Top Items:
ABCNEWS:
Investigators: Northwest Bomb Plot Planned by al Qaeda in Yemen — Officials Say Bomb Materials Sewn Into Suspect's Underwear by Top Terror Bomb Maker — The plot to blow up an American passenger jet over Detroit was organized and launched by al Qaeda leaders in Yemen who apparently sewed bomb materials …
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New York Times:
Officials Point to Suspect's Claim of Qaeda Ties in Yemen — WASHINGTON — Federal authorities on Saturday charged a 23-year-old Nigerian man with trying to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day, and officials said the suspect told them he had obtained explosive chemicals …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Talking Points Memo, worldmeets.us, Jack & Jill Politics, The New Republic and Gawker
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Investigators: Terrorist wore suicide underwear made by top AQ bombmaker in Yemen — In the war on terror, we've seen suicide vests and suicide belts. We've even seen suicide rucksacks. Now, the top Yemeni bombmaker for al-Qaeda has the latest in fashion for radical jihadists looking …
ABCNEWS:
Officials: Only A Failed Detonator Saved Northwest Flight — Screening Machines May Need to Be Replaced; Al Qaeda Aware of ‘Achilles heel’ — Officials now say tragedy was only averted on Northwest flight 253 because a makeshift detonator failed to work properly.
Josh Gerstein / The Politico:
Xmas bomb bid complicates Gitmo plan — “I'd expect Yemen's handling of returned Guantanamo detainees to come under intense U.S. scrutiny,” said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia law professor who was an assistant Defense secretary for detainee affairs under President George W. Bush.
Discussion:
Power Line
New York Times:
Restrictions Rise After Terrorism Attempt — Transportation authorities began imposing tighter security measures at airports on Saturday and ordered new restrictions governing the activities of passengers during flights as investigators conducted searches to learn more about the Nigerian …
Discussion:
The Business Insider, The Agitator, The Lede, Hit & Run, TechCrunch, Daily Kos, Unqualified Offerings, The Moderate Voice, Mashable! and Mediaite
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Soraya Roberts / NY Daily News:
Jasper Schuringa subdued alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Airlines 253 — The passenger who tackled a suspected terrorist on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 said Saturday that he's “happy” to be alive. — Jasper Schuringa, a video director and producer from Amsterdam …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Towleroad News #gay, Gateway Pundit, The Huffington Post and Atlas Shrugs
New York Times:
Passengers Took Plane's Survival Into Own Hands — Despite extensive spending since 2001 on intelligence and counterterrorism programs, sophisticated airport scanners and elaborate watch lists, it was something simpler that averted disaster on a Christmas Day flight to Detroit: alert and courageous passengers and crew members.
Gordon Ginsberg / Firedoglake:
Why The President's Inability to Lead Highlights the Value of FDL's Reachout to “Strange Bedfellows” — The times call for a leader of Churchillian or Rooseveltian magnitude; what we have instead is a cautious risk-averse manager. Bold progressives must fill the leadership vacuum in order …
Ezra Klein:
After health-care reform, Senate reform — This column appears on the cover of Sunday's Outlook section. — On Dec. 8, 1964, Mike Manatos wrote a letter that explains what's wrong with the Senate in 2009. This wasn't, of course, the subject of his letter.
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Paul Krugman:
Numerical notes on health care reform — A couple of notes to address complaints about the Senate bill from the left and the center. (There's no use addressing complaints from the right; in general, the safest thing when dealing with crazy people is to avoid eye contact.)
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Ezra Klein:
How the filibuster increases cynicism: An interview with Andy Stern — Andy Stern is president of the Service Employees International Union. — You've recently begun talking about the problem of the Senate when you talk about the problems facing health-care reform.
James Hamilton / Econbrowser:
Lost decade for stocks — Why were the aughts so nasty for stocks? — The U.S. ended the decade more or less where it began in terms of total employment. — Source: FRED. — The owners of capital fared no better, with the nominal S&P500 stock price index down 20% for the decade.
Discussion:
Greg Mankiw's Blog
David D. Kirkpatrick / New York Times:
Catholic Group Supports Senate on Abortion Aid — WASHINGTON — In an apparent split with Roman Catholic bishops over the abortion-financing provisions of the proposed health care overhaul, the nation's Catholic hospitals have signaled that they back the Senate's compromise on the issue …
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