Today is Friday, June 27, the 178th day of 2025. There are 187 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On June 27, 1957, Hurricane Audrey slammed into coastal Louisiana and Texas as a Category 4 storm, causing as many as 600 deaths.

Also on this date:

In 1844, Mormon leader Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were killed by a mob in Carthage, Illinois.

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In 1950, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution calling on member nations to help South Korea repel an invasion from the North.

In 1991, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black jurist to sit on the nation’s highest court, announced his retirement.

In 2005, BTK serial killer Dennis Rader pleaded guilty to 10 murders that had spread fear across Wichita, Kansas, beginning in the 1970s.

In 2006, a constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag died in a U.S. Senate cliff-hanger, falling one vote short of the 67 needed to send it to states for ratification.

In 2011, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted by a federal jury in Chicago on a wide range of corruption charges, including the allegation that he’d tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. (Blagojevich was later sentenced to 14 years in prison; his sentence was commuted by President Donald Trump in February 2020, and he received a full and unconditional pardon from Trump in February 2025.)

In 2018, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, whose vote often decided cases on abortion, gay rights and other contentious issues, announced his retirement.

In 2022, in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, the Supreme Court ruled that a high school football coach who sought to kneel and pray on the field after games was protected by the First Amendment.

Today’s Birthdays:

Musician Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) is 83.
Fashion designer Norma Kamali is 80.
Fashion designer Vera Wang is 76.
Actor Julia Duffy is 74.
Actor Isabelle Adjani is 70.
Cinematographer Janusz Kamiński is 66.
Country singer Lorrie Morgan is 66.
Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai is 63.
Writer-producer-director J.J. Abrams is 59.
Actor Tobey Maguire is 50.
Reality TV star Khloé Kardashian is 41.
Actor Sam Claflin is 39.
Actor Ed Westwick is 38.
NFL linebacker Bobby Wagner is 35.
Actor Madylin Sweeten (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) is 34.
Singer-songwriter H.E.R. is 28.
Actor Chandler Riggs (“The Walking Dead”) is 26.

Congress has unanimously passed a resolution honoring the lives of Minnesota state House DFL Leader Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and condemning political violence.

The resolution, as introduced by Minnesota’s congressional delegation, honors Rep. Hortman for her “devotion to public service” and extends wishes to Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, for their full recovery. The Hortmans were assassinated at their suburban Minneapolis home on June 14. The Hoffmans were shot in a related attack and continue to recover. A suspect was arrested the next day and charged with murder by federal and state prosecutors.

The resolution calls on community leaders and elected officials to publicly and “unequivocally denounce acts of political violence and for citizens to “reaffirm the commitment … to a safe, civil and peaceful democracy in which violent rhetoric and acts are not tolerated.”

The resolution was unanimously approved by the House on Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday.

It was introduced by Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats; Minnesota Reps. Kelly Morrison, D, Betty McCollum, D, Tom Emmer, R, Pete Stauber, R, Angie Craig, D, Ilhan Omar, D, Michelle Fischbach, R, and Brad Finstad, R; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Morrison spoke on the House floor Wednesday morning ahead of the vote, saying the shootings should become a “watershed moment” for the country.

“As elected representatives for the people of the United States of America, we have to take responsibility for our roles in this moment,” Morrison said. “As elected leaders, we play a prominent role in setting the tone. … In creating the atmosphere. … In shaping the narrative. … In determining what becomes normalized. And this cannot be normalized.”

The Hortmans and their dog Gilbert, who also died as a result of the shootings, will lie in state at the Minnesota Capitol from noon to 5 p.m. Friday ahead of a private funeral on Saturday.

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The Timberwolves liked what they found so much in Round 1 of the NBA draft on Wednesday, they decided to do it again a day later.

Another round, another 18-year-old, 7-footer.

After multiple trade downs, Minnesota selected Australian center Rocco Zikarsky with the 45th overall selection of the second round of the NBA draft.

Zikarsky is a 7-foot-3 big man with the potential to expand his shooting range. He has a swimming background and has trained locally here in the Twin Cities in recent weeks. While Timberwolves basketball boss Tim Connelly admitted Zikarsky is “a long-term play,” he also added the team was “fired up” to get him.

“He has an appreciation for Minnesota and enjoys being around here. We had a great workout with him,” Connelly said. “We had him much higher on the board. It’s fun to add young players with energy.”

Minnesota opened the day with the first pick of the second round, No. 31 overall. That left many fans hoping the Timberwolves would select St. Joseph’s big, physical wing Rasheer Fleming, who can hit the 3-point shot at a high rate.

But those hopes vanquished when Minnesota traded with Phoenix, swapping No. 31 for No. 36, picking up a pair of future second rounders in the process. During the draft, Minnesota moved back from No. 36 to No. 45, picking up cash from the Lakers before finally picking Zikarsky, who is likely to land with the Wolves this season on a two-way contract that will allow him to develop in Iowa for much of the season with the G-League club.

Connelly called having the No. 31 pick in the second season of the NBA’s new two-night draft setup “fascinating.” He called it “curious” how agent-driven the draft was at that point. The Wolves were calling players throughout the day, and Connelly fould “there were 20 deals done” before the round began.

“You know, 31 is fun,” he said, “but it’s probably not as fun as we thought was gonna be.”

Connelly said Thursday’s draft board movement was done largely with the team’s current roster in mind.

Minnesota is pressed against the salary cap and hopes to retain at least Naz Reid and Julius Randle, if not also Nickeil Alexander-Walker while dodging the second apron. That means ducking unnecessary salaries while also accruing future assets.

“There were players that we really liked,” Connelly said. “But you can’t just add, add, add, add. When we looked at the board and we were aware of what the offseason might look like … we thought moving down and adding assets, and assets that are down the line that hopefully we can utilize with a pick or with a trade.”

Connelly noted Minnesota has dealt a number of future picks. So, the more it can recoup, the better off it is. Minnesota now has two additional second-rounders.

“Draft night is so much fun, but sometimes it’s like buying a car,” Connelly said. “The minute you drive off the lot, it loses half its value. So, we wanted to keep as many balls in play. … I think you just want to be as flexible and nimble as possible. And we were lucky. We walked away with a couple of future assets. We walked away with roster flexibility.”

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