Today is Thursday, June 26, the 177th day of 2025. There are 188 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On June 26, 2015, in its 5-4 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, ruling that state-level bans on same-sex marriage violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Also on this date:

In 1917, U.S. troops entered World War I as the first troops of the American Expeditionary Force landed in Saint-Nazaire, France.

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In 1945, the charter of the United Nations was signed by 50 countries in San Francisco.

In 1948, the Berlin Airlift began in earnest after the Soviet Union cut off land and water routes to the isolated western sector of Berlin.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy visited West Berlin, where he delivered his famous speech expressing solidarity with the city’s residents, declaring: “Ich bin ein Berliner” (“I am a Berliner”).

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced the U.S. had launched missiles against Iraqi targets because of “compelling evidence” Iraq had plotted to assassinate former President George H.W. Bush.

In 1996, in the case of United States v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Virginia Military Institute’s male-only admission policy violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. (VMI enrolled its first female cadets the following year.)

In 1997, the first Harry Potter novel, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling, was published in the United Kingdom. It was later released in the United States under the title “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

In 2008, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia as it affirmed, 5-4, that an individual’s right to gun ownership is protected by the Second Amendment.

In 2013, in the case of United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court gave the nation’s legally married same-sex couples equal federal footing with all other married Americans, and cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California in a separate decision.

Today’s Birthdays:

Jazz musician-composer Dave Grusin is 91.
Singer Billy Davis Jr. is 87.
Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician Gilberto Gil is 83.
Basketball Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer is 72.
Musician Mick Jones (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite) is 70.
Musician Chris Isaak is 69.
Cyclist Greg LeMond is 64.
Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe is 57.
Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson is 55.
Actor Sean Hayes is 55.
Actor Chris O’Donnell is 55.
Actor Nick Offerman is 55.
Country musician Gretchen Wilson is 52.
Baseball Hall of Famer Derek Jeter is 51.
Actor Jason Schwartzman is 45.
Actor Aubrey Plaza is 41.
Actor-author Jennette McCurdy is 33.
Singer-actor Ariana Grande is 32.
Actor Jacob Elordi is 28.

Bongi Hlongwane’s mother and younger brother are not just good-luck charms. They brought great luck all the way from South Africa.

Hlongwane’s mother, Sherry Bhengu, and his brother Gift Bhengu, traveled to Minnesota last week to see their loved one play in-person for the first time on Wednesday.

Hlongwane scored two goals — only his second and third goals of the season — in the Loons’ 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo at Allianz Field.

After Hlongwane’s first goal, he hopped over the advertising boards and walked up into the stands to celebrate with them. Bhengu didn’t know her son was allowed to do that, but it made for a heartwarming scene.

“It was mixed emotions,” Bhengu told the Pioneer Press of seeing her son succeed in the goal right in front of them. “I was nervous, ready and feeling pride. I didn’t know what to think.”

The surreal experience paled in comparison to waking up in the middle of the night to watch games on Apple TV on the other side of the world. When Hlongwane scored Wednesday night, it was around 4 a.m. Thursday in his home country.

Speel steady

Loons rookie goalkeeper Wessel Speel allowed only one goal late in stoppage time on Wednesday, a big improvement after a rocky MLS debut in the 4-2 loss to San Diego on June 14.

While the late goal ruined a clean sheet, the 23-year-old Dutchman made one save and the overall evening was a vast departure after he got chipped from midfield and allowed a penalty kick to sneak underneath him against San Diego.

Speel also rewarded the faith head coach Eric Ramsay put in him and not going to fellow back-up Alec Smir as the team tries to cover for regular goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who is with Team Canada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Early plot twist

An uneventful first half ended on a potential game-changing call.

Michael Boxall was whistled for penalty for his right foot apparently hitting the right leg of Houston’s Sebastian Kowalczyk in stoppage time.

Referee Sergii Demianchuck pointed to the PK spot. Ramsay and fans at Allianz Field were dismayed.

But Demianchuck went to the monitor for review and determined the contact happened outside the box and Houston’s free kick ended up being harmless to the Loons.

Three tidbits

After a scoreless first half, the Loons (9-4-6, 33 points) surged to avoid a letdown against Houston (5-9-5, 20 points). … With Canada playing at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, St. Clair, Oluwaseyi and coach Jesse Marsch watched Loons in St. Paul on Wednesday. … With Speel running out of short-term loans, a first-team contract, via one of the supplemental roster spots, is in the Dutchman’s near future.

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What’s better than one French center?

Two.

That’s the route Minnesota is taking, as the Timberwolves nabbed Joan Beringer to backup Rudy Gobert. Beringer, 18, was drafted with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round of Wednesday’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-11 Frenchman played last season for Cedevita Olimpija in Slovenia.

“I’m happy. I’m very happy,” Beringer said. “And also to play with Rudy Gobert, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Beringer, who stands at 6 foot 11 with a 7 foot, 4.5 inch wingspan, just started playing basketball four years ago but has impressed with his athleticism, size and motor as he’s climbed the French ranks. He was touted as one of the best, if not the best, rim protector in this year’s draft class, with the athleticism to play a variety of defensive coverages.

He’s a lob threat and a rim runner who fits well into the young group of athletes Minnesota is assembling. Despite his youth, Beringer will come to America and join the Wolves’ organization this next season.

There is an opening for a center of the future within Minnesota’s organization with Gobert at 33 years old. The Wolves played largely sans a true backup center last season.

The Timberwolves also have some questions about frontcourt depth this offseason with both Naz Reid and Julius Reid having player options this summer that, if they were to be declined, could allow both forwards to enter free agency this offseason. Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has stated the team’s goal is to retain both players.

But Beringer feels like a pick with the distant future in mind. Minnesota is in a position with a currently competitive roster to where it can continue to add young talent to its cupboard in a new apron salary cap era, where cores can only be kept together for so long.

On his Game Theory live podcast Thursday night, draft analyst Sam Vecenie said the Beringer selection was “like the easiest pick in the world.”

“Beringer is a real developmental player. He is an incredible athlete. Like an unbelievable athlete,” Vecenie said. “Super long arms, great hands, catches everything in his area. Moves like a wing. Moves at a level that no other big in this class really achieves.”

Yes, Vecenie acknowledged Beringer is “raw.” It will take time for the big man to grow into a contributing role for the Wolves.

“There is legitimately no better player for Beringer to learn from in the NBA than Rudy Gobert, because this is the exact archetype. This is exactly what it is,” Vecenie said. “So I think this is a great pick from Tim Connelly. I think it makes a ton of sense, and I am a huge fan of what they’ve done here.”

Now it’s on the Wolves to commit to Beringer’s development. That’s been a strength of Minnesota’s in recent years. And the teenager seems committed to the work. When asked what his message to Wolves fans is, Beringer responded, “I will give everything for you.”

“I will give my energy, my defense. I want to improve to be the best and I want to keep on this way,” Beringer said. “To practice hard every day, this is my goal. I’m very happy to have the chance to play for Minnesota.”

As Boston showed this week, when it had to trade Kristaps Porizingis and Jrue Holiday from its 2024 title team to duck under the second apron, financial constraints will force teams to continue to turn pages from one edition of their rosters to the next every couple seasons to remain in salary cap compliance.

So, while trading draft picks for players who can upgrade the roster in the moment may be intriguing, selecting players like Beringer who can come in, develop and eventually contribute on cost-controlled contracts helps extend Minnesota’s competitive window for years to come with Anthony Edwards serving as the focal point.

The presence of a fellow countryman like Gobert will not only help Beringer make the transition to living in America, but it’s also a prototype of the dominant defensive player Beringer can hope to emulate in years to come as Minnesota hopes to maintain a consistent defensive, physical identity around its superstar.

This is another step in that direction.

Minnesota also owns the No. 31 pick in this draft, which will be the first selection in the second round on Thursday.

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Minnesota became the latest state Wednesday to face a lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to force it to give its high school graduates who entered the U.S. illegally as immigrants the same lower tuition rates reserved for in-state citizens.

In addition to targeting the 2013 Minnesota Dream Act, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit also seeks to strike down a new law that allows the same immigrant students to receive scholarships covering part or all of their tuition under the state’s North Star Promise program, which debuted last fall. The department filed its case in federal district court in Minnesota, naming Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants, along with the state’s Office of Higher Education.

The Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits this month against policies in Kentucky and Texas. Last week, a federal judge in Texas blocked that state’s law giving a tuition break to students living in the U.S. illegally after the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, said he supported the legal challenge.

Walz’s office said it is reviewing the lawsuit “to better understand what this means for the state.”

Justice Department says state discriminates against US citizens

The lawsuit argued that Minnesota is “flagrantly violating” a federal law that prevents states from providing a benefit in higher education to resident students living in the U.S. illegally if U.S. citizens cannot receive the same benefits. States generally set higher tuition rates for out-of-state students.

Also, President Donald Trump issued executive orders in February directing federal agencies to see that public benefits do not go to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and to challenge state and local policies seen as favoring those immigrants over some citizens. The lawsuit argues that the Republican president’s orders enforce federal immigration laws.

The lawsuit also argues that Minnesota’s policies discriminate against U.S. citizens.

“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.

More lawsuits could be coming

The Justice Department’s lawsuit in Minnesota noted the cases filed earlier this month in Kentucky and Texas but did not mention any other states as potential targets of litigation. However, in discussing the Texas case, Bondi has suggested more lawsuits might be coming.

Last year, Florida ended its tuition break for students living there illegally, but at least 21 states have laws or policies granting them, in addition to the University of Michigan system, according to the National Immigration Law Center, which favors them. Those states include Democratic-leaning ones such as California and New York, but also GOP-leaning ones like Kansas and Nebraska.

According to the center, at least 16 states allow the immigrant students to receive scholarships or other aid to go to college.

States deny discrimination against US citizens

Supporters of the state tuition breaks argue that they don’t violate federal law if they provide the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances — meaning they are residents of the state and graduates of one of its high schools.

Generally states have imposed other requirements. For example, Minnesota requires male students to have registered with the U.S. Selective Service System and all students to be seeking legal resident status if that’s possible.

Backers of the laws also argue that the students generally were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, often when they were far younger, and are as much a part of their local communities as U.S.-born students. Also, they contend that such immigrants tend to be motivated high achievers.