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The super-prepared Texas voter who came equipped with her chair, her snacks and her "grown folks hair" to wait out a long poll line says her popular TikTok was actually an important PSA.

Belinda Varnado tells TMZ ... the purpose of her instantly viral clip was to make sure seniors, like herself, come prepared to make sure they don't miss out on their opportunity to vote.

She's seen all the news about ridiculously long lines for early voting -- where people have to wait for up to 15 hours -- and she knows all that standing doesn't work for folks up in age.

So, Belinda's encouraging her peers to pack the right gear, be prepared to hunker down ... but stay determined to cast their ballots.

She and her daughter, Chevelle Brooks, are also stressing the importance of voting early -- especially this year -- and Belinda's not shy about her ultimate goal either.

Shreddin' the gnar is taking off during the pandemic ... TMZ Sports has learned surfing has EXPLODED while people try to have fun while social distancing!!!

We spoke with several of the country's biggest surf shops and board manufacturers this week ... and each one told us the demand has been so huge, they can't keep boards in stock!!

"We're back-ordered and can't keep up with the demand," a spokesperson for C-Shapes in Florida says. "The surfboard industry is on fire right now."

Added a rep for Chilli Surfboards in California, "We're selling four times the amount that we usually do."

It all makes sense ... surfing's outdoors. It's socially distant. It's cheap. And, it's straight-up great exercise!

Here's how spokespeople from some of the other big shops and manufacturers around the nation explained the demand to us this week:

JS Industries -- "More beginners entered the market than almost ever before due to surfing being one of the few activities deemed safe and accessible during COVID."

Channel Island Surfboards in CA -- "Surfing has doubled this year because it's a social distancing activity and it's free."

Surf Station in FL -- "There has been a definite increase. I can't even put a timeframe for board requests."

Eastern Lines Surf in NJ -- "It is definitely a higher demand compared to the last couple of years ... More people in the water than I've ever seen."

But, perhaps Hawaiian South Shore's rep in Honolulu put it to us best ... saying, "It's pretty nuts over here!"

"The Hangover" star Rob Riggle got some sobering news to kick off his October ... his wife of 21 years filed for divorce.

Tiffany Riggle filed legal docs in Ventura County court to end her marriage to the comedian. She cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ. They got married back on April 13, 1999, and she lists May 2, 2020 as the date of separation.

They had 2 kids together -- 16-year-old daughter Abigail and 12-year-old son George ... and she's asking for joint custody with Rob -- a big football fan who now appears on FOX's NFL Sunday pregame show and once hosted the NFL Honors show in 2018. She also checked the box asking for spousal support.

She beats some ass. She shakes some ass. And, Hollywood is taking notice.

MMA rising star Valerie Loureda says her career has exploded over the past few months due to a combination of violence and sex appeal ... and she's loving every second of it.

Loureda blew up on social media back in August by obliterating Tara Graff at Bellator 243, which earned her a multi-fight contract with Bellator. She's now 3-0 as a pro, with 2 knockouts.

Loureda celebrated her new contract with a twerk video that also went viral ... and her popularity has been skyrocketing ever since.

Now, Loureda says Hollywood has come calling -- with talent agents knocking down her door and TV producers offering up a reality show.

22-year-old Loureda says she's flattered by the interest -- and wants to get involved in entertainment at some point -- but for now, her focus is on fighting.

"Several talent agents have reached out to me to try to get me to enter entertainment, and film different things, and honestly I love all of that and that’s my goal at the end of my career," Valerie tells us.

"But, right now, I'm really focused on fighting and winning fights comes first. But, yeah for sure, that’s a dream for me."

The big question ... when is Valerie getting back in the cage?

Loureda says she's currently recovering from an eye injury -- but she's hoping to fight again in 2020. Bellator is still working on an opponent.

In the meantime, Valerie continues to be a hit on social media. Here's one reason why ...

Kourtney Kardashian is one hot mama and the 41-year-old mother of three has been bringing the heat this year ... both on and off the screen!

The reality star could be quoted for days for serving some scorching burns to her fam and will be deeply missed come the ending of ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians" which is set to wrap following the 20th season in early 2021.

It seems like even without the cameras rolling Kourt is no stranger to the drama as she made waves earlier this week when she snapped a selfie wearing a "Vote for Kanye" hat ... When not even Kim has endorsed her husband for prez!

This risky sister is def more recognized for the snaps (and bikinis) she typically posts ... And those are the ones we're bringing to the table. Take a look through our gallery of Kourtney Kardashian's hottest shots of 2020 to see what else this sexy sister has been up to!

Some of the men who planned to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were apparently gearing up for war from inside the ultimate mom car of the 2000s -- this per federal investigators.

Michigan's FOX 17 put out a report with a treasure trove of material it obtained from the U.S. Attorney's Office, which recently presented evidence against at least 5 dudes thus far, who were allegedly in on the plot. Among the items the FBI collected ... a video of some of these men popping in and out of a Chrysler PT Cruiser with semi-automatic rifles in hand, circus-style.

You have to see it to believe it ... four guys are in the Cruiser with guns drawn, and then they hop out and begin firing at targets in the distance. Somebody in the back filming encourages them to keep going -- according to FOX 17, the feds say this was a tactical exercise.

But, wait ... there's more. Other footage released by investigators reveals two different men practicing their load and re-load times on their weapons ... apparently as a way to show how "ready" they were for the alleged mission. It's pretty intense, but goofy all the same.

One last clip shows one of the men -- who FOX 17 says was one of those indicted -- talking directly into the camera and describing why he and his comrades are doing this ... because they were sick of being "enslaved" by the state of Michigan. It's surreal to hear him say it.

FOX 17 also posted alleged screenshots of convos between the men that investigators say detail their plans in great depth, which encompassed stakeouts, reconnaissance, entry and escape routes and general chatter about their hatred of the Gov. and her COVID policies.

As we reported ... Gov. Whitmer made the bombshell announcement last week about the FBI thwarting the alleged attempted kidnapping. At least 14 men have been arrested in connection to the alleged crime -- investigators claim they're made up of at least two militia groups.

Whitmer blamed President Trump for stoking the flames on this ... going back to his "Liberate Michigan" tweets early on in the pandemic.

It's officially going down ... Joe Rogan is hosting Kanye West on his uber-popular podcast -- and it sounds like Ye's been given license to get creative with the look.

Kanye tweeted out the news Saturday -- wishing his public request from last week into existence. He writes, "Joe Rogan said it’s cool for me to design the set for our podcast this Friday ⛷." KW also attached a couple screengrabs from a FaceTime convo they had.

The summit of personalities, if you will, comes just a few days after Kanye expressed interest in sitting down and chatting on the 'JRE' -- which has millions of followers ... and which now lives exclusively on Spotify after years on YouTube. Talk about a big get for them, huh?

Now, Joe hasn't confirmed the chat himself just yet, but something tells us it's happening. While JR didn't directly respond to Kanye's plea this past week ... we know he's been wanting to book Ye for a while to pick his brain. He's praised Kanye as a genius of sorts in the past ... likening him to someone who operates on a different plane with higher voltage.

Of course, this also allows Joe to get in on the presidential race ... sorta. Remember, he recently floated the idea of moderating a multi-hour podcast-style debate between Trump and Biden -- something Trump was actually down for ... the implication being, we think, that JB wouldn't be able to hang for that long. Joe's podcasts often run three to four hours-plus.

Quavo appears to wanna be the next Travis Scott or J Balvin ... as far as hamburgers go.

The Migos rapper just posted some pics of himself at a McDonald's -- where he's ordering his go-to favorite meal. By the looks of it, this seems to be a direct plea to the Golden Arches for a potential partnership -- similar to what they've been doing with artists lately.

Quavo's own "meal deal" would include ... a plain double cheeseburger, their new spicy McNuggets, a medium fry and some barbecue sauce. The line McDonald's employees can yell out to prospective Quavo-inspired customers ... "What U Want???" Has a nice ring to it!

He even posted an up-close shot of what the food bundle looks like from his POV -- it ain't exactly as professional and touched-up as J Balvin's sponsorship shoot, or the inaugural Travis meal that kicked this whole trend off for that matter, but hey ... it's a starting concept.

Now, if Quavo is trying to will a McDonald's deal into existence, there's a big problem from what we can see. Dude forgot to tag @McDonalds!!! C'mon, bruh ... that's marketing 101.

Tim Allen's eldest boy on "Home Improvement" is all grown up ... and sitting in a jail cell for allegedly choking out his girlfriend.

Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested late Friday night in Eugene, OR after neighbors called for help following some sort of scuffle at an apartment complex in town. Eugene PD tells TMZ ... when cops showed up, they found Zach sitting outside his unit with the alleged victim hiding at a friend's place across the way.

We're told after an investigation, cops found 39-year-old Zachery had gotten into some sort of argument with the woman -- with whom he has a relationship -- and it allegedly became physical ... with the victim claiming ZTB put his hands around her throat and squeezed.

We're told cops were also told Zachery tried taking the woman's phone away when she tried calling 911 ... before she was ultimately able to escape and get to a safe place. Zachery was arrested without incident and booked on three charges -- strangulation, fourth-degree assault and interfering with making a report. He posed for this mug shot at Lane County Jail.

A robin about the size of an orange got a bunch of bird watchers off their asses and out to the wetlands from across the pond, 'cause this was something they just couldn't miss.

About 100 guys who get a kick out of peering through binoculars gathered up their best gear early Saturday in Stiffkey, England -- a parish along North Norfolk -- and flocked to the nearby salt marsh to get a gander at a rare bird who hadn't graced their area in 40 years.

The beast in question ... a little something called the Rufous Bush Chat, otherwise known as the Rufous-tailed scrub robin. It usually breeds in Mediterranean areas, and can even be found in areas around Africa ... but is rarely seen in northern Europe. Last time it was spotted in Britain was in 1980, out in the shire county of Devon ... this according to the BBC.

As for how it ended up in the U.K. ... local bird experts reportedly suggested it was seeking a more tropical climate, but somehow got turned around on its journey and landed there.

Now, Rufous here might not be much to look at from a first glance ... but the rarity of its presence was more than enough to get all these fellas together for a closer look. Ecologist Mike Hoit -- who was on the scene snapping shots -- tells us that while it may appear a lot of the guys out there were unsafely clustered together, the gathering was much more socially distanced than photos might suggest. And besides, they're outdoors ... which helps some.

A milestone day on QAnon's absurd conspiracy theory-filled calendar is about to be washed away like the BS it is -- because, no ... JFK Jr. is NOT coming back to rally with President Trump.

John F. Kennedy's deceased son -- John F. Kennedy Jr. -- is trending this weekend ... all to point out just how kooky the QAnon crowd is and what they believe. One of their biggest prophecies ... that John Jr. is actually alive, and on Oct. 17, 2020 (to the day) -- he'd be announced as DT's running mate at a rally in Dallas ... replacing Mike Pence.

Two major issues with that ... sadly, JFK Jr. hasn't been with us for years -- if you're unaware, he (along with his wife, Carolyn, and her sister) died in a plane crash in 1999 while he was piloting a private aircraft from New Jersey to Massachusetts, on their way to a Kennedy wedding.

QAnon followers think John faked his death and has been in hiding this whole time. Unclear how or why folks think he'd all of a sudden resurrect now and join, of all people, Donald Trump. Remember, his father was a Democrat ... and so was his son. The guy even gave a keynote speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention.

Aside from perhaps a few photo-ops the Donald and John posed for together back in the day while living/working in NYC -- there's virtually no connection or affiliation between the two.

More importantly ... there's no Dallas rally planned for Saturday. Trump's actually heading to Janesville, WI -- but he'll be nowhere near the Lone Star State. There appears to have been a Dallas rally around this time last year -- but whoever predicted a repeat screwed up.

President Trump and Tommy Lee now have something in common ... they've both said goodbye to America if their candidate loses the presidential election.

Trump told the crowd in Macon, Georgia Friday ... he's running against the man he calls the worst candidate in the history of politics.

As the President mocked Joe Biden's penchant for requiring social distancing and masks at his campaign event, Trump seemed to be saying he couldn't bear the humiliation of losing to Biden ... and then he suggested he might just bail on the U.S.A. if he loses the election.

The crowd -- most of whom did not wear masks and forget social distancing -- loved it.

An Atlantic City cop not only saved the life of a suicidal man ... he showed compassion by telling the guy he loved him.

The guy perched himself on the bridge of a parking garage this week and threatened to jump. Cops got a distress call but the caller didn't give the exact coordinates, so police went on the hunt. The guy's family sent police a photo of him and that helped them eventually find him atop the parking structure.

Enter Officer Eric Knuttel, a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team. Knuttel began talking to the man, but 10 minutes into the conversation, the guy became extremely upset and walked to the ledge, creating a perilous situation.

Knuttel eventually made his way to the man, grabbed him by the leg and thwarted the suicide threat. As the man was moved back from the ledge, you hear Knuttel say to the guy, "I love you." Another cop says, "We'll make sure everything's ok."

An 8-year-old kid named Harry may have figured out a way to save Halloween!!!

Harry lives with his fam in Washington, D.C. and was apparently noodling on how he and his pals could trick-or-treat in COVID times. He -- and we're guessing his family helped -- made a candy chute ... something that's catching fire as a way to safely dole out candy.

So, according to the family, Harry played a big part in designing the prototype. It certainly does the trick, although it's only gonna work on an incline. Nevertheless, the design is solid, so the family's now producing and selling chutes ... for a good cause.

Harry said, "I decided to sell them, exactly how much price they should cost -- which is exactly $25 and zero cents -- and how to decorate it," in an interview with NBC.

Proceeds will go to D.C. charities that offer Thanksgiving dinners to folks in need.

It's a beautiful day to be Joe Biden, because he's being compared to Fred Rogers ... even by the son of the legendary children's TV show host.

It's pretty ironic, but the Democratic presidential nominee has senior Trump campaign advisor Mercedes Schlapp to thank for this positive pub, after she compared Biden's Thursday town hall to watching "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." Of course, she meant it as a bad thing.

The intended jab was a major fail -- including misspelling Fred's last name -- as Twitter folks immediately reminded her that Mister Rogers is admired and beloved by almost everyone.

His own son, John Rogers, tells TMZ ... comparing anyone to his father is a major compliment, not an insult, and Biden's worthy of the praise. He says he especially sees a similarity in the demeanor of the 2 men, telling us Biden seems gentle like his father ... and speaks like him too.

John says his dad had a lot of kindness and feelings for other people, and his iconic show was so special because he was incredible with kids, great to those who worked for him, and spread a wonderful message across the globe.

John's not the only Rogers family member to give props to Joe either. Fred's widow, Joanne, described herself as a "very big Biden fan" last month and said ... "I think we all need somebody like Biden who can give us little pats on the back."

The former VP called Joanne a little while later to thank her.

On the flip side, she blasted President Trump for constantly lying and called him a "horrible person."

Michelle Theriot -- who made her name as Gramma Mimi on the hit TLC show, "OutDaughtered" -- has been arrested for DUI ... TMZ has learned.

Mimi was busted last weekend in League City, Texas a little after midnight on her way home. Cops say Mimi's black Ford SUV was swerving while straddling the shoulder's solid white line.

Cops say when they tried pulling her over, Mimi was slow to stop and when they approached her, cops say there was a strong odor of perfume wafting from the SUV. Cops say they know the game ... people try to conceal certain odors with perfume or cologne.

Mimi was asked to produce her driver's license, and cops say she was lethargic. They also say Mimi's speech was slurred and she had bloodshot eyes. When cops asked if she had any booze, she told them she had 2 glasses of wine ... before changing her story later and saying she had no wine but 2 Michelob Ultra beers.

Cops say it got worse when Mimi stepped unsteadily out of the car ... swaying back and forth. According to cops, she also bombed several field sobriety tests and had to be stopped from trying to get back in her SUV. She was handcuffed and taken to jail.