Demonstrations continue across the nation following the death of George Floyd, with curfews imposed in multiple cities in several states amid clashes between protesters and authorities. Some have used the protests as a springboard for looting and violence. Attorney General William Barr said “radical” groups had “hijacked” the protests to take advantage of the situation for ulterior motives. Trump urged every governor to send in the National Guard to tackle the violence, adding he expects states to create an “overwhelming law enforcement presence” until the issues subside....

Bovada has posted odds on four categories — Album, song and record of the year and best new artist. Record is based on “quality vocal or instrumental recording tracks” and not just popularity. MORE: Athletes who turned into musicians Here are odds for the 58th Grammy’s. Album of the Year Taylor Swift, 1989 -250 Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly 3-1 Alabama Shakes, Sound and Color 15-2 The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness 12-1 Chris Stapleton, Traveller 20-1...

It’s summer-movie time in America. As usual, this year’s crop offers the good, the bad and the Schwarzenegger. And more than ever, they feature wild special effects. The magic stretches our imagination, even as some of the story lines test our patience. From hurtling cows in “Twister,” to an exploding White House in “Independence Day,” to a beast with the voice and brow of Sean Connery in “Dragonheart,” special effects give filmmakers amazing tools to create artificial reality....

Patricia Keiffner, the publisher of the controversial tell-all book “Breaking Cardinal Rules,” told ESPN that IBJ Publishing Company did, in fact, receive a summons to appear in court next month. MORE: Six things we learned from the book | Sex scandals in sports “We have received a subpoena at IBJ Book Publishing, and we are to appear [before the grand jury] November 5th,” Keiffner said. A spokesman for the Commonwealth Attorney’s office declined to comment on the proceedings on Friday morning, instead telling ESPN that they don’t comment on current investigations....

Becky Ann Vreeland, 60, was taken into custody for murder after the body of Riley Lynn Nolan was found in a trash can, according to a local station, KFOR. ChildHelp reports that the “United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations—losing on average 5 children every day to child abuse and neglect. The station reports that on Tuesday evening, around 7:30, officers were called to a residence in Oklahoma City for a report of a dead toddler, approximately between 2 and 3 years old....

But in Duke’s locker room after his Blue Devils knocked off rival North Carolina 86-78 in a thriller Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium, it was almost hard to hear the soft-spoken junior talk about the win. A group of reporters huddled around Allen, leaning in not because of space constraints but in an effort to actually hear what he was saying. MORE: North Carolina-Duke Game Center The smile, though?...

In the images captured by members of the Kulis Cup Facebook group, the fin of the shark can be seen protruding out of the water just a few feet away from the Race Point Beach in Provincetown. “This is a good example and reminder of how close to shore white sharks can get,” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC) said in a Facebook post. Over the past decade, the waters off Cape Cod have become one of the world’s great white shark hotspots....

The worst of the new wildfires was northwest of Athens, in the Vilia area. Eight villages were put on an evacuation alert. Michalis Chrysochoidis, Greece’s minister for public order, said the fires were in mostly wooded areas with few villages that weren’t in any immediate danger. He said they were trying to stop the fire from spreading into the nearby large village of Vilia. Roughly 240 firefighters, including 143 from Poland, fought the fire with support from eight planes and nine helicopters....

Egyptian researchers tested green tea in combination with antibiotics against 28 disease-causing microorganisms belonging to two different classes: green tea enhanced the bacteria-killing activity of the antibiotics in every case. The study, presented this week at a meeting of the Society for General Microbiology in Edinburgh, Scotland, showed that green tea made one in five drug-resistant bacteria susceptible to one of the cephalosporin antibiotics (a class of antibiotics that some strains of bacteria have mutated to resist)....

Hardy receives a one-year contract worth over $13 million in total. ESPN’s Adam Schefter laid out the details on Twitter. MORE: Free-agency bargains, wallet-busters | Team-by-team signings, departures The 2013 Pro Bowler missed all but one game last season after the Panthers placed him on the exempt list while he faced domestic violence charges (the team still paid Hardy his $13.1 million salary). Charges against Hardy were dropped Feb. 9 after his accuser failed to cooperate with the district attorney’s office....

He has been an elite weapon on the Panthers’ offense for the last seven years, providing a level of consistency that few players deliver and that helped make him the first tight end in NFL history with three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. But while his on-field production gets most of the attention, it’s Olsen’s off-field acts that truly deserve the spotlight. PANTHERS: Ryan Kalil to retire after 2018 The Panthers tight end is one of the many NFL players doing noteworthy charitable work in their community and, for the second year in a row, Olsen has been named a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award finalist, an honor he takes great pride in....

Other than the injured Manu Ginobili, no notable Spurs were out of the lineup, making the end result a bit of a shock. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was less than pleased with his team’s effort. MORE: Iguodala embracing Warriors role | Thunder lose Ibaka | NBA Mock Draft “We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect our opponent,” Popovich told the media after the game. “It was a pathetic performance, and I hope every player was embarrassed....

Greinke and Astros’ ace Dallas Keuchel were announced as the starting pitchers for the Midsummer Classic just after 1 p.m. Monday. MORE: Best All-Star Game careers | Cueto throws tantrum in loss Greinke carries an astounding 1.39 ERA into the All-Star break to go with his 106 strikeouts and 0.84 WHIP. Opposite him, Keuchel boasts an 11-4 record with a 2.23 ERA and 114 punchouts. White Sox pitcher Chris Sale was considered a favorite by many to start the game for the AL, but Chicago manager Robin Ventura asked he be allowed to rest after a heavy workload....

Whitmer argued that the proposed funds would have been put into the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Fund and used as a “tax break” for big businesses. Cutting the money from bill will not affect individuals receiving jobless benefits throughout the state, Whitmer’s communications director, Tiffany Brown, said in a statement to Newsweek. “The bipartisan legislation Governor Whitmer signed today extends benefits for Michiganders who have lost work because of COVID-19. The governor’s line item veto to save $220M in General Fund taxpayer dollars in the employer-owned Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has no effect on current unemployed workers or their benefit weeks,” Brown said....

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Toronto Argonauts are competing in the CFL championship game, as the Blue Bombers aim to become the first team. in over 40 years to successfully pull off a three-peat in the CFL. MORE: 109th Grey Cup live updates, highlights from Blue Bombers vs. Argonauts But before the game begins, there is an anthem to be sung, and the final “O Canada” of the 2022 CFL season is set to be performed to officially kick off the Grey Cup....

Griffin’s performance, 5-of-8 passing for 20 yards and an interception, was bad enough that Washington legend Joe Theismann on the Redskins Broadcast Network felt the need to stir up a quarterback conversation. Via ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Let’s stop beating around the bush,” Theismann said early in the fourth quarter. “Kirk Cousins has played much better at the quarterback position than Robert Griffin III has. Now, Robert is learning to work out of a pocket....

The Mavs sit in seventh place in the Western Conference and are close to clinching a playoff spot. The Grizzlies just clinched a spot yesterday due to Houston’s loss to Phoenix, and are percentage points ahead of Portland for the 5th spot. Line: Dallas -6 Total: 194 The Mavericks (40-38 SU, 42-34-2 ATS) have won five games in a row after an 88-86 win over rival Houston on Wednesday night....