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A swimmer in Delaware clearly thinks Chuck Norris has got nothin' on him, because he tried subduing a shark with his bare hands ... apparently all for what could have easily been a fatal photo op.

The scene unfolded over the weekend at Henlopen State Park Beach. You see the swimmer dragging the shark in shallow water, and then, as people on the shore stand in shock, the swimmer opens the foreboding mouth of the shark. It's pretty clear ... the mouth trick was for the cameras.

Unclear what the swimmer did with the shark, but in Delaware fishermen/women are required to return them to the waters.

Either way ... aside from being dangerous, it's not a great idea to play with these creatures and scare them for the sake of Instagram.

Oh, in case you didn't get the Chuck Norris reference ... well, enjoy.

George Floyd's death has not only sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racism, it's also fueled donations to charities and organizations ... especially The Bail Project.

Joseph Pate -- spokesperson for the national nonprofit, which pays bail for people in need -- tells TMZ ... it has received more than $15 million from nearly 200,000 donors in the weeks since Floyd was killed by Minneapolis PD officers.

Other sources close to the organization tell us the support -- financially and otherwise -- has been pouring in from all over the world, including people looking to do volunteer work.

Several celebrities have also been chipping in big time. We're told the band, Wallows, held a fundraiser Saturday where they raised nearly $11k for The Bail Project from roughly 900 donations.

On top of all this ... Nicki Minaj announced a portion of the proceeds from her "Trollz" collab with 6ix9ine will also be going to the org soon. Lil Baby's splitting money from his track, "The Bigger Picture," to Bail Project and a couple other causes related to the Black Lives Matter movement, as well.

The Bail Project has paid $26 million in bail for nearly 11,000 low-income people since 2018, and $11 mil of that has already been recycled to pay new bails.

Another disturbing racism allegation in the racing world ... Sonoma Raceway officials claim they, too, found a noose at their track over the weekend, and cops are now investigating.

According to officials at the legendary California track -- which plays host to NASCAR races annually -- a piece of twine tied in the shape of a noose was found hanging from a tree near the property on Saturday.

"To have something like that show up on our property is disgusting,” the raceway's general manager, Steve Page, told NBC Bay Area.

Page added he went to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office over the incident ... and now they say they've launched a probe into the matter.

"We take it seriously," a spokesperson said. "That's why we're out there with the violent crimes unit. Put every effort into making an ID on this."

The troubling discovery came just one day before a noose was found in Bubba Wallace's garage down at NASCAR's event at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama on Sunday.

In that incident, the FBI says it has taken over the investigation to find the culprits.

For Bubba's part, he shook off the hateful message to finish 14th in Monday's race ... and said afterward, "You're not going to take away my smile."

Steve Bing -- best known for writing "Kangaroo Jack" and investing hugely in the Tom Hanks' film, "The Polar Express" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the famed writer/producer died by suicide Monday after jumping from the 27th floor of a luxury apartment building in L.A.'s Century City neighborhood. Bing lived in the building, and sources connected to him tell us he'd been depressed about lack of human contact during quarantine. We don't know if that's behind the suicide.

Bing -- who founded Shangri-La Entertainment -- reportedly dropped out of Stanford his junior year after inheriting around $600 million from his grandfather, who was a real estate developer. After dropping out, Bing pursued a career in Hollywood ... and his first big-budget hit came as executive producer of the Sylvester Stallone film, "Get Carter," in 2000.

He went on to write "Kangaroo Jack" in 2003 ... and later invested nearly $100 million in 'Polar Express.' That was reportedly nearly half the production cost, and it went on to gross nearly $300 million globally at the box office.

Bing also produced "Hotel Noir" in 2012. That same year, Bing committed to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's "Giving Pledge" to give away the majority of his wealth over his lifetime. Bing donated to a lot of progressive issues.

Bing is survived by his 2 children -- Damian Hurley from his relationship with Elizabeth Hurley and daughter Kira Bonder, who he had with former pro tennis player Lisa Bonder.

Bing was 55.

A violent clash between police and protesters led to a double amputee getting blasted with pepper spray, but video of the incident shows cops did not take his prosthetic legs as well.

Witnesses say the young man was unarmed and non-violent when he got pepper-sprayed by Columbus, OH police officers Sunday, but footage shows he threw items at cops ... like a sign and a bottle of liquid.

The guy reportedly crawled on his hands to get medical help, but the video shows protesters almost immediately gathered around him to drag him away ... which caused him to lose his prosthetic legs. The legs can be seen disconnected on the ground near him in the video.

More video of the protests shows Columbus cops using their bikes as battering rams to attack the crowd, which is in stark contrast to Mayor Andrew Ginther's statement earlier in the week.

The Mayor said police could deal with violent protesters, but "those on the other side who are truly peaceful, who are truly non-violent, who are truly non-aggressive need to have the space and deserve to have the space to exercise their First Amendment rights, and we should embrace that." The Mayor and City Council also banned the use of peppery spray against non-violent protesters.

So, why the violent clash with peaceful demonstrators Sunday? The Mayor seemed to justify it by saying cops tried for more than an hour to clear the streets, but "they were met with violence from some and took action, including using mace and pepper spray as appropriate to keep crowds in sidewalks."

We've reached out to the police ... we're told they're investigating the incident.

At least SOME part of Mark McGwire belongs in the Hall of Fame ... so says Big Mac himself, who believes his 70th home run ball should be in Cooperstown STAT!!

"Bottom line," McGwire said out at LAX this week, "it should have been put in the Hall of Fame."

Of course, the ball can't exactly go there at the moment ... Todd McFarlane -- a legendary comic book artist -- famously bought it for over $3 MILLION just a few months after McGwire made history in 1998.

And, despite the ball's plummeting value (experts tell TMZ Sports it's worth only around $300K-$400K), McFarlane doesn't seem at all ready to part with it, even for the Hall.

He told us last week he still loves his purchase and it would take a "stupid number" for him to give it up.

In other words, don't bet on it ending up in the Hall, even if it'd take it.

As for Mark, he said he's at peace with the ball not being worth millions anymore, adding, "It dropped when Barry [Bonds] broke the record." But, the Cardinals legend did say he wouldn't mind autographing it!!

There's more ... McGwire went IN on the MLB's plan to allow a DH in the National League in 2020 -- saying he believes the role should be punted from baseball altogether.

East Coast actor John Glover (full name John Soursby Glover Jr.) is best known for playing the perfectly coiffed antagonist, Lionel Luther -- who is the father of the follicly challenged Lex Luthor -- on the WB superhero show, "Smallville."

John Glover could be spotted on the small screen with a stellar cast of characters including Tom Welling as the man of steel, Clark Kent, Kristin Kreuk as the brunette love interest, Lana Lang ... and of course, Michael Rosenbaum as the bald bad boy, Lex Luthor.

Glover's other television credits include "Frasier," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and "Heroes."

Protesters are using all their might to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson in our nation's capital ... just blocks from the White House.

The scene is playing out Monday night in the middle of Lafayette Park, with protesters attaching a chain to the statue of the former president in an attempt to topple the monument.

The statue has already been vandalized, with spray painters writing "KILLER" on one side of its base. Other protesters are throwing rolls of toilet paper over the statue, while some have attached ropes to the statue and are trying to pull it down.

Jackson, who is on the $20 bill, served as the 7th president of the United States and was responsible for the Trail of Tears, a policy that removed Native Americans from their ancestral lands. He's also one of President Trump's heroes.

Nearby, more protesters are surrounding St. John's Episcopal Church, the site of Trump's bizarre photo op earlier this month, when he ordered law enforcement to clear the area with tear gas and helicopters.

The church has also been vandalized.

Law enforcement is on hand in riot gear, and various videos posted on social media show violent clashes with protesters.

"WIGHTE LIVES MATTER."

That's the all-important message one spray painter is sending in this crazy footage from a TikTok user, which was shot Sunday in Sunbury, PA and is now going viral.

The person behind the massive sign could use some grammar and spelling lessons, because they're not even close to spelling out what we can only assume is their intended message -- White Lives Matter.

Usually, folks who are still confused about the meaning behind the Black Lives Matter movement resort to stating, "All Lives Matter," but this person is coming in hot with their own slogan, which is either an epic troll job or just a hilarious misspelling.

Ya gotta wonder ... did the spray painter do this on purpose?!? If they didn't, when did they realize "white" was badly misspelled?!? Have they realized yet it's spelled wrong?!?

Pro tip for those thinking about grabbing some spray paint bottles ... write down what you want to spray with a pad and pen BEFORE going to town. Spray paint doesn't come with erasers.

Luke Bryan wouldn't let the pandemic stop him from making an amazing wish come true for a young fan with cerebral palsy ... and her reaction will melt your heart.

Luke sent a special, personalized video to Emma Lookatch, brightening her day with a loving message and telling her he's hopeful they can meet in person when the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Emma's a huge Luke Bryan fan, and the good folks over at Kids Wish Network -- a charity that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses -- had arranged for her to meet Luke on the set of "American Idol," a meeting that was dashed by the COVID-19 outbreak.

While he couldn't meet Emma in person this time, Luke recorded a special greeting and sent it to her and her parents ... and ya gotta see Emma's reaction as she watches the message on a brand new iPad and Beats by Dre headphones.

Lil Yachty got into a scary car wreck in Atlanta after his car and Mother Nature clashed ... which left his sweet ride totaled, but he's gonna be okay.

The rapper was driving on Georgia State Route 400 Monday during some nasty rain and spun out, smashing into a barrier along the shoulder. Our sources say there was a lot of standing water on the road, causing the sports car to hydroplane.

Yachty lost control and you can see how the impact destroyed his car.

Seems bad -- and it is -- but fortunately for him ... we're told Yachty was able to walk away relatively unscathed, with only minor injuries to his arm.

Emergency crews responded to the scene. It's unclear if Yachty went to a hospital for treatment. As for his whip ... there's no treating it, we're told it's totaled.

Time to get that insurance rep on the phone.

Emotional moment at Talladega ... where Bubba Wallace tried to fight back tears as ALL of his fellow drivers rallied behind him at the starting line.

The drivers worked together to push Bubba's #43 car to the starting line Monday to show their support for Wallace -- just one day after officials found a noose in his team's garage.

The drivers then gathered around Bubba's car before the Geico 500 in Talladega on Monday to show the world they stand with him ... and man, it was powerful stuff.

Wallace was flanked by 82-year-old team owner Richard Petty who also showed support for the young driver.

The event also featured a prayer for unity in the wake of the racist incident.

After the national anthem, which was also super emotional, drivers lined up to hug Wallace ... who was obviously moved by the show of support.

The race is about to begin ... and even though there are a few fans at the Speedway, the energy is off the charts.

LET'S GO BUBBA!!!!!!!