A plot to bomb the New York state Capitol and kill lawmakers has been thwarted, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The 35-year-old woman had allegedly planned to kill as many as possible, destroy as much of the building as she could, and then escape to the ISIS-controlled territory in Syria.

She posted anti-American messages that included, ‘Praise be to Allah for September 11th.’

Jessica Bowie was arrested on Wednesday as she gained possession of what she believed to be an explosive device for her mission.

The criminal complaint said Bowie was documented running reconnaissance on the Capitol building numerous times.

Bowie allegedly outlined her deadly plot to an informant.

“I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well,” she is quoted as saying.

“I want it to have a affect on the American system. And destroy some of the taghut,” she added, which the agent said referred to anything that takes a person’s focus away from Allah.

The charging documents went on to say that she wanted to return to commit acts of terrorism against other targets including the New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City as well as the president in the White House.

She also posted anti-American messages that included, “Praise be to Allah for September 11th,” as well as an indication that she pledged allegiance to ISIS.

One image included in the release was of Bowie allegedly scanning items at a Home Depot that included nails to be included in the bomb.

Bowie made her initial appearance in federal court on Thursday after being arrested at a McDonald’s near her residence on Sherman Street.

RELATED: ‘Major’ Halloween terror plot thwarted by FBI involved links to ISIS, ‘LGBTQ+ community’

She was charged with providing material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. She faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison if convicted as well as a fine of $250,000.

“This case is yet another example of how this FBI is built to not only identify threats of terrorism quickly, but to stop their alleged plots before they are able to harm the American people,” said Matt Fodor of the FBI National Security Branch.

“This is just the latest example of this FBI stopping an alleged terrorist in their tracks – in 2026 we’ve already disrupted 400+ such attacks at home and around the world,” read a statement online from FBI Director Kash Patel. “For any individual who may be considering harming Americans in the future: know that we will find you.”

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​New york, Bomb plot, Isis, Terrorism, Islam, Politics 

Spanish officials are dismantling some makeshift camps at the Ceuta province in northern Africa after a number of underage sexual assaults were reported.

The alleged female victims included residents of northern Morocco, which borders the small province overrun by an estimated 72,000 migrants in late July.

‘It is an invasion of savages whose misogynist culture the government wants to spread throughout Spain.’

At least 15 sexual assaults have been reported in the encampments, most of which involved underage victims, according to a Reuters report. One girl reported being raped and forced to sell drugs, while another claimed she was indecently touched.

In both of those cases, the accused men were jailed.

In a third case, an alleged assailant was deported by a judge after an adult women claimed he had indecently assaulted her.

Though most of the illegal immigrants had been expelled, between 5,000 and 8,000 remained in wooded areas and the beaches of the Spanish province.

Officials are transferring 500 young migrant women from the camps to the mainland to process their claims and prevent further abuse.

In a statement to the Cuatro television channel, a spokesperson for the anti-migrant party in Spain lambasted the abuse.

“There have been 15 sexual assaults. It is an invasion of savages whose misogynist culture the government wants to spread throughout Spain.”

Video showed hundreds of migrants being evicted from the beach encampments by Spanish police.

RELATED: MASSIVE PROTEST against migrants OVERRUNNING Spanish province: ‘Ceuta won’t give up!’

Reuters spoke to one 28-year-old woman who said she was from the Moroccan city of Taza and had set up a makeshift ⁠camp with cardboard boxes near a police station.

“It’s really bad,” said Wafae Atid. “A lot of guys are trying to attack the girls every night, sometimes just when you go to the toilet. They follow you.”

She added, “It’s different nationalities, Africans, Arabs.”

Other European countries have threatened to suspend their immigration agreements with Spain to prevent the easy migration of those who overran Ceuta to the rest of the region.

Authorities have previously said that dozens of illegal migrants died trying to reach the Spanish province.

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​Ceuta, Europe, Illegal immigration, Morocco, Politics, Sexual assault, Spain 

The fate of a Massachusetts woman who allegedly killed her three children in 2023 is being decided at court, but outside the courthouse, hundreds of women rallied to show their support for the defendant.

Lindsay Clancy of Duxbury has allegedly admitted to killing the children, ages 5, 3, and 8 months old, but a jury is deciding whether she should be found guilty of murder or exonerated over mental illness related to postpartum depression.

‘Any one of us who have dealt with mental health, anxiety, depression, postpartum — I think we just know that any one of us could be sitting in her chair.’

The case has stirred a nationwide debate that led to the courthouse demonstration Thursday.

“I think that every one of us women believe that it could be any one of us,” said Renee Kimball, who organized the event. “Any one of us who have dealt with mental health, anxiety, depression, postpartum — I think we just know that any one of us could be sitting in her chair.”

The defense has argued that Clancy tried to seek treatment for mental illness and experienced depression and anxiety in the weeks before she allegedly killed the children. Clancy’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, has also claimed that overmedication exacerbated Clancy’s mental illness.

The prosecution is seeking a murder conviction on the basis that she allegedly intentionally killed the children and should be held criminally responsible.

The women supporting Clancy wore pink to advocate for better availability of treatment for postpartum depression.

“I think that it’s been so in the dark,” said Louise Saunders of Reading. “As women, we’re told to smile, and you know, it’s natural to be a mom, so if you aren’t really into it and you can’t do it well with a smile, then you’re not doing it right.”

WBUR reported that some of the supporters cheered Reddington as a “fighter for women’s rights.”

He seemed to lean in to the role when speaking to the news media.

“I think that it shines a light on this issue,” Reddington said Thursday. “I mean, when a woman is going through what so many people do, and they go to a doctor, and the doctor says, you know, ‘Here, take this pill, take that pill, take this pill,’ and then they basically treat them for 15, 20 minutes and send them on their way. It’s just not right.”

They also cheered for Clancy when she arrived at the courthouse.

Reddington basically seems to be trying to persuade the jury to reject murder charges based on what is commonly known as an insanity defense.

RELATED: 3 ‘women’ accused in torture death of 7-year-old — cops say 2 are males who co-parented

Dozens of the pink-clad Clancy fans tried to get into court proceedings on Thursday, but many were turned away.

Others have argued that the support for Clancy downplays the evil that women can commit and makes postpartum depression and misogyny a scapegoat.

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​Lindsay clancy, Mental health, Postpartum depression, Womens rights, Politics 

An upcoming documentary on comedian Dane Cook revisits a disturbing chapter from the height of his fame two decades ago.

Cook was one of the first comedians to figure out how to turn the internet into a path to stardom. In the early 2000s, when most entertainers still regarded online file sharing as piracy to be stamped out, Cook embraced it, putting his stand-up on services such as Napster, LimeWire, and Kazaa while cultivating fans through his website and later MySpace.

‘How does this end?’

Secret ingredient

Fans passed his routines around as audio-only clips, and Cook painstakingly cultivated that audience online. By 2005, his second album, “Retaliation,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 — the highest-charting comedy album in nearly three decades — as Cook graduated to sold-out arenas and increasingly prominent television and movie roles.

But while Cook was becoming one of the defining comedians of the early internet era, someone close to him was quietly siphoning away the fortune that came with it.

Cook’s own half-brother, Darryl McCauley, was secretly stashing away millions of dollars from the comedian and hiding it like a mobster. A trailer for the upcoming documentary “Funny Money: The Dane Cook Story” reveals a wall safe packed to the brim with Cook’s cash.

Not only that, but there were “bricks of $100s” hidden inside pasta sauce. The video depicts bags stuffed with cash submerged in plastic containers of tomato sauce, all to the tune of $12 million.

RELATED: ‘BURN IT ALL DOWN’: Firebrand feminist filmmaker calls for violent revolution

Michael Schwartz/WireImage/NARAS

Jarring discovery

McCauley handled Cook’s finances as his manager from the late 1990s until 2008, with the theft reportedly beginning in 2004 when he began diverting funds to his own accounts from Cook’s.

First, the sums were in lower amounts, but receipts shown in the documentary still included a $22,000 transfer in September 2004. Before long, those amounts increased to $50,000 and then $100,000.

Cook wasn’t even aware.

“I was starting to feel something that I couldn’t really identify,” Cook says in the trailer. “Was he hiding it in different places, stockpiling this money?”

That’s where the sauce technique came in.

McCauley had an accomplice, too. According to an NBC Philadelphia report from 2010, McCauley’s wife was involved in his plot and received between two and three years in prison time.

McCauley himself pled guilty to seven counts of larceny over $250, three counts of forgery and embezzlement, and other charges. This garnered between five and six years in prison. He was 45 at the time, and Cook was 38.

RELATED: Rosie O’Donnell continues run at worst TV return ever with insane comments about ‘Nazis’

M. Caulfield/WireImage/LIONSGATE

O brother where art thou?

Even though both brothers wanted to become comedians, McCauley ended up becoming a corrections officer, with Cook describing him as “a person that spent so much time pretending to be something he wasn’t.”

Much of the focus of the new doc appears to be centered around Cook finding out what happened to his brother after his prison stint, when he seemingly disappeared.

“Where is he? What has he done? How does this end?” Cook narrates.

The comedian said that he still believes more money is out there and that other accomplices are likely involved.

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​Stand-up comedy, Dane cook, Embezzlement, Entertainment 

Josh Howerton, BlazeTV host and pastor of Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas, regularly receives emails from Christians in the DFW metroplex asking if they should try to legally stop mosques from being built in their city.

Data shows that Texas ranks third in the country for number of mosques and has seen significant growth in recent decades. Is aiming to stop or slow this growth a genuine Christian mission — or is it politics dressed up as a holy crusade?

On this episode of “Live Free,” Howerton responds to this inquiry by looking at both Scripture and the current law.

Howerton acknowledges the ideological divide among Christians regarding the issue of Islam. Some will point to the religious liberty granted by the First Amendment and Christianity being “the religion of invitation” and say “of course not” to organizing around mosque prevention. Others, he says, will strongly advocate for it on the grounds that Islam is “demon worship” that aims to “[overtake] cities” where their families live.

This division was on full display at a recent city council meeting in McKinney, Texas, where the council heard arguments surrounding the McKinney Islamic Association’s mosque expansion site plan, which the council still unanimously approved. The arguments were so contentious that the story made national news.

There were several Christians who advocated against the mosque’s expansion, some of whom did “not [display] team Jesus character,” says Howerton. He shares this reminder: “We are commanded in the book of Second Timothy to ‘correct opponents with gentleness and respect and to be people who conduct ourselves with a spirit of power and of love and of self-control.”’

But conduct aside, was their advocacy biblical?

Howerton acknowledges the complexity of the issue. It is true, he argues, that Christianity treats all opposing religions as “demon worship” (1 Corinthians 10:20). In the Old Testament, God harshly judged the kings who “allowed the construction of things that facilitated the worship of false gods in the nation,” he points out.

However, under the current American legal system that interprets the First Amendment to mean “radical pluralism,” the government is not allowed to treat one religion differently from another — even though our founders wanted religious tolerance for all but religious preference for Christianity, Howerton notes.

It’s right for Christians to want to stop the spread of the demon religion of Islam, he argues, but it’s a guaranteed lost battle with the modern interpretation of the First Amendment.

So where does that leave Christians who want to be “salt of the earth” in the public square?

The solution, says Howerton, is to fight Islam legally — opposing mosque building projects on zoning grounds or via existing legal restrictions on certain organizations.

In Texas, there are two ways to legally oppose the construction or expansion of a mosque.

The first, Howerton explains, is called a formal property owners protest. It lets nearby landowners who control at least 20% of the land next to the project to formally challenge the zoning change, which then forces the city council to get a larger majority of votes before it can approve it.

The second way, says Howerton, is to prove that a mosque or Islamic center’s construction or expansion is connected to the Muslim Brotherhood or Council on American-Islamic Relations (or their affiliates). Under Texas law, those groups are restricted from owning land, which gives protesters a legal basis to challenge the project.

“A significant number of potential mosque developments are connected in some way to one of the two organizations,” he explains.

“You file a public records request on the potential development’s paperwork, nonprofit status, and any connection to CAIR or the Muslim Brotherhood, and if you establish it … then you file that complaint with the Texas AG’s office, and it’s done.”

Howerton warns that the time for Christians to sit back and not take a stand on the issue of Islam’s growth in the United States is over.

“If you’re a Christian, whether you like it or not, you are going to have to learn to think about things like this in the next 20 years. You are no longer afforded the luxury of not having an answer to this question.”

To hear more, watch the episode above.

“Live Free with Josh Howerton” is on BlazeTV+, YouTube, and major podcast platforms.

Join BlazeTV+ and start watching Josh today at blazetv.com/JOSH. Use promo code JOSH40 to get $40 off your subscription.

​First amendment, Josh howerton, Religious liberty, Islam, Mosque, Blazetv show, Texas 

The U.S. national debt stood at roughly $85.06 billion at the turn of the 20th century, adjusted for inflation. At the turn of the 21st century, America’s outstanding debt was $5.67 trillion — the equivalent of roughly $10.99 trillion today.

According to the Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Fiscal Data dashboard, America’s total public debt outstanding as of Tuesday was $40,047,425,768,420.22. That’s roughly $116,832 per person.

‘The amount is significantly greater than US annual GDP.’

Of the over $40 trillion, $32.26 trillion is Treasury securities held by the public, including the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, domestic private investors, and foreign holders. The other $7.78 trillion is the total of intra-governmental debt holdings.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Thursday, “Remember, we did not get here in a day. We were left with a mess. The Biden administration had the highest deficit-to-GDP in history when we weren’t at war or weren’t in a recession. For 2025, we brought it down by more than a percent.”

Former President Barack Obama added $8.44 trillion to the national debt during his two terms. During the Biden presidency, the debt increased by $8.4 trillion. During President Donald Trump’s time in office, the debt has risen by $11.6 trillion — including $3.8 trillion in the time since his return to power in January 2025, reported Reuters.

After the debt cracked $40 trillion, Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, noted, “The gross national debt has doubled in the last 10 years; in less than 20 years, it has quadrupled. And today, we have confirmation that the debt has reached a new milestone of $40 trillion. It is staggering how predictable the fiscal decline of a global power can become.”

RELATED: It’s the economy, stupid — again

Alex Wong/Getty Images

MacGuineas highlighted that it took two centuries for America’s gross debt to reach $1 trillion — a milestone reached in 1981.

At the time, President Ronald Reagan stated, “This is a figure that’s literally beyond our comprehension.”

Blaze Media contributor Carol Roth told Blaze News, “Instead of celebrating America’s 250th, we are lamenting accumulating $40 trillion in debt. The scope of the debt is shocking, but there are two important related factors.”

“One is the rapid growth of the debt. I remember when we crossed $20 trillion in 2017, which was less than 10 years ago. We have doubled that with another $20 trillion in less than 10 years,” said Roth. “The second factor is how much it costs us to finance the debt, which I have been warning about for nearly two decades. Right now, we spend more to pay the interest costs of our debt than we do on the defense of the nation. At the rate we are going, it will soon become the U.S.’ largest expenditure category.”

“You cannot have a healthy, vibrant nation when you spend more to pay for your debt than anything else,” continued Roth. “The blame for this lands squarely at the feet of Congress, where both parties, who take in more than $5 trillion a year now, find a way to spend an incremental $2 trillion. And it is the fault of all in government that won’t address the rampant fraud, waste, and abuse in the system.”

The Wall Street Journal suggested that reaching the $40 trillion threshold “carries symbolic weight, but isn’t, by itself, economically significant.” It suggested, however, that it is prudent to keep an eye on the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio.

“The amount is significantly greater than U.S. annual GDP. That means even if all U.S. income went toward paying down the debt for a full year — rather than to things like salaries, corporate profits, and investment — the federal government would still owe trillions, by this measure,” said the journal.

The Congressional Budget Office projected in a February report that “deficits are large by historical standards. The deficit totals $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and grows to $3.1 trillion in 2036. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit is 5.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 and increases to 6.7% in 2036. Deficits averaged 3.8% of GDP over the last 50 years.”

The CBO projected further that debt held by the public will rise from 101% of GDP this year to 120% in 2036.

The CBO noted that its projections changed since January 2025 primarily because of three major policy developments: “The 2025 reconciliation act increased deficits by an estimated $4.7 trillion; higher tariffs reduced deficits by an estimated $3.0 trillion; and administrative actions related to immigration increased deficits by an estimated $0.5 trillion.”

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​National debt, Economy, Debt, Department of the treasury, Scott bessent, Donald trump, Barack obama, Joe biden, Politics 

A Florida mother has been arrested after allegedly posting videos showing her igniting a fire in her kitchen and pouring hot wax on her young daughters, according to authorities.

Meliza Campos-Sanchez, 26, was arrested on Monday and charged with first-degree arson, child abuse, and child neglect, according to records from the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department.

‘In one video, Campos-Sanchez can allegedly be seen dancing in a silver mask and lighting a pile of clothing on fire.’

Jail records show Campos-Sanchez is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and has an immigration hold.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and sheriff’s deputies went to Campos-Sanchez’s home in Miami regarding a dwelling fire on Sunday, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.

Law&Crime reported, “Upon arriving, first responders found damage to the center of the tiled kitchen floor, along with a silver mask, a red wand lighter, and a clear plastic condiment bottle believed to have held rubbing alcohol.”

The affidavit stated that the fire had been started intentionally “by an open flame held to ignitable liquids and combustible materials.”

Police interviewed Campos-Sanchez’s 6-year-old daughter, who said she and her younger sister had been in the laundry room next to the kitchen when they saw their mother start the fire and throw a glass mug on the floor while dancing, according to the affidavit.

The fire was extinguished when Campos-Sanchez used a bowl of water to put out the flames, according to the affidavit.

Court documents said Campos-Sanchez allegedly poured hot wax on her daughters after the fire was put out.

“Afterwards, [the 6-year-old] stated that her mother brought her and her sister into the kitchen and began pouring what she describes as ‘HOT WATER OR AGUA’ from the lit candles (melted candle wax) on herself, [the 6-year-old], and her sister,” police wrote in the affidavit.

RELATED: Florida mom accused of vile child porn crimes against her daughter — could face death penalty for sexual battery charges

BrianAJackson/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Investigators discovered the Instagram account of Campos-Sanchez that has nearly 65,000 followers.

Authorities found two Instagram videos on her account, including one involving her children, ages 3 and 6.

True Crime reported, “In one video, Campos-Sanchez can allegedly be seen dancing in a silver mask and lighting a pile of clothing on fire, and in another, she is allegedly seen pouring hot wax onto herself and onto her daughters’ hands.”

The affidavit said, “One video shows the defendant in the kitchen of her home, using lit candles to pour hot melted candle wax on her own leg, and then in the hands of her two daughters.”

As of Thursday afternoon, those videos remain posted on the verified Instagram account “melizacsanchez.”

Campos-Sanchez was arrested on Monday and taken to a hospital. Police said she was placed under a Baker Act hold for a temporary mental health evaluation. Deputies took Campos-Sanchez into custody after she was cleared for discharge from the hospital.

Citing the affidavit, People magazine reported that Campos-Sanchez’s husband, Yusniel Cue, informed investigators that he and his wife had been dealing with marital issues. He stated that he had spent the week before the alleged incident staying with his parents while Campos-Sanchez remained at the home with their daughters.

The affidavit further states that Cue told law enforcement that Campos-Sanchez had previously attempted suicide and that he had contacted the sheriff’s office the preceding week over concerns for their children, People reported.

WTVJ-TV reported Cue told authorities that Campos-Sanchez had previously tied a rope in the rafters in a suicide attempt.

The New York Post reported that there were “alarming warnings of her behavior,” including “a series of images on Aug. 6 showing her posing with a handgun in her mouth, which she claimed in the caption was just a toy.”

Cue took custody of his daughters following the alleged incident.

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​Florida, Florida woman, Social media, Instagram, Viral videos, Child abuse, Crime