Angie Yiyin Zhang was crowned the 2010 Narcissus Queen Saturday night at the 61st Annual Narcissus Queen Pageant at the Hawai'i Theatre.

Zhang, 25, lives in Mo'ili'ili and works at KGMB9 as an account executive. She will be officially crowned by Gov. Linda Lingle on Jan. 30 at the Coronation Ball at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Tapa Ballroom.

Zhang was born in Shanghai, China. She is a graduate of Kaimukí High School and the University of Hawai'i, where she majored in business management. She is also the director of public relations for the Hawaii Mainland Chinese Overseas Association.

Twelve contestants participated in the pageant, which was presented by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. Joining Zhang in her court are first princess Selena Yue Qiu; second princess Megan Wai Lynn Chun; third princess Karen Yun Chang; and fourth princess Bonnie Siu Lin Von.

NBC AWAITING WORD FROM LENO, O'BRIEN

NBC said yesterday it decided to pull the plug on the Jay Leno experiment when some affiliate stations considered dropping the nightly prime-time show, and the network is waiting to hear if Leno and "Tonight" host Conan O'Brien accept its new plans.

"The Jay Leno Show," which airs at 10 p.m. EST, will end with the Feb. 12 beginning of the Winter Olympics, said NBC Universal Television Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin. Leno would return to his former 11:35 p.m. slot after the Olympics ended under the network's new plan, which also calls for O'Brien to retain his job with "Tonight" but at the later hour of 12:05 a.m. EST.

Jimmy Fallon and his "Late Night" would be pushed a half-hour later as well, to 1:05 a.m. EST. Gaspin said discussions with the hosts will resume today.

PALIN: MCCAIN'S PICK WAS 'GOD'S PLAN'

Sarah Palin believed that Sen. John McCain chose her to be his running mate in 2008 because of "God's plan," according to a top strategist in the McCain campaign.

In an interview with the CBS news magazine "60 Minutes," Steve Schmidt described Palin as "very calm — nonplussed" after McCain met with her just before putting her on the Republican ticket. McCain had planned to name Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., as his vice presidential choice until word leaked, sparking what Schmidt called political blowback over picking the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Schmidt said he asked Palin about her serenity in the face of becoming "one of the most famous people in the world." He quoted her as saying, "It's God's plan."

'AVATAR' RULES THE BOX OFFICE YET AGAIN

James Cameron's "Avatar" continues to race up the box office charts, remaining No. 1 domestically for the fourth straight weekend with $48.5 million.

The film added $143 million overseas to raise its international haul to $906 million. With $429 million domestically, "Avatar" has pulled in $1.34 billion worldwide, behind only Cameron's "Titanic," which took in $1.8 billion.

— Advertiser Staff and news services