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    Tennessee’s Republican-dominant Statehouse has approved a $52.8 billion spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that includes an eye-popping $1.95 billion tax break and refund for businesses. But it provides little new tax relief for most Tennessee families. Lawmakers remain largely divided on whether they’ll advance any proposal to spend vastly more public money to send students to private schools throughout the state. Legislative leaders conceded Wednesday that hopes of a last-minute voucher solution were dwindling. The upcoming weekend offers a final negotiation opportunity to resolve the glaring differences between the House and Senate.

      The Sheetz convenience store chain has been hit with a lawsuit by federal officials who allege the company discriminated against minority job applicants. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Sheetz Inc. discriminated against Black, Native American and multiracial job seekers by automatically weeding out applicants whom the company deemed to have failed a criminal background check. President Joe Biden stopped by a Sheetz for snacks this week while campaigning in Pennsylvania. Sheetz is based in the state and also has stores in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. The privately run family-owned company says it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”

        Authorities say a Tennessee police officer has fatally shot a man who confronted him with a knife. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the Knoxville Police responded Wednesday to a report of a man acting erratically and causing a disturbance at a business. The bureau said that when police arrived, the man came out of the business with at least one knife and confronted an officer who fired and struck the man, the bureau said. He was transported to a hospital, but later died. The officer wasn’t injured. The officer was placed on routine leave while the shooting is investigated.

          A civilian interrogator who worked 20 years ago at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq told jurors in Virginia that he never abused detainees and was actually promoted for doing a good job. Steven Stefanowicz worked for military contractor CACI when he was assigned to Abu Ghraib in 2003 and 2004. He has been a key figure in the abuse scandal that emerged when photos became public showing U.S. soldiers smiling as detainees were forced into shocking poses of physical and sexual humiliation. Stefanowicz’s testimony Thursday comes as his former employer defends itself in a civil suit brought by three Abu Ghraib survivors.

            Officials in Virginia say a school bus struck a Department of Motor Vehicles building after swerving to avoid hitting a car, injuring two students and the bus driver. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says three people were taken to a hospital Thursday morning with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening. County police say the car also swerved and went into a ditch. A Virginia DMV spokesperson said no employees were injured and that the office was closed while crews reviewed the damage.

            Each day, more than 1,000 people are injured and nine are killed in crashes involving distracted driving, according to data reported by Drive Smart Virginia. Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. has long partnered with the nonprofit organization charged with raising awareness and changing behavior to improve roadway safety.

            Each day, more than 1,000 people are injured and nine are killed in crashes involving distracted driving, according to data reported by Drive Smart Virginia. Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. has long partnered with the nonprofit organization charged with raising awareness and changing behavior to improve roadway safety.

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