Monday was a step back in the right direction for Minnesota.

After a pair of hideous home defeats over the weekend, the Timberwolves were dominant for a quarter and a half to cruise to a 138-116 victory over the short-handed Hawks.

Minnesota out-scored Atlanta 40-22 in the second frame to open up its advantage, which it pushed to 31 midway through the third quarter.

Anthony Edwards had 21 points, five rebounds and five assists at the half. Julius Randle had a triple double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and newcomer Ayo Dosunmu had 21 points in his second game with the Wolves.

Atlanta was without Dyson Daniels and Jaylen Johnson, the team’s two best players.

The Hawks did, however, have Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Minnesota honored the guard with a tribute video during pre-game introductions, and he reminded the Wolves faithful why he was such a valuable piece for the past few seasons.

Alexander-Walker finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five assists — a stat line no Wolves player has replicated this season. Alexander-Walker and Edwards exchanged jerseys after the game.

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MILAN (AP) — After raving about his young players, goaltending and defender Caroline Harvey’s driving speed in a 5-0 win over Switzerland on Monday, U.S. coach John Wroblewski was quickly reminded of the next challenge ahead for his women’s hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games.

Alex Carpenter #25 of Team United States scores a goal against Andrea Braendli #20 of Team Switzerland in the third period during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match between the United States and Switzerland on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Canada is up next. And with or without Marie-Philip Poulin — Canada’s “Captain Clutch — Wroblewski understands his team is in for a handful on Tuesday.

“Yeah, I heard about that. It’s a shame,” Wroblewski said of Poulin limping off the ice and missing the final two periods of Canada’s 5-1 win over Czechia.

Canada coach Troy Ryan said he didn’t have full details of Poulin’s apparent lower-body injury. He said it was too early to say whether she could play Tuesday.

“The interesting thing about looking forward to Canada is that every time we play them, it’s got a different life, a different culture,” Wroblewski said. “And so we’ll see what we get tomorrow night.”

The U.S. might be favored in the tournament, but the Canadians are the defending Olympic champions.

The Americans continued finding new contributors in winning their first three games by a combined score of 15-1. It was the youngsters’ time to shine against Switzerland.

Harvey and Joy Dunne, two of seven U.S. players still in college, each had a goal and two assists.

Gwyneth Philips #33 of Team United States makes a save against Rahel Enzler #21 of Team Switzerland in the first period during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match between the United States and Switzerland on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Gwyneth Philips stopped 20 shots in her Olympic debut, and shared the shutout with Ava McNaughton, The 21-year-old McNaughton stopped one shot after being inserted with 1:48 left. Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Haley Winn also scored in an outing the Americans closed with three goals in the first 7:42 of the third period.

Captain Hilary Knight had two assists to increase her Olympic career point total to 31 — one short of matching the U.S. record set by Jenny Potter.

If not for Swiss goalie Andrea Braendli stopping 35 of the first 37 shots she faced, and 45 overall, the game could well have been an early rout.

“Switzerland’s goalie was awesome. She had some kind of force field going back there, I don’t know what,” Wroblewski said. “I think we just needed take a deep breath.”

Switzerland dropped to 1-2 and was shut out for the second straight outing following a 4-0 loss to Canada on Saturday.

“It takes it’s toll after a while, they just keep on coming at you,” Swiss coach Colin Muller said. “I thought we did a great job defensively and better offensively today. We had more courage than we had last game. It’s great to see. Every game we get better. If it ended up 3-1, I would’ve been happy.”

Though Switzerland tested the Americans early, Philips stood firm.

The second-year PWHL Ottawa Charge goalie kicked out her left skate just in time to stop a shot from Ivana Wey in the opening minute. Some 12 1/2 minutes in, Philips got her glove up to foil Rahel Enzler, who was set up on the doorstep.

Alex Carpenter #25 of Team United States celebrates with teammate Joy Dunne #24 after a goal in the third period during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match between the United States and Switzerland on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Philips said the early action helped settle her nerves. And she was more than happy to share the shutout.

“I’m ecstatic. I’m so happy with Ava,” Philips said. “She’s one heck of a goalie and she deserves to be here and get some ice time.”

Then it was Harvey’s turn to take over. The offensive-minded defender drove up the left boards and sent a pass into the middle for Winn to redirect for the opening goal 6:04 in. Harvey capped the scoring by driving in from the left point and beating Braendli by jamming in the puck on the short side.

“It was a great game. Super fired up for the girls,” Harvey said, deflecting the credit. “Just driving my feet. Teammates were getting open and they were making stuff happen and it was a lot of fun with the girls tonight.”

After having limited playing time at the 2022 Beijing Games, the Wisconsin senior has been spurred by Wroblewski to use her speed and playmaking abilities.

“The amount of times that she drove was insane. I loved the initiatives that she takes,” the coach said. “I hope it keeps rolling, not only for her, but for her teammates.”

Kristin O’Neill #43 of Team Canada celebrates with teammate Marie-Philip Poulin #29 after a goal in the first period during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group A match between Czechia and Canada on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Poulin’s exit overshadows Canada win

After Poulin exited, her team responded with a rush of goals.

Canada was leading 1-0 on Kristin O’Neill’s goal when Poulin left the game after being rocked by an illegal hit from Kristyna Kaltounkova. Poulin then seemed to be keeping weight off her right leg as she left the ice seconds into her next shift.

The Canadians scored twice in a minute soon after, with goals by Laura Stacey and Sarah Fillier prompting the Czechs to pull starting goalie Julie Pejsova for Michaela Hesova. Canada moved to 2-0 for the tournament but was denied a second shutout when Natalie Mlynkova scored for the Czechs.

Italy’s Matilde Fantin (17) celebrates her goal during a preliminary round match of women’s ice hockey between Japan and Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Tao Xiyi/Pool Photo via AP)

Italy, Germany advance

Host nation Italy secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament for the first time by beating Japan 3-2 on Monday.

Germany followed by claiming its spot in the next round with a 2-1 overtime win over France.

Both Italy and Germany improved to 2-1 and joined Sweden (3-0) in completing the three Group B nations to clinch a quarterfinal berth. Japan and France were eliminated from contention.

Italy advanced in just its second Olympic appearance, both as the host, after going 0-4 at the 2006 Turin Games and finishing last among the eight-team field.

“I think this is everybody’s dream coming true,” Italy’s Canada-born goalie Gabriella Durante said. “Hopefully this just grows hockey in Italia that much more for little girls all over the country.”

Matilde Fantin scored twice, and Kristen Della Rovere’s third period goal stood up as the game winner.

Katarina Jobst-Smith #28 of Team Germany controls the puck against Clemence Boudin #85 of Team France in the first period during the Women’s Preliminary Round Group B match between Germany and France on day three of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on February 09, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Jobst-Smith scores in OT

Katarina Jobst-Smith scored for Germany 1:17 into overtime by snapping in a shot from the high slot just inside the left post. Laura Kluge also scored and Sandra Abstreiter stopped 13 shots.

Estelle Duvin forced OT by scoring 8:21 into the third period, and Alice Philbert stopped 44 shots. France finished 0-4 in its Olympic debut, and was outscored by a combined margin of 13-4.

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White Bear Lake Police Chief Dale Hager will retire May 8, the city of White Bear Lake announced on Monday in a Facebook post.

Hager became chief in 2023 and overall spent 12 years with the city, including working as an administrative captain in the police department. He retires with 29 years of law enforcement experience.

“Serving this community and working alongside the men and women of this police department has been one of the great privileges of my career,” Hager said.

“I am deeply proud of the professionalism, commitment, and integrity our staff demonstrates every day, and of the meaningful improvements we have made over the past few years to strengthen public safety and best serve the communities of White Bear Lake and Gem Lake,” he said.

“Chief Hager’s number one priority upon being hired as chief of police was to bolster public engagement opportunities and he did just that — doubling the number of touch points throughout the community in his first year of leadership alone,” City Manager Lindy Crawford said, “He has also been a strong advocate for WBLPD staff, encouraging innovation and new approaches across many areas.”

The hiring process to replace Hager has begun, and the city said it anticipates filling the position by the spring.

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By KANIS LEUNG

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison in the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city’s dissent.

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Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The maximum penalty for his conviction was life imprisonment.

His co-defendants, six former employees of his Apple Daily newspaper and two activists, received prison terms of between 6 years and 3 months, and 10 years on collusion-related charges.

Lai smiled and waved at his supporters when he arrived for the sentence. But before he left the courtroom, he looked serious, as some people in the public gallery cried. When asked about whether they would appeal, his lawyer Robert Pang said no comment.

Lai’s daughter says he will die ‘a martyr’ in prison

The democracy advocate’s arrest and trial have raised concerns about the decline of press freedom in what was once an Asian bastion of media independence. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong.

Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested under the security law in 2020. Within a year, some of Apple Daily’s senior journalists also were arrested and the newspaper shut down in June 2021.

Lai’s sentencing could heighten Beijing’s diplomatic tensions with foreign governments, which have criticized Lai’s conviction and sentencing.

FILE – Hong Kong publisher and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, right, walks through the Stanley prison in Hong Kong, Friday, July 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is expected to visit China in April, said he felt “so badly” after the verdict and noted he spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about Lai and asked him “to consider his release.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that Lai’s sentencing is an unjust and tragic conclusion to the case, urging authorities to grant Lai humanitarian parole.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government also has called for the release of Lai, who is a British citizen. U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the prosecution “politically motivated,” saying the prison term is tantamount to a life sentence.

In a statement, Lai’s son, Sebastien, said the “draconian” prison term was devastating for his family and life-threatening for his father. “It signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice,” he said.

His sister Claire called the sentence “heartbreakingly cruel” in the same statement. “If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars,” she said.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai’s sentence demonstrated the rule of law, citing his serious crimes.

“It’s bringing great satisfaction to the people,” he said in a statement.

In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Lai is a Chinese citizen and called him a major planner and participant in a series of anti-China destabilizing activities in Hong Kong. He urged “relevant countries” to respect the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Judges ruled Lai was the mastermind

Lai founded Apple Daily, a now-defunct newspaper known for its critical reports against the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing. He was arrested in August 2020 under the security law that was used in a yearslong crackdown on many of Hong Kong’s leading activists.

In their ruling, three government-vetted judges wrote that the starting point of Lai’s sentence was increased because they found him to be the mastermind of the conspiracies. But they also reduced his penalty because they accepted that Lai’s age, health condition and solitary confinement would cause his prison life to be more burdensome than that of other inmates.

“Lai was no doubt the mastermind of all three conspiracies charged and therefore he warrants a heavier sentence,” they said “As regards the others, it is difficult to distinguish their relative culpability.”

They took into account that Lai is serving a prison term of five years and nine months in a separate fraud case and ruled that 18 years of Lai’s sentence in the security case should be served consecutively to that prison term.

Urania Chiu, lecturer in law at Oxford Brookes University, said the case is significant for its broad construction of seditious intent and application of the term “collusion with foreign forces” to certain activities by the media. The implication is particularly alarming for journalists and those working in academia, she said.

“Offering and publishing legitimate critiques of the state, which often involves engagement with international platforms and audiences, may now easily be construed as ‘collusion,’” Chiu said.

Lai has been in custody for more than five years. In January, Pang said Lai suffered health issues including heart palpitations, high blood pressure and diabetes. The prosecution said a medical report noted Lai’s general health condition remained stable. The government said his solitary confinement was at Lai’s wish.

Co-defendants get reduced sentences

The former Apple Daily staffers and activists involved in Lai’s case entered guilty pleas, which helped reduce their sentences Monday. They earlier admitted to the prosecution charge that said they conspired with Lai to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The convicted journalists are publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee. They received prison terms ranging between six years and nine months, to 10 years.

The two activists, Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, were sentenced to six years and three months, and seven years and three months respectively.

The penalties for Cheung, Chan and Yeung, alongside the two activists, were reduced in part because they served as prosecution witnesses and the judges said their evidence had “significantly” contributed to the conviction of Lai.

Before sunrise, dozens of people stood in line outside the court building to secure a seat in the courtroom. One of them was former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung.

“Whatever happens, it’s an end — at least we’ll know the outcome,” Cheung said before the sentence was delivered.

Case considered a blow to Hong Kong media

Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995, two years before the former British colony returned to Chinese rule. Its closure in 2021 shocked the local press scene. Hong Kong ranked 140th out of 180 territories in the press-freedom index compiled by media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders in 2025, far from its 18th place in 2002.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police force’s National Security Department, welcomed the heavy sentence on Lai. “Obviously, he has done nothing good for Hong Kong that could serve as a basis for his mitigation,” he told reporters.

The government said it will confiscate assets related to Lai’s crime.

Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson said the harsh 20-year-sentence is effectively a death sentence, calling it cruel and unjust.

Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him contributed to this report