Health

Fat Joe's taking a break from ripping mics to tear into America's healthcare system and the politicians allowing hospitals to essentially steal from patients ... and TMZ Hip Hop's learned he's taking this fight all the way to Washington, DC.

Joey Crack recorded this incredibly powerful message last month in the Bronx, calling out healthcare "crooks" for hiding hospital prices -- something that's actually illegal, but as Joe points out ... no one's policing the system.

Joe teamed up with Power to the Patients to demand change, and you can tell he's feeling this cause as much as any verse he's ever recorded. As he says on the spot, "When we can't see or compare prices, hospitals charge us whatever they want. They robbing us!!!"

The Bronx icon has some A-list companies in the fight for patients' rights. You might recall ... Susan Sarandon and Cynthia Erivo filmed their own PSAs last year for Power to the Patients, which aired during the Oscars.

Susan also joined us on "TMZ Live" to tackle the hot button issue.

We're told Fat Joe's so serious about this campaign, he'll be attending the White House Correspondents' dinner later this month to rep the org, and, hopefully, get some DC powerbrokers onboard with the effort.

Aaliyah Gayles -- USC basketball recruit and no. 8 ranked player in the 2022 class -- was reportedly shot multiple times after gunshots rang out at a house party this weekend in Las Vegas.

The incident occurred around 11:15 PM in North Las Vegas on Saturday according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The paper reports 4 people were hit, including the 18-year-old hoops star ... who had two emergency surgeries Sunday morning.

Details surrounding the shooting are currently unclear.

Her father, Dwight, went to social media to ask for prayers for his daughter, writing, "I know there is some that will say it's my fault and I take full responsibility for it but please please keep my baby girl in your prayers Las Vegas."

"I will give everyone that support Aaliyah an update but she's ok she go make it like always thank you all 💔 true warrior."

Gayles is a McDonald All-American from Spring Valley High School -- the first Vegas player  to make the exclusive squad since 2010.

The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 13.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3/.5 steals and 3.3 assists per game this past season and led the Grizzlies to the Class 5A state tournament.

Gayles is ranked #8 in ESPN's class of 2022 ... and committed to USC last August.

"Aaliyah is one of the strongest, most resilient young people I have ever known," USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a statement to ESPN.

"I have no doubt she will continue to face this unfathomable situation with courage and resolve. We will continue to support her and her parents in every way that we possibly can."

Speedy recovery, Aaliyah!

Roderick "Pooh" Clark, an original member of Hi-Five, has died.

Marcus Sanders, fellow Hi-Five member, tells TMZ ... Roderick died on Sunday from complications from an infection and pneumonia at a hospital in Waco, TX.

He tells us Roderick got into a car crash 30 years ago in Florida that left him paralyzed from the neck down, making him unable to walk. He developed an infection that spread through his body -- one that persisted for some time.

He also developed pneumonia over the last 2 weeks, being in and out of the hospital up until his death.

Those close to Roderick have been posting tributes to the late singer online, including the band's musical director Martinez Little, saying, "We had some amazing phone conversations in the past and some great visits when I came thru Waco! I'll cherish them forever."

Roderick and his quintet group of R&B singers formed in 1989 ... other than him and Marcus, they also had bandmates Tony Thompson, Russell Neal, and Toriano Easley. They reached the top of the charts in 1991 with their hit, "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)."

Roderick was 49.

Bam Margera is working out again as part of his latest rehab program ... and one of his oldest friends says it's the best Bam has been in ages.

Bam's "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" costar, Brandon Novak, tells TMZ ... it's the closest Bam has been to the person he was when they were growing up together on the skateboard scene.

Bam's working out at Recovery Through Repetition, a fitness gym for folks who are in recovery, and Brandon says they took Bam to his first class Friday night and the plan is to get Bam exercising on a consistent basis.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam said one of his earlier rehab stints made him feel like he was going to die from an overdose or suicide, and he claimed he was seeking help in Florida.

Bam got booted from the latest 'Jackass' movie because he failed a drug test ... but he sued and last week a settlement was reached.

Scores of people say they've fallen ill after eating a bowl of Lucky Charms ... and now the feds are investigating the popular cereal.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Monday the agency is looking into the hundreds of reports from folks who told them they got sick after eating the General Mills product.

The FDA says more than 100 people have complained about Lucky Charms through the agency's reporting system ... and that's not even counting the more than 3,000 folks who went to iwaspoinsed.com and claimed they recently got sick after eating the cereal.

Of course ... Lucky Charms, marketed as "magically delicious," is a frosted toasted oat cereal with marshmallows, and it's widely available across the country. The packaging says the cereal "contains bioengineered food ingredients" and brags about being gluten-free.

People claiming Lucky Charms is making them sick say they suffered from diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting and nausea ... just to name a few.

Ric Flair is silencing those who question if he's lost his wrestling mojo by showing he can still hang inside the squared circle ... and even still has a few moves up his sleeve.

"Nature Boy" -- regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers ever for his iconic run in WCW and WWE -- posted video with AEW wrestler Jay Lethal ... and the Hall of Famer looked damn good!

The 73-year-old was "styling and profiling" throughout the video, using some of his signature moves on Lethal ... and it's clear the former 16X World Heavyweight Champion hasn't lost too much off his fastball.

"Someone Had The Audacity This Weekend To Ask Me If I Can Still Do This. I Said “Really??? Naitch Don’t Play!” WOOOOO! @thelethaljay" Flair wrote on social media.

Of course, Flair and Lethal have a history together. In 2010, Lethal interrupted Flair during a segment on TNA's Impact Wrestling and impersonated the Nature Boy's boisterous persona the entire time -- and the crowd got a kick out of it.

Flair and Lethal got into a "Woo Off" ... in one of the most memorable moments in TNA history.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Flair's career spans over 50 years, and he's wrestled for various promotions such as AWA, NJPW, WCW, WWF/WWE, and most recently, NWA -- where he returned at age 73 last year.

Naitch has one of the most decorated careers in sports entertainment and served as an inspiration to many of the upcoming superstars in the sports entertainment world.

At WrestleMania 38, his friend and mentor Triple H left his wrestling boots in the middle of the ring, signifying he was officially retiring from the biz.

Flair got emotional when talking about HHH's career to a Dallas radio station ... saying he was "heartbroken" over "The Game's" retirement.

Sometimes it pays to be fired ... a Kentucky man who claims he was canned after suffering a panic attack over an unwanted office birthday party sued and a jury awarded him $450,000!

The jury awarded the loot to Kevin Berling ... who sued his employer for disability discrimination, claiming he was fired 10 months into his job over a birthday party gone wrong.

In his suit, Berling claimed he told his office manager NOT to throw him a BD party because he suffers from an anxiety disorder and a celebration would trigger bad childhood memories of his parents' divorce.

But, Berling says the company, Gravity Diagnostics, forgot his request and threw him an office birthday party anyway on Aug. 7, 2019 ... causing Berling to have a panic attack and spend his lunch hour in his car.

Berling claimed he was called into a meeting with company brass the next day, which he says triggered another panic attack ... and he says 3 days later he was fired via email. The company claimed they were worried about Berling being angry and possibly violent.

A few months after being fired, Berling sued ... and there was a two-day trial last month where a Kentucky jury awarded him $450k ... including $300k for emotional distress and $150k for lost wages.

TMZ may collect a share of sales or other compensation from links on this page.

Rootine is not like most multivitamins ... it's way better.

Instead, they use artificial intelligence and a wealth of genetic and physiological information to personalize a micronutrient supplement uniquely engineered for each individual user, and then they ship it directly to you.

Rootine starts with a quick online assessment, gathering basic facts about you, your body, diet, exercise levels, and more. Next, you submit a fast, painless blood and/or DNA sample, which is a process you can perform easily at home. But, of course, if you have recent blood results from a doctor or the findings of genealogical testing submitted to Rootine instead.

Utilizing AI, they formulate a dietary supplement that takes over 700 trillion different vitamin and mineral combinations into account to create a mixture just for you.

Your Rootine supplements will be sent right to your home so you can immediately start taking advantage of the personalized mix in the quick-acting microbead delivery system to boost productivity, unlock fitness, optimize health, and more.

Take the quiz and get healthy with a Rootine nutrient package formulated just for you. First-time customers will receive a free gift valued at $30 along with their first Rootine shipment with code TMZ30.

The autistic teenager who was found after he went missing for 3 years was freezing his butt off in Utah when cops stumbled upon him ... a moment you can now see on video.

19-year-old Connerjack Oswalt was discovered earlier this month by Summit County Sheriff's deputies in Park City, where he was sitting outside a closed liquor store within a gas station in the dead of night ... shivering by himself and looking helpless.

As you can see, the officers approached him carefully and eventually took him to their car to warm up -- trying to figure out where his shopping cart had gone. Apparently, residents in the area had reported Oswalt before ... and he was on the Sheriff's Dept.'s radar.

The deputies scanned the guy's fingertips and that's where their search for his true identity began. Suspecting there might've been more to his story, they started running different searches ... finding that he'd run into some trouble in Nevada before landing in Utah.

They also perused missing children databases ... and before long, the Sheriff's Dept. realized he'd been reported out of Northern California dating back to 2019.

After some time, they got in touch with his parents ... and Oswalt's stepfather drove all the way down from Idaho Falls -- where the family has since moved -- to make an in-person ID ... that moment, too, was captured on police body cam. Safe to say, it's emotional.

The stepdad, Gerald Flint, has Oswalt's biological mother, Suzanne, on the phone -- and after he realizes it's their kid -- she starts to break down on the other end ... sobbing.

Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 has great cause to celebrate, because he's cancer free!!!

We got Mark Saturday night leaving Craig's in WeHo, and he and his wife, Skye, seemed like a heavy weight was just lifted from them ... this, after Mark's oncologist gave him the news, which he says is a great blessing.

Mark handled his cancer battle privately ... he revealed he was dealing with it back in June and was always hopeful, and his optimism paid off. Not to say he didn't struggle ... Mark went through a round of chemo for lymphoma.

Well, now things are good, and he's looking forward to getting back in the studio with Travis Barker and co.

Speaking of Travis, you gotta hear Mark's wife when our photog asks about Travis and Kourtney tying the knot.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reached their destination after a layover in London to meet with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles ... they're in the Netherlands for a famous sporting event.

Harry and Meghan just arrived at The Hague, where they were all smiles Friday for a reception ahead of the start of the Invictus Games.

The couple, who are not traveling with kids Archie and Lilibet, both wore suits as they mixed and mingled with other distinguished guests ... and it looks like folks were lining up to meet Harry and Meghan.

As we reported ... the pair stopped in England to meet with Harry's father and grandmother on their way from Los Angels to the Netherlands ... with the face-to-face meeting a clear attempt to smooth things over after Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family, and the infamous Oprah interview.

With the family business out of the way, Harry and Meghan look ready for the fun part, the Invictus Games ... an international sporting event for injured, wounded and sick servicemen and women, including veterans and those still serving.

Men, you might wanna close your eyes.

Pirates pitcher J.T. Brubaker drilled Nationals shortstop Alcides Escobar in the balls ... in what will go down as one of the most painful pickoff attempts in MLB history.

The wild play went down in the fourth inning of Thursday's game between the Nationals and the Pirates ... Brubaker's throw over to first base hit Escobar square in the groin area.

In the video, you can see Escobar taking a lead off first base when Brubaker turns and fires a throw towards the bag (foreshadowing) that misses everything ... except, well, you know the rest.

Escobar immediately grabbed his marbles as he was falling backward to the ground ... and signaled with his right hand to the first base ump that he needed a few to gather himself.

Play was temporarily stopped (understandably so, if you've ever experienced that pain before) as Escobar rolled around on the ground in clear discomfort.

Fortunately, though, the veteran shortstop was able to laugh about it all as one of his coaches and the team's trainer helped him back to his feet.

Escobar would stay in to finish the game, going 1-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts ... but the biggest hit of the day came unexpectedly, if you catch our drift.

Paul George is out ... the Clippers star has entered the league's health & safety protocols and will miss tonight's game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

... a gigantic blow for the Clips.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports sources told him the L.A. forward will not play in his team's win-or-go game against the Pelicans.

It's unclear if PG tested positive for COVID or is just experiencing symptoms, but either way the 7x All-Star won't be seeing the court in the biggest game of the season.

George was already sidelined for a number of games for the Clippers this season ... as he was dealing with a torn ligament in his elbow.

However, since returning to the Clips lineup, the team has enjoyed some success with one of the game's premier two-way players back in the mix.

George averaged over 24.3 points per game, 6.9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds despite only playing in 31 games for the Clippers this season.

The Clippers will have an uphill battle if they want to get past a tough New Orleans team ... and losing one of their best players certainly won't make it any easier.

Story developing ...

GREAT NEWS for Dick Vitale ... the legendary college hoops announcer is officially cancer-free (again) after completing 6 months of chemotherapy treatment.

82-year-old Vitale shared the announcement on Twitter ... posting a video of him ringing a bell at Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Florida where he received his treatment.

"It was RING THE BELL TIME!" Vitale wrote. "Yes it was a tough 7 months but it was super hearing Dr Brown @SMHCS say that I have zero cancer currently."

"I was inspired daily by the famous words of my late buddy Jimmy V 'Don't Give up DON'T EVER GIVE UP!'"

Last fall, Vitale revealed he'd been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, but said he still planned to call games during his treatment for lymphoma.

"They're going to try to plan the chemo so I can be free to do some games," Vitale said. "Which I've got to do -- that's my best medicine of all."

Dickie V made his return to the broadcast booth -- with his partner Dave O'Brien -- for the Gonzaga and UCLA game ... and was visibly emotional as he detailed his difficult journey back.

Unfortunately for the Hall of Fame broadcaster, Vitale's return was short-lived ... as he was instructed to undergo "4 weeks of total rest" following his vocal cord surgery.

But, after successful surgery and learning that his cat scans came back clean, Vitale can finally rejoice ... 'cause he no longer has cancer.

A missing California teenager with autism remarkably has been found safe in Utah ... after his family has been on a two-year search.

19-year-old Connerjack Oswalt went missing from Northern California when he was 16 ... and his family has been searching for him ever since.

Park City locals spotted him pushing a shopping cart around the area recently and deputies have encountered him, but say he never showed signs of aggression or criminal behavior.

Cops then got a hot tip Connerjack was sleeping outside of a store in Summit County, Utah last week and they beelined it for the area on a hunch. Authorities say they found him cold and shivering.

Apparently, Connerjack did not tell officers his name and they were only able to identify him with the help of a finger scan. The scan linked him to a warrant out of Nevada ... so authorities continued to investigate, figuring there was more to the story.

Police were able to warm him up in the car and search for his name in the Missing and Exploited children database ... lo and behold they found the listing for him.

Former Auburn quarterback Jeff Klein -- who was the Tigers' starting signal-caller in the 1999 season -- died this week after battling cancer. He was only 42 years old.

Klein's wife, Adrienne, made the sad announcement on Wednesday ... saying he passed away while "surrounded by his loved ones."

"At 2:36 PM this afternoon the love of my life was called home," Adrienne said. "His passing was peaceful and immediately followed the ceasing of life support."

Klein -- who played for Auburn from 1999 to 2001 -- was initially hospitalized last week after suffering serious back pain.

Unfortunately, according to Adrienne and Klein's GoFundMe page, an MRI later revealed spots on his lower back that turned out to be cancerous.

Adrienne said Klein's condition worsened rapidly ... explaining he suffered a stroke and brain bleeding earlier this week, before he ultimately passed on Wednesday.

"The outpouring of love and support from loved ones, friends, acquaintances, health care professionals and even perfect strangers has been an overwhelming blessing," Adrienne said.

"I'm grateful for every single one of you, and every prayer said. Please continue to pray for me, our boys and our families as we attempt to navigate through the heartbreak."

Klein threw for 1,139 yards and seven touchdowns during his three seasons with the Tigers -- and recently worked as a teacher, baseball coach and assistant football coach at Loachapoka H.S. in Auburn.

His former Auburn team, meanwhile, tweeted condolences to Klein's family following the tragic news Wednesday.