Nigerian Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up a Delta jet yesterday en route from Amsterdam to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the US. The suspect is a UK Engineering student. He attempted to combine a powder and liquid explosive mix before he was overpowered by a fellow passenger. The suspect now claims to have ties to Al Qaeda, based in Yemen. He told authorities that he was traveling to Detroit for a "religious seminar."

The White House is taking a cautious approach.

From the BBC, 3 hours ago:

President Barack Obama, on holiday in Hawaii, has ordered increased security for air travel.

White House spokesman Bill Burton said the president was monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile the Washington Post reports:

The FBI is investigating the incident. President Obama, celebrating Christmas in Hawaii, was informed about it, a spokesman said... Officials said they are not prepared to raise the terrorism alert level, currently at orange -- or the second-highest of five levels -- for domestic and international air travel.

WaPo notes a delay in notifying Obama, who "was told of the incident about three hours after the plane landed."

UPDATE!

Ace of Spades is now headlining that the Washington Post changed their story to reflect a more favorable "hands on" view of the White House. They changed their original piece deleting the mention of Obama being told of the Terrorist incident 3 hours later. Asks Ace:

So why was the President allowed to snooze in Hawaii undisturbed?

I'm trying to not get too partisan about this, but it sure seems to me that this evidences a casualness about terrorist incidents that seems pretty dangerous.