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☆ Make America Build Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +37 min

America is the sixth-most-expensive place in the world to build subways and trolleys. The solutions will cost trillions of dollars and require a pace of building unseen in America since World War II. Perhaps the single most pressing question we face today is: How do we make America build again? "For this class of projects, federal environmental laws are more the exception." The prospect of overhauling our hard-won environmental laws might feel like sacrilege to anyone who cares about the Earth.

Persons: Anne, Marie Griger's, Griger, —, They're, Obama, I'm, we've, We've, I'd, It's, Matt Harrison Clough, Jamie Pleune, AECOM, Joe Biden's, There's, David Adelman, David Spence, Spence, James Coleman, NECA, Coleman, everyone's, Danielle Stokes, Nobody, Bill McKibben, Mother Jones, McKibben, Michael Gerrard, Columbia University —, they've, David Pettit, it's, Zachary Liscow, That's who's, Adam Rogers Organizations: RES Group, Environmental, Infrastructure Investment, Jobs, Land Management, Forest Service, University of Utah, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, Brookings, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, White, University of Texas, Greenpeace, Natural Resources Defense Council, Act, NEPA, Berkeley, University of California, University of Southern, Southern Methodist University, Ecosystems Conservation, GOP, Biden, Motorola, Telecommunications, Conservatives, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, University of Richmond, UC Berkeley, USC, Star, Sabin, Climate, Columbia University, Natural Resources Defense, Republicans, Democrats, Management, Budget, Yale Law School Locations: Panama, Colorado, . California, Los Angeles, San Francisco, China, America, Washington, , Wyoming, Nantucket, New England, San Francisco ., University of Southern California, California, New York, Florida, Southern California, Las Vegas

Steam feeding into the Unit 3 turbine generator of the Vogtle nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga. “The United States is now committed to trying to accelerate the deployment of nuclear energy,” John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, said in September. One recent Pew survey found that 57 percent of Americans favor more nuclear plants, up from 43 percent in 2016. A NuScale engineer gave a tour of a control room simulator, modeling the company’s plans for new nuclear reactors, in 2013. “The demand for clean energy is almost unprecedented,” said Maria Korsnick, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, an industry group.

Persons: Biden, ” John Kerry, Biden’s, “, ”, Jacopo Buongiorno, Jimmy Carter, Rosalyn Carter, Bruce Springsteen, Dan Reicher, Gavin Newsom, Reicher, Clinton, Jeffrey Collins, Arnie Gundersen, John Williams, “ It’s, Patty Durand, Julie Kozeracki, Kendrick Brinson, Jay Wileman, Bill Gates, Dow, Roger Blomquist, NuScale Power, Jose Reyes, Adam Stein, it’s, they’re, Ahmed Abdulla, Robert Taylor, Leah Nash, NuScale, David Schlissel, Joshua Freed, didn’t, Maria Korsnick Organizations: Unit, Republicans, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Associated Press, Madison, Natural Resources Defense, California Gov, Democrat, Associated, Fairewinds Associates, Components, Workers, Georgia, Southern Company, Georgia Power, Georgia Public Service Commission, Energy Department, The New York Times, GE, Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Vogtle . Ontario, Tennessee Valley Authority, Argonne, National Laboratory, Energy, Nuclear Regulatory, NuScale, ”, Breakthrough Institute, Carleton University, Soaring, Institute for Energy Economics, United, Nuclear Energy Institute Locations: U.S, Waynesboro, Ga, Savannah, Georgia, United States, ”, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Jenkinsville, Vogtle, South Carolina, South, Canada, Tennessee, Argonne, Chicago, Idaho, Wyoming, California, Alaska, Maryland, Pueblo County, Colo

☆ From Hamas to North Korean Nukes, Cryptocurrency Tether Keeps Showing Up
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Ben Foldy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tether, the $84 billion so-called stablecoin bridging the worlds of cryptocurrencies and the dollar, is increasingly showing up in investigations tied to money laundering, terror financing and sanctions evasion. Tether is now the world’s most heavily traded cryptocurrency by volume. The stablecoin, also known as USDT, maintains a 1:1 exchange ratio with the dollar. Traders use it to stash their cash, easily invest in other cryptocurrencies or swap it into traditional currencies such as the dollar.

Organizations: Traders

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks AI, closing the Activision Blizzard deal, and his best business decision so far
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Mathias Döpfner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +47 min

Just like the cloud transformed every software category, we think AI is one such transformational shift. Therefore, this notion of Copilots that we're introducing is really going to be revolutionary in terms of driving productivity and communication. Milton Friedman once famously said: "the business of business is business." One is, is the business of business just business? So, I think AI can actually be very helpful in many ways to be a little more empathetic and more understanding of the world.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Axel Springer's, OpenAI, Nadella, Axel Springer, —, Mathias Döpfner, Pankaj Nangia, Steve Ballmer, Steve, I've, It's, I'd, Herbert Simon, Karl Marx, Lakshmi, Hayek, Marx, Justin Sullivan, Carol Dweck, they're, Vuk Valcic, That's, it's, you've, Jae, Copilot, Jeff Bezos, I'm, We've, Milton Friedman, Elon Musk, we've, Lina Khan, Sam Altman, Sam, Tomohiro Ohsumi, Bard, Bing, Mathias, wouldn't, Picasso, Jakub Porzycki, Mustafa Suleyman, We'll Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Olympic, Australia, Getty, Activision Blizzard, Gaming, AP, Windows, Linux, Children's Hospital, University of Wisconsin, Associated Press, Google Locations: Berlin, India, Hyderabad, Seattle, United States, Milwaukee, American, China, derisking, DC, Beijing, Europe, GitHub, British

☆ North Korea Accuses US of Stoking Tension With 'Nuclear Supremacy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Hyonhee ShinSEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's nuclear programme is a self-defensive move to head off a nuclear war in the face of the U.S. pursuit of "nuclear supremacy," state media KCNA said on Tuesday. The comments come as nuclear-armed North Korea has raised alarm in the region with regular launches of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike the continental United States. "The U.S., the world's biggest nuclear weapons state and the world's first nuclear user which adopted the preemptive nuclear attack on other countries as its national policy, is talking about 'nuclear threat' from someone. "The reality urgently requires the DPRK, which is standing in confrontation with the U.S. imperialism, the most aggressive nuclear war criminal force, to bolster up its self-defensive military capabilities for deterring a nuclear war," Kim said. DPRK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is North Korea's official name.

Persons: Shin, KCNA, Kim Kwang Myong, Kim, Washington, Kim Tong Myong, nukes, Hyonhee Shin, Sonali Paul Organizations: Foreign Ministry's Institute for Disarmament, Peace, U.S, Strategic, North, DPRK, Democratic People's, Society for International Politics Locations: Shin SEOUL, U.S, North Korea, United States, Russia, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North, Europe

☆ North Korea accuses US of stoking tension with 'nuclear supremacy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 17 (Reuters) - North Korea's nuclear programme is a self-defensive move to head off a nuclear war in the face of the U.S. pursuit of "nuclear supremacy," state media KCNA said on Tuesday. The comments come as nuclear-armed North Korea has raised alarm in the region with regular launches of missiles, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike the continental United States. "The reality urgently requires the DPRK, which is standing in confrontation with the U.S. imperialism, the most aggressive nuclear war criminal force, to bolster up its self-defensive military capabilities for deterring a nuclear war," Kim said. DPRK, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is North Korea's official name.

Persons: Kim Jong, KCNA, Kim Kwang Myong, Kim, Washington, Kim Tong Myong, nukes, Hyonhee Shin, Sonali Paul Organizations: Metropole Hotel, REUTERS, Rights, Foreign Ministry's Institute for Disarmament, Peace, U.S, Strategic, North, DPRK, Democratic People's, Society for International Politics, Thomson Locations: North Korea, Hanoi, Vietnam, Rights SEOUL, U.S, United States, Russia, China, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North, Europe

“Russia’s thinly veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict – by accident, intention, or miscalculation – is a terrible risk. New Construction at Russia's Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site, June 22, 2023. Lop Nur nuclear test site. “The Chinese test site is different than the Russian test site,” Lewis said. Both countries keep their strategic nuclear arsenals on “hair-trigger” alert, meaning that nuclear weapons can be launched on short notice.

Persons: Jeffrey Lewis, James Martin, ”, Cedric Leighton, “, Vladimir Putin, ” Lewis, Lewis ’, António Guterres, ” Guterres, Dmitry Medvedev, Putin, Alexander Lukashenko, Sergei Shoigu, Lewis, we’ve, Leighton, they’d, ” Leighton, Nur, Hans Kristensen, Kristensen, Israel –, Dyess, Frederic J . Brown, Fiona Cunningham, Yang Kun, ” Daryl Kimball, Kimball, Michael Frankel, James Scouras, George Ullrich, Soviet Union –, Russia –, We’re Organizations: CNN, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, US, US Air Force, Atomic Scientists, Soviet Union, United Nations, Russia’s Security, Russian Defense Ministry, Planet Labs PBC, Middlebury, Science and Global Security, Novaya, Middlebury Institute, China Observer, China’s Foreign Ministry, Planet Labs, Nevada National Security, National Security Administration, US Department of Energy, Office, National Security Council, International Monitoring, Federation of American Scientists, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Missile Defense, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Columbia, Northrop Grumman's Air Force, Getty, Control Association, ACA, NGO, PLA, Nuclear, Carnegie Endowment, International, Arms Control Association, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Soviet Locations: Russia, United States, China, Xinjiang, Nevada, . China, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Soviet, Belarus, Minsk, Novaya Zemlya, Zemlya, Soviet Union, Lop Nur, Japan, Lop, Beijing, Stockholm, United Kingdom, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Israel, Ellsworth, Palmdale , California, AFP, Yuli County, Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Baltimore, Russian, Hiroshima

☆ After replacing 2 senior military commanders in charge of its nukes, China is now investigating its defense minister, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

General Li Shangfu, China's defense minister, hasn't been seen in public for more than two weeks. Sources in direct contact with the Chinese military said the defense minister was suspected of corruption in procuring military equipment. A further eight officials from the government's military procurement unit, which General Li led from 2017 to 2022, are under investigation, two sources told Reuters. AdvertisementAdvertisementIt comes two months after Xi Jinping, China's president, also replaced two of his most senior military commanders who were in charge of the country's nuclear arsenal. A US official told The Journal that General Li's dismissal indicated problems with Xi's years-long campaign to reform the People's Liberation Army, China's military.

Persons: Li Shangfu, hasn't, Li, Qin Gang, Wang Yi, Xi Jinping, Li's, it's, Su, yun, General Li, Rahm Emanuel Organizations: New York Times, Service, Street Journal, Reuters, The New York Times, People's Liberation Army, PLA, Institute for National Defense and Security Research, Times, Twitter Locations: Wall, Silicon, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan

☆ Nukes Are Back, but Uranium Is in Short Supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Joe Wallace | Rhiannon Hoyle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/nukes-are-back-but-uranium-is-in-short-supply-44c4ccbf

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ A possible future mission for the US's secretive Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade drones? Hunting Russian nukes
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The tense environment has been punctuated by Russian threats of nuclear strikes against the West in response to NATO's military support for Ukraine. In a future war, the secretive drones the US has supplied to Ukraine — the Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade — could get a new mission: hunting Russian nukes in Kaliningrad. NATO forces could use loitering munitions — drones designed to linger near a target before crashing into and destroying it — for such a mission in Kaliningrad. "A focus should also be on the training of these forces with the Phoenix Ghost and Switchblade drones to assist them in their search and destroy efforts," DiRubbio writes. The US has provided a few hundred of those two drones to Ukraine, including both version of the Switchblade.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, nukes, Vitaly Nevar, William DiRubbio, DiRubbio, Sarah Pysher, Stavros Atlamazoglou Organizations: Service, NATO, Russian, Ukraine, Baltic Fleet, REUTERS, US Air Force, Royal United Services Institute, Russian Defense Ministry, US Army's Delta Force, Special Air Service, Phoenix, Delta Force, Lejeune, US Marine Corps, Hellenic Army, 575th Marine Battalion, Army, Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins, School, International Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kaliningrad, Europe, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Russia's, Baltic, Vitaly Nevar Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Poland, British, Russian, North Carolina, Johns

☆ Mike Pence, the Indictment and the Chaos of Donald Trump - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Katherine Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

They left behind a few panicked people who remained grounded in reality like former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Mr. Pence, and then Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and the rest. Again and again, people describe desperate circumstances, arguments about doing things like seizing the voting machines, or trying to persuade Mr. Trump to call off the riot. According to prosecutors, at 7:01 p.m. on Jan. 6, Mr. Cipollone called Mr. Trump and asked him to withdraw his objections to certification; Mr. Trump refused. In his book, “Why We Did It,” Tim Miller debates this question with Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former White House communications official. In his book, Mr. Esper describes the way Mr. Pence represented a sane, normal presence in meetings.

Persons: Trump, Pat Cipollone, Pence, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Cipollone, Jonathan Swan, Trump’s, Tim Miller, Alyssa Farah Griffin, ”, Miller, Alyssa, flack, George Floyd, Mark Esper, Esper Organizations: Mr, White, Trump, Federal Trade Commission, White House

☆ How a US government program advocated using nuclear explosions for construction, farming radioactive crops, and blasting holes in the moon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Most focused on the potential for nuclear explosions to quickly excavate areas for construction projects at lower costs than conventional explosives. (Hamblin is the author of the book "The Wretched Atom: America's Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology.") Fly the radioactive skiesUS officials also hoped nuclear energy could be used for transportation. Nicknamed the "pan-atomic canal," nuclear explosions would have carved a sea-level waterway through Nicaragua, Panama, or Colombia, per Forbes. Corbis via Getty ImagesFor Hamblin, the concept of "peaceful nuclear explosions" fell out of favor in the mid-70s.

Persons: Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Jacob Hamblin, Dwight D, Eisenhower, Alex Wellerstein, Hamblin, you've, Dr Leonard Reiffel, Alaska's Cape Thompson, Edward Teller, detonations, Rio, Iran —, —, Corbis, Wellerstein, Marshall, we're Organizations: Service, White, Nevada . U.S . Department of Energy Office, Scientific, Atomic Energy, UN, United Nations, IAEA Imagebank, United, US Atomic Energy Commission, Technology, Institute of Radiation, Google, NASA, Sputnik, Air Force, U.S . Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, AEC, of Energy, Popular Mechanics, New York Times, Carryall, US Department of Energy, Forbes, Atomic Energy Commission, Getty, IAEA Locations: Wall, Silicon, Suez, Nevada ., United Nations, New York, Hitachiomiya, Japan, Soviet Union, Nevada, Alaska's Cape, inconveniently, Israel, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Pacific, Farmington , New Mexico, Rulison , Colorado, Rio Blanco, , Colorado, Iran, Mercury , Nevada, USA, Cuba, Vietnam, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada —, Marshall

☆ Fact Check-Surviving cameras do not prove nuclear tests are ‘fake’
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Cameras used to film nuclear tests were placed far enough away from the test site or designed to withstand the blast and radiation. However, photography of nuclear tests has been well documented since 1945, with safeguards such as camera distance and special design features to withstand explosions. Footage by the Federal Civil Defense Administration of 1950s nuclear tests is viewable (here). The world’s first nuclear test was conducted by the United States in 1945, known as the Trinity test. It is well documented that cameras or film can survive nuclear tests and is not proof that footage of the tests is fake.

Persons: “, Joe Rogan, Alan Carr, ” Carr, Peter Kuran, ”, Carr, Kuran, Annie, Read Organizations: United, YouTube, Federal Civil Defense Administration, CNN, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Trinity, Atomic Heritage Foundation, White, Missile, Museum, Teapot, Defense Technical, Operation Teapot, Reuters Locations: United States

Seoul, South Korea CNN —North Korea’s “firm support” for Russia’s war in Ukraine emboldens the two countries’ determination to cope with Western nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech to North Korean officials on Thursday, according to a report in North Korean state media. The 1950-1953 Korean War was one of the first international conflicts of the Cold War era. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 28, 2023. A missile displayed during a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice in Pyongyang, on July 27, 2023. KCNA/ReutersAs the parade went on below, North Korea flew versions of a new “strategic reconnaissance drone and the multi-purpose attack drone” overhead, according to KCNA.

Persons: ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ” Putin, “, ” KCNA, Kim Jong Un, Sergei Shoigu, Kim Il, Kang Sun Nam, KCNA, Li Hongzhong, Kim Jong, Kim, Shoigu, Kim Song Nam, North Korea “, Leif, Eric Easley, Easley Organizations: South Korea CNN, Ukraine emboldens, “, Korean Central News Agency, North Korean, Russia's, KCNA, Reuters, Analysts, North Korean Defense, North Korean Army Forces, Russian, Communist Party Politburo, North, Chinese Communist Party, Reuters Analysts, Ewha Womans University Locations: Seoul, South Korea, Ukraine, Western, Russian, North Korean, Korea, Russia, “ Solidarity, North Korea, Pyongyang, United States, KCNA, China, Beijing

☆ 'Barbie' blows up 'Oppenheimer' as Greta Gerwig's plastic fantastic looks set to make $100 million more than Christopher Nolan's atomic blockbuster this weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Greta Gerwig's comedy is headed for a $155 million US opening, with "Oppenheimer" on $77 million. According to studio projections seen by The Hollywood Reporter, Greta Gerwig's film is heading for a $155 million domestic opening weekend, while Christopher Nolan's atomic bomb epic is set to take $77 million. That means the first outing in the "Mattel Cinematic Universe" will outstrip Nolan by more than $100 million. "Barbie" cost a reported $145 million to make, plus an estimated $100 million for its elaborate marketing campaign, while "Oppenheimer" reportedly cost $100 million. It's the first where one title has more than $100 million and another taken more than $50 million in the same three-day period, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Persons: Oppenheimer, Greta Gerwig's, Margot Robbie, Christopher, outstrip Nolan, Patty Jenkins, Barbie, Stephanie Keith, Insider's Chris Panella, you'll Organizations: Hollywood, Mattel, Warner Bros, Universal Pictures, National Association of Theater, Associated Press, Rotten Locations: Manhattan

☆ Why Einstein wasn't part of the Manhattan Project even though he convinced President Roosevelt to build an atomic bomb
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Albert Einstein sent a letter in 1939 that helped convinced FDR to launch the Manhattan Project. But Einstein was not part of the secretive program run by J. Robert Oppenheimer to develop a nuclear weapon. The letter cited the Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard's work, and Szilard helped draft the letter, which Einstein signed. The Manhattan Project was officially created in August 1942, months after the US entered the war. The Manhattan Project is the center of a new biopic from director Christopher Nolan.

Persons: Albert Einstein, FDR, Einstein, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Einstein's, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Leo Szilard's, Szilard, Oppenheimer, Eugene Wigner, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy Organizations: Manhattan, Service, US Army Intelligence, American Museum of, . Intelligence, US, Newsweek, The New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Hungarian, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Manhattan

[1/2] The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. Officials from the United States and South Korea are meeting on Tuesday in Seoul for the first Nuclear Consultative Group discussion, aimed at better coordinating allied nuclear response in the event of a war with North Korea. China and North Korea have criticised the group's formation as further raising tensions on the Korean peninsula. When asked whether South Korea will have a role in U.S. nuclear war planning, a senior U.S. administration official told Reuters the group was more about sharing information. "We will discuss information sharing, consultation system, steps for joint planning and implementation to strengthen nuclear deterrence against North Korea," Yoon's spokesperson, Lee Do-woon, told reporters on Monday.

Persons: Ken Scar, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Kim Tae, Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, Lee, woon, General John Weidner, Josh Smith, Steve Holland, David Brunnstrom, hyang Choi, Ed Davies, Stephen Coates Organizations: . Army, REUTERS, Nuclear, Monday, South, Reuters, South Korea's, . National Security, Pacific Affairs, . U.S, U.S . Forces, Thomson Locations: Yongin, South Korea, SEOUL, United States, North Korea, Seoul, Korea, U.S, Washington, China, ., U.S . Forces Korea, Lincoln

Seoul, South Korea CNN —For the first time in decades, a nuclear capable US Navy ballistic missile submarine has made a port call in South Korea, in a move that comes just days after North Korea test-fired what it said was a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile. The presence of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in the South Korean port city of Busan was announced by the country’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday afternoon. The NCG is a joint US and South Korean panel set up by the countries’ leaders at a summit in Washington in April. The Nuclear Threat Initiative at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies estimates that each Trident missile can carry four nuclear warheads, meaning each US ballistic missile submarine could be carrying about 80 nuclear warheads. One arriving in South Korea on a port visit – which must be arranged 24 to 48 hours in advance – would be far more visible, giving North Korea an advantage, Schuster said.

Persons: Kurt Campbell, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un, ”, Kim, “, James Martin, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk, ” Biden, Biden, Yoon, ” Carl Schuster, ” Blake Herzinger, Schuster, Kim Jong, we’ve, ” Schuster Organizations: South Korea CNN —, North, country’s Defense, US National Security Council, Nuclear Consultative, DPRK, Democratic, Nuclear, James, James Martin Center, Nonproliferation, Trident, South, ROK, US Navy, Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center, Pacific, United States Studies Centre Locations: Seoul, South Korea, North Korea, Ohio, Korean, Busan, Washington, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pyongyang, United States, Hawaii, –

☆ Ukraine's intelligence chief claimed Wagner's mutineers almost reached a Russian base holding Cold War-era nuclear bombs small enough to be carried in backpacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's spy chief claimed the Wagner Group almost reached a Russian nuclear base in late June. Kyrylo Budanov told Reuters that the base, Voronezh-45, housed small nukes that fit in a backpack. While Reuters could only track the fighters until they were around 70 miles from the base, Budanov said they headed further in and wanted to seize the munitions inside. Russia does not say if Voronezh-45 houses nuclear weapons, but the base is believed by outside observers like the Russian Nuclear Forces Project to be one of the Kremlin's 12 main storage sites. It's also unlikely that troops from a private military company like Wagner would have possessed the knowledge to arm and deploy nuclear weapons on their own.

Persons: Ukraine's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Kyrylo Budanov, Wagner, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Vladimir Putin, It's Organizations: Wagner Group, Reuters, Service, Kremlin, Pentagon, Washington Post, Russian Nuclear Forces Project, Soviet Union, Russia's Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Moscow, Voronezh, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Rostov, Russia, Soviet, Washington

☆ Exclusive: Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Reuters GraphicsOnce the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. But in an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Wagner fighters went far further. The only barrier between the Wagner fighters and nuclear weapons, Budanov said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. It is one of Russia's 12 "national-level storage facilities" for nuclear weapons, according to a report by U.N. scientists. Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar.

Persons: Wagner, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Adam Hodge, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Matt Korda, Vladimir Putin's, Hans Kristensen, David Jonas, Amy Woolf, Jonas, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Oleksiy Danilov, Don, Anna Sandrakova, Maxim Yantsov, Mikhail Vedernikov, Talovaya, Alexei Yablokov, Kristensen, Alexsandr Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, he's, Mari Saito, Tom Balmforth, John Shiffman, Phil Stewart, Polina, Maria Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev, Christian Lowe, David Gauthier, Stephen Grey, Reade Levinson, Eleanor Whalley, Milan Pavicic, Daria Shamonova, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Belarusian, U.S, White, National Security, Nuclear, Federation of American, Federation of American Scientists, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Library, Congress, Wagner, State, Staff, Russian, Defence Ministry, Defence Council, Main, Russian Defence, U.S . Congress, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Voronezh, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Talovaya, Soviet, Washington, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, ., Pavlovsk, Elizavetovka, Vorontsovka, Buturlinovka, Talovaya district, Pskov, Soviet Union, Belarus, Minsk, he's, St Petersburg, Kyiv, London, New York, Paris, Villars, Istanbul, Gdansk

☆ Opinion: Whatever happened to Mutually Assured Destruction?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

On June 14, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that his country had taken delivery of the first of a collection of tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. Belarus has both a nuclear arsenal and a president who for decades has quietly played the role of Putin’s lap dog. And indeed, in a press conference Thursday in Minsk, he did claim to being in lockstep with Putin — adding that the nuclear weapons were for defensive purposes only. In the same press conference, Lukashenko nodded to the fact that those nuclear weapons were under Russia’s control. “In the early ’60s American officials worried that the Soviet Union would launch a less-than-all-out attack, reasoning that the US would not respond in a way that might trigger Armageddon,” he said.

Persons: David A, David Andelman, Bill Clinton, Boris Yeltsin, Ukraine’s Leonid Kuchma, Alexander Lukashenko, Putin, Lukashenko nodded, “, Joe Biden, Jens Stoltenberg, Kaja Kallas, Stoltenberg, nukes, Izumi Nakamitsu, Donald Trump, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, crouch, ” Michael Mandelbaum, ”, Mandelbaum, – Vladimir Putin, hewing Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Soviet Union, Warsaw, David Andelman CNN, NATO, Belarus, Ukraine, Security Council, Nuclear Forces, Treaty, Twitter, Facebook, Johns Hopkins School, International, American Foreign, Power, MAD Locations: Russia, Europe, Soviet, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Crimea, Belarus, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Minsk, lockstep, Vilnius, Lithuania, Brussels, Moscow, Russian

☆ Wagner Revolt Weakened Putin, Made Nuclear War Less Likely
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Wagner rebellion weakened Russian President Vladimir Putin, experts say. His reduced standing could make him even less likely to order a nuclear strike in Ukraine. US officials stress that while Russia's occasional nuclear brinksmanship can be alarming, it appears to be purely rhetorical. "We haven't seen any change in Russia's nuclear posture," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CBS in a June 25 appearance, a remark that comes not only after the Wagner revolt but Russia's decision to place some tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. In recent weeks, Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of planning to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Persons: Wagner, Vladimir Putin, —, hasn't, Russia wasn't, wasn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner's, Putin, Hans Kristensen, hadn't, Kristensen, Antony Blinken, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, à, Pavel Podvig, Podvig Organizations: Service, Street Journal, Federation of American, CBS, United Nations ' Institute for Disarmament Research Locations: Russian, Ukraine, United States, Russia, nukes, Belarus, Ukrainian, Moscow

☆ NATO hesitated when Ukraine begged for weapons. Now their counteroffensive against Russia is hitting snags, analysts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NATO hesitation to give Ukraine weapons is one aspect of the snagging counteroffensive. The timing prevented Ukraine from taking full advantage of Russia's weaknesses, analysts said. The US and NATO have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars of aid, including Western weapons, air defense systems, tanks, artillery, and combat vehicles. Since the beginning of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. "There's no world in which Putin can drop one tactical nuke and then that fundamentally changes the outset of the war," Barros added.

Persons: —, George Barros, Mykhailo Podolyak, Kyiv's, Joe Biden's, Barros, it's, could've, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Seth G, Jones, Harold Brown, Putin Organizations: Service, Ukraine —, Institute for, Kyiv, Russian, Institute, NATO, Abrams, Leopard, AP, Western, Transnational, Center for Strategic, International Studies Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Western, Russian, Belarus

☆ Putin warns NATO over being drawn into Ukraine war, says Russia has more nukes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Zahid Mahmood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned there is a “serious danger” of NATO being drawn further into the Ukraine war if members of the alliance continue to supply military weaponry to Kyiv. “NATO, of course, is being drawn into the war in Ukraine, what are we talking here,” Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. While Ukraine is not a member of NATO, some NATO members have been supplying Kyiv with tanks, armored vehicles and other weaponry – prompting threats of retaliation from Russia. During his speech to the forum, Putin also suggested Russia’s large number of nuclear weapons would “guarantee” its security – noting that Russia had more such weapons than NATO countries. “Nuclear weapons are created to guarantee our security in the broader sense and the existence of the Russian state,” Putin said.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, ” Putin, American Bradley, Jens Stoltenberg, Putin, we’ll, “, ” Organizations: CNN, NATO, St ., Economic, Atlantic Treaty Organization, British Challenger, Leopards, Arms Control Association, Foreign Ministry Locations: Ukraine, St, St . Petersburg, Soviet Union, Russia, American, Britain, France, Russian, United States

☆ In a warning to the West, Putin says Russian tactical nukes are being put in Belarus to stop a 'strategic defeat'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Putin made a fresh set of nuclear threats this week after confirming Russian warheads were moved to Belarus. The Russian president said the escalatory step was meant to serve as a warning to the West. US and Western officials quickly brushed off Putin's most recent batch of nuclear threats. The Russian president compared the move to the deployment of US nuclear weapons in various European countries over the years. Putin said this week that the transfer of the weapons to Belarus would be done by the end of summer.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, –, Aleksandr Lukashenko Organizations: ., Service, NATO, St ., Economic, BBC News, Reuters Locations: Belarus, Ukraine, St . Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union, St, Japan

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