Weird News

Former United States Presidents are going to new heights -- well, samples of their hair are ... because they'll be shot into space in honor of Presidents Day.

Hair samples from George Washington, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan will soon be rockin' zero Gs ... scoring a ride on Celestis' upcoming deep space Enterprise Mission atop the Vulcan Centaur rocket.

The launch from the company, which specializes in memorial spaceflights, marks the first time a President or any part thereof has taken to space.

We're told the samples were originally held by celebrity hair collector, Louis Mushro -- yup, that's a real job. It's all legit, with the requisite certificates of authenticity.

Mushro passed away in 2014, but the follicles were later sent to the spaceflight company by an anonymous donor.

As we reported, Celestis is also hosting the launch of a hair sample from "Star Trek" star DeForest Kelley and the ashes of Nichelle Nichols. We're told the past presidents will be sharin' space with the intergalactic actors later this year when the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral.

Barney is back with a brand new look, but not everyone is feeling the digital makeover ... dragging the reboot character all across the internet.

Mattel Television made the major announcement Monday, revealing the throwback show "Barney & Friends" is making a comeback. The company also showed off a brand new Barney for the reimagined franchise.

However, the 'new and improved' Barney -- set to officially debut in 2024 -- clearly isn't sitting well with the majority of folks on social media.

One user wrote, "THAT AIN’T BARNEY BRUH THEY DID MY MANS DIRTY"." ... another said, "Why does Barney look like he’s sky high cracked on cocaine? That face is unsettling as hell."

Demi Lovato got her start on Barney in the early 2000s -- and her mom, Dianna De La Garza, also had something to say about the new look, "Aww man… I hate change😂".

"Barney & Friends" debuted in 1992 and aired all the way until November 2010.

Now, Mattel says the Barney reboot will be expanding to film, YouTube and music ... in addition to the TV series and a wide range of kids' products, which includes toys, books and clothing.

The White House is batting down any notion that what they shot out of the skies this weekend are of another world -- but it's still not entirely clear what we're dealing with.

Press Sec. Karine Jean-Pierre briefly addressed this with the media Monday before clearing the podium for other Biden admin officials who discussed it further -- and it was then that she said clear as day ... these were not aliens.

Here's her exact wording ... "There is no indication of aliens or extra-terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns. Again, there is no indication of aliens or terrestrial activity with these recent takedowns."

KJP went on to note that the administration had obviously been hearing a lot about it, but again stressed this wasn't in the realm of "E.T." What she didn't clarify, however, was what the airborne objects actually were ... neither did National Security official who followed her.

John Kirby -- who serves on Biden's National Security Council -- said the U.S. had not yet fully and properly assessed what the latest downed objects are ... and that they're still out there collecting and studying to figure out the exact nature and origin of them.

What Kirby did reveal is still somewhat shrouded in mystery -- apparently, these most recent UFOs had no discernable communication systems, no propulsion systems and no real maneuvering capabilities ... and they were also unmanned. The government has also said they're definitely not balloon-type crafts -- but still can't quite pin down a good description.

We had theoretical physicist Avi Loeb on TMZ Live Monday, who provided a little clarity and comfort to those worried about the UFOs from the weekend ... telling us there's nothing to be afraid of ... at least not yet!

Things are getting pissy on the set of the upcoming "Joker" sequel ... we're told extras are angry over the lack of bathroom access, causing tension with production.

Sources on set tell TMZ ... extras for the movie have been complaining about working for over 2 hours nonstop and not being allowed to use the bathroom or drink water during filming at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank.

We're told the potty problems are mainly cropping up when extras are on set for camera setups, which often last between 20 minutes to an hour. The background actors fear repercussions if they ask higher-ups to use the loo ... that's because they say some extras have already been berated.

Our sources say one extra had to use the bathroom "terribly" between camera setups, but in order to do so, they first had to "state their case" to the assistant director as to why it was really an emergency.

When the extra was on their way back to set after using the bathroom, we're told they grabbed a cup of water and an assistant director said to them, "Why are you drinking more water? So you have to go pee again?"

We're told another A.D. was overheard saying, "I've never had to go to the bathroom this much. What do they even do in there? Cause they definitely aren't using them."

With the shoot tentatively scheduled for 5 weeks, there's a lot of money and regular work on the table for extras during a normally slow period in Hollywood, which is why some don't want to ruffle any feathers over bathroom breaks.

We've learned SAG received a complaint about a break time violation and they investigated and spoke to production. We're told production's been cooperative and SAG will continue to follow up and monitor the set.

"Joker: Folie à Deux" is set to be released in 2024 ... and it's starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Filming began in December.

It's the second time there have been bathroom issues on a "Joker" movie set ... as we first told you, during filming for the first movie back in 2018, extras were locked in a Brooklyn subway car for more than 3 hours and started peeing on the tracks.

Jason Derulo is ahead of the curve -- that, or trying to get on the good side of AI before the apocalypse ... ushering in a new type of backup dancer, the electronic kind.

The singer got a massive amount of double takes Sunday while he performed during the TikTok Tailgate -- a pre-Super Bowl show that was hosted just outside of the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, where the big game will be played in just a couple hours here.

The reason for the stares ... JD was up there dancing alongside literal robots, and not just any regular ones  -- they appeared to be similar in style to what Boston Dynamics makes.

Of course, we're talking about Spot ... the (normally) yellow robotic dog that BD created years ago, and which they've demonstrated time and again over time -- highlighting its high functionality and potential capabilities in the real world, including possible crime fighting.

The robo-dogs on stage with Jason didn't quite look exactly like Spot -- but they were close enough ... and, more importantly, they were up there in lockstep with him and the music.

There were human dancers as well, but Twitter couldn't take their eyes off the dogs ... and the questions/jokes started to fly, Like, for example -- WHY?!? Another one ... HOW?!? No one seemed to expect to see this ... and Derulo didn't make any mention of it either.

Some are wondering (in jest, we think) if this is how robots start to get integrated into our lives ... via entertainment/sports. Fact is, the technology is here ... and goes way beyond just this.

If this starts to be a thing, you better start cozying up to these little guys now. Feels like they're gonna be around for the long haul -- and no one wants to see 'em when they're angry.

The FAA temporarily closed down airspace over parts of Lake Michigan — just the latest aviation closure amid reports of UFOs being shot down.

The order was given Sunday, with the FAA shutting down access to the skies … saying it is now being used for national defense purposes. The specific area that was locked down roughly encompassed the water between Green Bay and Traverse City, give or take.

The government isn’t saying why they closed that airspace -- other than to vaguely cite NORAD operations -- but in any case … they’ve now lifted restrictions — essentially saying everything can go back to normal again, without a proper explanation.

It’s alarming … just yesterday, parts of Montana’s airspace was also briefly closed for national defense purposes — only for it to be reopened again mere hours later — but we’re all still in the dark about what exactly has the feds so spooked.

Granted, this all follows TWO unidentified flying objects being shot down in the last few days … one over Alaska and another over Canada. And, of course, this all comes on the heels on the Chinese spy balloon drama about a week ago.

People are demanding answers and transparency, while also asking … is this the new normal in the U.S. now? And more importantly … WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!?

No word from the mother ship at this point … but don’t take that big exhale just yet. Something tells us more weird stuff is afoot.

An unidentified flying object -- literally, a UFO -- was shot down by the United States just outside of Alaska ... but it isn't another balloon, and TikTok is having a tinfoil hat field day.

Here's the deal ... the White House announced Friday that President Biden had ordered the downing of yet another object in the sky that was inexplicably in our airspace, which the Pentagon said posed a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft due to its altitude (40,000 feet).

It had been spotted and surveilled by U.S. intelligence/Alaska-area military Thursday, and the next day ... JB said to take it down, which an F-22 fighter jet then did without issue.

As for what exactly it is -- and more importantly, how the government is talking about it -- is shrouded in mystery ... as White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby described it to the media as the size of a "small car," but didn't offer any more details.

Fortunately, other outlets were able to get a better read on this from anonymous national security sources -- with one unnamed high-ranking official describing it to ABC News as "cylindrical and silverish gray," while also saying it looked to be unmanned and FLOATING ... and not appearing to be steered or propelled with any recognizable aviation systems.

In other words, it sounds like a good old-fashioned flying saucer -- or, at the very least, like something that's been described by Navy officials, of late, as something out of this world.

There's a retrieval mission underway to gather the remains of whatever this thing was, but so far ... there isn't much else out about where it came from, what its capabilities are, or its intent. Uncle Sam has firmly said, however, that it is not another Chinese balloon.

Of course, due to the sci-fi nature of this news ... the internet is off and running with conspiracy theories -- not to mention purported footage and/or images of what some claim to be the actual object ... plus, what some claim have been other recent sightings there.

Par for the course for TikTok, but we must admit ... this is a pretty wild story, especially since the feds are being careful in how to describe the mystery machine. They keep calling it a "high-altitude object" ... but also admit it was, indeed, flying. So, it's a freaking UFO.

BTW, if this feels like déjà vu -- namely, the government admitting to something unknown, while being wish-washy on what exactly it was -- that's because this happened before. Roswell!

The infamous incident from 1947 is top of mind for many right now ... especially since a balloon was just in the mix a week ago, which China said was for weather research. That's what the U.S. ultimately said crashed out there in New Mexico, despite putting out a much more ominous public bulletin about the debris at first ... which definitely didn't sound like a weather balloon. Roswell is by far the most talked-about alien theory to date, at least here.

Time will tell if the feds give more info on what they shot down. With UFO reports at an all-time high -- and with Congress taking it seriously -- this could amount to something. 👀

Aaron Rodgers has a message for those criticizing his plans to submerge himself in darkness before deciding his NFL future -- "Be curious, not judgmental."

Some folks have been scratching their heads after the Green Bay quarterback said on "The Pat McAfee Show" he will go on a 4-day isolation retreat to self-reflect before figuring out whether or not he will retire ... with former offensive tackle Mitchell Schwartz sarcastically calling it odd the Packers aren't more involved in the situation.

"Weird the Packers aren’t consulting more with the guy who needs to go on a 4 day darkness retreat to figure out whether he wants to play football…," Schwartz said on Twitter.

AR12 got wind of the Super Bowl champ's bewilderment ... and instead of clapping back with negativity, he took the higher road.

"We are all on our own path, and doing things like this helps me find a greater sense of peace and love for life," Rodgers said. "Love and respect to you ❤️"

Rodgers explained his reasoning behind the retreat with McAfee on Tuesday ... saying the ultimate unplugging from the real world can help produce incredible results.

"It’s just sitting in isolation, meditation, dealing with your thoughts," Rodgers said. "It stimulates DMT, so there can be some hallucinations in there, but it’s just kind of sitting in silence, which most of us never do."

"We rarely even turn our phone off or put the blinds down to sleep in darkness. I’m really looking forward to it."

First, it was ayahuasca ... now Aaron Rodgers is turning to isolation retreats to help him make future decisions -- revealing Tuesday he intends to lock himself in darkness for four days this month while he contemplates retirement.

The Green Bay Packers star just revealed the eyebrow-raising plans on "The Pat McAfee Show" ... calling it "a darkness retreat" that he intends on embarking on "in a couple weeks."

Rodgers explained ... it all entails heading to "a little house" where he'll be completely by himself in a room. He said there's a slot where food will be delivered to him occasionally -- but outside of that, he intends on having no contact with anybody or anything for roughly 96 total hours.

"It's four nights of complete darkness," the 39-year-old said.

"You're not locked in. You can leave. If you can't do it, you can just walk out the door. But, it's a darkness retreat."

Rodgers, who famously used an ayahuasca trip to propel him to two MVP awards in his career, said there will be "no music, no nothing" while he's in isolation ... and the ultimate goal of it all is to come out with a clear decision about his NFL future.

"I've had a number of friends who have done it and had some profound experiences and it's something that's been on my radar for a few years now and I felt like it'd be awesome to do regardless of where I was leaning after this season," Rodgers said. "So, it's been on the calendar for months and months and months. And it's coming up in a couple weeks."

Rodgers, as part of a contract extension he signed with the Packers last year, is currently set to make $59.465 million if he plays in 2023.

A driver behind the wheel of a Tesla was fast asleep as the car traveled along a busy California freeway ... at least that's the way it looks in footage shot from another car.

You gotta see the video ... the Tesla driver is motionless as the electric vehicle zooms down Interstate 15 near Temecula, CA ... and it looks like they're sleeping, because they're wearing sunglasses and their head is tilted back and their mouth is open.

The folks who shot the video are convinced the Tesla driver is out like a light ... they say the Tesla zoomed past them Thursday when they noticed the driver was "knocked out," remarking how dangerous the situation appears.

The concerned commuters reportedly followed the Tesla for 15 minutes, honking their horn to try and wake the driver before calling police, who never caught up with the vehicle.

California Highway Patrol says there were no reported accidents involving a white Tesla in the area at the time the video was shot ... but the footage is still pretty scary.

Cops say they nabbed the guy who stole those monkeys from the Dallas Zoo ... they nabbed him at an aquarium.

Dallas PD says 24-year-old Davion Irvin has been charged with 6 counts of animal cruelty. They say he's the same guy who was caught on surveillance video with a bag of Doritos, strolling through the zoo where the emperor tamarin monkeys were taken.

The 2 monkeys were found in the closet of an abandoned home.

Cops apparently got a tip Thursday ... a man matching the description of the guy on the surveillance vid was hanging around the Dallas World Aquarium.

As for the 6 counts of animal cruelty, cops tell us he's been hit with 3 counts per monkey for unsuitable habitat, abandonment and injury to animal.

During cult leader David Koresh's infamous, weeks-long standoff with the FBI, in Waco, he had a '68 Chevrolet Camaro SS waiting to whisk him away ... and now the car's on the market.

Koresh ultimately died, along with more than 70 of his cult followers, during the 51-day siege of his Texas compound back in 1993 ... and the Camaro changed hands over the years before ending up with "Ghost Adventures" star Zak Bagans, who is now selling the classic car.

Zak bought the Camaro from a classic car dealer in Arizona for $61,995 in 2018, but now he's expecting the car to go for at least six figures.

The car, dubbed "Armageddon's Relic," has been featured for years in Zak's Haunted Museum in Las Vegas ... but he tells us he has decided to list it with Vegas Auto Gallery because it's time to rotate his spooky artifacts on display.

The Camaro SS is rumored to have been Koresh's planned getaway car ... but he never made it out of the Waco compound where the FBI believed his religious sect was illegally stockpiling weapons.

The tragic standoff got the Hollywood treatment in 2019 when Paramount produced a mini-series on the whole ordeal, with Taylor Kitsch starring as the cult leader.

Koresh certainly left his mark on the car ... doing some custom work at the compound and inscribing the words "DAVIDES 427 GO GOD" on the V8 engine block under the hood.

The car sustained a ton of damage during the siege, but the Camaro's since been restored and outfitted with a set of custom bucket seats, a Grant GT sports steering wheel and a Hurst shifter for the 4-speed manual transmission. The Chevy has 66,371 miles on it and comes with the original Texas title.

NBA YoungBoy released 8 full-length projects in 2022, but it doesn't look like he'll be cosigning his own catalog in the near future.

In a new revelation to Billboard, the Louisiana-born rap star is showing remorse for the content of his lyrics, and looking to turn over a new leaf ... by converting to Mormonism and changing the direction of his raps.

YoungBoy says it troubles him to know fans, kids included, might have heard his music and been influenced to harm other people ... and he holds himself accountable.

The 23-year-old admits he can't lyrically rewrite all his wrongs as a street rapper ... but vows to take it day by day to get the job done.

YoungBoy shocked fans shortly after the new year with the bombshell -- he married his longtime girlfriend and mother of 2 of his kids and doesn't seem to be done with divinity.

He's been on house arrest for several years but found newfound peace while residing in Utah and getting close to missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints ... and plans on getting baptized with them once cops clear him to be outside without monitoring.

Two primates at the Dallas Zoo have allegedly been ape-napped -- at least that's what the zoo is saying ... just the latest in a string of bizarre animal-related disappearances.

Zoo officials notified Dallas PD Monday that a couple of their emperor tamarin monkeys were missing from their habitats ... and worse, they claim there's evidence of tampering in the restricted areas that house the creatures -- so they believe monkeys were taken.

The cops are already looking into it, and because it's an open investigation ... not many other details are available.

You'll recall ... this is the same zoo where a clouded leopard somehow escaped its own enclosure just earlier this month, prompting a shutdown of the place and a massive search.

The leopard ended up being found on the grounds soon after, but zoo officials claimed afterward that its habitat had been cut through ... suggesting someone let the big cat out intentionally.

There are two other strange animal incidents that have occurred at the Dallas Zoo of late -- including another alleged breach in an enclosure housing langur monkeys ... as well as an endangered vulture being found dead at the facility, which cops called suspicious.

David Miscavige, leader of the Church of Scientology, is playing a cat-and-mouse game with lawyers trying to serve him a trafficking suit -- at least that's what the lawyers think now that he's allegedly vanished.

Over a four month period, Miscavige has reportedly eluded process servers a whopping 27 times at Scientology offices in L.A. and Clearwater, Florida, where the group is headquartered.

Security guards at both locations keep refusing to accept the suit, saying they have no idea where Miscavige is hiding ... according to multiple media reports.

Three plaintiffs, who formerly belonged to a Scientology sect called Sea Org, claim they were forced into the church as kids and worked into adulthood for nominal pay.

Valeska Paris, along with Gawain and Laura Baxter (who are married), eventually quit Sea Org and filed a civil complaint against Miscavige in 2022.

Last month, one of the plaintiff's lawyers filed docs, saying ... “Miscavige cannot be permitted to continue his gamesmanship" -- and a federal judge says she will soon decide whether Miscavige can be considered officially served.

What's weird about Miscavige's alleged disappearance is that some people believe his wife, Shelly, has also vanished. She was reported missing in 2013 by ex-Scientologist Leah Remini, who is one of the org's chief critics.

The police report said Shelly hadn't been seen since August 2007, but her lawyer issued a 2012 statement, saying, "Any reports [Shelly] is missing are false."

As for the Miscaviges' current status, there's been no update from their reps or lawyers.

UFOs remain a divisive topic -- some people just won't believe in the possibility, but a new image grabbed overseas is making it harder to dispute their existence.

Experts Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp revealed the bombshell image of the "Mosul Orb" Tuesday morning on their podcast, "Weaponized" ... saying it comes from a brief video clip shot in 2016 in northern Iraq.

Safe to say this thing is unidentified -- Jeremy says the shiny orb was shown as part of a classified briefing video on the topic of UFOs, shown to U.S. government agencies.

He says the mysterious object was captured on camera as it flew alongside a spy plane without changing altitude.

Pretty unnerving ... Jeremy and George dissect the possibilities of the phenomenon in detail, as well as just how impossible it is for crafts like this to take flight.

Sounds like Jeremy and George are gonna be dropping a bunch of other evidence as the pod continues, too.

FYI -- Harvard physicist Avi Loeb recently joined us on "TMZ Live" to discuss the growing threat of UFOs ... telling us the government likely doesn't know squat about the objects they're observing.