NEW YORK (AP) — The stock market continued its climb Wednesday, despite a handful of disappointing economic reports.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee rebuffed Democratic efforts Wednesday to keep the $80 billion-a-year food stamp program whole, as debate on the farm bill turned into a theological discourse on helping the poor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel informed President Barack Obama of the latest sexual assault allegations against a soldier who was assigned to prevent such crimes — the second soldier involved in similar accusations — and the president made clear he wants that behavior stopped, officials said Wednesday.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Appearing confident but sometimes emotional, O.J. Simpson testified Wednesday he did not know guns were involved in a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers that led to his conviction for armed robbery and kidnapping, and a sentence that could keep him behind bars for life.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly approved an Arab-backed resolution Wednesday calling for a political transition in Syria and strongly condemning President Bashar Assad's regime for its escalating use of heavy weapons.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is facing what is likely to be aggressive questioning by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee on topics ranging from the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at The Associated Press to the government's handling of intelligence before the Boston Marathon bombings.

RADCLIFF, Ky. (AP) — Quinton Higgins lost his best friend when the church bus he was riding in 25 years ago was turned into a fireball by a drunken driver on a Kentucky road, in what remains the nation's deadliest alcohol-related highway crash.