion is poetic justice ... at least as far as the parent of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim is concerned.

David Wheeler, whose son Benjamin was one of the first-graders murdered at the elementary school in 2012, tells TMZ ... he's happy the satirical news site is the new owner of Jones' pride and joy ... and he can't think of a better example of karma.

Jones had to put InfoWars up for auction to pay off his debts, including the $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit he lost to families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.

U.S. Congressional Democrats might take some tips from this wild scene in New Zealand's Parliament, where minority lawmakers staged a fierce protest ... leaving one party leader shaking in his boots.

Right in the middle of a critical Parliamentary vote Thursday, members of the opposition party interrupted the prim and proper process by busting out the indigenous Maori war dance called the Haka.

Opposition party Member of Parliament Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke kicked it off when she was called on to vote yay or nay, but instead shouted the opening cry of the Haka while ripping up the legislation.

Chanel Maya Banks -- an actress with credits on shows like "Blue Bloods" and "Gossip Girl" -- has been found safe and sound ... this after she was reported missing last week.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Chanel has now been found safe and sound. She doesn't have any injuries and foul play isn't suspected.

ICYMI ... authorities reportedly conducted a welfare check at the L.A. apartment Chanel shares with her husband last week ... where they found all her belongings as well as her dog -- but, no sign of the actress.