RIP

Aaron Hernandez's self-hate for his alleged gay secret is NOT why he turned violent -- so says Marco Rubio.

We got the Florida senator out on Capitol Hill ... and asked what he made of the recent "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" documentary, since he and Hernandez share the same alma mater (Florida).

Marco told TMZ Sports he hasn't had the chance to watch the whole thing, but with that said -- "I don't think that's relevant to killing somebody."

That "somebody" was Odin Lloyd ... a man some law enforcement officials believe Hernandez murdered in 2013 because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Stevie Wonder thinks America needs to be more like Australia if it's serious about curbing mass shootings, and other acts of domestic terrorism like the package bomber in Austin.

We got Stevie leaving Mr. Chow Monday night in Bev Hills -- just a few hours before the latest bomb, bound for Austin, went off at a FedEx facility. So far, 2 people have been killed by 5 different exploding packages, and police suspect the bomber's targeting black people.

Stevie told us the people sending the packages are "no different than terrorists" ... and urged politicians to look Down Under for a plan to combat the violence.

Mark Salling had alcohol in his system when he hanged himself, and apparently took steps to evade authorities just prior to the suicide ... TMZ has learned.

According to the results of Salling's autopsy ... he had at least a 0.08% BAC -- which means he was just at the point of legal intoxication. The toxicology report also shows he was not on any other drugs.

The report describes the death scene -- Salling was hanging by a nylon rope which was tied to a branch a little over 6 feet above the ground. The coroner says it was wrapped around his neck five times.

The autopsy also notes Salling had attempted to kill himself months prior by cutting his wrists. His wrist incisions were about 2.5 centimeters and 6.5 centimeters on each hand, according to the coroner.

The last time the former "Glee" star was seen alive was with his father watching television at their family home at around 11:30 PM. His mother discovered he was missing right after midnight. Salling had ditched his ankle monitor and left it down the street from his house.

He was scheduled to meet with the probation officer in his child porn case the day he died.

A cast member of the traveling Cirque du Soleil suffered a fatal fall this weekend, dying at a hospital after an aerial stunt went terribly wrong ... and video of the incident has just surfaced.

The acrobat, Yann Arnaud, was performing during a live Cirque du Soleil production of "VOLTA" in Tampa Saturday night when he fell onto the stage during an aerial straps number.

In the video, which has since been deleted, you can see him swinging back into view when he somehow loses his grab on the strap and awkwardly lands head first. Crew members immediately rush to his aid, and the crowd is clearly in shock from the brutal fall.

Cirque du Soleil issued a statement saying emergency procedures were implemented and that Arnaud was transported to a local hospital. The company says he died from his injures sometime later. He'd reportedly been with the company for 15 years.

Aaron Hernandez was gay -- according to several people close to him ... and his private struggle with his sexuality caused him great emotional pain that may have turned him violent.

It's all part of the Oxygen documentary, "Aaron Hernandez Uncovered" -- which features interviews with Aaron's close friends, ex-girlfriends and members of his legal team.

Aaron's college girlfriend, Alyssa Anderson, says she first learned Aaron had a relationship with a man while they were attending the University of Florida ... but he denied it at the time. It was only years later that Hernandez cryptically acknowledged her suspicions were true.

George Leontire -- an openly gay member of Hernandez's defense team -- says he spoke with Hernandez at length about his sexuality and Aaron opened up like never before.

"This man clearly was gay," Leontire said ... "[He] acknowledged it. Acknowledged the immense pain that it caused him."

Leontire added, "I think that he also came out of a culture that was so negative about gay people that he exhibited some self-hatred."

Hernandez never spoke publicly about being gay. He was engaged to a woman, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, and they had a daughter together.

Aaron was convicted of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2013 -- and there are some law enforcement officials who believe Hernandez executed Lloyd because he knew about Hernandez's sexuality.

Hernandez ultimately killed himself in his prison cell in 2017.

Billionaire businessman Tom Benson -- who owned the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans -- has died, his family has confirmed.

The 90-year-old passed away peacefully Thursday at Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana with his wife, Gayle Marie Benson, at his side after falling ill with the flu.

Benson started out as a bookkeeper at a Chevy dealership in New Orleans -- but went on to become a dealership owner and expanded the business into a billion-dollar empire.

Benson bought the Saints in 1985 -- when they weren't exactly winners (remember the Aints?). The team posted their first winning record in 1987 and made the playoffs that year. Of course, they got better and won the Super Bowl in 2010.

In 2012, Benson bought the New Orleans Hornets and changed the name to the Pelicans.

Stephen Hawking's contributions to science are almost too much for Bill Nye the Science Guy to grasp, because they require thinking beyond what actually exists. Yeah, buckle up.

We got Bill Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, where he was repping for the Planetary Society. He says that's how he was able to meet the late, genius physicist/cosmologist.

Bill says Stephen's legacy isn't about any single discovery, it's more about changing the way people think about the cosmos, and he takes a stab at explaining it to our camera guy, too.

The man who shot and killed ex-NFL RB Joe McKnight could be spending the rest of his life in a prison cell.

Ronald Gasser, 56, was just sentenced to 30 years behind bars ... less than 2 months after he was found guilty of manslaughter in a Louisiana courtroom. The maximum sentence he faced was 40 years.

Gasser was originally charged with 2nd-degree murder, but the jury elected for the lesser charge of manslaughter after more than 7 hours of deliberation back on Jan. 26.

McKnight -- who played for the Jets and Chiefs from 2010-2014 -- was gunned down by Gasser during a road-rage incident on Dec. 1, 2016, which ended when Gasser shot McKnight 3 times through his passenger side window.

Joe was only 28.

McKnight's mother, Jennifer, gave a victim impact statement before the sentencing, saying -- "That day, you didn't have to do that. That didn't have to happen. It hurts. It's going to hurt a long time."

Michelle Quick, the mother of Joe's 8-year-old son, also addressed Gasser before leaving the courtroom in tears.

"It will be my life's mission to make sure my son, Jaiden, doesn't grow up with hate for you. Not because you don't deserve it, but because he should not have hate in his heart."

FYI, Gasser's lawyer's filed a motion for a new trial before the sentencing -- claiming he was clearly acting in self-defense -- but the judge rejected their proposal.

Big Pun IS forever at Walmart, but his widow ain't happy about it ... so, she's filed a lawsuit against the retail giant.

Liza Rios is going after Walmart for a line of clothing and merch it sells which bear the late Bronx rapper's name and image. In the suit, she says some of the items straight-up jacked the trademark she got after Pun died in 2000 -- a Jordan-esque image of Pun soaring with a mic in his hand, instead of a basketball.

Most of the clothing and gear -- which includes phone cases, mugs and bags -- is made by a company called Redbubble, and Liza's suing them as well as Walmart.

According to the suit, obtained by TMZ, Walmart, Rebubble and other manufacturers are willfully infringing on her trademark ... because they have full knowledge of its existence, yet continue to use it without authorization.

Ms. Pun is suing for all profits, and and injunction to block further sales.

She's also demanding $10 million in statutory damages from manufacturers Redbubble and Cloudflare, but not Walmart.

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.