WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration needs to strengthen the security of domestic air cargo, Congressional investigators said in a report released on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Singers Lee Ann Womack and Keith Urban were the big winners at the Country Music Awards on Tuesday, held for the first time outside Nashville and transplanted to New York, a city that does not even have a country radio station.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Tuesday accepted a deal with Enron Corp. worth $1.5 billion to settle allegations that the fallen energy giant manipulated electricity supplies during the 2000-01 Western power crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major League Baseball and its players' union, under threat of U.S. congressional intervention, agreed on Tuesday to toughen penalties for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A pregnant 37-year-old Georgia woman who eloped with a 15-year-old boy was in jail on charges of child molestation, authorities in the southern state said on Tuesday.

BOSTON (Reuters) - An online auction of artwork by a serial sex killer triggered outrage in Massachusetts on Tuesday where lawmakers proposed to block criminals from profiting on what they called 'murderabilia,' setting off a debate on free speech rights of prisoners.

AP - A Chinese-American engineer and two family members who allegedly conspired to steal sensitive information about Navy warships and smuggle it to China were indicted Tuesday on federal charges, authorities said.

AP - The number of women interested in adopting children is up, but fewer of those women are acting on that impulse, a study being released Wednesday shows.

AP - A judge on Tuesday ordered the release of 12 sex criminals she said were illegally detained when they were sent to a psychiatric hospital on Gov. George Pataki's orders after their prison sentences ended.

AP - FEMA is stepping up the pressure on some 53,000 families left homeless by hurricanes to leave government-paid hotel rooms and find long-term housing.

AP - A Mega Millions ticket sold in Anaheim has won the $315 million grand prize.

AP - Congressional budget negotiators have decided to take back $125 million in Sept. 11 aid from New York, which had fought to keep the money to treat sick and injured ground zero workers, lawmakers said Tuesday.

AP - FEMA is stepping up the pressure on some 53,000 families left homeless by hurricanes to leave government-paid hotel rooms and find long-term housing.

USATODAY.com - Nearly all of the cargo in the nation's aviation system goes unchecked for explosives, and policies aimed at thwarting cargo bombs on passenger planes are flawed, according to a government report due out Wednesday.

AP - War protester Cindy Sheehan said Wednesday she was demanding a trial for demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

AP - An agreement to settle a bitter teacher strike in a school district east of Portland was reached early Wednesday, representatives for both sides said.

AP - Gov. Mitt Romney urged a nationwide focus on improving education, or else 'we'll end up being the France of the 21st century.'

AP - A woman says she still plans to marry the man who shot her in the groin and then held her hostage in his family's garage for six days.

AP - The grandmother of a 15-year-old who wed a 37-year-old woman said Wednesday that she doesn't want anything to do with her grandson's bride.

AP - A woman was stabbed to death in what police say is the first slaying in the city since Hurricane Katrina.

AP - Preparing for Hurricane Katrina, Wal-Mart stocked its shelves with food and water for Gulf Coast customers. Southern Company workers were readied to restore lost electricity. And the New Orleans Sheraton moved guests to safe areas in the hotel, fixing them hot meals and providing access to the news before they could be evacuated two days later.

AP - Ford Motor Co. recalled about 220,000 vehicles from the 2005 model year on Wednesday amid concerns that a battery cable was rubbing against the vehicle frame, potentially causing fires, and that a fuel tank strap could separate after logging tens of thousands of miles.

AP - A ticket sold in Anaheim matched all six numbers drawn for the multistate Mega Millions game, which had a jackpot of $315 million.

AP - A jury rejected a $24 million lawsuit brought by a former death row inmate who claimed Chicago police conspired to frame him for two murders.

AP - A couple slain in their home, allegedly by their daughter's 18-year-old boyfriend, are in "a better place," a church official said Wednesday.

AP - A kindergarten teacher found eight bags of heroin in a 5-year-old student's pocket, police said.

AP - The author of a sassy blog about the federal judiciary, 'Underneath Their Robes,' is no longer cloaked in mystery, and it turns out it's a federal prosecutor.

AP - Police said a woman was stabbed to death, prompting the first homicide investigation in the city since Hurricane Katrina.

AP - Guatemala's top anti-drug investigator, his deputy and another senior official were indicted here Wednesday on charges they conspired to import and distribute cocaine in the United States, U.S. officials said.

AP - Efforts to stem America's appetite for oil, nearly two-thirds of it imported, is getting new attention in Congress with a push from an unusual coalition of environmentalists, evangelical Christians and conservatives.

AP - A judge Wednesday ordered a mental evaluation for a 14-year-old boy being held in a school shooting that left an administrator dead and two others wounded.

AP - More than two months after Hurricane Katrina, all 21-year-old trumpeter Terrell Batiste has is a temporary home, a donated horn and a chance to eke out a living by playing New Orleans music in other parts of America.

AP - A rap music mogul and his brother laundered shopping bags of drug money for a notorious crack kingpin who was masquerading as a music executive, a federal prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.

AP - War protester Cindy Sheehan and several others pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

AP - The author of a sassy blog about the federal judiciary, 'Underneath Their Robes,' is no longer cloaked in mystery, and it turns out it's a federal prosecutor.

AP - Guatemala's top anti-drug investigator, his deputy and another senior official were indicted here Wednesday on charges they conspired to import and distribute cocaine in the United States, U.S. officials said.

AP - Turns out, the kids rocked after all. Nearly half of all eligible young voters cast ballots in the November 2004 election, raising their turnout rate by more than twice any other age group.

AP - Four of every 10 teachers hired in city school systems have something troubling in common, a study contends. They may not be wanted by the schools.

AP - DuPont Co. hid studies showing the risks of a Teflon-related chemical used to line candy wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags and hundreds of other food containers, according to internal company documents and a former employee.

AP - The House voted Wednesday to scold a San Francisco-based federal appeals court for dismissing a lawsuit by parents outraged that a school district surveyed their young children about sex.

AP - Tasha Henderson got tired of her 14-year-old daughter's poor grades, her chronic lateness to class and her talking back to her teachers, so she decided to teach the girl a lesson.

AP - An 18-year-old who's charged with killing his girlfriend's parents before fleeing with the 14-year-old girl is frightened and confused, his attorney said Wednesday.

AP - The federal charge against three Chinese immigrants — failing to register as foreign agents — is a far cry from what investigators first alleged: a broad plot to steal secrets behind U.S. warship technology.

AP - War protester Cindy Sheehan and several others return to court Thursday for the second day of trials on misdemeanor charges of demonstrating without a permit outside the White House.

AP - Amish farmers tracked down missing cattle and surveyed what remained of their barns Wednesday as residents across three Midwestern states began cleaning up the debris left behind by a deadly storm and its nearly three dozen tornadoes.

AP - West Virginia is doing away with high-proof grain alcohol, citing safety concerns raised by college officials and others.

AP - A "mountain" of evidence points to the guilt of a former auto mechanic charged with kidnapping, raping and killing 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, the prosecution said in closing arguments Wednesday.

AP - Reporters swarmed a gift shop Wednesday where a winning $315 million lottery ticket was sold, then shifted to a medical center in Garden Grove when they were told seven of its employees shared the golden ticket.