BW Recommends is a rundown of stories you might have missed this week. It offers insight into issues important to our area and sometimes tickles your curiosity.

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Birmingham Chosen to Host 2026 American Athletic Conference Basketball Championships (Bham Now)

The American Athletic Conference has chosen Birmingham to host its 2026 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships at Legacy Arena. It will be the first time AAC has played the championships in The Magic City.

Once Popular, Long Vacant Birmingham-Area Mall to Get New Life With $3 Million Makeover (AL.com)

The vacant Mall at Westlake in Bessemer is being redeveloped as a light industrial park. An Ohio-based real estate investment company bought the land for $3 million and is planning to pump several million dollars into the Marvel City Business Park.

Tuberville on Capitol Journal: Shrink Government, Increase Manufacturing, Bring Trump Influence to Montgomery (Alabama Daily News)

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville in an interview on Capitol Journal talked about his campaign for the state’s highest office, laying out his vision for boosting manufacturing jobs and shrinking state government.

Meet the Former Executive, Entrepreneur Running for Tuberville’s Senate Seat (Alabama Political Reporter)

Dakarai Larriett announced recently that he would run as a Democrat for the Senate seat being vacated by Tommy Tuberville. Larriett was spurred to run after being unlawfully arrested by Michigan State Police last year and said criminal justice reform is one of the issues he wants to pursue in Washington.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall Announces Run for US Senate (Associated Press)

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor. Marshall said Alabamians are looking for a strong conservative to support President Trump and uphold the values of people in the state.

Alabama Legislature Only Passes Two Immigration Bills Despite GOP Push on Issue (Alabama Reflector)

Despite spending a great deal of time on the issue in the 2025 session, the Alabama Legislature passed only two bills targeting those without appropriate authorization to reside in the country. One requires law enforcement to take fingerprints and DNA samples of people without documentation, and the other makes it a crime to transport an undocumented person into the state. But bills

A Twinkle in Trump’s Eye: A Shakeup at Alabama’s Top Utility Regulator (Inside Climate News)

Twinkle Cavanaugh has resigned as longtime president of the state’s top utility regulator to begin working for the Trump administration as the state director for rural development in Alabama. Her departure leaves a vacancy on the Public Service Commission, which the governor will fill by appointment.

Federal Court Decision Supports APLS Board Efforts to Remove Controversial Books From Public Libraries (Alabama Daily News)

Alabama Public Library Service Board Chair John Wahl praised a decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday that bodes well for the APLS’ recent efforts to remove sexual and gender ideology-based content from children’s sections at public libraries. The ruling, which doesn’t legally apply in Alabama does set a precedent, upheld that a library’s decision to remove books from its shelves cannot be challenged under the First Amendment.

What Pope Leo XIV Means to Black Catholics in the Birmingham Region (Birmingham Times)

“Shocked and excited.” “A powerful moment.” “Overwhelming.” “A pope for the people.” Those were sentiments from a few Black Catholics in the Birmingham-area after Pope Leo XIV became the first North American and first person of Haitian and African American descent to be elected to lead the global Catholic community.