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EXPLAINED: Smithsonian - The Real Truth

Women’s museum bill approved by House panel with transgender ban

A Smithsonian museum honoring women has been stalled for years, waiting on Congress to clear the way for its construction. On Wednesday the House Administration panel advanced a measure that would finally place it on the National Mall. But the vote on the once bipartisan issue fell along party lines,…

Roll Call

“It’s weirdly heavy, which you wouldn’t necessarily expect from its diminutive size”: Up close and personal with Prince’s $635,000 Yellow Cloud guitar

Flamboyant, elegant and built to rock – it can only be one of Prince’s touring guitars. We take a closer look at a guitar that might be shaped like a cloud but has a heft to it that's more Les Paul than cirrus minor

Guitar World

Slavery exhibit is changing at the African American history museum as a loan agreement ends

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is removing a rare slave ship timber from its “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit and sending it back to South Africa

The Independent UK

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Leaked government database shows Trump administration flagging national parks for being too historically accurate

The database captures hundreds of materials highlighted for review to make sure they comply with Trump order that parks information doesn’t ‘disparage’ Americans

The Independent UK

Did Melania Trump Copy Erika Kirk? FLOTUS Redeems Leather Style Years After Infamous 'No Pants' Gaffe

Melania Trump's decision to donate her 2025 inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian should have been a tidy exercise in presidential-era pageantry, but her black leather pants look—and the internet's sudden approval after years of outfit backlash—turned it into a much messier conversation about image, memory, and power.

International Business Times UK

US First Lady Melania Trump donates her white and black trimmed inaugural ball gown

Melania Trump donates her 2025 inaugural gown to the Smithsonian, calling it a historic moment and a symbol of self expression.

The Fashion Central

Melania Trump donates eye-catching inaugural ball gown to the Smithsonian

It's the second gown she has turned over to the museum

The Independent UK

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History redressed: Melania makes her mark, in a fashion, with Smithsonian gown

First lady is first in more than 100 years to have two inaugural gowns in museum’s popular collection

The Guardian - US

Astronaut snaps salty, pink Valentine's Day 'heart' shining in Argentina — Earth from space

A 2024 astronaut photo shows a striking pink, heart-shaped salt lake in the middle of the Argentine lowlands. The endearing photo was originally released to celebrate Valentine's Day.

LiveScience

Annual Smithsonian summer event held for 50 years is exiled from D.C. so Trump can have his 250th America birthday festival

The Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival has been exiled from Washington’s National Mall to make way for a flashy series of events including an IndyCar race

The Independent UK

Smithsonian museum to return three bronze sculptures illegally removed from Indian temples

Internal investigation found the statues had been removed from temples in southern India

The Independent UK

Smithsonian still struggling with how to present America’s 250th anniversary and has given Trump list of ideas

The U.S. will celebrate its 250th birthday this summer, while the Smithsonian has come under political pressure from White House

The Independent UK

The Trump-Kennedy Center is another front in the battle for the soul of America

Under Trump, the world-class centre for performing arts is one of many US cultural institutions changing beyond recognition. Will others buckle, asks the Guardian’s chief culture writer, Charlotte Higgins

The Guardian - UK

Trump's Push To Restore 'Truth and Sanity in American History' Tests Nonpartisan Institutions

Politically-motivated firings and increased executive branch scrutiny set “a dangerous precedent,” warns a former archivist of the United States.

Reason

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The Independent UK

Smithsonian faces a deadline to show Trump its plans for exhibits for America's 250th birthday

The Smithsonian museums are facing a White House deadline to turn over documents on their plans for the country’s 250th birthday and other exhibits

The Guardian - US

‘A very tough moment’: how Trump has put museums in jeopardy

A study has shown the devastating impact of arts funding cuts on institutions across America and many within the industry are concerned for what’s next

The Conversation

Rural areas have darker skies but fewer resources for students interested in astronomy – telescopes in schools can help

The night sky has long sparked wonder and curiosity. Early civilizations studied the stars and tracked celestial events, predicted eclipses and used their observations to construct calendars, develop maps and formulate religious rituals.

The Guardian - UK

First Thing: Family of Renee Good urges ‘empathy’ in call for justice

US woman killed by ICE agent called ‘extraordinary mother’. Plus, Trump says countries trading with Iran face 25% tariff

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The Guardian - US

Smithsonian swaps Trump portrait and removes mention of impeachments

National Portrait Gallery removes text on new portrait of Trump standing in Oval Office with a scowl and fists on desk

The Independent UK

Smithsonian removes reference to Trump’s impeachments after administration complained, report says

The White House shared the new portrait on social media earlier this week

The Guardian - UK

Six great reads: Katherine Ryan, a missing backpacker returns, and Fast Food Nation redux

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days

The Guardian - UK

Trump’s assault on the Smithsonian: ‘The goal is to reframe the entire culture of the US’

The long read: The president has vowed to kill off ‘woke’ in his second term in office, and the venerable cultural institution a few blocks from the White House is in his sights

International Business Times UK

Colossal 400bn-Mile 'Dracula' Disc Is 40 Times Wider Than Our Solar System, NASA Reveals

Space experts believe that the 'Dracula' disc could offer new insights into planetary formation, especially in massive stellar nurseries.

Space

NASA chief Jared Isaacman says Texas may get a moonship, not space shuttle Discovery

NASA's new chief Jared Isaacman said controversial proposal to move the space shuttle Discovery to Texas from its current home in a Smithsonian Air and Space Museum hangar in Virginia, may end with a different spacecraft entirely landing in Houston.

The Independent UK

Smithsonian to display rare and ‘remarkable’ dinosaur skull that was unearthed in South Dakota

The Pachycephalosaurus skull belonged to a dinosaur with a domed-shaped head that lived around 67 million years ago

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