MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After coming so close to the WNBA championship last year, the Minnesota Lynx have picked right up where they left off.
They sure weren't satisfied with the status quo, though, as evidenced by their recent acquisition of DiJonai Carrington. The Most Improved Player award winner and All-Defensive First Team selection in 2024 has bolstered the league leader's depth, injected a dose of two-way energy into an already determined club and made a seamless transition after the midseason switch.
“She’s been a great addition,” starting forward Bridget Carleton said. “Playing against her has always been a challenge. She’s just feisty, competitive, always wants to win, plays hard every single possession.”
Even with superstar Napheesa Collier sidelined by a sprained right ankle, the Lynx haven't missed a beat. They're in first place by six games at 27-5, surging toward the No. 1 overall seed for the playoffs.
“You just want to feel like you’re a better team when she comes back into the team, that you’ve figured some things out, that people are playing with confidence,” associate head coach Eric Thibault said. “Our group’s attitude is right about it. Nobody feels sorry for ourselves or anything like that. We just go out and battle.”
Carrington was acquired from the Dallas Wings on Aug. 3 for backup forward Diamond Miller, injured guard Karlie Samuelson and Minnesota's 2027 second-round draft pick.e
Miller was the second overall pick in the 2023 draft, so Carrington came at a price. But president of basketball operations and head coach Cheryl Reeve, who's chasing a fifth title with Minnesota, has this team fully in win-now mode with Collier in her prime and an experienced lineup around her led by five-time All-Star shooting guard Kayla McBride, two-time All-Star point guard Courtney Williams and shot-blocking specialist Alanna Smith patrolling the post.
“I’m a winner, and this is a winning organization,” Carrington said.
The 5-foot-11 native of San Diego, who played her first four WNBA seasons with the Connecticut Sun, was dealt to Dallas earlier this year. She averaged a career-best 5.1 rebounds in 20 games with the Wings.
In three games since the trade, and coincidentally since Collier was injured, Carrington has 40 points, 12 rebounds and six steals. The Lynx take a five-game winning streak into their game on Saturday against the defending champion New York Liberty, whom they've already beaten twice this month in a measure of revenge for their overtime loss in New York last year in the decisive game of the WNBA Finals.
In the previous round, when the Lynx beat the Sun in a five-game series, Reeve became enamored by Carrington, who had 17 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and one block in defeat in the decisive game of those semifinals.
The chance this summer to acquire a defensive ace on the perimeter who could alleviate some of the burden on McBride as well as provide more scoring off the bench was one the Lynx couldn't miss.
“We felt like we could use a little bit more help as we made this run,” Reeve said. “If you stay exactly the same, it’s really hard to accomplish and get back and get over the hump, so we wanted to keep the group together — but we also thought we needed a little bit more.”
Williams and Natisha Hiedeman played with Carrington with the Sun, so there was pre-existing chemistry. Smith was a teammate of Carrington's at Stanford, as well, so they were already close.
“It was like a friend coming home,” Smith said. “That’s kind of how it felt. I was excited. I think she’s a piece that’s really good for us and only going to help us get to the point we want to get to, which is a championship.”
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/WNBA
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve calls out to players during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Las Vegas Aces Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)
Dallas Wings guard DiJonai Carrington, left, pushes on Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Friday, Aug. 1, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The investigation focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.
CBS News first reported the investigation.
In response to reports of the investigation, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
Walz’s office said it has not received any notice of an investigation.
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets," Frey said in a statement. "I will not be intimidated. My focus will remain where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.
The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.
The operation has become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7. State and local officials have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful.
State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration’s unprecedented immigration sweep in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
His comments came after President Donald Trump backed off a bit from his threat a day earlier to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress demonstrations.
“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
A Liberian man who has been shuttled in and out of custody since immigration agents broke down his door with a battering ram was released again Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.
The dramatic initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful Thursday and freed him, but Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.
A few hours later, Gibson was free again, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” Prokosch said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gibson, 37, who fled the civil war in his West African home country as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, Prokosch said, and complied with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
In his Thursday order, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked. Prokosch said he was told by ICE that they are “now going through their proper channels" to revoke the order.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations are advising anyone with a tribal ID to carry it with them when out in public in case they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Native Americans across the U.S. have reported being stopped or detained by ICE, and tribal leaders are asking members to report these contacts.
Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and chair of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, called the reports “deeply concerning”.
Organizers in Minneapolis have set up application booths in the city to assist people needing a tribal ID.
Democratic members of Congress held a local meeting Friday to hear from people who say they've had aggressive encounters with immigration agents. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who is Hmong American, said people are walking around with their passports in case they are challenged, and she has received reports of ICE agents going from door to door “asking where the Asian people live.” Thousands of Hmong people, largely from the Southeast Asian nation of Laos, have settled in the United States since the 1970s.
Minneapolis authorities released police and fire dispatch logs and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to the fatal shooting of Good. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds in her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.
“They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door,” a caller said. “Point blank range in her car.”
Good, 37, was at the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking a street. Video showed an officer approached the SUV, demanded that she open the door and grabbed the handle.
Good began to pull forward and turned the vehicle's wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and fired at close range, jumping back as the SUV moved past him. DHS claims the agent shot Good in self-defense.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at least one person has been arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis. The SUV was among government vehicles whose windows were broken Wednesday evening. Attorney General Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.
The destruction occurred when agents were responding to a shooting during an immigration arrest. Trump subsequently said on social media that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials don’t stop the “professional agitators and insurrectionists” there.
Minnesota’s attorney general responded by saying he would sue if the president acts.
Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, right, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, second from left, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers prepare to enter a home to make an arrest after an officer used a battering ram to break down a door Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including one wearing a 'NOT ICE' face covering, walk near their vehicles, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
