By LEIGH STROPE / AP Labor Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Computer programmer Gunther Viktor is an unwilling work force dropout. The 64-year-old Phoenix resident was laid off in December 2001 after his employer, a contractor, completed the project to which Viktor was assigned. The work then dried up. For months, Viktor looked for full-time, part-time…

By MARTHA IRVINE / AP National Writer CHICAGO (AP) — It’s just a little bit of wording on a condom packet — so small that Justin Kleinman hadn’t noticed it until he squinted to read it recently. “This is completely pointless,” the 24-year-old Chicagoan said of the warning telling him that, while condoms can help…

By LORI JOHNSTON / Associated Press Writer ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Nobody has to tell landscaper Eric Pope that the last few months have been some of the driest on record in many parts of the South. All he has to do is look around at all the patchy, dusty yards. “If this is any…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Wrier NASHVILLE (AP) — The House unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that would require university police to notify local law enforcement of any campus deaths or rapes, which would be jointly investigated. Called the “Robert ‘Robbie’ Nottingham Campus Crime Scene Investigation Act of 2004,” the bill is named in honor…

By TOM SHARP / Associated Press Writer COOPER NASHVILLE (AP) — The state Senate on Wednesday passed a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that could potentially limit abortion rights. The constitutional amendment was withdrawn, supposedly for the year, after it was amended two weeks ago to allow for abortions in cases of rape, incest…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — A bill lowering the requirements for home-schooled students to get a lottery college scholarship passed a Senate committee Wednesday. Currently, those students must score a 23 on the ACT college entrance exam to qualify, while students attending traditional schools need either a 19 ACT score…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — High schools would be required to use the same grading scale when reporting student grades under legislation passed unanimously Wednesday by the state Senate. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, is the product of an issue that emerged last year after implementation of…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Coach Kevin Stallings wishes Vanderbilt could have enjoyed a different ending. The Commodores are happy to enjoy one of the best seasons in school history. “It’s been great after coming back from what happened last year and sticking through the tough times,” senior guard Russell Lakey said. “Just to get here was…

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS / AP Sports Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee coach Pat Summitt doesn’t know what’s in store when she arrives in New Orleans for her 15th Final Four. Already the path getting there has been unlike any other. The top-seeded Lady Vols (30-3) cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAA…

DAVIS MURFREESBORO — With only two available scholarships to offer during the NCAA signing period, which begins April 14, Middle Tennessee men’s basketball coach Kermit Davis says perimeter needs are foremost on the team’s wish list. The Blue Raiders will be looking to replace three senior guards, including four-year starter Tommy Gunn, a two-time, first-team…