Puddle of Mudd Singer Arrested After Causing Airplane Emergency Landing

According to the Austin PD, Scantlin got into a verbal argument with a flight attendant over alcohol. It's unclear exactly what provoked the argument, but a source with airport security says Scantlin was upset because the flight crew wouldn't sell him booze.

Scantlin's flight was originally bound for L.A. but was re-routed to Bergstrom International Airport in Austin for an emergency stop, where Scantlin was booted from the plane.

A rep for the Austin PD tells us, Scantlin was arrested and booked for public intoxication, but he could also later face federal charges of interfering with a flight crew.

FYI -- Scantlin pled "guilty" to felony cocaine possession in July, but the judge agreed to clear his record in 18 months so long as Scantlin obeys all laws ... a condition Scantlin may just have violated.

Bottom line -- if Scantlin actually did cause a mid-air ruckus he could face prison time for the cocaine charge, as well as for public intoxication and interfering with a flight crew. more on this story

Justin Bieber Posts Half Naked Pictures Online

Will it work? We'll have to wait until Thursday to see how many moonmen he takes home.

The Biebs took to Twitter over the weekend talking of an "epic idea" he had before Tweeting out three topless photos of himself. See the tweets and photos here.

Michael Clarke Duncan Went Without Oxygen For Minutes Before Death

Sources involved in Duncan's treatment tell us ... on July 13 the actor went without oxygen for more than 5 minutes before Omarosa was able to re-start his heart with CPR. We're told 5 minutes is the outer limit before permanent damage is likely.

Our sources say Duncan's decline was slow but steady. First it was a kidney problem, then the pancreas, then extremely high blood pressure, and so on, until his body just shut down.

It was especially hard on Michael's fiancee, Omarosa ... who was told time and time again by doctors that things were looking up and he would be released soon. But every time Omarosa got assurance, something else went wrong. more on this story

American Idol's Scotty McCreery Releasing Christmas Album

McCreery will release his new album, Christmas with Scotty McCreery, on October 16th which will feature traditional holiday songs as well as two new original tracks.

"Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year," he says. "And what is Christmas without music? We start listening to Christmas songs early in the McCreery household, so it felt right. I've always wanted to record a Christmas album since I've had my music career. more on this story

One Direction Settle Name Dispute

The Irish Examiner reports the UK group will get to keep their name after reaching a deal with the US band, who were claiming $1m in damages, a share of profits and wanted the British group renamed.

The US group - formed in 2009 - filed a lawsuit earlier this year after they said efforts to "negotiate a reasonable compromise" had failed. The UK band formed in 2010 for the show "The X Factor." more on this story

No Doubt and Mariah Carey To Help NFL Season Kick Off

No Doubt have also announced a series of 6 headlining shows at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles this November and December.

The dates follow the September 25th release of "Push And Shove," the band's first new album in 11 years. more on this story

Rihanna Remixes Cockiness

The two singers will team up to perform the "Talk That Talk" track when Rihanna opens the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards on Thursday in Los Angeles.

The original version of the song is featured on the album, and the remix will hit iTunes exclusively following Thursday's MTV VMA's performance. more on this story

Nate Dogg's Family Battling Over His Estate

As TMZ first reported, when the rapper died in 2011, he didn't leave a will to divvy up his assets ... so his wife Latoya Calvin took charge. His kids didn't agree and asked the court to nominate an attorney named Alex Borden instead -- but no cigar.

Latoya filed new legal docs this week, requesting Nate's mother, Ruth Holmes, also be named as co-administrator of his estate ... a move that does not sit well with Nate's children.

Dogg's daughter, Auncrane Hale, tells TMZ her grandmother is only involved in the filing for the money, saying, "Ruth doesn't have my best interest or the interest of my brothers and sisters."

Auncrane says that if Latoya and grannie Ruth are the head honchos, they won't give the kids one single penny. She says Latoya "didn't even show up to Nate's funeral" and says that Ruth "was never a grandmother" and has withheld money in the past.

A judge has yet to rule.
more on this story

Santana's Bill Ortiz Releasing Solo Album

A follow up to his "Winter in America" EP released earlier this year, this new album project features conscious emcees such as Casual, The Grouch, Zumbi (of Zion I) and K-Maxx, as well as fellow Santana member (and 11 time Grammy Award Winner) Tony Lindsay, and iconic poet/vocalist Linda Tillery, featured with a spoken word performance of Dr. Martin Luther King's Nobel Peace Prize speech.

"Carlos has always used music to inspire and bring people together," explains Ortiz. "I try to follow in that tradition. I've been really inspired by some of the Bay Area hip-hop artists like Casual, Zumbi and the Grouch who make music with enlightened lyrics," Ortiz adds of how he chose his featured guests. "We often celebrate ignorance in our society, so I wanted to celebrate consciousness." On his EP, which charted in the top 10 on CMJ's hip hop charts for over a month, Ortiz covers Gil Scott Heron and Brian Jackson's 1973 hit on the track "Winter in America" as an homage to the recently departed Heron. The concept video for this track has been featured on many mainstream hip-hop websites. more on this story

Real Housewives' Kim Zolciak Facing Legal Fight With Her Mother

Karen Zolciak filed a Petition For Visitation in GA Superior Court last week -- claiming she used to hang out with her two granddaughters all the time ... baking cookies, making sundaes and spending Christmas in the Bahamas.

Karen's petition also includes her two grandsons -- one of whom was born 2 weeks ago ... and has yet to meet grandma.

Karen claims "Bravo TV needed drama for Kim's show 'Don't Be Tardy For the Wedding'" -- so they "portrayed her as a bad person" to strain the mother-daughter relationship.

Granny Z says it got so bad -- Kim and her new husband -- Kroy Biermann -- had the cops kick her out of their wedding because she used an indoor bathroom, instead of a porta-potty.

Now Karen is fighting back -- telling a GA court that NOT seeing her grandkids will cause "emotional or physical harm" to the kids ... claiming "the girls live such a crazy, abnormal life being on T.V ... they need a normal haven to relax."

A judge has yet to rule on the petition. more on this story

Friday Star Making Plea Deal For $3.8 Million Mortgage Fraud

According to the plea agreement -- obtained by TMZ -- Lister admitted to a diabolical scheme in which he and several individuals conspired to obtain four different mortgages on homes in L.A. using false information and bogus bank statements.

Lister admitted he and his co-conspirators collected mortgages worth $5.7 million -- and defaulted on all four ... costing the lenders $2.6 million.

He also admitted to withdrawing over $1.1 million in loans using the properties as collateral ... which he never paid back. All-in-all Lister has admitted swindling banks out of $3.8 million.

Lister now faces up to 5 years in federal prison. He's due in court in September. more on this story

Former Employees Vs Wilmer Valderrama

Two drivers -- Thomas McNeal and James Martell -- filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming Wilmer hired them for the production of "King of the Floor" -- a webseries on YouTube about breakdancers.

According to the lawsuit, the drivers were told they'd be paid $25 an hour for the job -- which lasted upwards of 18 hours over the course of 2 days -- but they wound up with a pittance.

Now, they're suing Wilmer for allegedly violating labor laws -- and they want $89,515 stat. more on this story

Basketball Wives' Tami Roman Ends Nine Year Child Support Battle

Roman filed a lawsuit in New Jersey way back in 2005 against her ex, retired NBA star Kenny Anderson. Roman claimed he had stopped paying the court-ordered $8,500/month in child support for their two daughters -- totaling $800k in missed payments.

Sources close to Tami tell TMZ ... the two recently settled the case out of court. We're told Tami received just south of what she was owed and will be paid incrementally through Kenny's NBA retirement fund.

We're told in return, all the warrants issued against Anderson for his unpaid child support were dropped.

Sources close to Tami add that she is happy Kenny is becoming more involved with their two daughters and is ready to move on from this chapter in her life. more on this story

Gigolos Star Arrested

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Gantt, who is a real-life male escort on Showtime's controversial TV show, was pulled over by the Las Vegas Metro Police at around 1:40 AM Friday morning for speeding.

But we're told when cops ran a routine check on the gigolo, they found an active arrest warrant for Open and Gross Lewdness and immediately arrested him. Details about the previous infraction remain unclear.

Gantt was then sent to Clark County Detention Center for booking and released sometime later.

Sources tell us the reality star was coming from the "Gigolos" premiere party, held at Vince Neil's strip club Girls, Girls, Girls, when cops busted him. We're told he was on his way to pick up some fast food. more on this story

Kris Humphries' Parents Finalize Divorce In Less Than A Month

TMZ broke the story ... Debra Humphries filed for divorce from Kris' dad William on August 3rd. The divorce settlement agreement had already been signed.

A Minnesota judge signed the divorce decree on August 29th -- making the split official. It's as quick and clean as they come.

As you know, Kim Kardashian filed for divorce from Kris on October 31st LAST YEAR ... and the ex-couple is STILL battling it out in court ... with no end in sight. more on this story

Joey Buttafuoco Writing Tell-All Book

Buttafuoco tells TMZ the reason he's coming forward after so many years is due to a recent brush with death. He believes it's time to "clean the slate" and finally move on with his life -- aptly titling the memoir, "Closure."

Joey tells us, "Everyone thinks they know [the story] but they really don't."

Joey says the book his ex-wife Mary Jo Buttafuoco wrote back in 2009 is just an "angry account of an ex-wife who pieced together her own vision of why things happened. [She] had no knowledge of my life away from home."

Joey says he thinks Amy in particular will have a problem with him telling the whole story, but tells TMZ, "It's time for all of us to move on. My book is closure for everyone and our respected families. It's time." more on this story

Precious Star Mo'Nique Settles Smelly Dispute With Landlords

As TMZ first reported, Mo's Georgia landlords sued the actress and her husband Sidney Hicks last year, claiming they walked out on their lease agreement still owing $370,000 in unpaid rent. Mo fired back with her own suit, claiming they bailed on the contract for a slew of reasons ... including that the house smelled like dog crap, wet dog, and urine.

Now the craziness is behind them and both parties came to an agreement last week and dropped their dueling lawsuits. Sources tell TMZ as part of the settlement deal ... it was Mo that had to pony up some dough, although it's unclear how much.

We're also told she's STILL living in the house and has to continue paying rent until she moves out. more on this story