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Senator Jeff Flake is getting immediate, powerful and emotional feedback on his decision to support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh ... in the form of 2 tearful protesters who cornered him on Capitol Hill.

The AZ Senator stepped into an elevator Friday morning and, before the doors closed, the women -- surrounded by cameras and reporters -- tore into Flake. The gripping scene unfolded live on CNN as the women told Flake they were sexual assault survivors, they believed Dr. Christine Ford ... and they demanded to know how he could allow Kavanaugh to have a seat on the high court.

One protester said, "What you are doing is allowing someone who actually violated a woman to sit in the Supreme Court. This is not tolerable!"

The other said, "Look at me when I'm talking to you. You're telling me that my assault doesn't matter ... and that you're gonna let people who do these things into power. That's what you're telling me when you vote for him."

It's an uneasy standoff to watch -- Flake is absolutely captive in the elevator, and there's NO security to protect him ... but it's also symbolic of the emotions of millions in the country.

Brett Kavanaugh is facing new allegations of sexual misconduct from a woman claiming he and his friends spiked punch at parties in order to assault women -- and says she was gang raped at one of them.

Julie Swetnick claims she attended high school parties in the early '80s where Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, were present and engaged in highly inappropriate conduct -- including fondling and grabbing girls without their consent.

In a sworn affidavit she says she witnessed their efforts to "cause girls to become inebriated" at these parties by spiking the punch with drugs or grain alcohol so they would lose their inhibitions and their ability to say, "No" ... so the girls could be "gang raped."

She says -- in the doc released by her attorney, Michael Avenatti -- she has a "firm recollection of seeing boys lined up outside rooms at many of these parties waiting for their 'turn' with a girl inside the room. These boys included Mark Judge and Brett Kavanaugh."

Swetnick claims she too was drugged and became the “victim of one of these ‘gang’ or ‘train’ rapes" at a 1982 party in the D.C. area ... where both Kavanaugh and Judge were present.

Avenatti is demanding an immediate FBI investigation into the allegations.

Swetnick's claims come on the heels of allegations made by Deborah Ramirez earlier this week. She claims Kavanaugh put his exposed penis in her face at a dorm party during their freshman year at Yale sometime between 1983 and '84.

And of course, both sets of allegations come just before Thursday's scheduled hearing in D.C. in which Kavanaugh's set to face off against Christine Blasey Ford ... who first accused him of sexual assault in high school.

Brett Kavanaugh just played his virgin card to defend himself against multiple accusations of sexual assault ... saying he never had sex -- or anything close to it -- through his high school years and many years after.

In a clip from Kavanaugh's Fox News interview with Martha MacCallum, Kavanaugh, which is set to air later Monday night, he says, "I've never sexually assaulted anyone. I did not have sexual intercourse or anything close to sexual intercourse in high school."

MacCallum pressed the contentious Supreme Court nominee more, asking if he was a virgin through all the years in question -- when the assaults allegedly happened? Brett responded, "Yes."

The problem with his virgin defense is none of Kavanaugh's accusers are claiming he forced intercourse.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now facing a new allegation from another woman who says he exposed himself without her consent during their college years at Yale.

The New Yorker published a bombshell story Sunday ahead of Kavanaugh's Thursday hearing in D.C., where he's already set to face-off against Christine Blasey Ford ... who has accused him of a sexual assault when they were both in high school.

In this new story, written by Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer, a woman named Deborah Ramirez claims Kavanaugh put his exposed penis in her face at a dorm party during their freshman year at Yale sometime between 1983 and '84. She says she got drunk during a drinking game, and that at one point a male classmate (not Kavanaugh) pointed a dildo at her.

Soon after, she says she was on the floor, foggy and slurring her words ... when she says she remembers seeing a real penis smack dab in her face. She tells the New Yorker she recalls other students telling her to kiss it. Ramirez says she pushed the person away, touching the penis in the process, and then saw Kavanaugh standing next to her, pulling his pants up and laughing.

She says she also remembers another student shouting down the hall, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie’s face." Ramirez says she specifically remembers hearing his full name.

Ramirez admits that parts of her memory on the alleged incident are fuzzy, but the New Yorker notes "After six days of carefully assessing her memories and consulting with her attorney" Ramirez felt confident in the details of her story.

As for Kavanaugh, he tells the New Yorker ... "This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name--and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building--against these last-minute allegations." A White House spokesperson also expressed support for Kavanaugh.

Asia Argento's attorney fired off a stern warning to Jimmy Bennett -- be very careful with what you say about me ... or you're gonna regret it.

Asia's attorney, Mark Heller, fired off a letter to Jimmy's lawyer Thursday -- obtained by TMZ -- regarding the reported upcoming interview he's got scheduled on an Italian television station to address their sexual encounter on May 9, 2013.

According to the letter ... Bennett's words will be carefully monitored for any "slanderous, defamatory or untruthful statements" concerning Argento, and if they believe there are any -- they'll be taking legal action.

Jimmy's interview is scheduled for sometime this weekend. As you know, Asia is originally from Italy and has a home there.

As we've reported ... both Argento and Bennett have made sexual assault allegations against each other. The two had sex in a Marina del Rey, CA hotel room when he was just 17. She says he was a horny kid who pounced on her and took away her free will. He says this was planned seduction with a minor.

The photo of Argento and Bennett in bed after they had sex, along with the text messages, seem to support Bennett's version.

Argento trashed Bennett, calling him a failed actor and drug abuser.

Michael Jordan played a little help defense Friday ... packing boxes full of food for Hurricane Florence victims.

The Hornets owner was front and center on the assembly line -- boxing up cereal and other goods for people affected by the storm that barreled into the East Coast last week.

It's a cause Jordan's clearly been affected by ... 'cause the NBA's best ever also donated $2 MILLION to the relief efforts Tuesday.

BTW ... M.J.'s shirt -- a Hornets logo sandwiched between North and South Carolina -- is for sale, with all the proceeds going to Florence victims as well.

9/19 -- Wanda Barzee has been released from the Utah prison shortly after 7 AM PT Wednesday morning after more than 15 years behind bars.

Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper, Wanda Barzee -- who's set to be released from prison Wednesday after 15 years behind bars -- better stay away from her former captive ... or she'll be right back in prison.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... once Barzee's out of prison, she'll be placed on supervised release by the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System. One term of her release includes no contact, of any form, with Elizabeth.

We're told this requirement is for the full 5 years of her supervised release. Once that ends, Elizabeth can go to court and ask a judge for a protective order -- and based on how she feels about Barzee ... we're betting she will.

Our sources say Barzee's housing arrangement ensures she won't be anywhere near Smart or her family, and federal probation officials will keep an eye on her while she's at home, and also at work, if she finds a job.

The feds will also be in contact with Elizabeth to make sure Wanda hasn't tried to contact her by phone or on the Internet. If she violates the conditions of her probation, Barzee will be brought before a federal judge ... who will likely sentence her to more prison time.

As we reported, despite the Utah parole board deeming Barzee unfit for release ... there's nothing it can do to keep her off the streets because state law requires her release by the time her sentence is complete.

Barzee pled guilty to helping kidnap 14-year-old Smart in 2002, and Smart says Wanda stood idly by as her other abductor, Brian David Mitchell, repeatedly raped her. Mitchell is serving a life sentence in Arizona.

Smart hasn't specified, but says she's taking extreme measures to protect her family.

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."