Derek Chauvin -- the cop convicted of murdering George Floyd -- was stabbed 22 times in a brutal attack behind bars ... and the inmate responsible says he wanted Chauvin dead.

Federal prosecutors announced Friday inmate John Turscak was charged with attempted murder in the prison stabbing. Using an improvised knife, Turscak attacked Chauvin on November 24 in the law library at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.

According to prosecutors, 52-year-old Turscak told corrections officers he would've killed Chauvin if they hadn't intervened.

As we reported, Chauvin's family had been left in the dark in the days following the attack ... pissed prison officials hadn't offered them more info other than the fact Chauvin was in critical but stable condition.

Chauvin was convicted of Floyd's murder and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. He was also given a 20-year term on a separate federal charge of violating Floyd's civil rights ... which is what he's serving in Arizona.

A last-ditch attempt to save a dog from a mysterious illness plaguing the nation is seemingly working -- with one vet deciding to prescribe the popular COVID-19 drug intended for humans ... Paxlovid -- and it seemed to work!

The life of a bulldog named Cash -- who was struggling to breathe with inflamed lungs while coughing up blood -- was spared when Doug Swain, D.V.M., a veterinarian at Lyman Vet Clinic in Cass County, Iowa, gave him the antiviral pills.

Dr. Swain tells Iowa news outlet KCCI 8 he made the decision because there was nothing to lose ... adding within days, the dog recovered after being on the brink of death.

Since then, he has continued to prescribe Paxlovid to other dogs battling severe cases of the mysterious illness.

Dr. Swain says he came up with the solution after noticing the owners of the struggling animals had recently been ill with COVID ... and their symptoms were similar to humans.

He adds he put 2 and 2 together when he noticed the affected dogs looked just like he did when he spent 9 days in the ICU after being struck down with COVID.

Cleveland Browns star David Njoku burned nearly a quarter of his body during his serious bonfire mishap earlier this season ... with the tight end's doctor revealing his injuries were "probably the most painful burn you can have."

The 27-year-old sat in front of a camera and detailed the September 29 incident this week ... giving a play-by-play of exactly what happened that fateful night.

Njoku said he likes to have bonfires in his backyard to relax on Fridays ... and after running out of his usual lighter fluid, he tried out a spray to ignite the logs in his pit.

Unfortunately ... when he went to start the fire, particles in the air caught ablaze and blew up in his face.

Dr. Joseph Khouri of University Hospitals explained the extent of Njoku's ailments ... saying he had second-degree partial-thickness burns, which involve the top two layers of the skin.

Khouri recommended Njoku not play right after the incident ... but of course, the tight end did the exact opposite -- suiting up for the Browns just two days later, calling the matchup against the hated rival Ravens "personal," and stating there was no way he wasn't going to play.

Njoku ended up recording six catches for 46 yards in the contest ... and he said he felt "intense" pain throughout.

Angel Reese is happy to finally be back with the LSU Tigers, and now she's explaining the 4-game hiatus ... saying the absence was for her mental health, so she could reset and refocus within the team.

The 6-foot-3 forward rejoined the Tigers on Thursday for their home game against Virginia Tech ... and Reese scored 19 points in the 82-64 win.

Fans were thrilled to see their Bayou Barbie back in action ... as she had been away from the team since her benching on the Nov. 14 game. Head coach Kim Mulkey was mum on the reason why.

But, now Reese is providing an explanation, speaking to the media postgame, admitting it was a long two weeks away, but it was something that needed to be done.

"Taking time to yourself is really important," Reese said, "I feel like it's just something important, resetting, refocusing within the team. I'm just happy to be back."

"My mental health is the most important before anything and I'm gonna make sure I'm okay before anything because I don't wanna cause any harm or cancer in the locker room."

Reese added, "I want to people realize that I'm not just an athlete. I'm a human, too. I go through things."

The 21-year-old said she got a lot of support from her true friends ... including Shaq, who reached out every day during her absence.

"We FaceTime every day, he checked on me, called me every single day to make sure I was good.," Reese said.

The 2023 NCAA champ also had a message for everybody who trashed her, speculating her time away had to do with bad grades or a bad attitude.

"Whatever stories that were wrote or written, don't believe everything you read," Reese said. "I'm back and I'm happy. I'm here and I'm moving forward. I'm going to take this team and help take this team as far as I can."

Outside of Reese's return and LSU's win, Mulkey also got her 700th victory, making her the fastest coach to reach the mark in men's and women's basketball.

La estrella de "El juego del calamar" (Squid Game en inglés), Geoffrey Giuliano, tuvo una experiencia real con una motosierra que habría hecho retorcerse incluso a los fans más acérrimos del programa.

El actor de 70 años perdió dos dedos de sus pies después de que una motosierra se los cortara en un extraño accidente. Al parecer, estaba haciendo unos arreglos en su casa cuando a uno de sus obreros se le cayó accidentalmente la motosierra. Aparentemente, la herramienta cayó al suelo y rebotó en el pie de Giuliano, provocando el corte de los dedos.

Fue un gran desastre cuando empezó a borbotear la sangre, pero aun así tuvo la prestancia para localizar sus dos dedos del pie derecho, el gordo y el segundo, envolverlos en una toalla de papel y entregárselos a los médicos cuando llegaron.

El accidente ocurrió en Pattaya, Tailandia, donde fue trasladado a un hospital y luego los médicos pudieron rezurcir sus dedos.

Giuliano se someterá a una segunda cirugía el viernes en Bangkok para asegurarse de que todo esté en su lugar.

Giuliano dijo: "Me duele como un loco hoy. Los médicos me dijeron que tengo suerte de estar vivo, pero no me siento afortunado. Una motosierra casi me mata".

A continuación, Giuliano explicó sobre el accidente: "La motosierra voló cerca de 8 pies en el aire, golpeó el suelo, destruyó el suelo y luego fue a parar a mi pie, a la parte superior de mi dedo gordo y el segundo dedo del pie".

"Squid Game" star Geoffrey Giuliano had a real-life experience with a chainsaw that would have made even hardcore fans of his show squirm.

The 70-year-old actor is minus 2 toes after a chainsaw severed them in a bizarre accident. Seems he was doing some home renovations when a construction worker was buzzing away, but then accidentally dropped the chainsaw. Apparently, the tool hit the floor and then bounced onto Giuliano's foot, cutting off the 2 toes.

He was a bloody mess, collapsing in his own blood. He had the presence of mind to locate the 2 toes - the big one and the second one on his right foot -- place them in a paper towel, and present them to medics when they arrived.

The accident went down in Pattaya, Thailand, where he was rushed to the hospital and doctors reattached the toes.

Giuliano will undergo a second surgery Friday in Bangkok to make sure the reattachments stick.

Giuliano said, "It hurts like crazy today. The doctors told me I'm lucky to be alive, but I don't feel lucky. A chainsaw almost killed me."

Giuliano further explained the accident ... "The chainsaw flew about 8ft into the air, hit the floor, chewed up the floor, then landed on my foot, so there went the top of my big toe and second toe."

LeBron James is vowing not to miss Bronny's first college basketball game ... revealing he will skip his day job with the Lakers to watch his son play for USC if their schedules overlap.

The King spoke with reporters following L.A.'s 133-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday ... hours after it was announced his oldest son was cleared to return to hoops following his cardiac arrest in July.

LBJ said it's a "proud moment" for his entire family ... and he's so excited for 19-year-old Bronny, he's already let the team know he won't be available to play if his kid's debut falls on the same date as a Laker game.

"Looking forward to his first game," James told reporters. "Whenever he's cleared and whenever he's ready to have his first game, I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we're playing, then I'm going to have to catch them the next game."

LeBron's teammates jokingly let out groans after his comment ... but he made it clear the James Gang is his priority.

"Family over everything, champs. I love y'all. But, I definitely gotta see Bronny's first game whenever he's cleared and ready to go."

As we previously reported, Bronny will have a final evaluation with USC staffers and participate in practice next week ... and will make his first game appearance soon after.

The Lakers and USC have five potential scheduling conflicts over the next couple of weeks -- Dec. 28 and 30, and Jan. 3, 13, and 17.

The pregnant woman who Von Miller allegedly roughed up during a violent altercation on Wednesday told a 911 operator she was bloodied and bruised after the NFL star's attack.

In the call, the woman appeared a bit frazzled as she tried to explain to dispatch how Miller -- who she described as her boyfriend -- had put his hands on her just minutes earlier.

"My boyfriend was choking me," she said, "hitting me, pulling my hair."

She added, "I have bruises all over me, I have hair -- my hair's out."

When the operator asked if she needed paramedics ... she said "I don't know," before revealing she had "some blood on me."

In court documents, authorities say when officers arrived on the scene shortly after the call had been placed, the woman told them the confrontation had started after she and Miller got into an argument over weekend travel plans.

According to the docs, Miller became "visibly angry" with her ... and pushed and shoved her, before he put his hands on her neck. Authorities said the woman alleged that during the assault she told the football player, "Stop I'm pregnant."

Miller left the scene before cops arrived -- though a felony warrant for his arrest was later issued due to the allegations. On Thursday afternoon, he turned himself in to police and took a mug shot -- before he bonded out of jail.

The woman now, however, has apparently recanted her story ... with WFAA reporting late Thursday evening she said in a text message to their reporters, "Things were blown way out of context."

"No one assaulted anyone," she reportedly wrote in the message. "This is insane. And sad."

The Bills, who are currently on their bye week, said in a statement Thursday they were aware of the allegations against their star pass rusher and "are in the process of gathering more information."

Shannen Doherty is not letting stage 4 cancer change the way she goes about her life ... she's pushing forward with her work, but also carving out time for herself, her friends and her dog.

Sources close to Shannen tell TMZ … she is full steam ahead when it comes to showbiz, and has a plethora of gigs on the horizon.

We're told she's keeping busy attending different conventions, like the recent 90s Con in Florida ... and has more appearances on deck.

Shannen's got a busy week ahead ... we're told she's doing lots of interviews to promote her new podcast, "Let's Be Clear With Shannen Doherty," ahead of its debut. She'll be doing the morning show circuit with appearances on "Live With Kelly" and 'GMA.'

Shannen was diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2015, and she recently revealed the cancer has spread to her brain.

Still, our sources say she's far from done living life ... and is still making future plans, because she doesn't believe stage 4 cancer has to be a death sentence. Indeed, science and medicine have come a long way.

We're told she still goes out for dinner, and does normal everyday things like walking her dog ... and she recently enjoyed a boat vacay in Europe.

Shannen Doherty no está dejando que su batalla contra el cáncer de etapa 4 cambie la forma en que enfrenta su vida. Está empujando hacia adelante su carrera en Hollywood y saca tiempo para ella, sus amigos y su perro.

Fuentes cercanas a Shannen le dicen a TMZ que ella está a todo vapor con su carrera y vida personal, con una gran cantidad de conciertos en el horizonte.

Nos dicen que Shannen se mantiene ocupada asistiendo a diferentes convenciones, como la reciente 90s Con en Florida, con más en la cubierta.

Shannen tiene una semana muy ocupada por delante, nos dicen que está haciendo una semana completa de prensa para su nuevo podcast, "Let's Be Clear With Shannen Doherty", promocionando el podcast antes de su debut concediendo entrevistas en programas matinales como "Live With Kelly" y "GMA".

Recordemos que Shannen fue diagnosticada con cáncer de mama allá por 2015 y recientemente reveló que el cáncer se ha extendido a su cerebro.

A pesar de todo, nuestras fuentes dicen que Shannen NO ha terminado con la vida y tiene grandes planes para el futuro ya que siente que el cáncer en etapa 4 no es una sentencia de muerte.

Nos dicen que ella todavía sale a cenar y hace las cosas normales de todos los días como pasear a su perro. Además, se le vio recientemente en un barco en Europa.

Bam Margera está celebrando un hito en su sobriedad, y le está dando las gracias a su novia, el gimnasio y el skate por ayudarlo a mantenerse sano... además recibe el apoyo de Mark Wahlberg.

La ex estrella de "Jackass" le dice a TMZ que lleva 120 días sobrio y contando.

Bam nos dice que está en San Antonio, Texas, donde está trabajando en una película y algunas nuevas obras de arte para una empresa de ropa. Él todavía está trabajando a diario con su novia Dannii y ha vuelto con todo al patinaje, tres cosas que atribuye a su sobriedad.

Esta semana estuvo haciendo ejercicio dentro de un gimnasio propiedad de Jarred Taylor, que es uno de los fundadores de la compañía de café Rifle Negro, y una vez trabajó con Mark en la película de guerra 2013 "Lone Survivor".

Como se puede ver, Bam está haciendo ejercicio en un gimnasio cubierto de imágenes de las películas de Mark, lo que lleva al actor a darle a Bam un saludo realmente genial.

TMZ obtuvo el video de un mensaje que Bam le envió a Mark, diciéndole que lleva 120 días sobrio y también obtuvimos la respuesta en video de Mark.

Mark felicita a Bam por su hito y espera juntarse con él pronto en Las Vegas.

Bam nos dice que se reunió con Mark un par de veces el día de la entrega de premios.

Bam dice que recientemente obtuvo la autorización para poder ver a su hijo, Phoenix, por lo que está planeando conducir a California para ver a su hijo. Probablemente haga una parada en Las Vegas para relajarse con Mark.

Bam Margera is crossing a milestone in his sobriety, and thanking his girlfriend, the gym and skateboarding for helping him stay on the straight and narrow ... all while getting support from Mark Wahlberg.

The former 'Jackass' star tells TMZ … he's over 100 days sober and plenty busy with work and his fitness.

Right now he's in San Antonio working on a movie and developing new artwork for a clothing company. He is still working out daily with his GF Dannii and skating again ... aka the 3 key factors to his sobriety, according to Bam himself.

This week he was working out at a gym owned by Jarred Taylor, one of the founders of the Black Rifle Coffee Company ... who also once worked closely with Wahlberg on the 2013 war movie "Lone Survivor."

As you can see, Bam's working out in a gym covered in images from Mark's movies ... leading to the actor giving Bam a really cool shout-out.

TMZ obtained video of a message Bam sent to Mark, letting him know he was approaching 120 days sober ... and we also got Mark's video response.

Mark's congratulating Bam for his milestone and hoping to connect with him soon in Las Vegas. BTW, Mark's also talked about getting sober this year for health reasons, so they have that in common.

Bam tells us he met Mark a few times back in the day at awards shows and parties, and he's planning to take Wahlberg up on the offer.

BM says he recently got cleared to see his son, Phoenix, so he's planning to drive to California to see his kid, with a stop in Vegas on the way to chill with Mark.

Bronny James has been given the green light to resume his athletic career -- medical officials have cleared the USC freshman to play basketball again ... just four months after suffering cardiac arrest during a workout.

A rep for LeBron James' family shared the great news on Thursday ... saying the 19-year-old hooper will have a final evaluation with USC staffers in the coming days before joining his teammates at practice next week.

The statement added once Bronny gets some practices under his belt, he will suit up for the Trojans "soon after."

"The James family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible medical team, the entire USC community, and especially the countless friends, family, and fans for their love and support," the statement said. "Fight On!"

Bronny was sidelined for USC's first seven games of the 2023-24 season ... with the team going 5-2 in his absence.

The Trojans play Gonzaga on Saturday, which means they'll have at least one more game without #6. Based on the statement, it sounds like Bronny could make his debut either December 10 against Long Beach State ... or a week later against Auburn.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Bronny collapsed on the court during a workout on campus on July 24. It was later determined he had "an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect," which caused the cardiac arrest.

The University of Minnesota Duluth community is devastated over the sudden death of football player Reed Ryan ... and TMZ Sports has learned the athletic department will honor the 22-year-old this weekend with ribbons, decals, and a moment of silence.

As we previously reported, Ryan -- a defensive end for the Bulldogs -- passed away Tuesday after collapsing during a workout earlier this month.

To honor his memory, we're told all Bulldogs sports teams will pay tribute this weekend ... starting with a moment of silence for Reed before their home games.

The volleyball team will wear ribbons with his jersey number, 99, when they play Wayne State College in the NCAA II Central Regional tournament game on Thursday.

We're also told that the hockey team may wear #99 decals.

"It’s on the minds of every staff member and student-athlete right now," a UMD Athletics spokesperson told us, "and the tributes will be on going through their seasons."

The redshirt senior joined the Bulldogs this season and had eight total tackles and one sack. Before UMD, he played four seasons at the North Dakota State University ... who gave him a full scholarship out of Waunakee High School.

Reed was a double major in professional sales and marketing.

Jeremy Allen White and Rosalía aren't putting dating rumors to rest -- in fact, they're adding fuel to the fire and lighting a match ... to spark up cigs, and more rumors, no doubt.

TMZ got these photos of "The Bear" actor and the Spanish singer hanging out Wednesday in WeHo ... where they were chopping it up in a parking lot, and enjoying a smoke break in each other's company.

It's kinda funny ... you could argue this scene here is life imitating art a bit -- namely, on Jeremy's end. His character from the TV show is constantly stepping out to inhale a cigarette amid the restaurant chaos ... and while this moment isn't nearly as dramatic, it does feel familiar.

Anyway, JAW and Rosalía ended up talking a bit more -- sans cancer sticks -- and ultimately departed with a nice big hug ... but no kiss, something we know Jeremy ain't shy to do when he's into a new boo.

Still, it's interesting to see them continue to hang amid last month's public farmer's market outing -- where Jeremy was walking around with a huge bouquet of flowers ... which may or may not have been for his new would-be significant other.

Folks thought there was something going on between them then ... and they're sure to keep on believing that after this latest rendezvous.

What adds an extra layer of intrigue here is the fact that Jeremy is still navigating a divorce from his wife, Addison Timlin ... with whom he shares 2 children.

The exes seem to be on good terms, 'cause they're constantly stepping out as a family ... so it would appear they're going about their uncoupling amicably.

Anyway, Jeremy certainly isn't scared to put his personal life on the front street, and with his growing success in the biz, he's only going to get more and more attention the bigger he gets.