Posted Aug 26th 2009 12:20PM by TMZ Staff
In case anyone happens to forget the man he used to be, Arnold Schwarzenegger has put his massive, legendary Conan sword on display in the Governor's Office.
The Governator -- and star of the 1982 film -- posted a pic of the weapon on his Twitter page yesterday, with the message "I do still have the Conan sword ... and I keep it in my office."
California budget beware!
Filed under: Politix
Posted Aug 26th 2009 10:36AM by TMZ Staff
This is Patrick Stump striking a pose for a cop cam early this morning, after he was arrested in Hollywood.
The Fall Out Boy lead singer was busted around midnight on a traffic warrant for driving without a license out of Beverly Hills court.
After he took the mug shot, Stump posted bail and was released from the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station around 4:30 AM.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 10:00AM by TMZ Staff
Just hours after Chris Brown was sentenced yesterday for beating her up, it was business as usual for Rihanna in NYC -- who continued her day without missing a step ... well, maybe just one.
Filed under: Rihanna, Chris Brown
Posted Aug 26th 2009 9:00AM by TMZ Staff
Just days after being dropped by the New York Mets for being a terrible baseball player, Livan Hernandez had a lawsuit dropped in his lap for allegedly being a terrible payer.
A guy named Franklin Vizcaino -- who claims to have been Hernandez's personal driver -- just filed a lawsuit in NY claiming the pitcher owes him $15,800.
TMZ spoke with Vizcaino, who gave us the breakdown on the cash: $7500 for unpaid wages -- and the rest, he claims, is what's owed to him after Hernandez borrowed (and then wrecked) his Lincoln Navigator back in June.
Vizcaino wants his nearly 16 grand back, plus interest and whatever the court will add onto it for his troubles.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Talk Sports, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:30AM by TMZ Staff
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the L.A. County Coroner and the LAPD are not buying Dr. Conrad Murray's story that he gave Michael Jackson a relatively low dosage of Propofol before he died.
Sources say the L.A. County Coroner has determined Michael Jackson died from a lethal level of Propofol. There were "traces" of other drugs in Jackson's system, but nothing that would have killed him.
According to the search warrant affidavit, during Dr. Murray's interview with LAPD detectives two days after Jackson died, he said he gave Jackson 25 milligrams of Propofol shortly before the singer stopped breathing. Dr. Murray also said he had been giving Jackson 50 milligrams of Propofol for the prior six weeks so Jackson could sleep, but he felt the singer may have been forming an addiction so he cut back.
Here's the reality. It takes approximately 400 milligrams of Propofol for someone of Jackson's body size to sleep 8 hours -- that's 16 times the amount Dr. Murray says he gave Jackson the day he died.
Our law enforcement sources simply do not believe that 25 milligrams would have in any way compromised Michael Jackson, especially since he had developed a tolerance to a much higher level.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:25AM by TMZ Staff
Right after his sentencing yesterday, Chris Brown went directly to the other place where he'll be judged -- the recording studio.
Cameras caught Brown walking into the Record Plant Recording Studio in L.A. and tried to show people that he does have a heart after all -- a big, fake yellow one.
Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, Chris Brown
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:22AM by TMZ Staff
Law enforcement sources tell TMZ the L.A. County Coroner cannot pinpoint the time of Michael Jackson's death ... but paramedics say when they arrived they believed he was dead for at least an hour and maybe longer.
Dr. Conrad Murray's statement to LAPD detectives lays out a timeline in which Dr. Murray administered Propofol at 10:40 AM and then ten minutes later (10:50) he walked out of the room, went to the bathroom and returned two minutes later (10:52) to find Jackson was not breathing. He did not have anyone call 911 until 12:21 PM ... approximately an hour-and-a-half later.
Sources say cops are suspicious of Dr. Murray's account. They say when Dr. Murray was interviewed by them two days after Jackson died -- his lawyer by his side -- the doctor's account seemed "scripted."
So when did Jackson really die? Rigor mortis typically doesn't set in for at least 3 hours, and often longer. If rigor mortis has not set in, the only way to approximate time of death is by body temperature. Once a person dies, their temperature eventually rises or falls to the temperature of the environment. For example, if Jackson were in a 70 degree room, his body temp would drop to 70. The body temperature typically drops a degree to a degree and a half per hour, but it's dependent on the ambient temperature.
Here's the problem -- when paramedics arrived the room was sweltering. So Jackson's body temperature could register in the 90 degree range, even if he were dead for a long time. But we're told paramedics did not get a read on his body temp because they were busy performing CPR.
Bottom line -- it's possible Jackson could have been dead much longer than Dr. Murray said. There's no scientific way of knowing.
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:20AM by TMZ Staff
One of Michael Jackson's nurses is calling BS on Dr. Conrad Murray after a search warrant affidavit showed Murray told law enforcement he believed the nurse gave Michael a Propofol "cocktail."
Cherilyn Lee told us she never gave Michael Propofol or Diprivan. Lee said she gives people "nutritional cocktails" and Dr. Murray must have jumped to conclusions.
And this is interesting ... Lee also said she saw Michael back in April, and there were "no injection marks" on his body. Our law enforcement sources say Jackson was riddled with injection sites at the time of his death.
Lee said she did inject Michael with a "nutritional IV" of "basically vitamin C." She says, "Mr. Jackson had very small veins."
Filed under: Michael Jackson, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:15AM by TMZ Staff
The lead singer of the group Fall Out Boy was arrested last night in Hollywood.
TMZ has confirmed cops busted Patrick Stump around midnight on a traffic warrant for driving without a license out of Beverly Hills court.
Nothing screams rock 'n' roll like being wanted in Bev Hills.
Stump is currently being held at the West Hollywood Sheriff's station on $15,000 bail.
UPDATE: Stump was released on bail around 4:30am.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 3:00AM by TMZ Staff
Finally some clarity about Monday's epic battle between Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler -- cops have released the dramatic report from the incident that centered around a convicted child molester.
According to the Barrington Police, the drama began when Travis went to Shanna's Rhode Island home to drop off their two kids. When Travis noticed a car belonging to a convicted child molester near the home, he got into an argument with Shanna -- and she called the cops.
When police arrived, Travis told police he didn't "want to leave the kids in the residence with a pedophile and wanted a certified nanny with the kids."
Cops read the court order explaining the custody agreement between the couple, which stated that the man who owned the car was not allowed near the kids. But when they checked Moakler's home and discovered he was not there, Barker agreed to leave as long as he was given the names and numbers of the two nannies staying with the kids.
After the deal was made, cops say Shanna asked about how to get a restraining order. It doesn't say who she was trying to restrain, but after Travis posted a message on his Twitter page calling his wife a piece of ... well, another word for excrement ... you could probably figure it out.
Filed under: Celebrity Feuds
Posted Aug 26th 2009 1:30AM by TMZ Staff
"Real Housewife of Orange County" Gretchen Rossi says her late fiance didn't leave her "millions and millions of dollars" -- and she's right, he only left her 2.5.
We got a look at Jeff Beitzel's trust -- amended a month before his death -- and even though Rossi tried to make it look like he didn't leave her much in a "Real Housewives" reunion special, she actually pulled in a pretty penny.
Gretchen was awarded $2,500,000 -- some of which she collected from Beitzel's life insurance policy.
Rossi's not the only one who sounds disappointed about the dough -- we hear some of Beitzel's five ex-wives aren't too happy with her haul either.
FYI -- it seems Rossi's already moved on. She's been spotted recently with Slade Smiley.
Filed under: TV, Real Housewives, Exclusives
Posted Aug 26th 2009 1:15AM by TMZ Staff
Sure, most poodles already look pretty ridiculous -- but these dogs will need years of counseling after suffering through this "creative grooming" dog show.
There's nothing that warms the heart more than a look of total humiliation on a dog's face.
Filed under: Critters, Photo Galleries
Posted Aug 26th 2009 1:10AM by TMZ Staff
Linda Hogan is desperate to have something half her age between her legs -- as in the Harley Davidson motorcycle Hulk was supposed to give her per their divorce settlement.
Linda just filed papers in Pinellas County, Florida, saying the Hulkster didn't fork over the Harley -- plus $225,000 -- the court ordered him to give her by August 7.
It's not like she's hurtin' for transportation -- the papers says Hulk also had to give her a "Mercedes Benz, Cadillac Escalade, Corvette, Rolls Royce vehicles ... off road motorcycles and 4-wheelers."
She's not asking for those anymore, so she must have gotten 'em.
The best part: Linda wants the court to "require the incarceration" of Hulk and find him in civil contempt.
Filed under: The Hogans