Fat Bear Week is in jeopardy as government shutdown looms
CBSN
A government shutdown doesn't just mean a halting of essential services and jobs. It also could come at the cost of one of the nation's favorite annual events: Fat Bear Week.
The beloved event is a celebration of the brown bears that live along Brooks River in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. After spending months fattening up, the bears are now in their final weeks before hibernation, and the week "highlights the accomplishments of these burly bruins," officials said.
During Fat Bear Week, park officials, along with explore.org, create a bracket of some of the top bears, allowing people around the world to watch the bears on live cams and vote for their favorite.
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that the U.S. food supply is still "one of the safest in the world," in the wake of a number of foodborne disease outbreaks affecting items ranging from organic carrots to deli meats to McDonald's Quarter Pounders. E. coli, listeria and other contaminants have sickened thousands of people and forced a number of recalls in recent months.
We just had another election with a clear and verifiable victor, overseen by hundreds of thousands of election officials. Those public servants have suffered years of harassment, and despite their successes, are still being accused of taking part in a massive and impossible conspiracy — a conspiracy led by the party out of power to steal an election and cover up all evidence.
Washington — Former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz is meeting with senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as he seeks to shore up support for his nomination for attorney general amid calls for the House Ethics Committee to release a report on allegations he engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use.