Coronavirus

Yeah, it's good to be the King/Queen -- but Prime Minister's pretty badass too, especially when you're Finland's Sanna Marin out partying until the break of dawn!!!

The Finnish PM was all up in the VIP at Butcher's Nightclub in Helsinki over the weekend -- she was seen hanging with her husband and some friends at a private table. NBD, right?

Well, keep in mind Marin, at just 36 years old, is the Nordic country's youngest Prime Minister ever -- and the glamorous world leader's clearly not letting the gig hold her back from doing regular 30-somethings activities.

PM Marin reportedly stayed out until 4 AM and as you can see, neither she nor anyone else in the club was wearing a face mask ... so, they don't seem too worried about COVID-19 or the Omicron variant.

There's a good reason for that. Under PM Marin, who took over 2 years ago -- just before the pandemic -- Finland has achieved a staggering 72 percent vaccination rate! For comparison, the U.S. is still under 60 percent.

The chef who told the NFL that Antonio Brown faked his COVID vaccine card is now planning to sue the Buccaneers star ... saying the wide receiver still owes him $10,000.

Steven Ruiz spelled it all out to TMZ Sports this week ... saying after the NFL ruled he wasn't lying about Brown's bogus vaccine card --- he's planning to move forward with a lawsuit against AB.

"The game plan now is to file a lawsuit and take it from there," Ruiz said. "People provide a service and you've got to pay for it. That's it."

As we previously reported, Ruiz said he cooked for Brown regularly this past year ... but when it came time to pay a bill for it all, AB balked.

Ruiz said Brown owed him $10K, but he couldn't get the cash from the football player -- even after talking with Brown's attorney.

So, Ruiz ended up going public with his claims that Brown had sought and obtained a fake vaccine card and then later submitted it to the NFL.

The league investigated the claims ... and said it found Brown did misrepresent his vaccine status, and then suspended him three games without pay, costing him over $100K in lost salary.

Ruiz tells us if Brown had just paid up, he probably would've stayed quiet.

"If he had just probably paid me, you know what? He probably would still be getting paid in the NFL right now," Ruiz said. "He'd probably be playing the games that he could be playing and none of this would have even happened."

Great news! UFC president Dana White is officially COVID-19 free ... telling TMZ Sports he tested negative for the virus, and he's crediting Joe Rogan's suggested treatment plan of monoclonal antibodies, NAD drip, vitamins, and Ivermectin for the swift recovery.

"I feel incredible! Today is day 5 since testing positive for COVID, and [Friday at 9 AM], I tested negative for COVID. Thank you, Dr. Joe Rogan!"

Dana tested positive for the virus after a Thanksgiving day family gathering ... and immediately contacted the JRE host for advice.

Of course, Rogan beat the virus in a matter of days ... but it wasn't without controversy.

He (also) took Ivermectin ... a drug that some media outlets incorrectly classified as livestock medication (there are animal and human versions of the drug).

But, Dana -- who is fully vaccinated -- says Joe is very well-informed ... and most importantly, his plan works.

"Joe Rogan is a brilliant guy and he talks to the most brilliant people out there. He studies, he does his homework on all this stuff, and it's a fact that this works."

And, work it did -- the UFC honcho tells us ... "Monday I did what Rogan told me to do. Tuesday I had my taste and smell back."

White says if you think his case was a fluke ... the treatment also worked on his wife, daughter, and 80-year-old mother-in-law!

We didn't only talk about viruses ... we also chopped it up about UFC 269 -- which is only a week away (Dec. 11).

Lightweight champ Charles Oliveira is fighting Dustin Poirier ... the man many believe is actually the best in the division.

Amanda Nunes is also fighting Julianna Pena (the "Venezuelan Vixen" told us "Lioness" isn't taking her seriously). "Suga" Sean O'Malley, Cody Garbrandt, and Geoff Neal are also on the card.

We asked Dana which fight he was looking forward to -- outside of the marquee matchups at the top of the card -- and he told us he expects a lot of violence when Josh Emmett and Dan Ige do battle on the prelims.

We also talked to White about Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev ... and he told us he's working on booking the 4-0 fighter an opponent now that Diaz shot down the fight.

If you missed it, earlier this week the superstar from Stockton told us he wouldn't fight "Borz" because he was a rookie who wasn't on Diaz's level.

Willow Smith got some time on the beach, time with her friend and time making sure she was COVID-free all at once ... talk about multitasking!

The 21-year-old was on the beach in Miami Friday where a nurse grabbed a quick swab -- presumably for COVID -- while the singer sprawled out on a lounger chair.

Once the test was finished, Willow was free to hang out and even share some PDA with a friend, who looks like the artist DE'WAYNE, who she's recently been touring with across the U.S.

Willow and DE'WAYNE chilled out with a walk on the beach after their cuddle-shesh.

Aaron Rodgers is still takin' care of business during the Packers' bye week ... popping up at a renowned sports doctors office in Los Angeles, where he appeared to stay for nearly 3 hrs.

The Green Bay quarterback arrived at the Kerlan Jobe offices Friday morning ... where he was greeted by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in the parking lot.

FYI, Kerlan Jobe -- part of Cedars-Sinai -- is regarded as one of the leading sports medicine facilities in the world, and Dr. ElAttrache, one of the best docs.

In fact, he's worked on legendary athletes like Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and Conor McGregor.

It's unclear what Rodgers had checked out, or if he underwent any procedures while inside ... but it seems very likely he was there for his COVID fractured toe.

Rodgers previously explained the injury, even showing the pinky toe to reporters, in an effort to prove the injury was NOT related to having the virus.

Speaking of COVID, notice Rodgers pulled up his mask up as he walked with Dr. ElAttrache, towards the entrance of the facility. In California, masks are still required indoors.

As for the fractured toe, Aaron told Pat McAfee on Monday that he was still considering surgery on the digit, but preferred to let it heal naturally.

Tom Brady might never throw another pass to Antonio Brown again -- 'cause Bruce Arians just announced the receiver's Bucs future is up in the air following his COVID vaccine card scandal.

The Tampa Bay head coach just broke the news to reporters ... saying Brown is not guaranteed a future spot on the Bucs' roster after the NFL suspended him for submitting a bogus vax card.

"Nothing's been decided," Arians said ... who added that he was "pissed" over the whole ordeal.

As we previously reported, Brown's personal chef accused the wideout of seeking and obtaining fraudulent vaccine cards, claiming Brown got them and submitted his fudged one to the league back in July.

Brown, through his attorney, Sean Burstyn, denied the claims ... though the NFL announced Thursday it found evidence that "supported" AB's chef's allegations.

The league banned Brown from playing in Tampa Bay's next three games over it all.

The NFL also hit Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards with a three-game suspension for "misrepresenting" his vaccine status as well ... and Arians said that player's future with the team is also up in the air.

"The league did their due diligence and we move on," Arians said. "I will not address those guys for the next three weeks. They'll just be working out and then we'll address their future at that time."

"Other than that, there's really nothing to say."

LeBron James is officially free of COVID -- the NBA announced he's logged multiple negative tests the past two days -- and he's now been cleared to play for the Lakers again.

LBJ had been placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols on Tuesday after he had recorded a positive coronavirus test -- and was forced to miss L.A.'s win over the Kings in Sacramento.

But, the league says the King has been testing negative and is now out of the protocols and will be eligible to play in the Lakers' next game against the Clippers on Friday night.

We broke the story, LeBron initially tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before the Lakers vs. Kings game using a lateral flow test. He then tested negative on a follow-up PCR test. We're told he was given a third, tiebreaker test which came back positive and he was sent home to L.A. from the Lakers' road trip in Northern California.

LeBron seemed to be upset over it all ... writing on his social media page on Wednesday, "Something is REAL [fish emojis] going on."

The NBA -- which has implemented a rule saying players who test positive must either sit out 10 days or submit at least two negative PCR tests before returning to game action -- revealed Thursday it believes LeBron's initial testing was a false positive ... adding, "he is not a positive case."

The NFL says Antonio Brown did, in fact, submit a bogus vaccine card to the league ... and officials just announced he's now been suspended three games over it all.

Brown's chef, Steven Ruiz, claimed last month that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers star had sought and then obtained the fraudulent paper back in July -- but Brown was adamant Ruiz was lying.

In a statement, Brown's attorney, Sean Burstyn, said the 33-year-old was vaccinated and did have proper paperwork ... adding, "Be like Antonio brown and get the vaccine."

But, the NFL said in a statement of its own on Thursday that after investigating the claims ... it found Brown did "misrepresent" his vaccine status, explaining their review "supported" the allegations made against AB.

The league said Brown has now been banned from playing for the next three games -- adding that Brown has "accepted the discipline" and will not appeal.

The NFL also revealed two other players -- Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards and former Tampa Bay receiver and current free agent John Franklin III -- also misrepresented their vaccine statuses and were also suspended three games.

Brown has been out of the Bucs' lineup since October while battling an ankle injury, but prior to that, he had been shining with Tom Brady -- scoring four receiving TDs in five games.

Dana White didn't make it through the Thanksgiving holiday unscathed ... 'cause the UFC boss announced he tested positive for COVID-19 -- but thankfully he says he's feelin' okay.

White broke the news during an interview with Jim Rome ... revealing his entire family caught the virus after a weekend at his house in Maine.

“We just went up to my place in Maine and for Thanksgiving, it’s tradition we go up there, and somebody had it, and we get back, and we all tested positive for COVID,” White said.

Dana says he felt fine but realized something was wrong when he couldn't smell anything.

“We got back on Saturday. On Sunday, I cold plunge and steam every day,” White continued. “So I get out of the cold plunge and steam, and I spray the eucalyptus and I was like, ‘What the hell?’ I couldn’t smell anything."

White -- who's fully vaccinated -- says aside from losing taste and smell, his symptoms were minimal.

But, who do you call when you have COVID? Joe Rogan, of course!

Of course, nothing says controversy like Rogan and COVID. The JRE host was slammed by CNN and other outlets for using Ivermectin to battle the virus.

Still, everyone from Aaron Rodgers and now the UFC prez have consulted with Joe ... who himself battled and beat COVID.

As for Dana, he says he's doing fine and is actually gunning to attend the UFC fights this weekend.

Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19 just days before meeting up with Joe Biden for their first presidential debate -- this according to his ex-Chief of Staff.

Mark Meadows makes the claim in a new book, 'The Chief's Chief,' describing how DT allegedly received a positive result on Sep. 26 ... 3 days before the Ohio debate. Meadows does say Trump took a second test which turned up negative, but that reportedly was an antigen test, which is not as reliable as the PCR test. The PCR test can detect COVID levels the antigen test can't.

Nonetheless ... Meadows says Trump was hell-bent on debating Biden, saying, "Nothing was going to stop [Trump] from going out there."

It's a shocking revelation. Apparently, Trump was symptomatic with a positive PCR test, which means he should have quarantined for 10 days, but he did the opposite.

He held a Rose Garden ceremony to introduce his last Supreme Court nominee -- Amy Coney Barrett -- to the public. Meadows says Trump was already showing symptoms but the president went to the event maskless. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be a super spreader event.

He also had a ceremony for Gold Star families at The White House ... again, he did not wear a mask even though he had COVID, at least according to Meadows.

The way Meadows describes it ... Trump was about to head to a rally in PA, when Meadows received a call from his doc, telling them to halt everything since POTUS had just tested positive. Meadows says he informed Trump, and the guy apparently had a colorful response.

MM writes Trump's answer "rhyme[d] with ‘Oh spit, you’ve gotta be trucking lidding me."

As if it weren't bad enough, Trump arrived at the debate late ... too late to be tested, and moderator Chris Wallace said at the time they were trusting Trump was negative based on the honor system.

Trump calls Meadows' description of events "fake news." He says he did not have COVID prior to or during the first debate. He cites a test proving he did not have COVID prior to the debate. That's not necessarily inconsistent with Meadows' account ... because even if he had a negative antigen test he still had a positive PCR test, according to MM.

If Meadows' account is true, there's no other way to cut it ... it's shockingly reckless, uncaring for others and, frankly, disgusting.

LeBron James has been placed in the NBA's health and safety protocols and will miss tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings, the league announced Tuesday.

The news comes just hours before the Lakers are set to go up against the Kings.

It's unclear if 36-year-old James is COVID-19 positive, if he was a close contact or had a false positive.

Per the league's rules, if James is positive, he will be away from the team either for the next 10 days or until he submits at least two negative PCR tests before returning.

LeBron is fully vaccinated but has previously shied away from encouraging others to get the jab.

"We're talking about individuals' bodies," LeBron said back in September. "We're not talking about something that's political, or racism, or police brutality. Things of that nature. We're talking about people's bodies and well being."

"So, I don't feel like, for me personally, that I should get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods."

LBJ is averaging 25.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the 11-11 Lakers ... and previously missed several games this season due to an ab strain.

No need for Evander Kane to have a fake COVID-19 vaccine card now -- at least that's what he's claiming -- 'cause the NHL star says he's now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The 30-year-old pro faced the media as he was assigned to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda on Tuesday ... and naturally, he was asked about allegedly getting busted for submitting a bogus COVID-19 vaccine card to the NHL.

Kane was suspended as a result of the investigation ... and now that he's back after being waived by the Sharks, he was given the chance to clear the air -- but dodged the hell outta the question.

“You'll have to refer to the NHL statement they put out via suspension," Kane said. "I served my time, did my 21 games and now I'm back."

The Cowboys will have to try to snap out of their funk this week without their head coach ... 'cause Mike McCarthy has COVID and has already been ruled out of Thursday's game.

The 58-year-old tested positive for the virus on Monday, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported, and will be forced to miss Dallas' Week 13 matchup with the New Orleans Saints because of it.

It's clearly a big deal for the Cowboys -- they've lost 3 of their last 4 games, and trying to stop that losing skid won't be easy without their head coach.

And, the bad news in Dallas might not be stopping anytime soon, either -- because COVID is showing no signs of slowing down its attack on the Cowboys.

In addition to star receiver Amari Cooper, who's missed the last two games due to a positive test, the Cowboys also have several assistant coaches who are out while battling the virus.

Their right tackle, Terence Steele, and backup tight end, Blake Jarwin, have also been moved to the COVID-19 reserve list and are out for Thursday's game too.

If your short stack has been feeling a little dry lately due to a lack of (affordable) syrup -- that's all about to change ... because Canada is tapping its stockpile of sweet nectar.

Quebec Maple Syrup Producers -- a quasi-government-sanction agency accounting for over 70% of the world's maple syrup production -- just announced they're going to start draining upwards of 50 million pounds of syrup from barrels they have in their strategic reserve.

Yes, strategic reserve ... just like the ones we're about to tap to help lower gas prices here in the States. Apparently, Canada has a sea of this condiment at the ready for emergencies.

Welp, that emergency is here ... as the global economy deals with a supply crisis -- due, in part, to the pandemic among other factors -- QMSP says it's time to dip into what they have on hand to make sure countries around the world, especially its #1 customer in the U.S., can keep on drizzling their waffles and pancakes with ease and within reasonable price ranges.

Word is ... this harvest season made for a bad batch of syrup, meaning not nearly enough was produced due to a warmer/shorter spring season ... the ideal conditions for which are needed to see a solid yield. Add in the fact more people are cooking from home right now -- and you have a lopsided supply/demand equation ... hence them going to the reserves.

This will be the most syrup they've tapped since 2008. A rep for the org says, "The reserve is there to make sure that we are always able to sell and offer this product."

SoFi Stadium seemed a little too easy to slip into ahead of a big BTS concert -- so much so that many felt COVID protocols were being broken ... even though the venue refutes that.

The Korean pop band performed Saturday at the arena in L.A., and as the gates opened for ticketholders ... some say they saw laxed screenings by security and other personnel, which they believe also meant vaccination cards weren't being checked or enforced.

Ditto for bags ... tons of people online, who presumably were there, claim nobody was taking a look at anyone's personal belongings.

There's some video evidence that appears to support that, at least on the surface. As you can see -- a steady stream of fans are trickling in past security checkpoints ... and there doesn't seem to be much stop-and-go movement, it's all just go.

Of course, this drew some criticism and concern -- as SoFi's policy for entry is that you either present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test taken within recent days. Naturally, the Omicron variant is at the forefront of everyone's minds too.

On their end, SoFi tells TMZ ... "The safety of our guests, staff and the artist are always our number one priority, and we coordinated with law enforcement to temporarily streamline guest entry at last night's show. Tonight, we will have increased security and guest entry points and will begin vaccination verification even earlier in the entry process."

Blac Chyna's advice on the new 'rona variant is about the same from when she was screaming in an airport not too long ago -- everyone's gotta get vaccinated, and now.

We spoke to the influencer and reality TV star at LAX Friday, where she gave us her thoughts on what scientists are calling Omicron ... a new strain of COVID that's apparently spreading from South Africa to other parts of the world.

Chyna agrees it's pretty scary, but she stays on message ... saying folks have gotta get jabbed up. When we ask why she thinks many haven't yet -- she's got an interesting answer.

Watch ... BC seems to think this might be about perception and proximity -- namely, if no one in your immediate circle is affected, you're less inclined to believe how dangerous the virus is.

To her, it's nothing to take lightly ... and she, unfortunately, knows that first-hand -- as Chyna tells us she's lost loved ones to COVID, noting it's not a game and absolutely lethal ... especially now that there's this new variant that's threatening to break loose.