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Miss America, Lauren Nelson, can add crime fighter to her resume. Lauren recently went undercover with police in New York for a sting targeting sexual predators.
 Officers with Suffolk County’s computer crimes unit created an online profile of a 14-year-old girl that included photographs of Nelson as a teenager.
“I got to chat online with the predators and made phone calls, too,” Nelson said by phone from Atlantic City, N.J. “The Suffolk County Police Department was there the whole time.”
The operation was filmed for a segment of “America’s Most Wanted” that will air Saturday on Fox. Police spokesman Tim Motz said the operation was ongoing and declined to comment Tuesday evening.
 At least four men were arrested and face charges, said Avery Mann, a spokesman for the show. Another six men agreed to meet Nelson, of Lawton, Okla., he said.
Nelson, 20, posed as a young teen online and went into chat rooms, where she said men would begin sending her instant messages asking her how old she was and where she lived.
“I would say I’m a 14-year-old female from Long Island. Sometimes they would say, ‘You’re too young, sorry,’ which is exactly what needs to happen, but some would continue chatting.
“It would only take a matter of time before it got pretty explicit.”
Nelson then arranged to meet the men at a home in Long Island, where police and camera crews were waiting.
“The story was that they knew I was 14, and I told them I was cutting school to meet with them,” Nelson said. “I stood outside on the porch, and I would say, ‘Hi’ to them and wave them inside.”
Once she entered the home with the suspect, Nelson said, she left the room, and police and “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh confronted the suspect.
“That part was very scary, but the police were all over the place,” Nelson said. “I was nervous, of course, but it was a very controlled environment, very safe.”
Art McMaster, president and CEO of the Miss America Organization, said he initially was hesitant about Nelson participating in the sting, but agreed after speaking with Nelson’s father and the producers of “America’s Most Wanted.”
“We came to the agreement that as long as she was safe and wanted to do this, we’d be behind her,” McMaster said.
Nelson, whose platform issue is Internet safety for children, said she was eager to participate.
“As many as we caught on that day, there are a lot more out there,” she said. “It’s nice to know that they were chatting with police officers and me rather than a 14- or 15-year-old girl.”
source: ap via aol
Popularity: 23% [?]
Lauren Nelson, Miss Oklahoma, is Miss America 2007.
Lauren Nelson, an aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America on Monday night, the second year in a row that a Miss Oklahoma has won the crown. Nelson, 20, of Lawton, Okla., is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma and wants to get her master’s degree in musical theater.
“I watched Miss America as a little girl since I was 2 years old, and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would be one of those girls on that stage, and never did I think that I would be Miss America,” she said afterward.
Shilah Phillips, the first black Miss Texas, was first runner-up, and Miss Georgia, Amanda Kozak, was second runner-up. Miss Mississippi, Taryn Foshee, and Miss Alabama, Melinda Toole, rounded out the top five. Viewers named Toole as Miss Congeniality.
Nelson was crowned by last year’s winner, Jennifer Berry. Nelson, a blonde who told judges she wishes she was taller, sang “You’ll Be In My Heart” in the talent competition and plans to promote protecting children online during her yearlong reign as Miss America. She gets a $50,000 scholarship with the crown and stands to make thousands more in appearance fees.
[...]
The pageant tossed in a few reality-TV twists on the way toward selecting its ideal woman in a new time slot on the Las Vegas Strip. Mario Lopez, of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Saved by the Bell,” hosted the show, its second year at the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The pageant moved from Atlantic City, N.J., last year in an attempt breathe new life into an institution that had fallen far from the forefront of American pop culture.
Although previous experiments with reality gimmicks fell flat, this year’s show included viewer voting and increased participation from the panel of celebrity judges, which included MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews.
In one of the new features, viewers were shown a glimpse of interviews between contestants and judges, something that previously was closed. In her clip, Nelson spoke about how her faith helped her make it through the stress of pageantry.
But Nelson wasn’t the viewers’ favorite, according to a text message voting system instituted this year. Phillips, a singer and choir director’s daughter, was the fan favorite in the talent competition. Miss California, Jacquelynne Fontaine, was the viewers’ pick for her turn in a blue bikini, and Mississippi’s Foshee was voted the favorite in the evening gown contest. The viewer vote did not count toward the winners.
The changes to the show are part of a larger marketing blitz aimed at reintroducing a new generation to Miss America, a feminine idol born of a publicity stunt on the New Jersey seaside in 1921. After a long reign as a cultural icon, Miss America’s ratings have plummeted, and sexier reality shows have eclipsed her girl-next-door appeal. The addition of pop quizzes and casual-wear contests couldn’t save the pageant from losing its network TV contract in 2004.
Wonder if there are any nude videos out there? Or is that just Miss USA contestants?
Anyway, Nelson looks damned good in her bikini. I had to wade through over 100 pictures to find one of Jacquelynne Fontaine in her blue Miss America bikini. You can decide for yourself which is hotter, but I think my vote’s for Lauren. Plus, her name’s easier to spell.
   
Bonus Jacquelynne Fontaine photo gallery at the Miss California site.
Source
Popularity: 16% [?]
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