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An ex-boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith -- who went to prison for threatening her and assaulting her neighbor -- has been killed in a shooting ... TMZ has learned.

Mark Hatten died Sunday after an incident with another man in Greeleyville, South Carolina turned deadly. It's currently unclear what led up to the shooting.

Hatten, reportedly known as 'Hollywood' in Greeleyville, did have a Hollywood past with Anna Nicole ... but it didn't end well.

According to the famous late Playmate's testimony in 2002, she began dating Hatten in early 2000 and the 2 had a sexual relationship until June 2000, when he allegedly confronted her with a knife in the bedroom of her home.

She broke up with him, but Smith claimed he continued to stalk and threaten her for nearly 2 years afterward. In March 2002, he showed up at her home and assaulted her neighbor when the man asked Hatten to leave.

NFL star Earl Thomas is lucky to be alive after cops say his wife held a loaded gun less than a foot from his head ... after she allegedly caught him cheating with another woman.

It's all spelled out in court documents obtained by TMZ Sports ... detailing a violent April 13 altercation involving the Baltimore Ravens player, Nina Thomas and several other people.

The Austin Police Dept. responded to a home in the Austin, Texas area at 3:41 AM after getting a call about a disturbance.

When cops arrived, they say "we observed that a black female wearing an orange sweater with a knife in her hand, later identified as Nina Thomas, was chasing a shirtless black male, later identified as Earl Thomas, with a pistol in his hand around a vehicle."

Cops drew their weapons and ordered both Nina and Earl to the ground -- and they complied without incident. That's when the investigation began and things got WILD.

Here's Nina's story, according to court docs ...

Nina claims Earl, 30, left their home earlier in the day after an argument over the NFL player's drinking. She claims Earl's brother, Seth Thomas, picked him up.

But, a short time later, she decided to check on his whereabouts by logging into his Snapchat account -- and that's when she says she found video of Earl with another woman.

Nina says she used Earl's Snapchat account to track his location to a nearby Airbnb rental home ... and says she called up two other women to help her confront Earl at the pad. Nina also claims she grabbed Earl's pistol, a 9mm Berreta, in the process with the intention to "scare him."

When the women arrived at the house, they "discovered Earl and Seth naked in bed with other women."

That's when Nina admits she pulled out the gun and put it to Earl's head -- stating "that she took out the magazine thinking that the gun could not fire." But, cops say Nina was "unaware that the gun had a round in the chamber."

Cops say one of the women in the house shot cell phone video of the incident ... which they say shows Nina pointing the gun at Earl's head "from less than a foot away and it can clearly be seen that Nina's finger was on the trigger and the safety is disengaged."

Fortunately for Earl, cops say the Ravens defensive back was able to wrestle the gun away from her.

Cops say the cell phone video also shows Nina striking Earl in the nose before it ends.

Cops also spoke with Earl, who essentially corroborated the story ... adding that Nina repeatedly hit him while he attempted to take the firearm away.

In an interview with Earl's alleged mistress at the scene, she claimed Nina also threatened her and the other woman in the house -- pointing the gun at them and yelling "I got something for all you hoes!"

The woman claims one of Nina's other friends was carrying a knife and swinging it aggressively during the altercation as well.

After speaking with everyone, cops ultimately arrested Nina and both members of her posse. Nina was booked for burglary of a residence with intent to commit aggravated assault with a deadly weapon -- family violence, and later bonded out.

Earl was NOT arrested.

Court records show Nina was also hit with an emergency protective order ... requiring her to stay 200 yards away from Earl and his alleged mistress.

As we previously reported, Earl and Nina were married in an extravagant wedding back in April 2016 ... Russell Wilson and Ciara even attended the ceremony.

Earl is one of the best defensive players in the NFL -- he's a 7-time Pro Bowl defensive back who won Super Bowl XLVIII as a member of the Seattle Seahawks.

Thomas was a key part of Seattle's legendary "Legion of Boom" -- along with Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor.

When contacted by TMZ Sports, Nina's attorney, Jonathan Goins, told us, "I am here to declare that my client unequivocally and categorically denies these allegations and we look forward to our day in court where we can clear her good name."

We also reached out to Earl Thomas for comment before we published the story -- and he released a statement on social media.

"Instead of talking about us, just keep us in y'all prayers," Thomas says. "Stuff like this happens. We try to live the best lives we possibly can. Sometimes it doesn't go as planned."

Okay, so maybe murder hornets aren't THAT dangerous ... or maybe it's praying mantises we should truly be worried about. Either way -- nature is damn scary!!!

Here's video of an apparent Asian giant hornet (aka murder hornet) going head-to-head with a mantis and losing its head ... as the greenish-brown beast quickly strikes, kills and starts chomping away.

The years-old video has resurfaced online on the heels of the alarming news that deadly "murder hornets" have arrived in the U.S. and were first spotted in Washington state this past fall.

As we reported ... these giant Asian hornets are a threat to the bee population, as they tear up entire colonies by decapitating them and feeding the bodies to their young. Oh, and this is what one of them did to a mouse.

They also can kill humans with their venom -- reportedly up to 50 people a year die from their stings -- so it's easy to understand why folks are freaking out about them ... even if the executioner wasp is more dangerous.

Little did we know, we just need to sic praying mantises on their asses.

A man running from cops was gunned down by police after bailing from a car ... and the officer-involved shooting was captured on the dude's live stream.

The wild scene unfolded Wednesday afternoon in Indianapolis ... and the video picks up with the man behind the wheel of a car, calling out the street he was on ... and pleading for someone to "come get my stupid ass." All of this as he live streamed from a phone.

After bailing from the car, he started running on foot. It sounds like someone yelled, "Stop, stop." Then you clearly hear him respond, "F**k you" ... and then a flurry of gunshots rang out as the man fell to the ground. The phone's camera came to rest pointed up toward the sky ... and continued streaming.

That was followed by tons of police sirens and someone screaming, "Oh my God!"

Indianapolis police confirm there was an officer-involved shooting at the intersection the man yelled out on the video. It's unclear if the man was armed or why he was even on the run. Police say no officers were injured.

Much of the video is shaky and there's no perspective as to what was happening around him, but police say they're investigating what led up to the gunfire.

Story developing ...

Brian Anthony Howe, the former lead vocalist for Bad Company, has died ... TMZ has learned.

Howe passed away Wednesday at his home in Florida. One of his relatives told TMZ ... Howe died from cardiac arrest ... possibly on his way to the hospital. He had heart issues ... the singer had a heart attack in 2017.

The 66-year-old singer's career launched when he worked on Ted Nugent's 1984 "Penetrator" album.

Howe replaced Paul Rodgers as the lead vocalist for Bad Company. Howe, who was also a songwriter, handled most of the writing for the album, "Holy Water," back in 1990 ... it made the top 40 and attained platinum status. It was the most successful album for the group, helped along by the hit song, "If You Needed Somebody."

The group's last album for Howe was in 1992 ... "Here Comes Trouble." The album went gold with a top 40 hit, "How About That." Howe left the group in 1994.

Howe went on to have a solo career, but it never reached the level of Bad Company.

Howe was 66.

He is survived by his sister Sandie and her husband, his son Michael and daughters Victoria & Ella, along with 3 grandchildren Kira, Alexandria, and Aurora.

RIP

Tom Cruise is getting valuable outer space tips before he films aboard the International Space Station, and famous astronauts say boning up on toilet science is super important!!!

Retired astronauts Scott Kelly and Roy Bridges Jr. tell TMZ ... Tom's going to go through loads of training before blasting off to the ISS. Now, this might sound like a joke, but they agree the john will be a key part of his studies. They say it's no space cakewalk when nature calls in zero gravity.

As you know ... Tom is set to boldly go where no action star has ever gone before, going into orbit to film a new flick, and partnering with NASA, as well as Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Scott's commanded the ISS on 3 expeditions, and spent more time in space than any human being ... so he knows what he's talking about when he says Tom needs to move slowly aboard the ISS. It's common for most newbies to puke. Again, not pretty in zero-G.

On the positive side -- we think -- he adds, the only thing on Earth that compares to space travel is going over Niagra Falls in a barrel while you're on fire.

Roy, who piloted the Space Shuttle Challenger back in 1985, tells us Tom's body is in for a shock -- blood rushing to his head instead of his feet, due to the ol' zero-G.

Scott and Roy also told us what kind of training Tom can expect before getting on the ISS ... like how to move around safely, how to get in and out of the capsule, how to wear a spacesuit, how to make food AND get it in his mouth, plus how to sleep and clean himself -- think birdbath.

Oh, and we're told Tom's also gotta learn how to prepare for a space emergency, like space debris pummeling the ISS ... and how to survive an ocean splashdown when he comes back to Earth.

Sounds like TC's got his work cut out for him ... but this space mission is definitely possible!!!

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are digging in their heels in an escalating legal war against his widow -- and are now wondering where the money she raised from a charity concert really ended up.

Soundgarden is once again responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year, in which she claims to be the rightful owner of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' computer after his death.

The band is firing back now, claiming Vicky has been unwilling to provide sufficient information on the proceeds from a tribute concert after Cornell's death.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the surviving band members say they performed for free based on her promise the proceeds would go to charity, but they claim Vicky never explained where all the money went. They say she's only mentioned $643K going to a medical research charity. The band wants a full accounting of where any other revenue was donated.

Vicky posted a statement, saying, "When you attack the foundation, you attack my husband's legacy. The foundation has nothing to do with who owns Chris' vocal recordings. Their knowingly false allegations are a deliberate attempt to harm not just my credibility, but the foundation my husband and I created and everything WE stand for."

Soundgarden wants damages and for the judge to declare once and for all that they are the rightful owners of the unreleased tracks.

Meek Mill will always remember his 33rd birthday -- 'cause it's the day his new baby boy was born. Can't top that gift!!!

The rapper ecstatically announced Wednesday his Philly fashion designer GF, Milano Harris, gave birth to their first child together. Meek said, "Milano dropped me off a king on my birthday! #thebestgift ❤️."

No word yet on the new kid's name ... but that hasn't stopped Milano from celebrating their new arrival. She's been flooded with congrats on social media ... after months of posting pics of her growing belly.

She first revealed the pregnancy back in December at her Milano Di Rogue fashion show, saying ... "Im a creative, so I didn’t want to announce my pregnancy to the world or even to my family with just a photo of my baby bump. I wanted to create a moment that I could cherish and remember forever. We planned this show in 6 weeks and I have to say this was the hardest show we’ve planned to date but all in all I’m so happy with the turn out."

Meek and Milano have been dating for about a year now. Back in February during his Twitter spat with ex Nicki Minaj, Meek confirmed he was expecting a kid with Milano in a since-deleted tweet that said, "My girl is pregnant watching me tweet about my ex is very clownish ... Ima exit."

This will be Meek's third son. He has 2 sons from a previous relationship.

CONGRATS!!!

One of the last reminders Dog the Bounty Hunter had of his late wife, Beth, is now gone too ... the African grey parrot she gifted him years ago has passed away.

We're told the parrot, a female dubbed Baby Bird, died Wednesday morning and just days after the bird started plucking its feathers ... a behavioral problem that can cause them physical harm like infections from open sores. We're told Dog believes the cold climate in Colorado may have possibly led to her death.

Our sources say Beth gave Dog Baby Bird a few years ago ... and in that short span Baby Bird, as most smart parrots often do, started mimicking how Beth said "hello" while also blurting out phrases like "Bail Bonds." Baby Bird also learned how to say "Francie" ... a nod to Dog's new fiancee.

We're told these are just some of the reasons why Dog -- an avid animal lover -- is devastated by Baby Bird's sudden passing. However, he feels comforted knowing Baby Bird is now by Beth's side.

Baby Bird was 3.

Brett Favre is already taking steps to return $1.1 MILLION in payments he received from the state of Mississippi ... claiming he had NO IDEA the cash was coming from a welfare program.

The backstory is bizarre ... officials claim the Mississippi Dept. of Human Services handed out $98 MILLION in welfare funds to 2 non-profit orgs., which were supposed to use the money to help the poor.

Instead, officials say several crooked people in those groups spent MILLIONS on things like concert tickets, football games, lobbyists and more.

Officials say $1.1 million was paid to Favre to deliver speeches in 2017 and 2018 -- but Favre never actually performed.

Auditors flagged the payments -- and although he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, Brett is speaking out to explain his side of the story.

"My agent is often approached by different products and brands for me to appear in one way or another. This request was no different, and I did numerous ads for Families First," Favre said.

"I have never received monies for obligations I didn't meet. To reiterate Auditors White's statement, I was unaware that the money being dispersed was paid for out of funds not intended for that purpose, and because of that I am refunding the full amount back to Mississippi."

"I have spent my entire career helping children through Favre 4 Hope donating nearly $10 million to underserved and underprivileged children in Mississippi and Wisconsin."

"It has brought a ton of joy to my life, and I would certainly never do anything to take away from the children I have fought to help! I love Mississippi and I would never knowingly do anything to take away from those that need it most."

Officials have confirmed Favre has already repaid $500,000 -- and plans to return the remaining $600,000 in various installments.

"I want to applaud Mr. Favre for his good faith effort to make this right and make the taxpayers and TANF families whole,'' Auditor Shad White said in a statement Wednesday.

Before this pint-sized kid grinning for a family photo with an adorable doll dress upgraded into a 5’2” actress shooting smiles in gorgeous gowns in the City of Angels, she was just another happy girl growing up in the lone star state.

This brunette beauty with blunt bangs may have changed her last name (Baston) once she gained fame and success, but she can still be spotted rocking a brown mane and messy up-dos.

She can be spotted on hit shows like "The Young and the Restless," "Devious Maids" and most notably "Desperate Housewives."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back in a hospital bed ... but she's still working her day job on the Supreme Court.

RBG was hospitalized Tuesday due to an infection caused by gallstones ... this according to the Supreme Court, adding the 87-year-old is resting comfortably and should be released from the hospital in a day or two.

According to a SCOTUS official ... Ruth underwent a non-surgical treatment for a benign gallbladder condition at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She originally sought medical care Monday, when the gallstone was discovered.

The procedure and hospitalization didn't keep RBG from her notorious work ethic ... she participated in telephone arguments Monday and Tuesday, and plans to do so again Wednesday -- the Justices are hearing arguments by phone due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As you know ... Ruth has been treated for cancer 4 times, but she keeps on chugging.

Stay healthy, RBG!!!

Originally Published -- 5/5 6:17 PM PT