BW Recommends

BW Recommends | July 6, 2025

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.

Soon we’ll be offering Recommends via email. Sign up here to receive it. You can also sign up for The WeeklyWatch, the stories we’ve published over the previous seven days, and Monday Morning Watch, a roundup of public meetings scheduled for that week.

The Declaration of Independence (Alabama Daily News)

The full text stands as a reminder of what the Fourth of July holiday represents.

In Trump’s Megabill, a Clean Energy Phase Out and a Big, Beautiful Tax Break for Met Coal Exporters (Inside Climate News)

A provision slipped into President Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act would provide millions of dollars in tax credits to U.S. companies that produce metallurgical coal, which is largely exported overseas for use in foreign steelmaking. Alabama coal companies are among those that produce met coal.

Alabama Schools to Lose $68 Million in Federal Grants Under Trump Freeze (Alabama Reflector)

President Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $7 billion in congressional-approved grants for personnel and afterschool programs means Alabama schools will lose $68 million.  Alabama State Superintendent Eric Mackey said that school system has been counting on that money for programs in the upcoming school year.

Tuberville Raises $4M in Little Over a Month (Alabama Daily News)

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville has raised just more than $4 million in his bid for the governor’s office in 2026, according to his latest campaign finance information.

8-Year-Old Mountain Brook Girl Among the Many Killed in Texas Flooding (AL.com)

Sarah Marsh was attending Camp Mystic, a Christian retreat, when flash flooding struck the region.

Iconic Birmingham Broadcaster Shelley Stewart Joining Legends in the Radio Hall of Fame (Birmingham Times)

After a decades-long career that spans broadcasting, public relations and philanthropy in the Birmingham area, Shelley Stewart, 91, is being inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. He joins an elite group whose ranks include the likes of Bob Hope, James Brown, Larry King and Ryan Seacrest.