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The man convicted of shooting and killing ex-NFL star Will Smith is now suing Smith's widow in civil court -- claiming it was Will who triggered the violence that fateful night and ruined his life.

Cardell Hayes is suing Racquel Smith, the estate of Will Smith and others over the events from April 9, 2016 ... when Hayes shot Smith in New Orleans following a road rage incident.

In the suit, Hayes says Smith was very drunk when he began dangerously taunting him on the road that night ... culminating in Hayes slamming his car into Smith's vehicle.

Hayes says Smith threw a drink in his face and punched him while one of Smith's associates tried to club him with a weapon.

Hayes says Smith went back to his car, grabbed a gun and shot at him multiple times.

Cops say they found a loaded gun in Smith's car that night -- but prosecutors had said there's no evidence he ever fired it during the altercation.

Hayes was eventually convicted of manslaughter and could face up to 40 years in prison. Sentencing is set for later this month.

Meantime, Hayes is suing the Smiths in civil court for the assault, severe emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life and more.

Big win for Von Miller ... an L.A. judge has BLOCKED a woman from releasing the sex tape featuring the NFL superstar after months of fighting it out in court.

As we previously reported, Elizabeth Ruiz claims she owns the rights to 50% of the video which was shot during a trip to Mexico in June 2016. She claimed Miller knew he was being recorded and consented.

But Miller claimed Ruiz was trying to shake him down for $2.5 MILLION -- insisting she was only using the tape in a cash grab scheme.

She denied trying to extort Miller -- saying it was HIS legal team that made the first cash offer and she was down to play ball.

But earlier this week, a judge issued a permanent injunction in the case -- forbidding her from not only distributing the tape ... but she's not even allowed to let anyone see it.

The judge also ordered Ruiz to pay Miller $50,000 in attorney's fees.

And get this ... the judge also ordered that a copy of the sex tape that Ruiz had submitted as evidence must be destroyed ASAP.

When Houston Texans offensive tackle David Quessenberry finished his last round of chemotherapy after a 3 year battle, he got to ring the victory bell at the hospital ... AND BROKE THE DAMN THING!

It's actually an awesome video ... Quessenberry has been fighting Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma since he was diagnosed in 2014 ... a year after he was drafted into the league.

Now, more than 1,000 days after he began his battle ... Quessenberry completed his last chemotherapy treatment at MD Anderson cancer hospital in Houston and got to ring the bell to announce to the world that he's well on the road to recovery!

He rang it so damn hard it broke!

Quessenberry commented about it, saying, "This bell, just like cancer, never stood a chance."

Dr. David Dao and his attorneys aren't suing United or the City of Chicago ... YET, but they put intense pressure on them with a blockbuster news conference where they revealed Dao's injuries.

Attorney Tom Demetrio said, "We're not ready to sue. We're doing our due diligence." However, Demetrio said Dr. Dao is taking a stand for the rights of all airline passengers. He added the law is clear ... IF a passenger is to be removed "under no circumstances can it be done with unreasonable force and violence."

Although it's not filed yet, Demetrio hinted the lawsuit is coming, telling reporters "it will be filed in Cook County."

Demetrio revealed Dao suffered a "significant concussion, a broken nose and sinus injuries." He said he also lost 2 front teeth and will be undergoing "reconstructive surgery." He said Dao was released from a Chicago hospital late Wednesday night and is now in a "secure location."

One of Dao's 5 children, Crystal, said the whole family was "horrified and shocked and sickened" by the video of her father getting dragged off the United flight.

Dao's lawyers already filed docs in Chicago demanding United preserve all evidence and personnel records related to his incident.

Demetrio spoke about United CEO Oscar Munoz's apology on 'GMA,' saying it seemed "staged" and an attempt to backpedal from his initial statement fully backing his employees' actions.

Jackie Robinson's wife and children are among the special guests committed to attend the statue ceremony at Dodger Stadium this weekend honoring the MLB legend ... the team says.

Rachel Robinson, along with Jackie's daughter, Sharon, and son, David, will be front and center on Saturday ... the 70th anniversary of Robinson breaking MLB’s color barrier on April 15, 1947.

The 10 foot tall bronze statue will be the very first one installed at Dodger Stadium. The first 40,000 fans will receive a smaller replica.

Several Dodgers legends will also be in attendance including Vin Scully, Tommy Lasorda, Sandy Koufax, Don Newcombe and Dodgers owner Magic Johnson.

President Trump thinks Hillary Clinton should be kissing the ground FBI Director James Comey walks on because she was guilty of every charge the bureau investigated.

Trump told FOX Business' Maria Bartiromo he firmly believes Clinton would be on trial right now if Comey hadn't "saved her life."

The way the prez sees it ... "When [Comey] was reading those charges, she was guilty of every charge, and then he said she was essentially OK."

Of course, most Hillary supporters think Comey totally screwed her with his October surprise -- announcing the FBI was continuing to investigate her emails, after previously saying it was closed..

IT'S TRUE ... apparently!

WWE superstars Dean Ambrose and Renee Young tied the knot in real life ... so says Renee!

Rumors had been swirling ever since fans noticed the wrestlers were each sporting rings on their wedding fingers ... even though they never referenced the jewelry on TV.

But Wednesday morning, Young seemingly put the whole thing to bed saying, "Marriage is nice. Thanks for all the love."

The two have been dating in real life for roughly 3 years.

So ... MAZEL!!

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.