TMZ Live

The guys who had a whale land on their boat out in the open seas are luckily fine now -- but in the moment, they saw their lives flash before their eyes ... and we got the full story.

Ryland Kenney and Greg Paquette -- the two friends forced to scramble from their boat after the huge sea mammal landed on the engine -- stopped by "TMZ Live" Wednesday to recount the life-or-death moment ... and it certainly sounds dramatic.

It started out as a regular fishing trip -- but Kenney and Paquette say things quickly went south when the humpback whale breached and came crashing down on their vessel.

Check it out ... the guys say Ryland had a fish on the line when the sea creature crashed down on the boat flipping it -- and them too -- into the water off the New Hampshire coast.

The sheriff's deputy who shot and killed Sonya Massey claims he feared she was going to throw a pot of boiling water on him, but based on the horrifying police body cam ... her family and their attorney aren't buying it.

Ben Crump is representing Sonya's family, and joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday alongside her father, James Wilburn, and we asked about their takeaway from the body camera footage showing her fatal interaction with law enforcement.

Ben says Sean Grayson -- the Sangamon County Sheriff's deputy charged with first-degree murder -- doesn't look like he's fearing for his safety in the footage, because instead of moving away from Sonya as she handles a pot of boiling water, he moves toward her.

Gov. Wes Moore says Democrats will hold the White House by selling voters on VP Kamala Harris' vision for the future -- and he explained why prosecuting Donald Trump on the campaign trail won't be enough.

Maryland's head honcho joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live," and we asked him about the whirlwind 48 hours in the Democratic party, following Harris' rollout as the presumed presidential nominee.

As a co-chair on her campaign, he also told us what to expect from VP Harris heading into the DNC and Election Day.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is sounding off about his new Secret Service detail -- and, interestingly, the presidential candidate says he'd rather take his chances on his own.

The son of Robert F. Kennedy was on "TMZ Live" Monday when he candidly admitted he isn't a fan of having Secret Service agents on the campaign trail -- as he likes to interact with the public.

However, Kennedy -- whose father and uncle, John F. Kennedy, were both assassinated in the '60s -- conceded the Secret Service's protection is a necessity for the safety of his family, his staff and bystanders.

Kim Kardashian and Taylor Swift may be healing the divide, Kyle Richards is pissed at Mauricio Umansky and Ingrid Andress is making lemonade ... all this on TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles explain how Ivanka Trump could be easing the thaw between Kim and Taylor.

Donald Trump reunited with Melania, $2 billion Powerball winner Edwin Castro has a smoking hot girlfriend, and Mike Perry is making big moves ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Charles break down Melania's interactions with Donald at the Republican National Convention ... including what may or may not have been a smooch.

Sandra "Pepa" Denton, 1/2 of Salt-N-Pepa, is still shaken and confused by her encounter with Southwest Airlines this week, when she says she got treated like a criminal without displaying any criminal behavior!!!

It's a perplexing tale, for sure -- but the "Push It" rapper joined "TMZ Live" Wednesday to give us her blow-by-blow account of SW pushing her off a flight Monday headed to Nashville from Las Vegas.

Pepa says she purchased 2 seats to give herself extra space for an injured knee, but wasn't wearing her protective brace when a flight attendant accosted her over the extra seat.

Rener Gracie -- whose family is credited with creating Brazilian jiu-jitsu -- is teaching cops a new restraint that he says is safer than a chokehold, and he demonstrated on one of our own to hit the point home.

The MMA legend joined us on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and broke down the move, which he calls the "SafeWrap" ... trotting out an exhibition of sorts by deploying it on a TMZ staffer who played guinea pig for the demo.

Rener is now teaching his move to the NYPD ... explaining that it can take down a noncomplying suspect safely and effectively ... even if they are armed.

Cheryl Tyler, a former Secret Service Special Agent, is defending her female peers from a wave of criticism following the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

In addition to protecting 2 presidents herself, Cheryl trained other agents, and she joined us Tuesday on "TMZ Live" -- in the wake of Saturday's attack -- to counter those hating on female agents, and to explain how difficult it is for any agent to get that detail ... whether they're female or male.

As Cheryl put it ... being a part of the Secret Service is no easy thing -- it's an elite group of specialists who are put through rigorous training and probation to earn the detail.

A stunning turn in the Alec Baldwin trial, a star-studded wedding guest list in India and a new member of the Mahomes family ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live" Harvey and Beckerman explain the shocking end to Alec's manslaughter trial down in New Mexico.

President Biden's campaign funding might slow to a trickle if he stays in the race ... at least according to a 6-figure donor who says democratic supporters are analyzing poll numbers and reacting.

Whitney Tilson's an author and investment expert who gives at least $100k a year to the Dems, but Thursday on "TMZ Live" he told us more and more donkey party donors are revolting -- over the president staying in the race -- the best way possible ... by closing their checkbooks.

Tilson explains donors aren't panicking because of the polls, but instead, they're making cold, calculated decisions based on concrete data -- numbers that show there's a low probability Biden's gonna win in November.

D.L. Hughley is going scorched earth on George Clooney for calling on President Biden to drop out of the presidential race ... and he says Democrats are missing the big picture.

The comedian joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and ripped into George and his fellow Dems for asking for Biden to make way for a different candidate to run against Donald Trump.

D.L. says the whole tone of George's NYT op-ed letter calling on Biden to step down is "insulting" ... and he finds it alarming Clooney never mentioned Project 2025, a series of proposals D.L. warns will do serious damage to Americans, especially minorities.

Diddy is going to be indicted any day now ... at least according to an attorney representing one of his alleged sex trafficking victims.

Adria English's attorney Ariel Mitchell-Kidd joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and told us a possible criminal indictment against the Bad Boy founder is coming sooner than later, and perhaps even "very shortly."

Mitchell-Kidd is definitely in the know here ... her client is the former porn star who recently filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing Diddy of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Mike Rowe's drumming up support for his new movie "Something to Stand For," urging Americans to rally around at least one thing -- feeling grateful for one great moment in our history.

We caught up with Mike on "TMZ Live" ... and he revealed the inspiration for his doc/movie came from witnessing how deeply divided Americans are during this election year.

He tells us he's hoping people can come together, especially on the 4th of July, to cut the country some slack and celebrate its progress.

Prince Harry's a humble, stand-up guy who blends in as just another fellow veteran, making him deserving of the Pat Tillman Award for Service ... a former recipient tells us amid the outrage over ESPN's decision to honor the royal.

U.S. Marine Jake Wood, who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ veterans who've interacted with Prince Harry through his Invictus Games efforts say he's as real as it gets. There's no air of superiority ... he just wants to sit, swap war stories, and ensure everyone's taken care of, he says.

No doubt in Jake's eyes, Harry's down-to-earth nature, on top of him devoting a large chunk of his post-military life to veterans, solidifies his worthiness for the award.

President Biden's debate gaffes are ticking off some folks who work in the White House, because they've reportedly been kept away from him ... and now it's causing a divide among staffers.

Alex Thompson, the national political correspondent for Axios, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live," and broke down the disconnect happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Alex says lots of people who work with Biden are only given access to him between 10 AM and 4 PM when POTUS is at his sharpest, and that's why they were so shocked to see his slip-ups at Thursday's debate, which started at 9 PM ET -- a time when Alex says Biden is more prone to make mental mistakes.