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Donald Trump's takeaway from COVID ... hey, the flu kills people and we learned to live with it, so why not do the same with coronavirus?

It's unbelievable, but maybe not. Trump grossly exaggerated the number of flu-related deaths ... he says annually it's 100,000, but it's WAY less than that.

And, the most fundamental point ... do people with the flu go to Walter Reed and have more than a dozen doctors try to keep them alive by pumping them with experimental drugs and oxygen?

If it's just like the flu, why did Trump gasp for air after climbing a single flight of stairs when he returned to The White House?

It's clear ... Trump is actually doubling down with his head-in-the-sand approach to COVID. What's worse ... he's needlessly exposing White House staff to the virus. The idea that he took his mask off the second he arrived is just beyond any sense of compassion or basic human responsibility.

By the way ... in case you didn't hear, The White House is not doing any contact tracing for the Amy Coney Barrett event at which nearly a dozen people ended up with COVID.

President Trump was up and at 'em this morning with one message on his mind that he felt the need to repeat over and over and over AND OVER again -- America, vote ... MAGA.

DT sent out a barrage of tweets early Monday, and they were all different versions of the same sentiment -- here's why folks oughta punch their ballots in for him ... with his signature all caps font, of course. In all, he had about 15 or so bullet point reasons to vote Trump.

Just to name a few of the most amusing ... 401(k), LAW & ORDER, STOCK MARKET HIGHS, STRONGEST MILITARY EVER, PRO LIFE, FIGHT THE CORRUPT FAKE NEWS MEDIA ... and, of course, SPACE FORCE!!!! There's more, but you get it, we're sure.

He also had a friendly reminder for residents in key swing states he needs to win to defeat Biden (who's ahead in the polls in a lot of these places). He told people in Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Texas Monday was the last day to register and offered a link so they could sign up ... a link that leads to a site that literally pushes you to vote for Trump.

We'd give him credit for promoting the democratic process, but since he's leading would-be voters right to his own punch card ... we'll hold off on the kudos for now. One last note we'll make about Trump's back-to-business mentality on Twitter ... some are calling it "roid rage."

As you mighta heard, Trump's now on a steroid called dexamethasone, which helps fight off inflammation in the body caused by disease and/or viruses. While there are different reports on the potential side effects, one that keeps getting brought up is the possibility of "delusions of grandeur" and general outbursts or acts of anger -- y'know, 'cause of the 'roids and all.

No, Hassan Whiteside did NOT threaten to leave America and move to Hawaii in the wake of that insane debate Tuesday night ... insisting he was framed on social media.

After the Trump vs. Biden debate, someone posted a tweet that appeared to be from the 31-year-old NBA star's official account, saying "i can't do this for four more years f*** america bro im moving to Hawaii"

The quote went viral (because it's hilarious) -- and was even picked up by some pretty big websites.

But, Hassan -- the REAL Hassan -- went to Instagram on Wednesday to call BS on the whole thing.

"If you want some clout, ya ain't gotta make fake tweets about me! You ain't gotta make fake tweets," Hassan said.

So, fake news ... but glad he cleared it all up.

A pro cyclist has been booted off his racing team indefinitely ... and the squad's honchos say it's all because the dude got into an aggressive Twitter exchange over opinions on Donald Trump.

Here's the deal ... 19-year-old Quinn Simmons -- a rising star in cycling -- commented on a Dutch journalist's social media post Wednesday, showing his support for POTUS.

In the original post (which has since been deleted) ... the journalist wrote, "If you follow me and support Trump, you can go. There is zero excuse to follow or vote for the vile, horrible man.”

Simmons responded by writing, "Bye" with an emoji of a dark-skinned hand waving. The cyclist later told a commenter "That's right" after the person had called him a "Trumper."

Turns out, Simmons' racing team -- Trek-Segafredo -- didn't like the exchange one bit ... and hit him with an indefinite ban.

But, the team says the punishment was NOT for Simmons' pro-Trump political views ... but rather, they say they just didn't like the way he went about expressing them.

"He was suspended for engaging in conversation on Twitter in a way that we felt was conduct unbefitting a Trek athlete," the team said in a statement.

Added the team's manager, Luca Guercilena ... "We hold all Trek staff and management to a high ethical standard and our athletes are no exception."

For his part, Simmons released a statement on it all ... writing, "As an American rider, I have always been proud to represent my country. Riding for an American team has been a lifelong dream. A big reason I chose this team was because of the American values behind it."

Simmons continued, "To those who found the color of the emoji racist, I can promise that I did not mean for it to be interpreted that way. I would like to apologize to everyone who found this offensive as I strongly stand against racism in any form."

Conor McGregor says he's got his next fight on deck ... and it's not in the Octagon -- it's a boxing match against Manny Pacquiao!!!

So ... is this real, or is the dude blowing major smoke??

Here's the deal -- Conor went on a mini-rant on Twitter on Friday ... posting Instagram DMs with Dana White that seemingly show he was begging for a fight prior to his retirement in June.

"I was pushing hard for the season," Conor says. "Multiple opponents, multiple dates offered throughout. All to take place back to back."

He added ... "Then when covid hit and the talk was that I would have to wait for crowds again, I walked away from the situation. I was waiting long enough at that stage."

This all came to a head after Hall of Famer Diego Sanchez said he wanted his retirement fight to be against McGregor ... which Conor seemed to be down with back in February, according to the DMs.

Nothing was able to come to fruition ... and now Conor is telling his 8.2 million Twitter followers he'll be back in the fight game ... just not for UFC.

"Anyway all water under the bridge who gives a fook," Conor tweeted. "I’m boxing Manny Pacquiao next in the Middle East."

While the news is extremely exciting, it must be taken with the biggest grain of salt on the planet -- Conor has been known to use his platform to express his frustrations in the past.

It IS pretty interesting, however, that Conor recently posted footage of himself training in the ring ... so, coincidence??

White has also previously spoken on the possibility of setting up a Conor vs. Manny fight -- saying, "I don’t care about that s**t."

So ... there's that.

Story developing ...

The parents of those 2 toddlers in the viral video showing them running toward each other and joyfully embracing are going after President Trump for twisting it to push his own divisive agenda.

Both sets of parents are suing Trump, his campaign and the person responsible for doctoring the heartwarming 2019 video to make it have a "Racist Baby" theme. Let us explain ...

The original clip shows the 2-year-olds -- one black, one white -- on a sidewalk in NYC after the first day of school ... hugging and clearly elated to see each other.

According to the legal docs -- and anyone with eyes -- the vid went viral "as the epitome of love and unity" and "enjoying the warmth and companionship" of a friend.

The parents say a week after the adorable video went viral, someone made a manipulated version which "created a negative and racist overtone."

The doctored version -- which is made to look like a CNN Breaking News clip -- takes a small portion of the original vid where the black toddler is running away from the white toddler, and according to the suit, "maliciously" added the graphic ... 'Terrified Todler(sic) Runs From Racist Baby' and thereafter, 'Racist Baby Probably A Trump Voter.'"

Fast-forward to June 18, 2020 ... President Trump tweets a post featuring the doctored video. The parents claim he did this "to exploit the children's images for his own purposes and gain" ... and to push "his brand of sensationalism in complete disregard for the truth."

Though the doctored vid was removed for violating Twitter rules, the parents claim it racked up 20 million views in a short period of time and the ordeal has caused them great distress, fright, shock, anguish and humiliation.

Bradley Beal's wife is standing up for her hubby -- saying it's COMPLETE BS he didn't make a 2019-20 All-NBA Team ... and she ain't holdin' back!!

"BRADLEY BEAL IS A F-ING ALL STAR AND ALL NBA!!!!!!!!!! Put some respect on his name," Kamiah Adams-Beal tweeted.

Here's the crux of her argument ... Beal finished the season as the NBA's 2nd leading scorer, averaging 30.5 points per game.

The only player with a higher scoring average this season was James Harden.

In fact, Beal is the only player in modern NBA history to average more than 30 PPG and NOT make an All-NBA team!!

The counter-argument is that Beal's Washington Wizards were pretty bad this year, finishing with a 25-47 record and missing the playoffs.

But, Kamiah says the team record shouldn't matter when it comes to All-NBA honors ... because "It’s an individual accolade. Therefore, the team wins, shouldn’t play a role."

She continued, "[Beal] has been undervalued and quite frankly DISRESPECTED far too long... them numbers don’t lie."

"And I don’t wanna hear sh*t about 'tHe wIzARdS aReNt wInNiNg tHo' all nba is an INDIVIDUAL accolade. So miss me with the bullsh*t."

Kamiah continued, "The REAL know what it is!! Amazing season baby!! Keep grinding! Keep giving it your all! Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed!! I love you."

For his part, Beal responded to his wife on social media -- saying, "I love [Kamiah Adams]!! Ride or die."

So, who picks the All-NBA team? Certain sportswriters and broadcasters in the U.S. and Canada vote every year -- it's not players and coaches.

The All-NBA teams were announced Wednesday -- the 1st team included LeBron James, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

2nd team features Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam and Nikola Jokic.

THIS LEAGUE!!!!

Trailblazers stars Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum took the ultimate low road and clowned THE HELL out of the Clippers for their early playoff exit ... and it's saaavaagggeeee!!!

In case you weren't aware ... Lillard and McCollum have big beef with the Clips -- and it all stems from a non-playoff bubble game back in early August.

During the Portland-L.A. matchup ... Lillard wasn't his usual clutch self -- and Clips star Patrick Beverley let him hear it -- chirping and laughing at the guard as L.A. won the game.

Afterward, Lillard, Beverly and Paul George all got into a spat on social media ... with Beverly and George believing at the time Lillard wasn't going to make the playoffs.

In one of Beverly's comments toward Lillard ... the Clippers guard said "Cancun on 3" -- insinuating Damian would be off to Mexico instead of chasing a world title.

Turns out, Lillard and McCollum DID get into the playoffs ... and despite losing in the 1st round to the Lakers -- they never forgot the smack talk, and returned the favor BIG TIME after L.A. was shockingly bounced by the Denver Nuggets in the conference semi-finals Tuesday.

"I guess I should extend this Cancun invite since I haven’t made my arrangements yet," Lillard shot at Beverly.

"I’ll bring the wine," McCollum added. "Weather nice as ever too."

McCollum continued, "My last tweet before I finish this glass. They did vote they ain’t wanna play no more. . . But I didn’t think they was gonna go out like that."

Katy Perry's not taking any chances as a new mama -- she just got a restraining order against a man she claims is stalking her and is potentially dangerous.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a 38-year-old man named William Terry has been posting lewd messages about her on social media for months -- along with threats directed at Orlando Bloom and others -- and his frightening behavior culminated with him jumping the fence last week at her Beverly Hills home.

Katy says after Terry jumped the fence on her property -- while she was home with her newborn daughter -- he refused to leave when apprehended by security ... so he was placed under citizen's arrest until the cops came and busted him for trespassing.

However, Katy says Terry's already been released and she fears he will return ... because he allegedly also tried to enter her property in early August by claiming she invited him.

In the legal docs, Katy includes multiple alarming messages posted on Terry's Twitter account dating back to December 2019. They include tweets tagged #activeshooter, comments about killing dogs and cops, threats to "snap Orlando Bloom's neck" and wishing Orlando's son and his ex, Miranda Kerr, "catch covid and die."

The tweets also include numerous graphic and sexually explicit comments about Katy.

According to the docs, Terry is believed to be homeless but attempts have been made to serve him the temporary restraining order. The judge granted it for Katy, Orlando, their newborn daughter and Orlando's son, Flynn. Terry must stay 100 yards away from all of them until a hearing next month.

ESPN's Maria Taylor made her "Monday Night Football" debut this week ... and celebrated the milestone by bodying radio hosts who made sexist comments about her wardrobe on Twitter.

Dan McNeil of Chicago's 670 The Score, thought it was his place to criticize Taylor's outfit during last night's 'MNF' broadcast ... tweeting out, "NFL sideline reporter or a host for the [Adult Video News] annual awards presentation?"

The tweet -- which rightfully received a ton of backlash -- stayed live on McNeil's account for roughly 30 minutes before he deleted it, according to Awful Announcing.

Taylor fired back at McNeil late Monday night ... saying, "Well Danny Dearest if you would like to continue making sexist comments about me...please bring your misogyny with you to the NBA Countdown double header I’ll be hosting tomorrow night."

"Hey ladies remember you can wear whatever you feel confident in!"

Other big names have shown support for Taylor, including fellow reporter Taylor Rooks -- "Always ride with @MariaTaylor - I love you my sister. Keep being GREAT. These haters could never."

Saints star Malcolm Jenkins added ... "Exactly the reason why we’re focusing on building up black women this season. @MariaTaylor congratulations on such a big accomplishment! Keep leveling up."

So far, McNeil hasn't apologized for his comment and The Score has not addressed the issue ... but it's only a matter of time.

Chris Evans has addressed his NSFW leak ... and the response is so good Captain America would be pretty damn proud.

The actor grabbed everyone's attention when he accidentally leaked video this past weekend displaying a gallery of videos and pictures ... which included a photo of Chris' penis. He had uploaded it to Instagram Live but forgot to trim the video to hide the NSFW pic. He deleted the video ... but by then it was too late. Fast-forward to Monday ... and Chris had an epic response to his social media gaffe ... turning it into something positive by telling folks -- now that he has their attention -- they need to exercise their franchise and VOTE!!!

Chris' co-stars came out to support their pal ... Mark Ruffalo tweeted, ".@ChrisEvans Bro, while Trump is in office there is NOTHING you could possibly do to embarrass yourself. See.... silver lining." Chris' brother, Scott, also chimed in ... "Was off social media for the day yesterday. So. What'd I miss?"

Chris' fans also supported him with some heartwarming pics. The Chris Fans account, Cevans Archive tweeted, "pictures of chris evans with his dog dodger to cleanse your timeline."

Hollywood's rallying behind Habitat for Humanity L.A. ... with Amber Heard, Tina Knowles and Lance Bass leading the way to raise some good money for a great cause.

Amber, Tina and Lance are just some of the many celebs who are helping the org raise awareness and funds through a social media campaign dubbed #Hammertime. The funds will help build homes during the COVID-19 pandemic for families in the Hollywood community who can't afford it. Some of the dough will also be used as valuable resources for families in need.

Scores of other celebs, including Tori Spelling and Holly Robinson Peete, have signed up to help launch the social campaign. For every $25 or more donated to HFH L.A., donors can get a special steel hammer created by Redline Steel ... a veteran-owned, American-made hammer perfect for hammering away while building a new home.

Jo-An Turman, VP of entertainment partnerships at Habitat L.A., tells TMZ ... "these beautiful gifts will help the org continue to build hope, homes and address the need for affordable housing."

Damian Lillard is giving rookie Michael Porter Jr. a quick lesson in what NOT to say to the media ... calling out the Nuggets baller for "selfish" comments he said after Wednesday's loss to the Clippers.

MPJ was an open book to reporters after Denver's 96-85 loss to LA ... questioning coach Mike Malone's game plan and suggesting he should get the ball more in order to win.

"I just think to beat that team, we've gotta get more players involved," MPJ said ... essentially saying he wanted the rock in his hands more often.

When asked if it were his place -- as a rookie -- to speak up to the coaching staff, 22-year-old Porter doubled down.

"If Imma be out there on the court playing a lot of minutes, I think I should voice that."

Enter Lillard -- who got wind of MPJ's comments and immediately let his feelings known by tweeting out, "Smdh ..."

Several Twitter users clapped back at Dame, saying Porter's comments weren't wrong, it just wasn't the right time to air out his feelings.

"Yes he is wrong," Lillard responded. "If you know you know and ima leave it at that" ... adding, "clearly y’all mfs think on a selfish level to think this is coo ."

Lillard explains his problem with the comments ... saying, "If I want to win ima have this conversation with my coaches and teammates and express that."

"This is their second time being down 3-1 so if [Nikola Jokic] and [Jamal] Murray didn’t carry them here we wouldn’t be having this convo."

Others cited Kobe Bryant's "Mamba Mentality" when defending MPJ's comments ... but Dame says this is NOTHING like that.

"The disrespect smh."

Cardi B and Candace Owens are in an epic feud, with Candace calling Cardi an "illiterate rapper" who isn't worthy of interviewing Joe Biden ... thing is, Owens just doesn't get it.

Owens blasted Cardi for her recent sit down with Biden ... specifically, Cardi's question about what Biden would do about Black men dying in America. Owens thinks Biden should have fired back that, according to her, most Black men don't die at the hands of cops but rather other Black men.

Apparently, Owens doesn't think there's an issue with systemic racism in police departments, nor does she address the long list of Black men and women who have died at the hands and knees of cops ... sometimes over minor offenses and sometimes over no offenses at all.

Owens just can't wrap her head around Cardi interviewing a Presidential candidate ... she just can't understand why Biden didn't, as she put it, sit down with "intellectual" black people.

Here's what she's missing. Cardi has a huge following and can do more to get out the vote that the people Owens mentions, including herself. On top of that, she may not care for Cardi's interview, but lots of others did. Maybe she thinks Cardi was just too effective.

At one point during the back and forth, Cardi posted a vid from the Hamptons of her sister, Hennessy, getting harassed because she and her friend are an Afro-Hispanic gay couple.

Owens says Cardi is "uneducated when it came to politics." For her part, Cardi says Trump supporters have gone after her, encouraging people to set her house on fire.

2020 politics ... it ain't pretty.

It's one of those moments when your life flashes before your eyes ... a military chartered flight caught fire over the skies of Hawaii, and thankfully the passengers lived to tell about it.

The 767 had just taken off from Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu when one of its 2 enormous engines caught fire.

There are 2 videos chronicling the emergency ... one from inside the cabin and one from the ground.

The ground video is shot from a distance, but it's apparent there's an emergency as the person who shot it freaks out over what he's seeing. The video inside the cabin gives you a sense of the terror passengers must have been feeling as the flames shoot out from the jet engine.

UFC boss Dana White personally called President Trump to ask for help in saving an Iranian wrestling champ who is set to be executed ... and POTUS has already taken action.

As we previously reported, 27-year-old Navid Afkari received TWO death sentences for allegedly participating in a peaceful protest against the government back in 2018.

Afkari is a decorated wrestler in Iran who has medaled in multiple national tournaments, according to several reports.

When White learned about the situation, the UFC honcho says he felt compelled to do something because "he's one of us, could be any one of my fighters."

"The only thing I thought to do was to call the President and see if he could help this man," White says.

"[Trump] said, 'Let us look into it, let me talk to my administration and see if there's something we can do to save his life.'"

President Trump went to Twitter to address Iran's leadership.

"Hearing that Iran is looking to execute a great and popular wrestling star, 27-year-old Navid Afkarai, whose sole act was an anti-government demonstration on the streets. They were protesting the 'country’s worsening economic situation and inflation.'"

He continued, "To the leaders of Iran, I would greatly appreciate if you would spare this young man’s life, and not execute him."