By ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday blocked a White House executive order targeting an elite law firm, dealing a setback to President Donald Trump’s campaign of retribution against the legal profession.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said the executive order against the law firm of Perkins Coie violated multiple provisions of the Constitution and ordered that it be immediately nullified.

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The order sought to punish the firm by stripping the security clearances of its lawyers, blocking its employees from accessing federal buildings and canceling federal contracts involving the firm.

It was one in a series of similar executive actions aimed at punishing some of the country’s most prestigious law firms, in some cases over prior legal representations out of favor with the Trump administration or because of their associations with prosecutors who previously investigated Trump. In the case of Perkins Coie, the White House cited its representation of Democrat Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the 2016 presidential race.

Howell wrote in her 102-page order, “No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies but, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.’”

The decision was not surprising given that Howell had earlier temporarily blocked multiple provisions of the order and had expressed deep misgivings about the edict at a more recent hearing, when she grilled a Justice Department lawyer who was tasked with justifying it.

So far, all the firms that have challenged orders against them — Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey — have succeeded in at least temporarily blocking the orders. But other major firms have sought to avert orders by preemptively reaching settlements that require them, among other things, to dedicate tens of millions of dollars in free legal services in support of causes the Trump administration says it supports.

The enduring image of the Wild’s first-round playoff series against Vegas was glimpsed early in Game 3.

After an impressive road win that knotted the series at a game apiece, the Wild were home at Xcel Energy Center and on a power play just more than 3 minutes into the first period. After skating the puck in a complete circle, through the circles and behind the net, Kirill Kaprizov saucered a puck past an unprepared Aiden Hill for a quick 1-0 lead.

The left winger immediately skated to the glass, smiled to the crowd — on its feet and waving their playoff towels in a collective frenzy — and raised his arms in celebration before he was mobbed by teammates.

It seemed like a premonition, a brief glimpse of a possible future of sustained excellence with Kaprizov at the forefront, leading the Wild into deep playoff relevance.

A week later, the Wild’s season is over, ended Thursday by a 3-2 loss to Vegas in Game 6 at the X. Yet that image of Kaprizov, beaming to a grateful crowd hungry for postseason success, lingers.

Kaprizov is now officially entering the final year of a five-year, $45 million extension and will be eligible to sign an extension July 1. The Wild have roughly a year to secure the best player in franchise history’s long-term future with the team without him talking to another club. That’s good, but it doesn’t necessarily give the Wild an advantage over what would certainly be a phalanx of other suitors.

Everything general manager Bill Guerin hopes his team will achieve in the near future runs through the preternaturally talented Russian winger. But not everything Kaprizov hopes to achieve in the near future necessarily runs through the Minnesota Wild.

You see the potential hiccup.

Before a preseason game last fall, Wild owner Craig Leipold told reporters the Wild will pay whatever is necessary to retain Kaprizov, that no other NHL team will pay him more, for longer, than the Wild. It’s not unreasonable to take Leipold at his word on this.

For one thing, the Wild need Kaprizov, who could conceivably become the franchise’s leading goal-scorer next season before he turns 30. He’s currently 39 goals behind leader Marian Gaborik (219), and while he missed half the regular season this year because of a lower body injury, he averaged 44.3 goals in his previous three seasons.

Further, the Wild emerge this summer from a period of salary cap hell and, also taking into consideration the NHL’s projected salary cap of $95.5 million next season, will enjoy a windfall they can spend on free agents and extensions this summer.

But, in line for a contract worth more than $15 million annually for many years, Kaprizov will be lighting his cigars with 50 dollar bills no matter where he’s playing after next season. It’s in that context that we humbly suggest that the money won’t be the critical factor in Kaprizov’s decision.

Kaprizov might want to play in a big market, live in a bigger city or in a warmer climate. He might be around more Russian-speakers. He might want to go to a team accustomed to playing for a Stanley Cup, or a team that has another superstar that can help carry some of the load. Kaprizov missed 41 games this season, and according to StatMuse the Wild were 20-17-4 in those games.

The Wild might not have a problem here. Kaprizov might love it in Minnesota. He might want to win here, keep playing with his teammates and finish his career in St. Paul. He might want to create more of those moments from Game 3, for these fans in the Wild’s possibly upgraded, yet-to-be-renamed arena.

Some of that is probably true, but all of it?

From the outside, it seems the Wild still have some convincing to do. Kaprizov needs help, and Guerin is going to have to get him some this summer — and maybe sign Mats Zuccarello to another extension — if he wants to sign him before his contract expires and other teams make their pitches.

It’s safe to assume Guerin and the Wild will do everything in their power to get this done, but in the end it might not matter. This is Kaprizov’s decision, not the Wild’s. If their superstar wants to be somewhere else, nothing will keep him here.

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Minnesota’s women’s basketball team didn’t achieve its goal of an NCAA tournament berth last season, but the Gophers certainly got better.

After a 16-1 start got them a two-week stay in the AP Top 25, for the first time since 2019, they underachieved themselves out of the running for the Big Dance, but the Gophers were quickly scooped up by the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament and, when it was over, were last of the 32-team field standing.

Expectations for 2025-26 would be high even if the Gophers weren’t getting their best player back. But they are.

Mara Braun, who missed nearly all of last season after re-breaking her right foot before a game in November, just successfully completed the team’s postseason workouts and plans to be full go when the team convenes this summer for voluntary workouts and a period of official practices.

“I was able to do everything, but it was a lot of skill work, one-on-one, two-on-three,” Braun said Friday. “But it was a good and easy way to get back into practice, back to no restrictions, and I’m feeling really good. It was definitely a good start.”

Braun led the Gophers in scoring as a freshman with a 15.6-point average in 2022-23, as a sophomore in an injury-shortened season (17 ppg.) and through four games last year (18.6). She has two seasons of eligibility remaining and is eager to fulfill her goal of bringing Minnesota women’s basketball back to the prominence it held after Lindsay Whalen — her first coach — led the team to two Sweet 16s and a Final Four in 2003 and 2004.

Minnesota’s Mara Braun avoids a defender during a 74-52 victory over Vermont on Nov. 8, 2024, at Williams Arena. (Keya Shapiro / Gophers Athletics)

With Amaya Battle, Mallory Heyer and Sophie Hart returning for another year, and the development of sophomore Grace Grocholski and freshman Tori McKinney this season, the addition of Braun will give coach Dawn Plitzuweit a surfeit of scoring options when the season starts in November.

“The (NCAA tournament) is our aspiration and goal,” said Braun, part of a nationally ranked recruiting class with Battle, Heyer and Niamaya Holloway. “The first year was building; we were getting used to college basketball, learning. We’ve dealt with adversity the past few years. Eventually we knew it would come full circle, and this is a great year for us to do it. Wherever we go will be propelled by this season. It’s really important for the growth of this program.”

The Pioneer Press talked with Braun by phone on Friday. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Mara Braun Q&A

Q: Was it difficult to fall into a non-playing role last season?
A: There was always a part of me that really wanted to be out there, to be a part of the postseason. The hardest part of was knowing how badly everyone wanted to win it. I wanted to do everything I can to get that done. We weren’t exactly happy about the tournament we were playing in, but we were there to win it.

It was nice to see how we were able to respond, especially after the first year I got hurt. We didn’t really have the depth, and mentally it was kind of a shock for everybody. This year we had more players step up, more people we could trust. We put a lot in Tori’s hands and, honestly, she was really good, only a freshman. The way she adapted, the sky’s the limit for her. Amaya really showed something, too, and Mal’s a double-double queen. It will be great to see everybody contribute when we get all the pieces back together.

Q: With so many potential weapons, where will you fit?
A: It’s going to be a different team. It’s going to look different. The rotation might even go 10 deep; any coach would love to have that option. I don’t have to play 40 minutes every night. I have trust in my teammates. It’s a good thing that we’ll have so many options coming back.

Q: Grocholski seemed to play your old role this season. Do you see yourselves on the floor together?
A: Yeah, that’s something we’ll definitely have to experiment with this summer, and in the fall we’ll have different lineups, too, and see what works. But with our offense, it’s really a lot of read-and-react, so it will be about finding different combinations. I’m sure we’ll all play together at some time or another. There will be different combinations. I’m sure we’ll find ways to make it work.

Q: You re-broke the same foot. Was the repair any different this time?
A: They did it a little differently, but I still have the same screw in there, but they went about it a little differently. The main difference is the recovery time. We’ve been extra patient to make sure I’m back to 100 percent. It hasn’t been easy.

Q: Was it easier to be patient this time?
A: I think it was the opposite, actually, because I knew everything I had ahead of me. So, especially when I was at home (with my leg) elevated for that long, away from the team, it was harder the second time — just knowing the road I had ahead of me. Once you get into it, and find the rhythm of it, you know you’re getting closer and closer but aren’t quite there. It’s a lot of ups and downs, but I was able to find my role better, to step into more of the coaching side of it, and also because of the extra year under my belt.

Q: Did you enjoy the coaching part?
A: I did. It was really different. I knew I always had to be locked in as a scout, to know exactly what each player does, their tendencies, reading the scout report back-to-front so if one of my teammates asked me a question, I could get them accurate information and be there for what they needed. It was good to have a voice.

Q: What was your initial reaction after injuring the same foot again?
A: It happened in a shootaround, so it was just a shock. Honestly, I thought I had tweaked it and it was not a big deal. But we went and got a scan right away and I learned quickly that I had broken it again. It was hard. I’d sit on the sideline and (fans) would be asking me questions about it. That was real tough. But I had to be positive and not let my teammates see me down. I had to swallow my emotions.

Q: Did you ever think you’d play last season?
A: I did at first. I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll be back for a (postseason) run.’ But as much as I wanted to play, I knew it was important to just put this behind us, and as the year went on, it made more sense to hold off.

Q: Do you feel like the profile of women’s basketball has changed since you last played a full season?
A: I do. I always say it’s a great time for women’s basketball, and some of that is because of NIL and that type of stuff, but we’ve also had generational talents in players Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, and that has helped skyrocket the (WNBA) right now. They’re tough competitors. They take a lot from the media but they handle it with so much grace. It’s kind of like they’re not really these elevated players. But I know they’ve done a lot for this country and for basketball in general. The spotlight is different from where it has been. There is so much talent across all levels.

Q: Did you ever think last season, ‘If I were playing, we would have made the NCAA tournament’?
A: A little bit, but I didn’t really want to get into any of that thinking. Things happen for a reason. It happened. But I’m excited that (the tournament) is something we can work for. We haven’t gotten that yet, but this is going to be a big season, especially for seniors like Amaya and Mal and Sophie. This is their last season for sure. These are the people I came in with, and knowing that it’s the last year for some of them. Everything that we do throughout the whole offseason, and when we all come back, is going to make an impact on our postseason. There’s a lot more to this season than maybe in past seasons. It feels different.

Q: Was it nice for you to see Whalen get back to coaching?
A: Oh, yeah. I was really excited for her. It was a great move for her, getting back to working closely with players. I’ve already seen photos of her participating in workouts. It’s where she belongs.

Q: What are your expectations for 2025-26?
A: First and foremost, I want to stay healthy for a season and see what I can do with that. It’s going to be a little bumpy; I haven’t fully played and competed for a while and I’m fully aware of that. But my foot is stronger than it was; I’m able to get to the basket better than I ever had. I’m really looking forward to playing, not just for team goals but for my aspirations to play after college. I’m going into it with high expectations. First and foremost, I want stay healthy, but I also really want to make some noise.

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More than 160 schools across the state have signed up to participate in the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Bike to School Day on Wednesday.

Sponsored by MnDOT and the Minnesota Safe Routes to School program each year, the event promotes safe biking and walking activities. Other events or activities sponsored by the Minnesota Safe Routes to School program include Winter Walk to School Day.

Students and families can participate by biking or walking to school from home, joining a “walking school bus” or “bike train” a few blocks from school, or by having parents drop students off a few blocks from school so that they can participate. Some schools offer bike safety education events during the day, like bike rodeos or taking field trips by bike.

Participating schools in St. Paul include Battle Creek Elementary School, Bruce Vento Elementary School and Crossroads Elementary, among others.

“Bike to School Day is a fun way for kids to learn about bicycle safety and explore their community on two wheels,” said Kelly Corbin, MnDOT Safe Routes to School coordinator. “The turnout at the events also reminds us how important it is to make it easier for kids to be able to bike everywhere they want or need to go.”

Schools can register events at walkbiketoschool.org/registration/. More information is available at dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/.

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