AP - Hua Guofeng, who briefly ruled China as communist founder Mao Zedong's successor but was pushed aside as a prelude to reforms that launched an economic boom, died Wednesday at the age of 87, state-run media reported.

AP - LeRoi Moore, the versatile saxophonist whose signature staccato fused jazz and funk overtones onto the eclectic sound of the Dave Matthews Band, died Tuesday of complications from injuries he suffered in an all-terrain vehicle accident, the band said. He was 46.

AP - Maudie White Hopkins, who grew up during the Depression in the hardscrabble Ozarks and married a Confederate army veteran 67 years her senior, has died. She was 93.

AP - Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who broke the African tradition of silence and solidarity among leaders to denounce neighboring Zimbabwe's economic ruin, died in a French military hospital Tuesday. He was 59.

Reuters - Former Kentucky Derby winner Genuine Risk, the only filly to finish in the top three in all three U.S. Triple Crown races, died on Monday aged 31.

AP - James Hoyt, one of four U.S. soldiers who discovered the Buchenwald concentration camp as World War II neared its end, has died.

AP - Jerry Wexler not only coined the phrase rhythm and blues, the legendary music producer was one of the key architects of the genre. He revolutionized popular music with seminal, superstar-making recordings of acts such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and others.

AP - Jack A. Weil, founder of the Rockmount Ranch Wear company whose snap-buttoned Western shirts became popular with movie stars and rock icons, has died. He was 107.

AP - Bill Gwatney, who served stints as an Arkansas state senator, chairman of the state's Democratic Party and as a party superdelegate, died Wednesday after a gunman burst into his office at the state party headquarters and shot him several times. He was 48.

AP - A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches tall and was recognized as the world's tallest female died Wednesday, a friend said. She was 53.

AP - George Furth, an actor and playwright who wrote the book for the innovative Stephen Sondheim musical "Company," died Monday. He was 75.

AP - Former Austrian Chancellor Fred Sinowatz has died at the age of 79. The current chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, announced the death Monday. No cause was given.

AP - With its riveting orchestration, definitive guitar play and signature sensual baritone vocals, Isaac Hayes' theme song for the 1971 movie "Shaft" not only became one of pop music's iconic songs, but also the defining work of Hayes' career.