Miss Spain Becomes First Transgender Woman To Compete In Miss Universe

Agencies
December 18, 2018

Dec 18: Angela Ponce, better known as the reigning Miss Spain, didn't win the Miss Universe pageant Sunday.

But she didn't seem to mind.

Simply by representing her country this year, Ponce became the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe. After the preliminary rounds, the 27-year-old model said it was "an honor and pride" to be part of the history of the pageant.

"This is for you, for those who have no visibility, no voice, because we all deserve a world of respect, inclusion and freedom," Ponce wrote on Instagram on Friday. "And today I am here, proudly representing my nation, all women and human rights."

Though Miss Universe - and other beauty pageants - have undergone scrutiny (and changes) in recent years to avoid objectifying women, Ponce said she embraced the competition as a chance to fulfill not only her personal ambitions but to be an ambassador for Spanish culture.

For her national costume, she donned a traditional Spanish "bata de cola."

"This is an iconic piece in Spain, also known all over the world," Ponce explained on Instagram. "It is a precious reference of my country."

For the talent portion, Ponce danced the flamenco, something she said she had been doing since she was 6 years old. For the longest time, her dream was merely to perform the dance while wearing a flamenco dress. That didn't happen until she was 17 years old.

"For a long time those were things I always wanted to do," Ponce told Miss Universe organizers. "I put so much focus into it, that in the end, it became a reality."

She smiled and motioned to herself, as if to emphasize: She wasn't just dancing the flamenco in a dress now. She was doing it in a dress at Miss Universe.

"None of us are obligated to be here. And for me, it's a platform to share my voice," she told Today Style. "To me, feminism is freedom to do what you want, when you want to. We cannot put brakes on the freedom of women, on one platform or another."

The pageant seemed to embrace her, too, tweeting video of Ponce entering the stage with the caption: "A walk to remember. A historic night for #MissUniverse."

It was a sharp change for the Miss Universe organization, which was criticized in 2012 after disqualifying transgender woman Jenna Talackova from the Miss Canada competition that year because she was not "naturally born" a woman.

After Talackova threatened legal action, the organization - then owned by Donald Trump - changed the rules to allow transgender contestants in its pageants.

"As long as she meets the standards of legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, which we understand that she does, Jenna Talackova is free to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant," Trump attorney Michael Cohen said at the time. "Nobody is capitulating . . . Like all the other contestants, [Talackova] is wished the best of luck by Mr. Trump."

Talackova ultimately finished in the top 12 of the Miss Canada pageant and was one of four contestants awarded "Miss Congeniality." She did not advance to the Miss Universe pageant that year.

Fast-forward six years.

Ponce, who is from Pilas in southern Spain, acknowledged that it had been difficult at times to live as a woman "in a society where everyone said I couldn't do that" - but credited her family for supporting her.

"They're my foundation so that my life could unfold," Ponce told Today.com. "They saw to it that I did not have a traumatic childhood. They are my strength."

The final portions of the Miss Universe pageant were broadcast live Sunday. Miss Philippines, 24-year-old Catriona Gray, was crowned the 2018 winner.

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News Network
May 26,2020

Washington, May 26: Making a slight change to the name of their newborn, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his singer girlfriend Grimes have now named their first child X AE A-Xii.

The difference is only in the numeral part of the name which is now written in the Roman format.

Earlier this month, the celebrity couple hogged headlines for naming their son X AE A-12.

The change in the name came when an Instagram follower of the Canadian singer asked if she had considered changing the name of the child and she replied with, "X AE A-Xii."

However, the performer didn't provide further insight concerning the reason behind the change.

Canadian singer Grimes gave birth to her first child on May 4.

The 32-year-old had earlier taken to Twitter and explained the meaning of the baby's name.  

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News Network
July 26,2020

Washington, Jul 26: Regis Philbin, the iconic television personality best-known for his hosting duties on 'Live!' with co-hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Kelly Ripa, and 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' has died. The beloved star was 88.

According to People Magazine, the longtime television host died on July 24. His family shared a statement on Saturday, "We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday,"
"His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him - for his warmth, his legendary sense of humour, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about. 

We thank his fans and admirers for their incredible support over his 60-year career and ask for privacy as we mourn his loss," the Philbin family says.

Philbin began his iconic career in 1988, as the host of 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee' alongside TV presenter Kathie Lee Gifford. After 15 years, Gifford left the ABC show but the pair remained close after her departure.

In 2001, the franchise became 'Live! with Regis and Kelly', co-starring Kelly Ripa before he left in 2011 after 23 years on-air.

From 1999 to 2002, Philbin also served as the original host of the widely popular game show 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.' In addition, the New York City native's hosting credits include 'Million Dollar Password', the first season of 'America's Got Talent', as well as a reoccurring co-host seat on 'Rachael Ray'.

Born on August 25, 1931, Philbin was raised in the Bronx and graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School in 1949 before attending the University of Notre Dame, where he earned a sociology degree in 1953.

After serving in the Navy, Philbin began his career in show business as a writer and made his way in front of the camera in 1961 with a local talk show in San Diego called 'The Regis Philbin Show'. Then in 1967, he became widely known as Joey Bishop's sidekick on 'The Joey Bishop Show'.

After a string of local talk shows, including 'A.M. Los Angeles' and 'Regis Philbin's Saturday Night in St. Louis', the star moved to New York in 1983 to host 'The Morning Show', which was renamed three years later as 'Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee'.

His accolades include Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding talk show host for 'Live!' in 2001 and 2011 as well as an outstanding game show host for 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. He also received a Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003 and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2008.

Throughout his career, Philbin had various health issues. He underwent an angioplasty in 1993, followed by triple bypass surgery due to plaque in his arteries in March 2007. In December 2009, the television personality had his hip replaced.

Married twice, Philbin is survived by daughters J.J. Philbin and Joanna Philbin, whom he shared with his wife of 50 years, Joy Philbin. He was also father to daughter Amy Philbin, whom he shared with his first wife Catherine Faylen. Philbin and Faylen had another child, son Daniel Philbin, who died in 2014.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Kochi, Jun 27: The Kerala government on Friday submitted an application in a local court requesting to stop the prosecution of ivory possession case against Malayalam film actor Mohanlal.

In the application for withdrawal of prosecution, the government has requested the court to stop the prosecution "immediately for the interest of justice".

''The legality of the possession of two elephant tusks by Mohanlal was accepted by the competent authority under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 by issuing him a certificate of ownership. The possession and custody of the elephant tusks thus become legal after the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) issued him the certificate," the state government said.

"Further conduct of the criminal trial may go against the good faith amongst the parties as far as the certificate of ownership issued to Mohanlal is concerned. One cannot go back from that ownership certificate and it was stopped from contradicting, deny or declare to be false the previous statement made by the actor in the court," it added.

"The government should not be allowed to revert from its promises in order to keep the faith of the people and in the interest of good governance," the government further said.

The case was registered by the forest department in 2012. The state government submitted the application in Kuruppampady Judicial Magistrate Court, which will hear the matter on July 24.

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