Is /e/ a new trend for /æ/ in America?

It's not an American thing. It's a Greek thing. For the most part, /æ/ isn't used in Greek. See non-Greek vowel sounds (http://www.webtopos.gr/eng/languages/greek/gre_ipa_3.htm). Wiki says that it's used in some dialects, but I'm not familiar with them. In my Medical English courses, we were taught the Greek vowel sounds, and they didn't mention /æ/.

Also, Peter Shor shared a link in comment that I agree with. Accents do vary slightly from place to place and person to person in the US. Here's an excerpt:

1. All three are kept distinct. This occurs primarily in the Northeast, e.g. in the accents of Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, and Providence, Rhode Island.[7][sample 2] In the Philadelphia accent the three-way contrast is preserved, but merry tends to be merged with Murray; likewise ferry can be a homophone of furry. (See furry–ferry merger below.)
2. All three are merged. This is found throughout the United States and Canada, and is almost universal in the West.
3. "Mary" and "marry" are merged, while "merry" is distinct. This is also found widely, but in only about 15% of speakers in the United States overall.[1]
4. "Mary" and "merry" are merged, while "marry" is distinct. This is found in the South of the United States and as far north as Baltimore, Maryland, and Wilmington, Delaware; it is also found among Anglophones in Montreal.[8]

Again, person to person, things change. For example, a woman named Marry/Mary/Merry/Merri may pronounce her name differently than others in the region, as well.