Viral

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona is ready to 86 the team's longstanding nickname ... the 61-year-old told reporters over the weekend, "I think it's time to move forward."

In light of social injustice protests all over the nation ... the MLB squad's brass has said it will now look into changing its name and uniforms.

The team -- which had already canned its infamous "Chief Wahoo" logo years ago -- said in a statement, "We are committed to engaging our community and appropriate stakeholders to determine the best path forward with regard to our team name."

Enter Francona -- the Indians' manager since 2013 -- who now says he's ready to accept only one possible outcome over this ... and that's a complete name change.

"I know in the past, when I’ve been asked about whether it’s our name or the Chief Wahoo, I think I would usually answer and say I know that we’re never trying to be disrespectful," Francona said. "And I still feel that way. But, I don’t think that’s a good enough answer today."

Tito continued ... "Even at my age, you don’t want to be too old to learn or to realize that, maybe I’ve been ignorant of some things, and to be ashamed of it, and to try to be better."

The Indians say discussions over a possible new name are "ongoing" ... adding, "The recent social unrest in our community and our country has only underscored the need for us to keep improving as an organization on issues of social justice."

Nick Cordero -- a veteran leading man on Broadway -- has died after a long battle with COVID-19 -- this according to his wife, Amanda Kloots.

First word of Cordero's passing came Sunday when Sony music exec Tommy Mottola tweeted ... "NICK CORDERO..REST in PEACE our dear brother!!!" He added, "lead actor and star of 'A BRONX TALE MUSICAL'..beautiful sweet man.. amazing talented actor and singer...loving family man ..we pray for you and your family .. @amandakloots."

Tommy finished his thoughts by saying, "..no more pain ..no more sufferin…" Nick's wife, confirmed the news herself on Instagram, writing a lengthy tribute to her husband.

Amanda writes, "God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth."

She continued, "I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him. Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, everyday." Amanda went on to thank Nick's team of doctors as well as his supporters who poured in love and well-wishes during his lengthy battle.

Amanda had publicly shared updates while her husband was fighting for his life ever since contracting the virus in March.

Nick was initially hospitalized thinking he had pneumonia, which was later found to be COVID-19. Since being admitted, he's had several complications with his treatment, including septic shock, lung infections and a leg amputation.

Most recently, he had a procedure done to remove a pace maker, and Amanda said Nick might even need a double lung transplant down the road.

Prior to his diagnosis, Nick was an absolute stud on the big stage, having starred in several big shows like "Bullets over Broadway," for which he got a Tony Award nomination in 2014. He was also in "Waitress," "Rock of Ages," and the musical version of "A Bronx Tale," which earned more nominations and accolades.

Nick also had some on-screen credits, notably playing a cop in the CBS crime drama, "Blue Bloods."

He's survived by Amanda and their one-year-old son, Elvis. Nick was 41.

An Arizona woman says she was sent by President Trump and a conspiracy theory group to take Target to task for selling face masks ... and to flaunt her alleged high-priced watch.

The Internet has dubbed this gal here "QAnon Karen" after she filmed herself going into a Scottsdale-area Target and knocking down all the face masks on display in one of their aisles. She had to talk herself up before doing it, making it sound like a last stand mission.

She rants and about "not doing it" anymore -- which we think means she's not gonna let face masks be sold anymore??? Who the hell knows, but she went to town on the display.

Some staffer eventually comes over and asks her to stop, but she refuses ... incoherently saying they let "everyone else do it," and then questioning if they're trying to stop her because she's a white, blonde woman. But wait, it gets even more cringe-worthy!

'Karen' ponders whether they're hassling her because she has on a "$40,000 Rolex" ... just utter nonsense, but also hilarious. People have noted that Rollies don't usually shop at and/or terrorize Targets -- not really fair, because Targets are awesome. But again, this woman thinks she was sent by higher powers ... those powers being 45 and QAnon, of which she says she's a spokesperson.

Another video showed the aftermath of all this -- it appears cops tracked her down to her home and arrested her, which she also recorded. You gotta watch that mess on your own.

Elon Musk just dipped his toe into the fashion world -- via his car company, Tesla -- and the man might have a new career on his hands ... 'cause his new streetwear sold out.

The Tesla CEO followed through with a promise he made on Twitter the other day after his company's Q2 profit figures outperformed Wall Street's expectations, sending Tesla stock soaring ... much to the chagrin of short sellers who were betting against EM and co.

The guy said he was gonna roll out a line of Tesla short-shorts as a tongue-in-cheek slight at those same short sellers as well as the SEC (with which he's had beef and legal trouble before) ... and lo and behold, he freaking did it this weekend. Then, he broke his own site.

Elon announced the Tesla short-shorts were for sale Sunday on the company's official site, and they were going for the low price of "$69.420." A few minutes after he tweeted it out, their entire line in every size was sold out. He noticed, saying ... "Dang, we broke the website."

Look, we honestly can't tell if this is just a huge PR stunt with no actual fibers behind it -- but on the face of it, this appears to be a real thing Elon and Tesla sold out of almost as quickly as they launched it. The guy's obviously trolling, but he's doing it at new heights.

A BBQ will get you shot at a Del City, Oklahoma Walmart ... that is if you dare to steal one.

It's hard to believe watching the video, but an off-duty officer from a college police department happened to be at the superstore and decided to take the law into his own hands after spotting a customer allegedly making off with a BBQ without paying.

As the customer and the cop get into a scuffle in the parking lot, you see the customer in the driver's seat back up while the cop is close to the vehicle. That's all it took for the officer to fire off 11 rounds.

Remarkably, the customer wasn't killed, but he was taken to a local hospital. It's unclear how many times, if any, he was hit. He is reportedly in stable condition.

As for the cop ... he's a member of the Langston University PD. His department says they are cooperating with the Del City Police Dept. which is investigating.

Christopher Columbus took an involuntary swim Saturday night, after protesters toppled his statue in Baltimore and threw it in the drink.

It seems almost inevitable that Columbus is about to become a scarce sight in this country, given the fact he was an awful man responsible for the rape and murders of countless people.

The Mayor of Baltimore was understanding ... his spokesperson said, "We understand the dynamics that are playing out in Baltimore are part of a national narrative."

President Trump wants anyone who topples a statue prosecuted and put in prison, but the winds of change are now clear. Columbus statues have been either removed or vandalized in Miami, Richmond, St. Paul and Boston.

Two protesters were mowed down by a car early Saturday morning in Seattle, and the driver is now under arrest.

It happened at around 1:30 AM on a stretch of the I-5 that was closed to traffic. A car suddenly barreled down the road, striking 2 people. A 24-year-old person is in critical condition with what troopers said were life-threatening injuries. Another person suffered injuries that were described as serious.

Eyewitnesses told authorities they believed the incident was a "purposeful attack."

The Washington State Patrol took the driver into custody. A spokesperson says it does not appear that impairment was a factor.

Hundreds of young people in SoCal ran for the hills on the 4th of July ... Beverly Hills that is, where they may get 2 cases of Corona -- and only 1 is the beer.

It's a crazy scene that has been repeated all over the country. Partiers packed in like sardines without face masks. There's a lot of drinking and super-close contact ... ideal for the spread of the virus.

Not that they're listening .... but California is experiencing a huge spike in coronavirus cases.  In the last 2 weeks in L.A. County, 28,130 people tested positive and 391 have died.

It's now as clear as can be ... there are lots of people who just don't care if they get the virus or just believe they are impervious to it. Wrong.

Video has surfaced of a violent confrontation at a Dick's Sporting Goods store where a customer was punched and put in a chokehold ... all over a candy bar.

It went down in Toledo, Ohio Thursday. Cops say they received a call from an employee at the store that a customer -- 36-year-old Aaron Buckenmeyer -- had stolen some merchandise.

The video begins with Buckenmeyer and an employee are standing toe-to-toe when the employee delivers a crushing blow that sends Buckenmeyer to the ground.

The employee told cops Buckenmeyer had headbutted him and that's what provoked the punches.

You see Buckenmeyer in a chokehold. The employee claims during the takedown Buckenmeyer was grabbing him by the genitals.

As for Buckenmeyer ... he repeatedly told the employee he had asthma and couldn't breathe.

In the end ... it appears the incident was triggered by a candy bar Buckenmeyer had put in a bag that fell out during the confrontation.

4th of July is proving many Americans don't care coronavirus cases are spiking again, which is in line with the White House's new messaging ...  just live with it.

A handful of water-based venues -- including a water park and two lakeside blowouts -- brought out droves of people this holiday weekend in Wisconsin, Missouri and Michigan ... all of which are seeing their own surges in confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses.

That didn't matter to these folks though -- they were ready to get wet and wild for Independence Day, and you can tell by how little mind they're paying to safety precautions.

At the Noah's Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells, WI, hardly anybody was 6-feet apart from each other as they packed the wave pool. And, masks were out the window, obviously -- studies say they're ineffective if they get wet, so a lost cause right off the bat here.

Elsewhere in Missouri ... the same bar adjacent to Lake of the Ozarks -- Backwater Jack's -- forged ahead with their planned Fourth of July blowout, which they dubbed No Ducks Given. Between Friday and Saturday, the place once again resembled a sardine can.

And, in Michigan, another lake shindig was well underway Saturday ... Diamond Lake in Cass County was packed to the gills along its shores with partygoers raging the day away.

We've seen this behavior all throughout the spring and early summer -- ever since America was put on high alert and states went on full-blown lockdowns. While the shelter-in-place orders seemed to flatten the curve, there has been an explosion of new cases in the wake of reopening.

And yet ... the bad and dangerous behavior continues, despite what the CDC and other health officials have to say. The question ... what's next? Welp, President Trump's administration seems to have an answer, according to a new report anyway. It's simple ... live life at your own risk. Thing is ... he's been putting people -- his own supporters -- in harm's way by holding reckless rallies with no social distancing and few masks.

NBC News reports that big wigs in Trump's cabinet are ramping up for the new messaging to the American people ... that the virus is here, and we gotta press forward regardless.

What started out as a peaceful and community-led performance in Missouri quickly turned violent for no reason ... this after a grown man punched out a little kid.

This heinous act went down Friday night in Cape Girardeau, MO, a little after 11:30 PM, when two young kids were performing on a street corner ... busting some moves to music they had playing on a speaker, while filming themselves live from a nearby camera.

Soon enough, a man joins them and starts popping and locking too. His name is Micheal 'Crank' Curry, the one who posted the video. He tells TMZ these two kids are students of his -- he runs a local dance studio -- and they do this all the time without any issue.

The three of them were going back and forth for a while, until the taller of the two boys -- who's said to only be 12 years old -- got up to dance, only to get viciously attacked.

In the middle of his performance, a black CRV-type car pulls up alongside them, and a man hops out the passenger side. The kid notices him, but doesn't think anything of it as the guy dances along with them and inches even closer ... masking his true intentions.

When he's right next to the boy, he swings wildly and hits the side of his head, knocking him clean to the ground. Micheal screams out in shock and tries chasing him. The guy scurries back to the car and they take off ... Micheal comes back to attend to the kid.

Bystanders rush over quickly to help him up -- you can tell he's badly injured, but still tough as hell considering he was able to get up on his own two feet.

Micheal tells us the victim's name is Ethan, but he goes by Eman. The boy was taken to a local hospital, where Micheal says he was treated for a concussion and a bad nose bleed. Eman doesn't know who punched him or why -- it was a random act of violence.

If you're an Angeleno, don't be surprised to see a massive display of Trump and Confederate pride blazing down your street any moment now, 'cause one is on the way.

A parade of lifted trucks was spotted Saturday, all departing a Smart and Final parking lot in Santa Monica ... one after another in what seemed like an endless line of diesels. They all had flags flying from their beds too -- Trump 2020 ones, Confederate battle flags and U.S.A. flags too, of course. It's clear ... these folks were making a statement -- a statement of day's past.

Eyewitnesses tell us there were at least 75 trucks packed into the lot, and we're told this seemed planned and staged. Each truck had at least two people, so the number of bodies rolling these puppies out was in the triple digits ... upwards of 300.

The good news is that right out the gate, there wasn't too much of a scene or ruckus ... unless you consider the noisy departure itself to be rowdy. It kinda is, frankly.

A paragliding instructor in Turkey just took his business to new heights with a stunt that's sure to attract daredevils and couch potatoes alike -- 'cause he's got a two-for-one special that appeals to both.

Hasan Kaval rigged a sofa and a TV to one of his paragliders this week ... and then proceeded to take flight off a cliff, while capturing the whole thing on camera. What happens next is a lazy adrenaline junkie's dream -- doing something dangerous and thrilling, while being able to relax and take a load off at the same time. Genius!

Now, the man himself showed us how it's done with a full-blown airborne demo. While the couch was in the sky (above the water below), he kicked off his shoes and swapped them for slippers, started eating chips and drinking soda ... and watching 'Tom & Jerry' to boot.

And, get this ... the guy wasn't even properly strapped in!!! No matter though, at least to him. Hasan landed the couch safely (somehow) and said afterward with a straight face that he felt secure and relaxed the entire time. Granted, he does this for a living!

Here's why dogs are King of the pet world -- they just mind their business and carry float on ... literally so during the Fourth of July.

Someone filmed their pooch enjoying a nice summer day in the backyard -- perched up on a bed of pool noodles and gliding across the water without a stir or bark to ruin the serene scene. It also comes across a rubber ball, but not even that jacked its chill mood.

Now, we don't know if the owner put the pup onto the noodles, or if it found its way on there itself after a quick dip. We'd like to think the latter, but even if this was staged for the photo-op ... we still stan. The end result is just too good to poo-poo.

Unclear when this was first captured, but it circulated online right in time for the holiday ... and it's probably what a lot of us need to see right now -- namely, something peaceful.

Take a lesson from Chachi here -- yes, we've taken the liberty of naming this awesome canine -- and enjoy the Fourth for what it is. A day to kick back, be free ... and scratch the fleas off too while you're at it.

Carole Baskin is making lots of dough with personalized messages ... but making sense of what she said -- well, that's a whole other thing.

She recorded this message for a guy who goes by Robin Hood 702 ... a guy who apparently has worked with authorities on various cases. 702, btw, is the area code for Vegas.

Listen to what she says ... Carole is making reference to the MGM lion. Well, there have been rumblings a tiger or 2 may make its way to Vegas for one of the shows, but here she's talking about a lion never being "tattered" so those dots don't connect.

She also mentions David Chesnoff, a prominent lawyer who has Vegas wired, but she never explains what she means when she says he's hold up in the Penninsula.

And, then she mentions Patty Glaser, a super-powerful L.A. lawyer. Again, connecting the dots is damn near impossible.

Karma -- the pro gamer who was struck by lightning while streaming on Twitch -- says she's no longer in physical pain ... but admits she's suffering a little "PTSD" after the crazy incident.

27-year-old Jaime Bickford was INSIDE her Boston-area home Sunday night commenting on a game of "Rocket League" when lightning struck ... and somehow, she got hit.

You can watch the live stream and HEAR the moment of impact -- it's really scary stuff.

Bickford tells TMZ Sports she's still not 100% sure how she got hit -- saying, "It all happened really fast."

"I was just commenting over this game and then a huge flash came out of my controller, like really bright," Bickford says.

"I just remember my hands burning and my body just automatically dropped the controller."

Bickford says her hands were sore for the next 2 days. But there was also mental trauma.

"I definitely had PTSD about it the day after -- just loud noises scared me. There was still thunderstorms the next day so I didn't want to touch the game just 'cause it freaked me out."

Don't get it twisted ... Bickford says she's definitely NOT walking away from gaming -- telling TMZ Sports she's worked too damn hard to quit.

As for the controller she had been using -- that's toast.