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Neil deGrasse Tyson may be a astrophysics genius, but he tells TMZ he ain’t boarding Elon’s SpaceX rocket ... unless Musk sends his own bloodline up first ... as proof it won’t go kaboom!

We ran into Neil outside CBS Studios in NYC Friday... and he cracked Elon’s gotta blast his mom Maye off first to prove the rocket’s safe -- making it crystal clear ... he’s down to explore the cosmos, but only if there’s a guaranteed round trip.

Catch the full clip ... 'cause Neil also laid it out ... he’s not interested in doing the basic orbital joyride. He wants the real deal -- the Moon, Mars, an actual destination in the galaxy.

Bone-chilling audio captured the exact moment a control tower lost contact with a doomed private jet Thursday night ... seconds before the craft came crashing down in Michigan, killing all three people onboard.

In the audio, after a back-and-forth exchange between pilot and tower, you can hear the jet starts to fail ... with the panicked pilot yelling to the air traffic controller, "Stall, recovery! Stall, recovery!" as he fought to keep control.

Air traffic control are heard desperately asking, "What is your altitude? ... Do you read?" -- and when he realized the pilot was gone, he radioed other planes in the sky to watch for black smoke rising from the ground.

50 Cent stepped into the party life this week for an exquisite new reason ... the hip hop megastar exclusively launched his Branson 505 Edition Cognac by Sire Spirits x Lalique -- a $25,000 affair!!!

Fiddy tells TMZ Hip Hop ... "This is about craftsmanship, culture, and giving back. We created something that’ll outlive all of us -- real art that tells a story, and every bottle helps someone else write theirs.”

The event was fittingly held at the Lalique Townhouse in Manhattan, as each of the 505 limited edition bottles was made with hand-etched Lalique glass ... the Grande Champagne cognac is also aged up to 100 years for maximum quality.

Prince Andrew is voluntarily relinquishing his royal titles ... though he's still vehemently denying all of the scandalous accusations against him related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The senior royal announced the news in a prepared statement Friday ... writing that, in consultation with his brother King Charles and his other immediate family, it's become clear the allegations leveled against him have distracted from the work of British Royal Family.

He explains he has decided to put his family first once again -- just as he did when he stepped down from his duties five years ago -- and, so he will no longer use his honorifics.

Donald Trump received a special treat in the White House Friday ... a live solo from Andrea Bocelli!

Check out the clip -- the Italian singer fills the Oval Office with his famous tenor vocals as the prez stands behind the Resolute Desk in awe.

Another clip shared by Trump’s special assistant, Margo Martin, shows the pair meeting in the Oval Office as they listen to Andrea's music -- pretty iconic!

It looks like there was a big breakup between "Big Brother" Season 26 contestants Makensy Jo Manbeck and Matt Hardeman ... the couple have unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Check out the pic ... as of yesterday, neither is anywhere to be found on the other's 'following' list.

'BB' fans will remember the pair ignited a showmance that quickly fizzled out thanks to Matt's sudden boot from the house. Makensy fared much better, placing second.

Saweetie is drawing the line and entering her lawyers into the chat ... a very gossipy chat, after a woman claiming to be her ex-road manager has been drilling the rapper online for days with drug abuse and prostitution allegations!!!

On Friday, Saweetie sent out a firm statement, which reads ...  “The recent accusations made about me are false, defamatory, and deeply disturbing. These claims misrepresent the facts and are solely aimed to damage my reputation."

"This person never managed me. She was simply introduced to me by family. Her motives are now obvious. I’ll let the lawyers take it from here.”

Paul Skenes ain't pitching for a World Series title this year, but he's doing the next best thing ... enjoying a drink with Livvy Dunne on a boat in Europe!!

The Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower was seen in a video on his girlfriend's Instagram page on Friday afternoon, making the most of his MLB offseason.

Wearing nothing but a pair of green swimming trunks, Skenes looked like he was sipping on some red wine ... all while he and Dunne cruised on open water in Sicily.

11:26 AM PT -- Caitlin confirmed the engagement on IG captioning the photo June 2024, 2025.

Joe Manganiello is officially off the market ... he's engaged to longtime girlfriend Caitlin O'Connor, TMZ has confirmed.

Sources close to the couple tell us ... the two are engaged and are excited for this next chapter in their lives. We're told, Joe announced Caitlin as his fiancée at the San Diego Film Festival during his speech last night. He thanked his betrothed for her love and support while accepting his Career Spotlight award.

Brian McKnight is already declaring a victory in his defamation case against ex-wife Julie McKnight ... after she didn't appear in court.

Brian filed a motion for default judgment, and is waiting for the court to sign off to make his win official ... but that technicality didn't prevent Brian from celebrating.

The R&B legend posted a video of himself smoking a cigar, saying, "The verdict is in" -- it isn't -- "according to the courts, trying to ruin my name and trying to bring harm to my family in a book filled with lies equals $8.8 million."

Farrah Abraham’s teen daughter Sophia just took her goth game to bloody new heights ... sinking her style straight into a fresh set of fangs.

The ex-"Teen Mom" star whisked her 16-year-old to Vegas Thursday ... where Sophia sunk into custom composite bond fangs done at Vegas Smile Suite, perfectly timed for National Fang Day.

The mother-daughter duo kept the Vegas vibes rolling with a stop at local fave hibachi restaurant Volcano Grille -- and it was love at first bite for Sophia, who had extra reason to chomp down into her meal. Sophia used her new fangs to bite into the restaurant's signature oversized "Volcanoritto" hibachi burrito.

Hailey Bieber didn't actually throw shade at Selena Gomez in the cover story for WSJ. Magazine ... 'cause we've learned she was talking about Sephora brands, NOT the singer-actress.

Here's the deal ... during an interview with the outlet, Hailey said, "I think there is space for everybody. I don't feel competitive with people that I'm not inspired by."

Many fans online -- and, admittedly, TMZ as well -- thought she was shading Gomez by calling her uninspiring ... but, our sources say that's not the truth in any way, shape or form.

Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith just sidestepped a potentially bitter battle for custody of their daughter, Juno ... calling off the trial one day before the court date.

TMZ has learned ... Jodie's legal team filed court docs October 14, requesting the trial be taken off the court's calendar before it was set to begin October 15.

According to the "Queen & Slim" actress' lawyer, the two are in the process of negotiating a custody judgment themselves.

Keith Urban had to cancel a show suddenly last night due to illness ... but there is no way in hell he is missing tonight's homecoming show, TMZ has learned.

Here's the deal ... Keith's "High and Alive" tour stop at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina was scrapped at the last minute yesterday ... 'cause his doctor diagnosed him with laryngitis. Naturally, the cancellation made headlines due to the split drama with Nicole Kidman -- but this had nothing to do with that.

A source close to Keith tells TMZ ... the country music star is on vocal rest all day ... right up until he takes the stage Friday evening for his homecoming show at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. But it's totally on -- and good thing, too ... 'cause it's damn-near sold out!

KISS guitarist Ace Frehley was riding high on optimism earlier this year ... thanks to a psychic who swore he’d be shredding till he hit the big 1-0-0.

Back in March this year, Ace was all smiles talking about his comeback following a nasty arm injury ... in an interview with New Jersey newspaper The Aquarian, he said, "I just spoke to a psychic. She goes, 'Ace, you’re going to live to be a hundred.' So I said, 'No problem!'"

In the interview, Ace also gave props to his family tree ... bragging about the great genes that kept his dad going to 96, his mom to 86, and his sister to 99 ... so he was clearly thrilled to be following suit.

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