RIP

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Andrei Kuzmenko left the team to return home to Russia and grieve with his family ... after the NHL star's father was mauled to death by a bear.

The Penguins announced Thursday that Kuzmenko was taking a break after the death of his 62-year-old father, Alexander, in Russia. Earlier in the day, Kuzmenko reportedly showed up for practice with his teammates before flying to Moscow to mourn with his family.

According to Ren.tv. -- a Russian media outlet -- Alexander was on a fishing trip Tuesday when he was mauled by a bear that came out of the woods in Siberia's Tuva Republic.

Authorities are investigating the death of 4-year-old Jayde Wooten who was found upside down in a trash can full of water and fish.

According to WGXA, the girl's father told a deputy that he'd just gotten home and couldn't find his daughter in her room.

He says he then woke up Jayde's mother, who claims to have fallen asleep while Jayde was eating in the kitchen.

Jim Copenhaver, who was severely wounded during the Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania in 2024, is dead.

House Republicans announced Jim's death Thursday in a social media post ... "We are deeply saddened by the passing of Jim Copenhaver, who was gravely wounded in the horrific shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania."

Jim was one of two people injured when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at Donald Trump's July 13, 2024 campaign rally. He was hospitalized and discharged a week later. The cause of death is unclear.

A 10-year-old boy and his fifth-grade teacher were found dead Wednesday during a frantic police search after they went missing and ultimately drowned in an Iowa reservoir during a school field trip.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office issued a statement Wednesday night, announcing that its deputies and other law enforcement agencies discovered the bodies of Ahmed Osman, 10, and Hannah Jorgensen, 24, floating in the water at the Coralville Reservoir in Iowa City.

The Sheriff's Office called their deaths a "tragic accident" that occurred while the two were on a field trip with a bunch of fifth graders from Borlaug Elementary School at Lake MacBride State Park near the Coralville Reservoir.

A California college wrestler is dead after he fell near Illilouette Falls at Yosemite National Park.

Santa Rosa Junior College Coach Fred Duerr confirmed that wrestler Ryan George died over the weekend ... according to multiple reports.

Duerr said ... "If you knew Ryan, you know he was one of the most genuine, positive people you could ever meet. He had this way of lighting up a room, making you feel welcome, and bringing out the best in everyone around him."

B2K singer Raz B was frantic and heartbroken on the 911 call after finding his 3-month-old son unresponsive ... repeatedly begging dispatchers to send help.

TMZ obtained the call from the morning Astro Monte Thornton died ... with Raz telling the operator, "My son died. My son is not breathing."

Raz pleads, "Please hurry up," as the dispatcher tries to confirm the address and Astro's age.

Former "Amazing Race" contestant Tim Janus, who competed alongside Joey Chestnut on the show's 30th season, is dead.

Tim, who was known in the competitive eating circuit as Eater X, died Sept. 16 following a cancer diagnosis ... his publicist confirmed to Major League Eating.

He climbed the sport's ranks to eventually become the No. 2 competitive eater in the world ... behind only Joey.

Camp Mystic is facing a criminal investigation ... and investigators say they are on the hunt for evidence of manslaughter and homicide after 28 people died there last year in a flood.

Texas Rangers have applied for search warrants to obtain electronic communications from the camp's owners, who have not been charged with a crime ... according to multiple reports.

Officials say these communications may contain evidence of crimes ... including manslaughter, negligent homicide, and child abandonment.

Law enforcement is warning people to stay away from kratom after the deaths of two students at the University of Mississippi.

According to a news release from Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, these were 2 separate deaths with no evidence connecting them ... but packaged kratom was found in both investigations.

Kratom is sold without a prescription for pain relief and energy ... and it's also known as "gas station heroin."

LCMN wrote ... "Out of an abundance of caution, we encourage everyone to avoid kratom and any other medication or substance that was not prescribed to you or obtained from a trusted, regulated source."

An Indiana mom was passed out drunk after guzzling at least 6 beers while she was supposed to be monitoring her 3-year-old son, who drowned in a pool ... and now she's in big trouble with the law ... according to police.

Anthony Aussieker, a rep for the Evansville Police Department, tells TMZ ... Amie Jo Farber consumed 6 or more 25-ounce Bud Ice beers over roughly 2 hours Saturday while she was sitting in a patio chair supposedly watching her son splash around in a backyard pool at someone's house.

But instead of watching her toddler ... Aussieker says Farber threw a little party for herself, drinking to the point where she passed out in her chair.

Nolan Wells' death has been determined to be "consistent with a drowning" ... months after the 18-year-old vanished during a Fourth of July boating trip to Mississippi's Horn Island.

According to the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's autopsy report, Nolan's manner of death was ruled "undetermined."

“The Grand Jury finds that the position of, the condition of, time of discovery, and location of Mr. Wells’ body is consistent with drowning,” the report read. The Grand Jury, which consisted of 13 men and 10 women, was impaneled on April 20, per local reports. They met again on September 14 and ended on September 18. The report also noted Nolan did not have cocaine in his system, despite rumors.

Jennifer Eckhart was fighting a $1 million defamation lawsuit when she died ... filed by a Florida couple who claimed she falsely linked them and their business to sex trafficking.

Court docs obtained by TMZ show a woman named Darby Annunziata, her husband John, and their lash salon, Sugar Pie Lashes, sued the former Fox News producer in February ... about 7 months before she died by suicide in her Florida home.

According to the complaint, Jennifer allegedly walked into a nearby boutique and warned people not to do business with the salon, claiming Darby "doesn't really support women at all, especially single hard-working mothers working sex trafficking."

Cops say Jennifer Eckhart's mother is the one who discovered her dead in her Florida home ... with a small knife nearby.

TMZ has obtained the incident report from the Martin County Sheriff's Office, which says Eckhart's mother contacted authorities after arriving at her daughter's home Saturday and finding her dead inside the bathtub in the master bathroom.

The report says deputies found a folding pocketknife near Eckhart and observed serious injuries from lacerations. Crime scene investigators and the Medical Examiner's Office were then called to the home.

10:40 AM PT -- Jennifer Eckhart's mother found her dead inside a bathtub with a knife nearby.

Former Fox News associate producer Jennifer Eckhart has died by suicide ... TMZ has confirmed.

Jennifer died in Florida ... according to a rep for the Martin County Medical Examiner's Office. Law enforcement sources tell us ... the case has been ruled a suicide.

A heavy police presence was spotted outside her Hobe Sound home on Saturday morning ... she was reportedly found dead in her home.

UMass Dartmouth running back Marvins Antoine has been fatally stabbed after an attack at a fast-food parking lot ... he was only 18 years old.

The stabbing -- which saw Marvins suffering wounds to his chest -- took place at a Wendy's parking lot in Providence early Saturday morning ... WJAR initially reported.

Marvin was declared dead upon arrival after being brought to a nearby hospital ... WPRI reported.

B2K singer Raz B and wife Mona Li's 3-month-old son showed no obvious signs of trauma or foul play when police responded to the Atlanta home where he died ... TMZ has learned.

According to an Atlanta Police Department incident report obtained by TMZ, officers responded to a "person down" call at a home shortly after 8 AM on September 8.

Police say officers arrived and were directed to Astro Monte Thornton, Raz and Mona's 3-month-old son, who was unresponsive.