By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two major law firms are expected to ask separate judges on Wednesday to permanently block President Donald Trump’s executive orders that were designed to punish them and hurt their business operations.

The firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — have said the orders imposed in March are unconstitutional assaults on the legal profession that threaten their relationships with clients and retaliate against them based either on their past legal representations or their association with particular attorneys who Trump perceives as his adversaries.

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Courts last month temporarily halted enforcement of key provisions of both orders, but the firms are in court Wednesday asking for the edicts to be struck down in their entirety and for judges to issue rulings in their favor. Another firm, Jenner & Block, is expected to make similar arguments next week.

“Although Perkins Coie did not bring this suit lightly, it was compelled to do so to preserve its ability to continue representing the best interests of its clients,” lawyers for Perkins Coie wrote in a filing ahead of the hearing. “The Constitution does not permit our elected leaders, from any party, to punish lawyers by fiat for representing clients who oppose their political agendas. It would set a grave precedent for our Republic if the Order were allowed to stand.”

The executive orders taking aim at some of the country’s most elite and prominent law firms are part of a wide-ranging retribution campaign by Trump designed to reshape civil society and extract concessions from perceived adversaries. The actions have forced targeted entities, whether law firms or universities, to decide whether to push back and risk further incurring the administration’s ire or to agree to concessions in hopes of averting sanctions. Some firms have challenged the orders in court, but others have proactively reached settlements.

The orders have generally imposed the same consequences, including directing the suspension of attorney security clearances, restricting lawyers’ access to federal buildings and terminating federal contracts.

The first law firm action took place in February when Trump signed a memo suspending the security clearances of attorneys at Covington & Burling who have provided legal services to special counsel Jack Smith, who investigated the president between his first and second terms and secured two indictments that have since been abandoned.

The executive order targeting Perkins Coie singled out the firm’s representation of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential race, and the one against WilmerHale cited the fact that special counsel Robert Mueller — who investigated Trump during his first term over potential ties between Russia and his 2016 campaign — was for years a partner at the firm.

Last month, the firm Paul Weiss cut a deal with the Trump administration that resulted in an executive order against it being rescinded.

Since then, more than a half-dozen other firms have reached agreements with the White House that require them, among other things, to dedicate free legal services to causes the Trump administration says it champions.

They include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Milbank; Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; Kirkland & Ellis; Latham & Watkins LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; and Cadwalader, Taft & Wickersham.

By MEHMET GUZEL and SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press

ISTANBUL (AP) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas on Wednesday, Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency said. There were no immediate reports of serious damage in the metropolis of 16 million.

More than 150 people were hospitalized with injuries sustained while attempting to flee buildings, the Istanbul governor’s office said.

The earthquake had a shallow depth of about 6 miles, according to the United States Geological Survey, with its epicenter about 25 miles southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara.

It was felt in the neighboring provinces of Tekirdag, Yalova, Bursa and Balikesir and in the city of Izmir, some 550 kilometers south of Istanbul. There were several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3.

The incident, which started at 12:49 p.m. during a public holiday when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets, caused widespread panic in Istanbul, which is on tenterhooks due to the looming threat of a major earthquake. Panicked residents rushed from their homes and buildings into the streets. The disaster and emergency management agency urged people to stay away from buildings.

More than 150 injured

“Due to panic, 151 of our citizens were injured from jumping from heights,” the Istanbul governor’s office said in a statement. “Their treatments are ongoing in hospitals, and they are not in life-threatening condition.”

Many residents flocked to parks, school yards and other open areas to avoid being near buildings in case of collapse or subsequent earthquakes. Some people pitched tents in parks.

“Thank God, there does not seem to be any problems for now,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at an event marking the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day holiday. “May God protect our country and our people from all kinds of calamities, disasters, accidents and troubles.”

Leyla Ucar, a personal trainer, said she was exercising with her student on the 20th floor of a building when they felt intense shaking.

“We shook incredibly. It threw us around, we couldn’t understand what was happening, we didn’t think of an earthquake at first because of the shock of the event,” she said. “It was very scary.”

Senol Sari, a 51-year-old resident who fled to a park nearby his house, told The Associated Press he was with his children in the living room of his flat on the third floor of an apartment building when he heard a loud noise and the building started shaking.

“We immediately protected ourselves from the earthquake and waited for it to pass, then calmly walked away from the house,” Sari said. “Of course, we were scared during the earthquake. We were worried that it would continue. Since the (great) Istanbul earthquake is (still) an expected earthquake, our concerns continue.”

‘My children were a little scared’

Cihan Boztepe, 40, was one of those who hurriedly fled to the streets with his family in order to avoid a potential collapse. Boztepe, standing next to his sobbing child, told AP that he was living in Batman province, an area close to the southern part of Turkey where the 2023 quakes hit, and that Wednesday’s tremor felt weaker and that he wasn’t as scared.

“At first we were shaken, then it stopped, then we were shaken again. My children were a little scared, but I wasn’t. We quickly gathered our things and went down to a safe place. If it were up to me, we would have already returned home.”

Turkey’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said the authorities had not received reports of collapsed buildings. He told HaberTurk television that there had been reports of damage to buildings.

The NTV broadcaster reported that a derelict and abandoned former residential building in this historic Fatih district, which houses the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, had collapsed.

Kemal Cebi, the mayor of Kucukcekmece district in western Istanbul, told NTV there were “no negative developments yet,” but reported traffic jams, and said many buildings were already at risk due to the area’s density.

In Zeytinburnu district, some people were injured after jumping out of buildings, mayor Omer Arisoy told NTV.

Urban reconstruction projects

Turkey is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and a second powerful tremor hours later, destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces, leaving more than 53,000 people dead. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.

Istanbul was not impacted by that earthquake, but the devastation heightened fears of a similar quake, with experts citing the city’s proximity to fault lines.

In a bid to prevent damage from any future quake, the national government and local administrations started urban reconstruction projects to fortify buildings at risk and launched campaigns to demolish buildings at risk of collapse.

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Robert Badendieck contributed from Canakkale, Turkey.

One thing has been consistently excellent for Minnesota through the first two games of its round series with the Lakers – the defensive end.

The Timberwolves are surrendering just 94.5 points per game. Defense is the primary reason Minnesota won Game 1 and was the sole reason the Wolves had a prayer at the end of Game 2.

Driving the bus on the defensive success? Rudy Gobert.

That should seem obvious on its surface. Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year. He led the Wolves in defensive rating yet again this season, with Minnesota allowing just 107.6 points per 100 possessions with the center on the floor.

And yet the center keeps being framed as a liability in certain matchups in this series. Luka Doncic hit a ridiculously tough baseline jumper over Gobert in an isolation situation in the second quarter Tuesday in Los Angeles.

After the shot tickled the twine, Doncic turned to the Wolves’ bench and signaled for Minnesota to sub out the center.

That’s not likely to happen. Because while “SportsCenter” seemingly aired that Doncic play on a loop, and while the Lakers’ home crowd came alive whenever Los Angeles got Gobert switched onto a perimeter player in isolation during the first two games of the series, the numbers suggest Gobert continues to hold his own.

The NBA’s matchup data shows Lakers players are 8 for 29 from the field (28%) against Gobert thus far this series. Minnesota is giving up just 99 points per 100 possessions with Gobert on the floor, the team’s best defensive rating through two games.

“So his impact on the floor remains pretty strong,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said.

“He’s doing a great job of just working and trying to force guys into tough reads, tough shots,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “Yeah, they’re going to score every now and then. But he’s done a really good job with just being active and trying to know everybody’s tendencies when he is out there guarding those guys.

“We want to use him out there. For the most part, we’re going to continue to try to game plan around it. And if he gets up in iso, we trust him and anybody else that’s out there.”

Gobert noted before the series started that he will get beat at times in isolation, and those plays will be clipped and widely shared on social media. But, over a large sample size, he believes he’ll win out.

And while Gobert noted a few things he’d like to do better against Doncic, specifically, even the Slovenian star is just 1 for 8 when shooting against Gobert.

“I think some of the times they score, some of the times I do a pretty good job,” Gobert said. “There’s always things that I’ve got to do better, we’ve got to do better. But overall, as a defender, that’s what I enjoy. I enjoy guarding the best players in the world and I always embrace that challenge.”

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All things considered, Minnesota delivered one of its best offensive showings of the season in Game 1 on Saturday in Los Angeles.

And followed it up with one of its worst on Tuesday in Game 2.

The Timberwolves shot 38% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc while scoring a season-low 85 points in defeat.

Their 14 assists marked a new season low.

After seemingly deciphering Los Angeles’ defensive scheme in Game 1 – when he tallied nine assists to just one turnover – Anthony Edwards didn’t record a single assist Tuesday. It’s the first time the all-star guard has been shut out of that column since the 2021-22 campaign. He did have nine potential assists, per tracking data. But none of those bore fruit.

And while the Lakers’ roster has turned over throughout the season, one thing that hasn’t changed is Los Angeles’ approach to guarding the Timberwolves’ best player. The Lakers consistently switch pick and rolls to take away Edwards’ space on the perimeter and commit heavy gap help to show him a crowd whenever he steps inside the arc.

It’s been largely effective throughout the year. Edwards’ offensive rating during the regular season versus the Lakers was an abysmal 104 points per 100 possessions. He’s now had three assists or fewer in four of his six matchups with Los Angeles.

In those six meetings, Edwards is shooting 40% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc while averaging 3.3 free throws per game. Minnesota has recorded 18 assists or fewer just seven times this season. Three of those occasions came against the Lakers.

Edwards felt as though the Lakers threw something different at him Tuesday.

“Every time I caught the ball, (Los Angeles) kind of went like in a zone, in a sense,” Edwards said. “So it’s kind of confusing at times.”

The guard said it was the first time he’s seen such a look this season. When he caught the ball on the top of the floor, he felt as though Lakers defenders would hold their positions, even as Edwards’ teammates cut across the floor.

To the contrary, Lakers star Luka Doncic said Los Angeles followed the “same gameplan” in general as it did in Game 1. That’s true in terms of the principles of the approach. But the Lakers seemed to pay more attention to perimeter shooters than they did in Game 1, and did somewhat decrease their interior presence.

That freed up Edwards, Julius Randle and others to get inside and attempt a number of contested shots around the bucket.

It also left Rudy Gobert more available on the rolls and in the dunker spot, though Minnesota rarely tapped into that option after Gobert failed to capitalize on a couple of first-quarter opportunities.

“They were in the gaps a lot. And when they’re in the gaps, I think we’ve got to be timely with our passes. I think we were just a beat off every now and then on those plays,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said. “When guys are open, we’ve got to hit them right when they’re open. Not a half second, two seconds later when guys (are) closing out to him, which is a different shot for people. First game, we were getting wide-open looks. We were getting rhythm shots. That’s what we want to try to accomplish.”

The hesitance Tuesday to do seemingly everything caused Minnesota’s offense to stagnate. And when neither the ball nor the bodies are moving, the Wolves are infinitely easier to guard.

“I mean it’s kind of hard (with) the way that they’re guarding us because … when I catch the ball, they kind of go zone,” Edwards said. “So it’s hard to see. And then once I try to attack a gap, it’s like three people (there). And then I jump and make a pass. That takes time off the clock, they get back into their rotation. So I just got to make my decisions a little quicker like coach said, and then we’ll be all right.”

Because, frankly, Wolves coach Chris Finch felt simple plays were there to be made even in Game 2. He labeled Minnesota’s execution as “not good.” The coach noted the Lakers didn’t make many tactical adjustments. Finch said Los Angeles’ increased ball pressure caused Minnesota to go sideways with the dribble rather than getting downhill and punching gaps as often as it should have.

As a result, the ball got sticky.

There was a possession in the second quarter in which Edwards was essentially doubled on the catch, leaving Terrence Shannon Jr. wide open, one pass away in the corner. Rather than immediately making the pass, Edwards collected himself and drove to the bucket.

He scored, but that wasn’t necessarily the “right play” in that situation. And making the “right play” is what generated Minnesota’s offensive explosion in Game 1.

“We won Game 1 with the right ball movement, the right mindset, and making the easy easy and right reads,” Conley said. “So we just have to do it again. Do it again, again and again and not get tired of doing a consistent thing.”

Edwards said film study should reveal answers ahead of Game 3 on Saturday. To this point in the season, the Lakers’ defense has proved to be a difficult equation for the Wolves to solve.

“The way it felt (Tuesday) is they were really physical, and we were a little more reluctant to make that extra pass a little bit sometimes, and sometimes to just take the shot,” Gobert said. “It’s hard to judge from just not watching the tape, so I think we’ll have those answers.”

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