Coronavirus

Frat bros forever, dude!!!

Social distancing and other coronavirus restrictions can't break up college fraternities, which are embracing new hangouts in lieu of house parties.

Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, which has 106 chapters, is still holding meetings every Sunday night, and frat bros are staying connected using Zoom ... according to the executive director and CEO, Phillip Rodriguez.

While huge frat house ragers are on hold due to the outbreak, Phillip says the Delta Sigma Phi bros are instead turning to virtual game and trivia nights to stay closely knit.

College campuses will remain empty for the rest of the semester, and while a fall return date is still up in the air ... Delta Sigma Phi is still planning to initiate new members, thanks to technology.

The frat says it's created an online portal, similar to Zoom, which connects up to 500 bros -- and it's already using the platform to hold online ceremonies for initiating new members. As for the future -- even if students aren't back on campus in the fall ... DSP is planning to initiate new members online.

The North American Interfraternity Conference has to sign off on that process and tells us virtual recruiting is very plausible.

Ty Pennington says home makeovers are absolutely essential during quarantines because your home environment has a huge impact on your well-being.

The former "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host tells TMZ ... hardware stores are necessary if you want quarantined folks to maintain their sanity ... and he explained why home improvements help achieve that goal.

Ty says it's not just about keeping busy either. He says projects to make your residence a better space, make you happier and more productive. It's a principle he wrote about in his book, "Good Design Can Change Your Life."

Guess he was ahead of his time -- and right now most Americans have a ton of time on their hands to practice what he's preaching here.

Ty's bottom line ... a lot of good, for your future, can come out of being stuck at home now.

One of Chris Cuomo's biggest fears is now a reality ... the CNN anchor says his wife, Cristina, has also tested positive for the coronavirus.

Chris was joined by his older brother, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, Wednesday evening on his CNN show when he made the announcement. He said, "Cristina now has COVID, she is now positive, and it just breaks my heart. It is the one thing I was hoping wouldn't happen, and now it has."

The Governor and his bro discussed the fact it's near impossible for only one family member to contract the virus ... when they're in the same house. Chris announced he had COVID-19 back on March 31, and ever since he's been quarantined in the basement of his Long Island home ... but still doing his show, most days, from there.

Chris -- who's battled severe symptoms over the last 2 weeks -- said their 3 kids are all still healthy. He said he still has a fever but is hoping he can get better to help his wife if her symptoms get worse.

Of course, the CNN studio from which Chris usually broadcasts is in the heart of NYC, which has been the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic. His coworker, Brooke Baldwin, also tested positive.

NY state currently has 202,208 cases, and more than 10,000 people have died.

Danny Trejo is using his machete for good ... to chop up some carnitas from his famous Mexican joint to feed L.A.'s frontline workers.

We're told the action star hit up USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in L.A. Wednesday, just before lunchtime, and served HUNDREDS of free bowls to hospital workers working to treat patients battling with COVID-19 and various other illnesses.

As you know ... Danny owns Trejo's Tacos, a popular joint with several locations across L.A. Staff at his location on the westside prepped the bowls filled with carnitas, chicken, steak asada and brisket. WHERE'S A DROOLING EMOJI WHEN YOU NEED IT?!?

This is not the first time Danny's gone to bat for L.A.'s healthcare workers. He kicked off the week doing exactly that ... serving up hundreds of bowls for doctors, nurses, administrators and custodians working at Cedars-Sinai in L.A.

Helluva way to give back during a nationwide medical and economic crisis. As we first reported ... Steven Spielberg's production company earlier this month fed a bunch of frontline ER heroes working at a Burbank hospital.

#NotAllHeroesWearCapes

Princess Cruise Lines is being sued by a woman who claims her husband died from COVID-19 after contracting the virus on one of its cruises.

Juishan Hsu and her daughter just filed docs against Princess Cruise Lines, claiming the company exposed passengers aboard the Ruby Princess to the novel coronavirus ... which eventually killed her husband, Chung Chen.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Juishan says she and her husband set sail out of Sydney on March 8. She claims PCL was aware of a COVID-19 outbreak on the ship, but proceeded with the cruise without warning passengers.

Juishan claims they would not have boarded if they knew about the outbreak, and would have immediately taken the first flight home. In the docs, she and her daughter claim PCL still sent out ships after 3 major outbreaks on its cruises, including one a week before on the Ruby Princess.

Princess Cruise Lines only took minimal precautions, according to the suit, including delaying boarding for the Ruby Princess by 6 hours and handing out lunch vouchers to passengers while crews tried to disinfect the ship.

But, the family claims the cruise line failed to quarantine onboard and didn't even notify passengers of the outbreak, "allowing the sailing to continue as if it were a normal cruise"

Juishan says her husband died April 4 from COVID-19 complications. She's going after the cruise line for more than $1 million in damages.

Banksy's not letting coronavirus stifle his creative flow -- his out-of-this-world artwork is going strong in his own home ... but like he says, the missus probably ain't pleased.

The mysterious street artist -- who puts up WILD, often-times live, phantom art exhibits all over the world -- gave his followers a sneak-peek into his crib Wednesday with a little quarantine update ... clearly showing the master craftsman's been hard at work in the bathroom.

Check it out ... at first glance, you think you're looking at a bunch of animated rats making a vivid mess out of the John -- toilet paper unfurled, toothpaste splattered on the wall, brown gunk smeared across the toilet -- but it's just his latest homemade creation.

He even got some close-up shots so folks could soak in the detail he put into this. Per usual, it's incredibly intricate and looks like a scene out of a graphic novel or comic.

Banksy captioned it, "My wife hates it when I work from home." Can't blame her -- the place looks like a sty ... granted, it's mostly an optical illusion. Probably easy enough to clean up.

Looks like everyone's hunkered down these days -- even this guy.

Forget social distancing or staying at home to save lives -- an angry group of Michiganders are over it and they're loudly protesting, hoping to get their Governor to lift the safer-at-home order.

The scene from Lansing is pretty insane ... hundreds of protesters lining the streets around the Capitol -- very few wearing masks -- to pull off what they call "Operation Gridlock." Drivers in about 400 vehicles leaned on horns while protesters shouted with megaphones.

Michigan State Police troopers are on hand, but say they are protecting First Amendment rights and will only take enforcement action for traffic laws, vandalism or threats to human life. In other words, NO tickets for the obvious social distancing violations.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently expanded the state's stay-at-home order, requiring stores to block off non-essential aisles and banning people from traveling between vacation homes. Motorized boating is also now prohibited.

Protestors say the Governor should let more people back into the workforce and lift restrictions on public outings, even though health officials back the order and warn against lifting restrictions too soon.

Ex-NFL QB Tarvaris Jackson will be laid to rest on Saturday in Alabama -- but due to COVID-19, only 10 people will be allowed inside the church at a time.

We're told Jackson's funeral will take place at the True Divine Baptist Church in Montgomery at 1 PM on Saturday, where close friends and family members will pay their final respects to the football star.

As we previously reported, Jackson was killed in a car crash late Sunday night. He was only 36 years old.

We're told, there is a policy in Alabama which limits gatherings to 10 people or less -- funerals included.

So, the family is planning on rotating groups of people in 10-person shifts so they may pay their final respects.

For those who can't attend in person, we're told True Divine Baptist Church will live stream the ceremony on its website and family members will be streaming on social media as well.

Jackson was a 2nd-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft -- and played for the Minnesota Vikings, Bills and Seahawks during his career.

He famously served as Russell Wilson's backup in Seattle where they won a Super Bowl in 2014.

Armie Hammer's potential stir-craziness is pretty evident from his fresh new haircut and mustache, which kinda scream ... "Wait'll they get a load of me!"

The "Call Me By Your Name" star just shared his new mane, and it evokes thoughts of a couple classic characters -- Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver" with a hint of Alex's menacing look in "A Clockwork Orange."

Armie fittingly captioned the maniacal looking shot of his new mohawk and handlebar mustache ... "Killing the game."

Of course, one could also see his mustache and be reminded of 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic, or think of The Ultimate Warrior because of his outfit ... there's truly a lot going on here.

As we first reported, the coronavirus pandemic has more and more Americans deciding to cut their own hair at home. Armie's hammering that point home ... for better or worse.

Billy McFarland -- notorious cofounder of the Fyre Festival -- is joining the list of prisoners demanding a release due to the coronavirus, and believes Tekashi 6ix9ine's already set the precedent.

Billy's lawyers sent a letter to the judge requesting he be granted "compassionate release," citing several reasons ... including a COVID-19 outbreak at his prison, preexisting health conditions, and the fact he's a nonviolent offender.

According to the docs -- obtained by TMZ -- the Elkton federal prison in Ohio, where McFarland is serving his sentence is experiencing a severe number of COVID-19 cases and has been called a "breeding ground for the virus" by Congressman Bill Johnson.

There have currently been 36 inmates and 26 staff members who have tested positive at Elkton -- 4 prisoners have died -- and Billy's lawyers claim the situation's even worse.

According to the letter ... McFarland is also an at-risk inmate due to his preexisting health conditions, which allegedly include asthma as a teenager, severe allergies and "heart issues since his early 20s."

Billy's legal team also cites the recent release of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine -- who they refer to as a "former gang member who pleaded guilty to an array of charges including weapons possession, armed robbery and dealing fentanyl and heroin" -- to support their argument.

As we reported, a New York judge released 6ix9ine to home confinement due to his coronavirus concerns and his asthma .... just like McFarland.

Billy's an "ideal candidate for compassionate release," according to the letter, and his team claims he was already on track for possible home confinement release in 2021. He was originally sentenced to serve his wire-fraud sentence until August 2023.

While Tekashi was successful, others have failed. Both R. Kelly and YNW Melly struck out with judges in their attempts for compassionate release.

The Bureau of Prisons has reported at least 446 federal inmates and 248 staff members have tested positive for the virus, with 14 deaths nationwide.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is already brainstorming ways to get the NBA back in business -- but says equipping his players with masks is NOT the answer.

"If a player thinks they need a mask in order to play, we're probably trying to play too early," Cuban said on "TMZ Live" ... "There's too much uncertainty."

"I think maybe players will discuss it, Maybe a player will try it and then they'll realize how difficult it is and it won't happen in an actual game."

Of course, Cuban was recently tapped by President Donald Trump to be an advisor on how to reopen sports in the U.S.

Cuban says he's excited about the opportunity -- and hopes he can work well with POTUS and other leaders to come up with a safe and sustainable solution.

He also talked about fan safety at future sporting events -- and told us some of his high-tech ideas to help fans stay protected against COVID-19 and other illnesses when they do allow spectators back in the buildings.

And, get this ... Cuban also says he's been experimenting with some quarantine-safe sports ideas in his home ... including BUBBLE SOCCER!! Remember, from "Shark Tank?!"

"We're gonna blow up some bubble soccer balls and let my son and my daughters and their friends each have one because it's social distancing by definition," Cuban says.

"They're gonna take 'em in the backyard and let 'em just beat the hell out of each other with these bubble balls. Maybe we'll have a bubble ball league!

"That will be the first sport to come back!"

WWE just announced a massive cost-saving plan in hopes to keep the company afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic ... which includes slashing top executive salaries and furloughing part of its staff.

Vince McMahon's company spelled out the plan to its investors -- saying they've had to do tighten up the wallet since the pandemic has had a significant impact on their business operations.

"Due to COVID-19 and current government mandated impacts on WWE and the media business generally, the Company went through an extensive evaluation of its operations over the past several weeks," WWE said.

"This analysis resulted in the implementation of various short-term cost reductions and cash flow improvement actions including:

• Reducing executive and board member compensation;
• Decreasing operating expenses;
• Cutting talent expenses, third party staffing and consulting;
• Deferring spend on the build out of the Company’s new headquarters for at least six months.

WWE says they also made the decision to "furlough a portion of its workforce effective immediately."

"The decision to furlough versus permanently reduce headcount reflects the fact that the Company currently believes the furlough will be temporary in nature."

WWE says the moves will help save the company roughly $4 MILLION per month -- "along with cash flow improvement of $140 million primarily from the deferral in spending on the Company’s new headquarters."

WWE assures its stockholders it has enough resources to continue operating -- with approximately $500 million in cash and credit.

"Management continues to believe the fundamentals of the Company’s business remain strong and that WWE is well positioned to take full advantage of the changing media landscape and increasing value of live sports rights over the longer term."

No word on which WWE staffers be part of the furlough.

Eight seniors in Florida caught the coronavirus from what they believe was their regularly scheduled poker games, and within weeks ... 3 of them were dead.

The tragic story comes out of South Florida, where 94-year-old Marcy Friedman, 84-year-old Beverly Glass and 86-year-old Fred Sands passed away recently after their entire group of poker pals came down with COVID-19.

BTW, Beverly and Fred were a couple, and they reportedly died in the same room -- he went first ... and she passed a few days later.

The survivors say they suspect their meet-ups are what triggered the mass infections, as one of them had a bad cough and was sniffling during their final poker game -- though no one thought much of it at the time. Their last game was just outside Miami on March 12.

Shortly afterward, all the other retirees tested positive for coronavirus, with several needing to be hospitalized, including the above-mentioned trio. Harriet Molko -- who survived despite spending nine days in the hospital herself -- says she thought she'd die.

The craziest part of the story -- first reported by the South Florida SunSentinel -- is that many of the retirees were apparently still hitting casinos before and after the group's final game.

Jon Taffer has a good idea what your favorite restaurant is going to look like when the pandemic smoke clears, and says the new key to culinary success won't be taste.

The "Bar Rescue" star joined us Wednesday on "TMZ Live" and outlined some of the sweeping changes he sees coming to restaurants whenever shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted.

Jon's confident people won't be shy about eating at restaurants or going to bars, because Americans want to socialize and support local businesses. He says what will change is what customers value -- and many will prioritize trust over taste.

The way Jon sees it, people are gonna go to the restaurant they trust to keep them safe, and not necessarily the one with the best food.

And, when Americans do start eating inside restaurants again, Jon says customers are gonna be confronted with lots and lots of changes ... involving capacity, spacing and all-new safety precautions. Let's just say the staff at your fave steakhouse might look more like medical pros.

While experts say the restaurant industry has already lost $255 BILLION due to the outbreak, and 1 in 5 restaurants could close permanently ... Jon says it's not all doom and gloom.

Good ... restaurants and their customers could use a side of positivity!!!