Miss America to end swimsuit competition
Los Angeles, June 5: Miss America will no longer have its contestants compete in swimsuits and will stop referring to itself as a pageant. This is an effort to move the 97-year-old event forward in the #MeToo era.
Gretchen Carlson, the new chairperson of the board of trustees for the Miss America Organization, announced the changes on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday as part of the competition's attempt to shift its emphasis away from comparing women's looks and bodies, reports ew.com.
"We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance," said Carlson, who was crowned Miss America in 1989.
"That's huge."
The re-imagined event will feature "a live interactive session with the judges" in place of a swimsuit competition and contestants can opt to wear any attire that makes them feel comfortable and confident during what typically is the evening gown portion, according to ABC News.
The changes will be in place for the next Miss America competition, set for September 9 in Atlantic City.
"It's going to be what comes out of their mouth that we're interested in when we talk about their social impact initiatives," Carlson said.
Carlson emphasized the Miss America Organisation's work is to provide women with educational scholarships and opportunities. Contestants between the ages of 17 and 25 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia can compete.
The change comes amid a national reckoning of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace - a conversation Carlson herself helped draw attention to when she spoke out against and sued her former boss, former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, for sexual harassment in 2016.
"This is a new beginning, and change can sometimes be difficult, but I know a lot about change," she said on "Good Morning America".
In the years since Carlson spoke out against her former employer, more women have stepped forward to share their stories and demand an end to sexual harassment and assault in the workplace as the #MeToo movement garnered widespread attention.
Miss America itself came under fire in the winter when a report exposed emails from former Miss America CEO Sam Haskell that included disparaging language about contestants, their bodies and their sex lives.
Haskell resigned from his position, and so did the organisation's chairperson, Lynn Weidner.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
