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Almanac for June 29, 2026

Today is Monday, June 29, the 180th day of 2026. There are 185 days left in the year. Today's highlight in history: In 2007, the first version of the iPhone went on sale to the public; over 2.3 billion iPhones have been sold to date. Also on this date: In 1520, Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan under unclear circumstances (some say he was killed by his own subjects; others, by the Spanish). In 1613, London’s original Globe Theatre, where many of William Shakespeare’s plays were performed, was destroyed by a fire sparked by a cannon shot ...

Mamdani’s victory strut premature

Yes, Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s socialist picks just knocked off some Democratic incumbents in New York City. They included surprising defeats, especially that of U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Espaillat lost to Darializa Avila Chevalier, whose social ...

Texas board adds Bible stories as required school reading

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas education board Friday approved a required reading list for more than 5 million public school students that includes Bible passages, widening conservative efforts to push Christian teachings in U.S. classrooms. The Texas State Board of Education, which is ...

Almanac for June 27, 2026

Today is Saturday, June 27, the 178th day of 2026. There are 187 days left in the year. Today in history: In 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. 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 1967, Barclays Bank unveiled the first automated teller machine (ATM) in the town of Enfield, north ...

Minimum wage fail

Not long ago, new kinds of jobs appeared: app-based gig work. They include jobs like dog walking on Rover, Taskrabbit work, DoorDash food delivery, Uber and Lyft driving ... Lots of people like gig work. It’s flexible. You work when you want to work. But “workers’ rights” activists ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation. The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders ...