News

The legendary Ernest Hemingway home appears doomed ... an almost certain casualty of Hurricane Irma ... this according to local law enforcement.

The Key West home -- made of wood and built in the 1850's -- sits about 16 feet above sea level, which is the highest point on the island. Law enforcement tells us they're expecting at least 15 feet of water to flood the area ... so the outcome is bleak.

The Hemingway Home's manager, 72-year-old Jacqui Sands, has already said she's staying put to maintain the home and its 55 or so roaming cats. Jacqui and some staff are boarding up and bunkering down.

If Jacqui or her staff are injured, cops say they'll be left to fend for themselves, because hospitals, ERs, rescue crews and other government assistance will not be available.

A farewell to Hemingway?

Hurricane Irma's catastrophic winds barreling their way to Florida have triggered a mass exodus and Miami International Airport is feeling the squeeze.

This video was shot Thursday in one of the terminals and you can see would-be passengers packed like sardines inside. The person who shot this video was turned away because she couldn't get a flight. She sent her daughter on a plane to Buffalo and hopes to follow tomorrow.

Some airlines have already started cancelling flights and aren't expected to resume until Sept. 11.

JetBlue on Wednesday reduced fares ... capping them at $159.

The hurricane relief telethon set for Tuesday night will have a slew of huge stars, and even the partial list we got hold of is super impressive. Here they are:

-- Justin Bieber

-- Drake

-- Reese Witherspoon

-- Jamie Foxx

-- Blake Shelton

-- Billy Crystal

-- Robert De Niro

-- Sofia Vergara

-- Michael Strahan

-- Tim McGraw

-- Faith Hill

We're told when Scooter Braun and Bun B organized it, the telethon was going to be for Hurricane Harvey, but with Irma looming, it's now called "Hurricane Relief."

Hurricane Irma is poised to wreak havoc in the Miami area, and a bunch of enormous celebrity homes are in the line of extreme danger.

Gloria Estefan, Diddy, and 'Real Housewives of Miami' stars Roy and Lea Black all own homes on star-studded Star Island -- Gloria actually has 2 -- both in Irma's path.

Likewise for nearby Miami Beach, where celebs like Phil Collins, Shakira, Dwyane Wade, and Birdman are in the hurricane's path. Same goes for the Villa Casa Casuarina -- the famed Versace mansion. And there are a slew of other celebs with mega homes in the danger zone.

Irma's expected to hit with a vengeance over the weekend.

9:42 AM -- Richard says he's never seen anything like Hurricane Irma. He adds, "Necker and the whole area have been completely and utterly devastated. We are still assessing the damage, but whole houses and trees have disappeared. Outside of the bunker, bathroom and bedroom doors and windows have flown 40 feet away. I'm speaking these words from a satellite phone that is just about working, but all other communications is down."

Richard Branson's menagerie of exotic animals are not all accounted for after Hurricane Irma tore through Branson's Necker Island ... TMZ has learned.

As we reported, Branson proudly assembled an awesome array of animals, including lemurs, flamingos, gigantic tortoises and exotic birds, among others.

We're told the lemurs were herded into guest rooms on the island and the parrots and tortoises were caged and stored in some of the structures. A number of structures on the island were either heavily damaged or destroyed, and people are now searching through the rubble, trying to find all the animals.

As for the flamingos -- and there are hundreds -- there was nothing Branson or his people could do ... they were left by the small lake to fend for themselves. As we reported, flamingos try to protect themselves in the midst of a hurricane by forming a line and taking turns buffering the others. With a storm as strong as Irma, however, that may have been a futile effort.

The tiger that escaped in Atlanta -- and was shot and killed by police -- was a 6-year-old star in Ringling Bros. Circus.

Suzy was one of 14 tigers being transported from Florida to Tennessee when she escaped. The company behind the circus that was handling the transfer says it doesn't know how she got away.

Suzy was one of the tigers circus trainer Alex Lacey used in his act.

Since the circus shut down, she'd been living in Florida. She and the other tigers were being sent to a different circus in Germany.

Suzy was shot by Atlanta cops Wednesday morning after she got into a backyard and reportedly attacked a small dog.

Robert De Niro's got plans to open a luxury resort on the tiny island of Barbuda, but first ... he's got to help the people there recover from Hurricane Irma's destruction.

The Caribbean island north of Antigua was ravaged by the storm Wednesday -- reportedly 95 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed -- and went completely off the grid for hours as high winds knocked out power. It's been so bad people haven't even been able to send photos of the aftermath.

De Niro's vowed to help the community out, saying his Paradise Found Nobu Resort team will work with the Barbuda Council and the entire community to rebuild "what nature has taken away from us."

The actor, along with billionaire, James Packer, are developing the resort ... but obviously have more work to do now.

As Hurricane Irma pounds the Caribbean and people flee or take cover, there are hundreds of animals that are less protected ... but the good news is that many know how to fend for themselves.

Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island is home to a variety of exotic animals, including more than 80 lemurs, hundreds of flamingos -- including a blind one, Miss Lucky -- red foot tortoises, exotic birds and almost extinct Anegada iguanas.

The animals are well cared for by Branson's staff, but there's only so much that can be done. Branson and his staff have remained on Necker to weather Irma, but many of the animals simply do the best they can to find shelter. An official for Necker tells TMZ, "The animals are safe," but she would not elaborate.

J.J. Watt's younger bro, Derek Watt, isn't just praising his brother for raising $27 MILLION for Hurricane Harvey victims ... he's getting involved, too!

Derek -- a 2nd year fullback for the Chargers -- was loading up trucks at the "Chargers Food & Supply Drive to Aid Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts" in L.A. on Wednesday ... along with several teammates.

Watt says he's been texting with his family about J.J.'s fundraising -- and thinking of other ways they can help out.

You gotta watch the video ... Derek says he's "extremely proud" and vows to help push the magic number to over $30 MILLION.

An actual tiger got loose on the streets of Atlanta early Wednesday morning -- but was shot and killed by cops after it jumped into the backyard of a home and attacked a small dog.

No word on where the tiger came from -- but it was spotted prowling around the I-75 interstate and got way too close to a Hardee's fast food restaurant. Employees at the restaurant were ordered to stay indoors as the animal walked by.

Cops were called to the scene with the intention of subduing the animal without killing it -- but when it jumped into a backyard and attacked a family pet named Journey, cops fired their weapons.

Witnesses told FOX5 in ATL they heard around 12 shots.

Captain Smith told reporters, "Due to the occupants of the home, officers made the decision to shoot the tiger."

The tiger was killed in the shooting. The pet dog is okay.

Cops are investigating ... trying to find out who owned the tiger and how the hell it got loose.

Martin Shkreli's got interesting timing for wanting to make a buck ... he's now selling off his famous $2 million Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay.

Shkreli posted an eBay listing Tuesday night for the only copy of Wu-Tang's album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," for a starting price of just $1 ... this after being convicted in his securities fraud case last month. Bids, for the record, reportedly went as high as $55k within an hour.

Again, the timing is all but too coincidental here. You'll recall ... Shkreli faced the possibility of having his rare, precious album seized by feds for possible restitution if he was convicted, which he was. A sentence has not been handed down yet, though.

In the eBay listing description, Shkreli says he'll pay up to $25,000 in legal fees related to the sale ... but also says he reserves the right to pull out of the deal at any time.

Michael Rooker still has a house after L.A.'s massive wildfire scorched 7,000 acres -- including several in his neighborhood -- and he knows exactly who to thank.

The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star gave huge props to the LAFD Tuesday at LAX for going toe-to-toe with the largest wildfire in L.A. County history, and sparing countless homes from the blaze.

Three houses were destroyed, but firefighters were able to contain the flames, so people like Michael and his neighbors can start returning home. Yondu put it best ... they flat-out kicked ass.

Montel Williams thinks the real reason President Trump decided to end DACA is purely about hate and keeping white folks on top.

We got the ex-talk show host Tuesday in NYC -- soon after Trump announced he intends to repeal DACA -- and he sees it as a racially motivated move that will actually do significant financial damage to the country.

Montel says those 800k or so Dreamers who could be deported will leave a major void -- but as long as it prevents America's "rainbow" from getting too colorful ... the Prez doesn't care.

Haven't seen Montel this intense since ... well, the last time 45 made a controversial decision.

Members of Selena's own family were among those killed during Hurricane Harvey in Texas ... this according to her father.

Selena's dad, Abraham Quintanilla, posted the news on Facebook, explaining relatives of theirs tragically drowned when they became trapped in a van while trying to escape the rising waters.

Abraham said Manuel Saldivar -- whose mother was Abraham's dad's first cousin -- drowned along with his wife, Belia, and their 4 grandchildren. The driver of the van survived.

Selena was hugely popular in Texas -- her birth state. She toured all across TX and built her rep there before reaching international stardom. She even has a statue dedicated to her in Corpus Christi, where she died after being shot by her boutique's manager in '95.

"The Flash" and "24" actor Tony Todd thinks Donald Trump killing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is just another example of his abuse of power because there are far greater problems facing us across the Pacific.

Trump administration announced Tuesday morning they'd end DACA. Under the Obama-instated program some 800,000 undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children could work and go to college.

Omarosa ain't worried about an attempt to lock her out of President Trump's inner circle, 'cause she has the one thing 45 values more than anything.

We got the ex-"Apprentice" star and current Trump adviser at Reagan International in D.C. and asked straight up -- is it true Chief of Staff, Gen. John Kelly, wants her out?

Omaraosa laughed it off, saying the reports sound awfully similar to stuff she heard when Reince Priebus was running the show.