Coronavirus

Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are urging President Joe Biden to pull the plug on the vaccine mandate for international travelers ... hoping it'll pave the way for Novak Djokovic to play in the big Miami Open tennis tournament later this month.

The politicians spelled out their wishes in a letter -- which they sent to the commander in chief on Friday -- saying they want #46 to make the change so The Joker can be ready to smash balls at the tourney in Miami Gardens, FL on March 19.

In their letter, they argued that removing the restriction and allowing Djokovic to play could provide a huge economic boost for their local economies.

They also called the current U.S. policy "outdated and worthy of rescission," considering Biden declared on "60 Minutes" back in Sept. 2022 that the "pandemic is over."

The lawmakers, both Republicans, added that they believe since Djokovic is a world-class athlete in world-class shape, he is "not at high-risk of severe complications from COVID-19."

Of course, under the current rule, Djokovic -- who is unvaccinated -- is not allowed to travel to the United States ... precluding the Serbian tennis superstar from playing in the Miami Open and several other upcoming high-profile tournaments.

Miami Open officials have reportedly filed a petition to get him a waiver from the rule -- and Scott and Rubio made it clear, they're in favor of it being granted.

Jon Stewart still can't believe the vitriol that's been spewed at him since he publicly embraced the coronavirus lab leak theory on network TV -- this in the wake of the U.S. government saying it might be legit, but he's far from gloating.

The former 'Daily Show' host discussed the new Energy Dept. findings during the latest episode of his Apple TV+ show. ICYMI, the feds investigation showed COVID-19 might have, in fact, been started and disseminated from a Wuhan lab.

Jon raised that theory during an appearance on Stephen Colbert's show back in 2021 where he ran with what he saw as simply common sense -- namely, the notion the Wuhan Virology Lab might be tied to the start of the pandemic.

JS got slammed for that take ... and now, in reflection, he says he was alarmed by just how tribal the country had become -- politically and otherwise -- and it was evidenced in the sheer amount of rage and hate he got from people he once thought loved him.

He's not necessarily taking a victory lap here, but does hope we can take a lesson from this.

In his view, keep an open mind on things ... especially when, at face value, they make sense. Jon believes that approach is key in navigating modern-world problems -- and he adds, outright censorship is just wrong.

A longtime hairstylist for KISS says the rock band didn't act fast enough to help a COVID-stricken guitar tech while they were on tour, leading to his death.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, David Mathews accused KISS' manager Doc McGhee, of mishandling the grave situation involving Francis Stueber. KISS legends Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are also named defendants in the suit.

Mathews claims the group was on a tour stop in October 2021 when he learned Stueber had contracted a severe case of COVID while staying in an Illinois hotel room.

He says he urged Stueber to contact Stanley to arrange being sent to the hospital, and  Stueber agreed to do so.

Mathews says he then went to Stanley's dressing room and told him, "Call Fran. He's very sick. I can hear the fear in his voice. He needs to go to the hospital."

Stanley allegedly responded, "I get it. I was afraid too when I was sick with COVID." The rock star, according to the docs, phoned Stueber and advises him to go to the hospital, explaining that the disease was "nothing to mess around with."

But, hours later, Mathews says McGhee told him Stueber didn't want to go to the hospital, which conflicted with Stueber's earlier statements to him.

Still, Stanley called Stueber again and told him to go to the hospital, the docs say.  Stueber apparently agreed, and McGhee promised to have a Live Nation rep take him to the medical center.

That allegedly never happened. Nearly an hour later, according to the docs, Matthews inquired about Stueber with McGhee, who said Stueber was being tested with an oxygen meter to see if he really needed to go to the hospital.

Matthews says, "Unfortunately, it was apparent that Mr. McGhee did not act in a timely manner. The Live Nation representative did not arrive until the following morning. When visitors entered Mr. Stueber's room at about 1 a.m., he was found dead."

Rolling Stone magazine then ran an article about Stueber's death, blaming KISS for having lax COVID protocols while on tour. The band was allegedly furious and blamed Matthews for the anonymous leaks to the R.S. reporter.

Although Mathews denied being the source of the information, the band apparently didn't believe him and allegedly ended up canning him the following May after 30 years of service.

Mathews is suing the group for wrongful termination, retaliation in violation of labor code and failure to pay all wages.

Pretty Ricky's Baby Blue is now a free man, kind of, after serving a little over a year in his PPP fraud case, and his bandmates were there to greet him upon release.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons tells TMZ Hip Hop ... Baby Blue was released Tuesday from the Federal Correctional Institution Coleman Low in Florida.

The 38-year-old pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in August 2020, and was sentenced to 20 months in prison ... which he started serving in February 2022.

Blue was transferred to the BOP's Miami Residential Reentry Management Office, which oversees inmates transitioning back to public life. He will stay in community confinement -- either home detention or a halfway house -- until he is officially released from custody on April 4.

Upon his release, Blue was surprised by Pleasure P and Spectacular, Blue's actual brother, who both excitedly live streamed the moment as they promised to celebrate in various ways ... but Baby Blue isn't completely out of the woods yet.

Baby Blue has another 3 years of supervised release, and still has to pay $1,111,345.23 in restitution as part of his sentence.

According to court docs, he forfeited a 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia about a year ago, but that only knocked around $65K off his tab -- so he still owes well over $1 million.

Young Thug might soon be fighting more than charges ... as a COVID-19 outbreak has hit several of his codefendants in his RICO case.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a bunch of the defendants and attorneys in Young Thug's ongoing case have tested positive for COVID. The court order states Young Thug could also be at risk of getting COVID and says he must get tested.

The court order, stamped on 12/28, does not have results from Young Thug's COVID test.

As we reported, Young Thug has been in custody for more than 7 months ... he was arrested back in May on gang-related charges tied to a 56-count indictment. He's slated for trial in January, with jury selection beginning on January 5.

DJ Vlad says he feels guilty for not putting more pressure on the late DJ Kay Slay to get vaccinated for COVID-19 -- a battle that took his life.

Vlad and Michael Jai White were America's problem with obesity ... both agreed an aggressive approach is best for convincing loved ones to eat healthily and exercise. The discussion caused Vlad to express his regrets for not coming down on Kay Slay prior to his death.

Vlad says he and Kay Slay were texting about the COVID-19 vaccine and Kay Slay refused to get vaccinated at the time, revealing he was waiting for some of the variants to clear up.

Vlad and Kay Slay's relationship dated back 20 years to the days when mixtapes were actual physical copies but Vlad said it was the Drama King's age difference and veteran status that made him bite his tongue.

The convo was framed as their last -- Kay Slay contracted COVID-19 and battled the disease for 4 months before passing away in April.

Bam Margera is in a hospital battling a very serious case of pneumonia, complicated by COVID-19 ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the situation tell us Bam was hospitalized in San Diego earlier this week. He then tested positive for Covid while in the hospital ... and since then we're told doctors decided to put him on a ventilator. He's being treated in ICU, but his condition is stable.

As we reported, Bam's been in and out of rehab this year after he had completed a one-year treatment program for drug and alcohol abuse.

Our sources say during one of his stints in rehab, he befriended an attorney who convinced him he could get him out of the court-ordered treatment and "free Bam."

Since then, we've seen him partying it up in Atlanta in September, and hitting Las Vegas the following month. We're told Bam never completed his court order and many people close to him were concerned for the former 'Jackass' star.

Our sources say the so-called "Free Bam Movement" -- which was fueled by online speculation his family put him in a conservatorship similar to Britney Spears -- really confused Bam and hurt his recovery process.

We're told it got so bad, his family and temporary healthcare guardian -- who's a longtime family friend -- started receiving threats over the summer, and had to address it publicly.

Formula One will NOT be making a return to China in 2023 -- the series just announced it has pulled the Chinese Grand Prix due to Covid-19 difficulties.

China recently implemented strict guidelines and lockdowns as part of a "zero-Covid" approach ... which has resulted in public protests.

China has since reportedly announced a plan to loosen its protocols by reducing mass testing in the coming days ... but F1 decided it was best to start its search for a replacement host ASAP.

"Formula 1 can confirm, following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities, that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the COVID-19 situation," F1 announced Friday.

"Formula 1 is assessing alternative options to replace the slot on the 2023 calendar and will provide an update on this in due course."

The April 16 event at Shanghai International Circuit was set to be F1's first return to China since 2019 ... and would have been Alfa Romeo driver Zhou Guanyu's debut home race of his career.

Cops in Thailand have a new definition for bats**t crazy after busting a young woman for devouring an entire bat ... and she could be facing some serious jail time for the clickbatting stunt.

The woman, Phonchanok Srisunaklua, uploaded the nasty clip Monday, showing her eating a bowl filled with broth, tomatoes and multiple dead bats! She's speaking Thai in the clip, but reportedly describes the meal as "delicious."

We don't know what's proper etiquette for this kinda dish, but Srisunaklua ripped the wings off before chowing down on the remaining animal.

Needless to say, her comment section was filled with shocked and disgusted viewers, at least one of whom was triggered, remembering the alleged origins of the novel coronavirus ... writing, "If you're going to die, die alone. No one will blame you. But you'll be damned if you start a pandemic."

The clip's been scrubbed off Srisunaklua's page, but authorities in Thailand reportedly arrested her for possession of protected wildlife carcasses, and for violating the Computer-Related Crimes Act of 2007 by uploading the clip. If convicted, she faces up to 5 years behind bars.

After the stomach-churning clip was taken down, she uploaded an apology video.

Dr. Patarapol Maneeorn, a wildlife vet in Thailand, expressed serious concern over the many health risks involved ... most notably the fact that bats carry tons of pathogens, adding, "There is no proof that the hot water temperature will actually kill the germs."

There's no magic at the Magic Kingdom, not for an NYC fugitive who successfully dodged the law for a year ... only to be captured at the so-called happiest place on Earth!!! 😂

Quashon Burton was reportedly kicking it at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom park in October when federal postal inspector Jeff Andre spotted him.

Eagle-eyed Jeff identified Burton by a distinctive "H" tattoo on his neck, and reported him to cops ... who caught up to Burton about an hour later. They reportedly found him with 2 family members while they were sitting at a bus stop in the park.

Cops say Burton wouldn't produce any ID and resisted arrest, so they took him down to the ground ... and later ID him with fingerprints.

Officials say Burton ran from his home in Brooklyn last year after fraudulently obtaining over $150K in forgivable PPP loans from the government, and allegedly used multiple identities to get cash out of an ATM at an NYC post office.

He's being held without bail, as NY prosecutors believe he's an "extreme" flight risk.

Drake and 21 Savage are pushing back the release date for their highly anticipated joint album ... because the producer is battling coronavirus.

Champagne Papi announced the delay Wednesday, revealing on his Instagram story that his longtime producer, Noah "40" Shebib, became infected with COVID while mixing and mastering the album.

Drake and 21 Savage's project is called "Her Loss" and it was due out this Friday ... but it's going to be the fan's loss, because Drizzy says the collab is being delayed at least a week, with the new release date moved to next Friday, Nov. 4.

Drake and Noah have worked together for years ... but based on Drake's post, it seems like the COVID diagnosis is only a minor bump in the road.

"Her Loss" was only announced a couple days ago ... Drake revealed the album's title and original release date in his new music video for "Jimmy Cooks," a song featuring 21 Savage off Drake's last album, "Honestly, Nevermind."

Britney Spears is trashing Selena Gomez for something she said 6 years ago -- even though signs point to them being pretty good friends today.

The singer delivered a bizarre message Tuesday that looks to be aimed in Selena's direction -- based on the caption anyway. BS cites a specific line Selena dropped at the 2016 American Music Awards, which references women showing their bodies on social media.

She writes, "Don't you just love the nerve of women who stand firmly getting awards and speak on their beliefs about not showing their bodies on Instagram ???!!!!! They say "This is NOT something I would do" yet those women are the very ones who get 4 million dollar budget videos made about sucking and licking on homemade ice cream!!!!"

Britney goes on to say she thinks it's hypocritical for someone engaging in a sexually suggestive music video to criticize others for showing off their curves for the Gram.

The clues she mentions all point to Selena. Like we said, SG's the only person in recent memory who touched on "bodies on Instagram" while also going on to star in a 2020 music video featuring ice cream cones. The song is "Ice Cream" by K-Pop girl band BLACKPINK.

The IG post is still live on Britney's page, but she's edited the caption to just show 3 roses.

Selena's loyal fans definitely see it as a diss, and they're telling Britney to back off. Frankly, her attack seems to be coming out of nowhere ... and the even stranger thing is Selena was one of a few celebs who attended Britney's wedding this year.

Of course, we know Britney's fully leaned into posting her nudes online ... despite controversy it's stirred, especially among her own family members.

As usual, it's hard to make sense of Britney's POV. There is a trend, though ... less and less people on her side as she posts some weird and unprovoked hot takes.

Selena, for her part, hasn't responded to this. Something tells us she won't.

Originally Published -- 7:04 AM PT

A guy running for a seat on a local Indiana school board might just be out -- suggesting some Nazis were good dudes ... and comparing them to misunderstood anti-vaxxers of today.

Dr. Matt Keefer, who's in the hunt for a Zionsville Community Schools Board of Trustees post, made the inflammatory comment on Facebook this week while apparently going back and forth with someone about Nazis ... only to then defend said Nazis.

He wrote, "All Nazis weren’t ‘bad,’ as you specify. They did horrible things. They were in a group frenzy in both cases you site (sic). Who is to say if we were both there in the same place and same time, that we wouldn’t have done the same thing."

Keefer went on to say Nazis were victims of "presentism" -- judging old acts by today's standards -- and said maybe one day ... we'd look back at Covid differently, specifically when it comes to folks who threw such a fit about it during the pandemic.

He finishes by saying ... "History is written by the victors. No other candidate will talk about the issues like I will." Later, after a ton of backlash, Keefer doubled down in his sentiment that not all Nazis were bad -- but in the same breath, denied being a Nazi sympathizer.

Jesse Williams, the star of an upcoming Broadway play, "Take Me Out," is pleading with a judge to cut him a break, so COVID doesn't take him out.

You see, Jesse is being sued over a car crash and the lawyer for the other driver has subpoenaed the actor to sit for a deposition. Jesse is afraid the close quarters during the depo will expose him to the virus. If he gets sick, well he'll violate the Broadway mantra, "The show must go on!" In other words, if there's no Jesse, there's no play.

It's not that Jesse doesn't want his depo taken -- he's more than willing to do it over Zoom -- but he says an in-person depo is just too risky.

As for the lawsuit, as we reported ... the woman in the other car claims the "Grey's Anatomy" star rear-ended her and then fled the scene.

Ringo Starr's sudden weekend illness was actually the beginning stages of COVID -- and now, the former Beatle has been forced to hit the pause button on performing.

The announcement came Monday from The Canada Life Centre -- where Ringo and his band were scheduled to perform this week -- writing ... "Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band were forced to cancel their recent shows due to illness. It has been confirmed today that Ringo has Covid and the tour will be on hold while Ringo recuperates."

They add, "As of today the Canada Life Centre show on October 4 has been canceled," while going on to explain that he's recuperating at home and hoping to return to the stage soon.

Ringo's been on tour, and he's got a string of shows coming up that, for now, seem to be getting pushed -- including five Canadian dates through Sunday ... which were due to kick off in Winnipeg. Starting next week, he's got more shows here in the U.S.

Ringo's diagnosis follows his cancelation of a concert this weekend in Prior Lake, Minnesota -- while it was noted he'd fallen ill, the official word was that he didn't have the 'rona. Obviously, he's contracted it since then.

Kyrie Irving is speaking out against the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine enforcement ... calling it "one of the biggest violations of human rights in history."

The Nets superstar -- one of the most well-known celebs who personally opposed getting the jab -- took to Twitter to air out his grievances, and he didn't mince his words.

Irving made the point ... if he's allowed to play for the Nets while unvaccinated (that wasn't always the case -- but is now), then he says everyone should receive the same treatment.

"If I can work and be unvaccinated, then all of my brothers and sisters who are also unvaccinated should be able to do the same, without being discriminated against, vilified, or fired," the 30-year-old NBA superstar wrote.

Of course, Kyrie only played in 29 games last season ... primarily because NYC implemented a rule which prevented Irving from working in the city without the jab.

Irving stuck to his principles and refused the shot ... and the City eventually did away with the controversial measure.