You Might Want to Rethink

All eyez are on Tupac Shakur in Kentucky ... where he's alive and well, and waiting on an unemployment check.

An unemployed Kentucky resident was accused by Gov. Andy Beshear of pulling an unemployment benefit prank, but it turns out the guy really does bear the famous rapper's name, and he really is down on his luck.

The Governor called out Pac Monday night, saying someone applied for unemployment for Tupac Shakur in his state. Beshear scolded "bad apples" for playing jokes and holding up people's money -- but now he's got egg on his face.

Kentucky's Tupac isn't trying to live the thug life ... he's just a 46-year-old Lexington resident who lost his restaurant gig due to the coronavirus pandemic. Sorry, Guv ... he's had the famous name since the late '90s, so he's not using it just to fool the system.

Tupac, who prefers his middle name, Malik, says he was hurt, embarrassed and shocked by the Governor's comments -- but says Beshear called him Tuesday to apologize and all is forgiven.

He understands Beshear's dealing with a lot -- nearly 24 percent of the state's workforce has filed for unemployment -- and mistakes happen. Still, Pac says he's still waiting on a check, and it's been over a month since he filed.

Shakur legally changed his name, and says people get a kick out of it and think it's cool ... but he never envisioned it would hold up an unemployment check.

C'mon Kentucky ... hit him up!!!

The Pentagon appears to be confirming what a lot of tinfoil-hatters already suspected -- ALIENS are among us ... or at least they seem to be based on these mysterious videos.

The Department of Defense released three videos this week showing old Navy pilot footage, which captures what the feds describe as "unexplained aerial phenomena" in what looks to be like mini-ish flying saucers zipping around in the sky at incredibly fast speeds.

These clips have actually been out for years -- they were previously leaked to the media and published -- but this is the first time Uncle Sam himself is confirming their authenticity.

As for why now -- when folks are already freaking out over the coronavirus pandemic -- the Pentagon says ... "DOD is releasing the videos in order to clear up any misconceptions by the public on whether or not the footage that has been circulating was real, or whether or not there is more to the videos." They add ... what ya see here remains "unidentified."

One of these vids depicts what one of the Navy pilots described as a 40-foot oblong object hovering about 50 feet above the water, and then ascending to flight altitude within seconds. At one point, one of the pilots says the saucer is flying against super heavy wind without a problem, and then you see it stop and rotate mid-air. It's pretty freakin' wild.

You gotta wonder what the green people are thinking watching all this 'rona stuff from above (if, in fact, they're up there). Happy to hear your thoughts, fellas. We're all ears!

The Chicago house party that streamed live with at least 1,000 guests potentially spreading the coronavirus is gonna cost the building's owner.

TMZ confirmed Chi-Town officials have hit the owner with fines, and cited her for disorderly conduct -- namely, violating the state's stay-at-home orders. The fees will be determined by the court at a later date ... and a city alderman said the owner's been put "on notice."

Reports also say the woman's adult kid was to blame for the dangerous party. Apparently he had keys to the place and disarmed the alarms for the rager. Unclear if his ma knew what he was doing, but officials say he's previously thrown at least one other party this size.

Chicago's mayor, Lori Lightfoot, had some strong words for everyone who attended the event, saying eventually everyone who participated will be held accountable. She hammered the partygoers, saying ... "What happened in that scene was just foolish and reckless. There’s got to be a level of personal responsibility for that. Millennials aren’t children."

Forget the danger wet markets pose in China ... there are 80 of these markets in New York City -- the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic -- and the animal rights group that shot this shocking, undercover video says the images make it clear ... they need to be shut down.

NYCLASS Executive Director, Edita Birnkrant, went on "TMZ Live" Monday and said 2 of the markets are in the Bronx and Queens ... packed to the gills with caged live fowl ... many of which were being mercilessly tossed into a trash can by one of the workers, who was plucking them out for slaughter.

Edita says these markets -- which many scientists say could have caused the outbreak out in Wuhan, China -- are NOT foreign to the States ... they're everywhere, and they pose a massive health risk to the public as breeding grounds for infectious diseases.

She goes on to explain NY State Assemblywoman, Linda Rosenthal, is whipping up legislation to get these animal sweatshops closed down for good in New York, and similar efforts are underway here in California. Edita tells us it's well overdue -- and while it, unfortunately, took a pandemic to bring attention to the unsanitary (not to mention inhumane) ways these curbside factory farms run ... it's good folks are paying attention now.

Bottom line ... wet markets leave behind blood, feces, limbs and other potentially harmful remnants, which we don't need flooding our streets right now. Can't ignore this anymore.

Here's a sneak peek at a wet market with live poultry, which might remind you of something you'd see in China ... even though it's right here in our own backyard.

This footage was shot at two different wet/live animal markets in NYC -- one is called One-Stop "Vivero" Live Poultry Market in the Bronx and another is called Flushing Live Poultry in Queens. Both are currently open and operational, killing and selling the chickens and meat in the same location -- with what appears to be little regulation.

In the clip, you see a woman walking in without any trouble and getting up-close shots of chickens crammed in cages ... and she asks the workers if they're open. They say yes. Later in the video, you see pigeons are also cooped up in the same small space -- there are feathers and feces everywhere ... frankly, it's gross and definitely NOT sanitary.

Now, a little context ... the video here was shot by an animal rights org called NYCLASS, and they tell us there are more than 80 wet markets in the New York area ... which haven't seen increased oversight since the pandemic began ... they don't fall under the NYC Dept. of Health's purview. Instead, these wet markets fall under the USDA and State Agriculture Dept. ... state and federal orgs, which NYCLASS believes poorly manage these markets.

Of course, its reminiscent of the wet markets in China -- where some scientists believe the coronavirus pandemic got started. Some reports suggest bats were at the center of this, but all the same ... having live animals exposed in markets like this ain't healthy.

Of these markets, NYCLASS executive director, Edita Birnkrant, says ... "Their existence poses a public safety risk to the New Yorkers who live and work in these areas. Market floors and even public sidewalks are often covered with blood, feces and other biohazards that put everyone in danger."

A Vallejo official has left his post after he was caught apparently drinking and chucking his cat across the room during a virtual meeting he was conducting with his colleagues.

The guy's name is Chris Platzer and he was one of the city planning commissioners before he tendered his resignation this week ... after a wild Zoom meeting that included shots of him seemingly taking swigs out of a beer, and then hurling his feline in jest.

Check it out ... over the course of the 2 hour-plus meeting -- which was a formal meeting being held to discuss city business on Monday -- you see Platzer taking lots of drinks from a mug he has throughout, and constantly getting up and leaving the meeting several times.

At one point, he picks up the laptop he's using and carries it over to what appears to be his kitchen, where it looks like he opens his fridge and pulls out a green bottle -- which has been reported locally as a beer. Perhaps Heineken -- seems to be that from our POV.

Anyway, at another moment in the meeting ... Platzer's up to talk, and you hear meowing going on in the background. He gets up, brings over his cat and introduces it to everyone ... then throws it off camera, after which you hear a thud. Some of his colleagues laughed.

Toward the end, when everyone had logged off, Platzer's heard calling someone a "bitch," and he supposedly hurled a racial epithet too ... according to the City of Vallejo.

We'd like to introduce you to the Quarantine Quitters of America (the QQA for short) as a reminder folks are at their wit's end and throwing in the towel all over the country.

Click through the gallery and you'll see what we mean -- folks from coast to coast have been heading outdoors en masse over the past few weeks, hitting the beach, hitting the trails, hitting the streets, hitting anything they can to get a feeling of normalcy back.

Of course, in almost all of these cases ... so many are not practicing proper social distancing.

Whether it's beach-goers in Venice or Huntington Beach, or the good people of New York flocking out to Coney Island, or even the many protesters in Austin, TX and beyond -- people are clearly ready to break quarantine ... it looks like they've had enough, 'rona be damned.

That's a problem, obviously, because this many people going out and standing so near each other can and might very likely cause another wave of COVID-19 cases, not to mention the deaths that'll follow. These folks don't seem to care though ... apathy wins the day.

A Bronx storefront is a perfect example of when keeping it real goes RIGHT -- the owner is giving his customers some straight talk, in very explicit terms, over coronavirus protocol.

Check out this sign posted in the window of what appears to be a liquor store or bodega of some sort in the NYC borough, which tells its patrons exactly what's expected of them as they come in and shop ... without any room for misunderstanding, or coddling at all.

The sign reads, "COVID-19 IS SOME REAL S***! Cover your f***ing mouth! Shut the f*** up! Buy your s*** and leave immediately." Oh, it gets better ... the owner lets it rip!!!

They continue, "Absolutely NO titty or sock money! Stand back at least 6 feet, playa. Store capacity limited to 5 motherf***ers at once. You cough, you die. Drink responsibly."

It's interesting ... the scientists and doctors aren't getting through to a large number of Americans with rock-solid data, so this seems like a viable Plan B.

We gotta say, the dude (or dudette) who put this up deserves an award of some kind, because instead of tip-toeing around what NEEDS to be said, they just came right out and told it how it is. No pussy-footing or sugar-coating ... just to-the-point, NYC instructions.

It's funny too -- this very much reminds of us of Michael Rapaport (a New York-native himself) coming out with an expletive-filled PSA telling youngsters and their parents to stop screwing around and stay indoors, while other celebs came out with PC/watered-down takes of their own. Those Big Apple dwellers sure do have a way with words, huh?