Information obtained by the Guanabee blog, in an exclusive interview with Michael Schwandt, choreographer of the last four pageants, tells that far from a purely scientific study of the looks, talents and poise of each contestant, one man's preferences may be guiding the outcome of the race.

According to Schwandt, the dark hand of Miss Universe owner Donald Trump is in fact at work,behind the curtains, secretly culling the field of pageant thoroughbreds. Apparently, the winnowing of the contest down to its 15 finalists happens not just in the meticulous parading and exhibiting skills viewers across the galaxies watch on TV, but in an Extra Special Private Judging Round in which contestants display themselves for Trump alone.

Explaining about Trump's hands-on presence during the rehearsal Schwandt says in the Guanabee interview:

Then he does do something that's a bit odd. At all the shows, he pops in the day before the telecast and we line up all the girls in alphabetical order behind microphones. And they say their name, age and country. Then we line them up in alphabetical order in one single file line across the stage. And he basically walks by and has an assistant that takes notes on all the girls. And it's just kind of common knowledge that he picks six of the top fifteen single-handedly. So, the other nine of the top fifteen are judged in a preliminary show the week before and picked by those judges, but he picks six of the top fifteen.

The Miss Universe rules however, fail to note the Extra Special Private Judging Round and its impact on the race. They state, in the website's FAQ section:

HOW ARE THE SEMI-FINALISTS CHOSEN?
In 1997, a dual-paneled judging system was introduced. One panel judges the preliminary rounds; the other panel judges the live telecast. All contestants are judged in three areas of preliminary competition which are not always televised due to time constraints:
1. Interviews - Judges spend time with each delegate to learn about her successes, goals and ambitions.
2. Swimsuit Competition - Each delegate wears one of a variety of swimsuit styles provided by a sponsor.
3. Evening Gown Competition - Each delegate wears a gown she has chosen for herself.
All scores are tallied in each of the three categories. The contestants with the highest aggregate scores are named the semi-finalists. The competition is narrowed twice more to produce the winner.

HOW ARE THE TITLEHOLDERS AND RUNNERS-UP SELECTED?
Once the finalists are named, their scores are discarded, and they begin competing anew. In the final competition, the same three areas (Interview, Swimsuit and Evening Gown) are judged. The judges' scores in these categories are tallied and the winners are named live on the air.

Further, according to the Guanabee interview, Trump instituted the Extra Special Private Round after he had raised concerns that the official judges had failed to adequately reward prettiness. The interview reads:

Q: So, he's orchestrating at least a portion of the results?
A: Right. And, his reason for doing so, as he told me and he's told the girls before, is that he left it all up to preliminary judging in the past and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top fifteen and he was kind of upset about that. And he decided that he would pick a certain number and let the judges pick a certain number.

Read the stunning interview in its entirety at Guanabee.

If there were one man fit to decide which of the Universe's beauties is fit to reign over us all, that man would no doubt be Donald Trump. However, without laws and regulations to govern even the most powerful of us, the Universe would be in chaos. Donald Trump, give this competition back to your people!

1.) David Cassidy Is A Creep

2.) Drunk Babies

3.) Drunk Housewife

4.) How Can Someone Sound Sage and Delusional at the Same Time?

I could listen to her all day long.

5.) Kathie Lee Gifford and Kim Jenner Are BFF
And they have Wendy Williams' approval.

6.) Hoarders
It's good.


Spiritually good.

7.) Brad from The Rachel Zoe Project

8.) White Rappers

9.) Wedlock or Deadlock
Strangely, this is real.

10.) Language Barrier
Miss Universe 2009—who was crowned on Sunday after saying that women no longer have "barriers"—is learning English.

Of course, Rivera denies any wrongdoing, insisting it was pageant security officials, not she, who identified the tampering, before slipping into a stirring pageantspeak monologue about the power of God and negative-thought-blocking that would surely have garnered 9.0s and above from any qualified Trump Pageant judge. [Ed. note: We apologize in advance for an audio glitch that makes it intermittently sound as if Vieira and her subject had gargled some pepper-spray before conducting the interview.]

• The Today Show

Police are now said to be investigating just how Ingrid Marie Rivera was able to stop crying between camera appearances at Saturday's pageant, if indeed her gown and makeup had been sabotaged with the spray, as she asserts, NBC News reports.

The reported skepticism about Rivera prompted Today show host Meredith Vieira to inquire on Tuesday's broadcast if, possibly, crime-scene investigators believe the pepper-spray claim may have been imaginary.

"They're saying, they think she made it up?" Vieira asked reporter Kerry Sanders, who replied: "They're looking into it. They're curious."

Vieira has an interview scheduled with Rivera tomorrow, during which we imagine the Today host will drop the nice-lady act for a brutal interrogation beneath hot studio lights, refusing to acknowledge commercial cues until the mascara-streaked crown-holder finally crumbles, admitting through short-breathed sobs that it was she who soaked her own body in pepper spray, after hastily reaching into her purse for some spray-on tanner and pulling out the wrong tube.

• Mystery Deepens in Miss Puerto Rico Pepper-Spray Incident [People]

Rivera was composed while appearing before cameras and judges throughout the competition. But once backstage, she had to strip off her clothes and apply ice bags to her face and body, which swelled and broke out in hives twice.

Rivera's clothing and makeup later tested positive for pepper spray.

Someone also stole Rivera's bag containing her gowns, makeup and credit cards. And a bomb threat forced pageant officials to postpone the last day of competition on Thursday, said Magali Febles, director of the Miss Puerto Rico Universe pageant.

Clearly, Rivera has enemies—ones who would stop short of nothing to ensure the Latina beauty would not represent the U.S. Caribbean territory at Donald Trump's intergalactic genetic-lottery olympics next May in Nha Tran, Vietnam. Should she go on to flout her rivals and take the Miss Universe title, however, the incident will only serve to her benefit, conditioning her for even more corrosive substances to come at the hands of her conniving Pageant Place co-stars after she takes up her year-long residence at Trump Tower.

• Puerto Rico Beauty Queen Survives Pranks [cbsnews.com]