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Erroll Southers, President Obama's choice to head the Transportation Security Administration, withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday, dealing a setback to an agency still grappling with the security failures that led to an alleged attempted airliner bombing on Christmas Day. Southers, whose nomination had been blocked by Republican opposition, complained in a statement Wednesday that he had become a political lightning rod. ...

Erroll Southers, President Obama's choice to head the Transportation Security Administration, withdrew his name from consideration Wednesday, dealing a setback to an agency still grappling with the security failures that led to an alleged attempted airliner bombing on Christmas Day. Southers, whose nomination had been blocked by Republican opposition, complained in a statement Wednesday that he had become a political lightning rod. ...

Erroll G. Southers, assistant chief of airport police in Los Angeles, said Wednesday morning that he is withdrawing his nomination to lead the Transportation Security Administration. President Obama tapped Southers in September to lead the federal agency that helps protect airline passengers from terrorist attacks. In a statement, Southers said he is withdrawing because his nomination has become a lightning rod for those with a political agenda. His confirmation has been blocked by Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, who says he is worried Southers would allow TSA employees to join a labor union.

Inside the Washington Beltway, Erroll G. Southers, the assistant chief of airport police in Los Angeles, is mired in controversy over whether he should head the federal agency that helps protect airline passengers from terrorist attacks. In the last week, a band of Republican congressmen has dogged his nomination with questions about a reprimand he received 22 years ago as an FBI agent and whether he is qualified to oversee the Transportation Security Administration, a massive department with 45,000 screeners at 450 airports nationwide.

To James Kelly, the issue is simple: Better morale means improved safety. "They tell us we're at the front line of airline security, but we don't feel we're treated that way," says Kelly, a transport security officer at Los Angeles International Airport and a member of the American Federation of Government Employees. With holiday travel in full throttle, the public is coming into greater contact with Kelly and more than 40,000 airport screeners posted at X-ray machines, checkpoints and elsewhere in terminals nationwide.

The high school kids, so many of them, couldn't wait to get out of Spokane. They wanted to go to Seattle, with its music and caffeinated culture, leaving their outpost on the other side of the state in the rearview mirror. Adam Morrison made it OK not to leave. He stayed, and the former Gonzaga ball boy made it to the cover of Sports Illustrated at the age of 21. "I've always loved Spokane," Morrison said. "I've always thought it was a good place to grow up.