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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Who Might Run for President in 2028? The (Very) Long List. (The New York Times)

Alabama’s Sen. Katie Britt made The New York Times’ list of potential candidates in the shadow campaign for president in 2028. She was one of eight Republican senators on the list, with the Times saying she is “well liked by Mr. Trump and the party’s donors.” Britt has been drawing a lot of attention recently. This past week alone, she introduced legislation to require employers to use E-Verify (1819 News) to cut down on the employment of illegal immigrants, celebrated the passage of her Lulu’s Law to  create a warning alert system for shark attacks (Alabama Daily News), and joined an all-female group of senators to visit officials in arctic nations (PBS).

Jones v. Tuberville, a Rematch for the Governor’s Mansion (Alabama Political Reporter)

Tuesday’s primary for governor was a cake walk for U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville and former Sen. Doug Jones. Setting up the race in the fall, Jones on election night focused on local issues and painted himself as the steadier candidate. Tuberville pivoted to national talking points and made attacks on Democrats in general.

Former Downtown YMCA Building Could Be Demolished (Bham Now)

The Birmingham Design Review Committee will consider a proposal Wednesday to demolish the former downtown YMCA building and replace it with a new hotel.

Nana Funk’s Closing After 20 Years in Lakeview (CBS 42)

Nana Funk’s, a popular bar and nightclub in Birmingham’s Lakeview neighborhood, closed this weekend, after coming under scrutiny set off by a shooting in April.

Zion Memorial Gardens Reopens After Abrupt Closure, Families Demand Accountability From Management

Just days after a note on the door said it was closing, Zion Memorial Gardens is back open for business. But the situation has left many families with questions about whether the cemetery can be trusted to properly care for those laid to rest there.

Federal Judges Question Alabama Attorneys Over Plan To Use Earlier Congressional Map (Alabama Reflector)

A three-judge panel of the Northern District of Alabama on Friday peppered attorneys for the state with questions about its attempt to use a 2023 congressional map that the panel declared racially discriminatory. The judges appeared skeptical of Alabama’s arguments that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling created a new standard requiring them to roll back district maps that created a second Black-leaning congressional district. At stake is whether Alabama continues with Aug. 11 special primaries in the state’s 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th congressional districts. At least 21 people have qualified to run in the special primaries.

Justices Decline to Rule in Death Penalty Case Over Intellectual Disabilities (The New York Times)

A splintered Supreme Court on Thursday declined to rule in the case of an Alabama man who challenged his death sentence because of varying results in a series of I.Q. tests. The lack of a decision left states without guidance on how to consider evidence from I.Q. tests and beyond when deciding who should be spared the death penalty. The Alabama case involved Joseph Clifton Smith, who was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering a man he planned to rob in 1997. In the years before and after the murder, Smith took five I.Q. tests with scores ranging from 72 to 78. The case goes back to the appellate court, which had overturned the death sentence.

U.S. Senate Confirms Two Alabamians to Serve as U.S. Attorneys (Alabama Daily News)

The U.S. Senate last week confirmed two new U.S. attorneys in Alabama. Phil Williams Jr. will be the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, which covers Birmingham, Huntsville and Tuscaloosa; Thomas Govan Jr. will serve as the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, which includes Montgomery and Dothan.