Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, was charged Saturday with the willful attempt to destroy an aircraft, The New York Times reports. Abdulmutallab set off a device attached to his body, the affidavit says, and a preliminary FBI analysis shows the device contained PETN, a high explosive. There was more than enough explosive to set off the bomb, but the make-shift detonator failed to engage, ABC reports. "In addition, FBI agents recovered what appear to be the remnants of the syringe from the vicinity of Abdulmutallab's seat, believed to have been part of the device," the statement said. Abdulmutallab is due in court later Saturday, despite his injuries.

Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York and other states that provide expanded health care to their residents are fighting back against the Senate's health-care bill, which they say makes them subsidize states that are not as generous with their care. The bill passed Thursday will expand Medicaid, but the roughly 20 states that have already expanded coverage will pay a greater proportion of new Medicaid costs than other states, mostly in the South, that do not provide expanded care. “We are, in a sense, being punished for our own charity,” New York Governor David Paterson said last week. In Arizona, the governor ordered the state to stop accepting applicants to its children's insurance program last week. Its share of Medicaid will be $17 billion under the Senate bill. If Arizona hadn't expanded Medicaid, its share would have been $1.4 billion.

On the weekend of Shia religious festivals, Iranian activists are rising up to show their continued opposition to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Spontaneous protests erupted across the country last week with the news of the death of one of the country's most prominent dissident clerics, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri. Since then, the protests have continued and escalated. Iranian officials have warned that they will crack down on protesters, and the BBC reports that clashes between the government and reformists have grown increasingly violent. Shots have been fired to disperse crowds, and security forces have reportedly beaten protesters with batons. The main protest is scheduled to occur Sunday.

The terror suspect who tried to blow up a Northwest airliner on Christmas Day is the son of a Nigerian banker who warned the U.S. of his son's "extreme religious views" months ago, the father told a Nigerian daily. Alhaji Umaru Mutallab, a former minister and chairman of First Bank in Nigeria, said he was shocked his son was even allowed on a plane. A 23-year-old engineering student at University College London and a Nigerian citizen, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab may also be a terrorist working for al Qaeda, authorities say. Western officials have feared for some time that Nigeria, a country with a sharp Muslim-Christian divide, could be turning into a breeding ground for insurgents. Abdulmutallab’s visa documents show that he was en route to the U.S. for a religious ceremony, and officials have confirmed that his name has appeared in certain databases connected to terrorists. His banker father says his son may have recently visited Yemen, where Abdulmutallab reportedly received instructions for his attack. “I believe that he might have been to Yemen, but we are investigating to determine that,” he told the Associated Press.

President Obama may have secured momentum for global action on climate change at Copenhagen with American pledges to reduce emissions, but following through will be a major challenge. "There is no doubt that energy legislation is going to be tough, but I feel very confident about making an argument to the American people that we should be a leader in clean energy technology—that that will be one of the key engines that drives economic growth for decades to come," Obama said in a recent interview with The Washington Post. While there has been some hints of bipartisan support from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is working with Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and John Kerry (D-MA) on a bill, the poisoned political climate after party-line votes on health-care reform could spread over to the climate debate. "I don't think the Senate has an appetite for another such epic, polarized legislative war this session," Lieberman told the Post.

Five years after a devastating tsunami left 250,000 dead across Asia, affected countries are marking the grim anniversary with public and private ceremonies and prayers. In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, the site of 150,000 deaths, the country's vice president prayed at a mass grave for tsunami victims with residents of the area, who left flowers as well. The region has been the site of a major international reconstruction effort since the disaster. "[Banda Aceh] is so built up now," a local conservationist told CNN. "Now, we can barely see 100 meters because there's been so much reconstruction. Everything's been built up on both sides of the road."

It's not over yet. Storms that pummeled the Midwest through Christmas will continue through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a blizzard warning for parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Record snowfall has already hit parts of Oklahoma, Texas, and Minnesota, creating what one road traveler described as a "snow-pocalypse." Road travelers have had to deal with closed interstates, slippery roads, and whiteout conditions, which are caused by massive snowdrifts and blustery winds. Officials are advising people to stay at home, or to bring emergency kits with them if they have to venture out.

A Nigerian man aboard a flight en route to Detroit allegedly tried to ignite a powdery substance as the plane neared its destination on Friday in an effort to blow up the aircraft, a senior U.S. counter-terror official told the AP. The White House released a statement calling it an "attempted act of terrorism." Multiple law enforcement officials identified the passenger as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, a 23-year-old student at the University College London. He reportedly said Al Qaeda instructed him to cause an explosion on the flight from Amsterdam once over U.S. soil. The suspect also told authorities the substance, which he said he acquired in Yemen, was taped to his leg and that he had used a syringe of chemicals to combine with the powder to cause an explosion, a method consistent with terrorist techniques. The failed explosion “sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase,” said one man on the flight. Jasper Schuringa, a director from Amsterdam, helped extinguish the burning object and dragged the suspect to the front of the plane, where he was handcuffed. Mutallab is being held at the Detroit airport and the FBI is interviewing him, along with others on board. Officials are attempting to confirm the validity of the suspect’s terrorist claims and determine his mental state. The Transportation Security Administration said that the aircraft and all baggage were being re-screened. President Obama and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano have both been briefed on the incident.

This was the year of Internet sales, as the economy lagged and retailers pinned their hopes on online shoppers. In hopes of capitalizing on end-of-the-year holiday shopping, many stores held online sales on Christmas Day. Retailers were persuaded to withhold in-store sales in order to draw customers to their Web sites for last-minute holiday shopping. Larger chains, such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy, are taking a different route, offering deep discounts immediately after Christmas to lure customers to continue their shopping binges. Gift cards were a more popular-than-usual gift item this year, as inclement weather kept people indoors and away from malls. Some retailers offered same-day gift-card purchase and e-delivery, catering to the most last-minute of shoppers.

With the Prius in high demand, Toyota is working on another hybrid to help secure its dominant position in the future. The new car will be smaller and cheaper than the Prius, which has a starting price of $22,400. The Prius accounts for more than 75 percent of Toyota's hybrid sales worldwide. Some analysts say the company might be committing itself too much to its hybrids, however, as all-electric cars may eventually become affordable and negate their appeal. "Toyota is completely convinced about the potential for hybrids spreading to all segments," one auto analyst told The Detroit News. "That has yet to be proven. There aren't many places in the world where hybrids have caught on."

Seven hours after being abducted by a stranger, 5-year-old Natalie Flores was rescued early Saturday in Phoenix, after her suspected kidnapper led police on a car chase. A patrol officer noticed the man's pickup truck, which sped off once spotted, and police managed to cause it to crash using spike strips on the road. The suspect, a 45-year-old man who police have yet to publicly name, was captured after a foot chase. Natalie was being examined by health officials, but otherwise is in good shape, police said.

Teens have been among the most reliable cash cows for retail chains around the country for decades, but the deep recession is rapidly changing that equation. Spending at stores that specialize in selling clothing to teens is down 7.8 percent versus the previous year, and is now the worst performing sector in all of retailing. Teen mainstays like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hot Topic have seen double-digit declines from the same month last year. Some analysts see more than just a decreased amount of free cash, but a broader cultural shift toward financial responsibility. “As me and my brothers get older and we realize the implications of the recession,” Sarah Berger, 16, told The New York Times, “we just kind of value presents and gifts less.”

Remember the turn of the millennium 10 years ago, when people were excitedly debating what everyone would call the new decade? Well, the debate never ended. Now, The Washington Post notes, the decade is almost over and none of the handful of nicknames the period acquired—the Aughts, the 00s, or even the Naughties—have stuck. Of course, whether it's such a bad thing is an open question. "People think if we don't have anything to call the decade, that maybe we will forget it, that it will be some kind of orphan decade, that it won't exist," linguist Dennis Barron told the Post. "But it's simply not true."

Singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt is dead at 45 after an overdose of prescription muscle relaxants, the Los Angeles Times reports. Chesnutt was paralyzed in a car accident in 1983 and despite being confined to a wheelchair and having only limited use of his arms, he fashioned a career as a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, and guitarist after being discovered by REM singer Michael Stipe in the late 1980s. Chesnutt struggled with his health problems, however, and was frustrated by difficulties maintaining adequate health insurance and paying off his extensive medical bills. In 1996, a number of A-list bands, including the Smashing Pumpkins, REM, and Hootie and the Blowfish, released a tribute album featuring Chesnutt's songs in order to raise money for other uninsured musicians.

Charlie Sheen revisited his bad boy past Christmas Day, spending time behind bars in a Colorado prison on counts of domestic abuse, police say. The Two and a Half Men star was arrested in Aspen at 8:30 a.m., according to law officials. RadarOnline.com reported the actor, who has allegedly struggled with abuse and illegal substances in the past, had a dispute with his wife of a year and half, Brooke Mueller. Sheen reportedly flew from Los Angeles to Colorado, where she was renting a home, to be with his wife for the holidays, despite their alleged quarrel. But their issues reportedly resurfaced upon his arrival. A source told Radar that Mueller, who gave birth to the couple’s twin boys earlier this year, called police after Sheen pushed her. One of television’s highest paid actors was caged in Pitkin County Jail, charged with second-degree assault, menacing, and criminal mischief, police say.

Sad news out of Little Rock, Arkansas: Two unknown men shot and killed a Salvation Army major in front of his three young children on Christmas Eve. Police are looking for the suspected killers, who reportedly accosted the man, Philip Wise, and his four-, six-, and eight-year-old children at 4 p.m. on Thursday near a Salvation Army center. One of the men pulled a gun and demanded money from Wise, the county coroner says, before firing at him. The major’s wife, Cindy, who is also a Salvation Army major, called 911 from inside the center, where she was at the time of the shooting. Wise had been working in the Little Rock community running youth programs, a food pantry, and church services for the past three years.