Coronavirus

Howie Mandel is back judging "America's Got Talent" ... and while it's gonna be much different, he's hoping everyone is getting on his level when it comes to getting touchy-feely!!!

The comedian and famed germaphobe joined us Monday on "TMZ Live" to talk about 'AGT' getting back to work, shooting the show remotely. That seems to suit Howie just fine, considering the coronavirus scare they had on set last month.

You gotta see his description of the moment Heidi Klum coughed, throwing Howie into a tailspin. As we reported, 'AGT' lost its studio audience shortly after that, and then shut down altogether.

You'll recall, that was around the time Howie showed up in a hazmat suit to shoot the show. We all laughed, but he says the fear was real for him ... although, thankfully, Heidi ended up testing negative for COVID-19.

As for adjusting to life in the middle of a pandemic -- he's taking social distancing to the extreme, and has one major takeaway. The man who quit handshaking many years ago, says it's time everyone else realizes, "There's no reason to touch anybody!"

The XFL -- Vince McMahon's pro football league -- has officially filed for bankruptcy ... just days after folding the league, TMZ Sports has learned.

A league spokesperson tells us, "The XFL quickly captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of people who love football."

"Unfortunately, as a new enterprise, we were not insulated from the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis."

"Accordingly, we have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code."

"This is a heartbreaking time for many, including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners, and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football."

Sources tell us ... the COVID-19 pandemic, which essentially shut down the league -- caused the XFL to lose "tens of millions in revenue" since it wiped out regular-season games and playoff games.

We're told ... despite the financial blow, employees were paid full wages up until April 12 as well as any accrued vacation days.

We're also told the XFL will refund ticket holders, and are currently in that process.

As for the filing, we're told the timing was to maximize the return investors.

Among the creditors ... XFL lists head coaches Bob Stoops ($1,083,333.33), Mark Trestman ($777,777.78), Jonathan Hayes ($633,333.33), Winston Moss ($583,333.33) and others.

A Florida man coughed on cops during his arrest, wishing them death from the novel coronavirus ... and it's all on police bodycam video.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office says deputies were responding to a domestic violence disturbance Saturday after the suspect, Brent Smith, allegedly came home drunk and threatened his mother with a butter knife, leading to his arrest and some nasty threats towards cops.

In the video, Smith is sitting handcuffed in the back of the patrol car when he tells a deputy, "I hope you die. I hope you catch corona. I hope the coronavirus, I hope it latches on to you, I hope it makes you puke." Then the guy starts coughing again.

During his arrest, cops also say Smith started coughing and threatened to bash "their f***ing brains in."

Smith was booked with a slew of crimes ... threatening and assaulting a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery on a person 65 or older, tampering with a witness, robbery by sudden snatching, grand theft and violation of probation on an original charge of aggravated battery on a pregnant person.

Doctors are firing back at critics who are questioning the safety of Robert Kraft's PPE mask donations this month ... slamming the hate and straight-up calling the charity "a godsend."

If you missed it ... after Kraft got his Patriots plane to deliver over 1 MILLION masks from China to the U.S. -- some questioned the effectiveness of the pieces.

The Boston Globe -- citing several medical professionals -- claimed there was concern that a version of the N95 mask -- known as the KN95 mask -- that Kraft negotiated for wouldn't be good enough to protect medical personnel in the States.

But, MA General Hospital President Peter L. Slavin M.D. shot all of that talk down Monday ... saying Kraft's donation could not have been more appreciated -- and will be used effectively.

"KN95s and N95s are similar products that must meet the same high standards of filtration, and they function the same way," Slavin said.

"The purchase and delivery of these respirators to Massachusetts and New York were a godsend to frontline healthcare workers in hospitals and nursing homes who have been fearful and concerned about the dire shortage of personal protective equipment."

George Stephanopoulos says he's tested positive for coronavirus -- a few weeks after his wife contracted it -- but says, so far, he's not suffering.

The 'GMA' anchor made the revelation Monday morning ... telling his cohosts, Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan, that his spouse, Ali Wentworth, was on the mend and getting better after a recent bout with COVID-19 that left her with a high fever and other symptoms.

In the same breath, George -- who is working from home -- said he too had recently tested positive. The somewhat good news is GS says his case of coronavirus appears to be asymptomatic ... he says he hasn't shown any of the typical signs of illness.

In fact, George even goes so far as to say he's feeling great. It also sounds like George is gonna keep working. He shares two daughters with Ali, and he's been their primary caretaker while his wife has been under the weather.

As we've reported ... NBC, CBS and CNN -- all based in NYC -- have had staffers test positive, including Chris Cuomo ... who has been battling symptoms.

That's more a sign of how badly NY has been hit by the pandemic, than anything else.

Jonny Fairplay -- one of the most notorious "Survivor" contestants -- is pimping hard-to-get BUFFs for hardcore fans, who can use 'em as protection from the coronavirus.

The BUFFs were already for sale on Amazon and CBS' website but they've been sold out. Enter Jonny, who already has a well-earned rep as a scoundrel, with a stockpile of the merch that's signed by some of the show's biggest stars.

Check out the video ... Jonny says season 34 winner Sarah Lacina and "Arrow" star Stephen Amell are some of the signed BUFFs in his possession. He's selling them for $150 to $200.

We know what you're thinking, but Jonny swears 100% of the proceeds are going to a charity that builds Christian schools in South Africa.

As you know by now ... the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending the use of cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19. It should be noted ... on CBS' website it explicitly says BUFFs "are not intended to be used as medical-grade face masks or as effective measures to prevent disease, illness, or the spread of viruses."

But, Jonny says something is better than nothing. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Anthony Causi -- a sports photographer who gained fame for shooting MLB games -- died Sunday after he was diagnosed with COVID-19 shortly after working Mets spring training.

He was 48 years old.

Friends and family of the longtime NY Post photog say he contracted coronavirus in March after spending 2 months in Florida covering NY Mets preseason workouts.

Tragically, they say Causi passed away over the weekend after a lengthy fight with the disease.

"After days of struggling, he was hospitalized," Causi's family and friends wrote, "Anthony was a fighter, he kicked ass, and did his very best, but after weeks of intubation, he lost the fight."

Causi had worked for The Post for nearly 26 years ... and was described as having "a heart of ACTUAL GOLD."

"Anthony ALWAYS had his camera with him, capturing moments, photobombing pictures, and making everyone around him laugh," his friends and family said.

"The irony of his life long photography career, is that moments like this is what these photos are all about. So years later, family and friends can look at his gorgeous pictures and cry, smile, laugh, and appreciate the memories.

He left behind a wife and two children. A GoFundme page for Causi has already raised more than $30,000.

RIP

Donnell Rawlings doesn't believe cracking jokes about the coronavirus is off-limits, but the pandemic definitely has him thinking bigger picture.

The "Chappelle's Show" star tells TMZ ... it doesn't matter what the source material is -- in the comedy world, it's never inappropriate or too soon for a funny observation.

Donnell admits he's been making light of the COVID-19 crisis himself and got called out for it, but he says he's simply accepting the reality of the situation ... and trying to make people laugh.

To his bigger point ... Donnell says the coronavirus and resulting fear of death are waking people up to what's truly important in life.

Food trucks might not officially be "essential" ... but they are when they're giving back to people on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.

It's a pretty heartwarming national movement ... while demand and profits for food trucks are almost nil -- with office buildings closed -- some trucks in NYC, L.A. and Denver are serving free food at hospitals, healthcare facilities, fire departments and police stations.

Wafels and Dinges, a food truck in NYC, visited Mount Sinai Hospital, serving up free Belgian waffles and coffee to all the workers in the COVID-19 unit and ICU. The truck barely has an income, so it was sponsored by Imagine Society.

The Wafels & Dinges food truck in Denver also passed out free food at 4 major hospitals there -- Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center, University of Colorado Hospital, Saint Joseph Hospital and National Jewish Health -- donating 2,000 waffles and counting.

Meanwhile, The Halal Guys food cart tells us it's provided more than 800 meals to various hospital workers -- and partnered with Lysol to donate $80,000 to the CDC Foundation.

Happy Ice L.A., a mobile water ice truck, is giving away water ice to medical first responders around L.A. -- and sponsoring an Easter Sunday fundraiser to give $75 grocery gift cards to 1,000 families.

Also in L.A., Fraiche Signatures by Chef E Dubble has been handing out free meals for 3 weeks and counting ... feeding over 1,200 people from MLK Hospital and Kaiser Baldwin Hills, plus firefighters, police officers and sheriffs.