Viral

If you're wondering why #BlackoutDay2020 is trending, allow us to fill you in ... and then point you in the right direction to partake.

YouTuber Calvin Martyr is credited with launching the unofficial retail holiday, which is in full swing right now -- namely, Blackout Day. It's all about supporting Black-owned businesses, exclusively, today all across the country ... to show solidarity with the Black community.

This is an idea that's been discussed a lot recently, with some notable people -- like Killer Mike, for example -- encouraging folks in the African-American community to get on board.

Basically, the philosophy is this ... the best way to affect real change, while also lifting up Black people at the same time, is to use the power of the dollar and spend it strategically. As they say, money talks in this country, right? Blackout Day 2020 is the mobilization of that principle.

Now, if you're unfamiliar with what Black-owned businesses are out there and wondering where to start -- we got you. As it turns out, there's plenty from which to choose.

We'll start with national brands and then hone in for more niche markets and products. To start off, we'll highlight AJ Crimson Beauty and Black Girl Sunscreen.

Both companies sell products with darker-skinned customers in mind, but that doesn't mean their stuff is just for Black people either. So, with that in mind, you can browse their wide selection of goods online, or you can pop into a store that carries their line in person.

Let's get to the grub -- because there are TONS of Black-owned food brands you can support too. For canned goods, health food and other fundamentals ... you can hit up Glory Foods, A Dozen Cousins, Iya Foods, EXAU Olive Oil, Neilly's, or Yolele Foods to fill your needs. When it comes to clothes, Milano Di Rouge features some unique styles.

For snacks, look no further than Pipcorn, Symphony Chips, Sol Cacao or Oh-Mazing Granola. If you're a coffee drinker -- Blk & Bold or Red Bay Coffee will wake you right up.

Who says Bubba Wallace needs support from Donald Trump?!?!

NASCAR announced Tuesday the star driver is CRUSHING the fan vote for the 2020 All-Star race ... saying the 26-year-old is currently leading for the fan spot in the classic.

Of course, it ain't exactly a surprise, despite Trump's criticism Monday ... Bubba helped get Confederate flags banned from racetracks a few weeks ago and handled the adversity from Talladega's disturbing noose incident extremely well.

Everyone from Saints star Alvin Kamara to LeBron James has come out publicly and supported the guy ... and clearly, other less famous people in the nation are doing the same.

The spot in the race is a coveted one ... an invite to the challenge -- which is set to go down on July 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tenn. -- is hard to come by.

In order to get onto the track, there are several requirements ... most involving getting a win on NASCAR's top circuit in either 2019 or 2020.

While Bubba hasn't been able to do that just yet ... being the top vote-getter would put him in the field for the big race.

The owner of a Philadelphia bar claims he pulled his gun on a man during a heated confrontation because he thought the guy was reaching for a gun, but apparently ... it was just a bike lock.

It went down Sunday night in the Old City neighborhood, where you see the owner of the Infusion Lounge, Jamie Atlig, pointing his weapon right at the man ... who begins to walk away.

According to witnesses, the man on the sidewalk was yelling at customers for not wearing masks or social distancing, and then things got political with Atlig.

The man allegedly said, "You can have your MAGA privilege," and the owner replied by saying "Trump 2020," and pulling his gun.

Atlig told FOX29 ... he felt threatened because he saw the man reaching for a black, metal object that looked like a gun -- which witnesses say was a bike lock.

Still, Atlig insists he was in the right, saying ... "He came across and came to attack me. I’m the actual victim in this situation."

The bar owner's lawyer adds ... "He owns a business. He was being threatened as well as his patrons. He pulled out his duly licensed firearm. He diffused the situation. He put the firearm away." Atlig claims he's been receiving death threats since the video went viral.

Want a personalized shout-out from Floyd Mayweather?? Hope you've got an extra GRAND laying around -- 'cause TBE is charging $999 for Cameo vids!!!

Floyd joined the popular site this week ... and in true Money Mayweather style, he claims he's now "the most expensive celeb" on the app.

So, what exactly does a thousand bucks get you from Floyd? Mayweather says he'll provide customizable messages -- both for personal and commercial use -- at "an affordable rate."

Some of the examples ... Floyd says he can give birthday shout-outs, motivational messages and even boxing tips!!

"I want to be the first celebrity to make a million dollars on Cameo," Floyd said.

Mayweather says the Cameo signup is all part of a partnership with Stardam, a company that helps facilitate celeb endorsements for businesses.

In other words, if you own a burger stand and want Floyd Mayweather to make a custom video talking about how he LOOOVES your food, he'll do it -- for a price.

And, Stardam claims Mayweather is available for green screen vids ... which should make for some interesting clips down the road.

By the way, if you're wondering how Floyd's Cameo price compares to other big-name sports celebs ... it appears to be the most by a pretty good amount.

Carole Baskin's is making a FORTUNE recording personalized messages, but fact of the matter is she's also left TONS of dough on the table ... 'cause she's turned down lots of requests from people who want her to talk about her missing and presumed dead husband.

Carole tells TMZ ... she's gotten over 600 Cameo requests so far, but along the way, she's had to decline requests from people who are trying to get her to talk about the fate of her missing husband.

She tells us, "I decline their requests to say things that would make fun of my husband's disappearance because that was such a tragic time in my life, and in that of those who loved him."

Joe Exotic's nemesis from the hit Netflix docuseries, 'Tiger King,' tells us she doesn't think the people making those requests are doing it to be mean spirited, but regardless of how long it's been, talking about her missing husband's a sore subject.

As we've reported ... Jack "Don" Lewis hasn't been seen since August 18, 1997. It's still an active cold case even though he was declared legally dead 5 years after his disappearance. Nobody was charged in his death ... but theories have been spinning like crazy since 'Tiger King' aired, with hardcore Joe Exotic fans pointing the finger at Carole. She's repeatedly denied having anything to do with Don's disappearance or death.

The sheriff in charge of the investigation has told TMZ he knows Don is dead and believes there reason to be suspicious of Carole, although he says she's not a suspect at this time.

That, apparently, hasn't stopped people from not only asking Carole -- who charges $200 per request -- to talk about her missing husband but also editing Cameo videos to make it seem like she's incriminating herself. TBH, the videos are terribly edited. Watch for yourself. A Cameo video talking about someone saying "I do" for their wedding was edited to make it seem like she admitted guilt in Don's demise.

BTW, if ya saw her Cameo videos when she debuted on the platform last week, you may have noticed some of the bizarre videos that literally made no sense. Carole's got an explanation: "People ask me to say some really bizarre things that are clearly inside jokes for them and their friends, so I do, with the exception of saying things that I found to be hurtful in the 'Tiger King' series."

The scumbag who sucker punched a 12-year-old boy dancing on a sidewalk has been charged with 2 felonies, but cops are still searching for him.

Cedric Charles Moore Jr. has been charged with felony assault in the second degree and felony child endangerment in the first degree due to the age of the victim and the violence of the act ... according to cops in Cape Girardeau, MO.

Cops say they were able to ID Moore after seeing video footage of the unprovoked attack that went down Friday a little after 11:30 PM. Cape Girardeau PD says officers have been to Moore's home and various other locations he is known to frequent, but they're getting no cooperation from the his friends and family.

When they do find him, Moore's bail's already set at $50k cash only.

Cops also released Moore's mug shot from a 2017 booking in hopes the public can help locate his whereabouts.

And, then there's this ... the CGPD says the public's "understandably expressed a desire to see Moore charged with a hate crime" but they say "this charge would only apply if the assault was categorized to a lesser degree, which would not be in the best interest of seeking true justice for the victim."

A pair of Trump supporters quickly ruined the work of residents in a Bay Area town that got the OK to paint a Black Lives Matter mural -- and now, cops would like a word.

This went down Saturday in the city of Martinez, CA -- where a large mural reading "BLM" was stenciled and filled in with paint by the people there in front of their local courthouse -- something city officials approved and even advertised as a community-led holiday event.

The painting of the mural was scheduled from 9 AM to 3 PM, but not too long after folks there finished up the job ... these two boneheads rolled up and did a paint job of their own.

The woman here -- who appeared to be rocking a MAGA-themed shirt -- started applying black paint over the letters with a roller ... she began with the B and then moved on to the L in a sloppy rush -- as people around them started to film and get in their face about it.

She had a man with her who was definitely wearing Trump 2020 gear -- and he was standing by and filming the encounter himself, getting into shouting matches with bystanders and telling them they were brainwashed, and that racism was a liberal hoax. Seriously ...

The witnesses got footage of their truck as well as their license plate. Eventually, the couple scrammed before they could finish their defacement ... things were getting heated.

Now, Martinez Police says they're looking for these two and plan to arrest them for defacing the mural ... which, again, was a city-sanctioned thing. Sounds like they might be facing a simple vandalism charge -- the cops were hesitant to call this a hate crime quite yet.

And, of course, Twitter was quick to label them the newest "Karen" and "Kevin" -- but we'll just resort to calling them Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass. Probably more accurate.

Amy Cooper -- the notorious Central Park "Karen" who called the police to lie and say a black man was attacking her -- is now facing criminal prosecution for it.

Manhattan D.A. Cy Vance Jr. just announced his office has initiated a prosecution of Cooper for "Falsely Reporting an Incident in the Third Degree."

Cooper has been issued a court date for October, and Vance added ... "I would like to encourage anyone who has been the target of false reporting to contact our Office. We are strongly committed to holding perpetrators of this conduct accountable."

As you'll recall ... Amy retaliated against a black man named Christian Cooper (no relation) back on Memorial Day after he, a bird watcher, complained that her dog was off-leash ... in violation, he felt, of a law requiring dogs to be on-leash in Central Park from 9 AM to 9 PM.

Her response, which Christian caught on video, was to threaten to call NYPD and "tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life" ... and she did.

The vid went viral, and despite Amy issuing an apology, she was fired from her job at Franklin Templeton ... which stated, "We do not tolerate racism of any kind."

Amy also briefly lost custody of her rescue dog seen in the video but got it back 10 days later after it was evaluated by a vet and found to be in good health.

D.L. Hughley wants to know why so many Americans are incensed by the tearing down of statues of pretty awful people, whose history of oppression is very clear.

We talked to the comedian and author Monday on "TMZ Live" and while discussing his new book -- "Surrender, White People! Our Unconditional Terms for Peace" -- he made compelling points about so-called heroes enshrined all across this country. Some of which, are being taken down right by protesters demanding racial justice.

D.L.'s on the side of protesters who've topped some of those statues, and demanded cities remove others ... because, as he put it, most of the ones in question salute brutal slave owners or someone who oppressed people of color.

Case in point ... James Marion Sims, who's been hailed as the Father of Modern Gynecology.

As D.L. notes, the guy did shocking experiments on black women -- and without anesthesia -- and yet, he has statues erected in New York, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.

Hell, he even spits facts about Honest Abe ... who voiced some racist thinking years before he was the Great Emancipator.

If you're unfamiliar with the quote, Abraham Lincoln said in 1858 ... "And inasmuch as they (blacks and whites) cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be a position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." That's an actual quote!

D.L. puts it quite plainly -- why the desperate desire to celebrate American history that is steeped in Black pain? And, why do so many people cling to upholding that tradition? It's a fair question.

A bunch of idiots working at a Jimmy John's sandwich shop in Georgia are out of a job after a handful of them made a noose out of their grub ... and then "hanged" one of their own.

This went down in the city of Woodstock, where at least four JJ employees working on the 4th of July apparently thought it'd be funny to do a mock lynching with their supplies. They fashioned a noose out of dough they use to bake bread -- and proceeded to try it out.

One white worker slips the noose over around his neck while another holds the long end up ... as if to show the guy hanging. Two others are filming this ... and everyone's having a laugh about it. The whole thing is gross to watch -- especially how funny they think it is.

You know who didn't find it amusing? Jimmy John's themselves -- because the corporate headquarters responded to the video ... and says all of these fools have been fired.

They write, "We have zero tolerance for racism or discrimination in any form. The franchisee has taken immediate action and the employees have been terminated. The actions seen in this video are completely unacceptable and do not represent the Jimmy John's brand."

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.