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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."

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  The founder of one of the world’s most unique research facilities, Knoxville’s so-called "Body Farm," will make an appearance today here in Middle Tennessee.

UT Professor Emeritus Dr. Bill Bass will deliver a presentation and sign his books this evening in Murfreesboro on the campus of Middle Tennessee State.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT)  --  For the third year in a row reported crime in Tennessee has fallen. In a report released Thursday morning the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation noted a 1.7 percent overall decrease in crime in 2011 when compared to 2010.

Some key crime categories did, however, show significant increases this past year. TBI spokesperson Kristin Helm notes that the number of murders in Tennessee increased by four percent.

“Tennessee reported a total of 375 murders across the state in 2011 and 96 of those were domestic violence related.”

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.