A Democrat representative in the Georgia House has resigned her position, as she now faces a federal charge in connection with alleged COVID relief fraud.

On Monday, federal prosecutors filed charges against former state Rep. Karen Bennett, claiming she lied to secure nearly $14,000 in COVID funds.

Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church ‘the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits.’

According to court documents, Bennett, who owned a physical therapy business called Metro Therapy, applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds in May 2020, stating that she had been unable to go to her place of employment since April 10 because of quarantine and other COVID-related restrictions.

She was subsequently approved.

Between March and August 2020, she then posted certifications claiming that, aside from the $300 she received each week for her political position in the Georgia General Assembly, she earned no other income, court documents said.

However, according to prosecutors, Bennett served in an administrative role at Metro Therapy and worked from a home office, allowing her to continue earning a paycheck “throughout the pandemic.”

“She was able to continue working as usual from her home to support Metro Therapy throughout the pandemic, and the therapists who provided actual services to clients were able to continue their work after a brief disruption,” prosecutors asserted in charging documents.

Bennett also allegedly withheld that she was receiving $905 weekly from a church “the entire time she was claiming PUA benefits,” court documents said.

In all, Bennett raked in $13,940 in fraudulent PUA and other federal funds, prosecutors alleged. She has been charged with one count of making false statements.

RELATED: Georgia Democrat indicted for alleged pandemic relief fraud

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In court Monday, Bennett waived the indictment, pled not guilty, and posted bail. The AP indicated that many federal defendants who waive their indictments often eventually plead guilty.

On Thursday, four days before charges were filed, Bennett officially resigned her seat representing District 94, which includes parts of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. She was first elected in 2012.

Bennett also submitted a letter of resignation to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. The letter, dated December 30, made no mention of possible criminal charges and gave no explanation for her departure.

Instead she wrote: “I am proud of the work accomplished by the Georgia General Assembly when we came together to advance policies that strengthened our state and improved the lives of all Georgians. Serving in this capacity has truly been a labor of love and one that I will miss.”

A spokesperson from Bennett’s former assembly office declined a request for comment from Blaze News. Bennett did not respond to a request for comment from the Georgia Recorder, and her attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Bennett is now the second Georgia Democrat accused of fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds. Last month, state Rep. Sharon Henderson was arrested after she allegedly pocketed nearly $18,000, claiming she had been a substitute teacher in 2020, even as prosecutors say she had not worked in that capacity since 2018.

Henderson was charged with two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements — yet she still remains in office.

Just before Christmas, Henderson posted a note to social media, requesting donations to a crowdfunding account that she says will help her as she continues “seeking justice after recent events.”

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ESPN sideline reporter Laura Rutledge went viral this past December when she had to press Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert to answer her postgame questions — and BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock is impressed with her refusal to give up.

Herbert initially brushed off the reporter when she approached him, saying, “I’m trying to celebrate with my team.”

Rutledge wouldn’t take no for an answer and pressed him further, eventually pulling some answers out of the quarterback.

“Steve, I know you’ve covered a lot of sporting events. Have you ever seen that level of rudeness directed at a reporter? I just, that was incredible. She deserves a Purple Heart,” Whitlock asks BlazeTV contributor Steve Kim on “Fearless.”

“I have a question for those who were coming out and piling on Justin Herbert, who probably played the most physically taxing game I’ve seen any quarterback [play] this year. He’s probably banged up. He’s probably drugged up with all the pharmaceuticals, right, to get him out there,” Kim says.

“If that was a black quarterback, would those people dare have the same type of words for Justin Herbert like they would, let’s say its Lamar Jackson, and I’m just using him in this example,” he continues.

“I think Justin Herbert, being a white quarterback, it takes off some of the restrictions in terms of criticizing that particular athlete. I believe that Justin Herbert was banged up. He really doesn’t feel like talking, but at the end he said, ‘You know what? This is my job, I did it,’” he adds.

Whitlock sees both sides.

“I don’t blame her for not following protocol; as a reporter, that’s not what you do. Overtime game, it’s decided late, there’s an interception, and then you just go into scramble mode, and you just do what’s necessary to get the job done,” Whitlock chimes in.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

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A Toledo, Ohio, male is accused of a long list of violent acts against a pregnant woman he held in his home against her will over the course of two days last week, WTOL-TV reported, citing court documents.

Jamere Jones, 25, barricaded a door to hold the woman — who was 21 weeks pregnant at the time — inside his home on Dec. 30 and 31 while he “assaulted her, strangled her, threatened to shoot her with a rifle, and to set her on fire.” He also raped her multiple times, the station said, citing court documents.

A judge set Jones’ total bond at $590,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim and to have no weapons, WTOL said.

In addition, Jones allegedly poured rubbing alcohol on the woman’s head and used a lighter to threaten to set her on fire, WTOL reported, adding that he also allegedly pointed a loaded rifle at her chest and threatened to kill her and then himself.

Jones also beat the woman with his hands, a belt, a chain, and a hammer, the Blade reported, citing an affidavit. He also strangled her multiple times — at least once to the point that she lost consciousness, after which he’s accused of raping her, the Blade said.

RELATED: Felon previously convicted for assault accused of swinging stick with metal screw on the end, bashing elderly woman in face

The victim was hospitalized, WTOL said.

Warrants for Jones’ arrest were issued Thursday, and he was arrested Monday, the Blade reported.

Jones is charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of rape, three counts of felonious assault, one count of strangulation, two counts of causing a risk of physical harm via strangulation, and one count of domestic violence, WTOL reported.

A judge set Jones’ total bond at $590,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim and to have no weapons, WTOL said, adding that the judge also set a preliminary hearing for him next Wednesday.

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A woman has been shot in the face by federal agents and killed after ramming them with her car, according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

Protesters initially claimed that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had shot the woman as she was driving away from them.

‘This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement.’

DHS Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin released a statement contradicting the claims of the protesters.

“Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them — an act of domestic terrorism,” McLaughlin said in a statement on social media.

She said an ICE officer fired defensive shots after fearing for his life and the safety of the public.

“He used his training and saved his own life and that of his fellow officers,” she added. “The alleged perpetrator was hit and is deceased. The ICE officers who were hurt are expected to make full recoveries.”

Local reports said anti-ICE protesters began to curse and yell at the officers after the incident as they tried to secure the scene.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, immediately called for all ICE agents to leave the city in the wake of the shooting.

“I am aware of a shooting involving an ICE agent at 34th Street & Portland,” he wrote on social media. “The presence of federal immigration enforcement agents is causing chaos in our city. We’re demanding ICE to leave the city immediately. We stand rock solid with our immigrant and refugee communities.”

RELATED: Hilton Hotels cuts loose hotel location accused of refusing to host ICE agents

McLaughlin went on to blame anti-ICE rhetoric for the shooting.

“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement,” she said. “These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

This is a developing story.

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Meta says it deleted ads off its platforms to get rid of scams, not hide them.

A review of internal documents, however, spurred allegations that Meta was attempting make certain ads “not findable” to government regulators.

‘To suggest otherwise is disingenuous.’

According to a report by Reuters — which said it reviewed the docs — Meta began deleting possible fraudulent ads from its search function after Japanese regulators were upset over obvious scams on Facebook and Instagram that pushed fake celebrity product endorsements or investment schemes.

Reuters said that, according to the documents, Meta feared Japan would force the company to verify the identities of its advertisers.

In order to test Meta’s work on “tackling scams,” Japanese regulators allegedly used the search function on Meta’s “Ad Library” to seek out fraudulent ads; the library acts as a “comprehensive, searchable database for ads transparency,” the company states on its website.

This “simple test,” as described in documents, was allegedly the avenue Meta took to make good with the regulators. Documents purportedly showed that Meta identified the top keywords and celebrity names that the Japanese were searching to find fraud, and then deleted ads that appeared fraudulent.

RELATED: OOF: Mark Zuckerberg’s losing metaverse bet cost Meta $77B

Photo by Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images

The deletions made certain content “not findable” for “regulators, investigators, and journalists,” Reuters claimed.

A few months later, a Meta memo allegedly stated that “less than 100” of the unwanted ads had been discovered in the last week of a testing period, “hitting 0 for the last 4 days of the sprint.”

This was apparently applauded by the Japanese government, and Japan did not end up forcing advertiser verification.

Meta then reportedly added the deletion tactics to its “general global playbook” to be deployed against, as Reuters described, regulatory scrutiny in other markets like the U.S., Europe, Australia, and more. The alleged playbook was a strategy to stall regulators and prevent advertiser verification requirements, the report claimed.

A Meta spokesperson has since called the allegations disingenuous, and argued that Meta deleting fraudulent ads off its platforms is a good thing, not bad.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone told the outlet that there is nothing misleading about removing the scam ads from the library. “To suggest otherwise is disingenuous,” he insisted.

RELATED: 2025 is so over and so is virtual reality

Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Meta teams regularly check the Ad Library to identify scam ads because when fewer scam ads show up there that means there are fewer scam ads on the platform,” Stone added.

On top of claiming that verifying advertisers is “not a silver bullet,” Stone said that chasing down scam ads is a job that will “never end.”

Verification “works best in concert with other, higher-impact tools,” the spokesman noted. “We set a global baseline and aggressive targets to drive down scam activity in countries where it was greatest, all of which has led to an overall reduction in scams on platform.”

Meta also claimed that it has seen a 50% decline in user reports of scams over the past year.

Return reached out to Meta for additional comments. This article will be updated with any applicable responses.

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After more than 30 years since pleading guilty to espionage that reportedly compromised several United States assets during the Cold War, an infamous Central Intelligence Agency officer has died in prison.

Aldrich Ames died on Monday, according to the Bureau of Prisons website.

Ames claimed he needed the money simply to pay debts and relieve ‘financial troubles, immediate and continuing.’

Ames was held in the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland, where he was serving a life sentence without parole.

Ames, a career CIA agent, was arrested in 1994 on espionage charges years after he began cooperating with KGB agents in 1985. The information he provided to the Soviets is thought to have directly contributed to the compromising of several CIA and FBI sources, some of whom were executed after their discovery.

RELATED: Unveiling ‘Big Intel’: How the CIA and FBI became deep state villains

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Over nearly a decade, Moscow paid him $2.5 million in exchange for betraying state secrets to the Soviets during and after the Cold War. Ames claimed he needed the money simply to pay debts and relieve “financial troubles, immediate and continuing.”

“Well, the reasons that I did what I did in April of 1985 were personal, banal, and amounted really to kind of greed and folly. As simple as that,” Ames said in an interview archived by the National Security Archive at George Washington University, according to Fox News.

“I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet Union, that I was exposing them to the full machinery of counterespionage and the law, and then prosecution, and capital punishment, certainly, in the case of KGB and GRU officers who would be tried in a military court, and certainly others, that they were almost all at least potentially liable to capital punishment,” he added. “There’s simply no question about this.”

Ames’ wife, Rosario, was sentenced to 63 months in prison on charges of assisting his espionage.

Ames was 84 years old at the time of his death.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly told lawmakers that the Trump administration has aspirations to purchase Greenland from Denmark, tempering rumors that officials are considering forcibly seizing the island.

‘The United States is eager to build lasting commercial relationships that benefit Americans and the people of Greenland.’

During a closed briefing on Monday, Rubio and other administration officials briefed lawmakers about the operation to capture Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and the plans for the country’s future, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Citing individuals said to be familiar with the recent briefing, the WSJ stated that Rubio “played down the idea that the U.S. could seize Greenland by force.” The report claimed that administration officials refused to rule out the possibility of an invasion.

However, the outlet noted that U.S. and European officials have reported no indications that the Trump administration is preparing for a military invasion of the self-governing Danish territory.

President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and the European Union needs us to have it — and they know that.”

RELATED: ‘Very sick too’: Trump sets sights on more countries after successful Venezuela operation

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“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated. “The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander in chief’s disposal.”

Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland during his first term. He has insisted that controlling the island is essential for protecting the Arctic from Russia and China.

RELATED: JD Vance visits Greenland to make the case for annexation: ‘We can’t just bury our head in the sand’

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“The United States is eager to build lasting commercial relationships that benefit Americans and the people of Greenland,” a State Department spokesperson told Blaze News. “Our common adversaries have been increasingly active in the Arctic. That is a concern that the United States, the Kingdom of Denmark, and NATO Allies share.”

The spokesperson added that Trump is committed to the United States’ relationship with Greenland, underscored by his decision to designate Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry (R) as special envoy.

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