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Former U.S. Congressman Paul Broun is turning to pandemic fear-mongering and a gun giveaway in an effort to return to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The GOP politician from Georgia's latest ad leans in hard on the 2nd Amendment, and includes what sounds like a racist dog whistle. In the spot, Broun says warns you might have to defend against "looting hordes from Atlanta" during these "uncertain times."

Broun, who served as the Rep. for GA's 10th congressional district from 2007 to 2015, also touts AR-15s as the ultimate "liberty machine" for fighting off a tyrannical government and the ever-looming threat of socialism.

Not only does Broun vow to never give up his guns ... he's also giving away a semi-automatic rifle to "one lucky person" who signs up for his email updates.

"If they die ... they die."

Yes, a now-infamous Louisiana pastor got all "Rocky IV" on us ... saying, if any of his church members die from the virus, they'll have done so in the name of God and freedom.

Tony Spell, leader of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge, tells TMZ ... he thinks true Christians do not mind dying from COVID-19. He insists that what they fear instead is living in fear. As he puts it, "People that can prefer tyranny over freedom do not deserve freedom."

He's also not flinching at medical experts suggesting most of the nation will eventually contract the virus, even if only mildly. Spell's reaction is, "Let's get on with life."

As you've probably heard ... Spell's been defiant of Louisiana's shelter-at-home order. He opened his church last week for Palm Sunday where over 1,000 members attended. He had previously been arrested and charged for violating the state mandate.

Watch the video, Spell is sticking to his guns for Easter Sunday too. He was totally unswayed by our producer suggesting a different approach.

''Jeopardy!'' had a clue about a pandemic ... more than a month before the World Health Organization did -- or so it appears to befuddled fans of the show.

The totally eerie coincidence played out Tuesday night's episode of the College Championship tournament. Yale sophomore Nathaniel Miller selected the "Health & Medicine" category, and Alex read, "From a Greek word for people, it describes a disease that affects many people at one time."

Of course, Yale was all over it ... "What is a pandemic?"

Naturally, viewers -- sheltered at home in the middle of the coronavirus PANDEMIC -- freaked the hell out. Thing is ... the tournament was reportedly shot on February 3 and 4, long before the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.

One viewer tweeted, "Did anyone else get a lump in their throat when they realized 'pandemic' was an answer on #Jeopardy tonight or just me?" And, another said ... "#Jeopardy knows too much. They were ready for this pandemic two months before the US even was."

It's come to this ... cops stepped into a house divided, where a mother and son fought over toilet paper -- specifically, due to hiding and over-wiping.

L.A. County Sheriff's deputies busted 26-year-old Adrian Yan around 3 AM -- always a bad sign -- for punching his mother. Why? He claims he discovered his mom was hoarding TP.

Yan's mom told cops, her own flesh and blood decked her over the clandestine stockpile -- we're guessing he was pretty desperate for a square or 5. Yan was arrested for battery.

Interestingly, cops say his mother didn't even deny stashing the TP, and say she told them her kid uses too much. In short, he's allegedly a classic over-wiper.

Mom refused medical treatment at the scene, so the punch couldn't have been too bad -- but it's still a cautionary tale as we're all supposed to be "safer" at home.

Tiger Woods didn't let the pandemic stop one of the greatest traditions in golf -- the Masters Champions dinner -- only this time, it was WAY smaller than usual.

Every year, the reigning Masters champ hosts a lavish dinner for his rival golfers at Augusta National ... and the winner usually customizes the menu with meaningful (and usually pricey) food items.

Since coronavirus threw a huge wrench in this year's plans, Tiger pivoted -- and threw a much smaller dinner for his girlfriend, Erica Herman, and his kids, Sam and Charlie.

"Masters Champions Dinner quarantine style," Tiger says ... "Nothing better than being with family."

Woods even busted out his Green Jacket for the meal -- another tradition he's dead set on carrying on! Did you notice the replica trophy on the table?!

Unclear exactly what he served up, but it looks like Tiger had some sushi, some meat ... and cupcakes!!

By the way, the 2020 Masters has been postponed to November -- with the Champions Dinner tentatively scheduled to go down on Nov. 10 ... as long as the pandemic is over by then.

We've all heard that a Chinese bat got the coronavirus ball rolling, but that doesn't mean our domestic bats are a problem -- and if anything, we're a bigger threat to them.

U.S. federal wildlife workers have been talking amongst themselves about a so-called bat fear that's spreading due to the pandemic -- and they're saying it's misguided. They're also warning bat catchers to lay off for a while.

TMZ obtained an email sent by Dr. Michelle Verant -- a wildlife veterinarian with the National Parks Service -- to her colleagues, warning them humans could potentially infect bat colonies here at home with a strain of COVID-19.

The email reads in part, "The actual outcomes of this scenario are unknown, but the concern is that it could result in sustained transmission of the virus among wild bat populations in North America, which could have consequences for the health of bats as well as humans." It goes on to instruct her colleagues who might be partaking in any bat-catching studies right now to refrain, or at the very least ... take great precautions.

Dr. Verant confirmed she sent the email and expanded by telling us there needs to be a clear distinction between the horseshoe bat (the species blamed for transmitting the virus in Wuhan) and North American bats. She says they're much different and there's NO evidence the virus lives in the American species.

To sum up Verant's concerns: Bats here are virus-free right now, but if they catch it from humans -- then there might be potential for them to pass it back to livestock or humans. Talk about vicious cycles!

Officials in New York City are making sure the famous public basketball courts are not a hub for the coronavirus ... they've shut down ALL public courts and have begun removing rims.

"New York City is a proud basketball town and we would never remove hoops unless absolutely necessary," a rep for NYC Dept. of Parks and Recreation tells TMZ Sports.

"In an effort to protect the health of City residents, all basketball courts are currently closed."

We're told the move to shut down ALL public courts was made on April 6 and will last until officials believe the danger is gone.

So far, we're told 51% of rims citywide have been removed from parks to ensure groups will NOT gather at those locations, where the virus could be spread.

FYI, there are HUNDREDS of public outdoor courts across the city, according to the Parks and Rec website.

The rims were even removed from NYC's famous Rucker Park on March 25 -- and we're told it was because people were not following the rules of social distancing.

Rucker might be the most legendary streetball court in the world -- where superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and more have balled out for decades.

Joel Osteen's got famous friends in various places, but they all have a shared goal -- making his Easter Sunday service an inspirational, and virtual, one for the ages.

The Lakewood Church pastor told us how he happened to get Mariah Carey, Kanye West and Tyler Perry on board for this coming Sunday. We know Joel's partnered with Kanye before, but he told us he's also old pals with Mariah.

He says MC actually reached out to him about doing a special tribute to healthcare workers and first responders. Watch the clip, he revealed what she's got planned.

Osteen admitted he has less info on what Kanye's going to do with his famed Sunday Service choir ... except he's been told they will be socially distancing. No small feat for that choir.

As for Perry ... Joel says he's a powerful speaker and a friend of megachurch church in Houston -- so he reached out to the movie mogul to deliver a specific message.

While Rev. O's been delivering his sermons online for several weeks -- just as he will on Easter -- we asked him about other preachers who've defied CDC guidelines for mass gatherings. He didn't defend or admonish them, but gave his own reasoning. Sounds like he's listening to experts, as well as his Big Boss.

BTW, quarantine life's brought a big, somewhat amusing, change for Joel. Check out Wednesday's "TMZ Live," because we got into it with him.

24 Hour Fitness has some nerve ... it's still charging members even though the coronavirus pandemic is forcing all of its gyms to remain closed.

Here's the deal ... 24 Hour Fitness has been shut down nationwide since March 16, but it's still making workout fiends pay their monthly statements. In fact, the gym says any payments made between March 17 and April 15 will NOT be refunded.

24 Hour Fitness says it's gonna tack on a free month to the end of membership plans for anyone who paid for a month of a closed gym -- but that's kind of a raw deal. People need money now to deal with the pandemic, and they're paying for a service that's unavailable.

The gym says it will stop billing members on April 16, when it plans to reevaluate if it can reopen -- but that doesn't seem likely.

24 Hour Fitness' policy falls in line with Disney and Six Flags -- both charged annual pass holders despite all their theme parks going dark.

Los Angeles is implementing a new coronavirus mandate that could eventually become standard across all major cities ... everyone at an essential business is being ordered to cover their faces.

Workers and shoppers in L.A. will be required to wear non-medical grade face coverings starting Friday ... as ordered by Mayor Eric Garcetti. It's called the Worker Protection Order.

People can cover their faces with fabric, such as bandannas and scarves. The mayor says any essential business owner can deny admission or service to folks who aren't covering their face.

The rules apply to essential businesses such as grocery stores, banks, convenience stores, warehouses, restaurants, laundromats, taxis, etc. The mandate is in addition to social distancing measures, and the mayor is encouraging retailers to install plexiglass to separate cashiers and customers at points of sale.

Employers are also required to provide face coverings or reimburse employees for the cost of coverings, provide access to clean and sanitary restrooms on-site, allow employees to wash their hands every 30 minutes and implement physical distancing measures.

Failure to comply with the order constitutes a misdemeanor subject to fines and imprisonment, according to the Mayor.

The goal is pretty clear ... continuing to slow down the rapid spread of COVID-19.

This is a sad and alarming sign of the times -- residents packed together, risking coronavirus exposure to line up for unemployment benefits.

The city of Hialeah handed out paper unemployment forms at 4 different locations Tuesday in order to help those who were unable to file through Florida's website or hotline ... and created this troubling scene.

The line was full of desperate folks -- many wearing face coverings, but some not -- waiting for their applications, but clearly not following social distancing guidelines of keeping 6 feet apart.

Florida currently has more than 14,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and its death total is approaching 300, so it certainly calls into question the decision to make residents wait in line for unemployment forms.

Meanwhile, food banks across the country -- from Central Texas to Pittsburgh -- have been overburdened far this week with miles-long lines of cars waiting to pick up food for their families.

Feeding South Florida has reported a 600% increase in the number of people asking for food, and it's a similar story for food banks across the U.S.

Joel Osteen's still going big with his Easter service amid the coronavirus pandemic, but of course -- for safety purposes -- all the big names he's recruited will be performing remotely ... for a virtual service.

Sources close to Osteen tell TMZ ... his Lakewood Church in Houston will welcome Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry on Easter Sunday to deliver messages of love and support to his massive audience.

Our sources say Mariah will be part of a special tribute to medical professionals and first responders putting their lives on the line in the battle against COVID-19. We're told she's going to sing her song "Hero" via webcam.

Perry's plan is to deliver words of encouragement to the viewers during this trying time, and Kanye will be back with his choir to provide music for the service ... all while practicing proper social distancing.

Our sources say Kanye and his Sunday Service crew will be performing in L.A. and it will be broadcast over Osteen's megachurch feed.

It's unclear if all these performances will be live or prerecorded, but either way ... it will be one of the most star-studded church events ever.