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Pfizer is in inevitable competition with the other drug companies that are developing COVID vaccines, and it's apparently trying to get a jump on its competitors with a new catchphrase.

The pharmaceutical giant filed docs this week to lock up the rights to the phrase, "Science will make the breakthrough." The phrase will be used in several initiatives, including marketing vaccines.

As we get closer to mass inoculation, the drug companies that are able to market COVID vaccines will have to make the case ... they should be the first choice, and good marketing becomes essential.

And remember, this is not a one-time deal. Everyone will have to periodically get re-inoculated ... ultimately it will go direct to consumer, so marketing will be essential.

While a rep for the company wouldn't say exactly what the campaign would look like, they did tell us, "We plan to use the phrase in our corporate campaign as a continuation of our 'Science Will Win' digital ads.”

As you know ... it was almost exactly a month ago when Pfizer gave the world a figurative booster shot by announcing it had developed a coronavirus vaccine that was more than 90 percent effective.

That number went up even higher -- closer to 95 percent -- after a phase 3 study concluded, and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has already begun to be administered to at-risk folks in England.

Pfizer's mission statement says its purpose is to "deliver breakthroughs that change patients’ lives" ... so they must be feeling themselves right now.

The house featured in "A Christmas Story" is normally a tourist hot spot during the holidays, but this year business is hurting as much as getting your tongue stuck to a frozen flagpole.

Folks running A Christmas Story House & Museum -- the Cleveland residence used for exterior shots of Ralphie's home in the 1983 classic -- tell TMZ ... they're projected to have about 50,000 less visitors compared to 2019.

On top of that, the home -- which guests can reserve for an overnight stay and sleep in Ralphie and Randy's beds -- is still available on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day ... which we're told is unprecedented.

Since the place began allowing overnight reservations in 2008, it's usually booked for November and December 6 months in advance ... even though it costs nearly $3k per night!!!

But, with COVID-19 cases surging, stay-at-home orders and financial struggles for families across the country ... 2020's put the 'Christmas Story' business in a difficult spot too.

The good news is ... the museum's online gift shop is helping make up for some of the losses in tour and lodging revenue this year.

We're told the shop's sold around 14,000 different variations of the movie's famous leg lamp, 1,000 pink bunny suits, and a couple hundred Red Ryder BB Guns ... and there are plenty more in stock.

Talk about speaking something into existence ... YFN Lucci's been gifted the first 2021 Maybach SUV in the U.S. to celebrate his success.

The Atlanta rapper's the recipient of Mercedes' first Maybach GLS whip thanks to his gracious boss, Girvan "Fly" Henry. We're told Fly dropped $200k for the luxury whip.

We're told Fly -- who is the CEO of Think It's A Game Records -- wanted to celebrate YFN's release of his latest album ... "Wish Me Well 3." The album's getting a lot of buzz already ... especially for the hitmakers who collaborated, including Rick Ross, Yo Gotti, Mulatto and Mozzy.

The Maybach SUV -- brought to market to compete with the likes of Rolls Royce and Bentley SUVs -- just oozes luxury with rear seats that recline and massage passengers.

The whip's also got a wine fridge big enough to store some good bubbly.

Elon Musk, we have a problem.

SpaceX's much-hyped high-altitude test flight of Starship -- a spacecraft designed to take people and cargo to the moon and Mars -- ended in a fireball as it crash-landed Wednesday in South Texas.

Video shows the large reusable capsule, which is supposed to land vertically, came down way too hard and instantly exploded. However, even though the footage is crazy ... it was not unexpected.

Musk predicted Starship would likely crash land, but said data gathered in the test flight would be critical in moving the mission forward. SpaceX stated ... "With a test such as this, success is not measured by completion of specific objectives but rather how much we can learn."

G Herbo is grounded -- for international travel, anyway -- after handing over his passport and pleading not guilty in his fraud case.

The rapper appeared, via Zoom, in front of a federal judge Wednesday in Massachusetts to enter his plea. According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Herbo posted $75k bail but there are lots of strings attached.

For one, the rapper had to surrender his passport, and even some of his domestic travel will require permission. He also can't sell or give away any assets worth more than $50k. And, get this ... Herbo's also barred from opening any new lines of credit. It's a fraud case, after all.

He's also gotta submit to drug testing. As we reported ... Herbo, along with his associates, are accused of perpetrating a massive fraud to fund their fancy vacations, private jets and even puppies.

According to the federal complaint ... Herbo allegedly conspired to defraud several businesses with stolen credit cards over the course of a 4-year period. The feds also alleged Herbo used the scheme to purchase 2 "designer puppies" at a luxury pet store. He was charged with 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 2 counts of aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft.

A Portland controversy that's been simmering for months is now boiling over ... creating a chaotic confrontation with cops and several arrests ... and the Mayor's fed up.

Protesters gathered at a home dubbed "Red House on Mississippi" Tuesday morning to keep police from allowing fencing to be put up on the property, but it escalated to violence ... including rocks and paint-filled balloons being hurled at the officers.

After the fencing was up, police attempted to leave but the chaos continued when demonstrators removed part of the fence and trespassed on the property, and even created a makeshift barricade to block off the street.

With no sign of the chaos subsiding, Mayor Ted Wheeler authorized Portland Police "to use all lawful means to end the illegal occupation," adding ... "There will be no autonomous zone in Portland."

Cops say 7 arrests were made, and several police vehicles were damaged. Mayor Wheeler is rebuking the demonstrators for their behavior, saying ... "There are many ways to protest and work toward needed reform. Illegally occupying private property, openly carrying weapons, threatening and intimidating people are not among them."

So what's this all about? Well, activists have been protesting at the location since an Afro-Indigenous family -- the Kinneys -- got evicted in September. Their house went into foreclosure and the Kinneys were forcibly removed amid the pandemic and raging wildfires in Oregon ... which did not sit well with people.

The eviction sparked a rally to help the family reclaim their home on North Mississippi Ave, but has also evolved into a larger protest of evictions during the COVID crisis ... which makes the homeless crisis even worse.

So, Portland demonstrators have made the Red House the focal point of their larger message and their efforts have helped the GoFundMe accrue over $100k to fight the eviction -- but the problem is ... cops say there have been more than 80 calls about the property in the past 3 months.

You make it to the NBA, you get iced out ... and that's exactly what LaMelo Ball did -- copping an incredibly shiny diamond grill to kick off his rookie season!!

Of course, the youngest Ball bro. already knows how to be a pro -- he played in Lithuania and Australia before going #3 overall to the Charlotte Hornets last month.

But, making it to the Association calls for a BIG "treat yo self" moment ... so the 19-year-old enlisted AP The Jeweler from Atlanta to come up with an unforgettable piece.

AP tells TMZ Sports ... Melo eventually decided last month it was time to get his first grill, so he got Ball's mold and went straight to work.

The finished product is a pair of 14k white gold chompers (8 top teeth, 8 bottom) with VVS diamonds in a honeycomb set.

As for how many rocks?? AP tells us it's "The most diamonds I've ever put in a grill."

We're told AP personally flew to Charlotte to hand-deliver the finished product on Monday ... and the dude is jacked about the finished product.

Taylor Swift is lending a much-needed hand to a couple of mothers struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic ... just in time for the holidays.

The singer donated $13,000 apiece to 2 moms who have fallen on hard times, and whose stories were featured in a recent article about the millions of Americans who are unemployed, or behind on their rent and utilities.

The women -- Nikki Cornwell from Nashville and Shelbie Selewski from Michigan -- both received a generous donation from Taylor on their GoFundMe pages ... along with a personal note of encouragement.

Taylor wrote to Nikki ... "I read about you in the Washington Post and thought it was really brave of you to share your story. I'm so sorry for everything you've had to go through this year and wanted to send you this gift, from one Nashville girl to another."

Shelbie's message says ... "I'm sending you this gift after reading about you in the Washington Post. No one should have to feel the kind of stress that's been put on you. I hope you and your beautiful family have a great holiday season."

Both women have suffered both medical and financial hardships this year and say they are in danger of being kicked out of their homes if they don't catch up on bills.

Sadly, there are millions more in the U.S. who are also in dire straits, and without another government stimulus for support ... are feeling helpless.

Olivia Jade's facing the music for her family's involvement in the college admissions scandal, claiming it opened her eyes to her privileged life ... and she's aiming to do better now.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli's youngest daughter got in the hot seat for a "Red Table Talk" with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Jada's mom, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, and the biggest takeaway from the interview ... Olivia was so blind to her white privilege, she didn't even realize what her parents did was wrong ... at first, anyway.

The popular YouTube influencer tells the women she's embarrassed and even calls herself the "poster child for white privilege."

Olivia admits she thought what her parents did to help her get into school was perfectly normal -- something all families like hers did -- and she was confused when they got in trouble.

Though she defends her parents' intentions and insists they're good people ... Olivia says she did realize something was amiss when news of her resume came out. However, she claims she was unaware of the illegal dealings of Rick Singer, who she says she trusted as a professional college counselor.

As for her parents ... it's pretty evident Olivia harbors no ill-will toward them, but says she hasn't been able to talk to them since they began serving their prison sentences ... due to COVID restrictions.

She does believe they deserve a second chance -- same goes for herself -- and to prove they are contrite.

As we first told you ... Olivia's sit-down also included a tense moment where Adrienne confronted her over her family's involvement in the college bribery scandal, asking her if she understood why people like her would be so upset.

Olivia said she did, but added she came on the show to learn more ... and admitted her parents used their means to help her gain an unfair advantage.

As you know ... Lori and Mossimo took plea deals for their roles in the admissions scandal, and are both currently serving short prison sentences.

Olivia's parents helped get her and her older sister, Isabella, accepted into USC by paying Singer $500,000. The scheme also included creating a bogus resume for Olivia making it look like she was a competitive rower aiming for a spot on USC's crew team.

Lori was sentenced to 2 months behind bars after pleading guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Mossimo got 5 months for pleading guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and 1 count of honest services wire and mail fraud.

“These guys have a life outside. They have families to look after. They have other things going on. I don’t have anything else going on besides chasing this mother f**king title.”

That's 27-year-old UFC rising star Marvin Vettori putting the entire middleweight division on notice ... telling TMZ Sports his singular goal in life is to SMASH Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya -- and get the championship belt.

We talked to Vettori fresh off his 5-round, unanimous decision win against #4 ranked 185 lb. fighter, Jack Hermansson Saturday night in Vegas.

The fight was INSAAANE!! Vettori and 32-year-old Hermansson -- who says he suffered a broken eye socket during the scrap (see pic below) -- set a record for significant strikes landed in a middleweight fight.

After the fight, Vettori initially called out Paulo Costa ... but the Italian star obviously changed his mind, and has his sights set on even bigger fish.

“I wanna go after the title. And, if anything, fight for the #1 contender spot. And, if [Adesanya] goes away, fight for an Interim title. And, I think the most legitimate guy out there, the #1 legitimate contender is Robert Whittaker.”

FYI, Vettori is referring to Izzy (temporarily) moving up a division to fight Light Heavyweight champ Jan Błachowicz next year.

If Marvin beats #1 ranked Whittaker, it'd set up a rematch with Adesanya. The men fought in April 2018 ... and some people -- including a judge from the fight -- felt Vettori won the fight.

"I want to be the legitimate #1 contender for this f**king title," Vettori says, continuing ... "And then I want to be the one that dethrones that bulls**t ass champion called Israel Adesanya."

The final numbers are in and Nipsey Hussle's estate is worth a little over $4 million ... TMZ has learned.

The late rapper's estate filed legal docs documenting the estate's final inventory appraisal ... which puts the estate value at $4,169,088.57. According to docs, obtained by TMZ, a big chunk of Nipsey's net worth comes from his trademark portfolio, shares of companies he owned as well as personal items ... like gold necklaces and Rolexes.

For example ... he owned a 25% share of stock in The Marathon Clothing worth $271k and a 100% interest in All Money In No Money Out Inc. worth just over $2 million. His trademark portfolio -- which includes his name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness on or in products, merchandise or goods -- is worth $913,000.

The L.A. restaurant owner who called it a "slap in the face" her place is shut down -- while a film set operates next door -- might be back in biz soon ... thanks to an outpouring of support.

Employees at the Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Sherman Oaks tell TMZ ... awareness of the restaurant's struggle has skyrocketed and led to an influx of donations. ICYMI ... owner Angela Marsden called out Governor Newsom and L.A. Mayor Garcetti for apparent double standards with COVID-19 restrictions.

Pineapple Hill's GoFundMe has currently raised about $150,000, and we're told because of the generosity, there's a strong chance it will be able to reopen for takeout soon ... allowing employees to earn a much-needed paycheck again.

While celebs like Maria Shriver have encouraged people to donate, we're told others like Ricky Schroder, Todd Hoffman (Wheels from "Meatballs") and Maria's son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, have also hit up the restaurant directly, offering to help in any way possible.

As for the restaurant's newfound fame ... employees tell us it's a team effort right now to keep spreading the word about why small businesses need to be allowed to operate outdoors. Some of the workers are even helping Marsden schedule media interviews to do so.

Pineapple Grill tells us it did get some backlash from people who thought they were doing a disservice to the entertainment workers who were being employed on the film set. It wants to clarify it has no problem with that, and it supports all those who were working on the set of NBC's "Good Girls" that day.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are apparently looking to become Sunshine State residents like their old man is said to be -- 'cause they reportedly spent a fortune on a plot of land there.

Trump's daughter and son-in-law recently threw down upwards of $30 million to snap up space in the exclusive Miami neighborhood of Indian Creek Island ... this, per Page Six.

The outlet reports they actually purchased a lot of land that used to belong to Julio Iglesias -- and that they got almost 2 acres of dirt to play with which is right on the waterfront. PS says the couple plans to build an estate on the grounds, and that the sale closes in 10 days.

Indian Creek Island is heavily guarded too, BTW -- there's a small police force that works just there, protecting only 29 homes in the community, which boasts neighbors like billionaire Carl Icahn, ex-football coach Don Shula, Adriana Lima, and other CEO and business tycoons who are uber-rich. That's the company Jared and Ivanka will keep while there.

Speaking of that, it doesn't sound like they're planning to permanently establish roots in Florida -- unlike Donald, who's rumored to be getting out of NYC completely and heading off to Mar-a-Lago once his presidency is over.

Olivia Jade's breaking her silence on the college admissions scandal in which she and her parents became the poster family for white privilege ... and it ultimately landed her mom and dad in prison.

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli's youngest daughter joined Jada Pinkett Smith's crew on "Red Table Talk" to address the elephant in the room -- her family's involvement in the massive college bribery ring that became national news last year.

At one point during Olivia's sit-down -- which included Willow Smith and Jada's mom, Adrienne Banfield-Jones -- Adrienne confronted Olivia, asking if she could understand why so many people were upset with her family.

Olivia says she gets it, and it's helpful for her to hear so she can better understand the problem. She also seemingly admits her family used their means to gain an advantage ... which, of course, is the heart of the issue for many people.

The popular YouTube influencer's full interview will drop Tuesday. Olivia said she felt comfortable discussing the scandal at the 'Red Table' because "it feels really safe," adding ... "but it also feels honest and it feels like we’re gonna all lay it out here and it’s gonna be an open conversation." Jada platform's becoming a go-to place for celebs in crisis.

As we reported ... Olivia's parents both took plea deals for their roles in the admissions scandal, which included paying fixer Rick Singer $500,000 to help her and her older sister, Isabella, get accepted into USC.

Part of the scheme included creating a bogus resume for Olivia ... making it look like she was a member of a rowing team so she could get a spot on USC's crew team. There were even action shots taken of both Olivia and Bella practicing their "rowing."

Remember, Olivia posted back in 2018 that she didn't even want to go to college ... other than for game days and partying. Olivia hasn't spoken about the scandal ... until now.

As we reported ... Lori was sentenced to 2 months in prison after pleading guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Mossimo pled guilty to 1 count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and 1 count of honest services wire and mail fraud and was sentenced to 5 months behind bars.

The Patrick Mahomes family sports empire is growing -- this time, the NFL superstar's fiancee bought a stake in a pro women's soccer team!!

The National Women’s Soccer League announced its move to bring a team to Kansas City on Monday ... with none other than Brittany Matthews named in the female-heavy ownership group.

Of course, Mahomes recently joined the business side of athletics ... becoming part-owner of the Kansas City Royals shortly after inking his record-breaking $503 million contract this past summer.

Now, 25-year-old Matthews is claiming her own stake in sports ownership ... with the former college and pro soccer player gunning to bring another championship to Kansas City.

"As a former collegiate and professional soccer player, I have a true level of appreciation for what these incredible women do on a daily basis." Matthews said on Monday."

"I am honored to be part of an amazing ownership group that is passionate about the game and eager to welcome a NWSL team back to Kansas City."

FYI -- Matthews played college ball at UT Tyler before heading over to Iceland to play professionally ... winning a league title in 2017.

Matthews added ... "We have the greatest fans and community here in KC and I can’t wait to huddle around this team – we want more championship parades in the very near future!"

The Mahomes' have made it clear they're planning on staying in KC long-term -- Patrick is under contract through 2031 -- and they've been pretty active in giving back to the community.

It's been a great year for the entire fam -- Britt has her booming fitness brand and is pregnant with the couple's first child ... and Pat's brother, Jackson, is a rising star on social media.

Here's LeBron James showing SPEED and SAFETY go hand-in-hand ... rocking a COVID mask in a rare $1 mil Porsche!

The footage was shot by a self-described car enthusiast named Alex -- who busted out his phone when he spotted a black Porsche 918 Spyder convertible burning down the highway!

And, behind the wheel ... in a mask from Henry Masks -- THAT'S LEBRON!!!

The L.A. Lakers superstar gave a little wave and then punched it -- flexing the speed of his rare, hybrid whip.

Okay, let's talk about the car!!!

The Porsche 918 Spyder is a limited edition vehicle that was only produced between 2013 and 2015 -- with a starting price of $845,000!!

Though AutomobileMag.com says the cars have gone way up in value -- recently selling between $1.1 million and $1.7 million.

It's powered by a 5.7-liter V-10 engine AND a 6.8-kWh battery hence the "hybrid" designation.

The speed on this car is legendary ... with MotorTrend reporting it goes from 0-60 is 2.4 seconds!!!

It also hits 0 to 100 in 4.9 seconds!!!

AutomobileMag has described the car this way -- "The 918 Spyder stands as one of the most cutting-edge, tech-forward vehicles the German automaker has ever produced."