7. Auburn beats down in-state opponent Alabama State, breaking the potential Cinderella’s glass slipper after an 83-63 defeat to the overall No. 1 seed. While Auburn plays on, ASU Coach Tony Madlock celebrated the team’s first tournament victory over Saint Francis and the team’s potential. The remaining Alabama-based teams will play today: the Crimson Tide will play the Robert Morris Colonials at 11:40 a.m. from Cleveland and Troy will take on the 18th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at 6:40 p.m. in Milwaukee.

6. The failure of a bill that would have enacted a ban on Delta-8 products in Alabama by Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) has led to a new push to legalize and tax the product in the state of Alabama. However, State Sen. Sam Givhan (R-Huntsville) wondered if legalizing more THC products was a good idea. Givan noted that, for the first time ever, THC has surpassed alcohol in DUI cases this year. The advocates for legalization, and regulation, could restrict sales to private package stores or vape shops for those 21 and up, rather than widespread retail at convenience stores as the unregulated market allows now.

5. The Alabama Public Library Service board has finally voted to terminate Director Nancy Pack, who faced over two years of controversy for allegedly favoring retention of sexually explicit library materials, questioning the motives of people who wanted to remove the explicit material, and even playing a role in multiple controversies around the state. The decision, opposed only by ex-Chair Ron Snider who called it a “dark day” driven by “extremists,” followed public pressure from groups like Clean Up Alabama, a group that is actually making a difference, unlike Read Freely Alabama which receives a large amount of media attention and an abundance of losses on their core issues.

4. The Alabama Senate passed the Community Pharmacy Relief Act, which Sen. Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) says is a vital measure to stop pharmacy benefits managers from undercutting independent pharmacies with unfair reimbursements and hidden fees, and ensuring transparency, which could help independent pharmacies stay open. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Billy Beasley (D-Clayton), bans PBMs from paying less than Medicaid rates for two years, mandates passing rebates to health plans, and empowers the Insurance Commissioner to penalize violators. It now heads to the House amid some opposition over potential cost hikes. However, the House is expected to pass the bill, with a sunset provision providing an opportunity to test the impact of the legislation before it will need to be revisited, which may not be necessary if the federal government addresses the issue.

3. President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Department of Education’s closure, fulfilling a campaign pledge to eliminate what he calls a wasteful, ideologically driven agency. But the agency can not be totally eliminated without an unlikely vote from Congress, so the role of managing Title I funds and student loans will continue with a much smaller staff. Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon argue the states can better handle education, they note declining test scores and exploding costs since the department was founded.

2. Mayor Tommy Battle of Huntsville expressed a lack of concern regarding Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), suggesting their impact on Alabama is overstated, ranking his concern as a 2-out-of-10 when it comes to the state’s federal government footprint. He criticized the media’s dramatic framing of the situation as apocalyptic, asserting that it doesn’t reflect the actual circumstances in his city, specifically citing a disappointed New York Times reporter that Battle suggested wanted worse news on the the matter and was disappointed to not get it.

1. A series of federal court rulings, including nationwide injunctions on President Donald Trump’s transgender military ban by Judge Ana Reyes, USAID cuts by Judge Theodore Chuang, mass deportations by Judge James Boasberg, and a single deportation of a Georgetown fellow by Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, have stalled the administration’s early agenda, fueling outrage from Trump administration press secretary Karoline Leavitt who ripped “radical left-wing judges.” The Trump team plans to escalate these fights to the Supreme Court, with some allies like Stephen Miller and Trump himself suggesting impeachment for judges like Boasberg, raising tensions over judicial power versus executive authority. Actual impeachment over this, though, seems unlikely.

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Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and from 10-11 a.m. on Talk 99.5 and News Radio 1440, with a rebroadcast on WVNN at 10 p.m.