Ex-general to run for Senate in Texas

Former Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who oversaw coalition forces in Iraq before retiring in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, is running for Senate in Texas as a Democrat.

Sanchez announced the decision on his Facebook page on Wednesday and will file campaign paperwork in San Antonio. Sanchez said he could "think of no better way to continue my public service" than to run for Senate in Texas.

"Here in Texas too many families are struggling to get ahead," Sanchez wrote in a Facebook message to supporters. "Jobs are hard to find, our schools simply aren't good enough and increasing food and gas prices are breaking household budgets."

Italian police save 400 migrants off Lampedusa

Italian police and coast guard officials on Sunday rescued some 400 illegal migrants coming from Libya whose boat was tossed against rocks near port in southern Italy after the steering malfunctioned, officials said.

Images of the rescue showed panicked migrants jumping or falling into the choppy waters as their boat heaved in the waves off the tiny island of Lampedusa. Some managed to make their way to shore holding on to ropes that had been attached to the boat's stern; others were hauled up on shore by rescue crews in the water.

Across US, worldwide, free comics for readers

WILLOW GROVE, Pa. (AP) -- Fans of comics basked in a bounty of free issues as retailers from Los Angeles to London handed out thousands upon thousands of free copies Saturday for the 10th annual Free Comic Book Day.

Some stores opened early while others arranged for artists and writers, including top names like DC Comics' chief creative officer, Geoff Johns, Marvel writer Jonathan Hickman and IDW's Joe Hill, to not only show off their own titles but autograph and chat with fans on hand.

DUP, Sinn Fein triumph in Northern Ireland vote

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Northern Ireland's two major parties will return to power atop a joint Catholic-Protestant government with increased support for their policies of compromise and peacemaking, electoral returns Saturday showed.

The British Protestants of the Democratic Unionists and the Irish Catholics of Sinn Fein - bitter enemies for decades but, since 2007, partners in government - strengthened their hold on the Northern Ireland Assembly, the bedrock of the province's cross-community government.

With votes still being counted two days after Thursday's election, the Democratic Unionists were projected to win 38 seats and Sinn Fein 29, both modest improvements on their record-high 2007 performance.

China fines Unilever in inflation crackdown

BEIJING (AP) -- China's government said it fined consumer products maker Unilever for disrupting efforts to cool surging inflation by talking to Chinese media about expected price hikes for soap and triggering a buying rush.

The British-Dutch company was fined 2 million yuan ($308,000) for "spreading information about price rises and disrupting market pricing order," the Cabinet's planning agency said Friday.

Beijing has told companies to hold down price increases to help cool inflation that spiked to a 32-month high of 5.4 percent in March. The communist government has declared taming inflation its priority and has raised interest four times since October and imposed lending and investment curbs.