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Hayden Panettiere had a history of abusing nitrous oxide … according to what officials say her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, told them after she died from a drug overdose.

In the coroner's report, obtained by TMZ, investigators say they sat down with Brian -- whose name is redacted in the report -- and claim he told them she had a long history of drug, alcohol, and nitrous oxide abuse.

Investigators say Brian also informed them that Hayden had recently gotten out of a drug rehab center in Malibu ... just a few weeks before she overdosed.

Dolly Parton wasn't keeping 9-to-5 hours on her deathbed ... instead, she was closing up and refusing to allow most friends and family to see her -- except for one essential worker.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Dolly's dying wish was that no one could see her on her deathbed because she didn't want anyone to remember her in her fragile, dying state.

However ... we're told there was one exception to the rule -- her longtime wig and makeup artist, Cheryl Riddle -- because Dolly wanted to be all dolled up after she passed.

Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a jury convicted him again during his retrial in New York last year.

The disgraced movie producer was sentenced in a Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday, more than a year after a jury found him guilty of a first-degree criminal sexual act for sexually assaulting former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam Haley.

Miriam appeared in court as well and read a victim impact statement for the record ... saying Weinstein's actions gave her a life sentence -- because it seriously destroyed her sense of safety.

Hayden Panettiere's parents couldn't agree on who should get some of their daughter's belongings ... according to cops in South Carolina, who told them they'd hold back on sending the items until they worked it out.

According to the coroner's report on Hayden -- obtained by TMZ -- several stud-type earrings were removed from Hayden's body and placed into a sealed purple plastic bag.

A senior deputy was provided the bag before contacting Hayden's parents, Skip Panettiere and Lesley Vogel ... who apparently both wanted the earrings.

Dolly Parton's death put the world in mourning ... and apparently put her nephew in main-character mode.

According to text messages submitted in court docs related to the Dolly estate war, her nephew Bryan Seaver boasted, "But I'm now the face of the biggest social media post in human history."

Bryan was referring to the August 25 video in which he announced Dolly's death -- a post that suddenly thrust him into the global spotlight.

Elizabeth Holmes' fiancé says he fell for her before he even knew she was the woman behind Theranos ... and Nathan Fielder wastes no time putting that love story through the fraud test.

Billy Evans makes the eyebrow-raising admission in the trailer released Wednesday for the upcoming documentary, "You Can See Everything" ... which follows Holmes in the final weeks before she reported to federal prison.

"I fell in love in that first conversation," Evans says.

A woman says she was trapped next to a guy who was pleasuring himself aboard a United Airlines flight ... and, so far, the man has gotten off scot-free.

The 25-year-old woman told NBC News she was seated next to the man on a flight from Rochester, New York, to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on September 3 when things suddenly got X-rated.

She said the "unassuming" and "pretty normal looking" 35-to-40-year-old man started masturbating right in front of her ... all while staring at her.

Fans of Jack's Dining Room are sure to be screaming "Yes chef!" after it was just announced that the food brand struck a nearly $25 million deal with the studio behind "Yellowstone."

The deal between 101 Studios and Yes Chef Group -- which is co-founded by Jack's Dining Room host Jack Goldburg and Liam Henning -- will usher in the launch of Yes Chef Studios.

This new studio will be focused on developing pretty much everything under the creative sun -- from new TV shows, to movies, to YouTube shows ... you name it!

Former NFL superstar Chris Johnson was once one of the fastest men in football ... but ALS has now forced him to rely on an eye-controlled tablet to speak ... and he needs his family to help with nearly every daily task.

Chris opened up to People about his new life at home, where his wife, Brittany, has served as his primary caregiver for the past 17 months.

He told the outlet ... "ALS doesn't just affect the person diagnosed -- it affects the whole family."

The former Tennessee Titans running back requires breathing support from a CPAP machine and assistance with feeding, changing, and stretching from Brittany and other loved ones.

"The View" host Sunny Hostin just revealed she was the holdout juror who helped acquit an infamous NYC cannibal known as the Butcher of Tompkins Square Park ... and she spilled it all live on air.

On Tuesday's show, Sunny admitted that she relates to the 11 jurors who wanted to find Lindsay Clancy not criminally responsible for murder ... because she felt that self-confessed cannibal Daniel Rakowitz was also similarly not responsible.

The details of the 1991 case are super grim ... Rakowitz killed his roommate and aspiring dancer, Monika Beerle, dismembered her, boiled her remains, ate some and put the rest in a soup he served to the homeless in Tompkins Square Park.

Hayden Panettiere turned "deep purple" as she died from a drug overdose in a South Carolina apartment ... and pressed pills laced with fentanyl were found on a table near her body, TMZ has confirmed.  

The Greenville County Medical Examiner released a more detailed investigative report Tuesday after first announcing Hayden's cause and manner of death. In the statement, the M.E. said Hayden had in her system a combination of fentanyl, anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer, and a drug used to treat major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

According to the detailed report, obtained by TMZ, a senior deputy coroner responded to an Airbnb in Greenville, SC, where Hayden was staying with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach, after the actress had died on August 16.

The battle between Dolly Parton's nephew and the company managing her assets has allegedly gotten so scary, some employees stopped going to the office ... and the company needed to hire private security at their homes.

TMZ obtained court docs submitted Tuesday by Dolly's management company -- She's Alive, LLC -- supporting its request for a temporary restraining order against Dolly's nephew Bryan Seaver and his security company.

Dolly's management company claims her nephew called himself an "international arms dealer and mercenary" and declared, "I'm a killer."

After Dolly died, Bryan allegedly bragged, "All I do is warfare," and warned, "Everyone needs to be worried about what I might do."

Former "Amazing Race" contestant Tim Janus, who competed alongside Joey Chestnut on the show's 30th season, is dead.

Tim, who was known in the competitive eating circuit as Eater X, died Sept. 16 following a cancer diagnosis ... his publicist confirmed to Major League Eating.

He climbed the sport's ranks to eventually become the No. 2 competitive eater in the world ... behind only Joey.

Mitch McConnell comes in peace ... he was all smiles as he arrived home after a hard day's work on Capitol Hill ... and video shows the Senator in great spirits.

After three hours of work in the Senate, the Kentucky lawmaker returned to his D.C. home Tuesday evening ... and he flashed a peace sign as he was wheeled inside.

Mitch was in a wheelchair ... with four people helping him.

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A 12-year-old boy was forced to tell his own mother why their day went so horribly wrong ... and in dashcam footage from her alleged DUI crash, you hear the child say, "Mommy, you were drunk. You crashed."

The gut-wrenching exchange was captured in Florida Highway Patrol footage obtained by NBC 6 South Florida following a fiery May 10 crash in Miami involving 34-year-old Iris Ruiz and her two children.

The video shows troopers arriving to find the boy holding his 2-year-old sister near the crash scene on Connector Road, just west of Interstate 95.