Viral

"Get on your knees you f**king slave."

That's only part of an insanely racist and disturbing message NFL star Budda Baker says he received after his game Sunday ... and the text to the Arizona Cardinals player was absolutely vile.

Baker received the message apparently as a response for his low hit on SF star George Kittle over the weekend ... and it was so awful, Baker wrote of it, "All you can do is pray for ppl like this."

In the message, which Baker shared publicly on social media, a fan with the username "niners8" called the NFL safety a "monkey" and directed the n-word at him 3 times.

In the message, the fan also appeared to threaten Baker ... writing, "Yo gon get a bounty on yo f**kin monkey ass head you f**kin dirty n****r."

Baker was clearly disturbed by the text ... saying of it all, "Im all good with opposing fans talking trash. But This right here man..."

Baker has yet to speak with media members over the message ... but it's a clear reminder of why the NFL and its coaches and players have participated in so many demonstrations this season.

The league has written "end racism" in all of its teams' endzones ... while dozens of players have continued to kneel during the national anthem to bring attention toward racial inequality.

In fact, the Pittsburgh Steelers held up a massive banner during the anthem before their game on Monday night that read, "Steelers Against Racism."

Baker -- a 2-time Pro Bowler -- is one of the best players in the NFL ... who just signed a mega, 4-year, $59 MILLION contract extension with Arizona.

Kim Kardashian, Leonardo DiCaprio and a bunch of other celebs are banning together to make Facebook stop and listen ... by putting its biggest attraction on ice for a bit.

A massive amount of stars are participating in a 24-hour Instagram freeze Wednesday in partnership with Stop Hate for Profit ... which is leading the charge. It's a pretty simple idea ... a one-day moratorium on posting ANYTHING on Instagram, to stick it to Mark Zuckerberg and co.

Their ultimate goal is to let FB, which owns IG, know people are sick of them not running a tighter ship on their platform ... which, as you may have heard, has become home to a lot of misinformation and unchecked hate speech -- all in the name of "fairness."

SHFP isn't buying that "fairness" argument, and neither are its famous supporters like Katy Perry, Jamie Foxx, Ashton Kutcher, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael B. Jordan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Naomi Campbell ... and many, many more.

Obviously, the campaign goes beyond just the A-listers ... so far, this message has been shared by over 200 million accounts across different media platforms ... and it's growing by the hour.

So, you can imagine -- IG will probably be pretty quiet come midnight. No stories, no hashtags, no foodie posts ... nothin', at least from those who are committed to this.

And, if you're wondering if SHFP has a specific list of demands, it does. Among the changes it would like to see happen ... removing FB groups promoting violence, militia groups, white supremacy, conspiracy theories and other harmful content; remove misinformation posts and slap people with fact checks ... just to name a few.

The real issue here for Facebook is about the First Amendment and how far is too far when it comes to censorship ... even of ideas with which you disagree.

Now, we know what you might be thinking ... if these celebs are really about this cause, why just "freeze" activity for a day? Why not a week?? Or ... forever?!?

An anti-masker told police they would have to drag him out of a school board meeting before he would cover his face, and his wish came true ... soon enough he was out on his keister.

Reed Bender took a stand Monday at the Mitchell Board of Education meeting in South Dakota, railing about why forcing people to wear masks is wrong in his eyes.

Superintendent Joe Graves tells TMZ ... a mask mandate for anyone inside the school has been in place since July 13, and Bender's raised several objections to wearing masks before ... claiming they don't work, and it's a violation of his civil rights.

This time, the Superintendent told Bender he would call the cops if Reed didn't put on a mask, and Bender dared him to do it, so he did. You'll notice, Bender's the only one in the library not wearing a mask.

Bender was NOT arrested even though he seemed to resist when cops dragged him away. There's also a threat of a taser. See, police can show restraint when they want.

It's pretty crazy ... the Superintendant says it's the first time he's had to kick someone out of a board meeting in his 30-year career.

Okay, EVERYBODY REMAIN CALM ... but U. of Nebraska president Ted Carter may have just spilled the beans on the return of the Big Ten football season ... saying an announcement is coming Tuesday night!!!

The revelation was made via a hot mic at a presser minutes ago ... when Carter was speaking with the University's National Strategic Research Institute director.

"We're getting ready to announce the Huskers and Big Ten football tonight," Carter said.

"Oh really?!," Bob Hinson said. "I heard that that was happening."

LISTEN -- like we said, do NOT panic ... but this sure as hell sounds like the season has been saved, according to the moment captured by KETV NewsWatch 7 in Omaha.

It's been an uphill battle for the conference -- with others like the SEC, Big 12 and ACC deciding to play through the pandemic ... and Big Ten and Pac 12 voting to wait.

The move resulted in a lawsuit filed by 8 Nebraska players against the Big Ten ... who claimed the conference didn't follow the proper protocols in coming up with its decision.

It was bound to happen, and it looks like the ball is already rolling ... the 19 Black families who pooled their money to start their own town might soon be reality TV stars too.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... leaders from what will hopefully one day be known as Freedom, GA have been bombarded in the past few days by a flurry of inquires from production companies looking to get their stories, lives and mission on camera.

We're told the two women who kick-started the idea -- Renee Walters and Ashley Scott -- have been running point on these discussions, and it sounds like they (along with several other members of their community) are down to get something going ... and soon.

Our sources say the production companies that've reached out have solid reps in the industry, and have worked with the likes of A&E, Oxygen, Lifetime, HGTV and other big networks that run programming on just this type of stuff ... family, home improvement, etc.

Here's the kicker ... we're told that the folks working to bring Freedom, GA to fruition are coming in with some terms of their own -- namely, they want to OWN this content and the rights behind it, not to mention control how it's edited and aired to the masses.

Our sources say Walters, Scott and co. feel it's important to have a say in how they're portrayed, 'cause they really don't want this to be slimy and full of cheap thrills -- but instead, have it be uplifting, while putting Black folks in a positive light.

And, as far as story lines ... there's A LOT. Scott works in real estate and home renovations -- while balancing family life -- and Walters does the same while working in the special needs community. Plus, there are 15 other families willing to participate ... 2 have opted out.

You're about to enter another dimension of sound and sight ... and mind. That, or you're just walking into a tire ad courtesy of a flying billboard -- you tell us.

So, supposedly, there was a UFO sighting out in Rutherford, New Jersey Monday night over the MetLife Stadium, near a freeway where a bunch of cars appeared to stop dead in their tracks to catch a glimpse of what's either the start of an alien takeover ... or just a blimp.

Check it out ... the guy filming here doesn't seem quite sure what to believe, and if we're being honest -- neither are we!!! From his angle, it could certainly pass for a UFO ... one straight out of a movie, which actually makes it a bit harder to believe on its face.

Alright, now time for a little reality check (or one people want you to buy into) ... a bunch of folks are saying that was no UFO sighting at all, but nothing more than the good ol' Goodyear flying over the Giants-Steelers MNF game.

Yeah, sorry ... we're gonna score this one for the non-believers -- 'cause the full context of an NFL game going on makes it clear it's for sure one of Goodyear's famed blimps with its LED board on the belly.

However, we have encountered what we believe might be a legit UFO sighting earlier this year in CA ... where SOMETHING zipped by up in the sky at lightning-quick speeds. That, or it was just a super-fast fighter jet doing some aerial maneuvers up there.

That one might give ya pause, but as for the Jersey sighting. Just a blimp, folks. No offense to Goodyear ... or the Giants, who lost their home opener.

"The Princess Bride" cast virtually reunited Sunday night, but Fred Savage's face was noticeably missing from the Zoom call, leaving fans wondering if politics was afoot ... but TMZ's learned that's simply inconceivable.

Sources close to the actor -- who played The Grandson in the '80s cult classic -- tell us he was in the loop about the Zoom reunion but was unable to participate because he was celebrating his younger brother Ben's birthday.

Fred's absence quickly sparked speculation he didn't participate because he's believed to be a Republican -- though he's never stated that publicly -- and the virtual table read was planned by the film's star, Cary Elwes, in collaboration with the Wisconsin Democratic Party.

We're told that's not the case at all, as Fred has done events with the cast in the past and has no issues -- political or otherwise -- with anyone. In fact, Savage was part of the recent Quibi reunion and also reprised his role for the "Once Upon a Deadpool" trailer in late 2018.

Our Fred sources say he had other plans and was more or less told ... as you wish. He posted some sweet throwback bro photos of him and Ben and said, "while I’m always proud to be part of the Princess Bride family, sometimes real life family comes first."

For those who missed it, the Virtual 'Princess Bride' Reunion drew around 100,000 viewers as the main cast -- Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright and director Rob Reiner -- read the movie's script.

"Stranger Things" star Finn Wolfhard stepped in for Savage in the Grandson role, Josh Gad read for the late Andre the Giant, and Reiner played the part of the late Peter Falk's Grandfather character.

The reunion also included appearances by Whoopi Goldberg and Eric Idle, and other cast members like Christopher Guest, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane.

NOONAN!!!!!

"Caddyshack" star Michael O'Keefe is back on the bag ... the actor who famously played Danny Noonan in the iconic 1980 golf flick is a real-life caddie at the U.S. Open this week!!!

For real!!!!!

Here's the deal ... O'Keefe used to work at Winged Foot Golf Course in N.Y. back in the 1970s before his acting career took off -- and with the PGA Tour's U.S. Open scheduled to play there this year, Michael had an idea.

O'Keefe told the New York Post he wanted to reprise his role as Noonan and hop on a pro's bag ... all in an effort to help raise money for caddies who have been affected by the pandemic.

Of course, no pro was going to let him be their caddie during ACTUAL tournament play ... but O'Keefe at least found a taker for some practice rounds!!

Danny Balin -- a head pro at a local Long Island country club -- offered to let O'Keefe caddy for him Monday and Tuesday ... and the early pics from their outing are priceless.

Check out how Noonan looks today ... not a thing's changed!!!

Balin says he re-watched "Caddyshack" in anticipation of his rounds with O'Keefe ... and promised he'd have all the 1-liners down by the time the two hit the fairways.

Well, we're waiting!!!!

Wild bears are still VERY dangerous ... don't be fooled by recent cute videos of the furry beasts, because they still have an appetite for human flesh!!!

Here's the deal ... hikers in North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains National Park came upon a grizzly scene this weekend when they discovered a black bear chowing down on human remains.

The hikers say they were passing by what they thought was an abandoned campsite around 7 PM Friday when they found human body parts scattered around the area, with a bear scavenging on the remains. Yikes!

Park officials say rangers arrived at campsite 82 shortly after midnight and found a dead adult man ... and a bear, presumably the same one the hikers spotted, was "actively scavenging on the remains."

The bear is dead now too ... park rangers euthanized the wild animal, but officials say they haven't determined if the bear actually killed the man, or just stumbled upon his remains.

It's a stark contrast to the black bear in Massachusetts, which gently woke up a man sleeping in his back yard. Despite plenty of images of bears getting cozy with humans lately ... the danger of wild animals is still very real.

Bears are losing their mojo during the pandemic -- looking way less vicious and way more cuddly ... as this guy would tell you after one nudged him away in his backyard!!

Matt Bete was chilling out and catching some Zzz's Saturday in his Greenfield, MA home when a black bear got into his backyard. A Ring camera captured the scene as the bear milled around the pool, slowly creeping toward Matt dozing in his chair.

The bear took a quick sniff of Rip Van Winkle, before at his feet before the bear gently pawing at Matt's foot to wake him up. As he sat up, that seemed to scare the bear ... which took off running.

It seems bears have gotten super ballsy during this pandemic. Remember, the bear eating cookies out of a camper's mouth.

Or the one that put his balls on the line to sniff a woman's hair.

British racing star Lewis Hamilton made his feelings known Sunday at Italy's Tuscan Grand Prix ... he wants the cops who killed Breonna Taylor brought to justice.

Hamilton wore a black t-shirt with the words, "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor" emblazoned in pink on the front, and the words, "Say her name" on the back, along with a photo of Breonna.

Hamilton has talked recently about his encounters with racism in the UK ... and also talked about being a black man in a sport dominated by white men. He said, "I'm in a sport which is white-dominated and there is very little diversity, for example. And with everything that happened in the states, it really brought up a lot of emotions for me."

He went on to say, "A lot of people think it is only happening in the states.  Yes, there is the police brutality in the states but systemic racism is across the world."

A lot of people think it is only happening in the states. Yes, there is the police brutality in the states but systemic racism is across the world.

As you know ... NASCAR star Bubba Wallace has also taken a strong stand in the Black Lives Matter movement and received support from many of his fellow drivers.

The woman who starched a suspected shoplifter at Best Buy -- only to be hired by the UFC -- says she has another major career goal ... she wants to be an MMA referee!!!

Yep, Summer Tapasa -- who started her new gig as a UFC executive security officer earlier this month -- says Dana White has been totally supportive in helping her find a longterm career.

And, after some serious thought, Tapasa says she believes she would make an excellent ref!

Of course, we all know she can handle herself in tough situations as evidenced by the Best Buy security video!

Best Buy ultimately let her go over the incident -- but Dana White raved about her ... saying Tapasa is a model employee who's willing to go above and beyond for her employer.

Which is why he offered her the security gig.

But, that's just a starting point for Summer ... who said she hopes she can eventually transition into a bigger job.

"I chose security because I was more comfortable with it. Now that I'm in the UFC, now that I'm in the security position, I was actually thinking about becoming a referee," Summer says.

We're told Summer's bosses at the UFC are supportive of her career goal and will help her get the right training to eventually achieve her dream.

And, since we know she can handle herself, we asked if there was any chance she would ever take a fight herself.

Microsoft is pulling the plug on any potential plans to take over TikTok's operations here in the States -- but a new player has reportedly emerged to take the spoils ... Oracle.

The Wall Street Journal says the Bay Area-based tech company -- which sells database software technology and computer cloud systems -- has struck a deal with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to control U.S. operations ... this after Microsoft said it was out.

Microsoft announced Sunday they'd ended convos with ByteDance, basically saying BD didn't wanna make a deal ... despite what they said was a good offer.

Microsoft writes, "ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft." They added, "We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests."

Apparently, Microsoft was asking for too much control for BD's taste ... it says under the command of President Trump, who's threatening to ban the app entirely in the U.S. if a deal isn't made ... it would've needed to make significant changes to make sure TikTok would be safe for American users, as it pertains to privacy, security, etc.

The real reason ByteDance reportedly didn't budge is that they weren't willing to sell away their underlying coding, which is the secret to their algorithm (aka what shows up on your TikTok feed, when and why). BD has reportedly indicated THAT isn't for sale.

Of course, that's a huge part of why Trump and co. either want to get rid of the app or control the technology. They allege it's feeding certain content to American users, lifting data from them at the same time and funneling it all back to the Chinese government.

The last remaining known American bidder was Oracle -- and, obviously, they got the coveted prize in the end. What remains unclear is if Oracle is looking to make the same sweeping security changes Microsoft was committed to ... especially if what they're saying about the coding is true. If not, it's almost like a meaningless sale ... or so it would seem.

George Floyd was top of mind for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of their first game in a pandemic-riddled season -- and they paid tribute to him with his family in attendance.

FOX 9's Dawn Mitchell tweeted a video from high up in the stands of a mostly empty U.S. Bank Stadium -- which showed, before kickoff, all of the Vikings players standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the goal line as the announcer made some comments about Floyd's story.

George's family members were captured on the Jumbotron, standing together, as everyone looked on. The big screen also displayed snapshots of some of the many memorials/murals that have popped up around town in the wake of his death.

The Vikings' remembrance was one of the more stand-out ones across the leagues as games ramped up -- other teams had more scattered approaches to addressing social justice.

The Browns' Myles Garrett took a knee, all Patriots players stood together, Colts head coach Frank Reich knelt himself, and the Dolphins remained in the tunnel during the National Anthem. There's more games to come, but so far ... not everyone's on the same page.

Of course, any and all of these reactions are better than what some fans did during Thursday night's premiere match between the Chiefs and Texans ... fans booed when the players locked arms in unity.

Senator Chuck Schumer just tried his hand at stand-up alongside one of the comedy greats, Jerry Seinfeld, and we gotta say ... he ain't half bad!!!

Chuck was in NYC Sunday at the famous Gotham Comedy Club, where he and Jerry were pitching a new bill the Senator from New York wants to get introduced in Congress ... which will help fund comedy clubs and live venues throughout the city to keep them afloat.

While they were talking shop, Schumer eventually waded into the humor side of things and told a verrry long joke ... which came to him courtesy of his retired parents, who took a college humor course and told it to him.

We'll let Chuck do the talking here, but short story long ... it's about a lady who comes before a judge for being a kleptomaniac -- and who gets no love from her hubby in the end.

You gotta watch for yourself, 'cause it's actually pretty hilarious ... and Sen. Schumer has great timing and delivery. It's funny too, Jerry turned to the folks in the room who might not have gotten it at first to explain the punchline. The whole thing's a riot.

In self-deprecating fashion, Chuck joked he was probably at the first level of comedy that Jerry outlined in his own remarks -- but frankly, he's selling himself short. Dude's funny.

Two L.A. County Sheriff's deputies were shot Saturday night and are now fighting for their lives.

The deputies -- a man and a woman -- were sitting in their patrol car Saturday in Compton when a man walked up to the car with a gun and fired inside, striking both. The man quickly fled from the scene.

The Sheriff's Dept., says both deputies were shot multiple times and they are both undergoing surgery. Their condition is critical.

The suspect was not caught. The LASD tweeted the video of the incident after holding a press conference last night.

The 2 critically injured deputies had only been on the force for 14 months.