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Eddie Money -- the '70s and '80s hitmaker known for "Take Me Home Tonight" and "Baby Hold On" -- has died ... TMZ has confirmed.

The singer died Friday in Los Angeles. His family said, "The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music."

Eddie made the stunning revelation about his diagnosis during season 2 of his reality show, "Real Money." As we reported ... Eddie got the heartbreaking news late last year during a routine checkup with doctors.

It didn't look good at that point ... the cancer started in Eddie's esophagus but spread to other parts of his body. He'd been battling health scares for some time now. You'll recall he was forced to take a break from the road for other health issues -- a minor heart valve procedure in May and he also caught pneumonia in July, but neither issue was related to the cancer.

Eddie -- born Edward Joseph Mahoney -- was born in Brooklyn. He came from a long line of family members who served with the NYPD. He himself was on the force for 2 years ... before ditching NYC in 1968 for California to fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a rock star.

Money worked the local clubs in Berkeley before he was signed to Columbia Records in 1976. His self-titled debut album earned double-platinum success. The album also included some of his classic hits ... including "Two Tickets to Paradise." His career spanned more than 4 decades and he sold over 28 million records.

Eddie also made a guest appearance on the CBS sitcom 'King of Queens' back in 2002.

He's survived by his wife of more than 30 years, Laurie, and 5 children ... Zachary, Jessica, Joseph, Julian and Desmond.

Last time we got Eddie out, he talked to us about his favorite era of music, and even tolerated a couple bars sung to him by our camera guy.

Eddie was 70.

RIP

Rihanna shined bright like a diamond at her annual gala -- the brightest in the room -- and that's saying a lot considering the shindig hosted TONS of other celebs.

Riri threw her 5th annual Diamond Ball Thursday night in NYC. The soiree benefits the Clara Lionel Foundation ... it's the name of her grandparents. The org helps impoverished communities around the world with funding for education and health.

'Late Night' host Seth Meyers hosted the event where there was no shortage of big stars ... Cardi B, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, Carmelo and La La Anthony just to name a few.

Some of the performers included Pharrell, DJ Khaled, G-Eazy, 2 Chainz, Fat Joe, Fabolous, A$AP Ferg and Yo Gotti. Interesting to note ... no sign of Rihanna's billionaire boyfriend.

One thing's for sure ... she knows how to throw one helluva party.

Tekashi 6ix9ine has an even bigger target on his head than ever, now that the U.S. Attorney has just made public exactly how the rapper will help them bring alleged violent gang members down ... yet we've learned his security behind bars isn't being amped up.

Fact is ... the feds believe Tekashi is already safe and secure in the facility he's called home for nearly a year. The joint houses other snitches, all of whom have the same problem ... certain people want to kill many of them and are willing to pay a hefty price to get the job done.

The facility has a unit where a bunch of the snitches live. They spend all of their time with each other ... no other inmates allowed. They have a common area where tables are set up for meals. It's strictly a catering-in unit. Food carts come and go all day.

They have exercise equipments and a TV in the common area and they sleep in a dormitory setting.

According to the new legal docs, Tekashi's testimony will be devastating. He'll name names in various alleged crimes, including the July 2018 robbery and kidnapping of Tekashi himself.

He's going to identify which Nine Trey Blood members are attached to various aliases used in incriminating texts. Mind you, prosecutors can't figure this out themselves, so Tekashi's testimony is critical.

The rapper faced 47 years in prison for his alleged crimes, but he cut a deal in return for his cooperation. Short story, the people he's testifying against would be more than happy if he somehow doesn't make it to testify next week.

We're told when it comes time to go to court, U.S. Marshals will take Tekashi through a secure tunnel to the courthouse ... he'll be under super heavy guard.

Sebastian Telfair is FREEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

... for now.

The ex-NBA star and former H.S. prodigy is out of prison just days after he was sentenced to 3.5 years in his gun case ... but there's a chance Telfair could end up back behind bars.

Here's the deal ... 34-year-old Telfair was convicted of possessing an illegal firearm stemming from a June 2017 incident where he was caught with an arsenal of weapons during a traffic stop.

He was facing up to 15 YEARS in prison for the crime ... but instead, on Aug. 12, a judge ordered him to serve 3.5 years.

Telfair and his legal team appealed the sentence ... and asked that while the process plays out, they let Telfair bail out of prison.

TMZ Sports has learned a judge agreed to those terms Thursday -- with an ankle monitor clearly a part of the deal -- and Telfair is now a free man.

Unclear how much Telfair's bail was -- we're working on it ... but we do know he was spotted with friends on Thursday.

Telfair -- who famously appeared on Sports Illustrated's cover as a high schooler -- played for several teams in the NBA from 2004 to 2015. He was a Trail Blazer's 1st-round pick in the '04 NBA Draft.

Beto O'Rourke got a rise out of an elected official from Texas when he said during Thursday's presidential debate that he wants to take assault weapons away from everyone who possesses them ... in the form of a not-so-veiled death threat.

O'Rourke gave a stirring answer to a question about assault rifles, saying, "Hell yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47," adding, "If the high-impact, high-velocity round, when it hits your body, shreds everything inside of your body because it was designed to do that so that you would bleed to death on the battlefield."

Well, that was enough for Texas Republican State Rep. Briscoe Cain, who fired back on Twitter, "My AR is ready for you Robert Francis."

O'Rourke stated the obvious on twitter, calling it a "death threat." What's more ... his team reported Briscoe to the FBI.

Peter Weber is pretty clearly the next Bachelor ... and you can thank our photog, Charlie, for the scoop.

Charlie spotted Peter Thursday at LAX ... actually, it wasn't that hard, since ol' Peter had a camera crew in tow. Charlie jumped to a conclusion which seems rock solid.

There's a hilarious moment when Peter realizes TMZ is shooting its shot, and he's totally flummoxed.

The smart bet's always been on Peter handing out roses for the upcoming season. Mike Johnson was also a front-runner with Tyler Cameron in a distant 3rd.

Tyler can't be too upset, with the likes of Gigi Hadid as a consolation prize.

Delta pilot Peter is almost certainly the man ... best known to Bachelor Nation as the guy who banged 'Bachelorette' Hannah B not once ... NOT twice ... not THREE ... but a whopping FOUR TIMES in a windmill during a fantasy suite date near the end of Hannah's season.

It's never official until it's official. You'll recall what happened to Caila Quinn ... who also was being filmed in 2016 to be "The Bachelorette" but ultimately producers picked JoJo Fletcher. Still, the tea leaves aren't hard to read in this one.

Fun fact ... Peter's parents met when his dad was a pilot and his mom was a flight attendant.

Donald Trump Jr. says it's time for Joe Biden to hang it up and withdraw from the 2020 Presidential Race.

We got 45's son Friday in NYC, and he honed in on Biden's gaffes, saying if his dad said the things Biden has said, he'd be torn apart.

DTJ may have forgotten, his father's forgotten the words to "God Bless America." And then, there's referring to 9/11 as 7-Eleven. And, who can forget Trump's 4th of July speech ... during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army "rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports."

Antonio Brown should pack his bags ... the WR is expected to travel to Miami and play for the New England Patriots on Sunday, despite facing very serious rape allegations.

Brown practiced with Pats on both Wednesday and Thursday (and worked out at Tom Brady's TB12 facility) ... and now NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says all signs are pointing to AB being active.

"Generally with Bill Belichick, the way it works is if you practice on Wednesday, then you are preparing to play," Rapoport says.

Earlier this week, Belichick wouldn't commit to an answer when asked if AB would play on Sunday ... telling the media the team was taking things one day at a time.

But, as Ian pointed out, AB wouldn't be getting reps at practice if he wasn't expected to play -- that's just the Belichick way.

As for as his eligibility, neither the NFL nor New England has said Antonio CAN'T play ... despite a new lawsuit that was filed on Monday in which Britney Taylor alleges AB raped her in Miami back in 2018.

In her suit, Taylor also accuses Brown of inappropriate sexual acts in 2017 ... including one incident where she says Brown "began masturbating near her without her knowledge and ejaculated on her back."

For his part, Brown -- through his attorney, Darren Heitner, and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus -- has strongly denied the allegations.

Since the case is civil, and NOT criminal -- NFL officials didn't rush to place Brown on the Commissioner's Exempt List, which would almost certainly have happened had charges been filed.

Rapoport reported Friday morning if Brown doesn't play -- it'll likely be due to football reasons and NOT the new accusations against the embattled wide out.

Remember, the guy is still dealing with injured feet due to a cryotherapy mishap.

"Nothing has stepped in and stopped Antonio from being eligible to play," Rapoport said. "It certainly seems like that is the direction things are going to go in New England."

The Patriots square off with the Dolphins in Miami at 10 AM PT ... and inactives lists are due a couple hours before game time, so things won't be official either way until early Sunday.

Lori Loughlin's going about her normal routine ... just hours before getting an enormous clue about her fate in the college admissions scandal.

Lori was doing a little shopping Thursday at Ralphs in Westwood when a photog asked how she's doing, offering some words of support. Lori was mum, but there's reason for her to think things are looking up.

As we reported, in Felicity Huffman's case, the Probation Dept. wrote a report saying zero jail time would be appropriate since "There was no actual or intended loss." In other words, no one suffered as a result of Felicity paying $15k to rig her daughter's SAT test. What's so important here ... the Probation Dept. said there was no "intended" loss. Fact is ... even if she intended her daughter to get into a college and displace another student, the Probation Dept. doesn't think that's a "loss." That bodes well for Lori.

Michael Blackson ain't impressed with Kobe Bryant's dance moves ... telling TMZ Sports he moves like "Michael Jackson with a concussion."

We know, not exactly politically correct ... but we still laughed.

Of course, Kobe posted footage of himself when he was 12 years old, bustin' some old school moves to "Ice Ice Baby" at a school dance performance. The point was to show people Kobe had other interests outside of basketball.

Earlier this week, Kobe came under fire for comments he made about a girl on his daughter's youth basketball team who chose a dance recital over a basketball game. People accused Kobe of shaming the child, but the NBA legend insists he was telling a story about commitment.

Either way, Blackson wasn't impressed with Mamba's dance moves ... and fired off a few zingers outside Argyle in L.A.

Tinashe is shutting down rumors that she signed with Roc Nation ... but it sure sounds like she's ready to make the move.

The singer was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood Thursday night, when we asked if it's true she's joining Jay-Z's company. She tells us she's an independent artist, so no ... she hasn't signed anything.

Tinashe's wording is very interesting, though ... because she seems to hint there's an offer out for her, but she's just not inking a deal until she puts out some music on her own first.

Even the notion of a big signing bonus couldn't sway her right now, she says ... but then makes it clear she'd be excited to work with the company that boasts artists like Rihanna in the future.

And, to drive home the point she's worthy of a Roc Nation contract ... Tinashe gives us a little sample of her talent.

Nailed it!

The action on the field was boring ... the action in the stands was VIOLENT!!

A bunch of Carolina Panthers fans decided to pass the time at Bank of America Stadium in NC by beating the the living hell out of each other while hundreds of people gathered around to watch.

No, it wasn't an "official" fight club ... but look at the crowd watching these people fight.

Old people, young people, men, women, children ... people in visors -- everyone stopped dead in their tracks to watch the idiots throw hands.

Unclear who actually won the brawl ... but the fans seemed to like it -- maybe they felt like they got their money's worth?!

As for the game, when the rain stopped ... the Panthers got back on the field and blew a few late game opportunities as they eventually took an L to the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Don't fight, people. You look stupid.

Shane Gillis, one of 3 newly added "Saturday Night Live" cast members, is catching tons of flak online over a resurfaced podcast that shows him hurling racial slurs toward Asians.

In the September 2018 clip, Shane and his podcast partner are yukking it up over Chinatown ... ripping the architecture, residents, culture and food.

Shane refers to noodles as "nooders" and uses a derogatory term for Asians in the expletive-laden discussion ... with both hosts bashing all things China.

People are pissed off with the new 'SNL' hire ... and critics say the optics look even worse considering NBC also hired it's first Asian-American for 'SNL' along with Shane.

BTW ... Shane is the guy on the right.

Ex-NBA player Al Harrington has serious questions about why he's getting so much attention from the police lately, telling TMZ Sports he truly believes he's being targeted by the po-po.

You might remember we got video of a police stop involving Al last month -- he was pulled over outside of his office in Hollywood for some reason, but never ticketed.

Al claimed the incident was a case of "driving while black," and said it wasn't the first time he'd been hassled by police, claiming they'd frivolously stopped him earlier in the summer as well.

We got Al entering a Viola Lifestyle event in Hollywood on Wednesday and he said he's just been stopped by the police AGAIN, and it's clear he thinks something is up.

"I think I'm being targeted too."

The LAPD tells us they take Harrington's claims "very seriously" and says it is still investigating the situation.

Robbi Morgan is best known for taking a stab at the role of the dog-loving camp cook, Annie -- who gets her throat slashed before she can even make it to Camp Crystal Lake -- in the classic 1980 fright film, "Friday the 13th."

Robbi Morgan killed it in the movie alongside other great actors including Kevin Bacon as the hot jock, Jack, Mark Nelson as the camp counselor cadaver, Ned Rubenstein, Adrienne King as the long-living Alice who makes it out with a machete ... and of course Betsy Palmer who plays the crazy murdering mother, Mrs. Vorhees.

Adele is throwing in the towel on her marriage ... because the pop singer just filed for divorce.

According to court records, Adele filed to divorce her husband, Simon Konecki, on Thursday after more than 7 years together.

The divorce filing was a long time coming for Adele ... as we previously reported, back in April she announced that she had separated from her hubby.

Adele and Simon have one child together ... and her reps previously said that she and Simon were "committed to raising their son together lovingly."

Adele and Simon kept their relationship mostly out of the spotlight since starting to date back in the summer of 2011. She gave birth to their son, Angelo, in October 2012. They tied the knot in a very secret ceremony, and she didn't confirm the union until 2017.

The last time Adele and Simon were seen in public was earlier this year in January, when they surfaced backstage at an Elton John concert at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. Adele and Simon arrived to the show together.

Adele's been having lots of fun without her hubby this year ... hitting up a gay bar in New York City with Jennifer Lawrence, and kicking it in L.A. for an entire weekend with Drake.