🌾 Kansas

• An Extreme Heat Warning covering the Kansas City metro through July 3 — combined with heat advisories across central and southern Kansas — is pushing heat-index values to 107°F, with officials warning that flood-soaked ground has spiked humidity levels and made the heat significantly more dangerous. →

• The Kansas Supreme Court unanimously upheld the death sentences of brothers Jonathan and Reginald Carr on June 26, ruling they are not entitled to resentencing for the December 2000 Wichita massacre that killed five people. →

• Kansas wheat farmers are reporting one of the worst winter-wheat harvests in recent memory, with some southwest Kansas producers abandoning up to 90% of their acres amid drought and persistent humidity slowing combines statewide. →

• Venkatesh Doppalaudi, 33, of Elkhorn, Nebraska, drowned after his vehicle was swept into floodwaters near Wellington in Sumner County, marking the first confirmed flood death from weeks of storms across south-central Kansas. →

• Kansas City closed out FIFA World Cup group-stage hosting June 27 with a 3-3 Algeria-Austria draw at Arrowhead Stadium, and the region now prepares for a Round of 32 knockout match July 3 — the first World Cup elimination game ever played there. →

🇺🇸 US

• The U.S. government directed OpenAI to launch its new Sol AI model as a limited preview rather than a full public release on June 24, 2026, while the company simultaneously revealed a custom inference chip called "Jalapeño," built with Broadcom in roughly nine months, targeting deployment by end of year. →

• Three federal wildland firefighters were killed and two injured June 27 in a burnover near the Colorado-Utah border while battling the Snyder-Mesa Fire, which has grown to roughly 28,000 acres amid extreme fire conditions across the region. →

• Alphabet replaced Verizon in the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective June 29, 2026, shifting the price-weighted index further toward artificial intelligence and cloud computing. →

• The U.S.-Iran ceasefire came under severe strain over the weekend after the U.S. struck Iranian air-defense and surveillance targets in response to attacks on Strait of Hormuz shipping, and Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones against American bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. →

• The 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage opened June 28 on U.S. soil with Canada defeating South Africa 1-0, as the U.S. men's national team advanced from Group D and is set to face Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1 in Santa Clara. →

Weather

JUNE 29 2007: APPLE RELEASES THE FIRST IPHONE

Apple releases the first iPhone, revolutionizing the mobile phone industry with its sleek design and pioneering multi-touch interface. By allowing users to pinch, zoom, and swipe directly on the screen, the device transforms how people communicate, access information, and interact with technology.