The New York Mets might be facing a new type of challenge, reminiscent of the infamous Grimace incident, as WWE superstar Danhausen steps in to lift a supposed curse on the beleaguered team.

Danhausen, who recently transitioned to WWE from AEW, made his debut at the Elimination Chamber event in February. Known for his unique persona that involves cursing those who cross him, Danhausen has a fictional ability to remove curses—usually for a hefty price in “human dollars.”

The Mets, currently enduring a dismal streak with seven consecutive losses, including a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Dodgers on Tuesday, caught the attention of Brian Gewirtz. A former WWE head writer and lifelong Mets fan, Gewirtz reached out to Danhausen on social media platform X, seeking relief for the struggling team.

“If @DanhausenAD can uncurse the Mets, I will do everything in my power to get his face on the side of a (WWE production) truck,” Gewirtz promised on X. Besides being a fervent Mets supporter, Gewirtz is also a business partner of superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Danhausen, who adopts a vampire-inspired comedic wrestling style and is known for carrying teeth in a jar, readily agreed to lift the curse. In return, Gewirtz committed to advocating for Danhausen’s image to grace a WWE production truck—an idea that aligns with one of Danhausen’s earlier demands, including his desire for his own blimp.

“Dealhausen, now where is Danhausens face on the truck?” he wrote.

Medical experts are raising concerns about a drug-resistant superbug that is rapidly spreading throughout the United States.

This infection, known as shigellosis, is primarily transmitted through contact with fecal matter and is known to cause severe symptoms including explosive, bloody diarrhea and intense stomach pain.

Most individuals recover within a week with sufficient rest, but in more serious instances, the condition can lead to prolonged diarrhea and dehydration, posing significant health risks.

Typically, these infections are swiftly managed with antibiotics.

However, the CDC has issued a warning that an increasing number of cases are proving resistant to standard antibiotic treatments due to the emergence of a new strain, identified as XDR.

In a new report out last week, the agency warned that while the drug-resistant strain of shigellosis caused no infections nationwide in 2011, by 2023, it was behind 8.5 percent of cases — and this number is rising.

About a third of patients infected with the drug-resistant strain were hospitalized, well-above the typical hospitalization rate of one percent.

No deaths from the drug-resistant strain have been reported in the US.

Health officials are warning about exposure to the pathogen that causes explosive, bloody diarrhea (stock image)

Health officials warned that the drug-resistant strain was a ‘public health threat’ and called for ‘strengthened surveillance’ to help limit its spread.

About 450,000 Americans are infected with shigella bacteria — which causes shigellosis — every year, while about 6,000 are hospitalized and 40 die from the disease.

Symptoms last for about a week and are more severe than the diarrhea caused by norovirus, which infects about 19 million Americans every year but causes symptoms that last for just one to two days. Children under five years old are most at risk of the infection.

Historically, shigellosis has been most commonly recorded in children, and outbreaks have been linked to child care centers and schools. 

Latest data for the drug-resistant strain, however, shows that it is most likely to be detected among middle-aged men.

In the report, health officials analyzed data from Pulsenet, the CDC’s surveillance network for nationally notifiable diseases such as shigellosis.

From January 2011 to October 2023, the team found 16,788 shigellosis infections, of which 505 cases were caused by the drug-resistant strain.

Only a handful of cases were recorded in the US until 2020, when infections started to surge. By 2023, the latest year available, it was behind 280 of the 3,500 infections recorded — or eight percent.

Overall, the Western US had the most infections, recording 54 percent of total drug-resistant infections in 2023, followed by the Northeast, which registered 38 percent.

Doctors warn that up to a third of patients infected with the strain may be hospitalized (stock image)

The South and Midwest both recorded about 10 percent each of drug-resistant infections in the latest year.

For the strain, about 66 percent of patients were infected with a type called shigella sonnei — resistant to at least three antibiotics — and 172 were shigella flexneri — resistant to at least four antibiotics.

For the patients, 86.2 percent were male, and they were 41 years old on average.

Seventy-six percent reported no recent travel, while 82 percent reported no recent international travel.

Travel is typically a major risk factor for shigella, because people may be exposed to food, water or sanitation that may be unsafe or improperly treated. 

Shigellosis is highly transmissible, and an infection can often be triggered if someone is exposed to just 10 shigella bacteria, which release toxins that cause the disease. 

The new strain of shigella is just the latest drug-resistant bug to emerge in the US.

About 236 million antibiotic prescriptions for people are written in the US annually, the CDC estimates, while millions more doses are given to animals every year to slash the risk of infection and boost meat yields.

This huge use of the drugs raises the risk of new and resistant bacteria strains emerging and spreading rapidly, threatening to turn once easily-treated diseases into death sentences. 

Today, more than 2.8 million drug-resistant bacterial infections are diagnosed in the US every year. Overall, about 35,000 people die from these infections every year, equivalent to about one death every 15 minutes.

Experts warn that, without action, drug-resistant infections are only likely to become more common.

The mastermind behind New York City’s notorious Christmas-themed bar crawl has found himself in hot water, as federal prosecutors accuse him of siphoning millions intended for charity. The man in question, 50-year-old Stefan Pildes from Hewitt, New Jersey, was arrested in Manhattan. He faces a charge of wire fraud, with authorities alleging he misappropriated funds from SantaCon’s proceeds.

SantaCon is a much-anticipated event that sees thousands of merry-makers, dressed as Santa Claus, flood the streets and bars of New York City. It’s promoted as a ticketed bar crawl where the proceeds are meant to support local charitable causes.

Participants, donning festive red hats and white beards, join the celebration, believing their contribution will benefit various charities. However, federal officials claim that Pildes redirected these funds for personal gain.

In addition to ticket sales, participating bars and restaurants contribute a portion of their SantaCon-related earnings to the event’s organizers, under the belief that these donations will aid charitable organizations. According to federal prosecutors, these contributions ranged from 10% to 25%, further inflating the alleged misappropriated funds.

Partnering restaurants and bars also donated 10% to 25% of SantaCon-related sales to the event’s organizers under the guise of the money going to various charities, according to federal authorities.

However, federal authorities allege that from November 2019 to this past April, Pildes was instead lining his own pockets with funds meant for charitable organizations. 

People dressed as Santa Claus participate in the annual SantaCon celebration in New York City on Dec. 13, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Pildes is accused of taking more than half of the $2.7 million raised over nearly seven years for a “slush fund to finance various personal ventures and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars” for “among other things, concert tickets, fine dining, luxury vacations and home renovations,” according to the indictment.

Federal prosecutors allege Pildes siphoned the money into his self-owned entity, Creative Opportunities Group, Inc., while only donating a small portion of the proceeds. 

People dressed as Santa Claus participate in the annual SantaCon celebration in New York City on Dec. 13, 2025. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Pildes allegedly used $365,000 of stolen funds “to renovate a lakefront property in New Jersey,” while allotting $124,000 to rent a luxury Manhattan apartment, authorities said.

An attorney assigned to represent Pildes has not yet been identified in court documents. 

“He took advantage of New Yorkers’ generous holiday spirit to finance his lifestyle through personal expenses, big and small,” U.S. attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement. “No matter how you dress it up, fraud is fraud.  We are committed to protecting New Yorkers from those who exploit their enthusiasm and generosity.”

If convicted, Pildes faces the possibility of up to 20 years in federal prison. 

SantaCon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A jury has determined that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, improperly controlled major concert venues, marking a defeat for the company in a legal battle initiated by numerous U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The decision highlights the company’s monopolistic influence in the live entertainment sector.

After four days of deliberation, a federal jury in Manhattan delivered its verdict on Wednesday in a high-profile case that has drawn considerable public attention. The trial provided a rare glimpse into the operations of an entity that wields significant power over live events both domestically and internationally.

Jeffrey Kessler, one of the attorneys involved, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, declaring, “It’s a great day for antitrust law,” as he exited the courthouse.

Earlier in the proceedings, the judge instructed the legal teams to collaborate with the United States in drafting a joint letter. This document is expected to outline a proposed timetable for motions and detail how the remedies phase of the case will proceed, with a submission deadline set for late next week.

During the trial, Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapino, took the stand, facing inquiries about various issues, including the notorious ticketing crisis for Taylor Swift’s 2022 tour. Rapino attributed the fiasco to a cyberattack.

The proceedings also aired a Live Nation employee’s internal messages to another employee declaring some prices “outrageous,” calling customers “so stupid” and boasting that the company was “robbing them blind, baby.” The employee, Benjamin Baker, who has since been promoted to a position as a ticketing executive, apologetically testified that the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.”

Live Nation Entertainment owns, operates, controls booking for or has an equity interest in hundreds of venues. Its subsidiary Ticketmaster is widely considered to be the world’s largest ticket-seller for live events. Its lawyers did not immediately comment as they left the courthouse, but said a statement would be issued shortly.

The verdict could cost Live Nation and Ticketmaster hundreds of millions of dollars, just for the $1.72 per ticket that the jury found Ticketmaster had overcharged consumers in 22 states. The companies could also be assessed penalties. In addition, sanctions could result in court orders that they divest themselves of some entities, including venues such as amphitheaters that they own.

The civil case, initially led by the U.S. federal government, accused Live Nation of using its reach to smother competition – by blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers, for example.

“It is time to hold them accountable,” Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the states, said in a closing argument, calling Live Nation a “monopolistic bully” that drove up prices for ticket buyers.

Live Nation insisted it’s not a monopoly, saying that artists, sports teams and venues decide prices and ticketing practices. A company lawyer insisted its size was simply a function of excellence and effort.

“Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” attorney David Marriott said in his summation.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, according to Kessler.

Ticketmaster has long drawn ire from fans and some artists. Grunge rock titans Pearl Jam battled the business in the 1990s, even filing an anti-monopoly complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, which declined to bring a case then.

Decades later, the Justice Department, joined by dozens of states, brought the current lawsuit during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration. Days into the trial, Republican President Donald Trump’s administration announced it was settling its claims against Live Nation.

The deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues – potentially allowing, but not requiring, them to open doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS. But the settlement doesn’t force Live Nation to split from Ticketmaster.

A handful of the states joined the settlement. But more than 30 pressed ahead with the trial, saying the federal government hadn’t gotten enough concessions from Live Nation.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a release that the “landmark jury verdict in our case against Live Nation confirms what we have said since the start of our case: For far too long, Live Nation has illegally profited from its monopoly at the expense of hardworking New Jerseyans.”

“Live Nation’s illegal, anti-competitive practices have caused immense damage in our state, exploiting consumers by driving up the price of tickets and making it harder for fans to see their favorite artists,” she added.

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the verdict “a landmark victory in our ongoing work to protect our economy and New Yorkers’ wallets from harmful monopolies.”

After the victory, Kessler would not say specifically what the states will seek in the next phase of the litigation, which was expected to involve another lengthy proceeding with witnesses before penalties are decided on.

But he celebrated the moment.

“It’s a great day for consumers. This case is a tribute to the 34 states and the District of Columbia who carried this case forward,” he said.

Joy Harmon, the celebrated screen siren of the 1960s best known for her memorable role in “Cool Hand Luke,” has passed away at the age of 87.

Harmon, who captivated audiences as the alluring Lucille in the 1967 film alongside Paul Newman, died at her residence in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday. Her family confirmed that she was surrounded by loved ones during her final moments, according to a report by TMZ.

Having transitioned from acting to entrepreneurship, Harmon ran a thriving bakery in Burbank, California. Unfortunately, she had been struggling with pneumonia for several weeks prior to her passing.

Despite her illness, Harmon was determined and hopeful for recovery, continuing her work at Aunt Joy’s Cakes up until the day before she was admitted to the hospital.

A family member shared with the publication that Harmon spent “one to two weeks in the hospital, followed by several weeks in a rehabilitation center, before returning home to spend her final days in hospice care with her family.”

1960s screen icon Joy Harmon, who wowed fans in Cool Hand Luke, has died aged 87 – pictured as car-washer Lucille in the film in 1967

Harmon passed away at her Los Angeles-area home on Tuesday, surrounded by her loved ones, a family member confirmed to TMZ – pictured 1972 in The Odd Couple

She also appeared in films including Village of the Giants, Angel in my Pocket, and One Way Wahine as well as TV roles on Bewitched, The Odd Couple and Batman. 

Harmon moved away from her Hollywood career to focus on raising her three children with her ex-husband Jeff Gourson.

Her family remembered Harmon as a ‘positive thinker full of life and vibrancy, and certainly had no problem spreading joy throughout her life.’

She is survived by her three children and nine grandchildren.

Born Patricia Joy Harmon in Queens in 1940, she became a newsreel model at the age of three and then her family moved to Connecticut, where she was raised.

As a teenager she made finalist in the Miss Connecticut pageant and began her stage career at a local playhouse in Bridgeport, kick-starting the process that led to her Broadway debut at the age of 18 in Make a Million, a comedy about a quiz show.

Groucho Marx saw her in the production and was so taken with her he brought her onto his actual quiz show You Bet Your Life, launching her in Hollywood.

He made her the announcer on his later quiz show Tell It To Groucho and often flirted with her on set, she recalled fondly on the podcast Vanguard of Hollywood.

‘He had the reputation of being flirty with women. He was very flirty with me when we were on set. But that wasn’t like him at all, because then he would be questioning me: “Where did you go last night? What were you doing? No, you don’t do that.” He was just like a dad to me, but I loved him very much and I went a lot to his house,’ she said.

In the 1960s she jobbed around on such beloved TV series of the time as The Beverly Hillbillies, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., That Girl and Burke’s Law.

However her best-remembered role was in Cool Hand Luke as a blonde called Lucille, who suggestively washes a car and prances around for the benefit of an increasingly overheated group of inmates doing prison labor nearby.

The three-minute scene at once made her an enduring pinup of the 1960s, heralding the increasingly open sexuality of the emerging New Hollywood.

When Harmon showed up to audition for the part, the movie’s leading man Paul Newman was taken with her looks, marveling: ‘Gosh, you have the bluest eyes.’

Before the filming of the car wash scene, the male cast playing the inmates – including Newman, George Kennedy, JD Cannon, Strother Martin and and Jo Van Vleet – were forbidden from bringing their wives or girlfriends to the set.

‘They wanted the guys not to be around women for a long time,’ Harmon explained. ‘So they couldn’t talk to me – the cast, you know. They just kept them separate, ’cause they wanted their reaction I guess.’

To the last years of her life, Harmon kept getting fan mail for the car wash scene, with customers at her bakery asking her to sign stills from the film. 

She married film editor and TV producer Jeff Gourson in 1968 and continued appearing on such programs as The Monkees and Love, American Style.

After a final guest shot on an episode of the 1973 flop sitcom Thicker Than Water starring Julie Harris, she retired from acting to focus on raising her children, and found her second act with her beloved Aunt Joy’s Cakes in Burbank.