Alixa Naff, an early and pioneering historian who documented the lives of the first wave of Arab-American immigrants a century ago, has died after a brief illness. She was 93.

The price of oil rose Wednesday as a big drop in U.S. oil supplies offset concerns about a plunge in the stock market.

The American soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians, many of them women and children who were asleep in their villages, pleaded guilty to murder Wednesday and acknowledged to a judge that there was "not a good reason in this world" for his actions.

A federal judge in Philadelphia has made a dying 10-year-old eligible to seek donor lungs from an adult transplant list.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday accusing U.S. Bank of illegally handling customer funds from failed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group.

JOB GAINS INCREASE: Payroll provider ADP said U.S. businesses added just 135,000 jobs in May, slightly more than April's revised 113,000.

GROWTH INCREASES: A Federal Reserve survey says economic growth increased around the country from April through late May. Eleven the Fed's banking regions reported "modest to moderate" growth, while Dallas reported strong growth.

The New York City Pension Funds plans to vote against nine of Wal-Mart's 14 board nominees at the retailer's annual shareholder meeting Friday.

Stronger home construction, increases in consumer spending and steady hiring helped economic growth increase throughout the United States from April through late May, according to a Federal Reserve survey released Wednesday.

WASHINGTON

An aspiring half-marathon runner in Minnesota attributed her unbearable back pain to a two-hour training session. A day later, she was cradling a newborn.

Firefighters say one person has been killed in a building collapse in downtown Philadelphia.

The 15-year-old daughter of Michael Jackson is physically fine after being taken to a hospital early Wednesday, an attorney for Jackson's mother said.

Major League Baseball has begun interviewing players linked to a Miami anti-aging clinic that allegedly sold performance-enhancing drugs and became the focus of the sport's investigation.

Before reaching the top of basketball, LeBron James was run over by the San Antonio Spurs.

Penn State's trustees are on a mission to promote the reforms they have enacted as a result of the Jerry Sandusky child molestation scandal, hoping their record might persuade the NCAA to reconsider its crippling penalties against the university before they are due to expire in 2018.

Rutgers incoming athletic director Julie Hermann says the problems she encountered as a women's volleyball coach at Tennessee are part of the reason she's a good fit as a sports administrator.

Retiring Ohio State University President Gordon Gee attempted to make his departure personal on Wednesday, citing everything from his age to his 7-month-old twin granddaughters to a California girlfriend as reasons for his abrupt departure next month.

The last time Chris Bosh played against the San Antonio Spurs, he was offensively brilliant.

Holden Thorp is packing up after nearly five years as chancellor at the University of North Carolina, preparing for his next job as provost at Washington University in St. Louis.