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Elon Musk introduced the first guy he'll be shooting off into space to orbit the moon -- and it's a VERY rich entrepreneur from Japan who's worth billions.

The SpaceX CEO held a press conference Monday where he announced Yusaku Maezawa as the first private citizen the company would be sending around the moon in their new BFR spacecraft. The guy has a lot of titles -- art curator, fashionista, founder of a juggernaut online retailer, and now ... casual astronaut!

He's worth a reported $3 billion, but Elon wouldn't disclose how much Yusaku threw down to get up. They say Yusaku should be in zero gravity by 2023, giving him plenty of time to get up to speed on how to survive in space.

Before the presser, Elon shared some photos of what the Big Falcon Rocket would look like. SpaceX touted it as "the most powerful rocket in history, capable of carrying humans to the Moon, Mars, and beyond."

Meghan Markle made secret visits to cook with victims of a horrifying fire as part of her first solo project as a member of the Royal Family, and she's helping release a charity cookbook with the women's recipes.

The Duchess of Sussex was hands-on in a community kitchen in West London, located near the Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people -- Britain's deadliest fire since World War II.

Meghan says she felt an immediate connection to the women at the Hubb Community Kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, and newly released images make it clear her presence lifted everyone's spirits in the wake of tragedy.

Meghan wrote the foreword to the charity book, "Together: Our Community Cookbook." It features family recipes, with roots stretching across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Meghan helped spearhead the cookbook project as a way to raise money for the kitchen, which initially provided a place for fire victims to make fresh meals. It's since evolved into a support network, and profits from the book will help cover operation costs.

Elizabeth Smart has good reason to be scared of the fact one of her kidnappers is being released from prison ... because the parole board tells TMZ the convict poses a danger to society.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Prisons believes ... Wanda Barzee is unfit for parole -- but the board's hands are tied because the 72-year-old will complete her sentence next week and be released Sept. 19. Just 3 months ago the Board said Barzee was unfit for early release.

We're told there's simply nothing the board can do to keep Barzee off the streets, even though they don't consider release to be appropriate in her case.

Barzee pled guilty to helping kidnap Smart in 2002, and Wednesday marks the end of her 15-year sentence. In Utah, prisoners must be released by the time their sentence is complete.

President Trump may not be too far off in his claim that the death toll numbers in Puerto Rico were inflated ... so says a FEMA administrator, who insists deaths linked to spousal abuse in the wake of the hurricane aren't actually the hurricane's fault at all.

Brock Long -- who's been heading up FEMA's disaster relief effort in P.R. and elsewhere -- went on 'Meet the Press' Sunday to defend Trump's tweet last week, in which he accused Democrats of jacking up the death count after Hurricane Maria to make him look bad.

The original deaths were reported to be in the tens -- but since then, a new study has found that nearly 3,000 people have died as a result of the Maria. Brock disputes those figures though, saying that study and others were all over the place and inconsistent.

He also says you can't blame indirect deaths on the hurricane, explaining that people having heart attacks due to stress, getting into accidents, falling off their roof or suffering from spousal abuse after the hurricane can't be pinned on the natural disaster itself.

Sounds like he's splitting more hairs than 45 -- but he's clearly on Trump's side in this.

This is disgusting, disturbing, heartless, shameful and shockingly cruel.

The seas of Denmark are blood red for a reason ... the red is the blood of 200 dolphins that were slaughtered by locals in the Faroe Islands.

It's part of an ancient Norse tradition ... plunging metal hooks into the blowholes of dolphins before severing their spines. In case you didn't know ... these are highly intelligent animals that express emotion and feel pain.

A 26-year old man was tragically killed by what experts believe is the first fatal shark attack in Massachusetts in more than 80 years.

The swimmer -- ID'd by authorities as Boston-area man Arthur Medici -- was reportedly in the water off of Cape Cod's Newcomb Hollow Beach when he was attacked around noon Saturday. He was given first aid and CPR, but died from his injuries at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis.

Witnesses say Medici was boogie boarding with a friend when the shark aggressively attacked. His friend had to drag him to shore.

The attack was the second in the area this season. A 61-year-old man was severely injured on August 15 after fighting off a shark about 4 miles away from Saturday's attack. He's still recovering from his puncture wounds in a Boston hospital.

The last shark attack in the state to result in a death before this happened in 1936. However, shark sightings around the Cape have reportedly been more frequent this year, leading to several beach closings.

Byron Allen is sparing no expense as he seeks to revamp The Weather Channel ... and his $100 MILLION investment is sparkling at the perfect time.

Byron tells us loads of cash went into developing the channel's new Immersed Mixed Reality graphics ... and he believes the super cool tech will help save property and human life. Especially because it debuted just as Hurricane Florence was making landfall.

The comedian-turned-TV-mogul purchased TWC earlier this year for about $300 MILLION. It's looking like a really smart deal now.

Based on the way Byron broke down the virtues of his new virtual reality in-studio toy ... it sounds like he was that kid who always killed it on show-and-tell day at school.

The Weather Channel is stepping up its game for Hurricane Florence with some amazing 'Star Wars'-like graphics that have the potential to save hundreds of lives.

The new virtual reality view of a hurricane's storm surge debuted Thursday and it's truly impressive. The meteorologist seems like Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments" -- surrounded by 9 feet of water, giving viewers a shocking look at the devastation it could cause.

On one hand, it's a super cool visual and, honestly, great TV -- but the more impressive thing is how it drives home how treacherous it is for anyone in the path of Florence.

Forced to flee to Atlanta to escape Hurricane Florence?

The Atlanta Braves know that must suck ... so they're offering free tix to anyone displaced by the storm.

The club says they're happy to host anyone who had to flee from N. Carolina, S. Carolina or affected parts of Georgia as guests to their next 3 home games against the Nationals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

They will also offer certain foods at a discounted price.

Braves CEO Derek Schiller says the club knows "how difficult it has been for those who have had to pack up and leave their homes as the storm approaches."

"The predicted areas that will be affected are in the heart of Braves Country so it hits particularly close to home for us."

"We hope we can take their mind off the storm for a few hours by coming to enjoy a game at SunTrust Park. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are impacted."

Elizabeth Smart -- famously kidnapped and held captive for 9 months when she was 14 -- is speaking out about the pending release of one of her captors ... and she's taking extreme measures to protect her family.

Elizabeth doesn't specifically say what she plans to do to keep her family safe because she's afraid of tipping her hand before next week's release of 72-year-old Wanda Barzee.

Barzee pled guilty to helping kidnap Smart in 2002, and she's expected to be set free September 19 after 15 years behind bars.

The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole set an initial release date for January 2024, but recently said there was a miscalculation and decided to set Barzee free next week.

The very thought of Barzee on the streets makes Elizabeth shudder. Smart, a mother of 2, claims Barzee stood idly by as Brian David Mitchell repeatedly raped her in captivity.

Elizabeth is worried about Barzee's mental health, and she's asking authorities to take a second look at their decision to release the convict, claiming Barzee is a threat to the community.

Fat Joe tells us Donald Trump is 'delusional' and prays Hurricane Florence doesn't ravage the mainland like Hurricane Maria did to Puerto Rico ... 'cause he says the President already bungled the response to one devastating storm.

We got Fat Joe Wednesday boarding a flight from Reagan National ... and the rapper tells our photog he's counting the minutes until Trump leaves The White House.

Fat Joe goes full throttle ... calling out 45 for not knowing Puerto Ricans are American citizens and blaming Trump for the nearly 3,000 deaths on the island in the wake of last year's hurricane.

We're NOT racist, you're too sensitive -- that's how an Australian newspaper is handling criticism of their Serena Williams cartoon ... and now they've REPRINTED IT on their cover.

The Herald Sun ran the headline, "Welcome To PC World" -- along with the caption, "If the self-appointed censors of Mark Knight get their way on his Serena Williams cartoon, our new politically correct life will be very dull indeed."

Along with reprinting Serena, the paper added other "controversial" cartoons from the artist including a chubby Kim Jong-un and a villainous Donald Trump.

Under the Serena cartoon, they noted the public "vetoed" the image due to "large hair and lips, too angry."

They mockingly noted the paper would now be a "Satire Free Zone."

What the paper is failing to acknowledge is how racists used cartoons featuring exaggerated lips, hair, noses and other features to mock and dehumanize black people for centuries.

That exact point was raised by hundreds of critics on social media -- but the newspaper is refusing to back down.

In fact, the artist tried to defend his work, saying, "The world’s gone crazy. It’s a cartoon about poor behavior. It’s nothing to do with race."

He added, "I’m sorry it’s been taken by social media and distorted so much. I’ve tried to reply to these people but they don’t listen."

President Trump doesn't seem to know the difference between a moment of solemn remembrance and a double fist pump celebration -- 'cause he did the latter on September 11th.

45 caught a TON of backlash Tuesday on the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks after he was seen doing a Rocky as he and Melania touched down in Johnstown, PA en route to Shanksville, where he delivered remarks to honor those who died on Flight 93.

The picture isn't entirely out of context either -- there wasn't much applause from the crowd there on the ground receiving Trump and the First Lady ... so it certainly appears the Prez's gesture was inappropriate and probably (most definitely) ill advised.

The backlash comes amidst multiple memorials taking place across the country paying tribute to the 9/11 attacks and its 2,983 victims -- most notably, perhaps, the one that's happening at Ground Zero, where a traditional moment of silence was held Tuesday at 8:46 AM to mark the first plane hitting the North Tower. Two minutes later, names of the people who died were read.

Just 2 days ago, the Cortlandt Street subway station, which used to be under the World Trade Center, was re-opened. The terminal was destroyed when the Towers collapsed.

This picture -- taken Tuesday morning from a plane and shared on social media -- shows the One World Trade Center poking out above the clouds. Trump tweeted, "17 years since September 11th!" He also praised Rudy Giuliani, who was Mayor in 2001 and is now Trump's lawyer and mouthpiece, for the job he did in NYC after the attack.

Vice President Pence, meanwhile, stayed in Washington and visited the Pentagon, where one of the hijacked planes crashed.

Originally published -- 6:25 AM PT

7:35 AM PT -- Obama also released a heartfelt statement on social media in remembrance of the tragedy of that day.

Hurricane Florence has the Wright Brothers on the run -- or at least the memorial dedicated to them -- and Richard Gere's favorite beachside inn is also bracing for the worst.

The Wright Bros. National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC will be shut down to the public this week as Florence -- currently a category 4 storm -- barrels toward the Carolinas and Virginia. The memorial sits on the Outer Banks, and is directly in the hurricane's path ... so on Monday they shut down all operations to, as they say, batten down the hatches.

Florence's timing really sucks -- the memorial was supposed to get a replica Monday of the 1st plane Orville and Wilbur flew. That delivery was postponed for fear it would be damaged when the storm hits.

Nicholas Sparks fans will recognize the Outer Banks Inn from 2008's "Nights in Rodanthe." Yes, the place where Gere and Diane Lane banged a lot. The owners, Ben and Debbie Huss, are boarding up and getting outta Dodge -- but tell us they expect their famous house to mostly hold up to Florence.

That's a tall order with winds expected to reach up to 156 mph.

7:25 PM PT -- Les Moonves has issued a statement in the wake of his ouster from CBS, saying in part ... "Untrue allegations from decades ago are now being made against me that are not consistent with who I am. Effective immediately I will no longer be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CBS. I am deeply saddened to be leaving the company. I wish nothing but the best for the organization, the newly comprised board of directors and all of its employees."

4:30 PM PT -- It's just been announced Moonves is out at CBS, and the network is implementing a big shakeup on its board of directors through a company-wide settlement. Interestingly, CBS says $20 million will be donated on Moonves' and the network's behalf to an org that supports #MeToo, which is set to be made immediately. The cash will come out of any severance benefits owed to Moonves following a pending investigation into his alleged misconduct. The company also notes that Moonves will not be getting any type of severance package at this point, but may receive further payment once its investigation is wrapped and after a final evaluation from the Board.

CBS's longtime CEO, Les Moonves, is reportedly resigning from his position as head of the network after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN's Brian Stelter reported Sunday that Moonves would be stepping down and that the official announcement would be made either Sunday night or early Monday morning. This comes on the heels of a second New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow where six additional women accused Moonves of sexual misconduct.

The allegations range from Moonves allegedly forcing oral sex on certain women, exposing himself without permission to others ... and allegedly using physical violence or intimidation against them.

He'd already been accused of sexual misconduct from 6 separate women earlier this summer -- including allegations of sexual assault from the 1980s ... for which he will not face criminal charges. Ronan wrote that earlier piece as well.

Moonves has worked at CBS since 1995, where he first served as president of CBS Entertainment. He served as CEO of CBS Television from '98 to 2003, and was eventually bumped up to chairman and CEO of the entire company in 2003. He's responsible for greenlighting series like 'CSI,' 'Without a Trace,' 'NCIS,' 'Survivor,' 'Cold Case' and many, many other hit shows.

Reports have recently said that Moonves and the CBS board were negotiating an exit package for him somewhere in the ball park of $100 million. Stelter says exit talks have been finalized, but did not report on any specific figure.

Shepard Smith is having a little fun at President Trump's expense -- mocking his inability to say the word "anonymous."

The FOX News host took the subtle dig Friday during his show, purposefully stumbling over the word that gave Trump so much trouble during his Montana rally. The funniest part might be Shepard's deadpan deliver.

Somehow he kept a straight face while butchering the word "amomamous" in reference to The New York Times op-ed author who claims Trump staffers are actively working to undermine 45.

Warning: Avoid playing cards with Shepard. Killer poker face.