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A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke and debris on live stream TV.

The unmanned 59-foot Space One Kairos spacecraft lifted off from a platform in western Japan's Kii Peninsula on Wednesday, but it exploded moments after it launched.

Local media was live streaming the inaugural event by Space One, a start-up trying to become the country's first private company to put a satellite into orbit.

Check out the video ... the 23-ton solid-fueled rocket blasted off from the launchpad, leaving a massive cloud of white smoke in its wake as it hurtled upward. Suddenly, the craft intentionally detonated, transforming into fiery wreckage dropping to the ground.

The Space One president said, "The rocket terminated the flight after judging that the achievement of its mission would be difficult.”

Space One is now investigating the flight data to determine what went wrong, and there are no injuries reported on the ground from the falling wreckage.

Some ovations defy explanation -- like this crowd on the beach in Venice, Florida watching the gruesome removal of a beached sperm whale, yet erupting in cheers ... all captured on video.

Check out the new footage we obtained showing the massive whale's body being mutilated by an excavator -- definitely not for the faint of heart or stomach -- but a group of beachgoers found reason to hoot, holler and celebrate the process.

The removal was coordinated earlier this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- also known as NOAA -- along with a local marine lab.

The beached whale was first spotted Sunday evening, and reportedly still alive before dying the next morning, when officials quickly attempted to move the decaying corpse.

This video gives you a closer look at the initial attempt to move the massive mammal, as several onlookers record the scene.

Not surprisingly, some locals were disturbed by the crowd's reaction, and a rep for PETA tells TMZ ... "With the planet’s oceans being trawled barren, the death of any aquatic animal is a high-stakes tragedy, and PETA urges everyone upset at the sight of this beached whale to throw all sealife a lifeline by going vegan."

However, as graphic as the removal is, PETA has no issue with NOAA's process ... telling us it's "standard operating procedure."

The city of Venice was forced to issue a no-swim advisory at the beach due to the carcass -- which might be one reason for the cheers.

Researchers cut into the whale's corpse on Monday, causing blood to leak into the water. Translation: the bloody scene could've attracted sharks to shore, endangering swimmers.

BTW, this whale tale isn't nearly as gruesome as a similar situation that went down back in 1970 ... when a Pacific gray whale washed ashore in Florence, OR. That carcass was blown to smithereens with dynamite, and the end result was beyond explosive.

Kanye West's longtime friend and confidant says Ye is happier than ever being married to Bianca Censori -- so much so, in fact, he might be ready to be a papa all over again!

We got a member of Ye's inner circle, Justin LaBoy, Tuesday at LAX ... where we chopped it up about his buddy and Bianca for a little bit. We were wondering how the couple feels about her family being ticked off lately, but he spilled some other tea.

Remember, her father came out and said he didn't appreciate his son-in-law parading his daughter around France in barely any clothing ... this after several wild outfits she rocked.

You can tell Justin doesn't wanna go there ... saying he doesn't like to speak on his buddy's wife -- but he does say he loves her, and can tell she's perfect for his good pal.

The reason? Justin tells us he's actually never seen Kanye happier than he is right now.

Justin also says Bianca's enjoying herself too -- clearly addressing the speculation from Kanye's critics that he's keeping her against her will, or brainwashing her.

Finally, we touch on something Ye himself is alluding to in recent songs -- saying "another baby is my end goal" ... which most listeners heard as a reference to Bianca.

Justin himself had some thoughts about that when we asked if Kanye was being serious -- and according to him ... he absolutely is. JLB says he thinks a "bunch of babies" are on the way for them.

Bianca's only 29, so if she's inclined to have kids ... this could be prime baby-making time. As you know, Ye already has 4 children with Kim Kardashian.

You better not blink if Mike Tyson connects during his bout with Jake Paul ... 'cause Chuck Liddell tells TMZ Sports a KO is guaranteed if an Iron Mike haymaker lands.

"As soon as Tyson hits him," the UFC legend said of the upcoming boxing match, "it's over."

Liddell didn't mince any words when giving his thoughts on the superfight out at LAX this month ... saying he believes even at 57 years old, Tyson's got to be the favorite.

As for why, the Iceman made it clear he's still a huge believer in the former heavyweight champ's hands.

"The last thing to go is power," Liddell said. "Last thing to go is power."

"If he hits him, it's over."

Most betting websites feel differently -- Paul is the favorite on the majority of them. After all, he is only 27 years old and 9-1 in his career -- and he's coming off two easy victories.

But, listen to Liddell ... he seems to think there's just no chance.

"If you've seen Mike," he said, "he still hits."

As for any advice he's got for Paul ... Chuck made it short and sweet -- "Keep covered up, man."

It's hump day, and we're getting over it by talking about our TV topics ... which are fire!

Let's start on 'TMZ Live,' where Jacob and Charles talked about Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor -- who are both working on a movie together right now -- seemed to get touchy and flirty at a pre-Oscars bash over the weekend, with slight PDA included.

We've heard they aren't dating, and are only friends, but boy ... this sure felt like something.

Next up, we got 'TMZ on TV' ... where the gang talked about the ongoing mystery (and scandal) surrounding Kate Middleton, who hasn't been seen in public for months now.

Amid her edited photo drama, her hubby Prince William is keeping calm and carrying on.

Finally, on 'TMZ Sports,' where Mike and Ed talked Dak Prescott claiming he's being extorted.

Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!

Before this sweet girl rockin' space buns turned into a model and television host, she was just entering modeling competitions (and winning), while growing up in West Germany before moving to the States in the early 90's.

You would never know this hot momma is in her 50s, because she still works the runways -- and rocks a two-piece -- like she's been doing for years! When she's not sharing her travels on social media with her hubby, you can catch her sitting next to Howie Mandel.

Need one more clue ... auf wiedersehen!

A woman is taking Novo Nordisk to court over what she claims were negative side effects she experienced after using Ozempic ... alleging the company knew it could jack up your gut.

Caren Elosua just filed suit against the pharmaceutical giant, claiming weight loss meds like Ozempic and Wegovy have long been suspected of being capable of causing serious harm based on studies and trials ... especially in a person's stomach and gastrointestinal system.

In her docs, obtained by TMZ, Elosua says that even with this alleged history of side effects in mind ... she was still prescribed Ozempic to combat her type-2 diabetes.

Elosua says she started taking a dose of 1ml of Ozempic injections weekly starting in April 2021, and goes on to say her dosage was increased by her doc to 2ml a couple years later.

However, toward the end of 2023 ... Elosua claims she started to suffer from symptoms like headaches, vomiting, cramping and severe stomach pain -- so she says she went to see a specialist ... who she says did a stomach emptying test on her to see what was up.

As it turns out, she claims this gastroenterologist diagnosed her with gastroparesis -- which means your stomach muscles get super weak and aren't able to properly digest food -- and she alleges that a second doctor confirmed this diagnosis.

She says her last Ozempic shot was around late January -- but by then, she claims the damage had been done ... alleging she had to be hospitalized due to the constant pain she was experiencing, which she claims has seriously torn up her abdominal area.

Elosua claims Novo Nordisk -- the company behind Ozempic -- knew this miracle drug could screw people up inside, but they cranked it out anyway and made a fortune ... with her claiming it came at the health expense of her and possibly others.

North West takes after her dad more than we thought -- 'cause one of his best friends says she's knee-deep in production for her album ... and it'll apparently be kid-friendly, literally.

We ran into Justin LaBoy Tuesday at LAX -- and he gave us some insight into how the "Elementary School Dropout" is shaping up after North announced her own project at a recent Kanye West listening event. As it turns out ... Papa Bear is guiding this whole journey.

Justin tells us Kanye is putting all his chips in on his daughter's rap career, and everyone in his camp -- including Justin, who's very much so in Ye's inner circle -- is super excited to see what she can do.

Considering she already has a verse on one of Kanye's latest hits ('Talking/Once Again') ... the feeling is, she can churn out more all by herself. Justin tells us that while Kanye is helping North, she's actually the one steering the ship in terms of creative ... which is wild.

He says North is doing beat selection, and is even picking the engineer she wants to work with. Also, she's apparently dropping a ton of freestyles on the regular these days -- so, sounds like she's gonna be doing some real rapping here for whole songs.

Not just that, but Justin goes on to tell us that North has actually had some of her friends in the studio with her already, and there's gonna be some tracks with a bunch of kids on there.

From what Justin says he's heard so far ... 'ESD' is shaping up to be a classic record.

While some might've rolled their eyes upon hearing that North was dropping her own album -- 'cause, y'know, she's a little kid and everything -- Justin says Ye and co. are very much so taking this seriously ... and based on what we're hearing, they think she can be a legit MC.

As Justin says himself ... she comes from Kanye's bloodline, and if anyone can do it ... it'd be her. Pretty exciting stuff -- guess we'll just have to wait and see what North's got.

Billy Baldwin is calling BS on Sharon Stone's allegations that a film producer urged her to sleep with Billy while working on a movie together ... suggesting she was actually into him.

The actor came out swinging Tuesday to deny a claim Sharon recently floated on a podcast -- where she alleged late producer Robert Evans told her she should bang Billy to get a better performance out of him in 1993's 'Sliver,' in which she starred opposite Billy.

In response to that, Billy wrote ... "Not sure why Sharon Stone keep talking about me all these years later? Does she still have a crush on me or is she still hurt after all these years because I shunned her advances?"

Billy goes on to claim that Sharon confided with her friend, Janice Dickinson, that she was going to "make him fall so hard for me, it's gonna make his head spin." Basically, he's making it seem like Sharon actually wanted to get with him while they were shooting.

Billy makes another startling allegation, writing ... "The story of the meeting I had with Bob Evans imploring him allow me to choreograph the final sex scene in the photo below so I wouldn't have to kiss Sharon is absolute legend." He teases spilling some tea one day.

Sharon coming out with this story follows years of her teasing being ready to reveal the identity of a producer she says was scummy -- and now, she's naming Evans as that guy.

Sharon went on to explain that she'd been told the acting issues with the movie at the time were being blamed on her ... all because she refused to sleep with Billy, which she says Evans apparently thought would make their chemistry better and "save" the flick.

She says she'd suggested other actors besides Billy -- like Michael Douglas -- whom she says she considers a professional ... so yeah, she's kinda trashing BB here too.

Donald Trump seemed to snub his own grandson at the UFC event over the weekend -- and the video is pretty brutal ... with the kid being left in the wind next to his mom and dad.

Different videos capturing the awkward moment have been spliced together into one clip -- and it makes for a tough scene for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner ... who were on hand Saturday to watch UFC 299 in Miami, something DT himself also crashed.

As you can see, when Trump was making his entrance ... he was hand-shaking and hobnobbing with a lot of notable people -- including Dave Portnoy -- but when he finally landed at where Ivanka and Jared were standing, things got a little icy.

Check it out ... Donald kisses Ivanka and hugs Jared, but when they try to present their son, Joseph, to his grandfather -- DT appears to turn away without acknowledging him.

The ex-Prez continues on his way without even so much as saying hello -- and Joseph is seen standing still in the immediate aftermath ... looking pretty sad. His mom goes down to seemingly console him before the clip cuts out entirely -- but on its face, it looks harsh.

Unclear if Trump was just in a hurry or what the deal was -- but in any case, he didn't give his 10-year-old grandkid the time of day ... and it seemed to hurt the boy.

We should note ... Don has been fond of and friendly with his grandchildren, in general, in the past -- including with Joseph specifically. He's been photographed holding his hand while walking across the White House lawn on at least a couple of occasions.

Ya gotta figure he loves the kid, but might've been distracted considering everything that was going on in the moment. He was arguably the most important person in the room that night.

BTW, Donald has a massive brood thanks to his five children -- Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron. He has since become a grandfather 10 times over.

Kate Middleton's Photoshop fail reportedly had at least 16 editing mistakes that experts could see ... and with the release of a new pic, more conspiracy theories are mounting.

The Princess of Wales' UK Mother's Day tribute has been analyzed in-depth by several different photographers who weighed in with the Daily Mail -- who collectively highlighted more than a dozen blunders Kate made while manipulating her controversial pic.

Upon closer inspection of the viral image -- which shows Princess Kate posing for a photo with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis -- it's clear that quite a bit was changed after reportedly being saved twice on Photoshop.

Here is a full list of the spotted errors ... Charlotte is missing a part of her left sleeve; Kate's zipper is screwy; Charlotte's hair is cut off; Charlotte's skirt juts out; Charlotte's knees are blurred; Louis' sweater sleeve is contorted; Louis' right thumb is blurry; indent/distortion on the ledge; step behind Louis is distorted; Louis' finger looks cut off; George's blue sweater enhanced; Kate's hand out of focus; George's sweater sleeve has unusual lines. Phew!

With all these changes made ... many are now leaning into a new theory about when this photo was actually taken -- and what everyone in the pic was actually wearing at the time.

Online sleuths went back to December, when a video was posted to the official YouTube channel of the Prince and Princess of Wales -- which shows Kate and her kids doing some charity work ... in outfits that some believe seem to match up with this Mother's Day photo.

The colors of each person's clothing are different than what you see in the picture in question -- but some have suggested that's where the real alterations lie ... namely, color swaps.

There's another conspiracy theory floating around as well ... and this one has to do with the photo that surfaced Monday showing Kate and Prince William in a car leaving Windsor.

You can't see Kate's face clearly in this new shot -- it's almost as if she's looking away -- and because of that ... some have made the leap that even if this photo might be manipulated ... even though we've been assured by the photog/agency distributing it that it's authentic.

The reason people suspect this pic might be Photoshopped, too, though has to do with the fact Kate's appearance here mirrors an older photo she was in from back in 2016 ... when she was snapped standing with Will and Prince Harry. Some think the angle/image are identical.

It's an interesting thought, but TMZ's art department tried lining up the two images -- as many have already done online -- but they don't blend into each other perfectly, specifically around the ears. In other words ... it is very likely these are, in fact, 2 different photographs.

TMZ's art team tried duplicating the edits ... and, unfortunately for conspiracy theorists, it doesn't line up. So ... despite the speculation, it does seem to be different photos.

That's not gonna stop the tinfoil hat people from continuing to gossip/speculate though ... and anything short of seeing Kate hop on camera or come out for an actual appearance probably won't appease everyone who's fired up about this.

Travis Kelce took a pause from Taylor Swift on Tuesday to cruise around Los Angeles with a pal -- but don't worry, Swifties ... he was probably on his way to her pad here.

Paps snapped photos of the Kansas City Chiefs star while he was riding in a fancy Range Rover on a sunny afternoon in Beverly Hills ... and as you can see, there was no Taylor in sight for this outing.

Kelce was riding shotgun as his buddy steered ... and, yeah, the back seats were all empty.

The tight end looked pretty stoic without his GF ... rocking a pair of dark sunglasses covering up his eyes.

However, there were several people on the ground near his vehicle who swore it was on its way to see T-Swift -- if you don't know, the pop star's got a sweet pad in that hood ... so he for sure might've been heading in that direction here.

It's probably a safe bet, if we're being honest. After all, Kelce just traveled across the globe last week to see her perform in Singapore -- and the duo jetted all the way back to the States to hit Madonna and Guy Oseary's Oscars after-party in Hollywood Sunday night.

Some thought the couple might skip it all and have a whirlwind Spring overseas -- as Kelce's currently in his offseason and Swift's "Eras" tour is on a month-plus break right now. Alas, they came on back to the States and seem inclined to hang here in L.A. for a bit.

Still no sign of Taylor herself here in L.A. just yet -- but we're sure she'll surface eventually, with or without an umbrella covering her up. Trav seems more chill being photographed.

NFL superstar quarterback first ... Vice President of The United States of America next?

If things go the way Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hopes, that could be how life turns out for Aaron Rodgers, because the presidential hopeful confirmed Tuesday the Jets' signal-caller is at the "top" of his running mate list.

According to the New York Times, RFK Jr. said he's been communicating with Rodgers for most of the last month, and they've talked about the role ... and Rodgers is said to be interested.

Of course, the two -- who share similar stances on vaccines and other issues -- have grown close recently, with Rodgers throwing his support behind the independent candidate publicly multiple times in the last few months.

It's unclear, however, just how Rodgers would do his New York Jets job if he were to join the ticket with Kennedy.

The election is in November ... when football is in full swing.

The NYT also reported Tuesday that former WWE star and actor Jesse "The Body" Ventura is a strong candidate to be on the ticket.

The 70-year-old -- who has reportedly also considered Andrew Yang, Rand Paul, and Tulsi Gabbard for the role -- is expected to name his official running mate within the next few weeks.

Whoever RFK Jr. ultimately chooses, he's got an uphill battle ahead, despite polling strongly for an Independent.

Mark Coleman is retired, but he's not done fighting ... the UFC legend was airlifted to a local hospital after sustaining injuries while rescuing his mom and dad from a raging house fire.

59-year-old Coleman, one of the MMA promotion's earliest stars who beat legends like Stephan Bonnar, Don Frye, and Dan Severn, played hero Tuesday morning in Toledo, OH, when his parents and dog Hammer were trapped in an inferno.

Mark was able to get his mother and father out of the burning house and to a safe area before returning for his pup. Tragically, the dog didn't make it, according to the local fire department chief.

As tragic as it was, it could've been much worse ... the chief told reporters the roof of the structure collapsed shortly after firefighters entered the premises.

Although mom, dad, and Mark got out, the UFC Hall of Famer was in such rough shape that he had to be airlifted to a hospital, according to MC's good buddy, Wes Sims.

Sims added that Coleman was intubated and sedated, but provided no further update on his friend's condition.

The cause of the fire isn't yet known.

It's clear Mark has a close relationship with his mom, Connie. On Mother's Day in 2022, he posted a photo with her, along with a sweet caption.

"You are my favorite thank you for everything u are my inspiration. I love u so much."

Wes ended his health update like this ... "I swear to GOD-he’s one of the toughest individual ever created, been thru so much a Movie at this point could not give his life work Justice! Please 🙏 and Share! Life is Precious!"

It's not quite "How I Met Your Father" -- not yet, anyway -- but Kristin Cavallari's explaining how she bagged her much younger boo, Mark Estes, and like most things these days, it started with her scrolling.

Kristin spilled the tea on her 'Let's Be Honest' podcast ... she says she was casually watching TikTok vids in September, when she stumbled upon Mark's group Montana Boyz, and he caught her eye as the hottest one.

She then moved on with her life -- until fate swooped in 3 weeks later, bringing them together.

Kristin said she randomly got a DM from one of the Montana Boyz saying, "I love you" ... and she was so excited by the digital flirtation, she invited them to her podcast.

As Kristin was setting up the interview, her assistant dropped the bombshell the Montana Boyz were moving to Nashville ... right where Kristin lives! How convenient.

It's like the stars aligned or something.

Kristin kept the DM convo alive ... telling them she'd take them line dancing when they were in town -- before asking who in particular she was talking to. When she found out it was Mark, she responded, "Oh good, you're my favorite!"

Once together, the pair wasted no time ... going on a date just before Valentine's Day, and Mark even met Kristin's kiddos, who she shares with ex-husband Jay Cutler.

Right after their date, they started hanging out a whole lot more, and next thing you know, they were jetting off to Cabo together -- around the time their romance came to public attention.

At 37, the reality star adds that dating a 24-year-old wasn't part of her grand plan. Age is just a number, after all!

She's certainly head over heels for her man ... commenting "smash" on a recent IG thirst trap of him. Might just be the real deal, folks!

Jenifer Lewis fell from a balcony while vacationing in Africa a couple years back -- and she says the horrific experience nearly took her life ... part of which was caught on video.

The "Black-ish" star recounted this awful story to Robin Roberts on 'GMA' Tuesday ... and yes, it's terrible as it sounds -- as JL says she practically died from this accident -- which happened while she was in Serengeti ... this after traveling to Cape Town and Rwanda.

This all happened in late 2022, after Jen had wrapped production on Season 8 of her hit show ... and she was doing a little traveling with friends. She says things were looking up.

Anyway, when she got to Serengeti ... Jenifer says she checked into a hotel -- one she didn't get a tour for, she notes -- and that's when this nightmare unfolded. As she was in her room at night, Jen says she saw an infinity pool right outside on her own deck.

She thought she could just access it directly from the balcony -- but because it was so dark ... she didn't see that there was a massive gap, through which she fell a whopping 10 feet.

Jenifer says there was no warning sign that someone could fall there -- and goes on to describe the excruciating pain she felt ... once the initial shock wore off, of course.

She says ... "My right hip took the impact. My shoulder went up against the stone. A lightning bolt went through my mind's eye. In pitch black, I didn't know I was falling. nothing would move."

Jenifer continues ... "So I laid there and said, 'Move your body, baby. Come on Jenny, move your body.'" Eventually, people came to her aid -- but she was still in danger ... because there were wild animals roaming about, including a Cape buffalo that got very close.