RIP

Nancy Pelosi's brother and one-time mayor of Baltimore, Thomas D'Alesandro III, has died.

The Speaker of the House confirmed the news Sunday, saying in a statement ... "My husband Paul and our entire family are devastated by the loss of our patriarch, my beloved brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III." He reportedly passed after suffering a stroke.

Pelosi went on to describe her brother as "the finest public servant I have ever known." She added, "His life and leadership were a tribute to the Catholic values with which we were raised: faith, family, patriotism.  He profoundly believed, as did our parents, that public service was a noble calling and that we all had a responsibility to help others."

The late mayor's sister also made note of his public service, saying ... "Tommy dedicated his life to our city.  A champion of civil rights, he worked tirelessly for all who called Baltimore home. Tommy was a leader of dignity, compassion and extraordinary courage, whose presence radiated hope upon our city during times of struggle and conflict."

She went on to say, "All his life, Tommy worked on the side of the angels. Now, he is with them. With his commitment to his family and public service, his life has truly blessed America."

D'Alesandro served as Baltimore's leader between 1967 and 1971, after which he stepped away from politics and public life ... going on to practice private law. His tenure as mayor is said to have been tumultuous, having to deal with the Baltimore riots of 1968.

People took to the streets in uproar following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The Maryland National Guard had to be brought in to assist with the unrest.

D'Alesandro is survived by his wife, Margaret, five children as well as grandchildren. He was 90.

Paris Hilton is saying a final goodbye to her late grandfather, Barron Hilton, with loved ones around for support.

The hotel heiress showed up Saturday morning to a funeral service being held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Bev Hills, where she and other family members gathered to pay their respects to former Hilton patriarch and founding owner of the L.A. Chargers.

Paris' sister, Nicky, was by her side as they solemnly greeted folks who were making their way inside. Eventually, the two siblings went in as well after most everyone entered.

As we reported ... Paris paid tribute to her grandfather in a touching Instagram post, calling  him a "Legend, a visionary, brilliant, handsome, kind" and someone who "lived a life full of accomplishment and adventure." She said his spirit lives on in her too.

Barron passed away last month from natural causes, according to the Conrad Hilton Foundation. He's survived by 2 daughters, 6 sons, 15 grandkids and 4 great-grandchildren.

Sacramento Kings star Harrison Barnes has stepped up and will pay for the funeral of Atatiana Jefferson, the woman who was shot and killed by a police officer while she was in her own home.

Jefferson's story has made national news -- a neighbor had called police early Saturday morning to check on Jefferson after he saw a door was open at her home in Fort Worth, Texas.

When the officer, Aaron Dean, arrived at the home ... he saw a person inside, and before ever announcing he was a police officer, he opened fire and shot Jefferson, killing the 28-year-old.

Dean has been charged with murder. He's currently out on $200,000 bail.

Jefferson had been peacefully, innocently watching her 8-year-old nephew at the home.

Now, Barnes -- who played for the Dallas Mavericks for 3 years before being traded to the Kings -- has offered to help out the family and foot the bill for the funeral, which is scheduled for Saturday in Dallas.

Barnes has made a lot of money in his NBA career -- he recently signed a 4-year, $85 million extension. He has earned a reputation for being extremely generous with his money and often giving back to the community.

Elijah Cummings, one of the strongest voices in Congress for decades who early on expressed outrage at the way Donald Trump was running the country, has died.

Cummings had been hospitalized earlier this week and underwent some sort of medical treatment. His office said the Congressman passed due to "complications concerning longstanding health challenges."

Cummings proudly served his Baltimore district where he grew up ... coming home every night from D.C.

He was a civil rights leader from an early age. When he was 11 he was partly responsible for integrating a Baltimore swimming pool ... as he was being hit by rocks and bottles.

Cummings attended Howard University where he became student body president and went on to get a law degree at the Univ. of Maryland. He became a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he became the youngest member of the Black Caucus.

He won his seat to the House in 1996, rose through the ranks and became the Chairman of the Black Caucus and Chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

Recently, after Trump attacked the City of Baltimore, Cummings went after the Prez ... something he was never afraid to do. He became a fierce opponent of Trump's immigration policies, especially the one that separated children from families, calling it inhumane.

As for his health issues, Cummings had been dealing with ill health for years, which included heart surgery.

Cummings was 68. RIP.

Boxer Patrick Day died Wednesday from brain injuries sustained during a violent knockout loss on Saturday, his team announced. Day was only 27.

Day (17-4-1) was knocked down 3 times -- once in the 4th, again in the 8th and finally in the 10th -- by 21-year-old rising star Charles Conwell during Saturday's fight at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

The final knockdown was particularly brutal -- Day's head bounced off the canvas and the ref immediately stopped the fight.

Medical personnel rushed into the ring, Day was taken out of the ring in a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance which transported him to a nearby hospital.

Day suffered a seizure after the fight and then fell into a coma. He later underwent emergency brain surgery.

Day fought for days but ultimately succumbed to "the traumatic brain injury" he suffered during the fight and was pronounced dead on Wednesday. He was surrounded by close friends, family and members of his boxing team.

Day's promoter, Lou DiBella, issued a statement praising the fighter as a champion in and out of the ring.

"He was a son, brother, and good friend to many. Pat's kindness, positivity, and generosity of spirit made a lasting impression with everyone he met."

"Patrick Day didn't need to box. He came from a good family, he was smart, educated, had good values and had other avenues available to him to earn a living."

"He chose to box, knowing the inherent risks that every fighter faces when he or she walks into a boxing ring. Boxing is what Pat loved to do. It's how he inspired people and it was something that made him feel alive."

Hundreds of birds launched themselves into the side of the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday night, killing themselves ... and the surreal scene was all caught on video.

A woman in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina filmed the chaos ... saying for OVER AN HOUR -- birds continued to kill themselves by running into the building's windows.

According to the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue ... 310 birds total were found at the scene -- with 97 dead on arrival and another nine needing to be euthanized once they got to the shelter.

Food Network star and celebrity chef Carl Ruiz died from a hardening of his arteries ... TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Health tells TMZ ... Ruiz died after succumbing to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease -- typically a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in arteries which restricts blood flow.

The finding confirms the suspicions of Carl's family ... that he died of a heart attack.

Sid Haig -- the guy best known as Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" -- died from intense and chronic heart and lung issues ... TMZ has learned.

We obtained Sid's death certificate, issued in Ventura County, CA, and it lists cardiorespiratory arrest as his immediate cause of death. Other contributing factors include respiratory failure, aspiration and aspergillus (mold) pneumonia ... as well as a "small bowel obstruction."

He'd been having breathing issues for some time, because the doc also notes he suffered from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

As we reported ... Sid's wife, Suzie, shared the sad news last month on Sid's own social media account. She wrote, "On Saturday, September 21, 2019, my light, my heart, my true love, my King, the other half of my soul, Sidney, passed from this realm on to the next."

K-Pop singer and actress Sulli has been found dead, and police believe it might have been a suicide ... according to various reports out of South Korea.

Sulli, whose real name is Choi Jin-ri, was reportedly discovered Monday in her home south of Seoul by her manager, who went there because she hadn't answered phone calls for hours.

The K-pop star lived alone in the house, and according to one police official ... "It seems that she took her own life but we are also looking into other possibilities." Cops say no suicide note was found and there were no signs of foul play.

Canadian mountain bike legend Jordie Lunn died after a biking accident in Mexico earlier this week ... his family announced on Friday. He was 36.

Lunn -- a BMX racer and free rider -- was trail riding in Cabo with his friends when he got into an accident and suffered a fatal head injury.

"Jordie lost his life doing exactly what he loved," Lunn's family said in a statement to Pinkbike.

Lunn was also well known for his crazy biking videos ... with some clips getting millions of views on YouTube.

"Jordie had an incredible 20+ year career as a mountain biker," his family continued. "He will always be cherished for his heart and love that he gave to his family, friends, and fans, as well as the incredible talent that he had on his bikes."

Spoiler alert ... Luke Perry's character just got a touching sendoff on the new season of "Riverdale" ... with the TV show bidding farewell following the actor's death.

The hit CW series said goodbye to Luke's character, Fred Andrews, during Wednesday's season premiere ... killing off Fred 5 minutes into the new season, and then giving him an emotional funeral.

KJ Apa's character, Archie, is sitting in Pop's having breakfast when he gets a phone call before dropping his phone and falling to his knees. In the next scene, Archie is at home when a cop tells him Fred was driving home to Riverdale when he died in a hit and run.

A huge stash of Tom Petty treasure -- including his unreleased music -- is back with his family ... because cops didn't let the alleged burglar do him like that.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... a man broke into Petty's San Fernando Valley storage unit last month and swiped at least $100k worth of valuables. Among the jacked items were guitars and other instruments and some guns. Perhaps most significantly, some precious hard drives loaded with Tom's music -- including unreleased tracks -- were stolen.

The good news -- we're told police caught a suspect who confessed to the crime. He's been arrested for burglary.

The late great Grumpy Cat still has one of her 9 lives left ... to fire off a lawsuit at Internet stores allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise.

The late feline's company -- Grumpy Cat Limited -- is suing to stop corporations and all other entities from producing and selling rip-off gear featuring GC's famous name and furry mug.

According to the legal docs ... the official site for Grumpy Cat t-shirts, hats, coffee mugs and more is grumpycats.com, so it wants the court to help shut down all other Internet shops hawking copycat items.

Lil Peep's own decisions to use drugs and follow down a "destructive path" are to blame for his OD ... so says the tour company being sued by Peep's mom for the rapper's death.

A rep for First Access Entertainment tells TMZ ... Peep's accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy, but the company "consistently encouraged Peep to stop abusing drugs and to distance himself from the negative influence of the drug users and enablers."

At the end of the day, First Access says, "He was an adult who made his own decisions and opted to follow a different, more destructive path."

Bernie Sanders' daughter-in-law is dead just days after she was diagnosed with cancer ... and on the heels of the Senator's heart attack.

Rainé Riggs died Saturday, according to the Lee & Martin Funeral Home in Burgettstown, PA. That was the very same day Sen. Sanders returned to Vermont after suffering a heart attack on the campaign trail last week.

Rainé's obit says she had just been diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer 2 days prior to her death. She had fallen mysteriously ill about 3 weeks earlier.

The blow to Sanders' family comes as he tries to recover from heart surgery. As we reported, 78-year-old Bernie was at a campaign event in Vegas last week when he began experiencing chest pains. He was hospitalized there before heading home to Vermont over the weekend.

Rainé was married to Bernie's son, Levi Sanders, and the couple had 3 children. She and Levi reportedly met back in the day when they were both working at an emergency food shelter in Vermont.

Three suspects have been identified in the murder of Joshua Brown -- Botham Jean's neighbor who testified against ex-cop Amber Guyger.

Dallas PD held a press conference Tuesday saying that the three men were from Alexandria, LA and that they'd traveled to Dallas to purchase drugs from Joshua. Cops claim that an argument ensued, and at one point Joshua shot one of the men in the chest.

Police say that one of the three men, Thaddeous Green, fired upon Joshua twice ... ultimately killing him. The suspect who was shot was treated in a local area hospital, and is now in police custody. The 2 others are being sought on warrants for their arrest.

The news comes after mass speculation that Joshua's killing was in retaliation for his recent testimony against Amber ... which helped to secure a guilty conviction of murder. As we reported ... she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Just days later ... Joshua himself had been shot and killed in Dallas, and people were outraged -- with some claiming he was targeted in some way and demanding answers.