Tag Archives: nuclear weapons

For your nightmares. Extreme Tech reports: As the Cold War ramped up, the US detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons in the South Pacific and American Southwest as it built ever more powerful bombs. Every single test was filmed, often from many different angles. The government contracted AT&T to film the tests and analyze the images. However, the accuracy of measurements …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump said on Thursday he wants to build up the U.S. nuclear arsenal to ensure it is at the “top of the pack,” saying the United States has fallen behind in its atomic weapons capacity. In a Reuters interview, Trump also complained about Russian deployment of a cruise missile in violation of an arms control treaty …

The New York Times reports: Russia has secretly deployed a new cruise missile despite complaints from American officials that it violates a landmark arms control treaty that helped seal the end of the Cold War, administration officials say. The move presents a major challenge for President Trump, who has vowed to improve relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia …

Mediaite reports: On Saturday night, Donald Trump dined with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Reports have come in from all over that the two world leaders took calls about North Korea’s ballistic missile tests in front of other diners. Paying members of the social club had the added bonus of entertainment with their meals …

The Guardian reports: Theresa May was told about the test of a Trident missile that reportedly misfired, less than a week before she held a House of Commons vote on renewing the £40bn nuclear system. The prime minister’s spokeswoman insisted on Monday that the operation was successful because the submarine HMS Vengeance and its crew were “certified” afterwards. However, she …

Reuters reports: The United States has seen indications that North Korea may be preparing for a new missile test-launch in the coming days or weeks, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in what could be an early test of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration. South Korean media, citing intelligence agencies, said Pyongyang may be readying a test of a new, upgraded prototype …

NPR reports on what to expect: Nuclear security is an area where Perry is likely to get questioned by senators, since he has had little experience with the topic. “DOE is fundamentally a science, technology and innovation organization,” wrote current Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz in his Cabinet exit memo. Moniz is a nuclear physicist and his predecessor, Steven Chu, …

The New York Times reports: When President-elect Donald J. Trump offered Rick Perry the job of energy secretary five weeks ago, Mr. Perry gladly accepted, believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry that he had long championed in his home state. In the days after, Mr. Perry, the former …

NK News reports: North Korea on Wednesday re-emphasized its nuclear capabilities and repeated claims it will test an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in the coming months. In an apparent nod to the Trump administration, Pyongyang highlighted the need for the U.S. to accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapons state, Workers’ Party organ Rodong Sinmun said. “We have miniaturized, lightened and …

The Hill reports: Nuclear arms experts warn that tweets from President-elect Donald Trump could bait countries with nuclear weapons. The Washington Post’s Greg Sargent spoke with several nuclear experts about the potential impacts of Trump’s tweet published last week, in which he said the U.S. “must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability.” “Imagine we’re in a crisis — if …

Politico reports: President-elect Donald Trump on Friday morning escalated his calls for a stronger U.S. nuclear arsenal, saying he was fine with an “arms race” if it puts the U.S. in a stronger position against foreign adversaries. “Let it be an arms race … we will outmatch them at every pass and outlast them all,” Trump told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” …

The Hill reports: Arms-control groups said it was unclear what Trump meant by expanding and strengthening nuclear capability, but listed several possible scenarios: building more nuclear-capable systems than planned under the current modernization efforts, having nuclear-capable systems carry the maximum number of warheads possible, creating bombs with more kilotons of nuclear power and increasing the number of warheads in the …

Reuters reports: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called on Thursday for the country to expand its nuclear weapons capabilities until the world “comes to its senses” – a signal he may support costly efforts to modernize the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal. During the next decade, U.S. ballistic missile submarines, bombers, and land-based missiles – the three legs of the nuclear triad …

Billions of us are also apparently delusional. Via Raw Story: “Your guy, Donald Trump, he’s very cavalier about using nuclear weapons,” Behar noted. “Aren’t you petrified? You have four children. That scares me more than any other stupid thing he has said.” “I’m concerned for everyone’s children,” Conway replied before pivoting to President Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. “You’re …

The Arizona Republican reports: Monique Luiz, the Phoenix resident who 52 years ago starred in the most famous, or infamous, political TV commercial of all time, is back in a new ad for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In 1964, Luiz was the three-year-old tot plucking the petals from a daisy in a haunting black-and-white spot for President Lyndon Johnson. …

The Hill reports: A majority of voters say Donald Trump would allow the U.S. to default on its debt and that he would misuse the power of the presidency to punish his political opponents. And nearly half of voters — 46 percent — say Trump would use a nuclear weapon to attack ISIS or another foreign enemy. The poll also …

Politico reports: President Barack Obama on Friday denounced North Korea’s latest test of a nuclear weapon, condemning the move “in the strongest possible terms as a grave threat to regional security and to international peace and stability.” “North Korea stands out as the only country to have tested nuclear weapons this century,” Obama said in a statement. “Today’s test, North …

The Guardian reports: North Korea has confirmed it has conducted its most powerful nuclear test to date, marking the 68th anniversary of its founding with a reminder to the world that it may be edging closer to developing a warhead capable of striking the US mainland. Friday morning’s test, which triggered a magnitude 5.3 earthquake, drew immediate condemnation from North …

The New York Times reports: Fifty of the nation’s most senior Republican national security officials, many of them former top aides or cabinet members for President George W. Bush, have signed a letter declaring that Donald J. Trump “lacks the character, values and experience” to be president and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.” Mr. Trump, …

The Hill reports: Nuclear security experts are nervous about the prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. Former officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations are expressing concern over what they describe as Trump’s cavalier rhetoric about using nuclear weapons and potentially allowing them to be obtained by U.S. allies. “This is the most dangerous thing that he has said, among …