Coronavirus

WNBA star Asia Durr says COVID has wreaked havoc on her body -- and the damage is so severe, the 23-year-old isn't sure if she'll ever play basketball again.

"My life has completely changed since June 8," Durr said on HBO's "Real Sports" ... noting the day she was diagnosed with coronavirus.

Since then, Durr -- the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft -- says she's lost 32 pounds after suffering some horrific symptoms. Her usual playing weight is 151 lbs.

"I couldn't breathe. I was spitting up blood. It was just lung pain that was just so severe. It felt like somebody took a long knife and was just stabbing you in your lungs each second."

She continued, "I woke up 2 o'clock in the morning, vomiting, going back and forth to the bathroom. I couldn't keep anything down."

Durr was a superstar at Louisville before being drafted by the NY Liberty -- but she had to miss the entire 2020 season due to her illness.

In fact,. Asia says she hasn't been able to pick up a basketball since her diagnosis because her doctors fear her health is still too fragile.

"I've talked to doctors and they told me I'm not cleared yet. I'm not cleared to do anything physically which could cause flare ups."

"That's what's really hard for me because in life whenever something was like hard, I would go and play. I cant even do that now. I cant even shoot a free throw."

Durr issued a statement after the segment aired Tuesday night -- saying, "I’m grateful that I get to tell my story to the world. It’s definitely been a challenge, but gotta keep fighting. Only choice."

Amanda Gorman -- the famous poet who delivered a powerful speech at Joe Biden's inauguration earlier this month -- has been tapped by the NFL to read another beautiful message at next week's Super Bowl.

League officials made the announcement Wednesday ... saying the 22-year-old has agreed to write and recite a poem honoring three pandemic heroes just before kickoff on Feb. 7.

"The recitation of the poem will air nationally on CBS," NFL officials said, "and be featured in-stadium.​"

The 3 honorees the NFL has selected for the big moment are all very special Americans ... Trimaine Davis, a teacher; Suzie Dorner, a nurse; and James Martin, a Marine Corps veteran; have all been widely heralded for their roles in helping others during the height of COVID-19.

Davis, the NFL says, helped less fortunate families with technology so they could learn his teaching lessons properly over the Internet while in quarantine.

NFL officials say Dorner logged countless hours in the hospital helping sick patients -- this all while losing two grandparents to the coronavirus.

The NFL says Martin, meanwhile, helped veterans and other members of his community get through tough times during the pandemic.

The NFL recently surprised all three with trips to the Super Bowl ... having NFL legends Doug Baldwin, Derrick Brooks and Jerome Bettis break the news in an awesome fashion to the trio.

The league says all three heroes will be honorary captains at the pre-game coin toss.

"We are honored to recognize these three individuals who represent the best in all of us,” NFL commish Roger Goodell said. “During this incredibly challenging time in our lives, Trimaine, Suzie, and James have exemplified the essence of leadership, each in their own way."

Longtime NBA reporter Sekou Smith -- a staple on NBA TV -- has died after battling COVID. He was only 48.

"The NBA mourns the passing of Sekou Smith, a beloved member of the NBA family," the NBA said in a statement.

"Sekou was one of the most affable and dedicated reporters in the NBA and a terrific friend to so many across the league."

Smith covered basketball for more than 20 years -- and spent the last 11 years with Turner Sports where he excelled as a TV analyst, podcaster and writer.

"Our heartfelt condolences go to his wife Heather and their children Gabriel, Rielly, and Cameron."

Fellow NBA writer Marc J. Spears paid tribute to Sekou -- saying, "Thank you for your brotherly friendship, humor, honesty and compassion. Glad we had a chance to tell each other we loved each other three weeks ago."

"You were a gift to this Earth as a friend, father and a man Sekou Smith. Rest In Peace to my brother. Prayers to your wife & family."

Adam Carolla is still not a fan of Gov. Gavin Newsom ... if anything, the comedian's more furious as he suspects there's a political motive behind Newsom lifting COVID restrictions in Cali.

The comedian joined "TMZ Live" on Tuesday and said the fact Newsom just lifted restrictions to allow outdoor dining and other businesses to reopen makes the order feel like the initial restrictions were random and arbitrary. To Adam's point, SoCal's ICU capacity is still near 0% -- however, state modeling predicts it will rise to 33.3% in the next 4 weeks.

That being said ... Adam feels Newsom only caved to lift restrictions because he's feeling the heat from a recall campaign that's picked up steam.

As you know ... Adam's had beef with the California Gov. for some time now. Adam voiced his support last month for recalling Newsom ... because he was pissed about outdoor dining getting shut down. In his eyes ... he saw no proof to connect outdoor dining to massive outbreaks of COVID cases.

If Newsom does face a recall, Adam's got his mind set on a replacement -- how about a banjo case? Seriously, he explained that choice.

Lori Loughlin's husband, Mossimo Giannulli, just got shut down by a judge ... who basically said his coronavirus worries weren't enough to get him out of prison early.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge lays out exactly why Mossimo was denied, and it basically comes down to this -- he didn't give compelling enough reasons to spend the rest of his sentence in home confinement.

The judge says Mossimo's gripes about having to be in solitary for quarantine in and of itself isn't a good reason to cut him loose. The court also writes ... Mossimo should've seen a quarantine period coming from a mile away -- 'cause he went into prison right in the thick of the pandemic.

The court says. Mossimo has been let back into general population since his filing ... and says that the prisons are getting better at handling COVID issues, so at this point, it can be handled by BOP. The judge goes on to say the vaccine is on the way, which will further alleviate the COVID problems.

In the court's view, Mossimo doesn't have any particularly heightened risk of contracting the virus as it stands -- so they don't see any extraordinary reason he oughta be released early. Unless something changes, he'll probably have to sit tight until April -- when his 5-month sentence is up.

If at first you don't succeed ... try, try again!!

That's exactly what Kyrie Irving did Monday night ... super sneakily handing off his threads to Bam Adebayo after the Heat vs. Nets game -- and the dude got away with it this time!!

Of course, the NBA’s new COVID-19 safety protocols were created to enforce social distancing measures between players on opposing teams. This means no pre or post-game hugs. No handshakes. No jersey swaps.

On Saturday, Irving attempted to give the Heat big man his jersey after the Nets win, but security wasn’t having it -- they broke up the exchange and Irving was not allowed to give his jersey up.

But, the two teams met again Monday night and Irving was determined to get Adebayo his threads -- this time, he hatched a sneaky plan like he was Danny Ocean (shout out George Clooney).

Irving remained cool and crept near the Nets bench before taking off his jersey and signaling over Adebayo.

The 2 stars embraced for a split second, with Irving slyly passing over his jersey in the process.

The plan was executed without a hitch ... with Bam walking away and stuffing Kyrie's jersey in his own before casually walking into the locker room.

Let's just hope more players don't follow suit -- COVID-19 is no joke, and the NBA has already had a bunch of games postponed this season.

A new angle capturing the Trey Songz fight at the Chiefs game shows a long discussion with the cop ... and it looks like the singer threw the first punch.

Kansas City Police posted the footage, apparently from a security camera, which they say shows Trey and a few of his buddies in the stands being approached by stadium security 3 different times ... before the KCPD officer was called to intervene.

Check out the clip, they arrow Trey each time -- pointing to the guy in the black hoodie and black hat ... which Trey was wearing in the close-up footage we have of the fight.

You see Arrowhead security come over to talk to him, and the first guard even looks like he's flashing a mask gesture to the group ... presumably telling them that they gotta mask up. A couple other guards come by to talk to them, but the group doesn't appear to follow orders.

Finally, when the KCPD officer shows, he talks to Trey for about 90 seconds ... and then walks around to try escorting Trey out of the section. The singer backed away down the row, before swinging or shoving the cop ... and then it was total mayhem.

You've seen the rest ... Trey and the officer wrestled in the seats, and Trey even had him in a headlock for a bit. Finally, as backup arrived to assist, Trey was arrested and hauled off to jail. He was booked on a handful of charges, including assaulting a police officer.

Remember, KCPD says the whole thing started because fans were asking Trey and co. to put on their masks -- something Trey actually did at one point while he was in the facility, next to security no less -- but it looks like it eventually came off.

The rich and powerful are skipping to the front of the line to get the COVID-19 vaccine ... and Hollywood's elite are going to great lengths to get the shots.

Tinseltown's titans are using every trick in the book to get vaccinated ... private and boutique physicians, concierge health services, private flights to Florida for vaccine tourism ... and those are just the legal avenues, according to Variety.

In Beverly Hills, Dr. Robert Huizenga claims his practice is getting offered five-figure bribes from folks desperate to get the shots, including power players in the entertainment industry. The doc also told Variety people are trying to skip the vaccine lines by dubiously getting hired in the healthcare industry.

There's also allegations of big-time hospital donors trying to twist arms for early access to vaccines, and wealthy clients pressuring concierge docs to find the hookup.

The mad dash for vaccines in California are partly a result of the state's slow rollout and eligibility requirements ... to get a shot, you need to work in healthcare or be at least 65 years old.

Still, a few celebs are getting shots just like everyone else toiling on the waiting lists, with no funny business involved. 73-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger waited in line at Dodger Stadium's mass vaccination site, while 78-year-old Harrison Ford reportedly booked his own appointment last week and waited in line for 2 1/2 hours at an LA-area community college.

Some of the loopholes are closing ... Florida's cracking down on vaccine tourism, with people now being required to show proof of residency to get a shot. However, the rich and powerful are now said to be pulling the same stunts in Hawaii.

We've told you about some of these issues before ... like COVID vaccines going to non-priority people, even though it was actually a good thing for L.A.

Officials DO NOT believe the COVID-19 vaccination played any role in Hank Aaron's death based on a preliminary investigation -- this according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office.

The 86-year-old MLB legend and his wife received the first of 2 vaccine doses at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta on Jan. 4. Hank died just a few weeks later on Jan. 22.

Some had concerns the vaccine may have been a factor in the slugger's death -- but a rep for the FCME tells TMZ Sports it appears Hank died of natural causes unrelated to the COVID shot.

As we previously reported, Hank -- along with other prominent Black leaders -- decided to get the shot in front of the media in hopes of showing others in the community that the vaccine is safe.

One of the people who got vaccinated with Aaron is Ambassador Andrew Young -- who told KSDK in Atlanta the MLB legend "never had any reaction" to the shot before his death.

"I talked to the fella who was his driver," Young told KSDK ... "And I said, 'Was Hank feeling any discomfort or any problem over the last few days?' And he said, 'No.'"

We're told Aaron's primary doctor will ultimately sign off on cause of the death on Hank's death certificate -- but so far, there does not appear to any evidence showing a link to the COVID vaccine.

Aaron -- one of the greatest baseball players of all time -- raved about the vaccine in the days after the shot ... telling AP, "[It] makes me feel wonderful. I don’t have any qualms about it at all."

"I feel quite proud of myself for doing something like this. ... It’s just a small thing that can help zillions of people in this country."

Hank Aaron's life has been celebrated by some of the most famous and powerful people on Earth -- including President Biden, President Barack Obama, Magic Johnson, Mike Trout, Barry Bonds and more.

Air travel could be a lot safer than it is now, when it comes to COVID-19 -- instead of relying on the honor system to screen passengers, dogs that can sniff the virus could be deployed.

The dogs are being trained at Florida International University, and Dr. DeEtta Mills, who's leading the program, joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to explain how the canines get up to snuff.

The good doc says their program is similar to how dogs learn to detect bombs and drugs -- but instead of explosives and contraband, trainers used discarded face masks from COVID-positive patients.

The NBA's Miami Heat are about to start using coronavirus-sniffing dogs to screen fans at AmericanAirlines Arena ... and Dr. Mills thinks our airlines and airports could adopt the process too.

Virus-sniffing dogs are already being used to detect COVID-19 in Chile, United Arab Emirates and Finland. Researchers say the highly-trained canines detect the disease with almost 100% accuracy.

Tom Brady's father says both he and his wife battled COVID at the beginning of this NFL season -- with Tom Brady Sr. needing to be hospitalized for 3 weeks.

"I was in the hospital with COVID for almost 3 weeks and my wife was sick with COVID at the same time," Tom Sr. said Monday morning on ESPN's 'Greeny' radio show.

"We didn't even see the first 2 games of the year. First 2 games I've ever missed in his career because I was sick as a dog and my wife was sick as a dog."

"It was a matter of life and death just like anybody [who] goes into the hospital ... serious stuff."

Seems Tom Sr. had a much tougher time with COVID than his wife, Galynn -- who is a breast cancer survivor.

Fortunately, both Tom Sr. and Galynn are doing much better now -- but Tom says the whole thing was scary.

"We’ve never missed a game [when Tom was playing] at Michigan or New England or wherever. [But] for the first 2 games [of the 2020 NFL season] when I was in the hospital, I didn’t even care if [The Bucs] were playing much less missing the game."

Tom Sr. says his son "fought through it" and continued to play -- but the news definitely explains Tom's unusually bad play in the Week 1 opener against the Saints, when the Bucs lost 34 to 23 and Tom threw 2 interceptions.

"Now it’s in the rearview mirror," Tom Sr. said ... "We’re healthy, we’re happy and everything is good."

Still, Tom says his son tries to FaceTime him every single day on his way to and from practice.

A passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight was coughing and sneezing, and when the passenger in front of him complained to the flight attendant, the passenger was told he had the option of driving ... and the exchange got even hotter after that.

It went down Thursday on a flight from Miami to Philly. The passenger who shot this video was in seat 25C on a packed flight. The passenger in row 26 right behind him was hacking and sneezing, to the point the passenger in 25C requested to move to the back of the plane.

He moved to the back, and after the plane landed he complained to the captain the guy in row 26 was clearly sick. A flight attendant intervened, and said, "You have an option. You can drive your car if it's a problem," adding, "You can't tell people to get off the plane if they got a cough and they're sneezing."

The passenger persisted, claiming the other passenger was sick, to which the flight attendant fired back, "You're no doctor."

We're told passengers had a temperature check at the gate before boarding.

At one point a flight attendant who is not seen in the video tells the passenger he should be on a no-fly list and the flight attendant you see agrees. Again, the captain is looking on during the exchange.

The complaining passenger did not file a complaint with Frontier. We reached out to Frontier Airlines ... so far, no word back.

Larry King -- the legendary TV and radio host who conducted more than 30,000 interviews in a storied 60-year career -- has died.

King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center early Saturday ... this, according to Ora Media, the media company Larry co-founded.

Larry was diagnosed with COVID-19 over the holidays, and was hospitalized in the ICU at one point, but had recently been moved to a regular hospital room, and was breathing on his own. Things took a turn, and King died Saturday morning.

Larry -- government name Lawrence Harvey Zeiger -- started his career in radio as a disc jockey at WAHR-AM in Miami ... after officially changing his last name to King.

His voice would ultimately land him jobs at radio stations across America before finding fame with "The Larry King Show." The nationally-syndicated late-night radio talk show debuted in 1978 across 28 cities ... and in just 5 short years the show was heard in 118 cities.

Larry's career catapulted to the big time when, in 1985, "Larry King Live" premiered on the fledgling CNN. He interviewed just about every iconic figure ... from Sir Paul McCartney, John F. Kennedy Jr. and Marlon Brando (they kissed on the lips in 1994) to Presidents Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Larry also interviewed Vladimir Putin.

Larry was a unique talent and an incredible interviewer who made his craft look effortless. He was completely absorbed in conversations with his guests, and he did something that escapes many other interviewers -- HE LISTENED. Larry wasn't thinking about his next question -- he was always in the moment. And something else ... he never asked long questions just to hear himself talk. His questions were short, and almost always on point.

The popular late-night TV show aired its last episode on December 16, 2010 ... becoming CNN's most-watched and longest-running program. But, he didn't exactly go away quietly ... Larry's one-man comedy show "Larry King: Stand Up" debuted 4 months later. He also started "Larry King Now" ... an online series that later migrated to Russian-owned news channel, RT.

Larry loved getting married almost as much as doing interviews -- he did it 8 times ... to Freda Miller (1952), Annette Kaye (1961), Alene Akins (1961), Mickey Sutphin (1963), Alene again (1967), Sharon Lepore (1976), Julie Alexander (1989) and Shawn (1997). He filed for divorce from Shawn in 2019.

The last time we saw Larry was in February 2020, when he mused on the upcoming Dodgers season. The Brooklyn native and lifelong Dodgers fan watched them win their first World Series in 32 years after the COVID-shorted 2020 season.

Larry -- who published more than 20 books and had a USA Today column for decades -- coped with various ailments throughout his life ... mostly heart problems. He suffered several heart attacks and, in 1987, had quintuple bypass surgery. In fact, Larry married his most recent wife, Shawn King, at UCLA Medical Center where he was being treated for chest pains.

Larry tied the knot with Shawn just before undergoing heart surgery.

Just this past July, Larry's son Andy King, 65, unexpectedly passed away of a heart attack in late July, while his daughter Chaia King, 52, died just weeks later from lung cancer.

Larry's survived by 5 children ... Cannon, Chance, Danny, Kelly and Larry Jr. He was 87, and what an accomplished and full 87 years they were.

Getting vaccinated -- or at least a willingness to -- might be the key to love in the 21st century ... because it's apparently all the rage on dating apps these days.

Reps for Tinder, Bumble and OkCupid have all recently said they're seeing a major uptick in how many times their users are mentioning the words "vaccine" or "vaccinated' in their bios, not to mention how many are using vaccination readiness as a screener for matches.

Tinder says the number of times "vaccine" has been mentioned in user bios has risen as much as 258% between the months of September and December ... including casual mention of it, like ... "if you believe in the 5-second rule...don't worry about what's in the vaccine."

Bumble says it's seen a "steady increase" in how often "vaccine" is mentioned in bios, and OkCupid says those who indicate they've already gotten vaccinated or willing to are being liked at double the rate of people who openly say they're not interested in getting it.

OkCupid has also tailored its profile questionnaire to cater to the pandemic, with questions about what one might consider an ideal lock-down date, etc. Bumble has similar filters.

Here's the thing though ... there's a big chance that the people being mentioned here are simply TALKING about vaccines, as opposed to actually being vaccinated -- assuming we're talking about 20-somethings, who make up the biggest group of users on these apps.

Unless you work in healthcare or education as a 20-something, you're probably not vaccinated yet -- as it isn't available for that age group. For now ... frontline workers, essential workers and the elderly have priority, and who are supposed to be getting it first.

Dave Chappelle clearly thinks there's nothing funny about potential exposure to COVID-19 -- much less contracting it -- because he went all out to keep his Austin shows as safe as possible.

That's according to his pal, Donnell Rawlings, who joined us on "TMZ Live" Friday and revealed Chappelle had strict COVID protocols in place for everyone -- from performers and staffers to servers and every single audience member.

Donnell tells us he's never worked with anyone who takes as much precaution as Chappelle. In fact, Donnell says Dave dropped a whopping $300k to have people tested in his community of Yellow Springs, Ohio for his shows there last year.

As for how Chappelle contracted the virus ... Donnell says he doesn't know and wonders ... how does anyone really know? That being said ... he's all down for strict measures, and he's glad his comedian pal's taking it seriously.

So much so ... Donnell said, "Dave Chappelle is addicted to corona testing people so much he violated my nose for 2 months."

The UFC just fired one of its top rising stars -- undefeated Ottman Azaitar -- after he allegedly committed one of the most INSANE safety violations we've ever heard.

Ottman -- who's 13-0 as a pro with some crazy highlight-reel knockouts -- allegedly stole a page out of a "Mission Impossible" movie to sneak an unapproved guest into the Fight Island area on Abu Dhabi, risking the health of EVERYONE there.

FYI, 30-year-old Ottman was scheduled to fight on the main card at "UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor" on Saturday night -- taking on 30-year-old Matt Frevola (8-1-1).

But, that fight was removed from the card on Friday due to a "health and safety violation."

So, what the hell happened?! Dana White explained to BT Sport ... and man, the allegation is bad.

"So [Ottman Azaitar] and his team cut off their wrist bands, gave 'em to somebody outside the bubble," White explained ... "I don't know how they even did it."

"That guy taped [the wristbands], showed up here [on Fight Island] with a bag, went into a room, shimmied across 4 balconies, went in [Ottman's] room, dropped the bag off, changed his clothes and then left."

WHAT?!!??!?!

Dana continues ...

"Now, when security tried to stop him, he wouldn't stop either way and yeah it's just bad."

Dana said he fired Ottman on the spot -- "He's gone. He's no longer a UFC fighter and he's not fighting [Saturday night]."

Wow.

The big question -- what was inside the mystery bag?!!?!? Our UFC sources say they have no clue at the moment. Guessing they're going to try and find out.

As we previously reported, the Fight Island area is incredibly secure -- with multiple COVID testing points and crazy security to keep everyone safe. One violation could compromise the entire thing.