THE AIRLINER STORY - AT 10:18 A.M. ET:  From Fox:

Congressional lawmakers are calling the attempted terrorist attack at a Detroit airport "disturbing" and "extremely serious," with at least one senator pledging to hold hearings, as authorities moved to increase security in response at U.S. airports over the Christmas weekend.

An airline passenger, who claimed to have ties to Al Qaeda, was subdued Friday after he tried to ignite a powdery substance just before landing in Detroit, sources told FOX News.

The White House and lawmakers are calling it an attempted act of terrorism. The passenger, one of 278 passengers flying from Amsterdam to Detroit, is now in custody, according to a statement from the Transportation Security Administration.

Reflecting the severity of the incident, a number of lawmakers were tracked down on Christmas Day to be briefed on the incident. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., House Minority Leader John Boehner and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, were among them.

Collins, ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, released a written statement questioning how the passenger was allowed on board and what the TSA can do to prevent such an incident from reoccurring.

And...

King, the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Mutallab "definitely has connections" to Al Qaeda.

King said Mutallab was not on any "no-fly list," but one source familiar with the investigation said the suspect did come up in another federal database after authorities checked his name on Friday.

COMMENT:  The administration has acted correctly, especially in bringing Republicans into the situation.  A little more bipartisanship like this would have helped in other areas.

Of course, the usual suspects are starting with the "he probably acted alone" stuff, but, given the alleged  perpetrator's foreign adventures, that doesn't seem very likely.  Even if he decided on this one act on his own, he clearly has been influenced by the "brothers" abroad.

December 26,  2009