Dec 19, 2006 3:15 am US/Pacific
Trump To Announce Miss USA's Fate
Alleged Underage Drinking and Partying Could Cost Tara Conner Her Crown
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Miss USA Tara Conner (File)
Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Donald Trump, who co-owns the Miss Universe the Miss Universe Organization with NBC, is holding a news conference Tuesday morning to announce the fate of Miss USA Tara Conner.
Conner is a small town girl from Russell Springs, Ky., whose dream came true when she became Miss USA 2006. After Conner moved to New York, reports began to surface of her alleged partying at Chelsea night clubs, a failed drug test, and racy pictures that have turned up online.
Adding to the drama, Conner just turned 21 years old on Monday, so any drinking she did before that was illegal.
Miss USA is considered a role model and must act accordingly, said Lark-Marie Anton, spokeswoman for the Miss Universe Organization, which produces the Miss USA pageant. Behavior such as underage drinking is clearly prohibited, she said.
On Dec. 15, the Internet gossip Web site TMZ.com reported that pageant officials and NBC met Tuesday to discuss Conner's alleged bad behavior, "including her conduct at New York City bars." The Web site did not name its sources.
Conner has been competing in pageants since age 4. She won the title of Young Miss Russell County in Kentucky at the county fair when she was 13, and by 2002 she was second runner-up in Miss Teen USA. She finished fourth in the Miss Universe pageant in July.
Trump said if Conner gets the boot runner-up Miss California Tamiko Nash would take over as Miss USA.
This wouldn't be the first time Trump has dealt with such a scenario. In 2002, Russia's Oxana Fedorova won Miss Universe but was stripped of her title after violating her contract.
"We had a Miss Universe from Russia that was a total disaster, and we fired her, and Miss Panama took over and she did great," Trump said.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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