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Wild uncover their nemesis, as Kings beat Minnesota a second time

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Wild uncover their nemesis, as Kings beat Minnesota a second time


LOS ANGELES – On an evening when they celebrated Star Wars Night at a hockey rink a few miles south of the iconic Hollywood sign, the Minnesota Wild may have found their arch-nemesis. And fittingly, the Los Angeles Kings come clad in all black, Darth Vader style.

For the second time this season, the Kings had their way with Minnesota, using the force to take a first-period lead and rendering the Wild mostly powerless to mount a comeback. The Kings’ 4-1 win was just the second regulation road loss suffered by the Wild this season, as they fell to 11-2-3 in games played outside of St. Paul.

Minnesota goalie Marc-Andre Fleury suffered his first regulation loss of the season despite 30 saves and the Kings were the aggressors right from the start. Coupled with a 5-1 win by Los Angeles on Election Night at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild have clearly found a weak spot in their otherwise impressive run over the season’s first two months.

Yakov Trenin scored Minnesota’s only goal with just 1:13 remaining, and the Kings got a pair of empty net goals in the win.

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The Wild offered few excuses and credited Los Angeles for their style of playing with a lead, but it was noted that Saturday’s game was an early start after playing a late game against the Ducks the night before.

“Twenty-two hours. I don’t know who does the scheduling crap, but they have a tough job,” Wild forward Marcus Foligno said. “I get it, but being so close to Anaheim. I think they take that into consideration. We have to be up for these games. Effort, I think it’s there. It’s just, pucks were bouncing and we weren’t as crisp as we usually are.”

Darcy Kuemper, the Kings goalie who started his career in Minnesota a decade ago, had 23 saves and was within 73 seconds of becoming the first puck-stopper to turn in a shutout versus the Wild this season.

Both goalies were busy in the first period, with Kuemper thwarting a solo rush by Foligno, and Fleury leaning over the back of his net to grab a deflection that was coming hard off the glass.

The Kings finally broke through with 43 seconds remaining in the opening period, as Adrian Kempe redirected a cross-ice pass from Anze Kopitar. Kempe was crashing the crease and missed the puck with his stick, but it deflected off Kempe’s skate and past Fleury.

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The Wild have now gone five games without a first-period goal, last scoring in the opening 20 minutes the night before Thanksgiving in a 1-0 win at Buffalo. But their coach says that’s just the way trends go sometimes, and there is not a reason for concern.

“If you looked at today’s game, I thought we had some prime-time looks right in the first and I think we start games on time. I think we’re ready to play,” John Hynes said. “I think sometimes that’s just how the games play out, but I think our starts have been good and strong, and sometimes you score early. Sometimes you score in the middle. Sometimes you score late. But it’s just finding ways to win games. But as far as the starts, I think we’ve been good.”

With Marcus Johansson in the penalty box for a knee-on-knee collision with Kings forward Vladislav Gavrikov, Los Angeles doubled the lead when Alex Laferriere ripped a wrist shot past Fleury on the power play.

After Fleury denied Kevin Fiala with a toe save early in the second, Foligno dropped the gloves with Kings forward Tanner Jeannot. Both men got a five-minute rest mandated by the officials as a result. Minnesota managed just three shots on Kuemper in the second period, despite two abbreviated power plays.

With Fleury pulled for an extra attacker in the third, Trevor Moore hit the empty net with 1:54 left to put the home team up by three before Trenin spoiled the shutout bid with his second goal of the weekend, and of the season. Moore hit a second empty-netter on the next shift.

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After Friday night’s 5-1 win in Anaheim, Hynes elected to run it back, assembling the same 12 forwards and six defensemen and starting Fleury in goal as the only lineup change.

During a third period media timeout, the Kings gave a video board salute to Fleury, who has announced this season will be his last. The goalie gave a wave to the crowd to acknowledge their applause.

“Yeah, it’s expected,” Fleury said of the tough back-to-back schedule. “But we gotta find ways to still win. Still appreciate the boys, how they battle right till the end. Nobody quit. Kept trying. Gotta give (the Kings) a little credit. They shut it down pretty good back there.”

Kopitar was honored in the first period to mark the veteran forward playing in 1,400 career games — 700 at home and 700 on the road. He joined Luc Robitaille as the only players in Los Angeles franchise history to reach that milestone.

The Wild conclude their three-game road trip on Tuesday, making their first-ever visit to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Hockey Club. That franchise relocated from Arizona last summer, where they had been the Coyotes for more than 25 years.

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Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota

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Shorthanded Clippers can’t keep pace with Anthony Edwards and Minnesota


Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, Donte DiVincenzo added 18 and the surging Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Clippers 94-88 on Thursday night.

Jaden McDaniels and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 12 points and Rudy Gobert had 13 rebounds to help the Timberwolves improve to 5-1 since Feb. 9 and 3-1 since the All-Star break.

Edwards, returning to the site of the All-Star Game, where he was the MVP, was 12 for 24 from the floor and sealed the victory with a step-back three-pointer over two defenders for a 92-88 lead with 42.9 seconds left.

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Minnesota improved to 2-0 on a three-game trip.

Derrick Jones Jr. scored 18 points and Bennedict Mathurin added 14 for the Clippers, who struggled from the outset with a season-low 38 points in the first half. Kris Dunn had 11 points for the Clippers (27-31), who have lost three consecutive games for the first time since December.

The Clippers struggled on offense without star Kawhi Leonard, out because of ankle soreness. The Clippers shot 40.5% from the floor, including 18.2% (four for 22) in the second quarter. Minnesota shot 43.4% in the game.

The Timberwolves (37-23) scored just 15 points in the second quarter and still topped the Clippers, who had 11. Minnesota led 44-38 at halftime behind 12 points from DiVincenzo and 11 from Edwards.

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The Clippers led by six in the third quarter and were up 68-63 heading into the fourth. Edwards’ drive and reverse layup put the Timberwolves up for good at 76-74 with 7:40 remaining.

The Clippers pulled within one three times in the last 2½ minutes, but Edwards answered each time. He scored the Timberwolves’ last nine points.

Up next for Clippers: vs. New Orleans on Sunday night.

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Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters

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Church congregant filed lawsuit against alleged Minnesota church protesters


A St. Paul church member has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that a group of individuals, including journalist Don Lemon and activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, unlawfully disrupted service last month as part of a coordinated political demonstration.

The complaint, filed by Ann Doucette in the U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleges that a Jan. 18 demonstration at Cities Church interfered with her ability to worship and caused her to suffer damages, including emotional distress and trauma.

In addition to the former CNN anchor and Armstrong, the complaint names journalist Georgia Fort and activists Will Kelly, Jerome Richardson, Trahern Crews and Jamael Lundy. It also names St. Paul school board member Chauntyll Allen.

Doucette and seven of the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Doucette filed the complaint without the representation of an attorney. In an emailed statement to NBC News, Crews denied the lawsuit’s allegations “with empathy and compassion.”

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The lawsuit accuses the group of civil conspiracy, aiding and abetting, intentional infliction of emotional distress, interference with religious exercise and trespassing.

“As a result of Defendants’ actions, the worship service was disrupted, congregants experienced fear and distress, and Plaintiff’s ability to freely exercise her religion in a private place of worship was unlawfully interfered with,” the lawsuit states.

All eight defendants are also facing federal charges for conspiracy against the rights of religious freedom at a place of worship and for interfering with the exercise of the right of religious freedom. Lemon has pleaded not guilty to all charges, saying outside the court, “I wanted to say this isn’t just about me, this is about all journalists, especially in the United States.”

Fort, Crews and Lundy were released on bond and entered not guilty pleas, according to The Associated Press.

Don Lemon reporting from an anti-ICE demonstration at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minn.@TheDonLemonShow via YouTube

This is the latest legal action tied to protests in the Twin Cities, where tensions remain over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

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According to the lawsuit, the demonstrators engaged in “coordinated conduct” by organizing meetings ahead of the “Operation Pullup” protest and promoting it on social media.

The lawsuit alleges that on the morning of Jan. 18, a coordinated group of individuals entered Cities Church, halting the worship service, and chanting “‘ICE Out!’ and ‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!’” while obstructing aisles. Protesters could allegedly be seen “confronting the pastor and congregants in a menacing manner,” the lawsuit says, noting that their chanting and “aggressive gestures” caused “severe emotional distress, fear, anxiety, and trauma” and caused children “terror.”

Demonstrators gathered at the church because they said its pastor, David Easterwood, was the acting director of an ICE field office in the city, the lawsuit says.

Lemon was arrested in January in California and accused of violating federal civil rights law after covering the protest on Jan. 18. He was released on a personal recognizance bond before a federal grand jury in Minnesota returned the indictment against Lemon and eight co-defendants, all of whom are also named in Doucette’s lawsuit.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, Cities Church protest arraignment, St. Paul, Minn., February 2026
Nekima Levy Armstrong in St. Paul, Minn., on Feb. 13.Carlos Gonzalez / Star Tribune via Getty Images

In the lawsuit, Doucette alleges that Lemon specifically livestreamed the protest, “noting congregants’ fear and distress, and appeared to take satisfaction in the disruption.”

Levy Armstrong, a Minneapolis-based civil rights attorney and activist, was also arrested for her participation in the St. Paul protest. Her arrest drew national attention after the White House shared on social media doctored photos where she appeared to be crying.

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Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator

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Man arrested, charged with threatening to kill a state senator



A Hubbard County man was arrested and charged after threatening to kill a Minnesota state senator on Facebook. 

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Court documents filed on Wednesday state the Minnesota State Patrol were investigating a threat posted by John Tobias saying that he would “kill every one of you treasonous [expletive] immediately” if he did not get money back that he claims he lost during the 2020 COVID shutdown. 

Court documents go on to say that Tobias then called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office asking for something to be done about “Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ‘unconstitutionally’ shutting down the state due to COVID-19. 

The Minnesota State Patrol contacted Hubbard County deputies regarding Tobias. Court documents state Hubbard County investigators were already familiar with Tobais after speaking with him regarding similar threats he made in Jan. 

The charging documents state that investigators searched Tobias’ residence on Tuesday and found an arsenal of guns and 45 boxes of ammunition. 

Tobias was taken into custody. During an interview with law enforcement, Tobias admitted to making the threat on Facebook. He also told investigators that “he did not have any intention of killing anyone, but admitted he was trying to get people’s attention,” according to court records. 

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In late 2025, Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger of the Minnesota State Patrol, who oversees Capitol security, told a panel of lawmakers that threats to lawmakers had doubled between 2024 and 2025. 

Tobias made his first court appearance Wednesday morning and is expected back in court early next month.  



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