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The Miami condominium building that partially crumbled to the ground -- leaving at least 4 dead and dozens of others unaccounted for -- seemed to be an accident waiting to happen ... at least that's what an engineering report suggested as early as 2018.

The city of Surfside -- where this awful tragedy happened -- released a number of docs related to the building, known as Champlain Towers South, and its architectural history ... and one report from engineering firm Morabito Consultants has some potentially damning findings.

According to the study, the experts found "major structural damage" to a concrete structural slab below the building's pool deck -- where the waterproofing had been laid flat as opposed to at an angle (which would help drain water from the place) ... something MC thought needed to be addressed, and which would require extensive and costly repairs.

Here's what the engineers thought could happen if this wasn't nipped in the bud ... "The failed waterproofing is causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas." They add ominously, "Failure to replace the waterproofing in the near future will cause the extent of the concrete deterioration to expand exponentially."

There's more ... the report also found "abundant cracking and spalling" in the concrete columns, beams and walls in the parking garage. Not just that, but what cracks had been found before were apparently repaired with shoddy labor, including slapping epoxy on top.

The Pentagon's UFO report has landed, but it ain't gonna leave much of a mark -- because our government's story is it doesn't know what the hell most of these objects are.

The highly-anticipated report, released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was supposed to shed light on a rash of recent sightings -- many seen by U.S. military personnel -- but instead, all it definitely noted is 143 of the 144 flying objects spotted since 2004 remain ... unexplained.

The report could be read on the toilet -- the damn thing's only 9 pages -- and doesn't even rule out the U.S. government's involvement. Think about it ... the U.S. government issued the report, but can't rule out itself. 🤔

According to the docs, the UAP (unidentified aerial phenomena) "could be attributable to developments and classified programs by U.S. entities" -- meaning, the government or private industry.

Now, the report does say 18 sightings "appear to have some sort of advanced propulsion or advanced technology." Of course, the question we all have is ... who or what's behind that technology?

We know what you're wondering, and the report never uses the words aliens or extraterrestrials. Instead, it says if and when they can resolve what these UAPs are, they expect they'll fit in one of these categories: airborne clutter, natural atmospheric phenomena, U.S. government or industry programs, foreign adversary systems, or a catchall “other” bin.

We're guessing alien life would be "other."

The one incident they did resolve required 6 months of combing through hundreds of reports in order to find out one UAP was a large deflating balloon.

Ok, here's one positive thing we can say: The government says it's now established a procedure for reporting these sightings to military officials, which should help collect better data to study such objects in the future.

For now, though, leaving so much unanswered will surely fuel greater speculation, especially since parts of the report remain classified.

The collapse of a 12-story Miami condo building has left 4 people dead and more than 150 feared dead as search and rescue efforts continue ... but a lawsuit's already been filed over the disaster.

A class-action suit has been brought against the Champlain Towers Condominium Association following Thursday's tragedy in South Florida, seeking to "compensate the victims of this unfathomable loss."

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ ... "repair needs had been identified" concerning certain structural elements with the building, but allegedly those repairs were not done.

The condo association is accused of failing to protect the people and property "through the exercise of ordinary care, safety measures, and oversight" that could have prevented the catastrophic collapse.

The suit seeks more than $5 million in damages.

As we reported ... the building's collapse destroyed at least 70 units of the 135-unit structure. At least 4 people were killed, and as many as 159 people are unaccounted for.

So far, the authorities have not released a possible cause for the collapse, but there are reports that the building has been sinking into the ground since the '90s.

The person who supplied the tortillas that were thrown at Latino players following a high school basketball game has come forward ... but he's adamant it was never meant to be racist.

Luke Serna -- who says he's half-Mexican -- admits he handed out tortillas to players, cheerleaders and fans at the big Coronado vs. Orange Glen basketball game as part of a "celebratory action" if Coronado won the game. Serna is a Coronado alum.

The problem ... the Orange Glen basketball team (and the OGHS student body as a whole) is largely Latino.

So, when Coronado -- a predominantly white school -- won the game and people began throwing the tortillas after the final buzzer, many players, coaches, staffers and others were offended ... claiming it felt racist.

But, Serna claims his tortilla plan was inspired by a tradition he learned as a student at UC Santa Barbara, and he had "absolutely no racial intent."

"The tossing of tortillas is used as a celebratory action by the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at various sporting events including basketball and soccer," Serna said in a letter to the Coronado Unified Governing Board.

"There was not a shred of ill-intent or racial animus in carrying out this celebratory action."

Serna continued, "Those who have enflamed this issue into a racially charged issue should be utterly ASHAMED of themselves."

There has been fallout since the incident ... Coronado head coach JD Laaperi was fired following a school board vote.

Serna believes Laaperi should NOT have been terminated.

"The people who have fallen for this frame-up to smear Coach Laaperi are not worthy of being any part of the discussion regarding this event as it is their intent to try and fan the flames of racism where none existed.”

Serna later told FOX 5 in a separate statement ... "I realize the tortilla throwing has been perceived as racially insensitive. I do not condone racially insensitive behavior, and that was not my intent."

The Montreal Canadiens punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals on Thursday night ... and the fans went absolutely insane!!!

Moments after the Habs defeated the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre in Canada, thousands of fans swarmed the streets ... and pandemonium ensued.

Cops say fans were just rowdy as hell -- setting off fireworks, fighting and even attacking police officers.

At one point, a group of Habs fans -- still wearing Habs gear -- smashed up a police car and flipped it upside down!!

Police used tear gas to break up the chaos -- and eventually arrested 15 people ... while issuing citations to an additional 60 people!

By the way, officials had only allowed 3,500 fans inside the arena for the game -- but the situation outside was so crazy, they locked down the venue and refused to let fans out in fear people could get hurt.

If you're wondering why the fans went so wild, it's the first time the Canadiens have reached the Stanley Cup Finals since 1993 ... and you know how people in Canada feel about hockey!

Jon Rahm chugged from his U.S. Open trophy and then punished a glow-in-the-dark golf ball to the moon ... and the awesome scene was all captured on video!!

The golf superstar -- who just took home the U.S. Open crown after an amazing four days at Torrey Pines last weekend -- hit up a restaurant patio somewhere in the world this week ... and then magic ensued.

Check out the video ... Rahm slurped down some sort of drink (odds are pretty solid it was an alcoholic beverage) and then he absolutely hit a missile off the floor!!!

Seriously, watch that golf ball go ... it was annihilated.

Of course, Rahm has every reason to celebrate this way ... the U.S. Open title was his first-ever major victory -- so keep on chuggin', Jon!

By the way, if this all looks familiar ... it's 'cause it kind of is -- Phil Mickelson famously drank out his PGA Championship trophy earlier this month just days after winning it.

IKEA has more work to do if it wants forgiveness for a misguided Juneteenth celebration ... because one of Georgia's leading Black voices ain't buying what the company's selling in the apology aisle.

Georgia State NAACP President James Woodall tells TMZ ... the Swedish-based big-box retailer's statement from earlier this week -- when they explained their Atlanta store was wrong for a Juneteenth-themed menu -- is pretty much lip-service without further action.

Woodall says he thinks the whole debacle speaks to a tone-deaf culture at the company -- adding its seemingly harmless gesture actually helps perpetuate attacks against Black people by what he described as white supremacy. He also called the employee menu an empty, performative gesture.

Woodall tells us IKEA should have to answer to its constituents -- AKA employees and customers.

Atlanta's NAACP Prez, Richard Rose, seemed a bit more forgiving -- or at the very least, not ready to torch them like Woodall did.

He says he can't say for certain their intention was to be racist with the menu -- which included fried chicken, collard greens and watermelon -- but does acknowledge it was obviously insensitive. He's chalking that up to a possible lack of diversity among decision-makers.

As for accepting the apology ... Rose says that's up to the 20 employees who called out in protest.

A terrifying and devastating scene unfolded in Miami early Thursday, as a 12-story oceanside condo building partially collapsed ... and a massive emergency effort is underway to find people who may have survived.

More than half of the complex unexpectedly went down in the early morning hours in South Florida in what residents describe as feeling like an earthquake.

The building reportedly has more than 100 units, and at least 70 of them are damaged or destroyed following the collapse that left a massive pile of rubble.

So far, one person has died and at least 10 have been treated for injuries, while 35 people have been pulled from the partially collapsed building and 2 more pulled from the debris.

Fifteen families have walked out of the building on their own, but sadly ... countless people are missing as the search and rescue mission continues.

Coke Daniels is all for people comparing his film "Karen" to Jordan Peele's "Get Out," but to say he ripped it off? Coke essentially says get the hell outta here with that take!

The writer/producer tells TMZ ... they're 2 totally different films. His about an entitled white, racist woman who tries to run a Black family out of the neighborhood, while "Get Out" is about a mixed-race couple visiting her super-creepy family.

However, it didn't stop people from talking trash. One person said on Twitter, "Jordan Peele only has two films under his belt as a director and he already has people trying to copy his formula."

Now, Coke will cop to the idea that the films do share a similarity in genre ... and the director thinks THAT is what haters were really describing after the trailer dropped on Tuesday.

ICYMI, they slammed "Karen" -- starring Taryn Manning in the creepy lead -- as a wannabe "Get Out." The criticism was so intense, Jordan Peele's name started trending on Twitter.

Coke noticed all the social media buzz, took a screenshot of several posts and captioned it, "Trending on Twitter!! Keep comparing Karen to Get Out! We’ll receive that!"

Quavo giveth ... he taketh ... and now he selleth.

It looks like the rapper did in fact take back his ex, Saweetie's, 2020 Bentley Continental, despite what Quavo sources had insisted, because that exact same car -- complete with "icy" headrests -- is up for sale on the luxury and exotic car dealership Jakes Motorcars.

The GTC V8 convertible is being marketed as a used luxury whip that has only 2,191 miles. It's still pricey tho ... at a cool $279,888.

You'll recall the Migos rapper once gifted Saweetie the Bentley, but after their very public breakup .... there were rumors he took it back as payback. At the time, our Quavo sources insisted the whip was a lease and that he struck a deal with the dealership that allowed him to end the contract early, which Quavo allegedly did when the relationship went kaput.

We reached out to Quavo's team to tell them we found the listing, and they refused to comment.

Pope Francis may be a superhero in the Catholic church, but he came face-to-face with a guy who's a hero to children everywhere ... including kids in hospitals he visits to cheer them up.

The Pope met with an amazing young man dressed in a full Spider-Man suit Wednesday in Vatican City. The costumed character was seated in the VIP section of the audience in the Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard.

That's because Spidey -- who's really 27-year-old Mattia Villardita from northern Italy -- was being honored for the work he does dressing up as superheroes and visiting sick children at hospitals to raise their spirits.

Villardita did his best to blend in while sitting in the crowd, but c'mon ... this is a sighting that definitely makes front page of the Daily Bugle.

After His Holiness finished with the general audience event, Spider-Man got an audience with him -- they shook hands, and the webbed wonder handed the Pontiff a mask of his own. He didn't put it on. Not immediately, anyway.

"Gorilla Glue Girl" says she suffered a miscarriage 3 months into her pregnancy ... and she's not sure, at this point, she'll try to have another baby with her fiancé.

Tessica Brown tells TMZ ... she suffered the miscarriage last month, rushing to the emergency room after being unable to sleep due to a terrible pain in her stomach.

She says medical staff at the ER tried listening for a heartbeat for 10 minutes, but an ultrasound confirmed she had lost the baby girl. Tessica says she couldn't help but cry.

As we first told you ... Tessica found out earlier this year -- after her Gorilla Glue nightmare was over -- that she was pregnant with her first child with fiancé, Dewitt Madison.

Tessica tells us she was having horrible morning sickness that would sometimes last all day. She was in and out of the hospital because she couldn't keep water down, and doctors put her on an IV because she was extremely dehydrated.

Then, on May 17, she noticed she was bleeding a lot, and knew something was wrong.

Macy Gray says what went down on January 6 is the main reason why she wants to redesign the American flag, because she feels the insurrection violated Old Glory and turned it into a symbol of hate.

The "I Try" singer joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to elaborate on her controversial call to update the U.S. flag in a way she believes is more inclusive ... including adding 2 stars for D.C. and Puerto Rico and changing the star colors from white to the shades of the melanin scale.

Macy says after the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6 by Trump-supporting insurrections who used the flag as "their badge and symbol," she feels differently about it ... and thinks many others do too.

For that reason, she seems certain the time is right for an Old Glory overhaul ... and points to the fact that it's already been redesigned 26 times in our nation's history.

Macy says she's never seen the country transform as much as it has the past 2 years -- and not in a good way -- so changing the flag to better represent everyone is her goal. She's hoping the government hears her cry for unity and inclusion.

As we reported ... Gray penned an op-ed last week in which she said the American flag has replaced the Confederate flag as a hate symbol ... due to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

IKEA is under fire after one of its stores in Atlanta allegedly listed fried chicken and watermelon as menu items for its employees to supposedly honor Juneteenth.

The furniture giant reportedly sent an email to employees last week alerting them that "to honor the perseverance of Black Americans and acknowledge the progress yet to be made" it was also going to roll out a special menu.

And that's where IKEA dropped the ball BIG TIME ... because the so-called special menu -- again, for a holiday commemorating the end of slavery -- included fried chicken, watermelon and mac n' cheese ... some of those items, of course, perpetuate racial stereotypes.

An employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told CBS46, "You cannot say serving watermelon on Juneteenth is a soul food menu when you don’t even know the history, they used to feed slaves watermelon during the slave time."

The outrage led to 20 employees calling out from work. Word that workers were furious quickly began to spread at the store and it ultimately reached the store manager ... who sent out another internal email apologizing. The menu was ultimately altered to include cornbread, mashed potatoes and meatloaf.

An anonymous employee reportedly said none of the coworkers who sat down to create the menu was Black, but we reached out to IKEA and a spokesperson refutes that ... saying there were Black co-workers involved, but it offered no further details.

The spokesperson added, "We value our co-workers' voices and changed the menu after receiving feedback that the foods that were selected are not reflective of the deeply meaningful traditional foods historically served as part of Juneteenth celebrations. We got it wrong and we sincerely apologize."

T-Pain says Usher summoned him some years back just to casually let him know he had torpedoed the music biz by popularizing autotune ... which T says sent him into depression.

The 'Buy U a Drank' singer recently told the tale on Netflix's new docuseries 'This Is Pop' -- detailing what he claims was a seriously cold-ass encounter in 2013. Watch how T-Pain describes the alleged put-down ... apparently, they were both flying in the same airplane on the way to an award show, when T says he was called to Mr. Raymond's seat. They exchanged pleasantries, and then T-Pain says Usher laid in.

According to T, Usher believed T-Pain had tainted professional singing for guys (like Usher) who use their natural voice, and he supposedly said it with a straight face.

T-Pain says he was shocked and that, before he knew it, he realized he'd fallen into a depression, which he says lasted 4 years -- something he seems to be attributing to the Usher moment itself. It's a wild story.

Of course, people are jumping to T-Pain's defense in light of this, assuring him he not only did NOT ruin music, but might've actually revolutionized it ... considering every other famous rapper/singer these days uses some form of autotune.

And, for argument's sake ... even if you agree with Usher's sentiment, why break it to someone in that manner, and so randomly??? Seems like a jerk move -- on its face, anyway. We'll see if Usher offers a different version of the story.

"Friends" star James Michael Tyler -- who famously played Gunther -- says keeping silent about his stage 4 cancer diagnosis during the reunion show was the right thing to do for the show's fans and his costars.

James explains he chose to join the HBO Max special by Zoom, instead of sitting on the couch with the rest of the cast, "because I didn't wanna bring a downer on it, you know? I didn't want to be like, 'Oh, and by the way, Gunther has cancer.'"

The beloved actor also revealed Tuesday on "Today" that his prostate cancer -- diagnosed back in September 2018 -- has, unfortunately, spread to his bones and left him paralyzed from the waist down.

James says the producers of the show have known about his diagnosis for a long time -- but it sounds like the cast didn't know during the taping, but said they know now.

When asked what he would have done differently ... James says he would have listened to his wife and gone in earlier for a medical checkup, and maybe it could have been caught sooner.

James choked back tears ... imploring viewers to get a basic exam and ask for a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) test. He says when caught early, it's 99 percent treatable. He shared the same message with the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

James, of course, had a memorable run on the show -- he appeared in 150 episodes as the super sprung yet witty barista at Central Perk.