Huffington Wires | AP

— Alinghi of Switzerland has confirmed it will use a giant catamaran when it defends the America's Cup against bitter U.S. rival BMW Oracle Racing early next year.

The catamaran is 90 feet long on the waterline, but a bowsprit makes it much longer. The high-tech craft was built in Villeneuve, Switzerland, and will be launched by helicopter on Lake Geneva this coming week before undergoing testing.

NEW YORK — When owners of the Empire State Building decided to blanket its towering facade this year with thousands of insulating windows, they were only partly interested in saving energy.

They also needed tenants.

DUBLIN, Ireland — The head of an Irish humanitarian aid agency appealed Saturday for the release of two of its employees kidnapped in Darfur.

John O'Shea, chief executive of GOAL, said the group had not heard from the abductors of Irishwoman Sharon Commins, 32, and her Ugandan colleague, Hilda Kuwuki, 42. The international peacekeeping mission in the troubled desert region said they were abducted by gunmen in the Kutum area of north Darfur on Friday.

WIMBLEDON, England — A year ago, plenty of people were feeling sorry for Roger Federer.

They were sending him letters with good wishes or _ believe it or not _ tennis tips. They were offering advice about how to deal with a perceived drop in performance and ideas for how to beat Rafael Nadal.

LIMON, Colo. — For Joe Kiely, the drone of thousands of trucks passing his Colorado plains town signals economic prosperity.

The caravans carrying billions of dollars worth of goods move along a 2,300-mile, mostly rural, two-lane trade route from Mexico to Canada, and frequently stop in on towns like Limon (LY-min) and bring business to their hotels, truck stops, gas stations and fast food restaurants.

NAWA, Afghanistan — Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Marines carry 50-100 pounds (23-45 kilograms) on their backs. But because they are marching through farmland on foot, they can't carry nearly as much water as their thirst demands.

MARION, Ill. — Once the nation's most secure prison, the federal lockup in southern Illinois has housed everyone from spies to a Colombian druglord to dapper mob boss John Gotti.

Now the mayor of Marion hopes to roll out the welcome mat for a new set of accused criminals: Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects.

— A date doesn't need to break the bank, especially as potential partners are increasingly likely to value substance over style during the recession.

These tips will help you whittle the costs of wooing and give the phrase "cheap date" new meaning.

MADISON, Wis. — As lawmakers in cash-strapped states wrestled this year with revenues that kept on falling, both campaign promises and long-standing reform efforts got pushed to the side. There just wasn't enough time or money to expand health care or improve education _ or, in Rhode Island, finally get around to banning indoor prostitution _ while also passing a budget.

In California, where lawmakers failed last week to solve the state's whopping $24.3 billion deficit by the start of the new fiscal year, they can't legally do anything else. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had declared a fiscal state of emergency that prevents the Legislature from taking action on anything but the budget until the state's fiscal crisis is resolved.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — With a fattened GI Bill covering full tuition and more, the number of veterans attending college this fall is expected to jump 30 percent from last year to nearly half a million. That's left many universities looking for ways to ease the transition from combat to the classroom.

Vets already in school have run into problems including campus bureaucracy, crowds that can trigger alarm instincts honed by war and fellow students who don't understand their battlefield experiences.

CHICAGO — Credit the recession for staycations and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates.

Economic woes, it seems, unleash something practically primal in many of us who find ourselves without a partner: a hard-wired desire for companionship.

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LONDON — The wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has joined thousands of revelers in London's annual gay pride march.

Sarah Brown held a red, white and pink version of the Union Jack as the noisy parade wound through the city center before a rally and concert in Trafalgar Square.

ROME — Protesters have clashed with police at a demonstration against the planned expansion of an airport and U.S. military base in the northern city of Vicenza.

Demonstrators wearing helmets and carrying plastic shields threw stones and other objects at police guarding a bridge on the route of the protest. Police fired tear gas canisters and clubbed some demonstrators, but no injuries were immediately reported.

WASHINGTON — Colin Powell worries that President Barack Obama is trying to tackle too many big issues at one time and he offers this advice: take a hard look at costs and consider the additional red tape that will be created.

"The right answer is, `Give me a government that works,'" the former secretary of state said in a television interview to be aired Sunday. "Keep it as small as possible," added Powell, who said he has spoken recently with Obama and stays in touch with him. Powell, a Republican, endorsed Obama last year over the GOP presidential nominee, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

OCRACOKE, N.C. — Authorities say a fireworks explosion on a North Carolina island only reachable by ferry has injured several people.

Hyde County spokeswoman Jamie Tunnel says she isn't sure how many people were hurt or how badly they were injured after a truck carrying fireworks exploded Saturday on the Ocracoke Island docks.

HENLEY, England — Princeton and Brown have advanced to the final of the Temple Cup for student eights at the Henley Royal Regatta on the river Thames in London.

Princeton beat Amsterdamsche Studenten Roeivereeniging Nereus of Holland by three-quarters of a length on Saturday and Brown beat Melbourne University of Australia by 2 1/4 lengths to set up Sunday's all-American final, the only one at this year's regatta.

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican ran a deficit in 2008 as its finances and donations from across the world were hit by the global economic crisis.

The Vatican posted a budget deficit for a second straight year. The Holy See's 2008 deficit was around euro0.9 million ($1.28 million), an improvement on last year's loss of euro9.06 million.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Think of the most popular brands in celebrity news, and you'll probably come up with a small list that includes Entertainment Tonight, US Weekly and People.

Consider the most successful celebrity news destinations online, and something else jumps to the top. For more than a year, one site has attracted more eyeballs than any other in the realm of celebrity gossip: Yahoo Inc.'s omg.

JERUSALEM — An Israeli defense official says Defense Minister Ehud Barak is to hold a second round of talks with U.S. special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell next week in an effort to resolve differences between the two sides on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as neither Israel or the U.S. has made a formal announcement. He said the meeting was expected to take place in London on Monday, less than a week after Barak and Mitchell met in New York.

LONDON — Telecoms company BT Group PLC is offering staff a year off work in return for a 75 percent cut in that year's pay.

BT is one of Britain's biggest companies, with more than 100,000 employees. It is trying to cut costs after posting a net loss of almost 1 billion pounds ($1.6 billion) for the first three months of 2009.

WASHINGTON — Colin Powell says Michael Jackson had controversy in his life, but in death his art should be celebrated.

The retired general and former secretary of state said he was in Vietnam, Korea or stationed elsewhere during Jackson's heyday.

BELMAR, N.J. — Roll up to an intersection in many places and the street sign you see might not only tell you to stop, yield or turn in a certain direction: It might also advertise a taco joint, a surf shop, a miracle diet, a political candidate, or urge tourists to go home.

From the boardwalks of the New Jersey shore to the desert metropolises of Arizona and Texas, many street signs and light poles are covered with illegal advertising stickers.

ST JOHN'S, Antigua — A firm appointed by Antiguan authorities to liquidate the assets of R. Allen Stanford's offshore Caribbean bank has won control of assets in the U.K. worth more than $100 million, a defeat for a U.S.-appointed receiver in an ongoing fight over jurisdiction in the case.

U.K.-based Vantis Business Recovery Services said Friday the High Court of Justice ruling allows it to proceed with its effort to collect Stanford assets from around the world and distribute them to thousands of investors who purchased the allegedly fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank Ltd. The assets have been frozen by Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

ST JOHN'S, Antigua — A firm appointed by Antiguan authorities to liquidate the assets of R. Allen Stanford's offshore Caribbean bank has won control of assets in the U.K. worth more than $100 million, a defeat for a U.S.-appointed receiver in an ongoing fight over jurisdiction in the case.

U.K.-based Vantis Business Recovery Services said Friday the High Court of Justice ruling allows it to proceed with its effort to collect Stanford assets from around the world and distribute them to thousands of investors who purchased the allegedly fraudulent certificates of deposit issued by Stanford International Bank Ltd. The assets have been frozen by Britain's Serious Fraud Office.