RIP

Karl-Anthony Towns got a lot of dope gifts for his 26th birthday on Monday -- but none were more meaningful than this ...

TMZ Sports has learned that one of KAT's good buddies got him an amazing diamond pendant -- that's worth over $16,000 -- to honor his late mother, Jackie, for the special day.

We're told Chuck Anthony -- who's been one of Towns' best pals for years -- hit up Tim Da Jeweler to get a bday gift for the Timberwolves center earlier this year.

Chuck wanted to pay tribute to Towns' mom, who passed away in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19.

Tim tells us he and Anthony worked closely together on the project -- saying they "wanted to make something that would have some sentimental value to Karl given that he had a really hard time dealing with his mother's passing."

The honorary bling came out PERFECT ... it features a 48.6 gram yellow/white gold "J' pendant that's infused with 7.78 carats of round/emerald VVS Color E/F diamonds.

There's also a custom, hand-painted red rose with green and blue designs to give it "some pop," according to Tim.

It also comes with a 14k solid two-tone yellow gold/white gold rosary style chain -- and we're told it all cost $16,700.

Philadelphia Flyers center Kevin Hayes scored his first goal of the season Tuesday night ... and celebrated by pointing to the sky honoring his late brother, Jimmy, in an emotional moment.

It was Hayes' first home game of the 2021 season since Jimmy's tragic death in August ... and the 29-year-old made the most of it with a goal during the second period of the Flyers' OT win against the Calgary Flames.

Hayes immediately looked up and pointed to the sky and placed his hand on his chest after securing the goal ... with broadcasters acknowledging, "he scored for his brother."

"It was a big goal," Hayes said about the tribute during the post-game press conference.

"Trainers got the puck for me. I'm going to give it to Jimmy's son Beau and it'll be one I remember forever."

Kevin was devastated by his older brother's death on Aug. 23, saying the day after, "I lost my best friend, my brother."

"My whole life it has always been Jimmy and Kevin or the Hayes brothers."

"Our world lost someone special and I don’t know if I will ever be the same but till we meet again, I LOVE YOU JIM!"

Jimmy -- who played 7 seasons in the NHL for several teams including the Chicago Blackhawks -- was found dead at his Milton, Mass. home. The toxicology report confirmed fentanyl and cocaine were in his system.

Keyshia Cole has lost another family member this year -- her adoptive father just passed away due to COVID-19 ... only months after her mom died.

The singer shared the news Monday, saying Leon Cole -- the only father she's ever known -- lost his battle with the virus. Her tribute to him is touching, as she highlighted his devotion to her throughout her childhood ... even though she wasn't his blood-born daughter.

Keyshia writes, "He made sure (Even tho he wasn’t my biological father) to keep a stable foundation and roof over all of our heads during our upbringing!!!!" KC went on to shout out the fact Leon worked hard to provide for his family -- while imparting valuable lessons on religion, values, relationships (with women, specifically) and duty.

She adds, "Seriously the most loving guy I’ve ever known. And he’s gonna be missed so much! I hate that this has happened !!! And that I’ve now lost two beautiful souls within a few months from each other."

The death of her father comes a few short months after her biological mother, Frankie, died from a drug overdose this past summer. She'd reconciled with her mom in recent years -- much of which was documented on TV.

As Keyshia alludes to here ... her parents gave her up for adoption at a young age, and the Coles took her in and raised her in Oakland, CA ... and got her into music as well.

Hundreds of people honored Tina Tintor and her golden retriever, Max -- who were both killed in the Henry Ruggs car crash on Nov. 2 -- by having a special dog-walking event in Las Vegas this weekend.

The "Pack Walk" happened in the Town Square shopping center in Vegas on Saturday -- just two days after the 23-year-old was laid to rest.

About 200 people -- including Tintor's family -- showed up for the tribute with their canines, dressing the dogs up in white bandanas to symbolize peace.

Tintor's family brought Tina's other dog, a 3-year-old husky named Bella, to the event.

"Las Vegas is a large community of dog lovers and knowing this unfortunate event brought so many feelings," one of the organizers said.

"We need this. We need the family to know the community is here for them as well."

Tintor was also honored with over 2,000 donations to her GoFundMe that was launched a few days after her death. In total, over $103,000 was raised.

As we previously reported, Tina was tragically killed after officials say Ruggs struck her Toyota from behind with his Corvette.

Cops say Ruggs was going 127 MPH at the time of impact, causing Tintor's car to burst into flames and ultimately killing her and her dog.

Travis Scott's latest Nike collab won't be hitting the shelves anytime soon -- the Swoosh has decided to postpone the "Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack" release due to the Astroworld festival tragedy.

The Baroque Brown kicks were slated to go live on December 16 at 7 AM ... but just minutes ago, Nike announced it will not go through with the drop.

"Out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival, we are postponing the launch of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack," Nike said Monday.

The decision comes as 9-year-old Ezra Blount became the 10th concertgoer to lose their life as a result of the chaos at Astroworld.

As we previously reported, the Houston Rockets also scrapped a promotional event featuring Scott last week -- replacing "Travis Scott Night" with a moment of silence for the victims.

On top of that, Fortnite elected to remove the Travis Scott emote from its game.

Prosecutors in the investigation involving the death of Chris Daughtry's step-daughter, Hannah, say they are not classifying it as a homicide investigation -- at least not yet -- but as we reported, that's not what sources connected to the Daughtry family say what happened.

The 8th District Tennessee D.A. says, "This is a death investigation and any attempt to classify it as a homicide investigation at this time is premature and irresponsible."

As we reported, sources directly connected to the Daughtry family told TMZ ... detectives told the family Hannah's death was a homicide.

25-year-old Hannah was found dead Friday at her home.

The same day as her body was found, Hannah's boyfriend, Bobby Jolly, was arrested on an unrelated matter and is currently in custody. He has not been labeled either a suspect or a person of interest in Hannah's death.

Hannah and her brother Griffin, 23, are Deanna's children from a previous relationship. Chris, 41, and Deanna, 48, who met in 2000, also share twins Adalynn Rose and Noah James, 10.

Lisa Rinna's mother, Lois Rinna, is dead ... a few days after suffering a second stroke.

Lisa's mom died Monday morning ... according to Amelia Hamlin, Lisa's daughter and Lois' granddaughter.

The cause of death is unclear but Lisa went public last week with the news her mom had suffered another stroke -- Lois previously suffered a stroke back in 2013 -- getting emotional on social media over what was going on with her mom.

Amelia posted a heartfelt tribute to Lois on Monday, along with a ton of pictures of the family with her "guardian angel."

The model is remembering her late grandma as her best friend, her strength, her rock, her everything ... and she says Lois' "laughter never failed to light up any room you ever walked in."

Amelia is also thanking Lois for being the strength their family needed, and for teaching her what it means to be a strong woman.

You might have seen Lois on TV before ... she made a habit of appearing on "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" over the years with Lisa.

Amelia mentions 5:05 AM in her goodbye post ... which appears to be the time of death.

Lois was 93.

Former MLB shortstop Julio Lugo -- who played in the Big Leagues for 12 years -- reportedly died on Monday.

He was just 45 years old.

ESPN's Enrique Rosas said Lugo's family confirmed the death, explaining they believe the ex-baseball player suffered a heart attack.

No further details surrounding the death have been given.

Lugo -- who was set to celebrate his 46th birthday on Tuesday -- was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1994 and eventually played in the MLB from 2000-2011.

The infielder played for seven teams -- the Astros, Rays, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cardinals, Orioles and Braves -- but he was most known for his time in Boston.

After signing a four-year, $36 million contract with the Sox in 2006 -- he went on to help the team win the 2007 World Series.

Lugo logged 1,279 hits in his career ... and finished with 198 steals and a batting average of .269.

The death is the second tragic one in the MLB in less than two weeks ... former Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano also passed away at age 45 just 8 days ago.

The 9-year-old boy who was trampled at Astroworld Fest and left fighting for his life has sadly died from his injuries -- making him the 10th death from the festival.

Ezra Blount passed away Sunday at Texas Children's Hospital, after being on life support since Friday, November 5, when he was among the hundreds who were injured during Travis Scott's headlining show.

The family's attorney, Ben Crump, tells TMZ, "The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra's death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer."

The kid was in attendance with his father, who's reported to have lifted his son up onto his shoulders once the crowd surge became unbearable. Unfortunately, Ezra's father passed out during the ordeal ... leaving young Ezra to fall to the ground during the chaos ... and be subjected to being crushed on by the panicked crowd around them.

He sustained serious bodily harm -- ones that left him with severe swelling of the brain and internal bleeding ... and since then, his family has been hoping he'd be able to recover.

Ezra's grandfather gave a heartbreaking interview to ABC13 in Houston ... recounting his son and grandson's harrowing experience at the festival. He didn't seem to lay much blame at Travis' feet, per se -- but rather, said police and security should've stepped in.

Like we said ... Ezra had been hospitalized since the horrific event, and was eventually placed in a medically induced coma -- with the hope that he would be able to heal enough to gain consciousness again ... but that never happened.

As we reported ... civil rights attorney Ben Crump was hired by the family and already filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the parts of multiple parties -- including Travis himself, Live Nation and others involved in organizing the festival.

Crump said, "This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets."

Chris Daughtry has put the brakes on his concert tour ... this after the death of his daughter.

25-year-old Hannah Daughtry was found dead Friday at her home. The death was sudden, although no details have been provided.

Chris's band released a statement about the cancelation ... "Due to the unexpected death of Chris and Deanna Daughtry's daughter, Hannah, all currently scheduled shows for the coming week for Daughtry have been postponed."

The statement goes on to say ... "The Daughtry family thanks you for your understanding and respectfully asks for privacy during this very difficult time. Further details will be made available at a later date. The investigation into this tragic death is still ongoing."

Hannah and her brother Griffin, 23, are Deanna's children from a previous relationship. Chris, 41, and Deanna, 48, who met in 2000, also share twins Adalynn Rose and Noah James, 10.

One of the men who went to space aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin ship -- and was joined by William Shatner on the voyage -- has died in a plane crash.

Authorities say Glen de Vries died Thursday in a small plane crash. De Vries and Thomas P. Fischer were the only two involved and killed in the crash. The plane reportedly went down in Sussex County, New Jersey ... the FAA is still investigating what happened.

Blue Origin released a statement, saying, "We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired."

As we reported, Shatner was part of the second group of non-Astronauts to take flight on a Bezos-backed ship.

Captain Kirk and crew took off and landed in the Texas desert October 13. The voyage made Shatner the oldest person to go to space at 90.

Prior to their flight, Bezos, his brother Mark and two others had gone up in a Blue Origin test mission.

De Vries was just 49.

RIP

A man replacing the roof at a house owned by Olivia Munn fell to his death ... and now she and her mom are being sued by his family.

According to a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Olivia and her mother, Kim Schmid, hired Celso Merida to work on replacing the roof at the home back in May, but on his 4th day on the job he fell from the roof and suffered a bunch of injuries.

The suit says the man died a couple weeks later, the cause of death was blunt force traumatic injuries.

According to the docs, Olivia and her mom hired an unlicensed contractor named Fernando, who in turn hired Merida ... and the late worker's family says Olivia and Kim were negligent in pawning things off to an unlicensed contractor.

The man's family also claims Olivia and her mom instructed him to work on the roof, even though the required safety guards and fall protection were not in place ... creating what the family claims was an unreasonable risk of injury.

Olivia actually featured the home in a 2014 project with Vogue.

According to the suit, Olivia and her mother did not give Merida the proper tools for him to work safely on the roof, and they didn't participate in a workers' compensation program.

The family is suing Olivia and Kim for wrongful death ... and going after them for damages.

Winter, the dolphin that grabbed global attention after being the focus of the movie "Dolphin Tale" is fighting for her life after developing a serious infection.

Winter, who lost her tail in 2005 at just 2 months old when it became entangled in a crab trap, had been cared for at The Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida for her entire life. Her caretakers announced that while they treated her for what they thought was a gastrointestinal infection, her condition got worse this week ... and she's now in critical condition.

"Dolphin Tale" -- released in 2011 -- was based on Winter's journey from her injury as a calf to the prosthetic tail that was made for her, and her progress after.

Among the movie's stars were Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd and Kris Kristofferson.

The aquarium announced they'll be closed until at least Saturday "to create the best possible environment for her medical team."

A statement from the Clearwater aquarium team says, "We thank everyone for the incredible outpouring of love and support you have shown Winter since her rescue in 2005 and especially these last few days.”

Mark Davis was one of about 100 people who attended the funeral services for Tina Tintor on Thursday ... paying respects to the woman who died in a car crash that authorities say his former player, Henry Ruggs, caused.

The Las Vegas Raiders owner showed up to the somber ceremony in a black suit, white-collared shirt and a tie ... and sat in a pew at the local church where the services for Tintor went down.

Davis stayed for the entire hour-long event ... and did not speak with media members afterward.

As we previously reported, Tintor died along with her dog, Max, after cops say Ruggs crashed his Corvette into the back of their Toyota on a street in Las Vegas on Nov. 2.

Officials say Ruggs had been speeding prior to the wreck -- going 156 MPH just seconds before the crash -- and claim the former Raiders star was drunk at the time, too.

Ruggs has since been hit with five charges over the incident -- including four felonies -- and prosecutors say he's facing over 50 years behind bars if convicted on all counts.

As for Tintor and her family, her attorney said in a statement following the crash that they're "devastated" over the loss of the 23-year-old.

"Family was everything to Tina," the lawyer said, "and she was the light of her parents' life."

Travis Scott was more concerned with his own safety than that of his fans, and the tragedy at Astroworld should have never happened ... so says an attorney repping one of the victims.

Attorney Tony Buzbee, who is repping the family of Axel Acosta, tells TMZ ... all signs are pointing to Travis and the rest of the festival lineup going to great lengths to protect themselves from the crowd, and not putting nearly enough resources into crowd safety.

Buzbee says Axel traveled all the way from Washington to see the Houston festival and loved Travis, but the feelings were clearly not mutual, because the 21-year-old is one of 9 who perished from injuries suffered at the concert.

The way Tony sees it ... Travis and other artists are full of it when they say they love their fans, because if they really did, they would implement better safety measures at shows. Especially when they're massive 50,000-fan events like Astroworld was.

While Buzbee says he's not singling out Travis from the festival lineup, which also included Drake, watch the clip ... he clearly seems to be laying blame at the feet of the headliner.

TMZ broke the story ... Travis vowed to cover funeral costs for families of the people who died at the show, and provide mental health services to anyone impacted by the events.

Buzbee thinks that's a hollow offer -- he says the Acosta family has not heard a peep from Travis' camp and isn't expecting to get any money for Axel's upcoming funeral.

Travis' camp tells us they have been "actively exploring routes of connection with each and every family affected by the tragedy through the appropriate liaisons" ... adding families of the victims can reach out to them directly too.

Meanwhile, Buzbee is conducting his own investigation, and claims police requested full riot equipment before Astroworld's gates even opened Friday morning -- and by 10 AM cops admitted they had no control ... even with an extra 300 officers coming in to boost the overall number to 500.

Rev. Jesse Jackson tells us, "I'll be in court next week." He says the line of thinking from Gough is "unacceptable" and a "public trial involves public observation."

Sharpton tells us, "The arrogant insensitivity of attorney Kevin Gough in asking a judge to bar me or any minister of the family’s choice underscores the disregard for the value of the human life lost and the grieving of a family in need spiritual and community support."

He continues, "I respect the defense attorney doing his job but this is beyond defending your client, it is insulting the family of the victim."

The lawyer for defendant William 'Roddie' Bryan in the Ahmaud Arbery trial complained to the judge ... "black pastors" coming to court and sitting with the family is unfair.

Attorney Kevin Gough voiced his displeasure in open court after Rev. Al Sharpton showed up to sit with Arbery's family inside the courtroom.

Gough groused, "I've got nothing personally against Mr. Sharpton ... but if we're starting a precedent where we're gonna bring high-profile members of the African-American community into the courtroom to sit with the family during the trial in the presence of the jury, I believe that's intimidating and it's an attempt to consciously or unconsciously pressure or influence the jury."

And, he goes on ... " ... if their pastor is Al Sharpton right now, that's fine, but then that's it. We don't want any more black pastors coming in here. Jesse Jackson, whoever was in here earlier this week sitting with the victim's family trying to influence the jury in this case."

BTW ... Jesse Jackson was never in the courtroom. He may be referring to attorney Ben Crump, who was in court earlier in the week.

The judge was less than receptive, interrupting Gough and shutting down his argument, after the lawyer makes a Colonel Sanders reference.