Monday, July 31, 2006

Miss Universe explains fainting spell

E.J. TAMARA
Associated Press

Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza is back on her feet after being crowned Miss Universe 2006 and fainting under hot lights and the weight of a dress made entirely of metal chains.

"What happened was that it was hard to breathe and the dress was very tight and weighed a lot," Rivera told The Associated Press in a recent interview.

Rivera briefly fainted after posing for pictures and taking questions at a post-pageant news conference Sunday night. She was given liquids and quickly recovered.

Her fainting spell was also caused by the heat, the lights and the emotional rush of winning - not from a lack of food, as some had speculated, she said.

"I eat very well," Rivera told the AP. "My nutritionist ordered me to eat six times a day."

The 18-year-old communications student and aspiring actress has been studying English for seven months. She spoke entirely in Spanish at the Miss Universe ceremony, and during the interview.

"Spanish is an extremely romantic language that can make any person fall in love with you," she said. "And that's what I wanted to create with the jury, to be able to make them fall in love through my native language."

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Penn State alumna to compete for Miss America title

Thursday, July 27, 2006
Emily Wills is a Penn State graduate and Miss Pennsylvania.
University Park, Pa. -- When Miss Pennsylvania takes the stage on Jan. 29 to compete for the opportunity to be named Miss America, she will represent not only her home state, but also her alma mater, Penn State.

Miss Pennsylvania Emily M. Wills is a 2006 graduate of Penn State, holding a bachelor's degree in psychology from the College of the Liberal Arts.

Wills, a late-bloomer of sorts on the pageant circuit, did not enter any of the childhood competitions available. Her first taste of pageant competition came when she won the Pennsylvania Junior Miss competition as a high school senior in 2001. Upon entering Penn State in 2002, Wills viewed entering the Miss Penn State competition as a natural transition from her Junior Miss success.

After winning the Miss Penn State title as a freshman, Wills received the usual congratulatory phone messages from friends and family on her cell phone. She also received an unexpected, but much-appreciated message that began, "Hello, this is Graham Spanier…."

"For the president of a Big Ten university to take time out of his schedule to call, that just threw me," said Wills.
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Lisbon's Lizzie Stoudt named

Lizzie Stoudt, 19, of Lisbon wears her crown and sash as Waukesha County’s 2006 Fairest of the Fair. Stoudt is her family’s fourth generation 4-H’er.
Lisbon resident Lizzie Stoudt came home with more than just the small gang of rabbits she's been showing for the past 12 years. Stoudt was crowned the winner of the 40th annual Fairest of the Fair competition at the Waukesha County Fair.
"As a 4-H member, winning Fairest of the Fair is like winning Miss Wisconsin," Stoudt said in a telephone interview Monday. "It's on the same level."

It was also a huge surprise, said the 19-year-old Hamilton High School graduate, who just finished her first year at Ripon College, where she majors in English and minors in entre­preneurial business manage­ment.

"I didn't think I was going to win," Stoudt said. "I had no idea."
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Dells outlet stores open this week

Capital Newspapers

WISCONSIN DELLS — A new outlet mall opening at the intersection of Highway 12 and Interstate 90/94 will feature nearly 60 stores that will provide at least 700 full- and part-time jobs, according to the mall's promoters.

The Tanger Outlet Center of Wisconsin Dells is one in a chain of malls across the United States. The mall was developed by Greensboro, N.C.-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. and Tall Pines Development of Wisconsin Dells LLC (the Turk and Jack Waterman families.)

General manager Heather Sweet said the $40 million facility in Lake Delton is the 32nd of 33 Tanger Outlet malls.

At 9 a.m. Friday, 41 stores are slated to open. Another 11 will open by Aug. 17, in time for a grand opening celebration scheduled Aug. 18-20. Gov. Jim Doyle and Miss Wisconsin 2006 Meghan Coffey will be among the guests at the opening.

The 264,000-square-foot mall is home to Banana Republic Factory Store, Liz Claiborne, Nike Factory Store, Polo Ralph Lauren, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Nine West, Gap Outlet, Eddie Bauer Outlet, Disney Store Outlet, Skechers and Oshkosh B'Gosh, to name a few.

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'One' Miserable Showing: 'Idol' Knockoff Sets a Record

. . .

The beauty pageant also continues to take its lumps on broadcast television.

Sunday night's Miss Universe contest, which bestowed the honor on Miss Puerto Rico, drew 9.7 million viewers. Although up slightly from last year when it aired on a Monday, it's down nearly 1 million from 2004's audience and way down from the glory years when upward of 38 million people would tune in.

Earlier this year, the Miss America pageant debuted on cable after ABC dumped it because of low ratings.

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Tiara time

Central senior hopes to be Miss Teen USA

By Tyson Mccloud, Intelligencer Journal Staff
Intelligencer Journal

Published: Jul 26, 2006 8:20 AM EST

LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - While watching the Miss Teen USA Pageant on TV last year, Inessa Rodriguez decided that she wanted to wear the $100,000 crown.

Now she has the chance to do so.

The 17-year-old Manheim Central High School senior and reigning Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA winner will vie for the diamond- and pearl-encrusted tiara at the 24th annual Miss Teen USA Pageant in Palm Springs, Calif., Aug. 15.

The pageant, which will be broadcast live on NBC, features 51 girls, ages 15 to 19, competing in three categories: interview, swimsuit and evening gown.

Inessa, who never participated in a pageant before beating out more than 180 girls to become "Princess of the Keystone State" last November, remembers watching the 2005 Miss Teen USA contest on TV with her father, Jimmy.

"I was telling him, 'One day I'll be there,'"ˆ" Inessa said. "He said 'Okay' and laughed about it."
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Science student takes break to be Miss Alaska


Beauty queen promotes special-needs inclusion programs

Stephanie Wonchala, a 20-year-old natural science major at UAA, was crowned Miss Alaska 2006 in June.

Wonchala didn’t always have what it takes to be perfect.

“There was a time in Stephanie’s life when she wore a back brace, wore braces on her teeth, wore glasses, and was a little heavy,” said Pia Wonchala, Stephanie Wonchala’s mother.

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Milan native Rachelle Phillips was crowned Miss Kentucky on Saturday


'I'm still very overwhelmed'

The reality of it all was still setting in Monday for a 2001 Milan High School graduate crowned Miss Kentucky during that state's pageant Saturday.

Rachelle Phillips will now go on to represent Kentucky in January's Miss America pageant. Phillips, now 24, has had the dream of being in the national pageant since age 12.

"I'm still very overwhelmed," Phillips said in a telephone interview Monday night with The Jackson Sun. "It's amazing to know that I will be walking on the Miss America stage."

Her family moved to Princeton, Ky., from Milan about two years ago.
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Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Review: 'Little Miss Sunshine' is a dream, girl

BY GENE SEYMOUR
Newsday Staff Writer

July 26, 2006

Richard Hoover (Greg Kinnear) is a motivational speaker who, like too many of his fellow Americans, believes that people come in only two categories: winners and losers. If you suspect this is the kind of single-mindedness that marks the consummate loser, you would be correct. Richard's nine-step program to success, "Refuse to Lose," is so cheesy that he can't find anyone to swallow it.

Richard is a patriarch of thwarted dreamers in "Little Miss Sunshine," the cunning little comedy that won many hearts at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. His wife, Sheryl (Toni Collette), checks her skepticism toward Richard's life plan at the dinner table of pre-fab foodstuffs. Teenage son Dwayne (Paul Dano) has pledged complete allegiance to Nietzsche's philosophy, assuming a sullen vow of silence until he can escape the family's Albuquerque manse to fly high-performance aircraft.
Video
'Little Miss Sunshine' Trailer
'Little Miss Sunshine' Trailer (Fox Searchlight Pictures)


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Pageant wins on slow summer night

NBC’s Miss Universe pulls a 3.2 in 18-49s

Jul 24, 2006

In an era of declining ratings for beauty pageants, simply holding onto the previous year’s audience is an accomplishment. If that happens to give the network carrying the pageant a big boost over the previous week in this very slow summer, all the better.

Last night NBC got a big week-to-week bump for its Sunday night lineup thanks to the “Miss Universe” pageant, which averaged a 3.2 adults 18-49 overnight rating from 9 to 11 p.m.

While that was even to last year, when the pageant aired in early June, NBC did see a 4 percent bump in total viewers, from 9.2 million in 2005 to 9.6 million last night. Its household rating was down slightly, from 6.1 to a 6.0.

But in a summer when almost no shows have produced big ratings, and Sunday evenings have been particularly dismal, NBC got a very nice bump in its 18-49 average the previous week, going from a 2.0 to a 2.5 to win the evening.

“Miss Universe” was the highest-rated show of the night among 18-49s, with only Fox’s “Family Guy” at a 2.9 even coming close. The pageant peaked with a 3.4 in the final hour, including a 3.6 at 10:30 p.m.

Rather than saying much about the pageant, “Miss Universe’s” decent ratings may say more about the lack of selection on TV than anything else. Broadcast had mostly repeats last night, and HBO’s Sunday night lineup has been fairly weak this summer.

Sadly, the pageant was not without its problems. After she’d been crowned the winner, Puerto Rico’s Zuleyka Rivera collapsed during a post-pageant press conference, fainting because her dress was too tight and the room too hot. She was said to be fine shortly thereafter.

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Monday, July 24, 2006

Miss Universe contender faces charges

July 24, 2006

INDONESIA'S Miss Universe entrant may face indecency charges after a hardline Muslim group complained to police about her appearance on a Los Angeles stage in a bikini.

The women's chapter of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) want Indonesian authorities to prosecute Miss Indonesia, Nadine Chandrawinata.

The group's lawyer Sugito, who uses only one name, said Ms Chandrawinata "intentionally and openly engaged in indecency" before she was eliminated after the contest's first round.

"Her vulgar appearance at Miss Universe is an insult to Indonesian women," he said, adding that beauty pageants run counter to the culture of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation.

Sugito said a still valid government decree issued in 1984 when dictator Suharto was in power bans Indonesians from taking part in beauty pageants.

Although the decree technically remains in force, authorities have relaxed the ban since Suharto's downfall in 1998.

Indonesia sent Artika Sari Devia to the 2005 Miss Universe pageant, its first entrant in almost a decade.

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New Miss Universe passes out

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-07-24 14:07

The newly crowned Miss Universe, Puerto Rico's Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza, collapsed during a post-pageant news conference and was rushed off stage Sunday night.


Newly crowned Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza of Puerto Rico is carried offstage by a security guard after fainting following a news conference at the Miss Universe 2006 Pageant at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in this July 23, 2006 in this video frame grab. [Reuters]

Pageant officials said shortly afterward she had passed out.

"She's OK. She's fine," said pageant representative Lark Anton. "She got dizzy. Its very hot up here. Her dress is tight as you could see it was beaded and heavy. ... She passed out."

Earlier pageant officials had called "Is there a nurse in the house?" after Mendoza slumped during the media appearance.

The 55th Miss Universe contest was held at the fabled Shrine Auditorium near downtown Los Angeles. It was a homecoming of sorts. The first Miss Universe pageant was held about 25 miles (40 km) away in Long Beach, California, in 1952.



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Miss Universe Faints As Reign Begins


(AP) Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza's reign as the new Miss Universe got off to a rocky start when the 18-year-old from Puerto Rico fainted briefly after winning the crown.

Rivera passed out after posing for pictures and taking questions at a news conference after Sunday's show. She was given liquids and quickly recovered, said pageant spokeswoman Esther Swan.

Rivera, who was wearing a dress made entirely of metal chains, had been standing under hot stage lights for some time in the stifling auditorium when she began to topple over. Someone caught her as she fell.

Rivera, 18, won the title over 85 other contestants. Kurara Chibana of Japan was first runner-up; Lauriane Gillieron of Switzerland was second runner-up; and Lourdes Arevalos of Paraguay was third runner-up. Miss USA Tara Conner finished fourth.
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World of drama at Miss Universe

July 25, 2006 12:00
Article from: The Daily Telegraph

SHE beat a saucy photo scandal to win her place in the pageant but Australia's Erin McNaught could only look on as Puerto Rican Zuleyka Rivera was crowned Miss Universe yesterday.

Despite her favouritism with bookies, McNaught failed to make the first cut, missing out on a place in the top 20.

The result stunned the Shrine Auditorium crowd in Los Angeles, but none more so than the 18-year-old winner, who dramatically fainted after her win and had to be carried off stage.

McNaught played down suggestions her topless past could have cost her the crown. "I was a little disappointed, but I can honestly say I don't think it was an issue when it came around to the judging," she told The Daily Telegraph.

However an emotional national director, Jim Davie, said he was still considering legal action against local factions he claimed had been "harmful" in digging up her pictorial past.

Mr Davie, who has run the Australian chapter of the pageant for the past 15 years, also claimed the Latin-heavy judging panel worked against a local win.

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Puerto Rico wins Miss Universe

MISS Puerto Rico, Zuleika Rivera, has won the Miss Universe 2006 pageant.

Beauties from 86 nations had gathered in Los Angeles for the 55th Miss Universe pageant, vying to succeed Canadian Natalie Glebova.

Glebova, Miss Universe 2005, was on hand to place the $US250,000 ($333,000) crown on Rivera's head.

The event, run by real estate mogul Donald Trump's organisation, now attracts most interest in Latin America and in the Asia-Pacific region, though it is broadcast to an estimated 600 million people in 170 countries.

Australia's Erin McNaught failed to make the final 20 in the competition, which began in Los Angeles this morning (AEST), despite being a favourite with bookmakers.

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Clinton's Foshee wins '06 pageant

3rd time's the charm: She rocks house en route to win







Greg Jenson/The Clarion-Ledger

Taryn Foshee, Miss Byram Tri-County, is crowned Miss Mississippi 2006 by Miss Mississippi 2005 Kristian Dambrino at the pageant at the Vicksburg Convention Center. Foshee, whose piano-playing won the talent competition, advances to the Miss America Pageant in January.

During a TV commercial break before the start of the talent competition, Miss Byram Tri-County Taryn Leigh Foshee of Clinton took a seat at the Baldwin piano that had been rolled to center stage of the Miss Mississippi Pageant here Saturday night at the Vicksburg Convention Center. She confidently smiled at those in the audience, as if maybe she knew something they didn't.

Foshee tore through the rollicking Spanish number El Cumbanchero with the speed and efficiency of a Jerry Lee Lewis, not a note turning sour. Fans roared their approval as she stood and bowed. At that moment, Foshee admitted later, she had a feeling she might win.

And she did.

Foshee, a 5-foot-4, blue-eyed brunette who graduated from Hillcrest Christian School in 2003 and attends Mississippi State University, was crowned Miss Mississippi, completing her dream after finishing second runner-up the past two years. She advances to the Miss America Pageant in January.

"I have to give my parents a lot of credit for keeping me positive and giving me the confidence to continue trying," Foshee said, standing onstage a half hour after she was crowned by outgoing Miss Mississippi Kristian Dambrino of Grenada. "They've always told me I can do anything I put my mind to."

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Princeton woman crowned Miss Kentucky

Associated Press

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Rachelle Phillips of Princeton was crowned Miss Kentucky Saturday night and will compete in the Miss America pageant next year.

Phillips, 24, is an English major at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She competed as Miss Heartland. Phillips, who sang “Cry Me a River” during the talent competition, received an $8,000 scholarship for winning.

Ashley Miller, 22, of Louisville, was named the first runner-up during the competition at the Singletary Center for the Arts at the University of Kentucky. Miller is a graduate of Berea College and competed as Miss Bluegrass Area.

Emily Cox, 20, of Lexington, was named the second runner-up. Cox is a junior at the University of Kentucky and competed as Miss Lexington.

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Russell Springs to Palm Springs

Tara Conner has dozens of Kentuckians cheering her on in Los Angeles
By Barbara Isaacs
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Miss USA Tara Conner’s aunt Carol Anderson showed her support with a photo button in Santa Monica, Calif., yesterday.
Sang Park
Miss USA Tara Conner’s aunt Carol Anderson showed her support with a photo button in Santa Monica, Calif., yesterday.

Tara Conner's Kentucky cheering section has taken this town by storm.

Most of them are first-time visitors to the West Coast, and they've savored the delights, dipping their toes in the ocean and checking out the Santa Monica pier.

They've piled into black stretch limousines for tours of the stars' neighborhoods.

Some 30-plus relatives and friends have relocated to sunny California to check out the sights, but most importantly, to support the Russell Springs woman in her quest tonight to go from Miss USA to the big crown, Miss Universe.

Conner, 20, the former steakhouse waitress and community college student, will compete against women from 85 countries in the pageant, broadcast live on NBC at 9 p.m.

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City may boast next Miss USA

Miami Herald Staff Report

The next Miss USA may come from North Miami.

Jenna Edwards, who won the North Miami crown in April, recently earned the right to compete for the Miss USA title when she won the Miss Florida 2007 pageant last weekend at Broward Community College.

According to the city, it's the first time in more than 40 years of pageant history that someone from North Miami has competed for Miss USA.

Edwards, 24, will represent the state in the Miss USA pageant next spring. She was crowned Miss North Miami on April 1 at the city pageant sponsored by the Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the annual Miss North Miami competition with support from the city and many local businesses.

Edwards is the founder of the nonprofit organization Queen for A Day , which offers young girls fighting cancer and other illnesses the chance to be pampered and crowned queen for that day, complete with a tiara. Information is online at www.qfad.org.

''We congratulate Jenna and wish her well as she competes for the national title early next year,'' read a city statement. ``We also congratulate the Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce for the work that they put into the pageant coordination each year, as well as all of the businesses that support the pageant annually.''

For information on the Miss North Miami USA pageant, call the chamber at 305-891-7811.

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Sunday, July 23, 2006

Contestants Still Leaving a Beauty Mark


The Miss Universe pageant, seen by some as a relic, comes to Los Angeles for the first time in 16 years. It's about more than just good looks.
By Carla Hall, Times Staff Writer
July 22, 2006

Eighty-six beautiful women occupied a curving stretch of tables in the atrium of South Coast Plaza, Sharpies at the ready, as young men with camera phones and mothers with daughters in hair bows snaked past them for autographs.

Jackie Fernandez signed "Jackie, Miss Sri Lanka," sometimes with a smiley face. "Are you coming to the show?" she said brightly to a fan, sunlight catching the amber-colored bindi on her forehead. "Oh, you should! Come support Sri Lanka!"
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Beauty queens: A mirror of the times

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — When you see a beauty pageant, you might see eye candy in bathing suits and high heels.

When Elissa Stein looks at a beauty pageant, she sees a bit more: a snapshot of a nation’s young women, their thoughts, interests and ideals.

Stein, who has written books on prom queens and cheerleaders, looks back at the history of beauty and scholarship pageants in her new book “Beauty Queen” (Chronicle), assembling photos, brief bits of history and words of wisdom, such as how to pack for a pageant.

Her interest in beauty queens began when she was a child growing up in Long Island in the 1970s. “Miss America was like the Super Bowl on TV. ... I always rooted for Miss New York. I’d sit there and watch — the dresses were clouds of chiffon and everyone had amazing hair.”

But aside from the glamour, Stein found an inspiring message. “Being a beauty queen was attainable dream for little girls. Watching it (Miss America) said, ‘You can do it, too. She came from a small town just like you!’”

The first recorded U.S. pageant was in Rehoboth Beach, Del., in 1880. It was a one-time publicity event billed as the search for Miss United States, “the most beautiful unmarried woman in our nation.”

In the early 1920s, the Miss America pageant launched in Atlantic City, N.J., as a way to lure tourists after Labor Day. The sister pageants Miss USA and Miss Universe began in 1952, intended as rivals to Miss America.

At first, the women who competed were hardly the girls next door who later fueled stereotypes of beauty queens, Stein says. Society largely frowned on young women who’d parade around in bathing costumes — although it should be noted that the disapproval didn’t stop a steady flow of women from entering contests.

“Early pageants were radical and the contestants were seen as feminists,” Stein says. “Being a beauty queen was a way to put yourself out there in a time when women didn’t go to college and had no other way out of their small towns.”

Miss America, as well as many local contests, disappeared in the late 1920s and early ’30s — a victim of the Great Depression and conservative values. In 1935, master marketer Lenora Slaughter took over as Miss America’s director. She recognized the opportunity for the pageant to become a tool of success for increasingly independent young women. The contestants would focus on their scholarship, talents and good works, she decided, even if judges and the public might focus more on their figures.

“Beauty pageants have evolved tremendously over the years, “ says hairstylist-to-the-stars Frederic Fekkai, who helped crown Miss USA last year. “Beyond the beautiful faces, gorgeous hair and slim physiques, the women today are incredibly driven and dedicated to having a voice and effecting change in the world. For me, being a judge was an honor and great responsibility, and I saw this as much more than a beauty competition.”

Slaughter, in fact, began calling Miss America a “scholarship competition,” which is how it is still officially described today. The Miss America Organization, along with its network of local pageants, claims to be the world’s leading provider of scholarships to young women, making $45 million in aid available annually.

It was also under Slaughter’s tenure that Miss America began to take on the look of “everygirl USA.”

Sure, she might have worn a little bit more makeup or higher heels, but she largely represented the attractive young woman you might run into in the grocery store, a woman who’d never leave the house without her false eyelashes on, Stein says. Nowadays, pageant winners come from different ethnic backgrounds and have different body types — although, Stein notes, “they all look good in bathing suits.”

But as the public has come to embrace individuality, it’s become harder to pick one woman who represents the ideal look, which might explain the identity crisis that pageants themselves and, maybe more importantly, their TV ratings have suffered the past few years.

The perceived demise of pageants, however, may have been overblown by slick media types who live in New York and Los Angeles, Stein says. “In some parts of the country, pageants are still really popular. ... They give people a sense of innocence and community, maybe not in urban areas but local groups — like the Elk Clubs that sponsor local contests — have a vested community interest. Pageants are popular in the small towns where the contestants come from.”

That might explain why when Miss America moved last year from Atlantic City to Las Vegas and from ABC to Country Music Television, it brought with it the highest ratings ever for the cable channel.

Pageants are particularly popular in the South and Midwest, Stein says, where it’s usually more socially acceptable for young girls to aspire to be beauty queens. “It does seem like Miss Texas is always in the top five. I think it’s a rule!”

But Stein also bursts the myth that the average pageant winner is a blond, blue-eyed Barbie lookalike: More Miss Americas have been brunette than blond.

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Project Runway: Miss USA

Project Runway(S03E02) The absolutely stunning special guest Miss USA, Tara Conner, asked the designers to create a dress for her Miss Universe appearance. Her only requests: yes to earth-tones, no to white, backless is a plus. What an amazing opportunity! Especially this early in the game. All fourteen designers presented sketches to Tara, but she chose only seven to be created. The seven chosen designers had to pick teammates. Angela was incredibly annoying because she kept bugging at Kayne to pick her. Everyone in the room heard her, so she ended up being chosen last... by Vincent (and she had to correct him when he called her "Alison"... Insult to injury, yeah?).

Each designer chose a model this time around (with the ol' Elle spread incentive). The guest judge was Tara, and Michael Kors was substituted by gown goddess Vera Wang.
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WILLIAMS STILL ASKED FOR PIMPLE ADVICE

Former MISS USA VANESSA WILLIAMS has become America's pimple queen - she's usually recognised on the street because of her appearances in TV commercials for the Proactive acne remedy.
The actress/singer has enjoyed a string a chart hits and TV

and stage successes, but fans still approach her for pimple advice following her stint as a spokesmodel for the cosmetics firm.
Stunning Williams insists she doesn't mind being linked to the spot solution line - because she still uses it and she still thinks it's the best bad skin treatment on the market.
She says, "I had bad skin growing up, but it gave me a wonderful opportunity to take my malady. I still continue to break out but I have a way of controlling it.
"People still come up to me and ask for suggestions, from teenagers to mothers who have acne, people that are in their fifties that are breaking out.
"That's something that's going to travel and stay with me forever. That's one of my major things."

Entertainment News by: www.pr-inside.com
Contact information: e-mail



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Competition for the Miss Universe Crown Gets in Full Swing

Competition for the Miss Universe Crown Gets in Full Swing
Momar G. Visaya/Asianjournal.com
"I did not expect it to be this brutal."

That was not Manny Pacquiao describing his latest fight against Oscar Larios.

That was Miss Philippines talking about the upcoming Miss Universe pageant.

A week has passed since Lia Andrea Ramos, a 25-year old stunner representing the Philippines, arrived in Los Angeles to compete in the 55
th Miss Universe beauty pageant.

We have seen the candidates do a host of events during the past seven days, including visits to the Universal Studio, Hard Rock Cafe in Universal City, mall shows and presentation at The Grove in Los Angeles and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, dinner receptions at the Wilshire Grand and Plaza Mexico.

Now that the competition is underway, the gloves are off and the claws (with matching fangs) are revealed.

"Nakakagulat. I did not expect this," Lian told the Asian Journal in an exclusive one-on-one interview arranged by the Miss Universe Organization. Without naming names, Lian said that she saw some of the candidates’ true colors have been revealed.

She remains unaffected, for the most part.

"I understand this is still a competition, and that they did not really come here to make friends but as I told you last week, ayokong magpa-apekto sa mga nakikita at naririnig ko," she said.
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There Are No Losers in Miss Universe, But Who Wins?

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Beauty Feast at Miss Universe 2006 - © Jiang Jingjie - FOTOLIAWe online bettors love gambling on men tackling each other. But this Sunday, we can bet on the world’s most beautiful women. Regrettably, they won’t be sacking each other, but we are betting the uniforms will be wonderful.

Australian Erin McNaught was the one contestant who was chosen to appear on the David Letterman Show and many observers consider her the odds on favorite. However, sportsbooks have her at +1000, tied with Miss Mexico and behind Miss Columbia.

The chalk is Valerie Dominguez, the cousin of Colombian pop sensation Shakira. Miss USA is Tara Elizabeth Conner, a relative long shot at +1500. She has also made the rounds of the American media, appearing with Regis and Kelly as well as NBC’s prime time game show “Deal or No Deal”.

She will have a home stage advantage as this is the first time since 1998 that the competition is being held in the US.

I like you believe I should have been chosen as a judge on the show. No sour grapes necessary because the online sportsbooks give us a chance for redemption.
Click here to view the latest odds and bet on Miss Universe at Pinnacle Sports.
PinnacleSports.com, the leader in reduced juice wagering, offers a 10% cash bonus up to $500 for all new sign ups.
This article was written by Joe Duffy, sports writer for TheOnlineWire.com


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NC Supreme Court refuses to hear Ex-Miss NC's appeal in case of topless photos

(Raleigh, NC-AP) July 18, 2006 - The state Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal in the lawsuit of a former Miss North Carolina who sued state pageant officials after topless photos of her surfaced.

The decision was issued without comment earlier this month and it effectively ends the lawsuit Rebekah Revels filed against the state pageant.

Revels said the Miss North Carolina pageant pressured her to resign after her victory in 2002 when a former boyfriend declared he had topless photos of her.

Lawyer Barry Nakell says Revels will continue her lawsuit against the Miss America organization, which is pending before the state Court of Appeals.

Revels said earlier this year she is living in Atlanta while working to build a career in modeling, singing and acting.

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Here she is, Miss America in KC Tuesday

She rides a wave of fame and ice cream.
By TIM ENGLE
The Kansas City Star
MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION
She’s part of history now: When Jennifer Berry was crowned in January, she became the first Miss America to get the title in Las Vegas.

She’s no longer crowned in Atlantic City, and her pageant can now be seen only on cable. But there’s still no beauty queen quite like Miss America.

The reigning Miss America, Jennifer Berry, arrives in Kansas City today and will be at the zoo Tuesday to hand out free ice cream. Tuesday is also her 23rd birthday, the first one she’ll spend away from her family in Tulsa, Okla. Happily, her best friend, dance instructor Meredith Smith, lives here.

As we chatted with Berry the other day (she was headed from New York to, yes, Atlantic City, for a dance tournament appearance), we realized there are …

10 reasons it’s good to be this Miss America

1. Her platform is ice cream. OK, not really. But she is national spokesperson for Blue Bell Ice Cream, a gig that came about after she mentioned on Tony Danza’s show that Blue Bell is what she misses most about home. (“You can’t find it everywhere,” she explains.) Favorite flavor: mint chocolate chip. And if you’re wondering how someone in Miss America’s shape can eat ice cream, she’ll tell you: “Moderation.”

Her actual platform is speaking out against drunken driving and underage drinking. When she was 15, a 16-year-old friend died in an accident that involved alcohol.

More at the Source



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Betting on Miss Universe

We've written lots of serious stuff over the weekend; if you haven't already seen it, scroll down. For now, I want to take time out to comment on a rather weird phenomenon: betting on beauty pageants. As regular readers know, the finale of the Miss Universe pageant is only a week away. Over the last few days, betting on the event has sprung up on a number of web sites. This one purports to summarize the current state of play.


Put aside, for a moment, the question of what would possess a person unrelated to any of the contestants to wager on a beauty pageant, and focus on the odds. It's clear that this year's event is wide open; the shortest odds are 10 to 1. And there is no clear favorite, as five or six contestants are bunched at the top. Miss Canada is one of the leaders:
Canada992.jpg
But Miss Canada won last year, and a repeat is unlikely. Another favorite is Miss Switzerland, but I don't buy it; click to enlarge:

Also tied at the top is Miss Bolivia, who, like Miss Canada, apparently benefits from her height, which doesn't do much for me; click to enlarge:

Next in line is Miss Australia, the subject of a pre-pageant mini-scandal. She seems to be among the contest's more likable personalities, but I very much doubt that she'll win:
Australia33.jpg
Which brings us to Miss Iceland, the most intriguing contestant so far. Her pre-pageant photos were borderline frumpy, but the What Not to Wear crew seem to have gotten ahold of her, and the pageant photos taken over the last few days are a huge improvement; click to enlarge:

My guess, for what it's worth, is that none of the current front-runners will win. There are lots of strong candidates--Angola, Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua, and many more, all of whom can be viewed via the drop-down menu here. If I were going to bet--although I still haven't figured out why anyone would do that--I'd probably stick with my original favorites, Miss Puerto Rico and Miss Sri Lanka; click to enlarge:
srilanka-1.jpg

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