ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The Latest on the 2017 Miss America pageant (all times local):
11 p.m.
Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields is the new Miss America.
Shields topped a field of 52 contestants to win the crown and the title of Miss America 2017 Sunday night in Atlantic City.
She succeeds the outgoing Miss America Betty Cantrell.
Shields performed a jazz dance to a song from the TV show “Smash,” for which she won a preliminary competition earlier in the week.
The pageant from Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.
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9:35 p.m.
The first openly gay contestant in the Miss America pageant has been eliminated from the competition.
Miss Missouri Erin O’Flaherty was not chosen as one of the top 15 finalists in Sunday night’s nationally televised pageant.
She is the first openly gay contestant to win a state title.
The top 15 are: Kentucky; Washington; Massachusetts; Arkansas; South Carolina; Idaho; Iowa; Texas;
California; Oklahoma; Maryland; New York; Tennessee; Louisiana, and Mississippi.
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9:25 p.m.
The top 15 finalists in the Miss America pageant have been announced. They are:
Kentucky; Washington; Massachusetts; Arkansas; South Carolina; Idaho; Iowa; Texas;
California; Oklahoma; Maryland; New York; Tennessee; Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The new Miss America should be crowned around 11 p.m.
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9 p.m.
The 2017 Miss America pageant is underway in Atlantic City.
The competition features contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
They’re vying to succeed Betty Cantrell as the new Miss America.
The winner is expected to be crowned around 11 p.m. EST at Boardwalk Hall.
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12 a.m.
The sashes have been steamed, the hair teased and the routines polished.
Now, it’s up to the 52 contestants in the Miss America pageant to win the crown Sunday night in Atlantic City and become Miss America 2017.
The nationally televised finale will be held in Boardwalk Hall. It includes contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
One of them will have their lives changed forever, and receive a $50,000 scholarship.