Viral

A group of gorillas at a Georgia zoo have caught COVID-19 -- and it sounds like a human staffer might've infected them ... including an old-timer silverback who's the most at risk.

Zoo Atlanta reports that at least 13 of their total 20 gorillas are presumptively positive with the SARS-CoV-2 virus -- this after several of them showed symptoms in recent days and got tests run by a local lab ... with more results forthcoming.

The symptoms ranged from runny noses, coughing and changes in appetite ... and samples were collected via nasal swabs, oral swabs and fecal matter. So far, it looks like an outbreak.

The oldest of their gorillas is 60-year-old Ozzie, who's also tested positive. He and the others are being treated with monoclonal antibodies, and will receive the Zoetis vaccine soon -- which is the jab developed for animals, and which several zoos have already administered.

As for how they got sick -- ZA says it believes a care team member that works there -- who proved to be positive after the fact -- might've been responsible for transmitting it ... unwittingly, and not on purpose. They say this worker was fully vaxxed, wearing a ton of PPE and was asymptomatic the day they reported to work when this presumably spread.

Doesn't seem any of the gorillas are deathly ill at this point, but the Zoo is monitoring their condition. They're also letting visitors continue to see them ... as they say it's not possible for animals to give COVID to humans and the built-in viewing distance is safe enough.

One last thing ... Zoo Atlanta says they can't make the gorillas socially distance -- 'cause they kick it in groups (or troops) of 4, and apparently can't be separated.

A Subway worker bravely defended herself while getting robbed at gunpoint -- even successfully disarming the dude and getting him to leave ... and all she got was suspended.

The woman's name is Araceli Sotelo, and she was working at a Rockford, IL Subway location last weekend when a guy brazenly entered and flashed a gun at her, demanding she give him the money on hand in the store ... an encounter that was partially caught on video.

The surveillance cameras in the store were running, and somehow ... the footage got leaked to the local Rockford Scanner -- which watermarked the clips and threw them up on FB.

The footage is wild -- you see Sotelo yelling at the guy to leave and to stop, and then she starts to scuffle with him behind the counter ... and actually gets the upper hand during the confrontation. They spill out into the dining area, and Sotelo amazingly knocks the gun loose.

She rips the robber's sweater off too, and then gets a hold of the firearm ... knocking him upside his head! He flees with just her purse in hand. So, she fended for herself well.

Sotelo says that she was contacted by her manager after this entire ordeal, and was told she wouldn't be working or paid until this video was completely scrubbed from the internet ... something Sotelo says is virtually impossible now. She also denies sending it out in the first place -- although, she has since posted an unwatermarked portion of it on her own TikTok.

Still, the idea that she's being punished for protecting herself (and the store by extension) is being seen as BS by many. She's out of a phone (which got broken in the fight), and everything in her purse, including credit cards and her ID.

Ashton Kutcher was invited to an ESPN set this weekend to share his thoughts on college football -- but all he got in return from the crowd was some harsh advice on his hygiene.

The actor got tapped by the network to be the guest prediction picker ahead of Saturday's slate of games, especially the big Iowa matchup later today between Iowa State and the University of Iowa -- with the latter being Ashton's alma mater.

As soon as AK touched down by jet and was revealed as the big surprise for the broadcast, he got torched by the college crowd that were standing by at Jack Trice Stadium.

They were chanting "Take a shower!" pretty damn loudly ... which the mics on set were picking up and broadcasting while Ashton was being intro'd. Doesn't seem like he heard it right then and there, but don't sweat ... the Cyclone fans had another go at it.

Not too long after, Ashton eventually plopped down on his chair for the pre-game panel ... where he was talking football and charities of his -- and there, too, the "Take a Shower!" chant picked up again. This time, it was way closer ... and Ashton probably heard.

He didn't flinch ... acting as if it didn't bother him. And, who knows ... maybe it doesn't. The guy already made fun of himself over the whole bathing fiasco earlier this summer.

ICYMI ... Ashton and Mila Kunis revealed back in July that they didn't really wash their kids daily, and only threw 'em in the shower as they saw fit, or if they saw noticeable dirt. It sparked a huge debate about kids and cleanliness -- but the Kutchers took it in stride.

The woman who claimed she got kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight because she was too fat has been doing some self-reflection... and now she's going under the knife to slim down.

Manager of Ray Lin Howard, Gina Rodriguez,  tells TMZ … ever since last week's incident, Ray Lin's felt uncomfortable and judged every time she gets dressed and goes out in public, and now she's making a change.

We're told she's traveling to Beverly Hills next week to get gastric sleeve surgery to remove the majority of her stomach ... and her goal is to go from 350 lbs. to about 160.

As we reported ... Ray Lin claims she got kicked off an Alaska Airlines flight for wearing a revealing outfit, and says she was also harassed and discriminated against because of her weight. She described the incident as the worst example of "fatphobia" she's ever encountered.

Britney Spears' boyfriend had fans hoping they finally got engaged ... because he posted and deleted a pic of a ring ... but now he says things are not the way they appear.

Here's the deal ... Britney fans went nuts Friday when her BF, Sam Asghari, posted a picture of a ring on his Instagram story. Eagle-eyed fans pointed out the ring had an inscription reading, "Lioness."

But, Sam is pouring cold water on the speculation he popped the question after more than 4 years of dating ... he says his IG account got hacked and the ring pic was photoshopped.

TMZ broke the story ... Sam went shopping for jewelry earlier this month at Cartier in Beverly Hills, and appeared to be checking out a diamond ring.

Lots of folks took Sam's shopping trip as a signal he and Britney were heading toward an engagement ... because she made it clear back in June at her court hearing she had marriage on the mind.

For now, it seems like people are putting the Cartier before the horse.

Dak Prescott was feeling himself so much after ballin' out in a loss to the Bucs on Thursday ... he straight-up told Tom Brady after the game that a rematch in the playoffs is coming.

Just minutes after Dallas fell in heartbreaking fashion to Tampa Bay ... a hot mic picked up the guarantee in a postgame conversation between the two star QBs.

At first, the guys appeared to just congratulate each other on a hard-fought game -- but then Dak hit TB12 with this promise ...

"We'll see y'all again."

Of course, the only way that's possible is if both teams make the playoffs ... something Prescott sure seems confident about after throwing for 403 yards and 3 TDs in the opener.

And, if we're all being honest, Prescott's take ain't exactly a hot one.

Brady looked unstoppable in the 31-29 victory, and Dak matched him throw for throw throughout the night ... leading most football fans to believe both the Cowboys and the Bucs will likely win their divisions this year.

That would put the two on a collision course in the postseason -- which, clearly, Dak can see coming some 3 months from now.

Larry Elder is the victim of a hate crime -- that's how L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is viewing a woman's attempt to egg the gubernatorial candidate, and he's calling out "woke" politicians over the incident.

Villanueva hopped on the Sheriff Dept.'s Twitter account to sound off about Wednesday's campaign trail incident ... wondering out loud how it's not a hate crime?

If you missed it, Elder -- the conservative talk radio host-turned candidate -- was in Venice Beach when a white woman wearing a gorilla mask with pink hair threw the egg (she missed) and punched one of Elder's security staffers.

The Sheriff answered his own question, tweeting ... "'woke privilege' means a white woman can wear a gorilla mask and attack a black man without fear of being called a racist."

He also, mockingly, wondered why all the normally outraged politicians aren't speaking up in Elder's defense.

Villanueva clearly thinks it's hypocrisy, and there's no outrage purely because Elder is a conservative, who's also the leading Republican candidate in California's recall election.

As we reported, someone also fired a pellet gun Wednesday, hitting one of Elder's staffers. No one was injured, but cops are searching for that suspect as well as the egg tosser and a bald man ... also seen striking one of Elder's staffers.

We spoke to Elder at his next stop, and he chalked up the incident to folks being angry about the homeless situation. He also shaded Newsom.

Larry Elder didn't seem to win over any voters in Venice, CA where a campaign stop turned ugly as a woman tried to egg him, threw punches ... and someone even fired a pellet gun!!!

The conservative talk show host, and Republican leader in the CA Governor recall election -- made the trip to the beach community Tuesday to address the homeless crisis, but got a very hostile greeting from at least one woman wearing a gorilla mask.

Video shows the woman hurl an egg, just missing the back of Elder's head ... and then one of his staffers quickly got in her face. She didn't back down and loudly threatened the man, before hauling back and punching him. He did not retaliate, but then another man stepped up and barked threats at Elder and his team.

The nasty face-off continued until security whisked the candidate into a waiting SUV.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... someone from the crowd fired a pellet gun -- although it's not on video -- and struck a member of Elder's team. We're told cops are investigating, but no one's been arrested yet.

Larry's getting lots of attention as the top Republican candidate in a crowded field looking to replace incumbent California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is up for a recall.

Tuesday is the deadline to cast a vote, and it's getting hot coming down the home stretch.

"So you’re Patrick Mahomes??"

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs' son, Aaiden had a priceless reaction to meeting star quarterback Dak Prescott ... by mistaking him for Patrick Mahomes!!

The whole interaction was absolutely adorable ... and thankfully, it was captured on the finale of HBO's "Hard Knocks" Tuesday night.

4-year-old Aaiden -- who refers to Dak as his "favorite quarterback in my whole entire world" -- was wearing a #4 jersey at an ice cream shop with his pops when none other than Prescott walks in the door.

And, Aaiden's reaction is incredible.

"So, you’re Patrick Mahomes??" he asked.

Dak played it off like a champ -- saying, "You think I’m Patrick Mahomes still?? Whose jersey is this??" he said as the whole room cracked up.

Aaiden then corrected himself ... and then said, "Good to see you."

Despite the confusion, Dak still hooked Aaiden up with some awesome keepsakes ... including 2(!!) jerseys -- one to wear and one to frame.

The best part -- Dak played along with Aaiden ... signing one of the jerseys as, "Not Patrick Mahomes" to prevent further mistaken identity!!

Of course, this isn't the first time Aaiden's made the mix-up ... in a previous episode, he thought his #4 jersey was actually a nod to Mahomes (also adorable).

Ross Mathews has a message for the high school kid who was attacked by a fellow student for draping himself in a Pride flag -- stay strong, because you are loved.

As we reported ... the high schooler in Valdosta, GA was violently pulled to the ground and had his flag ripped away and thrown in the trash by one of his peers, while other students looked on and laughed.

Ross is circumspect ... saying this sort of homophobia is nothing new, sadly ... but he's trying to lead the charge to rally around the student who was attacked, embrace him, and send him love.

In fact, the "RuPaul's Drag Race" judge says if he were still in high school ... he'd ask the kid to prom to show him he's got his back.

Tori Spelling's heard all the buzz from folks comparing her new look to Khloe Kardashian, and she has just one word ... honored.

We got the '90210' star out at the Malibu Chili Cook-Off on Monday night and we wanted to get her take on fans raving about her resemblance to Khloe during a recent lunch outing.

As they say, flattery will get ya everywhere with Tori, because, as she put it to us, Khloe's gorgeous. We asked if she intentionally went for a Khloe-look, and you've gotta see her reaction. We'll just say ... she was amused.

ICYMI ... Tori posted a pic last week wearing a denim jumpsuit and black leather boots. The glam look had everyone losing their minds about how much she looked like Khloe in her blonde days.

One fan tweeted, "Who Wore It Better Khloe Kardashian or Is It Tori Spelling... Khloe Spelling." In fact, fans said Tori's exact look was eerily similar to a Khloe outfit she wore back in February 2020.

We also asked Tori about the Scott Disick-Amelia Hamlin drama, but Tori wouldn't bite.

Paul Pierce is NOT sorry for posting a bunch of booty-shakin' women on his Instagram Live earlier this year ... saying he was just having some harmless adult fun.

The 43-year-old NBA legend posted a kinda NSFW video from inside a friend's home after a night of drinking and smoking back in April ... showing a group of barely-clothed ladies twerking and dancing.

The video went viral on social media ... and ESPN parted ways with The Truth shortly after.

Now, Pierce is opening up on the days following the incident ... saying his agent recommended he apologize -- in case it would affect Hall of Fame voting -- but he elected not to.

"Come on, I didn’t do anything illegal," Pierce told Sports Illustrated. “These motherf***ers in the Hall of Fame, some did [cocaine], f***ing battery. What the f*** did I do? I was just having a good time."

"All the people coming after me, half you motherf***ers do the same s***. You’re just hiding it. And, you all are married while you’re doing it. I’m divorced. I’m retired. I’m having fun."

Of course, the vid had zero impact on getting Pierce into the Hall -- he's set to be enshrined alongside Chris Bosh and Chris Webber this weekend -- but if it did, he says it would have been "the biggest stiff job in Hall of Fame history."

Pierce had previously told us he's poised to make a BIG comeback ... but as for now, he's remained off the TV.

A high school student draped in a Pride flag had it violently ripped from him and thrown in the trash by one of his peers ... who's facing charges for his seemingly homophobic attack.

Video of the disgusting incident comes from Lowndes High School in Valdosta, GA, where a male student in a black shirt was filmed running up to the student with the rainbow flag and taking it from him ... knocking him down in the process.

One of the student's friends tries to ward off the attacker, but he pulls the flag away and forcefully shoves it in the trash before the video cuts off.

According to Lowndes County Sheriff, Ashley Paulk, a juvenile has been charged in the incident. The charges include disorderly conduct, simple battery and disruption of a public facility.

The school's assistant principal, Rodney Green, says, "We take the well-being and safety of our students seriously. Our staff works hard to provide a safe environment where all of our students feel valued."

A woman who seemingly got kicked off a flight for wearing a revealing outfit believes she was also harassed and discriminated against because of her weight ... and possibly other aspects of her appearance.

Ray Lin Howard shared a video on TikTok of the apparent aftermath of getting booted from her Alaska Airlines flight Friday, in which police are questioning her about what went down.

She tells the cops she was wearing a sports bra -- she shows them too -- and was told by the flight attendants to cover up ... so she says she did with a pink leopard print shirt.

According to Howard ... that didn't satisfy the airline staff and she kept getting harassed because her stomach was showing, and she was ultimately removed from the flight.

The cops imply she was booted for violating the airline's dress code -- something she rebuts -- but tell her it doesn't look like she acted criminally in any way.

In a follow-up TikTok, Howard says she was eventually released and the airline contacted her to apologize and offered her a discount on future purchases.

However, she tells Jam Press that this was about more than her outfit, saying ... "I felt like I was being discriminated against for being a fat, tattooed, mixed-race woman, which in turn left me full of emotions like anger, disappointment, helplessness, humiliation and confusion."

She also described the incident as the worst example of "fatphobia" she's encountered in her life.

We reached out to Alaska Airlines, who say they're in contact with the guest and "committed to finding out what happened and taking the appropriate actions." Alaska adds, "It's our goal to provide caring service to all of our guests. When we don't live up to that goal, we do everything we can to make it right."

Scott Disick had to know the other shoe was gonna drop, and it did in pretty spectacular fashion, as his current girlfriend dragged him for dragging his ex, Kourtney Kardashian.

Amelia Gray Hamlin showed her apparent displeasure by posting a photo of a tank top with the words "Don't you have a girlfriend?" emblazoned in the front.

The 20-year-old broke her silence after her 42-year-old BF expressed his displeasure over Kourtney and Travis Barker kissing on a boat in Italy ... sending a DM to another Kourtney ex, Younes Bendjima, saying "Yo is this chick ok!??? Broooo like what is this. In the middle of Italy."

Scott, who had shaded Younes when he was dating Kourtney, didn't bank on Bendjima putting Scott and his DM on blast. Younes wrote ... "Doesn't matter to me as long as she's happy."  And then the parting shot ... "PS: I aint your bro."

For Kourtney's part ... she's clearly unhappy about her ex's DM, posting a pic of 2 people sharing a kiss with the caption, "Relax ... this is going to hurt forever. How to get over someone who treated you badly."

It's unclear how this whole thing will affect the co-parenting of their 3 kids.

People sure do love them some Mark Hamill -- even if it just means the guy's name getting mentioned ... by either him or anyone else, which is turning into a viral game of sorts.

The "Star Wars" vet is trending right now ... and it's all because he name-dropped himself in response to a Twitter user suggesting (or daring?) that he could garner well over a thousand "likes" on the platform by merely writing "Mark Hamill." That's how much he's adored.

Welp, he caught wind of her theory ... and decided to put it to the test, which ended up in staggering results -- not to mention others getting in on the fun as well.

Dude quote-tweeted this chick and did exactly what she said ... writing simply, "Mark Hamill." As of right now ... that same tweet is on its way to 100k likes, and over 4k retweets!!!

Sure enough, the Internet took notice ... and wanted to try it out themselves -- almost like a Candyman thing, where if you say his name ... Twitter likes will appear. Some are finding success -- like George Takei, who did the same and has racked up over 4k likes.

Ditto for actor Ken Olin ... who openly wondered if the rule would apply to any Schmo who tried this -- and yes ... his "Mark Hamill" tweet is also taking off, with well over 3k likes.

Of course, normies (AKA, non-blue checkmarks) are having a harder time getting the "like" love on their own timeline ... which just goes to show, a little Twitter notoriety goes a long way. Followers help too ... but it seems this "challenge" is reserved for the bird app elite.

As for the OG poster for this trend ... she's basking in the Hamill glory, especially since he digs her "Star Wars" memes and mega-fandom. He's even commenting on her other tweets.