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A high school in Wisconsin is following the Washington Football Team's lead and ditching its racist nickname ... with officials announcing the "Red Raiders" will now be known as the "RiverHawks."

La Crosse Central HS made the move during a school board meeting Monday night ... officially making the switch due to the old nickname's historically derogatory meaning towards Indigenous people.

FYI -- the school previously used a Native American in its logo until it switched to a knight on horseback in 1994 ... while maintaining the "Red Raider" name.

Now, Central is getting a fresh start altogether -- with the school revealing the new non-racist name and logo that was voted on by students and staff.

Central principal Troy McDonald spoke about the decision to rebrand ... saying, "The previous logo and nickname is one that all the previous alumni, I believe, should feel pride in, but I'm hoping they continue to support our move forward as we try and make Central a safe place for all students," according to the La Crosse Tribune.

The situation is similar to the controversy in pro sports and shouldn't come as a surprise -- the Washington Football team, the CFL's Edmonton Eskimos and the MLB’s Cleveland Indians all have recently decided to change their nicknames due to their racist and offensive nature.

Central is wasting no time ditching the old mascot ... with the plan to have the "RiverHawks" brand ready to go in time for spring sports.

One could argue Donald Trump's 2021 has been a bit of an implosion so far ... which makes what happened to his former Atlantic City hotel and casino very fitting.

Trump Plaza succumbed to a controlled blast provided by 3,000 sticks of dynamite Wednesday morning in New Jersey's gambling mecca ... where the former President's presence used to be huge.

The Plaza was the first of 3 casinos Trump owned in A.C., and was the site of some marquee boxing matches and other big events after it opened in 1984. All 3 casinos eventually went bankrupt and Trump left town.

Since its closing in 2014, it's been known more as an eyesore on the boardwalk than anything else ... so many locals, including the Mayor, were happy to see it go. Seats were even sold for the event, which seemingly went off without a hitch.

The only downer for folks looking forward to Trump Plaza's demolition is that the auction to push the implosion button was called off last month.

Apparently, the current owner of the building didn't like it ... but he donated money to the Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City in lieu of the auction.

The inside of a Baltimore grocery store looked like a Wild West scene when cops and an armed security guard exchanged gunfire ... and the terrifying scene is all on video.

The Baltimore Police Department released the body cam footage from last month's shootout inside a Compare Foods supermarket. You see 2 cops walk into the store as bystanders tell them a security guard is walking around with his handgun out -- and then all of a sudden gunshots rang out, sending the officers ducking for cover.

One officer returned fire, and the shootout continued as he scrambled to find a better position -- he eventually made his way up a flight of stairs to a room filled with terrified workers.

Get nervous, Shooter McGavin ... HAPPY GILMORE'S STILL GOT IT!!!

On the 25th anniversary of "Happy Gilmore" -- arguably the greatest golf movie EVER -- Adam Sandler hit the links to recreate his old protagonist's iconic swing -- and it was epic!!

Adam dusted off his clubs ... explained this was the first time he's taken the old 3-step approach to hit a tee shot in a quarter of a century -- and then he launched a golf ball into outer space!!!

The best part? ADAM TALKED SMACK TO SHOOTER WHILE DOING IT!!!

"Shooter McGavin, this is for you," Adam said, before piping the shot. "I'm not lying to you. That is smashed. Smashed. That went pretty well. You're dead, Shooter!"

Of course, back on Feb. 16, 1996 ... Happy came back from down 4 strokes to beat Shooter to win the gold jacket -- and the movie has been legendary in the sports world ever since.

In fact, if you go to a local Top Golf to hit shots, the rules there even state there's no Happy Gilmore swings allowed!!

"Happy loves you all!" Adam captioned his video on Tuesday. "Thanks for everything!"

Now if we could just find a way to get Bob Barker back on the course with Sandler ... we'd really bring back memories!!

Kendall Jenner is blazing a new trail within her famous family -- diving headfirst into tequila ... and is finally ready to introduce what she's been working on.

KJ announced her new tequila line Tuesday -- which she's dubbed "818," the area code in Calabasas -- while going on to explain the years-long journey she's been on to get to make what she considers the best spirit.

She writes, "after dozens of blind taste tests, trips to our distillery, entering into world tasting competitions anonymously and WINNING (🥳) ..3.5 years later i think we’ve done it!"

Kendall added this too ... "this is all we’ve been drinking for the last year and i can’t wait for everyone else to get their hands on this to enjoy it as much as we do! @drink818 coming soon 🥃🤤"

She attached a video of herself doing a taste test, which appears to have led to a final approval of her new product. There are also photos of her and friends downing her concoction, plus photos of a bunch of harvested agave plants.

This isn't a total shocker, BTW -- there've been subtle hints ... especially based on photos she posted from a recent getaway down to Mexico.

It also looks like 818's been in a bunch of tequila competitions recently (winning several) ... but has yet to hit the market widely. Up until now, there was a ton of buzz over 818 -- but no one knew how to get it, when it would officially launch or who was behind it.

Amy Cooper -- better known as Central Park "Karen" for making a false report against a Black man -- is off the hook in her criminal case after getting some therapy.

The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has agreed to dismiss Cooper's charge of falsely reporting an incident because she completed a program intended to address racial bias.

According to Assistant D.A. Joan Illuzzi ... due to Cooper's lack of a criminal background, she was offered an "alternative, restorative justice resolution; designed not just to punish but to educate and promote community healing." It's similar to a plea bargain.

Illuzzi says Cooper entered the program and completed 5 sessions, and her therapist reported it was a "moving experience" for Cooper and she learned a lot.

As you'll recall ... Cooper was filmed on May 25, 2020 by a birdwatcher in the park named Christian Cooper (no relation) calling the police on him and falsely claiming ... "There's an African-American man threatening my life."

After their interaction went viral, Amy was fired from her job and briefly lost custody of her dog. Christian decided he did not want to cooperate with prosecutors, saying ... "She's already paid a steep price. That's not enough of a deterrent to others? Bringing her more misery just seems like piling on."

Whatever Miley wants, Miley gets ... even when her wish is to have a UFC fighter shave her initials into his chest!

This is Julian Marquez -- the UFC middleweight who won his fight on Saturday and then used his post-fight interview to ask Miley Cyrus to be his Valentine's Day date!

Miley responded on Twitter with a challenge -- "Shave an MC into your chest hair and I am YOURS. Happy VDay and Congrats my love!"

So, we contacted Julian to find out if he's REALLY gonna shave her initials into his chest ... and good news, HE'S DOWN!!

"Okay, I do plan to do it and I can't just open up just yet," Marquez tells TMZ Sports ... suggesting he's going to make a public spectacle out of it.

"I have to wait for one more thing but we have something big working for everyone. The fans will definitely be in charge of me getting the MC on my chest hair."

Marquez explained why shaving his chest hair is a big deal -- and a true sign that he's serious about wanting a shot with Miley!

"You have to understand this, man, a man's chest hair is sacred. It's like a lion's mane. You can't shave that! You can't shave it! If you shave a lion's mane, they freak out, it's the same thing!"

So, what happens if Miley agrees to go on a date with the 30-year-old fighter?

"We'll probably get ice cream and go to a picnic. Walk around the park, go walk around the ocean. Just because it's Miley Cyrus, she's human. Why would I go out there and go all crazy trying to spend an expensive amount of things and do all this stuff?! I'm not trying to impress her, I'm trying to get to know her!"

Message to Miley -- "I won't break your achy heart."

There's more ... we also spoke with Julian about the other big thing in his life, FIGHTING!

Marquez has been battling all sorts of injuries behind the scenes -- injuries that kept him out of the Octagon for 31 months!

But, he's back and his return was awesome -- a 3rd round submission victory over Maki Pitolo at UFC 258.

"Doctor told me at one point in time, he legitimately told me that I may have to look for a different career path. Before I had to get my second surgery, he ended up telling me that and it was the lowest of the low."

A popular blogger has been calling Tessica Brown -- aka, 'Gorilla Glue Girl' -- a bold-faced liar who made the whole saga up and scammed the world ... but Tessica is now saying the blogger better shut it, or risk getting dragged into court.

An attorney repping Tessica's management team fired off a cease and desist letter to the person who appears to run the IG and Twitter accounts @gossipofthecity_ -- telling them to stop spreading the claim TB hustled everybody into thinking she sprayed Gorilla Glue into her hair.

The account has been posting about it for several days now, including messages and videos to both accounts -- which have close to 610,000 combined followers -- insisting Tessica is a liar and that she pulled a fast one ... especially on those who donated money to her.

The account even re-posted a 15-minute video from another woman who claimed to have sprayed Gorilla Glue in her own hair, trying to debunk Tessica's account. The post read, "Salute to this sister who actually deserves the money y’all donated to that liar. #girlbye."

To that, Tessica's lawyer says her predicament was neither contrived nor a joke, and to suggest otherwise is wrong. Her attorney, Jeffrey Klein, says Gossip of the City is defaming Tessica and warns the account's operator that they're on thin ice.

You can read the letter for yourself ... it's clear that a lawsuit could be filed if the account keeps it up. We're told this letter was sent last Friday -- yet, most of the posts still seem to be live as of now.

@gossipofthecity_ even acknowledged the cease and desist in a separate post, calling it a fake. We've been assured by Tessica's team, though, that it is very much real ... and they mean business.

Now, Tessica herself detailed the pain, embarrassment and agony she was going through with us directly on 'TMZ Live' -- and insisted this was as real (and unfortunate) as one could imagine. Remember, she went to the ER over this, and even flew out to Cali for a procedure to remove the adhesive.

Buffalo Bill was a terrible host for his basement well "guests" in "The Silence of the Lambs" -- so here's hoping the new owners of the home from the movie do a whole lot better.

That's right ... the creepy house where the fictional serial killer lived -- and tortured folks -- is now being converted into a bed and breakfast in Perryopolis, PA. It was recently sold after hitting the market back in October for around $300k.

The new owner -- theatrical art director Chris Rowan of NY -- says he's planning to give the property a makeover of sorts, but in a creepy way that's faithful to the movie.

What that means exactly ... installing decor that fans might recognize from the film, including a replica of a well -- JUST LIKE THE MOVIE! Don't worry, it's just for photo ops ... so no, you freaks can't pay extra to stay in there.

He says the film has become a staple of pop culture -- and that he and his fam are sure people will flock there to sleep in BB's new B&B.

As for specs ... the 4-bedroom house -- which is more than 100 years old -- is around 2,400 square feet and sits on nearly 2 acres of land. There's railroad tracks (complete with an old-timey caboose) just a stone's throw away, and you can also access the Youghiogheny River from the backyard. The one major renovation that's coming ... an in-ground pool.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic absolutely lost his mind at the Australian Open on Tuesday ... obliterating his racket in a fit of rage and causing a delay.

Djokovic -- who's been on edge in the major tournament Down Under as he's fighting through an abdominal injury -- was in a heated quarter-final match with Alexander Zverev when he lost his cool.

Tennis' #1-ranked player returned a key serve in the third set into the net ... and then melted down.

He let out a massive yell, slammed his racket into the court three times ... and then walked to his bench and threw the destroyed piece of equipment down angrily.

The temper tantrum left such a mess on the court, a ball person actually had to sweep up all the debris. The court itself, meanwhile, had three scars in it!!

Djokovic, though, was NOT penalized for the outburst ... and he ended up battling his way to a victory. Afterward, Novak admitted he felt "drained."

Of course, the 33-year-old is no stranger to outbursts on the court ... remember, he was disqualified from the U.S. Open back in September after he angrily and haphazardly hit a ball at a lineswoman.

Talk about fast food ... how about a NASCAR driver leaving the Daytona 500 in the middle of a race to go on a McDonald's run!?!

That's exactly what Ross Chastain did on Sunday when a rainstorm delayed The Great American Race for more than 5 hours ... right after the 15th lap!

It was clear the weather wasn't going to let up any time soon, so Chastain hopped out of his racing car -- and into his personal car -- so he could speed over to a nearby Mickey D's to grab some food for himself and his crew.

Oh, he was still wearing his green racing suit when he pulled up to the drive-thru ... and the woman working the window couldn't believe it!

"AAAAAHHHH you just came from the racetrack?!" the woman asked.

"Yeah, we're racing, whenever it stops raining!!" Chastain replied.

The staffer couldn't believe her eyes ... saying, "This is my first time meeting a race car driver!" She even called over her co-workers to take a look!

RC explained he drives the #42 McDonald's car ... so it was only right he hooked up his crew with a massive order -- 6 of "everything" for his team and a hot fudge sundae for himself!!

When the race finally resumed, Ross finished in 7th place.

Dr. Fauci has a million new reasons to smile, 'cause the guy just came up on a boatload of cash for sticking to the facts and the science during the pandemic.

The director of the NIAID was just awarded a million-dollar cash prize from the Dan David Foundation -- an Israeli nonprofit that funds and advocates for breakthroughs in science and technology. He's one of three recipients to get a cool mil ... all for "defending science."

There are past, present and future categories for the winners, and DF got etched in as the man of the present in the field of public health ... due to his work speaking on behalf of vaccines -- plus, everything else he's done on the pandemic front, in 2020 and beyond.

The Dan David Foundation said Fauci's storied legacy in HIV and AIDS research was also considered in granting him the award.

It's interesting ... although the org didn't mention Trump by name, they certainly alluded to him in their remarks -- saying, in part, they were giving this to Tony for "courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis."

You'll recall ... Fauci recently said it was "liberating" to be able to speak truthfully and freely about how best to fight the virus, without a de facto muzzle on him from the very top.

Now that Tessica Brown's hair is finally 100 percent Gorilla Glue-free, she can get back to basics ... and enjoy a normal 'do again.

Sources close to Tessica tell TMZ ... she visited a barbershop on Valentine's Day morning to get her hair trimmed and styled after the procedure last week to remove the glue from her scalp.

We're told she visited the Below Zero shop in Violet, Louisiana to see a barber she knows ... and he gave her the cut for free after everything's she's been through.

As we've chronicled ... Tessica's received an outpouring of support ever since she revealed on TikTok that she'd made the terrible choice a month ago to substitute her normal got2b glued hairspray with Gorilla Glue Adhesive Spray.

Though the advice she received to rid her hair of the hardened glue didn't work, Bev Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng came through for Tessica big time by performing a $12,500 procedure for free to get her out of the sticky situation.

Tessica also received more than $20k in donations for her plight, which as we first told you ... she plans on donating the majority of to the Restore Foundation -- which provides reconstructive surgery services for people around the world.

Our sources say Tessica's received hundreds of hair products for free as well -- including more got2b glued -- so she never reaches for Gorilla Glue again ... not that she would.

North West's oil painting -- which some call Bob Ross-esque -- actually caught the eyes of the folks keeping his legacy alive, and they wanna work with the young artiste.

Sarah Strohl from Bob Ross Inc. tells TMZ ... they were thrilled to discover North's painting -- despite all the online haters it drew -- and they're looking to nurture her talent by inviting her to visit the Bob Ross Experience in Muncie, Indiana.

Sarah says everyone at the late and iconic American painter's company is thrilled about Bob's apparent influence on a new generation ... represented by North.

If North accepts the invitation, we're told she'll get to check out Bob's paintings, up close and in-person. She'll also get a class in Bob's wet-on-wet technique with a certified Ross instructor -- that is, if she hasn't mastered it already.

The venue itself is pretty legendary ... it's the refurbished studio where Bob filmed his beloved series "The Joy of Painting" from 1983 to 1994.

The visit would be pretty cool for any young artist, but especially for North ... after all the bitter reaction to Kim Kardashian posting North's work of art.

As we reported ... Kim was pissed when haters came after North and questioned the authenticity of a piece she said North painted herself.

Kodak Black visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on the third anniversary of the deadly mass shooting there ... and he came bearing gifts of education.

The rapper was in Parkland, FL Sunday for a memorial to honor the 17 victims claimed during the 2018 shooting rampage -- with upwards of 100 guests in attendance, including the Mayor and other town officials. Kodak was there for Meadow Pollack -- one of the students killed.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells us KB was Meadow's favorite recording artist -- something he caught wind of and wanted to commemorate her with a scholarship in her name.

We're told Kodak established a $100k scholarship fund in Meadow's memory at the Nova Southeastern University Law School, for students wanting to study justice reform. That's where her brother, Hunter, is attending. Of course, Hunter was also at the ceremony, front and center.

Check out the video of Kodak discussing his intentions, and the warm reception he receives afterward ... not to mention a hug from Hunter. They later walked up to a table together to light a candle for the Parkland victims -- it's pretty moving to see up-close.

Rod Ponton, the Texas attorney who appeared as a cat in a Zoom court hearing, wants to turn his viral moment into cold, hard cash ... right meow!!!

Rod tells TMZ ... he was initially embarrassed by his 15 seconds of fame, but now he's embracing the fact he's an overnight internet sensation and he wants to milk it by hawking shirts, mugs, and anything else folks will buy.

The guy's in high demand ... Ron says he's already getting tons of requests for speaking engagements about staying professional in the midst of Zoom snafus. He's certainly an expert in this arena.

As for his cat call seen 'round the world ... Ron says he was using his assistant's 10-year-old's computer and still doesn't know how or why the feline filter was activated when he joined the virtual courtroom.