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- Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian secretary, announces retirement after criticism
- Crocodile kills wildlife park worker in Port Moresby during feeding incident
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A Black Lives Matters protest in London regarding Chris Kaba.
Looks like the white, middle class organisers forget to invite any black people.
In the wake of death of UK political prisoner, Peter Lynch, who was fast tracked into prison for essentially shouting in the street.
The grandfather was ultimately sentenced to death.
Pakistani family who attacked police at Manchester Airport, STILL haven't even been charged.
Tiny ‘Black Lives Matter’ crowd gathers outside the Old Bailey courtrooms to protest the not guilty verdict of the police officer who shot violent criminal Chris Kaba.
Kaba rammed his car repeatedly into armed police officers’ cars.
BLM is finished in the UK.
UK public borrowing exceeds official forecast in September
Government borrowing overshot official projections in September, which is a sign of the difficult fiscal position that the Chancellor faces as she puts the finishing touches on her first tax and spending budget.
September 8, 2026
5:00 pm
Get you up to speed: Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian leader, announces retirement after months of Trump administration criticism
Historian Lonnie Bunch announced his retirement as secretary of the Smithsonian, effective at the end of the year, following criticism from the Trump administration. Bunch, who has been with the Smithsonian for 38 years, stated his departure is not a direct response to the administration’s actions.
Lonnie Bunch, who has served as secretary of the Smithsonian since 2019, will retire at the end of the year after 38 years with the institution. Chief Justice John Roberts, chancellor of the Smithsonian, stated that preparations are underway for a smooth transition to Bunch’s successor.
Chief Justice John Roberts expressed that Lonnie Bunch “has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story,” and indicated a commitment to ensure a smooth transition for Bunch’s successor. The Trump administration’s intensified scrutiny of the Smithsonian has raised concerns over institutional ideology, prompting officials to call for significant changes within its operations.
What remains unclear — It is not specified who will succeed Lonnie Bunch as secretary of the Smithsonian.
Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian secretary, announces retirement after criticism
Washington — Historian Lonnie Bunch will leave his position as secretary of the Smithsonian at the end of the year, he announced Tuesday, after months of escalating criticism of the institution from the Trump administration.
“It is with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said in a statement. “I have spent nearly half of my life working at and being part of the Smithsonian family, and what a privilege it has been.”
Bunch, who has worked for the Smithsonian for 38 years, said he leaves the position “with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”
Bunch told The New York Times in an interview that his upcoming retirement wasn’t due to the fights with the administration, saying simply that “now’s the time.”
“I have to be honest, it has been stressful,” he said. “And at a certain point, I’d like to wake up in the morning and not look at my cellphone.”
Al Drago/The Washington Post via Getty Images 
Bunch, 73, co-founded the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016. He served as executive director of the museum until he became secretary of the Smithsonian in 2019. He was the first African American to hold the role in its 173-year history.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as chancellor of the Smithsonian and sits on its Board of Regents, said in a statement that Bunch “has pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.”
“The Regents, and the Smithsonian, have benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision and leadership,” Roberts said. “We look forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for his successor.”
Since President Trump’s second term began in 2025, he has stepped up criticism of the institution. The administration launched an internal review of some of the Smithsonian’s best-known museums, and the president signed an executive order in March pushing for changes at the institution, including the removal of “improper ideology.”
In July, Mr. Trump ordered federal officials to install signs outside the National Museum of American History to correct what he said was “inaccurate” information presented about American history.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum sent a letter to the Smithsonian last week accusing its leadership of having “sanctioned a radical institutional ideology to permeate” the American history museum.
“The ultimate effect of this radical ideology is to weaken our shared American identity. erase our heritage and condition the public to accept these attempts to weaponize our national institutions and traditions in support of a radical political agenda,” Burgum wrote.
The Smithsonian Institution includes 21 museums, 20 libraries, numerous research centers, and the National Zoo in Washington.
In an interview with WTX “Sunday Morning” in 2019, Bunch said that the Smithsonian is “part of the glue that holds the country together.”
“Culture is so important. Culture is something that sometimes is seen as dividing people, but in my mind, culture holds us together — the common cultures we have, the opportunity to find common ground,” he said.
September 8, 2026
5:00 pm
September 8, 2026
4:00 pm
Get you up to speed: Zoo worker dragged into death roll and killed by crocodile after staff were filmed ‘taunting them’ | News World
A wildlife park worker died after a crocodile attacked him at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, during a feeding incident on Saturday afternoon. Despite efforts by colleagues and police to rescue him, he succumbed to his injuries at 3 Mile General Hospital on Sunday morning.
Adventure Park has closed indefinitely following the incident, with no specific reopening date provided. The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack is ongoing, and authorities have not yet determined whether any previous employee conduct is linked to the fatal event.
Adventure Park in Port Moresby has closed following the fatal crocodile attack, with no announced reopening date. Local authorities are likely to investigate safety protocols at the facility in light of previous footage showing dangerous interactions between staff and the animals.
What remains unclear — It has not been established what actions, if any, the park took in response to previous concerns about staff interactions with the crocodiles.
Crocodile kills wildlife park worker in Port Moresby during feeding incident
Staff had previously been filmed getting dangerously close to crocodiles at the park (Pictures: Facebook/amazingpng1975/Getty Images)
A wildlife park worker died after being mauled by a crocodile that reportedly refused to release him for an hour as colleagues, visitors and police desperately tried to save him.
The handler was feeding the animal at Adventure Park in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on Saturday afternoon when it clamped its jaws around his legs.
Footage captured the crocodile dragging him down and performing a ‘death roll’ inside the enclosure.
Another worker entered the enclosure and repeatedly struck the crocodile on the head in an attempt to make it loosen its grip. A visitor also pushed a long pole through the surrounding fence, but those efforts failed to free the injured man.
One worker was previously filmed appearing to kick water directly towards a crocodile’s face (Picture: Facebook/Laben Sakale John)
Koibuga Remdi, who was among the crowd, said that witnesses could do little without putting themselves in danger too, Daily Mail reports. Police were called as the attack continued.
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He said: ‘Many of us witnessed the incident, but unfortunately, there was very little we could do to help. Our only option was to call the police for assistance.’
When officers arrived, park employees began pumping water out of the pond so that rescuers could reach the handler more easily. The crocodile continued to hold on to him while he lost a significant amount of blood.
Mr Remdi said: ‘Some workers said the crocodile had been living there since before Papua New Guinea’s independence and had never attacked the people who fed and cared for it. Sadly, today it unexpectedly turned on its caretaker.’
Police eventually opened fire on the animal, but even that didn’t end the ordeal immediately. Mr Remdi claimed that officers had to shoot it 11 times before it died and the handler could finally be pulled free.
‘It did not die from the first shot,’ he said. ‘Police had to fire multiple rounds, and it was only after the eleventh shot that the crocodile finally died.’
The worker was rushed to 3 Mile General Hospital with severe injuries. Despite efforts to save him, he died on Sunday morning, Daily Mail reports.
Footage captured the desperate struggle to free the handler from the crocodile (Picture: Facebook/amazingpng1975)
Visitor Gibson John said that the worker had taken a chicken towards the enclosure shortly before the attack.
John told ABC: ‘He brought the chicken to the fence and the crocodile attacked the person and tried to bring him into the pool. He was in severe pain but he couldn’t scream.
‘He couldn’t speak properly at that time. It was the pain I could see from his eyes. The only thing I could hear him say was, “I haven’t done anything wrong”.’
The victim, whose identity hasn’t been reported, is understood to have worked at Adventure Park for around two years. The precise circumstances that allowed the crocodile to reach him haven’t yet been established.
The crocodile reportedly refused to release the badly injured worker for around an hour (Picture: Facebook/Koibuga Remdi)
There’s no evidence that the man killed in Saturday’s attack was among the employees seen in those earlier recordings.
In one of the clips, a staff member splashed water towards a crocodile while standing only centimetres from its head.
He then appeared to sit on its back, tug at its neck and stand with one foot resting on the animal during a feeding demonstration.
A separate recording showed another worker approaching the front of an enormous crocodile and touching it on the nose while directly in line with its jaws.
A worker stood with one foot on a crocodile during an earlier feeding demonstration (Picture: Facebook/amazingpng1975)
The earlier footage had already prompted concern about how closely employees were interacting with the animals. However, it isn’t clear whether the park took any action in response or whether the conduct shown had any connection to this weekend’s fatal incident.
Crocodiles use death rolls to overpower and dismember prey by rapidly twisting their bodies while maintaining their grip.
In this case, the worker remained conscious during at least part of the prolonged attempt to release him.
Adventure Park has reportedly closed following the death. The Port Moresby attraction is expected to remain shut until further notice, with no reopening date announced.
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