Steve Neavling

A 19-year-old suburban Denver woman boarded a flight on her way to wage jihad in the Middle East.

But the Associated Press reports that authorities arrested her April 18 at the Denver International Airport, where she told agents she was en route to the Middle East to help start a holy war, according to the FBI.

Shannon Maureen Conley had “legitimate targets of attack” that included military facilities, government employees and public officials, the AP wrote.

Conley was charged with conspiring to help a foreign terrorist organization.

Investigators were told that Conley planned to fly to Turkey before traveling to Syria to become a housewife and nurse at a man’s camp.

Steve Neavling

Investigators made a disturbing discovery at the bedside table of a man accused of possessing child pornography – cassette tapes showing him raping and molesting unconscious girls, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Authorities found the cassettes among tens of thousands of images and videos of child porn at the Georgia home of Matthew Coniglio.

But identifying the children won’t be easy because Coniglio hanged himself in jail just days after his arrest on April 20.

Now authorities must try to identify the victims without the help of the perpetrator, and many of the faces on the videos are difficult to make out, the AP wrote.

So far, authorities have only identified a single victim.

Steve Neavling

The FBI plans to launch a criminal investigation into potential abuses at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in Temple, Tex., the Statesman reports.

The probe comes at a time when several VA facilities are accused of manipulating wait time data.

The investigation was triggered by U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, who spoke with FBI Director James Comey.

“I believe that the FBI needs to be investigating the Temple VA facility for criminal activities, and the Veterans Affairs Administration needs to be investigating the facility as well to administer cultural and bureaucratic reforms,” Carter said in a release.

Among the allegations is that Temple officials shredded documents.

Texas VA officials responded Wednesday they “welcome and respect” the investigation.

“We also want to assure Veterans and the public that if any evidence of any wrong doing at our Central Texas VA facility is ever substantiated, swift and corrective action will be taken,” officials said in a statement. “VA must be an organization built on transparency and accountability.”

Steve Neavling

A day after three busloads of immigrant families were blocked and told to “Go home!” by American flag-waving protesters, the Murrieta Border Patrol Station has quieted down, the Press Enterprise reports.

The original protesters were eventually outnumbered by throngs of people showing up to defend the Central American immigrants who are traveling to California because of overcrowded conditions in Texas.

Despite successfully blocking the first three busloads, immigrants are now arriving to the processing facility unimpeded, Press Enterprise reports.

A pro-immigration protester said the immigrants who are forced back to Central America often face deadly consequences.

“When they get sent back, what happens? They die,” Anita Velasquez, 23, of Murrieta, said. “Gangs up there are really, really bad.”

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson

The U.S. is increasing security at some overseas airports because of fears that some terrorist groups in the Middle East are devising bombs to slip past security, the USA Today reports.

Noting that security risks are constantly evolving, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said TSA will begin “enhanced security measures in the coming days”

“We will work to ensure these necessary steps pose as few disruptions to travelers as possible,” Johnson said.

Airlines for America, the trade group that represents most major U.S. carries, expressed approval, saying the organization “supports efforts to employ a targeted, risk-based security strategy, in conjunction with the multi-layered approach already in place and, our members work cooperatively with DHS on requirements it deems appropriate.”

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