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The Minneapolis police department is reviewing use of force by its officers after their attempt to clear out a homeless encampment led to a violent clash between officers and civilians who tried to stop them. Police say five people were arrested and five officers sustained minor injuries Thursday. A fight broke out between officers and civilians who shoved back and forth. The group MNUprising shared a video on Twitter that appeared to show an officer trying to restrain a person by kneeling on that person’s neck or upper back. The clash came as a jury is being seated for the murder trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck for about nine minutes last May.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra hasn't played live for fans since the coronavirus pandemic hit a year ago, but it's returning to the stage in July for the outdoor Tanglewood festival. The event, one of the nation's premier summer music festivals, was canceled in 2020 for the first time since World War II. The acclaimed orchestra says it will perform a six-week run at the outdoor venue in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts — about half as long as the usual festival. Symphony music director Andris Nelsons says he hopes Tanglewood's revival will help spread the healing power of music.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — AstraZeneca's vaccine against COVID-19 was cleared Friday for use in Indonesia after the drug regulator declared it safe and clerics in the world’s most populous Muslim nation approved it for emergency use. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy…

Maine-based retailer L.L. Bean saw the best sales in nearly a decade during pandemic. Officials say the Freeport-based retailer started its fiscal year with store closings and worries about survival but the company weathered the turbulent times to revenue growth of 5%. That’s the best showing since 2011. Analyst say L.L. benefited from two of the hottest retail segments during the pandemic — comfort items like slippers, pajamas and loungewear, and outdoor gear like hiking boots, fishing gear and canoes. CEO Steve Smith said the company’s board awarded a cash bonus of 10% of workers’ salary and an additional 401(k) contribution equal to 8% of salary.

The two big, busy federal courthouses in Manhattan took the adage that justice delayed is justice denied to heart when the coronavirus hit. Now, over 100 jury trials are scheduled, all protected by a safety system so extensive that no document will change hands without being sprayed with disinfectant. Everyone wears double masks, except for witnesses who sit with their faces exposed in a plexiglass booth mere feet from a judge and jury. Four jury trials are going on now simultaneously in specially fitted courtrooms. A court official says there has been no traceable spread of the coronavirus in two courthouses during 16 jury trials since the fall.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian health experts and activists on Friday said it was hypocritical for Britain to blame vaccine delays on India’s Serum Institute, amid a debate over equitable access stirred by comments from top officials in London. Activists…

A Georgia sheriff’s office captain has been replaced as the spokesman in the investigation into the recent massage business slayings after the spokesman drew widespread outrage for saying the suspect in the killings had had a “really bad day.” Cherokee County Communications Director Erika Neldner announced in a statement Thursday that she will be handling media inquiries related to Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into Tuesday’s slayings. The statement did not give details about the status of Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Capt. Jay Baker. Baker was criticized for saying during a news conference Wednesday that the 21-year-old suspect had had “a really bad day” and “this is what he did.”

A new mother and an Army veteran who installed security systems are among eight people killed by a gunman who opened fire at three massage businesses in the Atlanta area. Family members say 33-year-old Delaina Yaun went to Youngs Asian Massage Parlor on Tuesday to get a rare break from caring for her 8-month-old daughter. A brother of 54-year-old Paul Michels says he was considering a change of careers after doing electrical work for more than 25 years. John Michels says his brother was considering opening a spa of his own. Police have not released the names of all the victims.

Preston Spradlin didn’t fret when Morehead State stumbled out of the gate, and he’s making sure the Eagles aren’t comfortable despite their red-hot roll. After all, there’s so much to achieve in their long-awaited return to the NCAA Tournament, as Kentucky’s lone representative yet. This week marks 10 years since Morehead State’s first-round upset of No. 4 seed Louisville in its last NCAA appearance. A chance to repeat history looms when the No. 13 seed Eagles face No. 4 West Virginia at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Eagles enter the tournament on a 19-1 roll including winning the OVC championship.

JERUSALEM (AP) — A final batch of polls by Israeli media outlets on Friday showed a razor-thin election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fate likely turning on the performance of small parties and a former ally who has criticized him…

LONDON (AP) — Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed suggestions that she misled lawmakers, saying opposition members of a legislative panel had made up their minds before they heard her evidence. Sturgeon told Sky News that she stands by the…

Garment workers in Myanmar are urging major international brands to denounce the recent military coup there and put more pressure on factories to protect workers from being fired or harassed — or worse arrested and killed for participating in protests. Major brands like H&M and Mango increasingly flocked to Myanmar in search of cheap labor as the Southeast Asian country began moving toward democracy over the past decade. Now, those brands face a conundrum: whether to stay or pull out. At stake are the livelihoods of more than 600,000 garment workers who have been at the forefront of the pro-democracy demonstrations.

Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee are poised to finally make it official that most fans from abroad will be prohibited from attending the postponed Olympics. The announcement is expected to come after “five-party” talks this weekend with the IOC, local organizers, the Japanese government, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the International Paralympic Committee. A sticking point seems to be with international federations and national Olympic committees that have sponsors with tickets who wish to attend. They are expected to get some type of exemption. The Olympics open on July 23. The Paralympics follow on Aug. 24.

The scientist who won the race to deliver the first widely used coronavirus vaccine says people can rest assured the shots are safe. Ozlem Tureci, the co-founder and chief scientist at German company BioNTech, said she and her colleagues have all received the vaccine developed together with Pfizer. Tureci told The Associated Press that the mRNA technology behind the shot will be used to fight another global scourge — cancer — “within only a couple of years.” Tureci and her husband, BioNTech's chief executive Ugur Sahin will receive Germany’s highest award on Friday at a ceremony attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel. Tureci says the honor recognizes the efforts by a large team and is “a celebration of science.”

The suspension of the AstraZeneca vaccine in several European countries over the past week could fuel skepticism about the shot far beyond their shores, potentially threatening the rollout of a vaccine that is key to the global strategy to stamp out the coronavirus pandemic. As things stand, it’s either AstraZeneca or nothing for some developing countries. Most developing countries that had the vaccine on hand pushed ahead with it even as major nations in Europe suspended its use after reports of blood clots in some recipients of the shot. The EU regulator says the vaccine is not linked to an overall increase in the risk of clots.

Jahvon Quinerly used to lay awake at night wondering how things could have gone differently, though they’re going quite nicely these days. Now he is a point guard and second-leading scorer for No. 5 Alabama. He is a significant contributor in the Crimson Tide men's basketball team's rise to Southeastern Conference champions and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The past few years hadn’t gone nearly so smoothly. His name had surfaced in a federal investigation and took a couple of years to get publicly cleared. Quinerly ended up signing with Villanova and transferring to Alabama, where he had to sit out last season.

Oklahoma State's Cade Cunningham headlines the list of top NBA prospects in the NCAA Tournament. The freshman is projected by many to be the No. 1 overall NBA draft pick if he enters the draft. USC big man Evan Mobley and fellow freshman Jalen Suggs from Gonzaga are projected top-3 picks. The list of top tournament prospects includes freshmen Moses Moody of Arkansas and Scottie Barnes of Florida State. There's also the freshman duo of Keon Johnson and Jalen Springer from Tennessee. Gonzaga's Corey Kispert has also improved his draft standing as a sharp-shooting senior.

The NCAA Tournament returned to the big stage with a small first step, proving it can still showcase tight games and generate real excitement, even in mostly empty arenas. A 710-day hiatus caused by the pandemic officially ended with the tournament's ‘First Four’ games — contests that will launch UCLA, Drake, Texas Southern and Norfolk State into the 64-team main bracket that begins play Friday. “I feel like I’m on top of the world,” said John Walker III, who led Texas Southern with 19 points. The feeling may not last long, since all ‘First Four’ winners now face higher seeds.. 

UCLA forced overtime with Jaime Jaquez Jr.‘s three-point play with 3.3 seconds to go against Michigan State, then pulled away in the extra session for an 86-80 victory at Mackey Arena in their First Four game at the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins’ Cody Riley hit a foul shot with 26 seconds left and, after the Spartans’ Joshua Langford missed at the other end, Jaylen Clark added two more to send UCLA into a first-round game against No. 6 seed BYU on Saturday night. Aaron Henry led the Spartans with 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists.