Coronavirus

Lamar Jackson -- the face of the Baltimore Ravens and its star quarterback -- has now tested positive for coronavirus.

The reigning NFL MVP is now among the slew of players from the Charm City to have contracted the virus ... this according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport who first reported the news on Thursday.

As you might have heard by now ... the Ravens are struggling to control the spread of the dangerous virus. ESPN previously reported Wednesday that 3 members of the organization contracted the virus. NFL Network later reported running backs Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins had also tested positive.

At this moment, it's unclear if Lamar's experiencing any symptoms. The news comes after the team reportedly disciplined strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders for failing to report COVID symptoms. He also caught flak for not wearing his mask or his tracking device while inside the team's facility.

Then, on Thursday, the team learned about additional positive tests on the same day they were supposed to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a highly-anticipated matchup. The game was postponed to Sunday and it'll air at 1:15 PM ET on NBC.

Alex Trebek left a Thanksgiving message behind ... a message of faith and hope as he valiantly fought his battle with cancer.

As we reported, Alex filmed his show almost to the end -- he was hosting "Jeopardy!" just 10 days before he died, and one of his final acts was to record a message that will air on Thanksgiving day.

The folks at "Jeopardy!" are eternally grateful ... the show's twitter page has a new post which reads, "High on our list of things to be thankful for this year:  Alex's Thanksgiving message from today's show."

Alex, whose voice was raspy and was suffering from the pain and exhaustion of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, tried to comfort viewers, telling them there are "many reasons to be thankful."  His optimism shone through, talking about the various acts of kindness that have emerged from COVID times.

His message -- "Keep the faith. We're going to get through all of this, and we will be a better society because of it."

Producers earlier aired another posthumous message from Alex, recognizing World Pancreatic Cancer Day.

TMZ broke the story ... Alex died earlier this month after a long battle with cancer. He became an effective spokesperson for the cause and helped an untold number of people in the process. By urging people to get tested, he may also have saved many lives.

We miss you, Alex.

Amazon's buying lots of love this year ... by giving away $500 million in holiday bonuses to its frontline workers.

The shipping giant announced Thursday the one-time bonus will go to frontline employees in the US of A working the holiday season during the COVID-19 pandemic. Full-time staff working during the month of December will each get $300. Part-timers will get $150.

The news comes just days after Amazon veteran staffers grew furious over new hires getting as much as $3,000 in signing bonuses to work the holiday season ... while vets got measly turkey vouchers worth about 10 bucks.

This is the second time Amazon has rolled out a one-time bonus ... back in June it doled out another $500 million to its U.S. workforce. It's bittersweet, really. Remember ... Amazon's caught a lot of flak for reportedly overworking employees during a pandemic.

Making matters worse ... many workers said they did NOT feel safe from the virus. At the time, Amazon declined to disclose how many of its workers had been infected by the virus ... before finally revealing in October nearly 20k employees were either presumed or confirmed to have contracted coronavirus.

Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos crossing the $200 billion net worth has also riled up his critics. You'll recall protesters targeted his D.C. home back in June ... with a guillotine.

President-Elect Joe Biden says he's celebrating Thanksgiving 2020 the way he's urging others to celebrate -- with a small group of folks who are part of his bubble.

Joe and Jill Biden went on camera to wish everyone a happy turkey day, saying, "I know this isn't the way many of us hoped we'd spend our holiday. We know that a small act of staying home is a gift to our fellow Americans. Yes, it's a personal sacrifice that each of our families can make and should make to save somebody else's life. But, it's also a shared sacrifice for the whole country."

Dr. Biden added this ... "This has been a year filled with heartache and loss. Yet, there's still so much to be thankful for. We're thankful for the millions of Americans who've been working on the frontlines throughout this pandemic. Those who care for our sick, who helped put food on our tables, who teach our children and who have put on a uniform to serve our nation and the families who loved them as well. We're thankful for everyone who met this moment with kindness, bringing groceries to neighbors or asking, How can I help."

The Prez-in-waiting was optimistic, saying "I know better days are coming."

The National Dog Show is giving us some sense of normalcy in 2020 ... COVID be damned.

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia kept the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive with its annual dog show ... though things did look a little different out there, and understandably so. There was no crowd to cheer on the pooches prancing and strutting their stuff on the floor.

The winner this year -- a Scottish Deerhound named Claire. Congrats to the doggie!!!

And, without a crowd, it looks like the KCP borrowed a page from pro sports teams ... using cutouts of dogs and their owners to fill the seats. Those who bought cutouts were also supporting a great cause ... with proceeds going to the AKC Pet Disaster Fund.

The show -- which aired on NBC after the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- complied with COVID-19 safety protocols to pull off the show, which is remarkable in and of itself.

The humans wore masks. As for the dogs ... there's usually around 2,000 competing, but this time around only 600.

Donald Trump is clearly angry -- enraged -- which is the only explanation for the revenge he seems to want to exact on the American people, because he's goosing his followers to expose themselves to COVID, and the Supreme Court has just facilitated his wish.

Trump's Thanksgiving message ... "I encourage all Americans to gather, in homes and places of worship, to offer a prayer of thanks to God for our many blessings."

It's as breathtaking as it is reckless ... as doctors and scientists have PLEADED for people to either cancel 2020 Thanksgiving or keep it within quarantine-safe limits, Trump is subverting the message. It's especially heartless given his personal knowledge ... that large events like his Amy Coney Barrett South Lawn event became a COVID superspreader.

Trump got some backing from the U.S. Supreme Court, with decisive help from his latest SCOTUS pick. Amy Coney Barrett was the deciding vote Wednesday night in a 5-4 decision, ruling that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's restriction on religious services violated the First Amendment. Just last May and July, the Court ruled by a 5-4 vote -- with RBG still on the court -- that such restrictions were constitutional, but things have now clearly changed.

ICYMI ... we are heading into what most everyone believes will be the deadliest period during the pandemic -- precisely because people are gathering indoors.

It looks like the White House may finally be listening to a recommendation from the CDC ... it's replacing the HVAC systems in some pretty historic buildings.

According to official documents, obtained by TMZ, Uncle Sam is shelling out $1,956,924.38 to replace HVAC systems at the Jackson Place Townhouse Complexes. The townhouses include the President's Guest House, better known as the Blair House, as well as a slew of other townhouses on the block that begins at 700 Jackson Place ... right near the White House.

The CDC has previously issued guidelines to employers on how to protect staff and others to slow the spread of the virus. Among the recommendation includes improving HVAC systems and/or finding ways to increase the percentage of outdoor air that makes up the air inside buildings. The order for the new HVAC systems, according to the doc, was solicited October 27 and it's slated to be completed around January 2022. It's a huge task.

The Blair House -- reserved for former presidents and other dignitaries when they're in town -- consists of 4 distinct buildings merged into one. The property has 119 rooms ... including 14 guest bedrooms and 35 bathrooms. So, yeah ... the work could take a while.

It should be noted ... it's not the first time some of the townhouses have had work done. There was $24k worth of repairs done last year, including a new HVAC system at 726 Jackson Place. There were other upgrades in 2016 costing around $60k ... but nothing along the lines of the $2 million to repair the HVAC systems for the entire townhouse complexes.

The NYPD is doing its best to stop the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade from becoming a super spreader event -- cops are posting up around the parade route to make sure large crowds don't form.

The turkey day tradition is now a shortened parade stretched over 3 days, and with pre-taping going on Tuesday and Wednesday, police are busy standing guard for trouble and herding folks along.

As you can see, there's a ton of barricades set up on the blocked-off side streets around Macy's flagship store, where most of the pre-taping is going on ... and cops are holding the perimeter.

Police are making their presence known, but a high-ranking NYPD official tells TMZ the police detail for the parade has been slashed by 80 percent from last year, which is a huge cut. The reduction in force, we're told, is because the parade is much smaller.

We're told NYPD is not expecting any large crowds or any trouble, believing most people will be smart and shy away from gathering to watch pre-tapings ... but if people do come to watch, cops will educate them about crowd dangers in a pandemic and move them along.

So far, things seem to be running smoothly as Macy's tackles a new-look parade, which is essentially only the final section of the usual 2.5-mile route.

Honchos at Macy's tell us there haven't been any issues pre-taping floats, balloons, Santa Claus and performers on the side streets around the flagship department store ... thanks in part to the secure perimeters. Organizers didn't telegraph where they were filming, which also helped prevent crowds from forming.

Macy's says Thanksgiving Day will see a live show outside the flagship store anchored by Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Hoda Kotb during a shortened parade ... and we're told there will be a larger police presence.

The NFL has officially postponed its biggest Thanksgiving Day football game -- Ravens vs. Steelers -- after multiple players tested positive for COVID.

"Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers game scheduled for Thursday, November 26 has been moved to Sunday afternoon, November 29," the NFL confirmed.

"This decision was made out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and game day personnel and in consultation with medical experts."

Earlier this week, Baltimore's top 2 running backs -- Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins -- were ruled out for Thursday night after testing positive for COVID.

But now, there seems to be a chance they could get back on the field for Sunday's game ... IF they weren't symptomatic.

Per the NFL's COVID policy, an asymptomatic player can return if 5 days have passed since the initial positive test AND the player receives 2 consecutive negative rapid tests at least 24 hours apart within that 5-day span.

We don't know if the RBs were symptomatic or not -- but we're making calls to try and find out.

In the meantime, there are still two other games going down on Turkey Day ... Houston vs. Detroit and Washington vs. Dallas.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban has tested positive for COVID-19 -- again -- only this time he's symptomatic and will likely not coach in the Iron Bowl against Auburn on Saturday.

"This morning we received notification that Coach Saban tested positive for COVID-19," the University said in a statement.

"He has very mild symptoms, so this test will not be categorized as a potential false positive. He will follow all appropriate guidelines and isolate at home."

#1 ranked Alabama is set to take on #22 ranked Auburn in the Iron Bowl this weekend -- a HUGE game -- but Saban is not expected to be on the sidelines this time around.

Saban previously tested positive for COVID back in October -- but was not symptomatic and he ultimately coached just 3 days after the positive test when Bama took on Georgia. The Tide won that game in a 41 to 24 shellacking.

After the game, Saban was seen on video dancing in the locker room with players while NOT wearing a mask.

The COVID-19 vaccines are already injecting renewed confidence into the decimated travel industry -- travelers are taking the news as a green light to pack their bags.

Although most of us won't have access to one of 3 potential vaccines until next spring, Cruise Brothers -- one of the largest family-owned cruise travel agencies in the country -- tells TMZ, it saw a 60 percent spike in new itineraries compared to election week ... when bookings were few and far between.

The big change between then and now, of course, is Pfizer, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca all announced highly-effective vaccines are going to the FDA for approval.

That's enough to get folks thinking summer vacations -- but they're still steering clear of current COVID hotspots. We're told Alaska is the most popular destination getting booked now, while the least popular is Europe.

Antarctica, the only continent untouched by COVID-19, is attracting luxury travelers ... Cruise Brothers says trips there are up 100 percent compared to what was on the books before the pandemic.

They do expect people to start booking more traditional European getaways though ... once the current COVID surge there dies down.

TripAdvisor says 65 percent of consumers are already thinking about traveling. So, once vaccines are widely available, it's looking like the travel industry will be inundated with bookings.

If you're worried about having enough wipes for your counters or toilet paper for your bum, don't be -- suppliers have so much of the good stuff now, it's coming out their ... y'know.

TMZ spoke with companies in the disinfectant and tush tissue trades, and they assure us they're well-equipped to handle more lockdowns, and even panic buying. The bottom line, if you will ... they've learned from the first time around.

Take Cottonelle and Scott toilet paper, for example ... a rep for Kimberly-Clark -- the personal care conglomerate owns both brands -- tells us there's absolutely enough supply of both as COVID's resurgence has many states teetering on the verge of hunkering down again.

We're told KC cut back on manufacting other products it sells in order to focus resources on cranking out more perforated protection for your caboose.

There's another company called Bumboo -- which makes bamboo toilet paper -- and they tell us something similar ... that they've gotten ahead of an anticipated second surge -- which knocked 'em on their ass the first time around -- and put their manufacturing into overdrive.

As a result, we're told Bumboo has a lot of overstock right now heading into winter. The company's also pointing folks to its subscription service as an efficient way to order ahead of time.

As for the other wipes -- for objects and surfaces -- a rep for Clorox tells us the company is shipping out about 1 million packages per DAY in an effort to keep up with demand, which, as you'd expect, has been super high.

Clorox says it's already shipped out 50% more product this year than all of 2019.

Still, if you went shopping last weekend you know the rush is already on -- many of the big retailers, like Target in Bev Hills, had empty shelves as buzz spread about curfews and new COVID closures.

Tracy Morgan says we all need to do our part to help those less fortunate this year ... and he's walking the walk.

"The Last O.G." star showed up at the Mott Haven Community Center in the Bronx Tuesday to lend a helping hand with the giveaway of 1,200 turkeys by the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association.

As you can see ... a long line of folks in need waited to get their bird for Thanksgiving, and Tracy was a pleasant surprise ... especially for one lady.

Other than one wild turkey trying to escape, the giveaway went smoothly for the comedian ... but he wasn't done. We're told after an hour at the community center, he hit up 2 more spots to help out even more.

Tracy also volunteered with the Food Bank for New York over the weekend, doing the same thing to help an estimated 2 million New Yorkers who are hungry this holiday season.

That's roughly a 500k increase from a normal year without a pandemic, so like Tracy tells us ... at times like these, people need all the help they can get.

We've seen that giving vibe plenty in recent days -- French Montana also handed out turkeys in the Bronx, and Tyler Perry Studios held a massive food drive giveaway in Atlanta.

COVID is now ruining the greatest dog race in the world -- because the reigning Iditarod champ says travel restrictions are forcing him to bail on the 2021 event.

Thomas Waerner -- the musher who famously won the 2020 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race back in March -- says getting in and out of Alaska with his 16 dogs seems like an insurmountable task with the pandemic still wreaking havoc all over the world.

"I had to make the difficult decision to not start in the Iditarod 2021," Waerner said in a Facebook post.

"It is a lot of work to get to the starting line in a normal year, and in this COVID times it is not possible to get dogs and myself to Alaska."

The race is slated to begin on March 7 -- with mushers and their pooches trekking through 1,000 snow-covered miles to the finish line. There are still 57 mushers expected to compete, according to the AP.

Waerner -- who's from Norway -- famously won the event earlier this year ... but got stuck in Alaska for MONTHS after his victory due to travel restrictions. He finally caught a flight home in June.

As we previously reported, the 2020 event was highly criticized for allowing fans to gather in masses to watch the event without masks or any PPE. This year, organizers are taking the COVID issue much more seriously, bringing on a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases to help with the safety protocol.

As for Waerner, he dominated the 2020 race and adorably thanked his lead dogs -- K2 and Bark -- after crossing the finish line.

Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition as a result of COVID, this according to head coach Sean McDermott.

The 25-year-old -- who was drafted by the Bills in 2019 -- was initially put on the COVID result list back on October 24 ... but his health took a turn for the worse.

Coach McDermott says Sweeney was being tested by a cardiologist, per NFL protocol, when he was diagnosed with myocarditis ... which is essentially an inflammation of the heart.

According to the Mayo Clinic ... "Severe myocarditis weakens your heart so that the rest of your body doesn't get enough blood. Clots can form in your heart, leading to a stroke or heart attack."

Yeah, this is serious stuff -- but Mayo Clinic notes, "Early diagnosis is key to preventing long-term heart damage."

The diagnosis means Sweeney will miss the rest of the 2020 NFL season -- but the Bills are confident he can recover and return to the tea in 2021.

McDermott says it's his understanding Sweeney's condition is connected to COVID. He also notes Sweeney appears in "good spirits."

It's been a tough year for Sweeney who suffered a foot injury back in July and was hoping to claw his way into some playing time in the 2nd half of the 2020 season.

Horrible news for the Baltimore Ravens -- the team's top 2 running backs, Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins, have tested positive for COVID ... and will NOT play on Thursday night.

So, first and foremost ... prayers up for a speedy recovery.

Secondly ... GO GRAB GUS EDWARDS FOR YOUR FANTASY TEAM RIGHT NOW.

Both Ingram and Dobbins tested positive on Monday -- leading Baltimore to shut down the team facility ASAP.

The team noted defensive lineman Brandon Williams was also put on the COVID list because he's considered a close contact. He's also out for Thursday.

The Ravens (6-4) are slated to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on 'TNF' -- with Gus Edwards now expected to get the majority of the workload at running back.

Running back Justice Hill is also expected to see more playing time.

Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, said the team reopened the facility Monday afternoon -- and it seems the plan is to play Thursday as scheduled.

"We're just carrying forward with our normal schedule at this point, working hard and getting ready for a big challenge Thursday night against the undefeated Steelers," Harbaugh said.