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The pilot of the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant, his daughter and 6 other passengers got in big trouble with fog -- they seemed to abort the trip and tried returning home, barely clearing one mountain range, but never slowed down ... this according to the flight tracker and several experienced helicopter pilots in the L.A. area.

As we reported, the pilot had to circle near the Downtown L.A. area -- near the L.A. Zoo -- for 15 minutes because of bad weather ahead. As we reported ... the LAPD had grounded its helicopter fleet because of fog at around the same time Kobe's helicopter took off.

The pilot was following a visual flight plan and was cleared by the tower to proceed north, toward Thousand Oaks where Kobe was taking his daughter for a basketball game. When he got to the Calabasas area, the fog became blinding.

As we reported, the pilot was way too low --  at 1,250 feet. The pilots we spoke with say it's clear based on the abrupt change on the flight tracker ... the pilot panicked and quickly ascended to 2,000 feet. We're told he cleared a mountain range by 100 feet, and the pilots we spoke with say he was so low he almost certainly saw the tops of the mountain.

Andy Dick was inconsolable, and understandably so, after a man walked into his art studio and shot himself in the head.

The tragic incident went down Monday around midnight inside Andy's downtown L.A. art gallery ... which opened late last year. Witnesses say the man had been waving a gun around before heading inside, where Andy and someone else was working.

Once inside, the man fired the shot. Witnesses say it appeared to be an accident.

It's unclear if Andy witnessed the shooting, but he was visibly shaken as LAPD and paramedics responded to the scene. The victim was transported to a hospital, and according to one source, he's currently on life support.

The video shows a traumatized Andy explaining to police what he'd seen.

Justin Bieber is singing, smiling and dancing again ... putting in the work for another new music video with his buddy and Migos rapper Quavo.

Biebs was spotted in L.A. Friday outside of a daycare facility, he also had a photo and video crew in tow. It's unclear if the visit was planned or a surprise ... but Justin had a bunch of people join him on the steps in front of the cameras.

It's hard to tell exactly what's playing on speakers set up around the crew, but there's definitely music and we're told it's a new single for the Beliebers.

Rapper Quavo from Migos was also there -- the two have collabed before -- so it makes sense the pair have another single on the way.

Meghan Markle grew increasingly fed up with the media and the Palace as she fought for privacy for her son, Archie ... and this is one of several reasons she and Prince Harry decided to bail on the royals.

Sources close to the Duchess of Sussex tell TMZ ... she obviously knew she'd be world-famous when she married Harry, but underestimated how little control she'd have over the day-to-day media coverage ... and how much scrutiny she'd get for everything.

Things really began to sour, we're told, when baby Archie was born. The Duke and Duchess tried to be very private with him ... which irked the UK press.

There's no ignoring this elephant in the room, especially because he's taking over multiple rooms ... in a hotel!!!

Ya gotta see this unbelievable video of a wild elephant roaming around the Jetwing Yala hotel in Sri Lanka. As you can imagine, it gets a wide berth upon entering the joint ... no one's rushing him at the check-in line. Yes, he packed his own trunk ... and as you can see, used it to poke around the place.

Best of all, the full-grown Asian bull elephant, -- named Natta Kota by locals -- is a repeat customer!!! The hotel says he's been wandering in from time to time since 2013, spending days napping in the shade and stomping through the resort's walkways.

The pachyderm used to be a seasonal visitor, according to the hotel, stealing fruit from vehicles and grub from the kitchen -- but now he's got a permanent residence at Jetwing and he's left in peace.

No word if he's racking up rewards points, but he's definitely a bull (elephant) in a china shop. Someone's gotta pay for that lamp!!!

SpaceX had a great day Sunday ... its Crew Dragon spacecraft performed flawlessly in a maneuver critical to manned space flight.

The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at around 10:30 AM ET.  The point of the unmanned mission ... to test the in-flight abort system. 84 seconds into the flight, when the spacecraft is 60,000 feet above mother Earth, the mission gets scrubbed and the rocket separates from the crew capsule, propelling it at warp speed away from the rocket.

It worked flawlessly, and it was a beautiful sight.

The crew capsule came down in about 10 minutes, parachuting safely to Earth so the folks at SpaceX in Hawthorne can study the data.

The San Francisco Giants just made a groundbreaking addition to their coaching staff -- the organization just hired the first full-time female coach in MLB history!!!

Alyssa Nakken -- who worked with the Giants' health and wellness initiatives and events the past 2 years -- was a superstar for the Sacramento State softball team from 2009-12.

The 29-year-old was a 4-time All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference selection and was first-team all-league in 2012.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler introduced Nakken and fellow assistant coach Mark Hallberg on Thursday ... saying, "Alyssa and Mark are highly respected members of the organization and I'm delighted that they will now focus their talents on helping to build a winning culture in the clubhouse."

"In every organization, environment affects performance, and baseball clubhouses are no different. That's why in addition to assisting the rest of the coaching staff on the field, Mark and Alyssa will focus on fostering a clubhouse culture that promotes high performance through, among other attributes, a deep sense of collaboration and team."

Manny Pacquiao is heartbroken over the devastation the Taal Volcano is causing in the Philippines ... and now he's begging for help, saying he'll double anyone's donations to relief efforts.

The small volcano -- located less than 100 miles south of Manila -- began erupting over the weekend ... and it's ravaged the region -- forcing tens of thousands out of their homes.

And, according to reports, there's still concern a massive, hazardous, explosive eruption could happen.

Pacquiao -- who was born in the Philippines and currently sits as the country's senator -- is trying his best to help in relief efforts ... donating food, items and money -- but he's asking for much more.

"Whatever we raise," Pacquiao said in a video message Thursday, "all the donations, whatever it costs, I will double that so we can help more people."

Pacquiao says the disaster hits very close to home for him ... not just because he grew up in the region -- but because he went through homelessness and poverty as a youngster as well.

"I've experienced not having anything to eat and not having a place to sleep," Pacquiao said. "These people need our help."

Justin Bieber's hit the stage earlier than expected ... but instead of singing his biggest hits he went full Kanye.

The Biebs hit up Churchome Wednesday night in Beverly Hills ... where part of his worship included grabbing a mic and singing heartfelt gospel.

Justin sang a few tracks, including "Reckless Love," "Good Good Father" and "Sinking Deep." Some of the lyrics -- "Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God. Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found ... I couldn't earn it, and I don't deserve it, still. You give yourself away. Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God."

Cops on Miami's South Beach say they shot and killed a man ... after he stabbed one of their own -- and this video shows the entire deadly drama unfold.

TMZ obtained the video showing 5 officers slowly surrounding the man on Ocean Drive near the famous Clevelander South Beach Hotel. Cops say they were responding to a call for service, around 9 PM, related to the man. In the video, it appears one officer behind the man was first to open fire with a taser.

Once the suspect was down, the other 4 officers rushed in to apprehend him -- and it appears that's when he stabbed one of them.

Seconds after the 4 officers surrounded him ... they suddenly jumped back and 2 of them fired their handguns dozens of times. You can also see them dragging one officer back from the scene.

Police say the officer was stabbed multiple times and had to have surgery. The suspect was also transported to a hospital but died from his injuries early Sunday morning.

Jane Fonda's star power knows no limits ... TONS of huge celebs, including Joaquin Phoenix, are risking arrest to help her protest in the Nation's capital.

Jane's call for fast action on a Green New Deal in Washington, D.C. has become a weekly Friday scene, and this week she's got Phoenix, Martin Sheen and Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well.

All protesters were just warned by cops that arrests are imminent if they don't cooperate and disperse. Friday's crowd is among the largest we've seen since Jane started the Fire Drill Friday protests. Joaquin, for his part, urged others to follow his steps and go vegan to help the environment.

This week, the environmental protesters are calling for an end to all new fossil fuel exploration/extraction and the immediate stop to taxpayer subsidies to oil companies.

Queen Elizabeth has a lot on her mind after her grandson Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to bail on the Royal Family ... and the stress is written all over her face.

Her Majesty was spotted driving her Land Rover down some country roads Friday, away from Sandringham in Norfolk, to head to a photo shoot in a field ... and she doesn't look too happy about the current state of affairs.

As we reported ... the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made the shocking call this week to step down from their senior duties and split their time between Canada, and it has the Royal Fam in crisis mode.

Prince Charles and William have reportedly ordered their teams to find a "workable solution" to the situation with Harry and Meghan, but unless something changes ... the couple will be living in North America soon and supporting their Queen from afar. The question -- will the Queen play ball with part-timers? And, there's evidence she will not.

The backlash from their decision has already begun -- their wax figures got yanked from the Royal Family display at Madame Tussauds in London.

The shocking news has also had a ripple effect ... on Oprah. She's had to come out and denied reports she advised Harry and Meghan to break free from the Royals and head to North America.

She says the couple doesn't need her help figuring out what's best for them ... but adds that she cares about them and supports their decisions. Oprah famously attended their wedding in May 2018.

Scary moment for Carlos Correa ... the Astros star says he was forced to run for his life in Puerto Rico after a 6.4 earthquake kickstarted a tsunami warning near his home Tuesday.

"We're getting in our cars and driving out because we live by the beach," Carlos said. "It was terrible."

Carlos was visiting his hometown when the giant quake rocked the island ... and in a conversation with FOX 26 Houston's Mark Berman, he described the frightening scene.

"By the time you realize it's an earthquake, you got to make a decision but you're not sure if it's the right one," Correa said ... "A lot of families lost everything."

The shortstop continued, "A lot of houses went down. A lot of schools went down. It was really sad to drive by & see the damage. It breaks my heart."

According to multiple reports ... the quake was the strongest in Puerto Rico since 1918 -- and left more than 300 people homeless.

Correa -- who made it out of the island safe and back to his home in Houston -- vowed to return to Puerto Rico to help with damage relief.

"We're going to focus on schools," Carlos said. "Kids, unfortunately, they're not going to be able to go to school because they don't have a school to go to."

The Screen Actors Guild buildings in L.A. and NY are on high alert after phone threats, one of which was related to President Trump and U.S. tensions with Iran.

Law enforcement sources in NY tells TMZ ... someone called SAG's office in Manhattan just after noon PT and threatened an attack, saying something to the effect of ... "I'm going to blow up the L.A. and NY SAG Offices."

We're told the phoned threat on the West Coast was less specific, though still plenty terrifying. In L.A., the caller said he was unhappy with POTUS and the situation with Iran ... according to a law enforcement source -- a clear reference to the drone attack that killed Iran's Gen. Soleimani.

We're told SAG-L.A. deemed the threat credible, immediately evacuated, and got cops involved. SAG HQ in NY did not evacuate, but NYPD responded and took a report for aggravated harassment.

In L.A., the bomb squad is on the scene, conducting a sweep of the building.