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How to Tell the American Story (Al Drago / The Washington Post / Getty)   View in browser Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch plans to retire from the institution at the end of this year, bringing to a close a tenure marked by unprecedented pressure on the museum complex from a White House keen on controlling how to tell the nation’s history. After a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed the departure to The Atlantic, Bunch addressed Smithsonian employees at a town hall this afternoon, telling them, “I may be going away, but I’m still going to be a pain in the ass to some people.” The crowd of staffers, who spilled out of an auditorium and into an overflow room at the Hirshhorn Museum, clapped and cheered, even as some likely wondered: Why now? In conversations with intimates, Bunch, who became secretary in 2019, has been floating his retirement since at least the beginning of this year. But the increased attention from the White House surely made stepping down an even more delicate decision. Bunch, who is 73, tried to deflect any notion that his departure was Trump-related, telling staffers, “I now realize that I’m old as dirt, and it’s time for the next chapter in my life.” He also suggested that the timing may have been influenced by his wife, Maria Marable-Bunch, who recently retired from the National Museum of the American Indian. “The Smithsonian represents more than a career to me; it’s been an integral part of who I am,” he said. “I think about during the many years here, I met the love of my life, who’s retired and told me I better retire soon.” Bunch emphasized at the meeting and in an email to staff that his next chapter will allow him to “continue to protect the integrity of the Smithsonian and to champion the importance of a history that illuminates and symbolizes the complex story of our nation,” though he did not offer further details. One Smithsonian staffer, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record, told us that while “as a secretary, he has to be very polite and decorous,” Bunch can be noisier outside the institution. Still, that will likely come in a measured form, characteristic of Bunch. As the staffer put it: “He’s not a real bomb-thrower, usually.” The person described the secretary as an exceptionally popular leader among staff: “He’s one of the rare people in Washington everyone seems to like. Well, except, you know, certain people, obviously.” Bunch’s exit will leave the Smithsonian, which is largely federally funded, with a vacancy at the top as it faces escalating efforts from the Trump administration to influence its work. Bunch, known to be diplomatic and evenhanded, had largely staved off the White House’s encroachment over a tumultuous 18 months in which the administration issued executive orders and letters criticizing the museums and threatened to withhold funding. In July, President Trump signed an executive order calling for signage to be added to the exterior of the National Museum of American History warning about what the administration claims is an inaccurate and partisan telling of history. Smithsonian leaders have countered that telling the American story fairly and accurately means discussing its complexities too. In a news release, Bunch said: “There is no place like the Smithsonian—it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have accomplished together. I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.” The chair of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, Franklin D. Raines, thanked Bunch for his service and said the institution’s governing body will be “focused on ensuring stability during this time of transition.” He said that the Smithsonian would soon announce an acting secretary and begin a search for Bunch’s successor. “There are some very strong internal candidates,” Kim Sajet, the former director of the National Portrait Gallery, told us today. Before becoming secretary of the entire Smithsonian, Bunch was the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which has been widely praised for its powerful handling of the darkest chapters of America’s past. In Bunch, the Smithsonian had at its helm an advocate for its continued independence. The first historian and the first Black leader of the 21-museum complex, he spent nearly 38 years in roles across the institution. His departure has increased anxieties about the institution’s future. “As the only Secretary of the Smithsonian to come from a background in history, he was well positioned to understand—and to defend—the discipline when history itself is under attack,” a former colleague of Bunch’s, who worked with him for years, texted us after the news. “His eloquent defense of history, grounded in a deeply rooted cultural understanding of the American story, will leave a leadership vacuum and the Smithsonian will be ever more vulnerable,” the colleague, who requested anonymity out of fear of reprisal from the administration, went on. In a way, Trump and Bunch exemplified a primary tension facing not only the Smithsonian in this moment but the field of American history more generally. Trump’s call for a feel-good, Founding Fathers–forward telling of American history is somewhat at odds with Bunch’s biggest achievements: the dramatic reevaluation of whose story has a place on the National Mall and how the country faces the harder parts of its past. Bunch will leave the institution just as it seeks to hold off a threat against the very work that defines his legacy. One of the most dramatic illustrations of that tension occurred in May 2025, when Trump announced that he was firing Sajet, even though he had no authority to do so. The Board of Regents affirmed Bunch’s authority over hiring and firing, though Sajet ultimately resigned from the National Portrait Gallery in June, saying that the dispute had become a distraction for the institution. Sajet, who now leads the Milwaukee Art Museum, told us she still misses the Smithsonian and has watched with dismay as the pressure that came for her first continues to bear down on her former colleagues. Through the changes, Sajet said that she and Bunch have remained in close touch. “I think it’s one of the loneliest jobs in the world to be in the head of a large institution like that,” she said. Sajet said Bunch’s background as both a historian and a museum director made him well suited to steer the Smithsonian through periods of turmoil—including the racial-justice reckoning after George Floyd’s murder and the pandemic. “I know that you believe that your legacy is building the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Sajet recalled telling him. “But I’d like to suggest to you that you being the secretary at this particular moment in time is really important.” She said she believes those same qualities carried him through the Smithsonian’s showdowns with the White House, adding that he’s labored to maintain the institution’s unusual relationship with the federal government (all three branches are represented on the Board of Regents). “He’s tried very hard to maintain the respect for our elected officials, and I admire him for it,” Sajet said. Trump’s attacks at times seemed to directly target Bunch’s work. Last summer, the president came after the Smithsonian on social media, writing that it focused too much on “how bad Slavery was.” The two later met over lunch at the White House, a conversation that Bunch described as “the most stressful lunch I’ve ever had in my life.” In a December letter that the administration sent to the Smithsonian, the White House threatened to withhold funding if the museum complex did not comply with an order to send over a trove of documents about its work and comply with its demands to tell an adequately patriotic version of American history. Americans “will have no patience for any museum that is diffident about America’s founding or otherwise uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history,” the letter said. This summer, the administration ordered the National Park Service to put up signs that would attempt to discredit the National Museum of American History. Throughout the pressure campaign, many have praised Bunch for sheltering the museums from the worst of it. Shanita Brackett, the current acting director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, told our colleague Clint Smith earlier this year that Bunch has set an example in tough times. “What he’s taught us over the last 14 months is not to be afraid, not to run,” Brackett said. Bunch had become more direct in standing up for the institution in recent months, telling CNN’s Christiane Amanpour this summer that he believes “it’s our job to tell an accurate, complex, and truthful history,” and that “it scares me when people aren’t brave enough to face their history.” Still, Bunch’s legacy goes beyond holding the line between a beloved American institution and an overbearing president. Bunch first joined the institution in 1978, starting at the Air and Space Museum, and he later took on a number of roles at the American History Museum from 1989 to 2000, including associate director of curatorial affairs. After serving as the president of the Chicago Historical Society, he returned in 2005 to the Smithsonian to build the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. Under his watch, two more museums were authorized by Congress: the American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino. Both have faced political roadblocks; the regents recently voted to open the Latino museum in a prominent building on the National Mall that the Smithsonian already controls in order for it to move forward without having to rely on Congress or the Trump administration to grant it a new site. At the town hall today, Bunch cited the plans for the new museums, the return of pandas to the National Zoo, and the celebrations for the country’s 250th birthday as among his proudest accomplishments. A show he co-curated, likely his final for the Smithsonian, was mounted at the Smithsonian Castle this summer, offering a subtle rejoinder to those who think history is a finished story, meant only for finding glory. The framing of this show for the country’s birthday, according to its introductory text, was Thomas Jefferson’s urging that the newly formed United States be a nation “in pursuit.” Related: First the Kennedy Center, now the Smithsonian. The White House wants to make the Smithsonian a pariah.

With no time to spare, Michigan hatches a Great Lakes whitefish rescue plan With time running out to save the Great Lakes’ whitefish from a deadly mussel invasion, Michigan officials have a moonshot plan to pluck fish from Lake Michigan and breed them in captivity. Read More.

Erik and Lyle Menendez eligible to face parole board again in spring 2027 Erik and Lyle Menendez will be before a parole board again next March, about 17 months earlier than expected. Read More.

Russia detains a Moldovan citizen suspected of shooting a military officer on orders from Ukraine Russian authorities said Tuesday they have detained a suspect in last week’s shooting that wounded a senior military officer, the latest in a series of attacks on personnel and figures linked to the war in Ukraine. Read More.

EU leaders condemn Serbia's funeral honors for Ratko Mladic, raising doubts over membership bid Top European Union officials on Tuesday expressed shock after Serbia gave a hero’s funeral to Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general who died while serving a life sentence for war crimes, and questioned Serbia’s fitness to join their bloc. Read More.

TSA brings back gate access for some people without plane tickets 25 years after 9/11 Airport security checkpoints have been the end of the line since soon after the 9/11 attacks for most friends and relatives who want to see off departing passengers. That is changing at some U.S. airports. Read More.

Competing court orders add confusion to Missouri congressional elections JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dueling court orders eight weeks before Election Day left Missouri’s congressional map uncertain Tuesday as legal wrangling over a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump sparked fresh confusion. https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-congress-trump-gerrymandering-house-aadd3c4e6cc3a2c8100756cb7b352289?

9/11 air quality New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of previously undisclosed records from the 2001 terror attacks. The documents show that city officials knew conditions around Ground Zero were unsafe to breathe despite repeated assurances. ▶️ ‘Everybody knew’: Jon Stewart reacts to 9/11 air quality disclosure ➕ For subscribers: He worked on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. A shift swap saved his life

US military says it destroyed 5 more Iranian oil tankers after missile attacks on Navy warship WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest attacks on its warships and Tehran hit back at American targets in Jordan, the latest burst of back-and-forth strikes that have lurched the sides back toward open hostilities in a more than 6-month-old war. https://apnews.com/article/iran-tanker-navy-warship-dfc9a1d9c9a5b8bc7b47fcc004025e65?

🖖🏻 1 for the road: Still boldly going The original "Star Trek" cast. Photo: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images Sixty years ago today, "Star Trek" debuted in the U.S., launching a beloved and persistently relevant sci-fi franchise, superfan Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Trek's optimistic view of the future — with co-ed, multiracial, multi-species crews working together to explore strange, new worlds — still resonates today as we grapple with racism, inclusivity, equity and more. 📺 A recent explosion of "New Trek" TV shows brought a fresh generation of fans into the Starfleet fold, despite mixed reviews from some corners. Yet the franchise is stuck in unknown space amid owner Paramount's proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. No shows are currently in development or production for the first time in over a decade — though a movie is in the works. Go deeper.

🤖 Controversy clouds OpenAI breakthrough Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios OpenAI says it has solved the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize problem, Axios' Madison Mills reports. It's a potentially historic mathematical breakthrough — yet shadowed by questions over unpublished research by outside mathematicians. 🧊 OpenAI said today that an internal AI model produced a proof that the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations can develop a singularity in finite time. (Learn more.) Execs said they devoted enormous computing power to the effort, putting the costs in the "millions of dollars." Friction point: NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster — who has been working with Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge on closely related fluid-dynamics research — has questioned whether OpenAI raced down a research direction it learned about from their work. He raised concerns about whether private Codex material could have played a role. OpenAI says that neither its researchers nor its agents saw any of the pair's work before they released it publicly. Go deeper.

K-12 approval plummets Data: Gallup; Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Americans' satisfaction with K-12 education has fallen to its lowest point in Gallup's 27-year trend, new polling finds. Only 32% of Americans are "completely" or "somewhat" satisfied with K-12 education. That's down 11 percentage points over the last two years alone. 🫏 Between the lines: Democrats are driving much of the recent plunge, with their satisfaction falling 19 percentage points since 2024. Yet a greater share (35%) still report being at least somewhat satisfied compared to Republicans (25%). Gallup says: "Republicans and independents are most likely to cite what they perceive as a lack of teaching basic skills." "Roughly equal shares of dissatisfied Democrats mention a lack of teaching basic skills, lack of funding or resources, and poor quality of education or inferiority compared with other countries." 👩‍🏫 The intrigue: Parents of K-12 students are about twice as likely to say that they're satisfied with their own child's education (66%) as they are with K-12 education nationally (32%). How it works: The results are based on an Aug. 3–24 Walton Family Foundation/Gallup telephone poll of 1,200 adults, plus an Aug. 3–17 online survey of 2,143 adults. Explore the findings.

K-12 approval plummets Data: Gallup; Chart: Alex Fitzpatrick/Axios Americans' satisfaction with K-12 education has fallen to its lowest point in Gallup's 27-year trend, new polling finds. Only 32% of Americans are "completely" or "somewhat" satisfied with K-12 education. That's down 11 percentage points over the last two years alone. 🫏 Between the lines: Democrats are driving much of the recent plunge, with their satisfaction falling 19 percentage points since 2024. Yet a greater share (35%) still report being at least somewhat satisfied compared to Republicans (25%). Gallup says: "Republicans and independents are most likely to cite what they perceive as a lack of teaching basic skills." "Roughly equal shares of dissatisfied Democrats mention a lack of teaching basic skills, lack of funding or resources, and poor quality of education or inferiority compared with other countries." 👩‍🏫 The intrigue: Parents of K-12 students are about twice as likely to say that they're satisfied with their own child's education (66%) as they are with K-12 education nationally (32%). How it works: The results are based on an Aug. 3–24 Walton Family Foundation/Gallup telephone poll of 1,200 adults, plus an Aug. 3–17 online survey of 2,143 adults. Explore the findings.

Lonnie Bunch to retire from Smithsonian leadership following clash with Trump administration WASHINGTON (AP) — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution following a tumultuous year in which President Donald Trump tried to remake the portrayal of U.S. history by the Smithsonian museums and other cultural entities. https://apnews.com/article/lonnie-bunch-smithsonian-retire-donald-trump-3a08583654837125c643d25b6623fbda? ps:Not sure who's more pathetic, Mr Bunch or the criminal-in-chief? Rubio arrives in Latin America to push US counter-drug priorities with Trump-friendly leaders Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a three-nation tour of Latin America on Tuesday, visiting U.S.-aligned conservative leaders as the Trump administration steps up military operations to combat drug trafficking and seeks further inroads in the Western Hemisphere aimed at improving America’s energy standing and combating illegal migration. Read More.

Trump Rewrites History With Shock Change on Confederate Statue According to the administration, the pro-slavery monument represented a “renewed sense of national unity.” President Donald Trump’s administration has installed a new informational plaque that sanitizes a former memorial to the Confederacy as Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department prepares to return the “racist” sculpture to Arlington National Cemetery. The Confederate Memorial was removed from the cemetery in 2023 after Congress passed a law requiring the U.S. military to change property names and remove symbols honoring the Confederacy. It was replaced with a marker explaining that the monument had portrayed a “nostalgic, mythologized vision of the Confederacy, including highly sanitized depictions of slavery” in the form of a “Mammy” figure and a “faithful slave” following his owner to war. Despite the congressional mandate, Hegseth announced last year that the “beautiful and historic sculpture” will “rightfully be returned” to Arlington National Cemetery. The administration is now preparing for its reinstatement next year with a new sign providing “historical background” on the monument that conveniently omits any mention of its controversial past, The Washington Post reported. “Driven by a renewed sense of national unity following the Spanish-American War, in 1900 Congress authorized the reburial of Confederate remains in ‘some suitable spot’ at Arlington National Cemetery,” the plaque says. Erected in 1914, the project was led by the Daughters of the Confederacy and designed by “sculptor and Confederate veteran Moses Ezekiel,” it adds. The new description leaves out some key details, like the fact that Ezekiel—who relocated to Rome after the Civil War—spent much of his artistic career promoting the myth that the Civil War was just and heroic, and not a treasonous war fought to uphold slavery. His 32-foot bronze memorial includes an inscription in Latin that frames the Civil War as a “Lost Cause” that was nevertheless admirable for its noble principles and resistance to tyranny, according to an archived version of the Arlington Cemetery website. The sculpture also sanitizes the violent reality of slavery, with an enslaved woman depicted as a “Mammy” figure holding a white officer’s child and an enslaved man following his owner to war, according to the website. Ezekiel purposefully included the “faithful Black servants” to combat what he believed were “lies” about slavery in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, according to Hilary A. Herbert, an Alabama lawmaker who pushed for the creation of the Confederates’ section at Arlington Cemetery. The artist believed his statue “correctly” showed Black slaves’ support for the Confederate cause, according to Herbert, meaning the Trump administration is reinstating the myth that Black people supported their own enslavement. The memorial has also been called “The Reconciliation Monument” because it was created during a period when the federal government abandoned its policy of Reconstruction, which aimed to reunify the nation after the Civil War and transform the South’s slave-based society into something more equitable. During Reconciliation, the government “downplayed the Confederacy’s treason,” “papered over the issue of slavery,” and “ignored the underrepresented black officers of the U.S. Army,” according to West Point Military Academy’s Modern War Institute. Troops were withdrawn from the South, allowing the former Confederate states to impose racial segregation, deny Black people the right to vote, and terrorize Black communities. Reconciliation was the “renewed sense of national unity” that Arlington National Cemetery’s new informational plaque euphemistically describes as leading to the creation of the section for Confederate soldiers. The plaque also says, “The Army expects to display the [Confederate Memorial] sculpture at this site in 2027 after it has undergone comprehensive conservation and refurbishment.” It’s not clear how the Defense Department can legally reinstall the statue after the congressionally created, bipartisan Naming Commission decided to remove it. Ty Seidule, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general who served as the commission’s vice chair, told the Post that he and his colleagues considered the monument “the most egregious example of racism that they had seen on any public land in America.” “It is a pro-slavery, anti-United States monument,” he said. The Daily Beast has reached out to the Defense Department for comment. The move to restore the monument comes despite the cemetery itself being founded in 1864 on land seized from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s plantation estate, according to the National Park Service. The decision to bury Union soldiers on the property was widely viewed as a way to restore honor to the property, which had been disgraced by Lee’s decision to lead the Confederate forces, according to the NPS. Since Trump’s return to office, his administration has made a point of reintroducing Confederate symbols to public spaces, restoring a portrait of Lee in his Confederate uniform to West Point, removing references to slavery from national museums and parks, and honoring soldiers who massacred Native Americans. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rewrites-history-with-shock-change-on-confederate-memorial-statue-at-arlington/?

Putin Humiliates Trump’s Goons Hours After Talks A three-day ceasefire collapsed almost as soon as the president’s negotiators packed up and left. Donald Trump’s negotiating duo have been embarrassed by Vladimir Putin just after they gave a bootlicking masterclass in Russia. The president, 80, sent Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to try to negotiate the beginning of the end of the Kremlin dictator’s war in Ukraine. But just 48 hours after they bent the knee in Moscow, and less than a day after they landed in Kyiv, Russian airstrikes killed at least two people and wounded seven in Ukraine’s capital. The strikes hit Kyiv on Tuesday morning, city authorities said, after both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had ordered a pause in fighting so Trump’s son-in-law, Kushner, and his special envoy, Witkoff, could hold separate talks with each leader. After they packed their bags and departed, a wave of strong explosions rocked the capital, damaging a five-story apartment block and setting vehicles on fire in two different districts. Kyiv Mayor and former pro boxer Vitali Klitschko said people were trapped inside a residential building. Russia’s barrage included Oniks anti-ship missiles, Iskander-M and S-400 systems, North Korean-made KN-23 ballistic missiles, 32 Kh-101 cruise missiles and 166 Shahed attack drones, more than half of them jet-powered. Ukraine’s air defenses said they destroyed or suppressed 175 of the incoming targets by 8:30 a.m. Witkoff and Kushner had earlier called the trip a breakthrough weekend. After Sunday’s talks in Kyiv, the pair said they’d held “meaningful discussions” and were “very encouraged,” though Witkoff acknowledged both sides would need to make “compromises” to end the war, now more than four-and-a-half years old. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to talk publicly, told The Associated Press much of the discussion centered on “how to get through the winter and what can be done before then.” Ukrainians had earlier been angered by a comment the pair made. Kushner, in Kyiv for the first time, told reporters he pined for the earlier days of trilateral talks, when “everyone was speaking in Russian to each other.” “We were discussing these issues in a very extra-friendly manner, all in Russian,” he said. He also seemed happy to speak about Putin’s thinking, telling reporters, “From President Putin’s perspective, I think he has certain objectives he expresses that he wants to achieve.” Witkoff, meanwhile, was caught on camera gushing to the Russian leader that their talks would rank among the “incredible memories” of his career, telling Putin it “will be right at the top of it all.” A Ukrainian reporter pressed Witkoff on his warmth toward the Kremlin war machine, asking if he was “ashamed to sit at the same table with an international war criminal.” Witkoff brushed it off with a lecture on the value of “relationships,” insisting, “We’ve always been treated respectfully by President Putin and his team.” Trump had sent his envoys off with high hopes, telling reporters before their trip that the U.S. had “an idea for peace” and that “there may be a good chance that we’ll do it.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-humiliates-trumps-goons-hours-after-talks/? ps:The most pathetic waste of time! These two, first they have no idea what they're doing, and second they're not interested in helping Ukraine at all!!!!!

Travel chaos at UK airports as over 1,000 flights canceled due to air traffic control issue LONDON (AP) — An air traffic control problem disrupted travel across Britain on Tuesday, canceling more than 1,000 flights and leaving passengers stranded for hours on airport runways and in terminals, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24. https://apnews.com/article/uk-airports-traffic-control-disruptions-408a8997d9fb39508e922e09d2523884?

The Pentagon Asked OpenAI for Artificial Intelligence Designed to Rarely Say No The Department of Defense asked OpenAI to provide the U.S. military with a special version of its artificial intelligence technology designed to turn down the military commands as infrequently as possible, according to documents obtained by The Intercept. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/08/pentagon-openai-military-contract/? AI Giants Work Hand-in-Hand With the Pentagon, Contracts Reveal The acrimonious breakup between Anthropic and the Department of Defense played out largely in public. But despite the high-profile salvos between the artificial intelligence giant and the Pentagon, ostensibly over the ethics of 21st-century warfare and corporate power, their actual falling out hinged on a government contract that has remained hidden away. Through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit conducted with the help of Legal Advocates for Safe Science and Technology, The Intercept obtained more than 400 pages of documents related to the U.S. military’s contracts with Anthropic and its chief competitors. They illuminate the surprisingly intimate relationship between Big Tech and the armed forces, and reveal new insights about the deals that led to the Anthropic crisis earlier this year. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/08/military-ai-weapons-contracts-openai-anthropic-google/? ICE Gave New Hires Access to Restricted Info on Palantir App Before They Passed Background Checks During the height of President Donald Trump’s winter immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis, a new AI-driven “alien” targeting app appeared on the phones of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement deportation officers. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/03/ice-palantir-privacy-personal-info-access/? A True-Crime Star’s Lurid Claims Sent a Man to Die. Her Key Witness Just Recanted. Twenty-four years after he provided crucial testimony that helped send a man to Texas’s death row, DNA expert William Watson has recanted his opinion and called out Harris County prosecutors — including an assistant district attorney turned true-crime TV star — for distorting his conclusions to win a conviction. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/06/kelly-siegler-prible-dna-death-penalty/? Flock Donations to Local Politicians’ Groups Skyrocket as Protests Against AI Cameras Mount As fed-up activists target Flock, the AI-powered surveillance camera company is battling back with a massive increase in donations to associations for mayors and other local officials. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/04/flock-camera-surveillance-protest-donations/? “Board of Peace” Billionaire Backs AIPAC Fund Targeting Pro-Palestine Candidates Marc Rowan has a vision for Gaza. “The potential here is tremendous,” he said at a February gathering of President Donald Trump’s so-called Board of Peace, where Rowan described land devastated by Israeli bombing with a developer’s zeal. “This is not a problem of money or collateral. This is a problem with peace.” https://theintercept.com/2026/09/03/aipac-marc-rowan-donor-gaza-board-peace/? They Tried to Make Charlie Kirk a Saint. They Made Him a Meme. In the year since he was gunned down at an event at Utah Valley University, the Turning Point USA founder has gone from a man cut down in his prime to a recurring internet meme, complete with an AI-generated song, “We Are Charlie Kirk,” which hit No. 1 on Spotify’s Viral 50 U.S. ranking. Audio of his killing became a TikTok sound for girlie outfit transformation videos; he’s been inserted into movies like “Avatar” and “The Odyssey”; he’s been AI’d into Studio Ghibli-style art, the final scene of “The Sopranos,” and the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” Even the moment of his death has gotten the meme treatment, with parodies depicting him with Jeffrey Epstein and Benjamin Netanyahu. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/07/charlie-kirk-internet-meme/? Claudia Sheinbaum Wants to Ban Dual Citizens From Office to Shield Mexico From Trump Left-wing Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has a proposal to shield her country from Donald Trump’s growing influence over Latin American politics: changing the constitution to bar dual nationals from running for president or governor of any Mexican state. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/05/mexico-president-dual-citizenship/? 25 Years After 9/11, Muslims Are Still Politicians’ Favorite Scapegoat A quarter century after the September 11 attacks emboldened then-President George W. Bush to launch the “war on terror,” many Americans might like to think they’re wiser than the politicians and pundits who unleashed a flood of anti-Muslim hatred and eroded civil liberties through warrantless wiretaps and racist deportation campaigns. https://theintercept.com/2026/09/04/911-muslim-islamophobia-terrorist/?

👋 Good morning! Happy NFL Eve. Test your knowledge: Tuesdays are for GeoSports. Tap in to play today's round. In today's edition: Week 1 recap, how to conquer jet lag, PCA adds another highlight, Antonelli wins at Monza, MLB's shortest game, World Nomad Games, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Yankees activate Judge: Aaron Judge will rejoin the Yankees' lineup tonight against the Rockies after missing the last three months with a stress fracture in his rib. The three-time AL MVP had 17 HR in 59 games before landing on the injured list on June 5. 🏈 Goodell extended: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has finalized a four-year extension through March 2031, the same month the league's current CBA expires. Goodell is entering his 21st season; only Pete Rozelle (30 seasons) has held the position longer. ⚽️ Gunners win London Derby: Arsenal beat Chelsea, 2-1, on Sunday to continue their perfect start to their title defense, joining Manchester City as the only clubs to start the season 3-0-0. They also extended their unbeaten streak against Chelsea to 10 straight Premier League matches. 🏀 Engelbert to step down: WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who has presided over an era of explosive growth in women's basketball while facing criticism for her leadership style, will retire at the end of the year, the league announced Friday. ⚾️ Minor league perfecto: Brewers Triple-A pitcher Thomas Pannone threw a perfect game on Monday for the Nashville Sounds, marking the first nine-inning perfecto by a single pitcher in the minor leagues since 2017.   🏈 COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 1 GETS WEIRD Michigan's JJ Buchanan catches the game-winning Hail Mary. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Week 1 of the college football season featured lots of great football and some entertaining games, but will mostly be remembered for two bizarre situations. The do-over: No. 16 Michigan nearly suffered a massive upset at home against Western Michigan, trailing 12-7 when they loaded up a Hail Mary with nine seconds left. The ball sailed through the back of the end zone as time expired, but upon further review, one second was added back to the clock, and Michigan's second attempt was caught for a walk-off 13-12 victory. "A multibillion-dollar business should not be relying on the Big Ten replay booth to make a decision that swings a game to benefit a Big Ten team over a non-Big Ten team," writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken. "Western Michigan has every right to feel cheated, and every person who watched that should have serious questions about why the call on the field got overturned under less-than-obvious circumstances." Lights out: Florida State's home game against SMU was delayed for nearly two hours on Monday night after a power outage knocked out the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium. When the game finally kicked off, there was no PA system, no instant replay review, no coach-to-player helmet communications, and the official clock was kept by officials on the field. "Everybody was on the same page and embraced the oddness of it. Let's go old school," said SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee, whose team won 27-24. "10 years ago, there was no talking to players. They did have clocks, though." LSU QB Sam Leavitt celebrates after scoring a touchdown. (Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images) Week 1 notes: SEC runs the table: SEC teams went 16-0, marking the conference's first undefeated opening weekend since 1997. Two of those wins were thrillers, with No. 9 Ole Miss beating No. 24 Louisville, 41-38, on a walk-off field goal and Auburn holding off Baylor, 17-16, when the Tigers stopped the Bears' last-second 2-point attempt. Blowouts galore: 18 of 25 ranked teams won their Week 1 game by at least 20 points, though even that undersells their dominance. 16 won by at least 36 points, 12 won by at least 40 points and six won by at least 50 points. Dynamic duos: Miami's Darian Mensah (27/30, 401 yards, 5 TD) and Malachi Toney (12 catches, school-record 234 yards, 3 TD) filled up the stat sheet, as did Ohio State's Julian Sayin (21/25, 320 yards, 4 total TD) and Jeremiah Smith (8 catches, 151 yards, 2 TD). Plus: No. 11 LSU destroyed Clemson, 51-10, in Lane Kiffin's debut without the help of pros … No. 2 Oregon held on for an ugly 34-27 win over Boise State … Oklahoma State's Eric Morris-Drew Mestemaker era opened with a 24-10 upset loss against Tulsa … Army and Navy, as they are wont to do, combined for 1,075 rushing yards and 14 rushing TDs on 130 (!!) attempts in their wins. Go deeper: Week 1 winners and losers   🏈 DOWN UNDER RAMS, 49ERS TEST COMPETING JET LAG THEORIES (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) The Rams and 49ers are approaching their season-opening matchup in Melbourne, Australia, with radically different plans for conquering jet lag, writes Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg. Late arrival: The Rams plan to fly into Melbourne the day before the game and fly out immediately after. They conducted a similarly audacious experiment last year, arriving in London a day before pummeling the Jaguars, 35-7, then heading home. Early birds: The 49ers departed from San Francisco last Wednesday, a full week before kickoff, to give themselves as long as possible to recharge after the longest road trip in NFL history and adjust to the 17-hour time difference. What they're saying: "The Rams will win the game," predicted sleep specialist W. Christopher Winter, who believes the timing of the game (Friday morning in Melbourne, Thursday night back home) favors the team whose body clocks are still on Pacific Time. "Athletes generally reach their physical peak in the late afternoon and early evening. So what the Rams are essentially doing is saying to their players, 'Look, just keep being athletically awesome at 6pm. You're going to open your eyes one day and the sun's going to be in a weird part of the sky, but we're banking on it taking your brain a couple days to figure out what the hell's going on. By then you'll have already beaten the 49ers and you'll be heading home.'" The other side: While the kickoff time may be favorable to Los Angeles, sleep specialist Dr. Meeta Singh argues that the downsides to a last-minute arrival in Melbourne far outweigh the potential benefits. The way she sees it, the Rams risk playing the game at a major sleep deficit by journeying to Australia so close to kickoff time. "If you're exhausted or sleep-deprived, your performance slips. That's the worst-case scenario," said Singh, who has served as a sleep optimization consultant for NFL franchises. Several times during a phone conversation with Yahoo Sports, Singh said she was curious "what the Rams were thinking to come to the conclusion that this travel plan is their best option."   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Heather Barry/Getty Images) ⚾️ 1 hour, 51 minutes The Phillies beat the Braves, 1-0, on Monday in just 1 hour, 51 minutes, making it the shortest game of the MLB season. That was thanks in large part to lefty hurler Jesús Luzardo, who allowed just two hits and struck out 12 en route to his first career complete game shutout. For context: The average nine-inning MLB game this season lasts 2 hours, 42 minutes. That's up slightly from last season (2:38) and two seasons ago (2:36), but still way down from the 2022 season average (3:03), the last year before the pitch clock was instituted. (David Cannon/Getty Images) ⛳️ 13.5-12.5 Great Britain and Ireland stunned the United States, 13.5-12.5, in Ireland to win the 51st Walker Cup in one of the most dramatic finishes in the match's 104-year history. The heavily favored Americans, loaded with seven of the world's top 10 ranked amateurs, needed just 3.5 points in Sunday's 10 singles matches to retain the cup but couldn't finish the job. What's next: The amateurs turn things over to the pros later this month at the Presidents Cup, which tees off on Sept. 24 at Medinah Country Club (Illinois). Team USA is headlined by Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele; Team International is headlined by Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama and Min Woo Lee. (Al Bello/Getty Images) 🎾 0-5 Qualifier Qinwen Zheng took down No. 22 Madison Keys on Saturday at the US Open despite trailing 0-5 in the third set. Two days later, she advanced to the quarterfinals with a straight sets victory over No. 8 Iga Świątek despite once again trailing 0-5, this time in the first set. Back where she belongs: Zheng, 23, is a former top-5 player and the 2024 Olympic champion who tumbled down the rankings last year only because of injuries. Now, after playing her way through qualifiers, she's reached her third US Open quarterfinal in the past four years. (Wheaton College) 🏈 85 straight wins Division III powerhouse Mount Union (Ohio) lost its first regular-season game in 10 years on Saturday, falling 24-23 to Wheaton College (Illinois) on a blocked extra point to snap their 85-game winning streak in non-playoff games. Slaying Goliath: Just how dominant is Mount Union? The Purple Raiders have lost a grand total of four regular-season games in the last 33 seasons. Before Saturday, the last time they lost one was on Nov. 12, 2016, when John Carroll (Ohio) snapped their 112-game winning streak.   🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Kelly Gavin/MLB Photos via Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Miami, Florida Pete Crow-Armstrong added another highlight to his ever-growing reel on Friday with a leaping catch at the wall as the Cubs center fielder puts the finishing touches on his runaway campaign for NL MVP. The résumé: PCA isn't just the best defender in baseball; he also now has 41 home runs (second only to Kyle Schwarber's 43), an NL-leading .953 OPS and 35 stolen bases (second in the NL). And as for his once-close race with Shohei Ohtani? Well, since August 18, PCA has four more home runs (10) than the slumping Ohtani has hits (6). This race is over. (Dom Gibbons/Formula 1 via Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Monza, Italy Speaking of comebacks, Kimi Antonelli stormed all the way back from 19th on the grid to win Sunday's Italian Grand Prix and become the first Italian driver in 60 years to win at Monza's "Temple of Speed." Formula 1 standings: With the victory, Antonelli (267 points) extended his lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell (201), Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton (191) and McLaren's Lando Norris (171) with 10 races left in the season. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland Katie Taylor bid farewell to boxing on Saturday the only way she knows how, by defeating Flora Pili and leaving the sport as a three-time undisputed champion. That the Irish superstar did so in front of a sellout crowd of 83,000 at historic Croke Park — which hadn't hosted a boxing match since Muhammad Ali fought there in 1972 — made it a true storybook ending. What she's saying: "I don't know any other country that would sell 80,000 tickets for a female athlete, I'm convinced that Ireland is the only country," said Taylor, a trailblazer responsible for women's boxing becoming an Olympic sport. "This is beyond my wildest dreams. The people of Ireland gave me a dream ending to a dream career." (Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP via Getty Images) 🇰🇬 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan The 6th World Nomad Games, which concluded on Sunday, featured 3,000 athletes from 104 countries competing in 43 traditional sports played in Central Asia. Kazakhstan won the most gold medals (32), while Kyrgyzstan won the most total (84). Pictured above: Kok-Boru is a polo-esque game in which riders battle for possession of a goat carcass (or stuffed sheepskin). Other events in this year's competition included archery, falconry, wrestling and even mancala-style board games.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 (Francesco Scaccianoce/UEFA via Getty Images) ⚽️ Champions League The 36-team league phase kicks off today with six games headlined by Real Madrid vs. Inter Milan and Porto vs. Manchester City (3pm ET, Paramount+). How it works: Each team plays eight matches between today and late January, with the top eight advancing to the knockout round and the bottom 12 eliminated. The 9th-place through 24th-place finishers advance to a playoff to determine the rest of the Round of 16. 🎾 US Open, Quarterfinals Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and hard-hitting Ben Shelton (8:10pm, ESPN) headline today's quarterfinal slate, which also includes a pair of all-American matchups in No. 11 Frances Tiafoe vs. Alex Michelsen (1pm) and No. 3 Jessica Pegula vs. No. 26 Emma Navarro (7pm). Battle of the billionaires: Pegula and Navarro are both daughters of sports billionaires. Terry Pegula, a natural gas and oil tycoon, owns the Bills and Sabres. Ben Navarro, who made his money in finance, owns both the Charleston and Cincinnati tennis tournaments. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Astros at Phillies (6:40pm, TBS) … Houston (73-71) sits atop the AL West; Philadelphia (81-63) holds the first NL wild card. 🏀 FIBA Women's World Cup: Hungary vs. Japan (11:45am, HBO Max); Germany vs. South Korea (2:45pm, HBO Max) … Winners advance to the quarterfinals. 🚴 Vuelta a España: Stage 16 (8:45am, Peacock) … Spain's Enric Mas remains the leader as the final week begins.   🌍 LET'S PLAY GEOSPORTS GeoSports is back in Yahoo Sports AM, and I'll be writing the questions every Tuesday. How to play: You'll be asked five trivia questions that combine sports with geography. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. Play today's round.   🏈 YAHOO FANTASY HAPPY NFL EVE! Fantasy Football kickoff is tomorrow. Are you ready? Prepare to dominate your friends with our fantasy blueprint, or draft a team instantly in a public league and compete against other fans.

Hobie, We are dealing with churches that are spiritually bankrupt. SDA pastors are trained academically. Many know how to footnote a scholarly article. Many could not bring a person to Jesus, even if their job depended on it, which it doesn't. They might be able to indoctrinate someone; unfortunately, the 28 fundamentals, the state of the dead, the Sabbath, Jacob's trouble, don't necessarily lead to salvation, to faith in Christ I'm not familiar with the congregations you describe. The denomination is full of nonsense of one kind or another. If people were being fulfilled in typical services, other things would not be brought in. In many respects, 7th day Adventism is a hindrance to spiritual development. What you are apparently doing, finding a congregation in which you are comfortable, sounds like a good plan. I always liked this verse, "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for thy testimonies are my meditation."

I just looked up Max Lucado and he's a credo-Baptist who has been writing for a long time - he appears to be a well thought of protestant in the lineage of the Reformation. Reformation theology is wildly different from "Restorationist theology" and I'm wondering if some of the concern you have is due to conflict between Restorationist theology Vs. Reformation theology. I'm not sure where the suspicion over coffee and donuts comes from aside from Restorationist theology. The Mormons would not serve coffee and donuts due to their "Prophet" condemning the ingesting of such things. If Ellen condemned coffee and donuts I can understand why seeing coffee and donuts suddenly appearing in a Restorationist Church would be very shocking. I think the intention of having social time after Church is simply to foster fellowship. At my Church they serve coffee and donuts and people sit in a large room with tables and visit - the idea is to visit - which I would think is a good thing. In any event I do appreciate you for filling this thing in for me.

They told us we had to follow a leader they set for our group that someone had set (as I remember the whole church was separated into 'groups' with a spiritual leader). Then they had us come and learn what we had to follow at the 'leaders' house over a meal after church. Well, I had seen this same process in the church I had left that we had started with the youth group and others who had gone to 'Willow Creek', and had slowly been changed so that other Adventist churches began to warn its members. I was not concerned in that church till I heard these 'new' ideas being presented which later learned was from Spiritual Formation. Then they took out the SS lessons and replaced it with Max Lucado, and slowly took out anything references to Ellen White from all parts of the worship service, then they began to have Coffee and Donuts for what they called neighbor greeting time and then the a music 'director' was hired for the 'celebration' they brought in....

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