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Lucille Bridges, who made a historic walk with her 6-year-old daughter, Ruby Bridges, in 1960 -- into a segregated New Orleans public school -- has died.

Ruby announced her mother's passing Tuesday night ... calling her a hero and "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement." Lucille's cause of death is unknown but Ruby paid a touching tribute to her saying, "Today our country lost a hero. Brave, progressive, a champion for change. She helped alter the course of so many lives by setting me out on my path as a six year old little girl."

Lucille -- who gave birth to Ruby the same year as the landmark decision of Brown vs. Board of Education to end racial segregation in schools -- is memorialized alongside Ruby in Norman Rockwell's famous painting, "The Problem We All Live With" ... which shows Ruby carrying her school supplies as U.S. Marshals escort her.

When the NCAAP requested Ruby attend the all-white William Frantz Elementary School as a first-grader in 1960 ... Ruby's father, Abon Bridges, was reluctant. But, according to the National Women's History Museum, it was Lucille who insisted because she wanted Ruby to have the education she herself missed out on. Lucille walked Ruby to school every day amid hateful and racist rhetoric spewed in their direction.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said, "Lucille's strength was unbounded during this period. Lucille insisted, seeing the action as an opportunity to help all Black children, and walked Ruby, with federal marshals, past chanting and taunting white protesters and to the schoolhouse. Mother and daughter both revealed their character and courage."

Rockwell's painting came back into the spotlight during the run-up of the presidential election ... with an adapted version showing now Vice President-elect Kamala Harris walking with Ruby's shadow cast on a white wall. The painting's been dubbed "That Little Girl Was Me."

Ruby wholeheartedly approved the image saying, "I am Honored to be a part of this path and Grateful to stand alongside you, Together with Our fellow Americans, as we step into this Next Chapter of American History!"

Lucille had 5 children. Her husband died in 1978.

She was 86.

A guy who went fishing in Egypt got more than he bargained for when his catch for the day tried going down his gullet before he could even fry it up ... and it almost killed him.

This went down last week near Beni Suef -- about 90 miles south of Cairo -- when this poor fella came stumbling into an ER down there gasping for breath and unable to speak. He obviously had something funky in this throat -- and that thing, it turned out, was a live fish.

Doctors diagnosed the blockage in his windpipe after running him through an X-ray and other tests, and then immediately got to work in extracting the damn thing with some tools.

Check out the procedure ... it's pretty gnarly. The man's laid out on a table as they pry his mouth open with one device and fish the scaly creature out with another -- eventually they hook it and yank out. As you can see, it's a tiny thing, but got lodged in there good.

Word is the guy was okay after all ... but as for how this happened in the first place -- bizarre, to say the least. Apparently, this dude caught this tiny fish and put it between his teeth to free up his hands so he could attend to another fish he had on the line.

This little bastard started squirming and broke free from his jaw's grasp, and went swimming in the dude's mouth. The lesson ... don't bite off more than you can chew (or swallow).

One of the new guys looking for love with Tayshia Adams on "The Bachelorette" just had an incredibly bad day ... starting with his coronavirus test results.

Peter Giannikopoulos says he tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday after feeling pretty crummy for a few days, and was very distraught over the news because he felt he'd been extremely careful.

Even worse, he says his emotions and anxiety got the best of him as he was driving home from the clinic, and he lost consciousness, veered off the road and hit a pole.

Peter says when he came to, all he remembers is people shouting for help. Fortunately, he walked away with just a small gash on his nose -- as you can see -- and he says he's keeping his chin up and is now focused on beating the virus.

Still, that's one helluva day ... but Peter's reminding everyone to remain positive and lean on each other for support during these trying times.

Peter was one of 4 new suitors to enter the picture on Tuesday night's episode of "The Bachelorette" after Tayshia took over for Clare Crawley ... who made history by finding her soulmate just days into filming, getting engaged, and saying so long to the other fellas.

'Memba those murder hornets, and their TWO queens found in a Washington State nest? Turns out that was just the tip of the hive ... because there could be a lot more queens out there.

The WA State Department of Agriculture now says the nest they recently eradicated near had A LOT more queen hornets inside than they originally thought ... closer to 200 rather than just a measly 2. Big difference!!!

You'll recall that after an initial sweep in late October, the team went out there again when they realized they were short a female hornet ... which they believed might still be inside. They chopped down the tree in question and ended up finding two ladies in the nest -- one new and one old, they say -- plus a crap ton of larvae in different stages of development.

Welp, the WSDA now says there were actually up to 500 live specimens in the trunk -- 76 were fully developed virgin queens, 190 larvae, 108 pupae (next after larvae, almost all of which were queens) ... AND 112 worker hornets. That was the haul from this one job.

One WSDA official is quoted as saying the team got there "just in the nick of time" -- and, yeah, you can say that again. But, it leaves a major terrifying question ... how many other queens (or queens in development) might still be buzzing around, and how far did they travel???

The scientists there aren't oblivious to that -- they say they do believe there might be more nests in the area, but aren't sure where just yet. They also say they're going to scour that area for at least 3 more years to make sure the hornets are fully wiped out.

Joe Giudice is glad his ex-wife is moving on with her life ... and tells us he's happy Teresa's got a hot new boyfriend. Okay, "hot" is our word, not his.

The ex 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star tells TMZ ... he's known for some time Teresa's been dating Luis Ruelas, and he's happy to see her with someone new. Joe says his ex-wife's equally happy to know he's moving on too.

Teresa revealed her new flame's identity Monday, and sources close to her tell us she met Luis a couple of months ago at the Jersey shore. We're told they're taking things slow ... not living together, but very happy as a couple.

Remember, Joe and Teresa recently finalized their divorce after 20 years of marriage. They'd separated following his prison release and deportation to Italy.

And, get this ... things are going well enough with Luis that Teresa's already introduced him to her 4 daughters with Joe.

Here's a very unique, and creepy, tribute to Charles Manson ... a "Helter Skelter" face tattoo made with some of the mass murderer's DNA.

Tattoo artist Ryan Almighty tells TMZ ... Patrick Boos from Niagara Falls wanted to pay homage to Manson with this not-so-subtle tattoo -- and just to ratchet things up, Patrick chose the Manson ashes option. He called it a once in a lifetime opportunity.

As we've reported, Ryan says he has ashes from Manson's cremation, and he dipped his ink gun in it while drawing a pretty intense "Helter Skelter" on Patrick's forehead last weekend.

The Beatles track from the White Album -- which dropped 52 years ago -- was written by Paul McCartney using a fairground ride as a metaphor. Manson infamously misinterpreted it as a subliminal call to incite a race war.

When members of the Manson family carried out a brutal string of murders -- including Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in 1969 -- the words "Death to Pigs," "Rise" and "Helter [sic] Skelter" were scribbled in blood at the LaBianca home.

The "Helter Skelter" forehead tattoo, Manson ashes included, set Patrick back about $500.

Remember, Almighty gave another fanboy a CM tat with the Manson ashes -- and told us he scored the macabre remains from people who scooped up ashes when they were scattered at Manson's funeral.

Boxing superstar Teofimo Lopez has a message for Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia -- "Don't f*ck with me."

The reigning unified lightweight champion (he basically has all the belts at 135 pounds) says he knows there's a lot of chatter from the other stars in the division ... but he's not interested in verbal sparring. Teo wants to fight.

When asked specifically about a fight with Gervonta Davis in 2021 -- Lopez (who just defeated Vasyl Lomachenko) told us he's ready to go.

"Yeah, it can happen," 23-year-old Lopez told us while channeling his inner Ric Flair -- "In order for him to be the man, he gotta beat me."

As far as Gervonta's recent devastating knockout of Leo Santa Cruz, Lopez says he's not concerned -- it's Tank who should be worried.

"I can throw a mean ass uppercut as well and he'll go out. It goes both ways. I'm a very smart fighter when it comes to it and I'm the bigger guy at [135 pounds]. I'm the kingpin of 135 pounds."

Lopez even had this message for Davis, Garcia, Devin Haney, and anyone else looking to challenge him for his titles.

"Y'all calling out my name like I'm giving out free belts," Lopez says ... "But, deep down you know I'm the king of this division."

"If y'all wanna fight me, you know where to find me ... Don't f*ck with me, don't f*ck with me!"

He added, "The whole thing now is who's gonna be up first in line to get that ass whoopin'?!"

Canadian artist Raffi Cavoukian (or better known as just Raffi) has been famous for nearly half a century for his soothing children's songs that worked their way into millions of children's hearts and minds around the world.

Raffi armed with only a guitar and his calming vocal style has become a household name with songs like "Baby Beluga," "Bananaphone," "Down by the Bay," "Shake My Sillies Out," "Apples and Bananas" and many more classic preschool tunes.

Raffi's made such an impact on the world that he's been awarded honorary doctorates from multiple universities and even received the Fred Rogers Integrity Award back in 2006.

A key piece of evidence the Trump campaign was counting on to prove voter fraud in the election just crumbled ... because the witness is recanting.

A USPS worker who recently claimed he'd overheard a supervisor in Erie, PA tell workers to backdate ballots that arrived after Nov. 3 is now taking it all back, saying he made up the whole thing ... this according to the Washington Post.

The guy's name is Richard Hopkins, and just last week many in the GOP, and beyond, were citing him as a whistleblower. He eventually signed an affidavit about his claim, which is at the crux of much of what Trump's camp has hoisted up as evidence of voter fraud in PA.

Welp, as of Tuesday WaPo says the guy copped to lying during a committee hearing with U.S. lawmakers. The House Oversight Committee tweeted the huge development ... noting it's unclear why he lied in the first place.

Keep in mind, Hopkins' false testimony set off a massive chain of events ... including some of the lawsuits Trump's brought forward, and Attorney General William Barr giving the Dept. of Justice the green light to probe any credible claims of voting irregularities.

All that ... for a lie.

We should note, the Erie Postmaster -- Rob Weisenbach -- flat-out denied the claim early, said Hopkins was full of it, and denied any backdating of ballots at his location whatsoever. He suggested Hopkins was disgruntled, as he'd recently been disciplined many times.

Hopkins' false tale isn't dying easily, though, because ... well it's 2020.

The far-right org Project Veritas claims to have recordings of the guy being intimidated by investigators into taking back his story. We'll see if that comes out, but for now President Trump's voting fraud smoking gun seems to be firing blanks.

The Lt. Gov. of Texas is dangling a very expensive carrot in hopes of finding proof of voter fraud ... but what he's really doing is motivating liars to come out of the woodwork.

Yes, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick made the crazy announcement Tuesday ... saying he "will pay up to $1 million to incentivize, encourage and reward people to come forward and report voter fraud." He says the cash will come from his campaign fund.

There is a catch ... Patrick says any whistleblowers would have to turn over evidence that leads to an arrest and conviction in order to get paid. Each person who does that will receive at least $25,000 -- so, Patrick is clearly planning to hook dozens of tipsters.

Remember ... Republicans have filed several affidavits and complaints in courts across the country alleging potential voter fraud and unfair elections, but so far, no court has reversed any election results or confirmed the allegations.

Make no mistake, Patrick is scoring points with President Trump, who still refuses to concede to President-elect Joe Biden. Patrick says he supports "Trump's efforts to identify voter fraud in the presidential election and his commitment to making sure that every legal vote is counted and every illegal vote is disqualified."

With $25k up for grabs, we're guessing Patrick will get plenty of people claiming to have the evidence he's seeking -- whether they actually have it or not.

The only officer to be charged in the Breonna Taylor case is just now accused of sexual assault -- something the alleged victim claims his bosses knew about, but did nothing to correct.

Margo Borders is suing Brett Hankison, claiming he sexually assaulted her in 2018 after a night out at a bar where he worked security. She says she was drunk around closing time, and Hankison offered her a ride home.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Borders alleges Hankison invited himself into her home and plopped down on the couch, while she went into her bedroom to change.

Borders says she passed out, but claims Hankison came into her room, got naked and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious. When she finally woke up, she claims she screamed for him to get off her, and Hankison grabbed his uniform and left.

The next day, Borders claims Hankison contacted her, insisting they'd engaged in consensual relations. She also claims more than 10 other anonymous women have come forward to make statements about Hankison's alleged misconduct with them.

She's also suing several of his co-workers and supervisors -- on the police force and at the bar -- claiming they were aware of his alleged abuse but never took action to stop it.

It doesn't sound like Borders herself filed a police report, but she claims several of the other women made police reports that never got pursued.

As you know, Hankison was charged with wanton endangerment in the Breonna Taylor case ... for allegedly shooting into a neighboring apartment, but not for shooting and killing Breonna.

He's pled not guilty, and has been fired from LMPD.

Odell Beckham is officially on the road to recovery ... the star receiver and the Cleveland Browns just announced he underwent successful surgery to repair his torn ACL.

Beckham shredded the knee early in the Browns-Bengals game back on Oct. 25 ... and he was finally able to go under the knife Tuesday to repair the issue.

The Browns said in a statement the operation -- performed by world-renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews down in Florida -- was a complete success.

"Beckham is expected to be ready for the 2021 season," the team added.

Beckham appeared to be pleased with the results of the surgery as well ... he posted a pic of himself post-op and wrote, "Sit back relax n watch how God work.....Now let the journey begin."

Beckham was having his best year as a Brown before the injury ... logging 319 receiving yards and 4 total TDs in 7 starts.

The wideout has vowed to come back stronger than ever ... writing on his social media page earlier this week, "Adversity.... it’s nothin new to me!"

Get well soon!

Britney Spears believes her father dished out hundreds of thousands of dollars to her former business manager for no good reason ... and she thinks it was way too much.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group began repping Britney more than a decade ago, and got paid 5 percent commission on her gross entertainment-related income.

That obviously added up to a lot of money when Britney was actively performing, but it took a hit when she announced her "indefinite work hiatus" in early 2019.

According to the docs ... Tri Star emailed Brit's dad, Jamie Spears, in November 2019 and said it wanted to remain on the 5 percent commission plan, but with a $500k annual minimum.

Britney claims her dad approved this new arrangement without attempting to negotiate a more favorable deal, and in doing so ... screwed her out of $308,974.51 it sent to Tri Star for its services in 2019.

Britney's legal team calls these "radical new arrangements" that gave Tri Star a 260% raise from the amount it would have been owed under the previous deal. She's looking to disallow the $309k payment as excessive and credit it back to her on the accounting.

We broke the story ... Tri Star also recently resigned as Brit's biz manager last month, and Jamie already hired a new one. This is creating another major rift in her ongoing conservatorship case, and played a role in Brit's decision to try to get her dad removed as co-conservator.

Justin Turner is a changed man -- the Dodgers star was out in L.A. Tuesday and it seems he's learned to keep his mask on at all times!

Check out the 35-year-old slugger rockin' his mask while out on a walk with his two doggies -- super safe and super adorable!

It was exactly 2 weeks ago the star 3rd baseman ignited major outbreak concerns during Game 6 of the World Series -- when he blew off the MLB coronavirus protocol to celebrate with his teammates after being told in the 7th inning he had tested positive for the virus.

There was even a point where Turner removed his mask and sat next to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (a cancer survivor) for a team photo.

Turner has since apologized for his actions at the World Series -- saying he failed to "appreciate the risks" of returning to the field after he learned he was COVID positive.

"I have spoken with almost every teammate, coach, and staff member and my intentions were never to make anyone uncomfortable or put anyone at further risk," Turner said in a statement.

Over the weekend, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said 5 members of the Dodgers organization (plus one family member) have tested positive for COVID ... though they have not identified those people by name.

Congressman Jim Clyburn's widely credited with saving Joe Biden's Presidential campaign, but he says Joe shouldn't thank him ... the credit goes to 2 Black women who inspired him.

The distinguished gentleman from South Carolina joined "TMZ Live" Tuesday to shed some light on his decision to throw major support behind Biden leading up to the SC primary, which proved pivotal in Joe landing the Democratic nomination.

Clyburn tells us he was already a Biden fan, but he decided to go all out for him to honor his late wife, Emily ... who passed in September 2019. The congressman says his wife absolutely loved Joe, and she made him promise her he'd commit to helping Biden get the nom.

The other Black woman who persuaded Clyburn is anonymous, but his interaction with her was so impactful ... he attributes it to his game-changing endorsement of Biden. The rest, as they say ... is history.

Of course, this all led to Biden becoming President-elect, and Rep. Clyburn seems pretty confident nothing's going to change that ... despite President Trump's efforts.

In fact, Jim seems fed up with all the Trump talk since the election, and reminds us the sitting Prez is just one individual -- one the congressman would like to see put in his place. As he's told us before, if Trump won't leave quietly ... he believes the military will make him.

Finally, on the topic of Georgia and its uber-important Senate races ... Jim has an interesting take on how they could affect Biden's presidency and the Democratic Party as a whole.

Hoda Kotb says things are looking up for Al Roker in his battle with prostate cancer ... and she's got a message for fans who want to help out.

We got the "Today" host jogging through NYC Tuesday -- she says she's running for Al, BTW -- and asked for an update on his health. She'd just recently spoken to him, and was happy to report Al's in a great mood ahead of surgery this week to remove his prostate.

As you know ... Al revealed his cancer diagnosis on the air Friday, saying he learned about the diagnosis Sept. 30 and explaining why he's going to be taking time away from "Today" for surgery and recovery.

Hoda says Al feels things are "looking good" for him, but she had a message for all of his fans looking for a way to help.

It's great news Al's doing well, but we can't say as much for our photog. Watch the clip and one thing is obvious ... Hoda can teach our guy a thing or 2 about cardio.