Northeast
Miss America hopeful swaps combat boots for evening gown, says military service gives her purpose
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988.
Alexia Rodrigues is trading in her combat boots for a chance at a crown.
On Sunday, the pageant star is competing in the Miss America competition as Miss Rhode Island in Orlando. She previously enlisted in the Rhode Island Army National Guard during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has completed over three years of full-time active duty.
MISS AMERICA SAYS SHE’S FOLLOWING THE LORD IN WORLD THAT’S ‘BROKEN, POLARIZED AND DIVIDED’
Alexia Rodrigues is competing in Miss America as Miss Rhode Island. (Miss America IP INC.)
The 25-year-old told Fox News Digital she’s eager to raise awareness about women in the armed forces. Serving has given her purpose over the years, she said.
“I absolutely love my job,” the Warwick native shared. “I get excited every day to be able to put on my uniform, to serve my country, my community. … That’s what fuels me every day. What the Army does, which not a lot of companies do, is ensure that our soldiers are trained from day one on EO, which is “equal opportunity” and SHARP, which is the “Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Program.”
Alexia Rodrigues wants all foster kids to get a head start in life. (Miss America IP INC.)
“We have an extremely supportive team that goes through each step and ensures that every unit is taken care of and is following these policies,” she shared. “I’m here to show young girls that even if there is no space for you where you want to be, create that space yourself. There is no limit. Be the first, and leave that door open for the next woman to come after you.”
Alexia Rodrigues is from Warwick, Rhode Island. (Miss America IP INC.)
Miss America, a glitzy competition, was born from a 1921 Atlantic City beauty contest just a year after women were given the right to vote, The Associated Press reported. Many participants say the organization — a large provider of scholarship assistance to young women — has been life-altering, opening doors for them both personally and professionally.
Alexia Rodrigues enlisted during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Miss America IP INC.)
The organization, one of the nation’s most recognized brands, awards more than $5 million in cash scholarships annually, plus millions more at the national, state and local levels.
“I think there were many things that Miss America offers that I knew aligned with my beliefs and I immediately wanted to be a part of,” said Rodrigues. “I’ve been competing in this organization since I was 16 years old, so I’m coming up at nine years now. It took a lot of tries and a lot of resiliency to make it to this point.”
WATCH: MISS RHODE ISLAND CHAMPIONS FOSTER CARE REFORM AT MISS AMERICA COMPETITION
One of the causes Rodrigues aims to highlight is supporting foster youth. It hits close to home.
Rodrigues entered foster care after witnessing her biological mother battling addiction and suffering neglect. She wasn’t adopted until age seven.
Alexia Rodrigues was seven years old when she was adopted. (Miss America IP INC.)
“My foster parents, who are the only parents I’ve ever known – I hate calling them that because, to me, they’ve always just been mom and dad,” she explained. “They started the process when I was fairly young, around three or four years old. It was a long journey. I believe that’s where I got my resiliency. From both of them.”
Rodrigues created the community service initiative, “Foster Hope, Adopt a Dream,” which aims to educate the public on “the realities of foster care.”
Alexia Rodrigues is a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy Bay View and attended Syracuse University for two years before enlisting in the Rhode Island Army National Guard in 2021. (Miss America IP INC.)
“What we [forget to realize] is that there are half a million children in our foster care system, and over 22,000 of them will age out every year, never knowing a loving family or a support system, not having access to higher education,” she said.
“She has served as a Recruiting and Retention Noncommissioned Officer, deployed to Guantánamo Bay, and earned NATO certifications as a Gender Advisor, Gender Focal Point, and Small Armed Conflict Resolution Specialist,” the Miss America Organization told Fox News Digital. (Miss America IP INC.)
“This will lead to one-fourth of them ending up either incarcerated, homeless, or jobless. My goal is to educate people on these statistics. While they might be very sobering, they paint a very real picture of the realities of foster care.”
“We don’t have too many policies that cover foster care and what these children are entitled to,” she pointed out.
Alexia Rodrigues (right) wants to highlight women in the armed forces. (Miss America IP INC.)
“I just met with Senator Reed, going over bills I would love to propose. [They would] make Rhode Island the pilot state for the Foster Youth Bill of Rights and the Foster Hope Act. Both will focus on services for children aging out of the foster care system. They’ll ensure that children in foster care know their rights … and they know who to go to if their rights are being violated.”
Alexia Rodrigues entered foster care after witnessing her biological mother battling addiction. (Courtesy of Miss America IP INC.)
Rodrigues said serving in the Rhode Island National Guard gave her the confidence to share her story and the strength to help others in similar circumstances.
“I was in Syracuse,” she recalled. “I was in my second year studying political science. When COVID hit, my life, just like everyone else’s, turned upside down. My normal became abnormal. I was sitting at home writing these essays about the change that I wanted to see, the change I wanted to create and be a part of at a time when I felt very disconnected from my community, which is a core part of who I am.”
Rodrigues’ community initiative, “Foster Hope: Adopt a Dream,” is dedicated to ensuring foster youth nationwide have access to services and higher education. (Miss America IP INC.)
“I reached out to a former Miss Rhode Island – Miss Rhode Island 2015, Allie Curtis, who was a captain in the Rhode Island National Guard,” said Rodrigues. “I asked her, ‘Do you feel like you’re making an impact? Why do you continue to serve?’ She told me her reasons, and she invited me to spend a weekend with them … I immediately fell in love with the group of people, their passion for serving and the ability to be part of something bigger than myself.”
While deployed, Alexia Rodrigues created mentorship programs for youth, helped found “Women in Leadership” and partnered with nonprofits to rehome 24 cats. (Miss America IP INC.)
Tragedy has also fueled her sense of purpose. At 13, Rodrigues lost her sister, Tiffany, to an undiagnosed heart disease. Then, in 2024, her brother, Keith, died by suicide.
“I think grief leaves a type of pain with you that never fully goes away,” said Rodrigues. “I created my resiliency tour where I went into communities, into units within the military, into classrooms, and I talked about resiliency, what the word means, what it looks like. I tell my story of loss, grief, going through foster care, being vulnerable, because not every moment on this journey did I think I was going to be OK.”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Alexia Rodrigues is seen here speaking to students. (Miss America IP INC.)
Today, Rodrigues hopes that her journey will inspire others to make a difference in their communities.
Alexia Rodrigues is the author of the forthcoming children’s book “The Somewhere Kid,” with all royalties funding the Foster Hope Scholarship — a program she aims to launch in all 50 states. (Miss America IP INC.)
“There were far more moments than I would like to admit that I thought [what happened to me] was going to break me forever,” she admitted.
“I did struggle with mental health … I was fortunate I had a support system that recognized I wasn’t OK, even though I would smile and say I was. It’s because of them that I was able to not be OK in those moments, that I needed to just cry, break down, to feel like the world was caving in on me. After that, they helped me pick up the pieces and put myself back together.”
Alexia Rodrigues hopes her story will inspire others to serve. (Miss America IP INC.)
“Because of them, I’m here,” she said. “It’s because of them that I’m the woman I am today. That’s why it’s always been my goal as a leader… to bring the message forward, be the support system that I had that far too many young kids don’t.”
The Miss America competition is on Sunday, September 7. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Read the full article from Here
PORTSMOUTH — Serving approximately 500 LGBTQ+ youth across the state, the nonprofit New Hampshire Outright has increased its programming by 25% over the past year.
Portsmouth Pride, the organization’s largest annual event, is set for Saturday, June 20, with roughly 5,000 people expected to attend the parade and events in the city throughout the weekend.
“We are serving more young people and families than ever before. Our impact is just growing day by day, year over year in terms of folks we’re able to serve and advocate for,” said Heidi Carrington Heath, NH Outright’s executive director.
The parade will step off at Pleasant Street around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, then loop through downtown to Strawbery Banke Museum, where the mainstage will host drag performances and musical acts from 1 to 5 p.m.
Heath, LGBTQ+ advocates oppose several bills before NH Gov. Kelly Ayotte
The moment is not without its challenges for the LGBTQ+ community. Heath pointed to three bills in the New Hampshire legislature that have her and other LGBTQ+ advocates around the state concerned.
The first, Senate Bill 552, awaits possible approval from New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte. The New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate both approved the bill, sponsored by three Senate Republicans, which proposes to separate people by their biological sex in certain places, including bathrooms, locker rooms, involuntary detention facilities and sporting events.
Critics of the latest bathroom bill initiative oppose its implications for transgender youth and adults across the state, if it were to be signed into law by Ayotte. Both Ayotte and prior New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed restroom-focused bills in the past.
“We really pride ourselves on individuality and individual freedom,” Heath said. “I want us to return to those Granite State values in a variety of arenas. There is a very real cost to our kids to watching the people whose job it should be to protect you to debate your personhood in public.”
Ayotte faces another Republican bill – SB 430 – opposed by LGBTQ+ leaders in the state.
The bill, amended and adopted in both the state House and Senate, would require New Hampshire teachers and school employees to “honestly and completely” answer written requests from parents and legal guardians about their children.
The language of the bill does not directly address the LGBTQ+ community, but opponents worry that teachers may be forced to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation. If it becomes law, the mandate would take effect in New Hampshire’s schools Jan. 1.
“They just want to be kids,” Heath said of LGBTQ+ youth. “That is the gift of the work we do at New Hampshire Outright. We allow them to do that. They are navigating this in every arena of their life, out in their world, at school, etc. They just want to be kids. I want that for them, too. I really do.”
In addition, Republican Senate Bill 434, a book challenging measure, sits on Ayotte’s desk.
“No later than November 1, 2027, each local school board shall adopt a procedure to be used to address complaints submitted by parents or guardians alleging that material that is harmful to minors, age-inappropriate, or otherwise offensive or inappropriate for use in the child’s school,” the House and Senate-passed bill reads.
Complaints would be filed with the superintendent of a school district or a designee, per the bill.
What events are being held before and after Portsmouth Pride?
Before the Pride parade, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, attendees will be welcomed at the John Paul Jones House in Portsmouth to make flags and buttons for the event.
New this year, a ticketed New Hampshire Outright Pride after party with appetizers, drinks and dancing will be hosted by The Hawthorn, a Jewell Court events center, from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday.
The weekend’s closing event — a ticketed drag brunch at the Music Hall Lounge in collaboration with Gather and New Hampshire Outright — will be held Sunday, June 21 at 10 a.m. The drag brunch is for ages 21 and older.
Ahead of Portsmouth Pride, Heath reported New Hampshire Outright has already led or assisted in organizing nine events this year throughout the New Hampshire and Maine Seacoast region.
“We are so excited about this weekend,” Heath said. “Pride is a protest. Pride is a celebration. We are just looking forward to welcoming the community to celebrate with us at Pride and showing up big, particularly for showing young people that their identity is their superpower.”
Want to get married? Ordained minister plans to marry LGBTQ+ couples after Portsmouth Pride
Rollinsford resident Jen Walton is the daughter of a gay woman. Throughout Walton’s upbringing, she experienced taunts and isolation at school as her mother hid parts of her identity from the public eye.
Some of Walton’s earliest memories are of attending Pride parades with her mother. Now an ordained minister, Walton plans to offer 10-minute wedding ceremonies following the Portsmouth Pride parade Saturday afternoon, an idea that took shape in recent days.
“I would love to just marry as many people as I can,” Walton said.
Walton, friend and fellow ordained minister Katie Brochu and friends will station themselves at the Prescott Park fountain Saturday afternoon following the Portsmouth Pride Parade.
Couples need to bring identification, a marriage license and $20 to be approved for an impromptu Pride park wedding, according to Walton.
Three different wedding ceremony styles will be offered to couples looking to tie the knot. Walton and her friends will be on hand from 1 to 5 p.m. as the Portsmouth Pride mainstage performances occur simultaneously nearby.
“We’re really all supposed to be in this together,” Walton said. “You learn from a very young age that people are individuals and not everybody is going to think, feel and believe the same thing. For me, it’s super important that I’m an ally. I’ve said it for years and years and I’ll say it for years and years, because it’s hard.”
The event is not sanctioned by New Hampshire Outright but has Heath’s and the organization’s full backing.
“It never ceases to amaze me and bring me joy the things that people want to do around Pride month,” Heath said.
All proceeds will be split evenly between New Hampshire Outright and the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit.
From Camden and Cherry Hill to Trenton and the Jersey Shore, what about life in New Jersey do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know.
The borough of Lawnside in Camden County will be honored with a historical marker from the New Jersey Historical Commission as part of the state’s Black Heritage Trail.
A ceremony unveiling the marker will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at Lawnside Borough Hall on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Road.
Marsharee Wright, aide to Lawnside Mayor Mary Ann Wardlow and long-time resident, said everyone is thrilled about the marker unveiling.
“We’ve invited the entire community and neighboring towns to come share the celebration with us,” Wright said.
Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, said it’s “an extreme honor” for the borough to be included in the state’s program, especially as Lawnside is amid a year-long celebration of its centennial.
“It really lifts our profile and hopefully more people will understand and know what Lawnside is about and what it means in the nation,” Shockley said.
Lawnside was one of six sites selected in Camden County in 2024, including “The Point,” a historic Black neighborhood in Haddonfield. Its marker was unveiled last June.
During the ceremony, the borough’s history will be showcased, along with the original documents signed by Gov. A. Harry Moore in 1926, which made way for the borough’s creation.
Though there are many Black enclaves in South Jersey, the borough is the state’s only incorporated antebellum Black community. First known as Free Haven, and later Snow Hill, it was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Peter Mott built a three-floor dwelling in 1844 that was once part of sprawling farmland where he helped slaves escape.
Mott’s house, now owned by the Lawnside Historical Society, serves as an Underground Railroad museum.
President Trump is visiting the Lehigh Valley next week.
Mr. Trump will speak at Mack Trucks in Macungie, Pennsylvania, Tuesday at 2 p.m. Macungie is roughly 10 miles from Allentown.
Mack Trucks is a 1.7 million square-foot facility in Macungie that assembles heavy-duty trucks for North American and export markets, according to its website.
“Mack Trucks are a symbol of America’s manufacturing strength,” Rep. Dan Meuser said in a Facebook post about Mr. Trump’s upcoming visit to Pennsylvania. “Their Lehigh Valley operations are a pillar of the local economy, employing Pennsylvania workers and driving the nation’s trucking industry.”
In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Mr. Trump visited Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state, multiple times. He’s also visitied during his second term.
In December 2025, Mr. Trump said in a speech in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, that he was “crushing” inflation and called affordability concerns a “Democratic hoax.”
One week later, Vice President JD Vance aimed to calm the affordability concerns at a Uline facility in Alburtis, about 13 miles southwest of Allentown.
Tickets are available for Mr. Trump’s visit to Macungie next week on a first-come, first-serve basis.
-
New Hampshire3 minutes agoPortsmouth Pride 2026 is a protest and a celebration
-
New Jersey6 minutes agoHistorical marker recognizing Lawnside, New Jersey, to be unveiled Friday
-
New Mexico11 minutes agoEight Black New Mexican artists explore the concept of land through art
-
North Carolina18 minutes ago
NC ranks 9th nationally in business using AI
-
North Dakota21 minutes agoA hero’s return for WWII POW Irvin Ellingson
-
Ohio26 minutes agoLicking County real estate transfers for June 1-5, 2026, hit $865,000
-
Oklahoma33 minutes agoMost Oklahoma voters didn’t cast a ballot during June’s primary election
-
Oregon36 minutes ago
Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for June 18
