So, here's what went down ... Tory was hosting his Quarantine Radio Monday night on Instagram Live when, out of nowhere, you see Tekashi's IG handle pop up in the group chat. Tekashi typed, "lemme play this new s**t or ima snitch on u. you not even from America u from Canada."
Ya gotta watch Tory's reaction. It's pretty epic. Unclear if Tekashi actually has some new music he wants to show the masses, but now that he's on house arrest it's not so far fetched to think he's got something up his sleeve.
As for snitching on Tory ... it's unclear what about. Tory, btw, just last week had his Instagram Live session privileges restored by IG, which banned Tory from going Live after some nudity appeared in one of his sessions.
But no beef seems to be brewing between the rappers. Tekashi and Tory have some history ... good history. Tekashi's 2018 track "Kika" on the "Dummy Boy" album features Tory.
The coronavirus has had a devastating impact on the regularly thriving smartphone industry in China, but there's cause for hope ... it's starting to show signs of life again.
Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the sale of smartphones, which reportedly resulted in Apple having one of its worst months ever in China in February ... with only half a million iPhones sold to its 1.4 BILLION people.
That low amount's due to 3 factors -- reduced supply because of factory shutdowns, retail stores being closed, and of course ... loss of expendable income for Chinese citizens.
A survey of 1,300 smartphone owners found that 37 percent were holding off on purchasing a new one, and 32 percent were delaying an upgrade to 5G ... something that was widely anticipated in 2020.
Compare this to 40 percent responding that they've delayed buying cars, furniture and appliances, as well ... it's fair to say smartphones are lumped into the big-ticket item category that's low on people's purchase priority list.
On the plus side, sales bounced back slightly in March ... with total mobile phone shipments from all companies increasing by 3 times over February. Apple shipped nearly 5 times more units ... but smartphone sales overall were still down 20 percent in March compared to 2019.
Clearly could be worse, though, and with China being the first country to go on lockdown ... it's hopeful it can be the first to bounce back.
The Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is now taking stricter steps to protect its workers from COVID-19 -- including temperature checks -- after a civilian employee tested positive in late March.
According to a federal doc, obtained by TMZ, the Naval shipyard in Hawaii began executing wellness and temperature screenings in "high-traffic areas" on April 13 to ensure the health and safety of its staff.
The Pearl Harbor screenings are random and consist of one question ... "Are you experiencing flu-like symptoms?" ... along with a temperature scan, for which a reading of 100 degrees or higher constitutes a positive screening.
According to the new guidelines, a worker with a positive screening is required to leave the shipyard immediately and let their supervisor know.
All Pearl Harbor employees have been required to wear face coverings since April 8 if they're unable to maintain the 6-foot social distancing rule. They are required to lower masks to verify ID at access points or CIA gates.
This all comes after the Navy recently confirmed a worker on the base tested positive for the virus on March 29. He's reportedly been quarantined since then while health officials conducted an investigation to determine if anyone else may have been exposed.
There's an obvious gap between that positive test and the April 8 face mask rule -- and another 5 days past that for the temperature screenings to begin.
The good news is the base has only had the one positive test, so far ... and there's now a more proactive plan. Statewide, BTW, Hawaii's had 504 COVID-19 cases and 9 fatalities.
Hockey fans paid their respects to Colby Cave in an awesome way Monday ... lining up cars for over 9 MILES to welcome the player's family back to his hometown after his tragic death.
As we previously reported ... the 25-year-old Edmonton Oilers center suffered a brain bleed early last week -- and despite emergency surgery, he passed away on Saturday.
On Monday, his family returned to North Battleford in Saskatchewan with a law enforcement escort ... and the love people showed the Cave fam on their way home was pretty amazing.
Fans parked their cars all along the shoulder of Highway 16 -- despite snow and freezing temps -- and displayed their appreciation for the Caves all along the route with signs and cheers.
In fact, former Oilers defenseman Eric Gryba even participated ... taking a selfie in front of the cars and writing, "a heartbreaking and heartwarming time."
Supposedly there is 15km+ of cars lined up outside Battleford right now waiting for the family of Colby Cave.
"Over 15km of parked cars welcoming Colby's parents and sister home to North Battleford," Cave's wife, Emily, said of the scene. "Unfortunately, I had to stay behind with Colby's body in Ontario."
"My heart is broken. My heart is full. North Battleford, thank you for honoring your hometown hockey hero."
Cave grew up playing hockey in North Battlefield before he eventually moved on to the NHL as an undrafted player in 2015.
He went on to play in 67 career NHL games ... scoring 4 goals and logging 5 assists.
"Love Is Blind" star Carlton Morton is playing a game of love-ya-today, trash-ya-tomorrow with his one-time fiancee, which is why she's kicked him to the curb ... for good.
Diamond Jack tells TMZ why she recently took the extreme measure of blocking Carlton on social media. He's been barking about it on his page, as he openly pines for her to take him back. She says there's a pretty simple reason for her cutting him off.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Diamond says Carlton was all hugs and smiles with her during the reunion episode, but as soon as cameras stopped rolling ... she claims he turned into Mr. Hyde, and allegedly started bad-mouthing her online and threatening her with legal action.
That was enough for Diamond to completely ax him from her feed. But, there's a bigger reason she thinks he's allegedly been flip-flopping, and it has to do with the forthcoming second season -- which we already know Carlton is openly lobbying to join.
As we reported, the casting call for a new season has already gone out -- and producers are prodding about sexual orientation this time around.
Makes sense, seeing how Carlton's bisexuality utterly blew up his and Diamond's relationship during Season 1.
Speaking of that, Diamond weighs in on the new screening question for the new batch of pod-people. Basically, she sees it as a pivot from a lesson learned more than anything else.
Barbara Corcoran's got a hot tip for those looking to take advantage of their upcoming stimulus check ... and it's a lot less sharky than you think.
The "Shark Tank" star tells TMZ ... if you're fortunate enough to not have to immediately use the government money to feed your family -- sadly, that's not a given for many Americans -- you should use the stimulus cash to improve your current financial situation.
Barbara says start by paying off your credit cards -- the higher interest ones first -- because those will kill you in the long run.
After that, she advises sitting down and focusing on some good old-fashioned budgeting. We'll let her tell you why it's a good idea ... and there's no better time than the present.
For those looking to use the dough on a stock market bargain ... this 'Shark' doesn't suggest swimming in those waters. Too risky right now.
Corcoran does have some real estate advice that might be of interest to those hunting for an opportunity during the pandemic. Not that $1,200 is gonna get ya far in real estate, she's reminding you of something she's said before -- it's a buyer's market, baby.
Boxing superstar Tyson Fury wanted to help his favorite local pizza joint weather the COVID-19 storm ... so he ordered $700 worth of food -- and tacked on a $125 tip!
Fury and his family -- wife Paris and their 5 children -- are shacked up at their mansion in Lancashire, England ... but they wanted to help stimulate the local economy on Easter Sunday, so they hit up Manjaros Restaurant.
The order was massive ... lamb chops, shrimp, chicken, a bunch of pizzas, pasta ... and 25 cans of Diet Coke!
Total bill came out to £557.35 -- roughly $700 -- and Fury slipped the delivery people a £100 tip ($125). Not bad!
"The food order was just for us and the children," Fury explained to local media ... "We've got 5 children and the food arrived in a lot of boxes."
The delivery driver also told media, "Tyson is a regular customer to Manjaros in Preston, but the restaurant is currently closed and only offering deliveries."
India-born vocalist Barry Hay was 25 years old when he shot to stardom for his rockin' vocals in the Dutch rock band, Golden Earring ... who unleashed the worldwide rock anthem, "Radar Love" in the early '70s, and then "Twilight Zone" in the early '80s.
Barry Hay and all of the original bandmates of Golden Earring are all still involved in the classic rock consortium including George Kooymans on guitar and back-up vocals, Rinus Gerritsen on bass and keyboards and Cesar Zuiderwijk on the skins.
Golden Earring played as recently as last November ... and have plans to play live later this year.
Gavin Newsom's clueless to think churches are not as essential as burger joints and coffee shops ... so claim a group of church leaders suing him over the lockdown.
A group of pastors and church members filed the suit claiming religious services are "essential for the spiritual health of the congregation so that the congregants can exhort one another during these difficult times."
In the docs, obtained by TMZ, one pastor believes they can hold services so long as they abide by social distancing tips recommended by the CDC ... like keeping congregants at least 6 feet apart and requiring they wear masks and gloves.
The leaders claim California's "shelter-at-home" mandate coupled with its "essential workforce" criteria has denied religious groups their fundamental right to continue congregating.
In fact, one pastor claims he was fined $1,000 for holding service on Palm Sunday. The church leaders are pissed they can't hold services ... even after they disinfect churches and practice social distancing.
According to the suit, they're also pissed baristas, burger flippers and laundromat technicians are considered "essential" ... while attending church is NOT.
The Cali church leaders are suing to get Governor Newsom's lockdown order declared unconstitutional for infringing on their right to freely assemble and exercise their religions.
Pro wrestling is "essential" to the State of Florida -- says the state governor which has allowed WWE to remain open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
No joke. This is real.
Jerry Demings -- mayor of Orange County, Florida -- was asked Monday how the WWE Performance Center in Orlando has been allowed to stay in business while non-essential companies have been forced to close their doors.
As we previously reported, WWE has been taping at the Performance Center and plans to shoot "Raw" later today.
So, why exactly?
"I think initially there was a review that was done and they were not initially deemed an essential business,” Demings said.
"With some conversation with the Governor’s office regarding the Governor’s order, they were deemed an essential business. And so, therefore, they were allowed to remain open."
Demings did not go into detail about why the Governor's office changed its stance on WWE.
For their part, WWE tells us the health and safety of talent and staff is their top priority, saying ... “We believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times."
"We are producing content on a closed set with only essential personnel in attendance following appropriate guidelines while taking additional precautions to ensure the health and wellness of our performers and staff. As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance.”
Remember, WWE confirmed a performer hastested positive for COVID-19 -- but they believe that person caught it from medical workers. WWE also says the performer has recovered and they do not believe he or she spread it to other WWE personnel.
Demings addressed that situation on Monday.
“In terms of the specifics associated with the wrestling personality who tested positive, I don’t know any of the details of that obviously because of HIPAA laws," Demings said.
"But, that’s like a little family. A small family of professional athletes that wrestle. And, if one of my family members tested positive in my house, that would be concerning to me."
"We would have to make some provisions in our house to make sure that the rest of us not get infected. So, I would assume that, from a business perspective, the WWE is doing that type of analysis of its own family."
3:50 PM PT -- Dr. Fauci just addressed the reported head-butting that's supposedly been going on behind closed doors with himself and the President's administration, and the guy sure seemed to be trying to put out the fire with a clear and concise timeline of events.
UPDATE
The good doctor was at the podium Monday in the White House Press Briefing Room, where he laid exactly when he and his CDC/NIAID colleagues told DT they strongly suggested shutting stuff down, and how the Prez responded. Sounds like Trump wasn't going rogue or ignoring the advice of the scientists -- he acted on their recommendations when they told him he should ... at least that's what Fauci seems to be saying here.
UPDATE
He DID clarify something he recently said in the press regarding some "pushback" he claimed was taking place among cabinet officials when Fauci and co. first recommended closing up shop for an extended period of time. DF says he used a poor choice of words, and insists Trump officials only raised concerns about ramifications of such an action -- like crippling the economy, job loss, etc. He says NO ONE in Trump's administration told him they shouldn't do it -- which is what many took away from his remarks this past week.
UPDATE
Bottom line ... Fauci says each and every time he and his cohorts suggested the President do something, the answer was yes. When a reporter asked if he was making these clarifications voluntarily, he got a little snippy ... telling her not to even insinuate he wasn't.
UPDATE
Sounds like Dr. Fauci wanted to put any perceived bad blood between him and 45 to bed.
UPDATE
10:57 AM PT -- Trump is not firing Fauci -- even if his retweet suggested he's thinking about it -- and the White House says, "This media chatter is ridiculous."
UPDATE
Hogan Gidley, a spokesman for the Trump administration, insists ... "Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump."
President Trump hit the retweet button on a call to fire Dr. Anthony Fauci -- which seems to indicate a growing rift between Trump and his pandemic right-hand man.
Trump's promotion of a #FireFauci tweet comes in response to the infectious disease expert's CNN interview Sunday ... where he said the U.S might have prevented deaths if it had put mitigation efforts in place in February, instead of mid-March.
Fauci's comments weren't necessarily a direct shot at Trump -- he told Tapper "what goes into those decisions is complicated" -- but the retweet seems to indicate the Prez took it as one.
Trump retweeted a woman claiming Fauci himself told people "there was nothing to worry about and [COVID-19] posed no threat to the US public at large" on February 29. She then wrote, "Time to #FireFauci..."
The President added ... "Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up."
If you haven't been paying attention, Trump has been touting his China travel restrictions for saving lives -- something Fauci's praised him for as well -- while ignoring his other missteps.
Trump's next coronavirus task force briefing -- typically attended by Fauci -- is gonna be interesting.
The evangelical pastor who vowed to keep preaching unless he was "in jail or the hospital" has died of COVID-19 ... only weeks after defiantly opening his church doors.
Bishop Gerald Glenn showed off his jam-packed congregation back on March 22 at the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Richmond, VA ... telling followers to stand up and prove their numbers ... despite social distancing guidelines and warnings against large gatherings in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
His church announced that Glenn died on, of all days, Easter Sunday from COVID-19 a week after testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
During that infamous in-person service, the Bishop said he firmly believed God was larger than the virus and said he was proud of being "controversial" for violating safety protocols. The Bishop also claimed he was an "essential" worker, saying he's a preacher and he talks to God.
The Bishop's wife, Marcietia Glenn, is also infected with COVID-19.
The couple's daughter, Mar-Gerie Crawley, reportedly said her father dismissed his symptoms at first because he has a health condition that often results in fevers and infections. Now, she's urging everyone to stay home, saying the virus has become very real to her.
YouTube star Vitaly Zdorovetskiy beat the hell out of a Miami woman out for a jog on Easter Sunday ... according to cops, who arrested him for a felony.
According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Vitaly was arrested Sunday night ... after a woman told cops she was jogging by herself Sunday in Miami Beach when Vitaly suddenly jumped out and tackled her to the ground. She claims he straddled her and repeatedly punched her in the chest and face.
The alleged victim told police she screamed for help during the attack -- which she said was witnessed by several residents and passersby -- so Vitaly ran back inside a nearby home. According to the docs, he was later arrested there.
First responders treated the alleged victim for a cut above her right eye that will require stitches, according to the affidavit, and she also complained of pain and soreness to her chest area.
The alleged victim told cops she had never seen or met Vitaly -- who's infamously pulled pranks such as rushing the field at the World Cup in Brazil as well as a zombie prank in Miami.
Our law enforcement sources tell us Vitaly posted a $7,500 bond Monday and has been released from custody.
The 93-year-old woman who held up a sign from her window pleading for more beer just got a special delivery ... and now she's cracking cold ones in coronavirus lockdown.
Olive Veronesi just got 150 brews delivered to her home in Seminole, PA courtesy of Coors Light, which apparently caught wind of her plea after it started going viral over the weekend.
Olive went viral when her relative posted the picture of her on social media -- the senior citizen was holding up a sign in that read, "I NEED MORE BEER!!" along with a cold Coors Light.
The image spread like wildfire, with more than 4 MILLION people seeing it on Facebook. Tons of people offered to get Olive some brewskis, and then Coors Light stepped up and sent her 10 15-packs of cans.
Pennsylvania has some pretty annoying liquor laws, but the good folks of the commonwealth can still get their booze delivered to the front step.
Now, the mountains are cold inside Olive's place and she's got a new sign ... "GOT MORE BEER!"
Tragic news ... Karl-Anthony Towns' mother, Jacqueline Towns, has died after a lengthy battle with coronavirus.
The Minnesota Timberwolves star announced last month his mom contracted the disease in mid-March ... and was put in a medically induced coma shortly after because of complications.
"The Towns family is heartbroken by the untimely passing of Jacqueline Towns, due to complications as a result of COVID-19," the team said in a statement.
"Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, has been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th."
The statement continued, "Jackie was many things to many people - a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met. Her passion was palpable and her energy will never be replaced."
Towns' father, Karl Towns Sr., had also been infected by the virus ... but made a full recovery.
"The Towns family is extremely grateful for the outpouring of love and support they have received during this very difficult time," the T-Wolves said. "They would like to thank the medical warriors at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and JFK Medical Center, who fought for Jackie day in and day out, and helped Karl Sr. recover from the same virus that took Jackie's life."
"The family is devastated by their tremendous loss, and respectfully requests privacy at this time of great mourning."
Dr. Anthony Fauci fills our minds with crucial knowledge about the coronavirus, and now he can fill you up with a tangy brew, too -- he's got his own beer down South.
Check out this new line that Wild Heaven Beer just rolled out, called Fauci Spring. The Georgia microbrewery decided to make a pale ale made with acai -- the super-hip superfood that's supposed to be good for your health. So, yeah ... Fauci works.
Fauci's can is a deep sea blue, and they've also rolled out a companion lager ... Don't Stand So Close to Me. Clever and refreshing ... if you're looking for a laugh to go with your buzz.
You've probably heard, or experienced, beer sales have spiked during quarantine, and now Fauci can get in on the action ... in spirit. Or rather, malt. As for how these new brews taste ... the jury's still out. If you're a fruity beer guy or gal, it'll probably be right up your alley.
And, perhaps more pressing of a question ... how are people supposed to get their hands on these??? Presumably, Wild Heaven will get 'em into local grocery stores ASAP. Warm weather is coming, and people are trapped inside ... perfect time to roll out a summery brew. Just sayin' ...