A Democratic Georgia state politician was indicted by a grand jury for alleged fraud related to pandemic unemployment she received.State Representative Sharon Henderson is accused of fraudulently receiving nearly $18K after claiming to have worked as a substitute teacher in 2020. Prosecutors said she had not worked the job since 2018.'Politicians who violate the public trust and steal from the needy to enrich themselves will be held accountable.'She allegedly claimed to have lost wages as a substitute at Henry County Schools because of the pandemic closures and submitted eight weekly certifications that were false. The Democrat was arrested Monday. Henderson is charged with two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements."It is shocking that a public official would allegedly lie to profit from an emergency program designed to help suffering community members," reads a statement from U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "Politicians who violate the public trust and steal from the needy to enrich themselves will be held accountable."She is expected to plead not guilty. Henderson's profile at the Georgia legislature website said she previously served as a pastor of the New Bethel Love Center in Summerville, South Carolina. She is married to a pastor, and they have four children. RELATED: NC Dem used pandemic loan to throw herself lavish 50th birthday party, prosecutors say "Sharon Henderson allegedly chose greed over compassion by fraudulently obtaining funds meant to help those in need, some in her own Georgia House district," said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown.Henderson was first elected to the legislature in 2020 and was re-elected twice since then. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Netflix has announced a new spin on an old fairy tale, but many on social media find the idea cliche at best — and nefarious at worst."Steps" will portray the evil stepsisters from the Cinderella tale as the good guys, turning the story on its head. Comedienne Ali Wong and actress Stephanie Hsu will voice the stepsisters.'The persistent theme in animation today is that villains are just misunderstood.'"I wanted to create a film for everyone who has ever felt like they didn't belong — and show how a single act of kindness can change everything," co-director Alyce Tzue said about the film.While some are looking forward to the movie release, others suggested there was a sinister motive at work in movies portraying misunderstood villains."The persistent theme in animation today is that villains are just misunderstood and sometimes demons are the good guys. Consider whom this narrative benefits and why," BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey responded.Others agreed that the theme seems to downplay the presence of evil in the world."It's also terrible writing and lazy storytelling. Are they no longer capable of writing new stories? Why is everything lately a remake or recycled material? It's so boring and unoriginal," author Jennifer Greenberg responded."Subversion is supposed to be a seasoning, not a food group," another user joked."Cinderella's stepsisters as 'misunderstood angels'? Netflix's woke rewrite turns villains into victims. Ali Wong's snark can't save this fairy-tale felony. 2026 trash fire," another detractor said."Lol, sounds terrible. But I'd totally love my granddaughters thinking evil villains are just misunderstood. Netflix should do a show making Adolph [sic] Hitler sympathetic too," another response reads.RELATED: Netflix CEO defends Dave Chappelle against left-wing outrage: 'Used to be a very liberal issue' "Cant [sic] villains just be villains anymore? What next? Satan was sweet and actually misunderstood?" another user joked."Steps" is produced by actress Amy Poehler and is slated for a 2026 release.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota boldly argues that the real reason his political opponents focus so much on him is not because of bad policy, but because of his overwhelming masculinity. The failed vice presidential candidate joined fellow Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California to discuss the "toxicity" in masculinity. In a clip of a March episode of "This Is Gavin Newsom" that circulated on social media this week, the California Democrat argued that this "toxicity" needs to be disentangled from masculinity, while Walz proudly exclaimed that his masculinity was simply too much for his political rivals to handle. 'I'm serious!'"This notion of toxicity in masculinity needs to be separated," Newsom said. "And I think it's been conflated. And I think we're going to have to work on that a little bit." Newsom began to describe the Democratic Party's regression among demographics like young men. But before Newsom could prescribe an antidote to the Democrats' loss with male voters, Walz chimed in to suggest that those who criticize him and some of his fellow male Democrats feel threatened by their masculinity.RELATED: ‘Very low-IQ person’: Jasmine Crockett launches Senate campaign with funny video that may give the GOP the last laugh Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images"I think some of us scare them," Walz replied. "I think I scare them a little bit. That's why they spend so much time on me." Newsom erupted in laughter at the notion that Walz's masculinity was alienating young men from the Democratic Party."No, I'm serious!" Walz said. "Because I can fix a truck, they know I'm not bulls**tting on this."RELATED: Tim Walz tries gaslighting Americans again — this time about Trump's 'garbage' remark Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images"I'm not putting this in people's grill," Walz said. "My identity is not hunting. My identity is not football coaching. My identity is not, you know, a beard and a truck."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Opponents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations are thrilled over a viral video showing a priest publicly condemning ICE agents from his church.The priest stands defiantly outside of a church bellowing against ICE and mocking President Donald Trump before his supporters applaud and clap at his speech.'I don't know what god you worship, maybe an orange one, but my God is love! Now go and don’t come back!'And it's completely fake."You're not welcome here, not today, and not on this church! I don't know what god you worship, maybe an orange one, but my God is love!" the priest yells. "Now go, and don't come back!"The post was published Dec. 1 and has garnered tens of thousands of views, but it depicts events that never happened and are generated by artificial intelligence, according to PolitiFact.The user who posted the video apparently sells courses on how to make money with AI content on social media. That user has also posted numerous videos with a similar script on several platforms, including Facebook and TikTok.PolitiFact said AI-detecting software indicated the video was "99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content."One version of the priest AI video was published on PolitiFact's YouTube channel. A separate version with the same script was posted to the X platform as well.RELATED: Los Angeles Democrats vote to ban ICE from using masks — DOJ issues defiant response While that video is fake, there are some liberal church leaders who have used their religious platforms to protest against immigration. The Lake Street Church of Evanston in Illinois created a Nativity scene in which the baby Jesus was put in zip ties to depict him as being hunted by ICE.In another protest from Saint Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, the Nativity scene is empty, and a sign reads, "ICE was here," implying that they dragged away the holy family. The Boston archdiocese has called for its removal, but the church is resisting.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!