7. The Southeastern Conference accounts for half of college football’s 10 most valuable programs in a new ranking of hypothetical purchase prices, with Texas leading at nearly $2.5 billion, followed by Georgia at $1.95 billion and Alabama at $1.8 billion, while four other SEC schools also top $1 billion with 9 SEC teams in the top 20.
6. The Alabama Republican Party unanimously added a platform plank supporting closed primaries and party registration on a voice vote of the State Republican Executive Committee, after State Auditor Andrew Sorrell moved the measure amid concerns over Democrats voting in the upcoming special congressional primary.
5. State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) rejected arguments for expanding legalized gambling, asking “Why don’t we just enforce the laws we have on the books?” and contending that most Alabamians favor a lottery but not new casinos, while noting Attorney General Steve Marshall’s recent challenge to unregulated sports prediction markets.
4. Police identified 24-year-old Chad Williams as the suspect in the deadly Twin Falls, Idaho In-N-Out Burger shooting who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a good guy with a gun being hailed as a hero for returning fire and ending the carnage.
3. Alabama accounts for more than $75 million of a federal fraud crackdown across the Southeast, it involves SNAP benefits, Small Business Administration loans, housing benefits and tax fraud.
2. New national polling shows 43% of registered voters believe there are already too many AI data centers in the U.S., up from 35% in January after a non-stop media onslaught and Democrats deciding opposing them was good politics, while Alabama Republican primary voters remain divided with 22% viewing them as good for the state, 25% as bad and 37% seeing a mixture of benefits and drawbacks with Trump’s endorsement slightly boosted nearby support.
1. President Donald Trump canceled the latest planned joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran after reaching a “rough framework” of a peace deal that includes the “total” and “immediate” reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with negotiations set to begin Monday amid reports of regime divisions in Tehran.
Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.
