Coronavirus

Kim Mulkey kicked off her LSU coaching career by ripping off her COVID mask -- in yet another public statement against COVID regulations.

Mulkey recently left her gig as the head women's basketball coach at Baylor -- where she took the Lady Bears to THREE national championships since taking over the program in 2000.

But, before she left Baylor to take the LSU job, the 58-year-old made headlines for demanding the NCAA should STOP coronavirus testing at both the men's and women's Final 4s in the spirit of ensuring players' availability.

"They need to dump the COVID testing," Mulkey said back in March ... "Wouldn't it be a shame to keep COVID testing and then you got kids that test positive or something and they don't get to play in the Final Four?"

The NCAA strongly disagreed with Mulkey -- saying it was important to continue testing all the way through the end of the tournament in hopes of preventing an outbreak.

So, when Mulkey took the podium on Monday to be introduced as LSU's new women's hoops coach ... the first thing she did was rip off her mask in what seems to be another shot at what she considers overbearing COVID protocol.

"Well, I'mma take this damn mask off ... 'cause I have a lot to say."

She then flung the mask off the stage in dramatic fashion.

After that, Mulkey focused on basketball ... saying she came to Baton Rouge to win titles.

Just like most of us over the last year, the White House is leaning on Zoom to conduct meetings and get face time with folks amid the pandemic, but chances are President Biden's Zoomin' is MUCH more expensive than yours.

According to federal docs obtained by TMZ ... the Executive Office of the President has spent a little more than $422,000 on Zoom licensing fees since mid-January, right around the time Biden took office.

That might seem pretty hefty -- especially for those who mostly use Zoom for free or at a low cost to chat with family and friends ... but the licenses needed for the government to use Zoom, at the capacity required for the Prez, really add up.

As you might know ... Biden's been on Zoom a lot lately, including for the current virtual Global Climate Summit with dozens of other world leaders.

POTUS also swore in hundreds of federal appointees and staff via virtual Zoom ceremonies after his inauguration.

DMX's Celebration of Life featured was an emotional event that featured his children, celeb friends, Kanye's Sunday Service Choir and a stern message from Swizz Beats to the people who failed X when he was still alive.

One of the more powerful moments of the entire ceremony came from X's friend Swizz Beats. He shared love to X's family and his late friend ... but didn't hide his anger in seeing some faces in the crowd he knew didn't have X's back when the rapper was alive.

In fact, Swizz says if anything, X's death has taught him the importance of loyalty and keeping good people in his circle.

We're told Kanye and the Yeezy creative team were behind the stage design for the memorial, and Kanye teamed up with Balenciaga to create DMX merch ... with proceeds going to his family.

X's red casket was center stage most of the ceremony and was first accompanied by his widowed fiancee Diseree and their son, Exodus. His other children eventually joined them on stage, and his final wishes of loving Jesus and family were relayed.

Some of X's children even got on the mic and spoke as well ... delivering somber remembrances of their father. One of his younger sons read a eulogy from his phone, fighting back tears ... and his daughter shared an original piece as well.

Nas took the mic at one point as well, with remarks that were brief but impactful -- with him remembering X's rise to fame and how he knew he'd become a musical icon. Nas and X starred in a movie together -- the cult classic 'Belly' from 1998.

There were other notable speakers, including some of the original Ruff Ryders ... Eve, Jadakiss, Styles P,  and Drag-On were just a few to take the mic as well. All of them thanked X for putting them on and paving the way in the biz.

DMX's family is also planning a more private funeral service Sunday, at a church in the NYC area.

UFC superstar Kamaru Usman was hit so hard by COVID following his July 2020 fight with Jorge Masvidal, he drove himself to the emergency room for treatment.

Usman says he was so dehydrated, he peed blood, lost his sense of smell and dropped 17 pounds as a result of the virus ... telling ESPN he was seriously concerned about dying.

The good news ... Usman insists he has recovered and is ready to go for his UFC 261 rematch with Masvidal this weekend.

But, man, the story behind his illness is scary stuff.

Usman told ESPN he started feeling symptoms after he flew from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi to his home in Colorado.

At first, Usman says he felt sick -- and he thought he would beat it easily. But, things escalated quickly.

After five days of symptoms, Usman says he couldn't wait it out anymore and went to a local emergency room for treatment.

Usman was admitted to the hospital, where he tested positive for COVID and was immediately given medicine to help him recover.

Usman tells ESPN his mind went to a dark place, admitting he thought to himself, "Man, I just made all this money and I'm not gonna be able to spend it."

Fortunately, Usman was able to make a complete recovery ... and returned to the octagon in February 2021, where he defeated the #1 welterweight contender, Gilbert Burns.

How's this for an epic summer pool party?!?!

Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel -- two of the best swimmers on the planet -- needed a pool so badly to train for the Olympics during the early goings of the pandemic in 2020 ... they straight-up went to a man's backyard for help!!

The story is pretty wild ... Ledecky and Manuel, who normally get their laps in at Stanford's facilities, found themselves pool-less in March '20 after the school closed due to coronavirus.

The two REALLY needed water, their coach, Greg Meehan, told Yahoo Sports this week ... 'cause the Tokyo Olympics had yet to be postponed, and trials were just weeks away.

"We were scrambling to find any water because the reality was the trials were going to be in about 12, 13, weeks,” said Meehan, who also coaches the Stanford women’s swim team.

"If we get stuck without being in water for a month or six weeks or something, it’s just not going to go well. I had thought a lot about what happens if we don’t find water. I was trying connections everywhere."

Enter Tod Spieker -- a swim legend who was an All-American at UCLA and a backstroker at the 1968 Olympic Trials -- who just so happened to have a great pool to offer up.

Meehan contacted Spieker -- who he knew through mutual friends -- about using the water ... and Tod told him no problem.

So, everyone rolled up to Spieker's house ... and stayed training there for months!

Meehan said the setup was incredible, given the circumstances -- it was equipped with clocks, starting blocks and backstroke flags -- and the two Olympians put in WORK there until their regular facilities opened back up in June.

"It wasn’t three months of the greatest training of their life," Meehan said, "but it was enough to keep the engine running."

There's a huge crowd of COVID-19 vaccinated New Yorkers lining up for free weed on the unofficial marijuana holiday ... and if this doesn't convince people to get the shot, these stoners don't know what will!!!

We got cannabis rights activist Todd Hinden at the "Joints For Jabs" event Tuesday in NYC's Union Square Park, where they're expecting over 2,000 folks to show up for the free ganja giveaway.

Todd says organizers twisted up about 4,000 joints -- he says he rolled a half pound of grass himself -- and as you can see, the line for free bud is stretching around the block!

It's all legal too, thanks to New York's recent recreational marijuana legislation, but if ya wanna spark it up ... ya gotta show proof of vaccination for the hook-up.

A little over 42 percent of New Yorkers have gotten at least one jab, and Todd tell us why the event might help push the vaccination rate even higher.

Patrick Mahomes says he's fully vaccinated ... telling reporters Monday he took the shots in the arm to try to help ensure his newborn baby daughter stays healthy.

"To me, it was more of a personal decision with having a baby girl and knowing that I was going to be around people," the NFL superstar said.

"I wanted to make sure I could do whatever I could to help keep her healthy."

Mahomes and his fiancee, Brittany Matthews, welcomed little Sterling Skye Mahomes back in late February ... and Patrick clearly didn't wrestle too much with the decision to get vaccinated as a new dad.

But, Patrick emphasized the choice to get the shots is "a personal decision for everybody."

"Whatever you believe," the 25-year-old said, "I think you can do whatever that is."

As for how fatherhood is going, Patrick said the last two months have been a whirlwind ... explaining, "I've had to learn a lot there, probably more than I've learned in my entire life 'til now of how to take care of a baby and raise a little baby girl."

Welcome to the Dozens ... starring Barack Obama?!?

He's got jokes! Fat jokes. Gambling jokes. Shaq jokes!! Plus, actual information about the COVID vaccine (no joke!)!!

Obama sat down virtually with Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal as part of ATTN:'s "Roll Up Your Sleeves" special on NBC ... where the goal was to educate the public about some of the misconceptions about the vaccine.

But, before he got down to business ... Obama had a little fun at Shaq and Barkley's expense!

Obama razzed Chuck for his famous gambling habit and joked with Shaq about how the Big Man endorses every business on the planet!

And then came the fat joke ...

Obama congratulated Barkley on his daughter's recent wedding -- and brought up how Charles mentioned how he wanted to slim down for the event.

"You also felt like you need to get in shape because The Hora (the traditional Jewish dance) ... when you're lifting the chair, nobody could do that at your current weight!"

Don't freak out, it was all in good fun -- and Barkley laughed it off.

"I survived the Hora! No one got hurt -- it was the best day of my life!"

As for the vaccine ... here's the gist of what Obama had to say.

-- "A lot of the underlying conditions, things like diabetes, folks who have preexisting conditions ... there is more of that in communities of color than there is generally, which means we're more vulnerable."

-- "A lot of young people think ... 'Even if I get COVID, it's like a bad cold.' But part of what we're seeing now is there is a different strain of the virus that's come over. That's not the dominant variant and it's actually hitting young people harder than the original version."

-- "We don't know the kinds of long terms effects that were having. There's some folks who get it and 6 months later and they're still not feeling quite right."

Obama also brought up how measles used to "kill people all the time" before vaccines.

He also mentioned the Tuskegee experiments and how it has become a reference point for Black people who don't trust the government when it comes to health care.

"The irony is when you know about the Tuskegee experiment, what's going on there is the government withheld treatment that was available for Black men for Syphilis. They didn't give them medicine they needed."

"So, here's a situation where if the medicine is available, we need to take it."

The L.A. Lakers will NOT visit Joe Biden at the White House next week to celebrate their 2019-20 NBA championship -- but it ain't a protest.

Unlike every NBA team during the Trump administration, the Lakers are NOT choosing to skip the Biden visit for political reasons -- it's all about COVID protocols and scheduling conflicts, according to multiple outlets.

The Lakers will be in D.C. to take on the Washington Wizards on April 28th -- and championship teams have historically scheduled the celebratory White House during road trips in the area.

But, it won't happen this time.

However, the Lakers -- including superstar LeBron James -- are open to a future meeting with President Biden ... possibly later or even after the season.

Hey, they're all busy people!

Plus, the NBA has strongly discouraged teams from participating in large public gatherings -- which could be one of the reasons they're pressing pause on the White House visit for now.

During President Trump's term -- zero NBA or WNBA championship teams visited the White House.

The Warriors, Raptors and Lakers were all outspokenly against the visit -- and Trump, in turn, either withdrew his invitation or never extended one.

Same with the WNBA teams and nearly every major college basketball champion with one exception ... the Baylor women's team visited after their 2019 title win.

Miles Teller is nowhere close to predicting the end of the movie theater industry on the heels of ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres announcing they're shutting their doors ... he says theaters will still exist, but it would sure be nice if someone would come to the rescue.

We got the "Top Gun: Maverick" star out Thursday in L.A. and asked about the mega-chains announcing earlier this week they're closing nearly 300 screens ... obviously the result of financial hemorrhaging during the pandemic.

Miles recalled some fond memories at the Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood ... where his films "Project X" and "The Spectacular Now" premiered.

Miles thinks ArcLight and the Cinerama could borrow a page from Netflix and find someone who will underwrite the pivot. He has a name in mind, and it's a big one.

'Bachelorette' alum Michael Garofola claims he was on the receiving end of an anti-Semitic attack from a maskless security guard in his own apartment complex ... and now he's suing.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Michael claims his simple plea to a security guard to wear a mask indoors during the pandemic turned into an anti-Semitic diatribe and parking garage beatdown.

In the docs, Michael says he was trying to get to his car back in January when he encountered the maskless security guard. Michael says the guard responded to his request to put on a face-covering by spewing anti-Semitic comments and attacking him.

The season 9 'Bachelorette' alum claims the security guard punched him in the head, slammed him into a wall, pushed and shoved him around and smashed up his iPhone while he tried to record the attack.

In the docs, Michael claims he suffered a ton of injuries in the attack, including cuts to his hand, a torn calf and injuries to his back. He says he's still scarred and is getting physical therapy.

As we first reported ... cops arrested the security guard back in February, charging him with felony battery and felony vandalism.

Michael, who also appeared on "Bachelor in Paradise" and "The Bachelor Winter Games," claims the security guard never should have been hired because the guy's social media is littered with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. He also claims he had previously notified management the guard wasn't wearing a mask, but believes they didn't take any action.

MG's suing the security guard, his Marina del Rey apartment complex and the guard's employer.

Jayson Tatum says his battle with COVID is STILL ongoing after 3 months ... telling reporters his breathing remains so messed up, he's been forced to use an inhaler before games.

The Boston Celtics superstar was diagnosed with the virus back in early January ... and missed nearly the entire month battling its effects.

The 23-year-old ultimately recovered ... though he said after the Celtics' win over the Trailblazers on Tuesday night that his lungs still have yet to bounce back to 100%.

"It's a process," Tatum said. "It takes a long time. Like, I take an inhaler before the game since I've tested positive."

"This has kind of helped with that and opened up my lungs, and, you know, I never took an inhaler before. So I think that's something different."

The good news? After roughly 12 weeks of fighting it, Tatum says he's closer than ever to getting back to normal.

"I for sure feel better now than I did a month ago," Tatum said.

Tatum's been a monster for Boston this season despite the COVID struggles ... he scored 32 points against Portland on Tuesday to lift the Celtics to a win.

Rachel Bush -- the wife of Buffalo Bills star Jordan Poyer -- just eviscerated the idea of a potential vaccine requirement at Buffalo games next season ... callin' the proposed plan straight-up "bulls***."

Erie County politician Mark Poloncarz announced Tuesday he wants to make it a rule at Bills and Sabres contests in 2021 that in order to attend games in person, ya gotta show proof of a COVID vax.

In his announcement, Poloncarz made it clear it's "the only safe way to have a full house" at the stadiums ... adding, "No Vaccine = No Entry."

Bush -- someone who's made it clear she's NOT getting the vaccine -- went ballistic over the idea ... going as far as to call Poloncarz a "moron" for wanting to implement the county rule.

"If Erie county wants to pull this bull s*** watch and see what happens," Bush said.

She added, "[Poloncarz] does know that you can still contract covid once vaccinated and pass it to others still too right? Buffalo you better speak up before you lose a whole lot."

Bush -- a regular at Bills games prior to the pandemic -- wasn't done there ... she fired off several more tweets defending her position, writing, "I would compare covid to the flu rather than a cold but couldn’t pay me to get the vaccine, especially after having it."

"It was bad. But not bad enough to turn myself into a lab rat for an experimental vaccine."

Bush continued, "So now my daughter is missing ANOTHER year of watching her dad play live in a very short lived career. Not even an option available to her since we already know kids can’t get the covid vaccine. How is that fair or acceptable. It’s not. FL and TX would never."

For the Bills' part, the team said in a statement it will follow Poloncarz's orders if still in place for the season ... explaining, "As we did last year, we will continue to cooperate and comply with all New York state and local government regulations regarding our sporting events."

The Bills are expected to open their season in September.

FYI, the CDC fully supports COVID vaccinations -- explaining on its website, "COVID-19 vaccination works by teaching your immune system how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19, and this protects you from getting sick with COVID-19."

"Being protected from getting sick is important because even though many people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others may get a severe illness, have long-term health effects, or even die."

"There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you don’t have an increased risk of developing severe complications."

As we previously reported, Russell Wilson and Ciara will be hosting an NBC special this weekend aimed at educating people about COVID vaccinations and debunking unsubstantiated claims.

Luke Bryan's going to miss out on the excitement of "American Idol" going live for the first time this season due to the coronavirus ... but a familiar face will take his place.

The country music star and 'Idol' judge says he tested positive for COVID-19, so he won't be part of Monday night's first live show of the reality singing competition.

Luke says he's doing well and hopes to be back at it soon, but in the meantime ... Paula Abdul is back!!!

The show just announced while Bryan's quarantining and recovering at home, the former judge will be filling in as guest judge alongside Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

It's unclear how long she'll have to hold down the fort in Luke's chair, but as you know ... she has a lot of experience. Paula joined the series in 2002 as one of 3 judges with Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson, and had numerous memorable clashes with Simon.

'Friends' fans tuning in to the upcoming reunion special won't just see some familiar faces, they'll see familiar places too ... including the famous water fountain and original set.

Sources familiar with production tell us the reunion was shot over the span of 3 days at Warner Brothers Studios last week. We've obtained a photo from the lot showing bleachers and equipment set up around the fountain where the show's opening credits were shot.

Our sources say a live audience participated in the reunion, but it appeared they were mostly union extras, COVID screened and hired for the gig.

Production took things inside as well ... using the show's old stage to film parts of the reunion as well.

As for what was discussed in front of the cameras, that still remains a mystery ... but we know all of the show's stars -- Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc -- participated.

In fact, Perry sent 'Friends' fans into a frenzy Saturday when he quickly posted then deleted a photo of himself in a makeup chair with the caption, "Seconds before eating a makeup brush. Not to mention reuniting with my Friends."