Copperhead snake bite leaves mayor’s wife in 'excruciating pain,' he reveals

A North Carolina politician is spreading awareness after his wife was bitten by a copperhead snake in a frightening incident this week.

Robert Burns, mayor of Monroe, a suburb southeast of Charlotte, shared the harrowing incident in an X post on April 30.

"So ... word has gotten out that my sweet wife was bitten by a large copperhead last night," he began. "When it happened, we rushed her to the ER."

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The Republican mayor said that, though his wife Lauren's vitals have stabilized, they're "not out of the woods yet."

"She is in a lot of pain, probably more than I’ve ever seen her in," Burns wrote.

"We’re a busy family with a lot going on right now, but we truly cherish your prayers and are grateful for all the support, texts, calls, emails and well wishes," he added.

The copperhead snake is the most common and prevalent venomous snake in the state, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission's website.

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"In many areas, including most of the larger urban areas of the state, it is the only venomous snake," the site says. "Because they are so widespread and tolerate living near people, copperheads account for probably over 90% of venomous snakebites in North Carolina."

Speaking to Fox News Digital on Friday, the mayor said his wife is currently "resting in bed as best as she can."

"I've not seen her in this consistent amount of pain before," he said. "We've had six children, and I've also seen her with kidney stones. I've seen it all, and she is in excruciating pain right now."

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Burns, who is known as "NC's mayor," said the incident happened while he was outside grilling food as Lauren spoke on the phone with her father.

Lauren was walking near a rope swing in a wooded area on their property when she was suddenly bitten by the reptile.

"All I heard was, 'Babe, it's not good, this is not good,' and I'm like, 'Are you okay?'" he recalled. "She ran around the side of the house, and she's like, 'Babe, I think I got bit by a snake."

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Burns quickly used his cell phone flashlight and found two puncture wounds on her left ankle.

"They were bleeding. They were big enough," he said.

When Burns asked what type of snake it was, his wife said it may have been a copperhead. They went back and found the likely culprit.

"This was about a 4-foot snake," he said. "It was probably about as thick as my wrist to my forearm."

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Burns added, "The second you see a copperhead, you know it's a copperhead, because it's a copper color and it has a pattern on its back, and it was big."

The couple's 14-year-old daughter had just been walking barefoot in the same area moments before the bite, he said. She may have even tripped over the snake without realizing it.

"These are the types of snakes that don't run," Burns said. "They don't flee … they stand their ground."

Doctors monitored Lauren for several hours, tracking her vitals and consulting poison control as swelling spread from her foot up her leg.

While the bite caused significant pain and inflammation, her condition stabilized, and the family ultimately chose not to use anti-venom due to potential risks. Lauren was discharged to recover at home, where they are managing her pain.

Burns encourages people to be cautious.

"Any snake bite, you want to take seriously," he said. "Because you don't really know, especially if you don't get eyes on it."

"I'm very grateful for all the support and help."

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Popular social media platform is making a comeback thanks to an unlikely hero

Does anyone here remember Vine?

Unless you're between the ages of 25 and 40, you likely have no idea what I’m talking about, but for millennials, Vine was basically a precursor to TikTok, wherein creators would have a maximum of six seconds to put together a video conveying what they wanted to say.

It was a snapshot of a very specific slice of pop culture during the early-to-mid 2010s and delivered more memes per capita than any social media platform outside of Twitter.

Then, just as quickly as it came, it disappeared, making way for other brain-rot vessels like the aforementioned TikTok.

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Well, what if I told you Vine made a comeback?

That’s right, folks! According to the New York Post, Vine is back and better than ever before, and it’s all thanks to a relatively unlikely source.

"By bringing back Vine on a decentralized network, they are finally correcting every mistake," former Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey said.

Though it won't be called Vine -- they're opting for Divine, clever -- it will still deliver the short-form video goodies it did during its heyday, this time in an AI-free format (how refreshing).

The app launched on Thursday and is available on both the App Store and Google Play, and, according to the Post, over 500,000 former creators, including stars like Lele Pons, JimmyHere, MightyDuck, and Jack & Jack, have already reclaimed their accounts.

"We want social media that makes us feel happy," said Evan Henshaw-Plath, who runs Divine and was one of the original Twitter developers, "We need more of that joy. We need technology that makes us happy… When I give people the app and they start playing with it, they start giggling, they start laughing."

Henshaw-Plath went on to say that he wants people who spend their time on Divine to start "joy scrolling" instead of "doom scrolling."

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I'm here for it.

This might be my rose-tinted nostalgia goggles talking, but social media just felt simpler and happier during the days of Vine, so if Jack Dorsey and the boys can bring even a modicum of that happiness back to our lives, then count me in.

The fact that AI-generated content is banned from the platform feels like an added bonus, too.

So, if you're feeling down today, just put on some Carly Rae Jepsen, dust off your Romney-Ryan 2012 shirt and download Divine.

Then you can forget all about just how far we've slid in the last dozen years, if only for a brief moment.

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Trump was 'one door away' from danger, GOP lawmakers says as he demands Secret Service explanation

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump was "one door away" from danger at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a GOP lawmaker said, as he demands answers from the Secret Service over what he described as a major security lapse.

House Homeland Security Committee member Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who previously investigated security failures at the Butler, Pa., rally where Trump was targeted, said the latest incident raises similar concerns about gaps in Secret Service protection.

Gimenez, who examined the Butler site firsthand, told Fox News Digital that security at the Washington Hilton — where the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was held and where President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 — showed troubling vulnerabilities as well.

Gimenez said things have changed since then in some positive ways, as crowds can’t regularly get as close to a president as John Hinckley Jr. was able to when he attempted to kill the president, reportedly to impress Jodie Foster.

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"Mr. Brady got injured pretty severely — but it was a long time ago and things tend to kind of fade away into history and from memory. So I am not sure [of an apples-to-apples comparison]," he said, pivoting back to examining any "glaring holes" in the security posture at Trump’s event.

"If there were, why, and why weren't they caught? And who is responsible for that? And does the Secret Service have the training needed in order to account for and to make [adjustments]."

He questioned whether the Secret Service has the training and preplanning needed to prevent similar threats.

Gimenez dismissed any notions that Hilton itself was liable for the breaches, saying that when a president is threatened, the onus falls on his detail.

"It’s not the job of the Hilton hotel to protect the president and so again it all falls on Secret Service," he said while underlining that the rank-and-file officers are very brave and that they all did their jobs Saturday and stopped suspect Cole Allen quickly with no injuries beyond an agent hit in his vest.

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"My question is how did how in the world did that would-be assassin get that far, where he was basically one door away from God knows what. Those are questions that need to be answered."

Gimenez said that for events such as the WHCA dinner, "you have to account for the what-if," noting that the USSS may go through hours and days of "boredom" but need to be ready for an instantaneous threat.

"That doesn't mean you're going to think of every contingency, but you should be thinking of most and make it very, very difficult for any would-be assassin to get one door away from the president."

"Those are the concerns I have now – and those are the concerns I had in Butler."

He said that in both cases there were things that went both right and wrong.

Efforts to stop Allen went right, but allowing someone like him to get all the way to the sub-basement ballroom unfettered went wrong, Gimenez said.

When asked about his Butler special committee and whether a similar panel will be formed now, Gimenez said he’s heard rumblings about such, while reiterating that members of his staff had no problem getting into the various pre-parties without passing magnetometers or additional security, showing there remains a lot to examine.

He said he expects any panel to demand a classified briefing with USSS brass, and give "situational awareness" of the agency’s posture that night.

"It’s frankly rather amazing that we don't have a facility like that in the White House for state dinners, et cetera, for the most powerful country in the world, right?"

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In that regard, Gimenez said Trump is "ahead of the game" in a lot of areas and that his ballroom plans for the East Wing may have directly mitigated threats posed by using a public hotel in the business district with multiple entrances.

At the same time, he said procedures must be examined to see whether the USSS has fallen into a pattern of "what used to work in the past is good enough for what's working and what threats are today."

"We need to get to the bottom of it and see how the Secret Service is adapting to the new threat environment, which changes every single day."

After former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle left the agency following the Butler failures, Gimenez said it will be important to look at what improvements, if any, have been undertaken by the new leadership in the two years since, analyzing their own worthiness.

On the ballroom debate, Gimenez said anyone who examines the plans seriously and apolitically will find that this is exactly the kind of solution needed for such threats.

"Putting my doctor hat on, I will say that the validity to those lawsuits is based on Trump Derangement Syndrome -- So [critics] need help, OK… The White House, which is a site of many official functions, and especially state dinners, when we're bringing in dignitaries and heads of states from around the world, needs a ballroom."

He said the "temporary tent" set up in the garden is an embarrassment for a first-world country.Fox News Digital reached out to the USSS for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Hannah Brennan contributed to this report.

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Crockett ripped for latest 'low IQ' jab at paralyzed Texas governor following ‘Hot Wheels’ fallout

Outgoing Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett is drawing fresh criticism after appearing to mock Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s disability, reopening scrutiny over her past remarks about the paralyzed governor.

"It was a tree that ended up making [Abbott] a part of the DEI class, just so y’all know. He is DEI, yes, because he is uniquely-abled or actually he ain’t abled, child," said Crockett in a video posted to her X account on Wednesday. 

Crockett claimed Abbott became "wealthy after legislation allowed him to sue" following an incident when a tree fell and crippled him while on a jog. The incident left Abbott partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound at the age of 26.

Crockett’s comments on Abbott's disability follow outrage over her "Governor Hot Wheels" remark in 2025, which the lawmaker denied was tied to the Republican governor's disability. 

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The office of the governor directed Fox News Digital to Abbott’s X post when approached for additional comment on the matter. 

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"Uniquely abled," wrote the governor along with an AI photo of him in a superhero suit while in his wheelchair.

Critics called the remarks "low IQ" on social media or responded with their own mockery and confusion. 

"'I only mocked a paraplegic and suddenly people have a problem with me,'" said Fox News Contributor Joe Concha quipped on X.

"Uh. What." one account posted. 

"How does she think of this ridiculous stuff she says," another account posted. 

"DEI? Disgraced Jasmine Crockett claims Governor Abbott is a DEI hire as a result of his disability," X account Amuse wrote.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett's office on Thursday for additional comment.

Last year, Crockett landed in hot water for another comment about Abbott that was viewed as a jab at his disability. 

"We in these hot a-- Texas streets, honey. Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a-- mess, honey!" she said, laughing.

Crockett issued a statement at the time, without an apology, and said she "wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition," but his policies to deport illegal immigrants. 

"At no point did I mention or allude to his condition. So, I’m even more appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump—a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities—are now outraged," she added. 

Crockett launched a Senate bid but lost the Democratic primary in March and did not seek re-election to her House seat, bringing her time in Congress to an end in 2027.

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What's the point? Why one area in Wisconsin has a very specific speed limit

It’s not a typo.

One Wisconsin county has set one area's speed limit to 17.3 mph in an eye-catching move aimed at jolting drivers into staying alert in a high-traffic work zone.

Officials in Outagamie County rolled out the unusual speed limit at the county’s Recycling and Solid Waste facility, where a constant flow of trucks, contractors and residents creates a busy and sometimes hazardous environment.

County leaders say the oddly specific number is intentional — and psychological.

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"Why 17.3? Because it makes you pause. It makes you look twice," officials said in a social media post announcing the change. The goal, they say, is to snap drivers out of "autopilot" and force them to pay closer attention to speed and safety while behind the wheel.

The site sees steady traffic from large hauling vehicles and smaller passenger cars, often moving in tight quarters.

The county believes the unconventional speed limit is a small change that will get drivers to slow down, stay alert and watch out for others.

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Whether it catches on elsewhere remains to be seen, but for now, 17.3 mph is turning heads in Wisconsin.

"Worked last weekend when I was there. Made us laugh," one user replied to the post.

Other users, however, were skeptical of the move.

"Sounds like something outagamie would do," another user wrote. "Plus you’ll get speeding for 17.4 and impeding traffic at 17.2, everyone gonna be paying up."

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US eyes first-ever hypersonic Dark Eagle deployment as Iran pushes beyond strike range

The U.S. military has explored deploying its new Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon to the Middle East, according to a report, as the Army begins fielding the long-range system after years of delays.

U.S. Central Command has requested deployment of the Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, known as Dark Eagle, to the Middle East, according to a Bloomberg report citing a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

A defense official told Fox News Digital the system has reached initial operational capability, marking the first time the U.S. has a land-based hypersonic weapon available for potential use.

The request was driven in part by concerns that Iranian ballistic missile launchers have been moved beyond the range of existing U.S. systems, including the Army’s Precision Strike Missile, which can strike targets more than 300 miles away, according to the Bloomberg report.

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It reflects growing concern that existing U.S. strike capabilities may not be sufficient to reach key Iranian missile assets, while also highlighting a major milestone for the Army as it fields its first land-based hypersonic weapon. If deployed, Dark Eagle would significantly expand the U.S. military’s ability to strike distant, hard-to-reach targets with little warning, marking a shift in how the Pentagon can project power in the region.

The Army began fielding the system to one of its multidomain task forces in December 2025 following testing and live-fire exercises, according to the official, placing the weapon within specialized units designed to carry out long-range precision strikes across multiple domains.

Individual Dark Eagle missiles are estimated to cost around $15 million each, though earlier analyses have placed the cost significantly higher, while a single battery — including launchers and support equipment — is estimated at roughly $2.7 billion.

No deployment of the system to the Middle East has been publicly announced, and officials have not confirmed any request. The U.S. and Iran are still currently adhering to a ceasefire in hopes of broader negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Dark Eagle is designed to travel at hypersonic speeds while maneuvering in flight, allowing it to strike targets at much longer ranges — potentially exceeding 1,700 miles — and with far less warning than traditional missiles.

That combination of speed and range makes it particularly suited for targeting mobile or hardened systems, such as missile launchers, that are difficult to reach with existing weapons.

Unlike traditional ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons can maneuver in flight, making them more difficult to track and intercept.

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The reported request comes as the Pentagon continues efforts to accelerate its hypersonic weapons programs amid concerns about competition with China and Russia.

The U.S. has spent years developing hypersonic weapons, though some programs have faced delays, testing constraints and shifting priorities as the Pentagon works to advance the technology.

China and Russia already have fielded hypersonic systems, underscoring the growing importance of weapons designed to travel at extreme speeds while maneuvering in flight, making them more difficult to detect and intercept.

"Fielding and scaling hypersonic weapons is a top priority for the War Department — and we are delivering at a  rapid speed," a Pentagon official told Fox News Digital. "'Scaled hypersonics' has been designated as one of the Department’s critical technology areas by Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael to focus resources on delivering cost-effective and lethal hypersonic solutions to the warfighter." 

"The Department’s Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) is working to upgrade test facilities and establish new, nontraditional testing locations," the official said. "Simultaneously, the Department is placing its acquisition system on a ‘wartime footing’ to forge a robust, responsive industrial base capable of rapidly delivering these advanced technologies."

U.S. Central Command declined to comment to Fox News Digital. 

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Mamdani says if he speaks to King Charles, he'd tell him to return controversial gem to India

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said that if he has a chance to speak with King Charles during a 9/11 memorial event in New York City on Wednesday, he will ask the British monarch to return a controversial 105.6-carat diamond to India.

Mamdani was taking questions from reporters when he was asked what he’d say if King Charles happened to stop and chat at the event, a wreath laying at Ground Zero to honor those killed on 9/11 ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

"You know, if I was to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond," Mamdani said, after first saying that he was focused primarily on the evening's memorial event.

The diamond, which is now set in the crown of the Queen Mother that was worn by Queen Elizabeth, the wife of King George VI and mother to Queen Elizabeth II, has a controversial history.

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The Koh-i-Noor, which means "Mountain of Light," was likely discovered in South India in the 13th century and is believed to have changed hands countless times over the following centuries.

In 1849, the gem wound up in Britain’s possession following its annexation of the Punjab and forcing its 10-year-old king to sign the Treaty of Lahore, requiring him to hand sovereignty — and the diamond — over to the British, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

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The diamond became part of Britain’s Crown Jewels and was worn by several queens before it was set in the front of the crown of the Queen Mother worn by Queen Elizabeth, in which the gem has remained as it sits on display in the Tower of London.

India is one of several countries that have pushed for Britain to return the gem. Other countries laying claim to the famous diamond include Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.

So far, neither Britain nor the royal family has given any indication that the diamond would be returned.

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