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United's CEO, Oscar Munoz, is promising cops will never board another one of his flights to remove a booked passenger again.

Munoz also apologized again to Dr. David Dao, his family and all passengers who witnessed the now infamous dragging of Dao. During his 'GMA' interview ... he added the airline would be looking into policy changes ... including the forceful removal of passengers.

He's clearly aware of the social media backlash over his initial use of "re-accommodate" to describe the incident, and made an effort to explain the poor choice of words.

David Letterman's mother, Dorothy Mengering -- who endeared hearts among the masses that watched her son's late night show -- died in her home Tuesday.

The former church secretary became a staple on the 'Late Show' as a correspondent during the Olympics in Norway, Japan and Utah. She was also featured on her son's famous "Top 10" lists and "Cooking with Dave's Mom" segments.

Dorothy died 1 day before Dave's 70th birthday.

Dorothy's survived by her three children, five grandchildren and her sister.

She was 95.

#RIP

Rob Gronkowski got some pretty sweet BEER REVENGE on WWE superstar Jinder Mahal Tuesday night ... throwing some sudsy goodness right in Jinder's face during "SmackDown Live."

John Warren Geils Jr., founder of The J. Geils Band, was found dead in his home Tuesday in Massachusetts.

John's body was found in his home in Groton. Police say the death is not suspicious.

John's namesake band released their first album in 1970. Their first big hit, "Love Stinks" came in 1980, and they finally scored a number one with "Centerfold" in 1981. The album it came from, "Freeze Frame," was also number one for 4 weeks, and stayed on the charts for 70 weeks.

Just to give you an idea how the big band was in the early '80s -- the Eagles, U2 and Billy Joel all opened for J. Geils on the road.

Geils was 71 years old.

Story developing ...

Khloe Kardashian says she's DEFINITELY down to marry Tristan Thompson ... even though he hasn't exactly proposed yet.

3:19 PM PT -- Sean Spicer has formally apologized for his comments comparing Hitler to Bashar al-Assad. He told CNN Tuesday, "I mistakenly used an inappropriate and insensitive reference to the Holocaust. There is no comparison."

Sean Spicer should be fired for saying Syria's president is worse than Hitler ... so says the Anne Frank Center.

The Center's executive director said Spicer's statement is "the most evil slur upon a group of people we have ever heard from a White House press secretary." He also called for Spicer's immediate termination.

Spicer's been under the gun since Tuesday's press briefing, where he said not even Adolf Hitler sank to using chemical weapons like Present Bashar al-Assad did on his own people.

Spicer also flubbed while trying to clarify, adding ... "He was not using the gas on his own people in the same way that Assad is doing." The fact Hitler did just that, and in far greater capacity than Assad, has Rep. Nancy Pelosi also demanding Spicer be fired.

United Airlines' CEO is taking a much more apologetic stance about the doctor who was forcibly dragged off a United plane, and promising to make big changes.

Oscar Munoz issued a statement saying ... "The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened." He extended the apology to Dr. David Dao and all passengers on the Sunday flight.

Munoz went on to say United takes full responsibility for the incident, and promises to look into better methods to deal with anything like this in the future.

On Monday, as the backlash against United was building, Munoz emailed all employees to say he fully stood behind the crew members' actions in dealing with Dao.

His tone's changed now, saying ... "It's never too late to do the right thing" and "we are going to fix what's broken so this never happens again." Interestingly, he says they'll review polices on incentivizing volunteers in overbooking situations.

Translation: Offering more money could be an easier way to diffuse these matters.

United Airlines is taking a nosedive on Wall Street -- and could lose more than $800 million today -- on the heels of David Dao getting bloodied and dragged off a United flight.

United's shares were down as much as 4% Tuesday morning, which -- if it continues -- can wipe about $830 million off the company's market cap. Other airlines' stock values are down as well, but United is down almost 3 times more.

Hard not to connect the plummet with public outrage over cops forcibly dragging Dao Sunday off the United jet in Chicago.

The airline's CEO is standing behind the flight's crew members who called airport police to remove Dao.

New footage has surfaced showing WWE legend Ric Flair trying to fat shame a bartender during a heated exchange in an Indiana bar ... moments before he was booted and banned for life.

It all went down at The Deck at the Gas House in Ft. Wayne on Sunday when Flair got pissed at the bartender while requesting a fresh glass.

We spoke with a bar staffer who says Flair hurled insults at the male bartender -- called him a "fat ass" and said, "Lose some weight."

The last insult was captured on video obtained by ProWrestlingSheet.com.

Flair was told to leave the joint and on his way out, we're told the WWE legend threw out the classic line -- "You don't know who I am!" and "I'll have you out of a job!"

We're told Flair is no longer welcome back at the bar.

The officer who forcibly removed the United Airlines passenger Sunday night at O'Hare International has just been placed on leave pending an investigation.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said Monday that "the incident on United flight 3411 was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure and the actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the Department."

It's unclear which officer the CDA is referring to ... but videos from multiple witnesses on the plane show a man in plain clothes violently grabbing the passenger and dragging him down the aisle ... as 2 uniformed officers follow behind.

Chicago PD said the man started yelling before Aviation Officers tried to forcibly remove him.

NY Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda was on the verge of throwing a no-hitter Monday ... until Martha Stewart ruined it.

The United Airlines passenger who was grabbed and dragged off a flight Sunday ... somehow got back onto the jet -- and seemed extremely disoriented and confused.

The man, reportedly a doctor, ran down the aisle, yelling ... "I have to go home! I have to go home!" He also mumbled, "Just kill me. Just kill me." You could see he was bloodied from the first time he was removed.

He was eventually escorted off the plane ... again.

United says this was all due to overbooking, and the CEO apologized for "re-accommodating" the passengers.

11:32 AM PT -- Chicago PD says the man who got dragged off the United Airlines flight had been asked to leave before authorities arrived. Cops say he began yelling at the request, at which point Aviation Officers tried forcibly removing him. He fell during the struggle and struck an armrest, causing injuries to his face. They add ... he was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life threatening injuries and an investigation is ongoing. Also ... he's 69 years old.

Great news ... Otis Nixon is no longer missing!

The Woodstock Police Dept. in Georgia just announced, "Otis Nixon has been located and is safe. We appreciate the assistance from the public and media."

The 58-year-old former MLB star was reported missing on Saturday after he did not show up to a scheduled tee time at a golf course.

Amazing.

Emmitt Smith wanted to congratulate Sergio Garcia for winning The Masters this weekend -- so he tweeted at the golfer, "Way to persevere through a varsity."

For real.

Don't worry, Smith realized his mistake 15 hours later and followed up with a correction.

"Computer glitch adversity is the word I should've been used."

THE WORD I SHOULD'VE BEEN USED?!!

Emmitt can't catch a break.

Go Gators.

Snoop Dogg has chosen sides in the Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones feud -- he's rollin' with Jon ... saying "Skinny Bones Jones is gonna kick your motherf**kin' ass!"

Former MLB star Otis Nixon -- who played 17 years in the big leagues -- has gone missing, cops say ... and officials are hoping the public can help find him.

The 58-year-old was last seen leaving his home in Woodstock, Georgia in a 2011 gray Range Rover to play golf ... but never got to the course.

Officials are clearly concerned and have asked anyone with information to call police immediately.

Nixon has a troubled past ... including a cocaine arrest back in 2013 and a very bizarre incident in 2015 when cops say he let a 16-year-old drive a rental car taken out in his name that had weed inside.