Tag Archives: nuclear weapons

The Associated Press reports: Russian lawmakers on Wednesday quickly approved the extension of the last remaining nuclear Russia-U.S. arms control, a fast-track action that comes just days before it’s due to expire. Both houses of parliament voted unanimously to extend the New START treaty for five years, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian …

Mediaite reports: “The most important briefcase in the world, carried by the military and never far from the President of the United States,” said CNN’s Barbara Starr, adding, “The case holds the highly classified equipment and authorities needed for our president to order the military to launch a nuclear weapon.” Because Trump is not attending the inauguration, where the briefcase …

The Guardian reports: US-Russian nuclear arms control talks have sunk into confusion after the top American negotiator claimed there was “an agreement in principle” between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, a claim Moscow quickly rejected as a “delusion”. Marshall Billingslea, the US special envoy for arms control, said he had flown to Helsinki on Monday to meet the Russian deputy …

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reports: President Trump is followed 24/7 by a military aide that carries the “football,” the briefcase that holds all he would need to order the immediate launch of up to 1,000 nuclear weapons, more than enough megatonnage to blow the world back into the stone age. He does not need the approval of Congress or …

The Week reports: At least one of the president’s five military aides tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, after Trump himself tested positive, CNN first reported and Bloomberg confirmed. The aides, each representing one branch of the U.S. military, stay close to Trump at all times, and carry his emergency briefcase known as the “nuclear football.” The aide is …

Reuters reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday the Russian Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the defence ministry said were in their final phase of testing. Putin, who says he does not want an arms race, has often spoken of a new generation of Russian nuclear weapons that he says …

The Washington Post reports: Last August, Axios reported that President Trump repeatedly asked top national security officials to consider using nuclear bombs to weaken or destroy hurricanes. Now, one congresswoman wants to make it illegal for Trump, or any president, to act on this idea, which experts say would be both ineffective and extremely dangerous. On June 1, Rep. Sylvia …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration has discussed whether to conduct the first U.S. nuclear test explosion since 1992 in a move that would have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions, said a senior administration official and two former officials familiar with the deliberations. The matter came up at …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump has told top foreign policy advisers that he does not want another summit with Kim Jong Un before the presidential election in November, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. Trump’s last meeting with the North Korean dictator took place almost exactly a year ago, and both leaders walked away empty-handed. Since then diplomacy …

Defense News reports: A new nuclear warhead requested, designed and produced under the Trump administration, has been deployed aboard a nuclear submarine, the Pentagon confirmed. The deployment of the W76-2, a low-yield variant of the nuclear warhead traditionally used on the Trident missile, was first reported Jan. 29 by the Federation of American Scientists. The first to move out with …

The New York Daily News reports: “It is 100 seconds to midnight.” That was the ominous message laid out by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Thursday morning as officials unveiled the 2020 setting for the Doomsday Clock. “Both the nuclear and climate conditions are worsening,” Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin, said at a press conference. “Leaders …

The New York Times reports: Iran’s government said it was ending all its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and that it would no longer limit its enrichment of uranium. The announcement came after Iran’s National Security Council held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the country’s nuclear policy in the aftermath of Maj. Gen. Qassim Soleimani’s assassination. But …

Reuters reports: The United States would be very disappointed if North Korea tested a long-range or nuclear missile and would take appropriate action as a leading military and economic power, White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday. Washington has many “tools in its tool kit” to respond to any such test, O’Brien said in an interview with …

Agence France-Presse reports: A new intercontinental weapon that can fly 27 times the speed of sound became operational Friday, Russia’s defense minister reported to President Vladimir Putin, bolstering the country’s nuclear strike capability. Putin has described the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle as a technological breakthrough comparable to the 1957 Soviet launch of the first satellite. The new Russian weapon and …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Tuesday brushed off North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s warning of a “Christmas gift”, saying the United States would “deal with it very successfully” and that perhaps it would be a “nice present”. “We’ll find out what the surprise is and we’ll deal with it very successfully,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort. …

Jonathan Swan reports at Axios: In his sharpest criticism yet of his old workplace, John Bolton suggested the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea’s nuclear ambitions — and soon might need to admit publicly that its policy failed badly. Driving the news: Bolton told me in an interview that he does not think the administration “really means it” …

The New York Times reports: American military and intelligence officials tracking North Korea’s actions by the hour say they are bracing for an imminent test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching American shores, but appear resigned to the fact that President Trump has no good options to stop it. If the North goes ahead with the test in …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. is closely watching North Korea for signs of a possible missile launch or nuclear test in the coming days that officials are referring to as a “Christmas surprise.” Earlier this month, the North conducted what U.S. officials say was an engine test. North Korea described it as “crucial” and experts believe that it may …

Reuters reports: U.S. lawmakers of both parties are pressuring the White House to extend the last remaining restraints on U.S. and Russian nuclear weapons deployments by demanding intelligence assessments on the costs of allowing the New START treaty to lapse. The demands, contained in three bills that may be harmonized this week, reflect doubts about whether the Trump administration has …

The Associated Press reports: North Korea said Saturday that it successfully performed another “crucial test” at its long-range rocket launch site that will further strengthen its nuclear deterrent. The test possibly involved technologies to improve intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the continental United States. The announcement comes as North Korea continues to pressure the Trump administration for major …