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It's hard to envision just how close to death Ric Flair was in 2017 ... until you see the photo of the WWE legend while he was recovering in the hospital.

Nature Boy just posted a pic taken right around the time he woke up from his medically induced coma back in August. He looks extremely frail as he tries to walk with the help of a wheelchair.

The good news ... Flair also posted a "NOW" pic -- in which he's bulked up and crushing a stationary bike!

WOOOOO!!!

Chelsea Handler's dog, Chunk -- who became famous on her show -- has died.

Handler made the announcement Thursday, saying, "I’m crying because of how much I loved him. My chunky monkey. I love you, baby. Softest doggy in the world."

The talk show host also lost her dog, Tammy, in August after suffering kidney failure.

Chunk was a staple on "Chelsea" and made regular appearances on her various social media platforms.

It's unclear how Chunk died, but he was recently battling health issues of his own.

RIP.

Meek Mill is responsible for a fan getting shot at one of his concerts ... so claims the fan who is now suing him.

The concert in question went down December 30, 2016 at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT. Two men died from the gunfire and 2 others were injured.

Dylan Thomas was shot in the leg, and claims Meek's responsible because he was the man in charge. Thomas goes on to say there has been violence at previous Meek Mill concerts, so he should have known the real possibility of more violence existed and therefore should have had more security.

The incident went down after the concert in a parking lot on the premises.

The lawsuit also names Roc Nation as a defendant, alleging it allowed "thugs" to remain on the premises after they had exhibited disorderly, disruptive, argumentative, angry, and/or agitated behavior.

The name of Kim and Kanye's third child remains a mystery but, despite juicy Internet speculation, it has NOTHING to do with Louis Vuitton.

We're told Kim's Instagram post of the iconic Louis Vuitton print Wednesday that whipped fans into a frenzy was meant to honor Kim Jones, not drop a baby name hint.

We're told Jones -- LV's menswear designer since 2011 -- showed his latest collection on the runway Wednesday night, so Kim K's post was simply a shout-out. Jones also once designed a shoe with Kanye.

Adding fuel to this Louis Vuitton baby name theory is the fact Kim also shared a shot of her trash bins plastered with the LV logo a few days before their baby girl was born, but again ... we're told it's just a coincidence.

As for any true leads on the baby name ... Kanye's no help either.

Roger Stone has one good reason for floating the idea of Hulk Hogan running for a U.S. Senate seat -- and that reason's sitting in the Oval Office right now.

We got President Trump's former adviser Thursday in NYC and got his reaction to Hulk telling us he's not interested, for now, in a political career -- and he's urging the former wrestler to reconsider.

Roger points out there are plenty of role models to prove there's a place for the Hulkster in D.C. -- Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump and Jesse Ventura.

As for past scandals ... Stone said, history proves Hulk can overcome it.

Kim Kardashian went straight for Lamar Odom's jugular after he dissed Khloe Kardashian ... making fun of him for visiting brothels.

Kim replied to a tweet Thursday in which Lamar was quoted from his interview on BET's "Mancave" that read ... "I knew my marriage to Khloe was over 'when she was on her second or third NBA player.'"

Safe to say, Kim wasn't having it ... she responded ... "Or second or third brothel."

Lamar has been known to visit brothels in the past, most famously when he OD'd at one in Nevada a few years back. Khloe has dated NBA star James Harden, and is currently preggo with Tristan Thompson's kid.

No love lost here, apparently.

Blac Chyna's house manager is in a coma and it's got Chyna's exes, Tyga and Rob Kardashian, opening their wallets to help pay for medical expenses.

Patty, who also helped run Chyna's clothing line, suffered a stroke in July but continued to work -- despite doctor's orders -- to support her 3 kids. She went into a coma in December due to bleeding on the brain.

What's worse ... Patty was pregnant and doctors had to terminate the baby.

Patty's family set up a GoFundMe page and Tyga was one of the first to donate -- $5k under his real name, Michael Stevenson. Rob also donated $10k and, as of Thursday morning, $18k of the $50k goal had been raised in just a few hours.

Justin Bieber's not only reconciled with his mother ... he's carved out some quality time with her in the tropical paradise of the Maldives.

The Biebs and his mom, Pattie Mallette, are vacationing together, which is a big deal. They've been estranged for years, and only recently started reuniting. Based on Pattie's own words ... it's going very well.

She posted this pic and gushed ... "I'm so proud of the amazing young man you are, and the young man you are becoming. None of us are perfect and never will be, (so we will always need patience and grace for each other), but your genuine growing relationship with Jesus is evident in the choices you are making daily and the good 'fruit' you bear. I admire your character and integrity."

Since canceling his Purpose Tour, in part to focus on his religion, Justin's reconciled with Selena Gomez ... and now his mom.

There's a definite pattern.

11:33 AM PT-- More info from the Harris County Sheriff's Office ... which says the incident in question took place on June 15, 2017.

"The complaint was thoroughly investigated and all involved parties, including Mr. Sanders, were interviewed by investigators."

"Upon completion of the investigation, evidence and witness statements were presented to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether a criminal charge should be filed."

"The Harris County District Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury, which determined on January 9, 2018 that there was insufficient evidence to support a criminal charge."

Denver Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders will NOT be prosecuted for felony sexual assault after a grand jury in Texas decided there was not enough evidence to move forward with the case.

Officials in Texas are being very tight-lipped about the case ... but here's what we know so far.

Sanders was accused of sexual assault in Harris County, Texas -- where he still owns a home. He went to high school nearby.

Unclear when the alleged sexual assault took place -- but we know the case was classified as a felony 2 ... which means the allegations were very serious.

The case was kicked over to a grand jury and on January 9, the jury "failed to find a bill of indictment" ... meaning they felt there was not enough evidence to prove his guilt.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Sanders is off the hook.

Blac Chyna just got nailed by the judge in the lawsuit she's filed against Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner ... the judge has tentatively agreed to dismiss them entirely from her lawsuit claiming the Kardashians torpedoed her reality show.

Chyna's lawyer, Lisa Bloom, squared off in court Thursday with Kardashian lawyer Shawn Holley. Holley was gunning for the judge to get her clients dismissed from the case, and the judge saw her point.

The best part ... the judge reacted to Chyna's claim that E! dropped "Rob & Chyna" because the Kardashians painted her as a bad mother. The judge confessed he didn't watch the show, but said it's hard to imagine E! wouldn't do a show where the woman is a bad mother!

The judge scoffed at Chyna's claim that the Kardashians interfered with her E! contract, saying Chyna was only in negotiations with the network and didn't have an enforceable contract.

In the end, the judge bought the argument that Kim and Kris did not interfere with Chyna's contract with E!, but did give Chyna the right to a second bite of the apple where she could try and create a new case against the 2 women.

She's still suing Rob for torpedoing the show, and he maintains the main reason the show was canned was because Chyna got a restraining order against him and it's impossible to do a reality show about 2 people when they're not allowed to interact.

Diddy says he's 100% serious about buying the Carolina Panthers, and the reason he's doing it couldn't be more important ... 'cause he says it's all to inspire and empower black America.

Puff sat down with the crew on "The Breakfast Club" when he was asked if there were any updates on his efforts to purchase the squad.

Diddy made it clear it's totally real -- he's putting an investment group together -- and told everyone why he thought it was important for the black community to have NFL ownership.

"It was never about me buying the Panthers, it was always about we. It was always about we need a team. I jumped out there to make sure that they understood that they have to consider some black ownership right now with 80%, 70% of the league being African-American. It's just time."

Diddy goes on to say he gets why some people think he won't be able to do it ... there's a lot of yellow tape -- but it's clear he doesn't think anyone can stop him.

Pope Francis went from Pontiff to Good Samaritan on a dime, after a police officer fell off her horse during a procession in Chile.

The Pope was in Iquique, Chile to urge the country to end its ongoing conflict with the Mapuche people -- the indigenous people of Chile -- when the incident occurred.

The Pope got off the Popemobile and stood by the cop until an ambulance arrived.

The Vatican says the woman "received words of consolation from the Holy Father."

She was taken away in the ambulance and her condition is unknown, although the Vatican stated she was conscious the entire time.

Bam Margera has officially been charged with 2 counts of DUI ... TMZ has learned.

The L.A. City Attorney's Office has charged Bam with 1 count of driving under the influence and 1 count of driving with a .08 or higher. If convicted, Bam could face up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, though that's unlikely.

Although he's struggled with alcohol abuse for years ... this is Bam's first DUI, and first-time offenders in L.A. County rarely get jail time.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam was busted earlier this month after cops saw Bam on his cell phone. Once pulled over, cops conducted field sobriety and breathalyzer tests before arresting the "Jackass" star.

Bam checked into rehab last week.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were late, but worth the wait for their first official visit to Wales.

The royal couple arrived at the iconic Cardiff Castle Thursday in the capital city of Wales, a pretty personal visit, of course -- he was born to the Prince and Princess of Wales. The overflowing crowd was all smiles when Harry and Meghan stepped out to greet their subjects.

Afterward, H&M headed inside the castle and joined a festival to celebrate Welsh culture.

Kris Jenner doesn't scrimp on her grandkids, especially not for the newest Kardashian girl -- for whom she just dropped over $10,000 ... TMZ has learned.

Sources tell us Kris hit up baby boutique Petit Tresor in WeHo late last month and spent at least $10k on some pricey baby merch for Kim and Kanye's latest bundle of joy.

We're told Kris knew the baby would be due in January, so she wanted to get her order in early since a lot of this stuff is custom-made and would take a while to get delivered.

As for the order itself ... sources say Grandma Jenner bought a roughly $3,000 silver cross pram for kids -- which, we're told, was intended for North to push her new little sister around in. She also picked up a handcrafted Anaiza wooden crib for at least $6,000.

Last, but not least ... sources say Kris snapped up a bunch of custom baby outfits with rose applique for ALL of her grandkids at a couple hundred bucks each.

LaVar Ball was dead serious about starting his own semi-pro basketball league -- and now he's got the ball rolling when it comes to locking down the trademarks.

TMZ Sports has obtained documents showing LaVar (doing business as the Big Baller Brand) has filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to get the rights for the "JBA" aka the "Junior Basketball Association."

BBB is looking to use the league name and a logo (a silhouette of Lonzo Ball dunking) for athletic apparel, uniforms, hats, footwear, etc.

LaVar has previously said he wants to create the league for high school basketball players who don't want to play for free in college ... but can't get to the NBA yet.

He's stated he wants to pay players between $3,000 and $10,000 per month. He's looking to recruit 80 players to fill 10 teams.

LaVar is gunning to launch the JBA in the Summer of 2018.