Model Shows Off Post-Baby Body, New “Angels” Walk the Runway at Annual Fashion Show

• The famed fantasy fashion show from Victoria’s Secret returns to the Big Apple. Models talk to Harry Smith about their body positive message.

• Heidi Klum walks the runway during the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, in New York. 

Heidi Klum and her post-baby body led the parade at the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show, which returned to New York with some fresh faces after four years on the road.

The lingerie retailer based in Columbus, Ohio, inducted five more women into its “Angel” ranks - a designation reserved for top models - in front of a packed house Thursday night at the Lexington Avenue Armory. They are Emanuela de Paula, Chanel Iman, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Lindsay Ellingson and Candice Swanepoel.

But Klum, who gave birth to a daughter five weeks ago, was the audience favorite in her purple corset covered with a half gown with poufs of tulle. She emerged from the huge, castlelike set to applause.

Musical guest The Black Eyed Peas - especially Fergie, its only female member, who wore a black, jeweled bodysuit - was another crowd-pleaser. Fergie came out later in a green corset gown.

Of course, fashion really is secondary here. Victoria’s Secret always puts on an elaborate production (this time with a choir, acrobatic dancers and a giant polka-dot dog balloon) and fuels hype about its models. An online model search started earlier this month and is now down to two contestants, one of whom will be chosen by the public to appear in the televised version of the fashion show that CBS will air Dec. 1.

“I could watch this online, but it’s a fun scene,” said Russell Simmons from his front row seat. “This show is always fun and a great production.”

“It’s always a spectacular,” agreed costume designer Patricia Field. “Victoria’s Secret does that extra thing I like.”

Klum, who normally wears the most elaborate outfits, only appeared once, so it was former Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover girl Marissa Miller who had the honor of wearing a $3 million, diamond-encrusted bra.

Splashy jewels, it seemed, were one of the themes of the show with many models dripping in diamonds, crystals and other bling. Others wore faux fur stoles over their bras and panties. Thigh-high boots were the other must-have accessory.

Outfits fell into one of four themes: Star Trooper with breast plates and body armor; Pink Planet, which had a hippie vibe; the ethereal Enchanted Forest; and Romantic Journey that featured a lot of lace.

Compared to previous years, the overall collection didn’t seem as skimpy, although Miranda Kerr wore an itsy-bitsy black thong get-up that might have to be edited out of the TV show.

200 rescued in one town, two bridges collapse; Irish castle, hotel swamped

Flooding caused this bridge to collapse in Workington, northern England.

COCKERMOUTH, England - Military helicopters winched dozens of people to safety and emergency workers in inflatable boats rescued scores more as floods on Friday swamped northern England’s picturesque Lake District. One police officer died when a bridge he was on was swept away by surging waters.

British soldiers conducted house-to-house searches for those trapped by floods as deep as 8 feet. Troops also dropped down on lines from Air Force helicopters, breaking through rooftops to pluck people to safety.

Emergency services said more than 200 people were rescued in the hardest-hit town, Cockermouth. At least 960 homes were flooded after a day of unprecedented rain, police in the northern region of Cumbria said.

Friday’s forecast was better but more heavy rain was forecast for Saturday. Officials issued four severe flood warnings — meaning extreme danger to life and property — in northwest England, and six in Scotland.

The heavy rain and gales also brought widespread flooding to Ireland, as more than 3 feet of water shut down the center of the country’s second-largest city, Cork, and more than a dozen towns and villages.

Picturesque town ‘devastated’
Cockermouth, a market town 330 miles northwest of London, lies at the junction of the Cocker and Derwent rivers and is known for being the birthplace of poet William Wordsworth.

“It has devastated the town,” said Michael Dunn, manager of the Bitter End pub. “There is a lot of properties in Main Street, private shops, that have had their windows smashed in by the force of the water and by debris in the water. There were cars floating down the street. It will be a long time before Cockermouth recovers from this.” Officials were concerned about residents of 10 properties in Cockermouth they had been unable to reach. Media reports said some trapped people had been forced to smash through their roofs to escape.

The rain stopped and floodwaters began to ease Friday, giving rescuers a chance to reach trapped people by boat. Debris swirled around the boats as they pulled people to safety.

Tony Walker of Cockermouth told BBC radio he was on the top floor of his house and the water on the ground floor was chest-high.

“I’ve had better mornings,” Walker said. “I’ve been here all night and I’ve run out of water now, so I’m thinking of making a break for it, really. The water is still pretty deep, it’s going down, but at this rate it’s going to be hours before it’s clear.”

Forecasters said the rainfall was unprecedented. The Environment Agency recorded 12.3 inches of rain in 24 hours in one spot — one of the wettest days ever recorded in England.

“It looks like a very historical event,” said Julian Mayes, a forecaster with MeteoGroup UK.

Nigel Roddis / Reuters Rescuers evacuate residents in Cockermouth, England, on Friday.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn told the BBC that flood defenses were meant to withstand a one-in-100-years flood — but could not cope with the volume of water.

“What we dealt with last night was probably more like one-in-a-1,000, so even the very best defenses, if you have such quantities of rain in such a short space of time, can be over-topped,” Benn said.

Britain’s Meteorological Office said the amount of rain expected for all of November had fallen in one day.

Two bridges collapse
Police urged people not to travel, as many roads were impassible. Two bridges collapsed in the town of Workington, including a main one over the River Derwent.

Cumbria Police said Constable Bill Barker, 45, died after he was knocked into the water when the structure gave way.

Christopher Furlong / Getty Images Rescuers help an 81-year-old woman from her flooded home in Cockermouth, England, on Friday.

“This is a stone bridge — to wash away a bridge of that size and dimension is incredible,” said lawmaker Tony Cunningham.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he had spoken to Cumbria Chief Constable Craig Mackey to offer help.

“Our thoughts are with all those who have been impacted by these floods,” Brown said.

Britain has been hit by severe flooding in recent years, raising questions about the impact of global warming.

Last year the country saw its wettest summer since records began in 1914. Floods in 2007 affected 55,000 homes and businesses and left an insurance bill of around $5 billion.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said the latest floods appeared less destructive but it would take several days to make a reliable estimate.

House Republicans call on Geithner to resign as economic woes take a toll

Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.

Episodes in both houses of Congress exposed the raw nerves of lawmakers flooded with stories of unemployment and economic hardship back home. They also underscored the stiff headwinds that the administration faces as it pushes to enact sweeping changes to the financial regulatory system while also trying to create jobs for ordinary Americans.

President Obama’s allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, exasperated by the administration’s handling of the economy, unexpectedly blocked one of his top priorities, using a legislative maneuver to postpone the approval of financial reform legislation by a key House committee.

Two buildings away, at a session of the Joint Economic Committee, Republicans escalated their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, including a call for his resignation.

“Conservatives agree that as point person, you failed. Liberals are growing in that consensus as well,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Tex.). “For the sake of our jobs, will you step down from your post?”

Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Tex.) took a different tack. “I don’t think that you should be fired,” he told Geithner. “I thought you should have never been hired.”

Even Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), a friend of the administration, suggested that Geithner had been inconsistent in addressing China’s practice of keeping its currency low against the dollar.

And Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday on MSNBC that he thinks Geithner should step down, pointing to his handling of the aftermath of American International Group’s meltdown.

Across Capitol Hill, senators signaled their opposition to rushing regulatory reform. While some Democrats voiced reservations about parts of the bill, Republicans went further, faulting Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) for pushing ahead before the roots of the crisis were understood.

Federal Reserve under scrutiny
Perhaps most troubling for the administration was that one of the few measures to succeed Thursday was an amendment by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) that would subject the Federal Reserve to unprecedented scrutiny. The amendment, which won bipartisan support in the House Financial Services Committee despite the reservations of administration officials, would allow the Government Accountability Office to audit all of the Fed’s operations, including its decisions on interest rates and its transactions with foreign central banks.

Paul and allies in both parties — more than 300 members of Congress have endorsed the measure — are looking to increase oversight of an institution they consider partly to blame for the financial crisis. Federal officials and many private economists worry that the amendment could make future central bank policymakers reluctant to take unpopular steps to prevent inflation or support the economy for fear of second-guessing by Congress and government auditors.

Biannual tests enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer, group says

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Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that’s enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

The change by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes amid a completely separate debate over when regular mammograms to detect breast cancer should begin. The timing of the Pap guidelines is coincidence, said ACOG, which began reviewing its recommendations in late 2007 and published the update Friday in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. There have been widespread concerns that the government is trying to cut health costs by limiting cancer screening for women.

However, the recommendations have been in development for the last several years and the announcement of the new guidelines was coincidental, Dr. Cheryl B. Iglesia, the chairwoman of a panel in the obstetricians’ group that developed the Pap smear guidelines, told The New York Times. The timing of the announcement was “an unfortunate perfect storm,” she told the newspaper, adding, “there’s no political agenda with

The Oprah Winfrey Show is to end in September 2011 after more than two decades on air, the production company behind the programme has said.

Billionaire Ms Winfrey, 55, one of the most influential women in the US, has hosted the show since 1986.

A spokesman for the star’s Harpo production company would not say why Winfrey had decided to quit, but said she would discuss it on Friday’s show.

Winfrey is expected to focus instead on the launch of her own TV channel.

She already runs a satellite radio station, Oprah Radio, with presenters including Dr Maya Angelou and sex therapist Dr Laura Berman.

“The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on 9 September 2011,” Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey’s Harpo production company, wrote in a letter to affiliates.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, currently syndicated in 145 countries, has transformed the star into a cultural phenomenon.

The show’s open atmosphere and frank conversation redefined the talk show genre and made Winfrey the wealthiest black woman in the world.

Winfrey’s empire

Her reputation was clearly appreciated by the big-name stars who opened their souls on her show, from Michael Jackson to Tom Cruise - who famously jumped on the sofa to announce his love for his future wife Katie Holmes.

The introduction of Oprah’s Book Club helped authors whose novels were selected become bestsellers overnight, and Winfrey’s support for US President Barack Obama was seen as crucial to his presidential election campaign.

Winfrey’s empire also includes a magazine, books and, from 2011, a cable TV network.

OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network is a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications and is set to replace the Discovery Health Channel in more than 70 million US homes.

Winfrey’s support for Obama was seen as crucial to his presidential campaign.

Oprah is still the highest-rated US talk show with an average seven million daily viewers, but audiences are half what they were a decade ago.

The end of the programme will be a blow to distributor CBS, which earns a percentage of licensing fees - estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars - from the more than 200 local ABC TV stations across the US that broadcast it.

Many stations also built their schedules around Winfrey’s show, using it to promote other programmes while also delivering a large audience to their local news programming.