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The federal government goes to great lengths to keep alien spacecraft secret from the public, even killing its own citizens ... at least that's what a whistleblower is strongly suggesting.

The bombshell claim was levied during Wednesday's historic Congressional hearing on UFOs ... with former Air Force intelligence officer David Grusch hinting murder has been a key part of a government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials.

Ya gotta see the exchange on Capitol Hill ... Rep. Tim Burchett straight-up asks Grusch if he has any personal accounts of people being murdered over something they've seen in our skies.

The whistleblower's answer is revealing ... "I have to be careful answering that question. I directed people with that knowledge to the appropriate authorities."

Grusch is one of 3 whistleblowers from our military testifying under oath about UFOs and secret government programs allegedly involving extraterrestrial technology. He claims almost 95 percent of UFO sightings go unreported, mainly out of fear of being blackballed, or worse.

The 2 other men being sworn in are Navy fighter pilot commander David Fravor, a witness of the infamous "Tic Tac" UFO sighting, plus former pilot Ryan Graves.

Grusch also testified the U.S. has known about extraterrestrials since at least the 1930s, with the feds covering up a longstanding government program that retrieves and reverse engineers UFOs ... or as he put it, "non-human" spacecraft and pilots.

A scene straight out of a Hollywood thriller unfolded in NYC, as a crane not only caught fire, but collapsed and crashed into a neighboring building ... sending people below running for cover.

The crane was operating on a vacant building near Hudson Yards when it caught fire. Emergency crews responded almost immediately but were essentially helpless as it burned hundreds of feet in the air.

Eventually, the flames got to be too much, and the crane snapped ... striking a neighboring building and falling to the ground.

Carlee Russell has majorly ticked off a key member of her inner circle after news surfaced Monday that her kidnapping story was BS.

Thomar Simmons posted a lengthy statement on Instagram, slamming Carlee for her lies and now referring to himself as her "ex" boyfriend. He also scrubbed all signs of Carlee from his social media accounts and stopped following her.

Simmons wrote, "Carlee's actions created hurt, confusion and dishonesty. I was made aware of the false narrative after coming to the defense of my ex Carlee Russell."

He explained that he and his family reacted with love and concern at first, but they are "disgusted" with the outcome of the case.

Simmons went on to say they were totally blindsided by Carlee's phony tale, noting they've gained some closure with her confession while acknowledging the police investigation is ongoing.

As you know, Russell's attorney, Emory Anthony, issued his own statement, which was read by Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis Monday night at a news conference.

Anthony said Carlee made up the whole abduction story, as well as her claim she saw a toddler walking along the highway. He also apologized on behalf of Carlee and asked everyone to pray for her as she works on her issues. But Anthony failed to address why Carlee did what she did.

Meanwhile, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case to determine if Carlee should be criminally charged. Police spent many hours and tax dollars searching for Carlee after she called 911 to falsely report the child wandering on the interstate.

In a scene straight out of a Hollywood action film ... a car careened off an embankment on a San Francisco hilltop street and rocketed through a line of trees, crashing upside down to the roadway below.

But this was no movie ... the real-life accident was recorded by Nest cameras and 2 videos were uploaded to YouTube. Miraculously, everyone walked away from Saturday's crash with their lives fully intact.

The clip below is shot from the top of the street and shows the vehicle barreling through a guardrail in a residential area, plummeting into a small forest while flipping over several times.

From a different angle below, the second video captures the sedan launching off the edge of the embankment above, tumbling through the foliage and landing on its roof.

Pedestrians rushed over to help several passengers out of the wreckage. All of the occupants fled on foot after one was overheard saying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I've got to go."

Twitter is dead, and in its place -- a new name and logo live ... welcome to the world of X!

Indeed ... Elon Musk followed through on his promise from this weekend, rebranding the storied social media company and completely getting rid of the familiar white bird icon and blue background. Ditto for its moniker ... now, Twitter will forever be known simply as "X."

EM touted the big change by retweeting re-X'ing his new CEO's announcement, which reads ... "It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square."

She adds, "X is the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities. Powered by AI, X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine."

Now, the actual site/app itself still pretty much looks the same in terms of design, function and format. In fact, you can actually still see remnants of the old Twitter floating around ... like on the search bar, for instance, where it continues to read "Search Twitter."

Even when it comes to retweets, those are labeled as such ... so on its face, it still very much feels like Twitter. It's unclear if more of a relaunch will take place over the coming days.

While Elon and co. really got the word out about the switch-up this weekend ... they'd actually been telegraphing this for a while, especially in official corporate docs tied to the organization.

The group of investors that came together to buy this thing -- again, for $44 billion -- had called themselves X Corp. earlier this year. Now, they'll be known as such going forward.

One last thing ... it appears the new "X" is going to be powered by AI -- at least according to this above-mentioned CEO. Funny enough, Elon was railing against AI not too long ago ... calling on a slow-down, if not a full-blown pause, because he thought it was dangerous.

Thomar Lattrel Simmons was interviewed Saturday by the New York Post and made his desperate plea on behalf of Russell.

Simmons said, "The only thing I can say is, I want everyone to stop bullying her. I know what it seems like what she did. Just stop bullying on social media."

He continued, "Think about her mental health. She doesn’t deserve that. She doesn’t. Nobody deserves to be cyberbullied."

As we reported, Russell has come under intense scrutiny after she claimed she was abducted on the side of a highway while trying to help a child.

She called 911 on June 13 and told the dispatcher she saw the toddler wandering along the interstate as she was driving home from work.

Russell promised to wait with the child until the police arrived, but, when the cops got there, Carlee was nowhere to be found and neither was the kid.

Two days later, Russell returned home without so much as a scratch. Since then, police have investigated the incident and publicly stated they have not been able to verify Carlee's suspicious account.

Hollywood might not be the only industry that's on strike -- pretty soon, it could be parcel carriers who are hitting the picket lines as well ... namely, thousands of UPS workers.

You may not have heard of this until now, but a doomsday is fast approaching that could halt a lot of UPS's operations across the country -- which would seriously screw up the supply chain ... among other facets of American life that rely on the shipping/receiving giant.

Upwards of 325,000 UPS employees are primed to stop working starting on August 1 if their Teamsters union and their UPS bosses can't strike a new labor contract ... which has been getting ironed out in recent months, but which has hit a snag on the money front.

Specifically, part-time workers' pay is at issue. At the moment, UPS says its PT staff -- which makes up a significant number of its workforce across the company -- makes about $20/hour on average, after completing a 30-day period. The union is asking for a serious raise.

The union's leader, Prez Sean O'Brien, has been quoted with some fiery language over the prospect of UPS workers hitting the streets. During a rally speech in Atlanta Saturday, per CNN Business, he said, "We’ve legalized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize."

BTW, this would-be strike wouldn't just affect ground transportation -- a separate union repping UPS pilots has apparently also committed to joining in solidarity if an agreement can't be reached soon ... so this would be felt both domestically and abroad too.

Of course, the backdrop of all this is the SAG and WGA strikes that are going on right now -- whose members are demanding a number of things as well in their own negotiations.

Carlee Russell's "disappearance," which cops can't confirm actually happened, could have a negative impact on people of color who really do vanish ... but one organization wants to make sure that doesn't happen.

Natalie Wilson, co-founder of Black & Missing Foundation, tells TMZ ... the details police provided this week about Carlee's alleged disappearance were certainly disappointing to hear, but shouldn't set a precedent for similar cases.

She says her org has been working hard the past 15 years, lending a hand to families whose loved ones' cases don't make headlines -- and Natalie doesn't want Carlee's example to knock down all that progress.

Natalie feels something good did come out of the Carlee story, though ... telling us the country really came together to bring awareness to her case, and hopes that same energy can be put into finding others.

As we reported, police said they found searches for Amber Alerts, taking money from a register and the movie "Taken" on Carlee's phone -- and those were all in the days and hours before she went off the grid last week.

Plus, they added there's no evidence to support her claim of seeing a child get abducted.

A woman in Florida suffered a horrific death after her car collided with a log truck -- causing the contents to tumble onto her vehicle ... a terrifying ordeal that's eerily familiar to "Final Destination" fans.

The 25-year-old woman was driving her SUV on SR 200 Tuesday around 12:45 AM when the incident went down. According to Florida Highway Patrol, she was in the outside lane behind a semi-truck that was hauling logs, but allegedly wasn't keeping a safe distance.

The woman reportedly hit the truck, which caused the lumber to fall on her car -- the Fernandina Beach local was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.

If this sounds like something out of a horror movie, it is ... because 2003's "Final Destination 2" -- a franchise known for freaky deaths -- featured a scene involving a fatal car crash and falling logs.

In the movie, Kimberly, played by A.J. Cook, has a vision of the fictional Route 23 pileup in New York, killing 18 people. The devastation starts after logs fall off a truck, smashing through a cop car and killing the officer.

The Chief of Hoover Police says there's no risk to public safety in the Carlee Russell disappearance case ... implying she was never abducted as claimed. Chief Nick Derzis addressed the media Wednesday to share the facts uncovered by investigators in the time since Carlee returned home.

Derzis says Carlee was captured on surveillance leaving her work, July 13, the day of her disappearance, taking a robe and toilet paper with her. She then ordered food and stopped at a Target to buy granola bars and Cheez-Its.

From there, Derzis says Russell hit the road, making a 911 call on her way to report she saw a child on the side of the freeway. He played the 911 call in full, where you hear Russell say it appears the child was 3 or 4 years old and walking in a diaper.

Derzis says his officers responded within 5 minutes of Carlee's call -- and she was nowhere to be found -- she was also the only person to report the child on the side of the road ... despite it being an area with lots of traffic.

Officers discovered Carlee's phone, wig and the food she ordered in her car ... but say the Target items, robe and toilet paper she'd taken from her workplace were gone.

As we reported, Carlee showed up two days later, July 15, at her parents' home.

Derzis says detectives were able to briefly interview Carlee who claimed when she got out of the vehicle to help the young child a man with orange hair and a bald spot came out of the woods, grabbed her, and led her over a fence and into an 18-wheeler trailer.

Carlee told cops at one point she was able to escape the trailer, and she was put in a car, blindfolded and taken to a house where she says she was forced to undress and the man and a female accomplice -- who Carlee says she never saw -- took photos.

Derzis says Carlee told them she was eventually able to escape when she was loaded into another vehicle -- running through the woods until eventually arriving at her family home.

Derzis also revealed some searches Carlee did on her phone in the days and even hours leading up to her disappearance. These included, "Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?" "How to take money from a register without getting caught?" "Birmingham bus station?" "One-way bus ticket Birmingham to Nashville" and also the movie "Taken" about being abducted.

What's more ... Derzis says there were also searches Carlee conducted on her phone that revealed her state of mind leading up to the disappearance -- but he wasn't going to share those out of respect for her family.

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer got off on talking about the slayings and provided obscure details only the assailant would know, this according to a former escort who says she survived an encounter with him.

Rex Heuermann went on a "date" with former prostitute, Nicole Brass, first meeting her on the escort website, BackPage, which was similar to how the victims crossed paths with the Gilgo Beach murderer, Brass told the New York Daily News.

The two reportedly arranged to have dinner at Steamroom seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson, Long Island, during the height of the deadly rampage about a decade ago. While the conversation started off normal, Brass recalled it soon took a scary turn.

Brass said, "He asked me if I’m a true crime fan ... We talked briefly about other serial killers, then he said, "Have you heard of the Gilgo Beach murders? That’s when he got real weird."

She claimed Heuermann brought up the Gilgo murders, which she had been following at the time, and he became enthusiastic while revealing details of which she was completely unaware.

Brass said Heuermann specifically discussed one victim she didn't know about and "it seemed like he was talking about it from experience, not a point of view."

She continued, "It didn’t seem like somebody who feels bad when he talked about the victims. It seemed like somebody who really wanted to brag about what they did, but couldn’t."

Brass went on to say Heuermann's body language changed while he discussed the crimes, appearing as if "he was visualizing it in his head and getting off to what he was saying."

Of course, Brass wanted to get the hell out of there, so she cut the dinner short, but Heuermann insisted on her leaving with him in his car to go to a hotel room he booked. Luckily, she was able to break away from him and split.

Brass said she never reported the incident to police because she was on parole at the time for a felony drug conviction.

As for Heuermann, prosecutors identified him as the Gilgo Beach killer last week, charging him with the murders of 3 sex workers and eyeing him in a fourth slaying. Heuermann has denied any wrongdoing.

Cops are clarifying some things after Carlee Russell was recovered following a 48-hour period of her having gone missing ... and it sounds like they, too, have more questions.

Hoover PD issued a new statement with a handful of details they say they can elaborate on as the investigation continues -- the most important of which, it seems, is the fact that even now ... they say they haven't gotten any further reports about a wandering child.

Remember, this was at the crux of the case from the beginning -- Carlee called 911 on the night she disappeared ... telling dispatchers she saw a toddler walking by itself along a local highway at night, and reiterated that to family members as well before pulling over.

After that, she vanished ... only to turn up 3 days later, with not very many answers as to what happened to her -- other than her loved ones claiming she was kidnapped, that is.

There's more info HPD is relaying in their new remarks ... including the fact that they say there's residential surveillance footage that apparently shows Carlee walking down the sidewalk in her neighborhood alone -- this before she showed up to her parents' front door.

The police are also clarifying reports -- citing dispatch chatter that went over the airwaves -- of Carlee having been transported to a hospital in an unconscious state. They say that's not true ... all that happened is that somebody called 911 reporting she was unresponsive -- but they say she was, in fact, awake and speaking when paramedics actually arrived.

One last important detail ... HPD says it's waiting for Carlee to be made available for a follow-up interview, claiming they've only been able to obtain a preliminary statement from her.

On its face, it sounds like they're somewhat suspicious themselves about this whole thing -- which echoes the growing public sentiment at this point ... people are raising an eyebrow.

Thus far, her family members have stuck to the same story ... namely, that she escaped her abductors, and that she fought for her life. They've also scoffed at the notion that anybody would question what happened to her ... and yet, folks still have their doubts regardless.

Carlee Russell's parents are backing her boyfriend's claim she fought for her life to escape an alleged kidnapper -- but they're very tight-lipped over just about everything else.

Talitha Robinson-Russell and Carlos Russell sat with 'Today' to talk about the case -- which has been shrouded in mystery ... and which has come under public scrutiny due to the scant and inconsistent details following Carlee's 48-hour disappearance.

Despite the growing skepticism ... Carlee's family is standing firm she was abducted ... echoing her story she escaped her abductor.

Her parents say she was in a bad state when she arrived at their house Saturday night -- and she's disturbed by people questioning her honesty.

As far as any other details, however ... the Russells are refusing to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Some feel like the facts of the case aren't lining up ... not to mention the police apparently having left out some pertinent information in terms of what they knew about her recovery and when. As we reported, first responders were discussing Carlee possibly having been located at a local motel in town ... but in their statement, they totally omitted that.

There are also questions about this alleged child Carlee claimed to have seen on the side of a highway the night she vanished. Police say they received no other reports, besides the 911 call from Carlee, of a missing child.

So if there is, in fact, an abductor and a possible kid at risk -- why haven't the police issued any kind of alert to that effect? That's what people are asking.

Fair queries, and yet ... still not very many answers.

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer may have had a female accomplice for the 3 victims ... at least according to a lawyer representing the families.

Attorney John Ray, who reps the families of slain Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, claims Rex Heuermann was not a solo operator and allegedly killed 3 prostitutes on Long Island with help from a mysterious cohort. Police have not linked the Gilbert and Taylor slayings to Heuermann as of now.

Ray pointed to the 2011 death of a 10-month-old baby girl whose body was found swaddled in a blanket near one of the confirmed Gilgo Beach victims. The lawyer insisted that a savage murderer would not have such maternal instincts to wrap the infant in a quilt.

"It's that kind of thing that, if you're such a depraved murderer, you don't take time to do. That to me seems like an act of a mother," Ray said, adding, "We also believe that some of the victims could've been lured by a woman."

Suffolk County Police officials have not commented on Ray's accusations on whether Heuermann had a cohort or if he's being eyed for the baby's murder.

But, Heuermann has enough legal problems to keep him busy. Detectives arrested him last week as he walked from his office in NYC, where he worked as an architect.

Prosecutors charged Heuermann with the murders of three sex workers and he's the top suspect in a fourth slaying. Heuermann allegedly wrapped their bodies in burlap and dumped them near Gilgo Beach between 2009 and 2015.

According to court documents, Heuermann was connected to the crimes through DNA testing and examining his cell phone records.

New video taken the night that Russell disappeared in Alabama appears to show the moment she pulled over on a highway to help a child ... this before mysteriously vanishing.

According to AL.com, the surveillance footage -- which was just published Saturday -- was recorded by an online company that captures and archives live traffic footage ... and it looks like they caught the exact moment that the 25-year-old came to a stop on the shoulder of I-459 in Hoover, Alabama Thursday night ... when she was first reported missing by her family.

It's a disturbing story ... cops say Russell called 911 that night to report seeing a lone child walking along the interstate, and she came to a screeching halt herself to get out and help.

Russell is said to have also been on the phone with her brother's GF, who says she heard Carlee calling out to the child ... asking if they were okay. Then, she claims to have heard Carlee scream before the phone dropped, with only the sound of traffic being heard after.

When police arrived to the scene ... they found her car and belongings -- including her phone, but Russell was nowhere to be found. Ditto for the kid she reported seeing.

Now, in the wake of this new footage -- which police say they have and are examining -- people are picking it apart ... and some even claim to see something that could give a clue as to what happened. In many people's eyes ... this looks to be an abduction via luring.

The reason people believe that -- aside from the eerie details of the case -- has to do with a bright yellow light that can be seen in this footage ... which darts south in the video at a rapid speed, but then goes dark. Unclear what the light may be -- but it seems suspicious.

Her family has been sounding the alarm since, asking the public to help bring her back ... and there's even been a huge reward offered for her return, now increased to $50,000.

Cops released a new photo of Carlee -- seen above, where she's got short hair -- and say this is a more accurate depiction/what she may have looked like the night she went missing.

The new Frontier in the skies is bedlam ... and if you don't believe it, watch this video.

A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Vegas from Philly made an unscheduled stop in Denver ... after 2 women got into a foul-mouthed rant that went all WWE.

The women were actually traveling together, when an argument erupted and they took to the aisle. The screaming became ear-shattering and other passengers eventually got involved.

At least one passenger was hit in the head during the melee.

The plane was diverted to Denver and the 2 women were taken off the plane by cops. The FBI was alerted as well. It's unclear if they were arrested or will face criminal charges.

This has become a thing in the air. Last week a woman was channeling "Final Destination" vibes during a crazy meltdown. There have been scores of disruptions on flights... at least one almost daily.