News

Donald Trump says his longtime ally Rudy Giuliani has earned the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... while the latter recovers from a horrific car accident.

POTUS announced the news on Truth Social Monday ... calling Rudy the greatest mayor in the history of New York City and "an equally great American Patriot."

He says more details are to come, and he thanks people for their time and attention ... before finishing off the post with a hearty "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

Eager Labor Day beachgoers may have had their holiday plans s*** on ... 'cause fecal contamination in the ocean shut down a bunch of beaches!

Bacterial concentrations tied to feces have wreaked havoc on areas from coast to coast ... according to the Associated Press.

Popular holiday hot spots -- like Benjamin's Beach in Long Island and part of Imperial Beach in San Diego -- have closed because of the proverbial poop tsunami ... likely causing many to pivot from their previous plans.

President Trump is putting to bed any rumors of his demise, the only way he knows how ... with a SLEDGEHAMMER!

47 jumped on Truth Social Sunday and blasted out a one-liner in all caps, responding to someone talking about Trump's recent death rumors by saying ... "NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE."

On Friday, people online were singing a much different tune. Conspiracy theorists speculated that Trump was headed to his grave due to health concerns, citing past photos of his bruised hands and swollen ankles.

Two small planes smashed into each other mid-air in Colorado on Sunday ... sending smoke billowing into the sky and igniting one of the aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration tells TMZ ... a Cessna 172 and an Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 collided around 12:10 PM near Fort Morgan -- about 80 miles northeast of Denver. The FAA says two people were aboard each aircraft at the time.

The Morgan County Sheriff's Office says one plane caught fire as it came down while the other was heavily damaged.

Dramatic video out of North Carolina shows the heart stopping moment a small plane slammed into the Atlantic Ocean … flipping on impact before rescuers pulled the pilot out in a race against time.

The single engine aircraft had just taken off from Cape Fear Regional Jetport earlier this month when the engine suddenly failed, forcing the pilot to make a split second call … attempt a return to the runway, risk landing on a crowded beach or ditch in the ocean. He chose the water.

The footage of the crash is chilling. The plane skims across the surface at high speed before flipping nose over into the waves.

The Minneapolis mass shooter was armed with heavy artillery and wore tactical gear when they shot up a church, killing 2 children and injuring 18 other people, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Robin Westman went on a bloody rampage Wednesday morning at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis with three high-powered firearms and dressed in body armor, the docs say.

Westman brandished a Taurus semi-automatic pistol, a Mossberg shotgun, and a semi-automatic rifle, according to police. The shooter used all three deadly weapons to shoot through windows of the church in which adults and children were praying in the pews. Westman took the lives of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski while injuring 18 others -- mostly children and a few adults.

The ongoing manhunt for suspected killer Travis Decker may have a major update ... bones were found near where his daughters' bodies were discovered, TMZ has confirmed.

For those who haven't been following the case ... Decker's daughters -- Paityn, 9; Evelyn, 8; and Olivia, 5 -- were found dead on June 2 at campground near Leavenworth, WA -- with the father's whereabouts unknown. A massive manhunt was launched shortly thereafter.

An FBI spokesperson tells TMZ ... "We can confirm that some bones were collected as part of the search activity earlier in the week around the Rock Island Campground. These bones will be further analyzed to determine if they are animal or human."

Decker became the main suspect after his DNA -- and only his DNA -- was found on the plastic bags covering his late daughters' heads. Their deaths were pronounced a homicide, as the county medical examiner ruled they died by suffocation.

Robin Westman -- the shooter who killed two children at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis this week -- went through a breakup shortly before going on the rampage ... according to new documents.

The Minneapolis Police Department released a report Friday about a conversation officers had with James Westman -- Robin's father. They say James told them Robin recently broke up with a significant other and had been staying with a friend after the split.

We spoke to a neighbor who said they've known the Westmans for years ... and, the neighbor tells us this relationship was tumultuous at times -- adding that Robin's parents begged Robin to end it.

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Caitlyn Jenner opened up about losing her friend Sophia Hutchins just a few months ago ... relating it to the grief parents at a Minnesota Catholic school may be feeling after a mass shooting took the lives of two kids this week.

The reality star got real about her sorrow on "Fox News at Night" Thursday, explaining she's been "dealing with death" for the past seven weeks ... and, it's been especially difficult in the immediate aftermath.

She said ... “Here I am dealing with my grief, and I just can’t even imagine parents who dropped their kid off at school and, like that father just said, ‘I’ll never get a chance to talk to him again.’ That is just so horrible. I’ve been dealing with grief, and these people have a long road ahead of them, and they’re going to be dealing with grief.”

Jessie Merkel -- the father of 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, who was killed during the shooting at a Catholic school in Minnesota Wednesday -- spoke out Thursday in a heartbreaking speech.

Merkel started out by calling Robin Westman -- the shooter who cops say fired more than 100 rounds through the windows of a church into a schoolwide Mass -- a coward ... adding Robin's actions robbed him and his partner of years with their son.

Merkel says Fletcher enjoyed fishing, cooking, playing sports and spending time with loved ones ... and, he asks people to try to remember the kind of kid Fletcher was, instead of thinking only of his tragic death.

Robin Westman -- who killed 2 kids and injured 17 people in a targeted shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis Wednesday -- reportedly wrote a long-winded manifesto and uploaded a number of strange videos prior to the attack.

According to CNN ... investigators are currently examining -- and trying to authenticate -- YouTube videos allegedly posted by the shooter in order to gain more insight into a possible motive for the violence.

The videos in question -- and the account itself -- have since been taken down, but Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters Westman had a "manifesto" scheduled to be published on YouTube Wednesday ... when authorities say Westman shot into morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.

12:35 PM PT -- FBI Director Kash Patel announced an update to the case on X ... saying the suspect was "identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman." Patel said the FBI is investigating the shooting as domestic terrorism and a "hate crime targeting Catholics."

Minneapolis Police earlier Wednesday referred to the suspected shooter as a man in his early 20s.

The Minneapolis Catholic school shooting suspect has been identified ... according to multiple reports.

The Associated Press reports 23-year-old Robin Westman is believed to be the gunman who attacked the Annunciation Catholic School in the city Wednesday morning.

Local outlets KARE and KSTP also report sources have confirmed the same name. NBC News reports the same name, and said law enforcement officials confirmed Westman posted multiple videos online referencing violence.

Drake got an unwanted visitor at his NYC store Tuesday -- and it wasn't Kendrick Lamar -- but rather a hammer-wielding lunatic who smashed windows and tried to set the place on fire, according to police.

The madness kicked off Tuesday at the rapper's October's Very Own clothing store in Manhattan ... and most of it was captured on video shot by stunned witnesses.

Check it out ... the clip is shot from outside the store through the glass windows, where a woman appears to be throwing items inside the store to the ground and smashing up the windows from inside.

Festivalgoers looking to get it on at this year's Burning Man are going to have to find another safe space for sex ... 'cause the famed Orgy Dome was just destroyed in a crazy storm.

Yup, the Orgy Dome is totally what you think it is ... a large, tented, air-conditioned festival fixture with beds where people can go to -- consensually and with an ID -- knock one out ... or at least it was before a recent wind storm in Nevada's Black Rock Desert blew it apart.

In a message to IG with a video of the destroyed f*** palace, the group wrote ... "Our build team worked so hard this past week to *erect* our lovely space. Unfortunately, the winds yesterday undid all that labor and wrecked our structure. We are still here and thankfully safe, we hope to gift the playa some workshops and will keep you updated."

The tribe has spoken ... and Cracker Barrel is listening ... because the restaurant chain says it's ditching a new logo design that caused a ton of outrage and backlash.

Cracker Barrel just announced they are switching back to their original logo, explaining ... "We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our 'Old Timer' will remain."

The logo change ditched Uncle Herschel, the old white man sitting on a chair next to a barrel, in favor of a more modern and more bland look ... but the new look sparked massive pushback ... and even President Trump weighed in.