The Associated Press
• Gretchen Carlson, chairman of the Miss America Organization, struck back against the reigning Miss America, saying Cara Mund's allegations that Carlson and others bullied her have led to a loss of $75,000 in scholarship money for this year's contestants. In a Twitter post late Sunday night verified by the organization, Carlson, the former Fox News host, wrote that she was "surprised and saddened beyond words" by Mund's letter Friday addressed to former Miss Americas complaining about how she's been treated during her reign. Mund wrote that she has been bullied, manipulated and silenced by the pageant's current leadership, headed by Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper, a former Miss Arkansas. Both have denied bullying Mund and say they support her. Addressing herself directly to Mund, Carlson said, "We are already seeing a negative ripple effect across the entire organization, and I am so concerned that it will dilute the experience for the next woman selected to wear the crown." Earlier this month, the organization said it hopes to hand out approximately $500,000 in scholarships. State pageant officials and former Miss Americas reacted quickly to Carlson's post. "The accusation of Cara being responsible for losing a $75,000 scholarship is wrong and completely uncalled for," Kira Kazantsev, Miss America 2015, wrote Monday. "Gretchen, you must see that there is no way forward in this current state anymore. It is time to step down and let this organization move forward."
• The Eagles' greatest hits album has moonwalked past Michael Jackson's Thriller to become history's best-selling album of all-time. The Recording Industry Association of America said Monday that the Eagles' album -- Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 -- is now certified 38x platinum, which means sales and streams of the album have reached 38 million copies. "We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It's been quite a ride," Don Henley said in a statement. The album was released in 1976 and pushes Jackson's Thriller, which is 33x platinum, to second place. The association also said that the Eagles' Hotel California, released in 1977, is now 26x platinum and makes it the third best-selling album of all-time. The association's platinum status was once equivalent to selling one million albums or songs, but in 2013 the company began incorporating streaming from YouTube, Spotify and other digital music services to determine certification for albums and songs. The last time the association tallied sales for the Eagles' greatest hits album was in 2006, when it said it was 29x platinum. Sales and streaming figures for Thriller were last updated last year.
A Section on 08/21/2018