Miss Universe

Miss Angola Leila Lopes is crowned Miss Universe
 
Newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native Angola further escape its history of war and impoverishment and said she plans to focus on combatting HIV around the globe.

Lopes, 25, laughed and smiled as she hugged runner-up Miss Ukraine Olesia Stefanko, then felt a crown placed carefully on her head after dazzling a panel of judges with her beauty and impressing them with her brain.

Speaking in a timid voice early Tuesday shortly after taking the crown in South America's largest city, the 25-year-old Lopes said that "as Miss Angola I've already done a lot to help my people."

"I've worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs," she said. "I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more."
Responding to questions, the business student said that she has never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sun block even when it's not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition.
The first runner-up was the 23-year-old Stefanko and the second runner-up was Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was Miss Philippines and the fourth Miss China. Contestants spent the past three weeks in Sao Paulo, trying to learn samba dance steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for cameras as the Miss Universe pageant came to Brazil for the first time.

Andre Penner  /  AP

The sixteen finalists stand in line during the Miss Universe pageant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Monday.

Despite battling against a home country favorite, Lopes won over the audience, speaking in the shared language of Portuguese. Angola, like Brazil, is a former Portuguese colony.
"She captivated the crowd and we were all behind her," said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the crowd inside Credicard Hall where the event took place. "It was great that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her the question about her looks."
Another fan in the audience, Carolina Rocha, said Lopes' win was "well deserved, we were cheering for her all along. Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart from the others. She also answered her question very well, that likely helped her a lot."
The panelists, who included race car driver Helio Castroneves to actress Vivica A. Fox and journalist Connie Chung, scored the women on each contest, narrowing from a group of 16 down to a final five.
'These women are not just objects' Speaking before the event, Chung said that she was taking the contest seriously.
"I know my job and I'll be tough, but fair," Chung said. "You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They're to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too."

The contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the competition year.
The pageant, hosted by TODAY anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network's Andy Cohen, was broadcast live on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.) The contest is co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves.

Sarah Palin Bus Tour

Sarah Palin begins a bus tour of East Coast with a motorcycle ride in Washington

Sarah Palin rumbled through Washington on the back of a Harley as she and her family began an East Coast tour Sunday, renewing speculation that the former Alaska governor would join the still unsettled Republican presidential contest.

Wearing a black leather jacket and surrounded by a throng of cheering fans, Palin and family members jumped on bikes and joined thousands of other motorcyclists on the Memorial Day weekend ride from the Pentagon to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Palin didn’t mention politics as she visited with participants, but she smiled broadly when many in the crowd urged her to run.

When one man asked her if she was running, she smiled and answered, “Don’t know.”

Palin remains one of the biggest questions for Republicans, who have not yet settled on a frontrunner to challenge President Barack Obama’s re-election. While many of Palin’s likely rivals have worked to build campaign organizations in early nominating states such as Iowa or New Hampshire, Palin has taken no concrete steps to begin a presidential campaign.

Given Palin’s star power, she might be able to wait longer than others. But the clock is ticking, the establishment isn’t happy with its options and one of the earliest tests of campaign infrastructure, the straw poll in Ames, Iowa, is scheduled for August.

Palin showed no hints she would join the field on Sunday although she again demonstrated her ability to build excitement and practice the person-to-person, retail politics that she clearly loves. In heels and black flare slacks, Palin shook hands and posed for pictures with well-wishers.

“How do you wear all this leather and stay cool?” she asked one woman. Palin asked others to show off their tattoos as she took off her own leather jacket and worked her way through a crush of fans, photographers and reporters.

Just before Palin, husband Todd and daughters Bristol and Piper rolled from the Pentagon’s parking lot, she gave a thumbs-up to a military police officer who asked if he could snap a picture while taking a break from directing traffic.

On the windshield of Palin’s bike: a likeness of President George W. Bush. Next to it, the words “Miss Me?” And on her hand, the words “justice rolls” were written in smeared ink.

It was an apparent reference to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which is quoted on Palin’s website: “We will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Palin didn’t take questions from reporters and, in keeping her social media strategy, offered her thoughts on her political website.

“There’s no better way to see D.C. than on the back of a Harley!” Palin wrote. “My family may be used to snowmachines more so than motorcycles.”

Palin, whom Sen. John McCain elevated from an obscure governor to national star, set off from Washington on a tour of East Coast historical sites. Her political committee billed the swing as an opportunity for her family to visit historic sites as they worked their way to New England.