The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported on Saturday that, at Gov. Tim Walz’s direction, the Minnesota National Guard “have been mobilized and are staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies.”

In a follow-up post on X, the DPS clarified its initial post:

“They are not deployed to city streets at this time, but are ready to help support public safety, including protection of life, preservation of property and supporting the rights of all who assemble peacefully.”

It was on Jan. 8 that Walz authorized the Minnesota National Guard to be staged and ready should they be needed to assist local law enforcement with any unrest following a federal agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety reports that the Minnesota National Guard have been mobilized and are staging to support local law enforcement if needed. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety)

At the time, Walz noted that while protests have been peaceful so far, “out of an abundance of caution and in coordination with local officials,” the Guard is being readied.

On Jan. 14, another federal officer shot a man in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while trying to make an arrest Wednesday, officials said.

On Saturday, conservative influencer Jake Lang faced counter-protesters and punches at a pro-ICE, anti-fraud rally in Minneapolis.

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DENVER — Ja’Quan McMillian intercepted Josh Allen’s deep throw in overtime, and Bo Nix led the Broncos into position for Wil Lutz’s 23-yard field goal that sent Denver to the AFC championship game with a 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

McMillian’s pick was Denver’s fifth takeaway of the game — the Broncos went into the playoffs at minus-3 in turnover differential. McMillian wrested the ball away from Brandin Cooks at the Broncos 20-yard line when a field goal would have won the game for Buffalo.

The Broncos (15-3) will face either New England or Houston for the AFC title next Sunday at Empower Field at Mile High, where top-seeded Denver has won 14 of its past 15 games.

But the Broncos got bad news after the game that Nix fractured his ankle during overtime and will have season-ending surgery.

“We played a really good football team,” Nix said. “They played really well tonight. They gave us a great shot on a short week after a tough game last week, so hat’s off to them. We found a way to win again and our defense made stops and I’m just proud of our guys. I’m just proud of this organization. I’m proud of the way we compete, we fight.

“We’re just never out of it and I think that’s just the character piece. It wasn’t always pretty, we had a good lead and they came back and it wasn’t looking good, but the fourth quarter and overtime, we just found a way to win.”

Broncos coach Sean Payton lamented Denver’s sputtering offense and 1-for-4 performance in the red zone: “We weren’t good in the red zone. But we were good enough when it mattered.”

The Bills (13-6) were flagged for pass interference twice on Denver’s final drive.

Former Broncos kicker Matt Prater nailed a 50-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in regulation, knotting it up at 30-all. That came after Nix’s 26-yard touchdown throw to Marvin Mims Jr. with 55 seconds left had given Denver a 30-27 lead.

Allen, who hadn’t turned the ball over in his previous six playoff appearances, threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. P.J. Locke also picked off Allen.

“Extremely difficult,” a teary-eyed Allen said afterward. “I felt like I let my teammates down.”

The Bills failed once again to reach the Super Bowl with Allen under center even though Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson weren’t standing in his way this time as that trio of franchise quarterbacks all missed the postseason party.

Payton insisted the game should have ended earlier in overtime when a Denver defender was held in the end zone before Allen escaped from the end zone on second-and-9 from his 8.

Coming off the first road playoff win of his career, Allen’s first three turnovers helped Denver built a 23-10 lead before he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keon Coleman and a 14-yarder to Dalton Kincaid to give Buffalo a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Allen also fumbled the ball at the Denver 23 late in the fourth quarter but right tackle Spencer Brown recovered the loose ball, setting up Prater’s 31-yarder for a 27-23 Buffalo lead.

Also in the second half, Allen threw an interception when P.J. Locke cut in front of wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who appeared to be wide open for what would have been a 43-yard touchdown.

The Broncos scored 10 points in the final 22 seconds of the first half to take a 20-10 lead into the locker room, and they got their third takeaway just two plays into the second half on Bonitto’s strip-sack of Allen that was recovered by Malcolm Roach at the Bills 17, leading to Lutz’s short field goal to make it 23-10.

Nix’s 29-yard TD pass to Lil’Jordan Humphrey broke a 10-all tie and then Bonitto stripped Allen of the ball after a long scramble up the middle. Devon Key recovered for Denver with 2 seconds left before halftime and Lutz’s 50-yarder as the half expired made it 20-10.

The Broncos’ other touchdown in the first half came from an unlikely source. They went ahead 10-7 when Nix threw to tackle-eligible Frank Crum, a second-year pro from Wyoming, Allen’s alma mater. He caught the short pass and tumbled into the end zone for a 7-yard score.

James Cook ran for 117 yards on 24 carries but lost a fumble.

When the Broncos lost to the Bills 31-7 in Buffalo last playoffs, Payton said, “We have to figure out how to get these games at home.”

They did it by leading the league in sacks (68), tying a franchise record with 14 regular-season victories, winning 11 one-score games and having 11 comebacks.

“We weren’t ready last year,” Payton said. “But we were ready today.”

Matt LaFleur has agreed to terms on a contract extension to remain the Packers’ coach, a week after Green Bay’s season ended with a wild-card playoff loss to the Chicago Bears, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced. ESPN and NFL Network first reported the agreement.

LaFleur had one year remaining on his contract. New Packers president and CEO Ed Policy had said last summer he would prefer not to have a lame-duck coach, saying it “creates a lot of issues.”

Green Bay has missed the playoffs only once under LaFleur, who has a regular-season record of 76-40-1 (.654). The only active coaches with better winning percentages over a minimum of 50 games are Philadelphia’s Nick Sirianni (.694), the Los Angeles Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh (.679) and Buffalo’s Sean McDermott (.662).

But LaFleur hasn’t been able to get the Packers to a Super Bowl. Green Bay won its last title in the 2010 season and hasn’t played in the Super Bowl since.

LaFleur’s future was in doubt after Packers’ wild-card loss to the Bears, in which they led 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 through three quarters. Green Bay went 9-8-1 and finished with five straight losses, although LaFleur rested his starters in the meaningless regular-season finale.

LaFleur is 3-6 in the playoffs, including five losses in his past six games. The Packers lost back-to-back NFC championship games in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. They owned the NFC’s No. 1 seed in 2020 and 2021 but lost at home both years.

While cleaning out their lockers Monday, several Packers players said they hoped LaFleur would return.

All-Pro defensive end Micah Parsons said LaFleur was among the reasons he had expressed interest in Green Bay before the Packers acquired him from the Dallas Cowboys in August. Parsons said he mentioned that to LaFleur after hearing that the coach’s job might be in jeopardy.

“He’s a great guy and I just think he cares so much, like he cares so much about the players,” Parsons said. “I don’t think people realize that. And you can get spoiled with a good coach and good people, and you don’t realize until they’re gone and I don’t want to be at that point where we realize like, ‘Damn, we let such a great coach go.’”

LaFleur led the Packers to NFC North titles in each of his first three seasons with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and he kept Green Bay competitive after Rodgers was traded in 2023. The Packers have made the playoffs in each of their first three seasons with Jordan Love as the starter.

But those three appearances all came as the NFC’s seventh seed. The Packers limped into the postseason in 2024, too, finishing with three straight losses.

The Packers were 9-3-1 and leading the NFC North this season when Parsons tore an ACL on Dec. 14. They didn’t win another game.

Star tight end Tucker Kraft, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt and center Elgton Jenkins also had season-ending injuries. The Packers entered the playoffs with 15 players on injured reserve.

Had he lost his job in Green Bay, LaFleur would have become an attractive head coaching candidate because of his reputation for getting the best from his quarterbacks.

Rodgers won his third and fourth MVP awards while playing for LaFleur, and Green Bay made a relatively seamless transition to Love. Malik Willis, acquired from Tennessee for a seventh-round pick, had six touchdown passes, three touchdown runs and no interceptions in two years as Love’s backup.

LaFleur’s preference was to stay in Green Bay.

“I love our players, the locker room, everybody in our organization,” LaFleur said Sunday. “I mean, this is a unique place. The community has been outstanding, just I mean, I grew up in the Midwest, and it’s got the same type of vibe that I grew up in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. … Unless you’re I think from here, you don’t understand how friendly everybody is. No matter who you are, you’re walking down the street and people say hello to one another. And I’ve lived other places, so I think this is a unique place, and it’s a special place. My kids love it here. My family loves it here.”

TARVISIO, Italy (AP) — The Italian ski team is on a roll with less than three weeks to go before a home Olympics. And so is 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn.

Nicol Delago claimed her first World Cup victory in a downhill on home snow Saturday, with Vonn in third place for her fifth podium in five downhills this season.

Delago matched Italian teammate Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first victory in a super-G in Wengen, Switzerland, on Friday.

“It certainly hasn’t always been easy over the years, so today is huge,” Delago said. “Yesterday I watched the video of Franzoni’s race and that provided extra motivation.”

The Milan Cortina Winter Games open on Feb. 6 with the women racing in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the men in Bormio.

Delago, who also led the final training session on Friday, finished 0.20 seconds ahead of Kira Weidle-Winkelmann of Germany and 0.26 ahead of Vonn, the Minnesota native.

Delago’s previous best finishes were three second-place results and two third-place results. Her younger sister, Nadia, won the bronze medal in downhill at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Nadia Delago was 10th Saturday.

“We motivate each other both on the positive days and the negative days,” Nicol Delago said of her sister.

It was the first World Cup downhill in Tarvisio in 15 years and Vonn was one of only two athletes in the current field who had raced it before. In her six previous races in Tarvisio across downhill, super-G and super-combined, Vonn earned two wins and four runner-up finishes.

“I don’t really remember the track,” Vonn said. “But I do remember that the atmosphere was amazing and the people were amazing. … And I met some fans earlier and they were singing songs about me. It was awesome. So I’m so happy to be back on the podium again under tough conditions. So it couldn’t be better.”

In the downhill standings, Vonn increased her advantage to 144 points ahead of Emma Aicher of Germany. Four World Cup downhills remain this season.

In the overall standings, Vonn moved up to third place with 510 points, trailing only American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (923 points) and Camille Rast (753) — neither of whom are currently racing downhill.

The race was characterized by fog hovering over the course midway down — limiting visibility.

Nicol Delago nearly lost control in the foggy section as her skis split apart. But she quickly recovered and then added to her advantage at every check point. At the finish, she celebrated with a big smile and kissed one of her skis, even though with the No. 3 bib most of the favorites were still to come down.

Vonn was fastest at both speed checks, registering 136.3 kph (84.7 mph) on top. But with such high speed she veered off course into fresh snow midway down — slowing her slightly.

The Olympic downhill in Cortina is scheduled for Feb. 8.

A super-G is scheduled for Tarvisio on Sunday.

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