RIP

United Airlines says its flight attendant did not hear or understand the woman whose dog was placed in an overhead bin -- but it's taking new steps to avoid a repeat disaster ... TMZ has learned.

United tells us by April it will start issuing "bright colored bag tags to customers traveling with in-cabin pets." The idea is the visual tag on a pet carrier will help flight attendants know for sure when someone's traveling with an animal.

The airline says that's exactly what didn't happen in the case of Catalina Robledo and her French bulldog, Kokito. United says after speaking to passengers and crew members, it believes Catalina did tell the flight attendant she had a dog in her tote bag carrier -- but the flight attendant "did not hear or understand [Catalina]."

Olivia Munn's had it with United Airlines, and vows to never fly with the company after its latest debacle ... which involved the death of a poor dog.

We got the actress at LAX Wednesday, who tells us she's done with United not only because it can't take care of animals ... but also because of its recent history of not being able to take care of all its human passengers.

Olivia's strongly encouraging everyone to stop flying with the airline, and not just for now -- but for good.

As we reported ... United Airlines may be on the hook for big damages over the death of a family's French Bulldog, Kokito, after a flight attendant shockingly made the dog stay in the overhead compartment.

Stephen Hawking, the world's most famous theoretical physicist -- celebrated for his black hole discoveries -- has died ... according to his family.

It appears Hawking died early Wednesday. His 3 children released a statement saying, "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today."

Hawking had suffered from a rare early-onset form of ALS most of his life, which left him wheelchair-bound and almost entirely paralyzed. He could still communicate with the aid of a computer and the muscles in his cheek.

The world-renowned British scientist wrote several landmark books, including "A Brief History of Time." His black hole theories and discoveries were so vast ... the radiation that comes from them is called Hawking radiation.

Stephen guest starred on several TV shows as himself, such as "The Simpsons" and "The Big Bang Theory." He was also written into an episode of "Family Guy," but Seth MacFarlane did the voice.

The 2014 movie about his life, "The Theory of Everything," was nominated for Best Picture, and Eddie Redmayne, who played Hawking, won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Hawking had reportedly turned down Knighthood, and, amazingly, never won the Nobel Prize. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom here in the U.S.

Hawking was 76.

The family of one of the victims of the New York City helicopter crash has sued the helicopter company, claiming the pilot failed to properly protect his passenger.

Trevor Cadigan was on the chopper that went down Sunday in the East River. He, along with the 4 other passengers, perished when the chopper sank. The pilot, Richard Vance, was the only survivor.

According to the lawsuit, the pilot allegedly failed to maintain proper control of the chopper, failed to properly perform emergency procedures and failed to properly secure personal items within the helicopter. There are reports the pilot claims a piece of luggage may have hit the fuel-control cutoff valve, which caused the chopper to lose power.

Perhaps the key to the lawsuit ... it alleges the helicopter company did not provide the appropriate number of knives, if any, to cut the passengers out of their nylon harnesses. The suit also claims the harnesses were attached from the back by a metal ring, which is a death trap because it does not permit passengers to reach and activate release mechanisms.

The suit also takes a shot at Vance, saying he didn't take reasonable steps to save his passengers after he secured his own release.

And the suit goes on ... the yellow inflatable pontoons did not properly and timely inflate to prevent the chopper from flipping on its side.

Craig Mack knew he was dying, at least for several months, from congestive heart failure ... according to his close friend, Erick Sermon.

The '90s MC broke the news Tuesday -- hours after Craig passed away in South Carolina -- telling us the "Flava in Ya Ear" rapper had only 25% of his heart working in his final months.

As we reported, the coroner would only say Craig had died of natural causes ... so, Sermon, shed more light on Craig's final days. He says the Bad Boy Records pioneer had called his closest friends -- including Erick and Biz Markie -- 6 months ago to tell them what he was battling, but didn't want them to see him in his frail condition.

Erick says Craig maintained his personality, though ... they eventually hooked up and even recorded some music, and shot a documentary before he died.

#RIP

11:19 AM PT -- Diddy just released a statement on Mack's passing, saying, "Craig Mack, you were the first artist to release music on Bad Boy and gave us our first hit. You always followed your heart and you had an energy that was out of this world.

You believed in me and you believed in Bad Boy. I will never forget what you did for hip-hop. You inspired me, and I will continue to try to keep inspiring others. We will always love you." #badboy4life #ripcraigmack

Craig Mack, the '90s rap star who helped put Diddy's Bad Boy Records on the map, died at his home in South Carolina of natural causes ... TMZ has learned.

The "Flava in Ya Ear" rapper was living in Walterboro, SC, where he'd joined a church and committed himself to his religion. His former producer, Alvin Toney, told the Daily News he'd seen him for the last time last week while filming a documentary on Craig's new life.

Mack, along with Notorious B.I.G., was the first rap superstar for Diddy's young label in the '90s. He was born on Long Island, but got his break by freestyling over a Mary J. Blige track for Diddy.

He was one of few Bad Boy Records artists who did not join the huge reunion tour a couple years ago. Craig was already committed to his new life in the South Carolina church by then.

Mack's huge 1994 hit, 'Flava,' earned him a Best Rap Solo Grammy nomination, although he lost to Queen Latifah. No shame in that game.

Craig was 47.

RIP to kicking mad flava in ya ear ... Mack was a brand new flava in ya ear.

O.J. Simpson copping to leaving the infamous bloody glove at the double murder scene is all former prosecutor Christopher Darden needed to hear to know he was right all along.

Darden, Marcia Clark's co-prosecutor in Simpson's trial of the century, tells us watching "O.J. Simpson: The Lost Confession?" proved Simpson and his dream team outsmarted the jury.

In particular, he says Johnnie Cochran's famous line, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" just doesn't hold up once you hear Simpson admit he must have left the glove "because they found the glove there." Darden famously came up with the plan to have Simpson try on the gloves in court ... which, of course, backfired on the prosecution.

As for Simpson's hypothetical accomplice named Charlie -- Darden has an explanation, and it's all about O.J.'s imagination.

One of the passengers who died on that helicopter that crashed into NYC's East River captured the aircraft's takeoff and posted it moments before they went down.

Trevor Cadigan (closest to camera) was recording video as the Eurocopter AS350 lifted off from a New Jersey heliport. Trevor, and others onboard, smiled and gave a thumbs-up to the camera. Tragically, their flight only lasted 11 minutes.

As we reported, the chopper crashed Sunday and slammed down into the river, killing all 5 passengers. The pilot, Richard Vance, was the only survivor.

Vance told investigators a passenger's bag might have hit an emergency fuel shut-off button, causing the chopper to lose power and eventually crash. The NTSB is investigating.

Bobby Brown says he's willing to do whatever it takes to make sure Nick Gordon's girlfriend doesn't suffer the same fate as Bobbi Kristina.

Bobby -- through his attorney Christopher Brown -- says he'd like to personally lend a helping hand to Laura Leal, and offer her services through the Bobbi Kristina Brown Serenity House. Bobby says, "Domestic violence killed my daughter ... I do not want to see any more families destroyed at the hands of domestic violence and I do not want any more women to suffer like my daughter did."

The offer comes a day after Gordon's arrest for domestic violence. As we reported ... Leal told cops he struck her several times after picking him up from a bar. Cops noticed visible marks and arrested Gordon.

Hubert de Givenchy -- the legendary fashion designer to celebs like Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy -- has died at his home near Paris.

Givenchy died in his sleep Saturday night, according to his longtime partner, designer Philippe Venet.

Hepburn famously wore Givenchy's designs in several of her movies, including "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Sabrina" -- and she went on to become an ambassador for his brand.

Jackie, Iman, Candice Swanepoel and even Cam Newton rocked G's threads over the years.

He might not brag about this one, but Lindsay Lohan famously wore Givenchy back in 2012 ... during one of her many, many, many court appearances.

Givenchy founded his design house in 1952, and it's now owned by the luxury fashion company LVMH. He was 91.

O.J. Simpson never took the stand in his trial of the century, but his upcoming TV special is as close as you're gonna get to that ... according to Soledad O’Brien who's hosting it.

Soledad tells us 'The Lost Confession?' is the most bizarre 2 hours of TV she's ever worked on for a bunch of reasons. For starters, she says Simpson's mannerisms are suspect. We know ... understatement, but in particular, she was struck by the timing of his laughter.

Also, Soledad's stumped by Simpson's description of an accomplice named "Charlie." She points out investigators had zero knowledge of such a person -- but she's got a few theories.

We also told you about O.J.'s lawyer calling Judith Regan, the woman who published his book, 'If I Did It,' and straight-up said Simpson murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman ... this according to Regan herself.

Rick Ross isn't the only person to suffer a medical emergency at his home recently ... his manager died there just months before Ross' hospitalization.

According to the investigation report ... cops were called to the rapper's Florida home on December 8 because Black Bo stopped breathing. He was found lying on his back on the bathroom floor when the officer arrived.

Rick's manager was pronounced dead shortly after fire rescue arrived on scene. The captain noted there was vomit in the toilet.

According to the report ... Rick, Black and others were out partying the night before and didn't get back to Ross' home 'til around 5 AM. Rick told the cop Black didn't seem like himself at the club, and may not have been feeling well.

One of Black's friends tried calling Black several times but he didn't answer, so he went into his room and found him unresponsive in the bathroom.

According to the report, the medical examiner determined Black's cause of death was atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease ... clogging of the arteries.

Black Bo was 45.

A student dialed 911 from inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when Nikolas Cruz started shooting ... and you can feel the pandemonium and terror in his voice.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office released 10 of the 81 calls placed on February 14 ... when Cruz marched into his former high school and brutally murdered 17 people with an AR-15.

In one call, you hear the student whisper to the emergency operator that "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being shot up." In another call, you can hear a parent on the phone with a child in the high school, telling the student to stay locked in a classroom and play dead.

Harrison Ford is honoring his pal, Mark Hamill, but he also has their beloved co-star Carrie Fisher on the mind.

Han Solo came out to support Luke Skywalker -- sans the Millennium Falcon this time -- as Hamill finally got his well-deserved star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Star Wars" creator George Lucas was there too, so definitely a strong presence for the Force.

The most bittersweet moment of the ceremony came when Harrison took a moment to shout out Carrie.

O.J. Simpson's sociopathic personality came out in full bloom during his interview for the upcoming FOX special as he described how he just kinda calmly tapped Nicole Brown Simpson's car with a baseball bat.

It's pretty incredible ... during Simpson's interview with Judith Regan, he describes a 1985 incident that was discussed during the 1995 murder trial, where Simpson took a bat to Nicole's car and smashed her windshield. Police were called, and as Nicole cried hysterically, the cop asked if she was Ok and O.J. jumped in, "She's my wife. She's Ok ... I broke the windshield. It's mine. There's no trouble here."

Watch the video. Simpson makes it sound like he was just calmly fiddling with the bat when it accidentally touched the rim of her car, and when Nicole protested, he hit "the front" of the car and said the ride was his 'cause he paid for it.

Simpson doesn't give a hint of the rage he was feeling as he exploded with the bat on her windshield. And just like the car, it's pretty clear from the trial he also felt he owned Nicole.

BTW ... the cop who responded to the incident ... Mark Fuhrman.

"America's Got Talent" is being sued for the wrongful death of a woman who was injured as she tried to maneuver a motorized wheelchair over cables for the show's taping ... according to the suit.

Maureen Allen was working as a volunteer at the Pasadena Convention Center in March 2017, and 'AGT' was also on the premises preparing for a taping ... according to docs, obtained by TMZ. In the suit, Maureen's estate says a large power cord protector was blocking the only disabled access ramp to the auditorium.

The estate says Maureen tried to roll over the protector, but her front wheel got caught and her scooter flipped on its side ... violently throwing her to the ground. According to the suit she suffered severe injuries to her head, arms, and hip.

She had to be hospitalized, and suffered a stroke the next day. She also had to have hip surgery and remained in declining health for several months. After 8 surgeries she was put on life support in June ... and died shortly thereafter.