Coronavirus

Mississippi’s got one wild situation -- a hostile STD-carrying monkey busted loose from a large trailer truck hauling primates after the semi flipped over on a highway, according to police.

The wreck went down Tuesday in Heidelberg, where the truck, containing several monkeys infected with hepatitis C, herpes, and COVID, crashed en route from Tulane University to a Florida testing lab.

Witnesses shot camera footage that captured the monkey climbing out of the trailer and wandering around in a rural area. Cops say six monkeys made a break for it -- but five have been destroyed, and one’s still on the loose.

Violet Affleck ripped into world leaders in a passionate speech at a United Nations meeting Tuesday -- blasting them for not protecting younger generations when it comes to the transmission and prevention of COVID-19.

Check out her heartfelt speech ... the daughter of Ben Affleck and Jen Garner argues leaders say her generation is the future ... but accuses them of actively stealing their lives in the present by avoiding the continued dangers of COVID-19.

She criticizes people in power of relentlessly trying to get back to "normal" while "ignoring, downplaying, and concealing" both the prevalence of airborne transmission and the threat of long COVID.

China seems delusional on the issue of COVID-19 all these years later ... ‘cause the government is now falsely claiming the deadly virus originated in the United States instead of China’s Wuhan lab —- the most universally accepted theory.

Chinese officials penned a paper pointing an accusatory finger at the U.S. for facilitating the spread of COVID -- an infectious respiratory disease that quickly passes from person to person.

In the essay, the officials wrote ... “The U.S. should cease from shifting blame and evading responsibility, stop finding external excuses for its internal malaise, and genuinely reflect on and overhaul its public health policies.”

Steve Martin and Martin Short have been forced to cancel their next two comedy tour dates ... because Martin caught the 'vid.

Steve announced Thursday evening his pal caught COVID-19 from the "Saturday Night Live" 50th Anniversary special that aired Sunday ... insinuating he got sick thanks to Maya Rudolph by sharing a photo of the pair kissing backstage at the event.

He joked ... "Maya had Covid. Marty has Covid. I wonder why? The SNL 50th Covid curse is real."

Mark Zuckerberg is claiming that the Biden administration called up his team, yelling and cursing at them, demanding they take down memes about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Meta CEO is spilling tea about Biden, saying Meta was pressured to censor certain posts ... telling Joe Rogan on his podcast, they even threatened his team with consequences if they didn't remove the posts.

Zuckerberg added, "Basically, it just got to this point where we were like no, we're not going to take down things that are true ... That's ridiculous."

Rob Schneider was one of millions to share their condolences following Dikembe Mutombo's death ... but his tribute to the legend stuck out in particular -- as he used the tragic news to push his anti-vax stance.

The comedian went to X to mourn Mutombo's passing on Monday ... starting it off by saying, "Rest in Peace..."

Many wish he would've just left it at that ... as the rest of his post -- which quoted a video Mutombo made in 2021 to promote the Covid vaccine -- speculated if getting the jab had anything to do with the former All-Star's death.

Julie Chen is taking a brief step back from "Big Brother" ... announcing she'll be skipping the upcoming house eviction for health reasons.

The TV personality took to Instagram Thursday, where she confirmed she'll be missing out on filming the new live episode of "Big Brother" ... as she's been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Per the announcement, Chen first began feeling under the weather on Friday last week and decided to visit her good friend, who happens to be a doctor. The "Big Brother" host shared this is the second time she's been diagnosed with the disease, but noted her symptoms were "very mild" ... just a sore throat this time around.

Justin Gatlin ain't blaming Noah Lyles one bit for hitting the Olympics track while positive for COVID ... telling TMZ Sports the opportunity to secure a medal simply outweighed the other risks -- at least, in his mind.

Of course, there were many detractors in the sports world who felt differently ... as they believed the American endangered his fellow competitors and others in the area when he chose to run the 200-meter final on Thursday in Paris while symptomatic for the coronavirus.

But Gatlin -- a USA track legend -- told us on Friday he would have done the exact same thing ... explaining, "this is an Olympic dream you have, man."

President Biden is currently fighting this third bout with COVID-19 -- and while some have speculated it'll mess with his brain power ... one doctor says that's likely not the case.

Here's the deal ... the 81-year-old POTUS was diagnosed with COVID again this week -- and in light of all the scrutiny about his mental acuity ... a fair amount of people have suggested JB could suffer "brain fog" and other symptoms that screw with one's ability to think clearly.

Of course, Biden's already under fire for what many consider mental lapses as it is -- but one expert who's in the field tells us folks need to slow their roll by pre-diagnosing Biden.

Jimmy Fallon crapped on President Joe Biden in his opening monologue -- cracking jokes about the Prez's COVID news ... and questioning if Round 2 in the Oval Office is in store.

The 'Tonight Show' host made some jokes at JB's expense on Thursday's episode -- saying POTUS was lucky he couldn't spread his diagnosis ... especially since Democrats had already been distancing themselves from him after that debate debacle with Trump.

JF didn't stop there ... adding, "Thankfully, Biden is expected to make a full recovery, and his doctor said that he'll be back to 60% in no time." Obviously, he's referring to questions about Joe's cognitive abilities for a second term.

Right after President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus -- he was being whisked away by his team ... and yes, he was wearing a mask ... which you can now see on camera.

Check out this video of the 46th Prez with a face mask over his nose and mouth while being chauffeured in a motorcade after he gave his address Wednesday at the NAACP Convention in Las Vegas.

It was shot by Giovanni Falcone ... and this was filmed around 3 PM Wednesday, not long after word of Biden's COVID diagnosis went around in the media. We're told he appeared to be heading toward the airport ... which makes sense, 'cause his team said he was going to Delaware.

Violet Affleck isn't just cruising on the success of her famous parents ... she's standing up for what she believes in -- in front of a major local governing body.

The daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner appeared before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, speaking up on an issue near to her heart ... keeping mask mandates in Los Angeles hospitals.

Check out the clip ... the recent high school grad introduces herself before diving into her firsthand experience with a long-term post-viral condition she contracted way back in 2019 -- adding she saw how medicine can't answer all the effects of a virus.

Aaron Rodgers está de vuelta en el programa de Pat McAfee, solo 24 horas después de que Pat anunciara que el 4x MVP de la NFL había terminado su participación por la temporada, ¡pues el jugador de los Jets hizo una aparición inesperada en las ondas de ESPN!

Pero los chicos se ciñeron a los deportes. Solo discutieron las salidas de Bill Belichick y Nick Saban de los New England y Alabama. No se habló nada de Jeffrey Epstein, Jimmy Kimmel, Anthony Fauci, COVID-19, o cualquier otro tema candente.

La visita, de unos 5 minutos probablemente, ni siquiera sería noticia si no fuera por el anuncio que McAfee hizo en el programa de ayer, donde dijo: "Los martes de Aaron Rodgers, la temporada 4, se acabó".

Pat continuó explicando que estaba aliviado de que Aaron no volviera más al programa, al menos, durante unos meses.

"Habrá un montón de gente que estará feliz con esto, yo incluido, para ser honestos con ustedes. La forma en que terminó, se puso muy ruidoso. Estoy contento de que no vaya a estar en mis menciones en el futuro, lo cual es una gran noticia".

El anuncio fue recibido con enfado por algunos aficionados, quienes percibieron que McAfee le estaba dando la espalda a Rodgers. La aparición del jueves parece poner fin a cualquier especulación de que Aaron y Pat tengan alguna disputa.

De hecho, Pat abordó algunas de las reacciones (dijo que estaba siendo "absolutamente aplastado") y aparentemente aclaró que Rodgers no iba a unirse los martes porque su temporada de fútbol había terminado y quería disfrutar de su tiempo libre.

Cuando Aaron se desconectó, Pat comentó su vínculo con Rodgers antes de seguir con su programa.

Aaron Rodgers is back on the Pat McAfee show ... just about 24 hours after Pat announced the 4x NFL MVP was done for the season, the Jets signal caller made an unannounced appearance on the ESPN airwaves!

But, the guys stuck to sports ... only discussing Bill Belichick and Nick Saban's departures in New England and Alabama. There was no talk of Jeffrey Epstein, Jimmy Kimmel, Anthony Fauci, COVID-19, or any other hot-button issues.

The 5-ish minute visit would likely not even be newsworthy if not for the announcement that McAfee made on yesterday's show, saying, "Aaron Rodgers' Tuesday, season 4, is done."

Pat went on to explain that he was relieved Aaron wouldn't be back on the show ... for a few months, at least.

“There will be a lot of people who are happy with that, myself included, to be honest with you. The way it ended, it got real loud. I am happy that he’s not going to be in my mentions going forward, which is great news.”

The announcement was met with anger by some fans who perceived McAfee as turning his back on Rodgers. Thursday's appearance would seem to put any speculation to bed that Aaron and Pat have any beef.

In fact, Pat addressed some of the reaction (he said he was getting "absolutely crushed"), seemingly clarifying that Rodgers wasn't going to join on Tuesdays because his football season's over, and he wants to enjoy his time off.

When Aaron logged off, Pat commented on his bond with AR before moving on with his show.

A last-ditch attempt to save a dog from a mysterious illness plaguing the nation is seemingly working -- with one vet deciding to prescribe the popular COVID-19 drug intended for humans ... Paxlovid -- and it seemed to work!

The life of a bulldog named Cash -- who was struggling to breathe with inflamed lungs while coughing up blood -- was spared when Doug Swain, D.V.M., a veterinarian at Lyman Vet Clinic in Cass County, Iowa, gave him the antiviral pills.

Dr. Swain tells Iowa news outlet KCCI 8 he made the decision because there was nothing to lose ... adding within days, the dog recovered after being on the brink of death.

Since then, he has continued to prescribe Paxlovid to other dogs battling severe cases of the mysterious illness.

Dr. Swain says he came up with the solution after noticing the owners of the struggling animals had recently been ill with COVID ... and their symptoms were similar to humans.

He adds he put 2 and 2 together when he noticed the affected dogs looked just like he did when he spent 9 days in the ICU after being struck down with COVID.