Viral

Sen. Ted Cruz fell victim to a seemingly obvious social media hoax during Hurricane Hilary ... because he truly believed there was a shark swimming through Los Angeles' flooded streets.

The U.S. Senator from Texas quote tweeted an image of a shark cruising through what seemed like a flooded L.A. freeway, and added his own technical assessment ... "Holy crap."

Well, good ol' Ted took the bait, hook, line, and sinker ... he'd reposted a Tweet from Barstool's Dan Katz, who claimed the shark photo was taken by a friend of his driving along L.A.'s 405 freeway.

Problem is ... the image is actually edited, and it's popped up a bunch over the past decade, usually when hurricanes hit the U.S. -- with the initial posting coming back in 2011 when Hurricane Irene slammed Puerto Rico.

Ted spends a lot of time on Elon Musk's app and the shark post went viral Sunday as the storm was dumping tons of water on California, but Ted somehow missed the community note giving context.

Interestingly, the shark photo also went viral during hurricanes in Ted's home state.

Ultimately, Ted realized he had been duped ... though he seemingly explained his thought process by saying, "In LA, you never know ..."

Bradley Cooper might be under fire after portraying Leonard Bernstein with what some are calling "Jewface" ... but some of the biggest Jewish organizations have no qualms with it.

The American Jewish Committee tells TMZ ... BC's look in the trailer for the upcoming biopic, "Maestro" -- where he's wearing an enlarged, prosthetic nose -- isn't offensive, adding, "We do not believe that this depiction harms or denigrates the Jewish community."

They say they're agreeing with Bernstein's kids, Jamie, Alexander, and Nina -- who said on X Wednesday that their pops had a big nose and "our dad would have been fine with it."

The Anti-Defamation League is echoing these opinions, telling us, "Throughout history, Jews were often portrayed in antisemitic films and propaganda as evil caricatures with large, hooked noses. This film, which is a biopic on the legendary conductor Leonard Bernstein, is not that."

As we reported, some folks online have skewered Cooper and co. for playing into the "Jewface" trope.

Russia's first mission to the moon in 5 decades has ended in failure, as their Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface on approach.

The unmanned vessel, which launched from the Vostochny Cosmodrome earlier this month, crashed on the moon's surface Saturday. Not much is known about the cause of the failure, but officials called it an "abnormal situation."

The launch marked Russia's first attempt to approach the moon since 1976 ... the goal was to attempt a landing near the moon's south pole.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, said they lost contact with the craft Saturday afternoon stating, "spacecraft entered an unplanned orbit and ceased to exist after colliding with the surface of the Moon."

It's not often you see fans cheering on the same team get in a nasty brawl -- but that's exactly what happened in San Francisco -- with haymakers flying ... and even a knockout!!!

Unclear what led to the massive melee Saturday night at Levis Stadium as the 49ers hosted the Denver Broncos in a preseason matchup, but it got messy fast. You can see lots of pushing, shouting and confusion before blows are exchanged.

At one point, a guy in a Jerry Rice jersey starts absolutely unleashing some fists on a dude in a white t-shirt, connecting several times with his face.

One of the blows appears to knock the dude out, sending him into a chair. After things calm down, the same guy -- wobbly on his feet -- gets up with blood on his mouth and shirt.

Event staff leads the battered dude up and out of the section, while he struggles to take on the stairs.

Hurricane Hilary has already proved deadly ... triggering massive floods in Baja, Mexico and claiming at least one life.

The storm hit in the town of Santa Rosalia and clearly packed an enormous punch, flooding streets and damaging or destroying property in its path.

You could feel the intensity from comments on social media .. "Holy sh** 👀 #HurricaneHilary Baja California, Mexico. I hope everyone’s okay."

The good news ... Hilary seems to be losing its intensity ... it's currently a category 1 hurricane but by the time it hits Cali later Sunday it will be downgraded to a category 4 storm -- still intense, but not a hurricane.

There's still a tropical storm warning for millions of folks in SoCal, and there's fear it will cause flash flooding, as well as landslides.

There are some areas of California that will get more rain in 24 hours than they usually get in a year. Palm Springs is particularly problematic.

There's also an alert for Catalina Island ... 26 miles off the coast of Los Angeles.

A few teenage boys are celebrating a massive discovery in a Florida swamp after coming face-to-face with 16 feet of slithering reptile!!!

Chris Cronin, the father of teenage python hunters Jack and Brendan, tells TMZ ... he and his sons were out combing through Big Cypress Swamp. The Cronins and some friends call themselves the Glades Boys, and they needed all hands on deck when they stumbled upon the beast of a serpent last weekend.

Chris says they were hoping to get a hold of a 5-foot or maybe 7-foot python during the search, but instead they took things to the next level.

They recorded the whole find and capture ... first, Jack jumped on its head to secure it, and then the rest of the gang helped collect the rest of the lengthy body. Of course, they snapped a few proud pics with the python.

Worth noting the big snake was killed after this capture -- pythons are an invasive non-native species in the area, so it's standard procedure to destroy them. Chris says the snake was handed over to the state for research after their hunt was over.

Paulie Calafiore, who just got eliminated from MTV's "The Challenge: USA," is coming out as bisexual.

The reality TV star came out to GLAAD, saying he almost feels guilty about waiting so long to share his truth.

Paulie says he decided to come out as bisexual after changing his perspective ... explaining, "There might be other people that are going through this exact same thing …and maybe this is what they needed to hear and what they needed to see in order to do it themselves."

For Paulie, one of the hurdles was his upbringing as an athlete ... he says he felt pressure to be viewed publicly as a strong athlete and competitor, and that sports culture made him feel like he had to repress his sexuality.

Paulie, who is also a "Big Brother" alum, says since coming out as bisexual he's been accepted by his family and his longtime girlfriend and fellow 'Challenge' star Cara Maria Sorbello.

Cheems, one of the most famous dogs on the internet, is dead after a battle with cancer.

The viral meme dog died Friday during a surgical procedure ... according to his owners, who say he fell asleep during surgery and never woke up.

Cheems shot to fame way back in 2017 when an awkward photo of him went viral ... sparking a meme that is still shared to this day.

Also known as Pup Balltze or just Balltze, the shiba inu was famous for his love of cheeseburgers ... and he's got his own meme character, Cheemsburger.

The pup's owners say ... "Don't be sad, please remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world. A Shiba Inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the pandemic and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission has completed."

Cheem's family believes he's in a better place now ... "running freely in the sky and having a lot of delicious food with his new friends."

Naturally, Cheems is getting a grand send-off on social media ... with the meme getting posted all over the place.

Cheems was 12.

Drake's now having books thrown at him onstage, in addition to bras ... and it sounds like a fan got lucky the page-turner didn't smack him in the face.

Ya gotta see the video from Drizzy's Friday concert in San Francisco ... he's onstage talking to fans between a break in songs when suddenly a book comes hurtling out of the crowd, and he snatches it with one hand.

While it appears the book may have gone over his head, Drake told the book-thrower ... "You lucky I'm quick. Would've had to beat your ass if that hit me in the face."

Champagne Papi's been totally cool with women throwing bras at him during his concerts, even helping one big-chested fan go viral and land modeling deals.

But, it appears book throwing is crossing a line for Drake.

It's part of a larger trend unfolding at concerts ... Bebe Rexha got hit in the face with a flying phone, Keslea Ballerini took a friendship bracelet to the noggin and someone even threw a bag of cremated ashes at Pink.

Britney Spears is opening up about her divorce to Sam Asghari, saying she’s a “little shocked” ... while admitting “I couldn’t take the pain anymore honestly.”

The pop star posted a lengthy statement with a homemade dance video on Instagram Friday night, but she never explained why from her perspective her 6-year relationship and 14-month marriage ended with Sam, although saying she "couldn't take the pain anymore" suggests the marriage wasn't working for her either.

Still, Britney offered a window into how she's coped with everything, stating she’s been “playing it strong for way too long” and her so-called “perfect” posts on IG mask her true reality behind the scenes, noting, “I think we all know that.”

She also said she wished she could show her “emotions and tears” on how she really feels, but she always hides her weaknesses.

Britney then made cryptic references to being her dad’s strong soldier, getting fixed by doctors, needing her family most and receiving unconditional love — but “not under conditions.”

Britney wrapped it up by saying she will be strong and, as things stand now, she’s “pretty damn good.”

As we reported, Sam filed for divorce this week after getting into a blowout fight with Britney over allegations she cheated on him and physically abused him.

The two signed a prenup allowing Britney not to turn over a cent of her fortune to Sam … but our sources say that could change.

Taylor Swift not only turns heads, she shuts down roads!!!

T.S. hit up Jack Antonoff's rehearsal dinner Friday night, and so many fans found out ahead, they caused a major New Jersey road to be impassable.

Antonoff, Taylor's frequent collaborator, is marrying actress Margret Qualley, and they celebrated at the Black Whale restaurant in Beach Haven.

Cops apparently got the memo Taylor was going to show, so they were out in force to control the hundreds of fans who wanted to catch a glimpse of their hero.

Swift has been performing regular 3 hour shows around the country, but she still has the energy to party well into the night,

Nev Schulman wants to play matchmaker for a pair of folks who got catfished by people pretending to be Katy Perry and "Stranger Things" star Dacre Montgomery.

We got the "Catfish" star at Aces Pizza in New York City Friday, and our photog asked him about the Kentucky woman who divorced her husband and got swindled out of $10,000 by someone pretending to be the Netflix actor.

Nev says the newly single mother, McKayla, would make a great match for a guy from his old MTV show ... Spencer.

As Nev explains, Spencer infamously got catfished by a woman masquerading as the "Dark Horse" singer ... and their awkward meeting was featured on his show.

Needless to say, Nev thinks Spencer and McKayla have enough in common to strike up a relationship.

While lots of folks are dragging McKayla for thinking she actually had a shot with a celeb, Nev says not so fast ... and he tells us why it's not that extreme of a premise.

Still, Nev cautions anyone going online in search of love to beware of some big red flags ... like when your potential partner starts asking for money. Nev says that's a dead giveaway.

It's funny ... Nev thinks he's actually being catfished here in some ways ... as we reported, McKayla detailed her saga on a YouTube channel called "Catfished."

IShowSpeed made his return to YouTube on Friday ... and the popular streamer got real about his infamous wardrobe malfunction -- begging his viewers to stop trolling him over the incident.

Speed was emotional as he got back in front of the camera -- initially going berserk on those incessantly calling him "IShowMeat" ... before calming down and speaking from the heart.

"This is truly an embarrassing f***ing moment for me," said Speed -- who has more than 19 million followers on the platform. "Lately these past days and hours, I've been suffering very mentally, bro. Genuinely, bro."

"At the end of the day, I'm still a human being, bro, and one of my worst fears that I never even wanted to happen."

"This depressing, bro," he added. "You guys don't know the feeling, bro, what I'm feeling right now."

Speed says his viewers can keep mocking him all they want ... but they're missing the bigger picture, as he has younger siblings who found out about the incident.

"Sometimes I ask why this s*** happen."

Despite Speed's pleas, his chat was flooded with steak emojis and other comments throughout his stream ... and at one point, he left the camera to compose himself.

As he tried to go about his gaming, Speed was bombarded with even more trolls as he got on Roblox ... and while some people had encouraging words, he explained there's no one who has been through the same thing.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Speed was NOT banned from YouTube following the incident ... as the platform told us he would be able to return to streaming despite it all.

As for how his penis got exposed to begin with, Speed explained he didn't have any clean underwear ... so there's that.

A United Airlines pilot must've been feeling a whole lotta cabin pressure ... because he was caught on camera chopping down a parking gate with a freaking ax.

63-year-old Kenneth Jones went full-on lumberjack earlier this month at the exit of an employee parking lot at Denver International Airport, according to CBS News Colorado -- whacking the thing nearly 2 dozen times before it finally falls off.

Not long after, Jones was confronted by other airport employees, and he put up a bit of a struggle over the ax before eventually giving up.

The pilot's reportedly been charged with a misdemeanor for his parking lot remodel, which allegedly caused $700 in damages, and he's been removed from United's work schedule as the company continues an internal investigation.

As far as a reason for the ax outburst, Jones reportedly told cops he just hit his breaking point -- the outlet says he's due to appear in court at the end of September.

Lil Tay is in line for a comeback on the heels of her death hoax ... because there have been significant developments in her mother's custody battle with Tay's dad.

Angela Tian's attorneys Lorne MacLean, K.C., and Fraser MacLean, tell TMZ ... the viral star's father, Christopher Hope, has been ordered to cough up approximately $275,000 in back child support, dating all the way back to 2014.

We're told he'll also have to continue to pay monthly child support going forward -- Tay's only 14.

What's more, the lawyers say Angela has sole decision-making power, Tay's primary residence is now with her mother and she has court authorization to relocate with Tay outside of Vancouver, if she chooses.

Remember, it was Christopher who got a court order in 2018, requiring Tay to leave L.A., return to Vancouver and stop making online content. Now, Angela's lawyers are saying that's changed ... they say the court's orders will help Tay advance her career.

Angela tells us this is a HUGE win for Tay and her, saying the extended custody battle has put them "in a constant state of severe depression." She says Christopher's "disgusting financial motivation" has been a massive weight she's glad is finally lifted.

She continues, "I have been financially ruined fighting for my daughter’s rights and freedom which should have never been taken away to begin with. We have won our case in court and my children and I can finally move on from this nightmare. My daughter can pursue and achieve her dreams on her own terms, and we are finally a happy family again, together."

As we reported, Angela and Christopher had widely different ideas for Tay's career back when she reached the peak of her viral fame, when she was just 8.

Christopher said he wanted a more traditional career path -- stuff like singing and acting. But, with her mom at the helm, Lil Tay might be back online in no time.

TMZ broke the story, news of Tay's death -- posted on her IG last week -- wasn't true at all ... and we were told her account was taken over by someone else. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed it had indeed helped Tay regain control of her account.

We've reached out to Christopher for comment about the custody changes, but he said he had no comment.

We covered Lil Tay's custody drama on the latest episode of the TMZ Verified podcast, available on all podcast platforms.

A man died a gruesome death after jumping roughly 750 feet to his death in NYC ... and he reportedly ended up split in 2 on the pavement.

The man made his fatal jump from the top of the Deutsche Bank Center Thursday night in Manhattan, located on what many call "Billionaire's Row" in Columbus Circle. Creating even more of a spectacle is the fact he ended up slamming into the glass marquee above the entrance to the ritzy Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which is part of the same building.

His body was reportedly split in half by the impact with the marquee -- parts of his body were found across the street on construction scaffolding which was dripping with blood.

The 55-story building houses the hotel, several companies and super expensive luxury apartments where celebs like Jay-Z and Gisele Bündchen have once lived.

It's unclear if the man, who was in pajamas when found dead, worked or lived in the building at the time ... but some reports claim he might have taken a service elevator to the top before meeting his demise.