Miss California, a history buff, named Miss USA (Reuters)

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – A 21-year-old "history geek" representing California was named Miss USA at the annual beauty pageant in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Alyssa Campanella, who was born and raised in New Jersey which she represented at the Miss Teen USA contest in 2007, was considered among the favorites by pageant experts.

She will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant to be held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 12.

Campanella was crowned by incumbent Miss USA, Rima Fakih, a Lebanese-born Muslim who was the first Arab-American to hold the title.

Miss Tennessee came in second, Miss Alabama was third, and Miss Texas was fourth.

Campanella is a natural blond who dyed her hair red for a play several years ago and never went back. She told Reuters that she moved to Los Angeles about 18 months ago, and would like to remain there once her duties were over.

After revealing on the show that she was a "huge history geek" with a special interest in the Tudor and Stuart periods, she added in the interview that her favorite monarch was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was beheaded in 1587.

Campanella won the crown despite giving a muddled answer when a judge asked her whether marijuana should be legalized in California. She replied that marijuana for medical purposes was "very important," but had concerns about whether legalization would help in the war against drugs.

Miss Tennessee, 21-year-old journalism student Ashley Elizabeth Durham, declared that burning the American flag should not be protected by free speech and that burning religious books was "just a line that you do not cross."

DON'T STAND BY YOUR MAN

Miss Alabama, 22-year-old Madeleine Mitchell, said Internet bullies whose taunts force their targets to commit suicide should be prosecuted. Miss Texas, 25-year-old Ana Rodriguez, received loud applause when she said the wives of political figures caught in sex scandals should move on "and find a man who really loves you."

The fate of most of the 51 contestants was decided during a preliminary ceremony last Wednesday when a panel of judges selected 15 of the quarter-finalists based on their swimwear and evening gowns. A 16th spot was reserved for a contestant determined by fans' Internet voting.

During that event, Campanella tripped while parading in her evening gown.

The results were announced early in Sunday's ceremony, with contestants from Georgia, Arizona, Maine, Utah, Indiana, South Carolina, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Missouri and Maryland rounding out the top 15. Miss New Mexico was the fan favorite for the 16th spot.

The semi-finalists were then whittled down to Maine, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Alabama, Hawaii, California and Maryland by a new panel of judges.

(Written by Dean Goodman in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Tim Pratt in Las Vegas)

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Actress Rita Wilson named editor of 'Huff/Post 40' (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Thu Jun 16, 2:41 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The Huffington Post is launching a new site aimed at the baby boomer generation, and Rita Wilson will direct its vision and content.

AOL Huffington Post Media Group President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington said Thursday that the actress and producer will be editor-at-large of "Huff/Post 40," which is set to launch in August. She says Wilson even came up with the name of the new site.

Huffington said in an interview that the new site is designed to appeal to men and women over 40 and it will be "both about news and about people sharing their own experiences about that stage in life."

She credited her and Wilson's shared Greek heritage for setting them up to value aging as a process that brings wisdom and new possibilities.

The 54-year-old Wilson, who is married to Tom Hanks, has acted in movies, on television and on Broadway. She has also written stories on style and health for O, The Oprah Magazine and Harper's Bazaar, where she has been a contributing editor since 2006.

Wilson made good on a lifelong dream to perform on Broadway at age 49, Huffington said. That drive, and Wilson's sense of humor, is what makes her the "perfect godmother" for the new site.

"She's always following her own passions and making things happen, so I think she's a great role model," Huffington said.

The HuffPo founder said she wasn't concerned about Wilson's limited experience in journalism, calling the new editor-at-large "a wonderful writer herself and she has a clear sense of what the theme of the site will be." She said they are now working to fill other top editorial positions for the new site.

"Huff/Post 40" will be uplifting and interactive, Huffington said.

"It's important to cover this with a sense of joy about this age ... that's another thing that's often missing from the writing about this stage of life," she said. "You worry about approval less; you're more clear about who you are — all those things are so liberating. It's a very liberating time of life, I say as I turn 60...

"It's an age where you can look less at the past and more into the future."

Huffington is also looking into the future as she continues to expand her media empire with AOL. She's developing Huffington Post France; Huffington Post UK launches July 6 and Huffington Post Canada went live last month.

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Online:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

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Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy

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TV series twosome named to announce Emmy nominees (AP)

NEW YORK – TV series stars Melissa McCarthy and Joshua Jackson will be early risers on July 14 to announce the nominations for this year's prime-time Emmys.

McCarthy and Jackson will be up at 5:40 a.m. Pacific time to join John Shaffner, chairman of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, to make the announcements in Los Angeles, the Academy said Wednesday.

McCarthy stars on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly," and is also appearing opposite Kristen Wiig in the comedy feature "Bridesmaids."

Jackson is currently starring on the Fox sci-fi drama "Fringe."

The 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards telecast is scheduled to air on Fox on Sept. 18.

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Houston opera conductor named new music director (AP)

HOUSTON – Houston Grand Opera conductor Patrick Summers has been named the organization's artistic and music director in a shuffle of top management after the departure of general director Anthony Freud.

The opera's board also named chief operating officer Perryn Leech as managing director. Freud resigned to lead the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Summers has conducted more than 45 operas in his 13 years with the Houston Grand Opera. He also is principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Opera and appears with the Metropolitan Opera in New York and other leading companies.

Leech joined the Houston Grand Opera as chief operating officer in 2010, after a 27-year career in production at theaters and opera companies that include the English National Opera and the Welsh National Opera.

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Singer John Rich named `Celebrity Apprentice' (AP)

NEW YORK – Country singer John Rich went all the way on "The Celebrity Apprentice," claiming victory and $250,000 for charity.

He was up against actress Marlee Matlin on Sunday's finale of the NBC reality show.

Host Donald Trump said it was his toughest "Apprentice" ruling yet.

"I've never had to go through something like this... You've both been amazing," Trump told the pair before announcing his choice on the live portion of the program.

This season of "Celebrity Apprentice" began airing in March with 16 contestants, each competing in business-oriented tasks around Manhattan to raise money for and publicize their favorite causes. The final challenge had called for competing promotional campaigns for a brand of soda.

Rich now wins a $250,000 check for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Matlin, who won the 1987 Academy Award for best actress for "Children of a Lesser God," had been playing for the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

Shortly before the verdict was delivered, the two joined forces to perform a song, "For the Kids," which Rich sang and Matlin, who is deaf, signed evocatively.

Most of the "fired" contestants were back for the live finale. But one of them, reality-show star Richard Hatch, was conspicuously absent. In the latest chapter of his brushes with the law, he had been returned to prison for tax evasion several weeks ago.

Asked by Trump to comment on Hatch's legal woes, onetime teen idol David Cassidy, a contestant who had clashed with Hatch this season, responded with a smile, "I think he's in the right place at the right time."

Trump was presiding over "The Celebrity Apprentice" just six days after declaring he wouldn't run for the White House in 2012. For several weeks, Trump had floated the idea of a Republican presidential candidacy during a publicity-commanding blast that seemed conveniently to coincide with the current season of his TV show.

He'll be back for another round of "Celebrity Apprentice" next season, he told the world last Monday during an NBC gathering for advertisers.

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http://www.nbc.com

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Iraqi singer Kadhim al-Sahir named UNICEF ambassador (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – UNICEF named Iraqi singer Kadhim al-Sahir, known as the "Czar of Arab Song," as a goodwill ambassador to Iraq on Monday.

Sahir, whose song "Me and Layla" is one of the most popular in Middle East music, was introduced by the United Nations Children's Fund at a news conference inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on his first trip back to his homeland in 14 years.

"I hope I can deliver a message ... I know the children (here) have suffered deprivation for many years," Sahir said.

Sahir, born in 1957 in the northern city of Mosul, started his career in the 1980s and gained a reputation for performing poems by prominent Arab poets.

UNICEF said he would focus on raising awareness and mobilizing support to respond to the needs of the most deprived and vulnerable of Iraq's 15 million children.

"It is the right of the people to work, have a good life, and have a happy childhood," Sahir said.

Iraq is trying to rebuild after decades of dictatorship, war and international sanctions.

(Reporting by Khalid al-Ansary; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Baby Beckham to be named Justine Bieber Beckham?

OMG, this story is almost too cute. If the naming of David and Victoria Beckham’s new baby was left up to her big brothers, she’d be named after tween sensation Justin Bieber.
 
During a chat with Jimmy Kimmel, daddy David revealed that his boys have been suggesting names for their new little sister. Explains David,

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