‘Underwear Bomber’ Pleads Guilty

In a surprise plea, alleged “underwear bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab pleaded guilty to eight charges at the opening of his trial in Detroit. “That’s right,” he said when the judge asked him if he would like to waive his right to a trial. Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian, hid explosives in his pants on a Christmas Day flight in 2009, allegedly seeking to destroy a flight headed to Detroit. He later told the FBI that he was working with al Qaeda in Yemen. The bomb did not go off, and passengers apprehended him. He faces a sentence of life in prison.