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Wendell Pierce could barely speak he was so heartsick over losing his home in the Baton Rouge torrent.

We got the actor at LAX Monday where he told us his home was one of thousands that were completely destroyed last week. Wendell's childhood home was also destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

The guy scaling Trump Tower in NYC with the help of suction cups posted a video Tuesday declaring his allegiance to the Republican Presidential candidate and giving him the heads-up he'd literally be climbing the walls to deliver "an important message."

The man calls himself an "independent researcher" and makes it clear ... it is in Trump's interest to receive him when he reaches the top of the building. The guy says he's aware of the life-threatening peril but the message is just that important.

Rescue workers continue in vain to coax him down.

The father of the man who slaughtered 49 people at Pulse nightclub went to a Hillary Clinton rally Monday near Orlando ... to show support for the candidate.

Seddique Mateen, father of Omar Mateen, was standing behind Clinton as she spoke to the crowd.

After the rally he said, "Hillary Clinton is good for United States versus Donald Trump, who has no solutions."

Mateen, who says he's been cooperating with the federal government in the investigation said, "I spoke a lot about that and wish that my son joined the Army and fought ISIS. That would be much better."

A rep for Hillary says the event was attended by 3,000 people and was an open-door event for the public. Mateen was not invited and Hillary's team was unaware of his attendance until after the event.

The shooter's father added, "I love the United States, and I've been living here a long time."

Hillary made a visit to Pulse late last month to pay her respects to the victims.

Steve Wilkos worked as a cop for many years in Chicago and saw plenty of violence, but he says no one -- NO ONE -- should be shot and killed over a broken taillight.

Wilkos was leaving the Montage in Bev Hills Tuesday when he told our photog he thinks lots of cops have itchy trigger fingers, partly because of the way they've been trained in recent years.

The building where Oprah Winfrey gave away hundreds of cars, and Tom Cruise famously leaped on the couch is a big pile of dust now, and from its ashes ... Big Macs will rise.

Harpo Studios in Chicago was demolished this week as O shifts her OWN operation to Los Angeles. McDonald's is reportedly moving in on the old site to build its new headquarters.

She spent 25 years shooting 'Oprah' in that building. Good times. Even if you had to pay taxes on one of those gifted cars in 2004.

The folks at Japan's Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park have a message for "Pokemon Go" -- have some damn respect.

The memorial sits right where the first nuclear bomb was dropped on a city, and officials are pissed it's currently a "Pokestop." Park organizers want the game's developer, Niantic Inc., to remove the landmark from the game by Aug. 6 -- the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing.

The site's become a go-to spot since the game's release in Japan last week. Niantic -- an American software company -- does have a form to request exclusions, but it makes no guarantees.

Games apparently don't respect the dead.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

A woman died trying to save her adult daughter from a tiger attack in a Chinese drive-thru safari park.

Surveillance video shows what went down Saturday at Badaling Wildlife Park in Beijing -- the daughter got out of the car and walked to the other side ... and that's when the tiger pounced and dragged her away. A man and another woman -- the mother -- attempted to rescue the daughter.

All 3 people were off camera when, officials say, another tiger attacked and killed the mother.

Authorities are investigating, but it seems pretty clear from the video where things went south.

A Florida nightclub's teen event turned tragic when gunmen opened fire early Monday morning ... taking down at least 16 victims ... 2 of whom died from their injuries.

The mass shooting happened at Club Blu in Fort Myers. Police responded around 12:30 AM and found multiple victims in the parking lot.

The club says it had armed security at the event for kids aged 12 to 17. Police say the gunmen were not kids there for the event.

Three people were captured while fleeing the scene in a car, but police have not said for sure if they are the gunmen. They're being detained for questioning, but police say they're still searching the city for others who might have been involved.

The "Pokemon Go" craze is so big, it's going to turn a line of themed restaurants into huge money makers ... or so one developer thinks now that he's filed docs to launch the idea.

James Kim -- a branding and marketing guru -- is trying to lock up trademark rights for eateries he plans to call "Pokestop." If you don't know ... Pokestops, in the game, are digital locations where players refill on supplies.

Kim plans to open cafes catering to the game ... which would allow users to fill up on Pokemon supplies (for the game), catch a few creatures and also fill up on real-life food, coffee, tea and possibly beers too.

He says they would have Pokemon lures to bring in creatures to each location, and even host Pokemon-themed events. Of course, he'll need to secure a licensing deal with Pokemon -- which hasn't happened. Yet.

Trademarks ... gotta catch 'em all.

12:50 PM PT -- Police now confirm 6 fatalities in the shooting.

12:05 PM PT -- Munich police confirmed there are "several dead and injured." There are reports that as many as 6 were killed but police did not confirm that number.

Shoppers are fleeing a Munich mall after a gunman opened fire inside.

There are reports of as many as 15 people being hit ... and possibly one fatality.

Police are still looking for the shooter or shooters. There's been a massive response to the incident -- and cops are instructing citizens to stay indoors while the search continues. Munich's mass transit is all shut down too.

The shooting reportedly started at a McDonald's across the street from the mall ... and video has surfaced on social media which appears to be one of the shooters opening fire.

Germany has been on edge since 4 days ago when a 17-year-old with an axe attacked people on a train.

Story developing ...

Ted Cruz hasn't settled on who's getting his vote, and maybe that's why he told our photog he'll be on a couch in front of a TV watching Donald Trump's acceptance speech.

Our photog got Cruz at the Cleveland airport, beating a hasty retreat after Wednesday night's speech.

We also asked Cruz ... by going back on his word to support the nominee, has he earned the name "Lyin' Ted?"

Third Eye Blind has zero regrets about trolling Donald Trump supporters who filled the crowd at their Cleveland concert.

Frontman Stephan Jenkins was on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and said the band had no idea their charity gig at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would be saturated with Trump supporters in town for the RNC.

You gotta see him describe the moment he figured out who they were playing to -- and it sounds like the fact Trump just got nominated wasn't sitting well with the band ... which went on to play obscure tracks and poke fun at the GOP platform. You can guess how that went over -- lots of boos.

As for whether they avoided playing their biggest hit, "Semi-Charmed Life" on purpose? Stephan gave us the most awesome answer.

The Democrats just fired back at Paul Ryan and his army of white Congressional interns, with a photo that looks more like America.

Texas Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson put the pic out, ballyhooing the diversity among the Dems.

Sometimes ... things on Capitol Hill are black and white.

The Game and LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck have joined forces in an effort to end shootings -- all shootings -- in L.A.

Game and Beck are featured in a video for the Stop the Violence campaign ... addressing out-of-control shooting incidents in the city. TMZ got an advance copy.

They are strange bedfellows. Game has become an instant leader in the black community, which is a radical departure from his past gang affiliations.

Game and Beck first met a few weeks ago, when the rapper and Snoop protested police brutality in front of LAPD headquarters, and had a chance meeting with the chief.

And the video is sure to ruffle some feathers ... some members of the Black Lives Matter movement in L.A. are demanding Beck's resignation ... saying he has condoned police violence in the African American community.

There were other issues with the project ... Chief Beck talked about them on "TMZ Live."

UFC honcho Dana White took the stage Tuesday evening at the Republican National Convention and praised Donald Trump as a loyal friend who's had his back since day 1.

White opened his speech by saying "I'm sure most of you are wondering, 'What are you doing here?'" -- but went on to explain how Donald was the first person to support UFC when White and his partners bought the business in 2001.

Long story short, White says Trump is the kind of fighter America needs ... and has all the tools to be a kickass president.

White appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show a while back and explained why he's Team Trump for life.

Flames are racing up the hillside beneath the world famous Hollywood sign ... and firefighters are racing to put out the blaze.

Smoke is filling the sky above the Walk of Fame and the Hollywood Bowl. More than 200 firefighters are on scene ... and they've already started water drops from the air.

So far, no homes are threatened, but power lines have been burned and a lot of famous scenery could get scorched.

Story developing ...