Inaugural gowns on view at the Smithsonian

Inaugural gowns on view at the Smithsonian

WASHINGTON — Whatever Michelle Obama chooses to wear to the inaugural balls could soon have a special place for display — right next to a dress worn by Martha Washington in the 1780s that featured painted flowers, butterflies and other insects.

Gowns worn by first ladies for more than 200 years returned to public view Friday in a revamped gallery at the National Museum of American History. The gallery, “First Ladies at the Smithsonian,” shows the evolution of the exhibit since it first opened in 1914 as the first Smithsonian exhibit to prominently feature women.

So far, curators don’t seem to have any hints about what Obama will wear on Inauguration Day, which is Jan. 20.

Above is a photo of what first lady Helen Taft wore 100 years ago to an inaugural ball in 1909.

Break-in at Hilton home

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles police say they are investigating a burglary at a home owned by socialite Paris Hilton.

Los Angeles Police Officer Julianne Sohn said the break-in occurred around 5 a.m. Friday at a home in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles. Sohn says detectives report that a man wearing a hooded sweat shirt broke into the home and ransacked Hilton’s bedroom. Hilton was not at home at the time.

No arrests have been made, and police say the investigation continues.

1 death in bridge collapse

ATLANTA — Workers building a soaring pedestrian bridge plunged dozens of feet Friday when the structure collapsed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, killing one worker and injuring 18 others.

The workers were all atop the “canopy walk,” an elevated pathway that reaches up to 40 feet high, when it gave way around 9 a.m., Atlanta fire officials said.

Authorities had few details of what caused the bridge to fall, and Atlanta Fire Battalion Chief Ken Byers said it was uncertain whether concrete was being poured at the time, as was planned.

Palin fianc ’s mom arrested

WASILLA, Alaska — The mother of Bristol Palin’s fianc was arrested Thursday and charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Sherry L. Johnston, 42, was arrested at her home in Wasilla by Alaska state troopers with a search warrant in an undercover drug investigation.

Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, the 18-year-old who received international attention in September when Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, announced their teenage daughter was pregnant and he was the father. Bristol Palin, 18, is due today, according to a recent interview with the governor’s father, Chuck Heath.

Holes in Adam Walsh case

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A quarter-century ago, Adam Walsh’s accused killer accompanied police to a bus bench outside a Sears where he claimed to have snatched the 6-year-old boy. Then, Ottis Toole went with authorities to a turnpike where he said Adam cried for his mother. Later, they stopped at a bridge where Toole said he hacked off the boy’s head.

But did he really do it?

The story was one of several accounts Toole gave over the years. And although Adam’s father, “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh, has long believed Toole abducted and decapitated his son July 27, 1981, it wasn’t until this week that Hollywood police said they agreed, and closed the case. But there was no new evidence, nothing new that came to light.

The case against Toole has holes. An Associated Press examination of documents released with this week’s announcement leaves many questions about the kidnapping and killing — there is nothing standing alone that points to Toole. There are no DNA or blood tests, no slam-dunk eyewitness accounts.

“If you’re looking for that magic wand, that one piece of evidence, it’s not there,” Wagner admits.

Combined dispatches