RIP

DuShon Monique Brown -- who played Connie on "Chicago Fire" -- died of a blood infection, but it's unclear how her system became contaminated ... TMZ has learned.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office tells us Brown's cause of death was sepsis, with an unknown origin. Sepsis typically occurs when harmful bacteria infiltrates the blood, often from an untreated wound.

We're told other contributing factors to her death include high blood pressure and obesity.

As we reported ... DuShon died back in March after falling ill while she was at home in Chicago. She'd just been released from a hospital a few days prior ... after she'd received treatment for chest pains.

She starred on "Chicago Fire" ever since the show debuted in 2012 -- and also had a role on the FOX show "Prison Break" from 2005 to 2007.

She is survived by a daughter. DuShon was 49.

Brian Littrell is calling out NOFX for its tasteless joke about the Las Vegas massacre ... because he says the horrifying event still haunts fans and performers in that city.

The Backstreet Boys singer was at LAX Wednesday, and gave us his take on NOFX crossing the line -- saying at least the people killed during the mass shooting were country fans, instead of their punk rock fans.

Fifty-eight people were killed and nearly 500 injured in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history ... something Brian says was definitely on his mind when BSB recently played in Vegas.

The people who manage Michael Jackson's estate say The Walt Disney Co. has some nerve for profiting off the tears of MJ's kids and stealing a bunch of its property ... all to make a shoddy TV special they claim never came close to documenting Michael's 'Last Days.'

The estate just sued The Walt Disney Co. claiming copyright infringement and saying it never had permission to use a bunch of its footage for its "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" TV special ... which premiered last week to more than 5.5 million viewers.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the estate claims Disney's lawyers told them they were making a documentary, so use of the MJ clips was fair game. But the estate calls BS ... saying the special "did not focus on his last days ... rather it was simply a mediocre look back at Michael Jackson's life and entertainment career."

The estate goes on to claim Disney jacked a bunch of MJ's songs -- including recordings of "Billie Jean" and "Beat It." The estate says Disney even exploited MJ's kids when they aired Paris Jackson's heartbreaking remarks about her father at his 2009 memorial service. The estate says it's never licensed that footage for commercial use.

The estate says it was never approached by Disney about the making of the TV special, much less asked for permission to use its intellectual property. The estate says that's ironic since Disney goes to great lengths to protect its copyrighted characters ... citing how Disney once sued a couple on public assistance for $1 mil when they dressed up as an orange tiger and blue donkey that looked too close to Tigger and Eeyore.

Estate attorney Howard Weitzman tells us, "Can you imagine using Disney’s intellectual property – like Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Star Wars, The Avengers, Toy Story, and so many other works – without asking Disney’s permission or getting a license? The Estate has no choice but to vigorously protect its intellectual property, which is the lifeblood of its business.”

The estate is suing for profits Disney made off the special and other damages. We've reached out to The Walt Disney Co., so far no word back.

The mother of basketball player Zeke Upshaw is suing the Detroit Pistons and the NBA -- claiming the league and the team could have saved her son's life after he collapsed on the court earlier this year.

Upshaw was playing for the Pistons' G-League team -- the Grand Rapids Drive -- when he collapsed on the court during the final minutes of a March 24, 2018 game.

The 26-year-old guard -- a former star at Hofstra -- never regained consciousness and died 2 days later from sudden cardiac death.

But Zeke's mom says he could have been saved if medical staff had rushed in and treated him immediately.

Instead, Jewel Upshaw says ... it took 4 crucial minutes before a doctor tended to Zeke -- no CPR, no chest compressions, no life-saving measures of any kind.

In fact, she claims the team doctor had "stepped out before the end of the basketball game and was not present nor available when Zeke collapsed."

Jewel claims when doctors finally tended to Zeke, the treatment was so poor -- she later learned Zeke's body "went without oxygen for another forty minutes ... leaving his brain completely oxygen deprived."

"At this point, there was no healthy brain left to save."

Jewel claims the NBA has had so much experience with players suffering sudden cardiac death over the years -- from Reggie Lewis to Conrad McRae -- there should be a proper protocol to handle these types of situations.

In her suit, Jewel says "there is simply no good reason for the defendants to have been unprepared for sudden cardiac death events such as Zeke's, and for their failure to react quickly to save a life."

"Had properly trained medical professionals administered expeditious and proper treatment, Zeke would still be alive."

An employee on Steve Harvey's radio morning show died this weekend after being found unresponsive in his hotel room by one of Steve's famous co-hosts ... TMZ has learned.

According to an incident report, obtained by TMZ, cops were called to the W Hotel in Atlanta early Sunday afternoon, where the body of Kier "Junior" Spates' assistant, Bryan Cooke, had been discovered in his room ... with blood and vomit coming from his nose and mouth.

Spates asked hotel staff to check on Cooke after he didn't respond to him -- the two 'Steve Harvey' employees were supposed to catch a flight to L.A. later that day. When no one answered, staff went in to find Cooke lying face down on his bed, and cold to the touch.

Cops say Spates told them he and Cooke had hit the town the night before, but that Cooke appeared fine upon returning to the hotel. They even smoked cigars together before going to their separate rooms, and Spates said they did not partake in any drugs.

Police note prescription pills were found in Cooke's room -- but do not disclose the medication. It's unclear if any pills had been taken or played any role in his death. They also say housekeeping came by to clean Cooke's room, but thought he was sleeping. He was 39.

Spates is a well-known radio personality on Harvey's show. He referred to Cooke as his "best friend" to authorities.

Blake Painter -- best known for being a captain on seasons 2 and 3 of "Deadliest Catch" -- has died, and police are testing substances found at the scene of his death.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Painter's body was discovered Friday in his Oregon home. We're told a friend of Painter's became concerned after not hearing from him for a few days ... so he called the police. Officers gained entry, and determined Painter had been dead for several days.

We're told cops discovered substances inside the home that they'll test for possible narcotics. They also found prescription pills, but it's unclear if they were a factor.

No foul play is suspected in his death, and an autopsy and toxicology test will be done to determine the official cause.

Painter was the captain of the F/V Maverick on the hit Discovery Channel show, and appeared in season 3 for several episodes before deciding to quit.

Blake was heralded as an expert crab fisherman. He was 38.

The FBI elite agent who investigated the murder of Brian Wells -- a case that inspired Netflix's 'Evil Genius' -- isn't buying the shocking twist at the end of the documentary ... at least not most of it.

Dr. Jerry Clark -- who's heavily featured in the 4-part doc -- tells TMZ ... former prostitute Jessica Hoopsick's confession doesn't mesh with loads of evidence and investigatory work he did for years, so he doesn't believe she's credible.

If you haven't seen it, a big mystery of 'Evil Genius' is how much Wells knew about the bank heist that led to his death -- Jessica claims he knew nothing and she helped set him up ... but Jerry strongly refutes that and has some solid reasons.

Clark does agree with Jessica on one major component ... and 'Evil Genius' fans are going to want to hear his take on Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein, too.

They should also check out what the director of the documentary, Trey Borzillieri, told us about Floyd Stockton.

Blac Chyna firmly believes her late house manager's family is going against her wishes by threatening to sue BC.

Sources close to Blac Chyna tell TMZ ... Patty would have never wanted the family to take out their anger on Chyna because Chyna was more than just Patty's employer. We're told Chyna was like family to Patty ... even helping her pay the rent and giving her money for her kids.

BC's still reeling from losing Patty, who died last week after she was taken off life support following a stroke. As we reported ... Patty, who also helped with BC's clothing line, suffered a stroke in July 2017 but continued to work afterward. She fell into a coma in December due to bleeding on her brain.

Patty's family has reportedly threatened to sue Chyna for not providing her with worker's compensation. We checked and Patty's family has yet to file the suit.

United Airlines has settled with the family whose 10-month-old French bulldog, Kokito, died in an overhead bin ... TMZ has learned.

Although they've reached a settlement with the Robledo family, the amount of dough United is paying is confidential ... according to the family's attorney, Evan Oshan.

As we first reported, the family threatened to sue after a flight attendant allegedly ordered Catalina Robledo to put Kokito in the overheard compartment. After 2 hours of barking, Kokito died of suffocation.

The dog's death threw United into another PR crisis ... less than a year after it settled with Dr. David Dao, who was violently dragged off a flight.

The folks managing Michael Jackson's estate are outraged that ABC would dare do a documentary called "The Last Days of Michael Jackson" and trash the singer and exploit his legacy.

A rep for the estate tells TMZ ... it's especially galling that Disney -- which owns ABC, and sometimes viciously protects its image -- would sully the image of Michael. The rep called Disney's conduct "disgraceful."

The rep went on to say this -- "What if we did a documentary on the relationship between Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and some of the rumors they were drug abusers? How would Disney like that?"

The doctor who prescribed drugs to 3 Doors Down guitarist Matt Roberts -- before his apparent overdose -- is not guilty in his death.

The jury returned the verdict on Dr. Richard Snellgrove, who'd been indicted back in 2016. Prosecutors claimed he improperly prescribed controlled substances to Matt leading up to his death in August 2016.

Snellgrove's attorney presented text messages that showed Matt had been dabbling in street drugs in addition to his Rx meds, and argued his death couldn't be pinned strictly to Snellgrove. Prosecutors claimed Snellgrove had been prescribing meds under multiple aliases ... even though he knew they were for Roberts.

The jury bought the defense's version ... Snellgrove's off the hook, criminally. He is still fighting the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Matt's estate.

11:15 AM PT -- Clint's daughter, Valerie, tells us Walker died from congestive heart failure.

Clint Walker -- best known for playing a TV cowboy on the hit western series "Cheyenne" -- has died ... TMZ has learned.

Clint died suddenly Monday in the company of his wife and daughter ... according to a source close to the family. It's still unclear what caused his death, but a family member says they believed it was a heart issue.

Walker broke into the Hollywood scene after landing a role in the classic film "The Ten Commandments." With his good looks and imposing physique -- Clint stood 6'6" -- he was cast as the roaming cowboy hero, Cheyenne Bodie, in 1955. The show aired for 7 seasons.

After "Cheyenne" ended, Clint starred in the only movie ever directed by Frank Sinatra, "None But the Brave," and "The Dirty Dozen." He also returned to the Western genre with films like "More Dead Than Alive" and "The Great Bank Robbery."

Walker continued working in showbiz until the late '90s, when he voiced a character in "Small Soldiers."

He was 90.

GOP House Whip Steve Scalise says maybe if there was more faith, religion and God in schools across America the mass shooting at a Texas high school last week could've been prevented.

The congressman was at Reagan National Airport on Monday and we wanted to get his thoughts on how kids, teachers and parents can cope with last week's horrific act that resulted in 8 students and 2 teachers killed at Santa Fe High School. Scalise, of course, fought for his life last year after getting shot when a gunman opened fire at a congressional baseball team practice ... so who better to ask?

Prince might've had a biological daughter who was never looped in on what would happen with the late singer's estate ... so claims a woman in new legal docs.

The woman in question, Snowe Melinda Saxman, filed paperwork in a Minnesota court -- obtained by TMZ -- in which she says she believes she's Prince's birth daughter ... but her evidence is pretty thin.

Saxman says she was adopted, and never knew her real parents -- but, based on her "substantial physical, temperamental and aspirational similarities to Prince" ... she has reason to believe she's his actual kid. She also claims she looks like Prince, and has musical prowess like her father. As she puts it ... she's "very artsy" and a "natural-born star."

There's more ... Saxman goes on to say she recently did a background check of herself through a company called Family Tree DNA, which she claims shows she's matched up genetics-wise with numerous people in Prince's family tree, including John Lewis Nelson, Mattie Della Baker, and others. She says she didn't match with Prince directly 'cause his DNA's not in the system.

She says she was never notified about any proceedings in Prince's probate case, which some of his heirs claim is burning cash like crazy managing the singer's posthumous affairs. Sounds like she wants to get in on the Estate ... and stake a claim to what's left behind.

12:30 PM PT -- Texas Governor Greg Abbott has confirmed at least 10 dead and 10 more wounded in this morning's attack. In addition to the two guns the shooter brought with him -- which were owned by the suspect's father -- he had also planted multiple explosive devices in his home, vehicle, and at the school.

The suspect has been identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis. The Governor claimed the student had admitted to initially intending to take his own life, however he was taken into custody alive.

At least 8 people have been brutally killed at a high school in Texas after yet another mass shooting in America ... and Parkland, FL students are venting their anger and frustration.

President Trump responded to the shooting at Santa Fe High School Friday morning by tweeting, "School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!"

Those words didn't sit well with students Jaclyn Corin and Cameron Kasky, who accused the President of treating the tragedy "like a game" ... instead of doing something to stop them.

Emma Gonzalez made a an immediate call to action, saying Santa Fe High deserves "more than Thoughts and Prayers, and after supporting us by walking out we will be there to support you by raising up your voices."

David Hogg called out other politicians for simply "acting like they give a s**t." Several students have blasted the NRA as well.

Trump just addressed media at the White House, saying, "Everyone must work together at every level of government to keep our children safe."

Chris Paul is speaking out about the Texas school shooting that happened roughly 35 miles from Houston on Friday ... and he's calling for change to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.

“First and foremost, aside from the playoffs going on, which is minor compared to what is taking place down in Santa Fe," Paul said Friday morning at Rockets practice.

"Our prayers going out to the victims and the families having to deal with that situation."

FYI, 10 people were killed and several more injured at Santa Fe HS when a shooter opened fire inside the building.

"We have a lot of fan support there. Those people come out and support us night in, night out. So, this is very minor compared to what those people are dealing with.”