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The guys who had a whale land on their boat out in the open seas are luckily fine now -- but in the moment, they saw their lives flash before their eyes ... and we got the full story.

Ryland Kenney and Greg Paquette -- the two friends forced to scramble from their boat after the huge sea mammal landed on the engine -- stopped by "TMZ Live" Wednesday to recount the life-or-death moment ... and it certainly sounds dramatic.

It started out as a regular fishing trip -- but Kenney and Paquette say things quickly went south when the humpback whale breached and came crashing down on their vessel.

Check it out ... the guys say Ryland had a fish on the line when the sea creature crashed down on the boat flipping it -- and them too -- into the water off the New Hampshire coast.

Jennifer Lopez stripped down for a killer birthday thirst trap -- celebrating the big 5-5 in the Hamptons ... with her hubby Ben Affleck still quite literally outta the picture.

The singer put her curves front and center in a plunging white one-piece, accessorizing with gold jewelry but no wedding ring, in the smoldering IG selfie Wednesday ... which she captioned, “This Is Me... Now 🎂."

There's no beach or pool around, so it looks like J Lo was just feeling herself and those hot birthday vibes in the moment when she snapped this out East -- where she's been ringing in her birthday week.

Donald Trump’s shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, sought inspiration -- or at least intel -- from JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald ... according to the FBI.

FBI Director Christopher Wray spilled the new detail Wednesday about Crooks while testifying in front of a Congressional Committee ... saying an analysis of Crooks' laptop shows he Googled "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy” on July 6 -- the same day Trump’s Butler, PA, rally was announced.

Wray also said July 6 was the same day Thomas signed up for the July 13 Butler rally ... adding his online searches were an obvious indicator about his state of mind.

The grind doesn't stop for Genie Bouchard -- the tennis star made sure to get in a workout while living it up in beautiful Saint-Tropez ... heading to the courts in just a t-shirt and bikini bottoms!!

The 30-year-old athlete has been documenting her luxurious getaway this week ... which has included some fancy food and drinks, shopping and, of course, some training.

Bouchard has been on nothing short of a hot streak in recent months ... enjoying the single life to the fullest -- and donning her entire closet of two-piece swimsuits in the process.

A new audio recording of Billy Ray Cyrus is raising eyebrows ... as the country star hurls a slew of insults at his estranged wife, Firerose.

In a recording obtained by TMZ ... Miley Cyrus' dad lays into Firerose over making him late for an event -- repeatedly calling her "an idiot" and a "dumbass."

The recording -- which sources close to Billy Ray say is heavily edited and doesn't accurately depict the situation -- features an argument between the now-separated couple, where BRC belittles Firerose several times.

Aaron Rodgers' trip to Egypt this summer ended up costing him more than he expected ... as the quarterback just revealed the Jets fined him for taking the vacation.

The 40-year-old signal-caller ditched a few mandatory practices back in June to fly out of the country for some R and R ... and on Wednesday, he told reporters his bosses docked his pay for missing the workouts.

Rodgers wouldn't say what the fee ultimately was ... but he did note it was "a little more than" $50,000!

Pro-Palestine demonstrators are unleashing a nasty attack of critters on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attempting to make him uncomfortable ahead of his big speech to Congress.

Netanyahu and the Israeli delegation are shacking up at the infamous Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C., and video posted Wednesday by an anti-Israel group shows a horde of maggots and crickets crawling on a conference room table flanked by the U.S. and Israeli flags.

The footage also shows the creepy crawlers making themselves at home in hotel hallways and common areas.

Matt Gaetz used the FBI Director's testimony on Donald Trump's assassination attempt to score political points ... veering off the topic to question him about Joe Biden's cognition.

The controversial congressman just took his turn firing off questions at Director Christopher Wray ... and, while his colleagues have asked a series of questions about the attempt on the former prez's life, Gaetz instead focused on Biden dropping out of the race.

Gaetz asks exactly when CW first noticed Biden's "cognitive decline" including when Wray might've started noticing Biden not picking up on some things quite as quickly in their briefings.

Travis Kelce needed to calm down during Chiefs practice Wednesday ... 'cause he shoved one of his teammates during a heated dust-up -- and the whole incident was caught on video.

Taylor Swift's boyfriend got aggressive during an 11-on-11 portion of Kansas City's training camp workout ... after defensive end George Karlaftis decked wideout Kadarius Toney during a play that was clearly not supposed to be a violent one.

Toney first expressed frustration over the hit just after he landed on the turf ... as he hurled a ball at Karlaftis that narrowly missed the 23-year-old's head.

Lauren Alaina just shared some heartbreaking news -- her dad, J.J. Suddeth, has died.

The country singer broke the tragic news on IG Wednesday, writing  "We lost my daddy last night, and I really have no words yet." She didn’t share any details of the circumstances surrounding his death.

Lauren also cancelled her upcoming Savannah, Virginia Beach, and Charlotte gigs through Saturday ... saying, "I am going home to be with my family. Thank you for your prayers and understanding."

Thomas Matthew Crooks rigged multiple explosive devices to blow up and had a remote transmitter at Donald Trump's rally ... this, according to testimony from FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The federal bureau's top man's currently testifying in front of a Congressional Committee about the shooting that nearly claimed the former President's life ... and, he says the law enforcement agencies recovered three bombs, presumably set up by Crooks.

Check out the clip ... Wray says they found three total devices -- two in his car and one in his home -- all with the ability to be detonated remotely. There were receivers at the scene for two of the devices, and Crooks had a transmitter to detonate them.

The Secret Service is pleading with Donald Trump's campaign team to stop holding rallies outdoors in order to avoid any future danger from would-be assassins.

Sources familiar with the matter confirm the Secret Service has raised red flags about events like the one Trump held in Butler, PA -- and his team is taking the note, agreeing to keep things indoors for now.

We're told Trump’s team is now on the hunt for indoor venues like basketball arenas to pack in the crowds ... after previously favoring outdoor spots for their size and lower costs.

Gary Holt says Beyoncé's super overrated and not all that talented -- whereas Taylor Swift, in his opinion, blows her outta the water on multiple fronts ... hot take ahead, y'all.

The thrash metal rocker/Exodus guitarist sat down for an interview on the "Scandalous Podcast" and gave a harsh review of Queen Bey's catalog and accolades ... claiming her body of work has required a massive team, including songwriters ... comparing her to Taylor.

Then he brings out the big guns ... calling Beyoncé one of music's most overrated stars with just "marginal" talent -- and he also crapped on her daughter Blue Ivy.

MSNBC host Joy Reid has a scathing message for Black people who may be waffling on supporting Kamala Harris for president, saying they'll get side-eye if they don't get onboard.

The TV personality took to TikTok Tuesday evening, where she declared Black voters will look "real weird" if they choose to not vote for the Vice President ... who's the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Biden exited the race.

As JR put it ... Kamala is a cultural phenomenon and set to make history as potentially the first female and first Asian-American president in the U.S. Of course, she'd also be the 2nd Black president if elected.

Iggy Azalea says she considers herself to be a single mom to the kid she shares with Playboi Carti -- going so far as to claim she's not co-parenting whatsoever.

The Aussie rapper -- who birthed her and Carti's son, Onyx, in 2020 -- hopped on the 'Dinner's On Me' podcast this week and was asked point blank about her family dynamic ... and Iggy made no bones about the fact she believes she's on her own in parenting.

Iggy says, "I'm very much a single mother. I'm very much the only parent, no disrespect, but yes, I am not co-parenting really, and that's just the reality of it. It's one, it's 24/7."

A 13-year-old basketball player viciously stomped on his opponent's head in the middle of a game over the weekend ... and now, the whole incident is under police investigation.

It all went down during a matchup between Payton's Place and Tumakbo United organizations at the College of Alameda in California on Sunday ... when the players were battling for possession of the ball.

During the action, a 13-year-old athlete for Tumakbo United fell to the ground as he tried to maintain control over a defender ... when out of nowhere, another Payton's Place player got involved and forcefully used his foot to put the kid's head to the hardwood.