EXCLUSIVE: Photos of the Northwest Airlines Bomb  —  Accused Bomber Abdulmutallab's Underwear, Explosive Packet and Detonator  —  A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains …

Palin daughter sues for custody  —  The custody battle between Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin became public last week when two Superior Court judges issued orders unsealing the court record and denying the use of pseudonyms to protect the feuding parents' identities.

GOP seizes on terror issue  —  Republicans have wasted no time in attacking Democrats on intelligence and screening failures leading up to the failed Christmas Day bombing of Flight 253 — a significant departure from the calibrated, less partisan responses that have followed other recent terrorist activity.

A Less Than Honest Policy  —  There is a middle-class tax time bomb ticking in the Senate's version of President Obama's effort to reform health care.  —  The bill that passed the Senate with such fanfare on Christmas Eve would impose a confiscatory 40 percent excise tax on so-called Cadillac health plans …

Education Secretary Arne Duncan's legacy as Chicago schools chief questioned  —  CHICAGO — Soon after Arne Duncan left his job as schools chief here to become one of the most powerful U.S. education secretaries ever, his former students sat for federal achievement tests.

Krauthammer Rips Obama's “Flaccid, Meaningless” Words On Iranian Freedom Protests (Video)  —  “This is a moment in history, and he's missing it.”  —  On Special Report tonight Charles Krauthammer ripped President Obama for his “flaccid, meaningless” words on the Iranian freedom protests.

Allegedly Allergic — By: Mark Steyn  —  Jonah, your allegedly alleged reader's observation on “clinical legalism” is just right.  Putting aside the stuff that was just plain wrong (this guy's an “isolated extremist” - oh, yeah?), the President's remarks had a horrible desiccated complacency.

Transcript of Obama remarks on airline security and terror watch lists  —  President Obama's remarks Monday about airline security and this weekend's protests in Iran.  The Washington Post maintains a full database of Obama's speeches here.  —  Good morning, everybody.

In online posts apparently by Detroit suspect, religious ideals collide  —  The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of an American airliner apparently turned to the Internet for counseling and companionship, writing in an online forum that he was “lonely” and had “never found a true Muslim friend.”

Politics and the no-fly list  —  The agencies that maintain watch lists have come under withering criticism that rights are being abused, which may have led to the under-inclusion of potential terrorists.  —  The case of the alleged Christmas bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, is being called a massive intelligence failure.

TMZ Falls For JFK Photo Hoax  —  Photo that “could have changed history” actually from a Playboy shoot  —  In a colossal screw-up, the gossip web site TMZ.com today published a photo purporting to show John F. Kennedy frolicking on a yacht with a harem of naked women—except …

Cellphone Encryption Code Is Divulged  —  BERLIN — A German computer engineer said Monday that he had deciphered and published the secret code used to encrypt most of the world's digital mobile phone calls, saying it was his attempt to expose weaknesses in the security of global wireless systems.

Peter Orszag to Wed ABC News Reporter  —  Rahm Emanuel once said of Peter R. Orszag, the bespectacled economist who is President Obama's budget director, “He's made nerdy sexy.”  So perhaps the White House chief of staff won't be surprised to learn that Mr. Orszag got engaged over lunch …

The Collapse of Professional Journalism, Cont'd  —  The latest “ethics” scandal buzzing through the journalism blogs provides another reminder that the culture and norms of the traditional journalism guild are ill-suited to the new “FREE” era.  But first, a bit of personal context.

Sen. Dodd, D-Conn., slashed aviation security funding for pet constituency  —  Now that our attention is focused on airline security measures thanks to the failed airline attack on Christmas Day, it's worth mentioning that one Senator took money away from aviation security to line the pockets …

Orly Taitz Ally Breaks Away, Says He Fell in Love With Her  —  The word for this is “strange.”  For much of 2009, a disbarred attorney named Charles Lincoln played key roles in Orly Taitz's multiple “birther” lawsuits against President Obama.  Lincoln claimed to be a “law clerk” for Taitz …

Post Politics: New GOP is a she  —  Beyond a steady rightward shift and an increasingly reactionary rhetoric, conservative leadership is taking on another characteristic — it's becoming more female.  Both nationally and in Tennessee, the most beloved and vocal conservative leaders these days seem to be women.

North Korea says it's holding American  —  (CNN) — North Korea announced Tuesday that it is holding an American who illegally entered the country on Christmas Eve, possibly a Korean-American missionary who told relatives he was trying to sneak into the isolated communist state.