RIP

GoFundMe is going to extreme lengths to make sure no one scams money from people looking to donate to the families of mass shooting victims ... and so far, the company says the funds are being distributed as intended.

Sadly, a harsh reality -- fake accounts pop up in the wake of tragedies like this weekend's massacres in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio ... but GoFundMe tells us they're implementing safeguards to ensure no one gets duped this time around.

Honchos at GoFundMe tell TMZ ... the company has a team working around the clock to review and verify all the campaigns seeking money related to the El Paso and Dayton mass shootings, ensuring donations end up in the right hands.

The confirmation process goes like this ... before any money is released or transferred to the beneficiary of the campaign, their information, including their banking information, is verified. If there are any red flags, GoFundMe freezes the funds until they're sure everything is kosher.

You might notice something different on the GoFundMe site for this go-round ... they've launched a centralized hub for verified campaigns, and we're told they're working directly with campaign organizers to guarantee funds raised for the tragedies are not misappropriated.

As you know ... 22 people were killed in the mass shooting in El Paso, and hours later in Ohio, another shooter took 9 innocent lives.

Donald Trump is promoting the notion President Obama got a pass from past Presidents when there were mass shootings on his watch ... but the differences are glaring, obvious and, frankly, enraging.

Trump tweeted a quote from Brian Kilmeade from "Fox & Friends" ... "Did George Bush ever condemn President Obama after Sandy Hook. President Obama had 32 mass shootings during his reign. Not many people said Obama is out of Control. Mass shootings were happening before the President even thought about running for Pres."

Kilmeade said that Tuesday morning on his show, and 45 must've been watching -- and perhaps applauding -- the response to Obama's comments Monday. The former Prez said, "We should soundly reject language coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racist sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don't look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people."

Obama is clearly referencing Trump -- and who can argue with him? Donald Trump preaches fear -- undeniable. He demonizes those who don't look like us -- undeniable. And, on and on.

Donald Trump laughed at a rally when someone said the solution to immigrants coming into the country illegally was to shoot them.

FACT -- Obama advocated banning assault weapons, but too many members of Congress sold their souls to the NRA for their own self-preservation and wouldn't hear of it.

Trump came up with an alternative theory -- somehow put the brakes on the insidious video games, which he links to mass shootings. FACT -- in Japan in 2017 there were 22 shooting crimes. Video games in Japan are wildly popular -- way more than in the United States.

So, the overarching message from President Obama addresses the destruction of America and the rise of white nationalists who clearly feel empowered to mete out justice, John Wick-style.

Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison is dead ... according to her publisher.

The critically acclaimed American writer -- perhaps best known for her 1987 best-seller, "Beloved" -- passed away Monday night surrounded by loved ones. Her publicist and publisher both confirmed the news, but didn't say anything about a cause of death.

Toni was a renowned figure in literature, with multiple novels under her belt that spoke to the African-American experience. "Beloved," "Jazz" and "Paradise" made up a loose trilogy -- with the first book being adapted into the 1998 film starring Oprah and Danny Glover.

Other notable works include "Song of Solomon," "The Bluest Eye" and "Sula."

Toni wrote 11 novels in her life, many non-fiction books, 5 children's books, two plays, two short fiction stories and one libretto. She also wrote several essays and university papers.

She won a Nobel Prize in literature in 1993 -- becoming the first African American woman to achieve the honor. President Obama also awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. On politics, she wrote an essay shortly after the election of Donald Trump for the New Yorker titled "Mourning for Whiteness," calling out white supremacy.

A documentary about Toni's life was made this year called "Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am." She had two children -- her sons, Slade and Harold.

Toni was 88. RIP

Courtney Stodden is paying tribute to one of her heroes, Marilyn Monroe, with a pilgrimage to the late Hollywood icon's final resting site ... and she was decked out as MM.

The reality TV star was seen Monday heading to Marilyn's crypt at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in L.A. -- where she shares a wall with some very famous people, including Hugh Hefner. The area surrounding Marilyn's crypt was laced with flowers.

As for Courtney, she wore an extra-wide brim hat for the occasion, which was clearly a callback to one of Marilyn's many looks through the years.

Marilyn rocked a similar hat in her 1957 movie "The Prince and the Showgirl" -- and considering how much Courtney admires her, we wouldn't be surprised if this is a nod.

What's interesting is that Courtney seems to do this semi-frequently -- she also paid a visit to Marilyn's crypt in 2016 and left a letter at the time that read in part, "If I could bring you back for just one day, I'd tell you how much you're missed."

She wore a very Marilyn-esque gown for that visit as well.

The cemetery is an L.A. landmark, and Marilyn's crypt is the undisputed highlight. Others who made the cemetery their final resting place include Farrah Fawcett, Dean Martin, Armand Hammer, Natalie Wood, Rodney Dangerfield, Donna Reed, Don Knotts and on and on.

Marilyn's ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, arranged for flowers to be left at her crypt twice a week over the course of two decades. Seems the tradition has continued.

Marilyn would've been 93 years old if she were alive today. She died of an overdose on Aug. 5, 1962 -- and although it was ruled a probable suicide, many suspected foul play due to her affair with JFK, who was assassinated the following year.

22-year-old Belgian pro cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht died Monday from injuries he suffered from a horrific crash during a race in Poland, his team confirmed.

Lambrecht was competing in the 3rd stage of the Tour de Pologne -- a week-long event -- when he crashed hard into a concrete structure. Lambrect reportedly struck his head during the collision and fell unconscious.

Emergency personnel attempted to resuscitate him on scene and he was raced to a nearby hospital. Doctors performed emergency surgery but he died during the operation.

Unclear what caused the crash -- some say weather may have been a factor because it had been raining.

Lambrecht was considered a rising star in the sport ... winning the U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2017 and placing high in several other competitions.

Lotto-Soudal -- Lambrecht's team -- released a statement on Monday ... saying "The biggest tragedy possible that could happen to the family, friends and teammates of Bjorg has happened… Rest in peace Bjorg."

Maria Shriver is in an all too familiar position ... attending a funeral for a Kennedy family member, this time for her young cousin, Saoirse Kennedy Hill, who died from an apparent overdose.

RFK's granddaughter was laid to rest Monday during a family service in Cape Cod. The funeral -- also attended by Congressman Joe Kennedy, Saoirse's grandmother, Ethel Kennedy, RFK Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines -- was held a few miles away from the Kennedy compound where Saoirse died.

The service was held at Our Lady of Victory Church, the scene of numerous Kennedy wakes and funerals, including Eunice Kennedy Shriver's in 2009. Caroline Kennedy also got married there in 1986.

As we reported ... Saoirse died Thursday from an apparent drug overdose while staying at the family's famous Hyannis Port estate. She had been in cardiac arrest by the time paramedics arrived. She was rushed to a hospital but doctors could not resuscitate her. She was 22.

Maria, the niece of Robert, John and Ted Kennedy, took to Instagram the day after Saoirse died and said, "Be gentle with others, as so many are struggling. Actually, I think it's best to assume everyone is struggling. So treat everyone with love, tenderness and compassion."

What. In. The. Actual. Hell.

The Miami Marlins CROSSED THE LINE in a stupid Twitter spat with the Tampa Bay Rays ... saying, "YOU'RE LITERALLY THE ANIMAL THAT KILLED STEVE IRWIN."

Dude. Really?!!?!?

So, why the hell would a Major League Baseball team invoke the name of a global treasure who was tragically killed by a real-life stingray in 2006???

Here's the backstory ...

The Marlins played the Rays on Saturday -- and even though Miami lost, they posted a highlight showing right fielder Brian Anderson GUNNING a guy out at the plate in the 8th inning.

The Tampa Bay Rays social media team responded to the tweet saying, "Show the final out." Quality burn.

Miami responded -- taking a shot at Tampa Bay over possible plans for the Rays to become a 2-city team, splitting time between TB and Montreal.

Tampa Bay responded by essentially pointing to the score board ... prompting Miami to send the most savage tweet in MLB history.

"yOU'RE LITERALLY THE ANIMAL THAT KILLED STEVE IRWIN LOG OFF."

Tampa Bay -- which won both games of their 2-game series with Miami -- fired back, "You're literally the team that just got swept, log off."

Of course, Irwin -- aka "The Crocodile Hunter" -- was killed at age 44 when he was pierced in the heart by a stingray barb while filming an underwater documentary.

He left behind a wife and 2 children.

You stay classy, Miami.

Bucky Dent tells TMZ Sports he's still hurting over Thurman Munson's tragic death 40 years ago ... saying, "He was a tremendous teammate and a guy we loved."

Munson -- a former New York Yankees captain -- was killed when he crashed his Cessna Citation I/SP jet during flying practice on a baseball off day on Aug. 2, 1979.

Officials said he didn't take the proper steps when trying to land the plane ... and when the aircraft crashed -- Munson suffered a broken neck that led to his death.

Last Friday was the 40-year anniversary of the tragedy ... and when we got his ex-Yanks teammate, Dent, out in NYC -- he told us the accident still stings.

"For us in the Yankee organization, playing with him, it was definitely a shock."

Munson was on his way to being a Yankee legend before the crash ... in 11 seasons he was a 7-time All-Star, 2-time World Series champ and the league's 1976 MVP.

In fact, George Steinbrenner immediately retired Munson's No. 15 ... and in 1980, the team placed a plaque memorializing Thurman in Monument Park.

"Them That Follow" -- the new thriller about scary snakes and a religious family that handles them to prove themselves to God -- had a tragedy on set when a bird died in the hands of one of the stars ... and the cameras were rolling.

Footage from the movie set -- obtained by TMZ -- shows actress Alice Englert with a quail in her hands right after the moment she realizes something is horribly wrong with the bird.

It sounds like Alice says, "Oh my god, this is so f****d" as she hands the bird to its handler ... and becomes increasingly distressed as she processes what happened.

Englert then asks, "Is it dead?" ... and begins to sob as she gets confirmation.

Producers from the movie have confirmed with TMZ the animal died, but tell us nobody knows why. They insist it was not mistreated or mishandled in any way.

The producers add ... "We hired top animal wranglers and working professionals in the business ... we take full responsibly and deeply regret this isolated incident."

We're told in the scene, Englert's character pretends to feed a quail to a snake. You see couple of snakes in cages just off to the right of Alice.

The bird wrangler on set tells TMZ, "We are ultimate professionals and care about each and every animal we handle. The overriding theme of our educational program is the importance of all animals. No one of the cast or crew did anything to affect this sad event."

Shots rang out in Dayton, Ohio early Sunday Morning leaving 9 people dead and dozens injured, just hours after another mass shooting that slaughtered 20 ... all at the hands of 2 crazy people with assault rifles.

A lone gunman used what appears to be an AR-15 assault rifle and opened fire at around 1 AM in the City's crowded nightclub district, and in less than a minute 9 people lay dead on the street, and at least 26 injured.

Police responded quickly and shot and killed the shooter, who wore body armor.

This follows Saturday's massacre at a Walmart store in El Paso, TX, where a gunman used an assault rifle, opening fire and killing 20 and critically wounding many others.

President Trump sent prayers via twitter, but what he did NOT do is call for a ban of assault rifles, which is the weapon of choice for mass shooters. BTW ... assault rifles have a singular purpose ... to kill people. Don't be fooled otherwise, despite the BS you hear from the NRA. They try to tell you the 2nd Amendment gives Americans an absolute right to bear arms, but that's just false. Even the First Amendment -- which says there shall be no law restricting freedom of speech -- is not absolute.

The problem ... the NRA has bought off enough politicians to the point they won't do the right and sane thing ... ban assault rifles. People have a right to own guns, but not every weapon is legal and assault rifles have no place in this society.

This year alone, 293 people have been massacred in mass shootings ... 1072 have been injured.

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are getting over the death of their dog with the help of a new furry friend ... they got a new pup in their company just over a week later.

The couple was out Saturday in Miami, settling into what appears to be a vacation home with Joe's bro, Kevin, his sister-in-law, Priyanka Chopra, as well as some friends in tow. No word on whether Nick and Danielle tagged along -- they might be joining later.

The biggest addition to the crew though was a puppy golden retriever, who Sophie brought out of the van on a leash and what looks like a harness of some sort. Later, she gave this little lady a bath in the pool, and she didn't even seem to mind. Good girl (we think)!!!

There was another pooch there with them too, but Joe and Sophie's other dog, Porky, didn't show up in these photos. He's the brother of their Alaskan Klee Kai, Waldo -- who was tragically hit and killed by a car in New York last week, after breaking free from his leash.

As you'll recall, the pet owners were devastated in the following days ... and definitely didn't hide their emotions in grieving the loss of their canine family member.

"Descendants 3" star China Anne McClain grew up with her costar and BFF Cameron Boyce, and says his death hit her like a ton of bricks, because almost no one knew he was suffering from epilepsy.

China was on "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about Cameron and Friday's Disney Channel debut of his final movie, 'D3.' She says the premiere comes with mixed emotions on the heels of her dear friend passing. It was obvious she's still processing the loss.

She says only Cameron's family knew about his condition, and despite the fact she knew him for 10 years -- and starred in 4 movies with him -- she had "no idea."

She broke down as she explained how the simplest things remind her of Cam and sometimes send her on a roller coaster of emotions. China says she's even caught herself picking up the phone to text Cameron.

She says she still hasn't seen "Descendants 3," and confesses she's not sure she'll be able to make it through the whole thing when she finally does watch.

As we reported ... Disney canceled a red carpet event in Cameron's honor after he died last month in his sleep. The studio also made a donation to the Thirst Project ... a nonprofit close to Cameron.

The fatal crash that killed Grant Thompson -- creator of YouTube's popular "King of Random" series -- was all caught on camera ... and though we're told it'll never see the light of day, it's helped investigators determine exactly what went wrong.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... authorities have reviewed footage from a camera mounted on Grant's paramotor, and it appears a change in the updraft caused the parachute to malfunction. It's unclear if the parachute twisted ... but we're told Grant died on impact, less than 4 seconds after the problem surfaced.

The video makes it apparent ... Thompson immediately knew something was wrong but couldn't recover because he lost altitude in rapid fashion. By the time he deployed his reserve parachute, it was just too late. We're told the reserve chute did in fact deploy, but not in time.

We're told authorities are adamant the video will never be released to the public ... it would be gratuitous, gruesome and painful for his family.

TMZ broke the story ... Grant died after a paramotoring accident in Utah. The Washington County Sheriff's Office had said a report came in Monday of an overdue paraglider who had gone off the radar near the Sand Hollow State Park. His coordinates were pulled from GPS data and a helicopter located his body.

Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy's granddaughter is dead after suffering an apparent drug overdose while staying at the family's famous Hyannis Port estate.

Saoirse Kennedy Hill was already in cardiac arrest Thursday by the time paramedics arrived at the Kennedy compound ... around 2:30 PM. She was rushed to a hospital, but doctors could not resuscitate her, and she was pronounced dead there.

Multiple reports said the cause of death appears to be an overdose, but there's no official word from police or the family.

Saiorse's death is the latest in a decades-long string of tragedies for the Kennedys. The family released a statement saying, "“Her life was filled with hope, promise and love. She lit up our lives with her love, her peals of laughter and her generous spirit. We will love her and will miss her forever."

Her grandmother, Ethel, added, "The world is a little less beautiful today."

Saiorse studied communications at Boston College, and before that attended the Deerfield Academy private boarding school in Massachusetts. While she was there, she wrote an article for the school paper about battling depression and attempting suicide.

Her parents are Courtney Kennedy -- Ethel and RFK's 5th child (out of 11) -- and Paul Michael Hill.

Saiorse was 22.

RIP

Grant Thompson, creator of YouTube's popular "King of Random" series, died doing an extreme sport he loved and mastered -- based on this video -- even though he'd just picked it up a few months ago.

TMZ's learned Grant Thompson was paramotoring -- it's also called powered paragliding -- when he died Monday night in Utah. In this video shot in March ... Thompson's seen handily operating a paramotor to fly all around and high above an open field.

At one point he pulled off a maneuver his friend calls "so risky" as he recorded the flight.

Law enforcement confirmed a paramotor was involved in Grant's accident.

His brother, Mark, tells us Grant took up the sport about 5 months ago and says it was his new obsession. We're told the footage seen here was taken at the same spot near his home where he was supposed to land ... had he made it back from the flight that killed him.

We broke the story ... authorities found Grant's body Tuesday. The Washington County Sheriff's Office got a call about an overdue paraglider who'd gone off radar near a state park, and they quickly launched a massive search.

Along with Grant's paramotoring gear, a video recording device was found at the crash site and is being reviewed to determine the cause of the accident.

Grant started his YouTube channel in 2010 and amassed more than 11 millions subscribers while documenting experiments, life hacks and random weekend projects.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti -- who famously launched a charity to cure paralysis -- has died after a struggle with dementia. He was 78.

Buoniconti was a stud linebacker at Notre Dame who was drafted by the Boston Patriots of the AFL in 1962 ... but went on to become a superstar for the Miami Dolphins from 1969 to 1976.

During his career, Buoniconti racked up 2 Super Bowl rings, made 2 Pro Bowls and was a 6-time AFL All Star. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Buoniconti believed he suffered from CTE due to his football career and in 2017 he announced that he would donate his brain for research purposes after his death.

During an interview, Buoniconti once said of his condition, "I’m positive that football caused this ... I always loved [the game]. I still do. But I’m paying the price."

Nick famously launched The Buoniconti Fund after his son, Marc, became paralyzed during a college football game in 1985. The Fund helped launch the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, which has become one of the global leaders in neurological research.

Nick and Marc were famously featured on an episode of HBO's "Real Sports."

Nick also hosted "Inside the NFL" from 1980 until 2001.

And get this, while playing for the Patriots, Nick earned his law degree and became a sports agent who represented a bunch of MLB players ... including Andre Dawson.

Yankees legendary owner George Steinbrenner once said Nick was the toughest negotiator he ever faced.

Long story short, Nick lived a pretty amazing life and will be missed.