Coronavirus

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle may have something in common ... they've both gotten vaccinated.

You'd think Kate would be fully vaccinated by now, but nope ... she got her first shot Friday at the London Science Museum. Seems London's a little behind the U.S. of A. in the vaccine department ... Kate, who's under 40, just became eligible.

Kate said after getting poked, "Yesterday, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine ... I'm hugely grateful to everyone who is playing a part in the rollout. Thank you for everything you are doing," adding she's "hugely grateful."

Her hubby, Prince William, got his shot a few days before at the same site.

It's unclear which vaccine they both received. They'd be entitled to either Pfizer or AstraZeneca.

Kim Kardashian had a really bad case of COVID-19 along with her kids, which shut down production of her show for 2 weeks ... and she says it disrupted her studying for her second crack at the baby bar.

A teaser for "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" already revealed Saint had tested positive for the virus -- but on Thursday night's episode we find out the health crisis went far beyond her oldest son, and affected her whole brood.

Kim says Saint tested positive after an apparent outbreak at his school, and she was really worried about him because he was crying and coughing a lot ... on her. Of course, with 3 other kids in the house, she was also concerned about it spreading, and that's exactly what happened.

North started feeling sick soon after, and eventually both she and Kim discovered they had COVID too. At that point, producers decided to shut down all 'KUWTK' shoots for 14 days while the family quarantined.

Kim says she had some severe symptoms, like a 104-degree fever ... exactly when she was supposed to be putting in 12-hour daily study sessions to retake the baby bar exam -- which as we reported, she'd previously flunked.

Fortunately, everyone in the fam recovered okay, but it seems Kim failed on take 2 of the test. Earlier this week, she said she was studying to take it again.

It's still unclear exactly when COVID hit Kim and her kids since the show was filmed months ago, but we know Khloe contracted the virus sometime in 2020 and revealed on 'KUWTK' that her symptoms were so bad ... Kris Jenner called every doctor she could think of for help.

Kim previously stated Kanye West also had it in the very early days of the pandemic.

Guy Fieri smells a comeback in the restaurant industry ... and to celebrate he's throwing a huge party with the help of some famous friends.

The official Mayor of Flavortown will be on "TMZ Live" Monday and says he hopes America's reached the point it can finally be done talking about restaurant closures due to the pandemic ... and begin looking forward.

Enter Guy's Restaurant Reboot ... a live stream special set for June 12 at 7 PM across all of Guy's social media platforms. America's favorite chef calls it a celebration of local restaurants across America.

It's pretty sweet ... Guy and his team got huge backing from LendingTree and Pepsi to support the festivities. Shaq and Gronk will visit their favorite joints in Atlanta (Park Tavern) and Tampa Bay (Datz Restaurant) and actually cook their favorite items.

Diplo and Old Dominion will provide the music. And, $300k will be given away to restaurateurs and entrepreneurs to keep their businesses afloat.

Guy's on a mission to get restaurants up and running again after the pandemic pummeled the industry. More than 100k restaurants either temporarily or permanently closed.

One of the real singing voices behind the infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli has died at the age of 66 after a battle with COVID-19 ... according to his daughter.

John Davis' daughter, Jasmin, revealed her dad died May 24 with a post that read, “My dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus.” She continued, “He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and especially through his music. He gave so much to the world! Please give him the last round of applause. We will miss him dearly.”

The Milli Vanilli duo the public came to know was made up of members Fabrice Morvan and Rob Pilatus. The pair won a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after their wildly successful "Girl You Know It's True" album dropped the year before.

However, after wildly successful year -- including multiple #1 hits and tours -- Fab and Rob and their producer came clean that it was all a front. They didn't actually sing the songs they'd released, and it was really Davis' voice, and a few others, on the records.

Perhaps the most infamous moment for the pair came during a live performance for MTV in 1989 when the track for "Girl You Know It's True" skipped on a loop, leaving the duo on stage embarrassed.

From there, it was all downhill for Morvan and Pilatus ... they eventually gave up their Grammy, and lawsuits and demands for refunds came flooding in from fans.

Davis attempted to form his own group with one of the original ghost singers, but couldn't repeat the group's success.

If Senator Rand Paul wants to keep beefing with Richard Marx, it sure seems like the '80s hitmaker will be right here waiting for him ... on Twitter.

Marx is not taking a social media break after Paul publicly accused the singer of calling for violence against him, which the Senator suggested was the reason a suspicious, powder-filled letter was delivered to his home Monday.

If you missed it, Sen. Paul tweeted ... "I take these threats immensely seriously. As a repeated target of violence, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to encourage violence against me and my family."

Rand added ... "Just this weekend Richard Marx called for violence against me and now we receive this powder filled letter." BTW -- the authorities determined the substance in the package was non-toxic.

So, what did Marx say that got Paul so riled up? According to Marx, it was just a "wise-crack" about Rand's neighbor ... you know, the one who beat up Rand in 2017 over a reported landscaping dispute.

Marx tweeted on Sunday ... "I'll say it again: If I ever meet Rand Paul’s neighbor I’m going to hug him and buy him as many drinks as he can consume."

That was enough for the Senator to accuse the singer of inciting violence, but Marx is not backing down or apologizing for his initial tweet.

Instead, he's publicly scoffing at the claim and pointing out all the ways he says Paul has put people at risk with his behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic ... including recently stating that he's against getting vaccinated.

Marx has also been responding to people saying he should be kicked off Twitter by sending links to stories of GOP figures -- including former President Trump -- allegedly inciting violence or being reckless with their words.

William Shakespeare, the one famous for the COVID-19 vaccine, is dead ... 5 months after getting inoculated. The other Shakespeare's dead too, but you knew that.

The 81-year-old Englishman -- who went by Bill, btw -- died Thursday of an illness, which the BBC reports was unrelated to the vaccine.

As we reported, Bill was the first man, outside of clinical trials, to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine back in December when mass vaccinations began in England.

Jayne Innes, one of Bill's friends and local politicians, wants folks to honor him by getting vaccinated too. Innes says the "best tribute to Bill is to have the jab."

Bill got his shot at University Hospital Coventry, about 20 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of the OG Shakespeare. He was an inpatient in the hospital's frailty ward when he got the vaccine.

Bill's shots followed 90-year-old Margaret Keenan's, the first person in the world to get jabbed. By all accounts, she's still fine and dandy.

The NBA says LeBron James was not blocked from playing after violating the league's COVID protocol because officials decided he was NOT a risk to spread the virus.

In fact, the league says investigators determined everyone who was allowed at the May 17 event for LeBron's tequila company -- the event that triggered the violation -- was either vaccinated or tested negative for COVID before being admitted.

The event was attended by some massive celebrities including Michael B. Jordan and Drake.

There was some outrage after the league announced LeBron had attended the event -- with some calling for the NBA superstar to serve a mandatory quarantine before being allowed on the court out of fear he could infect someone else ... especially since he refuses to publicly confirm or deny if he's been vaccinated.

But, the NBA says there's nothing to fear ...

"LeBron James briefly attended an outdoor event last week where participants were required to be vaccinated or return a negative test result," a league spokesperson said Monday,

"Under these circumstances and in consultation with medical experts, it was determined that his attendance did not create risks related to the spread of COVID-19 and therefore no quarantine was necessary."

The NBA also says LeBron did NOT receive special treatment because he's a superstar.

"Over the course of this season, there have been numerous similar violations of the league's Health and Safety Protocols, which were addressed with the player's team in a similar fashion."

Then, the league added this line ... which makes it sound like Bron HAS been vaccinated.

"Under current NBA rules, vaccinated players are permitted to engage in outside activities including their individual commercial arrangements, such as sponsor appearances or ad shoots."

Larry Flynt's Hustler Club had one sweet vaccination deal going over the weekend -- get jabbed, and get a dance from one of their strippers.

The famous Las Vegas strip club turned into a pop-up vaccine clinic as health officials there try to encourage the public to get COVID-19 vaccines -- as demand has dropped dramatically -- and this was one of the more creative ways to do it.

Free Johnson & Johnson shots in a strip joint? Jokes kinda write themselves.

For those who showed up Friday, the club offered a 1-year Platinum Membership Card, a complimentary bottle, free dances from a vaccinated entertainer, tickets to see its famous Sexxy After Dark show and a limo. The total value of this lovely package ... a whopping $5,000.

JoAnn Rupiper, the chief nurse of the Southern Nevada Health District who monitored the pop-up clinic, told the AP, "This is just another way to access our population. It might attract some people who like the novelty of it, I suppose."

The Hustler Club's joint in New Orleans hosted a similar vaccination site ... offering those who showed proof of vaccination a membership card that gave them and 5 friends free admission, among other perks.

All in all ... the pop-up clinic in Vegas administered around 100 shots before the strip club got going for its regular biz.

Coming soon to a city near you -- the WWE!!!!

Vince McMahon's wrestling org. is finally ready to take the show back on the road ... announcing a 25-date tour set to kick off in July.

Of course, it's been more than a year since the WWE has hosted any events outside of Florida ... with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the org. to create its ThunderDome setup in the Sunshine State.

WWE took one step towards normalcy by hosting 51,350 fans over two nights for WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa last month.

Now, fans will be able to see Superstars like Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks IN THE FLESH later this year ... with the return set to go down at SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston on July 16.

The famed Money in the Bank event will take place a few days later at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on the 18th ... and Raw will go down the next night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Kim Kardashian is revealing even more about how close to home the coronavirus pandemic hit for her ... and especially her oldest son, Saint West.

Kim and the fam talk about Saint's diagnosis on next week's "Keeping up with the Kardashians" episode. You can see the pain as she announces, "Sainty just tested positive for COVID. And, North is saying she's feeling sick."

While Kim never talked about this back when it happened, she does say on the show 5-year-old Saint getting infected had her worried as hell. It's unclear exactly when Saint tested positive but the show's content is usually several months delayed from real life.

It's at least the third time the coronavirus has directly impacted the family. As we reported ... Khloe Kardashian contracted the virus sometime in 2020 and revealed on 'KUWTK' that her symptoms were so bad, Kris Jenner called every doctor she could think of for help.

Some of the symptoms included terrible headaches, a burning chest from all the coughing, hot/cold flashes and vomiting. She said the symptoms lasted a couple of days.

Donald Trump is getting dragged into court for using the term "China virus" ... a new lawsuit says the former President caused a lot of harm to Chinese Americans with the phrase.

Trump's getting sued by the Chinese American Civil Rights Coalition ... and they're pissed over him constantly referring to COVID-19 as "Chinese virus," "Wuhan virus" and "Kung Flu" while he was in office.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, the CACRC claims Trump's use of the derogatory terms contributed to the recent rise in violence against Chinese and Asian Americans ... and they claim he should have known better.

As you know ... Trump infamously crossed out "corona virus" in the text of a March 2020 speech and replaced it with "Chinese virus" ... and the CACRC claims he shouldn't have used the term because it’s not entirely clear where the virus actually originated.

In the suit, the CACRC says Trump's constant use of "China virus" was essentially a dog whistle to his legions of supporters, and they claim it has harmed Chinese Americans.

Paul Hogan insists he didn't put up a sign on his house warning homeless people to scram ... in fact, he says the house isn't even his and he has empathy for people living on the streets.

The "Crocodile Dundee" star was getting lots of unwanted attention after a sign was plastered on his garage that read ...'THIS IS MY HOUSE NOT YOURS." Hogan is renting a $3.5 million house on the sand in Venice ... an area that has been completely overrun by the homeless. It's become both dangerous and heartbreaking to see people living in horrible conditions.

Hogan says he did NOT write the sign, although it's weird he was seen with a red marker in his hand and the sign is written in red.  He does say when he saw the sign, he took it down.

Paul calls the homeless situation in L.A. sad, awful and embarrassing. State and local government have done little, if anything, to curb the problem up to this point, and it's become a full-blown crisis.

The 81-year-old Hogan has said he's homesick for his native Australia and can't wait for COVID-19 issues to be resolved so he can leave L.A.

Gotta hand it to the New England Patriots ... once again using their resources to help combat the global COVID pandemic.

This time, Robert Kraft's team sent the Patriots jet to El Salvador to deliver 500,000 doses of the COVID vaccine.

Photos show the plane at Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport on Tuesday delivering the payload ... great news for a country that's been trying to roll out the vaccine to its 6.4 million citizens.

So far, El Salvador has recorded more than 71,000 cases and 2,100 deaths. The CDC has issued the country a "3" rating, which indicates a high level of COVID, noting "travelers should avoid all nonessential travel" to El Salvador.

Officials in El Salvador have said the country is on track to reach its goal of immunizing the entire population "very soon" ... thanks, in part, to the Patriots.

Back in April 2020 -- and the beginning of the pandemic -- Kraft sent the Patriots team jet to China to bring back more than 1.2 million N95 masks to distribute to people in need in the U.S.

Sure, you can hate the team on the field ... but gotta hand it to the Patriots for making a real impact off of it.

The opposition continues ...

With the 2020 Olympic Games set to begin in less than 3 months, the movement to cancel the event is still strong .. as evidenced by a protest in the streets of Tokyo on Monday.

People held signs reading, "Extinguish the Olympic Torch" and "Cancel the Tokyo Olympics."

The photos show a police presence during the demonstration -- but it doesn't appear things got out of hand.

The protest comes in the wake of a new poll conducted in Japan which reportedly says 80% of Japanese citizens are AGAINST the Olympics beginning on July 23, as currently scheduled.

The poll, conducted by Asahi Shimbun -- one of Japan's largest news outlets -- said of those surveyed, 43% want the Games canceled while 40% would prefer another postponement.

As we previously reported, there has been a recent surge in COVID cases in major Japanese cities, including Tokyo -- which led to the government extending a state of emergency from May 11 to May 31.

The country is currently experiencing a 4th wave of the infection which reportedly contains a variant that is spreading very fast and impacting a relatively large number of young people.

So far, Japanese officials are pushing forward with the plans to host the Games -- insisting there are measures in place to prevent a major outbreak.

Ricky Schroder doesn't seem to understand the CDC's new guideline about mask-wearing -- and he learned about it the hard way at a Costco, which held its ground on policy.

The former child star from "Silver Spoons" filmed an aggressive encounter between himself and a Costco manager named Jason at an L.A.-area warehouse ... which is now making the rounds online.

You see Ricky asking the guy why he isn't being allowed inside without a face covering, noting the new news that fully vaccinated people don't really have to wear them indoors or out in most settings -- except for a few exceptions. Turns out, a Costco in Cali is one.

The manager calmly explains that there is still a state-wide mask mandate that's in effect throughout the state -- it's true, there is -- and that even though Gov. Newsom has signaled that may be lifted around mid-June ... their Costco is still following local guidelines to a T.

Ricky then goes on a bizarre rant about kings and lords ... and something about societal control. Jason hears him out, but stands firm -- basically telling him to scram.

They eventually get Ricky a refund and even amid his calls for boycotting Costco ... they get him to leave. It's a great lesson -- yes, the CDC has new guidelines about mask-wearing, but no ... not every retailer in every state out there is up to speed on switching gears just yet.

Confused about mask-wearing these days??? Well, this "Saturday Night Live" video won't help, but it's hilarious.

Kate McKinnon played a mean Dr. Anthony Fauci during the cold open of the show, which focused on confusion over mask-wearing in the wake of the CDC's new guidelines.

McKinnon, who has Fauci's voice down pat, walked us all through various scenarios which may or may not require masking up.

There's a scene on an airplane where a flight attendant and passenger talk masks, but they confess they're super horny and start to bang.

The skit then gets right up to the line as a dude goes to pick up a child from school as a school official discusses mask-wearing ... turns out the dude doesn't have kids.

It's funny, but the confusion is real, with states, local governments and businesses all over the board on mask-wearing.