A 23-year-old contestant from Brooklyn, N.Y., has won the title of Miss America.

Mallory Hagan won the Las Vegas beauty pageant Saturday night after tap dancing to James Brown’s “Get Up Off of That Thing” and answering a question about whether armed guards belong in grade schools by saying we should not fight violence with violence.

Hagan defeated Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers, who took second, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third.

Hagan wins a $50,000 college scholarship and gets the crown for one year. Her platform was stopping child sexual abuse.

She is expected to spend her title reign on a nationwide speaking tour and raising money for the Children’s Miracle Network, the organization’s official charity.

Miss Nebraska Mariah Cook was not chosen as one of the sixteen semi-finalists.

Justin Bieber is being sued by a former body guard, who claims the Bieb put the smack down on him.  Oh, and we might mention the bodyguard is a former member of the Israeli Army, which touts some of the most feared military men in the world.

Moshe Benabou claims that the five-foot-seven 170 Bieber beat the heck out of him and punched him in the chest multiple times during an argument.  Moshe is seeking an unspecified amount of dough for the butt whoopin, and $420,000 in unpaid overtime.

Sources close to the situation have reported that Moshe was fired because he had lied about working with Justin Timberlake.

The Post could not find any comments from The Bieb about the situation, but we’re guessing he was pretty chill about the whole thing given recent photographs that have surfaced showing Bieber “relaxing” with friends!

 

It can be said with confidence that Demi Lovato is clean — because she’s been staying in a sober-living residence for a year now.

According to TMZ, Demi got her life back in order by going to rehab in 2010 — after rumors of drug use, anorexia, bulimia and cutting surfaced. But when she got out, she wasn’t sure she could do it by herself. So despite owning a swanky pad nearby in L.A., she moved into what most people would call a halfway house — and has been there ever since.

There’s no word on how long Demi will be staying there.

The original wild and live pro wrestling show, WWE’s “Raw,” is marking its 20th anniversary.

From its birth on Jan. 11, 1993, “Raw” set out to be a special kind of wrestling show. The one-hour debut aired live from New York and kicked off an uncooked, uncut and uncensored slice of wrestling history.

Two decades later, “Raw” has become as much a fixture on Monday nights as the NFL and remains one of the highest-rated weekly shows on cable TV. Over the years it has rocketed Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to stardom and filled highlight reels with over-the-top personalities and outrageous storylines.

The anniversary will be noted on Monday’s show — episode No. 1,025 — with producers planning to pull out all the stops. C.M. Punk, the longest-reigning WWE champ of the “Raw” era, says the show is successful because it changes with the times. He says it’s not just a wrestling show — “it’s a complete spectacle.”

Humboldt State University in California has invited Jimmy Kimmel to deliver the school’s commencement address after he joked about its marijuana research program.

The host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” devoted three minutes of his late-night show in November to poking fun at the new program.

Kimmel’s faux recruiting commercial said students could look forward to low-pressure careers such as dog walking, organizing drum circles and occupying Wall Street.

University spokesman Jarad Petroske said Thursday the school has not heard from Kimmel. The comedian’s publicist Alyssa Wilkins did not reply to an email from The Associated Press seeking a response.

Humboldt State President Rollin Richmond and student body president Ellyn Henderson revealed they sent Kimmel a letter last month saying they found parts of the skit funny but thought it unfairly portrayed the campus community as a bunch of pot-obsessed slackers.

Some of Hollywood’s big-name mobsters are helping save small-town theaters.

Stars from “The Sopranos” and “Goodfellas” joined with Florida-based non-profit Save America’s Cinemas to help smaller theaters transition to digital. The conversion has forced many small theaters to go silent.

The stars gathered Friday in Miami Beach to donate a screen, projector and processor to Cinema Saver of Endicott, NY. Rachel Daddezio with the theater says the new equipment “will save our theater and it will save our community.”

Walter T. Shaw, a filmmaker and former jewel for the mafia, started the group. He says as many as 60 theaters have reached out for help.

Tony (Paulie Walnuts) Sirico and Vincent (Big Pussy) Pastore of “The Sopranos” and Mike Starr and Debi Mazar from “Goodfellas” attended the event.

Agriculture officials are encouraging young Nebraska students to participate in an annual poster contest.

The state Department of Agriculture says submissions are now being accepted for the 10th annual NDA Agriculture Week in Nebraska Poster Contest. This year’s theme focuses on the role of farmers and ranchers.

Winning entries will be featured on the agency’s website and potentially in promotional materials.

The contest is open to students currently enrolled in first through sixth grade. Three age divisions will make up the contest.

The entry deadline is March 1. Winners will be announced later that month.

Actor Rod Taylor is 83
Actor Felix Silla (Cousin Itt on “The Addams Family,” ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”) is 76
Country singer Naomi Judd is 67
Actress Phyllis Logan (“Downton Abbey”) is 57
Guitarist Vicki Peterson of The Bangles is 55
Actress Kim Coles (“Living Single”) is 51
Keyboardist Jim Bryson of MercyMe is 45
Guitarist Tom Dumont of No Doubt is 45
Singer Maxee Maxwell of Brownstone is 44
Singer Mary J. Blige is 42
Musician Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers is 42
Actress Amanda Peet is 41.

1856 – Composer Johann Christian Sinding was born.

1875 – Composer Reinhold Gliere was born.

1928 – “Ol’ Man River” was recorded by Paul Whiteman and his orchestra. Bing Crosby was the song’s featured vocalist. The song is from the Broadway musical, “Showboat”.

1963 – The Whiskey-a-Go-G0 nightclub opened in Los Angeles, CA. It is recognized as the first disco in the U.S.

1964 – “Ring of Fire” by Johnny Cash became the first country album to top the U.S. pop album chart.

1965 – The Beach Boys recorded “Do You Wanna Dance.”

1967 – Jimi Hendrix recorded “Purple Haze.”

1968 – The Daily Mirror of London reported that Jimi Hendrix had moved into the London townhouse where George Frederick Handel was believed to have composed “Water Music” and “Messiah.”

1969 – “This Was” was released by Jethro Tull.

1977 – Rolling Stone Keith Richards was tried in London for possession of cocaine, found in his car after an accident, and fined £750.

1987 – Frankie Goes to Hollywood began what would be its final tour in Manchester, England.

1992 – Paul Simon began a concert tour in South Africa. He was the first international star to perform in South Africa following the end of the UN cultural boycott.

1995 – Michael Jackson released a statement saying, “I will no longer stand by and watch reckless members of the media try to destroy my reputation.” The statement was a response to unsubstantiated rumors of a video depicting Jackson fooling around with a young boy.
Today in Michael Jackson History – Michael Jackson Apparel – Michael Jackson MP3s, DVDs and CDs

1999 – Sean “Puffy” Combs and Dwight “Heavy D” Myers, along with the City University of New York (CUNY), were found negligent in a 1991 celebrity basketball game that killed nine people and injured dozens.

2001 – Whitney Houston was stopped for possessing marijuana at Keahole-Kona International Airport.

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Amour
Argo
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Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
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BEST DIRECTOR
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Behn Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates: Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Skyfall” (Adele, from Skyfall)
“Suddenly” (Hugh Jackman, from Les Miserables)
“Before My Time” (J. Ralph featuring Scarlett Johanssen and Joshua Bell, from Chasing Ice)
“Pi’s Lullaby” (Michael Danna, Bombay Jayashri, from Life of Pi)
“Everybody Needs a Best Friend” (Walter Murphy, Seth MacFarlane from Ted)