Miss Nebraska is the new Miss USA.
Omaha’s Sarah Rose Summers beat out 51 women from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, including an Army sergeant, a yoga instructor, a nurse and a real estate agent.
The final three contestants – Summers, Carolina Urrea of Nevada and Caelynn Miller-Keyes of North Carolina, were asked what they would write on a blank sign on the way to a hypothetical march.
Summers said she would encourage people to "speak your voice" with her sign, Urrea would work to eliminate homelessness and Miller-Keyes, who spoke about being sexually assaulted, said she would march for "your body, your rights."
The pageant also took a serious turn earlier during a pre-taped segment when contestants were asked if they had a "Me Too moment." A number of women answered affirmatively and one contestant described being sexually assaulted by co-workers at a children’s camp.
The top five finalists competed in a swimsuit and evening gown segment and answered questions posed by their fellow contestants.
The final three women went through a second round of questioning and one last runway strut.
This year’s hosts were Vanessa and Nick Lachey. Lachey also be performed with his band, 98 Degrees.
New this year, Miss USA was chosen by an all-female committee that included four past pageant contestants.
Donald Trump formerly co-owned The Miss Universe Organization with NBCUniversal. But the network and the Spanish-language broadcaster Univision quickly cut ties with him in 2015, when he offended Hispanics with anti-immigrant remarks in announcing his bid for the White House. Trump sued both networks, eventually settling and selling off the entire pageant to talent management company WME/IMG.
Summers now goes on to represent the U.S. in the Miss Universe competition.
