Viral

A former North Carolina state politician is balling up his digital fists at one ABSOLUTELY essential store refusing to let just anyone through their doors ... yep, it's Pottery Barn.

The guy's name is Scott Stone, and he served in North Carolina's House of Representatives a few years back -- now, he's an angry old man yelling at his local in-mall PB for standing firm on their by-appointment-only policy, which is super inconvenient to him.

Rep. Stone writes, "Dear @potterybarn (and other retailers) : I am NOT shopping by appointment. You're allowed to be open, so be open." He had another must-hear gripe ... "And why close at 5 when mall is open until 7? Do you actually want to sell anything?"

Pottery Barn's sign here reads, "We're Open 11-5 by Appointment Only! Call 704-442-9493 to schedule! Important Note: We Will Begin Taking Returns on 5/25. We Can't Wait to See You!!" They're in Charlotte's SouthPark mall, which reopened its doors a couple weeks ago.

We tried calling them up for comment ... but the staff there didn't wanna talk. At any rate, Rep. Stone had some follow-up thoughts on the mockery he's receiving, saying ... "Love how lefties are so worked up about my last tweet which highlights the frustrations so many have about how slow NC economy is reopening - slower than most states. Maybe they believe govt should continue to write checks forever and keep the entire economy closed?"

A loyal dog was found standing guard over another fellow pup's dead body after it was apparently hit by a car and left on the side of a road in Texas.

The Catahoula mix was found by Kingsville-Kleberg Health Department Animal Control & Care Center officials, who responded to a call Friday for a dog carcass that'd been left along what looks to be a stretch of a highway. They came upon this little guy, whom they named Guardian, as he was standing beside the deceased dog, seemingly protecting it.

The Animal Control workers took photos of Guardian as they tried approaching, and it appears he was dead set on not letting anyone near -- at least not at first.

The agency says, "This was the scene our Animal Control Officers drove up to. This boy wasn't going to let anyone mess with his sister. Our ACOs had a hard time convincing him everything was going to be alright and they were there to help him." They added, "This call was one of the most heart wrenching for our staff, but we thought we'd share some behind-the-scene images of situations they are faced with on a regular basis."

Eventually, Guardian came around and let the humans take care of him and his apparent sibling. He's now hanging out at the Animal Control facility there, and is set to be put up for adoption if no one claims him by next week. He's a youngster too -- just 6-12 months old.

It seems someone might've already seen this story and shown interest in taking Guardian home -- 'cause later ... Kingsville honchos said they'd already scheduled an adoption -- assuming a rightful owner doesn't come forward before Friday. The dog is currently listed as a stray -- but he's certainly being taken care of now, and seems to be happy at the moment.

An industrious bear is drawn to the finer things in life ... and if you don't believe it, watch the video of the majestic animal deftly finding a way into a fancy Mercedes.

The video is hysterical. It appears the people narrating were occupants of the car, until they went for a hike and noticed the very large brown bear rooting around for food.

The bear then spots the Mercedes and beelines it for the whip. Check out how he/she opens the door. This isn't his/her first rodeo ... or bear-jacking.

Then the question ... how do you scare a bear away? Experts are divided, although the prevailing view is quietly stay clear.

These folks were anything but quiet, and guess what ... it worked!!!

Conor McGregor was chased by alligators, before he went on the attack against a runner, people in a crowd and then, of all people, Dana White -- but obviously, there's a catch.

The UFC honcho posted the parody, and it's hilarious!!! Conor glides across a river as a gator gives chase, but the UFC star is unfazed.

Cut to Conor going on a tear ... attacking runners, spectators and even a bullfighter, before turning on Dana himself and opening a can of whup-ass.

It's a little life imitating art ... what with Conor's past hijinks where he threw dollies into tour buses, smashed cell phones and even punched an old guy who didn't want to drink his whiskey.

Two men may have some ice-cold drinks to thank for their survival, because they were rescued in the deep blue ocean after clinging to a styrofoam cooler.

It went down in the Gulf of Mexico. Adam Vetter says he was heading to shore in his boat at around 6:30 PM when he spotted 2 men in the ocean, clinging to the cooler. They were spotted 12 miles offshore from Hudson Beach, Florida.

Adam spotted a sinking boat, and then -- in the distance -- spotted the 2 men in the water, clinging for life and waving their hands wildly in the air.

The 2 men say they were holding on for dear life for nearly 4 hours. Adam and his crew pulled the 2 men up on their boat to safety.

This could have gone much worse. Adam and crew didn't spot the boat when it was in front of them ... they were 1 1/2 to 2 miles away from the sinking boat and the 2 men, but someone saw something and the 2 men are alive as a result. The fact the cooler was white helped, because it stood out in the water.

Carole Baskin sees Joe Exotic's sold-out fashion line, and raises him a sold-out trading card collection!!!

The 'Tiger King' star and her loyal, and very much alive husband, Howard, autographed 400 official Leaf collectible trading cards plastered with their smiling mugs. That's all it took for a bunch of cool cats and kittens to clean out the entire collection in a matter of minutes!

The autographed trading cards, which feature CB and HB rocking matching big cat costumes, went up for sale this week at $99 a pop ... and they disappeared faster than Carole's previous hubby, Don. We're talking just 24 minutes.

It's a pretty impressive debut for Carole and Howard ... the trading cards were the Baskins' first ever signed collectibles.

If you missed out on the signed cards, there is a small consolation prize available.

As we first reported ... the Baskins partnered with Leaf for some good, old-fashioned trading cards, and the non-autographed versions are still selling for $8 each or $200 for a pack of 50.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Superman ... no it's a FLYING DOG jumping from a window and sticking the landing like a straight-up boss!!!

Check out this AMAZING video of a crazy athletic pooch bounding through a window and landing several feet down on the grass below ... and somehow the pup walked away unscathed.

The adorable pooch is going viral after its owner posted video of the death-defying jump ... and she says her dog is doing just great after the wild stunt.

We've all been there in quarantine right ... ready to jump out a window at a moment's notice out of pure boredom and stir craziness ... but this four-legged superstar actually did it ... and lived to tell the tail tale.

The sound before the jump is hilarious, the landing is even better, and the nonchalant scurry down the sidewalk is the icing on this crazy cake.

Quick ... get this dog a cape, a bone and some treats!!!

This is not what Katy Perry meant ... 50 cars filled with folks who seemed to have Independence Day on their minds, blocked traffic on the 5 Freeway Friday night for a fireworks show.

It went down in Norwalk, near downtown L.A. It was clearly choreographed. Unsuspecting drivers had nowhere to turn as explosive sounds filled the night.

Aside from the fact that it's kind of a bonehead move to do this to drivers in the middle of all this craziness, the show was pretty cool.

It went down at around 10 PM and as fast as it started, it was over. They clearly knew if they hung around there would be consequences. It's illegal to set off fireworks in L.A. County with certain exceptions for controlled displays ... and this clearly wasn't one.

Pedicures feel good, but they apparently feel REALLY good to this bulldog ... who couldn't resist climbing on top of his doggy groomer as she tried to trim his nails.

This doggone funny video comes from Shampoochie Pet Grooming in Granbury, Texas ... where the pooch was brought in for some maintenance.

Things were going smoothly at first for the young lady groomer, Kali Lander, but as she made her way to the bulldog's hind legs ... he got WAY too excited and hopped on her back.

After mounting the poor girl, who's hilariously pleading for help, the shop's owner made her way over to help and force the forceful pup down off.

Lander says the rascally bulldog is normally a little bit of a difficult customer, but this time was different ... and the funniest thing ever.

Well this is not going to paint a pretty picture of Florida ... nevertheless, just enjoy.

For some strange reason, at least 4 men at a Tampa Home Depot got heated in the loading zone right outside the store Wednesday and began brawling ... using paint cans as weapons.

At one point, one of the tools picks up a shovel or large garden tool and swings it at another ... but the majority of the action is between a hefty paint-covered man and a smaller guy.

The beefy boy charges at the little dude while slapping at him, but the smaller man holds his own and eventually chucks a can full of white paint at him ... forcing a retreat.

The big fella's not done, though -- he attacks another guy with some violent swings before things finally cool down ... leaving several men, the parking lot and a pickup truck sloppily covered in paint.

What's wilder ... the men reportedly all know each other and work together, and declined to press charges. It's unclear what led to the messy mayhem or if Home Depot will take any action against the crew.

A Domino's Pizza delivery guy who let his frustrations get the best of him and dropped a couple f-bombs on 2 teens who didn't tip their driver is now out of a job.

We broke the story ... the father of the 2 kids told us he let his daughter use his credit card to order some grub from Domino's, but when she signed for it, she mistakenly left the tip line blank. When the brother handed the driver the receipt, he was pissed ... and unloaded on him.

The dad tells TMZ ... he called Domino's that night and lodged a complaint ... the following day both the GM and owner of that franchise called to apologize to him and his kids.

On top of that, we're told the area supervisor and the store manager personally paid a visit to the family's home to deliver some gift cards for their trouble -- a $200 prepaid gift card for each teen, and a $100 Domino's gift card for the fam.

Not such a happy ending for the delivery driver though ... he got the ax.

The owner of the Domino's says the decision was made after reviewing the video and investigating the incident. The owner tells us ... "I am a small franchisee that is locally owned and operated, and we always strive to do what is right."

Maybe there's something to that Old Testament ... on the heels of the coronavirus global pandemic, we now have locusts swarming the Middle East.

Biblical plagues for 500, Alex?

This disturbing video comes from the Middle East, where the insects are swarming on a highway so badly ... it's affecting visibility and bringing traffic to a near halt.

The ghastly sight -- of biblical proportions, some might say -- is scarily becoming a more common occurrence in the Middle East, South Asia and parts of eastern Africa ... where billions of the hungry locusts are threatening to cause famine.

These desert bugs feast on crops in the area and are leaving a trail of destruction and destroying food supplies. Food and health officials are worried the locusts -- along with the COVID-19 crisis -- could lead to more people starving to death.

In a prime example of horrible timing, the locusts are reportedly the worst they've been in decades in countries like Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia ... and are ravaging thousands of acres of crops in Yemen, Pakistan and India.

To get a clearer picture of how horrific the situation is ... officials reported a layer of dead locusts piled 6 inches high after an area was sprayed with pesticides.

The eagle has landed in D.C. for 'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic, whose legal team is hoping they can get the President's ear ... and they even got their elevator pitch down to a tee.

Eric Love -- who's heading up the team of top-notch attorneys out of Fort Worth, TX -- came on ''TMZ Live'' Wednesday with a major update on their cross-country road trip down to the nation's capital, in hopes of receiving presidential pardon for Joe from Donald Trump.

He says they've finally arrived, and are out cruising the town parading their huge bus around ... ya know, the one with the piercing "PARDON JOE EXOTIC" wrap on both sides.

Anyway, that's not even the biggest news from their touching down -- Eric claims DT's aware of their presence. Citing his own sources, Eric says Trump and some of his fam know the dealio -- Secret Service does too, apparently -- but there's still no guarantee of getting a meeting with the guy at this point. Not to worry, though ... they're staying hopeful.

We also asked Eric to dish out a mock 30-second spiel on why Joe should get sprung. Watch ... sounds like Eric's gonna appeal to Trump's sense of being wronged and targeted.

WHAT A GREAT STORY!!

A kid in Georgia chased down a FedEx truck and begged the driver to send his favorite skateboard to his favorite skater Tony Hawk.

The problem? The FedEx driver has no idea where Tony Hawk lives!

So, the driver made a TikTok video hoping the universe would conspire to help connect this kid to his hero ... and what happened next is AWESOME!!!

The kid's name is Cooper -- and he's such a TH fan, he scribbled the skate legend's name on his own board.

When Tony saw the video, he not only sent Cooper a very cool video message back -- but already made plans to ship Coop his own Tony Hawk-used board to have forever!!

The videos are great, they might even make you tear up a bit (in a good way)!