Entertainment briefs 8/31/2017

Contestant flies herself to Miss America contest

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- For a while, at least, Miss Vermont was far above the competition to become the next Miss America. A licensed pilot, Erin Connor flew herself from Burlington, Vermont, to an airport just outside Atlantic City on Sunday, three days before the contestants met the public in the annual welcoming ceremony on the famous Boardwalk. "I like to make an entrance anywhere I go," she said. She completed the 350-mile flight in about 2 1/2 hours in a Piper Arrow, with two others aboard. Not making the trip, however, were the half-dozen or so evening gowns she'll need when preliminary competition begins next week. Connor is one of 51 contestants (each state plus the District of Columbia) who were introduced to the public Wednesday afternoon. The nationally televised finale will air on ABC on Sept. 10.

Alligator found in motel pool was part of rap video

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Authorities solved the mystery of how an alligator ended up in a swimming pool at a motel on the New Jersey shore. They said the 3-foot-long alligator found Aug. 15 at the Bayview Inn & Suites in Atlantic City was part of a rap video filmed there by two men. The alligator was found when police conducted a raid. Items found during the raid led to the arrest Tuesday of the two men on armed-robbery charges. Animal-control workers safely lifted the alligator from the pool, and it's at a zoo in Cape May County. Officials plan to move it to a reserve in Florida.

-- From wire reports