RIP

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner hit her breaking point while reporting live on the rising COVID-19 body count in L.A. -- she couldn't hold back her tears, showing the pandemic's emotional toll.

Sara was on Monday morning with anchor Alisyn Camerota, reporting live from Los Angeles before the sun was even up ... detailing stories from families she'd encountered at L.A.'s MLK Jr. Community Hospital, including many who'd lost loved ones to COVID.

As she was talking, Sara choked up ... and tried to start again, saying she'd been to 10 hospitals where people were being ravaged by the coronavirus. Eventually, she had to stop and sob for a bit.

Alisyn jumped in to thank Sara for her passionate coverage over the last year -- she's literally been on the ground for every major news cycle since the start of the pandemic, covering COVID, George Floyd's death, social justice protests and everything in between.

Shortly after her live shot, Sara took to Twitter to express what she was feeling. She attached a CNN story she and another reporter had worked, detailing how one woman who lost her mother to coronavirus had to hold the funeral in a chapel parking lot.

University of Kentucky athlete Ben Jordan -- who played both baseball and basketball for the Wildcats -- has died, according to local reports. He was 22.

Details surrounding his death are unclear at this time.

The 6'9", 250-lb. Jordan was a star 2-sport athlete in high school -- he was rated the 97th best overall prospect in the country and third in the state of Kentucky for the Class of 2017.

He was named all-area in baseball and basketball during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons at West Carter High School.

The Kentucky native arrived in Lexington and redshirted in 2018, making his collegiate debut in 2019 ... appearing in 10 games and striking out 8 men.

As for on the hardwood, Jordan walked on to the basketball team in mid-October ... making 2 appearances with John Calipari's 2019-20 squad.

Cal released a statement on Jordan's passing, saying, "Our hearts are broken today."

"It is difficult for me to express and to put into words what a tragedy it is to lose a young person too early."

He added, "Ben impacted our team last season in so many ways with his kind heart, his big smile and his wonderful personality. He cared so deeply about this place and it meant so much to him to be a part of this team."

"We are grieving today over the loss of a teammate and a brother, but Ben will not be forgotten. We ask that everyone keep Ben and his family in their thoughts and prayers during this time as we try to find a way forward."

Dr. Payman Simoni -- the Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who died from COVID-19 -- performed the same procedure that led to his death weeks before ... for a reality show.

Patrik Simpson, who appears on "Gown and Out in Beverly Hills," tells TMZ ... he filmed with Dr. Simoni in November and December for an upcoming episode, going under the knife -- without a mask -- for a lip lift.

Remember, Dr. Simoni died Friday after being hospitalized with COVID-19 ... and family sources told us he contracted the virus after performing a lip injection on a maskless patient who coughed on him, and tested positive for COVID days later.

Patrik tells us he was instructed to get a COVID test before surgery, and he tested negative. The woman who allegedly infected Dr. Simoni, however, was not tested beforehand and only did a temperature check and COVID questionnaire at the practice.

We're told Dr. Simoni was wearing a mask during Patrik's elective surgery, just as he was with the other patient, but get this ... the doc posed for a maskless photo with Patrik last month during a post-op appointment.

While filming 'Gown and Out' with Dr. Simoni, crew for the show also had to test negative to keep working and there were a small number of folks involved in production, with no other patients ... Patrik tells us.

It's super sad ... Patrik says he and Pol Atteu from the show sent Dr. Simoni texts on Christmas and New Year's Day, but was alarmed when there was no response. The doc died Jan. 8 from a brain hemorrhage after being placed in a medically induced coma.

Bert Belasco -- famous from BET's "Let's Stay Together" -- died suddenly after suffering an aortic aneurysm that likely stemmed from high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

According to his death certificate ... Bert's immediate cause of death is listed as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. That's medical speak for high blood pressure and hardening and narrowing of the arteries that restricts blood flow.

However, his family says the coroner told them it was an aortic aneurysm -- a bulge in the artery that carries blood from the heart through the chest and torso -- that killed him.

Bert's death certificate says he'll be cremated.

As you know ... Dr. Dre is currently in ICU after suffering an aneurysm a week ago. His was a brain aneurysm and he was much luckier than Bert, because half the people who suffer a brain aneurysm do not survive, and the mortality rate is even higher with cardiovascular aneurysms.

TMZ broke the story ... Bert's father, Bert Sr., told us his son's body was found back in November in a hotel room in Richmond, VA. He was there to start on a project for a new movie. Bert's GF couldn't get a hold of him and she eventually asked hotel staff to check on him.

There's also this ... Bert's alma mater, Southern Illinois University, plans to launch The Bert Belasco Scholarship and Award Fund and The Bert Belasco Theater Award, which will be awarded to an incoming African-American or minority student and a graduating student actor, respectively.

For the first time in more than 8,000 episodes, someone other than Alex Trebek is hosting "Jeopardy!" ... so the new guy made sure to pay a fitting tribute to the late TV legend.

Ken Jennings kicked off his stint as interim host of the famous game show by honoring the man who made it famous ... saying Alex was pretty much perfect at what he did for more than 36 years.

Jennings pointed to Trebek's intelligence, charm and grace as reasons why he will never be replaced ... but told the audience the best way to honor him is "by playing the game he loved."

Jennings will be hosting throughout January to help the show out while it looks for a permanent replacement. Ken's obviously known as the greatest "Jeopardy!" contestant of all time, but when it comes to his hosting chops ... he's previously made it clear, "There will only ever be one Alex Trebek."

"Jeopardy!" paid its final respects to the beloved host last week with a 90-second video tribute thanking him for his 37 seasons of service, since he began the gig in 1984. The highlight montage played during the airing of the last episode Trebek taped.

In Trebek's heartbreaking final sign-off, he thanked viewers for watching and said he'd see them again next week. Sadly, Alex died 10 days later without filming another episode.

Tanya Roberts' longtime partner is planning a celebration of her life, but before that, he plans to honor her in an L.A. location near and dear to her heart.

Lance O'Brien tells TMZ ... the late model and actress is going to be cremated, and he's going to spread her ashes in the hills behind their home in Laurel Canyon, where she used to hike regularly with her dogs.

Lance says Tanya would go on a 4-mile hike with her 2 beloved pooches 5 times a week, and he adds ... they're very much missing their mom.

Tanya's partner tells us it's been an incredibly difficult week, but he's trying to work out plans with her family and friends for a memorial service, or some other way to pay tribute to her.

We broke the story ... the actress best known for "That '70s Show" and "Charlie's Angels" died Monday night, potentially from a UTI that spread to her kidneys and liver.

News of her death was bizarrely announced prematurely a day earlier though, the result of what seemed to be a major miscommunication between Lance and Tanya's rep after Lance visited her at the hospital Sunday night.

The way he described it ... she was unresponsive on a ventilator, but he thought she woke up when he arrived in her room.

"Ink Master" star Daniel Silva has responded to Corey La Barrie's wrongful death lawsuit ... claiming Corey's death was partly his own doing.

Daniel filed legal docs responding to claims from the YouTuber's parents -- Simon La Barrie and Lissa Burton. The docs say the car crash that led to Corey's death was due to his own negligence, and he assumed the risk of death when he jumped into Daniel's car that fateful night back in May.

TMZ broke the story ... Corey's parents believe Daniel and his company, Daniel Silva Tattoos, were negligent in the moments leading up to Corey's death on his 25th birthday. Daniel wrecked a black McLaren sports car after leaving a party with Corey.

Corey's parents say excessive speed caused the crash ... and Daniel was the one with his foot on the pedal.

The parents also claim Daniel was under the influence ... something a source close to Daniel disputes.

As we first reported ... Daniel was arrested and later charged with murder ... with the L.A. County D.A.'s Office saying Daniel acted with malice the night of the crash.

Daniel pled no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was sentenced to 4 years in state prison, but that sentence was suspended. Instead, he got 365 days in county jail. He also got 5 years probation and 250 hours of community service.

A plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills has died from COVID-19 ... and it appears to be entirely because he was able to keep working on patients during a pandemic.

Dr. Payman Simoni -- who's been featured on "The Doctors" show -- passed away while hospitalized in L.A. -- this after he contracted the virus while performing a cosmetic procedure on a patient who turned out to be COVID positive ... so say family sources.

We're told Dr. Simoni was doing a lip injection on a woman last month ... obviously an elective procedure. She was temperature checked and filled out a COVID questionnaire. She was not tested.

While the doc was hovering over the maskless woman, our sources say she coughed in his face. He had his mask on, but still ... she sprayed on him. She contacted the office a few days later to inform them she had tested positive for COVID.

Dr. Simoni then went into quarantine and began experiencing symptoms -- shortness of breath, etc -- and in short order, he was on a ventilator at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. We're told Dr. Simoni was eventually placed in a medically induced coma as his lungs started failing. He died Friday from a brain hemorrhage.

It's a cautionary tale ... one that might've been avoided if the City of Beverly Hills hadn't passed a resolution allowing cosmetic surgery offices to remain open while cases continue to surge. Some docs have opted to hold off -- others obviously haven't.

Simoni was 50.

Capitol Police just announced the death of another one of its officers, and he reportedly died by suicide.

Howard Liebengood, who was assigned to the Senate Division, is the second Capitol officer to die this week.

Liebengood is the second officer to die this week in the wake of the events at the Capitol. As we reported, Officer Brian D. Sicknick died from injuries he sustained during the riot.

The police say 51-year-old Liebengood was on Capitol Hill Wednesday when the insurrectionists stormed the Capitol. Punchbowl reporter Jake Sherman says his sources told him Liebengood's death was a suicide. He died Saturday while off duty.

Liebengood joined the Department in 2005.

Former Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer calls Liebengood's death a "line of duty casualty" ... clearly meaning even if it was a suicide there's a direct connection to the riot.

Liebengood was 51.

This one hits hard -- "Jeopardy!" paid its final respects to Alex Trebek with the airing of the last episode the legendary host taped.

The show aired a 90-second video tribute thanking the late host for his 37 seasons of service to the show before he passed away in November. The video showed Alex's highlights throughout the decades and it was set to Peter Allen’s “Once Before I Go.”

The final message at the end ... "Dedicated to Alex Trebek. Forever in our hearts. Always our inspiration." This week was the last week of Alex's slate of new episodes, which he shot back in October.

When the show starts airing again on Monday ... there will be a slate of guest hosts, with Ken Jennings up to bat first. In the meantime, the show's searching for a permanent replacement.

Alex, who had been hosting "Jeopardy!" since 1984, died in November after a long battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 80, and is already so missed.

Dave Creek -- best known as lead character designer for the popular FOX animated series "Bob's Burgers" -- has died following a skydiving accident.

Dave died Thursday after suffering injuries in a skydiving accident last weekend ... though at this moment it's unclear exactly what his specific injuries were.

Tributes have been pouring in from his co-workers in Hollywood ... including "Bob's Burgers" director Simon Chong.

Bernard Derriman, a supervising director on the show, also paid tribute to his longtime colleague and tweeted one of Dave's sketches and posted pictures of one of the treehouses Dave built around bonsai plants. The work is pretty remarkable.

Dave's other huge passion was skydiving. His Instagram feed has tons of video showing him making jumps.

The last video he posted was on December 28 and he captioned it, "Steep little break-off at 5,000ft." He included the hashtags "adrenaline," "happiness," "meat missile" and "fun."

The outlet CartoonBrew first reported his death.

Dave's credited with 79 episodes of "Bob's Burgers" since the series launched in 2011. Some of his other animation credits include "Central Park," "Brickleberry" and the film "Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown."

He graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2005 and was also an adjunct professor there -- teaching character animation and workshops.

Dave was 42.

Deezer D, best known for his role as nurse Malik McGrath on "ER" has died ... TMZ has learned.

The actor, whose real name was Dearon Thompson, was found unresponsive at home Thursday morning in Los Angeles. His brother, Marshawn, tells us the family believes he died of a heart attack, but there is not yet an official cause of death.

The actor underwent major heart surgery in 2009 -- a 6-hour procedure to replace his aorta and fix a leaky heart valve.

Deezer D appeared on almost 200 episodes of ER from 1994 through 2009. Not only was Thompson an actor, but he was also a motivational speaker and a performer in the Christian and underground hip hop communities.

Thompson also had a role in 'Romy and Michele' and was known for his roles in the films "CB4" and "Fear of a Black Hat."

He was 55.

Tragic news coming out of Annapolis -- retired Navy football goat mascot, Bill 33, has died, the Academy announced Thursday. He was 14.

Bill 33 -- AKA "Blue Eyes" -- recently battled age-related health issues that would not improve ... and was euthanized in his Navy home with his caretaker by his side, USNA said in a statement.

The angora goat was donated to the Academy alongside Bill 34 in 2007 ... and repped the football team through the 2015 season before taking on a mentorship role to the younger goats.

The Navy says Bill 33 enjoyed hay and treats during retirement ... and was wise enough to stay clear of the younger, "more rambunctious" goats.

The Academy notes Bill 33 is the only goat in the school's history to have blue eyes -- hence the nickname.

"The Academy would like to publicly confirm that he was quite 'old and gnarly' and had 'never been to school,'" USNA added.

Bill 33 is survived by Bill 34 and current mascots Bill 36 and Bill 37.

Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand on one of the "Deadliest Catch" crab fishing boats, died from a drug overdose ... TMZ has learned.

Mahlon's cause of death is listed as acute cocaine intoxication ... according to Flathead County Sheriff and Coroner, Brian Heino. He also tells us the death has been ruled accidental.

TMZ broke the story ... Mahlon died in Whitefish, Montana back in July, after suffering a massive heart attack and going on life support. His wife told us his death came as a complete shock to the family because he had no known existing health conditions.

Mahlon's death came while he was rehabbing a torn Achilles, suffered while crabbing, and we were told he was working his butt off to make it back to Alaska for another crab season.

Tanya Roberts' feared she had contracted COVID-19 before collapsing at home ... but doctors believe a serious infection -- not COVID -- is what killed the actress.

The late actress's partner, Lance O'Brien, tells TMZ ... Tanya said she felt short of breath, tired and had tightness in her stomach just days before her collapse on Christmas Eve. Lance says when Tanya collapsed he helped her up ... and realized she had virtually no strength. An ambulance arrived and took her to the hospital, giving her oxygen along the way and helping her to regain consciousness.

Once Tanya was hospitalized, Lance says her condition quickly deteriorated -- which Lance himself recounted on camera Tuesday. BTW, we're told she was tested for COVID several times while in the hospital, but all of the tests came back negative.

So the question remains ... what could have taken her life so quickly? Lance tells us that doctors informed him it might be related to a UTI that spread to her kidneys and liver. We're told Tanya also had Hepatitis C, and doctors told Lance that was causing complications as well.

An autopsy has yet to be performed. Tanya was 65.

Tanya Roberts' longtime partner says he was distraught and confused during his final moments with her ... which may explain why he prematurely told folks she had died.

Lance O'Brien told a photog Tuesday ... when he visited her Sunday at the hospital she was in bad shape -- unresponsive on a ventilator -- but he says when he told her he was there, she sat up and opened her eyes.

This led him to believe she was responding, but he says hospital staff told him it was just a reflex ... and she was "out" shortly afterward. Lance tells us he was beside himself, so he got in the elevator and left.

Lance says Tanya's rep Mike Pingel -- who's driving Lance in this video -- picked him up from the hospital and asked what happened ... and this might help explain her bizarre premature death announcement.

He tells us he responded, "I just said goodbye to Tanya," and that was it ... then he went home and fell asleep, only to wake up later to phone calls about her passing.

Lance seems to be suggesting Mike interpreted his statement as proof Tanya had died, though Pingel also says Lance told him ... "She died in my arms."

Either way, it makes sense in wake of a devastating, tragic moment that there could be a communication breakdown ... and Lance says the ordeal was made all the more difficult due to COVID.

Lance also tells us Tanya had her initial health scare on December 23 -- not Christmas Eve -- but he thought it was just a blood sugar issue and she would be fine.

We broke the story ... Tanya died Monday night at L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Despite the strange story involving her death, she'll be remembered for her long and successful career as a model and actress ... most recently for starring on "That '70s Show" as Midge.

Tanya was 65.