You Might Want to Rethink

D.C.'s hosting of the Navy's Blue Angels and the Air Force's Thunderbirds -- and the enormous crowds that came out to see them -- is the latest example of people coming to terms with the fact that they'd rather put their health at risk than follow safety guidelines.

Here's the scene from the National Mall at our country's capital Saturday -- thousands of people swarming to one location and standing incredibly close to each other (many without masks) just to get out of the house and experience a taste of normalcy.

This weekend's ceremony was to honor essential workers and health care providers on the front lines fighting COVID-19, but the mere act of having this awesome flyover might've been counterintuitive ... as you can see not many people are practicing social distancing.

We've been seeing this day in and day out across the country -- folks disregarding the stay-at-home orders and heading out in public, many of whom do it defiantly and unsafely.

While it's easy to criticize a lot of these folks for putting their (and others') health at risk just to catch some rays -- the reality is becoming more and more apparent ... a lot of these people have it rough, and are just trying to cope. This is a complicated situation.

The fact this is happening in D.C. is especially telling, because health officials there say the coronavirus infection rate may not have even peaked.

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.