Though President Obama continues his Hawaiian vacation, White House officials are busy painting a picture of a president who is constantly engaged in dealing with the fall out from the failed terrorist attack aboard NW flight 253 on Christmas Day, careful to show Obama is balancing his leisure activities with appropriate attention to his job. A senior White House official says Obama continues to receive the preliminary results from the terrorism reviews he ordered on Sunday. The deadline was today.  Read more... (522 words, 1 image, estimated 2:05 mins reading time)

HONOLULU — President Barack Obama laid blame Saturday on an al-Qaida affiliate for a Christmas Day terrorist attack that has prompted a top-to-bottom review of how the nation’s intelligence agencies failed to prevent the botched bombing aboard a Detroit-bound airliner.

In his most direct public language to date, the president described the path through Yemen of 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to destroy Northwest Flight 253. The president also emphasized that the United States would continue its partnerships with friendly countries – citing Yemen, in particular – to fight terrorists and extremist groups around the globe.  Read more... (583 words, 1 image, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)

President Barack Obama on Monday promised to track down all those behind an attempt to bring down a US airliner on Christmas Day, ending three days of silence on the attack.

Mr Obama told Americans his administration was doing all it could to ensure security after a Nigerian man managed to smuggle explosives onto a Detroit-bound flight, an incident that was a “serious reminder of the dangers that we face and the nature of those who threaten our homeland”.  Read more... (293 words, 1 image, estimated 1:10 mins reading time)

There has been a security scare on board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit – two days after an alleged attack failed on board the same flight.

The pilot of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 requested emergency help when a passenger was described as disruptive as the plane landed on Sunday.

However hours later the FBI said it was a “non-serious incident”.

It came a day after a Nigerian man was charged with attempting to destroy a plane on a flight on 25 December.  Read more... (441 words, 1 image, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

DETROIT — A Northwest Airlines flight crew sought emergency assistance Sunday for a disruptive passenger who was taken into custody as the plane landed in Detroit, an airline official said.

Amid heightened global security concerns, the disturbance occurred on the same Northwest Flight 253 that was attacked by a terror suspect on Christmas Day.

On the flight, which arrived in Detroit from Amsterdam at 12:34 pm (1834 GMT), “there was a verbally disruptive passenger, and out of an abundance of caution the flight crew requested law enforcement meet the aircraft,” Susan Elliott, a spokeswoman for Delta, told AFP.  Read more... (325 words, 1 image, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)

DETROIT — A 23-year-old Nigerian man who claimed ties to al-Qaida was charged Saturday with trying to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner, just a month after his father warned U.S. officials of concerns about his son’s religious beliefs.

The suspect claimed to have received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen, a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Aides to President Barack Obama are pondering how terror watch lists are used after the botched attack, according to officials who described the discussions Saturday on the condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt possible official announcements.  Read more... (1109 words, 1 image, estimated 4:26 mins reading time)

DETROIT (AP)– Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (OO-mahr fah-ROOK ahb-DOOL-moo-TAH-lahb), a 23-year-old Nigerian man who claimed ties to al-Qaida, was charged Saturday with trying to destroy a Detroit-bound airliner. The attempted bombing comes just one month after his father warned U.S. officials of concerns about his son’s religious beliefs.

The suspect claimed to have received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives in Yemen, a law enforcement official said on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Abdulmutallab is the son of prominent Nigerian banker and had been a college student in Britain before moving to Dubai, according to family and official sources. CNN reports:  Read more... (1176 words, 1 image, estimated 4:42 mins reading time)