Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian's secretary, announced his resignation after seven years, following tensions with the White House over its push for "patriotic" history. Bunch, 73, denied leaving due to criticism but admitted the role had become a strain, saying, "At a certain point, I'd like to wake up in the morning and not look at my cellphone."

President Trump had attacked the Smithsonian as an "out of control" institution, and a White House report accused the American History museum of "extreme political activism." Bunch defended the institution's mission to explore history in all its complexity, vowing to "stand against wind and tide to prevent history from being erased, softened and made palatable."

In related news, Britain imposed sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, with Canada and France following suit, accusing settlers of "ethnic cleansing." The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, criticized the move, while the American ambassador to Israel called the attackers "terrorists." Israeli officials, including former generals, denounced the violence.

Elsewhere, OpenAI claimed its new AI solved a math problem, the Navier-Stokes equations, in 88 hours. Meanwhile, a Chinese cargo ship completed a three-week Arctic journey, marking the first regular use of the Northern Sea Route, which is shorter but riskier than the Suez Canal. New York City also faced subway leaks due to heavy rain, prompting floodproofing efforts.