TMZ.com Home

Before this scrunchie sweetheart was becoming a triple threat by dancing, singing and acting her way on the screen, she was just another platinum blonde baby growing up in Orem, Utah.

This multitalented little lady is best known for dancing alongside famous faces on a competition reality show made for the stars. Fancy footwork runs in the family because this tiny tot's brother was also on the cast; however, he won the prestigious trophy 6 times while she only scored 2-winning titles.

This musical munchkin eventually sang her way to center stage in huge productions like "Rock of Ages" and "Grease: Live."

Jennifer Lopez said love don't cost a thing, but getting her dune buggies out of the tow yard's another story ... as she quickly learned when her trip to the beach got cut short.

So, here's what happened ... J Lo and her crew were dressed and ready for some fun in the sun Tuesday in the Hamptons but instead of soaking up some rays they all ended up needing a ride to the tow yard after the 3 dune buggies they drove in got towed.

It turns out J Lo, wearing her mask and riding in the lead dune buggy, didn't see the parking lot attendants at the entrance checking permits or she completely ignored them. It turns out ... ya need the proper permits to park at the beach. J Lo, it turns out, didn't have any permits to show.

According to eyewitnesses, cops were called and the dune buggies were towed away. J Lo and her crew barely enjoyed the scenery before they had to call a friend to get picked up -- in A-Rod's blue Bronco, no less -- for a ride to bail out the dune buggies.

This dog is in desperate need of a new owner after the pitiful excuse for a man picked up his pet and slammed it the ground ... which got him arrested, temporarily.

This happened in downtown Vancouver, and luckily, worried bystanders shot this video and sent it to the local SPCA. The dog, a pit bull, was barking while its owner argued with a cyclist. Witnesses say the dog had lunged at the cyclist ... possibly at the behest of the owner.

But, watch ... after the argument ended, the owner picked up the helpless dog -- above his shoulders -- and threw it down on the concrete sidewalk. The dog yelped and was clearly distressed.

You can hear the horrified witnesses, who immediately called police. Officers reportedly arrested the owner, but later released him without charging him. However, an investigation is still ongoing. It's unclear if police have seen this video.

95 NFL players have tested positive for coronavirus since the league began administering tests over the past 4 months ... but that number is expected to grow by the hundreds with increased testing, NFL sources tell TMZ Sports.

The NFL Players Association revealed the 95 positive tests on its website Tuesday -- and an NFLPA official tells us it's a cumulative number from when the league began testing players and staff 4 months ago.

We're told the number does not reflect the number of players who CURRENTLY have COVID.

Several players have tested positive since the pandemic began -- including Von Miller, Ezekiel Elliott and more. Those players are presumably negative by now.

But, the league has ramped up testing recently and our sources say the league is bracing for big numbers since the testing pool will likely consist of more than 2,000 people.

As one source puts it... "With players and staff starting to report and get tested, there’s the expectation that the number of positive tests will be in the hundreds."

The NFLPA also noted all 32 teams have submitted their Infectious Disease Emergency Response plans -- and 8 have already been approved by the NFLPA.

24 plans are still under review.

Teams must have their IDER plans approved before they are allowed to let more than 20 players into a team facility.

The grave of Alonzo Brooks -- who was mysteriously found dead after a 2004 party in Kansas -- has been dug up on the heels of "Unsolved Mysteries" bringing new attention to the cold case.

Alonzo's body was exhumed Tuesday morning in Topeka after the FBI recently reopened the case. The new Netflix series covered Alonzo's disappearance and death -- and his family says tips have been coming in since the new docuseries dropped.

For those who haven't seen it ... 23-year-old Alonzo went to a party in La Cygne, KS in April 2004 with some friends, where he was believed to be one of few black people. Witnesses described the crowd as mostly white, redneck and racist types.

His friend says Alonzo nearly got into a fight with one guy over a girl -- but still stayed at the party, even after his friends left. He never made it back home.

The following day, Brooks' boots and hat were found across the road from the house party property. However, his body wasn't discovered until May 1, 2004 in a nearby creek.

Initial medical reports listed his death as inconclusive due to the advanced decomposition of the body, and authorities were left with little concrete evidence. However, those close to him were certain he did not commit suicide or accidentally drown ... they believed he was murdered.

A hostage situation in Ukraine ended safely when the country's president met one of the gunman's odd demands -- posting a video encouraging folks to watch a Joaquin Phoenix movie.

Here's the deal ... a heavily armed man took 13 people hostage on a bus in western Ukraine, leading to a tense, day-long standoff Tuesday with police.

The gunman told cops he rigged the bus with explosives and was holding the passengers hostage, and gave the government a list of demands. Sounds a lot like the plot of "Speed," right?!?

The hostage-taker, later identified as 44-year-old Russian-born Maksym S. Kryvosh, finally surrendered and freed all 13 people after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy fulfilled one of the demands -- posting a video on his official Facebook account recommending folks watch the 2005 documentary, "Earthlings."

Can ya believe it? The guy didn't even request "The Joker."

The documentary, directed by Shaun Monson and narrated by Joaquin, focuses on human exploitation of animals. Ukrainian officials explained Zelenskyy reached an agreement with the hostage-taker during a 15-minute phone call, with the gunman surrendering once Zelenskyy posted on Facebook.

Once the gunman was detained and the hostages were safe, Zelenskyy deleted the movie suggestion from his Facebook page.

Kanye West has some company in Wyoming following his Twitter meltdown, but it's not his family checking in on him ... it's Dave Chappelle.

The rapper says Dave hopped on a jet to come see him "doing well" on the ranch, and called him a "God send and a true friend." The great, warm, friendly visit did come with one slightly awkward moment.

Kanye got Dave, and a few other friends there, to gather around for a video ... and then put the comedian on the spot to come up with something funny -- y'know, to make everyone laugh.

It was, apparently, pretty early in the day, 'cause Dave said he wasn't in funny mode yet, but watch ... of course they found their way to a punchline.

As we reported ... Kanye went on a wild rant Monday night, firing off several tweets that accused his wife, Kim Kardashian, of trying to have him involuntarily committed to a mental hospital.

He also blasted Kris Jenner for allegedly influencing some of Kim's past career moves -- i.e. posing for Playboy and selling her sex tape -- and compared his life to "Get Out."

Assuming Dave touched down in Wyoming Tuesday morning -- as Kanye inferred -- he went pretty far out of his way to help his buddy. We're told Dave's been doing "invite-only" comedy gigs near his home in Ohio.

Dave flying out couldn't come at a better time for Ye -- as we've told you, many people close to him say he's in the midst of a serious bipolar episode.

No such thing as a bad time to chill with Chappelle, but this is a particularly good time.

Russell Wilson says there's a chance he won't be allowed in the hospital room when Ciara gives birth to the couple's child later this summer ... saying COVID-19 might force him to sit out.

"That's what we don't know," the NFL superstar told fill-in host Joel McHale on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week. "That's kind of the crazy part of it."

Ciara is due to give birth to her and Russ' second child together in just a few weeks ... but Wilson says he still hasn't been given the OK to be in the room with her for the birth.

Unclear where Ciara will deliver the baby ... but the two have property in Southern California -- where coronavirus cases have continued to surge over the past few weeks.

If Wilson ain't allowed in, he says that's kind of an issue for the two ... because he says when Ciara gave birth to their first child together in 2017 -- she used him well in the room to get through it.

"I think she needs me in the hospital room," Wilson told McHale. "Last time she grabbed my hand, she almost broke my hand!"

Wilson added he's "hopeful" to get the green light to be in the room with the "Level Up" singer ... but he seems to understand the pandemic might not make that possible.

A despicable man spewed a racist epithet at someone he felt was blocking his car ... then turned his vitriol toward the guy recording his disgusting behavior.

Check out this video from Brooklyn ... the racist gets out of his car and screams at a person to get out of the middle of the street, then unloads with the n-word.

He then realizes a guy walking by is recording the incident, and he seems surprised and pissed off, and then launches into a homophobic tirade followed by a full-on physical assault. The racist steals the man's phone and slams it on the ground.

The racist dude insists he doesn't care if the video gets posted online -- he even says he'll win fans because of it.

Sadly, that may be the case.

Get a load of this tool ... completely losing his mind, hurling the n-word at 2 Verizon employees all because he apparently hated their prices.

The disgusting incident went down July 15 in Stafford, Virginia where a Verizon employee recorded this man named Robert Colonna going berserk. Colonna was so pissed about something not working -- and its cost -- that he hurled a loogie at the closed door, and then started dropping n-bombs as he screamed at the workers.

The staffer who posted the video explained it this way ... "[He] assaulted me before entering store throwing phones inside store then picking them up leaving the store claiming he had something else for us. I IMMEDIATELY locked the door behind him."

The employee, who is heard on the phone with either cops or corporate, goes on to say, "He used racial slurs and spit at me. I know his name is Robert. Robert initially pulled up to the store in a company truck making a hard stop in front of [the] store before jumping out and assaulting me while I was holding the door for an elderly man. He was only charged with Disorderly conduct. When police arrived I asked about assault charges. Robert stated he tripped before he hit me..true but his intentions before he tripped was to hit me I believe...as you can see what I mean."

Kanye West has turned on his own family in the midst of what we're told is a major bipolar episode ... targeting Kris Jenner, comparing his life to the movie "Get Out" and accusing Kim Kardashian of trying to commit him to a mental hospital.

In a series of tweets Monday night, Kanye revealed his wife's plan to get him help ... just 24 hours after a bizarre and, at times, incoherent campaign rally in South Carolina. Kanye said, "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday."

West also took aim at his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, and shared a text he sent Kris that urged her to call and to stop ignoring him. He then mentioned some of Kim's career choices, implying Kris was behind them ... and saying Kim would never do that to her own daughter.

He tweeted, "I put my life on my God that Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy and that’s on God. I’m at the ranch ... come and get me."

Shia LaBeouf was also brought into Monday's rant, Kanye accused him of being a no-show to the first YZY GAP photoshoot. He also dragged Anna Wintour into the mix ... accusing her of first talking down on his GAP collab only to call him later, "kissing my ass."

It also appears Kanye has some serious beef with his family living in L.A. and not Wyoming full time, saying, "I love my wife. My family must live next to me. It’s not up to E or NBC anymore."

TMZ broke the story, members of Kanye's family and close circle were left extremely concerned and upset after Sunday's rally in South Carolina. West talked about guns, politics and at one point was brought to tears when sharing a story that revealed he talked to Kim about getting an abortion when she was pregnant with North.

The NBA courts for the 2020 season restart have been revealed ... and, as promised, feature a massive "Black Lives Matter" paint job front and center.

The league and the NBPA came up with the idea to display the message at all 3 arenas used inside the bubble ... as a way to show solidarity with the social justice movement.

Along with the BLM paint ... the sideline benches have been spread out to provide 6-feet of distancing for team staffers and players as a form of precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of course, commish Adam Silver previously suggested banning several coaches -- including Mike D'Antoni (69) and Gregg Popovich (71) -- from the sidelines due to their age ... but eventually scrapped the idea.

The NBA's set-up also features huge video boards and its "Whole New Game" slogan for the restart.

While no fans will be able to attend games, at least players have the chance to fill up some seats.

A sea of moms protesting police misconduct and racial inequality in Portland came up with a remix of sorts ... a lullaby singing "Hands up, don't shoot."

Hundreds, if not thousands, of moms, took to the streets Monday night and sang the lullaby in unison. Nearly 100 mothers as part of the "Wall of Moms" also stood outside a federal courthouse, locked arms and formed a human shield to protect protesters from federal officers. They also chanted, "Moms are here! Feds stay clear!"

If you've been living under a rock ... Portland's been the site of protests for more than 50 days now. The protests have mostly been peaceful but there have been instances of vandalism and violence ... triggering the feds to send federal agents into the City of Roses to restore order.

Problem is ... scores of federal agents showed up wearing masks, camouflage and showing ZERO identification badges while arresting protesters and hauling them away in unmarked vehicles. Videos on social media of theses arrests sparked outrage in the city ... prompting the "Wall of Moms" to get involved.