Holidaze

President Trump's highly touted Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza at Mount Rushmore isn't coming cheap -- it will cost the country well over half a million bucks ... and could cause a spike in coronavirus cases to boot.

The July 3 celebration with be the first at the South Dakota landmark since 2009 due to environmental issues, and Trump's really hyping it up ... while ignoring the COVID-19 related risks of gathering thousands for a fireworks display.

Nevertheless, POTUS and the First Lady Melania will travel to Rushmore Friday to take in the celebration ... which TMZ's learned has a price tag of nearly $600k, if not more.

According to federal procurement docs ... an environmental consulting service called Ero Resources Corporation was paid $138,800 to work on the event. Another consulting company got over $30k for permit review and display inspection, while a protective services business landed nearly $33k to provide security and screening.

But, that's not all ... the docs show nearly $30k spent on National Fire Protection Association code consultation ... and about $3,500 on portable toilets.

Add it all up and that's $234,247, and THEN tack on the $350k paid to a California company called Pyro Spectaculars for the actual fireworks show ... and the total is $584,247.

And, keep in mind ... this doesn't even factor in the scheduled flyover!!!

Also, if you aren't aware ... social distancing won't be enforced at the large gathering -- according to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who worked with Trump to make it happen -- despite the fact COVID cases are on the rise across the U.S.

Gov. Noem says free face masks will be given out to those who want them, but "we won't be social distancing. We're asking them to come, be ready to celebrate, to enjoy the freedoms and the liberties that we have in this country."

God bless America?

The last day of Pride Month is upon us ... and even though the pandemic tried to rain on the pride parade, celebs still came out in droves of rainbow to show their love.

Jennifer Garner, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Laverne Cox, Sarah Hyland and Billy Porter are just some of the TONS of celebs who draped themselves in rainbow attire to celebrate the occasion.

Check out the pics ... Jennifer hugged a colorful tree, Snooki hosted a crew at her shop in NJ and Laverne may as well have been a walking rainbow flag. Billy Porter wore a shirt with a rainbow on it with the words emblazoned "Gay AF." John Stamos commemorated the month with a new hairdo and one helluva accessory on his lip.

Tory Lanez made a huge difference this Father's Day, helping 100 black men recently out of incarceration celebrate with their families for the first time on the outside.

The rapper and his Dream City Fund launched 100 Black Fathers with Van Jones and Cut50. The initiative is a partnership with Amazon Music, Door Dash and criminal justice reform organization Dream Corps to provide free dinners and gifts for the former inmates and their loved ones.

The 100 fathers were released from incarceration during the pandemic, so the food deliveries were of course "contactless." Their children got their hands on some Amazon gift cards codes, and gave them to their dads, no doubt leading to some hugs and huge smiles.

Tory is pretty passionate about the project ... he wrote an open letter to each of the fathers offering his support and empathy, because it's not every day you're released from prison straight into a pandemic and period of social and civil unrest.

TL wrote, in part ... "You're with your family. You deserve to enjoy today! I’m grateful to be a very small part of it. I know as a Black father raising Black children in this world, things aren’t easy."

Offset got showered with love on Father's Day by the 2 very important ladies in his life -- his wife, Cardi B, and their almost-2-year-old daughter.

The family trio hit up Tao restaurant in Hollywood Sunday night to celebrate dear old dad's special day, and the parents looked super flashy while Kulture went with downright adorable ... in a plaid dress with matching shoes.

The kid was also holding some sort of toy she seemed real happy about.

Though Offset was the man of the hour, it was Cardi who walked out at the end of the dinner with a huge bouquet of flowers ... but it looks like Kulture snagged one of those for herself too.

Rep. Al Green says there are more reasons than ever for all Americans to celebrate Juneteenth, and a national holiday is just the start of what D.C. can do to honor the spirit of the day.

The Congressman from Texas gave us a brief history lesson on June 19 -- which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. -- and explained why the Black Lives Matter movement is making it more special this year.

Green's all for making Juneteenth a national holiday -- it already is in Texas -- but he has his sights set on a bigger mission ... creating a Department of Reconciliation.

The congressman says despite the atrocities in our nation's history, we've never reconciled them. He says it will take a new federal agency -- working directly with the Prez -- to make it happen. Green believes it's crucial if we're serious about stamping out racism and discrimination.

Green points to Germany as a template for doing this and makes a strong case for why Confederate statues gotta go too.

There's been a lot of talk about Juneteenth this year, and though President Trump's claim he made the holiday "very famous" is pure hyperbole ... it's true many people might need a cheat sheet.

The holiday -- which is also called Freedom Day, Liberation Day or Jubilee Day -- is the oldest celebration in America of the end of slavery, commemorating June 19, 1865.

That's the date Union General Gordon Granger rode into Galveston, Texas and informed a group of slaves that the Civil War had ended ... and they were free.

Keep in mind, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery 2 and a half years earlier, but Texas was the most remote of the slave states and had a low presence of Union soldiers ... so enforcement was slow.

The first Juneteenth celebration went down in Texas the following year, marking the anniversary of the freeing of the last enslaved people in the Confederate South -- and began to spread across the South in the following decades.

Though popularity of the holiday has risen and fallen over the past century, Juneteenth has remained a constant cause for celebration.

Currently, June 19 is marked as a state holiday or observance by 47 states and Washington D.C., and now there's a renewed push to make it a federal holiday.

If you're looking for a deeper dive into Juneteenth, check out these articles:

So You Want to Learn About Juneteenth? (NY Times)

What is Juneteenth? (PBS)

What is Juneteenth? (WSJ)

History of Juneteenth (Juneteenth.com)

Hundreds of Muslims from a mosque in Germany came together for a holiday prayer while maintaining social distancing ... thanks to their friendly neighborhood IKEA.

Muslims all over the world spent the weekend celebrating Eid al-Fitr -- AKA the "Festival of Breaking the Fast," which marks the end of Ramadan -- but for obvious pandemic reasons, gatherings and group prayer for the holy day were more challenging to do safely.

So, a mosque in Wetzlar asked the local IKEA if it could use the store's currently unoccupied parking lot as a community spot for physical-distancing-safe congregating ... and got the green light.

The photo is awesome and proves that old adage ... where there's a will there's a way. Folks online called the event "beautiful," "uplifting" and a "gorgeous sight."

It's also a good lesson for churches here in the U.S. that are trying to convene for services under quarantine rules.

Elections are about choices, and 2020 is shaping up to be an imagery choice -- do you like your President with or without a mask?

Trump paid tribute to fallen heroes Monday at Arlington National Cemetery and later Baltimore's historic Fort McHenry, and he was true to form -- no mask. He's made it clear ... he's not going to wear a mask in public -- as he put it, he doesn't want to give reporter that satisfaction -- but he was seen once at a Michigan Ford plant wearing a mask behind a curtain.

Meanwhile, Joe and his wife, Jill, ventured outside for the first time since the shelter-at-home orders were implemented and his presidential campaign came to a screeching halt. The former VP and Jill laid a wreath during a visit to a veterans memorial in Delaware.

Joe, Jill and even his secret service detail all wore black masks.

Although a mask is a scientifically-based precaution, it's also become a political symbol. Trump clearly is telling his supporters NOT to wear them ... almost as if it's a sign of weakness. Biden clearly begs to differ.

Blake Griffin and Chandler Parsons are hoop-challenged these days -- what with coronavirus and all -- so they figured out a game that still involves a ball, though a little lower to the ground.

Blake, Chandler, "The Hills" star Frankie Delgado and a few other buds enjoyed a game of kickball Saturday, and it looked like a blast. Blake and Chandler were captains of their respective teams and, of course, and there was trash-talking galore.

Blake was fully into it, kicking a grand slam and yelling, "That's the most exhilarating thing I've ever done."

There were some issues. No one was wearing masks and they were high-fiving each other at various points of the game.

Blake and Chandler could be back in action. The NBA may be coming back at Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. It's uncertain whether the remainder of the regular season will be played or just the playoffs.

A Catholic priest got creative in doling out blessings and holy water around Easter time last month -- and his viral method has since gotten a proper meme treatment ... rightly so.

The guy's name is Father Tim Pelc, hails from Detroit. About a month ago, he was standing outside his church and blasting his parishioners with holy water through a mini squirt gun -- all just to bless their Easter food baskets. It's tradition ... and he kept it alive.

BTW, it was done safely -- Father Pelc stood a good distance away from folks puling up to their makeshift drive-thru and shot water into their vehicles, this while wearing a N95 mask, a plastic face shield and disposable gloves. Hallelujah ... responsible social distancing.

Meanwhile, Father Pelc's photos went viral since he started doing this -- and, naturally, the internet had a field day with the images. Some people featured him on fake movie posters, and we gotta say ... they look pretty legit. We'd go see these flicks -- if we could, that is.

Crafty online sleuths turned Pelc into an action hero of sorts -- featuring him on posters for 'Doom,' 'The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly' and others. He slides right in perfectly -- guess that'll happen when you play dress-up and horse around like a little kid with toy guns.

Mother's Day in one Colorado cafe looks more like a sold-out Led Zeppelin concert than your regular breakfast joint -- a troubling sign as one key model projects thousands of more deaths due to a rise in movement.

This scene was captured Sunday by a local reporter at a place C&C in Castle Rock -- where the guys say their traffic was practically doubled compared to regular times. Looks like a lot of families packed the place to celebrate the holiday ... and to get outta the house.

The influx of customers comes on the heels of several communities throughout the state there relaxing some of their stay-at-home orders and allowing certain retailers to reopen with strict restrictions in place. Doesn't look like that memo got through to the folks at C&C.

BTW, that's not the only place that's seeing increased traffic -- look at this photo of a TJ Maxx out in Arkansas, where droves of people went in this weekend in search of bargain buys. It's just another testament that as more businesses open up, more people will come.

That's not a good thing either -- considering a key model used by health experts forecasts at least 137,000 more deaths in the coming months because of increased mobility across the U.S. The director of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation told CBS's 'Face the Nation' his findings show a lot more people leaving their homes ... this in the wake of several states starting to relax quarantine protocols.

As a result, he predicts many more deaths will come. Take note, people.