Viral

A volcano in Indonesia exploded in spectacular fashion this week, sending a tower of ash flying three miles high ... leaving surrounding villages and communities shrouded in darkness.

Mount Sinabung erupted Monday on Indonesia's Sumatra Island, sending a massive column of volcanic ash spewing thousands of feet into the sky -- 16,400 to be exact. Luckily, no one was killed or seriously hurt from the explosion, but there were warnings of lava flows.

Folks were advised to stay at least three miles away from the crater's mouth, where lava could literally hijack the landscape. And, although the immediate area around the volcano has been roped off for years, people were still covered in ash below.

The AP reports up to 2 inches of ash gathered in some of the abandoned villages along the volcano's slopes. People further out carried on like normal, apparently -- except for the fact they had to turn on their car headlights to see through the darkness.

Mount Sinabung had been dormant for centuries before first erupting again in 2010 ... and since then, it's been active and experienced explosions a handful of times in the years to follow. The 2010 eruption killed two, 16 more were killed in 2014 and 7 died in 2016.

A pro-police group beat a group of Black Lives Matter counter-protesters ... and you actually hear someone from the pro-police group say don't use weapons but punching is encouraged.

The group -- Back the Blue -- was holding a rally in Fort Collins, Colorado Saturday when some Black Lives Matter protesters showed up.

It appears the Back the Blue crowd went after the BLM protesters, and you hear someone shout, "Everybody keep their hands off their weapons. Keep punching each other in the face. Don't shoot anybody."

Someone from the BLM group said, even though they were not the aggressors, they were detained by cops but were never told why.

Tech N9ine got on the mic for a bunch of never-ending partiers down in Missouri -- and the joint looked about as packed as any of their shindigs lately.

The rapper put on a homecoming show Saturday night at the Regalia hotel in Lake of the Ozarks -- he's from Kansas City, BTW ... so it was definitely a special occasion to have Tech come out and perform. He took to the stage in front of what we're told were upwards of 1,000 people.

That didn't seem to bother Tech N9ne though -- ditto for the concert promoters and the hotel folks hosting the event. As you can see ... it looks eerily similar to all the other Ozark water ragers we've seen of late. No masks, little distancing ... and just a whole lot of bodies.

Aside from the bad idea of hosting any type of large gathering like this -- indoors or out -- the fact Tech N9ne is in the mix here seems to signal something else that's fairly troubling ... the idea that in-person concerts are coming back with more regularity, slowly but surely.

We've seen some well-known artists over the past couple months performing to large crowds -- sometimes with blatant disregard for safety, and other times letting things get out of control despite their best intentions ... looking at you Chase Rice and the Chainsmokers.

Granted, Keith Urban seemed to have a bit more success with his own drive-in show -- in any case, it's clear artists are getting restless too and are trying to secure that concert bag.

Cleveland was more See-Where-You-Land Saturday night -- 'cause a guy parachuted into the downtown night scene ... and smacked himself against a building only to be left dangling.

Check out this crazy video that was taken right in the heart of downtown Cleveland, where some bozo glided down from the night sky and ran right into an apartment complex, which luckily snagged his 'chute toward the top and kept him from plunging two stories down.

Like we said, the guy kinda splats into the wall here -- but, surprisingly, he seems to be okay(ish) ... except the fact he's got no way to get down potentially falling. As he squirms around to free himself, the videographer notes that he and his friend should probably help.

Of course, they seem to take their sweet time as they watch the funny scene unfold and a crowd begins to gather below. This could've turned out a lot worse, but considering the man appears to be fine up there (for the most part), ya can't knock 'em for soaking it in.

BTW, the guy eventually got rescued by firefighters -- and later, he told cops he and a few friends jumped from a plane, although it's unclear from where originally. The others reportedly landed safely in a nearby park, but this joker ended up breaking his leg in the whole ordeal.

You wanna see someone disgusting ... check out this anti-masker who castigates a supermarket employee ... essentially calling her a loser because of her job.

It went down in Long Island, New York when an employee at a King Kullen market apparently told this shopper to wear a mask. Well, that set her off, threatening to "beat the f***ing s***" out of the employee, warning, "Don't pull your communist bull**** on me."

She then gets personal and insulting ... remember, the employee is an essential worker who, aside from enforcing the rules in the store, presumably is trying to keep her family and herself safe. That didn't stop the anti-masker from some loathsome insults.

And, check this out ... this video was shot at a restaurant in North Carolina where an employee got into it with a Grubhub driver. The employee claims the guy came up to the window without a mask and was chowing down on a Burger King sandwich. She says when she asked why he wasn't wearing a mask, he started screaming and spitting with food in his mouth.

This is hysterical ... a wedding proposal on a boat goes horribly wrong because the would-be fiance's wingman has a TERRIBLE throwing arm!!!

We don't know their names or exactly where they were, but it doesn't matter. The ring, inside the ring box, goes in the drink and a guy -- presumably the thrower -- jumps in to retrieve it.

We don't know if he got the ring back, but you gotta say ... it's a memorable proposal. We're assuming she said yes, even sans bling.

And, this is funny ... an NFL meme page posted the video with the caption, "When you ask Mitch Trubisky to help you with your proposal ..."

2020 has brought us a deadly pandemic, a devastating hurricane, tornados, shocking examples of police brutality ... so really, how surprising is a big earthquake in North Carolina?

A 5.1 quake rocked Sparta, NC Sunday, just after 8 AM. The epicenter is near the Virginia border and was felt in South Carolina and Georgia.

It's the biggest earthquake to hit the area in more than 100 years.

Check out the video ... the beauty salon surveillance video shows the force of the quake as items all around sway back and forth.

The Mayor of Sparta said the quake was so loud it sounded like a train roaring down the track.

Fortunately, no injuries and only minor damage, but the shaking was real.

A 5.1 is a big quake, but typically significant damage usually occurs when a quake is in the 6's or higher. Of course, depending on the way buildings were constructed ... a 5.1 could do serious damage ... though not the case here.

Cardi B's giving a lot of love to one of the famous female faces that appeared in her new music video -- giving fans a sneak peak at Normani's viral dance moves.

CB posted a video Saturday that showed behind-the-scenes footage of how the video for her new single 'WAP' was shot -- especially the dance solos featured by several different women ... including Fifth Harmony's Normani, who had the internet ablaze with her sexy number.

Turns out, the whole thing was shot on a green screen with the main song playing in the background. It's funny though ... Cardi was singing the lyrics to Normani's own song, "Motivation," over the 'WAP' beat -- giving her a little extra juice/hype for the performance.

Normani also posted incredible photo stills from the shoot -- and naturally, her fans (and her contemporaries) loved it. Her cameo was definitely one of the more notable standouts, according to Twitter anyway. Other appearances weren't as well-received, unfortunately.

As we reported ... the whole idea behind 'WAP' was women empowerment -- that's why Cardi and Meg had cameos from a bunch of different famous ladies across the entertainment industry, in an attempt to show solidarity.

Americans are far from the only ones going stir-crazy -- because chaos can be found anywhere these days ... notably, Belgium, where cops are fighting their own citizens.

Check out this insane brouhaha that broke out Saturday at a Blankenberge beach -- where cops were sent in to break up a crowd of young'ns who were sitting on the breakwater ... this after a lifeguard had told them to scram since it was prohibited.

Welp, when the cops showed ... all hell broke loose. The video picks up right in the middle of the action -- officers were creeping upon beach-goers with batons drawn and face masks on, but the crowd was quick to strike back early and often ... against the cops and even against themselves.

You see some people trying to stop the violence, to no avail. People are hurling beach chairs and umbrella poles and umbrellas. Speaking of the latter, watch how one guy straight up swings a giant beach umbrella at a cop, who doesn't flinch.

This back-to-school pic didn't just alarm parents worried about their kids and coronavirus ... it also got at least 2 teenagers suspended.

Georgia's North Paulding High School hit the student, 15-year-old Hannah Watters, with a 5-day suspension for posting that photo -- a shot she took out of concern for her safety ... as well as her classmates'.

Hannah had captioned the pic, "Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed." She added that she was pushed multiple times, and defiantly posted, "This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate."

The school's stance is that Hannah, and another student who posted the crowded hallway image, violated school policy about social media and posting images of minors without consent.

That's the letter of the school's law, obviously, but one could easily argue ... the safety of students and faculty should be getting some consideration here. Hannah clearly posted the photo because she was alarmed at the inability to social distance.

Hannah told BuzzFeed News she feels her suspension is excessive.

The photo went viral Tuesday as it highlighted the fears of parents, and for that matter ... teachers, as students return to schools for the first time since the pandemic began.

Cardi B's long-awaited return to the rap game wasn't just a collab with Meg Thee Stallion -- the two got support from a bunch of famous ladies ... including Kylie Jenner.

Cardi's track, "WAP" dropped Friday with an accompanying music video all about female empowerment -- and to fully embrace that, CB enlisted some hot up-and-coming femcees in the game.

Normani, Rosalia, Mulatto, Sukihana -- all relatively big names in their own right -- are also featured in the video.

Kylie's cameo features the self-made-billionaire decked out in leopard print and strutting down a hallway. Sorry, no rapping or singing from Kylie. We're told the billionaire cosmetics mogul was included to reflect togetherness among women across the entertainment industry.

Our sources also say the video was shot the week before the Tory Lanez drama unfolded last month -- and that could explain why Meg was hanging out with Kylie the night she was shot in her feet. It would appear working on the song/video brought them closer together.

Cardi's fans have been hungry for new music for a while, and now they've got it ... with some visual bonuses.

If you've never seen human billiards, you're about to -- a woman knocked off her moped bounced once, and then went straight down a gutter. Worst luck EVER!!!

The strange, but true accident went down in Brazil ... where some jerk (more on him later) driving a car turned right into a moped, sending the female rider flying. She hit the pavement hard, and started rolling.

As if getting hit wasn't bad enough ... her momentum sent her careening directly into a huge storm drain on the roadside!!! Honestly, it's a one in a million chance.

Now, the good news a bunch of Good Samaritans ran to her aid -- one of 'em even jumped down into the sewer -- and they were able to pull her out safely. Amazingly, it looks like she only had some bad scratches on her legs.

The bad news? Watch the video ... while the crowd gathered to rescue the woman, the guy who hit her snuck back to his car and dipped!!!

Dak Prescott is following Kim Kardashian's lead ... telling Oklahoma officials to immediately free death row inmate Julius Jones -- claiming he was wrongly convicted of murder and doesn't deserve to die.

The Dallas Cowboys QB spelled it all out in a powerful letter to Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

"Please don't let another innocent black man die from the systemic mistreatment that has plagued our nation for far too long," Prescott wrote.

Jones was accused of murdering a white man during a carjacking in 1999 when he was just 19-years-old. He was later convicted at a jury trial in 2002 and was sentenced to death.

But, Prescott says there are huge problems with the case -- telling officials, "I firmly believe the wrong person is being punished for this terrible crime."

In his letter, obtained by TIME, Prescott claims, "an evaluation of the process that led to Mr. Jones’ conviction raises serious legal and ethical concerns. I implore you to right this wrong."

Jones has spent the past 18 years in a cell, staunchly proclaiming his innocence -- and fighting like hell to have the conviction overturned.

Jones believes he was framed, and given an unfair trial for a bunch of reasons. He also claims racism played a huge role in the jury's conviction decision.

In fact, his whole story has become famous after it aired in a 2018 ABC docuseries, "The Last Defense."

Prescott is now joining stars like Kim K, Common, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young, Blake Griffin, Baker Mayfield and more who have all also previously expressed support for Julius.

"The treatment of Julius Jones is the kind of miscarriage of justice African American men like myself live in fear of, and that is why I feel compelled to use the influence that God has blessed me with to speak up for what I believe is right and to give a voice to those who cannot speak for themselves," Prescott wrote in his letter.

"Julius Jones’ case is a clear example of what can happen to a person who cannot afford legal representation, and what can happen to a black person at any time in this country – which is exactly why so many are protesting for the changes we so desperately need."