Alabama’s Mary Margaret McCord finishes second to Connecticut in Miss USA competition (gallery)
Al.com – June 16
It came down to two. Miss Alabama and Miss Connecticut. In the end, it was Miss Connecticut named Miss USA 2013. Erin Brady of South Glastonbury, Conn., won after answering a question about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding widespread DNA tests. She said agreed with the decision in her answer. Gadsden native and University of Alabama master’s student Mary Margaret McCord – as the first runner-up – will be asked to fill the role if Miss Connecticut is unable to fulfill her duties. Utah’s representative was the talk of the competition after she gave her awkward answer to a question.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Ga.) – June 16
CBS 5 (Mobile) – June 16
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – June 16
Miss Michigan 2013 Haley Williams looking forward to year-long reign, helping kids overcome grief
Michigan Live – June 16
The newly crowned Miss Michigan is still “speechless” a day after winning the state title on Saturday, June 15 at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts. “I’ve been joking that I can’t find a word yet to describe it,” the new Miss Michigan, Haley Williams, told MLive/Muskegon Chronicle in an interview today, Sunday. Although it was her first year competing in the Miss Michigan pageant this week in Muskegon, Williams beat out 32 other contestants for the title Saturday, and in the process won a $10,000 scholarship and the chance to compete in the Miss America pageant in September … Williams, 20, is a Saline native and the winner of the 2009 Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen competition. She currently attends the University of Alabama, where she twirls batons at football games. She said she is pursuing a public relations degree and an art history minor, with hopes of working in sports after graduation. Williams said she plans to take a break from school for a year and return after her reign is over.
UA trustees approve road projects
Fox 6 (Birmingham) – June 14
University of Alabama trustees approve a plan to build several roads on the university’s recently-acquired Bryce Hospital Property. Among other things, the project will extend a road linking the property to Jack Warner Parkway. The school bought the 160-acre property in 2010. Sixteen-million dollars of the $25 million project comes from the state. Right now, there’s no start date for the road project.