Feminine fashion for spring

(CNN) -- In recent seasons, fashion trends have dictated girls borrow from the male wardrobe with "boyfriend jeans" and military-inspired gear reminiscent of the battlefield. But looking ahead, the offerings on the catwalk for Spring/Summer 2012 indicate a definite return to femininity and glamor.

CNN asked three fashionistas in the know, Bloomingdale's fashion director Stephanie Solomon, stylist-to-the-stars Nikki Pennie and front-row fashion blogger Bryanboy, for their predictions of the new season's top trends.

"It's all about the feminine silhouette"

During the last month, Stephanie Solomon sat in on shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris and as Bloomingdale's head buyer she knows exactly what is likely be in stores.

"It is a total turn around from last year's Spring/Summer collections," says Solomon. "There is no reference to goth, grunge and certainly no borrowing from the boys this season."

"It is a totally feminine look that we haven't seen in years," she adds. "The catch-all phrase of the season is femininity. It is floral-inspired, tropical-inspired, ethnic-inspired, artist-inspired and scarf-inspired and usually is seen in a dress, a pair of pants, an underscore skirt and in colors that range from pale pastels to shocking neons."

Accessories will be minimal but in line with accentuating the feminine look and earrings will make a big comeback.

Fashion trends just a click away

Solomon says, "(Earrings are) the ultimate punctuation point for femininity. We will also see pretty pumps. It is no longer aggressive combat boots or thick-soled wedges. Everything will be much more delicate -- ladylike structures and in color."

It is a view echoed by stylist and fashionista Nikki Pennie, who welcomes the return of the feminine.

"Princess chic is a massive (trend) and that starts with everything from floor length skirts (to) taffeta, tulle and organza, paired with foxy lace and spandex tube tops. We saw that from Jason Wu. He was one of my favorites," says Pennie.

Pastels are also likely to be popular, with a lot of baby pinks, blues and yellows in different fabrics. Sequins, silks and cottons were used prominently on the Phillip Lim, Calvin Klein and Preen catwalks, according to Pennie.

Floral prints were also big.

"Half of New York showed florals, but in a great way," says blogger Bryanboy. "I love the tropical prints from Joseph Altuzarra, the hyper flower power at Peter Thom, the botanical prints from Alexander Wang ... This season is very visual."

Interpreting the trends

Pennie says we won't have to worry too much about picking our favorite pieces from new collections because retailers will do it for us. "They will pick the most prominent trends and make it wearable already.

"Karl Lagerfeld always sets the trickle-down trend ... Retailers just know if they emulate Chanel's collections, then they aren't going to go wrong," she said.

In pictures: Paris fashions get a spring in their step

With the Olympics next year, fashion-spotters have also noticed a sporting theme running through the Spring/Summer previews. Pennie says: "Alexander Wang set a sporty trend ... He is such a high roller in the fashion world." She adds that we will see buyers and retailers snap up the sporty look because of Wang's influence and popularity.

Bryanboy adds: "I loved how Kenzo used sport silhouettes; cute anoraks, jackets with hoods and use of nylon. There were quite a few nylon looks. Sporty, athletic-inspired that you would see on tracksuits."

Simplicity is key

While following trends will keep you fashion-forward, Bryanboy says keep it simple.

"Pick one simple element ... it could be a color," he suggests. "Something in a sweet cotton-candy pink that's going to be on-trend. Marine life is big so a shell accessory. Really take one visual element and incorporate it into your wardrobe."

Pennie agrees: "For example, you could buy a floral blouse or a floral top and wear it with skinny jeans ... Or try buying a pretty summer dress and put it with a blazer in a pastel color or a tulle skirt.

She has some sage advice: "You get fashion victims who put every look from the catwalk together in one look -- find the pieces that suit you and make you feel fashionable and stylish."

Timberlake, Biel together at his premiere party

(PEOPLE.com) -- Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have remained friendly since their breakup earlier this year -- but now it seems their romance may have been rekindled beyond friendly bike rides.

The off-again, on-again couple attended the premiere after-party of Timberlake's new movie, "In Time," in Los Angeles Thursday, and stole a few intimate moments together, according to an onlooker.

They weren't attached at the hip the entire time -- Timberlake, 30, greeted guests at the event while Biel, 29, hung out with a small group of friends and at one point picked up some tacos from a food truck -- but they stayed at the party past midnight, after most of the other guests had left.

"[They] became more and more affectionate, sneaking kisses, whispering to each other, and sharing quick back rubs and caresses," the eyewitness said. "At one point, she pretended to punch him a couple times and he gamely bounced up and down like a jack in the box."

Timberlake's costars in the movie, which opens Oct. 28, Olivia Wilde and Amanda Seyfried, also mingled with guests after the premiere.

See the full article at PEOPLE.com.

Jindal wins second term in Louisiana

(CNN) -- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was re-elected to a second term Saturday, winning in a landslide with little opposition from nine other candidates.

Jindal, who was widely favored to win, had 66% of the vote with 98% precincts reporting, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State.

His next closest competitor, Democrat Tara Hollis, got about 18% of the vote. The eight other candidates pulled in low single digits.

"You've chosen me to be your governor," Jindal said at his campaign headquarters in Baton Rouge. "I'm truly humbled and honored by the trust and privilege you've bestowed upon me."

Pledging to "never coast" as long as he remains the state's chief executive, Jindal added: "I will give you my all."

The state holds a nonpartisan blanket primary, meaning both political parties run in the same contest and if a candidate wins 50% or more of the vote, then he or she wins the race.

If Jindal had failed to get a majority, he would have gone head-to-head with the second place candidate in the gubernatorial general on Nov. 19.

The governor, who won his first term in 2007 with 54% of the vote, faced little opposition this time around.

Early in his first term, Jindal was widely considered a rising GOP star. Speculation about his potential 2012 presidential run started almost as soon as President Barack Obama took office in January 2009.

The governor was a vocal critic of the president's stimulus package and made headlines when he pledged to refuse any funds from the bill for Louisiana.

But almost as quickly as he rose to GOP fame, he fell back into the shadows after making the Republican response to Obama's State of the Union address in 2009.

Many conservatives expected the speech to be a launch pad for the governor, but he earned bad reviews from both parties for his performance.

Critics said his delivery was over-coached, amateurish and relied too heavily on Hurricane Katrina references.

Jindal made somewhat of a political comeback in 2010 after receiving praise for his handling of the BP oil spill off the Gulf Coast.

But he repeatedly denied any intention to run for president this year and now backs Texas Gov. Rick Perry for the GOP presidential nomination.

At age 36, Jindal was the youngest U.S. governor when elected in 2007, and the first Indian-American governor.

He gained wide praise for his leadership during Hurricane Gustav in 2008, when he ordered a mandatory evacuation and called more than 3,000 National Guard troops into the state.

Australian shark attack victim remembered as 'one of a kind'

(CNN) -- The 32-year-old Texas man who died in a shark attack over the weekend while scuba diving off Western Australia was remembered Sunday by his sisters as "unique" and "one of a kind."

Sharon Wainwright of Panama City, Florida, identified the victim as her son, George Thomas Wainwright.

His sisters, Brenda Wainwright and Wanda Brannon, spoke to CNN affiliate WMBB-TV.

"It's devastating. It's hard to even wrap your head around. I can't believe he's gone. I think it was just wrong place, wrong time because he was very wise. I would trust him with anything to do with being on the water," said Brenda Wainwright.

She described her brother as "unique ... that rare combination of incredibly intelligent, very kind, great sense of humor."

Police said Saturday the man was scuba diving with two friends near Rottnest Island, a popular tourist destination about 15 miles off the Australian mainland, when the attack occurred. The man's friends, who were not in the water at the time, noticed an abnormal amount of air bubbles rising to the surface in the area where he was diving, followed by a plume of blood, said police spokesman Michael Wear.

Moments later, the man's body rose to the surface. Police said he succumbed to his injuries not long after the incident. Following a preliminary review of bite marks on the body, authorities said he is believed to have been killed by a great white shark.

"He was in the water by himself, I believe," Sgt. Greg True of Western Australia police told CNN affiliate Channel Nine. "There's been some pretty massive injuries inflicted."

Sharon Wainwright told CNN her family was notified of the incident Saturday morning. Authorities said the man had been living in Western Australia.

Wainright's relatives expect his body to arrive in Florida in about four days, Sharon Wainwright said.

Saturday's attack was the second fatal shark attack in the past two weeks near the city of Perth, capital of the state of Western Australia.

"He was one of a kind," the victim's sister, Brannon, told WMBB. "He's more than just a quick news spot. He was our brother and we loved him. He will be missed."

5 ways to enjoy Bolivia's 'city in the sky'

La Paz, Bolivia (CNN) -- It's easy to write off Bolivia's largest city as just another congested, chaotic Latin American metropolis.

As more international travelers discover Bolivia for its biodiversity, where they can explore the Andes, the Amazon basin and the world's largest salt lake in one visit, La Paz is their most likely point of entry. But to most, it's little more than that -- a place to spend a day or two sipping coca tea and adjust to life at 10,000 feet while planning adventures.

The congestion and chaos quickly become apparent as you descend the Altiplano to the "bowl" of the downtown core, a tangled maze of steep and winding streets. The cultural legacy of Bolivia's largest indigenous groups, the Quechua and Aymara, permeate the busy urban landscape, where vehicles compete with pedestrians and sidewalk vendors.

With elevations ranging from 9,800 to 13,450 feet, "the city that touches the sky" has plenty of distinctions that come in handy in bar trivia: home of the world's highest international airport and highest seat of government. Its elevation also makes for extreme temperature: sunny, hot days and cold, windy nights. But a closer look reveals some unexpected surprises that aren't spelled out in tour guides.

Plaza San Francisco

Flanked by the Iglesia de San Francisco, a noisy thoroughfare and a busy side street, Plaza San Francisco is not the prettiest public space La Paz has to offer, but it's a great place to people-watch.

Women dressed in traditional indigenous style of bowler hats and poofy petticoats, babies slung over their shoulders in colorful wraps, wait for buses alongside teens in skinny jeans and heavy eye makeup. Vendors in blue jumpsuits push around carts of ice cream which everyone seems to be eating.

The San Francisco church is worth a visit in itself. Its stone-carved facade is in the intricate style of 16-century baroque and mestizo architecture. A tour of the basilica and cloister offers an overview of La Paz's founding and fight for independence, along with an opportunity to glimpse the city from the bell tower.

Calle Jaen

The city's last remaining example of what a street looked like in colonial times could be considered one of the most touristy parts of La Paz, owing to the polish of its refurbished structures. But in a busy metropolis that doesn't go out of its way to cater to tourists, it's a peaceful stretch of cobblestone and colorful buildings that brings to mind other colonial cities like Antigua, Guatemala, or Campeche, Mexico. Step inside one of the dimly-lit bars or restaurants and you'll find quiet courtyards shielded from the bustle of the city. The street is home to four museums in colonial homes, noteworthy for their architecture as much as their exhibits. Museo de Casa Murillo -- former home of Pedro Domingo Murillo, one of the martyrs of the La Paz Independence movement of July 16, 1809 -- features paintings, furniture and clothing from an era when La Paz was torn between loyalty to the Spanish viceroy and support for indigenous rights. At the Museo de Instrumentos Musicales, also a school and meeting place for aspiring musicians, visitors are likely to stumble upon a jam session of charango players or pan flutists. Students of the school often put on Saturday night performances, where you might catch a guitar duet performed by a 7-year-old prodigy and his Japanese instructor.

Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore

If you're in Bolivia long enough, chances are you'll stumble on a parade or celebration where traditional Bolivian song and dance is the centerpiece (yet another reason to stick around La Paz on the weekend). The colorful costumes and masks, representative of dances from different regions and evocative of the film, "Return to Oz," might leave the uninitiated wondering what the heck is going on. The Museo Nacional de Etnografia y Folklore offers some explanation for why horned devil masks and caricatures of African slaves figure prominently in folklore in an impressive display of masks and costumes. For extra trivia, check out the exhibit on the participation of transvestites in cultural celebrations of the late 20th century. Most Wednesdays, the museum keeps its doors open late for a show by the renowned Ballet Folkl rico de La Paz, in which dancers decked out in full garb demonstrate customs from various regions, minus the drunken revelry of the street.

Local markets, Witches Market, Calles Sagarnaga and Linares

Most Western tourists will have little use for items at local markets. But they're good for getting a sense of how Bolivians shop and what seems to be popular: puffy corn resembling Styrofoam, exotic seeds, reams of multi-colored fabric, shoes and underwear, cell phone chips, kitchen accessories, a shoe shine, keys made by hand.

Those who've never seen a dried llama or alpaca fetus would do well to check out Witches Market, which also offers charms and herbs that purport to prolong sexual encounters or attract secret crushes. Vendors down the street on Calle Linares down to Sagarnaga sell the traditional goods that tourists tend to look for in South America -- colorful hats and scarves made of alpaca and llama wool bearing images of alpacas and llamas, colorful rugs and textiles, jewelry with indigenous designs, all cheaper than you'll find similar items in Peru or Chile.

Street food

At the local markets, tucked among the stalls of clothes and housekeeping products, foreigners can eat like a local at the same prices as a local, $1 to $2 on average. Eating in the street is not for everyone, especially those with sensitive stomachs, but it's worth for the risk for those willing to try. Bolivia is a meat and potatoes kind of country, with a knack for throwing fried eggs on the side and a few pieces of yucca if you're lucky. Women push around carts that double as kitchen counters from which they prepare full course meals, from lechon to empanadas to roasted pork sandwiches. At night, more roving carts appear, offering tripe or hamburgers and hot dogs and salchipapas (sausages and french fries). Fresh fruit juice stands are abundant, but should also be approached with caution. Cups of pear juice with a fuzzy pit resting at the bottom may remind you of the llama fetus at Witches Market, but drink it and you'll be treated to one of the sweetest drinks without artificial sweetener you'll ever try. Don't forget to suck on the pit when you're done!

Study links neighborhood to obesity risk

(Health.com) -- When federal housing officials created a program in the mid-1990s to help single-mother households in poor neighborhoods relocate to low-poverty areas, they weren't merely interested in providing access to better homes, jobs, and schools. They also wanted to study how the families who moved out changed over time compared to those who stayed put.

After more than a decade, moving from high- to low-poverty areas seems to have had little impact on economic measures such as employment and income. But researchers have discovered an interesting side effect of the program: In a new follow-up study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, they report that rates of diabetes and severe obesity are about one-fifth lower in the women who moved than in those who did not.

The apparent improvements in health associated with low-poverty areas are comparable to the typical outcomes seen with programs that encourage healthy eating or exercise, or that provide medications to people with diabetes, says Jens Ludwig, Ph.D., the lead author of the study and a professor of social service administration, law, and public policy at the University of Chicago.

"For this program, health improvements were not the primary goal," Ludwig says. "But the fact that we're seeing effects in the ballpark of what you'd get with very direct, targeted interventions designed for weight loss, for example, [is] pretty striking."

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Several factors could contribute to better health in low-poverty areas, including greater access to healthy foods, a safer environment more conducive to outdoor exercise, and lower levels of psychological stress, Ludwig says. The move "changed a bunch of things at one time for these families, so it's hard to tease out exactly what made a big difference for them," he says. "But all of these things seem like plausible explanations."

Troy Blanchard, Ph.D., an associate professor of sociology at Louisiana State University, in Baton Rouge, who studies health and obesity in poor rural areas, says the findings draw attention to an often-ignored aspect of the obesity and diabetes epidemics.

"Oftentimes, research really focuses on people's decisions, and what they do wrong, and how they are at fault, essentially, for being obese or having a disease or a poor diet," says Blanchard, who was not involved in the study. "This provides evidence that it's not just the individual's decisions, but...also the environment -- the neighborhood -- that really does matter."

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The idea that neighborhoods can have an impact on health is not new. Studies on this topic date back to the 1700s, Ludwig points out, and more recently a growing body of research has linked obesity and other health problems to neighborhood features such as the number of supermarkets and fast-food restaurants. But this is the first time researchers have been able to compare moving out of a neighborhood with staying behind, in the same way that new drugs are compared with placebos in clinical trials.

The relocation program, known as Moving to Opportunity, began in 1994 when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development partnered with local housing authorities to recruit low-income families living in public housing in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

The families who volunteered for the program were sorted into three groups via random lottery: Some received vouchers that enabled them to move into areas with a low poverty rate (below 10%) at the same rent they were paying in public housing, some received vouchers that could be used anywhere, and some -- the control group -- received no new vouchers or assistance.

Years later, between 2008 and 2010, Ludwig and his colleagues followed up with 3,186 women who participated in the program. The researchers calculated each woman's body mass index, or BMI (a simple ratio of height to weight), and collected blood samples, which they tested for a type of protein that indicates average long-term levels of blood sugar.

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Of the women who stayed in their original neighborhoods, 20% had blood-sugar levels consistent with diabetes and 18% had a BMI of at least 40 (the unofficial cutoff point for morbid obesity). These rates were not measurably different among the women who received unrestricted vouchers. By contrast, just 16% of the women who moved to low-poverty areas had diabetes and just 14% were morbidly obese.

"We went in wondering to what degree a real randomized experiment would confirm -- or not confirm -- what a lot of people already believed," Ludwig says. "The most surprising thing was not that it did confirm the belief, but the significant size of the effect."

The study doesn't claim that moving from a high- to low-poverty area guarantees weight loss or protection from diabetes. The health measures used in the study weren't recorded before 2008, so the researchers weren't able to track how moving affected the health of individuals over time. In addition, all of the Moving to Opportunity participants were volunteers, raising the possibility that they differ in key ways from the average public housing resident. (The volunteers were more likely than their neighbors to be concerned about crime, for instance.)

Despite the study's limitations, Ludwig and his colleagues conclude that public health programs that target obesity and diabetes in high-poverty neighborhoods "could generate substantial social benefits." This message is important for policymakers and community organizers, but also for individuals living in these neighborhoods, Blanchard says.

"It shows that being active in your community and working to make safer, healthier environments can really affect the health of the people who live there," he says. "Not everyone can move out of their neighborhood, but maybe there's a chance to improve what's there."

Heir to the Saudi throne dies

New York (CNN) -- The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, died in a New York hospital early Saturday, officials said, raising succession questions in the key oil-producing country at a time of regional turmoil.

Sultan, the half-brother of King Abdullah, was thought to be in his 80s. He had been ill for some time -- various reports indicated that he was battling cancer -- and was receiving treatment in New York.

Saudi television broke into normal programming early Saturday to announce the death. It broadcast Quranic verses and footage of pilgrims in the holy city of Mecca.

Sultan's body will be flown back to Saudi Arabia and a burial is scheduled for Tuesday.

He had served for decades as the Saudi defense minister. President Barack Obama called him a "valued friend" of the United States.

"He was a strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries," Obama said. "On behalf of the American people, I extend my deepest condolences to King Abdullah, the royal family, and the people of Saudi Arabia.

Robert Jordan, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, called Sultan a "staunch ally."

"His passing marks the end of a significant era in Saudi Arabia," he said. "The steps taken to select a new Crown Prince will be scrutinized by the world and will provide insight into King Abdullah's vision for future leadership of the Kingdom."

Ascension to the Saudi throne does not pass from father to son. Rather, it's a complex process and decisions are always cloaked in secrecy in the conservative kingdom.

King Abdullah set up the Allegiance Council in 2006 to allow for more transparency in succession. It is unclear when this group, made up of members of the royal family, will be employed to make a decision on the next crown prince.

Sultan's death leaves his brother Nayef, a reputed conservative, as the likely successor to the king.

Abdullah appointed Nayef in 2009 as the country's second deputy prime minister, a post held by the second in line to the throne.

Nayef has been the interior minister since 1975 and as such, he oversaw the kingdom's counterterrorism efforts. Saudi Arabia is one of the only countries that has truly dismantled a domestic al Qaeda network, said Christopher Boucek, a Saudi expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Nayef is widely seen as a hard-line conservative who at best is lukewarm to King Abdullah's reform initiatives," said a classified U.S. Embassy cable leaked by the website WikiLeaks.

"However, it would be more accurate to describe him as a conservative pragmatist convinced that security and stability are imperative to preserve Al-Saud rule and ensure prosperity for Saudi citizens," the cable said.

But Boucek said little has changed.

"The king is still in charge, and nothing will change until the throne passes from him to the next brother."

Gregory Gause, a University of Vermont professor who has authored books on the Gulf states, said Nayef is hardly one to blaze a path for political reform, but that's not to say Saudi Arabia will feel any reverberations.

"There is truth to the idea that Nayef is not someone who sees political reform as a major goal of the government," Gause said. "But I do not want to say that if he were to become king, he would act in the same way as he is now."

Saudi Arabia is not immune to the sort of popular uprisings that have brought down regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The nation suffers from the same political and economic issues, Gause said.

But the difference, he said, is that Saudi Arabia is wealthy and the king has recently deployed huge amounts of money for housing and salaries.

Also Saturday, Abdullah left a hospital in Riyadh following successful back surgery, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Abdullah, 87, will complete his recuperation at the royal palace. It was the monarch's third back surgery in the past year.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's leadership mourned Abdullah's half-brother.

"Crown Prince Sultan lived his life in service of his country and also serving the Arab people and the people of Saudi Arabia," said Saleh Al-Namla, a member of Saudi Arabia's Shura Council. "He was very much loved by the country."

He took a leading role in Saudi Arabia's involvement in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, heading a coalition of about half a million troops from more than 30 countries.

Of his many children, perhaps the best known internationally is Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's former ambassador to the United States.

Bandar served as ambassador from 1983 to 2005 and was friends with the family of former President George W. Bush.