📊 Khamenei Funeral, America 250 Weekend, and Datacenter Debate

Iranian mourning, patriotism kickoff, and grid strain.

Jul 03, 2026

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🌎 GLOBAL NEWS

🇮🇷 Iran mourns Khamenei. Iran prepared Friday for days of funeral ceremonies for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He was killed in the war at age 86. Banners across Tehran urged public support for the Islamic Republic. State media said millions were expected in the streets beginning Saturday. The scenes were expected to echo the 1989 burial of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin sat at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla. Coffins of family members killed with him were displayed nearby. They included a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, and a 14-month-old granddaughter. His granddaughter was Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani. Iran’s new Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, his son. Mojtaba remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf attended. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian also paid respects. A red “Ya Hussein” flag invoked martyrdom and vengeance. Iran turned mourning into theater, and theater into leverage.

🇹🇷 Erdogan gets Trump edge. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters next week’s summit with an unusual advantage. President Trump is attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gathering in Turkey partly because Erdogan asked. Trump has praised Erdogan as a friend and leader. He said he would not have gone for most people. Erdogan’s request helped avoid the disorder Trump’s absence could have created. The alliance remains unsettled by Trump’s threats to reduce America’s role in Europe. Trump has also clashed with members over their reluctance to support his Iran war. The visit could include defense news favorable to Turkey. Ankara wants F-110 jet engines and F-35 fighter jets. Turkey was barred from the F-35 program in 2019. That followed its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system. American officials feared the system could expose F-35 capabilities to Moscow. Vice President JD Vance said Washington is exploring possible jet sales. Congress still has bipartisan resistance. Erdogan found the shortest route through NATO’s maze.

🇺🇸 LOCAL NEWS

🎆 Heat shadows America 250. America’s 250th anniversary festivities accelerated Friday under punishing heat. President Trump planned to travel to South Dakota for Mount Rushmore fireworks. He was also set to deliver a speech there. In New York, Times Square planned a midnight ball drop for July 4th. Military flyovers shook Washington. Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivered New York’s own anniversary address. He described America as a nation of contradictions still seeking its founding promise. In Washington, Glenn Brooks, a January 6th participant pardoned by Trump, praised the celebration. The main event comes Saturday with fireworks across the country. Trump is expected to speak again on the National Mall. Organizers billed the Washington fireworks as historically massive. Heat warnings complicated the pageantry. Officials urged hydration and air-conditioned breaks. Philadelphia canceled its Salute to Independence parade. The Great American State Fair shut down early despite more than 200 people waiting for the Ferris wheel. America threw itself a birthday party while the thermometer worked security.

🔥 Colorado blaze forces evacuations. A wildfire southwest of Denver forced thousands to evacuate. The Aspen Acres fire destroyed more than 160 structures. Erratic winds pushed it across Custer and Pueblo counties. The fire expanded overnight by 17 square miles. That brought it to nearly 105 square miles. Officials said it had zero containment. Fire crews scooped water from Pueblo Reservoir. Colorado City, an unincorporated community of about 2,200, was ordered evacuated. Beulah, Rye, and San Isabel were also ordered out. About 50 National Guard soldiers were being deployed. They were assigned to staff checkpoints in Custer and Pueblo counties. Guard members also helped keep boaters away from water-scooping operations. The fire is one of roughly 40 uncontained large blazes, mostly in the West. Months of dry weather and record-low snow helped feed the risk. The West did not enter fire season, it was handed a match with the receipt already signed.

🗂️ MISC

🏭 Data centers heat debate. Extreme heat is intensifying tensions around data centers. In Lowell, Massachusetts, 82-year-old Eileen Castle will not fill her pool this summer. She said the Markley Group data center behind her house brings noise and generator fumes. The site sits near homes and a ballpark in the Sacred Heart neighborhood. State Representative Tara Hong called the area largely working-class and low-income. The district is also heavily Cambodian American. Heat waves raise electricity demand for data centers. Artificial intelligence (AI) growth has made those facilities a political flashpoint. Shaolei Ren, a University of California, Riverside professor, called heat waves nearly the worst scenario for data centers. Refrigeration cooling uses heavy electricity. Evaporative cooling uses heavy water. Backup diesel generators can worsen local air quality. Markley Group says it has planted more than 2K nearby trees. CEO Jeff Markley said generators run only in emergencies and brief tests. Lowell’s City Council voted 10-0 to halt further data center expansion for a year. AI promised the cloud, then asked the neighborhood for water, power, and lungs.

📈 AI shares split markets. World shares were mixed Friday after the Dow hit a record. Some artificial intelligence (AI) shares bounced back. Others extended losses. American markets were closed for the Independence Day holiday. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500) futures gained 0.3%. Dow futures slipped 0.2%. Germany’s DAX rose 0.4%. Paris’ CAC 40 edged 0.1% lower. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4%. South Korea’s Kospi rebounded 5.8% after sinking nearly 8% Thursday. Samsung Electronics ($005930.KS) rose 8.2%. SK Hynix ($000660.KS) jumped 10.9%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 advanced 1.5%. Tokyo Electron ($8035.T) rose 0.4%. Kioxia ($285A.T) jumped 9.2%. The AI trade regained footing abroad, but its limp still set the rhythm.