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The man who fell off a Carnival ocean liner and treaded water for 20 hours before being rescued literally swam with sharks and miraculously survived, but there's one big mystery -- how many drinks did this dude consume before going overboard?!?

James Michael Grimes had an amazingly entertaining chitchat Friday on 'GMA,' where he described the harrowing experience last week in the Gulf of Mexico.

He concedes he had been drinking the day of the fall, although he can't remember how much he had. He remembers downing a few, and winning one in an air guitar contest.

The 28-year-old told a family member he was going to the bathroom, and that's the last anyone saw of him. He doesn't remember going to the bathroom, falling off the ship or hitting the water.

The first thing he recalls is that he was in the ocean with no boat in sight. He was actually passed out in the water after the fall. Unreal!

James was treading water in an area known as a feeding ground for sharks, and it appears he encountered at least one. You gotta watch the video and hear how he survived that.

Eventually, he saw a freighter and swam with the little energy had left ... heading toward the vessel. When a Coast Guard chopper lifted him out the water, the first thing he did was warn one of the military guys he was naked!

Chicago rapper 600 Breezy once got catfished by a girl so bad, she had him drive deep into the Georgia boonies for 2 hours ... to an address that didn't even exist!!!

Breezo was a recent guest on "Trsh Talk" where he openly admitted to being strung along for months without a meet-up … claiming the girl was so fine in her photos, anyone would've taken the bait!!!

And, take the bait he did … Breezo says that after roughly 7 months of phone convos, he finally realized it was a hoax when she stopped responding during the car trip off to nowhere.

Breezo says he even sought advice from actual episodes of MTV's 'Catfish' for guidance — which just celebrated its 10th anniversary of bursting phony relationship bubbles on TV.

To make things even crazier for Breezo, he says the real woman -- an alleged prostitute with an overbearing pimp -- reached out to him after he posted her pics on IG, and cursed him out while naked in the shower!!!

Breezo says he eventually did get a glimpse of his catfisher -- he didn't specify how -- but to his surprise, he found her attractive as well!!! 😫

A parachute likely saved a base jumper's life, but not the way you think ... the chute got stuck on a rock moments after the man slammed into a cliff wall, preventing him from careening to the ground at high speeds from 100 feet above.

It all happened over Thanksgiving weekend at the Kane Creek Canyon in Moab, Utah ... about 4 hours southeast of Salt Lake City.

Hikers at the location recorded a base jumper leaping off a 400-foot cliff known as the Tombstone ... when out of nowhere, a gust of wind seized the parachute, forcing him right into a rock wall at a high rate of speed, seemingly knocking him unconscious.

What happened next probably saved the jumper's life ... the chute got caught on the cliff and stopped him from falling to the ground with, at best, a partially deployed chute.

The jumper was rescued after hanging on to the chute and the cliff for over an hour, according to FOX 6 ... and was airlifted away.

Of course, base jumping is the sport of jumping off of fixed objects like buildings, bridges and in this case, cliffs. Yes, it's very dangerous ... jumping from relatively low heights, and near objects, the chance for serious injury or death is very real.

A U.S. Marine Corps vet was the star of the show at the Laker game on Monday ... when she filled her prosthetic leg with beer and chugged it on video!!

The whole thing was displayed on the scoreboard during L.A.'s matchup against the Indiana Pacers ... when Annika Hutsler took advantage of her very first NBA game in epic fashion.

The fans in attendance clearly loved the stunt ... cheering her on as she downed her drink.

The move resulted in Hutsler earning the title of "fan of the game" ... which came with a $100 gift card.

Hutsler -- who enlisted in the USMC in 2017 -- decided to have her leg amputated in 2019 after several attempts to have a tumor removed from her foot ... and has since transitioned to careers in acting, modeling and sports.

In fact, she won silver medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter wheelchair races at the U.S. Department of Defense Warrior Games.

Kraft Heinz has what some might call a cheesy lawsuit on its hands ... a woman claims the company misled customers about how much time it takes to cook its mac & cheese.

A Florida woman by the name of Amanda Ramirez filed the class action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz ... claiming its Velveeta Shells & Cheese is not actually "ready in 3 1/2" minutes, as advertised.

Ramirez says the 3.5 minutes is only the amount of time the food has to go in the microwave. She claims it takes more time to actually prepare the meal -- don't forget ya gotta pour water into the cup and stir in the cheese sauce.

She doesn't say how long it takes her, but claims the 4 steps listed in the directions --- remove the lid and cheese sauce pouch, add water to the fill line and stir, microwave for 3 1/2 minutes, and then stir in the cheese sauce -- don't equate to the mac actually being READY to eat in that time frame.

She's looking to put together a class of customers who might also be upset about the prep time and says the damages will exceed $5 million.

"We are aware of this frivolous lawsuit and will strongly defend against the allegations in the complaint," the company reportedly told USA Today.

Kim Kardashian has broken her silence on the Balenciaga scandal -- in which they featured children posing with BDSM-themed accessories.

The A-lister -- who's been tied to the fashion house for years now -- issued a statement Sunday in response to the ongoing backlash against both Balenciaga themselves, but also over the fact that she's remained silent thus far ... with fans calling on her to speak out.

Kim says, "I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been shocked and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened."

She adds, "As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society -- period."

Kim ends by saying, "I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issue and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again."

Now, she doesn't say what exactly Balenciaga told her to explain this way -- publicly, they've basically pleaded ignorance and blamed everything on the set designer and production co. heading the campaign ... going so far as to sue both parties for $25 million this weekend.

Folks were furious that little girls would be made to pose in suggestive positions, alongside teddy bears rocking dominatrix-inspired leather outfits and other BDSM toys. Not just that, but court docs referencing a famous child porn case were snuck into the background too.

The photographer who shot it said he had no control over the set pieces and was simply following orders -- and while Balenciaga has claimed to have had no knowledge of the items being staged the way they were, many have called BS ... especially since this went live.

Despite a ton of outrage from normies -- causing the ad to get yanked -- most high-profile celebrities have stayed tight-lipped on it all, including ones who have close relationships with Balenciaga ... with Kim being at the top of that list. Bella Hadid was also under fire.

Many thought this would cause stars to cut ties with Balenciaga en masse, but it doesn't sound like Kim's doing that.

Disney's newest animated movie -- which features an openly gay character -- got crushed at the box office ... and the LGBTQ crowd is worried this might've been the plan all along.

We're talking about "Strange World," which came out this weekend to abysmal ticket sale numbers -- raking in just $18.6 million over the 5-day weekend, starting Wednesday. That's well behind projections ... where 'SW' was supposed to be coming in between $30-$40 mil.

According to reports, the film is expected to end up in the red long term -- somewhere in the ballpark of at least $100 million, considering the $180M budget and marketing expenses.

It's that same marketing, however, that's got allies upset at the Mouse House ... they feel like there wasn't a peep about this flick pre-release, and that it's no wonder it tanked. In fact, some are going into conspiracy mode -- suggesting Disney was banking on a failure.

Here's the theory ... Disney could use the poor performance as rationale to not include LGBTQ characters going forward -- pointing to this new character, Ethan, as evidence to back the would-be decision. Out there, we know, but that's a legit convo taking place right now.

Of course, there's no evidence to support this ... at least not yet. Still, some are floating it anyway and think Disney was looking for an excuse for less representation on-screen.

Naturally, there's another side of this discussion -- the "Go Woke, Go Broke" faction, who've been thumping their chests about Disney's efforts to include more diversity in its characters of late ... which they think is the real reason for flops like this and 'Lightyear,' among others.

A man suffered a medical emergency Friday and fell onto train tracks in NYC -- but he and a police officer were miraculously saved moments before they were crushed under the wheels of an oncoming subway.

Dramatic NYPD bodycam footage captured the moment 2 officers and a Good Samaritan jumped onto the tracks to help the injured man to safety inside the East Harlem station. The cops were originally on the southbound platform and ran over to the northbound side after seeing the man take a tumble.

Video shows the trio lifting the man and rolling him onto the platform. The good sam and one of the officers then climbed back onto the platform. But, the other cop got stuck on the tracks as his belt was briefly caught under the platform's ledge.

Moments later, the train rolled into the station, but, thankfully, the good sam grabbed the officer's arms and hoisted him onto the platform before he was struck.

The hotel featured in the second season of "The White Lotus" is as gorgeous in real life as it is on TV -- something Americans are itching to see for themselves.

A rep for San Domenico Palace in Taormina -- a 5-star Four Seasons Hotel & Resort on the eastern coast of Sicily -- tells TMZ, ever since the new season of 'WL' hit HBO last month, management has seen a tremendous spike in traffic from U.S. markets.

We're told there's been a 70% increase in searches/site visits since Season 2 dropped.

Even though there's high interest, there hasn't been a measurable boost in reservations. And, the timing isn't great ... the resort, which opened just a little more than a year ago, is just about to close for the season.

A judge in Colombia famous for posting provocative pictures of herself just got suspended from her lofty judicial position for showing up to a virtual court hearing HALF-NAKED!!

You heard it right. Justice Vivian Polania decided to preside over a recent Zoom hearing for a criminal case, wearing sexy lingerie and puffing a cigarette. She also posed for the camera on her bed while listening in on the alleged car bombing case. When she did speak, Polania would slur her words. At one point, she shut off the camera for nearly an hour, apparently aware of her crude behavior.

The judge's X-rated escapades reportedly violated multiple administrative regulations, and Columbia's judicial disciplinary commission handed down a 3-month unpaid suspension, citing her lack of respect for her judgeship. The commission launched its investigation after the video of the hearing went viral.

For her part, Polania reportedly denied being half-naked, claiming she was in bed during the hearing because she had low blood pressure and an anxiety attack. She also blamed other judges for bullying her over the way she provocatively dresses.

Balenciaga is getting MAJOR backlash for its bondage-inspired kid's clothing campaign ... and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid are even feeling the heat because of their connection to the company.

The luxury fashion brand rolled out the shocking ads for its spring 2023 collection. The photos depicted children gripping teddy bears clad in S&M gear, and quickly started going viral. Almost immediately, people responded with outrage on social media, demanding a boycott of the company.

Balenciaga executives quickly pulled all the ads Tuesday and issued an apology. Their statement read, "We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign. We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms."

The execs went on to say they plan to take legal action against the creators of the ads, which they claim were "unapproved." They added, "We strongly condemn abuse of children in any form. We stand for children’s safety and well-being.”

But, people on social media were still pissed and took their rage out on Kim K and Bella Hadid for their association with the company. Kim, as you know, is the founder of SKIMS, which has long worked with Balenciaga. Bella is one of Balenciaga's supermodels.

One fan wrote, "When are you going to respond Kim?! Your reputation is on the line here."

Another said, "Celebrities like Bella Hadid are quick to jump on the BLM and misgendering bandwagon but happy to promote Balenciaga's child porn campaign. These people have been compromised, they're satanic and are promoting the devil's work. It's evil."

One man is lucky to be alive after suffering a brutal beatdown in the parking lot after an Elton John show ... and new video from the attack shows just how violent things got.

The extended video, obtained by TMZ, shows a man in blue repeatedly beating the victim in the Dodger Stadium parking lot Thursday night -- the victim puts his hands up before getting kicked back down to the ground.

A different attacker wearing black then lands a violent blow on the man's face, seemingly knocking him out. One of the attackers calls the victim a "fat f***ing f*****" a couple of times before they take off.

The man in black was so eager to get his licks in, he can be seen violently pushing a female friend out of the way and to the ground. You also see him charge a bystander filming, appearing to snatch the phone out of his hand and shove him.

As we reported, 1 arrest has been made so far in the gruesome attack ... although the suspect hasn't been identified.

LAPD told us it all stemmed from a fender bender between 2 different parties ... which escalated into the violent beatdown seen in the most recent video.

Elon Musk's Content Moderation Council will be nothing more than a paper tiger, because the Chief Twit himself told his staff ... the ultimate power on what goes on the platform and what doesn't rests squarely with him.

New video obtained by TMZ shows Elon talking to bird app staffers Saturday in a company Zoom chat. At one point, EM touched on the Council he promised late last month.

Watch ... Elon says there will, in fact, be a Council -- but he makes it clear it's advisory only ... he will pick the members and can either accept or reject their advice ... he'll make the call.

Since announcing the Council -- which was seemingly meant to calm the waters with folks concerned about misinformation/hate speech on the platform -- Elon has made A LOT of sporadic decisions about how Twitter will work, and who gets to tweet.

He's suspended users and then reinstated them, seemingly on a whim. Over the weekend he asked users to vote on whether Donald Trump should be reinstated -- a slim majority turned thumbs up and Elon gave the green light for his return.

Two points -- first, Elon never said he'd adhere to the will of the majority ... and that's consistent with his view of the Council. Second, Trump has said he'll decline the invitation, but the reality is ... he'll almost certainly return because that's where he can reach voters.

A man was caught on camera chucking a brick into the window of a gay bar in New York City ... and it's reportedly been the 4th attack on the spot in a week.

The clip shows the unknown man walking up to VERS located in Hell's Kitchen Saturday night -- after hurling the brick at the window, he runs off as people nearby quickly turn their attention to the building.

Oddly enough, the guy appears to come back to the scene ... and it looks like he's trying to blend in -- he even points down the street, seemingly directing people toward the assailant.

This attack was the 4th in the past week ... according to owner David DeParolesa, who told the New York Post shatterproof glass windows were installed when he bought the place back in July -- anticipating anti-gay attacks.

He calls the string of attacks "unnerving," seeing it as "yet another manifestation of hate against our community."

The video appears to have been shot the exact same night as a gunman opened fire at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs ... as we reported, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich was taken into custody -- and reportedly 5 victims have died, with another 25 injured.

Aldrich had a troubling rap sheet, BTW -- getting arrested back in June 2021 after allegedly making a bomb threat against his mother.

Donald Trump is no longer persona non grata on the bird app ... all thanks to Elon Musk, who just made the decision to bring him back into the fold.

The announcement was made Saturday by EM himself, who wrote ... "The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei." He also linked to the results of a poll he posted Friday, which posed the question of whether DT should be allowed to return.

The results were pretty close, but ended up being in favor of letting Trump back on Twitter ... with 51.8% of the more than 15 million people who voted saying "Yes." 48.2% were opposed.

Elon was pretty impressed by the numbers on his own question ... saying earlier in the day that it was fascinating to see the results pour in, and later noting that at least 134 million had viewed the poll -- seemingly referencing some internal data he has access to.

Now, while Trump's account is, in fact, accessible again to the public -- this after being nothing but a blank page for well over a year now after being permanently banned post-Jan. 6 -- it doesn't appear Trump has tweeted anything yet ... and possibly might not at all.

Reports say he was quoted on Truth Social last month, saying he was going to stick to his own platform and that he was done with Twitter ... even amid the prospect of EM ownership.

His last public tweet dates back Jan. 8. Interestingly, DT's follower count took a nose-dive into the hundreds of thousands, but it's steadily climbing right now. Trump was once one of the most followed Twitter accounts at his peak, and "the people" clearly want him back.

A brutal assault of an older couple leaving the Elton John concert at Dodger Stadium this week was captured on camera -- as were the alleged assailants ... and TMZ has the video.

This incident has been going viral on social media the past couple days, and for good reason ... a man and a woman, both in their 60s, were senselessly attacked Thursday night by what we're told were a group of at least 4-6 people, this while trying to exit the parking lot.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the older couple, who'd gone to the concert by themselves, were getting ready to leave when a woman allegedly punched their sideview mirror, causing the husband to get out, confront her and and seek an explanation.

We're told the woman then tried to swing on the older man, who blocked her. At this point, our sources say the gentleman was mobbed by at least two men who started wailing on him ... part of which is on video. This footage is graphic, but you can see him being pummeled.

Sadly, it wasn't over yet ... we're told the wife hopped out to help her husband, only to allegedly be body slammed to the ground as well by some men in the group. She was knocked unconscious, and both of them were left there helplessly as people stood around.

Our sources say bystanders filmed it, but not much else to help these poor folks. As the group tried to walk away from the scene, one man followed them and recorded ... only to apparently be attacked himself when the guy in black noticed him and pounced.

Eventually, we're told the couple was helped back into their car and the wife came to. Our sources say they were waiting for EMS to show up ... but that it took far too long for any first-responders and/or stadium security to arrive. After some time, the wife felt okay enough to drive both of them to the hospital ... where we're told the husband was admitted.

At some point, somebody recorded what we're told was one of the women who was allegedly involved being questioned by what looks like a cop. Our sources say the officer didn't realize she was one of the people who was allegedly in the mix ... and was cut loose.

The children of this couple -- who were not present during the night in question -- are now desperately pleading with the public to come forward with any information to identify the 6 people they claim thrashed their parents, and have filed a police report to boot.

As you can imagine, they want justice for their family ... as their parents could've easily been killed, and as of now -- the alleged attackers have seemingly gotten away with it scot-free.

Our law enforcement sources tell us the LAPD is aware of the incident and are investigating. No arrests have been made. We've reached out to Dodger Stadium ... no word back yet.