JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. FedEx Corporate Services terminated Yvonne Craddock’s employment following a workplace altercation. Craddock, who is African American, sued FedEx, alleging that she was terminated because of her race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Her claims were submitted to a jury, which concluded that FedEx’s reason for termination was pretextual, but that Craddock had failed to demonstrate that FedEx intentionally discriminated against her because of her race. Craddock appeals, arguing that the district court abused its discretion by forcing her to bifurcate the liability and damages portions of her trial and by excluding testimony and evidence pertaining to events post-termination; that some of the court’s trial rulings and case management decisions were improper; that the jury verdict form was plainly erroneous; and that cumulatively, these errors warrant reversal of the judgment and remand for a new trial. For the following reasons, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion regarding the claims raised by Craddock, and AFFIRM the jury’s verdict.

A Marion County jury convicted Landon Allen Turner, Defendant, of reckless homicide and aggravated child abuse for the death of Z.H., Defendant’s girlfriend’s two-year-old son. He argues on appeal that: (1) the juvenile court erred in transferring his case to circuit court; (2) the State violated its Brady obligations by failing to provide defense counsel with a copy of Defendant’s statements prior to the juvenile transfer hearing; (3) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (4) his conviction for aggravated child abuse should be barred under the doctrine of “mutually exclusive verdicts”; and (5) his sentence is excessive. After review, we affirm the judgments.

The Defendant, Landon Hank Black, was convicted in the Knox County Criminal Court of second degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and received an effective sentence of twenty-five years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the State infringed on his right to remain silent; the trial court erred by allowing a State witness to give opinion testimony but then prohibiting a defense witness from doing the same; the trial court erred by allowing a State witness to testify that she had sex with the Defendant just days after the victim’s death; the State was allowed to attack the integrity of the defense during the presentation of the evidence; the State’s closing arguments were improper; the trial court erred by instructing the jury that the Defendant had a duty to retreat before acting in self-defense; the trial court erred by refusing to give a modified sequential jury instruction; the trial court incorrectly instructed the jury on voluntary manslaughter; and the cumulative effect of the errors requires a new trial. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Smith has officially launched his bid to be elected Tennessee’s District 68 state representative. He is seeking to replace Curtis Johnson, the long-time representative who recently announced his pending retirement. Clarksville Online has more on the campaign.

Dozens of officials and community members gathered in front of the Hamilton County Juvenile Court recently to celebrate the launch of a Safe Baby Court, the Times Free Press reports. Under the program, parents work with a team of professionals, including case managers, welfare workers, developmental specialists and attorneys to find the best placement for their infants and toddlers. In 2017, Tennessee passed legislation to create the "Zero to Three Court Initiative" to improve the outcome for children under age four. About 1,000 children have been involved in the program across the state since its creation.

The trial court terminated a father’s parental rights to two minor children on the grounds of abandonment and failure to manifest an ability and willingness to assume custody of or financial responsibility for the children. We reverse the trial court’s ruling as to abandonment but affirm the trial court’s ruling as to the father’s failure to manifest an ability and willingness. Because we also conclude that terminating the father’s parental rights is in the children’s best interests, we affirm the trial court’s ultimate ruling.

A conservative group in Wisconsin has filed complaints against the American Bar Association (ABA), a federal magistrate judge in Minnesota and three law schools alleging bias in hiring programs for students. According to Bloomberg Law, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the complaints with the U.S. Justice and Education departments, claiming that the programs violate federal law by targeting applicants based on race, age and sexual orientation. The law schools targeted were South Texas College, the University of the Pacific and Willamette University.

This appeal involves claims of breach of contract and employment discrimination filed by a graduate student/teaching assistant at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The plaintiff claimed that he was fired for discriminatory reasons and that the University of Tennessee had breached its employment contract with him. The trial court dismissed the breach of contract claim based on sovereign immunity and lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court dismissed the employment discrimination claims by reason of the applicable statute of limitations. The plaintiff has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

Naussany Investments, the company trying to foreclose on and sell Graceland, is dropping its effort, according to the Daily Memphian. The move comes after Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins this morning postponed a planned auction. Naussany claims that Lisa Marie Presley failed to repay a $3.8 million loan she took out in 2018 using the property as collateral. Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough sued Naussany after news of the sale broke. She claims the loan documents involving her mother had been forged.

A new Vanderbilt University poll, which surveyed 1,003 registered voters in Tennessee, found that those who favor a woman’s right to an abortion slightly outnumber those who do not — a change from recent years, Axios reports. The poll also found that voters on a bipartisan basis support in vitro fertility treatments. With regard to gun control legislation, most Tennesseans favor keeping guns away from people who are a danger to themselves or others, but are split on allowing teachers to carry concealed guns on school campuses. Other notable findings show low approval for state government and majority approval for legalizing recreational cannabis. WKRN reports on that finding.