Alabama

Miss America 2026: Miss New York wins the crown; Miss Alabama is 4th runner-up

Published

3 months ago

September 8, 2025

Miss America 2026: Miss New York wins the crown; Miss Alabama is 4th runner-up

Cassie Donegan, Miss New York 2025, was crowned Miss America 2026 on Sunday night at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando, Florida.

Donegan is an actress and singer, as well as the chief operations officer at Southern Sitter, a childcare booking company in New York City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in musical theater from Belmont University in Nashville and attended AMES Christian University.

Donegan, a Virginia native, will receive a $50,000 in scholarship money as Miss America and immediately start a yearlong reign.

Miss America 2025, Alabama’a Abbie Stockard, crowned her successor at Sunday’s finals competition, which streamed on the Miss America YouTube channel and PageantVision.com.

Stockard, a Birmingham native, was prominently featured at the ceremony on Sunday, appearing at the front of production numbers and performing a contemporary dance routine to Celine Dion’s “Flying on My Own.” She also took her final walk as the national titleholder.

“Tonight, I leave this stage honored, grateful, and still in awe that it all really happened,” Stockard said in a voice-over. “I will forever hold close the people, places and moments that made this year the most meaningful one yet. Thank you, America, for letting me serve you, for trusting me with this title, for embracing me as I am, and for giving me the opportunity of loving you in return.”

The new winner, Donegan, received a glittering crown and a bouquet of roses at the end of the ceremony as a blizzard of confetti flew. She received hugs from her fellow contestants and took her first walk on stage as Miss America 2026.

Donegan sang “A Darker Shade of Blue,” from the musical “Some Like It Hot,” in the talent portion of Sunday’s finals. She answered on-stage questions, walked the runway in an evening gown, strutted in fitness clothes and more. Her community service initiative is Promoting Arts Education In Our School Systems.

Miss Alabama 2025, Emma Terry, wore this one-of-a-kind couture gown from Jovani at the Miss America pageant. It’s from The Clothes Tree by Deborah. (Will McLelland | AL.com)Will McLelland

Emma Terry, Miss Alabama 2025. made it to the top five on Sunday and was named fourth runner-up in the competition, She earned a $5,000 scholarship and was featured throughout the pageant, participating in evening gown, on-stage question, fitness and talent segments. For talent, Terry performed a ballet en pointe routine to “What a Feeling (Flashdance).”

The top five finalists were:

Miss New York 2025, Cassie Donegan (winner).
Miss Texas 2025, Sadie Schiermeyer (first runner-up).
Miss Florida 2025, Paris Richardson (second runner-up).
Miss Georgia 2025, Audrey Kittila (third runner-up).
Miss Alabama 2025, Emma Terry (fourth runner-up).

The runners-up received $5,000-$10,000 each in scholarship money, according to the Miss America organization.

Terry took home another award, placing third for the Miss America Quality of Life Award and earning another $5,000 scholarship. This accolade honors outstanding community service and the contestants’ ability to make a lasting impact.

Terry’s community service initiative is Stomping Out ALS One Step at a Time. She grew up in Leeds, helping to care for a grandfather with ALS, and is determined to raise awareness and support research for the neurodegenerative disease.

The top 11 semi-finalists were:

Miss Alabama 2025, Emma Terry.
Miss Florida 2025, Paris Richardson.
Miss Texas 2025, Sadie Schiermeyer.
Miss Arkansas 2025, Kennedy Holland.
Miss Tennessee 2025, Zoe Scheiderich.
Miss Georgia 2025, Audrey Kittila.
Miss Maryland 2025, Maria Derisavi.
Miss New York 2025, Cassie Donegan.
Miss Mississippi 2025, Anna Leah Jolly.
Miss Kentucky 2025, Ariana Rodriguez.
Miss Illinois 2025, Nitsaniyah Fitch.

When Terry was announced as one of the top 11, pageant host Billy Gilman gave a special shoutout to Alabama, calling it a state with “sweet tea and Roll Tide pride.”

A total of 52 women competed in the Miss America finals, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Another contestant at this year’s Miss America pageant has a tie to Alabama. Lydia Fisher, who competed as Miss Iowa 2025, is graduate of the University of Alabama. Fisher was a Miss Alabama contestant in 2022 and 2023, during her time as a student in Tuscaloosa. She was not among the 11 semi-finalists on Sunday.

Model and actress Nikki Novak hosted Sunday’s finals ceremony along with Gilman, a country singer and 2016 finalist on “The Voice”.

Judges for the Miss America finals were Mayan Lopez, an actress who starred in the NBC sitcom “Lopez vs. Lopez”; Frank Kelleher, president of Daytona International Speedway; Frederick Anderson, a fashion designer; Jen Hale, an NFL sideline reporter for FOX; Tawny Godin Welch, Miss America 1976 and a former TV news anchor; and Nick Nanton, a producer and director.

The past week has been a busy one for the Miss America organization. Miss America’s Teen, a sister pageant to Miss America, announced its 2026 winner on Saturday, also at the Walt Disney Theater. Tess Ferm, who competed as Miss South Carolina’s Teen, took the crown.

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Alabama

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Published

11 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Katie Windham Highlights Alabama Areas of Improvement on The Joe Gaither Show

Let’s crank up a Thursday edition of “The Joe Gaither Show on BamaCentral” with Mason Woods and Katie Windham as we start getting ready for next week’s College Football Playoff game between Alabama and Oklahoma. Windham detailed how the Crimson Tide can improve over the next few weeks, we discuss the team’s health and look back at our last road trip to Norman. The show then discusses the Heisman Trophy finalists before addressing a Kalen DeBoer coaching rumor.

The program opens by power ranking the holidays before discussing Windham’s three areas the Crimson Tide can improve over the next week. Our trio picks the easiest area the team can improve and how Alabama must perform in Norman. Windham details our last trip to Oklahoma as we go down memory lane to the Sooners’ 24-3 victory last season.

The show continues on by getting Windham’s thoughts on Alabama’a College Football Playoff selection and if the Crimson Tide actually deserved its place in the field. She brings up a unique aspect of Alabama’s blowout loss in the SEC Championship and how it played into the program’s inclusion in the College Football Playoffs.

We move from next week’s game into a small discussion on Notre Dame’s reaction of being left out of the field and how it relates to Alabama’s future home-and-home dates with the Fighting Irish. Will the two esteemed programs still face off in a few years?

The show heads into the only college football action of the weekend by highlighting the strong Heisman Trophy finalist field. Who brings home the bronze statue?

Lastly, we spend the final bit of the show talking about Michigan firing Sherrone Moore and the reports of the Wolverines considering persuing Kalen DeBeor for their next head coach. Will DeBoer leave Tuscaloosa for Ann Arbor?

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Call (205) 462-7340 Extension 800 to leave your thoughts in a voicemail, and you’ll be featured on the show. You can also join us live in the comment sections Monday through Friday at 8:15 a.m. CT.

The show can be seen on the BamaCentral YouTube channel. Keep up with each show on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Shows can also be heard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

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Alabama

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

Published

24 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

New Alabama law raises penalties for porch piracy

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – As holiday deliveries ramp up, a new Alabama law aims to deter package theft by raising penalties for so-called “porch piracy.” The law, which went into effect on October 1, 2025, makes repeated package theft a felony and can carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in the most serious cases.

What changed

Previously, many package thefts in Alabama were charged as misdemeanor theft because the value of individual stolen packages often fell below felony thresholds. Under the new law however, lawmakers established penalties that focus on the number of homes targeted rather than the dollar value of items stolen:

Stealing from 1 to 9 homes: most serious misdemeanor
Stealing from 10 to 29 homes: felony
Stealing from 30 or more homes: can result in up to 10 years in prison

The law also increases penalties if stolen packages are used to commit identity theft or fraud. In addition, anyone who knowingly receives packages stolen by a porch pirate can be charged under the new rules.

Lawmakers weigh in

Senator April Weaver, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the change was meant to protect Alabama families during the holidays.

“It was really important to protect the people not only in my district but throughout the state of Alabama and to make sure their hard-earned money is going to their children’s Christmas,” she said.

On camera, Senator Weaver added with holiday humor, “It means the Grinch may have stolen Christmas in Whoville, but if he does it in Alabama, he’ll have plenty of time in state prison for his heart to grow three sizes.”

What police recommend if your package is stolen

If you discover a stolen package, law enforcement recommends:

Report the theft to police immediately.
Preserve any doorbell or surveillance footage that may show the theft.
Contact the delivery company right away to report the missing item.
Consider requiring a signature on delivery to reduce the risk of theft.

The law went into effect on October 1, 2025; this December marks the first holiday season it is in effect. Alabama is now one of more than a dozen states that have passed laws specifically targeting package theft. Supporters say the law sends a stronger message that porch piracy will no longer be treated as a minor offense.

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Alabama

Roll Tide: Lilly selects Alabama site as location for $6B API facility

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

Roll Tide: Lilly selects Alabama site as location for B API facility

Eli Lilly has unveiled the location of the third of its four large-scale manufacturing facilities that it plans to build in the U.S. | Eli Lilly has unveiled the location of the third of its four large-scale manufacturing facilities that it plans to build in the U.S. The drugmaker has selected Huntsville, Alabama, as the site of a $6 billion plant that will produce APIs for small molecule and peptide medicines.

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