NEW YORK (AP) — Jessica Shepard had 22 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for her third triple-double of the season, and the Dallas Wings beat the New York Liberty 88-77 on Tuesday night.
Dallas (14-8) earned its eighth road victory of the season — after totaling just six over the past two seasons.
Paige Bueckers made her only 3-pointer of the game with 3:12 left in the fourth quarter to give Dallas an 82-70 lead. Shepard was credited with an assist on the play to become the second player in WNBA history with three triple-doubles in a season, joining Alyssa Thomas.
Shepard's fourth career triple-double moved her into a tie with Sabrina Ionescu for second-most behind Thomas.
Bueckers finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Dallas, which has won five of its last seven games. Azzi Fudd scored 12 points and Awak Kuier had 10 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Breanna Stewart had 29 points and nine rebounds for New York (13-9), which has lost two home games to Dallas this season. Jonquel Jones added 17 points and Ionescu scored 14.
Stewart made four of New York’s 10 field goals in the first half, while the rest of her teammates combined to go 6 of 27 from the field to trail Dallas 47-31.
Dallas: At Toronto on Friday.
New York: At Minnesota on Saturday.
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez yells at a referee during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty , Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) shoots over New York Liberty guard Marine Johannes (23) during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Dallas Wings forward Jessica Shepard shoots over New York Liberty center Han Xu during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Tuesday, July 7, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
ATLANTA (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice cannot have the names and personal contact information for every person who worked during the 2020 election in Georgia’s Fulton County, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
The Justice Department served a grand jury subpoena in April seeking the names and personal contact information of county employees and volunteer poll workers. President Donald Trump has long claimed without evidence that widespread voter fraud in Georgia's most populous county, a Democratic stronghold, cost him victory in the state in 2020.
Fulton County asked a judge to quash the subpoena, arguing it was meant to “target, harass and punish the President’s perceived political opponents” and that it was “grossly over broad and untethered to any reasonable need.”
“Given the low need for the subpoenaed information and the highly burdensome nature of the disclosure of the same, the Subpoena is unreasonable and must be quashed,” U.S. District Judge William Ray wrote in his ruling, calling the scope of the request “staggering.”
“We are proud of our efforts to push back against these improper demands that only serve to undermine confidence in our elections,” Fulton County Attorney Soo Jo said in a statement.
An email seeking comment was sent to the Justice Department.
While grand juries often work with federal prosecutors to investigate alleged crimes, “that does not give the DOJ the right to use the Grand Jury to do whatever the DOJ wants,” wrote Ray, who was nominated to the bench by Trump.
Even if the records sought by the Justice Department could help find people who worked for the county during the 2020 election who support the theory that the election was unfair, the information couldn't be used to charge anyone because the statute of limitations has passed, Ray wrote.
The subpoena came after the FBI in January served a search warrant at the Fulton County election hub and seized hundreds of boxes of ballots and other documents from the 2020 election. A federal judge in May denied the county's request to force the federal government to return the ballots.
The Justice Department argued in a court filing that the subpoena was the “next step in the normal investigative process” and that it seeks “records identifying persons with relevant knowledge.”
Kamal Ghali, a lawyer for the county, argued during a hearing in May that the subpoena “will chill participation by election workers” and that the statute of limitations for any of the alleged misconduct had already lapsed.
Justice Department lawyer William McComb argued that the statute of limitations issue is not relevant at the investigative stage.
“My point is, as we sit here now, we are not sure what charges can be brought. That's the whole point of the investigation,” he said.
The FBI is also using some 260 staffers across the country to help examine records in the Fulton County investigation, according to an agency memo.
The judge noted that the Justice Department had expressed concern about possible criminal actions in the years that followed the election. But he noted that the subpoena seeks information related to what happened during the 2020 election and its immediate aftermath.
“In these hyper-political times in which we currently live, there are sure to be some who disagree with this decision because they believe the allegations of fraud in the 2020 Election and believe that ‘light’ should be brought to those claims,” Ray wrote.
He added that nothing prevents continued investigation into those allegations by people who believe those claims — such as Congress or even the Justice Department — but the power of the grand jury, “which exists to investigate potential crimes and to bring viable indictments” cannot be used for that purpose. Otherwise, anyone in power could use the grand jury process to subpoena personal information of citizens “with no legitimate law enforcement purpose,” he wrote.
“Thus, everyone, whether you support the President or you do not, or whether you believe the 2020 Election was fair or believe that it was not, should be concerned about the DOJ’s ability to utilize the power of the Grand Jury to appropriate your private information without a legitimate purpose,” Ray wrote.
The judge also agreed that providing the subpoenaed information could make it harder for Fulton County to recruit election workers. Those who help run elections “should be valued and are necessary for successful elections in Fulton County going forward,” he wrote.
FILE - Stickers sit on a table inside a polling place, Nov. 5, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
