U.S. Army soldiers based in South Korea won't be getting their fitness on in their usual spot -- the main gym on base is closed due to someone contracting the coronavirus.
Lt. Col. Robin Ochoa of the U.S. Army tells TMZ ... Camp Humphreys, located some 40 miles south of Seoul, will close it's so-called "super gym" because an individual on the base who tested positive for COVID-19 had recently visited the gym.
We're told staff is sterilizing the gym but hasn't determined when it will reopen, the location serves nearly 40,000 residents at Camp Humphreys ... the largest overseas base in the world. According to the military outlet Stars and Stripes, U.S. Forces Korea announced late Thursday an 11th individual affiliated with USFK tested positive for COVID-19 but provided no additional details about who or the timeline.
So far, there have been just over 9,200 cases in South Korea ... resulting in 131 deaths.
John Finlay -- one of the stars of the hit Netflix docuseries 'Tiger King' and Joe Exotic's ex-husband -- has a nice new set of pearly whites ... that almost make him look like a different person.
John tells TMZ ... he actually got his teeth redone in July 2019 all at once -- they're dentures -- and he's a little miffed at Netflix and the filmmakers because they never showed it.
We're told there's plenty of footage and photos of John fixing his smile but for whatever reason ... none of it made the final cut of 'Tiger King.'
Finlay also wants to clarify something about his gnarly teeth -- they weren't the result of meth abuse. Though John admits meth was a drug of choice for him in the doc, we're told his teeth were messed up before that, due to genetic reasons. He told us he has not touched drugs in 6 years.
John is currently working as a welder and living in central Oklahoma with his fiancee Stormey. We're told she's the one with John at the end of the series when he's getting his Joe Exotic tattoo reworked.
As for why Finlay's shirtless the entire time he's being interviewed on 'Tiger King' ... our sources say that was the idea of one of the producers, and John went with it.
For more on Finlay, ya gotta watch 'Tiger King' on Netflix, and also check out the podcast "Joe Exotic: Tiger King" by Robert Moor on Joe Exotic's story ... including more with John.
Idris Elba is on the mend in his bout with coronavirus ... and pretty soon he could be immune to the disease, so he says.
The actor gave his fans a huge health update and said his doctor told him that after quarantine "we will be immune for a certain time since our antibodies fought this." Idris says he and wife, Sabrina, are still under quarantine and feel okay, with no changes.
As we reported ... Idris tested positive not long ago and said he wasn't experiencing ANY symptoms. He told fans the day he got tested after he had body aches and a headache.
As for his claim that he'll be immune to COVID-19 -- that's a fact, according to the experts.
The FDA, earlier this week, approved the use of plasma from patients who've recovered patients to treat some of the more severe cases. New York became the first state to begin such testing.
And, even if the antibody protection is short-lasting ... experts reportedly say those who get infected a second time with coronavirus will likely have a milder case than the first time.
UFC superstar Jon Jones was arrested for DWI and a gun charge in New Mexico Thursday morning, TMZ Sports has confirmed.
Cops say they responded to reports of gunfire in Albuquerque at around 1 AM -- and when they arrived at the scene, they found Jones inside a 2019 Jeep with the engine running and the car in park.
Jon denied firing a gun -- but officers say he appeared intoxicated (bloodshot, watery eyes and reeked of booze) and conducted a field sobriety test, which he allegedly bombed.
He also took a breathalyzer, twice, and registered over the legal limit both times.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, cops say they found a black handgun and a half-empty bottle of tequila behind the passenger seat.
He was arrested and booked for aggravated driving while intoxicated, negligent use of a deadly weapon and possession of an open container.
We're told Jones was booked and released and has a bond arraignment court date set for April 9.
We're also told the probation Jon got in his strip club slap case had ended on Jan. 8.
Jones has been arrested for drunk driving in the past -- back in 2012, he pled guilty to DUI after crashing his Bentley into a pole in upstate New York.
Jon has spoken publicly about his issues with substance abuse -- including cocaine -- and it seemed like he was winning the battle.
Jones is widely considered the best MMA fighter of all time -- and he's the current UFC light heavyweight champion with victories over stars like Dominick Reyes, Daniel Cormier and Rampage Jackson.
Billand Hillary Clinton sent a special delivery to the hard-working staff at two hospitals battling some of the worst coronavirus cases in the country ... free pizza!!!
The former President and Secretary of State ordered dozens of pizzas Wednesday night and had the pies delivered to the doctors, nurses, and other staff on the front lines at Blythedale Children's Hospital and White Plains Hospital.
The Clintons also sent a note with the free za ... "Thank you for helping the community! Bill and Hillary Clinton."
White Plains Hospital is running the busiest department in Westchester County, where they're getting hit extremely hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Blythedale Children's Hospital has no cases yet of COVID-19, but it's one of only 14 specialty children's hospitals in the country.
The hospitals and the outbreak are in the Clinton's backyard ... Bill and Hillary live in nearby Chappaqua.
My first thought was gratitude for hospital staff everywhere. My second was, of course she did. My third, I admit, was the pizzagate folks are going to go into overdrive to fit this into their conspiracy theory. And, I love my mom @HillaryClinton. https://t.co/Mp2gOb3UgK
It was a really nice gesture ... and then Chelsea Clintondecided to bring up the infamous pizzagate conspiracy. Maybe a little too transparent, Chelsea?!?
Meghan Markle's officially back in Hollywood ... she's making her Disney debut nearly a year after Prince Harry lobbied the Mouse House's head honcho.
Disney announced Thursday it's releasing a new movie "narrated by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex." Yup, that's how Disney's marketing Meghan. She'll narrate "Disneynature's Elephant." Natalie Portman's also narrating "Dolphin Reef." The films drop April 3 on Disney Plus.
Two new movies, two unforgettable journeys. Start streaming Disneynature’s Elephant, narrated by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, and Disneynature’s Dolphin Reef, narrated by Natalie Portman, on April 3, only on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/N0yW0e7Lv6
Gotta give Prince Harry the assist on this one ... 'cause you'll recall there was a July 2019 video that started resurfacing in January, just days after Harry and Meghan announced the bombshell that they're stepping down as Royals.
In the video, you can see Harry chit-chatting with the former head of Disney, Bob Iger, at the "Lion King" premiere in London. You can hear Harry say, "You know she does voice-overs?" Iger responds with surprise, "Oh really? Ah ..."
You can hear Iger say he didn't know that before Harry responds Meghan is "really interested." Moments later, you clearly hear someone say, "We'd love to try." Well, looks like Harry's bidding worked.
It's unclear how much Meghan's getting paid for this gig. But, one thing we know ... she agreed to do voice-over work for Disney in return for a donation to a charity she supports ... Elephants Without Borders.
Drew Brees just announced he's donating $5 MILLION to the State of Louisiana to help with coronavirus relief efforts ... just days after signing a new $50 mil contract with the Saints.
Pretty awesome move from Brees who's already beloved in New Orleans for doing good work in the community ... like building all-inclusive playgrounds.
"Brittany and I are committing $5,000,000 to the State of Louisiana in 2020," Drew says ... "The priority now is helping our communities get through this tough time."
"After considerable research and conversations with local organizations, we will be mobilizing our partnerships with Second Harvest Food Bank, Ochsner Health Systems, Walk-Ons, Jimmy Johns, Smalls Sliders and Waitr to prepare and deliver over 10,000 meals per day throughout Louisiana for as long as it takes to children on meal programs, seniors, and families in need."
He added, "Let’s all do our part, maintain hope, and get through this together."
Drew's donation is the largest we've seen so far from an active pro athlete -- pretty amazing stuff.
If you're wondering, Brees has reportedly made more than $244 mil in contract money during his 19 seasons in the NFL and he just signed a 2-year, $50 mil extension with the Saints.
8:02 AM PT -- TMZ's confirmed Middlebrook is a small-time actor, with roles like a cop in "Iron Man 2" and a coach in "Moneyball." He also has a large social media following ... including 2.5 million followers on Instagram.
UPDATE
FBI agents say they nailed a coronavirus snake oil salesman -- a SoCal man who allegedly claimed he had a cure, and used Magic Johnson's name to try to snare investors.
Ya just knew this was bound to happen ... the FBI arrested Keith Lawrence Middlebrook Wednesday evening in an undercover sting. The feds say Middlebrook delivered pills to an agent posing as a potential investor.
He allegedly claimed to have developed a "patent-pending cure" that would prevent people from getting infected, and also treat those already suffering from COVID-19.
The feds say Middlebrook solicited funds from investors and promised huge profits from his company, Quantum Prevention CV. For instance, the FBI says he told a cooperating witness a $1 million investment would turn into $200 to $300 million, conservatively.
He also allegedly dropped Magic Johnson's name to at least one potential investor ... claiming Magic was on his board of directors. The feds say they checked with Magic, who confirmed he had NO clue about Middlebrook or his "company."
Attorney General William Barr warned this week, during a White House briefing, the feds would come down hard on anyone preying on fears surrounding the pandemic.
True enough, Middlebrook's been charged with wire fraud, which carries a max sentence of 20 years.
Ariana Grande's well aware of the plight of many of her fans amid the coronavirus pandemic, and she's answering calls for help by sending some of them cash to get through these tough times ... TMZ has learned.
Several sources have told us ... the pop star's been communicating on the regular with her fans on social media, who've opened up about financial struggles -- like not being able to pay upcoming bills -- because they've lost their retail or service industry jobs for the time being.
We're told in at least 10 instances -- maybe more -- Ariana had connected with fans who've lost their jobs and sent them a cash donation ... via Venmo.
Fans have told us they've received Venmo payments ranging from $500 to $1,500 ... and it's something she's been doing on the down-low the past few days.
Our sources say Grande's donations seem to be random luck of the draw based on her Twitter interactions ... other than that, she's focusing on those really in a pinch and out of work. She's especially sympathetic to people who have lost their job in the retail industry.
One guy apparently got some Venmo money shortly after telling Grande he was short on rent for April because he was no longer pulling in a paycheck.
It's an incredibly kind gesture, but Ariana's going to have way too many potential donations candidates soon, based on the new jobless report ... more than 2 and a half MILLION Americans are expected to file for unemployment.
Aging whiskey's cool and all, but not when there's a shortage of hand sanitizer ... enter Copper Fiddle Distillery.
The Lake Zurich, Illinois-based company has seen its whiskey, rum and bourbon sales dry up but it's stepping up in a huge way to help first-responders fight the raging coronavirus pandemic ... by turning its alcohol into some much-needed hand sanitizer, free of charge.
A state senator reportedly asked owner Andrew Macker last week if he'd be up to the challenge. So far, there have been more than enough donations made to help the company crank out the supply in droves.
Macker told The Daily Herald, they've so far made around 100 bottles with another batch coming hopefully by the end of the month. They reportedly used about 45 cases of unsold bottles of rum -- converting them from 80 proof to 160 proof -- to get the first batch done.
BTW ... tons of other distilleries across the country are also jumping in to help. Tito's Handmade Vodka also announced it'll do the same. Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff will also donate more than 500,000 gallons of neutral grain spirit that'll be converted into 8 million bottles of hand sanitizer.
Anheuser-Busch, the nation's largest beer company, is also getting in the mix ... with hand sanitizer being made at their breweries and distributed by the American Red Cross, among others.
Workers in Japan began taking down banners for the Olympic torch relay Thursday morning -- and it's still unclear when they'll go back up!
As we previously reported, Olympic officials -- along with Japan prime minister Shinzo Abe -- decided to finally postpone the 2020 Tokyo Games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The torch relay event -- set to begin in Fukushima -- was supposed to kick off a series of high profile events in a ramp-up to the Games, originally set to begin in July.
But, that's been scrapped -- and while organizers try to figure out a new date for the Games, the torch will remain on display in Japan in a lantern.
The Flame was first lit in Olympia, Greece on March 12 in a small, fan-less ceremony -- before the Games were officially postponed. It was then flown to Japan.
We've spoken with a bunch of Olympic athletes from multiple countries and they're all GLAD the games have been pushed back ... saying it's the right thing to do.
Call it growing fear of coronavirus, or just people going stir crazy -- but cops are getting some strange, paranoid and even troubling phone calls.
Law enforcement sources in L.A. tell TMZ ... a major uptick in these bizarre calls started after California's Gov. Newsom issued the "stay at home" order last week -- an order many are taking VERY seriously.
For instance ... we're told people have called to report neighbors for exercising in their yards or simply eating outside. Others have ratted on their neighbors or nearby businesses because gardeners and landscapers are still showing up to work on their properties.
Fact is, those activities aren't illegal, but some L.A. residents clearly frown upon them. Landscaping is considered an "essential activity" in certain cases if it contributes to sanitation needs, but not if it's just to trim a homeowner's hedges.
Other snitching calls are coming from social distancing warriors, so to speak. We mean folks reporting people for playing basketball at outdoor parks, gathering in large groups outside or companies with more than 10 employees still going into the office.
Then, there's just COVID-19 paranoia calls to report neighbors coughing. Even more extreme ... we're told police even got a call to check out 2 people sitting on a bus bench who were coughing.
Point is, while many new restrictions were put in place this week to encourage Los Angelenos to stop gathering at beaches, parks and hiking trails -- the majority of residents are taking the quarantine seriously.
Maybe too much, because we're told cops are also getting many calls from people asking for a permit to go outside.
It ain't that bad yet -- just follow the guidelines folks.
Coronavirus isn't stopping people from getting their party on -- they're just doing it in front of computer screens at home now. Welcome to 2020.
Due to multiple state-wide stay-at-home orders, the online event planning biz is seeing a massive spike in engagement for all sorts of get-togethers ... some more adult-friendly than others.
Evite made its name peddling online invitations, but has since become a go-to destination for online events. The company says it's seen a 1,130% increase in events tagged "virtual party" in the last year ... but it believes the lion's share of the boost has come in the last month.
We're told their biggest categories of online get-togethers of late include birthdays, cocktail parties and happy hours -- with average group sizes between 15 to 20.
Paperless Post -- another event planning company -- says in the past 12 days, virtual party events have jumped to 48% of their total biz. It used to be less than 1% ... so that's a clear quarantine-related shift.
As a result, PP's shifted to offer way more online invitation options -- for kids' birthday parties, game nights, book clubs, dance parties, brunch ... all the party possibilities.
Pretty amazing how quickly society adjusted. We've heard of workout groups, baby showers and even charity galas ... all moving to the online realm.
As you'd expect, in-person event planning is down, but not dead. We're told traditional invites for big stuff, mostly weddings, are still ordered -- but by and large event planners are marketing for online biz now.
Folks across the country are learning a new skill during the coronavirus pandemic ... how to cut hair from the comfort of their own home.
With barber shops and salons shuttering because of the outbreak, more and more people are boning up on hair styling, and they're buying clippers ... according to the company that invented the first electric hair clipper over a century ago.
Honchos at Wahl, which invented the electric clipper back in 1919, tell TMZ ... they've already sold out of their top-selling clippers on Amazon, and their own online shop is about to be cleaned out.
But, clippers are no good unless you know how to handle them, and Wahl says their website is being flooded with visitors to their men's haircut tutorials. We're told people are reading how to do fades, tousled cuts, brush cuts, easy cuts and business hair cuts.
Overall, Wahl says website traffic is up a whopping 287% over the same period last year ... and search traffic is up double-digits in nearly all 50 states, led by New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut, Washington and West Virginia.
Remember, Supercuts took a huge hit at the start of the outbreak ... and now folks are channeling their inner Edward Scissorhands.
With grocery stores under siege by desperate shoppers, meal prep companies are coming up big ... mostly 'cause health freaks refuse to give up their diets.
TMZ spoke with several different meal delivery companies in California and beyond, and they all pretty much told us the same thing ... business has been BOOMING these past few weeks, with drastic changes in their subscriber base -- and lots of returning customers too.
Take Nutrifit, for example -- which has been operating for 30-plus years. They say they've actually seen a significant uptick in both new and old customers alike over the past week -- with a 15% increase in both categories. For the oldies coming back, we're told some folks are coming out of the woodwork from decades ago ... and they think it's due to coronavirus. Makes sense, especially since their family serving plans are up 25% too.
As far as what most people are hitting them up for ... Nutrifit says it's by and large health and organic food. We're told their most popular a la carte items of late are mahi-mahi and salmon, Mexican turkey lasagna, organic chicken paprikash and of course, vegan chili. Mmm
Nutrifit says its meals are tailored for the health-conscious, so they attribute the rise in business to people realizing that and wanting to stay on track with their regiments. They've also been asked about cleanliness, and Nutrifit assures us anyone who might come into contact with a customer's food is using gloves and social distancing when necessary.
A similar trend has been happening for other meal prep companies as well, like Fitness Kitchen L.A. and California Chef ... only their numbers are even crazier. FKLA's new orders this week have jumped by over 63%, and CC's new subscriptions are up by a whopping 80%!
Both orgs tell us their customer base has expressed interest in maintaining their lean lifestyle ... and apparently, some customers are even getting their older parents involved too to keep them out of grocery stores and away from potentially infected food runners.
We're guessing there are plenty of people out there who just want some comfort food ... and can't blame them.
Terrell Davis tells TMZ Sports he's concerned Todd Gurley might never regain his old form in Atlanta ... saying a similar knee issue in 1999 caused him to lose a permanent step.
"I was never the same," the Denver Broncos legend says.
Gurley tore his ACL in college at Georgia in 2014 ... but didn't have problems with the surgically repaired knee up until 2019 -- when the Rams RB dealt with arthritis.
Gurley was still able to run on it, but he clearly wasn't the same guy ... and following this past season, the Rams straight-up cut him over the decline in his play.
Fortunately for the tailback, the Falcons believe he's still got some juice left --- they signed him right away -- but Davis tells us he's skeptical Gurley can be a premier RB again in the future.
"They said he had an arthritic knee," said Davis, who tore his ACL playing for the Broncos in 1999. "And, I said, 'I've had that. I understand what it feels like.'"
Davis was forced to retire before the 2002 season ... saying his arthritic knee made it impossible for him to feel like the same dude that won a Super Bowl MVP just a few years prior.
"What happens is you feel like your knee -- like you have just enough swelling in your knee, just enough, to where it doesn't stop you from running, but you don't have the full flexibility or mobility and you just feel like you're just a second slower," TD says.
"When you think about making a cut, it's like the signal from your brain to your knee is like, it just comes just a fraction of a second too slow where your knee doesn't respond to it. And, that's what was happening for me."
Don't get it twisted ... Davis still thinks Todd has more than enough gas left in the tank to be an effective NFL RB -- he's just wary about the prospects of TG returning to superstar status.
"If he could come out of this one year and have the attitude that, 'I want to prove everybody wrong' -- which I feel Todd will -- he could have a really good year."