You Might Want to Rethink

A park ranger tried doing the right thing by breaking up a crowd that wasn't social distancing -- and as a reward, some jerk pushed him into the water ... a jerk who then got arrested.

The incident happened Thursday at Lake Austin, where a bunch of kids were reportedly smoking and drinking when they were approached by this Texas park ranger -- who was telling them they had to break it up and get six feet apart ... in other words, doing his job.

At first, it sounds like some of the kids respond affirmatively to his command -- albeit somewhat sarcastically -- and then out of nowhere ... you see one guy ram the ranger -- hurling him into the water just below the dock they're all standing on.

The ranger goes in, as does the guy ... fortunately, no one was hurt. The guy gets out and scurries away, and the ranger then follows him, clearly pissed ... as he should've been. You can also hear his buddies nearby yelling out "Bro!" in apparent shock.

The good news is that the alleged pusher was eventually arrested ... cops responded to the scene and took 25-year-old Brandon Hicks into custody and booked him for felony attempted assault of a public servant.

Cops say ... "Brandon’s intentional and reckless action could have caused the Ranger to strike his head on the dock as he was falling, and render himself unconscious in at least 3 feet of water where he could have drowned to death."

Universal made a TON of cash by skipping a theatrical release and dropping "Trolls World Tour" digitally instead -- and pissed as theater chains are ... it might well be a sign of changes to come post-pandemic.

You might've heard about the beef between the movie studio and a few cineplex bigwigs who were irate upon hearing that Universal was open to pivoting to exclusive digital releases with some of their flicks going forward when things eventually get back to normal.

This, of course, comes after 'TWT' made the globe family at least $100 million in profits through paid video on demand rentals from families sitting at home, over the course of just 3 weeks. That's miles better than what its predecessor brought in over 5 MONTHS!!!

Head honchos at AMC, Regal Entertainment and other well-known chains spoke out in harsh terms against Universal for suggesting they were gonna leave 'em hanging for platforms like Apple TV and other video-on-demand platforms in light of their success ... with AMC even vowing to drop Universal movies altogether if they followed through.

Bottom line ... the theaters say Universal's acting in bad faith on negotiations they apparently have with these chains, including certain windows they seem to have promised to get their pictures on the big screen, which makes theaters money too, obviously.

Walt Disney World is locked up tight as a drum during the coronavirus pandemic, but apparently that wasn't tight enough for a dude to make Discovery Island his home.

The Alabama man, 42-year-old Richard McGuire, was arrested after Disney security eyed him camping out on the island.

Here's the thing. Discovery Island has been closed since 1999. Disney has changed its use of a wildlife park, but the various buildings on the island have remained intact. He was staying in one of the buildings when security found him.

McGuire was camping on the Island since Tuesday, but at some point, security realized something was up. They pulled out their bullhorns and ordered him to come out, but there was no response. The effort was then buttressed with boats, a helicopter and foot patrol.

McGuire said he was "unaware" he was trespassing, despite the numerous "No Trespassing" signs plastered near the island.

The Alabama resident now faces a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Even worse, he's been banned from all Disney parks.

There's a war on the beach in Orange County!

There's also a giant penis on the beach in Orange County!

And, local news covered 'em both!

Here's the deal ... with California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordering the closure of all Orange County beaches, several people hit the sand Friday to protest the decision.

One excited beachgoer decided to send a message by drawing a giant design on the shore ... a giant phallus!

And, as the whole thing was being covered by the good people at KTLA, the sand schlong made the shot!

The best part of the whole thing ... the reporter talking about a "hard closure" just as they pan over the wiener.

Stay safe, everyone!

President Trump has found another group of "very good people" ... the gun-toting right-wing extremists who stormed the Michigan statehouse to protest coronavirus restrictions.

Trump is strongly supporting the heavily-armed protesters ... he says they are very good, very angry people who deserve a seat at the table with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Mind you, Michigan does not meet the very same federal guidelines for reopening that the President and his coronavirus task force announced last month.

Trump tweeted out his support of the rifle-clad protesters and tried to shift the onus on Whitmer, saying ... "The Governor of Michigan should give a little, and put out the fire. These are very good people, but they are angry."

POTUS added ... "They want their lives back again, safely! See them, talk to them, make a deal."

The protesters are up in arms over the fact Gov. Whitmer extended the state's emergency stay-at-home order until the end of May.

Of course, Trump started the battle cry for the "liberation" of several states -- including Michigan -- just hours after he laid out the federal guidelines. He, at least, said reopening should be done slowly and smartly ... based on data.

That's apparently out the window.

This is insane, but the Beverly Hills City Council somehow thinks it's a good idea to open the city up for what some rich folks consider to be super-essential services -- a neck job.

The Bev Hills city council voted 4-1 Wednesday to resume elective and cosmetic surgeries, allowing plastic surgeons to immediately reopen their doors to celebs and rich folk in need of work.

Bev Hills has one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in all of L.A. County. The vote came just as Governor Gavin Newsom closed ALL of California's beaches to prevent the spread of the virus, so why the immediate need for a nose job?

The City passed an ordinance back on March 16 -- around the time California closed down -- imposing a moratorium on cosmetic and other elective procedures.

The lone dissenter on the City Council called the vote "extremely irresponsible."

The reversal should please lots of famous folks ... remember, "Botched" star and doc Terry Dubrow told us last month tons of celebs are clamoring for plastic surgery while they are out of the public eye, due to the outbreak.

What's interesting ... will this set up a battle between the CA Gov and the City Council of Bev Hills? Our $$$'s on Gavin.

U-Haul is pissed off at the NYC funeral home that used its trucks to store dozens of dead bodies, and the rental giant says it's cutting off the funeral home ... for good.

Police say the Andrew T. Cleckley Funeral Home in Brooklyn rented 4 unrefrigerated U-Haul trucks to store about 50 corpses, and a passerby even called to complain about the awful smell.

Honchos at U-Haul are outraged and tell TMZ, “This is a wrongful, egregious and inhumane use of our equipment."

U-Haul also tells us ... "Our trucks are designed for household moves. Properly caring for the remains of people’s loved ones requires vehicles suited specifically for that purpose. Our trucks absolutely cannot be rented for this reason.”

Funeral homes in New York are being overwhelmed by the massive COVID-19 death toll, but U-Haul says this particular facility will have to look elsewhere for overflow storage.

Royal Caribbean Cruises royally screwed its employees with utter disregard for their health ... so they claim in a new lawsuit.

Mykola Molchun -- a crew member from Ukraine -- has filed a class-action lawsuit against the popular cruise line company claiming it was careless and continuously failed to protect its crew members assigned to work aboard the vessels despite RCC knowing about the dangerous conditions and explosive contagiousness associated with the deadly virus.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Molchun claims RCC failed to follow even the most basic safety precautions after getting COVID-19 notice ... like timely quarantining crew members stationed aboard the vessel. The suit also brought up a St. Patrick's Day party RCC threw for over 1,000 crew members ... saying it showed "an alarming lack of caution."

The suit claims RCC did this even after it suspended future cruise operations for passengers on March 13 and even then still allowed crew members to continue mingling in unsafe conditions ... like allowing them to eat in buffet settings.

The cruise line industry has been taking in the chin as of late. As we've reported ... Princess Cruise Lines, for example, has been sued multiple times by its guests. And, now crew members are getting in on the action. The suit comes about a week after a third Royal Caribbean crew member died after working on a vessel with a COVID-19 outbreak onboard.

Wild house parties like the recent ones in Chicago won't be allowed to continue uncontrolled under quarantine -- cops are taking notice and taking steps to shut 'em down.

Those Chi-town ragers -- one with 1,000 guests, and another with a stripper getting swarmed -- were so packed, social distancing was impossible. Then again, face masks were rare at both events, so the guests clearly didn't care about COVID-19.

Cops, on the other hand, are very concerned about slowing the spread of the virus.

Our law enforcement sources tell us cops in big cities across the U.S. are NOT putting up with the dangerous practice, and they're starting to crack down more ... especially knowing there will be huge parties as it gets warmer.

We're told the Chicago, Los Angeles and New York Police Departments -- not to mention the L.A. Sheriff's Department -- are putting their ears to the ground and their eyes on social media to track down any emerging sardine-like get-togethers or turn-ups. That's right ... 5-0 is actively monitoring live feeds and trends, so if it starts to get poppin' and gets posted online -- like that stripper party was -- they'll probably see it.

We're told if the parties get too big and they're clearly violating basic quarantine guidelines, guests better not be surprised when cops come knocking to break it up. They might even start dinging people with citations too, depending on the circumstances.

Just for reference ... NYPD's dished out 190 summons and made some 22 arrests thus far pertaining to this exact behavior; LASD has cited 41 and arrested 3, and Chi-Town's at 13 citations and 18 arrests over flagrant breaking of social distancing. More to come, we're sure.

White House Gift Shop dot com -- which is privately run, and not related to the actual White House -- is hawking some odd memorabilia ... a coronavirus commemorative coin no one asked for.

The COVID-19 coin features the names of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence ... and it depicts an empty presidential podium on one side, and a graphic of the novel coronavirus above the world on the other side.

The coin also shouts out the rest of the COVID-19 task force ... with smaller printed names for Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The collector's item is emblazoned with tons of slogans ... including "Together We FOUGHT The UNSEEN Enemy," "Everday HEROES Suited Up," and "Everyday CITIZENS Did Their Part."

The White House Gift Shop is already taking pre-orders for the coin ... and the price is slashed from $125 down to $100. The store claims proceeds will be donated to hospitals.

The COVID-19 coin is the 11th in the gift shop's "Historic Moments" collection, which also commemorates Trump's meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

So, at least the coronavirus coin is in ... good company.

It's becoming more clear by the day that wet markets are NOT just a China problem -- it's an American problem too ... just take a look at these latest clips from Texas and California.

TMZ has gotten a hold of even more graphic videos of two different live animal shops in TX and CA -- where people pick out the animal, have it slaughtered on the spot and then sold to them right then and there -- and you see the mixed-in livestock runs the gamut.

There are pigs in pens, goats and sheep hoarded together ... and, of course, as we've seen in New York and elsewhere -- chicken and rabbits cooped up in cages -- all in the same area within earshot of each other, and all getting butchered.

Ya got pigs hanging from hooks out in the open, chicken beaks, feathers and guts all over the floor and in an exposed trash can -- this while customers (including kids) come in and browse the freezer for whatever cuts of meat they want. It's downright dirty and gross.

As we've been told by the experts, these one-stop-shop slaughterhouses/storefronts can be breeding grounds for disease -- including new viruses, like COVID-19, which supposedly got started at a wet market in China.

We already know of lawmakers in Cali and New York working to get these things shut down, but it's pretty apparent there needs to be federal legislation rolled out to address this. Can't call the kettle black when we're swimming in the freakin' pot.

Elon Musk has been way off with his coronavirus predictions from the start, but now he's doubling down with his asinine thoughts ... by urging the U.S. to reopen and be "free" again.

The Tesla honcho just tweeted to his 33 million followers, "FREE AMERICA NOW" ... following a couple other tweets encouraging states to ease pandemic lockdown restrictions, despite health experts' warnings that doing so could lead to a spike in deaths.

Musk -- who on March 19 tweeted about COVID-19, "Based on current trends, probably close to zero new cases in US too by end of April" -- has been one of the loudest cynics of stay-at-home orders and has referred to the pandemic as overblown panic several times ... despite nearly 60,000 deaths in the U.S. in a relatively short time.

Now he seems to be joining the chorus of naysayers like Tucker Carlson -- who declared on his show Monday night that the coronavirus is "just not that deadly" and shutdowns don't really work -- who want to ignore the serious dangers of COVID-19 and get back to normal.

Truth is, it's just not that easy -- or safe, or smart -- and Elon's suggestion is dumbfounding.

However, as we've reported, he's not alone -- there are a lot of Americans who are quitting quarantine to head to beaches or attend parties ... and it feels like things are coming apart at the seams.