You Might Want to Rethink

A reporter became a police target as she covered the protests surrounding the killing of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ... getting hit with pepper balls live on air.

Protests erupted in cities across the country Friday night, including in Lousiville, Kentucky. Reporter Kaitlin Rust of WAVE was on the ground covering the events when a police officer intentionally opened fire on her and her camera operator, seemingly striking them both with pepper balls.

Rust was certainly not in any type of disguise -- she was wearing a reflective vest, holding a microphone and not in a crowded group of people -- so it begs the question ... what the hell was the officer doing?

Luckily, Rust appeared to be okay and continued to broadcast from the scene.

As we reported ... a police car was set on fire in Atlanta and The White House placed on lockdown as protests continued Friday.

Elon Musk is having a rough week -- one of his SpaceX rockets ignited into a massive ball of fire Friday, and yet ... there's still some good news.

The company's 4th prototype of its Starship rocket was fueled up on a south Texas launchpad when it burst into flames. You can hear SpaceX engineers discussing something about a possible methane leak, though it's unclear if that was from the rocket or something nearby the pad.

Either way ... something lit Elon's baby on fire. Luckily, the test was unmanned -- unlike the Crew Dragon spacecraft, they hope to send into orbit on Saturday from Cape Canaveral.

As you know, Wednesday's launch was scrubbed due to crappy weather in Florida. Right now, the launch still only has a 50/50 shot of going off as scheduled. It rains a lot in FL and could get pushed to Sunday.

As for the Starship rocket ... SpaceX hopes that will eventually be able to carry large numbers of space tourists -- up to 100 at a time -- into space, and eventually to Mars.

Kylie Jenner's billionaire status just got yanked by Forbes -- which originally named her the youngest one ever -- and the mag claims it's all because the Jenners intentionally lied.

Forbes is blasting Kylie and her mom, Kris Jenner, for what it claims was a "web of lies" surrounding the success of Kylie Cosmetics. It all centers around the companies financials from 2016 to 2018.

Remember, Forbes crowned her the world's youngest-ever "self-made" billionaire in August 2018.

According to Forbes, the family invited them into their mansions and CPA's offices. Here's what the magazine says it was told: The Jenners provided documents showing Kylie's company's annual revenue from 2016 to 2018 was somewhere between $307 million to $360 million per year.

Forbes now says the real numbers were $125 mil for 2018, $177 mil for 2017 ... and Forbes doesn't provide a number for 2016, but claims it was still greatly exaggerated.

The magazine claims the Jenners had accountants create false tax returns "to help juice Forbes' estimate of Kylie's earnings and net worth." Important to note, Forbes is not saying she filed false tax returns with the government.

Now, don't get it twisted ... she ain't broke. Forbes' readjusted numbers claim she's actually worth just south of $900 million. So, she'll get to billionaire status at some point ... Forbes just thinks she cut corners to make it look like she got there early.

BTW, you'll recall Kylie sold off 51% of her company last year to cosmetics giant Coty. In somewhat of a final jab ... Forbes points out Coty's stock prices have plummeted more than 60% since the November 2019 deal.

Governor Tim Walz just addressed Trump's tweet.

Donald Trump has his own way of handling the civil unrest in Minneapolis, following the brutal cop killing of George Floyd -- he wants the looters shot.

True-to-form Trump tweeted his outrage, "....These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!"

That last threat -- "when the looting starts, the shooting starts" -- is lifted from a threat made by a former Miami police chief back in 1967 ... after brutal police practices resulted in civil unrest.

Now, check this out ... Twitter immediately tagged Trump's post, saying, "This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible." Translation -- Trump's appalling, yet predictable, call to violence is irresponsible, but we need to know that's his mindset.

And, he all took an insulting, gratuitous shot at Minneapolis' Mayor, "I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right....."

Jacob Frey shot back, "Weakness is refusing to take responsibility for your own actions. Weakness is pointing your finger at somebody else during a time of crisis."

Minnesota Twins outfielder Max Kepler has apologized for wearing a Blue Lives Matter mask in the wake of George Floyd's tragic death ... saying he "had no idea that the mask had any underlying inferences."

The 27-year-old MLB player posted a picture of himself in a mask featuring a Blue Lives Matter flag ... just days after people accused a Minneapolis cop of killing Floyd by putting his knee to the man's neck.

The mask -- which had a black and grey American flag with a blue stripe in it -- caused tremendous online backlash for Kepler ... but the Berlin, Germany native brushed off the criticism.

"✌️wasn’t aware what the mask supported. still not into politics" Max wrote.

But, that only caused MORE criticism for the MLB player ... and he finally addressed the issue formally in a lengthy statement on his social media page Thursday.

"Earlier, I posted a photo of me in a mask that was sent to me by a company, to wear during the pandemic," Kepler said. "I had no idea that the mask had any underlying inferences -- I simply thought it looked good."

"After I was informed, I immediately took down the post. I take complete responsibility for not knowing what I was wearing. I am truly sorry for the hurt and pain my actions have caused, especially now."

Kepler continued, "Racism has no place in our world and I do not in any way support the actions that we all witnessed that led to George Floyd’s passing. My sympathies are with the Floyd family."

The Twins have not addressed Kepler's picture directly ... but did release a statement of their own Thursday, saying, "We are deeply saddened by the tragic and senseless death of George Floyd Monday night in Minneapolis."

"The Minnesota Twins send our deepest sympathies to the Floyd family, and join our Twin Cities community in mourning."

"The Vampire Diaries" star Zach Roerig was allegedly a mess in more ways than one over Memorial Day weekend -- when he got busted for DUI, cops say he urinated in his jail cell.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Zach was busted Sunday around 2:30 AM in Montpelier, Ohio. Police tell us, officers noticed Zach's pickup truck did not have a front license plate, so they pulled him over.

Our sources say when the officer went up to the driver's side window, cops noticed Zach's slurred speech and bloodshot eyes and say he reeked of booze.

We're told police conducted several field sobriety tests during which Zach told the officer, "This is very hard, I can't do this when I'm f***ing ..." and his voice trailed off. The cop asked what he meant, and we're told Zach replied, "When I can't have a beer."

Cops arrested Zach for misdemeanor DUI. When they took him to the station, our sources say he was placed in a holding cell, where he ended up peeing. Long night.

Tyler Judson -- a Tulane Univ. football player -- was arrested Monday ... this after he was accused of punching a woman so hard in the face at a Louisiana Waffle House, she required a trip to the hospital.

The mother of the alleged victim told WWL-TV her daughter was at the popular restaurant in Zachary, LA in the early morning hours of Memorial Day ... when a fight with Judson broke out.

The mom claims her daughter didn't know Judson prior to the incident and didn't start it ... but says she was punched by the Green Wave safety anyway -- causing severe injuries.

The woman says her daughter suffered "multiple facial fractures" and will require surgery to fix the issues. She also says the 18-year-old's eyes were still swollen shut as of Wednesday.

Jail records show Judson was arrested and booked on a charge of felony second-degree battery Monday. Records also show he bonded out shortly after.

Tulane Univ. said in a statement to media outlets it's suspending Judson immediately, saying, "Tulane Athletics is aware of Tyler Judson’s arrest."

"He has been suspended indefinitely from the Tulane football program. Tulane Athletics will have no further comment at this time."

Judson -- a redshirt freshman -- appeared in four games for the Green Wave in 2019, logging three total tackles.

He came to Tulane as a fairly touted national recruit, reportedly picking the school over offers from Baylor, Ole Miss and others.

Jamie Foxx wants everyone to leave Jimmy Fallon alone for wearing blackface 20 years ago, and says his buddy has NO reason to apologize.

Jamie came to the 'Tonight Show' host's defense with a series of comments on Jimmy's IG post where he did actually say he was sorry for his 'SNL' impression of Chris Rock.

Jamie said Jimmy "ain't got to apologize for s**t" and called him a great comedian who did an incredible impersonation.

But, what's interesting is ... Jamie says what Jimmy did is NOT blackface. As we reported ... Jimmy did a mea culpa Tuesday after the clip from the year 2000 resurfaced on social media with the hashtag, #jimmyfallonisoverparty.

Jimmy said, "I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this." He added, "I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable."

But, for anyone trying to cancel Jimmy ... Jamie's NOT having it. He went on to say in defense of his bud, "Some of y’all didn’t even see the sketch… relax and laugh! it's Other muuuuuuphuckas out there that really don’t care bout ya… use that energy for them!!! But leave my mans alone."

John Boyega sees what's happening to black people here in the U.S. -- specifically, the killing of George Floyd -- and he has a message to racist white Americans who might also be his fans.

The 'Star Wars' actor went on an epic tirade Wednesday, going IN on "racist white people" who in any way, shape or form tolerate and/or downplay what's happening in our streets ... namely, the killing of unarmed, innocent African-Americans.

You gotta see this for yourself, John's very heated as he calls George Floyd's death part of a continuous cycle that he sees here in the States -- black men being killed by either cops or vigilantes trying to play cops. He says that's enough for him to stay away -- presumably in England, his home country.

John goes on to lay into ANYONE who's a fan -- and who's also a racist -- telling 'em to get off his page, off his timeline and out of his circle ... 'cause he ain't having it.

Interestingly, he also makes it clear that he doesn't care what this rant of his might mean for his career. There's a good reason for that though ... JB says he's "not Hollywood."

It took 20 years, but Jimmy Fallon's impersonation of Chris Rock on "Saturday Night Live" -- which he did in blackface -- has come back to bite him.

It seems unbelievable, but much like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year, Fallon's late to learn the lesson that doing blackface at any point in your past is something that won't stay secret.

After the 'SNL' clip from the year 2000 resurfaced early Tuesday, the hashtag #jimmyfallonisoverparty began trending on Twitter ... and now, the late-night talk show host is apologizing.

Fallon says, "I made a terrible decision to do an impersonation of Chris Rock while in blackface. There is no excuse for this."

He adds ... "I am very sorry for making this unquestionably offensive decision and thank all of you for holding me accountable."

In the sketch -- which we repeat, aired on TV in 2000 -- Jimmy comes out in blackface dressed as the famous comedian to join Regis Philbin, played by Darrell Hammond, and crack some Chris Rock-esque jokes.

Hard to say if people found it funny back then ... but even Jimmy agrees it definitely was NOT worth it.

Of course, Fallon hosts 'The Tonight Show' on NBC, which many folks online were eager to point out is the same network that fired Megyn Kelly in 2018 for making controversial comments defending the use of blackface.

No word yet from NBC on if there will be any consequences for Jimmy.

This is a disgusting case of Karen-ing caught on video -- a white woman calling the police and pretending a black man is attacking her ... when he really just asked her to leash her dog.

This went down Monday in NYC's Central Park ... and the video starts with the woman attempting to leash her dog, but then she quickly walks toward the man recording the video ... who'd complained her dog was off-leash. All dogs are required to be on-leash, by law, in Central Park from 9AM-9PM.

What happened next is really heinous to watch play out -- she asked the man to stop recording her, which he didn't. She then threatened to call NYPD and "tell them there's an African-American man threatening my life."

The man encouraged her to call and, of course, she did and carried out her threat ... which you have to see. The woman started yelling, and used a high-pitched, hurried tone -- trying to make it sound like she was in imminent danger.

It worked. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... NYPD responded around 8 AM, but when they arrived both parties had left, so no tickets, no arrests. We're told the initial call dispatch put out to officers was for a "possible assault."

Well, the cops didn't get her, but with the video getting around on social media ... the woman is, deservedly, getting dragged online. Several people believe they've ID'd her and her dog. BTW, the woman was also dragging/choking her poor dog during her phony-baloney rant to cops.

Aside from the harmful, blatant lie about a fellow citizen ... she also wasted NYPD resources at a time when the city is still recovering from being the coronavirus epicenter.

Like we said ... disgusting.

A huge snake clamped onto a woman's hand, and then tried to put a death grip on her arm and leg in a matter of seconds ... and the whole battle is on video.

Check out this gnarly clip showing a woman -- who seems familiar with the python -- get attacked as soon as she lets it out of its tank. The snake bites down on her hand and then starts to curl itself around her entire arm.

At first, she tries to keep her cool and almost acts as if she's gonna handle the sitch on her own -- but things quickly escalated as the python wrapped itself even tighter, which prompted her to ask for help. Too little, too late it would seem.

Just a few seconds later, the snake latched onto her leg and started to coil even more ... which sent the woman into panic mode -- not to mention the guy who's trying to get it the hell off of her. Amid the chaos, the video finally cuts out.

It's unclear where or when exactly this happened, or what happened after this whole mishap -- but on its face, the message seems clear ... do NOT play with pythons!!!

As Indiana Jones once said ... anything but snakes 😬

A wet market in New York City has taken its internal filth and left it out for the masses -- with an unattended dumpster full of chicken parts that was literally seeping blood into the NYC sewer system.

The gross-out spectacle was filmed out near Queens recently by the animal rights nonprofit, NYCLASS, and it's just the latest example of our domestic one-stop-shop slaughterhouses/live animal factories that are all around us ... and apparently have been forever. This particular wet market might just take the cake, though, as far unsanitary conditions ... 'cause this footage is gnarly.

You see a dumpster bin that's absolutely packed to the gills with trash bags, which are probably full of cut-up animal parts ... especially chickens -- one of which you can see popping out toward the top with its legs and feathers exposed ... and flies hovering above.

Not only that, but take note of the blood coming down from the dumpster and flowing down the street into the sewer drains like a mini river. We're told this dumpster belongs to the wet market in question, and that the place was closed when this was filmed.

What does that mean, exactly? It means the dumpster has been left out there and possibly contaminating its surroundings for a good minute now -- and nothing's been done about it.

It goes without saying, this is a massive public health risk.

We've seen several of these wet market operations all over the country, especially there in NYC -- where a few local legislators are trying to get them shut down with a new bill that was recently introduced. If it passes, these unsanitary live animal shops disappear.

While the issue is being taken up in the Big Apple, you gotta wonder why it's not being discussed on a national level yet? This is, supposedly, how coronavirus got started, right? For whatever reason, most politicians don't want to touch this. So, why is that?