Viral

A man with a major investment in BlackBerry options claims his finances are taking a dive due to Robinhood halting trading on his stock ... a move he believes was made to protect Wall Street's hedge fund bros.

Richard Joseph Gatz of Illinois is going after the financial services company, after it stopped allowing individuals to buy stock in companies at the center of the current battle between Reddit investors and hedge fund managers ... including GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry and Nokia.

According to the legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- Gatz says he owned 2 option contracts for BB, and when trading was halted Wednesday night he claims the value of those options decreased by nearly 200 percent.

Gatz claims the halt of retail trading for these stocks has caused irreparable harm to his bottom line, and accuses Robinhood of manipulating the market so that he's "unable to get fair market value for his options."

According to the docs, Gatz alleges Robinhood made the move "to protect institutional investment at the detriment of retail customers." He's suing for big damages.

As we reported, Robinhood's trading halt amid the GameStop stock surge has pissed off customers who believe it's siding with the Wall Street establishment -- i.e. hedge fund managers -- and screwing the little guy.

A school resource officer used a Taser on a female student who cops say was involved in a fight with another student, and severely resisted when the officer got involved.

According to the police report ... the cop approached the girl as she was going after a male student in the cafeteria of Eustis High School in Central Florida. The cop says he tried to stop her, but she attacked him by punching him several times in the head.

The deputy claims he tried to talk her down, but it didn't work and she allegedly punched him in the face. Videos shared on TikTok show the violent struggle the cop had with the student as he tried to restrain her.

The deputy says he warned her he was going to Tase her if she didn't stop resisting. When she ignored that, he fired the Taser and she went down hard.

The girl was transported to the Lake County Jail without further incident, and later released to her guardian on home detention.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office tells us ... the deputy documented at least 18 strikes he took from the student before he fired his Taser. We're told the use of force was reviewed, and the officer was found to have acted lawfully and within agency policy.

This is the second disturbing video to come out of Florida this week in which a school resource officer's seen using force on a Black female student.

As we reported ... the Osceola County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday that their deputy who body-slammed a female high school student is on administrative paid leave pending an investigation.

The students of Liberty High -- where a teen was body-slammed by a resource officer -- say the cop has no business being on campus anymore, because he's a menace.

Students at the Florida school tell us ... the sentiment among classmates is pretty much universal ... Officer Ethan Fournier must be fired -- or at the very least, permanently removed from duty at Liberty.

We're told lots of the kids no longer trust campus cops and they feel their safety is in jeopardy. We're hearing some students and their families are considering transferring out because of the incident ... that's how rattled everyone is.

Take senior Trey'vion Telfair ... who tells TMZ he used to think Officer Fournier was a good guy. He says Fournier participated in police brutality seminars for Liberty's Black Student Union back in September, and seemed genuine ... saying he stood with them.

Telfair now thinks it was all an act. Ditto for junior Daijah Watts, who says she remembers Fournier as a relatively chill dude ... but does recall one time when he allegedly went too far.

Watts claims she saw Fournier use pepper spray on a group of kids who were fighting 2 years ago. She now thinks the whole department is suspicious. Speaking of Liberty brass, we're told the school's offered up mental health resources for their kids and teachers alike ... making school psychologists, counselors and social workers available to anyone who needs to talk.

An Idaho woman showed up to a city council meeting dressed in what she described as Muslim attire, as an example of the lengths she says she goes to just to avoid wearing a mask.

This went down Monday in the city of Lewiston, where council members opened the meeting with public comments ... which brought forth a throng of angry citizens, many of whom were griping about local mask mandates and restaurant shutdowns, claiming it was illegal.

Eventually, this woman -- who ID'd herself as Katie Dugger -- stepped up to the podium ... wearing a bright purple headdress that she later said she got in Peru, but apparently used in public to get out of putting on face covering.

Watch for yourself ... it's bonkers. Basically, Dugger says in order for her to go to school in-person, this is what she has to wear to get by without any hassle, passing herself off as a Muslim. She even wraps the fabric around her face like a burka, to bring her point home.

She isn't using the religious liberty argument ... she claims her aversion to mask-wearing is all about childhood trauma 🤷🏽‍♂️.

Shaun Weiss -- famous for playing Goldberg in "The Mighty Ducks" -- is damn near unrecognizable again, but in a great way ... and that's because he's now 1-year sober.

His friend, Drew Gallagher, tells TMZ ... Shaun officially hit the milestone yesterday. He says Shaun chose to delay his Christmas as part of the celebration ... waiting to open presents on the day he celebrated his sobriety.

There's more good news ... remember the full dental sponsorship he got back in September to address his need for new teeth? Well, his permanent pearly whites -- top and bottom -- are almost done. He's wearing temporary dentures for now.

Shaun, who is still at a sober living house in Tarzana, CA, is getting ready for his next steps in life. We're told he's working on his comedy chops and doing some scriptwriting.

GameStop's wild ride on the stock market is still going strong, as one of the crazier Wall St. stories continues to stun hedge fund managers ... to the delight of Reddit investors.

The video game retailer's stock price has surged Wednesday -- it's up more than $220 for the day, and is approaching $400 -- thanks to a group of traders belonging to the Reddit message board, WallStreetBets.

Here's what's going on, in layman's terms -- the Reddit investors basically decided to make GameStop Corp. (GME) their main stock market focus, buying up as many shares as possible in order to screw over hedge funds that have shorted the stock ... meaning they bet against it.

So, the Redditors have been encouraging everyday investors -- called retail investors -- to buy up GME stock to increase its price and, as a result, the hedge funds are getting screwed.

Elon Musk, who's had battles with hedge funds shorting Tesla in the past, joined the troll job -- that's what hedge fund managers see this as -- by tweeting a link to the Reddit message board behind the GameStop action.

All of it has been working -- GameStop began the year at $19, reached the $90 mark earlier in the week ... and it just got much closer to $400 in the time it took to write this article.

Meanwhile ... hedge funds that shorted GME are losing tons of money.

What a day on Wall Street!!!

Florida cops are feeling the heat over that video of a deputy's assault on a female high school student ... so much so, they're addressing the case in a news conference.

The Osceola County Sheriff's Office will discuss the case Wednesday morning after the horrific incident at Liberty High School Tuesday afternoon. Video showed a resource officer violently restraining a female student, and throwing her onto the ground ... head first.

In the video, you see the teenager hit the concrete hard, and her body goes limp. The officer proceeds to place handcuffs on her as the crowd around screams. Multiple people appeared to be recording, and caught the action from different angles. It looked like the student lost consciousness.

The only thing we've heard from OCSO thus far is that the officer was breaking up a fight, and that an investigation is underway.

Presumably, Sheriff Marcos Lopez -- who'll be at the podium shortly -- will have some sort of update on what they've learned at this point, and whether the officer will face any repercussions. It'll be interesting to hear if he denounces the act, or tries to justify it.

Several people have accused the officer of excessive force, with some supposed eyewitnesses claiming the girl was already under control and separated when the cop did what he did. Unclear how the student is doing, or what her condition is.

A violent video of a cop slamming a female student to the ground and seemingly knocking her unconscious is raising serious questions about the level of force used here.

The video was shot Tuesday at Liberty High School in Osceola, Florida. You can see a young woman -- allegedly a student -- with her hands behind her back as a deputy slams her to the ground. There was a loud bang as the girl's head slammed to the concrete, and she appears to be immediately out cold.

It's unclear why the Osceola Sheriff's deputy was at the school or what led up to the deputy's involvement. The Sheriff's Dept. would only tell us the incident is under investigation.

One person who posted the video said, "This girl was already separated and under control by one of the faculty members when the officer came out of nowhere, picked her up and bodyslammed her headfirst on to the concert."

We've also reached out to Liberty High ... so far, no word back.

We're getting some behind-the-scenes from President Biden's Inauguration courtesy of Amanda Gorman ... who got some scoop on what was going down between the Obamas.

The poet laureate -- who went viral on Inauguration Day for her rousing piece, 'The Hill We Climb' -- dished to Ellen DeGeneres about being in the company of some huge names on that stage.

Amanda says her mom might've been a little more star-struck than she was ... especially for J Lo and A-Rod. But, as far as hanging with former Presidents and First Ladies, it's clear Amanda's a vet.

Anyway, check out what Amanda says Barack was doing behind the lectern that apparently ticked off Michelle enough for her to say something about it ... multiple times.

It's hilarious, and very relevant for the times. Let's just say Michelle was concerned about the former President's COVID-safety.

Amanda says Michelle had to rein him in, but the more telling thing here is how close Amanda was to the action and how tight she is with the Obamas.

Mike Lindell, CEO of MyPillow, is just like his pal, Donald Trump -- Twitter's permanently banned him for continuing to push the baseless claim Trump won the election.

Twitter says it decided to pull the plug on the "MyPillow Guy's" account "due to repeated violations of our Civic Integrity Policy" ... according to a spokesperson.

The Twitter policy was put in place in September to combat misinformation -- specifically about the election -- and has primarily been used since the January 6 Capitol riots as the basis for permanently suspending people.

It's unclear which of Lindell's tweets was the final straw, but he's continued to claim the election was rigged, even after President Biden's inauguration.

His allegations also led to his MyPillow products being pulled from shelves at Bed Bath & Beyond earlier this month. Shortly after the attack on the U.S Capitol, Lindell called it "very peaceful" and blamed the mayhem on "undercover Antifa" ... while continuing to voice support for Trump and insist he'd remain President for 4 more years.

As he left office, Trump vowed he'd be back in some form -- though clearly not on Twitter. His MyPillow BFF might have to follow in his footsteps.

Hannah Viverette -- the woman whose TikTok recording captured the moment a man busted into her home -- can sleep like a baby now that she's moved into a new apartment ... with help from a former MLB pitcher and his wife.

Hannah has moved into a new, upscale apartment complex that offers, among other things, round-the-clock security. The building has lots of amenities ... but the most important feature's definitely security.

Former MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins and his wife, Anita Hawkins, have fronted Hannah's rent for the next 6 months to help her get back on her feet following her terrifying confrontation with a home intruder last month.

As for how the Hawkins got involved ... Anita had a personal connection, having been a single, teen mom and homeless herself, she was moved by Hannah's story when it made national headlines.

Hannah showed the Hawkins tons of love for the assist. She tells TMZ ... "I am so excited to settle into my new place! Thank you so much Mrs. Hawkins, you have given me and my son so many reasons to smile!"

Symone Redwine, the attorney who helped Hannah get out of her lease, tells TMZ ... "We are truly grateful to Mrs. Hawkins and the Find One Reason to Smile foundation for their generosity. They have turned this nightmare into a dream come true for Hannah and her son.”

Newly released body cam video shows cops in Arizona pulling off a dramatic takedown of an armed man who was firing shots ... moments after he'd allegedly kidnapped his baby.

The Phoenix Police Department just released video from the deadly Jan. 9 shooting, which shows an officer firing a single rifle shot at the man as he was holding the child. The man's girlfriend called cops after he beat her in a motel parking lot, snatched the child and ran into the street with a gun.

Cops say he fired a shot as they arrived on the scene ... which you can hear in the body cam video. Officers immediately yelled for him to drop the gun.

He refused, and cops say he pointed the weapon at the baby and a bystander, and that's when an officer opened fire. After the incredibly precise shot, you see cops rush over to rescue the baby.

A police officer gunned his SUV into a crowd in Tacoma, Washington Saturday night, running over at least one person ... and it was all caught on video.

There were about 100 people in a street blocking an intersection ... some were in cars doing donuts and allegedly street racing. Cops were called to the scene.

The crowd surrounded one of the police SUV's and began pounding on the windows and kicking the sides of the vehicle. The PD said in a statement the officer feared for his safety ... "the officer drove forward striking one individual and may have impacted others" as he tried to get out of the "unsafe position."

As the officer guns it, you see the SUV run over someone laying in the street. Someone who watched screamed, "Oh my God, oh my God."

At least one person was taken to the hospital. That person's condition is unknown.

The Flaming Lips hopped on stage Saturday night for their long-awaited Space Bubble Concert, and gotta say ... it's awesome!!!

It went down in the band's hometown, Oklahoma City, and it did not disappoint. The band AND the crowd were all in their own, individual bubbles in a futuristic display that looked ... well, futuristic.

The Space Bubble Concert was originally scheduled for December, but there was a spike in coronavirus cases in Oklahoma so the band was forced to postpone.

SpaceX is proving rocket launches never get old, because its latest mission had the precision of ... well, the Rockettes.

The spacecraft shook the ground Sunday at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The mission hurled a bunch of small satellites from both the government and private sectors. There was also SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellite.

The launch was originally set for last month, but was postponed for various reasons. It was scheduled to blast off Saturday, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

What's really amazing ... this is the 5th time the booster was used to rocket SpaceX payload into orbit. It made a perfect, bullseye landing. Really incredible.

Child star JoJo Siwa just confirmed she's part of the LGBTQ+ community -- but isn't quite ready to label herself with a letter just yet.

The former 'Dance Moms' star published a lengthy video Saturday, which pretty much hit the point home that she had, in fact, come out after much speculation these past few days. She says she's gotten tons of support, and has never been happier in her life to be her true self.

At one point, one of JoJo's fans asks how she identifies in terms of sexual orientation ... and she says she doesn't know yet. That's interesting to note, because everyone assumed she'd come out as gay ... mostly due to her own wardrobe, which literally had the word printed on.

JoJo showed off a shirt she received the other day, which reads ... BEST. GAY. COUSIN. EVER. Many took that as signaling, not to mention her lip-syncing to Gaga's "Born This Way."

It's a big deal, BTW. JoJo -- who's 17 years old -- has a massive audience with kids, so this is gonna reach them in some shape or form. Many think it'll help children be more comfortable with owning their sexuality, since one of their on-screen heroes now has.