Tyrese Allegedly Punches Pregnant Girlfriend  —  TMZ has learned that police are conducting a criminal investigation into allegations that R & B singer Tyrese punched his pregnant girlfriend twice early this morning.  —  Initial reports indicated that Tyrese allegedly hit the woman in the stomach …

Lindsay Lohan In Surgery  —  TMZ has confirmed that Lindsay Lohan has undergone an operation to remove her appendix.  —  Leslie Sloane, Lindsay's rep, tells TMZ that Lindsay was not feeling well and went to the doctor yesterday.  The doctor performed several tests and determined that Lindsay was suffering from appendicitis.

Paris Hilton 'Fired' By Namesake Nightclub  —  It seemed like a perfect match: Paris Hilton and a pair of nightclubs.  —  But the two Florida establishments named after the heiress will no longer be associated with her, their owner, Fred Khalilian, tells the Associated Press.

Irwin's wife gets video of his death  —  SYDNEY, Australia - Authorities gave the video of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin's fatal encounter with a stingray to his family and destroyed all copies to prevent the grisly footage from being made public, an Australian state coroner said Thursday.

Britney Spears Having a 'Rocky Moment,' Says Manager  —  The New Year is about to bring a new, improved Britney Spears, her manager vows, adding that the pop princess is aware that her image has suffered lately.  —  "She understands what's going on right now, and she calls it her 'rocky moment …

Baba's wawa over Trump  —  Wades into Rosie smackfest  —  The Rosie O'Donnell-Donald Trump feud, like the Energizer bunny, just keeps going and going and going ...  The latest chapter in the Battle of the Bigmouths came yesterday when ABC officials forced Barbara Walters to clarify Trump's financial history - live on "The View."

X17 XCLUSIVE: New Year, Same Routine For Britney  —  Nobody's seen Britney since she hit the floor at Pure on New Year's Eve - until now!  Check out our XCLUSIVE pictures and video of Britney leaving Dolce after dinner last night and then making an appearance at Les Deux - she was out until 2:30 AM!

Leonardo DiCaprio Scores Two SAG Nominations  —  Leonardo DiCaprio could be a double winner at this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards: His peers have nominated him as best leading actor in Blood Diamond and best supporting actor for The Departed, it was announced Thursday.

Soap Star Attacked, Decks Obsessed Fan  —  TMZ has obtained a restraining order filed by veteran "Days of Our Lives" actor Drake Hogestyn against a man he says assaulted him in his home on New Year's Eve, and "physically tried to exorcise the devil from me."

Celebrity Patents  —  Last month, Google introduced its new Patent Search feature (in beta), allowing users to dig through 7 million US patents from 1790 to mid-1996.  On-line patent searching has already been possible through the US Patent and Trademark Office website …

Lost's Emilie de Ravin, Husband Split  —  Emilie de Ravin, who plays Claire Littleton on ABC's Lost, has separated from her husband after only six months of marriage, her publicist, Jeff Raymond, tells the Associated Press.  —  The Australian actress and actor Josh Janowicz, both 25, were married in Melbourne in June of last year.

This Better Not Interfere With Heroes, Scary Spice to Hold Televised Paternity Test  —  All Headline News reports that Mel B plans on proving Eddie Murphy is the father of her future child support check.  On TV. … More details after the jump.  —  (WENN) … If the boot's in your foot, there's a problem.

Brad Pitt Filming in the Caribbean  —  Brad Pitt (dressed in a Lacoste polo) and Cate Blanchett were spotted filming scenes earlier today in the Caribbean for their new film, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  Thank goodness Brad's character ages backwards because all that baldness and that fat suit did not suit him.

Welcome to the Cancellation, O.C.  —  From the "How to Ruin a Hit Series in Less Than Four Years" Department comes the news that Seth and Ryan have been sent to live in that Big Pool House In The Sky.  That's right.  The O.C. has gone the way of Surfer Johnny due to falling ratings.

DUCK AND COVER  —  A JOB is waiting when Tara Conner gets out of rehab.  Playboy wants to shoot the troubled Miss USA for its cover.  Donald Trump and his execs at the Miss Universe Organization are mulling the offer.  Conner, who hails from a small town in Kentucky, was nearly stripped …

Paris Hilton likes monkeying around  —  Plus: DiCaprio takes dip with the dolphins in Vegas  —  Paris Hilton has found a replacement for men: her pet monkey.  —  The partying heiress — who recently declared a moratorium from dating guys — says that her new in-bed companion is her baby monkey, Brigitte Bardot.

Rosario Dawson gets down with her bad self  —  Okay, it's been months, Rosario Dawson's mini-bangs should be more grown out by now.  Don't tell me that shes cutting them to keep them short.  Puke.  I don't know if there was any official reason why Rosario was in Brazil for New Years …

NOVELIST HAS 'BLUES' OVER FILM  —  REAL estate czar-turned-movie producer Bob Yari has been having a rough year.  —  Yari has dropped the screen adaptation of Elmore Leonard's acclaimed crime caper "Tishomingo Blues," which was to have been the long-awaited directorial debut of Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle.