You Might Want to Rethink

Amid all the chaos in Australia over renewed COVID lockdowns, a damning report claims a local government killed a bunch of rescue dogs ... to keep the volunteers from going out.

The allegation stems from a Sydney Morning Herald story published Sunday, which cites a watchdog org that keeps tabs on the Bourke Shire Council ... which sits in a rural area in New South Wales. The shelter, which isn't named, apparently lies in the town of Cobar.

Per the outlet, the watchdog claims it'd been informed of the local council's decision to recently gun down a handful of rescue pups at a nearby pound -- this as a result of what they say is the government's twisted interpretation of Australia's newly imposed restrictions.

The idea behind this alleged onslaught ... keep the volunteers from leaving their home and potentially interacting/spreading the virus. To that end, apparently, they offed the pooches.

The watchdog also says they're investigating whether any laws were broken by the command -- namely, whether any companion animal or cruelty violations were at play. The cruelty one certainly seems like a viable claim ... 'cause this might've been totally unnecessary.

SMH says an anonymous source directly familiar with the shelter's staff/protocol claims they already had COVID measures in place to handle the dogs ... adding one was a new mom.

The drastic move speaks to just how crazy things are down under at the moment -- the government is enforcing strict rules for its residents ... which has led to a lot of unrest, protests and clashes with police -- especially this weekend, where people are out in force.

The issue has gotten so heated that people are finding creative ways to push back -- including reports of big rig truck drivers refusing to deliver goods en masse and slow down the economy. Some people have even gone the Paul Revere route to rally the citizenry.

It's a complicated matter. Like we said ... cases are through the roof there and the government appears to be doing what it thinks is best for its people. But, they're clearly not all down with the method -- and as it relates to the dogs that were allegedly killed ... it's BS.

A husband was not down with his wife allegedly hectoring a Black couple -- berating her in front of them ... but there may be more to the story here than meets the eye, in a bad way.

Check out this wild confrontation that was apparently shot a couple months ago at a gas station somewhere, at which an apparent husband and wife got into a shouting match/scuffle on camera ... all in front of a Black man and woman who were filming.

It's unclear what exactly led up to this ... but you can see the hubby scolding his gal loudly for what sounds like some trouble she may have been giving the bystanders, seemingly over race. It gets pretty heated here -- the guy demands she get in the car and leave them alone.

The woman is defiant ... refusing to cooperate, and at one point -- calling the Black couple drug dealers. To that, the man asks ... why, 'cause they drive a Buick??? It's crazy.

Now, it appears there was a battle going on between these 2 even before whatever run-in the woman might've had with the couple ... because there's the first part to this encounter, and it's pretty ugly. The man and woman are seen physically fighting, and come to blows.

Drake is stirring the pot again on his rap beef with Kanye West -- taking a new shot at the guy in a song he just dropped with Trippie Redd ... and it might be the ultimate insult.

The rapper is featured on TR's new track, "Betrayal," and at one point in Drizzy's verse, he brings up Mr. West by name ... acknowledging that they are, indeed, still apparently beefing -- while also going so far as to call Kanye "burnt out" ... and noting it's irrelevant to him.

Here's how the Kanye bar goes ... "All these fools I'm beefin' that I barely know // Forty-five, forty-four (Burned out), let it go // Ye ain't changin' s*** for me, it's set in stone." He adds ... "Rollin' stones, heavy stones (PinkGrillz) // Precious stone, let me make my presence known."

The "Ye" reference could possibly be interpreted as "they" or "you" -- but based on Drake touching Kanye's exact age (44) ... it seems clear he meant the former with some clever word play. The folks over at Genius heard it too ... they wrote out the lyric as "Ye."

Now, for some analysis -- as to why Drake is randomly bringing up Kanye again after years have passed since they beefed, with Pusha T in the mix, is anyone's guess at this point.

However, some people have a theory on these old foes -- there's been speculation of late that Kanye is, perhaps, trying to set up his "Donda" release so that it lines up with Drake's "Certified Lover Boy" album ... which he's on record as saying would be out by the end of summer at the latest. That's just a few weeks away ... and neither project has dropped.

There's no evidence to prove it one way or another ... but the fact that Kanye continues to delay the release date -- with seemingly no end in sight -- is curious in this context. That, coupled with the fact that Drake's going after him anew, is even more eyebrow-raising.

In any case, we're always here for some new beef. And, if it means more music from these two in the process ... we'll take it and then some. Ball's in your court, Ye (we think).

Amerie was jokingly compared to a Kardashian sister -- and despite the obvious playful intent ... the internet is NOT playing when it comes to this side-by-side.

A tweet went viral Saturday, with a user posting Amerie's 2005 music video for her hit single "1 Thing," which was featured on the "Hitch" soundtrack back in the day. His caption is what set all the outrage off, writing ... "Kourtney Kardashian had the block hot with this hit."

Pretty innocent, right??? Eh, apparently not ... folks were jumping down this dude's throat in fierce defense of Amerie, with a lot of people echoing the same sentiment ... namely, don't do her like that. And, by that, they seem to mean ... don't compare her to a Kardashian.

Of course, you can see what the guy was going for -- because, yes, in this specific video (and perhaps more generally) mid-2000s Amerie does, in fact, bear a passing resemblance to Kourt, especially in some of these shots. You might even call them doppelgangers. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Unclear what all the online hostility is toward the juxtaposition ... but a lot of Twitter users seem to have found this "disrespectful." There may be a race element at play -- Amerie is Black/Korean, while Kourtney is white/Armenian. Plus, the Kardashians have a history of being accused of cultural appropriation -- Black culture, specifically -- so that might be a factor.

And yet, in spite of all the people who took this a little too seriously ... some are taking it in stride and running with the joke -- noting the two ladies have some striking similarities (especially when compared to young Kourtney). So, a mixed bag of reactions, it seems.

At any rate, the one thing people appear to agree on is this ... Amerie was a major trendsetter in her day, and apparently hasn't gotten the attention/notoriety many believe she's due.

She's got four studio albums out, and despite reports in the early 2010s that she was working on a 5th, it never seems to have come to fruition -- and Amerie kinda fell off the music scene after that.

That's not to say she's not doing anything productive these days. Amerie has quite a popular book club that she's started -- this after publishing a NYT bestseller herself -- and she's plugging along with that pretty nicely ... plus, dealing with family life and her kids.

OnlyFans banning hardcore content will bite 'em in the ass, 'cause it's a tell-tale sign of selling out ... so says a guy whose porn star fiancee cleaned up there once upon a time.

We got "No Jumper" podcaster/host Adam22 Friday in L.A. and asked for his thoughts on OF nixing explicit material going forward ... something his baby mama, Lena the Plug, was posting on her own page in recent months -- and who often features Adam in her shoots.

Adam says it's a shame OnlyFans is getting rid of their best feature ... he seems to think it might be the end of the platform as it once was -- while also speculating that another competitor can swoop in right now and pick up all the creators who might jump ship.

The dude also tells us it's a mainstream move to bow to their corporate partners ... calling it exploitative to have built a rep on sex content, but then turn it off on a dime when they feel pressure from up high.

He calls it soaking in the clout, only to pull the rug out from under-sex workers ... which he considers screwed up, to say the least. Bottom line -- Adam thinks OF will become just like any other premium content platform now ... like Patreon or any number of sites like it. And, he suggests that he and Lena (plus thousands of others) might take their business elsewhere.

Now, we should make a point of clarification -- because while straight banging won't be allowed on OF anymore ... it seems people can still get naked on there if they so please.

Mississippi health officials seem to be dumbfounded they have to say this, but they're doing it regardless -- because people are dumb ... ingesting a livestock drug to battle COVID.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs had to say as much this week during a press call, where he and others were forced to address the soaring number of people there who are apparently ingesting ivermectin at an alarming rate ... all in an effort to ward off the virus.

Local reports say that the majority of poison control calls in Mississippi lately -- a whopping 70%, no less -- are related to folks calling for advice after having taken ivermectin as some sort of COVID remedy. Supposedly, these are people looking for alternatives to the vaccine.

BTW, this drug is usually for livestock (like cows/horses) ... and it's made to fight off parasites that grow in their gut, like worms and whatnot. There have been instances where humans have also been prescribed ivermectin for similar purposes, but in way smaller doses.

As Dr. Dobbs notes in his remarks, taking ivermectin straight out of a box you might find at an animal feed or farm supply store can be VERY toxic and even kill you ... so, it goes without saying, that he doesn't recommend it -- and instead, suggests people just vaxx up.

Speaking of these stores, a photo was circulating this week purportedly showing a shop in Mississippi hawking ivermectin ... and apparently encouraging customers to stock up. It's unclear how exactly this quack treatment started making the rounds, but it looks like many are well aware of it, and a portion of them are even giving it a go with bad results.

Even the FDA had to step in and say something about this ... they tweeted out a direct warning against taking ivermectin, wisely noting that we humans are not cows or horses.

The Taliban is rubbing America's nose in the mess left behind in Afghanistan -- and they're doing so with a massive troll move ... recreating an iconic war photo, for their own purposes.

A Taliban military unit that calls themselves the Badri 313 Battalion put out a ton of propaganda footage this week -- showing a bunch of these guys rocking what appears to be American uniforms and gear left behind in the chaos from the past few weeks.

They're out there patrolling the streets in fatigues that are eerily similar to what U.S. soldiers have worn in the area ... only now, the Taliban seems to have gotten ahold of it. The B313B boys also have rifles in hand, and they're also using jeeps that seem to be American too.

That's not the worst of it though -- in what appears to be a total F-U to the USA, the battalion also posted a photo of them raising a Taliban flag ... in the same style as the shot of American troops raising the U.S. flag atop Mt. Suribachi in Iwo Jima during WWII.

There doesn't seem to be a caption attached, but the message couldn't be more clear ... they see this as them claiming victory in the region, which is exactly what this pic has gone on to represent in our history. It's a slap in the face, really ... an audacious one at that.

BTW, what you're seeing here as far as artillery and weaponry and whatnot being used by the Taliban is just a taste of what's said to be part of a total estimate of about $28 billion worth of gear we'd sent to Afghan army forces dating back to the early 2000s.

Bill Maher took a subject that, on the surface, doesn't seem debatable, and he then tore it apart ... Apple announcing it would scan customers' phones for child porn.

The "Real Time" host was incredulous ... calling it a shocking breach of privacy. Mind you, he was not pro child porn, but he said there's a much bigger issue. A phone, he argued, is no different than a wallet or a purse. No one would argue those items are fair game for others to peruse, so what's the different between a wallet and a phone?

He did get something wrong ... he called it a "blatant Constitutional breach" and a violation of the 4th Amendment's guarantee against unreasonable searches and seizures. Fact is ... that only applies to government intrusions -- not private companies. Nevertheless, we get the point.

Bill then went on to make a larger point ... the damage smart phones do to our society. As he says, "They turn people into assholes."

Destiny's Child fans shouldn't lose their breath just yet over rumors the group's getting back together ... because their manager says there's nothing in the works.

Mathew Knowles -- Beyonce's father who's still DC's official manager -- tells TMZ ... as of right now, there are zero plans for the iconic group to reunite, make an album, tour or do anything of the sort.

Knowles says the recent social media updates to Destiny's Child's official accounts that sparked the speculation were just a routine revamping by the record label. If you missed it ... the group's header images were changed, which was enough to get fans going.

We're told Mathew never requested the change -- it was just a random, normal social media-type update.

Adding further fuel to the fire, however, is the fact Beyonce recently said in an interview that new music's coming ... but didn't specify if it would be solo, or with her old groupmates, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

Based on what her Dad tells us it's likely solo, but he adds that the fan response to the Destiny's Child buzz shows there's a huge demand for them to make a comeback ... which he says is "great" and something they will take into account for the future.

President Biden did right by getting the U.S. out of Afghanistan but Rep. Barbara Lee -- who was against the war from the get-go -- says there was one HUGE problem ... the execution sucked.

The Congresswoman from Oakland joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and praised 46 for getting U.S. troops out of Afghanistan because, in her words, there was "no military solution." She said adding 10,000 troops would have exacerbated the situation because it would have inevitably created another 20 futile years of military operations in the war-torn region.

That said ... Lee didn't let Biden off the hook. She took him and the administration to task over the execution. She called it "horrible" ... adding the U.S. has a moral obligation to make sure Americans, allies and journalists alike have a safe passage out of Afghanistan.

Biden told George Stephanopoulos he had no regrets over the U.S.'s chaotic exit from Afghanistan, because he said they didn't make any mistakes. Lee begs to differ ... and she's calling on U.S. troops to stick around until all appropriate personnel who want to get out ... do get out.

Biden was grilled on whether U.S. troops might stay beyond the August 31 deadline. The prez initially hedged saying it depended on the situation ... but finally relented and said he may keep troops there past the deadline until all Americans are out. He did not say the same for the Afghan allies who are at grave risk.

Lee -- the star of a documentary, 'Speaking Truth to Power,' dropping Friday -- says she doesn't feel vindicated 20 years after opposing the war on Afghanistan. She made the argument on the House floor just 3 days after the September 11 attacks ... and was the lone House member to cast a "no" vote authorizing then-President George W. Bush's actions.

If you're thinking of freaking out on a plane, hope you're flush with cash, because freak-outs don't come cheap. Some off-the-rails passengers have been fined and the total is now more than a million bucks.

The FAA just hit a milestone (a bad one) in the total amount of penalties they've dished out thus far in 2021 ... there have been 3,889 reports of unruly behavior this year, and many of these ridiculous passengers have been socked with huge fines.

Most of the in-flight eruptions involve disputes over mask-wearing. There are also a bunch of alcohol-related disturbances. For example ...

-- A JetBlue passenger was fined $45,000 for throwing objects, including his carry-on at other passengers, lying on the aisle floor, and then grabbing a flight attendant by the ankles and putting his head up her skirt.

-- A Frontier Airlines passenger was socked with a $30,000 fine after trying to gain entry to the cockpit by assaulting 2 flight attendants, threatening to kill one of them, and demanding they open the door.

-- A JetBlue passenger was fined $17,530 for failing to comply with the mask mandate, vaping on the plane and drinking alcohol not served by the airline.

-- An Allegiant Airlines passenger was fined $10,500 for refusing to wear a face mask and then urinating on the bathroom floor, which leaked into the galley.

Turns out a lot of these passengers got dinged for bringing alcohol on board -- which is a no-no -- and then getting belligerent.

The fines we were provided are all hefty -- starting at $7,500. On top of that, some passengers have been charged with crimes.

It's gotten so bad, flight attendants are now duct-taping out-of-control passengers to their seats.

New "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards is apologizing for some insensitive remarks he made about women on his old podcast ... he says it's "a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment."

Here's the deal ... Mike used to host a podcast from 2013 to 2014 when he was the executive producer at "The Price Is Right" and he's now under fire for referring to his female co-host as a "booth ho" and "booth slut," among other degrading remarks aimed at women.

The podcast, called "The Randumb Show," has already been scrubbed from the Internet after The Ringer reported on Mike's derogatory comments, which also include him asking his female co-host and his assistant if they had ever taken "booby pictures," during a segment about leaked celebrity nudes.

According to The Ringer, Mike also went on the podcast and said women "dress like a hooker" for Halloween, said a former employee who took up baking would get "giant" and said one-piece swimsuits make some women "look really frumpy and overweight."

There's a lot more comments of the same ilk, according to The Ringer, but these are the lowlights.

Mike's apologizing in a statement, via Sony, telling us ... "It is humbling to confront a terribly embarrassing moment of misjudgment, thoughtlessness, and insensitivity from nearly a decade ago. Looking back now, there is no excuse, of course, for the comments I made on this podcast and I am deeply sorry."

He adds ... "The podcast was intended to be a series of irreverent conversations between longtime friends who had a history of joking around. Even with the passage of time, it’s more than clear that my attempts to be funny and provocative were not acceptable, and I have removed the episodes."

As you know ... Mike was just announced as the new day-to-day host of "Jeopardy!" and lots of folks aren't happy. He's also denied allegations of discriminating against pregnant women at his past stops.

Garth Brooks is pressing pause on the remaining stops on his stadium tour ... and he says it's because of the resurgence in COVID-19 cases across the country.

The country music star announced Wednesday he's scrapping 5 upcoming stadium shows at football stadiums in Baltimore, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Nashville and Foxborough, Mass. ... and he says he was wrong about COVID being done.

Garth says ... "In July, I sincerely thought the pandemic was falling behind us. Now, watching this new wave, I realize we are still in the fight and I must do my part."

It's an about-face for Garth ... as we reported, just last month he played in front of a packed house of 68,000 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Ticketmaster says it will refund all tickets and Garth says he's hopeful the shows can be rescheduled "when this wave seems to be behind us."

Garth and his band are vaccinated, as are his tour crew, but he previously said he would not require concertgoers to be vaccinated or show proof of a negative COVID-19 test. The stadium shows were expected to follow local COVID protocols.

Ric Flair says he is NOT a train ridin', oral sex givin' son of a gun ... telling TMZ Sports the viral photo making rounds has to be some other guy -- 'cause it ain't him!!

Here's how we got here: A pic began trending on Twitter on Wednesday ... which appears to show a man with light, slicked-back hair ... *clears throat* pleasuring a woman.

People were quick to say the guy in the photo was 72-year-old Flair ... with the jokes coming in left and right.

Welp, we made some phone calls ... and Ric himself tells us the guy in the pic is NOT him ... and for what it's worth, he hasn't been on a train in a while.

We wanted to show the photo ... but Harvey wouldn't let us. So, go search on Twitter.

The Nature Boy has made headlines recently for REAL things that actually happened -- the wrestling legend has parted ways with WWE after a lengthy relationship.

Flair has kept busy in his time since ... but not in *that* way.

Detroit Tigers analyst Jack Morris apologized on-air Tuesday night ... after he used an offensive accent before an at-bat by Angels star Shohei Ohtani.

Just before the L.A. designated hitter -- who's Japanese -- stepped up to the plate in the 6th inning of the Halos' game against the Tigers ... Morris tried to be funny on the broadcast by using an accent that many felt was mocking Asians.

"Be very, very careful," Morris said when asked by play-by-play man Matt Shepard how the Tigers should pitch to the hitter.

Morris' remarks were immediately panned on social media ... with critics calling them racist and offensive.

In fact, the backlash grew so loud ... Morris issued an apology for the words just 3 innings later.

"Well, folks, Shohei Ohtani is coming to the plate and it's been brought to my attention, and I sincerely apologize if I offended anybody, especially anybody in the Asian community for what I said about pitching and being careful to Shohei Ohtani," Morris said.

"I did not intend for any offensive thing and I apologize if I did. I certainly respect and have the utmost respect for this guy and don't blame a pitcher for walking him."

Morris -- a former MLB pitcher who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018 -- has been analyzing games on broadcasts for years ... helping call tilts for the Blue Jays, Twins and Tigers.

Taliban members allegedly gunned down a woman in the streets of Afghanistan ... just as Taliban officials swore they would not exact violence on women.

It happened in the province of Takhar -- 8 hours outside of Kabul -- where an unidentified female was photographed lying dead in a pool of blood ... reportedly at the hands of the insurgents.

The woman reportedly refused to wear a burqa ... required under sharia law, a version of Islam to which the Taliban subscribes that subjugates women.

The murder is evidence Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, was disingenuous to say the least. He vowed the newly-formed government would afford women more basic rights, even encouraging them to go back to school/work and to get involved in the government if they so desired -- so long as they abide by sharia law, that is.

There are other reports the Taliban fired shots at protesters all around the country. Although the Afghan military fled without a fight, some demonstrators were vocal in their displeasure over the turn of events in the country, and it cost some of them dearly.

There are also reports they beat journalists.

The scene in Kabul is chaotic and tragic ... thousands of Afghans who assisted Americans over the last 20 years are stuck -- unable to secure the proper papers to flee the country.  Many U.S. military and intelligence officials believe they will be executed once Americans are gone.