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Cindy Williams, made famous for her portrayal of Shirley on the hugely popular "Laverne & Shirley" has died.

A family statement Monday announced her death, "The passing of our kind, hilarious mother, Cindy Williams, has brought us insurmountable sadness that could never truly be expressed.” It continues, “Knowing and loving her has been our joy and privilege. She was one of a kind, beautiful, generous and possessed a brilliant sense of humor and a glittering spirit that everyone loved.”

Williams played alongside Penny Marshall on the popular sitcom for it's 8 seasons from 1976 to 1983. "Laverne & Shirley" was a spin-off of "Happy Days."

The show had a ton of success, at one point becoming the most-watched sitcom in The United States and netting 6 Golden Globes nominations and one Emmy nomination.

Williams left "Laverne & Shirley" during the 8th season when she became pregnant. However, her career saw her take on projects on Broadway, make guest appearances on shows like "8 Simple Rules" and even reunite with Penny Marshall on an episode of "Sam & Cat" in 2013.

We got Cindy out in NYC in 2015 talking about "Laverne & Shirley" memories.

Cindy was 75.

Former University of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested Sunday morning for public intoxication in Dallas, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Dallas PD tells us they responded to a report of a man banging on doors around 6:10 AM this morning. When cops arrived, they located Bennett, 25, and determined he was intoxicated. Bennett was arrested for public intoxication and taken to the City Detention Center.

Bennett, 25, had been training for the NFL Draft in Fort Worth, TX. The 5'10", 190 lb. quarterback is all over the place when it comes to mock drafts ... with some writers and "experts" having him drafted in the early mid-rounds, to not being picked at all.

He's not the prototypical professional QB, but Stetson's one of the most accomplished college signal-callers ever. SB lead his UGA Bulldogs to a perfect 15-0 season, an SEC title, and a National Championship this season (they won back-to-back National titles) ... after starting his college career as a walk-on.

Bennett didn't win the Heisman (Caleb Williams, USC), but was a finalist for the prestigious award this year. He took home the Manning Award, given to the best college QB in America.

Bennett likely would've been in Alabama this week for the Senior Bowl, but turned down an invitation to play in the game, instead reportedly telling game officials he wanted to focus on preparing for the NFL Combine.

Memphis police just released the graphic body cam footage from Tyre Nichols' brutal arrest -- and the video is every bit as disturbing as Tyre's family and law enforcement have described it.

In the clips, pulled from both body cam and overhead cameras, you see officers swarm Tyre -- demanding he get down and give up his hands. Although he's laying on his side with an officer on top of him, he's hesitant to lie flat on his stomach.

One officer threatens to deploy his Taser, and after about a minute-long struggle ... Tyre gets up to start running, and one of the cops fires his Taser, but he gets away.

About 7 minutes later, they catch up to Tyre in a residential neighborhood, and this is when it gets brutal. While he's pinned to the ground -- reportedly about 100 yards from his family's home -- Tyre repeatedly yells, "Mom!!!"

Then one officer kicks him twice, and another yells, "Watch out, I'mma baton the f**k out you," and then strikes Tyre twice before they pull him up on his feet.

While 2 officers are holding him with his hands behind his back ... another punches Tyre 5 times with a closed fist, sending him back down to his knees again.

Eventually, officers get Tyre handcuffed, put him up against a police cruiser and he writhes in pain for nearly 20 minutes before going limp.

As you know, the 5 Memphis PD officers stopped Tyre on Jan. 7 on suspicion of reckless driving ... but from the start, the cops were hyper-aggressive. Even the video does not make it clear why things got violent that quickly.

Once other officers show up to the scene, one of the cops involved in the beating says Tyre attempted to grab for another officer's gun -- causing them to unleash on him.

After the vicious beating ... Tyre was rushed to St. Francis Hospital because he was complaining he was short of breath. He was admitted in critical condition, and died in the hospital on January 10.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who's representing Tyre's family, reviewed the body cam footage with the family days before it was released, and likened the horrific scene to the beating of Rodney King in 1991.

The 5 Memphis police officers involved in the traffic stop -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., and Justin Smith -- have been fired and charged with second-degree murder.

They also face additional charges of official misconduct, official oppression and aggravated kidnapping. Four of the 5 have posted bail and were released as of Friday morning.

Tyre's cause of death has not been released and the incident is being investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Terrifying moment for Conor McGregor -- the UFC superstar was just hit by a car that was traveling at full speed while he was riding his bike on Friday ... but luckily, he appears to be okay.

34-year-old McGregor shared footage from the scene on social media ... showing his expensive Orbea cycle lying in the middle of the road.

"Got a bang of a car just now from behind," Conor said in his Instagram post. "A sun trap, the driver couldn’t see me. Full spreed straight thru me. Thank you God, it wasn’t my time."

In video following the accident, a flustered McGregor shows the aftermath of the accident ... and you can hear the driver profusely apologizing.

"All good, all good," McGregor said. "Don't worry about it."

Conor clearly understands the seriousness of the situation ... saying, "I could have been dead there, mate, look!!" and "Jesus Christ ... I think I got away with my life, there."

McGregor's pants ripped as he fell to the ground ... but as for any body damage, he seems to have no injuries.

"Thank you wrestling and judo also," Conor said. "Having an awareness on the landing saved my life. 🙏"

Eventually, Conor caught a ride from the driver who hit him ... after he explained his bike was "f***ed."

The 5 police officers involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols have each been charged with second-degree murder ... as the public awaits the release of video from the fatal beating.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were all booked into the Shelby County Jail in Memphis Thursday on a variety of charges -- including second-degree murder, official misconduct, official oppression and aggravated kidnapping.

In a press conference earlier this week, Tyre's stepdad, Rodney Wells, said anything less than a first-degree murder charge would be unacceptable.

Nichols was pulled over for reckless driving January 7 and things escalated to the point of a vicious beating from officers. He was hospitalized in critical condition after the incident and died January 10 -- an autopsy conducted by a specialist hired by the family determined Tyre died from internal bleeding caused by a severe beating.

Tyre's family was permitted to view police video from the traffic stop on Monday, and it's expected the public will see the video soon -- possibly by the end of the week.

All 5 of the officers were fired almost immediately following the beating, and 2 EMS workers were relieved of their duties until an investigation has been completed.

Tyre's family has hired civil rights attorney, Benjamin Crump, to represent them moving forward.

Rui Hachimura made his debut as the Los Angeles Lakers' newest addition on Wednesday ... but a lot of his fans back home missed out on the action -- 'cause the historic moment caused the NBA's streaming service in Japan to crash.

The Lakers acquired the 24-year-old from the Washington Wizards earlier this week ... shipping Kendrick Nunn and a handful of second round picks to secure the deal -- making Rui the first Japanese-born player in Lakers franchise history.

Fans were quick to complain on social media about not being able to watch Rui check in towards the end of the first quarter of the Lakers' home win over the San Antonio Spurs ... forcing the streaming service to address the issue.

Rakuten -- the Association's official streaming partner in Japan since 2017 -- released a statement on the matter ... saying, "Starting around 12:20 PM Japan Time on Thursday, January 26, the NBA Rakuten site became inaccessible when a sudden surge in user traffic caused a server issue," according to The Sun.

"This was around the time that the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers game tipped off."

To resolve the issue, Rakuten says it made the game available on YouTube until the site was back up and running again.

Rakuten claims the problem was fixed ... and service has returned to normal.

Hulk Hogan apparently had a bathroom catastrophe on Wednesday ... and instead of hitting up a buddy, his account sent out a cry for help to his 2.2 million followers.

"I ran out of toilet paper brother, help!!!!!!!!" Hogan's tweet said ... which, naturally, led a bunch of quick social media users to screenshot the message before it was ultimately deleted.

Now, it's unclear if Hulk's account was hacked -- he returned to his regular tweeting by posting a pic with his longtime wrestling pals Ted DiBiase, Diamond Dallas Page, Madusa, Jimmy Hart and IRS a few minutes later -- or if he meant to actually text someone to bring him some T.P.

Regardless, the tweets are hilarious ... and we're just going to assume the latter is what happened.

Hulk has yet to address the tweets ... and chances are, he might never bring it up.

Donald Trump is now allowed to make a comeback to social media -- Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, is ending his suspension -- but it'll come with some rules.

Meta made the announcement Wednesday, saying the accounts will be restored in the coming weeks -- noting it believes users should be able to hear what politicians have to say in order to make informed decisions.

Meta continues, "The suspension was an extraordinary decision taken in extraordinary circumstances. The normal state of affairs is that the public should be able to hear from a former President of the United States, and a declared candidate for that office again, on our platforms."

However, the reinstatement comes with words of caution, "But that does not mean there are no limits to what people can say on our platform. When there is a clear risk of real world harm – a deliberately high bar for Meta to intervene in public discourse – we act."

As you know, Trump was kicked off a handful of social media apps and sites back in January 2021 after companies concluded he used the platforms to incite the violent insurrection on the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6.

You'll recall -- he was booted from Facebook/Instagram and others, including Pinterest, Shopify Twitch, Snapchat, Reddit and even TikTok.

Paris Hilton's wish to become a mother is now a reality ... she and her husband Carter Reum just announced they have a brand new baby.

Paris isn't revealing their bundle's name or gender yet, but she did post an adorable pic of the infant's hand gripping hers. The proud mom says, "You are already loved beyond words."

Unclear if Carter and Paris adopted or had the child by surrogate ... but we've seen Paris out and about, and she definitely was not pregnant.

If you missed her New Year's Eve performance at Miley Cyrus' TV special -- well, you can see ... a baby bump was not part of her ensemble!

We know Paris was undergoing IVF treatments ... she talked to us about it back in November, after her mother, Kathy Hilton, had suggested Paris was struggling to get pregnant.

Paris and Carter, who are both 41, have been pretty clear about their desire to start a family ever since their lavish wedding weekend back in 2021.

Whatever course the happy couple chose ... it was successful.

Congrats to the new parents!

Jay-Z and Yo Gotti's legal counsel at Team Roc are dismissing their lawsuit painting a Mississippi State pen as a deadly horror camp -- but they're also reminding the state they'll be back if prison conditions go south again.

The Parchman Farm penitentiary is still open, but it's undergone a string of renovations since Team Roc filed the suit calling out the state for several fatal stabbings, and unsanitary living conditions at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to NBC, the MSP received new stainless steel showers, toilets and sinks after the previous restrooms were crumbling and littered with rat feces. It also has new sports facilities for inmates to partake in basketball, flag football and boxing, and upgraded heating and air conditioning ventilation systems.

As a result, the lawsuit was dismissed, but without prejudice ... which basically means it could be refiled at any moment.

A rep for Team Roc explained that while they're pleased with the new additions, they'll be monitoring Parchman to make sure the facility doesn’t backslide on the improvements.

A new XXXTENTACION song titled "I'm Not Human" has surfaced from the late rap icon's estate in celebration of what would've been his 25th birthday, and fittingly features another hip hop alien himself ... Lil Uzi Vert!!!

The official XXXTENTACION account dropped the message Monday which read, "A gift from Jah…Thank you #liluzi 1.23.23.”

The melodic acoustic guitar ballad is a departure from X's trademark rager records, and speaks to his versatility.

Uzi pops up later in the song to add more harmony to X's crooning, working wonders on the posthumous collab.

A heartfelt message -- along with several throwback photos -- was also posted onto X's story ... thanking X for his musical contributions to the world and saluting the fans for keeping his memory alive since his June 2018 murder.

Jury selection for 3 of X's murder suspects began last week in Broward County, FL -- Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome all pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and armed robbery charges, and face life sentences if convicted.

NBA champion and former coach Chris Ford -- credited with making the first three-point basket in league history -- has died, his family announced Wednesday. He was 74 years old.

"Chris was beloved by his family, friends, and teammates," his family said in a statement. "He had a great love for his family, the city of Boston, the fans, and the entire Celtics family. He always showed humility and respect for all those that were fortunate enough to be a part of his life."

The C's also addressed Ford's passing ... saying, "The Boston Celtics sends their deepest sympathies to the Ford family and their many friends."

The Pistons selected Chris in the second round of the 1972 NBA draft ... and he spent his first seven seasons with Detroit before joining the Celtics.

Chris played the final four years of his career with Boston ... and was a vital member of the 1981 team that won a championship over the Houston Rockets.

Ford won two more NBA titles with the Celtics in 1984 and 1986 as an assistant coach ... and became the eleventh head coach in franchise history in 1990.

As head coach, Ford led his former teammates Larry Bird, Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale to the playoffs several times.

Ford also coached Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing in the 1991 All-Star Game.

Snoop Dogg’s legendary rap career is about to reach a new level -- he'll be inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame ... along with several other iconic artists!!!

The Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its 2023 inductees Wednesday at the 52nd Annual Induction and Awards Gala. R&B/jazz great Sade Adu, new jack swing legend Teddy Riley,  Gloria Estefan, Electric Light Orchestra frontman Jeff Lynne and Taylor Swift co-writer Liz Rose all round out the class.

Snoop will be the 5th hip hop act or artist inducted -- Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, and The Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were previously honored … and Tha Doggfather celebrated his distinction with a series of emojis on IG, speaking to his rapping skills!!!

Songwriter’s HOF Chairman Nile Rodgers saluted all the inductees in a statement, “The music industry does not exist without songwriters delivering great songs first. Without them there is no recorded music, no concert business, no merch . . . nothing, it all starts with the song and the songwriter."

The car crash that killed pro wrestling star Jay Briscoe on Tuesday also left his two daughters in critical condition ... cops announced on Wednesday.

According to Delaware State Police, the wreck happened in Laurel at around 5:09 PM ... when the driver of a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 suddenly veered into Briscoe's lane, and slammed head-on into his 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 2500.

Cops say the driver of the Silverado 1500, 27-year-old Lillyanne Ternahan, and Briscoe (real name Jamin Pugh) were pronounced dead at the scene ... but Briscoe's two passengers, his 9-year-old and 12-year-old girls, survived.

Both, however, were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Ashley Pugh, Briscoe's wife, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning that the family needed prayers.

"Gracie is on her way into surgery on her back," Ashley said. "Jamin would want the whole world praying for his little girl. WE BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER!! Pray for the doctors and everyone working on her! Pray for her precious legs to move again! Pray for Jayleigh who has some pretty serious injuries, but is stable and resting!"

"Pray for strength for all of us!" she added. "We have a long long road ahead of us!"

Brian Walshe, the husband arrested for the murder and dismemberment of his missing wife Ana, has pled not guilty.

Walshe appeared in Quincy District Court in Massachusetts Wednesday morning ... the day after prosecutors charged him with murder and improper handling and transport of human remains.

Prosecutors ticked off a laundry list of evidence they say proves Walshe killed his wife around New Year's Day before dismembering and disposing of her body. Among the evidence ... a bloody knife in the basement of their home.

Authorities also found a hacksaw, hatchet, rugs, and a COVID vaccine card with Ana's name on it at a nearby trash site -- in a dumpster taken from his mother's apartment complex.

And there's this ... prosecutors say Walshe searched the internet for information on how to dispose of a female body that weighs 115 pounds. And on their son's iPad, there were searches for "How long before a body starts to smell" and "How to stop a body from decomposing."

In addition to the other evidence, Walshe allegedly paid $450 in cash at a Home Depot -- where he's seen on surveillance video -- buying cleaning products, tarps and mops.

Before they married, Ana had contacted authorities, telling them Walshe threatened to kill her.

Walshe is being held without bail.

Devin Willock -- the Univ. of Georgia offensive lineman who tragically died in a car accident on Sunday -- was ejected from the vehicle during the wreck after not wearing a seat belt ... this according to the crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the documents, authorities say the crash happened at around 2:45 AM in Athens ... after the driver of the 2021 Ford Expedition, UGA staffer Chandler LeCroy, "failed to negotiate a left curve" and barreled into two poles and trees -- before eventually coming to a halt against an apartment building.

Excessive speed was listed as a contributing factor in the crash, the report states. The posted speed limit in the area was 40 MPH.

The report adds LeCroy was not tested for alcohol or drugs.

In the docs, authorities say LeCroy and another passenger, UGA offensive lineman Warren McClendon, were both wearing lap and shoulder belts. But, according to the report, Willock and the car's fourth passenger, 26-year-old Victoria Bowles, were not using theirs.

The report states Willock, who was just 20 years old, died at the scene after being thrown from the vehicle. LeCroy was transported to a hospital after the crash but died a short time later.

According to the docs, McClendon and Bowles were transported to medical facilities for treatment for what were described as "suspected minor or visible" injuries.

The UGA community -- which had celebrated the team's national championship win over TCU just hours before the fatal crash -- is still reeling from the accident ... with star quarterback Stetson Bennett saying in a social media post on Tuesday, he's devastated over it all.