Family

Tawny Kitaen, the late actress who starred in "Bachelor Party" and whose personal life was filled with radical ups and downs, died from heart issues ... this according to her autopsy.

According to the Orange County Coroner's Office, Tawny's official cause of death is dilated cardiomyopathy ... the most common type of heart disease.

Other contributing factors include clogged arteries, antidepressants, sedatives, Tylenol, nerve pain medication and opioids.

TMZ broke the story ... Tawny died May 7 in Newport Beach, CA and cops told her family there was nothing found at the scene suggesting alcohol, drugs or pills were a factor in her death, nor were there any signs she took her own life.

Tawny's death came not long after her father passed, and her brother told us their father's loss was simply too much for her to handle.

Her family and close friends recently gathered to remember her one last time with an intimate celebration of life in Newport ... and she's been cremated.

Tawny lived a pretty storied life -- she acted in films like the one mentioned above, and has credits in flicks like "The Perils of Gwendoline" and "After Midnight" -- as well as several hit TV series, such as "Santa Barbara," "The New WKRP in Cincinnati," "Eek! the Cat," "Hercules," "Moms Anonymous," and many, many more over the years.

And, Tawny famously was featured in some music videos ... notably Whitesnake's "Is This Love," and "Here I Go Again."

Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli are gunning to head south of the border once more -- only this time, its for a wedding ... but first, they'll need to get the all clear from court.

The convicted couple just filed legal docs asking for permission to take a week-long trip down to San Jose del Cabo next month ... where they say they plan to be in attendance for someone's nuptials. Lori and Mossimo say they'd be gone from Nov. 5 to Nov. 12.

As for why they should be allowed to go, the pair note they've been compliant with the terms of their supervised release since getting out of prison. Lori cites the $150k fine she had to fork over as part of her sentence and says she's done with her community service.

Mossimo, for his part, says he's paid his $250k fine and says he's making progress on the community service. In other words ... we've paid for our college admission scandal sins.

Worth noting, this is is the exact same reasoning as last time -- remember, they went to Cabo back in June, and cited the same rationale, which a judge approved. So, ya gotta figure they'll be given the green light again.

Lori and Mossimo also claim their probation offices have their back in the ask -- which should help get it approved.

The judge has yet to rule.

Dick Vitale says cancer will not get in the way of his passion for college hoops -- explaining in an emotional video he's still planning to call games despite chemotherapy treatments.

The legendary broadcaster revealed his lymphoma diagnosis earlier this week -- and said Wednesday he's been prescribed steroids and six months of chemo to try to eradicate it.

But, Dickie V -- who's been providing commentary on games since the 1970s -- made it clear he's going to do everything in his power to stay on the air during the treatment process.

"They're going to try to plan the chemo so I can be free to do some games," Vitale said. "Which I've got to do -- that's my best medicine of all."

The 82-year-old says he's been overwhelmed by the amount of love he's received since announcing his diagnosis ... nearly breaking down in tears while thanking everyone for their support.

"I'm going to beat it because I got a great team," Vitale said. "Great family, my second family ESPN, all my colleagues have been so kind and so good and I have a great team of doctors who are all involved."

He then guaranteed that he will win his battle with the disease ... adding, "Take that to the bank. There's no doubt in my mind."

Lil Yachty's celebrating a major life milestone -- and likely losing sleep -- because he's on daddy duty now!!!

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the "Yacht Club" rapper is father to a baby girl who was born in the last couple weeks in New York City.

We're told Lil Yachty is in the Big Apple right now, where he's spending some time with the child.

It's unclear who the mom is ... to us, anyway. Obviously, Yachty knows, but he has had a few different girlfriends recently. Stay tuned.

We reached out to his reps, but so far ... no word back.

Karl-Anthony Towns says Jordyn Woods got him through the darkest moment of his life ... crediting the model for helping him cope with the sudden and tragic loss of his mother.

The Minnesota Timberwolves star praised his girlfriend repeatedly on Taraji P. Henson's "Peace of Mind with Taraji" show ... explaining Woods meant everything to him after his mom died from COVID-19 in April 2020.

"A woman that meant so much to me in my life left my life to be replaced by another woman to take that spot," KAT said of his mom and Woods.

"I feel like in a way, when my mom passed, she was like, 'I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to make sure you know who you're supposed to be with.'"

Towns said because Woods had dealt with similar tragedy -- she lost her father several years ago -- he used her shoulder to allow him to process the hurt.

"I leaned on her because she's one of the only people who would actually know how I was feeling and what was going through," KAT said. "Because she was super close with her father just like I was super close with my mother."

KAT and Jordyn didn't officially start dating until around Sept. 2020, nearly five months after KAT's mom's passing, but it's clear the bond they formed following her death springboarded them into their romantic relationship.

Grab a tissue, 'cause this video will hit you right in the feels.

A soldier came up with the ultimate surprise for his son after returning from overseas ... by suiting up as a referee and revealing himself prior to a high school football game this week -- and it's amazing!!

Army Major Fred Grooms Jr. is back home for 30 days after reportedly being deployed in Kuwait for the past year ... and as his son Fred III and the Helena H.S. JV team showed up at the 50-yard line for the coin toss, he pulled down his mask to show his identity.

Fred III was clearly shocked ... walking up to his pops and shaking his hand before embracing him with one of the warmest hugs you'll ever see.

Naturally, the surrounding refs loved the touching moment ... and the crowd in the stands clapped and cheered as they watched.

Fred Jr. now gets to spend the next few weeks making even more memories with his son before being redeployed for another year.

Jamie Lynn Spears' money is not welcomed by a charity she chose to support, and it seems undeniable the reason has to do with her big sister.

The charity is called This Is My Brave ... and Jamie Lynn made it clear it was near and dear to her heart by pledging a share of the profits from her upcoming memoir to the org.

Well, the charity said no thank you ... "We hear you. This Is My Brave was recently recommended to be a beneficiary organization for the proceeds from Jamie Lynn Spears' upcoming book. We have made the decision to decline the offer of receiving proceeds from the book sales."

Britney has now famously railed on her sister for leaching off her fame and not helping her when she was down. Britney seemed very upset Jamie Lynn was writing a book at all, the working title of which was "I Must Confess" -- a lyric in Britney's "Hit Me ... Baby One More Time." The book is now titled, "Things I Should Have Said" ... still a clear reference to Jamie Lynn's relationship with her sister.

Britney has warned her little sis and her parents that they should be nervous if she does an interview.

Britney Spears had a blast Saturday night riding a motorcycle with her fiance, Sam Asghari.

Britney seemed super happy as she returned home from their ride. That said, she's been warning her fam she may put them on blast soon, as the conservatorship appears to be winding down to an end after 13 years.

She posted ... "Lord have mercy on my family's souls if I ever do an interview!!!" As you know, Britney feels abandoned by her entire family, which she says has leached off of her for decades.

What's interesting ... what Britney will do once the conservatorship ends. She's understandably scared, because she's been under the thumb of the conservatorship for the majority of her adult life. She says "I'll just be honest and say I've waited so long to be free from the situation I'm in… and now that it's here I'm scared to do anything because I'm afraid I'll make a mistake!!"

Britney went on ... "For so many years I was always told if I succeeded at things, it could end… and it never did!!! I worked so hard but now that it's here and getting closer and closer to ending I'm very happy but there's a lot of things that scare me."

Britney also gave her fans a heads up, that she'll be taking a break from social media ... "I won't be posting as much in a world where it's our liberty to be free, it's a shame!!! I started experiencing that when I got the keys to my car for the first time 4 months ago and it's been 13 years!!!!"

There's definitely a measure of bitterness ... "I haven't done anything to be treated the way I have for the past 13 years!!! I'm disgusted with the system and wish I lived in another country!!!"

Gabby Petito's grieving parents paid a visit to a place their daughter visited shortly before she was murdered.

Joseph Petito posted a photo of Jenny Lake in Wyoming. The scenery is stunning ... with snowcapped mountains lining the area around a beautiful lake in Grand Teton National Park.

"I now know why you came here," Joseph wrote on Twitter. "#gabbypetito has a beautiful view from now on. Love you, and miss you."

The lake is near where Gabby's body was found. As we reported, the Teton County Coroner concluded Gabby died from manual strangulation sometime around the end of August.

Gabby's parents made the trip to recover her remains, which have been cremated. They're coming back to New York this weekend with the urn.

Brian Laundrie has still not been named a suspect in Gabby's death, although that seems to be more for strategic reasons. He is wanted for fraud, which would allow authorities to arrest him.  He's not been seen for a month, and the area authorities have been searching has not produced a single shred of evidence.

Britney Spears is sending a thinly veiled warning to her father and the rest of her family ... she says they should be worried about what she might say about them to the media.

Britney just opened up a bit about how her life is now that she can see the light at the end of her conservatorship tunnel ... and she didn't have a lot of nice things to say about her relatives.

The singer says ... "Lord have mercy on my family’s souls if I ever do an interview!!!"

She adds ... "I haven't done anything to be treated the way I have for the past 13 years" ... and says she's "disgusted with the system and wish I lived in another country!!!"

Britney says she's been waiting a long time for her freedom and now that the conservatorship is in the final stages, she's "scared to do anything because I'm afraid I'll make a mistake!!!"

It sounds like the prospect of ending the conservatorship was dangled in front of her for a long time ... she says she was "always told if I succeeded at things, it could end … and it never did!!!"

Britney says she's celebrating Christmas early, and it looks like she already has a Christmas tree in the same living room where she usually records herself dancing.

It's not even Halloween yet, but Britney's reasoning goes like this ... "I believe any reason to find more joy in life is a good idea … and it’s no secret that I’ve been through it in the past … so I might have to do things a little differently from now on!!!"

Britney's also confirming what we first told you ... she's got no plans to perform and says she's "staying clear of the business ... which is why this is so very confusing for me!!!"

Eli Manning letting his birds fly on national TV was hilarious, but it turns out the Giants legend truly regretted the mishap ... this according to his bro, Peyton, who says he really felt bad afterward.

Remember, Eli was telling an anecdote about playing in front of Eagles fans in Philadelphia on "Monday Night Football" a few weeks back ... and got a bit too into it when talking about how 9-year-old kids would flip him off in the stands -- giving a visible demonstration on camera.

Peyton is now giving his take on the whole incident ... saying he's heard Eli share that story 100 times, but NEVER thought in a million years he would actually do the gesture.

"Out of all times to actually do it, I was in real shock about it," Manning said this week.

"But, he felt bad and he apologized. It was not intentional but it was just funny that was the one time he picked to do it."

We also talked about the Manning Bros' successful 'MNF' broadcast ... and Peyton says he's loved his time talkin' football with Eli -- and their star-studded guests have been having a blast, too!!

Matthew Mindler killed himself with an easily accessible substance he picked up online ... and his mother wants everyone to know about the extreme danger of the compound.

The Lancaster County Medical Examiner's Office tells TMZ ... the former child star's cause of death was sodium nitrate toxicity. According to the M.E., the OD was intentional and as such his death was ruled a suicide.

If you're unfamiliar ... sodium nitrate is an oxidizing agent -- one often used to preserve foods, like meat -- that causes hypotension and limits the flow of oxygen in the body, which can result in death.

While sodium nitrate deaths are often accidental, Matt's was anything but ... this according to his mom, Monica, who says she discovered a harrowing trail Matthew left behind.

Monica tells us she looked up Matt's recent Internet search histories, and it turns out ... he was looking up information on this lethal compound as it pertained to suicide, and ways to obtain it and take it for the ultimate effect of ending one's life painlessly.

We're told she had no clue this was something he'd been exploring prior to his body being found by school officials near his university in Pennsylvania -- but more importantly, she wants this to serve as a cautionary tale for others.

Monica hopes someone else's life can be saved if folks know what warning signs to look for ... as this is a fairly cheap product Matthew seems to have ordered on Amazon with relative ease, at just $15, which Monica says was enough to kill 4 people.

The cemetery accused in a viral video of burying bodies on top of each other insists there's no nefarious tale from the crypt going on, because it's not what it looks like on camera.

Here's the deal ... a woman visiting her sister's plot at Laurel Grove Cemetery in New Jersey posted a video showing what appeared to be a fresh mound of dirt over her loved one's grave. She blasted the cemetery, accusing it of doubling up, and using the plot for someone else too.

Jessica Tawil, who posted the video that's making the rounds on TikTok, says the incident happened Monday, and she claims there was an extremely foul odor coming from the pile of dirt on her family's $12,000 plot, which she believes had been disturbed.

However, Laurel Grove Cemetery tells TMZ ... the video really just shows their process for routine maintenance on plots -- soil gets placed on the area before it's leveled, covered with topsoil, seeded and then covered with hay to protect the seed.

The family isn't buying that, and says they're exploring legal action and want to get the gravesite formally inspected. They claim they filed 2 reports with cops.

Mona Rodriguez was shot in the head by a school resource officer while fleeing the scene of a fight -- unarmed, no less -- and now that she's died ... her family is seeking accountability.

Oscar and Iran Rodriguez -- Mona's older brothers -- came on "TMZ Live" Wednesday to discuss this tragic story that went down in Long Beach, CA. Mona had gotten into a fight, and while attempting to leave the scene in her boyfriend's car ... a campus cop who'd responded decided to open fire on them.

One of the bullets Eddie Gonzalez fired struck Mona in the head ... leaving her hospitalized on life support. After doctors determined Mona was brain dead, the life support was turned off -- and now the Rodriguez brothers find themselves in a nightmarish battle to get any measure of justice.

As they explained to us, they feel they're getting the cold shoulder from Long Beach officials, including Mayor Robert Garcia, as well as L.A. County District Attorney George Gascon.

As they say, they just want answers ... and more importantly, they want justice for their slain sibling, who leaves behind an infant child -- now in the care of their mother.

Oscar and Iran have been outspoken since the killing, calling for the arrest of Gonzalez -- who's since been fired from his job with the school district -- but to this point, all they know is Long Beach PD is investigating Mona's death as a homicide.

The brothers made it clear they want the D.A. to charge Gonzalez with Mona's murder.

Gabby Petito's body has been held and studied for a month to determine how she died -- and now that we know, her family is finally allowed to go get her and lay her to rest.

The late 22-year-old's parents are reportedly heading to Wyoming Wednesday morning from the east coast -- where they'll retrieve her remains, have her cremated ... and then return to New York this weekend with her ashes.

It also sounds like law enforcement will brief her mom, father and stepfather on the latest updates in the case.

The family has reportedly said they won't be commenting on anything to the media until they're back in NY -- although, Gabby's mother did speak out against the Laundrie family lawyer Tuesday after he called her death a "tragedy" upon release of the autopsy findings.

You'll recall ... the Teton County coroner publicly announced Gabby's cause of death, which took quite a long time to conclusively uncover. Turns out, she was manually strangled to death at the hands of a person.

The coroner noted that Gabby's homicide seemed to be carried out in "a lot of anger" -- while also pointing out her body had been left out in the wilderness for at least 3 for 4 weeks before she was finally found last month.

Of course, the one person law enforcement still wants to talk to -- but can't seem to find -- is Gabby's fiance, Brian Laundrie ... who's considered to be the prime person of interest in the case, and one of the last people to have seen her alive.

The couple was traveling cross-country together through much of the summer, and had squabbles along the way -- most notably in August, when cops in Moab, Utah responded to a report Brian had struck Gabby.

Dwyane Wade's 19-year-old son is following in his dad's footsteps and taking his talents to the professional level -- Zaire Wade is set to sign a G League deal and join the Utah Jazz affiliate!!

The 6'2", 175-pound hooper was a 3-star high school prospect alongside Bronny James at Sierra Canyon ... and most recently suited up for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire for a post-grad year.

Zaire reportedly got looks from programs like South Carolina, DePaul, Nebraska, Toledo and Rhode Island ... but on Tuesday, it was reported he will forego college to play for the Jazz's Salt Lake City Stars, according to Shams Charania.

Of course, Wade is part-owner of the Jazz, so it makes sense to have his son join the organization as a player.

It's big shoes to fill -- D-Wade is a surefire Hall of Famer after 16 seasons with the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers ... averaging 22 points a game and winning 3 NBA titles.