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No one in Beirut is taking a chance this time -- a massive fire is burning again in the city's port, immediately triggering large-scale evacuations ... coming just 5 weeks after that deadly explosion rocked the city.

The Lebanese army reportedly ordered the area evacuated Thursday and major roads leading to the port have been shut down after a huge fire engulfed what officials believe to be a tire warehouse. Although authorities said this blaze would NOT trigger another explosion, people aren't buying it, and video shows hundreds running like hell to get out of the area.

A reporter tweeted a video showing thick, black smoke filling the air and said, "Some of these buildings still don't have windows after the #BeirutBlast a month ago and now they are being engulfed by (likely poisonous) black smoke."

Just over a month ago, in this very same area of the port, 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting unsecured for 6 years in a warehouse and exploded. The blast obliterated Beirut and killed more than 190 people and injured nearly 7,000 others.

Joe Exotic's team has great timing -- or awful, depending on your perspective -- as they're handing his pardon request to President Trump on a day when there's A LOT going on in the Oval Office.

The Tiger Team leader, Eric Love, flew into D.C. Wednesday night with Joe's lawyers, packing a 257-page document he calls 4 months worth of hard work ... and he tells us it fully proves Joe's innocent.

As Eric says, this is the team's second major attempt to grab the President's attention ... but this time around they have more than a huge bus to persuade him to pardon Joe, and are even more optimistic about their pitch.

We asked him if going to the White House as the President's embroiled in controversy over his recorded convos with Bob Woodward was a good idea.  Eric thinks this timing could work in Joe's favor, and Trump's too.

As we first told you, Joe's 257-page case argues various reasons why he should be pardoned from his 22-year murder-for-hire sentence ... including a claim that he was sexually assaulted behind bars.

Love apparently has an in at the White House to deliver the goods, and he tells us Joe is so focused on the mission, he's even moved past hating on his rival Carole Baskin ... and wishes her well on "Dancing with the Stars."

"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" started as a savvy biz move and it's going out as one too -- the primary reason it's ending is all about extending the family empire.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... there are a number of reasons Kim, Kris and co. decided to close this chapter of their lives, but a major one had to do with the Kardashian brand getting way more play on social media outlets and through their personal businesses than on TV.

Fact is, the Kardashians used their series as a platform to plug themselves, their products, their businesses and anything else they saw fit to help them grow. But, as time went on and more people ditched cable TV ... the appeal of staying on the airwaves diminished.

Frankly, our sources say social media has largely replaced what 'Keeping Up' once provided. And, that's easy to see in the numbers -- each of the Kardashian sisters has millions upon millions of followers, so their reach there far outweighs anyone still tuning in to E!.

Of course, we're told ratings played into the decision too -- yes, the numbers were down, but we're told that's also been chalked up to people watching in different ways these days, including streaming.

Despite reports they pulled the plug over money -- namely, that Kris allegedly sought upwards of $40 mil per season for a handful of more years -- we're told the actual reasons are much less cutthroat. It was just time to move on, and chase opportunities elsewhere.

Kim -- who is not-so-arguably the face of the show -- has also become busy over the years taking care of her kids, businesses and, most recently, privately working through the struggles in her marriage ... which included Kanye's mental health issues.

We're told not one person or incident specifically ended the show.

Speaking of moving on, our sources say the Kardashian clan is planning to stay off-camera for a while and enjoy themselves, while reassessing what might be next for them as a unit.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn is apologizing for its "virtual cafes" that appeared to hearken back to the days of "Whites Only" signs in America ... claiming it was a serious snafu and it regrets the error.

Here's what happened -- the university's Center for Social Justice & Inclusion hosted a Zoom session Tuesday called a "Non-POC Cafe" for students who don't identify as people of color to "gather and to discuss their experience" living as non-POC in the world.

At the same time, it also hosted a virtual cafe for Black, Indigenous and POC students from marginalized communities to gather on Zoom to do the same thing.

Naturally, people were outraged and called UM-Dearborn out for allowing apparent segregation on campus, or at the very least ... promoting exclusionary virtual events without thinking of the repercussions.

The college is owning up to it and apologizing now, saying the way it described the virtual events was "not clear and not reflective of the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion."

As for the thought-process behind the dual "cafes," UM-Dearborn claims it meant well ... but simply missed the mark in its delivery.

It says ... "The original intent was to provide students from marginalized communities a space that allowed for them to exist freely without having to normalize their lives and experiences, while also providing students that do not identify as persons of color the opportunity to deepen their understanding of race and racism without harming or relying on students of color to educate them."

Each session had a staff member as a facilitator and we're told a total of 8 students participated.

More clashing between apparent Trump supporters and Black Lives Matter protesters -- and, per usual, more of the former being left on their asses after taking a whooping.

This fistfight went down Friday at a demonstration in Pittsfield, MA -- where BLM protesters were facing off with what appear to be Trump supporters ... which led to these two fellas going at it. You see the one dude in red -- who seems to have stumbled out of the Trump crowd -- start to square up with the younger guy in a BLM-emblazoned shirt.

They throw a few punches, which mostly miss at first, but eventually ... the more spry of the two lands a hit that takes the Trump-er down, and hard. He hits the pavement and lays motionless on the ground as the other guy walks away. Looks like a clean knockout.

Pittsfield PD tells us they're investigating this further, adding an off-duty cop who was nearby arrived on the scene quickly. The man who took the punch was more or less okay.

We're told he was taken to a hospital with minor injures -- per reports, he was supposedly alert and conscious at the time. The police haven't yet made any arrests.

An 18-year-old man in Thailand is going to think long and hard the next time he needs to sit on the can ... after a 4-foot long snake chomped onto his penis!!!

Siraphop Masukarat went through the ordeal Tuesday night in a town outside Bangkok, Thailand ... moments after he sat down on the toilet. He says he suddenly felt tremendous pain as the non-venomous python took a bite of his python.

Not shockingly, Siraphop jumped up and ran for his life with his pants around his ankles -- and luckily, the snake let go, but it left a seriously bloody mess.

The young man said as soon as the snake let go, blood sprayed everywhere. His mom tried to calm him until paramedics arrived, and took him to a hospital. He needed 3 stitches on the tip of his ... dear God ... you get the picture.

Back at the house, animal handlers were called in to retrieve the snake, which was still in the toilet. It was captured and released ... sorta like poor Siraphop.

So, remember ... don't sleep outside to avoid snakes climbing down your throat and always check the toilet bowl to avoid this poor Thai man's fate. Unless you're the "Snakes on a Plane" guy and throw all caution to the wind.

The guy who helped invent Jelly Belly jelly beans is going full Gene Wilder in these dark times -- promising to give one lucky person their own candy factory if they play his game.

David Klein has kicked off a Willy Wonka-esque treasure hunt that's open to anyone in these 50 states, and he's got the ultimate grand prize ... a professional shop to churn out treats.

Klein explained some of the parameters of the contest Tuesday on "TMZ Live" where he also said that whoever wins the whole enchilada -- one of his actual operating candy factories -- will also get candy-making lessons in a university setting ... plus, his own expertise in running the biz.

There's one catch ... in order to play, ya gotta pay $50 and you're automatically entered into the ultimate factory lottery. As for the hunt itself, yes, there is a "gold ticket" component involved, and if you find it in your state ... you'll win $5,000 guaranteed.

The details are probably best explained by DK himself from the site he launched just for this new venture.

As for why he's doing it, Dave says it's his way of helping people get their minds off all the turmoil in the country.

Sure, we'll take a little sugar high for now. Why not?!

It's one thing to bring back "The Golden Girls" for a reboot with superstars Regina King, Tracee Ellis Ross, Sanaa Lathan and Alfre Woodard -- but the table read event went over the top with its version of "Thank You for Being a Friend."

The first episode of "Zoom Where it Happens" aired last night and featured the award-winning cast doing a live table read of the 'GG' episode entitled "Flu" -- and the women got an awesome intro from Aaron Scott.

The viral video sensation added some serious soul to the show's classic theme song that you really gotta see and hear.

Aaron's gospel-tinged remix went viral back in 2016, and it was popularized again recently by TikTok. It obviously struck a note with the producers of the 'Golden Girls' reboot.

The new event was presented to "raise awareness, intention, and activation around voting rights." Mission accomplished, we're guessing, because fans raved about the show ... and are already clamoring for another episode.

When, and if they do, we know who'll be doing the theme.

Powerful videos from the families of Ahmaud Arbery and Trayvon Martin -- who thanked Naomi Osaka for her COVID mask tributes at the U.S. Open.

Osaka has been wearing a different name of a violence victim on her face coverings every day of the tournament in NYC ... hoping to bring awareness to Breonna Taylor, Arbery, Martin and others.

And, after her match on Tuesday -- ESPN surprised her with thank you video messages from the families of two of her mask honorees.

In the first, Martin's mom, Sybrina Fulton, praised the 22-year-old tennis player for her tributes ... saying, "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

In the second, Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery Sr., added ... "I just want to tell you thank you for the support on my family. And God bless you for what you're doing."

Osaka initially kept her cool on the set while the videos played ... but she admits she broke down in private after viewing them again.

"I often wonder if what I’m doing is resonating and reaching as many people as I hope," Osaka said. "That being said, I tried to hold it in on set but after watching these back I cried so much."

"The strength and the character both of these parents have is beyond me. Love you both, thank you."

In total, Osaka has displayed five masks tributes at the U.S. Open this week ... featuring the names of Taylor, Arbery, Martin, George Floyd and Elijah McClain.

She says she still has others planned for the rest of the tournament as well.

Travis Scott made a McDonald's look like one of his concerts ... he got mobbed by a huge throng of fans waiting in line to get his new fast food combo meal.

The rapper stopped by a Mickey D's in Downey, CA Tuesday to celebrate the release of the Travis Scott Meal, and ya gotta see the video -- people went absolutely bonkers.

Travis left his red sports car and grabbed a McDonald's employee's shirt on his way over to the huge line of people, but folks broke past the barricades and swarmed ... sending TS running for cover.

In a split second, social distancing and mask-wearing went out the window ... and all Travis did was show up and show love.

Maybe Cactus Jack's combo meal can calm these folks down ... it comes with a Quarter Pounder with cheese topped with bacon and lettuce, plus medium fries with barbecue dipping sauce and a Sprite.

BTW ... Travis is the first celeb to get his name on a McDonald's meal since Michael Jordan and the McJordan burger way back in 1992 ... no wonder fans are making such a big fuss.

A woman had the audacity to call an American Airlines flight attendant a "mask nazi" -- and several other choice phrases -- after she was asked to properly wear her face mask, and now she's been banned for life.

American Airlines banned the passenger after she handed the note to the flight attendant while deplaning. She was pissed about the flight attendant asking her to wear her face mask over her nose. That simple request was apparently too much for her and prompted her to scrawl an angry note on the "WASTE" bag in her seat pocket.

The note reads, in part, "You mean s**t in life. You are nothing but a glorified maid who needs to jump down off her high horse and learn how to speak to ppl. Nobody cares about your stupid seat policies or your nose issues. We pay your salary and your attitude is unnecessary."

The angry passenger added, "The very fact that we have to listen & kowtow to a nobody who does s**t except collect our trash and serve crappy food makes me absolutely ill. You are a mask nazi and a 4 eyed c**t and if it wasn’t for this job, you would be cleaning motel rooms for $2 tips and meth."

There's a lot more in the note ... check it out. The woman signed it, "a person who hates your guts." Super clever.

The incident apparently went down last week, and an American Airlines spokesperson tells TMZ it's investigating the offensive and derogatory note. The airline says it's already suspended the customer's ability to travel on its planes.

An alleged racist who flashed a provocative tattoo to a group of Latino men paid for it dearly within seconds ... getting the beat-down of his life.

Check out this brawl that went down in Vegas after a white man came face-to-face with a group of guys, one of whom accuses him of being a racist. It's unclear what exactly sparked the confrontation or the racism allegation ... but it looks like whatever was on his chest did it.

In any case, the fight is pretty crazy ... you see the white guy in question lift up his shirt to show off the ink on his chest -- hard to make out exactly what it says. It definitely offended the guys he was facing off against, 'cause one of them says, "You a racist, motherf***er?!"

That's when the punches start flying, and there even seems to be a very young man who gets in on the action to defending the white guy -- but he paid the price too, getting tossed down and punched.

In the end the white guy and his ally appeared to be laid out cold.

We've reached out to LVMPD to see if officers responded to this -- but on the face of it, this appears to be a simple case of ... someone talking smack and getting whooped on in public.

Being a "Karen" has no expiration date, because an old woman proved she could play the role with the best worst of them when she freaked out over kids using sidewalk chalk and made a racist comment toward their father.

The unlucky dad shared video of his contentious encounter with the angry lady and her husband, which seems to have gone down this weekend in California.

It starts with elderly "Karen" -- who has barged into the father's garage -- shouting "You son of a bitch!" at him after he tells the couple to report him to the homeowner's association where they live.

Sounds like she must be pissed about something egregious right? Nope ... turns out, it's all over the guy's children using sidewalk chalk on what he says is a public street within their complex.

Regardless, the old woman -- sounds like her real name is Caroline -- is incensed ... so much that her husband can't get her to walk away without further incident.

That's too bad, because the "Karen" decides to make a racist comment about the dad having "slanted eyes" and questions whether he really lives there and is married to the mother of the kids.

After another couple minutes of jawing at the father and threatening to make his kids clean up the chalk, the guy insists they get the hell out of his garage ... but "Karen" gets in one last kick.

The man claims he finally had to brandish a knife to get the husband to escort his old lady out.

A Florida corrections deputy has been placed on leave after going on the attack against a 17-year-old at a juvenile center ... and it's all on video.

The teenager, Terrance Devon Reed III, was taken to the hospital after the violent altercation with Sarasota County Deputy Neil Pizzo last week. The surveillance footage shows Reed sitting on a bench with his arms tucked in his shirt when Pizzo marches toward him.

As Reed stands up and takes his arms out, the deputy immediately goes for his throat. A struggle ensues before Pizzo throws Reed to the ground, but at no point does the teenager appear to fight back.

Another deputy jumps in to try to wrangle Reed's feet, and that's when Pizzo strikes the teen on the back of the head multiple times. Reed's then cuffed and helped to his feet ... but not before suffering abrasions to his head.

The altercation reportedly began after Reed -- who was previously arrested and charged with contempt of court, probation violations and cocaine possession -- became uncooperative in a police lineup.

That, of course, doesn't justify the violence by the deputy, and Sheriff Tom Knight says he's disappointed in what he saw and Pizzo's failure to de-escalate the situation.

Knight says he placed the deputy on administrative duty while an internal investigation is conducted.

"Guardians of the Galaxy" star Michael Rooker just revealed his struggle with coronavirus ... and it was real bad.

Rooker, who also stars in "The Walking Dead" and the upcoming "Suicide Squad," says the virus took over his body. He said, almost clinically, "...there ain't a whole heck of a lot one can do externally, to fight off COVID-19 once it has gotten into your body," adding, "And I have to let y'all know it has been quite a battle."

He said he's been isolating in an Airstream during his illness. And, he said he decided not to take "any extra medicines or vitamins or supplements" while he was trying to recover. His reasoning ... "I felt if my immune system was not already prepared for this battle, loading up with all this extra stuff would only do me damage as kidneys and life would have been gravely stressed."

Michael proudly posted his negative test results, saying, "So, just so y’all know the end result of all those daily battles has come to an end," Rooker shared. "My body has won the WAR! Covid put up a pretty good fight... but bottom line, it ended up getting its ass knocked out! buy [sic] my immune system .. 1,2, punch to the head, 2 body shots and a left hook right upper-cut ... "End of story"

This fight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt ... the Joker's wild.

Check out the insane brawl at Joker's Bar and Grill in Maryland, where COVID didn't get its ass kicked -- it's alive and well -- but some bar patrons sure did, as they piled on top of each other and pounded away.

It's unclear what triggered the fight, but you hear lots of screaming as a scuffle starts in the back and then all hell breaks loose.

There's a dude pinned down on the pool table with 7 bar patrons surrounding him. Hard to tell, but it looks like he's being choked.

You also hear glass shattering ... almost like in a western flick. Once the glass goes, there's fighting all over the bar. Someone eventually orders everyone to stop, and it's crazy, because they are still fighting as they move toward the door.

Maryland has been hit hard by COVID -- over 112,883 cases and 3,660 deaths.