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A Mississippi meteorologist had a raw reaction to the deadly tornados that just tore through the state -- saying a prayer live on the air ... which has now gone viral.

WTVA 9 News' Matt Laubhan was bringing in weather updates Friday evening as word of massive storms touching down was starting to spread. He was explaining what the city of Amory -- in the northeast part of MS -- could expect to see when he took a pause.

Check it out ... it's pretty shocking to see how he reacts to an incoming tornado that clearly has him concerned. He even pauses and invokes Jesus' name -- asking him to help them.

Even before he said his prayer, Laubhan was getting into the weeds and being fully transparent with viewers -- telling them that while he might predict what's gonna happen, they have to be prepared for the worst. He also pulled up helpful interactive tools onscreen.

His whole broadcast was coming from the heart, and you can see how much he cared about the folks on the ground. It's a humanizing moment ... the Internet certainly appreciated it.

As for the aftermath ... upwards of 26 people are reported dead after tornados tore through much of Mississippi, causing massive destruction. The gusts these tornados came with were at their highest ... going as fast as 166 MPH to 200 MPH. So, a full-blown natural disaster.

A Pennsylvania chocolate factory exploded in broad daylight Friday, killing two people and injuring eight others ... and the images of the blast are just INSANE.

Check out video, obtained by FOX 29 Philadelphia, showing the moment the R.M. Palmer Co. factory detonated as if a bomb went off during rush hour, while cars drove along a highway nearby. A thick cloud of smoke rose up in the air as large chunks of debris flew every which way. It almost looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie.

West Reading Borough Police Chief Wayne Holben confirmed two people were dead and nine more unaccounted for. Firefighters were combing through the wreckage in the hopes of finding the missing people alive.

Eight victims were rushed to a local hospital. Five were released after treatment and two were admitted in fair condition. Another victim was taken to a different medical facility, but there was no word on that person's condition.

As of this morning, investigators were still looking into the cause of the explosion. Holben said residents were no longer in danger, but urged them to steer clear of the area around where the factory once stood.

Tyre Sampson was only 14 when he fell to his death from an Orlando amusement park ride, and now the company behind the attraction is making a donation in his honor.

Trevor Arnold, attorney for the Orlando Slingshot, put out a statement Friday, which marks the one-year anniversary of Sampson's death ... saying we "will be establishing a $100,000 donation by contributing $20,000 over five years to the "Tyre ‘Big Tick’ Sampson Foundation," which was set up by Tyre's mom to support school athletic programs in his memory.

He continued, "We know this donation is a very small gesture compared to the unexplainable tragic loss of Tyre one year ago today. But, it is our hope that this contribution will bring some comfort to Tyre’s family and serve as a positive reminder of Tyre for those student-athletes it supports."

As we reported ... 14-year-old Tyre died last year after falling from the 430-foot-high Orlando amusement park ride at ICON Park. It appeared Tyre was too big for the ride, yet he was still able to get on.

He was a gifted athlete, with a promising future ahead of him. During a presser, his dad said his football team was number one in the country at the time of his death.

Kayleigh Scott, a transgender flight attendant famous for appearing in a United Airlines commercial, is dead ... and it appears to be a suicide.

The 25-year-old was found dead Monday in her Denver, CO apartment ... the same day she posted on social media about planning to end her life.

In the Instagram post, Kayleigh wrote ... "As I take my final breaths and exit this living earth, I would like to apologize to everyone I let down. I am so sorry I could not be better. To those that I love, I am sorry I could not be stronger. To those that gave me their everything, I am sorry my effort was not reciprocated."

The post was flooded with comments from concerned fans, with many saying they were calling police in Denver to conduct a welfare check.

Kayleigh's post also continued ... "Please understand that me leaving is not a reflection of you, but the result of my own inability to turn myself for the better. To Ashley, Cynthia, Regine & Sophia. I am so sorry. Please remember me for the good memories we have shared, and never for my downfall. I will see you all again on the other side."

Her sister, Ashley, commented on the IG post confirming Kayleigh's death.

Kayleigh famously shared her transition story in a 2020 United Airlines commercial for Trans Day of Visibility ... thanking the airline for helping her transition.

Police in Denver are investigating ... and the city's medical examiner will determine an official cause of death.

Kayleigh was 25.

RIP

Stephen Smith's mom fired off a letter to the FBI about the mishandling of her son's death investigation, saying he was murdered for being gay and naming Buster Murdaugh as a possible suspect.

Sandy Smith sent the 4-page letter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2016, hoping the agency would take over the case from local South Carolina authorities, whom she believed had covered up critical evidence in the case.

As you know, Stephen was found dead in the middle of a country road in Hampton County near the Murdaugh family estate on July 8, 2015. Police initially thought Stephen's death was a "homicide" because there were no signs he'd been struck by a vehicle. Yet, the pathologist who performed the autopsy ruled that it was a hit-and-run, but Stephen's manner of death was left undetermined.

In the letter, obtained by FITSNews, Sandy wrote Stephen's older brother, Christopher, was told by a classmate that Buster Murdaugh allegedly killed Stephen with a baseball bat because Stephen was gay. Buster is the eldest son of convicted killer Alex Murdaugh, who is serving life in prison for murdering his wife and younger son.

Sandy said Buster and the classmate were smashing mailboxes around town when they came upon Stephen, and Buster "seized the opportunity."

Sandy also claimed Buster threatened to kill the classmate if he spoke out about what happened. The information was allegedly turned over to local investigators, but nothing ever materialized.

What's more, Sandy said Stephen was apparently dating "someone from a prominent family in the county who was hiding his sexuality." But, Stephen kept the person's name under wraps.

Sandy alluded to a secret romance between Buster and Stephen in the letter. The same allegation was highlighted by their former schoolmates in a recent Netflix series about the Murdaugh murders.

And then there's this ... Alex Murdaugh's brother, Randolph, called Stephen's dad immediately after his son's death, asking to work the case pro bono and act as an intermediary between the Smith family and police, according to Sandy. Randolph was the county solicitor at the time.

Sandy said Stephen's father accepted the offer, although he was confused as to why Randolph wanted to help and how he found about the case before his son's body had been identified. But, Sandy said, Randolph stopped calling her family after a few interactions and wound up not representing them.

In a recent twist, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division officials announced they're now investigating the case as a homicide.

As for the feds, it's not clear if they acted on Sandy's letter and looked into Stephen's death.

Stephen Smith -- the 19-year-old who was friends with Alex Murdaugh's son Buster and died 8 years ago -- was not killed in an accidental hit-and-run ... officials now say it was a homicide, and the change of heart has a link to the recent Murdaugh murder case.

The 19-year-old was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road nearly 9 years ago.  At the time authorities called it a fatal hit-and-run, despite glaring evidence it was foul play. Among the evidence -- there were no car parts found at the scene, and Stephen's body had no injuries below the torso.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced they're reopening the case and investigating it as a homicide ... this based on new info they say they've gathered from the Murdaugh double murder case that just wrapped 2 weeks ago.

Unclear what exactly they've found or who it implicates ... but there's been widespread suspicion Alex Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster -- who was a former classmate of Smith's -- was possibly involved with him.

Buster addressed the speculation about him and Smith ... saying, "These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family."

Smith's death case had actually been reopened in 2021, but SLED says they held off on announcing anything new until now due to the massive amount of attention on Alex Murdaugh's own murder case ... wanting to avoid ruining his chances at a fair trial. Now that he's been convicted, the word is out.

Smith's mother, Sandy, has been beating the drum about her son for quite a while now ... privately raising money to get his body exhumed/reexamined for a new autopsy.

The attorney for the family of the 19-year-old who was found dead years ago near Alex Murdaugh's home is telling us exactly why he won't accept the simple hit-and-run theory surrounding his death -- he believes it's cold-blooded murder.

Attorney Ronnie Richter joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday, making it clear Stephen Smith's mother is determined to get justice for her son, and the first step is exhuming Stephen's body for clues.

Ronnie ticked off a number of facts that clearly point to murder -- Stephen's body from the torso down had no injuries, there were no car parts found at the scene, his shoes were still on, he supposedly walked 3 miles in the dark without ever using his cell phone ... and there's a lot more.

As for looking into any possible Murdaugh connection, Ronnie isn't jumping to any conclusions the disgraced lawyer's family was involved ... although he's keenly aware the case was reopened as authorities were deep into the Murdaugh murder investigation. By the way, Stephen's body was found near the Murdaugh home.

Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster, knew Stephen and there have been rumblings in town the 2 had some sort of relationship. Buster released a statement Monday dismissing the rumblings and denying any involvement in Stephen's death.

A deadly car wreck captured on video looked like a wild scene straight out of a Hollywood movie, but the scary thing was ... it was all real.

Check out the insane footage showing a driver barreling through an NYC intersection and crashing into another vehicle. Two people were killed and five others were injured.

Police say Vitaliy Konoplyov was in a Toyota Camry cruising through a traffic light at the Brooklyn intersection on Monday afternoon, when he T-boned a Honda crossing in front of him in the opposite direction. It was not clear who had the right of way.

The impact from the collision sent the Toyota spiraling onto the sidewalk as people ran for cover. The Honda spun around in the street as shrapnel was flying everywhere.

The NYPD says both vehicles also hit a pedestrian and the Toyota struck an occupied Chevrolet Equinox.

Cops say the Honda driver and pedestrian died at a local hospital.

A passenger in the Honda was in critical condition at the hospital. The Equinox driver was in stable condition.

Konoplyov and his two passengers were also injured, but all were expected to survive.

A United pilot scheduled to fly on 9/11 says he lived in denial for years about the possibility hijackers targeted his plane that day ... but he's more convinced than ever now.

We talked to Tom Mannello Monday on "TMZ Live" about that fateful day, as well as a theory he's fully onboard with -- namely, that he and his crew from United Flight 23 were targeted by terrorists on Sept. 11 ... something he says didn't fully believe until very recently.

What changed his mind was a new documentary we produced that's airing tonight on FOX -- "TMZ Investigates 9/11: The Fifth Plane" (9 PM ET/PT, 8PM CT) ... which does a deep dive into all the suspicious circumstances surrounding the activity on the grounded flight.

It's a story the United crew hadn't previously discussed publicly, and hearing the perspective of the flight attendants is changing everything for Mannello.

As he explains to us, he was content to accept everything that unfolded was mere coincidence ... but after we did some digging and reporting, he says he's a believer.

There are several elements that point to United 23 being in the crosshairs of bad actors -- including a group of suspicious passengers who were eager to get off the ground ASAP.

Another red flag ... the fact that eyewitnesses saw uniformed persons running through the cabin after the plane had been evacuated and locked -- this after official word the World Trade Center was under attack.

Then the FBI discovered a mysteriously opened hatch on the plane.

Agents also interviewed all of flight 23's attendants afterward ... plus, box cutters were found in an adjacent plane -- and all of that is more than enough for Mannello to buy into the notion they were next. He says, for years, he didn't accept it due to seeming inactivity from the feds.

San Francisco is one of the few cities that appears to be seriously considering reparations for its Black residents -- and there are some hard figures on the table ... from $1 to millions.

SF's Board of Supervisors -- consisting of 11 members -- heard a proposal this past week that was put forth by a reparations committee -- which formed a few years back, at the behest of the City, in the wake of the George Floyd protests across the country.

On Tuesday, those folks shared their suggestions on how to make things right with the African-American community ... and they landed on $5 million per eligible Black resident. There's certain criteria they have in mind ... including being at least 18 years old and having identified as Black/African-American in public documents for at least 10 years, among others.

There's more that folks could receive under the draft reparations plan. In addition to the one-time $5M payout, the committee recommended a guaranteed basic income thereafter ... in the amount of $97,000/year, for 250 years.

Plus, they'd have all their debts and tax burdens wiped clean, no questions asked. And finally ... single-family SF homes for just a buck. It seems each family would be allowed to buy just one, although it's not entirely clear.

In terms of paying for all of this ... the reparations committee didn't have any answers, instead putting that burden on the supervisors themselves. The BOS, in turn, actually supported the proposal unanimously -- and said they could figure out funding later.

The Board's only Black supervisor, Shamann Walton, has been leading the charge on this ... and says he wants the reparations package to be included in future City budgets.

BTW, not everyone agrees with the terms laid out by the committee -- which is made up Black leaders/community members in and around SF. One opponent is actually the NAACP -- which, while supporting the idea of reparations, is not on board with the $5M cash payouts ... instead calling for the focus of investment to be in institutions, like schools/housing, etc.

A Los Angeles-based meteorologist fainted during a live TV broadcast this weekend -- and there's still no word on her condition after the terrifying moment was caught on camera.

Alissa Carlson Schwartz was helping CBS L.A.'s KCAL team kick off the newscast early Saturday morning, leading the 7:00 AM hour with a weather report about incoming rain for L.A. this next week. However, before she could even get into her report, she lost consciousness.

The video is absolutely horrifying ... you see Carlson's eyes roll to the back of her head, and she begins to lean forward on the desk she was at. Eventually, she completely collapses.

As the two anchors noted at the beginning of the segment, Carlson was on set with them -- but it appears she might've been at a different location ... because they didn't seem to notice she'd passed out until a few moments later. They panicked and cut to commercial.

It's been a while now and there's still no official update on how Carlson is doing. KCAL never came back to a live news report after this -- the station opted to air pre-recorded/promotional programming for several hours. At the moment, they're covering the NCAA.

Here's the thing ... Carlson had previously experienced a similar episode years ago -- throwing up on set during a weather report when she was at a different station -- and as a result ... she was diagnosed with a leaky heart valve. That was back in 2014.

Unclear if her previous diagnosis played any role in Saturday's episode. We've reached out to KCAL for a statement ... so far, no word back. They haven't addressed this at all thus far.

An Oklahoma City police captain put on a show after he was busted for allegedly driving drunk ... and it was all caught on body cam video -- which he desperately tried to suppress.

Check out the footage, released Thursday by Oklahoma City PD, showing Capt. James French getting pulled over at his home by a police officer last weekend after cops said he was swerving as he drove down the road.

Right from the get-go, French tried to weasel his way out of trouble by identifying himself as a police captain and whispering to the officer to turn off his body cam. But, the cop refused and asked French if he had been drinking because he was slurring his words.

French changed the subject and made a second attempt to get the camera switched off.

But, the officer was in a no-nonsense mood. He sternly said, "I'm not turning my camera off. You got to be kidding me."

Things only got worse for French, who explained that he had consumed 3 to 4 beers at a poker game earlier that night and had drunk his last brewski about 2 hours before he was stopped by the officer.

Then came the dreaded field sobriety tests, which, of course, French failed. During a balance test, French lifted up his leg only to stumble forward. He then asked the cop to switch off the camera a third time.

But, the officer stood his ground again, saying that he had taken an oath to uphold the law and would not show favoritism to anyone -- even the President of the United States.

That didn't stop French from urging the cop to kill the camera one last time. And, predictably, he got another "no" from the officer.

French was eventually placed in handcuffs and booked into the county jail for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was later released after posting bond.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley praised the officer for his professionalism and for following the department's body cam protocols.

Gourley also said that French was put on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

A "Family Feud" contestant gave prosecutors a big clue in their case against him for allegedly murdering his wife ... his response to the "biggest mistake you made at your wedding."

Timothy Bliefnick, who was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of a home invasion, taped an episode of the 'Feud' back in 2019. Steve Harvey put him on the spot when it was his turn to answer the question -- "What's the biggest mistake you made at your wedding?" His answer -- "Saying 'I do.'"

Fast forward to late last month, when his estranged wife Rebecca Bliefnick was found dead inside her home. Timothy has been charged with breaking into her home and shooting her multiple times. The couple was living apart and in the process of divorcing.

Bliefnick's answer triggered gasps from the audience as he quickly added he loves his wife. As you know, the answers are based on 100 members of the studio audience and, incredibly, "I Do" was the second most popular answer.

Rebecca had reportedly filed for a restraining order against her estranged husband ... it's unclear if was in effect at the time of her death.

Dramatic new video was released Thursday showing a Russian fighter jet downing an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea ... and it destroys Russia's claim they didn't do it.

Check out the footage, which was declassified by U.S. European Command, showing the back propeller of the MQ-9 Reaper drone encountering the fast-approaching Russian Sukhoi SU-27 fighter jet in international airspace. As it got ever so close, the Russian jet showered the drone with fuel.

The Russian plane circled back for another pass and dumped even more gasoline on the drone. Then the Russian fighter tried one last fly by, but collided with the drone, damaging the propeller. As a result, the U.S. was forced to bring down the drone in the Black Sea.

For their part, Russian officials reportedly denied the crash even took place. Guess they haven't seen the video of the 30-to-40 minute mid-air battle.

But, a senior Biden administration official told CNN the video "absolutely confirms" the incident occurred, but the Russian pilots' motives remained unclear.

John Kirby, a rep for the National Security Council, said the drone had not been retrieved yet and it may never be recovered.

It's like Fashion Week ... for space, as NASA unveils the freshly designed spacesuits its astronauts will be rocking on the moon.

Axiom Space designed the new look, and NASA proudly flaunted it Wednesday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX -- the sleek new suits were primarily designed for the Artemis lunar missions scheduled for 2025.

The new suit is called Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU, and it's way more flexible than the old bulky suits worn for over 50 years -- and they can be worn by men and women. Big diff from the Apollo missions of the '60s and '70s.

Fun fact: NASA says the new suits would fit at least 90% of the folks in the U.S.

You'll recall, NASA initially pulled the plug on the first all-female spacewalk back in 2019 ... all because the existing suits couldn't fit the 2 women heading to space.

Although they eventually did make the spacewalk in October 2019, it was clear the space agency needed a new vision for its spacesuits.

NASA enlisted Axiom last year to fix the problem, and they sound thrilled with the end result.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson says, "Axiom's next generation spacesuits will not only enable the first woman to walk on the Moon, but they will also open opportunities for more people to explore and conduct science on the Moon than ever before."

BTW, don't get used to that black and orange color pattern ... Axiom noted that's just to show off its logo. The final version will likely be all-white to reflect the intense heat astronauts are exposed to in space.

Ryan Reynolds' has the Midas touch ... his Mint Mobile company just got swallowed up for a price tag of $1.35 BILLION ... and he gets a HUGE chunk of that.

Mint will be sold to T-Mobile, as part of a larger deal with Mint's parent company, Ka'ena Corp.

It's unclear exactly how much Ryan will pocket -- he's a 25% stakeholder in Mint -- but it not gonna be chump change, for sure.

Ryan released a statement, saying "We're so happy T-Mobile beat out an aggressive last-minute bid from my mom," adding the company's 5G network is slightly more sophisticated than "my mom's slightly-above-average mahjong skills."

Mint Mobile founders Rizwan Kassim and David Glickman will stay on board at T-Mobile and continue to manage their company ... while Ryan will remain as the spokesperson. The deal is set to close later this year.