NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

21-year-old Californian wins Miss USA crown

LAS VEGAS

A 21-year-old auburn-haired California girl has won the Miss USA crown in Las Vegas and will represent the nation in this year’s Miss Universe pageant.

Alyssa Campanella of Los Angeles topped a field of 51 beauty queens to take the title Sunday night at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Campanella won after strutting across the stage in a blue bikini with white polka dots and a dark turquoise evening gown with beading on its top.

She also answered a question about legalizing marijuana by saying she didn’t think it should be fully legalized but it should be available to those who need it for medical purposes.

Miss Tennessee Ashley Durham was the first runner-up.

Reynolds’ ‘Lantern’ has low-beam debut

LOS ANGELES

Ryan Reynolds is the latest superhero to rule the weekend box office.

Reynolds’ “Green Lantern” debuted at No. 1 with $52.7 million domestically, a fair but unremarkable opening stacked up against other comic-book adaptations. The movie added $17 million in a handful of overseas markets where it has opened, including Great Britain and Russia.

Released by Warner Bros., “Green Lantern” brought up the rear among superhero movies to open so far this summer, behind the $65.7 million debut of “Thor” and the $55.1 million launch of “X-Men: First Class.”

The previous weekend’s top flick, Paramount Pictures’ sci-fi adventure “Super 8,” slipped to No. 2 with $21.3 million.

Montgomery Gentry joins cancer cause

ATLANTA

Eddie Montgomery of the country duo Montgomery Gentry thought he was only getting a sore hip checked out when his doctor spotted a “shadow” on his X-ray. It turned out to be prostate cancer.

The singer was diagnosed in November, a time he describes as one of the most frightening of his life. But he was able to have the tumor surgically removed.

Now as a cancer survivor, the 47-year-old Montgomery and partner Troy Gentry want to bring awareness to the disease through a free concert. The concert was after the Atlanta Braves-Texas Rangers game on Sunday in support of Major League Baseball’s contest, “My Dad, My MVP.”

Prostate cancer survivors who registered through the Braves’ website were able to attend the game for free.

Associated Press