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Ron DeSantis is making his presidential run official with the help of Elon Musk, jumping on the bird app with its owner to make the big announcement -- something the tech mogul is, no doubt, seeing as a MAJOR win.

TMZ has confirmed ... the current Florida Governor will join Elon in a Twitter spaces chat Wednesday to announce he is, indeed, throwing his hat in the 2024 presidential race.

Tech entrepreneur David Sacks will moderate the meeting, and DeSantis will drop his first campaign video around the same time.

As you know, Elon's been pushing to get Twitter to become more like mainstream TV ... after ex-FOX News host Tucker Carlson took to the platform earlier this month to say he'd be launching a "new version" of his show on Twitter ... which Elon quickly embraced.

Following Tucker's announcement, Elon called out Don Lemon -- who's also out of a gig -- to have him come over to the same app and start his own show ... digging at CNN's ratings by adding, "Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger."

Looks like Elon's tryin' hard to get as many eyes on his platform as possible, and if recent history is any indication ... politics is the perfect way to do that.

The White House almost got an unwanted visitor Monday night ... a U-Haul driver carrying a Nazi flag careened into security barriers right across the street from where President Joe Biden sleeps.

Secret Service rep Anthony Guglielmi tweeted ... the truck driver crashed into a barricade in Lafayette Square around 10 PM ... but, according to a witness who spoke to CBS, the suspect was actually aiming for the White House a stone's throw away.

Guglielmi said no one was injured and the cause of the accident was under investigation, but he suggested the driver might have intentionally rammed the barriers.

Police rapidly descended on the scene and arrested the driver, who had the Nazi flag on him. Law enforcement sources told CBS the man is an American citizen who made threats against President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The suspect -- whose name was not disclosed -- had no guns, knives or explosives.

Police sources also told CBS ... the man was not on any FBI watch lists and did not appear to have a significant rap sheet.

Federal authorities charged the man with assault with a dangerous weapon (the truck), reckless operation of a motor vehicle, a threaten to kill, kidnap or inflict harm on a president, vice president or family member and destruction of federal property and trespassing.

One dollar store employee appears to be taking security detail into her own hands ... taking down an alleged shoplifter with her own damn car!

Check out the doorbell footage, taken earlier this month ... the guy riding a bike with a basket full of goodies gets absolutely NAILED by the employee's ride, sending him straight to the concrete -- and scattering the alleged stolen items all over someone's yard.

The man starts picking some stuff up before she whacks him with the car door -- but he doesn't give up once all seems lost, calling her a "b****" while still trying to recover some of his lost merch. She even chucks his bike away from him as he keeps cussin' her out!

It's a pretty insane clip ... she claims this isn't the first time stuff has been swiped from her store, and he even says he's gonna press charges after he got knocked off his bike -- but she clearly couldn't care less, peeling off as he walks away with his hands full of whatever he could grab.

It's currently unclear if the man was arrested.

Caitlyn Jenner is backing the University of Wyoming sorority sisters who claim they're being menaced by a transgender member in their house.

Caitlyn's sounding off about the Kappa Kappa Gamma sisters suing their sorority for letting 21-year-old Artemis Langford join their chapter last year. In the suit, the women say they now "live in constant fear in our home" ... because they allege 6'2, 260 lbs. Artemis gets physically aroused around them.

Caitlyn made her views clear, tweeting, "The person is not a true trans. They are a sexually deviant perv who hangs around a female sorority watching young women undress with a visible erection!"

She goes on to refer to Artemis as a male, calling them a "mentally disturbed person."

Caitlyn also puts a good chunk of the blame on the sorority for letting Artemis into the sisterhood, calling on others to either drop out of their chapters or refuse to join in solidarity.

Jenner shared her brash thoughts on Fox News, bluntly saying to Artemis ... "You're not a woman, and you do not belong in women's spaces."

Artificial Intelligence poses some serious risks and could potentially threaten the very fabric of our democracy ... so says AI expert Gary Marcus, who is urging Congress to implement strong guard rails.

Gary joined us on "TMZ Live," a day after he testified before Congress ... warning about the future of AI machines and urging them to take local, national, and global measures.

Having worked extensively with AI, he feels morally responsible for warning the public about the risks ... and there are plenty. He agreed some genies are already out of the bottle -- all the more reason to slow the technology with regulations.

Gary says that while some large language models are here to stay, chatbots pose a serious threat. He emphasizes that this technology has the power to influence ways of thinking and manipulate users ... and that boils over to the political realm and threatens our democracy.

Remember, even former President Trump shared a doctored Anderson Cooper clip from the CNN town hall. That one wasn't AI, but it makes you wonder how much worse it could be if someone used AI to distribute misinformation. Of course, some of this tech has already infiltrated the music industry.

Not even Elon Musk can escape Twitter's community notes -- aimed at dispelling misinformation and lies on the platform -- though one note, correcting Elon himself, has seemingly disappeared.

The Twitter honcho sat down with CNBC Tuesday in an interview that's making a lot of noise ... namely because of what Elon falsely stated about the gunman who killed 8 people at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas earlier this month.

It was widely reported, and confirmed by The TX Dept. of Public Safety, that the shooter had neo-Nazi tattoos and beliefs, and wore a patch that said, “RWDS,” an acronym for Right Wing Death Squad.

However, Musk claimed to CNBC, "there's no proof he is" a white supremacist and, "We should not be ascribing things to white supremacy if it's false."

One Twitter user noticed Elon's gaffe, and posted the CNBC clip with the caption, "Musk doubles down on his claims that there's no evidence the Allen, Texas mall shooter had white supremacist beliefs."

That tweet was quickly flagged by Twitter community notes, with a footnote that read, "Texas police have confirmed that Allen mall shooter "had neo-Nazi tattoos and beliefs" and wore a patch signifying "right wing death squad."

A security guard fatally gunned down a shoplifter at a Walgreens in San Francisco ... and the entire violent encounter was captured on surveillance video.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released the footage Monday to show why she declined to bring charges against Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony for killing Banko Brown at the store on April 27 in what Anthony says was self-defense.

The video starts off with Anthony blocking Brown -- carrying a bag of alleged stolen items -- from exiting the store. Anthony then goes after Brown, repeatedly punching him and placing him in a chokehold.

At one point, Anthony lifts Brown off his feet and throws him to the floor, getting on top of him as the two thrash around. Finally, Anthony lets him up, prompting Brown to grab the bag of merchandise and start for the exit. At the door, Brown whirls around and appears to make a move at Anthony, who then pulls a gun and opens fire, killing the alleged thief.

Anthony told cops that he ordered Brown to give back the stolen goods, but Brown refused and became aggressive. He also told police Brown threatened to stab him, although it was later determined Brown did not have a knife. Anthony said he ultimately shot Brown after he thought Brown -- upon turning around at the exit -- was going to take a run at him.

D.A. Jenkins clearly believed Anthony's story of self-defense because she did not charge him with a crime and released the security footage, police reports and witness accounts to prove to the public that she made the correct decision.

But not everyone was convinced.

Doyle Brunson, best known as "The Godfather of Poker" and one of the most dominant figures in the game, has died.

Brunson passed away Sunday, according to his agent, Brian Balsbaugh. His cause of death was not disclosed.

Balsbaugh posted a statement to Twitter from Brunson's family ... "It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our father, Doyle Brunson. He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father and grandfather."

The message continued, "We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy. Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. May he rest in peace."

Brunson was affectionately named 'Texas Dolly' after the press misinterpreted a similar nickname, but the label stuck. With his unique moniker, Brunson won 10 World Series of Poker tournaments, second only to Phil Hellmuth's 16 victories.

The Texas-born, cards competing icon also secured back-to-back world championships -- in 1976 and 1977 -- and was later inducted into the 1988 Poker Hall of Fame.

Brunson was the first player to ever win $1 million in poker tournaments, earning him the “Godfather” title. He also penned a popular book called, "Super System," which detailed poker strategies and was instrumental in luring people to the game.

At his last poker championship in 2016, Brunson came in sixth, but his poor performance did not stain his reputation as arguably the best player ever.

His influence even touched those beyond the poker world. Actor James Woods tweeted in part, "This one is a heartbreaker. Doyle Brunson, the greatest poker player who ever lived, has cashed in his chips. A gentleman and a genuine legend."

Brunson was 89.

Donald Trump's piling on CNN in the wake of his town hall by posting a doctored clip of Anderson Cooper saying Trump owned CNN during the event ... but with far more colorful language.

Trump is clearly relishing the fact CNN is getting tons of blowback from the left for giving him a platform -- and he spiked the football with this fake video of Anderson reacting to the end of the town hall. As the crowd roars for Trump, you see Anderson say "That was President Donald J. Trump ripping us a new ass****."

Put politics aside, for just a moment, and the clip is pretty hilarious. However, it's also a stark reminder of just how petty and self-congratulatory Trump can be.

Trump didn't produce the spoof -- it was uploaded by YouTube user, "Borg Clone" -- but the ex-prez clearly endorses the message ... which is that Trump's getting the last laugh on the network that hosted him.

As we reported ... Anderson Cooper, the real one, addressed the backlash against CNN by saying viewers shouldn't wall themselves off from Trump, or any politician, just because they hate their policies or personality.

Anderson Cooper's bashing former President Donald Trump for "disturbing" behavior and remarks during CNN's town hall -- but he's also responding to the waves of people dragging the network for giving Trump a platform.

He addressed the outrage Thursday night as tempers continue flaring over Wednesday's town hall by calling out Trump's "lie after lie after lie," and inappropriate name-calling toward moderator, Kaitlan Collins, amongst other shocking moments.

Cooper acknowledged the anger toward CNN, saying people have every right to never tune in to the network again -- but then defended CNN by pointing out a cold, hard truth: Whether you like it or not, DT is the Republican frontrunner for president, and shutting out someone because you don't share their beliefs just isn't a healthy reality.

As you know, many called for CNN to boot Trump from their network ahead of Wednesday night's town hall -- especially after he was found liable this week in his battery and defamation trial with E. Jean Carroll.

As for why CNN viewers, or Trump haters, shouldn't look away -- Anderson says the roaring applause during some of Trump's bombastic comments should strike fear in people, as he says it was a sampling of roughly half the nation.

Peloton has issued a MASSIVE recall on its ever-popular exercise bikes ... because instead of people breaking a sweat during a workout, some are breaking bones.

The company ordered the recall Thursday of about 2.2 million of the PL01 model ... according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the seat posts can break while users take a ride, creating a serious fall risk and other injury hazards.

Peloton says there have already been 35 reports of the seat post breaking and detaching during use, with 13 reports of injuries like a fractured wrist, bruises, and even cuts due to folks falling off the bikes -- yikes.

For those unaware, this isn't Peloton's first time recalling products ... it did the same in 2021 for 125K treadmills following children-related injuries, and even one that tragically died.

The company had to do damage control after "And Just Like That..." featured the shocking death of Mr. Big while riding a Peloton, which obviously isn't a great look. In response, they poked fun at the whole thing with a pretty cheeky ad campaign.

Elon Musk is making a push to land a Don Lemon show on Twitter, just as Tucker Carlson's started his own show on the platform -- and Elon's goal seems to be balancing right and left.

Elon made his pitch to Don Wednesday morning with a tweet inviting him to do a show on the bird app. He included a dig at CNN's ratings, saying, "Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger."

The move comes after Tucker's Tuesday video tweet, announcing he'd be launching a "new version" of his TV show on Twitter -- a move that was quickly welcomed by the platform's owner.

Elon boasted, "On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever [Tucker] or anyone may say."

He also made it clear he's not involved in Tucker's show or programming -- "We have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators."

Of course, Don and Tucker were fired from CNN and Fox News, respectively, on the same day last month. On the heels of Carlson's announcement, Elon said he wanted more content creators, "particularly from the left" to follow suit.

He clearly thinks Don should be one of them.

Donald Trump ripped into his perceived enemies Tuesday night after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation in the E. Jean Carroll civil trial.

The 45th President posted a series of videos to his Truth Social platform, condemning Carroll, the judge and jury in the case and New York City where the trial was held.

As you probably know, Trump was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages for abusing her in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room in the '90s and then defaming her years later by calling her a liar.

In the footage, Trump first directed his ire toward Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, labeling him a "Trump-hating, Clinton-appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possibly be."

The 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner also said the jury was from an "anti-Trump area," meaning NYC, a place where he could never get a fair trial. BTW ... the verdict was unanimous and quick.

Trump then said he would appeal the jury's decision because he doesn't know Carroll from a hole in the wall. He went on to say the trial was a "scam" and "political witch hunt" (No surprise there). He also said the verdict was a "disgrace to our country."

And he wasn't done yet. Trump described Carroll as a liar whose case was financed by Democratic operatives, but it wasn't clear who he was referring to. He also mentioned fighting back against “this stuff,” implying a rigged justice system, so the country doesn't fall into an abyss.

As for why the jury ruled against him ... jurors heard him via taped deposition say for a million years male celebs have groped women, adding "unfortunately or fortunately."

Of course, Trump's legal woes might only just be starting. Last month, he was criminally indicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money case in Manhattan.

He also faces possible criminal charges in two federal cases involving the January 6th riots and for allegedly pilfering classified government documents.

The suspect in the deadly shooting rampage at a Texas mall didn't keep his hateful beliefs a secret ... tattooing the Nazi swastika on his body and spreading sick messages on a Russian social media platform.

Mauricio Garcia, the gunman accused of gunning down 8 people and wounding others Saturday at an outdoor mall, had a large swastika tattooed on his chest ... plus a "SS" tattoo on his arm.

Garcia's alleged social media profile is reportedly chock full of hateful rants targeting women and minorities ... plus posts praising Adolf Hitler and neo-Nazis.

In one of the alleged social media posts, Garcia shows off a bulletproof vest with Punisher patches and one patch embroidered with "RWDS" ... which is short for "Right Wing Death Squad."

As we reported, the deadly shooting went down Saturday at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas -- where video appears to show the gunman pulling up in a car, hopping out and firing into a crowd of shoppers.

An active shooter has been reported at an outdoor mall in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area -- and videos are starting to surface showing the fear and chaos as people run for their lives.

Police said Saturday that they're responding to reports of someone opening fire at the Allen Premium Outlets, and are warning to public to steer clear of this area ... as the situation is fluid. First responders could be seen rushing to the scene and evacuating patrons.

Clips have made the rounds on Twitter, which show tons of bystanders booking it toward the parking lot and out of buildings -- this while multiple gunshots are heard being fired off.

As of now, there've been no confirmed reports about injuries and/or fatalities from the authorities -- but some preliminary info that's starting to circulate suggests there may be as many as five victims so far. The Allen Premium Outlets is currently on lockdown.

Other video shows swarms of shoppers -- including families and children, all of whom are panicked -- forming lines as they trickle into the open area away from the shops.

One video in particular -- which is incredibly graphic -- is making the rounds and appears to show footage taken from a news helicopter that's on the scene -- which seems to show a string of bodies covered in tarps on the ground ... with blood seeping out.

It's unclear if the shooter is still at large, or if the scene is still active at this point. All Allen PD has said thus far is that they're there and dealing with it.

Donald Trump's infamous "Access Hollywood" quote isn't just locker room talk, apparently -- he repeated it while under oath for a deposition in the E. Jean Carroll case ... and added a pretty shocking clarification.

During Trump's depo -- recorded on video last October -- Carroll's attorney, Roberta Kaplan, is grilling him about his treatment of women, generally, and raises the hot mic remarks he made during the 2005 interview with Billy Bush: "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything, grab them by the p****. You can do anything."

The attorney asks, "That's what you said, correct?" ... and without blinking he responds, "Well, historically, that's true with stars. If you look over the last million years, I guess that's been largely true."

He then, stunningly, added ... "Unfortunately or fortunately."

Trump was being deposed because Carroll is suing him for battery and defamation, and the trial is ongoing right now in NYC. Carroll claimed Trump raped her in the '90s, and he responded by calling her story a "hoax," and declaring she's not his type.

During the depo, he also called her a "nut job" and a "whack job."