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Get your popcorn (and maybe a plate of salmon sashimi) ready: Fat Bear Week, the annual competition to crown the rotundest brown bear at Alaskas Katmai National Park, is back for its 2025 season. Since 2014, Katmai National Park has hosted a March madnessstyle competition inviting the public to vote on their favorite bear from 12 of the parks most robust residents. This year, the Fat Bear Week tournament and voting will take place September 2330, and the champion will be crowned on September 30. The competitions junior division just concluded, and its winner, 128 Jr, will join 11 other contenders in the main bracket. Heres what to know about the competition, how to watch the bears, and where to cast your ballot: What the heck is Fat Bear Week, anyway? If youve never participated in Fat Bear Week, you might be left wondering why a sizable chunk of the internet is getting amped up about livestreams of bears. The answer is that, right now, Katmai National Parks brown bears are in a state of hyperphagia, a period of time when their bodies satiation cues are dimmed in order to encourage them to bulk up as much as possible before winter. Ever since the park turned this biological process into a livestreamed competition more than a decade ago, its fostered a cult fanbase on Reddit, Twitter, and now TikTok. Last year, more than a million votes were cast in the bracket. This is my superbowl, one commenter wrote on the parks Tiktok announcement of this years season. BEST WEEK OF THE YEAR, another added. In an interview with NPR, Matt Johnson, the preserves interpretation program manager, said theres a lot for fans to look forward to this year. “This year’s salmon run was extraordinary, with salmon numbers surpassing anything seen in recent memory,” Johnson said. “As a result, the brown bears of Katmai are well-nourished and looking for other things to do besides scrapping with each other for food.” Where to watch In order to get acquainted with this years contenders, its important to see them in their natural habitat. Katmai National Parks website includes a page dedicated to various livestreams located across the park, including an underwater salmon cam, a mountain view, and a scenic waterfall perspective. How (and when) to vote During the days of the competition, voting is open from 12 to 9 p.m. ET on the parks website. Youll be shown source images of two bears, demonstrating how each contender transformed from their trimmer summer physiques to their current fall figures. Then, simply select whichever bear you think came out on top. The contenders The full Fat Bear Week bracket will be revealed later today. Currently, it seems likely that past champions including 128 Grazer (mother to the junior champion 128 Jr) and last years victor 747 will make a reappearance. Fans are also holding out for the return of beloved superstar 480 Otis, who was missing from the competition last year and has yet to be spotted in 2025. here I am, just a girl, crying for Otis once again, one commenter lamented on the parks recent TikTok sharing that Otiss whereabouts are still unknown. i have rooted for Otis every year, and even if he doesnt show up again I will still root for him. Wherever he is, a fellow fan added.
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U.S. government agencies will be able to use Meta Platforms’ artificial intelligence system Llama, a senior administration official said, as the Trump administration pushes to integrate commercial AI tools into government operations. The General Services Administration, the government’s purchasing arm, will add Llama to its list of approved AI tools for federal agencies, said Josh Gruenbaum, the GSA’s procurement lead, in an interview ahead of announcing the initiative. Agencies will then be able to experiment with Llama, a free tool, with GSA’s assurance that it meets the government’s security and legal standards. Llama is a large language model capable of processing data, including text, video, images and audio. GSA has also signed off in recent months on AI tools from Meta’s competitors, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic and Open AI. The companies agreed to sell their paid products at steep discounts and meet the government’s security requirements, GSA has said. “It’s not about currying favor,” Gruenbaum said when asked whether tech executives are giving the government discounts to get President Donald Trump’s approval. “It’s about that recognition of how do we all lock in arms and make this country the best country it could possibly be.” Federal agencies will be able to deploy the tool to speed up contract review or more quickly solve information technology hiccups, among other tasks, he said. Courtney Rozen, Reuters
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Japanese automaker Nissan is developing vehicles with self-driving technology as it works to turn around its struggling auto business.In a recent demonstration of the technology developed by British company Wayve, a Nissan Ariya sedan outfitted with 11 cameras, five radars and a next-generation sensor called LiDAR maneuvered its way through downtown Tokyo, braking for red lights as well as pedestrians and other cars at intersections.It’s set to be available in 2027, although Nissan did not give the models or other details.It’s an already-crowded field. The self-driving car market is estimated to reach $2 trillion by 2030, according to market researcher IndustryARC, riding on the back of advances in AI, sensor technologies and data processing capabilities.Japan’s top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., has a partnership deal with Waymo, another self-driving technology developed by Google. Waymo has also arrived in Japan, in partnership with a cab company, but it’s still in the testing stage.Other automakers are also working on autonomous driving technology, including Honda Motor Co., General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, as well as companies outside the auto industry like Amazon and its subsidiary Zoox.Nissan’s push comes at a time when the overall Japanese auto market is facing serious challenges because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Nissan especially is struggling. It has slashed jobs and appointed a new chief executive, Ivan Espinosa, to attempt a turnaround. The maker of the March subcompact, Leaf electric cars and Infiniti luxury brand posted losses for the April-June period, following a fiscal year of red ink. Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
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