Perhaps one of most intriguing things to happen during Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night was a mid-game hug between friends.

With just days to go until the trade deadline on Thursday evening, hug watch is in full effect and so when closer Jhoan Duran embraced bullpen catcher Frank Nigro like usual and it was caught on the team’s television broadcast, the hug made waves across the internet.

No, Duran hasn’t been traded yet — and he might not be. But for a few minutes mid-game, Twins fans were left wondering.

Duran did not pitch on Tuesday, but plenty of his bullpenmates did, as the Twins ran rookie Pierson Ohl out for his major league debut and then followed with a quartet of relievers.

Ohl, who was added to the roster on Tuesday in place of Chris Paddack, whom the Twins traded to the Detroit Tigers a day earlier, started in his place. After a first inning in which he recorded his first, second and third career strikeouts, Ohl got some help from the defense behind him.

Harrison Bader, playing center in place of Byron Buxton whom the Twins placed on the injured list with ribcage inflammation before the game, leapt up and snagged Wilyer Abreu’s deep fly ball, robbing him of his 21st home run of the season. Ohl wasn’t quite as lucky in the third inning, his final frame, when the Red Sox tagged him for four runs, including two on a Trevor Story home run, well beyond the reach of Bader, who again leapt for it.

The Red Sox added a run each off Michael Tonkin, Kody Funderburk and two off Louie Varland, while Twins offense had few answers for Boston starter Lucas Giolito. Giolito lasted six innings in his start, the only run he gave up coming on a Brooks Lee RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Lee, who had the walk-off hit in the Twins’ win over the Red Sox a night earlier, hit two home runs in the loss driving in all five of the Twins’ runs on a day when he was not even in the starting lineup. In doing so, he became just the sixth Twin to homer from both sides of the plate in a game. The infielder entered in the third inning for shortstop Carlos Correa, who departed after two innings with an illness.

Security at the Minnesota Capitol is facing greater scrutiny after guards found a naked man in the Senate chambers late last Friday. But any major changes to security at the state government complex may have to wait until action from lawmakers and further review of security measures by the State Patrol.

State public safety leaders on Tuesday told reporters that they’ll be conducting an internal review of the circumstances that led to a 36-year-old man with mental health issues gaining access to the Capitol and Senate chambers last week.

Colonel and Chief of the Minnesota State Patrol Christina Bogojevic speaks during a press conference to discuss Capitol security concerns at the Capitol building in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

That comes on top of the State Patrol’s plan to hire an outside group for a “full security assessment” at the complex. It’ll be funded through the agency’s budget, though the exact cost is yet to be determined, according to State Patrol Chief Col. Christina Bogojevic.

Security boosted since fatal shootings

Officials said conversations about a review had already started following last month’s fatal shootings of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their home in Brooklyn Park and the shootings of Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their home in Champlin.

The Capitol Security division of the Minnesota State Patrol says it has boosted security at the Capitol complex since the June 14 shootings, though it has largely avoided providing specifics.

The building is open to the public during business hours and is among a minority of state capitols that do not have security measures like X-ray machines or metal detectors.

Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson said more security measures are on the way, though he didn’t announce any major changes Tuesday. It likely will be up to state lawmakers to make final decisions on closing many of the Capitol’s unsecured entrances or installing new security features.

“Our preference is to work with legislative partners. Our preference is to work with those that are utilizing the Capitol,” he told reporters. “It’s the people’s house. We also want to make sure that we keep it as safe as we can. We need to walk that balance between having an open capital and that security and safety that people would expect.”

Jacobson said Capitol security is considering reducing the number of open entrances at the complex, but that they hadn’t made any final determination.

The complex, which is made up of 20 buildings, is patrolled 24 hours a day and has nearly 1,000 security cameras, according to the State Patrol. Many doors are controlled with card readers, though others are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Not all the doors have alarms to indicate when they are left open, public safety officials said.

Minneapolis man charged with trespassing

Dominic T. Peace, the Minneapolis man now facing a felony charge for trespassing in the Capitol, propped open a mechanical room door with a wooden wedge, according to the criminal complaint. He later made his way to the Senate chambers, where guards would eventually find him sitting in the Senate President’s chair.

Officers took Peace to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, though he returned to the Capitol grounds two more times before he was arrested Saturday night on an unrelated warrant from Wisconsin.

The gate at the main door the Senate Chambers at the Minnesota Capitol Building in St. Paul on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Law enforcement officials haven’t said how Peace gained access to the Senate, which has large, sliding wooden doors and is usually secured by a metal gate when not in session.

Bogojevic said Capitol Security was not short-staffed the night they found the intruder, and that no one on security staff has been placed on leave following the incident. Asked if anyone would be held accountable for the breach, Bogojevic said answers would come after further review.

“All of that will become more clear as we continue to look at footage, as we continue to look at what occurred in those hours when he entered the building,” she said.

Calls for review by legislative auditor

Beyond the internal and third-party reviews, there also have been calls for a special review by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, the state government’s nonpartisan watchdog agency.

Sen. Kim Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights, on Monday asked the office to review security for lawmakers inside and outside the Capitol.

Legislative Auditor Judy Randall said her agency had received several requests and would make a decision after reviewing additional information over the coming weeks.

Some changes in the works

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has been pushing for more security at the Capitol. He’s also been critical of how agencies shared information during last month’s shootings of two lawmakers and their spouses.

In a letter this week, he continued to press Capitol security officials for answers on which agencies or individuals are responsible for notifying lawmakers and law enforcement about violent threats.

Some changes to security in the Capitol neighborhood are already in the works. Ramsey County received $3 million in state funds this year to help fund public safety efforts, including two sheriff’s deputies to patrol a 60-block area around the Capitol.

The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security, a bipartisan panel chaired by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, said it hopes to boost security but has so far avoided advocating for any specific changes.

The committee is scheduled to meet again in August and could discuss new measures.

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Breaking news update: Hawaii and parts of Japan downgraded their tsunami warnings to advisories after a powerful earthquake.

TOKYO — One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck off Russia’s sparsely populated Far East early Wednesday, sending tsunami waves into Japan, Hawaii and the U.S. West Coast. Several people were injured, but none gravely, and no major damage has been reported so far.

Authorities warned the risk from the 8.8 magnitude quake could last for hours, and millions of people potentially in the path of the waves were initially told to move away from the shore or seek high ground. But the danger already appeared to be lessening, with Hawaii and parts of Japan downgrading their warnings.

Residents fled inland as ports flooded on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula near the quake’s epicenter, while frothy, white waves washed up on the shore in northern Japan. Cars jammed streets and highways in Honolulu, with standstill traffic even in areas away from the sea.

People flocked to evacuation centers in affected areas of Japan, with memories fresh of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused reactor meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. No abnormalities in operations at Japan’s nuclear plants were reported Wednesday.

Russian authorities said several people were injured, but said all were in stable condition, though they gave few details. In Japan, at least one person was injured.

A tsunami height of 3 to 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) was recorded in Kamchatka, 60 centimeters (2 feet) on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, while tsunami waves about 2 to 5 feet high reached San Francisco early Wednesday, officials said.

Much of the West Coast, spanning California, Oregon, Washington state, and the Canadian province of British Columbia, were under a tsunami advisory.

Hawaii downgrades to tsunami advisory

Hawaii was still under a tsunami advisory as Wednesday began, but evacuation orders on the Big Island and Oahu, the most populated island, had been lifted.

An advisory means there is the potential for strong currents and dangerous waves, as well as flooding on beaches or in harbors.

“As you return home, still stay off the beach and stay out of the water,” said James Barros, administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

The impact of the tsunami could last for hours or perhaps more than a day, said Dave Snider, tsunami warning coordinator with the National Tsunami Warning Center in Alaska.

“A tsunami is not just one wave,” he said. “It’s a series of powerful waves over a long period of time. Tsunamis cross the ocean at hundreds of miles an hour — as fast as a jet airplane — in deep water. But when they get close to the shore, they slow down and start to pile up. And that’s where that inundation problem becomes a little bit more possible there.”

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green earlier said Black Hawk helicopters were activated and high-water vehicles ready to go in case authorities needed to rescue people.

The Oregon Department of Emergency Management said on Facebook that small tsunami waves were expected along the coast. It urged people to stay away from beaches, harbors and marinas and to remain in a safe location away from the coast until the advisory is lifted.

“This is not a major tsunami, but dangerous currents and strong waves may pose a risk to those near the water,” the department said.

A tsunami of less than 30 centimeters (under 1 foot) was forecast to hit parts of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and waves of up to 1.4 feet (under 30 centimeters) above tide levels were observed in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Russian regions report limited damage

Russia’s Oceanology Institute said tsunami waves might have been as high as 10 to 15 meters (30 to 50 feet) in some sections of the Kamchatka coast.

In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatka’s regional capital, the quake damaged a local kindergarten, which was not in operation at the time because it was being renovated.

Oleg Melnikov, head of the regional health department, said a few people hurt themselves while rushing to leave buildings and a hospital patient was injured while jumping out of a window. Melnikov said that all injured people were stable.

A video released by Russian media outlet showed a team of doctors at a cancer clinic on Kamchatka holding a patient and clutching medical equipment as the quake rocked an operating room, before continuing with surgery after the shaking stopped.

Authorities introduced a state of emergency on the sparsely populated Kurils — which are between Kamchatka and Japan — after the tsunami. They earlier reported that several waves flooded the fishing port of Severo-Kurilsk, the main city on the islands, and cut power supplies to the area. The port’s mayor said no major damage was recorded.

Among the world’s strongest recorded quakes

The quake struck at 8:25 a.m. Japan time with a magnitude of 8.8 magnitude and a depth of about 21 kilometers (13 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It was centered about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Multiple aftershocks as strong as 6.9 magnitude followed.

The earthquake appeared to be the strongest recorded since the 9.0 magnitude earthquake off northeastern Japan in March 2011 that caused a massive tsunami that set off meltdowns at a nuclear power plant. Only a few stronger earthquakes have ever been measured around the world.

Japanese nuclear power plants reported no abnormalities. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant damaged by the 2011 tsunami said about 4,000 workers are taking shelter on higher ground at the plant complex while monitoring remotely to ensure safety.

The tsunami alert disrupted transportation in Japan, with ferries, trains and airports in the affected area suspending or delaying some operations.

A tsunami of 60 centimeters (2 feet) was recorded at Hamanaka town in Hokkaido and Kuji port in Iwate, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Several areas reported smaller waves including 20 centimeters (8 inches) in Tokyo Bay five hours after the quake.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency partially downgraded its tsunami alert to an advisory in the Pacific coast south of Fukushima, with the alert still in place farther north.

In Japan’s northern coastal town of Matsushima, dozens of residents took refuge at an evacuation center, where water bottles were distributed. One person told NHK she came to the facility without hesitation based on the lesson from the 2011 tsunami.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi warned evacuees that they may not be able to return home by the end of the day, as the tsunami waves could remain high.

Authorities in the Philippines, Mexico and New Zealand also warned residents to watch for waves and strong currents. People were also urged to stay away from coastlines until any wave surges passed in Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Federated States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands.

Earlier in July, five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea near Kamchatka. The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

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A couple was headed west on Minnesota 36 in Little Canada late one night in May when a large rock crashed through their windshield.

When the driver, a 26-year-old woman, pulled over to the side of the highway, just past Rice Street, she realized that her “right arm was dangling” and that a large rock was in her SUV, according to charges filed against the alleged culprit.

Willie Charles Lassiter Jr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Willie Charles Lassiter Jr., 27, of Minneapolis, was charged Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of felony second-degree assault in connection with May 29 incident.

Lassiter is currently in prison for violating terms of probation in a previous Washington County case.

A defense attorney is not listed in Tuesday’s case file.

According to the criminal complaint:

A Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputy was parked on Rice Street, just north of 36, and saw a man walking north from the east side of the overpass toward a nearby McDonald’s restaurant about 10:37 p.m. May 29.

About a minute later, 911 dispatch received a call from a 25-year-old man who said someone had just dropped a rock onto their Ford Escape SUV from the Rice Street Bridge and that his girlfriend’s arm was broken.

A Minnesota State Patrol Trooper responded and found the SUV pulled to the side of the road.

The woman said the rock crashed through the windshield, hit her arm and landed on the passenger side floorboard. She was transported to the hospital, where she had surgery to repair her fractured arm.

Meanwhile, the deputy who had seen the man leaving the overpass shortly before the incident caught up with him as he left the McDonald’s on Rice Street. The man, who was identified as Lassiter, acknowledged having crossed the overpass, but claimed to have seen two women crossing the other direction at the same time. He was sent on his way.

Surveillance video

In a follow-up interview, the woman said that before they approached the bridge from the east, she heard a “big boom” and then saw the rock in her SUV. She noted that the SUV has a sunroof, where the rock could have fallen through, and added that they easily could have been killed from the incident.

She said that she was going through physical and occupational therapy for her arm injury, and that her boyfriend had suffered cuts to his arms and face.

Police had recovered the rock from the SUV. It was found to match those in a Metro Transit park-and-ride just southeast of 36 and Rice Street.

Surveillance video was recovered that showed Lassiter shoplifting items at a Cub Foods just south of the park-and-ride, the complaint says. At 10:34 p.m., he bent over toward the landscape rocks, appeared to pick something up and walked toward the overpass along the east sidewalk. He disappeared from view.

Just over a minute later, the SUV was seen on video going under the overpass, then braking. No other pedestrians were on the overpass at that time.

An investigator received information that Lassiter was staying with his mother, and called her number. A man who claimed to be Lassiter’s brother answered and repeatedly asked what questions the investigator had for Lassiter. The investigator later learned Lassiter does not have a brother.

Criminal history

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Lassiter has an extensive criminal record that dates back to 2014 and includes an April first-degree burglary conviction out of Hennepin County. He was sentenced to a three-year prison term, which was then stayed, and ordered to serve six months in the workhouse, with an April 15 report date. He didn’t show up that day, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

In the Washington County case that sent him to prison last week, Lassiter was found passed out behind the wheel in the area of Hastings Avenue and Bailey Road in Newport just before 7 a.m. April 12, 2021. He failed field sobriety tests, but a preliminary breath test did not detect alcohol use. A blood sample later showed the presence of methadone and cocaine, the criminal complaint says.

Lassiter pleaded guilty to DWI and in September 2022 he was given a stayed three-year prison term, six months in the workhouse and five years’ probation. A judge revoked the stayed sentence July 23 after Lassiter violated four conditions of his probation, including failing to remain law-abiding, court records show.