Tag Archives: nuclear weapons

NPR reports: Two members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been given accounts on classified networks that hold highly guarded details about America’s nuclear weapons, two independent sources tell NPR. Luke Farritor, a 23-year-old former SpaceX intern and Adam Ramada, a Miami-based venture capitalist, have had accounts on the computer systems for at least two weeks, according to …

The Bulwark reports: The Department of Energy spent this week trying to contain the fallout from its DOGE-directed firing and rehiring of a brace of nuclear safety officials by painting them as non-critical staff who “held primarily administrative and clerical roles.” But this wasn’t close to true, current and recently retired NNSA employees tell The Bulwark. In fact, one of …

CNN reports: Trump administration officials fired more than 300 staffers Thursday night at the National Nuclear Security Administration — the agency tasked with managing the nation’s nuclear stockpile — as part of broader Energy Department layoffs. Sources told CNN the officials did not seem to know this agency oversees America’s nuclear weapons. The agency began rescinding the terminations Friday morning. …

CNN reports: Seventy-eight years ago, scientists created a unique sort of timepiece — named the Doomsday Clock — as a symbolic attempt to gauge how close humanity is to destroying the world. On Tuesday, the clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight — the closest the world has ever been to that marker, according to the Bulletin of the …

Axios reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine on Tuesday to effectively lower his country’s threshold for using nuclear weapons. The new doctrine suggests Russia could use nuclear weapons to respond to attacks by Ukraine carried out with American support. The new doctrine expands the range of countries and alliances — a clear reference to NATO — …

NPR reports: President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday agreed that any decision to use nuclear weapons should be controlled by humans, not by artificial intelligence. It’s the first time that China has made this statement, and it comes at a time when Biden is getting ready to leave office. But Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan told …

ABC News reports: The Chinese military test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific on Wednesday, marking its first known launch of an ICBM in decades, officials said. The People’s Liberation Army launched the ICBM carrying a “dummy warhead” into the “high seas” at about 8:44 in the morning, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The missile …

The Missouri Independent reports: Developers planning to expand a Kansas City facility manufacturing nuclear weapons components will get a break on sales tax under legislation Gov. Mike Parson signed Monday. Parson held a signing ceremony at the site, currently a gravel lot across from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s south Kansas City campus. The expansion is expected to cost more …

The New York Times reports: Allies of Donald J. Trump are proposing that the United States restart the testing of nuclear weapons in underground detonations should the former president be re-elected in November. A number of nuclear experts reject such a resumption as unnecessary and say it would threaten to end a testing moratorium that the world’s major atomic powers …

ABC News reports: Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening. It was the first time that Russia has publicly announced drills involving tactical …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the U.S. sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war …

The South China Morning Post reports: In a landmark agreement set to be announced at Wednesday’s much-awaited bilateral meeting, Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping are poised to pledge a ban on the use of artificial intelligence in autonomous weaponry, such as drones, and in the control and deployment of nuclear warheads. The potential dangers of AI are expected to …

Politico Europe reports: Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was suspended indefinitely after he said in an interview that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was “one of the possibilities,” the government announced on Sunday. A member of the ultra-nationalist Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party, Eliyahu earlier on Sunday claimed in a radio interview that since there were “no …

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country has started taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons, some of which he said were three times more powerful than the atomic bombs the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The deployment is Moscow’s first move of such warheads – shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially …

Reuters reports: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday that Russian tactical nuclear weapons would be physically deployed on the territory of Belarus “in several days” and that he had the facilities to host longer-range missiles too if ever needed. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia, which will retain control of the tactical nuclear weapons, would start …

CNN reports: A North Korean missile sparked fear on the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido Thursday after the government’s emergency alert system warned residents to take cover. Millions of people received a J-alert, or evacuation order, shortly before 8 a.m., urging them to seek shelter as the missile could land on or near the island. But soon after, fear turned …

Reuters reports: Russia will station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday, marking the first time since the mid-1990s that Moscow will have based such arms outside the country. Putin made the announcement at a time of growing tensions with the West over the Ukraine war and as some Russian commentators speculate about possible nuclear …

Reuters reports: After a series of strident speeches in the runup to the anniversary of his invasion, Putin announced plans on Thursday to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week he suspended Russia’s participation in the START nuclear arms control treaty. “As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad,” said Putin, …

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals. “In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a …

NBC News reports: Behind closed doors in 2017, President Donald Trump discussed the idea of using a nuclear weapon against North Korea and suggested he could blame a U.S. strike against the communist regime on another country, according to a new section of a book that details key events of his administration. Trump’s alleged comments, reported for the first time …