AP/WMOT

NASHVILLE, Tenn (AP/WMOT) — Tennessee Govornor Bill Haslam says he'll veto a measure that would require Vanderbilt University to exempt student religious groups from its nondiscrimination policy.

Christian student leaders say their groups shouldn't be forced to admit members, and possibly leaders, who don’t share their beliefs.

Haslam, a Republican, says he disagrees with Vanderbilt's policy but believes it's, his words, "inappropriate for government to mandate the policies of a private institution."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has proposed a 53-cent property tax increase in his $1.7 billion budget proposal.

Dean said during his State of Metro Address yesterday, that he held the line on taxes during the economic downturn, cutting city budgets by more than 59 percent and restructuring the city’s debt.  But Dean said additional cuts would mean cuts in vital services like the police force and school system.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — A bill under consideration by the Tennessee General Assembly is creating tension between the governor and an East Tennessee newspaper.

The Governor’s staff has declined to release some records about legislation meant to overhaul the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press says the governor's office sought advice from nearly a dozen of the groups regulated by the agency about the proposed legislation.

LENOIR CITY, Tenn (AP/WMOT) — A secular organization is again criticizing the Lenoir City school system for putting on a school assembly that the group claims was inappropriately promoting religion.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation says in a letter to the school system that the "Spin-Tacular Basketball Show" on March 12 was overtly religious. The show is a production of a Christian ministry called Champion’s Forever.

A promotional video on the ministry's website says in part, 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Hate crimes in Tennessee jumped in 2011, rising 51 percent above 2010 levels.

According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation there were 261 recorded hate crimes last year.

Hate crime statistics tend to fluctuate a lot from year to year. There were 426 in 2008, 243 in 2009 and 173 in 2010.

Here in Middle Tennessee, hate crimes were reported in the cities of Clarksville, Manchester, Gallatin, Lebanon, Nashville and Spring Hill.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — Senate Democrats are expected to introduce a bill this week that will keep interest rates from rising for millions of students with federal loans. Republicans are balking at a tax boost Democrats want to use to pay for it.

Senator Harry Reid unveiled the nearly $6 billion proposal yesterday after it was endorsed by both President Barack Obama and GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — A lawsuit that seeks to void the approval for a Rutherford County mosque will go to trial next week in Murfreesboro.

On Thursday, Chancellor Robert Corlew denied a defense motion to dismiss claims of inadequate public notice for the meeting where the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was approved.

Even though the trial will now go forward, mosque spokesman Saleh Sbenaty says his congregation feels confident about the eventual outcome.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Good news on the jobs front as Tennessee’s March unemployment rate dipped just below 8 percent.

Jeff Hentschell with the Tennessee Department of Labor says the rate fell a tenth of a point to 7.9 percent. It was the eighth straight month of decline, and the rate is at its lowest level since November 2008.

Hentschell says Tennessee’s unemployment numbers are getting a boost from two surprising sectors.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — The White House says former Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

President Barack Obama says Summitt is an "inspiration" as the coach who has won more games than anyone else in NCAA college basketball history and for her willingness to "speak so openly and courageously about her battle with Alzheimer's."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — The Tennessee House has passed Gov. Bill Haslam's bill to require mandatory jail time for people with repeat domestic violence convictions.

The chamber voted 98-1 to approve the bill. The lone vote against the measure came from Democratic Rep. Eddie Bass of Prospect.  Bass says the bill shouldn’t be passed until the state agrees to pay local governments the entire increased costs of putting more abusers in jail.