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Panhandle Residents Prepare for Ivan; Jamaican Village Mourns Hurricane Victims; "Batman's" Palace Siege Ends; GPS & Peterson Case; NYC Fashion Week
Aired September 13, 2004 - 14:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now -- preparing for a hurricane's wrath. Residents along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama's Gulf coast are boarding up homes and making plans to evacuate. Forecasters believe Ivan will head toward the Florida/Alabama line by Wednesday night. And new information just in the last half hour shows Ivan remains a dangerous Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of up to 160 miles per hour.
Here's the first picture of President Clinton since his heart surgery. The former president underwent a four-hour-long quadruple- bypass operation just one week ago. Doctors say it will be several months before Clinton is back to 100 percent.
And take a look at this. Just a few moment ago, a man who scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace in a Batman costume was brought down in a cherry picker. He's part of a group calling itself Fathers 4 Justice.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The opposite ends of Florida have opposite perspectives on Ivan today. While the Keys breathe easy, the Panhandle considers Ivan very much a front-burner issue. The same area, remember, is drying out from Frances just a week ago.
CNN's Susan Candiotti tells us winds in Panama City Beach are already gusting in excess of 35 miles an hour. And officials add it doesn't take much anymore to make coastal Floridians board up and hunker down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN DALY, PANAMA CITY BEACH P.D.: I think this hurricane season has prepared Bay County. We've seen what has happened in south and central Florida, and my sense is no one's taking anything for granted.
You can see houses are boarded up. The lines at the home improvement stores were long yesterday. And so, people are preparing. You could sense that at the meeting in the emergency center yesterday that people are taking this serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wherever Ivan goes, whatever it does, you'll see and hear about it first right here on CNN. And Jamaica is still reeling from Ivan's wrath. Among the 17 people killed were children -- tiny victims swept away in a tidal surge.
CNN's Karl Penhaul visited one of the worst hit communities. And we want to caution you that you may find some of these emotional images pretty disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The storm has passed, but the time for grieving is just beginning. Minutes before we reached the fishing community of Portland Cottage, villages had just found three more bodies killed when Hurricane Ivan whipped up the tidal surge.
One of the dead -- two-year-old Lissan Thompson was snatched right out of her mother's arms by the raging flood waters.
REBECCA EDWARDS, MOTHER OF VICTIMS: The big water came again and just flushed her out of my hand. She disappeared out of my hand, and I cannot find her because it was night and the place was very dark.
PENHAUL: Her husband Uroy was carrying their other daughter, Tiffany. She drowned, too, when the tide dragged her from her father's arms.
UROY THOMPSON, FATHER OF VICTIMS: I had three babies. One on my right arm, and I had a little girl on my left arm. She was behind me and had a little baby in her arm.
PENHAUL: Through their tears and pain, the true horror of that night becomes clear.
(on camera): Imagine this: It's pitch black outside, close to midnight, and the floodwaters are already waist high. And then, a huge wave comes rushing in from the sea.
(voice-over): This is what's left of the village. Edwards and her husband take us back to the ruins of their wood home. She finds her only surviving son, Jerome, playing in the receding floodwaters. Their possessions were wrecked by the wind-lashed waves. A Ziploc bag failed to protect the birth certificates of her dead daughters. Tiffany and Lissan's tiny shoes still lay in the corner.
Neighbor Dawn Williams also tried to flee to safety the night the hurricane struck. She survived; her eight-year-old son Antowain drowned.
DAWN WILLIAMS, MOTHER OF VICTIM: The water was high, high, high, so we still don't know what to do. So, we was trying to turn back, but the water was coming very fast. And I have my little boy in my hand, hold him very tight, and a wave of water come, splash him away out of my hand.
PENHAUL: She says she spent eight hours in the water clinging to a tree branch, holding on for dear life. Her mother drowned.
The police come and stretcher away the corpses. Nobody seems to know what's next for the living or the dead.
Karl Penhaul and the camera of Neil Hallsworth (ph), CNN, Portland Cottage, Jamaica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Security breach in London, Buckingham Batman caper has been foiled. ITN's Harry Smith brings us the latest wrap.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY SMITH, REPORTER, ITN (voice-over): The famous balcony has seen great celebrations before, but never one like this. Despite the comic book costume, this is a deadly serious business, especially for those who'll now have to explain how it happened.
Explain how, at a time of heightened alerts over possible terrorist attacks, one man in fancy dress was able to make a mockery of Palace security.
The protest appears to have been organized with almost military precision. Just before 3:00 this afternoon, a group of protesters created a diversion by running at the front gates and trying to climb over the fence. As they were being tackled by police, a car was pulling up around the side of the Palace.
Using an aluminum ladder, Batman, helped by several other protesters, scaled the fence where it meets the brick wall. He then walked along the wall and back around the side of the palace along a narrow ledge all the way to within a few feet of the balcony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were cameras, there are security staff, there royalty and diplomatic protection officers, there are Coldstream guards, there is a whole army of people that should be looking out for this kind of thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (on camera): As you can see behind me, detectives are now examining every inch of the area where the security breach first took place. But whatever the outcome of that investigation, there is no doubt this is a major embarrassment for the security authorities.
(voice-over): And it follows a long line of security failures at royal palaces. There was the undercover reporter who got a job as a footman. There was Aaron Barschack who gatecrashed Prince Williams' birthday party. And one of the most infamous intruders, Michael Fagan, who broke into the queen's bedroom and sat on her bed, chatting to her.
As they removed the ladder used in this latest breach, the question tonight, did they learn anything from previous mistakes?
Harry Smith, ITV News, Buckingham Palace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We can only hope so. Well, secretly tracking Scott Peterson, we'll go live to California next where a court is back in session.
Plus more green than red for retailers this holiday season. A shopping forecast, that is ahead as well.
And if you want to save up for one of the most glamorous outfits of the season, find out how much dough it will take. We're LIVE FROM New York at Fashion Week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Jurors in the Scott Peterson trial are getting a lesson in satellite tracking devices today. They've been listening to testimony on the reliability of a GPS used to track Peterson following his wife's death.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is live outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
What have you heard so far, Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the GPS technology is considered to be, according to the witnesses brought up by the prosecution, to very reliable. They brought a company founder and a company employee, one of the inventors of this particular device that was used to trace Scott Peterson's movements up to testify as to the accuracy of this technology.
They also did -- the prosecution touched on where Peterson went in the days and weeks following his wife's disappearance, particularly they want to emphasize to the jury that Peterson made several trips to the Berkeley Marina they believe is suspicious.
They're hoping the jury will think so as well. Peterson of course fished in the San Francisco Bay near the Berkeley Marina the day that his wife was reported missing. And Laci Peterson and Conner Peterson's remains were found outside of the San Francisco Bay. So they're hoping this technology will go towards their advantage.
Meanwhile, the judge in this case has entered into an ongoing feud between the Peterson and the Rocha family, a feud that started last week. This morning Scott Peterson's father and mother were escorted into the courthouse by sheriff deputies.
This comes in the wake of words being exchanged between Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha last Thursday in front of the metal detector at the courthouse here in Redwood City, the day before Lee Peterson got into a little war of words with Ron Grantski, that is Laci Peterson's stepfather. Apparently the judge got wind of it and according to a source close to the families, on Thursday, he issued an order demanding that the families be brought in with sheriff deputies on their sides so that there would be no interaction between the families. He also ordered that they sit in the back of the courtroom.
In fact today, there were seats at the back of the courtroom for both families. The Petersons actually sat in them for a while until a bailiff came up and said that the judge changed his mind and then go back to their front row seats.
The Rocha family, Betty, did not show up to court at all today.
NGUYEN: Ted any indication as to what that original war of words was all about?
ROWLANDS: Well, apparently according to an eyewitness to the first exchange, it started with Ron Grantski and Lee Peterson, they were trading barbs up at the top of an escalator. The next day Brent Rocha apparently came up to Lee Peterson and said something to him. He responded in kind, and according to a family source last week it was quote, "getting out of hand," and then that's when the judge found out about it and issued this ruling.
I think it's safe to say that both families are going to adhere to this judge's orders and stay away from each other for the rest of these proceedings.
NGUYEN: Make sense. Ted Rowlands in California, thank you for that -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, Santa might be getting a little extra generous this year. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with a little early holiday shopping forecast. Santa's always good to Rhonda.
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Rhonda, if you and I did spend some time in Vegas, Santa definitely wouldn't be visiting us in December. Rhonda? Oh, I lost -- lost her IFB. Figures.
Well, if you've got cash to spend, head over to Fashion Week. The world's top designers want to tempt with you their new looks. We're going check out the price tags and check out our audio situation right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC -- "AND ALL THAT JAZZ)
PHILLIPS: And checking entertainment headlines this Monday. We know that music well. Broadway lyricist Fred Ebb is being remembered today for the words that he penned for that musical, "Chicago." He died over the weekend of a heart attack. You'll also remember, he helped co-write the scores for 11 Broadway musicals. He's believed to be 76, but was often vague about his age.
Simon Cowell may be singing the blues. The surly "American Idol" judge is being sued. The creator of "Idol" claims that he was ripping off his format at his new talent show called "X-Factor." Well, the British show aired last weekend. It features Cowell and Sharon Osbourne as judges.
And it was an action-packed weekend at the movies. The sci-fi sequel "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" debuted at number one with nearly $24 million in tickets. The thriller "Cellular," with Kim Basinger, opened in second, and the comedy "Without a Paddle" slipped to third.
NGUYEN: All right. It's not even officially fall yet, but the question is: What will you be wearing for spring? Top designers are showing off their Spring 2005 collections on the catwalks of Fashion Week.
CNN's own fashionista Alina Cho is live in New York, always looking marvelous. Hi there, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Betty. I don't know about fashionista, but I try -- at least today, I am.
Yes, it is hard to keep the seasons straight. We're heading into fall, but we are looking ahead to spring 2005. We're backstage at the Anna Sui show, where we saw very feminine looks in an "Urban Cowboy" sort of way, if that makes sense.
And as we look ahead to spring 2005, we are seeing a return to femininity -- lots of color and lots of dresses. Joining us now to talk a bit more about this, Kate Betts, editor of "TIME Style & Design."
Kate, this seems to be the year of the dress.
KATE BETTS, EDITOR, "TIME STYLE & DESIGN": Yes, it is. And it's everywhere from this -- sort of Anna Sui's western inspiration to the sort of 1930s ladylike long tea dress, which we saw Derek Lam yesterday, a newcomer on the scene here.
CHO: I know you were at the Oscar de la Renta show. I was, as well. Lots of color. Beautiful colors and flow-y dresses. Lots of chiffon, too, right?
BETTS: Lots of details. Lots of embroidery. Very, very feminine, beautiful clothes. Very expensive clothes, but very beautiful nonetheless.
CHO: And let's talk a little bit about that, because not everyone can afford these runway looks. What does an average runway look cost? I suppose you'll say it depends on the designer.
BETTS: Well, it does. I mean, Anna Sui, for example, is a little more affordable. It's a younger look. I would say it ranges from like $300 for a jacket to maybe, I don't know, $700 for a full suit. Whereas somebody like Oscar, when you get into all that embroidery and the feathers and the details and the tailoring, you know, that goes up into the 3,000 range, I would say.
CHO: And the evening gowns even more?
BETTS: Yes, I don't even know. That's off -- that's off the charts.
CHO: Fifteen thousand, something like that.
Let's talk a little bit about what you buy if you can't afford these looks, because many people cannot. So, what are the key pieces for spring 2005?
BETTS: Well, I think the thing that's most important this season is the dress, and we have certainly seen a lot of those. And that is something that will trickle down to all price points. And it's something that, you know, you will see in chiffon, in beautiful patterns, florals, maybe a little ethnic influence that we saw at Oscar this morning.
But I think the dress is the major statement for spring.
CHO: All right. Kate Betts, editor of "TIME Style & Design." Pretty dress and a pretty color. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All about the dress for spring. OK. Thank you, Alina Cho -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, that does it for LIVE FROM today. A special edition of "INSIDE POLITICS." It's the new time, two hours -- or no, we end in two hours. Judy starts now. It's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Hurricane Ivan continues pushing toward Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The Category 5 storm is about 70 miles to the south- southeast of Cuba's western edge right now. The National Hurricane Center says hurricane-force winds stretch out 100 miles from the center of that storm.
A letter rigged to ignite when opened was intercepted before reaching the office of the governor of Virginia. A letter to the governor of West Virginia was also intercepted. Governors' offices in at least 15 other states got similar letters last week. The return address on the letter is a maximum security prison in Nevada.
Batman played the Palace today. A man dressed like the Caped Crusader was plucked from a perch on a balcony at London's Buckingham Palace. The rights group Fathers 4 Justice says the protester is Jason Hutch. Well, London's police chief wants an investigation to find out how he got past tight security to even get up there.
Now, straight ahead, a special expanded edition of "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 13, 2004 - 14:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: In the news now -- preparing for a hurricane's wrath. Residents along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama's Gulf coast are boarding up homes and making plans to evacuate. Forecasters believe Ivan will head toward the Florida/Alabama line by Wednesday night. And new information just in the last half hour shows Ivan remains a dangerous Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of up to 160 miles per hour.
Here's the first picture of President Clinton since his heart surgery. The former president underwent a four-hour-long quadruple- bypass operation just one week ago. Doctors say it will be several months before Clinton is back to 100 percent.
And take a look at this. Just a few moment ago, a man who scaled the walls of Buckingham Palace in a Batman costume was brought down in a cherry picker. He's part of a group calling itself Fathers 4 Justice.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The opposite ends of Florida have opposite perspectives on Ivan today. While the Keys breathe easy, the Panhandle considers Ivan very much a front-burner issue. The same area, remember, is drying out from Frances just a week ago.
CNN's Susan Candiotti tells us winds in Panama City Beach are already gusting in excess of 35 miles an hour. And officials add it doesn't take much anymore to make coastal Floridians board up and hunker down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JOHN DALY, PANAMA CITY BEACH P.D.: I think this hurricane season has prepared Bay County. We've seen what has happened in south and central Florida, and my sense is no one's taking anything for granted.
You can see houses are boarded up. The lines at the home improvement stores were long yesterday. And so, people are preparing. You could sense that at the meeting in the emergency center yesterday that people are taking this serious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wherever Ivan goes, whatever it does, you'll see and hear about it first right here on CNN. And Jamaica is still reeling from Ivan's wrath. Among the 17 people killed were children -- tiny victims swept away in a tidal surge.
CNN's Karl Penhaul visited one of the worst hit communities. And we want to caution you that you may find some of these emotional images pretty disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The storm has passed, but the time for grieving is just beginning. Minutes before we reached the fishing community of Portland Cottage, villages had just found three more bodies killed when Hurricane Ivan whipped up the tidal surge.
One of the dead -- two-year-old Lissan Thompson was snatched right out of her mother's arms by the raging flood waters.
REBECCA EDWARDS, MOTHER OF VICTIMS: The big water came again and just flushed her out of my hand. She disappeared out of my hand, and I cannot find her because it was night and the place was very dark.
PENHAUL: Her husband Uroy was carrying their other daughter, Tiffany. She drowned, too, when the tide dragged her from her father's arms.
UROY THOMPSON, FATHER OF VICTIMS: I had three babies. One on my right arm, and I had a little girl on my left arm. She was behind me and had a little baby in her arm.
PENHAUL: Through their tears and pain, the true horror of that night becomes clear.
(on camera): Imagine this: It's pitch black outside, close to midnight, and the floodwaters are already waist high. And then, a huge wave comes rushing in from the sea.
(voice-over): This is what's left of the village. Edwards and her husband take us back to the ruins of their wood home. She finds her only surviving son, Jerome, playing in the receding floodwaters. Their possessions were wrecked by the wind-lashed waves. A Ziploc bag failed to protect the birth certificates of her dead daughters. Tiffany and Lissan's tiny shoes still lay in the corner.
Neighbor Dawn Williams also tried to flee to safety the night the hurricane struck. She survived; her eight-year-old son Antowain drowned.
DAWN WILLIAMS, MOTHER OF VICTIM: The water was high, high, high, so we still don't know what to do. So, we was trying to turn back, but the water was coming very fast. And I have my little boy in my hand, hold him very tight, and a wave of water come, splash him away out of my hand.
PENHAUL: She says she spent eight hours in the water clinging to a tree branch, holding on for dear life. Her mother drowned.
The police come and stretcher away the corpses. Nobody seems to know what's next for the living or the dead.
Karl Penhaul and the camera of Neil Hallsworth (ph), CNN, Portland Cottage, Jamaica.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Security breach in London, Buckingham Batman caper has been foiled. ITN's Harry Smith brings us the latest wrap.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY SMITH, REPORTER, ITN (voice-over): The famous balcony has seen great celebrations before, but never one like this. Despite the comic book costume, this is a deadly serious business, especially for those who'll now have to explain how it happened.
Explain how, at a time of heightened alerts over possible terrorist attacks, one man in fancy dress was able to make a mockery of Palace security.
The protest appears to have been organized with almost military precision. Just before 3:00 this afternoon, a group of protesters created a diversion by running at the front gates and trying to climb over the fence. As they were being tackled by police, a car was pulling up around the side of the Palace.
Using an aluminum ladder, Batman, helped by several other protesters, scaled the fence where it meets the brick wall. He then walked along the wall and back around the side of the palace along a narrow ledge all the way to within a few feet of the balcony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were cameras, there are security staff, there royalty and diplomatic protection officers, there are Coldstream guards, there is a whole army of people that should be looking out for this kind of thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (on camera): As you can see behind me, detectives are now examining every inch of the area where the security breach first took place. But whatever the outcome of that investigation, there is no doubt this is a major embarrassment for the security authorities.
(voice-over): And it follows a long line of security failures at royal palaces. There was the undercover reporter who got a job as a footman. There was Aaron Barschack who gatecrashed Prince Williams' birthday party. And one of the most infamous intruders, Michael Fagan, who broke into the queen's bedroom and sat on her bed, chatting to her.
As they removed the ladder used in this latest breach, the question tonight, did they learn anything from previous mistakes?
Harry Smith, ITV News, Buckingham Palace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: We can only hope so. Well, secretly tracking Scott Peterson, we'll go live to California next where a court is back in session.
Plus more green than red for retailers this holiday season. A shopping forecast, that is ahead as well.
And if you want to save up for one of the most glamorous outfits of the season, find out how much dough it will take. We're LIVE FROM New York at Fashion Week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Jurors in the Scott Peterson trial are getting a lesson in satellite tracking devices today. They've been listening to testimony on the reliability of a GPS used to track Peterson following his wife's death.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is live outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
What have you heard so far, Ted?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the GPS technology is considered to be, according to the witnesses brought up by the prosecution, to very reliable. They brought a company founder and a company employee, one of the inventors of this particular device that was used to trace Scott Peterson's movements up to testify as to the accuracy of this technology.
They also did -- the prosecution touched on where Peterson went in the days and weeks following his wife's disappearance, particularly they want to emphasize to the jury that Peterson made several trips to the Berkeley Marina they believe is suspicious.
They're hoping the jury will think so as well. Peterson of course fished in the San Francisco Bay near the Berkeley Marina the day that his wife was reported missing. And Laci Peterson and Conner Peterson's remains were found outside of the San Francisco Bay. So they're hoping this technology will go towards their advantage.
Meanwhile, the judge in this case has entered into an ongoing feud between the Peterson and the Rocha family, a feud that started last week. This morning Scott Peterson's father and mother were escorted into the courthouse by sheriff deputies.
This comes in the wake of words being exchanged between Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha last Thursday in front of the metal detector at the courthouse here in Redwood City, the day before Lee Peterson got into a little war of words with Ron Grantski, that is Laci Peterson's stepfather. Apparently the judge got wind of it and according to a source close to the families, on Thursday, he issued an order demanding that the families be brought in with sheriff deputies on their sides so that there would be no interaction between the families. He also ordered that they sit in the back of the courtroom.
In fact today, there were seats at the back of the courtroom for both families. The Petersons actually sat in them for a while until a bailiff came up and said that the judge changed his mind and then go back to their front row seats.
The Rocha family, Betty, did not show up to court at all today.
NGUYEN: Ted any indication as to what that original war of words was all about?
ROWLANDS: Well, apparently according to an eyewitness to the first exchange, it started with Ron Grantski and Lee Peterson, they were trading barbs up at the top of an escalator. The next day Brent Rocha apparently came up to Lee Peterson and said something to him. He responded in kind, and according to a family source last week it was quote, "getting out of hand," and then that's when the judge found out about it and issued this ruling.
I think it's safe to say that both families are going to adhere to this judge's orders and stay away from each other for the rest of these proceedings.
NGUYEN: Make sense. Ted Rowlands in California, thank you for that -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, Santa might be getting a little extra generous this year. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with a little early holiday shopping forecast. Santa's always good to Rhonda.
(MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: Rhonda, if you and I did spend some time in Vegas, Santa definitely wouldn't be visiting us in December. Rhonda? Oh, I lost -- lost her IFB. Figures.
Well, if you've got cash to spend, head over to Fashion Week. The world's top designers want to tempt with you their new looks. We're going check out the price tags and check out our audio situation right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC -- "AND ALL THAT JAZZ)
PHILLIPS: And checking entertainment headlines this Monday. We know that music well. Broadway lyricist Fred Ebb is being remembered today for the words that he penned for that musical, "Chicago." He died over the weekend of a heart attack. You'll also remember, he helped co-write the scores for 11 Broadway musicals. He's believed to be 76, but was often vague about his age.
Simon Cowell may be singing the blues. The surly "American Idol" judge is being sued. The creator of "Idol" claims that he was ripping off his format at his new talent show called "X-Factor." Well, the British show aired last weekend. It features Cowell and Sharon Osbourne as judges.
And it was an action-packed weekend at the movies. The sci-fi sequel "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" debuted at number one with nearly $24 million in tickets. The thriller "Cellular," with Kim Basinger, opened in second, and the comedy "Without a Paddle" slipped to third.
NGUYEN: All right. It's not even officially fall yet, but the question is: What will you be wearing for spring? Top designers are showing off their Spring 2005 collections on the catwalks of Fashion Week.
CNN's own fashionista Alina Cho is live in New York, always looking marvelous. Hi there, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Betty. I don't know about fashionista, but I try -- at least today, I am.
Yes, it is hard to keep the seasons straight. We're heading into fall, but we are looking ahead to spring 2005. We're backstage at the Anna Sui show, where we saw very feminine looks in an "Urban Cowboy" sort of way, if that makes sense.
And as we look ahead to spring 2005, we are seeing a return to femininity -- lots of color and lots of dresses. Joining us now to talk a bit more about this, Kate Betts, editor of "TIME Style & Design."
Kate, this seems to be the year of the dress.
KATE BETTS, EDITOR, "TIME STYLE & DESIGN": Yes, it is. And it's everywhere from this -- sort of Anna Sui's western inspiration to the sort of 1930s ladylike long tea dress, which we saw Derek Lam yesterday, a newcomer on the scene here.
CHO: I know you were at the Oscar de la Renta show. I was, as well. Lots of color. Beautiful colors and flow-y dresses. Lots of chiffon, too, right?
BETTS: Lots of details. Lots of embroidery. Very, very feminine, beautiful clothes. Very expensive clothes, but very beautiful nonetheless.
CHO: And let's talk a little bit about that, because not everyone can afford these runway looks. What does an average runway look cost? I suppose you'll say it depends on the designer.
BETTS: Well, it does. I mean, Anna Sui, for example, is a little more affordable. It's a younger look. I would say it ranges from like $300 for a jacket to maybe, I don't know, $700 for a full suit. Whereas somebody like Oscar, when you get into all that embroidery and the feathers and the details and the tailoring, you know, that goes up into the 3,000 range, I would say.
CHO: And the evening gowns even more?
BETTS: Yes, I don't even know. That's off -- that's off the charts.
CHO: Fifteen thousand, something like that.
Let's talk a little bit about what you buy if you can't afford these looks, because many people cannot. So, what are the key pieces for spring 2005?
BETTS: Well, I think the thing that's most important this season is the dress, and we have certainly seen a lot of those. And that is something that will trickle down to all price points. And it's something that, you know, you will see in chiffon, in beautiful patterns, florals, maybe a little ethnic influence that we saw at Oscar this morning.
But I think the dress is the major statement for spring.
CHO: All right. Kate Betts, editor of "TIME Style & Design." Pretty dress and a pretty color. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All about the dress for spring. OK. Thank you, Alina Cho -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, that does it for LIVE FROM today. A special edition of "INSIDE POLITICS." It's the new time, two hours -- or no, we end in two hours. Judy starts now. It's up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Hurricane Ivan continues pushing toward Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The Category 5 storm is about 70 miles to the south- southeast of Cuba's western edge right now. The National Hurricane Center says hurricane-force winds stretch out 100 miles from the center of that storm.
A letter rigged to ignite when opened was intercepted before reaching the office of the governor of Virginia. A letter to the governor of West Virginia was also intercepted. Governors' offices in at least 15 other states got similar letters last week. The return address on the letter is a maximum security prison in Nevada.
Batman played the Palace today. A man dressed like the Caped Crusader was plucked from a perch on a balcony at London's Buckingham Palace. The rights group Fathers 4 Justice says the protester is Jason Hutch. Well, London's police chief wants an investigation to find out how he got past tight security to even get up there.
Now, straight ahead, a special expanded edition of "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
