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 …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

Iran's War on Its People  —  We are inspired by the bravery of Iranians who continue to demand their rights, even in the face of their government's relentless and shameful brutality.  Iran's leaders are so desperate to repel a rising tide of popular unrest that even Ashura …

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.

The ‘Drunk’ Smear  —  At the end of a slow holiday weekend, Matt Drudge linked to a video posted by YouTube member SocialistsSteal, labeled “Senator Max Baucus Drunk/Intoxicated on Senate Floor.”  SocialistsSteal had, ironically, stolen the video from ThinkProgress, which had grabbed the lengthy clip …

First Family to America: Everyone Must Sacrifice, Everyone Must Have Some Skin in the Game... We'll Be In Hawaii  —  Back in January, before he signed his failed $787 billion stimulus bill into law, Barack Obama told America that everyone must sacrifice for the greater good.  Everyone must have “some skin in the game.”

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Now, Michelle Obama too is sliding in the polls  —  She's on vacation now in Hawaii, so what does she care?  —  But as the first calendar year of the new White House regime draws to a close, First Lady Michelle Obama is experiencing the same drop in poll numbers as her husband.