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Miss America Dropping Swimsuit Competition

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The Miss America Organization is dropping the swimsuit competition from its nationally televised broadcast, saying it will no longer judge contestants on their appearance.

Gretchen Carlson, a former Miss America who is head of the organization's board of trustees, made the announcement Tuesday on "Good Morning America."

2017 Miss America Competition - Show
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - SEPTEMBER 11: Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields appears onstage during the 2017 Miss America Competition - Show at Boardwalk Hall Arena on September 11, 2016 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for dcp)

She also says the group will make changes to the evening wear portion of the competition, adding it will not judge women on their chosen attire.

The changes follow an email scandal in December in which former leaders denigrated the intelligence and personal lives of former Miss Americas.

That led to a shakeup at the top, and the group's top three leadership posts are now held by women.

The changes will start with this year's broadcast on Sept. 9.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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