National: TERROR-TIMES -- WASHINGTON -- U.S. counter-terrorism agencies are investigating whether an American-born Islamic cleric who has risen to become a key figure in the Qaida affiliate in Yemen played a role in the attempted Christmas Day airplane bombing over Detroit, intelligence and law enforcement officials says. 1,270 words, by Josh Meyer (Times). With TERROR-POST. FORTHOOD -- More than seven weeks after Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan allegedly aimed for soldiers in uniform, firing more than 100 times with a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver to kill 13 people, the Fort Hood community is haunted by clues that somehow went unheeded. 2,900 words, by Eli Saslow, Philip Rucker, William Wan and Mary Pat Flaherty (Post). International: AFGHAN-TIMES -- KABUL -- A bomber slipped inside a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan and detonated a suicide vest, killing eight CIA officers in one of the deadliest days in the agency's history, current and former U.S. officials say. 765 words, by Greg Miller and Laura King (Times). With AFGHAN-POST. TERROR-YEMEN -- SAN ` A, Yemen -- Classmates of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab who studied with him at an Arabic language school last August found him vastly different from the courteous and generous student they remembered when he first visited Yemen in 2005. 1,030 words, by Sudarsan Raghavan (Post). With TERROR-YEMEN-INCIDENTS. WAHID-OBIT -- Abdurrahman Wahid, who became Indonesia's first democratically elected president in 1999 after half a century of authoritarian rule, dies in Jakarta. He was 69. 800 words, by David Lamb (Times special). Financial: FOX-TIMEWARNER -- HOLLYWOOD -- The odds of a new accord between Fox and Time Warner Cable before Thursday's midnight deadline appear to be quickly diminishing, and with it the increased possibility that millions of Time Warner Cable subscribers could see Fox shows disappear from their TV screens. 855 words, by Joe Flint (Times). APPLE -- A new tablet-style computer from Apple Inc. might be the first major launch in a new class of slate-like multimedia devices that could leapfrog the laptop -- or it might not. 780 words, by David Sarno (Times). Commentaries and news features are listed on the NEWSFEATURES-LAT-WP budget that moves daily at noon EST. 