Slipcovers: stylish and economical

One of interior designer Alan Collachicco's favorite memories ofhis grandmother comes from the first autumn she didn't remove herslipcovers.

Times were rough, and grandma did not have the money toreupholster the living room furniture.

So she simply left the slipcovers on, over the old upholstery,beyond the time when she would ordinarily have folded them up andstored them away.

"Oh, dear," she would say to her visitors, "I simply can't findthe time to take off those bloody baggies."

Collachicco didn't have the heart to tell his grandmother thathe loved her living room best when the baggy old slipcovers were on."It turned a formal house (a 1900 Big …

NATO to buy 5 US-made reconnaissance drones

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will buy U.S.-made reconnaissance drones and equipment for more than €1 billion ($1.3 billion) after the war in Libya highlighted shortcomings in its surveillance and targeting capabilities.

An alliance official said Wednesday the total included five of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Global Hawks, ground control stations, analysis equipment, and training for operators. He spoke on condition of anonymity following NATO rules.

The official said the order, which coincides with sharp defense cuts across the alliance, is expected to be signed in spring. Deliveries will take place between 2015 and 2017.

He said 13 NATO nations will band together to buy the …

Student from Kenya dies in US plane crash

A student from Kenya who hoped to become a missionary pilot in Africa after his studies at a U.S. was piloting a rented single-engine plane that crashed in a snowy corn field, killing him and a student passenger, the school said Monday.

Hope College students David Otai, 23, of Nairobi, Kenya, and Emma Biagioni, 20, of Illinois, were aboard the single engine Cessna 172 that crashed Sunday afternoon, said Hope spokesman Tom Renner.

Otai's mother helped run Africa Inland Missions, an air service to missions in central Africa. His goal was to qualify for a commercial pilot's license so he could fly for the service, Renner said.

"He wanted to …

SAY WHAT?

"(Gwyneth Paltrow) is very young and lives in a rarefied airthat's very thin . . . like she's not getting enough oxygen."

- Sharon Stone "We have Happy Meals on Daddy."

- Tammy Cain, of Brandon, Fla., who …

One United: largest black-owned bank

The Boston Bank of Commerce merged with Los Angeles-based Family Savings Bank recently, forming the largest black-owned bank in the country.

The new entity, dubbed OneUnited Bank, boasts $500 million in assets and operates branches in Massachusetts, California, and Florida.

OneUnited Senior Counsel Robert Cooper said the bank will use its increased capital and the loan expertise of the former Family employees to offer larger loans to inner-city customers.

Family offered a variety of loans, including mortgages to lower- and moderate-income families.

"We expanded to be able to make larger loans so people can expand their businesses and employ people," said …

Saturday's Olympic Beach Volleyball Results

Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, Netherlands, def. Martin Laciga and Jan Schnider, Switzerland, 21-14, 21-15.

Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego, Brazil, def. Morais Santos Abreu and Emanuel de Jesus R da Cos Fernandes, Angola, 21-8, 21-13.

Andrew Schacht and Joshua Slack, Australia, def. Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro, Georgia, 21-17, 21-19.

Martins Plavins and Aleksandrs Samoilovs, Latvia, def. Philip Dalhausser, Ventura, Calif., and Todd Rogers, Solvang, Calif., 21-19, 21-18.

Sascha Heyer and Patrick Heuscher, Switzerland, def. Mariano Joaquin Baracetti and Martin Alejo Conde, Argentina, 21-13, 21-17.

Eric Koreng and …

Clerk accused of taking store's money

Deputies say a clerk at a Fayette County tavern stole money fromthe register and then made up a story about a robbery to cover upher crime.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched Saturday morning to Bond'sTavern, located on W.Va. 61 in the Robson area, after a robbery wasreported, according to a press release from Sheriff Steve Kessler.

The clerk, identified as Deloris Jensen, told officers that a manwearing a ski mask came into the business, threw hot coffee on …