News

A trans military helicopter pilot says she's the victim of a right-wing defamatory attack by a popular social media influencer ... just minutes after a Black Hawk helicopter crashed into an American Airlines jet ... killing all 67 people on board both aircrafts.

Jo Ellis is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot with the Virginia Army National Guard claims in a new lawsuit, she was smeared as the pilot involved in the tragic crash. Ellis says Matt Wallace, an influencer with 2.3 million followers, posted her picture and claimed she was the pilot of the doomed Black Hawk, alleging it was a "trans terror attack."

Wallace claimed Ellis intentionally crashed the chopper into the jet due to her "depression" and "Gender Dysphoria."

Actor and comedian Russell Brand won't be addressing the halls of higher learning this week after all ... a college in Florida has decided to reschedule a speaking engagement after confirming his attendance earlier this week -- all this in the wake of sexual assault allegations against him.

Brand -- who's facing charges in London of sexual assault by four women, as well as a lawsuit and an investigation in NYC on similar charges -- was set to take part in a panel discussion at the New College of Florida this weekend about free speech and censorship.

A spokesman for the college tells TMZ the decision to reschedule "follows changes in event logistics," listing the unavailability of the venue where the event was planned to be held, and citing ticket availability issues.

The death toll from the nightclub rooftop collapse tragedy in the Dominican Republic is on the rise ... with more than 100 people now reported dead.

General Juan Manuel Méndez -- director of the D.R.'s emergency operations center -- says at least 113 people were killed and another 155 were injured when the roof collapsed at the Jet Set nightclub. Merengue musician Rubby Pérez was among the dead.

National police are still conducting a search-and-rescue operation at the venue, located in the country's capital city, Santo Domingo.

Billy McFarland and the Fyre Festival 2 team are sticking by the location for the event ... claiming they've been working closely with Playa Del Carmen to ensure the festival happens -- despite the government's claims to the contrary.

Here's the deal ... earlier this week, officials for Playa Del Carmen -- a small town just south of Cancún in Mexico -- wrote a message in Spanish, part of which translates to "There is no existence of a registry nor plans that would indicate such an event taking place in this municipality."

They also add, "... No such event with that name will take place in our city" -- indicating they haven't even heard of the event before.

A soccer coach who a California family says was the last person who had contact with their dead son is a person of interest in the boy's disappearance and was arrested on an unrelated sexual assault case ... TMZ has confirmed.

Missing 13-year-old boy Oscar Omar Hernandez was found dead in a ditch earlier this week in Oxnard and his family says he was last seen with his soccer coach, 43-year-old Mario Edgardo Garcia Aquino.

Our law enforcement sources tell us ... Aquino was questioned by cops and was arrested ... but not for Oscar's death or disappearance.

Russell Brand has been spotted for the first time since being charged with rape and sexual assault in London over alleged incidents dating back to 1999.

The English comedian and actor was photographed walking outside Florida's Gasparilla Inn around 10:30 AM on Friday -- shortly after the charges were announced.

He appeared to be on a family vacation ... as he was on a stroll with his wife, Laura. Two of their three children were also photographed.

Has A.I. entered the White House? There's an interesting theory circulating social media claiming President Trump's new sweeping reciprocal tariffs -- slapping a minimum 10% tariff on nearly 100 countries -- were formulated with the help of artificial intelligence.

The theory comes after several X users claimed they duplicated the same tariff plan via OpenAI’s ChatGPT and similar programs.

For background, the White House announced it calculated the size of the trade deficit between the U.S. and a given country and divided that by how much America imports from the chosen country. That number was then divided in half, reaching the new tariff rate.

Crypto trader Jordan "Cobie" Fish shared a screenshot asking ChatGPT to "calculate the tariffs that should be imposed on other countries so that the US is on even playing fields when it comes to trade deficit" with a baseline of 10% ... and it answered with a noticeably similar plan to what the White House used.

ChatGPT warned Cobie the plan fails to take into account the "intricate dynamics of international trade -- such as elasticities, retaliatory measures, and supply chain nuances."

Plus, Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok created a similar plan when instructed with the same prompt. It also cautioned one must "consider production costs, subsidies, and labor standards abroad" when hoping to achieve an "even playing field."

Furthermore, Grok warned such a formula could cause "retaliation or higher costs for US consumers."

Other X users have noticed similar formulas generated via 4o, o3 high, Gemini 2.5 pro, and Claude 3.7.

Economist James Surowiecki says he was also able to reverse-engineer the "fake tariff rates" ... calling the simplicity of it all "extraordinary nonsense."

When Trump announced his new tariffs Thursday, he said they were necessary to boost domestic manufacturing, create revenue for the U.S. and restore fairness to global trade.

A UK mom walked into an unthinkable situation when she found her 1-year-old consuming her father's cremated remains ... and she even has video of the mortifying situation.

Check out the clip ... the Lincolnshire mother, Natasha Emeny, is in disbelief as she analyzes the shocking scene, which shows an empty urn with ashes surrounding it.

She pans the camera across the room to reveal mounds of ashes on her couch ... and her son's orange shirt and mouth covered with them. The redhead tot sounds upset as he appears to realize he did something wrong.

The trailer for the newest season of "South Park" was just released ... and, as usual, the creative team behind the show ain't holding back -- blending some of the biggest news stories in the world with the show's trademark irreverent humor.

Watch the video ... the trailer begins with a shot of a dark, live-action playground -- and, a message on the screen notes the "acclaimed drama" is returning.

Fan-favorite character Randy Marsh then pops up onscreen and offers his daughter ketamine ... explaining he feels she could really benefit from it.

8:14 AM PT -- A rep for Cory Booker confirms to TMZ he did not wear a diaper during his record-setting Senate speech ... meaning he gabbed for over 24 hours without going to the bathroom.

Cory Booker went full marathon mode this week, breaking the record for the longest Senate speech -- and he’s dishing on all the tricks he used to pull it off ... including how he avoided a single nature break.

At a press conference after his epic speech, the New Jersey Senator spilled the secret to his endurance -- he had fasted for days and cut out water beforehand, which definitely helped him dodge any mid-lecture bathroom breaks.

Cory gave more insight into how standing strong for 25 hours and 5 minutes in total came at a cost -- explaining that skipping water gave him some brutal muscle cramps along the way.

Stunning video shows a Korean man hurdling across a broken skybridge 50 stories in the air to save his family during the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand last week.

Watch the wild video ... the brave man leaps across the severed bridge that connects two buildings at the Park Origin Thonglor condo complex in Bangkok just after the massive quake hit Friday.

The man, Kwon Young-jun, was working out on the 52nd floor of the skyscraper when the earthquake hit ... and his wife, named as Ms. Bowyuri by local media, was at their home with their 1-year-old daughter on the 30th floor of a neighboring tower.

Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie, are officially parents to four girls!

Kylie announced the birth of their fourth child, a baby girl named Finnley “Finn” Anne Kelce, on Instagram Tuesday night with a sweet carousel of her newborn, including one precious snap of Jason cradling her in his arms.

Finn was born on March 30, the new mom confirmed.

The "Not Gonna Lie" podcast host and retired Philadelphia Eagles center are also parents to daughters Wyatt, 5, Elliotte, 4, and Bennett, 2.

They announced their pregnancy in November 2024 by sharing a hilarious picture of their daughters wearing matching pink "big sister" sweaters. Each child showed varying levels of excitement about the news, with Wyatt looking stunned with her hands holding her head, Elliotte grinning, and Bennett sobbing.

Their big baby news came just months after Kylie shut down insensitive pregnancy rumors ... and revealed she takes the conversation seriously because she previously suffered a miscarriage.

On this week's episode of "Not Gonna Lie," Kylie confirmed labor is "imminent" and that she would be medicated during birth, candidly noting ... "I just want a fat needle in my back. That's it."

"American Idol" alum Antonella Barba found herself back in the slammer for a violation of her federal supervised release, TMZ has learned.

We're told the singer -- who gained fame on the 6th season of the hit series and previously served prison time on a drug charge -- was picked up by the Pt. Pleasant Beach Police Department in New Jersey Sunday night during a vehicle stop.

A rep for the U.S. Marshals tells us there was a warrant out for Antonella's arrest on a domestic violence charge from two weeks ago, and her federal probation from the old drug case was violated based on the new charge.

Tragedy has hit San Diego ... a 9-year-old girl died just hours after undergoing dental surgery under general anesthesia.

The unnamed girl had surgery at Dreamtime Dentistry in Vista, California on March 18, according to NBC 7 San Diego and Fox 5 San Diego. She was moved to a recovery room, discharged, and slept during the car ride home. She continued to sleep at home ... her parents said she was unresponsive in bed when they checked on her later.

She was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

At least 20 people are suspected dead after a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand on Friday, devastating buildings across Southeast Asia.

Stunning videos capture the quake shaking buildings and roadways, and sending a crane crashing down the side of a building. In Bangkok -- hundreds of miles away from the epicenter -- an high-rise under construction collapses to the ground, sending workers scrambling for their lives as a violent plume of debris erupts and spreads over the worksite.

The Thailand National Institute for Emergency Medicine reported 320 workers were present when the building went down.