Ride Me

A family's dream of welcoming a new dog into their lives turned into a nightmare when the father went to pick up the pup ... and found a lifeless body inside the crate.

A California man named Cory Mcjimson tells TMZ ... he purchased a 12-week-old Yorkshire Terrier puppy named Sebastian this week from a breeder out of Ohio. Sebastian was going to be a gift for Cory's 5-year-old daughter.

We're told the breeder arranged for the Yorkie pup to fly with Delta Air Lines from Ohio to LAX, with one stop in Atlanta, and arrive in L.A. Thursday night. Cory believes the dog was transported in the pressurized cargo hold during both flights.

He says his family -- wife, son and daughter -- all went to pick up Sebastian from the Delta Cargo location around 6:30 PM, but when he picked up Sebastian's carrying crate ... he opened it to find the dog not moving or breathing.

He says he alerted Delta and his wife the dog was dead, but told his kids Sebastian was just sick because he didn't want them to see and get upset.

We're told Delta officials immediately rushed the dog to an animal hospital nearby where doctors administered CPR, but couldn't revive him. Sebastian was pronounced dead by 9 PM.

Cory says Delta told him it would handle the necropsy and cremation of the dog. The airline tells us ... "Pets are an important member of the family and we are focused on the well-being of all animals we transport."

Delta adds ... "We extend our deepest condolences to Sebastian’s family and are conducting a thorough review of the situation to understand what happened."

Cory tells us he paid nearly $3k for Sebastian ... it's unclear if he'll receive any compensation from Delta or the dog breeder.

As we've reported ... dog deaths on flights have been a growing concern ever since a French Bulldog died in transit in an overhead bin on a United flight in 2018. Delta also had a Pomeranian die on one of its flights that year, and then 2 dogs died on KLM flights in 2019.

Justin Bieber had all eyes on him on the set of his new music video ... and busted out some solo dance moves that look like prime GIF material.

The Biebs was down in Miami Thursday shooting the vid for his upcoming single with J Balvin -- titled "La Bomba" -- and packed several hip thrusts, toe taps and pirouettes into a very short take.

The JBs were shooting all day, and it looks like their music video will include a lot of classic cars driving around and colorful outfit changes ... and it's already being anticipated as a potential "Song of the Summer."

If it is ... ya better start working on these Bieber dance moves.

"The Most Magical Place on Earth" became the wettest place for a group of theme park guests who got caught on a sinking vessel ... the park's famous Jungle Cruise.

One of the boats at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando started taking on water, which meant everyone onboard had to trek through the water, and try to climb to dryer conditions.

As you can see, there wasn't much wiggle room, but it's an amusement park -- no one was in danger of drowning here. Just a soaking inconvenience.

As you can see ... the Jungle Cruise waterways are pretty shallow.

The boat, named the "Bomokandi Bertha," reportedly sank around 12:30 and caused the ride to be shut down for nearly 2 hours. During that time the wet passengers were safely unloaded -- no injuries, besides wet socks -- and the boat was towed away.

Ya gotta hope everyone at least walked away with FastPasses for their troubles. Titanic this ain't. In fact, kinda reminds us of another "dangerous" river crossing.

If you've ever wondered how Amazon can get packages to people so damn fast, get a load of this ... it might just answer your question.

TMZ got footage of a remote location just east of L.A. where the online retailing giant stashes hundreds of delivery vans ... literally at the ready in a hillside dirt parking lot. Check out the clip, it's an impressive sight ... rows upon rows -- each at least 100 deep -- of vehicles parked side-by-side.

BTW, this isn't Amazon going rogue and plopping its fleet in a random open space -- like much of L.A.'s real estate lately ... Jeff Bezos is paying for this space. Although, he didn't buy this one yet ... Amazon's just renting.

Ya gotta figure Amazon has similar hidden storage spots all over the country.

Naturally, that might lead to more criticism of Bezos himself, who's been grilled lately for not being quick enough to offset Amazon's massive carbon footprint on the environment. Ya still gotta give him credit for recently starting a new Earth Fund with billions of dollars of his own cash.

The monster is back in Jesse James' garage ... he's returning to reality TV after a 14-year hiatus with a reboot of his hit show.

Jesse is coming back to Discovery Channel with a brand new season of "Monster Garage" ... and he's coming in hot too. We're told the garage will be filled with upgrades, including some cutting-edge technology ... and a renewed passion for creating mind-blowing vehicles.

In the 14 years since "Monster Garage" ended, Jesse's been traveling the world, expanding his skill set in forging and blacksmith work -- learning from some of the best in the biz -- and now he's ready to unleash his new talents.

The first run of "Monster Garage" went like this -- Jesse and his 5-person team would modify vehicles into multi-tasking machines. For instance, there was a PT Cruiser that doubled as a wood chipper, a school bus that turned into a pontoon boat, and a police car that could morph into a donut shop.

It was cool stuff back then, but now Jesse says he's excited to step back into the garage to push the limits even more by showing what his team can do when they refuse to quit.

The reboot premieres later this year ... get ya popcorn ready!!!

"The Batman" isn't all work and no play -- as you can see he takes a load off whenever possible, and lets Hollywood magic do the rest. Case in point ... cool-guy stuntman A.

Matt Reeves' upcoming superhero epic about the early years of The Dark Knight is in the middle of filming right now out in Scotland -- and on Saturday ... the crew got some shots of Batsy riding around on his motorcycle. Well, sorta ... they got a close-up of his arm.

Check it out ... you see the stuntman -- doesn't really look like Robert Pattinson under there -- sitting next to the Batbike which is on top of a moving platform being pulled by a truck. The dude's got the Batsuit on, but he's not rockin' the cowl, 'cause there's no need.

Looks like this shot is just of the hero's arm gripping the handlebars, so the stunt double's chilling with a beanie on and a pair of shades as they run through it a couple times.

This mild shoot day isn't nearly as involved or complete as the one from a few days ago when what appeared to be another stuntman was doing a complete motorcycle ride through a graveyard, complete with a mask and some falls off the bike. Bat-mode, initiated!

Of course, this all comes about a week or so after Matt showed off what Pattinson's gonna look like in a sneak peek test shot (more or less), which already had fans squawking.

As for this latest look ... we're getting Caped Ski Bum vibes.

Australian F1 superstar Daniel Ricciardo is paying tribute to the late Kobe Bryant with his helmet as the new season kicks off ... showing off a design that would be Mamba-approved.

Ricciardo showed up for the opening of the Formula One preseason with an all-purple helmet ... and later on in the morning, had the design added to complete the NBA legend-inspired look.

The helmet has "KB8" and "KB24" below the visor ... as well as a snake and the words "Mamba Mentality" on top.

Ricciardo is a big NBA supporter and lives in L.A. ... so we take it he was a big fan of Kobe.

The helmet will be used throughout the preseason ... and Ricciardo will reveal a new design in time for the Australian Grand Prix next month.

The Kobe tributes have been pouring in since the tragic accident in January ... from the All-Star Game MVP trophy name change to many Bryant tattoos to players changing their jersey numbers.

A super passionate (and rich!) Kobe Bryant fan tricked out his Lamborghini to honor the Black Mamba ... and now the guy says the amazing whip can be all yours -- if you've got around $170k!!

Joe Carbonara tells TMZ Sports he was so devastated after Kobe and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash ... he wanted to honor them with his 2015 Lamborghini Huracan.

Carbonara says he took the ride -- which used to be a generic silver color -- to X-Treme Graphics near Chicago to get the tribute art put on.

We're told the shop's owner, Steve Zielinski, loved the idea of the project so much ... he spent TWO FULL DAYS wrapping it in Lakers purple and gold vinyl.

"I had to make sure it was good and not overdone," Zielinski tells us. "And, we didn't charge for it."

The results of the work were impressive ... Kobe's numbers, pictures of Bryant and Gigi, the Mamba's logo and even the names of all nine crash victims are featured on the ride.

In fact, the job was so well done ... the Lambo -- now dubbed the Kobe24Lambo -- gained national attention when it was seen driving around NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago.

But now, Carbonara -- who was trying to unload the Lambo prior to wrapping it -- says he's willing to let a new owner enjoy the car ... saying the ride is officially up for sale with a price tag of $170k.

In the meantime, Carbonara says you might be seeing the car in music videos and at special events ... saying he's been getting requests to show off the ride EVERYWHERE!!

You'd think NOT carrying a loaded gun at an airport checkpoint would be a no-brainer ... but it's a lesson rapper Gorilla Zoe has learned the hard way, at least according to cops.

A spokesperson for Miami-Dade Police tells TMZ ... cops responded to a checkpoint at Miami International Airport around 11 PM Monday night where a TSA supervisor told them the rapper tried entering a checkpoint with a loaded .380 caliber pistol in his carry-on.

We're told it didn't take long for cops to secure the firearm and arrest Zoe for carrying a concealed weapon. Now, he does have a concealed carry permit, but cops say it's suspended.

He was booked at Miami-Dade jail, and released around 5 AM after posting $500 bond.

Jubilee Sharpe -- who appeared in Ben Higgins' season of "The Bachelor" -- better hope she does better in court than she did in rose ceremonies ... she got a DUI in South Florida.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Jubilee was busted Sunday for DUI in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was released under her own recognizance. It's unclear, at this point, what led to her arrest. We know she grew up in nearby Fort Lauderdale.

Jubilee -- an Army veteran who had a tough upbringing in an orphanage -- was famous for straight-up asking Ben during a group date if he saw a future with her. Ben said no and sent her packing. She finished in 11th place but would later return to seasons 3 and 5 for "Bachelor in Paradise."

Just when you thought technology couldn't get any crazier, Dubai turns the corner in the jetpack game ... and their latest gizmo's got us thinking superheroes here.

The Crown Prince, Hamdan Mohammed, linked to a video Monday morning showing off a sweet flight path taken by pilot Vince Reffe --- referred to as Jetman Dubai -- who flies around the city with an incredibly advanced jetpack that lets him zip around like Iron Man.

Check it out ... the dude doesn't just hover (which we've seen before). He actually reaches high-level altitudes here -- supposedly, as much as 1,800 meters in the air. And, BTW, this thing is pretty damn fast ... he reached these heights in a matter of seconds.

Not only that, but the pilot even does some light aerobatics up there before eventually using a parachute to come safely back down. There's a GoPro-like camera attached to the wings of the jetpack, so you get an up-close-and-personal look at his journey. It's wild.

President Trump is pretty stoked to be at the Daytona 500 --  so much so, in fact, he might even get behind the wheel himself and zoom off into the night. Settle down, Donnie.

45's down in Florida right now taking in the annual NASCAR race with the First Lady, Melania, and while talking to a FOX Sports reporter, he made it clear he wants to drive again. It's funny and actually kinda interesting ... DT can't really do that anymore, huh?

In a somewhat rambling response, Trump calls Daytona "the great American race," going on to say he stopped by because he sees it as "almost a patriotism kind of thing." Well said!

Trump also gave a shout-out to the drivers, saying it takes great courage to drive in such a beast of a vehicle. Sounds like he wants to take one for a spin, actually -- joking he might hop in one himself and "get in this race." He won't, obviously, but imagine if he did 😅.

Another humorous moment during POTUS's Daytona day out -- he made sure to point out where exactly God is to the people listening to his opening remarks to kick off the event.

Wendi Williams, the woman whose reclined seat was repeatedly punched by a passenger on an American Airlines flight, is ready to pick another fight ... this time with the airline!!!

Wendi tells us she met with an attorney Friday to discuss legal options she can take against AA ... and she's threatening the airline with a defamation lawsuit!

Williams is bristling over what an American Airlines rep told TMZ -- that the whole seat-reclining incident started when she first reclined and knocked over the other passenger's drink. Wendi claims it never happened. BTW, even if she did, it would have been an accident and no big deal.

She believes she was slandered when AA accused her of being disruptive, spilling a drink and also all the things that the flight attendant said to her on the plane -- that she was the bad person in the dispute -- all defamatory, Williams says. BUT ... she's not interested in suing the passenger, although she's told us she'd like to see him prosecuted for assault.

Wendi also claims she was respectful to everyone else on the plane and didn't make a scene. Remember, she previously told us a flight attendant handed her a passenger disturbance notice for refusing to delete her video of the man behind her punching her chair.

As for the reclining-seat debate ... Wendi says the airlines should be the ones determining if it's an issue, not fellow passengers.

Wendi's also got another threat for AA ... telling us, "They have pushed me way too far, literally and figuratively." Them's fighting words ... as in lawsuit.

AA's drawing its own line in the sand ... a source at the airline tells us Wendi reached out Tuesday asking for compensation, but she won't see any money because AA sees this as a passenger vs. passenger dispute.

We're also told AA won't be referring the incident to authorities, and it's up to Wendi if she wants to go down that road.

Well, this is pretty shocking ... the head honcho at Delta seems to think the woman on the American Airlines flight who reclined her seat -- only to have the passenger behind her treat her seatback like a punching bag -- was out of line.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Friday, said it's an etiquette issue ... if a passenger knows a tall person is sitting behind them, they should ask permission before they recline. Presumably, that means if the person declines then the passenger can't recline.

That certainly isn't the way our users feel -- by a 2-1 margin they support the woman on an AA jet who put her seat all the way back, only to have the dude behind her attack the seat like a boxer in training.

To recline or not recline? To punch or not to punch? Two super pissed off American Airlines passengers have everyone asking those questions, and ultimately ... the FBI might have to get involved.

A woman named Wendi Williams, of all things, recorded this video of the guy sitting behind her on a Jan. 31 AA flight from New Orleans to Charlotte. She posted it last week, but now it's gone viral because you see the guy repeatedly punching her seat.

As for WHY wannabe-Tyson was treating Wendi's seat like a speed bag -- she says it's because she had the nerve to recline. We think it's relevant that his last row seat could not recline. At one point in the video he leaned forward and said something to Wendi that sounds like, "This is a turbulent flight." It's hard to make out over the jet engines, but whatever he said he was clearly jabbing, verbally this time, at Wendi.

Wendi says things got even more annoying when she reported him to a flight attendant ... who she claims "rolled her eyes," told Wendi to stop recording video, and gave Ali Jr. some rum for his troubles.

Wendi says she's escalating matters by pressing charges with the FBI against the "man who mistook me for a punching bag." She says American apologized, but hasn't accepted responsibility for the flight attendant fueling up Mayweather-in-training with booze.

BTW, Wendi also claims she's had to get x-rays, has headaches and lost time from work since going 12 rounds with her fellow passenger.