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Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid had a painful night on Tuesday, as he hurt his back and re-aggravated his orbital fracture during a Game 5 loss to the Miami Heat in their second-round playoff series. To add insult to injury, Embiid was then asked by reporters about his reaction to reports that the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic will be named MVP.

Embiid said that he wasn't surprised about the news, and had been expecting the result ever since a straw poll by ESPN's Tim Bontemps towards the end of the regular season showed most voters were leaning towards Jokic. As a result, he was not particularly upset.

Still, Embiid shared some broader thoughts about the voting process and who gets a vote. It's worth going through the latter part of his response.

"Obviously, congrats to Nikola, he deserved it. He had an amazing season. There's no right or wrong. There was a lot of candidates. It could have gone either way. Giannis, Devin Booker being on the best team in the league by far, so I guess every year it's all about whatever you guys decided, whatever fits the narrative as far as who's going to win."

Embiid is correct in that there were a bunch of deserving candidates. It ended up turning into a two-man race between him and Jokic, but Giannis Antetokounmpo easily could have won his third trophy and you could easily make a case for Devin Booker as the best player on the best team.

And while it's never explicitly acknowledged, there is a narrative aspect to the award. Team success, players' career arcs and past results matter; it's not strictly a "best player in the league" designation. That's why LeBron James doesn't have 10 MVPs and no matter how great Jokic is next season he has zero chance of winning. Ironically, the narrative aspect is why Embiid is probably going to win it next season as long as he stays healthy.

"But to me, the only thing I'll say about these awards is that, until, I don't know how to explain it. I go back to what I heard on a podcast. Bill Simmons basically saying 'f--- Jalen Green.' If you're going to allow these type of people to vote on these awards, that's not fair. What if Jalen Green was in a position to earn a supermax, or I don't know, an All-Star appearance? You've got someone sounding like that and has a lot of power. He can sway a lot of other media members and you got someone saying that type of stuff, I don't think it's fair. I don't think it's OK."

This is only somewhat related to the actual MVP discussion and seems like a general shot at the media. It's also worth noting that this specific Simmons quip that keeps being referenced was a (perhaps ill-advised) joke that has been taken completely out of context. But Embiid's larger point about the problems with award voting having financial implications for players is widely shared.

"That's really the only thing I'll say about those awards. I'm not mad. The last two years in a row I've put myself in that position. It didn't happen. It's almost like at this point, it's whatever. Whatever happens, happens. Last year I campaigned about it, this year I answered questions when I was asked, and the next, you know, few years before I retire it's almost like I don't know what else I have to do to win it. To me it's just whatever. It's all about -- not that I wasn't focusing on the bigger picture but it's really time to really put all my energy into the bigger picture which is to win the whole thing."

Embiid wondering what he has to do to win MVP is certainly fair, as he was more than deserving this season. But in truth, he did what he was supposed to do and controlled what he could control. The only thing he did "wrong" was playing this well during the same season as two other historically great players.

The more interesting aspect of this quote is Embiid acknowledging how much he had been thinking about MVP. He may not have been upset about the actual result, but it's clear the whole process was weighing on him to some extent. Perhaps a weight will be lifted from his shoulders if he can stop worrying about it next season.

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76ers' Joel Embiid says he isn't mad about not being MVP, but doesn't know what he has to do to win it - CBS Sports

TargetCorporation (NYSE:TGT) today shared an update on the progress it has made toward its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) commitment to invest more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025. The retailer also is introducing the Roundel Media Fund, which will award more than $25 million in media to diverse-owned and founded brands through its in-house media company by 2025.

At Target, our commitment tosupporting Black-owned companies and advocating for racial equity touches every aspect of our business including investing in underrepresented entrepreneurs, launching Black-owned brands at Target, working with Black designers and suppliers and increasing visibilitythrough our marketing, said Christina Hennington, Target executive vice president and chief growth officer, and founding REACH committee member. While theres more to be done, our team has approached this critically important work with passion and conviction, and we are on track to meet the goals we established to advance racial equity through the full impact of our company. We will continue to ensure Black-owned businesses have a seat at the table so that all guests feelwelcomed and represented when they shop at Target and well bring transparency to the progress were making to create lasting change for retail and beyond.

Goals (by year-end 2025)

Progress Made

Total Investment

Invest more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses

In 2021, increased investments by more than 50% compared to 2020

Black-owned Brands

Add products from more than 500 Black-owned brands

Currently offer more than 100 Black-owned brands

Forward Founders

Launch program to support Black-owned and diverse business owners

Launched Forward Founders accelerator program and completed two classes, supporting more than 30 Black entrepreneurs with additional classes planned

Marketing Media Budget

Invest 5% of annual media budget with Black-owned media by the end of 2022

Invested four times more with Black-owned media partners and doubled the amount of Black-owned partners since 2020

Roundel Media Fund

Award more than $25 million in media to diverse-owned and founded brands

Introduced the Roundel Media Fund, which has already offered grants to more than 50 recipients

In 2021, Target pledged to invest $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025, including adding products across its multi-category assortment. Since then, the retailer has increased investments with Black-owned brands, companies and suppliers by more than 50% compared to 2020 and more than doubled Black-owned brand product offerings, with representation across every major product category.

Target now offers more than 100 Black-owned brands for guests to shop from beauty products, home goods, books and toys to apparel, accessories and food and beverage items. The companys industry-leading beauty assortment saw a 65% increase in Black-owned brand offerings since 2020, more than 200 books from Black authors were added over the last year, and its food and beverage assortment will include 50 Black-owned brands by the end of 2022.

Target has also expanded collaborations with Black designers within its owned brand work and engaged Black creators to launch an exclusive home collaboration with Justina Blakeney,Opalhouse designed with Jungalow,as well as limited-time-only collaborations with partnersChristian RobinsonandHilton Carter.

In addition to adding more Black-owned brands, Target pledged to engage more Black-owned companies to enhance its retail operations and shopping experience. In 2021, the retailer increased investments with Black-owned brands, companies and suppliers including marketing agencies, construction companies, facilities maintenance and more, by more than 50% compared to 2020. Notable examples include multi-million-dollar contracts with global technology service provider World Wide Technology and Taylor Brothers Construction, a vendor supporting the companys 2022 remodel program. Target also launched a new partnership with Bridgeforth Farms earlier this year to bring their sustainably grown cotton into the making of select products.

New today, Target is introducing a funding program from its in-house media company, Roundel, to increase exposure of diverse-owned brands through paid media. Designed to offset the cost of marketing programs at Target for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) brands, the Roundel Media Fund will award more than $25 million in media to diverse-owned and founded brands by the end of 2025. Interested BIPOC vendors can apply to the fund by completing this application.

Were proud to build on the work weve done to invest in the growth of BIPOC-owned businesses, showing up in ways that inspire and add value to the way our guests learn about our products and shop at Target, said Sarah Travis, president of Roundel, Target. The impact that the Roundel Media Funds $25 million investment can create is powerful. For example, we tested this opportunity during Black History Month and saw a 40% average sales lift for the more than 20 diverse-owned brands that participated. Ultimately, we strive to be a true partner to BIPOC businesses, and this involves a continued investment to help widen and deepen their capabilities so they can grow and prosper while continuing to connect with the audiences they serve.

Additionally, since pledging to spend 5% of its annual media budget with Black-owned media by the end of 2022, the company has since invested four times more with Black-owned media partners and doubled the amount of partners they are working with since 2020, including notable multiyear deals with REVOLT, ESSENCE and Black Love.

Target recognized the need to further support historically underrepresented founders and launched Forward Founders in 2021, an accelerator program designed to help Black-owned and diverse businesses increase their potential to be the next wave of wealth-building companies. This program was developed to engage diverse early-stage companies looking to better understand retail by helping them navigate critical stages, including ideation, product development and scaling for mass retail. Participating founders receive access to mentorship, workshops and curriculum to help promote their companies growth without requiring an equity stake and preserving ownership and control over their business.

Based on the high degree of interest, Target tripled the size of the inaugural class and created a free, virtual program so thousands of applicants could benefit from the programming. Since launching, Forward Founders has supported more than 30 Black entrepreneurs and a total of 60 diverse founders through two classes, with more planned for the future.

Jasmin Foster of Be Rooted, an inclusively designed stationery brand, was a part of the inaugural Forward Founders class. After completing the program, Be Rooted can now be found at Target. Forward Founders was an amazing experience and helped me further realize my long-term goals for Be Rooted and empower even more young girls and women of color through seeing themselves represented in the stationery category. As a solo founder, the early-stage support, mentorship and insight the program offered was invaluable in bringing my vision of Be Rooted to the next level, said Foster. Being the first Black-owned stationery brand available at Target is a huge accomplishment and I believe my example will open up the doors for so many otherBlack-owned brandsto do the same."

Statements in this release regarding Targets goals to advance racial equity, expected progress in meeting those goals, future investments and other activities supporting those goals, and the expected results of those investments, activities, and goals are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause Targets actions to differ materially. The most important risks and uncertainties are described in Item 1A of Targets Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Jan. 29, 2022. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Target does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at nearly 2,000 stores and atTarget.com, with the purpose of helping all families discover the joy of everyday life. Since 1946, Target has given 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals millions of dollars a week. Additional company information can be found by visiting thecorporate websiteandpress centerand by following@TargetNews.

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Target Provides Update on Commitment to Spend $2 Billion with Black-owned Businesses and Announces New Media Fund Initiative - Target Corporate

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The U.S. Department of the Interiorreleased a national investigative report todaythat identified more than 400 federally-run schools for Native American children,including 15 in Washington state. The report is the first step for the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative launched by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland last June following stunning revelations of hundreds of unmarked graves at Indian residential schools in Canada.

These boarding schools were designed to forcibly remove children from their families and place them with educators who suppressed the use of Native language and any learning of Native cultures and beliefs. There have been numerous reports of students being severely abused when these schools operated. Thousands of children never returned home.

Such schools began opening in the late 1880s and continued operating this way until as late as the 1960s, when new federal laws gave American Indians more rights and control of their children's education. The report concludes that more investigation is needed to better understand what occurred at these schools and their lasting impacts on American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians.

The federal and state governments of the United States have dealt tremendous loss and suffering to the Native and Indigenous people throughout generations, including the horrific and systematic erasure of their culture and their children, Inslee said in response to the report. It is difficult to confront such hard truths about our past, but it is necessary for healing and progress. Washington state stands ready to do what we can to acknowledge the trauma and harm these schools caused, and uplift the efforts of those who fight to ensure the many Tribal languages, cultures and knowledge persist and flourish.

Additional information from the report

The institutions identified in the report that operated in Washington include:

More information is needed to determine whether Washington state served as a co-operator of any of these schools. It is unclear whether any unmarked graves are located at the school sites. The report indicates 53 cemeteries associated with the schools nationwide, but to prevent exploitation of graves, the locations were not disclosed.

Secretary Haaland is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary. You canread her op-edabout her familys experience with federal boarding schools.

American Indian children pictured in a field in front of the Chehalis Boarding and Day School in Oakville in 1885. Photo courtesy of the Washington State Archives.

Public and constituent inquiries | 360.902.4111Press inquiries | 360.902.4136

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Statement from Gov. Jay Inslee in response to federal report regarding Native boarding schools | Governor Jay Inslee - Governor Jay Inslee

Members of the Gannett Glacier Fire Crew takes notes during a fire training scenario near Palmer on Thursday, April 29, 2018. (Casey Grove/Alaska Public Media)

Alaskas wildland firefighters have been completing annual training and now with help from a state grant strategically cutting and removing trees, many of them standing, dry and dead, killed by spruce beetles.

That hazardous fuels reduction comes as long-term forecasts signal a normal fire season ahead, with about a million acres expected to burn total somewhere between the sizes of Rhode Island and Delaware.

Norm McDonald, the state Division of Forestrys Chief of Fire and Aviation, said the prep work cutting fire breaks is helpful and likely to save money in the long run.

But McDonald said all it would take to go from an average fire season to a huge one is some hot, dry weather and a lightning strike, or the careless burning of some brush or a campfire.

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The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Norm McDonald: If you look historically at our most devastating fires, they are in the urban interface, and they have been human caused. So these are all fires and, in theory, should be preventable. So I think just the awareness that anytime you do an activity that includes either burning or open flame in the wildland setting, just use extreme caution, especially this time of year, May, as we have that dry grass and these windy conditions. It does not take much of a start for a fire to get out of control, past where a homeowner can suppress it on their own. And those are our most expensive fires. Those take the most resources, the most firefighters and aircraft. So we really ask people to use extreme caution, whether thats their typical Alaskan, you know, outdoor activities like camping and hunting, or when youre doing your land clearing, look at other options. Instead of burning in May and June when its dry and windy, save that burning for fall when we get our wetter conditions or that first snow in October. That is something that we really try to encourage people to do.

Casey Grove: Gotcha, yeah. Nobody wants something getting away from them like that and causing damage to their neighborhood or anybody else.

NM: No, and people are always surprised at how quickly they have a burn barrel or a small fire or a barbecue in the grass how quickly a fire starts to something that they cant control with what they have on site. And then the fire department shows up and the helicopter show up, and its just every person that we go through with that always says the same thing, I had no idea how quickly that fire could spread. And so just something to be aware of, for anybody doing that type of activity this summer.

CG: Theres a lot there that you cant really control, like the weather or where lightning strikes, and things like that. And you can get the word out about how residents should be behaving to be fire safe. But I guess there are a few things that you can do ahead of time to prepare. And one of those things is what you call hazardous fuels reduction, right? And I guess thats a big push this year, it sounds like.

NM: Yeah, and its nothing new to the division. Weve been doing fuel brakes and the hazardous fuels reduction, you know, going back to the mid 90s. And that really started with the first beetle epidemic we had going back to 95, 96, that timeframe. And so its something weve used and have had success with. Whats changed this year is we have, for the first time, last year we received state dollars. Weve relied entirely on federal grants up until last year, for fuels reduction. And with this administration, public safety is a big part of their push. And we received a $10 million capital improvement project, just earmarked for fuels reduction. And so that gives us state funds to leverage more federal funds, which this year come to us through the infrastructure bill. So we are really in a good place when it comes to actually funding for this work. And now building capacity to meet the requirements of that work is really where were at now. Yeah, its a really exciting time as far as opportunities to provide a better service and public safety and develop these fuel breaks around some of our critical infrastructure and communities.

CG: Well, what are fire crews doing right now, other than reducing fuels and cutting fire breaks? What are they doing to get ready for the coming fire season?

NM: So our Division of Forestry crews, they come back starting about mid-April, and they do what we call our 80 hours or two weeks of training. And thats their physical fitness, thats their fire readiness. Theyre getting their gear up and ready. Theyre ready to go May 1, so our crews are staffed. Theyre ready to respond. We have them pre-positioned around the state, including Kenai and the Mat-Su Valley. The Fairbanks crew is down in Kenai, because snow still on the ground means fire season is a couple weeks behind. So we have them pre-positioned to where theyre available to do the most good and in a short order. But while theyre not assigned to fires, theyre doing this fuels reduction work. So this is really good preseason work and that kind of crossover training for a lot of the similar work they do when theres a wildland fire. And thats running chainsaws and, you know, clearing those fire breaks is very similar to what it looks like on the fire line, as it is when theyre building a fuel break ahead of the fire. So theyre engaged with that work and theyre ready and theyre pre-positioned and ready to go, should they be needed anyplace in the state.

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Alaska wildland fire crews ready for action, with state funding to reduce hazardous fuels - Alaska Public Media News

Two helicopters, a CL-415 water bomber from Newfoundland and Labradorand 40 crew members continue to fight an out-of-control fire in Nova Scotia's Yarmouth County that has grown significantly since it began earlier this week.

The fire near South Horseshoe Lake in eastern Yarmouth County measured roughly 3,100hectares in size on Wednesday afternoon,according to a provincial official.

That's compared to about 1,000 hectares on Tuesday night, and anestimate of 25 hectares early Tuesday morning.

"The biggest challenge that crews and pilots are facing is the amount of smoke," KaraMcCurdy, wildfire prevention officer for the Department of Natural Resources, said in an interview Wednesday with CBC Nova Scotia's News at Six.

"[Yesterday] we couldn't see enough to measure the edges of it. Today we've had less smoke and we got a better handle of the size of it."

McCurdy said the fire, which began Monday afternoon,is still consideredout of control.

The fire is "actively still moving but with the humidity last night, overnight and this morning, it's around 80 per cent, and the light winds, that's going to help decrease the fire spread," McCurdytold CBC Nova Scotia'sInformation Morning.

Satellite images shared on social media showedsmoke from the wildfire drifting west across Yarmouth County and into the Gulf of Maine.

"The smoke certainly was an issue across the province and the smoke plume was moving into a lot of the communities down in Yarmouth County," said McCurdy.

She said in the last two days, there were roughly15 fires across the province which were the result of low humidity and high winds. However, they were extinguished quickly.

Currently, there are burn restrictions in the counties of Queens, Shelburneand Yarmouth.

Smoke from the fire has prompted air quality alerts for the Yarmouth area, according to a release issued Wednesday evening from Natural Resources and Renewables, and an incident command post is being established.

The department said Tuesday the fire is in a fairly remote area and at that point there was no risk to homes or businesses.

Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton said Wednesday that conditions are still adverse, so the fire may continue to spread.

"However, at this time, we do not see it reaching communities," he said."The province's response is being managed by highly trained professionals and fire crew members who are ready to respond at a moment's notice to keep us safe in case of emergency," said Rushton.

McCurdy said the province is still investigating the fire but it is confident it was caused by humans since there has been no lightning in the remote area in the past week.

"The only access to the area is by all-terrain vehicles. So it would have to be somebody either going out fishing or on an all-terrain vehicle and in the area," she said.

"It could have been somebody stopped for lunch and had a campfire,smoking along the riverbank, or it could have even been accumulation of debris on an exhaust on an all-terrain vehicle."

She said crews were pulled from the line for safety reasons as the CL-415 water bomber helped with firefighting efforts Tuesday.

McCurdy said firefighting gets called off at night because of theincreasedrisks for firefighters and limits on thesupport available.

"In these circumstances, the crews will often start work at first light and then work till dusk, and then DNR and the fire departments will monitor the active fire overnight and work to protect structures," said McCurdy.

She said the area is mostly peat bog and black spruce, which makes it difficult to walk through.

"It's almost like walking in deep snow, you know it was like walking on pillows. So it can be hard to walk through and get equipment to it and with this limited access, they're having to carry equipment or get it moved in by aircraft," said McCurdy.

DNR has mobilized its incident management team, which will be looking after resources and logistics, from strategy and tactics to food and water for crews.

"They're also looking at getting more resources inbe it equipment, hoses, and ground personnel," she said.

CBC meteorologist Ryan Snoddonsaid Wednesday's easterly winds are lighter than Tuesday's, and are set to continue to ease through the evening.

"Amarine air mass moved in overnight and will remain in place into this evening. The higher relative humidity should help at least somewhat to slow the spread of the fire today," he said.

While there is still a chance of drizzle into Wednesday evening, Snoddon said it's not significant enough to have any real impact on the fire. As the sunshine returns on Thursday, the relative humidity will drop into the 35-45 per cent range in the afternoon.

"As the sun rises, northwest winds in the 10-20 km/h range are on the way for Thursday," Snoddon said. "Those winds will pushsmoke from the fire towards Shelburne and Queens counties."

McCurdy said a timeline for getting the fire under control will depend on weather conditions, and crews are hopeful for rain in the forecast.

"Sunday is looking like our break. We're hoping by Sunday, it may give us that chance to get it under control. But as for getting the fire completely out, it's going to take quite a few weeks."

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Out-of-control wildfire in Yarmouth County now covers 3,100 hectares - CBC.ca