Monday’s NBA draft lottery provided another reminder of how inexact the science of “tanking” is for organizations.

Utah was committed to losing from the very outset of the season. Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz’s best player, notched more than 36 minutes in a non-overtime contest just three times this season as Utah rarely played optimal lineups. Their reward was the NBA’s worst record (17-65), but that only granted the Jazz a 14% chance of winning the lottery and the chance to draft Cooper Flagg.

Fortune did not favor their failure.

Utah will select fifth in next month’s NBA draft, its lowest possible post-lottery position. The three teams with the four worst records — Utah, Charlotte, New Orleans and Washington — will all draft outside of the top three. The only true tanker rewarded for its “effort” was Philadelphia, which nabbed the No. 3 pick after dropping 29 of its final 33 games with a G-League level roster.

Dallas won the draft lottery after being one play-in victory away from the playoffs. San Antonio will pick second.

This week’s results were described as cruel and perhaps unfair by some. How else are small markets like Charlotte and Utah supposed to improve if not by striking it rich in the draft? But there are only so many blue chip prospects out there, and the odds of landing them are so small that you have to wonder if it’s worth the pain of the “chase.”

The Timberwolves have had lottery luck on their side twice in the past decade. They certainly tanked for glory in 2015 and were paid off with Karl-Anthony Towns. Getting the chance to grab Anthony Edwards in 2020 was more a product of bad roster construction, Towns’ wrist injury that ensured a series of losses before the NBA was shut down by COVID, and some lottery luck.

The Wolves were incentivized to lose the following season because their pick was top-three protected. If Minnesota finished anywhere outside of that, the pick went to Golden State via the D’Angelo Russell-Andrew Wiggins trade.

Yet Minnesota didn’t attempt to lose, even late in the season. The Timberwolves played Dallas on the final day of the 2020-21 campaign, and a loss would have improved Minnesota’s odds of jumping into the top three by 4.3%. Instead, the Wolves went for the win and waxed the Mavericks.

Edwards scored 30 points that day. Jaden McDaniels had 19 and Naz Reid scored 17.

Minnesota did not jump into the top three in the lottery. Instead, it handed the No. 7 pick over to Golden State, which selected Jonathan Kuminga. Kuminga has been in and out of Golden State’s rotation, but his talent level in this Western Conference semifinal series has been on full display.

So, was that win — or any of Minnesota’s nine victories over the final 16 games of that campaign — a waste? Hardly.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch could sense the importance of that strong finish in the moments after the Dallas win.

“Guys are excited and have great hope,” Finch said back then. “That’s all that you can ask for a lot of times, is to have hope. They’ve got hope in that they see what they can do with some more work — a lot more work, some maturity. I think guys are pretty excited for what the future holds.”

Sure enough, a playoff appearance followed the next season, and three more have come after that. The work has indeed come, as well as the maturity. What Minnesota lost in lottery balls at the end of that season, it gained in the knowledge of what could be, which has now become what is.

You may not be able to control the way a ball bounces inside of a machine, but you can control setting a culture of hard work and learning that’s required to win. You can develop your own current players rather than dreaming about ones you could acquire on draft night.

You can stiff-arm Lady Luck and choose to take the earned road to success.

Perhaps that was an easier decision for Minnesota to make with Edwards already in tow. It’s easier to concern yourself with building a foundation when actual building blocks are already in place. But in retrospect, the choice made at the end of the 2021 campaign was indeed a smart one.

And, after this week’s ball bouncing results, it’s one perhaps other organizations will make in years to come.

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By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key prosecutor on the classified documents case against President Donald Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a congressional interview Wednesday, declining to answer questions because of concern about the Trump administration’s willingness to “weaponize the machinery of government” against perceived adversaries, a spokesman said.

Jay Bratt had been subpoenaed to appear before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee for a closed-door interview but did not answer substantive questions because of his Fifth Amendment constitutional right to remain silent.

Bratt spent more than three decades at the Justice Department before retiring in January, just weeks before President Donald Trump took office. He was a key national security prosecutor on special counsel Jack Smith’s team, which in 2023 charged Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and with obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them.

“He did not choose to investigate Mar-a-Lago; rather, the facts and evidence of a serious breach of law and national security led him there,” said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Justice Connection, a network of Justice Department alumni.

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“This administration and its proxies have made no effort to hide their willingness to weaponize the machinery of government against those they perceive as political enemies,” Carr added. “That should alarm every American who believes in the rule of law. In light of these undeniable and deeply troubling circumstances, Mr. Bratt had no choice but to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights.”

The statement describes Bratt as someone who spent his career in public service “protecting our nation from some of the gravest national security threats—including spies, murderers, and other criminal actors—always without fear or favor.”

A federal judge in Florida dismissed the prosecution last year after concluding that Smith had been illegally appointed to the special counsel role. The Justice Department’s appeal of that decision was pending at the time of Trump’s presidential win in November, at which point Smith’s team abandoned that case and a separate prosecution charging Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Since taking office, Trump has engaged in a far-reaching retribution campaign against officials he regards as adversaries.

His administration has issued executive orders aimed at punishing major law firms, including some with current or past associations with prosecutors who previously investigated him. The Justice Department, meanwhile, has fired lawyers who served on Smith’s team and also established a “weaponization working group” aimed at reviewing actions taken during the Biden administration. That group is led by Ed Martin, whose nomination to be the top federal prosecutor in Washington was pulled by the White House last week.

By MICHAEL PHILLIS, Associated Press

On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to weaken limits on some harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water roughly a year after the Biden administration finalized the first-ever national standards.

The Biden administration said last year the rules could reduce PFAS exposure for millions of people. It was part of a broader push by officials then to address drinking water quality by writing rules to require the removal of toxic lead pipes and, after years of activist concern, address the threat of forever chemicals.

President Donald Trump has sought fewer environmental rules and more oil and gas development. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has carried out that agenda by announcing massive regulatory rollbacks.

Now, we know the EPA plans to rescind limits for certain PFAS and lengthen deadlines for two of the most common types. Here are some of the essential things to know about PFAS chemicals and what the EPA decided to do:

Please explain what PFAS are to me

PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of chemicals that have been around for decades and have now spread into the nation’s air, water and soil.

They were manufactured by companies such as 3M, Chemours and others because they were incredibly useful. They helped eggs slide across nonstick frying pans, ensured that firefighting foam suffocates flames and helped clothes withstand the rain and keep people dry.

The chemicals resist breaking down, however, which means they stay around in the environment.

And why are they bad for humans?

Environmental activists say that PFAS manufacturers knew about the health harms of PFAS long before they were made public. The same attributes that make the chemicals so valuable – resistance to breakdown – make them hazardous to people.

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PFAS accumulates in the body, which is why the Biden administration set limits for two common types, often called PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion that are phased out of manufacturing but still present in the environment.

There is a wide range of health harms now associated with exposure to certain PFAS. Cases of kidney disease, low-birth weight and high cholesterol in addition to certain cancers can be prevented by removing PFAS from water, according to the EPA.

The guidance on PFOA and PFOS has changed dramatically in recent years as scientific understanding has advanced. The EPA in 2016, for example, said the combined amount of the two substances should not exceed 70 parts per trillion. The Biden administration later said no amount is safe.

There is nuance in what the EPA did

The EPA plans to scrap limits on three types of PFAS, some of which are less well known. They include GenX substances commonly found in North Carolina as well as substances called PFHxS and PFNA. There is also a limit on a mixture of PFAS, which the agency is also planning to rescind.

It appears few utilities will be impacted by the withdrawal of limits for these types of PFAS. So far, sampling has found nearly 12% of U.S. water utilities are above the Biden administration’s limits. But most utilities face problems with PFOA or PFOS.

For the two commonly found types, PFOA and PFOS, the EPA will keep the current limits in place but give utilities two more years — until 2031 — to meet them.

Announcement is met with mixed reaction

Some environmental groups argue that the EPA can’t legally weaken the regulations. The Safe Water Drinking Act gives the EPA authority to limit water contaminants, and it includes a provision meant to prevent new rules from being looser than previous ones.

“The law is very clear that the EPA can’t repeal or weaken the drinking water standard,” said Erik Olson, a senior strategist at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.

Environmental activists have generally slammed the EPA for not keeping the Biden-era rules in place, saying it will worsen public health.

Industry had mixed reactions. The American Chemistry Council questioned the Biden administration’s underlying science that supported the tight rules and said the Trump administration had considered the concerns about cost and the underlying science.

“However, EPA’s actions only partially address this issue, and more is needed to prevent significant impacts on local communities and other unintended consequences,” the industry group said.

Leaders of two major utility industry groups, the American Water Works Association and Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, said they supported the EPA’s decision to rescind a novel approach to limit a mix of chemicals. But they also said the changes do not substantially reduce the cost of the PFAS rule.

Some utilities wanted a higher limit on PFOA and PFOS, according to Mark White, drinking water leader at the engineering firm CDM Smith.

They did, however, get an extension.

“This gives water pros more time to deal with the ones we know are bad, and we are going to need more time. Some utilities are just finding out now where they stand,” said Mike McGill, president of WaterPIO, a water industry communications firm.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

BRIMSON — Three wildfires in Northeastern Minnesota continue to spread Wednesday morning, with one of them more than tripling in size.

The Jenkins Creek Fire east of Hoyt Lakes jumped from 6,800 acres Tuesday to 20,593 acres Wednesday morning, according to the federal government’s Incident Information System at wildfire.gov.

East Range Police Chief Jorden Klovstad told the News Tribune that Hoyt Lakes is “in the ready stage,” should the fire get close enough to warrant a partial evacuation. Klovstad said he is relying on the U.S. Forest Service and St. Louis County emergency staff for updates and risk assessments.

The local police department has been receiving calls from concerned residents.

“It’s so easy for people to panic. But we don’t need to act on assumptions. We’ll make decisions based on the facts,” Klovstad said. “We’re all working together to keep everyone informed,” he said. “It’s not like a tornado. People will have advance notice if they need to move.”

While Klovstad did not wish to discuss details prematurely, he said shelter space has been identified and will be prepared, if needed, “for people with no place else to go.” He said plenty of transport assistance should be available.

If an evacuation is necessary, Klovstad advised folks to focus on the safety of their pets, important paperwork and daily essentials, such as medicines, as they assemble a “go” bag.

St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a Facebook video that while the weather and the fires are not 100% predictable, a forecast wind shift should keep the fire away from Hoyt Lakes.

The National Weather Service in Duluth reports that rain in the Wednesday forecast may help prevent conditions from worsening, but might not help the firefighting efforts much. “There will be some isolated showers and storms possible in the afternoon hours but impactful precipitation is not expected,” NWS said.

Thursday, however, may bring larger storms, but precipitation chances have fallen to 30%-50%. The chance of rain lingers into Saturday. This should keep the relative humidity from dropping as low as it has been for the past several days. Winds will switch to the east, changing the trajectory of the fire.

Ramsay warned that lightning accompanying predicted storms may pose an issue.

Ramsay said 146 buildings have been destroyed by the Camp House Fire near Brimson, “and that number is actively growing.” Evacuations for the Brimson Complex fires are “status quo,” he said.

More structures have been lost in the Jenkins Creek area, he said, but the fire was too active Tuesday night for crews to get any further details.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced that it would not be reporting publicly on the locations of potential structure damage, “in an effort to protect privacy.” The sheriff’s office will contact the impacted landowners directly. They said to contact Matt Pollmann with any questions at 773-844-6449.

Ramsay said the U.S. Forest Service has established a public hotline at 218-206-6805 for questions about the Brimson Complex fires, which the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires are now being called.

“Investigations are ongoing for all three wildfires in St. Louis County, while fire crews continue to focus on full suppression efforts,” the Minnesota Incident Command System reported on Facebook late Wednesday morning.

Wildfire evacuation centers are available for any residents impacted by current evacuation orders.

St. Louis County Public Health and the American Red Cross opened the shelter at the Fredenberg Community Center, 5104 Fish Lake Road, Duluth.

A second center, Cotton Community Center, 9087 U.S. Highway 53, is serving as an evacuation point for the Munger Shaw Fire area.

“These centers are a place where you can meet with representatives from the American Red Cross and St. Louis County Public Health to get help and learn about resources available for you,” and will provide food and phone-charging opportunities, the county reported.

For evacuation orders in St. Louis County, go to its “ready, set, go!” zone map. The color-coded map shows which evacuation advisories are in effect, denoted in yellow, orange or red, and how residents should prepare themselves and their property.

Lake County residents must use that county’s “ready, set go!” zone map.

Many areas around the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires have been advised to “ready for potential evacuation” or be “set to evacuate.”

There were no evacuation advisories for the Munger Shaw Fire late Tuesday afternoon.

The U.S. Forest Service has closed a portion of the Laurentian Ranger District, prohibiting visitor entry at campsites, recreation sites, trails, roads and lakes within specified areas.

“These emergency restrictions are necessary for the public’s health and safety due to wildland fires in the vicinity of the affected lands, roads, waters, trails, and all recreation sites,” the closure order reads. “These restrictions will remain in effect for as long as they are posted on-site and until terminated by the forest supervisor.”

You can find details about closed areas at the Forest Service’s website.

Air and ground crews from across the U.S. and Ontario arrived in St. Louis County to provide aid to the three biggest active wildfires in Minnesota, state officials said Tuesday.

Gov. Tim Walz hosted a news conference in St. Paul to address the response efforts at the Camp House, Jenkins Creek and Munger Shaw fires.

Walz noted that Minnesota usually experiences, on average, a little over 1,100 wildfires per year. The state has seen 970 fires on more than 37,000 acres so far in 2025.

“Last night, a lot of our firefighters (were) out there with no sleep, and pretty dangerous conditions out there,” he said.

No injuries have been reported at any of the wildfires.

Sarah Strommen, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said fire danger conditions have been very high this season, and “extreme” since Sunday. She advised the public to adhere to the National Weather Service’s Red Flag Warning advisories and the DNR’s burning restrictions.

“These are dangerous fires that are still moving,” Walz said. “Just don’t burn. It is just too hot, too dry, too dangerous.”

Patty Thielen, director at the DNR’s forestry division, said in her nearly 30 years working there, the weather over the last few days is “really unprecedented.”

Thielen noted that the three St. Louis County wildfires were zero percent contained as of early Tuesday afternoon, and that the dry and windy conditions Tuesday and Wednesday are conducive to wildfire spread.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office announced around 2 p.m. Tuesday on Facebook the pre-evacuation of residents in the Kane Lake, Marble Lake and Thomas Lake areas.

“Due to the fire movement, you may need to evacuate,” the post read. “If an evacuation order is confirmed, an official will notify you.”

Lake and St. Louis counties will notify residents when they need to evacuate.

Ryan Williams, incident commander trainee for the Camp House Fire, said during a news conference in Two Harbors late Tuesday morning that the fire was moving north of Indian Lake and south of Town Line Road; it had just reached Murphy Lake.

Around 80 local, state and federal responders were fighting the Camp House Fire, Williams said. He said it’s been a “whack-a-mole” effort because spot fires were igniting due to dry fuel and high lake-effect winds.

“Firefighter public safety is the No. 1 thing we are focused on as the Incident Management Team,” he said.

DNR staff are managing the Munger Shaw Fire, while a Complex Incident Management Team will take the helm of the Camp House and Jenkins Creek fires at 8 a.m. Wednesday, she said.

John Cunningham, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, said during the statewide press conference that Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are helping wildfire efforts by sharing information with state agencies and providing other support.

“Recovery is going to be vitally important to the communities impacted,” he noted. “This is a significant event.”

Bemidji firefighter Jake Wettschreck was part of a crew awaiting orders in Brimson on Tuesday.

“We’re a structure-based fire department, so we’re here to help the properties, the houses, the infrastructure in the fire, as opposed to fighting the fire directly itself,” Wettschreck said. “That’s pretty rare that we do that on a scale this big.

“I’ve had previous experience as a resident in incidents like this, so I understand what it’s like, being able to give back, and what that means to people.”

The Camp House Fire has grown to more than 14,000 acres since Sunday and consumed over 140 homes, cabins and other buildings.

Evacuation orders were still in place for residents affected by the Camp House Fire.

The area of County Highway 44 has been particularly “devastated” by property loss, Ramsay said.

The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office reported on Facebook at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday that the Camp House Fire was moving north, so Minnesota Incident Command closed County Highway 16 from the intersection of St. Louis County highways 110 and 16 to the intersection of Forest Highway 15 and County Highway 2 in Lake County. Traffic was directed north.

Walz authorized the Minnesota National Guard to assist with the Camp House Fire on Monday. The U.S. Forest Service also deployed additional helicopters and planes to help fight the three wildfires.

The second wildfire, Jenkins Creek, ignited Monday morning about 14 miles southeast of Hoyt Lakes, east of the intersection of county roads 110 and 16. It grew to 1,500 acres by the evening and was more than 20,000 acres as of Wednesday morning.

The unincorporated community of Skibo, in Bassett Township, was evacuated. Pre-evacuation warnings were issued Tuesday to other residents along County Highway 11.

“There is active growth of the fire to the north and west,” Ramsay said Tuesday night.