romp the leaves

Danielle Murphree of Tuscaloosa finished third in the live season finale of “Big Brother.” She was evicted by Ian Terry, who then faced Dan Gheesling for the $500,000 grand prize. The 14th season of the CBS reality competition ended tonight.

Terry beat Gheesling in the final jury vote 6-1, with Murphree casting the lone vote for the latter.

Though she had a chance to win the final Head of Household, Murphree threw part one and lost to Terry in part two, putting her up for nomination against Gheesling.

Murphree lived with 15 other players in the “house,” a special two-story studio with cameras and microphones everywhere. What didn’t make it to broadcast was shown online to subscribers.

She was the only female contestant to win the weekly Head of Household competition, and did so twice during the season. Murphree provided several of the more memorable moments of the show, though not always intentionally.

Viewers will remember her for her relentless romantic pursuit of Shane Meaney, who didn’t warm up to her advances. Her other standout moments all revolved around Gheesling, who started the season as her coach but ended up lying to her and betraying her several times.

Video: Dan Gheesling shocks Danielle Murphree
by evicting her friend Shane Meaney.

Video: The aftermath

Murphree started out lying about her occupation, telling others she worked as a kindergarten teacher instead of a nurse. She found help in two alliances that got her to the final three.

She fared better than most previous Alabamians on the show, save for Jason Guy of Mobile who finished third in season 3.

Also:

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More reality TV coverage in Special Reports.

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19 trips to the thrift store

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

She planned and sewed to
cover her curves. Barely. Best
Halloween ever!

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the hanging

Tuesday, September 18th, 2012

The townspeople found
their spots in the square, children
laughing and pointing.

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Vote 2012: The cashless society

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Alabama goes broke

A select handful of Alabamians will go to the polls Tuesday to cast but a single vote.

Wade on Birmingham - Vote 2012 The Legislature has a special election on Tuesday to allow voters to decide whether $437 million dollars should be transferred from the Alabama Trust Fund to the General Fund during the next 3 years. The money would cover a shortfall in the state’s operating budget for services such as prisons, courts and Medicaid.

The special election will cost $3 million. Voter turnout is expected to be extremely low.

Should the measure fail, Gov. Bentley has vowed to stand by his no taxes pledge, meaning severe cuts — up to 10 percent — across the board. The trust fund manages royalties from natural gas wells off the coast of Alabama. Its board has not taken a position on the vote.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Update Sept. 18: Measure passes by 2-to-1 margin.

Update Sept. 22: Voter turnout was around 22 percent. | Surprise: Passage seen as a win for Gov. Bentley.

Are you voting for or against the amendment? Tell us why in the comments.

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More Vote 2012 coverage.