Forget “no carbs before Marbs” and sling out that beach-body-ready routine now that summer’s over, because this week in Alaska there’s no such thing as dieting. Instead, it’s time to pile on the pounds for the 12th annual Fat Bear Week.
The annual contest that pits the rotund residents of Katmai National Park and Preserve against each other for the title of most oversized ursine is back ahead of their hibernation over winter.
By next Friday, 2,200 brown bears that live on the Alaska Peninsula – which extends from the state’s south-west corner toward the Aleutian Islands – will be cut down to just one, who will be crowned the beefiest.
Could drinking in the stands be coming back?
Andy Burnham has described laws which prevent drinking alcohol in view of the pitch at football stadiums as “discrimination” and suggested a change could be trialled.
PM says football fans ‘singled out’
The Prime Minister told reporters: “I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out.”
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) said the “outdated” legislation should be reviewed, while police chiefs have urged against relaxing the law and want to meet Burnham to “explain the challenges”.
Why the ban was brought in
The law was first brought in in 1985 for English and Welsh football grounds under Margaret Thatcher’s government.
- At the time, then-home secretary Leon Brittan said that alcohol was a “major contributory factor in violent and disorderly behaviour” at football matches.
Not an official policy
The BBC reported that Government sources said Burnham was giving an opinion he has long held, rather than making an official policy announcement.
The Government is not taking the PM’s comments as a sign that he is looking to change the law.
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Changes could make policing harder
A UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) spokesman said changes could pose “challenges” to policing.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” he added.
AI hacks Australian government – what to know
The Australian government has revealed that an autonomous AI agent hacked a government website in what may be the first known incident of its kind.
A research task gone wrong
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in New York yesterday that the AI agent, which was developed by OpenAI, was carrying out a research task on health and medical statistics when it accessed both public and non-public health data.
- Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said that as part of its research, it approached the Medicare portal for information, but when it was denied, it hacked the portal to get the information anyway.
OpenAI slow to inform Australian government
Albanese said the AI company had taken “way too long” to inform the Australian government about what had happened, with it only being made aware on 10 September. The incident occurred in June.
OpenAI says it is still investigating, but found no evidence that patient records had been accessed and remains “committed to transparency”.
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Albanese calls for ‘urgent global guard-rails’
The announcement came less than a day after the Australian PM co-signed a joint statement with 21 other countries, including Germany, Spain and Canada, pressing for “urgent global guard-rails” on frontier AI models, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
Channel migrants set to be processed in ex-Navy sea fort near Portsmouth
A former military sea fort could be converted into a processing site for small boat arrivals in Hampshire as migrants make more dangerous journeys across the English Channel to reach the UK.
What to know
The i Paper understands the Government has prepared contingency proposals to deal with arrivals further down the South Coast from Kent.
No final decision has been made by the Government on converting Fort Blockhouse in Gosport, near Portsmouth. It is also understood it would be a temporary facility.
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Anti-asylum protests
An aborted attempt to use Fort Blockhouse to land 50 asylum seekers sparked protests in the town on Tuesday. Police were forced to protect coaches carrying asylum seekers after hundreds of anti-migrant protesters massed at the site.
- Six arrests were made. Police are also “conducting enquiries” after far-right activist Daniel Thomas filmed himself slashing the side of a dinghy with a rescue crew member still on board.
Criticism of the plans
- Zoe Huggins, Conservative leader of Gosport Borough Council, described the fort as unsafe and logistically not viable.
- She said that access on and off the peninsula by two narrow roads created an “easy target” for protesters to blockade coaches transporting migrants, as happened in the Portsmouth riots earlier this month.
- Huggins said that they had heard about the plans through “informal channels”, adding: “It is outrageous that Government can review arrangements like this without talking to the local council.”
The Government response
A public planning inquiry into the proposals is due to be held after Gosport Borough Council and Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport, called for greater transparency from ministers.
A Government spokesperson said: “The Border Security Command works around the clock to protect our border and will continue to detain, check and process every small boat arrival.”
The nine doomsday essentials you will be officially told to stockpile at home
People will be advised to stockpile a number of items to prepare for war or other emergencies as part of the UK government’s biggest public awareness campaign for decades.
Why you should make an emergency stockpile
While there is no new or imminent threat to Britain from war, the ongoing “grey-zone” activity by Russia, the biggest El Niño weather event for centuries and the risk of an AI-linked accidental power cut, have all raised concerns the British public should be better prepared.
Here are the nine items in the Government’s suggested emergency stockpile list.
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Torches, power banks and radios
Battery or wind-up torch
It is recommended to get a torch as they are safer than candles.
Portable power bank
For charging your mobile phone in a power cut.
Battery or wind-up radio
To get updates during a power breakdown – a car radio can be used, but in severe weather it might be safer to stay inside.
Batteries, first aid kits and hand sanitiser
Spare batteries
For torches and radio and a backup battery for any medical equipment you rely on.
A first aid kit
This should contain items like waterproof plasters, bandages, a thermometer and antiseptic.
For hygiene purposes when the water is off.
Bottled water, non-perishable food and baby supplies
Bottled water
A minimum of 2.5-3 litres of drinking water per person per day is recommended by the World Health Organisation for survival.
Non-perishable food
This shouldn’t need to be cooked. Remember food for your pets and a tin opener.
Baby supplies
Make sure you have nappies and baby formula.
Judge overturns Trump’s White House media ban
A court has issued a temporary restraining order against Donald Trump’s banning of three news organisations from the White House press pool.
The context
CNN, MS Now and must have their access restored for 14 days after a District of Columbia court ruled the move “likely violated their constitutional due process rights”.
- The three media outlets began a legal challenge after their journalists had their White House passes withdrawn. The Trump administration justified the move in court, claiming the organisations published false information and threatened national security.
Why the court overruled Trump
Judge Timothy Kelly ruled the outlets were “likely to succeed” in proving the White House had not exercised “adequate due process” in enforcing the ban.
- Kelly cast doubt on the administration’s arguments that the bans were for national security as Trump did not mention this in his original announcement.
- He also pointed out that “in most cases,” the stories that the Trump administration had taken issue with were written by journalists who “did not even hold card passes”.
- In its original filing, the White House cited statements from officials of the Department of War supporting the ban, but Kelly said they had “no direct knowledge of how reporters operate in the White House, or about any of the facts at issue here”.
The Trump exodus is growing. His allies are running scared
US commentator
With midterm elections a few weeks away, some Republicans are trying to distance themselves from the US President and his unpopular war.
While the United States might be gearing up for midterm ballots that will decide who runs Washington, hundreds of thousands of people were readying to vote on animals gorging themselves in rural Alaska, in what has become a marquee annual event on social media.
This year is stacked more than ever with returning champions, a smattering of nepo babies trading off their parents’ legacy, and several scrappy newcomers vying for the crown.
The runners and riders
Last year’s winner, Chunk – known officially as Bear 32 – is hungry for a repeat. Chunk weighed in at an estimated 1,200lbs (544kg) to finally take the crown in 2025, giving him a narrow victory over his corpulent competition, after being runner-up two years previous.
Chunk emerged from his long slumber in April last year when he was spotted taking a stroll on the preserve’s icy patches. He then disappeared from camera for months, only to make a shock reemergence days before the Fat Bear Week bracket was finalised, and earn himself a late inclusion.
Perhaps the hefty boy needed some time to get his head in the game before returning to defend his crown.
The next round of voting sees Chunk face a possible banana peel matchup against Bucky Dent – Bear 164 – a seven-year-old male with a prowess for catching fish.
In 2021, the preserve spotted the young star taking a unique approach to hunting by standing at the deepest spot of a plunge pool to catch fish that welled up or fell from the waterfall above. Bucky is the first and only bear on the preserve to be seen using this tactic. Will Chunk go back-to-back or take a loss to the young fishing pro?
Whoever wins will have to see off young-gun Gully – aka Bear 903 – who has Fat Bear Week built into his DNA. Gully is the offspring of two-time champion Grazer. Only time will tell whether the young starlet is capable of living up to his mother’s daunting legacy.
Gully’s match-up for this round, Walker – Bear 151 – finds himself as the perpetual bridesmaid. The veteran has competed in Fat Bear Week since 2018 without ever taking home the top honours. His early career saw him lose out to the unassailable dynasty of Otis – a four-time champion – before Grazer arrived on the scene to hold him off again in 2023 and 2024.
With a new crop of talent rapidly emerging, this may be the last time an ageing Walker will have a shot at the top prize.
Why the weight?
“Fat bears are successful bears,” says Explore, the media organization that helps host the event. They gorge on the abundant salmon that return to the Brooks River starting in late June in order to accumulate fat reserves, sometimes chomping the fish in midair as they make their way upstream to spawn.
Adult male brown bears typically weigh 600 to 900lbs (about 270 to 410kg) in midsummer. By the time they are ready to hibernate after feasting on migrating and spawning salmon – each eats as many as 30 fish per day – large males can weigh well over 1,000lbs (454kg). Females are about a third smaller.
During winter hibernation, the bears do not eat or drink and lose a third of their body weight.
The bears are not actually weighed – imagine that process. Voters are instead asked to review before-and-after photos of the bears, lean at the start of summer and fattened at the end.
Fat Bear Week was started in 2014 as an interactive way to inform the public about brown bears, the coastal cousins of grizzlies.
How do I vote?
This year’s event features 16 bears chosen by the preserve to face off in a single-elimination, bracket-style tournament. To be featured in the contest, the bears must frequent the area around the river.
The voting window has been open since 22 September, and will remain open until 29 September, with the 2026 winner expected to be declared on Friday, 2 October.
All voting is done online at fatbearweek.org. The public can watch and judge the bears on explore.org’s livestream cameras before choosing their favourite.
In previous years, victory has also been handed over to those bears needing a win more than the others. The live cameras at Brooks Falls captured the moments in 2024 when Grazer’s cub slipped over the waterfall and floated into the fishing spot occupied by Chunk, who attacked and injured the cub.
Grazer fought Chunk, but the cub ultimately died. After the dramatic fight, voting fans handed Grazer a victory over Chunk, before he returned in 2025 to take the title.