Charlie Balducci Died from Drug Overdose

Charlie Balducci -- best known for his time on the MTV reality show, "True Life" -- died from a drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

The New York City Medical Examiner's Office tells TMZ ... Charlie's cause of death is acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone and alprazolam. The manner of his death has been ruled accidental.

TMZ broke the story ... Balducci was found unresponsive in his bed back in July and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. When we spoke to his mom, she told us his death came unexpectedly since he hadn't exhibited any kind of sickness.

For the non-hardcore reality TV aficionados out there ... Balducci is known as a trailblazer of sorts in the reality TV world after appearing in "True Life: I'm Getting Married." He allowed MTV cameras to follow him for 4 months before marrying Sabrina ... which ultimately produced one of the most infamous rants ever caught on TV.

Quick recap ... the limo driver was running late on the day Balducci was supposed to get married, prompting him to threaten the limo driver, "I will gut you like the piece of s*** you are" and "I'll hunt you down like cattle."

Stephanie McMahon 'Very Hopeful' Ronda Rousey Returns To WWE

FAMILY COMES FIRST
TMZSports.com

Ronda Rousey hasn't wrestled since mid-2019, but Stephanie McMahon says WWE's "doors are absolutely open" ... and the company's "very hopeful" the former Raw champ will come back.

TMZ Sports spoke to McMahon -- WWE's Chief Brand Officer -- about Rousey's future with the wrestling powerhouse.

"Ronda's been very public that she’d like to start her own family," McMahon tells us.

"Once she does that, our doors are absolutely open, our arms are open, we are very hopeful that Ronda will come back home to WWE."

Rousey joined WWE back in 2018, and immediately started kickin' ass and takin' names ... beating Alexa Bliss for the Monday Night Raw title at SummerSlam in August 2018.

She was champ for nearly 8 months.

But, Rousey -- who's reportedly under contract until mid-2021 -- walked away from the squared circle ... announcing she was taking an "impregnation vacation" in April 2019.

After leaving, Ronda said she loved WWE and the other Superstars, but slammed WWE fans ... calling them "f***ing ungrateful."

Bottom line -- it's obvious the McMahon family and WWE really want Rousey back ... question is, will she return??

Chico DeBarge Posed as His Bro During Drug Bust

Chico DeBarge is famous for making hits with his family members in the '80s ... but cops say he tried to throw one of them under the bus during his latest arrest.

The DeBarge singer got busted in Burbank when he was pulled over near a shopping center on January 13. Cops say he was driving without his headlights on at night and didn't have license plates.

Burbank PD tells us ... Chico didn't have ID, but identified himself as James ... his older brother, who was also in the family singing group back in the day.

According to police ... Chico was driving with 2 female passengers, and cops found methamphetamines and heroin on him during a search. He was arrested, and we're told he was properly ID'd during the booking process.

Chico's been charged with drug possession, DUI and yes ... cops hit him with a false impersonation charge for the alleged brother act.

After nearly 10 days in jail, Chico finally made bail on Friday.

Chico's admittedly struggled with addiction for years, and was arrested 2 other times -- in late 2019 and also in 2007 -- for drug possession.

Ed Helms Selling His Cherry Honda Hog

Long before he was known to the world as toothless, butt-whipped Stu in "The Hangover" ... Ed Helms drove this Honda motorcycle to auditions, and he's finally parting ways with it.

The actor/comedian is selling his 1976 Honda CB750F motorcycle ... and while the price is pretty modest at a mere $4,800, the bike does have tons of sentimental value. The new owner should know ... it's the bike he used to drive to his auditions when he lived in NYC.

He had it shipped to L.A. when he moved. Pays to have a bike ... to zoom in and out of traffic on the 101 and 405.

The bike has 13,591 miles and it's in cherry condition. It was stored at Atlantis Motor Garage in L.A. for some time now. We're told he decided to take it out of storage, spruce it up some and sell it.

As all Ed Helms fans know by now ... he gained notoriety when he appeared as a correspondent on 'The Daily Show' before slowly becoming a household name on "The Office." But, his role as Stu in the 'Hangover' trilogy is where he made his mark ... and the rest is history.

Guess Who This Happy Kid Turned Into!

Before this smiling sweetheart was stomping down some of the fiercest fashion runways, she was just another little kid showing off her big grin in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

This cute kid made headlines in the modeling world for her unique looks that set her apart from the rest. She has caught eyes with her edgy brand in shows for Yeezy, Marc Jacobs, Fendi, Jeremy Scott and -- most recently -- Rihanna. In 2018, she stunned audiences on the Savage X Fenty runway while nine months pregnant.

Her real name is Simone Thompson, but you may know her better by this smooth nickname.

Can you guess who she is?

Kim Kardashian Ignores Trump For Freeing Chris Young

GIVING THANKS
@thechrisyoung_2021/Instagram

Kim Kardashian said "thank you" to just about everybody who helped work to free inmate Chris Young, except one guy ... Donald Trump.

Kim reposted video Sunday of Chris recently arriving at an airport after being released from prison. Trump commuted his life sentence in a last-minute act of clemency -- and her caption shouted out pretty much everyone involved in the effort, except DT.

She writes, "Chris Young is FREE after more than a decade behind bars. Wow My heart is so full! It brings tears to my eyes to see Judge Sharp welcome him home." Kim goes on to explain that Sharp was forced to give Chris life in prison based on sentencing guidelines, and resigned in protest shortly thereafter. The two finally met face-to-face again, and embraced.

Kim adds, "I worked on this case with @msbkb (Chris' attorney Brittany K. Barnett) for years so this victory is so sweet!!! Thank you @alicemariefree @jessicajackson (REFORM Alliance's Chief Analytics Officer) & Judge Sharp for fighting so hard for Chris and never giving up!!!"

It's interesting, considering Kim went to the White House in 2018 and posed for a photo with 45 ... doing the lobbying she mentions here.  The buzz was that Kim was walking a tightrope ... not down with most of Trump's policies, but needing him to accomplish her prison reform goals.

Check out the clip, Chris thanks Barnett, Kim and yes ... even the ex-Prez.

Tom Brady Heading to 10th Super Bowl ... No Belichick In Sight

The G.O.A.T. of football has silenced critics who said he couldn't do it without Bill Belichick ... because Tom Brady's heading to another Super Bowl, now with a whole new team.

The star QB led his new squad, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, to Super Bowl LV Sunday with a hard-fought win over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game ... the first time they've been to the big show since 2002, and only the second time ever in their franchise history.

The Bucs ended up squeaking out a victory at 31-26, despite Brady throwing several interceptions in the second half ... giving Rodgers and co. multiple opportunities to gain the lead. That didn't happen though, and Tom was able to string together enough touchdown passes early on to give him and his teammates a big enough cushion to fend off AR.

Rodgers was 10 yards and a 2-point conversion away from tying it late in the 4th quarter, but he and his head coach made a pair of head-scratching decisions that ended up costing them the game. First, on 3rd and goal ... Rodgers broke out of the pocket during a scramble and ended up throwing the ball away, when he had a fairly clear path to the goal line.

Then, on 4th down ... Packers head coach Matt LaFleur opted for a 3-point field goal instead of just going for it and trying to get a touchdown, as it was the last realistic opportunity before the game was sealed. The screw-ups played in favor of Brady ... who held on long enough.

It's his first season with the Bucs ... and already, he's taking them to greatness. This will mark his 10th Super Bowl appearance -- alongside none other than Rob Gronkowski, another Patriots castoff -- and he did it without the assistance of his former head coach and partner in gridiron crime, Belichick.

There's long been a debate over whether Brady's success and greatness was exclusively tied to Belichick's play-calling, or if it was the other way around ... and if TB12 was the one carrying Bill all along. We're sure that's still debatable, but one thing's clear ... Tom doesn't need Bill to get to a Super Bowl, not after this.

The Buccaneers will face off against either the Buffalo Bills or the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7. Right now, the Bills are ahead -- but there's still a lot of game to play. In any case, congrats to the greatest quarterback to ever do it. Quite an achievement, we must say!

Sky Banner to Trump in Florida 'You Pathetic Loser ...' 'Worst President Ever'!!!

Donald Trump might think he can escape ridicule and scathing criticism at his Florida hideout, but he's wrong ... 'cause someone took to the skies to get a clear message to 45.

A sky-writing plane was spotted in the air Sunday heading toward Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, and it had a banner trailing behind it ... taking direct aim at the former President. One set of letters read, "TRUMP YOU PATHETIC LOSER GO BACK TO MOSCOW."

Another one read, "TRUMP WORST PRESIDENT EVER" ... talk about subtle, huh?

No word on who might've commissioned the fly-over, but what is clear is that not everyone is happy about DT moving into town. He's been at his private club since Wednesday, when he departed D.C. following a farewell rally ... and it looks like he's back to his usual routine.

Photos surfaced this weekend of Trump golfing at Mar-a-Lago with some supporters in tow, who greeted him with signs of encouragement. Trump, donning a white polo shirt and a MAGA hat, waved at the crowd and even flashed some smiles from inside his SUV.

Later, he hit the links and drove his own cart ... and didn't seem too concerned about his upcoming impeachment trial or the looming prospect of criminal prosecution.

While the pro-Trump crowd on the ground could give the impression he's among friends, the big blue sky tells a different story. His stay there won't be all smooth sailing.

Dr. Fauci Opens Up on Death Threats ... Once Covered in Powder from Suspicious Letter

Dr. Fauci has offered up the nitty-gritty about receiving death threats since the pandemic began, and it sounds awful ... especially one time when he got powdered.

The top infectious disease doc in the U.S. told the NYT, during the last year of the Trump Administration, his whole family was getting threats ... "The threats would come directly to my children's phones, directly to my children's homes. How the hell did whoever these assholes were get that information?"

8/5/20
how'd these assholes find my kids?
Harvard University / YouTube

He says there was lots of online chatter, with people saying stuff like, "Hey, we got to get rid of this guy. What are we going to do about him? He’s hurting the president’s chances," which he characterized as "right-wing craziness."

One of the scariest incidents ... Fauci says he once received a letter in the mail ... "I opened it up and a puff of powder came all over my face and my chest." He says he didn't know what to do, but his security said, "Don't move, stay in the room." A hazmat team came and sprayed him down.

Fauci was fatalistic, saying ... "It had to be one of 3 things: A hoax, or anthrax, which meant I'd have to go on Cipro for a month. Or if it was ricin, I was dead, so bye-bye."

Dr. Fauci also says this ... he has no idea if Trump was ever told about this, nor did he want to alert anyone or make a fuss. He explains, "What good would it be to tell anyone? Also, it was under F.B.I. investigation, and they don’t like you to talk about it."

Fauci and his family have been receiving Secret Service protection since late March ... and clearly, with good reason.

BTW, these threats weren't abstract or coming just from faceless trolls on the Internet -- none other than Steve Bannon suggested beheading Fauci and putting his head on a pike.

New Senate Pro Temp Patrick Leahy 3rd in Line for POTUS ... First in Line for Batman Movies!!!

The guy who's third in line to be Commander-in-Chief of this country is also well-equipped to hit the Bat-signal every now and again ... because he's got quite the movie resume.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont -- who was recently voted to become the new president pro tempore of the Senate, replacing Chuck Grassley -- has made cameos in a whopping FIVE Batman movies over the years, even in roles you might vaguely remember.

His appearances date back to 1995, when he first showed up in "Batman Forever," and the hits kept on coming from there ... he starred in 1997's "Batman & Robin," 2008's "The Dark Knight," 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises," and 2016's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

Sen. Leahy also did some voice acting in the Batman animated series in the '90s, so the guy definitely has his spot reserved in Gotham's HOF. He often played politicians in his portrayals, which makes sense. That's kind of his day job.

As for how he got into it ... apparently, his son (an actor) told some Hollywood bigwigs back in the day that his dad was a HUGE Batman fan, so they hooked him up with a cameo ... and the rest is history. All his earnings from the films have been donated to charity.

Like we said earlier, Leahy now is the third person who would step in as POTUS if push came to shove ... behind, of course, VP Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He's used to the pressure, he had this gig from 2012 to 2015.

Tacoma, Washington Cop Runs Over Pedestrians ... Caught On Video

VIOLENT CLASH
@jasonjgauthier / Twitter

A police officer gunned his SUV into a crowd in Tacoma, Washington Saturday night, running over at least one person ... and it was all caught on video.

There were about 100 people in a street blocking an intersection ... some were in cars doing donuts and allegedly street racing. Cops were called to the scene.

The crowd surrounded one of the police SUV's and began pounding on the windows and kicking the sides of the vehicle. The PD said in a statement the officer feared for his safety ... "the officer drove forward striking one individual and may have impacted others" as he tried to get out of the "unsafe position."

As the officer guns it, you see the SUV run over someone laying in the street. Someone who watched screamed, "Oh my God, oh my God."

At least one person was taken to the hospital. That person's condition is unknown.

The incident is under investigation.

Dustin Poirier Knocks Out Conor McGregor ... at UFC 257!!!!

DUSTIN POIRIER!!!!!

The Diamond just KNOCKED OUT Conor McGregor at UFC 257 -- and man, was that violent!!!!

McGregor seemed to be in control in Round 1 -- but Dustin took over in Round 2, obliterating McGregor with a series of shots before ending it with a strong right hook that sent Conor right to the mat.

Dustin avenged his 1st round loss to Conor when they fought in 2014 -- a fight Dustin has wanted to run back for years!!

Dustin's game plan was obvious -- he targeted Conor's legs hoping to wear the guy down ... and he did just that.

After the fight, Dustin called a 3rd fight with Conor -- and bragged he's the best boxer in the UFC.

Conor was respectful after the fight -- and offered an explanation for the loss.

"I just wasn't as comfortable as I needed to be," Conor said after the fight ... insisting he's been out of the Octagon too long to compete with the best in the world.

It was McGregor's first fight since January 2020 -- when he defeated Cowboy Cerrone in a 1st round knockout.

Before that, Conor got beat up by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in October 2018. He hadn't fought before that since Nov. 2016.

Here's the bottom line for Conor -- it would be hard for Khabib to be impressed enough by Conor's performance to warrant a rematch.

In fact, Khabib sent a tweet seemingly aimed at Conor after the fight -- basically saying Conor has strayed from what made him great.

"This is what happened, when you change your team, leave the sparring partners who made you a champion and sparring with little kids, far away from reality."

On the other hand, Dustin looked great ... and Michael Chandler made one helluva statement in his 1st round knockout of Dan Hooker.

Flaming Lips Space Bubbles For Everyone ... Futuristic Concert in Oklahoma

BUBBLE MANIA
@waynecoyne5 / Instagram

The Flaming Lips hopped on stage Saturday night for their long-awaited Space Bubble Concert, and gotta say ... it's awesome!!!

It went down in the band's hometown, Oklahoma City, and it did not disappoint. The band AND the crowd were all in their own, individual bubbles in a futuristic display that looked ... well, futuristic.

The Space Bubble Concert was originally scheduled for December, but there was a spike in coronavirus cases in Oklahoma so the band was forced to postpone.

BLOWIN UP!!!
TMZ.com

Lead singer Wayne Coyne was very much into the bubble, saying going to a Flaming Lips concert is safer than going to a supermarket. Coyne told us about the precautions back in November ... as a way of keeping music and concerts alive during the pandemic.

Fatal Shooting New Body Cam Video Shows Fatal Shooting ... During Mental Health Check

DEADLY CONFRONTATION
Killeen PD

Newly released body cam video shows a cop showing up to a mental health check ... and almost immediately tasing and then shooting a man to death.

It's a horrifying scene. As TMZ has reported, the incident went down on January 10 in Kileen, Texas, after a family called the mental health unit of the Sheriff's Dept., something they had done successfully the day before.

1/9/21
DE-ESCALATION SAVES LIVES

52-year-old Patrick Warren had been having episodes where he was acting erratically. On January 9, a mental health officer showed up, talked to Warren until he was calm and then took him to the hospital where he got checked out and returned home. The video (above) shows Warren calmly walking to the officer's car.

The following day, the family called again, but this time there were no mental health officers available. Enter Officer Reynaldo Contreras, who did anything BUT deescalate the situation.

Warren opens the front door and Contreras almost immediately threatens to tase him if he didn't get on the ground and quickly made good on that promise. Less than a minute later, Warren was fatally shot.

BROKE OUR TRUST
TMZ.com

The family and their lawyer, famed civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, are calling for Contreras to be fired and charged with murder. Contreras is on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation.

The shooting is quickly becoming the textbook case of the need for de-escalation ... something that clearly worked with the mental health officer and something that was clearly ignored by Contreras.

SpaceX Spectacular Launch!!! Reusable Booster Nails Landing

MISSION SUCCESS
SpaceX

SpaceX is proving rocket launches never get old, because its latest mission had the precision of ... well, the Rockettes.

The spacecraft shook the ground Sunday at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The mission hurled a bunch of small satellites from both the government and private sectors. There was also SpaceX's Starlink broadband satellite.

The launch was originally set for last month, but was postponed for various reasons. It was scheduled to blast off Saturday, but Mother Nature had other ideas.

What's really amazing ... this is the 5th time the booster was used to rocket SpaceX payload into orbit. It made a perfect, bullseye landing. Really incredible.

Elon Musk once said ... when Delta flies from L.A. to New York, it doesn't throw the plane away when it lands, and SpaceX is mimicking that by making reusable rockets. Again, pretty amazing that NASA couldn't figure it out for all those decades but Elon did.

Joe Exotic Still Pushing for a Pardon from Biden ... Help a Fellow Joe Out!!!

After feeling spurned by Donald Trump, Joe Exotic's officially moving on to the next POTUS ... and keeping the faith that President Biden will grant his freedom.

TMZ's obtained emails Joe's sent out to his team from prison, in which he expresses hopefulness that the new administration will come through with a pardon ... after failing to make Trump's last-minute list.

Exotic says he has more confidence in Biden regarding criminal justice and prison reform, and claims he watched a TV special on VP Kamala Harris ... leading him to believe she can "help clean up the corruption in the DOJ and other agencies."

As for his feelings about Trump ... Exotic says he always looked up to him for being a straight-shooter and never backing down, but that all changed after January 6.

Exotic feels disdain for Trump, he says partly because 45 ended up just hiding out in the White House after the riot ... never saying a word about the people who died.

Long story short ... it seems Joe is all pro-Joe now, and even claims in his emails to have new evidence in his case that he hopes the Biden administration will consider.

As we reported ... Exotic claims he was "too gay" to ever receive a pardon from Trump in the first place. Biden, on the other hand, issued a sweeping executive order on his first day in office to protect LGBTQ+ people from being discriminated against.

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