Ride Me

Famed White House Crasher Tareq Salahi wants to capitalize on Barack Obama's good political vibes -- because he rented Obama's former tour bus to use for his very own campaign for Virginia governor.

TMZ has learned ... Tareq sought out the company that rented Barack's bus -- even though he's a Republican -- because he thinks it was "good luck" for the Prez ... and hopes it rubs off on him.

Tareq has already provided the company with an artist's rendering of how the bus should look when it's finished (pictured above) and it contains all the essentials -- a giant face and a cheesy slogan.

The bus costs a grand total of $149,300 to rent from January to April -- and Tareq tells TMZ, he's already put down the $59,300 deposit.

Sounds worth it too -- the bus comes with a full kitchen, three 50" HDTVs, high speed wireless, a full office equipped with printers and copiers , sleeping quarters, full bath with shower and various seating areas ... the very same bus Obama used for his 2012 Presidential campaign.

Now all he has to do is win. Easy ... right?

Steve Jobs' $197 million super yacht "Venus" has been literally CHAINED to a dock in Amsterdam by Dutch authorities ... after the ship's designer claimed the Jobs family stiffed him on $4 million in unpaid wages.

The designer -- Philippe Starck -- claims the late Apple founder had agreed to pay him a fee that equaled 6% of the ship's building cost ... back when Jobs commissioned the yacht in 2009 ... but no formal contract was ever written up.

Starck claims the yacht cost roughly $197 million to build -- entitling him to an estimated $12 million fee.

But the Jobs family insists the boat only cost $138 million -- meaning Starck deserves no more than $8 million.

Starck has since obtained an Amsterdam court order, requiring the family to pay the $4 million balance ... or the massive 260 ft yacht stays chained to the dock.

FYI -- the boat was only launched a couple months ago. Jobs passed away in October 2011.

Nothing fake about this ... former WWE champ The Miz in a real life Navy fighter plane ... BREAKING THE SPEED OF SOUND ... and TMZ has the footage.

It all went down in Virginia Beach last week ... when Miz crawled into an F/A-18 fighter for the WWE's annual "Tribute to the Troops" show, which will air on NBC and the USA network on December 19th and 22nd.

We're told Miz had to complete a rigorous training process before he was cleared to fly with Squadron VFA-211 -- aka the "Fighting Checkmates." Once he got in the air, Miz hauled ass through the atmosphere at a speed of Mach 1.2.

Michael Madsen's September joyride continues to be a drag ... cause the actor has just been charged with 2 counts of DUI stemming from his arrest ... TMZ has learned.

We broke the story ... The "Reservoir Dogs" star was popped while hotrodding around Malibu in his badass Pontiac GTO. According to cops, Madsen bombed his field sobriety test and blew .20 on the breathalyzer -- more than twice the legal limit.

At the time, Madsen's attorney Perry Wander insisted the breathalyzer was "flawed."

On Wednesday, the L.A. City Attorney filed 2 misdemeanor counts of DUI against Madsen -- one for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and another for driving with a BAC of .08 or higher.

If convicted on both counts, Madsen could face up to two years in jail ... but since it doesn't appear Michael has a prior DUI conviction, it's unlikely he'll serve any time behind bars.

Madsen's attorney tells TMZ ... "We intend to vigorously defend the charges."

Ashley Olsen was on board an American Airlines flight when smoke forced pilots to cancel the flight this morning ... TMZ has learned.

Sources on board AA flight 2421 tell us the plane was departing from Dallas when something went wrong with an engine shortly after pulling away from the gate.

According to fire officials at DFW ... the cockpit filled with smoke, and the pilots quickly returned to the terminal.

Our sources say Ashley was among the roughly 200 passengers who got off the plane safely.

Stacey Koon -- the former LAPD sergeant who did prison time for zapping Rodney King with a taser -- has changed careers -- he's now driving a limo.

An independent photog got Koon driving a limo for Music Express, the high-end private transport company. Koon, who was leaving LAX, scoffed at the photog, who asked if he had a reaction to Rodney King's death.

The beating occurred nearly 22 years ago. So we gotta ask.

It might look like Doc Brown was driving his time machine around, but it's really just the most famous replica of the famous DeLorean from "Back to the Future."

Paul Nigh -- who spent $150,000 customizing the car to look just like the one from the movie -- dressed in full Doc Brown garb and took the DeLorean for a spin in Woodland Hills yesterday.

Dr. Phil has been REUNITED with his stolen '57 Chevy ... TMZ has learned cops recovered the $100,000 ride after it was jacked from a repair shop earlier this year.

We broke the story ... some scumbag (or scumbags) smashed into an auto repair shop in Burbank back in August while Phil was having the transmission serviced ... and made off with the car.

Cops launched an investigation ... and this morning, law enforcement tracked down the car in Burbank at 7:25 AM ... INTACT ... with minimal damage.

We're told cops have arrested several suspects -- who they believe have been pulling the same stunt at vehicle repair shops all over town ... jacking multiple classic rides in the process.

Sources say ... at least 14 different classic cars have been recovered during the investigation.

We reached out to Phil who said, "I can’t say enough about the LA County Sheriff's Department and of the LAPD Trap West - particularly, Detective George Molina. Their tireless efforts and hard work resulted in the in-tact recovery of my car and the arrest of some prolific car thieves."

Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend Nick Gordon was listening to the Whitney Houston classic "I Will Always Love You" at FULL BLAST when police pulled him over for reckless driving -- and TMZ has obtained the dash cam footage of his arrest.

In the video, Gordon tells the police officer he keeps a 9mm gun in his glove box. The cop checks it out after putting Gordon in his cruiser, and based on the video, it appears the gun is legit.

We broke the story ... Nick was popped in Alpharetta, Georgia last week just after cops say he was going 82 mph in a 35 mph zone near a pedestrian-jammed shopping area.

You can see in the video, Gordon was driving a Chevy Camaro -- the same kind of car BK was driving when she crashed into an embankment hours before Nick was arrested.

Heather Morris' neighbors are about to put together their own rendition of the classic Ludacris song "Move Bitch" ... because the "Glee" star keeps parking her car on the sidewalk in front of her L.A. apartment building and it's DRIVING THEM CRAZY.

TMZ obtained a few pics of Heather's Prius parked right up on the curb, blocking the entrance to her apartment building.

We're told Morris does have a parking spot in the building, but chooses to park her car there anyway ... simply because it's easier.

Heather isn't getting away with the renegade parking job scott free -- records show she got five parking tickets in the month of August alone ... but it hasn't detoured the actress.

Hayden Panettiere was involved in a BMW vs. Geo Prism car crash in Tennessee earlier this month ... TMZ has learned ... and a witness told cops it all could have been prevented if Hayden hadn't run a red light.

The crash occurred on November 14th in Nashville -- where Hayden films her show "Nashville" -- and according to the crash report, the accident occurred for two reasons ... 1) Hayden ran a red light ... and 2) the other driver turned into Hayden's lane.

According to the report, Hayden was driving in the right lane through an intersection when the other driver made a left turn into her lane -- instead of into the left lane.

A witness reported Hayden had a red light at the time of the accident.

According to the report, both vehicles were towed from the scene -- but thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. Calls to Hayden's people were not returned.

Adult film star Briana Banks -- star of the classic films "Chinny Chinny Bang Bang" and "Vaggie Burger" -- was arrested for DUI in L.A. this week ... TMZ has learned.

According to law enforcement, Banks -- an AVN porn Hall of Famer -- got into a fender bender with another car around 9 AM on Wednesday.

Moments after the incident, we're told a witness contacted police ... and advised them that Banks may have been under the influence of something at the time of the crash.

We're told cops spotted Briana's car leaving the drive-thru at a nearby Micky D's -- so they pulled her over ... and gave her a field sobriety test.

Banks bombed ... and was immediately arrested for being under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

The XXX star was hauled to a nearby station where she was booked and released. No word if she was allowed to keep the munchies she scored during the fast food run.

The Game got a birthday present last night in Hollywood from the police ... in the form of a ticket for having tinted windows and no license plate. Just what he always wanted!

The outspoken rapper bitched about the ticket on his way into the Roxbury -- and then on his way out, he told our photog he plans on getting EVERYBODY in his crew a Rolex for Christmas. Take that, Oprah!

Proving he's the hottest ticket in town, "Argo" actor/director Ben Affleck got nailed with a parking citation in Santa Monica on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old came back from strolling with one of his daughters to find a ticket on the windshield of his Land Rover.

Affleck is no stranger to car drama, last month he sideswiped a parked Honda ... but did the right thing and left a note with all his info.

Gerard Depardieu wound up in a French police station today ... after cops say the actor was drunk driving around Paris on a scooter.

According to reports, Gerard -- who starred in "Green Card" back in the '90s -- fell off his scooter like a drunken idiot ... catching the attention of police, who took the 63-year-old into custody.

Gerard was reportedly held for questioning ... and later escorted back to his home. He'll eventually have to appear in court to handle the matter.

Nick Gordon -- Bobbi Kristina's boyfriend -- was ALL SMILES after cops arrested him for reckless driving last night ... and TMZ has the mug shot that proves it.

We broke the story ... Nick was popped in Alpharetta, Georgia just after 6:30 pm after cops say he was going 82 mph in a 35 mph zone near a shopping area with high pedestrian foot traffic.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, Gordon was driving a Chevy Camaro -- the same kind of car BK was driving when she crashed into an embankment hours before Nick was arrested.