US Found Out About Bomber's Terrorist Links as He Flew

US authorities learned of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s links to Islamic extremists while the would-be bomber was aboard a Detroit-bound plane, the Los Angeles Times reports, and planned to question him when it landed. Intelligence officials have certainly gotten the chance—but only after passengers on Northwest Flight 253 stifled Abdulmutallab’s attempt to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear.
(More Detroit terror incident stories.)