TMZ.com Home

It's not just defiant beachgoers and people in parks drawing the ire of public officials for ignoring coronavirus guidelines -- Mormons are too, by the hundreds.

Utah state leaders -- including Senator Mitt Romney -- are under fire, along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after a large crowd of Mormons flooded the parking area of a terminal at Salt Lake City Airport Sunday to welcome back around 1,600 missionaries.

The missionaries were returning early from the Philippines due to the global pandemic, but instead of arriving and going straight to their pickup rides and heading home to self-quarantine -- as advised by The Church -- a huge welcome party gathered to greet them and cheer their return.

As you can see ... no one is maintaining 6 feet of separation, or even 6 inches in many cases.

We're told those members who gathered ignored The Church's instructions for families to stay in their cars. The Church even tried to coordinate with the airport to lead missionaries to the parking lot, but that's where things went south ... because the greeters just gathered in the parking area.

We're told several of the missionaries' family members did follow guidelines, but clearly ... way too many did not. Romney, who is Mormon, has since rebuked their actions.

The missionaries are now under a 14-day self-quarantine, but so far, none has been tested. It's unclear if the large group of greeters are all quarantining as well.

As we've reported ... it's been a challenge from coast-to-coast, to keep people from ignoring the CDC and state orders to stay home and practice proper social distancing.

Today in Drake's self-quarantine adventures ... Drizzy takes us on a walk through his unbelievable shoe collection!!!

And, yeah ... sneakerheads will be drooling by the end of this post.

Of course, Aubrey has plenty of time to kill in his Toronto mansion after he hung out with Kevin Durant in L.A. 2 weeks ago ... with the Brooklyn Nets superstar later testing positive for coronavirus.

Drake showed off his kicks on IG Monday (probably out of complete boredom) ... and the collection has everything from the $2,000 super rare Air Diors (reportedly only 8,500 pairs made) to an entire section of Kobe Bryant's signature shoes.

On top of that, Drake shows off his Off-White Jordan 5s ... Supreme Air Force 1s and the Jordan 5 Tokyo T23, which currently go for the $3,000 to $4,000 range.

And, don't forget -- Drizzy can wear these expensive-ass shoes on his OVO indoor court from the comfort of his own home ... but we hope he doesn't hoop in these!!

Members of Congress don't want to talk about one thing -- at least based on numerous calls we made Monday -- why on Earth they left the Senate gym open for business in the middle of this pandemic.

It appears the gym is finally closed. We called the number for the gym and it's gone to voicemail all day.

We also called a number of Senators' offices, but we didn't get any answers. For example, Speaker McConnell's office directed us to the House Rules Committee and we were told to email a staffer which we did -- so far, no response as to the status of the gym.

As we reported, Senator Rand Paul has tested positive and he exercised in the Senate gym on Sunday. Other members have now self-quarantined because they came in contact with Paul while conducting business. What's unclear ... were the Senators with whom he came in contact with at the gym?

It's pretty remarkable ... virtually everyone knows, gyms around the country have been shut down because they're breeding grounds for the virus. Dozens -- even hundreds -- of people touching the same equipment every day and sweating on it.

This isn't the only dangerous situation on the Hill. TMZ broke the story ... some members of Congress bitterly complained over the last 3 weeks the Capitol should be locked down.  Visitors and lobbyists filled the halls and the Senate offices ... people who have flown in from all over the country.

The leadership from both sides declined to take that drastic measure. Several House members tell us the leaders were afraid of triggering a national panic. But, we need our representatives healthy, and clearly more should have been done.

One of the members we spoke with told us he's tested positive for the coronavirus. It has not yet been reported, but he tells us he's self-quarantining.

Dr. Phil is wagging his finger at those folks who are having affairs but won't stop in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, calling them selfish, immature and reckless.

The good doc joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday with a very important message for cheaters continuing affairs, college kids on spring break, and religious folks cramming into churches despite the looming threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Phil says it's time for people to start making sacrifices for the greater good because we're all in this together ... and he's sounding the alarm on the bad apples.

Dude's gotta point ... for some reason, some folks are still ignoring information from health officials about the risks of spreading COVID-19 by gathering in large groups or getting too close to others. Dr. Phil says it's because those folks lack empathy, are super entitled and live in denial.

Dr. Phil says it's time to come to grips with our new reality and start making some sacrifices, cutting out routines that are illicit or otherwise ... because if not, things will only get worse for everyone.

The Lord has spoken -- he wants his followers to keep coming to church ... through their TV screens, phones and laptops. Coronavirus be damned, doggonit!

Yes, the Christian community (pretty much all denominations) is moving to digital church services and masses during the coronavirus pandemic -- and one company in particular that specializes in broadcasting the word of God says it's seeing a massive spike in the millions.

A rep for Life.Church tells TMZ ... their streaming feature, called the Church Online Platform, has been overloaded with users logging on and accessing different services all over the world. Literally, this company streams sermons from the U.S. of A all to the way to Israel, Korea and beyond. We're told this past weekend, a whopping 6.9 million unique devices were registered as using their platform ... up from 4.7 mil just last weekend.

It's safe to assume there were WAY more people actually watching through these various services, though, as we're told Christian families often tune in together. So, if these unique devices have at least 4 people watching on average -- that's about 27 mil pairs of eyeballs at a time, probably more.

The number of congregations that have signed up to partner with Life.Church is pretty stunning too -- around 40,000 total different churches are on board with the org ... and we're told a staggering 12,000 new congregations alone got signed up just over the past week.

BTW, there are several more companies that stream services outside of just protestant sects of Christianity -- Catholics (who are Christian too) exclusively have EWTN to watch mass throughout the week ... so you can only imagine what sorts of numbers they're raking in.

The cool thing about Life.Church, however, is that they encourage participation -- there's a live chat aspect they incorporate within their broadcast services ... where people can write in and have their specific questions answered. And, perhaps as expected, this is all free to use.

While millions in Los Angeles try to adapt to "safer at home" restrictions, the city is seeing an uptick in thefts -- specifically homeless people trying to survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Several grocery store employees around L.A. tell us they're having a bigger problem than usual with homeless people stealing food. The general belief is with L.A. residents hunkered down at home, the homeless can no longer panhandle for money -- so, they're shoplifting out of desperation to eat.

We're told some Hollywood-area grocery chains have added extra security in an effort to thwart more thefts, and some LAPD officers have given store managers their direct lines to report major issues.

Our sources say the perps are mostly taking fresh produce because that section tends to be closer to the entry and exit ways.

While grocery stores are remaining open as an "essential business" ... we're told most are allowing 50 households in when the store first opens, and then an additional 25 households every 10 mins afterward.

Our sources say the food markets have been able to keep items mostly stocked, but as long lines continue to form, the challenges -- including loss prevention -- aren't going away anytime soon.

We broke the story ... cops in L.A. and NYC have also been instructed to pay extra attention to non-essential stores that are now empty to combat burglaries.

Jimmy and Dee Haslam -- the owners of the Cleveland Browns -- are joining the fight against the coronavirus pandemic ... by pledging $1.5 MILLION to help Ohioans in need.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the entire country ... and there have been 351 confirmed cases in Ohio -- with more people infected by the day.

The Haslams announced their contribution on Monday ... saying $1 million will go to the Greater Cleveland COVID-19 Rapid Response Fund ... with the remaining $500k going to the Columbus Foundation's Emergency Response Fund.

"We are humbled by the tremendous work of people around the world in their efforts to help those impacted by COVID-19 and we wanted to try to positively impact those affected in our own communities of Cleveland and Columbus," the Haslams said in a statement.

"We are grateful for the individuals who are putting others before themselves and for the sacrifices they are making."

Jennifer Lopez's ex-boyfriend -- who she dated for nearly a decade -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

J Lo's high school sweetheart, David Cruz, died Saturday in Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan ... this according to the NYC Medical Examiner's Office. We're told David died of heart disease -- no other info was immediately available.

Jennifer and David got together when she was just 15 (he's only a year older than her, BTW) and they dated for about 10 years before calling it quits in the mid-'90s as J Lo's fame was skyrocketing.

David and Jennifer did attend a few events together back in the day -- when she wasn't well known -- they sure looked like a happy couple.

David's partner of 18 years, Isa, tells us, "He was kind and loving. He never held on to anything and was always very open. He was a devoted father, he helped raise his step-son who is now in the Marines. He loved the Yankees and Knicks. He loved going to the theatre with me. My favorite moment was family date night, because it wasn't just special for me but for the kids as well. He always made sure to end things with an 'I love you.'"

Jennifer's gone on to have super high profile relationships since then -- including dating Diddy, Ben Affleck, Casper Smart, Drake, Marc Anthony (whom she married) and now ... Alex Rodriguez, to whom she's currently engaged.

David was 51.

Kim Kardashian's beauty line is putting a pause on its operations because of the coronavirus -- telling customers their orders won't show up on their doorstep anytime soon.

KKW Beauty made the announcement Monday, saying because of statewide health orders being imposed in California ... they're temporarily closing the company's fulfillment center, where they ship out products. That means they can't guarantee any delivery dates at this time.

The company does say that as soon as shipping is allowed to resume, any customers' order in limbo at the moment will receive top priority. And, for anyone who doesn't wanna wait that long, KKW Beauty says it'll let folks cancel unshipped orders at any time for a full refund.

The only catch is your order has to have been placed on or after March 16, 2020 -- when most nationwide coronavirus policies started to take effect -- in order to be eligible for the refund.

KKW Beauty says it'll continue to keep its customers and fans updated on all its social media feeds, and will push forward with beauty tips and other content in the meantime.

Hundreds of thousands of folks are outta work due to the coronavirus pandemic ... and even smoking hot girls who get paid for social media posts are feeling the pinch.

Abigail Ratchford, who has a legion of 9 million Instagram followers, tells TMZ ... her IG sales are grinding to a halt amid the outbreak, which is alarming considering she's used to making around $500,000 a year from sponsored IG posts endorsing products, paid shoutouts and merchandise.

AR says she still has monthly deals that require her to post and keep some cash flowing in, but she's gotta get creative to produce content because she can't call on makeup artists, hair stylists and photographers due to Cali's "Safer at Home" order. Now, she's a one-woman band.

There is a sliver of hope for the self-proclaimed "Queen of Curves" ... Abigail says other IG models are paying her for shoutouts to drive traffic to their pages, and it could continue because it's harder than ever to bring in new followers.

The outlook is much worse for Ella Rose and her 811,000 IG followers. Ella, who is Julian Edelman's baby mama, tells us she hasn't had any new ad inquiries since last week, and she's used to getting a few daily pitches from companies asking to pay her for tagged posts.

Ella says she had 2 shoots scheduled this week, but the photographers both canceled. Now, she's using a timer to shoot her own content.

Another IG model with over 2 million followers tells TMZ ... a lot of her prepaid posts are being put on ice, because some of the products were from China and the companies are worried about backlash and insensitivity surrounding COVID-19.

What's more, she says a lot of her long-term contracts are ending in the next couple weeks, and companies want to wait until April to renegotiate.

Desiree Schlotz, who has 423K IG followers, tells TMZ ... things are pretty tough right now, and it's hard to get content when you're limited to only shooting inside your house, though it's forcing her to be more creative and think outside the box.

Desiree says she's had brands back out of working with her because of the sensitive nature of the coronavirus climate, and other people are delaying payments or scrapping plans for paid posts because everyone is losing work.

Bottom line ... pretty much every Instagram model is as worried about the future as the typical American worker. Tough times, indeed.

Kim Kardashian West isn't the only one finding random lobsters hanging out on local pavements in the midst of the coronavirus ... another one of the mysterious creatures just popped up on the sidewalk in Ohio.

Kim was shocked to find a lobster -- most likely crawfish -- near her home in Hidden Hills earlier this week. It's unclear just how the crustacean got there, as they spend almost all of their time in the water ... but it was certainly a sight to see.

We thought the strange sighting ended there until a friend of one of our staffers found ANOTHER one of the animals cruising a sidewalk in Ohio ... though it was much smaller than Kim K's.

The Ohio crustacean was found near a golf course, so it's possible it made the long journey out of a pond. However, we're told employees at the course had never seen one out like that.

Then again -- the biz is hurting so bad -- maybe restaurants are just letting their extra produce loose.