Ex-"Storage Wars" star Dave Hester is once again belting "Yuuuuuup!" at storage locker auctions ... but he needed months of intense therapy to get there.

Dave tells TMZ ... it was back in November when he woke up one night feeling sick and having trouble breathing. His GF rushed him to the hospital in Newport Beach, CA, where he suffered a hemorrhagic stoke.

Doctors performed a battery of tests and determined he had been suffering from sleep apnea. Tests revealed when he slept his breathing stopped more than 100 times an hour. The deprivation of oxygen along with high blood pressure triggered the stroke.

Dave tells us he spent days in the ICU and was then transferred to a live-in rehab facility for a month. The famous auctioneer -- arguably the face of A&E's popular show -- suddenly went from hunting down forgotten treasures in storage lockers to learning how to walk again and do the most basic functions -- like shower.

He's not fully recovered yet, but he's working with neurologists and other medical professionals to get back in shipshape condition.

Whatever his limitations ... they aren't enough to keep him from his auctioneer duties.

Farrah Abraham is retracting the claws and slipping on kid gloves for Jenelle Evans ... declaring their long-running feud is over.

We got Farrah out in Hollywood with her daughter, Sophia, and asked why she recently attended Jenelle's JE Cosmetics launch event. It's interesting because, as true 'Teen Mom' fans know, Farrah and Jenelle have been at each other's throats for a loooong time.

In fact ... just a little over 2 months ago, there was some serious mud-slinging -- Farrah called Jenelle a bad mother and David a horrible man for killing the family dog. True to Jenelle form, she quickly fired back ... slamming Farrah as a prostitute.

The burglars who made off with $1 million worth of jewelry at Poo Bear's pad had a hiccup during the heist ... because the hitmaker's safe was too damn heavy to simply carry away.

TMZ has obtained this surveillance video from Poo Bear's security cam at his massive Hollywood Hills crib ... and you see 3 burglars casing the joint before finding a way inside and running off with his valuables.

We broke the story ... the heist was discovered last week, and the bad guys stole an entire safe filled with a treasure trove of bling. We're told one of PB's staffers discovered a smashed window, and when they went inside, the lockbox was nowhere to be found.

In the surveillance footage, you see one burglar struggling to make it up the driveway with the safe. They get to to the base of the driveway, rest the safe on a ledge, seemingly ask an accomplice for help and then strain as they carry it off and disappear into the dark.

Another burglar has a different plan ... pushing a large black box down the driveway. The third burglar takes the easy way out, running off with what appears to be a duffel bag -- no heavy lifting required.

It was a birthday bummer for Poo Bear ... the guy who produced tons of hits for Justin Bieber, Usher and Chris Brown was celebrating his 41st birthday in Tokyo when the burglary went down.

"You know what's going to happen in the 9th inning, but it takes five hours to get there!"

Yankees legend Ron Guidry clearly dislikes watching the MLB these days ... telling TMZ Sports games just take too damn long to finish!!

We got the ex-pitcher out in NYC when he told us straight-up, "The game has changed, and it's long, and it makes it harder to watch because it's so long."

The MLB has been accused of juicing baseballs this season in order to see more offense ... but all the home runs and scoring has led to much longer days at the park.

Guidry says it's really killing the game ... and he thinks more needs to be done to help speed things up.

His solution to the problem? "Let the pitchers pitch."

This brunette went from being the daughter of a famous lawyer to becoming one of the most recognizable personalities in the world. A former friend and stylist to Paris Hilton, this youngster and her family exploded with fame thanks to their long-running reality show.

Her massive TV success was only the beginning. She became a savvy businesswoman ... from her famous retail stores and apps to her massively successful shapewear line. She most recently gained notoriety for her philanthropic efforts and staunch support of prison reform.

She's been dubbed the Princess of Prison Reform for her passionate work.

Ric Ocasek -- the frontman and lead singer of the rock band The Cars -- has died.

Police say Ocasek was discovered unresponsive Sunday at his townhouse in NYC, and was pronounced dead at the scene -- according to an NYPD spokesperson. It's unclear for now how he might've died. He was reportedly found in his bed by his estranged wife, Paulina Porizkova.

Ocasek started The Cars back in the '70s and made a name for themselves with their 1978 song "Just What I Needed." They went on to churn out a number of hits, including "My Best Friend's Girl," "Good Times Roll," "Bye Bye Love" and many others.

Their first Top 20 single, "Let's Go," arrived from their second album, "Candy-O" in '79, with other hits to follow such as "It's All I Can Do," "Double Life" and more. Their biggest hit to date, "Drive," peaked at Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and topped other charts as well.

The tune was prominently featured in the 1985 event Live Aid, where it was used as the background song in a montage depicting famine in Ethiopia.

The Cars were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just last year, where they reunited to perform at the induction ceremony.

Ocasek is survived by his five children. He was 75.

RIP

T.I. had a good question for staunch Trump supporter Candace Owens -- when was America actually great ... and what exactly is DT trying to emulate???

The rapper asked this of Candace Saturday night at a summit held by Diddy's REVOLT TV in Atlanta, where they were discussing why the President's slogan is viewed as racist among many in the black community. Safe to say, things escalated quickly from there.

Moderator Jeff Johnson said Trump has stoked fear into poor whites that their enemy is poor blacks -- to which Candace asked when the Prez said that verbatim. Johnson suggested that the guy's slogan in and of itself was a sign of that fear-mongering.

Then T.I. jumped in ... and s*** hit the fan.

T.I. firmly asked Candace what period in American history is Trump so sure was "great" -- listing examples, like when women couldn't vote ... or when black people were lynched.

Candace suggests Trump is hearkening back to the Reagan years, when the then-presidential hopeful said something to the same effect while on the campaign trail. T.I., however, has his own view of the 80s ... calling it the crack era. He kept pressing, and Candace ultimately wasn't able to get out a straight answer to his initial question.

Things got worse when Candace invoked slavery -- seemingly suggesting, at first, that America was one of the first countries to free its slaves ... but stopping and quickly pointing out that slavery was worldwide, and not just taking place here in the States.

Folks in the crowd became even more irate about that, and when Candace tried to get her point out ... T.I. was quick to shut her down, saying her beginning premise was "bulls***."

REVOLT TV is bringing its summit to L.A. next month. If the Atlanta event is any indication, L.A. should bring out the fireworks just the same.

Brian Turk -- who starred in HBO's "Carnivale," and had countless appearances in hit shows -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

The veteran actor passed away Friday due to complications from cancer, according to his rep. We're told he was diagnosed a year ago, but that his cancer recently became terminal.

He's acted in some of Hollywood's biggest shows and movies over the years, including supporting roles in series like "Two and a Half Men," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Jamie Foxx Show," "Step by Step," "Wings," "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Boy Meets World," "ER," "Criminal Minds," "General Hospital," "Animal Kingdom," "NCIS" and others.

Brian also had smaller roles in flicks like "American Pie 2," "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles," "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Big Fat Liar" and more. He had 42 acting credits to his name, per his IMDb page.

He's perhaps best known for his starring role on 'Carnivale' in the early 2000s, in which he played strongman Gabriel, who was part of the travelling circus depicted on screen.

A GoFundMe has been created on Brian's behalf -- funeral arrangements are currently being made and donations are being solicited to assist his family.

Brian is survived by his wife, and his 8-year-old son. He was 49.

Andrew Yang says folks should forgive Shane Gillis -- the newest cast member on 'SNL' -- over racist remarks he made about Asians ... and more importantly, ease up on seeking retribution.

The presidential hopeful -- who's Taiwanese-American -- went on CNN Sunday to elaborate on his thoughts from these past couple days ... calling for Shane to NOT lose his new job at "Saturday Night Live," but instead ... to be forgiven and used as a teachable moment.

As we reported ... as soon as Shane was announced as a member of the cast for the upcoming season, people dug up an old video of him making racist jokes about Asians. He has since apologized to those offended, saying he sometimes "pushes boundaries."

There's been a mixed reaction to Yang's approach -- as he tells Jake Tapper -- but he defends his position, saying our society has become too punitive in these scenarios, and that we as a country should strive to be better ... opting for forgiveness when possible.

He makes another interesting point, arguing Asian epithets are often not taking as seriously as others made about other ethnic groups ... despite being just as hurtful.

Still, even with that said ... he says we should let this one go, especially considering that Shane is a comedian, and -- in Andrew's eyes -- their words should be taken in that context.

Of course, Yang has offered to sit down with Shane to discuss the issue further -- going on to say he doesn't support the guy losing his job, adding that in the big picture of Shane's past work ... he just doesn't find Shane to be "malignant or evil" in his intentions.

Renee Alway -- a finalist on cycle 8 of "America's Next Top Model" -- was arrested for domestic violence just over a year after she was released from prison.

The former model was busted by cops in Palm Springs, CA this past week on a laundry list of felony charges. According to her inmate profile, Renee was booked for assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm), 2 counts of infliction of corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant, terrorist threats, a prior felony conviction, and a violation of parole.

In case you'd forgotten ... Renee was released from custody in August of 2018 after having served 5 years of a 12-year prison sentence in California.

That prison sentence was from her June 2013 arrest, when she got into a 6-hour standoff with police after being spotted wandering around a vacant home while carrying a gun.

That became at least her fourth arrest that year, and it resulted in a gnarly mug shot, and later ... a shaved head in court. Renee's 'ANTM' season aired way back in 2007 -- she ended up placing 3rd behind Jaslene Gonzalez and Natasha Galkina, respectively.

Antonio Brown looked confident as he deplaned in Miami with Tom Brady and the rest of the team, with all signs pointing to him taking the field Sunday ... despite rape allegations.

Brown arrived by private jet, and with Brady by his side the day before the Pats take on the Dolphins -- along with the fact Brown practiced with the team 3 times in the last week -- it seems pretty clear he'll helmet up.

Bill Belichick hasn't been definitive, although he did say the team is taking the allegations seriously.

As for Brown, he's strongly denying he did anything untoward with his accuser, saying the contact with Britney Taylor was all consensual. He also says, "The devil gonna try to bring you down when you get closer to your goal."

For her part, Taylor is meeting with NFL investigators Monday.

J Lo celebrated the premiere of her new movie, "Hustlers," in grand J Lo fashion ... with back-to-back parties and a surprise trip to a Miami theater.

J Lo hit up South Beach Saturday night and partied at David Grutman's newest restaurant, Papi Steak. Grutman presented J Lo with a massive cake ... it's the second one she scored in 2 days. The first was courtesy of her fiance, A-Rod. BTW, the cake sounds delicious from Divine Delicacies Cakes -- 5 tiers of chocolate -- Godiva and Nutella. And, there's vanilla rum, coconut, guava cream cheese and other stuff. That's what $4k will get ya.

After the party, she went to a nearby movie theater in Miami Beach showing her flick and surprised everyone.

The flick did well -- $33.2 mil for the weekend, and it's expected to come in second, behind "It Chapter Two." Her movie also stars Constance Wu, Cardi B, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Julia Stiles.

BTW, seems like there's a party everyday for J Lo ... the shindigs for her 50th birthday went on longer than Nick Jonas and Priyanka's wedding.

Diddy and Lori Harvey aren't taking their relationship to the next level just yet -- as in becoming parents -- but they're heading in that direction ... sources close to the couple tell TMZ.

As we reported ... Diddy and Lori set off pregnancy rumors last weekend coming back from another romantic getaway in Cabo, after Diddy and Lori became super handsy with her belly.

Turns out, it wasn't a hint she's having a bambino ... they were just playin'.

Sources close to the couple tell us Diddy was touching her tummy because he was complimenting her on her tight abs ... as she was flaunting them with her open shirt.

Here's the thing ... we're told the rap mogul and Steve Harvey's 22-year-old daughter are getting very serious. The fact they've been inseparable the past few months -- in NYC, Italy and elsewhere -- paints a pretty clear picture.

Artie Lange is more than 7 months sober and looking happy and healthy, and interestingly ... he says his messed up nose is partly to thank for keeping him clean.

The comedian and "Crashing" star tells TMZ ... he likes his pancaked nose because it's a helpful reminder of 30 years of drug abuse and all the terrible places it led him. Seriously terrible -- like accidentally snorting glass -- and much more Artie's not afraid to share.

Of course, this January mug shot following his arrest for a failed drug test while on probation painted the sad picture of how low he'd sunk.

Artie says he wants his story -- and his nose -- to be a cautionary tale for young people to not follow his path, and that fame and fortune don't make you immune to the perils of addiction.

Lange admits it got so bad for him he accepted he was going to die alone in a hotel room and become another victim of drug abuse like some of his comedian buddies before him. Fortunately, Artie says God had another plan for him.

He's in recovery now, and shared a photo of himself on Twitter this week at the 7.5-month sober mark. He tells us staying focused on comedy and writing is helping him stay clean ... along with sticking to the 12-step program and going to meetings.

As for his gnarly nose ... Artie tells us he caught wind of our interview with "Botched" Dr. Paul Nassif while he was in jail, when the Doc said he'd fix Lange's nose if he could kick his drug habit.