Miss Japan Crowned Miss Universe 2007

A raven-haired Miss Japan, Riyo Mori, was crowned Miss Universe 2007 in a contest marked by protests, a banned dress and the withdrawal of one beauty queen on the grounds the pageant degrades women.

Mori, 20, the 56th winner of the title, was given her $250,000 diamond-and-pearl crown by last year's winner, Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico, watched by a live audience of 10,000 and some 600 million television viewers worldwide.

During the evening gown parade, Miss USA, Rachel Smith, slipped on the runway and landed on her bottom, although the slip didn't stop her earning fifth place.

Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying 'Hola, Mexico!'

"I learned how to always be happy, be patient and to be positive, and this is what I want to teach to the next generation," she said during the interview competition.

The daughter of a dance school operator, Mori said her grandmother told her as a child that she wanted her to be Miss Japan before she turned 20.

"From the very beginning, I entered the competition with high hopes and an unswerving determination to make this dream a reality," she said in a pre-competition interview.

This year's contest was marked by controversy, with a handful of Mexicans booing Smith in the run-up to the finals because of what they saw as U.S. unfriendliness toward illegal immigrants.

Miss Sweden, Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, unexpectedly pulled out of the event because of complaints in her country that it degrades women.

In another hitch, Miss Mexico was made to change her outfit for the regional dress contest after her original dress, decorated with brutal images of rebels in a 1920s religious uprising being hanged or shot, drew accusations of poor taste.

Hours before the pageant began, dozens of protesters held a mock ceremony in downtown Mexico City that featured "Miss Marijuana," "Miss Sexual Health," "Miss Human Rights" and other candidates with obscenities written across their sashes. The group yelled "Neither ugly nor beautiful, should a woman be considered an object!"

Top Five places were shared between:
Miss Japan: Winner
Miss Brazil: First runner-up
Miss Venezuela: Second runner-up
Miss Korea: Third runner-up
Miss USA: Fourth runner-up

No Second Chance For Miss Nevada

Although Donald Tump was kind enough to give the current Miss USA another chance - Miss Nevada wont be so lucky.

The president of the Miss Universe Organization has announced that the request of Katie Rees to be reinstated as Miss Nevada USA has been denied.

She was stripped of her title after some racy photos of her appeared on the Internet. Some of them showed her kissing other young women, and exposing one of her breasts, reports the Associated Press.

The speculation that she might be given another chance was sparked by comments from Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe Organization and Miss USA with NBC. He told the TV show "Extra" that he was looking at the decision to fire Rees.

It was Trump who recently announced that he would let Miss USA Tara Conner keep that title, even though she was caught drinking in New York bars when she was still under-age. He did so after she agreed to undergo drug testing and enter rehab.

Miss USA Tara Conner To Keep Her Crown

Donald Trump announced at a news conference today that the Miss USA organization is going to let Tara Conner keep her crown, despite "behavioral and personal issues" which included going to bars even though she's underage.

Trump said he believed she made bad mistakes but deserves a second chance, and would undergo therapy for her problems.

"I want to apologize to my family," Tara Conner said while brushing away tears. "I swear I will not let you down."

Saying that Tara "got caught up in the whirlwind that is New York," The Donald announced he concluded that she deserved a chance to redeem herself.

"I've always been a believer in second chances," he said. "Tara is a good person, Tara has tried hard, Tara is going to be given a second chance... she's a good person. If she wasn't a good person, I wouldn't have done this, believe me."

He added that "many of the allegations about Tara were false," but would not comment on drug testing or get into further specifics.

The Miss Universe Organization is owned by Trump and NBC.

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Miss USA Tara Conner Might Lose Her Tiara

Miss USA Tara Conner Might Lose Her Tiara

"The girl can wake up in the morning and flip a switch and change into Miss USA. Honestly, she's kind of like Lindsay Lohan."

Tara Conner, who was crowned Miss USA in April, might lose her tiara because of her behavior from the past months.

Anonymous sources tell the "Daily News" that Tara Conner, 20, was using cocaine, lustily kissing Miss Teen USA in public and sneaking men into their Trump Place apartment.

The source said: "Tara was a party animal. I've seen them (Miss USA Tara Connor and Miss Teen USA Katie Blair, 18) kiss before. They always dance all sexy on the tables. ... They definitely get close."

Tara is said to have a drug problem and not to be keep in secret the persons she is intimate with. Another source said: "She has a really bad drug problem. Everyone at Miss USA hated her. She slept with [Blink 182's] Travis Barker and she sleeps with all the club promoters."

"She was latching onto a crew of promoters because she had no other friends and she was using them for drugs. She started utilizing hip New York City people in the night-life scene to feed her addictions."

Donald Trump, Miss USA pageant boss said he and the Miss Universe Organization will "study the situation." And re-evaluate it because of her "behavioral and personal issues"

At the Upper West Side property, where the Miss USA winner is given an apartment every year, the doorman said Tara doesn't live there anymore. She returned to Kentucky.

The doorman said: "She does not live here anymore. She is not allowed any where on Trump property. She is certainly not allowed to come back. I don't think it was her choice, really."

One of her friends said Tara didn't really wanted to be Miss USA, although she's very ambitious.

"She always complained how it was a pain in the ass to wake up in the morning and she had to get crazy s - - - done to her teeth. The girl can wake up in the morning and flip a switch and change into Miss USA. Honestly, she's kind of like Lindsay Lohan."

If Tara Conner will be de-crowned, her tiara will be passed to Tamiko Nash.