WASHINGTON - Passengers could face more intense screening at the nation's airports as lawmakers urge the government to adopt tighter regulations in the wake of an alleged plot by a Nigerian man to blow up a U.S.-bound airliner.

Reuters - U.S. intelligence chief Admiral Dennis Blair faced tough questions about his future on Wednesday as the Obama administration fended off criticism over the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on December 25.

A delegation of U.S. congressmen is urging Afghan President Hamid Karzai to delay the country's parliamentary vote.

AP - For all their differences, Americans largely agree on two things: 2009 was a lousy year for the nation, and 2010 is likely to be better.

AP - North Carolina's longest-serving state senator won't seek re-election next year as he faces possible criminal charges over a shooting at his home in August.

AP - The Idaho Supreme Court says two orphaned Idaho children will remain with their grandmother in Argentina, not with family members in California who also wanted custody.

AP - Yemeni security forces stormed an al-Qaida hide-out Wednesday in a principle militant stronghold in the country's west, setting off clashes, officials said, as a security chief vowed to fight the group's powerful local branch until it was eliminated.

Reuters - The path toward rolling out wider use of whole-body security scanners in U.S. airports runs through the White House.

AP - Former Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's son has officially entered the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky.

Politico - Former Rep. Jim Traficant (D-Ohio) says he is “going to run” for Congress once again in 2010.