bahamas
NASSAU — Miss Venezuela has been named winner of the 2009 Miss Universe pageant in the Bahamas.
Stefania Fernandez was crowned Sunday night. Miss Dominican Republic, Ada Aimee de la Cruz, was the runner-up.
The televised event included musical performances by Flo Rida, Heidi Montag, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland.
Hosts were Billy Bush, co-anchor of "Access Hollywood," and Claudia Jordan, former Miss Rhode Island USA who has appeared on several TV shows. Judges included actor Dean Cain and supermodel Valeria Mazza.
Miss China, Wang Jingyao, was named Miss Congeniality and Miss Thailand, Chutima Durongdej, won Miss Photogenic.
TEXAS
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Western novelist Elmer Kelton, 83, dies
SAN ANGELO — Western novelist Elmer Kelton, whose novel "The Good Old Boys" was made into a TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, has died. He was 83.
Myrtis Loudermilk, a director at Johnson's Funeral Home in San Angelo, told The Associated Press that Kelton died Saturday of natural causes.
Kelton wrote 62 fiction and nonfiction books. "The Good Old Boys" was made into a 1995 TV movie starring Jones for the TNT cable network. Kelton also was known for "The Man Who Rode Midnight" and "The Time It Never Rained."
His first novel, "Hot Iron," was published in 1956, and he recently finished his last book, "Texas Standoff," due out next year. Another novel, "Other Men's Horses," will be released this fall.
The Western Writers of America voted Kelton "Best Western Author of All Time" and gave him its Spur Award seven times. Four of his books won the Western Heritage Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame.
WASHINGTON
Larry Knechtel, 69, keyboard player, dies
YAKIMA — Larry Knechtel of Yakima, a Grammy-winning keyboard artist who accompanied leading musicians and combos from Elvis Presley and Ray Charles to Elvis Costello and the Dixie Chicks, is dead at 69.
Knechtel, who moved to Yakima in 2003, died Thursday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital of an apparent heart attack. His death was confirmed by a spokesman for Valley Hills Funeral Home.
Knechtel was born in Bell, Calif., and performed live and in studio recordings with a wide range of artists, including Neil Diamond, Randy Newman, Ray Charles, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Jr. and Elvis Costello.
He earned a Grammy for his arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water," played keyboard on the Dixie Chicks' Grammy award-winning album "Taking the Long Way" and performed on the Hammond organ for the group's tour of the same name.
CALIFORNIA
'Basterds' victorious at weekend box office
LOS ANGELES — The war effort by Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt has paid off as their history lesson "Inglourious Basterds" claimed victory at the box office with a $37.6 million debut.
It was Tarantino's best opening ever, exceeding the $25.1 million haul for 2004's "Kill Bill — Vol. 2." Overseas, "Inglourious Basterds" added $27.5 million in 22 countries, giving it a worldwide total of $65.1 million.
Released domestically by the Weinstein Co. and overseas by Universal, "Inglourious Basterds" features Pitt and an international ensemble in a sprawling tale of Jewish commandos and a plot to take out Nazi leaders at a movie premiere during World War II.
Fox Atomic's comedy "Post Grad," with Alexis Bledel as a college graduate who moves back home with her eccentric family after she's unable to land her dream job, tanked with $2.8 million, coming in at No. 10.
The previous weekend's top movie, Sony's sci-fi thriller "District 9," slipped to second-place with $18.9 million. With a domestic total of $73.5 million, the movie is on its way to becoming a $100 million sleeper hit.
The Associated Press
