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It's impossible to make sense of the brutal, random act of violence against a 12-year-old dancing in the street, but humanity's shining through to help out the victim.

The tough kid's name is Ethan, and his mother, Stephanie Hagler, tells TMZ ... more than 400 people -- family, friends and strangers alike -- have raised more than $14,000 so far to cover his medical bills and more.

Ethan's mom says the remainder of the money raised will go toward his tuition at the Fingerprint Urban Dance Studio, in Cape Girardeau, MO for the next several years. The studio will get some improvements too -- like a new security system -- and Ethan wants to put some cash toward its annual festival.

As for his health, Stephanie tells us her son's still shaken up over the assault, and fearful to perform. She says he's afraid someone out there may try to hurt him again, and the disturbing ordeal is requiring daily therapy sessions.

Ethan's also dealing with the effects of a concussion -- dizziness and headaches -- but his mom says the "overwhelming support from friends and community members has been making Ethan feel better." We're told folks have been bringing him gifts, as well ... including a painting by one of his friend's parents.

As we reported ... Ethan was with his dance instructor, Micheal Curry, Friday night when he was sucker punched by a man police ID'd as Cedric Charles Moore Jr. -- who's been charged with felony assault and felony child endangerment for the attack. Cops are still searching for him.

Curry, who recorded the video of the assault and is the owner of Fingerprint, tells us his group of dance kids is hitting pause on all street performances for now.

However, Curry says he and Ethan are scheduled to perform a DJ set at a local joint in August ... and he hopes it will help Ethan regain his confidence, while giving the community an opportunity to show support.

He says he's worked with Ethan for 4 years, and he's thankful for the support they've already gotten -- but his main focus is helping his kids regain their trust in humanity.

Kanye West likened Planned Parenthood to a Satanic baby-killing cult put in place by racist forces, but the org is calling BS ... saying the real threat is talk like his.

ICYMI ... Kanye tackled the issue of abortion during his Forbes interview, saying ... "Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil’s work."

Welp, PP's response comes from Nia Martin-Robinson ... the Director of Black Leadership and Engagement at PP's national HQ. She tells TMZ, "Black women are free to make our own decisions about our bodies and pregnancies, and want and deserve to have access to the best medical care available."

Martin-Robinson adds, "Any insinuation that abortion is Black genocide is offensive and infantilizing. The real threat to Black communities' safety, health, and lives stems from lack of access to quality, affordable health care, police violence and the criminalization of reproductive health care by anti-abortion opposition."

Of course, Ye's expressed similar sentiments before ... in regards to the so-called Plan B pill.

What's interesting here is how at odds he appears to be with his wife, Kim Kardashian, who's publicly supported Planned Parenthood in the past -- notably, in 2017.

A group of Christian church members went to extreme lengths to remove a black woman peacefully sitting on "their" grass ... and it all played out on video.

The woman's name is Alex Marshall-Brown -- a stunt woman and voice actor here in L.A. -- and on Tuesday, she documented her North Hollywood encounter with the churchgoers ... who seemed to grossly overreact to her chilling out on church grounds.

She was working on her laptop, sitting under a tree and minding her business ... when a couple guys who apparently work for the church came out with a "No Trespassing" sign just for her. Alex questions why they're booting her, but they don't seem to have a good reason.

The men say they don't want strangers on their property, period -- insisting that them telling her to scram isn't anything personal ... that they're just doing their jobs and protecting the church.

But then it took a disturbing turn ... one of the guys dropped the ol' "All Lives Matter" on her.

Alex continued to point out she's not threatening anyone, and that escalating the situation by calling police -- which the men say was already happening -- wasn't necessary.

She noted she was asked by some bike cops to leave at first, or else she'd have a run-in with "Cop cops" -- but our law enforcement sources tell us no one in LAPD was even made aware of this. Instead, it sounds like Alex just had to deal with the church staffers.

She went on to say it's ironic a church, of all places, was being so unwelcoming.

Now, head honchos from this parish -- St. Paul's First Lutheran Church -- have already weighed in, and they say their workers on the ground got this one wrong. The church says they strive to spread the love of God, and they're saddened by the way this went down.

Netflix's revival of "Unsolved Mysteries" might need to change its name to "Case Closed" -- because the team's getting inundated with new leads that may very well crack some of these cases.

The show's original creator, Terry Dunn Meurer, is once again heading up the rebooted series ... and she tells TMZ that skyrocketing popularity and renewed interest has yielded some actual tips she and her team believe could lead to more clues -- or, in some cases, arrests.

Terry says 'Unsolved' has received upwards of 1,500 tips over their 6 new episodes up on the streaming service -- and of those ... she tells us about 50 were flagged as possibly legit and forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

And, get this ... she says the one that is most likely to get buttoned up first is the case of Alonzo Brooks ... who disappeared from a Kansas party in the early 2000s.

If you're unfamiliar ... 22-year-old Alonzo and a group of friends went to a party in rural Kansas, where he ended up being the only black guy there among what's described as a bunch of rednecks and cowboy types ... with one of whom he almost fought.

His pals eventually dispersed -- and Alonzo never made it home. A month later, his body was found in a creek. He'd been murdered.

The killing was considered a hate crime, but investigators could never link it to anyone -- the case went unsolved for years. Terry, however, says that could change soon -- as her crew has forwarded names to the FBI ... which recently reopened his case.

Here's another thing -- one uber-popular installment in the new 'Unsolved' series chronicles the supposed suicide of Rey Rivera ... whom many fans speculate might have planned and carried out his own death after the '90s flick, "The Game," and its famous rooftop jump scene.

The Trump supporters who tried using black paint to cover up a Black Lives Matter street mural in the Bay Area have just been charged with a hate crime.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office charged Nichole Anderson and David Nelson with misdemeanor counts Tuesday for their alleged actions on July 4, when Anderson was caught on camera covering up a yellow 'BLM' mural with black paint.

The D.A. says Nelson directly aided in the alleged criminal conduct ... and the Martinez, CA couple are both being charged with a violation of civil rights, vandalism under $400 and possession of tools to commit vandalism or graffiti.

Prosecutors are classifying it as a hate crime because under California penal code ... the alleged civil rights violation was motivated by the race of the victim.

As we reported ... the MAGA couple painted over a 'BLM' mural on a street outside their local courthouse, a mural that had been approved by city officials.

Video showed Anderson using a paint roller to spread black paint over the large yellow letters, while Nelson got into shouting matches with bystanders.

The mural was repainted and our law enforcement sources say police tracked down the couple, who were not arrested, and turned the case over the Contra Costa D.A.

A man unleashed a viciously racist verbal attack against a family that was doing nothing but minding their business -- and it turns out ... the guy's the head of a major IT company.

The guy here has been identified as Michael Lofthouse -- CEO of cloud-computing startup Solid8 out in Silicon Valley ... and he was caught on camera this past weekend in Monterey, CA going off on a group of people who were of Asian descent. Lofthouse himself is from the U.K.

Anyway, the video starts after he'd apparently said something pretty vile from his table at a restaurant ... but when the people he attacked started recording him, he clammed up. Only briefly though, because Lofthouse eventually cut loose again, calling the person recording him an "Asian piece of s***."

He went on to invoke President Trump's name ... saying POTUS was gonna screw 'em in November. An employee demanded Lofthouse get the hell out.

The woman who recorded this says the guy's attack was completely unprovoked. She went on to post info about him, including a back and forth in a comment section which appears to show him threatening to kill a guy who called him out for his behavior.

Lofthouse has since gotten rid of his social media accounts. Solid8 hasn't spoken on it yet.

Now, here's a little more context. According to Stop AAPI Hate (an org that documents incidents of discrimination against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders) ... 832 people in their community have self-reported experiences of harassment in the last three months.

That jibes with what we've seen on the streets, especially in L.A. ... with folks like SoCal Karen spewing hate.

The reason for this uptick? Well, the Prez has been blaming China for coronavirus for months now. Still think his "kung flu" jokes are harmless?

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."