Controversial S#!T

Donald Trump says he's gonna ban TikTok as early as today.

Trump told a reporter on Air Force One Friday night, “Well, I have that authority ... I can do it with an executive order ..."  He reportedly followed up by saying, "We're banning them from the United States."

The pretext is that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company and Trump has it out for China. As you know, he refers to coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," and he's done everything he can to make China the scapegoat for the rampant spread of COVID in the U.S.

100 million folks in the U.S. use TikTok, which has exploded in popularity during the pandemic. On top of that, the company has hired 1,000 Americans this year, and plan to hire 10,000 more.

And, there's this ... TikTok has helped Americans deal with isolation and depression. It's been uplifting for millions of folks. It's also been a source of income for some of its users.

Boston Marathon Bombing survivor Adrianne Haslet -- who lost her leg in the terror attack -- is FURIOUS after an appeals court Friday overturned the bomber's death sentence.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had been sentenced to die for his role in the 2013 bombing which killed 3 people and injured more than 250 others, including Haslet.

Haslet -- a professional dancer at the time -- required emergency surgery and lost her left leg from the knee down.

Her comeback story has been nothing short of inspirational -- she trained up and completed the marathon on a prosthetic leg in 2016.

But, after learning that an appeals court had overturned Tsarnaev's death sentence Friday ... she WENT OFF in a heated IG post.

"I’m so livid at today’s ruling by the federal court," Haslet said.

"First and foremost, I cannot emphasize enough, without a shadow of a doubt, that the criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul to stop racial profiling, and the death penalty is used in far too many cases of injustice. AND. The death penalty should be used in this particular case."

"This terrorist admitted in court he was guilty of crimes committed against our country. He confessed, with his brother, to a man who testified in court that their plans were to drive to New York and bomb the city too. This terrorist gave the finger when asked if he felt guilty."

She added, "He is a threat to all of us and he needs to die."

As for Tsarnaev, the appeals court believed some of the jurors in his trial were not completely truthful about how much information they had about the case while being selected.

The death sentence was vacated -- BUT there will be a new penalty phase of the trial where it's possible the new jury could still sentence him to death.

Orlando Magic power forward Jonathan Isaac became the first NBA player to stand during the national anthem following the season restart ... deciding against both kneeling and wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt.

The league's coaches, refs and players -- from LeBron James to Zion Williamson -- have been using the anthem demonstrations to raise awareness as games pick back up in Orlando ... a gesture that is being supported by NBA commish Adam Silver.

Isaac became the first player to choose to stand as the anthem was played before the Magic's match-up with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday ... while the rest of the team's players and staffers took a knee.

It's worth noting -- Silver says everyone will have the option to kneel during the anthem without consequence ... despite a league rule requiring players to stand.

The same goes for anyone who wishes to stand -- no one is saying the players HAVE to kneel, either.

So far, Jonathan hasn't commented on his decision to stand publicly -- because the game is currently being played. But, when he does, we'll update here.

Charles Barkley spoke about the demonstrations on Thursday during TNT's "Inside The NBA," saying, "The national anthem means different things to different people."

"I’m glad these guys are unified. If people don’t kneel, they’re not a bad person. I want to make that perfectly clear. I’m glad they had unity, but if we have a guy who doesn’t want to kneel because the anthem means something to him, he should not be vilified."

The Magic released a statement in support of the demonstration, saying, "The DeVos Family and the Orlando Magic organization fully supports Magic players who have chosen to leverage their professional platform to send a peaceful and powerful message condemning bigotry, racial injustice and the unwarranted use of violence by police, especially against people of color."

"We are proud of the positive impact our players have made and join with them in the belief that sports can bring people together — bridging divides and promoting inclusion, equality, diversity and unity."

A Seattle woman flipped out on a photographer using a drone for real estate photos, accusing him of secretly recording women ... but he thinks her rant was really about seeing a black guy on her block.

The photog, Thomas Samuel, shared video of the incident, in which the latest "Karen" accosts him as he was, in his words, "working and minding his own business."

The vid starts with the woman, who ID's herself as Katelyn, complaining about a drone coming down on her house. She acknowledges that she came out cussing at Thomas and claiming he's filming women.

When Thomas explains he's working for the real estate company Redfin, the woman doesn't buy it ... and angrily says she's going to go call them to verify.

Thomas wrote after the confrontation ... "Just had this woman come at me accusing me of being a criminal and a pervert/creep with my drone bc I was taking pictures of her neighbors house smh."

He added ... "I was hired and working a job, notified the homeowners that I was there and got approval to fly, not to mention I have my FFA Part 107 license to fly drones."

Thomas went on to allege the woman thought the worst of him because he's black.

Antonio Brown asked for it ... and now he got it -- the NFL is suspending the All-Pro WR a whopping 8 games after finishing its probe Friday into a myriad of AB's off-field issues.

The half-a-season ban will begin as soon as Brown signs on with a new team ... the league announced.

"​Antonio Brown was notified today by NFL Special Counsel for Conduct Todd Jones that he has been suspended without pay for the first eight regular-season games of the 2020 season for multiple violations of the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy," league officials said.

"As part of the discipline, Brown was directed to continue his program of counseling and treatment, and that he is expected fully to cooperate with his clinicians.

They added, "Brown was advised that any future violation of the Personal Conduct Policy will likely result in more significant discipline."

Of course, Brown had been under league investigation for nearly a full year for several reasons ... most notably after he was accused in a civil lawsuit of raping his former trainer.

In the suit, Britney Taylor alleged Brown sexually assaulted her on 3 separate occasions ... including a violent rape in 2018.

AB has adamantly denied the claims ... and has fought the suit in court for most of the past year.

Brown was also under investigation after he allegedly sent menacing text messages to a different woman who had accused him of sexual misconduct when she went to his Pittsburgh-area home to paint murals on his wall in 2017.

The NFL also looked into Brown's assault case ... in which he was arrested for allegedly beating up a moving truck driver outside of his Florida mansion in January.

Brown has tried his best to play nice -- apologizing to the league, his family and even cops over the past few months -- but just last week, he went off on the NFL for its investigation.

He claimed the league was dragging its feet ... and it was hurting his career.

With the probe now over ... Brown -- who hasn't played since being cut by the New England Patriots last September -- is free to sign with any team.

Racial tension is boiling over -- this time in Brooklyn between a cyclist and a driver, and it ended in a sparked hateful tirade against Asians.

The racist rant started when the guy who recorded this video admits he gave a "light honk" to the biker, who he says was swerving all over the road.

The biker quickly goes racial and hurled so many ethnic and homophobic slurs and stereotypes, you'd think he was trying to win racist bingo.

Basically, the cyclist's lame-ass defense was he's from that neighborhood, and no one should be honking at him on his bike, especially not Asians. Naturally, he pulls the get-out-of-my-country routine.

More than 100 years too late, the Bronx Zoo is apologizing for its horrific treatment of Ota Benga, a Central African man, who was actually on display in the zoo's monkey house ... with an orangutan.

The Wildlife Conservation Society -- the organization that runs the zoo -- is formally apologizing for the 1906 imprisonment and caged display of Benga for one week.

The WCS says ... "We deeply regret that many people and generations have been hurt by these actions or by our failure previously to publicly condemn and denounce them."

The apology was clearly prompted by the social activism since George Floyd's murder, and the WCS added ... "We recognize that overt and systemic racism persists, and our institution must play a greater role to confront it."

Benga was a member of the Mbuti people of the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo, and for several days during the week of Sept. 8, 1906, he was held in inhumane conditions, forced to live with an ape ... and was only allowed short periods of time outside.

Benga started to resist and threaten zoo attendants, and was only released after a delegation of local black churches demanded it. When he was finally freed, Reverend James Gordon took him in at his Brooklyn orphanage ... but Benga died by suicide 10 years later.

The handwriting is now on the wall ... Donald Trump is revealing his plan to stay in office beyond January 20, 2021, and he wants to do so without even having an election.

Trump, who has made false claims about voter fraud, just tweeted, "With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote???"

So, Trump is trying to start a groundswell to put off an election where polls show him way behind Joe Biden. The claims of voter fraud have no foundation ... nevertheless, he's been beating that drum for months.

So, why would Trump want to delay the election? Well, we just got word on GDP for the second quarter, and it reached historic proportions, plunging more than 32%. It's pretty obvious Trump wants to stall, hoping for a vaccine and an economic rebound.

The big worry ... Trump might as well just come out and say it ... he's not gonna leave The White House willingly. Bill Maher has been saying that for months, and the evidence is mounting that he's right.

In fact, in 2018, Trump reportedly said this about Chinese President Xi holding the position for life ... "And look, he was able to do that.  I think it's great.  Maybe we'll have to give that a shot someday."  So scary.

Kanye West's self-proclaimed running mate -- though she's yet to confirm this herself -- has returned online with her "spiritual coaching" site ... but gives no indication she's campaigning for West/Tidball 2020.

Michelle Tidball was name-dropped by Kanye as his VP pick in his Forbes interview -- following his surprise July 4 announcement that he's running for Prez -- but very little was known about her ... and her website got yanked shortly afterward.

As we first told you ... Michelle's site, Yarash.org, touted her as a "Biblical life coach" but also included some odd takes on mental health -- such as doing your dishes and making your bed to combat mental illness.

The Yarash site is back up, and though it's been revamped and edited ... it STILL doesn't mention anything about Kanye, being his Veep, or anything political at all really.

Instead, the site is gussied up with new animated graphics, an autumnal color scheme, Hebrew-style font, and tighter copy ... but features her same smiling portrait.

Michelle's old teleconferences and Bible study sessions -- where we discovered her mental health advice -- have been taken down. Her bio has been toned down quite a bit too ... but she's still advertising 50-minute life-coaching sessions for $65.

The Wyoming woman recently stated Kanye was doing "fine" and there was nothing to worry about ... amid his erratic behavior and wild Twitter rants, but she dodged any VP talk.

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. believes COVID was secretly created for global "population control" ... and warns things are about to get much, much worse.

It was all part of a bizarre Snapchat Q&A session on Tuesday -- when the 2018 1st-round NBA Draft pick decided to go full conspiracy theorist when asked about the pandemic.

"Personally, I think that the coronavirus is being used obviously for a bigger agenda," 22-year-old Porter said from his room in the NBA Bubble in Orlando.

"It’s being used for population control in just terms of being able to control the masses of people."

More than 661,000 people have reportedly died from COVID around the world since the pandemic began -- with more than 16.7 MILLION cases.

Porter thinks it's all part of some diabolical plot for global control.

"Because of this virus, the whole world is being controlled. You’re required to wear masks, and who knows what’ll happen when this vaccine comes out. You might have to have the vaccine in order to travel. That’d be crazy."

And yeah, that's when Porter pivoted into some anti-vaxxer talk ...

"I've never been vaccinated in my life. I've never had any shots or anything like that. So, it could get crazy."

FYI, it seems impossible for Porter not to have been vaccinated at some point in his life since basketball players at Missouri (where he played college ball) were required to comply with the 2-dose MMR Immunization Policy -- which essentially requires proof of vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella.

Still, Porter continued his rant ...

"It's definitely an agenda behind everything that's going on right now and all you can do is sit back and watch what's going on."

"Don't get too emotionally involved," Porter warned ... "but yeah, I mean it is a serious thing -- it's a real thing but yes it's being overblown."

Barbie's new line of dolls meant to inspire all girls to raise their voices and get interested in public service quickly got political when Donald Trump Jr. got involved ... but the toy company's shutting him down.

Shortly after the Barbie 2020 Campaign Team -- made up of 4 diverse dolls including a candidate, a campaign manager, a fundraiser and a voter -- was unveiled to "expose girls to public leadership roles and pique their interest in shaping the future" ... Don Jr. used it to take a shot at Democrats.

Don tweeted ... "'Voter' Barbie must be a Democrat because she’s already wearing an 'I Voted' sticker and yet she’s got another ballot in her hand."

Not the most original joke, and according to the makers of Barbie ... it's also inaccurate.

A Mattel spokesperson tells TMZ ... "Barbie is not, and has never been, affiliated with a political party. Barbie has always encouraged girls to stand up for what they believe in and shows them they can be anything."

The Mattel rep adds ... "This doll set highlights a range of leadership roles to pique their interest in shaping the future and raise their voices – from the podium to the polls. This set also provides a tool to allow families to have conversations around important events and cultural moments through play."

Of course, Don Jr.'s joke comes as President Trump continues to push claims mail-in voting is fraudulent and will only benefit Democrats in the upcoming election.

Truth is, there are no facts to back that up ... just like Jr.'s jab at Barbie.

Georgia Senator David Perdue has pulled an ad that made his Jewish, Democratic opponent's nose look bigger -- claiming it was a flub and not an anti-Semitic trope.

The Facebook ad featured photos of both Jon Ossoff, who's running in Georgia to take Perdue's seat -- as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (who's also Jewish) -- with the slogan, "Democrats Are Trying to Buy Georgia!"

In other words, a Jew with an artificially big nose is trying to buy an election. But, Perdue says no anti-Semitism here.

Ossoff responded, saying ... "Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue's digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose. I'm Jewish. This is the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history. Senator, literally no one believes your excuses."

For his part, Sen. Perdue said the ad was made through a third party, and that any distortion to Ossoff's appearance was an accident. They removed the ad this week.

His campaign added, "Anybody who implies that this was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally misrepresenting Senator Perdue's strong and consistent record of standing firmly against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate."

Here's rapper Jack Harlow showing love for his pal, Lou Williams -- just days after accidentally exposing him in a strip club incident that rocked the NBA.

Yep, it was Harlow who posted -- and then quickly deleted -- a pic of the L.A. Clippers star at Magic City last week which landed Williams in some hot water with the league.

Remember, Williams had received permission to leave the NBA Bubble in Orlando to attend a funeral in Atlanta ... and was ordered to stay away from places with a high COVID exposure risk.

LIKE STRIP CLUBS!

Of course, Williams insists he was only at the club for 20 minutes to pick up some chicken wings -- which are apparently AMAZING -- and didn't put himself in harm's way.

The "What's Poppin" rapper TRIED to lie to cover for his friend -- initially saying the pic was a throwback -- but the truth eventually emerged.

Williams is now serving a mandatory 10-day quarantine so he can get back into the bubble.

In the meantime, Harlow is now in L.A. where he was spotted in Lou's Clippers jersey.

Tiffany Haddish is opening up about the idea of motherhood, but says one thing above all else scares her -- bringing a child into a racist world.

The actress and comedian discussed the topic on NBA star Carmelo Anthony's hit podcast, "What's in Your Glass?," saying everyone's always asking her when she's going to have some babies.

Her answer ... "There's a part of me that would like to do that, and I always make up these excuses like, 'Oh, I need a million dollars in the bank before I do that, I need this, I need that.' But really, it's like, I would hate to give birth to someone that looks like me, knowing that they're gonna be hunted or killed."

Tiffany teared up as she added ... "Why would I put someone through that?"

Carmelo -- who has a teenage son -- said, "It's scary to even think about that" ... and Haddish pointed out that white people don't have that concern.