What kind of nation have we become when royalty like Miss USA 2003 Susie Castillo has to submit to the obscene vulgarities of airport screening? Is no one's junk exempt from degrading scenes like this? (Ask John Boehner.) In this tearful video (presumably shot by her chaperone), Castillo explains how her vagina was touched four times during a TSA patdown: more ›

Despite almost tripping in her evening gown (video below), a 24-year-old Arab American woman from Dearborn, Michigan won the Miss USA crown last night in Las Vegas. (New York's contestant, Davina Reeves, didn't even make the semis.) Rima Fakih, a Lebanese immigrant who was brought to the U.S. as a baby, bested runner-up Morgan Elizabeth Woolard of Oklahoma, who was asked by "The Office" star Cesar Nunez where she stood on Arizona's SB 1070. The crowd immediately started booing, and naturally some right-wingers are blaming liberal bias on her loss. more ›

CBS, NBC and other news outlets are reporting that the official Miss USA promotional photos, which show the contestants pouting in lingerie, may have "gone too far." On NBC's The Today Show this morning, host Matt Lauer channeled his inner Kramer by telling the pageant's president that the photos "seemed designed to generate controversy and buzz about the pageant." NBC, incidentally, will be broadcasting the pagaent from Las Vegas Sunday night "with Today’s Natalie Morales and celebrity chef Curtis Stone handling the hosting duties." more ›

Nothing says "responsibility" like Paris Hilton. This prom season, the socialite's naked "corpse" will be used as an educational tool for teens getting ready for the big dance. The "corpse" was created by Daniel Edwards, who Hilton herself had reportedly commissioned to create a sculpture of her for Los Angeles' Sunset Strip. This probably isn't what she had in mind. The interactive PSA will be a life-sized replica of Hilton (with her privelaged pup Tinkerbell) wearing a tiara, gripping on to her cell phone, and containing...removable innards in her opened abdominal cavity. Somehow this is meant to warn teenagers about the hazards of underage drinking. more ›

Perfect for a Saturday in NY: A lovely, married head doctor accused of having sex with a prisoner! Psychologist Madgalena Sanchez was arraigned at Brooklyn Federal Court yesterday for having sex with an inmate under her care - and lying to the Department of Justice about it! more ›

The 22nd Annual April Fools' Day Parade is today. Did you go? We hope not, because this is a long running joke itself. During its 15th year the press was fooled and showed up to find no parade. From the Museum of Hoaxes: more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

A look at some noteworthy television programs this week: more ›

I am Legend in Washington Square Park, by sdsparks. more ›

Gothamist was hoping we could end the week without another peep out of Donald Trump, but Rosie O'Donnell just ruined it for us! Yesterday, she slammed him over the Miss USA Tara Conner scandal (Gawker has a clip), and then he fired (heh?) back hard. From The Insider:

"(He) left the first wife -- had an affair, left the second wife, had an affair, but he's the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America," she said from her perch on "The View." She added that personally she has "never enjoyed" watching The Donald and in a final challenge, said to the cameras, "Donald, sit and spin, my friend!" more ›

That Donald Trump. Just last week, there was all this attention about his hotel planned for Soho hitting a snag - well, actually many, many human remains - when a graveyard was found. The Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order and community groups criticizing the 45-floor Trump Soho Hotel rejoiced for the moment. And then Tara Conner happened. more ›

After a fast and furious spate of gossip about underage drinking, drug abuse, and behavior unbecoming to a Miss USA, Miss USA Tara Conner was given a second chance by Donald Trump and pageant organizers. Trump has reportedly loved the attention from the scandal (the new season of the Apprentice starts in January!) and, at the press conference, he was as grandiose as ever. Basically, he referenced how he "fired" Miss USA 2002 Oxana Federova because she wasn't doing a good job. And he did say he expect to fire Conner before their meeting. But, ultimately, The Donald saw a "good person" caught up in the whirlwind that is New York ."

It's a story that's happened many times before, to many women and to many men that come to the Big Apple. They wanted their slice of the Big Apple and they found out it wasn't so easy. I'm always a believer in second chances... Tara is a good person. Tara has tried hard. Tara is going to be given a second chance. more ›

The Miss USA situation has reached the scandal point: Miss USA Tara Conner has reportedly tested positive for drugs and was kicked out of her apartment at Trump Place on the Upper West Side. Conner went back home to Kentucky as gossip about her illegal (she's underage) partying ways reached the media. The Daily News revealed Conner failed drug test (a person told the News that she was seen snorting cocaine at a nightclub) and enjoyed partying with her fellow underage pageant winner, Miss Teen USA Katie Blair. One person told the News, "Tara was a party animal. I've seen [Conner and Blair] kiss before. They always dance all sexy on the tables. ... They definitely get close." more ›

West Chelsea can do no right, as now Miss USA Tara Conner is getting raked over the coals over her partying. Yesterday, TMZ reported pageant officials and NBC met to discuss Conner's status as Miss USA, given "alleged incidents of her inappropriate behavior, including her conduct at New York City bars." And by inappropriate, they mean underaging drinking at clubs downtown, alleged substance abuse, and missing Miss USA appearances, as Conner is only 20 years old. While Donald Trump, who co-owns the pageants (the winners of Miss USA, as well as Miss Teen USA and Miss Universe, live at Trump Place on the Upper West Side), said that officials were evaluating Conner's situation as she's "going through some personal problems and difficulties right now which could affect her ability to reign," she's still Miss USA. more ›

After a week of watching episode 1 over and over again, we're ready for the second episode. The episode starts off with models being chosen. Aha! The so-called spoiler of model Jia being injured on the way to the Final Three fashion show is not much of a spoiler, because who knows who she'll go with next. Model selection goes smoothly and, for the record, Jia is chosen by Vincent. more ›

Set your TiVo's, kids. "Celebrity Cooking Showdown" is scheduled for the week of April 17th on NBC. This week-long competition pits various "celebrities" against each other in a culinary smackdown of sorts, judged by food critic Gael Greene and high-end event planner Colin Cowie. The motley crew of celebs includes Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, Ja Rule, Tom Arnold, Gabrielle Reece, Days of Our Lives' Allison Sweeney, supermodel Naomi Campbell, reigning Miss USA Chelsea Cooley and country singer Big Kenny. The show is hosted by none other than Alan Thicke from Growing Pains and the Food Network's Sandra Lee (who hosts Semi-Homemade, not high on the Gothamist love-list) will host the show (at least she's not judging). more ›