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Van Jones says while America's now coping with a pandemic, black America's been battling epidemic violence, poverty and disease long before coronavirus came along.

The Reform Alliance CEO was on "TMZ Live" Friday to talk about his CNN special, "The Color of Covid" -- and he didn't mince words when describing the challenges facing many minority communities.

Van says there's always been an epidemic of death in neighborhoods of color. He says, "You’re worried about invisible bullets from the virus? We've been dodging real bullets the whole time." He says that mentality explains the recent massive crowds gathered for parties in Atlanta and Chicago.

Black and Latino communities also face different health risks as the nation reopens, due to underlying health problems that have gone unchecked for years. As Van, and many doctors, point out ... hypertension, heart disease and diabetes immediately put you in the at-risk category for COVID-19. Of course, staying home only creates economic hardship.

Van says the federal government needs a better battle plan, one that offers better medical AND economic stimuli to people of color.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is terrified for her sons in the wake of Ahmaud Arbery's killing, and she says the tragedy has her family -- like so many others -- shaken and angry.

Bottoms called Ahmaud's case just the latest incident in a disturbing history of African-Americans being targets of violence -- and she told us about its impact on her city, her state and her own house ... when she joined us Thursday on "TMZ Live."

The Mayor says Ahmaud's murder hits close to home because her family's been personally affected in a similar way. It's all making her rethink "the talk" African-American parents must have with their sons -- particularly her own 18-year-old.

Typically that's about how to react with law enforcement, but Mayor KLB says she never thought to prepare him for the scenario of armed citizens ambushing him in broad daylight while out for a jog.

She added, there's a major void at the top of government when it comes to leadership for young, black men ... something she hopes will change come November. On that note, the Mayor doesn't feel President Trump's done much to fix the problem -- quite the opposite -- but she has some advice for him on how he can start helping.

Joe Exotic's massive new legal team is chomping at the bit to ask Donald Trump for a presidential pardon for the 'Tiger King' ... and they're ready to flood the White House!!!

Eric Love, the super-colorful figure leading Joe's legal team, just checked in from the HQ in Ft. Worth, Texas ... telling us they're hitting the road bright and early Monday en route to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

As you can see ... the big bus wrapped in a plea to get Joe sprung from prison looks all gassed up and ready to go to D.C. ... and Eric says they're gonna enjoy the weekend then get down to brass tacks.

As we first reported ... Joe's legal team produced a Texas-style video asking POTUS for a pardon, claiming the 'Tiger King' is not only NOT GUILTY of trying to get Carole Baskin whacked ... he was also FRAMED.

Joe's army of lawyers will attack on all fronts ... they're appealing Joe's conviction, asking Trump for a pardon and even pursuing a malicious prosecution lawsuit against a bunch of people involved in Joe's criminal trial.

As you know ... there's also evidence the alleged hitman had an ax to grind with Joe, because he told us his testimony against Exotic was "payback" and he wished he could've done even more to hurt Joe.

And, as we previously reported ... Trump actually joked about a pardon for Joe when talking about the 'Tiger King' at a coronavirus briefing.

Vice President Mike Pence is going away for a little while -- the Veep is reportedly self-isolating after someone in his own office tested positive for coronavirus.

Pence is self-isolating away from the White House, which would explain his absence from a meeting with President Trump and other top military officials Saturday, according to Bloomberg. He's staying home out of an abundance of caution says Bloomberg, noting he hasn't tested positive himself. Unclear how long MP will be in isolation, or if it'll be a full quarantine.

Of course, this comes after his press secretary, Katie Miller, recently tested positive. She's usually in close contact with Pence, as well as others on the coronavirus task force. Miller is also married to Stephen Miller, who's a key member of Trump's administration at the WH.

As for DT, no word yet if he'll shutter himself in like his #2. One of Trump's personal valet of his also tested positive for coronavirus, as have several Secret Service agents.

In the meantime, both the Prez and Vice Prez will continue getting tested daily. Pence is the latest at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to head inside -- Dr. Fauci is currently in a modified quarantine himself ... and other CDC officials are on lockdown too.

The White House is a mess.

The season 45 finale of 'SNL' was laugh-out-loud hysterical, thanks to one of the funniest Donald Trump skits ever.

Alec Baldwin reprised his faux-presidential role for the open of the show ... which began with a zoom graduation ceremony, where solicitations to the Obamas, murder hornets and others for keynote speaker were rejected ... but one person was happy to step in -- the Prez.

He provided "inspiration" to the grads by telling them there were many job opportunities available to them, like grocery store bouncer, camgirl, porch pirate ... you get the pic.

But then ... Trump was thirsty for more than compliments, and you gotta see what Baldwin does ... it's hilarious.

At the end of his speech, all but one graduate has fled zoom ... which then triggered "Trump" to say, "Wow, this crowd has thinned out faster than Adele."

Dr. Fauci is headed for self-isolation -- a tweaked version, that is -- after a White House staffer tested positive for coronavirus ... but he's only doing so as a precaution.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will go into what he describes as a "modified' quarantine, which means he'll be working remotely from home for 14 days with a mask on -- but might come and go to his office as needed, albeit solo.

Fauci says he's made "low-risk" contact with the staffer, and therefore, won't go into full quarantine ... unlike two other members of Trump's coronavirus task force, who've already gone into full lockdown themselves. Fauci says he's currently negative for COVID-19.

Earlier last week, it was revealed that VP Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, had coronavirus -- but it's not clear if she's the one everyone's going into quarantine over. Of course, Trump's own valet driver has also tested positive, and reports of about a dozen Secret Service agents dedicated to protecting Trump and others have also contracted it.

The White House is dealing with a second positive coronavirus test -- now it's Mike Pence's press secretary ... who's husband happens to be one of President Trump's top aides.

POTUS said Friday at the White House ... Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, is the senior Pence staffer who tested positive. The President said, "She's a wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested very good for a long period of time and then all of a sudden today she tested positive."

Trump also said Katie has NOT come into contact with him, though she's in constant contact with Pence as his office's official spokesperson. Katie, BTW, is married to Stephen Miller, one of Trump's most trusted advisers. It's unclear if Miller he's been in contact with the Prez.

The VP's trip Friday morning aboard Air Force Two was delayed as staffers who'd been in contact with Katie had to leave the plane immediately after getting the news about her test results.

The announcement comes just one day after Trump's personal valet tested positive for coronavirus. The Prez says both he and his veep continue to test negative -- but you'd think the close calls would have them on edge.

Joe Exotic is going right to the top in his bid to undo his criminal conviction for attempting to kill his archrival ... he's going right to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to ask for a pardon.

Sources connected to the 'Tiger King' star tell TMZ, Joe's legal team out of Ft. Worth, Texas is preparing a case file that will be sent on to Trump, claiming Joe was wrongly convicted for the murder-for-hire plot against Carole Baskin.

They wrapped a big bus and plan to roll out the big announcement in a few days, but the endgame is clear ... get Joe out of prison.

There are interesting grounds for a pardon. For starters, Joe told everyone who would listen that he wanted Carol dead and even suggested to various people -- some he hardly knew -- that he'd pay as much as $50,000 to have Carol murdered.

Typically, people who seriously hire people to kill people don't tell everyone who would listen that they're marketing a murder plot.

What's more ... the alleged hitman, Allen Glover, was the star witness at Joe's trial, because he's the only one who took money from Joe. Glover says Joe gave him $3k for the hit ... Joe says it was to get Allen the hell out of the zoo.

We interviewed Glover for our TMZ Fox special a few weeks ago, and he made it clear ... this was "payback" and Glover says Joe caused so much misery to people and animals, he wishes he could have done more to hurt him. That's what you call a biased witness, and if the jury heard that they may have discounted his testimony.

And, there's even more ... the prosecutor in the case also charged Joe with killing tigers. His lawyers feel it was done just to dirty Joe up, to make the jury hate him, so they would convict him of ordering the hit on Carol.

If you ever wondered what 50 Cent would look like as Veep Mike Pence ... well, here you go.

An Australian artist created a Pence-ish looking painting using Fitty as his inspiration and it's, well, interesting.

50 seemed to approve, saying ... "This f***ing guy won’t stop, SMH. I guess i’m not wearing a mask because i’m tested frequently."

He was referring to Pence's ridiculous defiance when he went to the Mayo Clinic this week, ignoring protocol as he was the only one in the room not wearing a mask. He says he was tested, but that really doesn't make a difference. They told him to wear one and he didn't.

The artist who painted the Pence pic -- Lushsux -- has a history with 50. He's turned him into Donald Trump ... something that clearly doesn't sit well with the rapper/mogul.

Georgia's Governor lifted restaurant restrictions almost a week ago, but most popular ATL spots are instead heeding Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms ... refusing to open for dine-in service.

Many of Atlanta's most famous and popular restaurants are telling TMZ ... despite Gov. Brian Kemp's green light, they feel it's not safe enough to return to business as usual. However, some of them are still embracing crowds of customers ... for take-out.

Check out the gallery ... mouth-watering restaurants like Hattie Marie’s BBQ, The Original Hot Dog Factory, Nouveau Bar & Grill, Slutty Vegan and Bon Ton Atlanta are sticking with the status quo, only offering takeout and delivery options while dine-in tables sit empty.

Copper Cove Buckhead is taking a more extreme approach -- it's staying completely closed until Mayor Bottoms gives the all-clear. We're told ownership is using this time to sanitize the whole building.

Tons of celebs frequent Copper Cove ... Diddy, Fabolous, Offset, Pusha T, Toya Wright and Jermaine Dupri to name a few ... but they're just gonna have to wait.

As we reported ... the mayor's encouraging her citizens to listen to data coming from health officials in the middle of the crisis ... instead of what President Trump and Gov. Kemp are pushing.

Lamont D. Johnson, the PR rep for The Original Hot Dog Factory and CRU Hemp Lounge, tells TMZ ... the restaurants are pairing up with hospitals to donate food to medical workers.

And, Slutty Vegan owner Pinky Cole tells us she's paying rent for other small businesses in Atlanta, while providing free food to frontline workers.