You Might Want to Rethink

As a COVID-19 vaccine looms, Uncle Sam wants to make sure you don't throw your money away on a bogus miracle cure -- and, as it turns out, there's a lot already out there.

It's inevitable ... criminals will peddle fake vaccines online and elsewhere. When money can be made and people are desperate, the combination is perfect for crooks.

The Food and Drug Administration has gotten ahead of snake oil salesmen who've been trying to peddle fake coronavirus-related products in recent months -- even going so far as to throw images of these junk items onto Flickr, so you can see them up close.

The FDA also says it's already issued warning letters to the vendors associated with these fraudulent medicines while keeping a watchful eye out for more, adding ... "The FDA is exercising its authority to protect consumers from firms selling unapproved products and making false or misleading claims, including, by pursuing warning letters, seizures, injunctions or criminal prosecutions against products and firms or individuals that violate the law."

As for the items themselves, boy some are ridiculous ... corn and cheese, making ya wonder how anyone could be so stupid as to buy them. Thing is ... people do.

Here's a brief list of some of the goofiest ones that caught our eye, and which the FDA flagged as phony.

-- Virus Bioshield, from a firm called "Rats Army." It's an oil-like substance, with claims it's full of vitamins, antioxidants and helpful minerals, and which "Exhibits antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties," "Suppresses tumor growth," "Increases vaccine effectiveness," "Protects against oxidative damage," among other things.

-- Biomagnetism Magnetic Therapy DIY Kits: FDA says this is a fraudulent product claiming to be able to prevent, treat, mitigate, diagnose or cure COVID-19. Not so!!!

-- StayWell Copper: Literally a little metal sheet that the FDA says is also claiming to be able to rid oneself of the 'rona, but they busted these guys back in May.

-- COVID-19 Cough Syrup: This one might be the silliest of all. It's a honey bear bottle emptied out and filled with some dark liquid gunk, with a crappy label slapped on the cap that reads, "COVID-19." If we must say it ... DO. NOT. BUY. THIS.

An L.A. restaurant owner is calling out Mayor Garcetti and Gov. Newsom for allowing film sets to continue operating, while once again closing down outdoor dining ... but her comparison might be apples to oranges as far as containing the virus.

This is restaurateur Angela Marsden, and she posted a video showing  a movie production in full swing -- with outdoor tables and tents set up right next door to her now-shuttered eatery, Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill, in Sherman Oaks.

In the video, Marsden says she can't fathom why her restaurant was forced to shut down (again) -- even after she had successfully ran outdoor dining for months behind her building -- but film sets like this, which look virtually identical in set-up dining-wise, can soldier on.

The new rule -- restaurants close on-the-spot dining, while music/video production can keep rolling -- is one of many that have left Angelenos scratching their head as Mayor Garcetti has instituted a new stay-at-home order in the City, which just got expanded to all of SoCal.

In a section about activities and businesses allowed to keep operating, production in L.A. can continue -- which explains the Sherman Oaks set -- but it says clearly ... they gotta follow COVID protocols as outlined by the County.

That's where Marsden might be mistaken in her juxtaposition. Fact is ... there's a ton of rules that production companies must abide by in order to shoot, including regular testing, plus a bunch of other mandates ... mask-wearing, temp checks, social distancing, sanitized sets, etc.

The big difference is the testing, and who's allowed in or out. A movie or TV shoot can have an awful lot of people on hand (just like a restaurant) at any given time, but the dinstinction is that the set -- while it's shooting -- is treated almost like a bubble, whereas a restaurant is revolving door of strangers, who aren't required to get tested to partake.

Cover your eyes if you hate seeing dogs get hurt, because this pit bull nearly had its head gnawed off by a bear before its owner courageously jumped in to save him.

Meet Buddy -- a rescue dog -- who was viciously attacked in his own backyard by a 350-lb bear the day before Thanksgiving in the Northern California city of Grass Valley, just outside the Tahoe National Forest, and not too far from Sacramento.

According to Buddy's owner, Kaleb Bentham, he heard commotion outside that Wednesday and some growling. When he went out to check, he says he saw a massive bear dragging Buddy away by the head, with its jaws clamped down tight and Buddy squirming.

Without hesitation, Bentham says he charged the beast and actually tackled it to the ground -- going on to start wailing on its head, and hitting it in the eye ... in hopes of forcing it to loosen its grip on Buddy. Miraculously, the bold move worked ... and the bear let go.

Not only that, but it sounds like Kaleb was able to scare the animal off without suffering any harm himself. He then had to rush a seriously injured Buddy to an ER vet clinic -- as you can see ... the doggo was in incredibly bad shape, on the verge of death even.

Buddy's face was damn near skinned, his ears were torn off, his mouth had been bitten through and so had his eyes. Bentham stood by as the pooch went into surgery -- a life-saving procedure that saw Buddy receive multiple staples, stitches and tubes.

While it might look like Buddy was out for the count, the dog has made an incredible recovery since then ... with a majority of his face starting to scab, as Bentham continues to care for him. He detailed the pup's full injuries to CBS 13 in Sacramento.

Buddy's got a cone on his head, but it sounds like he's gonna be okay.

Here's the kicker ... Bentham says he's actually seen the bear roaming his yard a few different times since the attack. In his eyes, he sees it as a wild animal having had its meal literally ripped out of its mouth, and that it keeps coming back to settle the score.

Matthew McConaughey is not into extremes, at least not in politics ... and that's why he's saying the intolerance and condescension has got to stop, and he has a solution.

M.C. jumped on Russell Brand's podcast, 'Under the Skin,' and they were talkin' politics ... both here in the States and across the pond. Russell sees a bunch of similarities as far as vitriol for "the other side."

That's what got Matt going ... suggesting the trick is to meet in the middle, which sounds impossible, but hear him out.

For starters, he wants to find a way to measure the science behind each party's POVs and their values, like actually measuring it. It's somewhat difficult to understand exactly what he means, but he seems to be talking about quantifying how liberal views/policies and their conservative counterparts have benefited the country as a whole over time.

After that, Matt says each side will have to acknowledge that their fellow Americans across the aisle have value, and that even though they might not agree with everything they believe ... that their principles and viewpoints are worth something in and of themselves.

Matthew goes off on Twitter's blue checkmarks and other so-called liberal elites on the coasts of this country, saying that they are intolerant toward the right  -- but just the same, he's got criticism for the right as well.

Amazon's at it again ... peddling a product with a blatantly racist description that somehow slipped through the cracks -- this time taking aim at a doll's braided hair.

Check out this children's doll that's being sold on Amazon's digital marketplace right now -- it's a 14-inch figurine meant to depict a Black little girl with braids. However, the way the description points that out is more than just eyebrow-raising, to say the least.

It reads, "Doli Yearning 14-inch Adorable Black Doll with Casual Red Skirt and Colored Dirty Braid Fashion Gorgeous Doll for Ages 3+ Interactive Playtime BPA Free Safety Product Well-Designed Collectable Box." In case you missed that ... "colored dirty braid fashion."

What the hell does that mean, you may ask? Welp, apparently this company -- Doli Yearning -- thinks braided hair is dirty, and they feel the need to qualify it as "colored." BTW ... Doli Yearning is a Chinese company -- looks like they've been on Amazon less than a year.

Doli Yearning's also got other dolls just like this one -- except several of the others depict white girls, and there's no mention of their skin color or their hair at all. Take, for instance, this doll that's got blonde hair rolled up in buns.

The description here reads ... "Doli Yearning 14-inch Adorable Doll with Denim Suit and Colored Headbands Fashion Gorgeous Doll for Ages 3+ Interactive Playtime BPA Free Safety Product Well-Designed Collectable Box." Same deal for their other "white" dolls.

So what do we make of all this??? It's the same issue we've seen time and again with Amazon and their filtering process for product descriptions -- or a lack thereof. There just doesn't seem to be great oversight on this.

Granted, Amazon partners with virtually millions of merchandisers and retailers, and might argue they can't comb through every single one to weed out these awful descriptions -- but the counterpoint to that is ... Jeff Bezos is insanely rich, and he absolutely can.

Let's get it together, yeah?

Nothing like a Christmas tree to get the office in the spirit, but an Alabama Sheriff's Office is decorating its tree with mug shots ... and lots of people aren't merry about it.

The Mobile County Sheriff's Office has hung what it calls "Thugshots" -- mug shots of all the people it arrested this past year. The office posted a photo Thursday of the tree -- which also appears to have jail-issued sandals as the star.

The FB post starts with "HAPPY THUG THURSDAY MOBILE," adding ... "We have decorated our Tree with THUGSHOTS to show how many Thugs we have taken off the streets of Mobile this year!"

Right off the bat, the liberal use of the word "thug" rubbed some people the wrong way.

The post goes on to offer a Christmas special for "ALL MOBILE COUNTY THUGS" ... they can come to the property room, pick out some stolen goods ... then get hauled off to jail. They also joked about free COVID tests for all prisoners, along with a "custom fitting" for a holiday jumpsuit.

Of course, in a year in which police brutality has been a lightning rod issue and the relationship between cops and citizens is more strained than ever ... critics called the Sheriff's post insensitive, unprofessional and as one person put it, "pretty trashy."

BTW -- the controversial post comes about a year after 2 cops in the same county posted a separate Christmas-themed photo of a "homeless quilt" made out of panhandler signs.

Noah Cyrus is taking back a racist remark she fired off, presumably at Candace Owens, when she stepped in the middle of her feud with Harry Styles.

Miley's little sis threw her support behind Styles after his Vogue spread last month -- wearing a dress -- prompted Owens to verbally attack Harry for not being "manly."

Problem is, Noah's choice of words were racially charged -- her IG story post said Styles wears a dress "better than any of u nappy ass heauxz."

If you didn't know, Owens is Black ... something Noah certainly knew, so it's clear she needs a history lesson about the racist undertones of the word "nappy." It sounds like someone gave it to her, because she got a ton of backlash on social media ... and is now apologizing.

She says, "I am mortified that I used a term without knowing the context and history, but I know now and I am horrified and truly sorry. I will never use it again. Thank you for educating me."

Lesson learned ... however, it's not like Harry needed the help, anyway.

He'd already responded to Owens' dig, by sharing a new photo of himself in a powder blue suit eating a banana, captioning it with Candace's own words ... "Bring back manly men."

Owens claimed Styles' clapback is proof she inspires global conversation, tweeting ... "When people try to tell me I don’t have influence, and then [Styles] dedicates an entire post to my tweet."

Cris Collinsworth says he's "sick" that a comment he made about female NFL fans on-air Wednesday offended so many ... and now, the long-time announcer is apologizing.

During the Steelers vs. Ravens game, Collinsworth was praising Pittsburgh fans ... when he made a remark about some women he had run into during the lead-up to the game.

"They had really specific questions about the game," Collinsworth said of the women. "And I'm like, 'Wow.' You're just blown away about how strong the fans are here in this town."

The comment was immediately met with backlash ... as many perceived it to be sexist -- with Collinsworth implying he was surprised that females had intricate questions about football.

Collinsworth clearly saw the criticism, because not long after the game ended ... he issued a lengthy apology.

"Today on our broadcast I made reference to a couple of women that I met in Pittsburgh who so impressed me with their football knowledge that I wanted to tell their story on the air," Cris said. "I know the way I phrased it insulted many. I'm so sorry."

"What I intended as a compliment to the fans of Pittsburgh, became an insult. I'm sick about insulting any fan, but especially female fans and journalists."

Cris added, "I know first hand how much harder they have to work than any of us in this industry. I was wrong and I deeply apologize."

The 61-year-old -- who played wide receiver in the NFL in the 1980s -- has been announcing and analyzing NFL games for several networks for decades.

Pet ownership in Australia is freakin' wild -- snakes and other scary critters will try to eat your dog whole ... like this one almost did.

Check out this scary footage of a carpet python latching on to a 9-week-old puppy named Jasper, trying to squeeze the life out of the pup in a backyard near Brisbane.

It happens in a matter of seconds -- Jasper's casually sniffing around when the python strikes from out of a bush. Jasper tries to squirm away, but the snake's grasp is secure.

Thankfully, the owners realized what was happening and hurried out to free their baby canine from the serpent, but it wasn't easy. You see them smack it in hopes of forcing the snake to let go, and even lift it up and swing it around while it's still got a grip on Jasper.

The owner eventually manages to toss the python aside, and we're here to tell you this story has a happy ending ... for both animals. Jasper ended up being okay -- aside from a bite in his ear, which his owners treated, he's back to his usual self.

A few dozen swingers are battling an outbreak ... of COVID-19 after couples passed around the virus, along with their partners, at a New Orleans convention.

The 5-day Naughty in N'awlins romp last month turned into a super spreader event, with at least 41 swingers testing positive for the coronavirus ... according to one of the organizers.

Naughty Events honcho Bob Hannaford says the swingers convention did everything it could to try and stay COVID safe -- touchless check-ins, temperature checks, extra sanitizing, wristbands denoting who previously tested negative or had antibodies. It wasn't enough to stop the positive tests in the aftermath of all the raunchy fun.

The first positive test came back the day after the swingers convention ended and 40 more followed. Out of the 300 swingers who attended, 41 have tested positive. That's a positivity rate above 13 percent.

While at least one swinger was hospitalized, the majority of the positive cases showed minor symptoms or were asymptomatic. The organizer's having second thoughts about the whole event ... saying he wouldn't swing there again, in hindsight.

Now you see it, now you don't ... and now you do again, because a new monolith is upon us -- in Europe -- right after one vanished into thin air here in the States.

Another metallic structure was spotted late last week in Romania ... standing tall on a hill called Boatca Doamnei, just outside the city of Piatra Neamt. This new monolith looks almost exactly like the one found out in the middle of nowhere in Utah last week ... which disappeared just as mysteriously as it arrived.

This one also appears to be made of metal -- the main difference here is that it's got a bunch of squiggles on the back, and it's sorta slanted up top.

Just like their Utah counterparts, Romanian officials don't know how the monolith got there ... or who dug it into the ground.

Authorities say it's actually on private property that covers an archeological site, which requires official permission before anything can go up there. Unclear if/when they'll remove it.

Now, this could just be another prankster doing amateur art installation ... OR, it could be an alien invasion on the cusp of breaking out -- a la, "2001: A Space Odyssey."

We're all voting for art installation, right?

Here's Exhibit A of lockdown fatigue meeting plain old bigotry -- and the end result is, you guessed it ... a hate-spewing "Karen."

This woman, not wearing a mask, went on a homophobic rant while protesting outside the home of L.A. County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. The video starts with the woman firing off a homophobic slur at the person recording her. She added Nazi and brainwashing accusations too ... just for good measure.

There were about 50 people marching Sunday, most of whom seemed to merely be protesting the economic impact of California's latest round of coronavirus restrictions -- but this woman's hate speech made her stand out from the crowd. In the worst way possible.

Believe it or not, the video got even worse when the woman made an outlandish accusation about abortions. Also worth noting is her wardrobe choice for the occasion.

Unfortunately, she comes off like a big ball of 2020.

Mike Tyson almost got into a second fight after stepping into the ring with Roy Jones Jr. -- because some wacko swung on him trying to prove something ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... Mike was leaving Staples Center Saturday night after his bout with Roy -- which was called as a draw -- and on the way out, he came across a small group of fans looking for autographs.

When he walked over to do some signing, we're told a man in the crowd yelled out to Mike ... asking why he wouldn't let the guy fight him. Our sources say Mike jokingly responded, joking with the dude that it probably wouldn't end well for him.

Next thing you know, we're told the dude swung at Mike ... and then proceeded to reach into his waistband, as if trying to pull out a weapon. Our sources say Mike's team jumped in right away before things got ugly.

We're told the guy took off -- and our sources also say some folks on Mike's team recognized him from a previous signing, where they say he also tried starting trouble.

Law enforcement sources tell us cops got a call about a possible battery involving Mike Tyson around 11 PM PT (well after Mike tussled with Roy) ... but when they responded to the scene, all parties had left and no report was taken.

TV is something else in Russia, where they're running bits with actors dressed in blackface portraying Barack Obama.

The skit aired as part of a satirical show on Russia's NTV channel ... and it's roughly 90 seconds of pure racism. The actor playing Obama is in blackface, wearing a red bandana and a bunch of bling, plus black gloves and an oversized t-shirt.

It's pretty much stereotype bingo.

The skit's entirely in Russian, but 3 English words come across clearly -- Black Lives Matter. As for what they said about it ... the host begins: "We now go live to the dark side of America's history, Barack Obama."

After the Obama character's BLM chant, the host says ... "Can you please stop shouting? We don't have racism. You could be taken for a gypsy."

There's also a reference to Obama's recently released memoir, with the blackface actor calling the book an achievement because "none of my relatives that came before me could write."

Tekashi 6ix9ine had deep concerns about COVID when he was in prison, which is why he got out early ... but those concerns have evaporated in a big way, 'cause dude hit a packed strip club ... and didn't seem too concerned anymore about catching the 'rona.

The New York rapper celebrated his girlfriend Jade's birthday Sunday by walking into a gentleman's club with two human-size sacks full of cash ... which he and the crew dragged over to a VIP section and started unloading singles on dancers.

Based on what we can see ... it looks like they might've rolled in there with upwards of $200k on hand -- at least that's what Jade's claiming.

Speaking of her, 69's GF documented much of their good time on IG -- where she was seen wearing a body-hugging, green bodysuit ... while Tekashi was decked out in all black with a ton of bling and a new mustache. One thing they weren't seen wearing at all ... face masks. Nobody in the video seems to be rockin' one.

We should note that it looks like they were somewhere in Florida here -- just the night prior, there were reports that 6ix9ine and co. had been spotted in Miami.

It's perfectly legal there to be up in the club right now -- even without face coverings, although it'd be wise to wear one. That said ... it's funny how Tekashi's urgent fears of catching COVID-19 just earlier this year have vanished.

You'll recall ... part of the reason why Tekashi was even allowed to finish his sentence from home was because he cited asthma and other underlying conditions he claimed made him susceptible to contracting the disease from inside prison walls -- and a judge believed it and let him out early.

One of the most famous Santa impersonators says COVID-19 has run lots of his jolly-bearded pals back to the North Pole ... 'cause they couldn't make the virtual pivot.

TMZ spoke to Santa-for-hire Ed Taylor -- founder of the Worldwide Santa Claus Network, with more than 3,000 members -- and he described for us just how he and his red-suited comrades have had to make do this COVID-riddled year.

Lots of folks are hesitant to bring their kids to malls for some face time with Santy -- despite plexiglass ideas we've seen rolled out -- while many others still don't have the option of going to a mall at all ... 'cause they ain't open.

Ed gets into all of that with us -- detailing how difficult it's been -- but he also talks about how Santas-for-hire have had to get creative just to get by ... meaning personal Zoom-like bookings through sites like Jingle Ring and others.

Fortunately for Ed, he was able to hop on the technology train early and adjust well enough in time. BUT, not every Saint Nick was able to catch that sleigh ride this year ... Ed says a lot of 'em couldn't hang (perhaps because of age, or 'cause their elf IT department sucked) and decided to skip Xmas 2020 entirely 😢.