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ABC brass did NOT threaten to take "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos off the air if he didn't apologize for taking a dig at President Biden's political future ... TMZ has learned.

Our network sources tell us George's ABC bosses never once threatened he would be stripped of airtime for telling a man on an NYC sidewalk he didn't think Biden could serve another term.

There is a report out claiming ABC threatened to bench the 'GMA' anchor if he didn't apologize for the Biden remark. Our network sources tell us George's conversations with network honchos never reached the point of threats about airtime.

New footage seemingly showing a sleeping bag containing the dead body of Yazmeen Williams has surfaced ... and, it shows how callously at least one person treated her remains.

The horrifying clip shows an individual on a motorized scooter dragging what appears to be a large sleeping bag behind him on the street. According to CBS New York ... it's still unclear if it's the same sleeping bag with Williams' body in it, but they do look alike.

As previously reported, the sleeping bag itself was discovered tied to a dolly cart.

3:40 PM PT -- The U.S. Soccer Federation just confirmed it's parted ways with Gregg Berhalter ... with org. President Cindy Parlow Cone saying in a statement they're now solely focused on working tirelessly to find their next coach.

U.S. soccer fans are getting some interesting news on Wednesday -- Gregg Berhalter will reportedly not be returning to manage the Men's National Team after failing to advance out of the Copa América group stage.

Doug McIntyre of FOX Sports broke the news minutes ago ... saying the Red, White and Blue are going in a new direction with the position.

Berhalter was hired in 2018 after the U.S. failed to qualify for the World Cup that same year.

6:28 PM PT -- George Stephanopoulos tells TMZ in a statement from his rep, "Earlier today, I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn't have." An ABC spokesperson tells TMZ, "George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News."

George Stephanopoulos just made a stunning comment on the streets of New York ... telling a pedestrian he doesn't think President Joe Biden can serve another term.

The 'GMA' anchor was out and about Tuesday afternoon on 5th Avenue, wearing workout clothes, when the pedestrian approached him and asked, "Do you think Biden should step down? You've talked to him more than anybody else has lately." George's response -- "I DON'T THINK HE CAN SERVE 4 MORE YEARS."

The remains of an American climber missing for 22 years have been found on the Peru mountain where he was buried by an avalanche.

Police in Peru say they found U.S. mountaineer William Stampfl's mummified body Friday near a camp on Mount Huascaran, one of the highest peaks in the Andes.

William was trying to summit Mount Huascaran back in 2002 when an avalanche buried him under snow and ice. Cops say his still-frozen body was found about 5,200 meters up the 6,768-meter mountain.

A mechanic at an Iranian airport is dead after a horrific accident ... getting sucked into the running engine of a Boeing commercial airliner.

The fatal incident happened at Chabahar Konarak airport in southern Iran, where mechanic Abolfazl Amiri was doing routine maintenance work on the tarmac.

Reports say Amiri was doing one last check on a Boeing plane when he realized he had forgotten one of his tools near one of the plane's engines ... and when he collected it, he got sucked into the turbine.

Sam Rubin had a massive blockage of his coronary artery ... according to the L.A. County Medical Examiner's report on his death.

The M.E.'s Office says it determined KTLA's famed entertainment reporter officially died of ischemic heart disease due to atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Translation: Sam suffered a heart attack due to the blockage.

As TMZ first reported ... Sam was rushed to UCLA West Hills Hospital back in May, and we were told he had gone into full cardiac arrest while at home.

A 4th of July shark attack victim is now left without her left calf -- this after she thought she was just kicking away a big fish, but it actually turned out to be a brutal encounter.

Tabatha Sullivent spoke from her hospital bed just days after a lone shark attacked her in South Padre Island, TX ... recalling how she bravely swam to the beach with only one leg intact when the massive beast tore off a chunk of her leg.

Tabatha added to FOX4 that once she got closer to the beach, her husband Cary tried to pull her out ... but had to drop her because the shark was still in hot pursuit.

Sheryl Lee Ralph is feeling extremely grateful after she survived Hurricane Beryl's pass over Jamaica.

The "Abbott Elementary" star had previously expressed her concern about the Category 4 storm ... as she's in Jamaica for her son, Etienne Maurice's wedding to ABC News journalist Stephanie Wash.

However, as Sheryl told her followers on Thursday, her home in Kingston was left unscathed by the storm ... as well as her loved ones.

President Biden is offering up an explanation for his lackluster performance debating Donald Trump ... he says his travel schedule had him running on fumes, and feeling sleepy.

Biden made the excuse Tuesday at a campaign fundraiser in McLean, Virginia ... and said he almost fell asleep on the debate stage.

POTUS blamed his lack of energy on being sapped from long trips in the weeks before Thursday's first presidential debate, including a trip to France in early June for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Murray The Magician is pulling a disappearing act on the Academy of Magical Arts -- this after having his fill of what he deems as the org's inconsistent values.

TMZ has obtained Murray's resignation letter -- and he makes it clear the recent investigation into his viral online reveals of magic tricks left him feeling like it was time to make his grand exit.

In the letter, Murray pulls back the curtain on what he sees as the AMA's outdated rules ... pointing out while they've been around since 1962, they're struggling to keep up in the era of social media where magicians are spilling secrets left, right, and center.

A high-ranking BBC presenter from the UK has ignited a firestorm by suggesting President Biden should have Donald Trump murdered.

David Aaronovitch, who presents Radio 4's "Briefing Room" show, caused an uproar with a now-deleted X post reading, "If I was Biden, I'd hurry up and have Trump murdered on the basis that he is a threat to America's security."

He threw in the hashtag #SCOTUS ... tying his comment in response to the Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling.

The Joe Biden everyone saw during his car crash debate with Donald Trump was the same Joe Biden his closest confidantes have seen numerous times behind closed doors for more than a year, according to Carl Bernstein.

The famous Washington Post journalist sat down with CNN host Anderson Cooper Monday night to discuss Biden's horrible performance against Trump during last week's debate in the run-up to the 2024 Presidential election.

Citing anonymous sources, Bernstein told Cooper that Biden's top aides have witnessed similar behavior by the commander-in-chief on "15, 20 occasions in the last year and a half."

A transatlantic passenger is feeling lucky to be alive after severe turbulence sent him hurtling through the cabin of a Boeing jet ... and planted him in the airliner's ceiling.

Check out the clip -- you can see the man's feet sticking out from above an overhead bin Monday aboard Air Europa's flight UX045 from Madrid to Montevideo, Uruguay. The fact his feet were actually moving had to be relieving to his fellow passengers ... who eventually dislodged him, and got him back into his seat.

Other passengers were also thrown out of their seats when the plane hit turbulence over the Atlantic -- and in total, 30 out of the 325 passengers were injured during the ordeal.

A 13-year-old boy apparently brandishing a gun was shot to death by police in New York – and the violence was all caught on video.

The footage opened with three cops running down a street after the teen in the upstate city of Utica on Friday night.

The officers caught up to the boy and wrestled him to the ground in a residential area. A cop can be seen standing over the boy outside a house and punching him as he lay on the front lawn. There was a brief scuffle before one of the officers fired a bullet into the youth.

A security guard in Texas quit his job live on-air after his manager scolded him for being in uniform while he was telling local TV crews about being assaulted on duty.

Percy Payne was doing an interview with FOX 7 Austin when his manager came up and told him he was breaking company policy. The two argued until Percy abruptly turned in his uniform and quit on the spot.

The reason Percy was talking to the news station ... he's got surveillance video showing what he claims is him being assaulted by two men at the parking garage he protects.