Money

Dr. Fauci has a million new reasons to smile, 'cause the guy just came up on a boatload of cash for sticking to the facts and the science during the pandemic.

The director of the NIAID was just awarded a million-dollar cash prize from the Dan David Foundation -- an Israeli nonprofit that funds and advocates for breakthroughs in science and technology. He's one of three recipients to get a cool mil ... all for "defending science."

There are past, present and future categories for the winners, and DF got etched in as the man of the present in the field of public health ... due to his work speaking on behalf of vaccines -- plus, everything else he's done on the pandemic front, in 2020 and beyond.

The Dan David Foundation said Fauci's storied legacy in HIV and AIDS research was also considered in granting him the award.

It's interesting ... although the org didn't mention Trump by name, they certainly alluded to him in their remarks -- saying, in part, they were giving this to Tony for "courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis."

You'll recall ... Fauci recently said it was "liberating" to be able to speak truthfully and freely about how best to fight the virus, without a de facto muzzle on him from the very top.

Kodak Black visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on the third anniversary of the deadly mass shooting there ... and he came bearing gifts of education.

The rapper was in Parkland, FL Sunday for a memorial to honor the 17 victims claimed during the 2018 shooting rampage -- with upwards of 100 guests in attendance, including the Mayor and other town officials. Kodak was there for Meadow Pollack -- one of the students killed.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells us KB was Meadow's favorite recording artist -- something he caught wind of and wanted to commemorate her with a scholarship in her name.

We're told Kodak established a $100k scholarship fund in Meadow's memory at the Nova Southeastern University Law School, for students wanting to study justice reform. That's where her brother, Hunter, is attending. Of course, Hunter was also at the ceremony, front and center.

Check out the video of Kodak discussing his intentions, and the warm reception he receives afterward ... not to mention a hug from Hunter. They later walked up to a table together to light a candle for the Parkland victims -- it's pretty moving to see up-close.

Michael Jordan is donating $10 MILLION to open 2 new health clinics near his hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina ... specifically to help people in need.

The NBA legend is working with Novant Health -- a non-profit health care group with hospitals and medical centers throughout NC.

Novant says MJ's donation will bring "comprehensive primary care, including behavioral health and social support services, to the area’s most vulnerable communities."

The 2 clinics funded by Jordan's donation are scheduled to open in early 2022 -- and both centers will offer "much-needed services to those who are uninsured or underinsured."

Jordan -- who previously donated $7 mil to open 2 centers in 2017 -- says he's extremely proud to "bring better access to critical medical services in my hometown."

"Everyone should have access to quality health care, no matter where they live, or whether or not they have insurance. Wilmington holds a special place in my heart and it’s truly gratifying to be able to give back to the community that supported me throughout my life."

Novant says the 2 clinics MJ opened in 2017 have already seen more than 4,500 patients, in addition to providing critical COVID-19 response.

The locations have also administered close to 1,000 COVID-19 vaccine shots -- "with plans to scale up vaccination efforts even further as supply increases."

Rod Ponton, the Texas attorney who appeared as a cat in a Zoom court hearing, wants to turn his viral moment into cold, hard cash ... right meow!!!

Rod tells TMZ ... he was initially embarrassed by his 15 seconds of fame, but now he's embracing the fact he's an overnight internet sensation and he wants to milk it by hawking shirts, mugs, and anything else folks will buy.

The guy's in high demand ... Ron says he's already getting tons of requests for speaking engagements about staying professional in the midst of Zoom snafus. He's certainly an expert in this arena.

As for his cat call seen 'round the world ... Ron says he was using his assistant's 10-year-old's computer and still doesn't know how or why the feline filter was activated when he joined the virtual courtroom.

Valentine's Day is usually rush hour at Las Vegas wedding chapels, but a bunch of Elvis pastors WILL be lonesome this weekend ... due to the pandemic.

According to the Graceland Wedding Chapel ... it conducted a whopping 75 ceremonies on V-Day 2020 -- just weeks before COVID-19 changed the world -- but it only has 50 on the books so far for 2021.

The famous chapel tells TMZ ... roughly half its business typically comes from international guests, but with coronavirus travel restrictions that number's a big, fat zero this year.

Graceland says it hopes to get 60 wedding ceremonies booked before Sunday, but that's still a significant decline of at least 20 percent.

A rep for Chapel of the Flowers tells us their wedding ceremony bookings are also down 20 percent this year compared to last ... but it's even worse at a couple other spots.

Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel says it's down 50 percent for V-Day, and like Graceland ... the lack of international couples is crushing its bottom line. As of now, it says it only has 17 wedding reservations for Sunday ... which is incredibly low.

The owner of Bliss Wedding Chapel, which just opened in October, tells us he's been banking on a Valentine's Day surge for some much-needed cash ... but it's not happening.

He says he's been in the biz for a while and would expect a solid 50 ceremonies under normal conditions ... but COVID's limited bookings to just 26, so far.

One thing the chapels cited for their struggles is having to operate at half-capacity. Like the Bliss owner put it -- weddings are the opposite of social distancing, so couples who would be forced to cut the guest list are simply opting to wait or go elsewhere.

Tessica Brown -- aka 'Gorilla Glue Girl' -- is paying it forward by giving a majority of her GoFundMe haul to a group supporting others going through similar ordeals or any others requiring expensive surgery.

Tessica's manager tells TMZ ... after raking in upwards of $21,000-plus in public donations, Tessica's now decided to pour most of the money into something called the Restore Foundation -- which provides reconstructive surgery services for folks around the world.

The nonprofit is actually the brainchild of one Dr. Michael Obeng -- the L.A.-based plastic surgeon who successfully performed the miracle hair restoration procedure for Tessica herself ... pro-bono.

As for why Tessica's doing this ... we're told she wants others who need this type of procedure (or others) to have the same type of access she did, even if they can't afford it.

Tessica plans to keep $1,000 of the GFM cash to pay for the emergency room visit she made in Louisiana before flying to the West Coast ... according to her manager. She also incurred travel expenses.

That's not to say she really needs much of it anymore -- we're told Tessica's made a small fortune lately by hawking merch related to her experience, and she's doing just fine.

Taylor Swift's experiment with her old songs is proving to be fruitful out of the gate -- the early numbers are in for the first song of the big batch ahead of her, and they're not too shabby.

Billboard documented the single-day download and radio play data that has come in since Taylor released "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" on Friday ... the initial, re-recorded mega-hit track of hers in what could be a long line of re-releases she's vowed to distribute anew.

Based on the figures, it's doing alright ... especially compared to the OG on the same day (Feb. 12, 2021). Billboard reports MRC Data for Feb. 12 show Taylor's new version got downloaded some 10,000 times, compared to just 200 downloads for the 2008 track.

There's also a radio play element here that has yet to bear out fully -- Billboard notes that Taylor's new 'Love Story' (which sounds virtually identical to the old one) has not gotten a big push by her team for it to be played on radio ... but a handful of stations across the country did blast it on Friday -- and even those numbers are greater than the OG's same-day stats.

"Love Story (Taylor's Version)" got 144 radio plays among 89 stations on Friday, compared to the original ... which got just 67 plays on Friday. 2008's "Love Story" is still king (for now) -- as we know, it sky-rocketed in the charts over time -- so Tay-Tay's got a ways to go before her new take comes close. Still, pretty promising early signs of what's to come.

Remember, Taylor's doing this to stick it to Scooter Braun and other execs who have come to control her catalog since she left Big Machine Records and settled at UMG. She wasn't able to get the rights to her masters, and decided she'd reclaim them by re-recording all her hits.

The catalog is now in the hands of a private equity group -- and Scooter made a bundle in the sale -- but TS is still moving forward. She teased the refreshed 'Love Story' in a Match.com commercial featuring Ryan Reynolds, and there was hardly a discernible difference ... leading many to believe her other re-recordings will follow suit.

Nelly's flip turned out to be a flop ... so he's unloading this Missouri mansion to finally 86 it from his real estate portfolio.

The "Hot in Herre" rapper has put this Wildwood, MO home on the market for $599,000 ... 19 years after he purchased the home. The plan was to remodel it and flip it with a contractor friend, but those plans never panned out ... so it's been sitting empty for years.

At this point, we're told Nelly just wants out. Whoever gets it is getting a steal. The house is definitely a fixer-upper but it has tons of potential. The 6-bedroom, 7-bathroom crib sits on nearly 12 acres of land with vast outdoor recreation space, which, BTW, includes a private basketball court.

It's located just 30 minutes west of St. Louis and offers stunning views of the Meramec River Valley. It's got good investment written all over it.

Auctioning off a bunch of Phil Collins' stuff was so nice, his ex is doing it twice ... including more of his awards and memorabilia.

Orianne Cevey's gearing up for round 2 with Kodner Galleries in Florida after raking in more than $2 million earlier this month for her collection of mostly jewelry, accessories and clothing ... but also awards and records belonging to her famous ex-hubby.

Orianne's second auction will be more of the same, including Phil's 1989 International Rock Award for MVP Drummer ... which is a bronze sculpture of Elvis on a marble base. It's expected to fetch between $1,000 and $10,000.

Also up for grabs -- Collins' Gold Award for selling 100,000 copies of his 2002 album, "Testify" ... a hand-signed Nick Faldo framed photo from the 2018 Masters ... and 2 autographed Yahama portable player docks -- one signed by Phil, and one by Shania Twain.

It's an interesting mix of Phil stuff for sure, but we're told Orianne's likely to rake in the most money from her expensive jewelry, watches, clothes, purses, cell phone cases and coins.

As we first told you ... she hauled in $22k for multiple gold LPs and "Assorted Phil Collins Awards" at the last auction, which she unloaded after moving out of Phil's mansion and downsizing to a smaller house.

BTW ... 10% of the proceeds for Orianne's auctions will be donated to the Never Give Up Foundation.

Alex Trebek's last great "Jeopardy!" champion has died at the young age of only 24.

Brayden Smith, who scored a 5-game winning streak and more than $115,000 in winnings as Trebek's era came to a close, died unexpectedly last Friday in his hometown of Las Vegas. The cause of death is unclear.

Brayden's lifelong dream had always been to appear on "Jeopardy!" ... and the young man, who had reportedly tried getting on the show at least a dozen times, left a lasting impression on Trebek and fans alike.

His run was so impressive he drew comparisons to the great James Holzhauer because he also had a knack for finding the Daily Doubles and laying huge wagers when he did.

Trebek was very much impressed with Brayden's prolific run ... dubbing him "Billy Buzzsaw" for his ability to dismantle the competition. Trebek also uttered "Most impressive. I don't know what to say." Brayden, of course, appeared in the final shows Trebek ever hosted before he died from pancreatic cancer.

Brayden, who died about a month after his episode aired, had been looking forward to competing in the show's Tournament of Champions. He had just graduated from UNLV last year with a degree in economics and had hoped to attend law school and become a U.S. Attorney.

The family's asked that donations be made in Brayden's name here ... a fund benefiting Nevada students furthering their education.

RIP, Champ.

Morgan Wallen's apology for dropping the n-word after what he calls a 3-day bender has not moved radio stations to play his music again.

Sources at Entercom -- which owns 235 radio stations, 20 of which are country music stations -- tell TMZ ... the company has no plans to reinstate Wallen's music to their playlists.

Likewise, a rep for Emmis Communications tells us its country-programmed station in Indianapolis -- Hank FM -- is likeminded ... it's a Wallen-free zone for the time being.

We reached out to other major media companies in the radio industry with the same question but got a no comment.

As we reported ... Wallen posted a lengthy apology Wednesday for casually dropping a racial slur that was captured on video. He said he's met with Black organizations to learn the error of his ways, and wanted to collect his thoughts before offering up the mea culpa.

Morgan says he's been sober for more than a week and vows to become a better person.

He says he accepts all the backlash he's gotten ... which includes radio stations pulling his music, his record label suspending his contract, and getting disqualified from awards shows.

Dave Chappelle says he got what he wanted from Comedy Central -- millions of dollars, and rights to his show -- so now "Chappelle's Show" is back on Netflix ... with his blessing.

Dave shared a bit from his recent stand-up Thursday night in which he revealed the show's return to streaming Friday ... just 2 months after Netflix yanked it at his behest.

On stage, Chappelle summarized his power struggle with Comedy Central to get paid for any "Chappelle's Show" deals they made ... and he gave all the credit to fans for not watching the show at his request.

Dave said ... "When you stopped watching it, they called me. And, I got my name back and I got my license back and I got my show back and they paid me millions of dollars. Thank you very much."

Dave went on to shower his fans with appreciation for putting him back after his 12-year hiatus from comedy, which he says "kept me free."

Larry King always kept it simple, and his will is no different ... he scribbled down a few sentences during his last divorce, but it was written before some other King family tragedies.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... the late talk show host hand-wrote his most recent will on October 17, 2019, about 2 months after filing for divorce from his 7th wife, Shawn Southwick King.

Larry wrote ... "This is my Last Will & Testament. It should replace all previous writings." He said that in the event of his death, he wanted 100 percent of his funds to be "divided equally among my children Andy, Chaia, Larry Jr Chance & Cannon."

That's it ... but as we've reported, Larry sadly lost 2 of his adult kids a month apart in 2020. His son, Andy, died of a heart attack in July, and his daughter, Chaia, died in August a short time after being diagnosed with lung cancer.

So, Larry's last will and testament doesn't reflect the fact that 2 of his intended recipients have passed away. One of his surviving sons, Larry Jr., has filed docs asking to be appointed administrator of the estate, noting that his father was in the middle of divorce proceedings at the time of his death.

As for how much is at stake here ... the documents estimate Larry's estate to be worth around $2 million, but there are likely separate assets held in separate trusts.

Kevin Hart's personal shopper took that title way too literally, according to prosecutors ... who say the guy swindled Kev out of more than a million bucks.

Dylan Syer was in a NYC court Wednesday for his arraignment for grand larceny and 9 other counts ... after he allegedly used Kevin's credit card info to launder cash into his own account, and then burn through it.

Queens County D.A. Melinda Katz says Syer built trust with Kevin, when he was hired in 2015, by making legit, authorized purchases on behalf of Kevin. However, Katz claims Syer started siphoning off hundreds of thousands from Hart's credit cards, depositing the dough into his own bank account.

He wasn't saving for a rainy day, either -- Syer allegedly spent lavishly on himself. All in all, prosecutors say Kevin was defrauded out of nearly $1.2 mil over nearly 2 years. Much of that was allegedly used to buy pricey jewelry, watches, art, collectibles and luxury handbags.

The D.A. says Syer's haul included 5 Patek Philippe watches worth more than $400k, a Sam Friedman painting, at least 16 Bearbrick collectible dolls, 5 KAWS collectible dolls and 2 Louis Vuitton bags.

Tom Brady is such a VIP in the Tampa area, he gets a police escort on land and on water!!!

The Tampa Bay Bucs QB just arrived to the official Super Bowl boat parade which will take place on the Hillsborough River -- where players, coaches and staff will float around the Davis Islands before ending up at Sparkman Wharf.

Event organizers felt this was the safest way to celebrate the team since we're still in the middle of the COVID pandemic.

Boaters are allowed in the water but they must stay at least 50 feet from the vessels containing Bucs players and staff.

Tom is out in the brand new boat we told you about back in December -- it's a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art 40-foot vessel with all the bells and whistles.

It's named "Viva a Vida" -- which seems to be inspired by his wife Gisele's environmental conservation initiative.

By the way, Brady's teammates are showing big love to the QB who helped get them their championship ... with dudes wearing shirts that feature Tom's old draft picture on them!!

Head coach Bruce Arians, meanwhile, is already on the water holding the Lombardi Trophy. Other players are expected to arrive shortly.

story developing ...

Morgan Wallen's album sales are still rising -- despite the industry largely canceling him for using the n-word -- but that boost is actually helping the NAACP, financially.

The country music star's second album, "Dangerous: The Double Album," is still topping the Billboard charts and selling like hotcakes. That means more money in the pockets of Morgan and his songwriters ... one of whom, Jason Isbell, is handing over his share to the NAACP's Nashville chapter.

Jason wrote the song, "Cover Me Up," on the album ... and the 4-time Grammy winner says he's donating everything he's made from the track.

Morgan's been shelved by SiriusXM, iHeart Radio, County Music Television, Big Loud Records, Cox Media Group, Emmis Communications and the Academy of Country Music, among others ... but Jason wants fans to keep buying the album so he can keep paying it forward.

The President of the Nashville NAACP will likely appreciate Jason's gesture. As we reported, the org's already extended an olive branch to Morgan ... hoping to make this controversy a teachable moment for him.