Here are the morning’s top stories on Monday, May 26, 2025…

Monday is Memorial Day. For many people, this holiday marks the unofficial start to the summer season. And no summer is truly complete without the perfect summer music playlist. So what will the song of summer for 2025 be?
A race known as the “triathlon of the art world” is concluding this Memorial Day weekend in Humboldt County. Founded in 1969, it’s a local tradition, where teams race homemade human-powered art vehicles over 50 miles of land, sand, water, and mud.

What Will 2025’s Song Of The Summer Be?

Memorial Day often marks the unofficial start to the summer season. And with summer, that brings music – whether it’s festivals or hit songs.

So what goes into making a hit song that is considered “song of the summer?” “A song of the summer needs to be very saccharine, very sugar sweet, but not too sweet,” said KQED Senior Editor for Arts and Culture Gabe Meline. “Needs to be original, but not too weird. It needs to say something honest and relatable without being too broad or generic or empty. It’s a crazy trick you gotta pull.”

The song of the summer can mean which one had the most streams online. Or which song topped the Billboard charts. But it’s likely the song that you’ll hear when you’re out and when you’re at that summer gathering with friends and family. And it will be the song that you likely won’t be able to get out of your head any time soon.

Triathlon Of The Art World Set To Conclude In Humboldt County

Founded in 1969, it’s a local tradition in Humboldt County. At the Kinetic Grand Championship, teams race homemade human-powered art vehicles over 50 miles of land, sand, water, and mud.

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Contestants are judged on everything from their engineering to how big of a splash they make entering Humboldt Bay, before crossing the finish line in Ferndale on Monday.

Kinetic Sculptures are all-terrain human-powered art vehicles, engineered to race over road, water, mud and sand. They are works of sculpture and engineering loaded with “kinetic thrills” like animated faces, fire cannons, and unusual drive mechanisms. Kinetic Racing teams consist of pilots, pit crews and peons.

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What Makes A Song Song Of The Summer