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This image provided by ABC NEWS shows charred underwear with explosive packet, a six-inch long packet of the high explosive chemical called PETN that was smuggled onto the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by 23-year-old Nigerian suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. (AFP/ABCNews-HO)

Call them Jihad Jockeys. These are the explosives-packed underpants worn by Umar Farouk Adbulmutallab (here in a mug shot released yesterday by the US Marshals Service) when he tried to bring down a flight over Detroit - and managed only to set his crotch on fire. The frighty whities came with a special pouch sewn by al Qaeda's finest seamstresses. In it was a condom packed with 80 grams of PETN, a compound that's a key ingredient in the plastic explosive Semtex. The suicide bomber tried to set it off by using a hypodermic needle to inject it with a...

A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains of al Qaeda's attempt to down an American passenger plane over Detroit.

A global search for accomplices in the Detroit airliner plot is under way after an Al Qaeda group based in Yemen claimed responsibility for the operation and the would-be bomber was reported to have said that more attacks were being planned. Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a terrorist cell led by a former personal secretary to Usama bin Laden, issued a statement saying that the failed attack by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a response to American-backed airstrikes on the group in Yemen this month.

A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains of al Qaeda's attempt to down an American passenger plane over Detroit.

ABC has the pictures of Umar Farouk Abdulmutalla's underwear: And you can see for yourself none of the present day security at our airports would of protected us against that, except the technology our Congress is attempting to ban: Privacy advocates, for example, have tried to stop or at least slow the introduction of advanced checkpoint screening devices that use so-called millimeter waves to create an image of a passenger’s body, so officers can see under clothing to determine if a weapon or explosive has been hidden. Security officers, in a private area, review the images, which are not stored....

A singed pair of underwear with a packet of powder sewn into the crotch, seen in government photos obtained exclusively by ABC News, is all that remains of al Qaeda's attempt to down an American passenger plane over Detroit.

PERKASIE, Pennsylvania — Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop. Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal. Although there are no formal laws in this southeast Pennsylvania town against drying laundry outside, a town official called Froehlich to ask her to stop drying clothes in the sun. And she received two...

According to a department store, men buy pants for a mere 17 years of their lives, with the women in their life shopping for male underwear most of the time. A survey of Debenham shoppers suggested that throughout their childhood and teenage years boys rely on their mothers to pick out their underwear. After a brief period of independence between the ages of 19 and 36 when men chose their own boxers or briefs, they then settle down and hand over the responsibilities to their girlfriends or wives. From then on, they are strangers to underwear departments. Rob Faucherand at...

DILLON — A judge in Dillon sentenced a man convicted of breaking into several homes and stealing women's underwear to 10 years in prison.

The Washington Post reckons you can gauge the state of the economy by the state of men’s underwear drawers. That’s because we’re supposed to assume that men will purchase underwear at a relative steady rate. The theory: “Sales of men’s underwear typically are stable because they rank as a necessity. But during times of severe financial strain, men will try to stretch the time between buying new pairs, causing underwear sales to dip.” So apparently we are to believe that America got itself – and the rest of the world – into this recession because people were splurging on homes,...

As the space shuttle returned to Earth, bringing him home from the International Space Station, where he has been since March, he revealed that he had been wearing the same pair of prototype pants for a month, all in the name of science.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In what might embarrass less adventurous souls, astronaut Koichi Wakata is returning to Earth with the underwear he kept on for a solid month during his space station stay and scientists will check them out. They're experimental high-tech undies, designed in Japan to be odor free. ... Wakata has been off the planet for 4 1/2 months. "I haven't talked about this underwear to my crew members," Wakata said in an interview with The Associated Press, drawing a big laugh from his six shuttle colleagues. "But I wore them for about a month, and my station...

Using colourful bras donated by employees at Victoria's Secret, a group of 26 mostly Saudi women completed the first course of its kind to be offered in the kingdom – how to fit, stock and sell underwear. The training organisers hope will help boost a campaign to lift the ban on women selling underwear in the kingdom. The graduates held a small ceremony at a college in the western seaport of Jiddah this week, capping 40 hours of instruction during which they learned to overcome their embarrassment at doing bra fittings, deal with customer complaints and display the stock in...

BROOKSVILLE, Fla. -- A Florida city has written common sense into its employee dress code: Wear underwear to work. The Brooksville city council recently approved a revised dress code as part of its effort to update existing policies. The revision instructs employees to observe "strict personal hygiene," including the use of deodorant. It lists "the observable lack of undergarments and exposed undergarments" as "unacceptable attire." It also prohibits clothing with foul language or messages promoting drug use, "sexually provocative" garments, halter tops and piercings anywhere except the ears. Repeat offenders can be fired. The city council approved the dress code...

Prince Harry has reportedly owned up to his friends that he has not washed his hair for two years. The Mirror online reports, the 24-year-old is said to have made the startling admission on a night when he was out drinking with his army mates. "It's been two years since I last washed my hair," he blurted out. He was out celebrating at the Tally-Ho pub in Sleaford, Lincs, with fellow trainee pilots after completing the first stage of Army Air Corps training at RAF Barkston Heath.

A northern Idaho woman says she has a problem pet. She says her one-year-old cat is burglarizing neighbor's clothing. "It's his fetish. He collects clothing mainly at night," owner Judy Waring said. Waring's one-year-old feline named Jack started stealing clothing in October, CBS station KCNC-TV reported. As the belongings started piling up, Waring said she no longer felt comfortable staying quiet about her pet's habit. Hats, shorts, underwear and 27 pairs of gloves are among the personal items Jack has nabbed. Warning said she put all the clothing out on a clothesline in front of her house and encouraged her...

THE smells that eminate from your undies - or so your closest friends or mum says - may be a thing of the past. Japan's space scientists have developed a line of odour-free underwear and casual clothing. Koichi Wakata, the first Japanese astronaut to live on the International Space Station, is testing the clothes, called J-ware and created by textile experts at Japan Women's University in Tokyo, Reuters reports. "He can wear his trunks (underwear) more than a week," said Koji Yanagawa, an official with the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency. Wakata's clothes, developed by researcher Yoshiko Taya, are designed to...

BOULDER, Colo. (AP) — Boulder police are asking for the public’s help in finding the owners of several dozen pairs of women’s underwear that investigators say were stolen by a suspected voyeur. Police say they recovered the garments Nov. 20 at the home of Wesley F. Cox, 44, of Boulder. Police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said Cox was arrested on Halloween night after he was caught videotaping a Boulder couple without their permission. She said two neighbors saw Cox videotaping the couple through a window and held him down until officers arrived. The neighbors also stopped Cox from erasing the videotape,...

I just saw on Hannity and Colmes where Hannity states how little Joe Biden gave to cherity. Democrat Bob Beckel stated he didn't know Biden gave so little and that he gave that much in used underwear the last 3 years!

RIVIERA BEACH — A judge says Riviera Beach's "saggy pants" law is unconstitutional in the case of a 17-year-old who spent a night in jail for having his underwear showing. And a public defender said her office wants to get the law tossed altogether. Saggy pants File photo In Riviera Beach, a first offense carries a $150 fine or a requirement of community service. Julius Hart was charged Wednesday when an officer spotted him riding his bicycle in the 2800 block of Lakeshore Drive with 4 to 5 inches of blue and black boxer shorts sticking out of his black...

Knickers in knot over undies Beijing - The Olympic dress code applies to places never seen, it seems, with the New Zealand hockey manager banished from the field at a crucial men's match because officials objected to his players' underwear. Kevin Marr was ordered to watch the must-win match against Germany from the grandstand as punishment for three players wearing black underwear beneath white shorts in an earlier match. Initially, the officials wanted to suspend the players involved - Bradley Shaw, Simon Child and Blair Hopping - but Marr successfully argued it was unfair because he was in charge of...

“High School Musical” underwear for young girls have sparked outrage — because they have the words “Dive in” on them. A British woman bought a packet of five pairs, with a “Disney-approved” design promoting the hit movie, for her seven-year-old granddaughter. “When she put them on, myself and my daughter thought, ‘Oh my goodness.’ It is inappropriate because it is sexually suggestive,” Sue Ralph, a 57-year-old civil servant, said. “You just never know who could see that and think it was a bit too enticing for a young child to be wearing.”...

An Ohio man is in jail for posing as an underwear researcher and examining children. Ken Hawkins is accused of arranging meetings this Spring with parents of at least three children to conduct a marketing research survey involving children's underwear and razors. While at the house of an eight-year-old girl, he instructed her to try on several pair of underwear while he took notes. Hawkins then took several measurements of the victim while she wore only the underwear. Prosecutors said Hawkins also ran his fingers around the waistband and looked at the rear of the panties to check out the...

LYNWOOD, Ill. - Be careful if you have saggy pants in the south Chicago suburb of Lynwood. Village leaders have passed an ordinance that would levy $25 fines against anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public. Eugene Williams is the mayor of Lynwood. He says young men walk around town half-dressed, keeping major retailers and economic development away. He calls the new law a hot topic. The American Civil Liberties Union says the ordinance targets young men of color.

Barack Obama ’08 boxer-briefs from Andrew Christian. As campaign booty goes, this is pretty cheeky. A trendy underwear designer started selling Barack Obama boxer-briefs Thursday, promising to donate $1 from each $29 sale to the Democrat's coffers. The slim-fit undies by Andrew Christian sport a Che Guevaraesque silhouette of the senator's face on the front and the numbers '08 on the back. "I'm not sure I'd wear those even underneath my clothes," Obama's communications director, Robert Gibbs, said when shown a photo of the skivvies. "Wow!" he added, taking a moment to chuckle. "Those are virtually indescribable. They're probably really...

The key to turning the Yankees season around could be under Jason Giambi's pinstriped pants. The Yankee slugger revealed Friday he slips on a gold lamé thong with a flame-line waistband when he's trying to get out of a hitting slump - and he's shared it with his teammates. "It works every time," Giambi told the Daily News after his secret was outed on Portfolio.com. Derek Jeter agreed that Giambi's thong works, although "it's so uncomfortable running around the bases." "I had it over my shorts and stuff," he said. "I was 0-for-32 and I hit a homer on the...

Rezko lawyers want to bar list of state workers he sponsoredAssociated Press Published: 2/21/2008 4:43 PM CHICAGO -- Lawyers for indicted political contributor Antoin "Tony" Rezko asked a federal judge Thursday to bar prosecutors from telling jurors at his upcoming fraud trial about state workers he sponsored for jobs. Defense attorneys said the government is "clearly attempting to put as many 'clout lists' as it can before the jury to show that Rezko wielded great influence in state government." But they said whatever role he may have played in hiring state workers was not relevant to the charges against him...

Man uses a wet pair of his aunt’s size 18 underwear to fight kitchen fire LONDON — They went from baggy knickers to the ultimate hotpants. A fire department official in Britain says Jenny Marsey’s miraculous underwear saved the day by doubling as an emergency fire blanket during a kitchen blaze. Marsey’s nephew, John, was frying bread in her kitchen in Hartlepool, northeast England, on Sunday when the fire broke out. He grabbed the nearest thing from a pile of washing to smother the fire — a wet pair of his aunt’s size 18 underwear. The nephew’s quick thinking saved...

A family home in England was saved from burning down after roly-poly mother Jenny Marsey’s size 20 underwear was used as a fire blanket. Son John, 18, was frying bread when the pan caught fire, sending flames up to the ceiling. Resourceful cousin Darren Lines, 23, grabbed Marsey’s panties from a pile of laundry, soaked them in water and flung them over the flames. Marsey, 53, of Hartlepool, Cleveland, said: “I’m lucky my knickers are like a parachute! If they were skimpy they’d have been no use.”

Dear brothers (do you mind if I call you brothers?), Have you heard about the movement to ticket and fine people - meaning, people like you - for wearing sagging, underwear-revealing pants? It started in a small Louisiana town, where you can now get up to six months in jail and a $500 fine for exposing your undergarments. Proposals have since popped up from Atlanta to Baltimore to Trenton, and last week even in Yonkers. It's only a matter of time before some enterprising City Council member puts it on the table here in New York. And in every city,...

 A website paid for and authorized by the Massachusetts Democratic Party has posted a picture of a flier reportedly passed out at a 2002 'gay pride' event by then-gubernatorial candidate Mitt Romney expressing support for homosexual rights. The flier, on red paper, claims to have been paid for by "the Romney for Governor Committee and the Kerry Murphy Healey Committee" and reads, "Mitt and Kerry wish you a great Pride Weekend. All citizens deserve equal rights, regardless of sexual preference." The flier was posted as a "viewer submission" to RomneyFacts.com," a website run by the Massachusetts Democrat Party: "Viewer submission...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Guards at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp found two prisoners sporting unauthorized underwear, and the U.S. military is investigating to determine how they got the contraband. Both prisoners were caught wearing Under Armour briefs and one also had on a Speedo bathing suit, items the military said were not issued by Guantanamo personnel or sent through the regular mail, according to a Defense Department letter obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Army Lt. Col. Ed Bush, a spokesman at the jail holding some 340 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A conservative think tank is distributing a lengthy essay on the history of education in Utah that implies that if Mormons don't vote in favor of the state's school voucher law that they could face cultural extinction. The Mormon-oriented Sutherland Institute bought advertisements in Utah's two largest newspapers to publish its essay, which says public schools were introduced in Utah by federal officials who wanted to end The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' control of the state. "The object was to provide a broader context, not just for the voucher debate but for...

A Cincinnati mother is furious and wants someone to explain why her son was humiliated last week during football practice. Vickie Hatter said her 10-year-old son's coach, Curt McKinney, sent the boy home from the Midwest Marauders' practice Friday in his underwear. "He walks in with his T-shirt and his underwear and his cleats," Hatter said. "He said, 'Mom, you'll never believe what Coach Curt made me do.'" Aucherae Washington explained that his coach had kicked him off the team after he deviated from team rules during a practice drill that had players running up and down a short hill....

There is a phrase in Swedish that perfectly describes the ongoing debate about a marketing campaign launched by underwear brand Sloggi: 'Taste is a bit like buttocks - divided'. Opinion in Sweden appears to be split down the middle, with the rights and wrongs of the issue fueling heated discussions on internet forums nationwide. The war of words began when Swiss-based company Triumph International whipped up interest in its Sloggi brand by asking men and women to send in pictures of their underwear-clad posteriors.

A state forensics scientist who said she tested her husband's underwear for DNA to find out if he was having sex with another woman has been fired by the state police. Ann Chamberlain (formerly Ann Gordon) of Okemos testified in a March 7 divorce hearing that she ran the test last September on the underwear of Charles Gordon Jr. Asked by his attorney what she found, she answered, "Another female. It wasn't me."

SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A man who was running through traffic wearing only underwear and socks died after police used a Taser to subdue him, authorities say. Police in Macomb County's Shelby Township said they had several reports early Saturday of "a man running around in several areas of the township in a state of undress." They found him near an intersection about 20 miles north of Detroit.

Costco is not cool with underpants-filled punching bags. From their website (emphasis ours): We are issuing this voluntary recall notice for the TKO Sports Heavy Punching Bag with Speed Bag Combination, manufactured by TKO Sports, of Houston, TX. We have learned that the fill material in the heavy punching bag does not meet our high quality standards.

Man Clad in Underwear Pins Leopard May 28 04:21 PM US/Eastern By ARON HELLER Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) - A man clad only in underwear and a T-shirt wrestled a wild leopard to the floor and pinned it for 20 minutes after the cat leapt through a window of his home and hopped into bed with his sleeping family. "This kind of thing doesn't happen every day," said 49-year-old Arthur Du Mosch, a nature guide. "I don't know why I did it. I wasn't thinking, I just acted." Raviv Shapira, who heads the southern district of the Israel Nature...

f you thought donning tin foil caps was excessive, Isabodywear is out to make those contraptions looks mighty mild. While the debate about just how dangerous (or not) cellphone radiation is still rages on, there's certainly a paranoid sect that will snap up anything that claims to "protect them," and this Swiss garb maker is latching onto said opportunity. The briefs are purportedly constructed with threads made of silver, which the company claims will fend off harmful cellphone radiation; moreover, in an effort to really prove just how effective these undergarments are, it suggests that phone calls originated within the...

When I was around 11, there were these two stupid brothers at my school who looked down on us other kids because we came from families so utterly impoverished we actually WASHED our underwear instead of buying new briefs etc on a daily basis. Their family were rather well off, but not especially rich compared to the richest ones in town. The reason noone else adopted their underwear procedure was probably that the concept of throwing clothes in a washing machine is easier than throwing underwear away and buying new sets for an entire family every day. However, the cost...

LONG BEACH, N.Y. -- Captain Underpants may be a superhero, but he isn't welcome at one suburban New York school. Three 17-year-old girls were told to leave Long Beach High School when they showed up on the school's Superhero Day dressed as the subject of the bestselling children's books. Captain Underpants is a superhero from popular books that has battled, among other things, talking toilets and the infamous Professor Poopypants. The girls, Chelsea Horowitz, Ashley Imhof and Eliana Levin, wore beige leotards and nude stockings under white briefs and red capes. They were completely covered. Principal Nicholas Restivo said he...

A Canadian city under pressure for alleged sexual harassment within its fire department has ordered firefighters to wear only boxer-style underwear. Richmond, British Columbia will spend C$16,000 (7,600 pounds) to buy six pairs of underwear for each firefighter in a bid to make firehalls in the suburb of Vancouver more gender neutral, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. "We supply firefighters with various pieces of gear such as gloves, now it's underwear," city official Ted Townsend told the Vancouver Sun, saying it was part of the "integration of the sexes in the workplace."A recent investigation of the department described its workplace...

Local firefighting men and women don't need to be told what kind of undies to wear, because they should never be together with their pants down at work, says their union. Their colleagues at the beleaguered Richmond, B.C., fire department however, can't say the same. Rocked by a series of sexual harassment complaints from female firefighters, the Richmond department has ordered both sexes to wear only "standard issue" white boxers. Male and female firefighters in Richmond strip down in a common area before putting on firefighting gear, a practice Capt. Dale McLean, Edmonton Firefighters Union secretary, calls "problematic."

Omri Evron won't wear IDF uniform, so was jailed in his underwear. Wardens refuse to let him wear civilian pants arguing he may use zipper to commit suicide When army refusnik Omri Evron protested wearing an IDF uniform, he probably did not guess that his ideological refusal would soon become a naked truth. For three days now Evron has been held in isolation in Tzrifin prison, wearing only his underwear. Evron, 19, from Tel Aviv, was supposed to start his army service on Sunday. Members of the “New Profile” movement, which supports IDF refusniks, protested outside of the recruitment office...

Dallas To Consider Low Pants Ban Last Edited: Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006, 6:51 PM CDT Created: Tuesday, 22 Aug 2006, 6:08 PM CDT Some school districts ban pants like these that are low enough to expose underwear. Related Items Stories Vote Here: Baggy Pants Poll Poll Do you think baggy pants that expose underwear or skin below the hip should be banned from Dallas streets? Poll Results: Yes 86% No 14% Total number of votes: 613 It's a fashion trend that for many is a fashion faux pas: baggin' and saggin' pants. "I think it's a disgrace," said Dallas resident...

National Underwear Day Takes It Off in Times Square Lindsay Sammon Wed Aug 9, 7:48 PM ET Fashion Wire Daily - New York - Foot and street traffic alike were stopped in their tracks Wednesday, August 9, as FreshPair.com, the online retailer of various underwear brands, held its fourth annual National Underwear Day in New York's Times Square. A fashion show at the merge of Broadway and Seventh Avenue showcased the newest trends in intimate apparel. An estimated total of 4000 pairs of underwear were handed out to passersby by scantily clad street models. "Our mission is to raise awareness...

You can see a whole lot more on an "NYPD Blue" rerun, but when officials at a New Jersey school discovered a yearbook picture showing a bit of a student's underwear, they moved fast. Phillipsburg High School officials ripped out page 224 of every single yearbook. The offending picture shows a female student wearing a skirt and sitting on a desk. A glimpse of her underwear is visible. Some students are more offended that the page was yanked, calling it destruction of personal property. Also, in pulling out the page, the school took with it 16 other pictures that appeared...

THERE'S been a lot of, um, movement in men's underwear lately. It seems Australian men are no longer content to pick between boxers, Y-fronts or Calvins. With new technical innovations and designs, it seems they are enjoying a little experimentation. "Australian men have always been a bit more adventurous with their underwear," said Paul Gould, general manager for Bonds. "At every point that we've given them something new, they've really lapped it up." Next up is the Bonds Everyday Active range, with cotton-Coolmax fabric that draws moisture away from the skin. Pat Rafter will be donning the tightie whities in...