Sad news ... one of the 7 puppies dumped in a trash bin by a woman in Coachella has died.

The Riverside County Animal Services said the puppy died Wednesday after it couldn't recover from last week's traumatic experience. As we reported ... a woman was caught on video throwing a bag filled with the 3-day-old puppies into a dumpster on an incredibly hot day in the desert town.

Fortunately, a Good Samaritan rummaging through the dumpster found them and alerted authorities.

The Animal Services said, "The little one might have been on the bottom of the bag when the woman dumped the puppies into a trash bin." A volunteer taking care of the puppies wrote on Facebook, "He was just so weak and held on for as long as he could." 

The volunteer went on to say ... "When I got him he was pale and kind of flat looking, so I think he was the cushion that saved his siblings. As the lady threw them in the bag, i think he was at the bottom and took the hit when all of his siblings landed on him."

The Riverside County Animal Services released a video Thursday showing the 6 remaining puppies that continue to recover. 

As you know ... Deborah Sue Culwell, a 54-year old resident of Coachella, is facing 7 felony counts of cruelty to animals. If convicted on all counts, she could get up to 7 years in prison. Her disgusting actions pissed off just about everyone ... including Lisa Vanderpump.

John Singleton's stroke is way more serious than his family first revealed -- it was a major stroke and he is in a coma --  and we've learned the family is in the process of establishing a conservatorship for him.

TMZ broke the story ... Singleton suffered a stroke last week after returning from Costa Rica and experienced problems with his legs. He checked himself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. and suffered a stroke Wednesday in his hospital room.

We know he was in the ICU as of last weekend, but family members characterized the stroke as "mild."

According to the legal docs, obtained by TMZ, John's mom, Shelia Ward, is asking a judge to appoint her temporary conservator because he is "unable to properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter."  

His mother said, at the time he suffered the stroke, he was engaged in several business projects and was prepared to sign a lucrative settlement agreement. She wants to handle those affairs and execute the settlement agreement.

The 51-year-old famed director of "Boyz N the Hood" did not have any medical directives ... thus the need for a conservatorship. 

James Holzhauer -- the "Jeopardy!" contestant winning prize money at a torrid pace -- has a history of breaking the bank ... 'cause he set records on another show called, "The Chase."

TMZ got details about the current "Jeopardy!" phenom's 2014 domination of 'Chase' ... a Game Show Network hit. As is his style, Holzhauer started out hot in the opening "cash builder" round, answering 12 questions correctly -- often before host Brooke Burns even finished asking them.

The 12 right answers for $60k broke the previous record and was never topped in 51 episodes of "The Chase" -- and, get this ... it could have been 13 answers if he was a Jason Mraz fan. You gotta see it.

There's more -- James also set the high mark in "The Final Chase" round by answering 19 questions correctly for his team. This record also still stands.

When it was all said and done, Holzhauer's team of 3 won $175k and split it evenly.

What's interesting ... at one point, Holzhauer was offered a chance by the show's titular "chaser," Mark "The Beast" Labbett, to win more money, and he declined ... opting to take the conservative route.

If you've been watching him on "Jeopardy!" ... you know he likes to bet BIG. James later revealed he crunched the numbers and determined the larger payoff on 'Chase' wasn't worth the gamble.

Holzhauer became the second person in "Jeopardy!" history to surpass $1 million in winnings in non-tournament play Wednesday, and owns the single-show record of $131,127. He also now holds the top 7 daily totals, and is well on his way to catching Ken Jennings, who won a total of $2.5 million over 74 games.

James has done all his damage in just 15 games.

BTW -- "The Chase" aired from 2013 to 2015, and reruns can be seen daily at 3 PM on the GSN.

Jussie Smollett might have secured his return to "Empire" -- despite ongoing controversy over the alleged Chicago "attack" -- when he kicked it in NYC with a pretty powerful show exec.

TMZ got this video of the actor leaving lunch at a Lafayette restaurant Wednesday, and he told us he was feeling "pride" about his work on the show. Turns out, he may have been feeling optimistic as well ... because the guy he was lunching with was showrunner Brett Mahoney.

Sources close to Mahoney -- who's publicly voiced his support for Jussie in the past -- tell us the lunch Wednesday was a casual hangout, and not the first time the 2 have seen each other since Jussie wrapped on "Empire" amid his scandal.

We're told Brett's been telling his friends Jussie's future on the show is still up in the air, but it's unclear if the topic was broached during their lunch.

You'll recall, earlier this week, "Empire" creator and executive producer Lee Daniels said the same -- that they're currently considering bringing Jussie back.

Now, let's connect the dots ... seems unlikely that Mahoney would break bread with Jussie if he thought they were about to 86 him from the show.

Another strong sign for Jussie ... the letter his costars Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard wrote imploring network execs to let Jussie stay on the show. They said he's innocent and "filled with integrity" and they want to "put this behind us and move forward.”

I believe and stand by @JussieSmollett . Keep your head up. @EmpireWriters @EmpireFOX

— Brett Mahoney (@TheBrettMahoney) February 18, 2019

The NY Post first reported Mahoney was lunching with Jussie. We'll see how it plays out, but that meal might end up being the crucial moment "Empire" and its star smoothed things out. 

As we've told you, Jussie's still dealing with drama in Chi-town ... namely that civil lawsuit the city filed to get Jussie to pay for the investigation into the alleged "attack." Essentially, Chicago wants a trial to prove he lied to cover up a hoax.

Whitey Bulger died swiftly from blunt force injuries to his head during a prison attack ... this according to his death certificate. 

Whitey's death certificate was released Thursday and shows he was pronounced dead at 8:21 AM on October 30 ... just minutes after he was bludgeoned inside his cell at U.S. Penitentiary Hazelton in West Virginia. Bulger's death is listed as a homicide in the document.

As we've reported ... 4 inmates walked into the notorious Boston mobster's cell, where he was sitting in a wheelchair, and beat him with a lock in a sock. They also tried to gouge his eyes out with a shiv and attempted to cut out his tongue. 

#BREAKING: Death Certificate: #WhiteyBulger died from “blunt force injuries of the head” & died within “minutes” of being attacked inside a West Virginia prison. @NBC10Boston pic.twitter.com/7pnvfC4BdY

— Eli Rosenberg NBC10 Boston (@EliNBCBoston) April 25, 2019

As for the motive behind the hit ... our prison sources say prison officials believe it was mob retaliation because Whitey turned informant and ratted out other mobsters. We're told officials believe that's exactly why the attackers attempted to remove Bulger's eyes and tongue. 

The attack was not caught on video ... we're told the inmates who attacked Bulger wheeled him into a corner that can't be seen by surveillance cameras. 

The ex-crime boss was on the lam for years, and was one of the FBI's most wanted before being captured in 2011 living in Santa Monica.

Bulger was convicted in 2013 for a slew of crimes, including being linked to at least 11 murders, and was serving a life sentence. He had just been moved to the maximum-security prison before he was killed. 

Bulger was 89.

There was an unwanted guest running amok at Coachella this year ... herpes.

According to honchos at HerpAlert -- an online diagnosis and treatment website for the STD -- there's been a huge spike in folks looking to get treated for herpes in the communities surrounding the famous music festival.

HerpAlert's been in business for 2 years now, with doctors issuing prescriptions to pharmacies after people submit photos of their, umm ... situation, for medical pros to review. The turnaround time is blazing fast, it only takes about 2 hours. 

We're told the site has seen a massive surge in folks seeking prescriptions for herpes since Day 1 at Coachella. A whopping 1,105 cases have been reported in Indio, Palm Desert and Coachella Valley -- and also L.A., Orange and San Diego counties where most of the concertgoers live. 

HerpAlert tells us they typically handle 12 cases a day in Southern Cali ... but during the first 2 days of Coachella, the site serviced almost 250 patients!!! The biggest previous spike was during Oscars weekend 2018, when they got a mere 60 cases a day.

Bottom line ... what happens in Coachella might stay with you. For life.

2:24 PM PT -- Barry's friend, Jamie, posted a video from the crash scene taken moments after the accident he dubbed a big disaster. In a separate post showing him in the hospital bed, Jamie says he got lucky with only a broken knee, elbow and wrist. He says Barry's in a much worse condition with a serious chest and leg trauma.

View this post on Instagram

Serious accident in #losangeles 👎 #ohfuck #motogeo

A post shared by MotoGeo (@motogeo) on Apr 24, 2019 at 5:38pm PDT

"Storage Wars" star Barry Weiss is attempting to recover from a really bad motorcycle accident that landed him in the hospital with broken bones and other internal injuries ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the incident went down Wednesday around 2:30 PM in the Los Feliz area where he and another friend were each riding bikes.

We're told a car pulled out from a parking space, apparently without looking, and Barry and his friend slammed into the back of the car. Both went down.

We're told Barry was transported to an L.A. hospital, and he's currently in the ICU, but he's in stable condition. We're told drugs and alcohol are NOT a factor. 

Barry, the eccentric and lifelong antique collector, appeared in seasons 1-4 of "Storage Wars" ... often riding in classic cars. He left the hit A&E show and had a short-lived spinoff called, "Barry'd Treasure." BTW, he's also Jesse James' godfather.

It's been a tough year for OG "Storage Wars" cast members. Just last month ... Darrell Sheets was hospitalized after suffering a heart attack.

Originally published -- 7:46 AM PT

It took almost 6 years, but Camille Grammer's secured a legal victory over her ex-boyfriend ... in a case involving assault and claims of defamation from both sides.

"The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star came out on top in her civil suit against Dimitri Charalambopoulos Wednesday, after a jury ruled he attacked her in a Houston hotel in 2013 ... and she did NOT defame him by reporting it.

The jury also determined Charalambopoulos defamed Grammer when he went on "Access Hollywood" a month after the incident and claimed she fabricated the story. According to legal docs ... Grammer was awarded $36,000 in damages for the assault.

She was also awarded $25 for injury to her reputation from the defamation. Not a ton o' dough, but a win's a win.

We broke the story ... Kelsey Grammer's ex-wife claimed Dimitri, her boyfriend at the time, brutalized her in October 2013 after the 2 had an argument over a late-night text. A grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to charge him criminally, and he subsequently sued her for defamation.

Camille countersued, claiming her story was true and she has more than enough photos, witnesses and other evidence to establish it ... while tacking on her own claim of defamation.

In the end, the jury sided with her.

Britney Spears will be checking herself out of the mental health facility where she's been for 30 days -- as early as today -- but we've learned she's still dealing with a big, unresolved issue ... her meds.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Britney's mental state is much better than it was when she checked in. As we reported, the singer was distraught over an illness her dad was battling ... made exponentially worse by the fact the meds she'd been taking for her mental illness stopped working. 

Doctors were trying to find a new combo of meds, but they couldn't get the mixture right and it was doing Britney more harm than good ... to the point she stopped taking them.

Our sources say doctors still haven't figured out the right formula and call it, "a work in progress." 

The sources are quick to say, Britney did NOT check into the facility to get her meds right ... it was to get her head straight. We're told she's doing "a lot better" in that department, but the doctors continue to work on the cocktail of meds.

A lot of people commented on the pic of Britney with her boyfriend, Sam Asghari, on Easter Sunday, where she looked a little off. Our sources acknowledge, she's still having difficulty, but nonetheless is in a better head space. 

We're told she could leave the mental health facility as early as today but definitely by week's end ... and she's almost certainly going home. Doctors will continue to work with her on getting the medicines right.

Short story ... mental illness is difficult, but she's doing okay.