Radioactive alert prompts search of Aeroflot plane

NEW YORK -- Federal agents met an airliner from Moscow at Kennedy Airport on Wednesday after receiving a tip that it might have radioactive material on board, but nothing harmful was found, a U.S. Customs Service spokeswoman said.

Two passengers were detained briefly for questioning and were released, Customs spokeswoman Janet Rapaport said; no details on the passengers were released.

Customs officials had received information about the Aeroflot plane "possibly having radioactive materials on board," said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airports.

Congressman under fire for software letter

WASHINGTON -- A congressman from Microsoft Corp.'s home state was criticized Wednesday by the chairman of a House technology committee for an attack on the free software movement.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers had written a letter urging White House computer security adviser Richard Clarke to find sales opportunities for government-funded software projects. The letter had no mention of the issue of free software, also known as open-source or General Public License software.

But when Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., whose biggest political contributor is Microsoft, began circulating the letter to his fellow Democrats asking for their signatures, he added his own correspondence saying the free software philosophy is problematic.

Earthquake in Alaska jolts with 6.7 magnitude

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A strong earthquake rocked a broad swath of Alaska on Wednesday, waking people up hundreds of miles from the epicenter and knocking items off shelves but causing no major damage or injuries.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, hit at 3:27 a.m. and was centered about 30 miles southeast of Denali National Park.

It was felt as far as 350 miles away, said Bruce Tanner, a seismologist with the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer.

In Healy, just north of the park, Grandview Bed and Breakfast co-owner Shelly Acteson said the quake knocked just about everything off the walls and shelves.

"Usually they kind of roll, you can kind of hear them coming," she said. "This one sounded like it was kind of mad -- boom, boom, boom."

Cardinal Law tells priests of resignation thoughts

ARLINGTON, Mass. -- Cardinal Bernard Law said Wednesday that he had considered resigning over the Roman Catholic church's sex abuse scandal, but felt it was his duty to stay on and help fix the damage.

Law, who came under intense criticism since the scandal erupted in Boston in January for allegedly failing to remove sexually abusive priests, met Wednesday with hundreds of Boston Archdiocese priests for the second day.

Law said in April following a meeting with Pope John Paul II that he raised the possibility of resigning, but came away determined to stay on and repair the damage to the archdiocese.

He had been asked to consider resignation, said the Rev. Robert Bullock, the head of a priests group that has been critical of Law's leadership.

High school to be named for Sept. 11 hero Beamer

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Todd Beamer, who is believed to have led passengers against hijackers on United Airline Flight 93 after crying "Let's roll," will have his name on a new high school in Washington state.

The school board on Tuesday chose the Cranbury, N.J., native over famous Americans including American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, Martin Luther King Jr. and explorers Lewis and Clark.

A school in this suburb between Seattle and Tacoma will be named "Todd Beamer High School."

Beamer is famous for saying the words "Are you guys ready? Let's roll," after terrorists seized the plane on Sept. 11, 2001.

--From wire reports