McMinnville resident and Indianapolis, Ind., native Bruce Edward Dybdal, 48, died April 17 at St. Thomas Hospital after a brief illness.Self-employed with D&D Mobile Home Service and a member of Locust Street Church of God, he was the son of Harvey Roy Dybdal of McMinnville and the late Edith Hicks Dybdal.In addition to his father,…

Asheville, N.C., resident and Warren County native Betty Lynn (Bryan) Haslam, 63, died April 16 at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville after accelerated declining health problems.She was the only daughter of the late Charles Faulkner and Edith (Hillis) Bryan of McMinnville. She graduated from McMinnville City High School in 1959 and studied at the University…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — A trial jokingly referred to by prosecutors as “the Jerry Springer case” ended with the conviction of a Knoxville woman on arson and burglary charges. Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz will sentence Sarah Martin after a background report is prepared by May 28. The trial included testimony from a Knoxville Fire…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The union seeking to organize Quebecor printing plants in Tennessee and Mississippi charged Tuesday that the company violates federal labor laws. The Graphic Communications International Union filed 22 charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Quebecor attempted to restrain, coerce and intimidate workers who seek to organize a union. Workers…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — Opening statements begin Wednesday after a jury was selected for the retrial of Thomas “Zoo Man” Huskey, an accused serial killer convicted of raping three women in the early 1990s. Huskey, 46, was convicted in 1996 of raping four women. The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ordered a new trial in 2002…

By DEE-ANN DURBIN / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators decided Tuesday to exempt Nissan Motor Co. from government fuel economy standards, a highly unusual move prompted by concern enforcement could lead to U.S. job losses. Nissan asked the government in February for an exemption to the “two-fleet rule,” which requires automakers to…

By BILL POOVEY / Associated Press Writer DAYTON (AP) — Five weeks after county commissioners voted to outlaw homosexuality and then changed their minds, describing the vote as a verbal misunderstanding, they decided Tuesday to put all such statements in writing before taking any vote. Unlike the March 18 reversal that attracted a raucous, divided…

By MATT GOURAS / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Department of Safety has done a poor job tracking school bus safety checks, updating driver records and making sure driver’s licenses examiners are qualified, auditors said Tuesday. The audit of the Safety Department found a number of deficiencies — including problems with handgun…

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — The search for the University of Tennessee’s 23rd president came down to three finalists. From an original slate of 47 applicants, three survivors faced a third and final round of interviews Wednesday before the UT Board of Trustees and its chairman, Gov. Phil Bredesen. By…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — An effort to revive a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution limiting abortion rights was abandoned in a House committee Tuesday after its sponsor said it didn’t have enough support. Rep. Mike Turner, a Democrat who is carrying the Senate resolution in the House, had…