Alabama
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.
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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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) – Alabama’s new grocery tax holiday starts May 1 and runs through the end of June.
For the first time since sales tax was created in 1939, shoppers in the state will not pay state tax on groceries.
House Bill 527 became law in early April. For the next three years, Alabamians will get two months without the 2 percent grocery tax.
State representative Mike Shaw added the holiday to the bill that Huntsville representative James Lomax sponsored.
According to the USDA, the average family of four spends around $1,000 a month on groceries. Without the 2 percent tax, that family would save around $40 by the end of the two-month holiday.
“One thing I hear from my constituents all the time is, when are we going to get rid of the grocery tax?” Shaw said. “Because we’re doing it in an incremental way, every step doesn’t sound like a lot. But when you add the 2 percent, we’ve already cut and the 2 percent of the grocery tax holiday, it’s going to be a significant chunk of cash in people’s pockets over time.”
The grocery tax has already been slashed in half since 2023.
Shopper Kelli Taylor said any break helps.
“Last month I could fill my vehicle up for 60 bucks. Last week, it was 93 dollars, so everything’s going up,” Taylor said. “So, to me, any break is a welcomed break, and 2 percent is a lot more than 0 percent, so I’ll take it,” Taylor said.
Alabama is one of only eight states that still has a grocery tax. Shaw said lawmakers will keep pushing toward eliminating it entirely.
An important part is making sure the Education Trust Fund (ETF) can handle it, which has lost millions of dollars of grocery tax funding since the cuts.
The holiday only applies to the state tax. Local city and county sales taxes on food remain in effect.
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Alabama AI officer Aaron Wright began work Monday April 27 as the state’s first Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, a newly created position housed within the Alabama Office of Information Technology.
Wright, who has more than 25 years of experience in health care and state government technology, most recently served as AOIT’s director of application development. He also led the Data Management and Ownership working group within the governor’s Generative AI Task Force.
Wright said in a statement that AI adoption across state agencies has already been underway through informal coordination, and the new role is designed to build on that foundation.
“AI is no longer a future technology; it is here now,” Wright said. “It has become integrated into existing tool sets, and people are using AI tools and platforms throughout their day to enhance and streamline their work.”
He described the position as collaborative rather than regulatory.
“The CAIO position is not intended to be a gatekeeper or a blocker of innovation for Alabama’s agencies,” Wright said, calling it “an advocate, a facilitator, and, when needed, a voice of caution” as agencies adopt AI tools.
Secretary of Information Technology Daniel Urquhart said Wright’s background “positions Alabama to thoughtfully and effectively harness artificial intelligence in ways that can improve outcomes for our agencies and the people we serve.”
Wright said his first priority is creating a shared environment for agencies to compare notes on AI adoption, and that early projects include an AI chatbot for the OIT website.
“Residents should see government services that are simpler, faster and more reliable,” Wright said, including “shorter wait times, more intuitive digital experiences, and better access to information when and where they need it.”
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
Drought conditions lead to elevated wildfire danger this spring
Multiple parts of the country, including Florida and the Four Corners region, are at risk of dangerous wildfires this spring.
Accuweather
Alabama faces a summer of intense heat, high humidity, and occasional strong storms, with El Niño influencing shifts across the Southeast weather pattern.
While conditions will vary across the state, AccuWeather forecasters expect heat to dominate statewide. At the same time, storm and flooding risks will be concentrated in specific parts of Alabama as the season progresses.
Here’s what Alabama residents can expect for summer 2026.
Heat and Humidity to dominate Alabama summer 2026
Heat is expected to be the defining feature of the season, with much of Alabama likely to see near- or above-normal temperatures.
Even when highs are typical for late June or July, humidity will push “feels-like” temperatures significantly higher, especially in central and southern Alabama.
That means:
- More frequent 90-degree days.
- Oppressive humidity across the state.
- Warm overnight lows that offer little relief.
As a result, energy demand is also expected to rise as residents rely heavily on air conditioning during extended hot stretches.
Alabama summer storms 2026
Unlike some summers with almost daily thunderstorms, 2026 is expected to feature more distinct periods of storm activity, rather than storms developing continuously throughout the season. These storm-active windows will vary by region in the state.
Storm timing breaks down like this:
- Upper to central Alabama: Peak thunderstorm activity in June and July.
- Southern Alabama: July into August becomes the more active window.
Derecho Risk focused in northern Alabama
One of the more significant severe weather concerns this summer is the potential for derecho events across northern Alabama.
AccuWeather forecasters are highlighting a moderate risk zone in the upper part of the state, where fast-moving lines of thunderstorms could organize during peak summer instability.
These systems are rare but capable of producing widespread damage when they form.
Will there be drought relief in Alabama?
Flooding risks this summer are not widespread, but they are highly localized in two areas that will need close attention during heavy events.
The main flood-prone zones are the upper western and lower eastern corners of the state. Elsewhere, flooding risk stays within the norm for summer storms.
Bottom line: Don’t expect too much relief this summer.
Jennifer Lindahl is a Breaking and Trending Reporter in Alabama for USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect Team. Connect with her on X @jenn_lindahl and email at jlindahl@usatodayco.com.
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