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☆ Vegan canapes and fat donations: How Sam Bankman-Fried won Washington before he lost everything
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Alex-Seitz-Wald-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Alex Seitz-Wald | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +13 min

Everybody was trying to get in,” said one source close to the Bankman-Frieds’ political operation who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Attempts to contact Sam Bankman-Fried for this article were unsuccessful. Sam Bankman-Fried’s mentor and the spiritual leader of Effective Altruism has disowned him. Sam Bankman-Fried is a Democrat, and he spent at least $40 million supporting the party. Some of the biggest recipients of Bankman-Fried’s money did not respond to NBC News when asked about donations they received.

☆ Biden-Xi meeting brings North Korea into crosshairs. Sanctions are needed.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Anthony Ruggiero | Anthony Ruggiero Is Senior Director Of The Nonproliferation | Biodefense Program At The Foundation For Defense Of Democracies. He Previously Served On The National Security Council Under President Donald Trump As The Senior Director For Counterproliferation | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

But after North Korea re-engaged in negotiations, he reduced sanctions in exchange for promises of denuclearization, which Pyongyang soon violated. They included sanctions and an indictment against a Chinese company and four Chinese people who helped North Korea evade U.S. sanctions. This robust sanctions policy in the last year of Obama’s presidency extended into the beginning of his successor’s term. More than 20 countries curtailed diplomatic or commercial relationships with North Korea. Yet, instead of ratcheting up pressure on North Korea, Trump turned to other issues for the rest of his term.

☆ U.S.-Mexico nuclear cooperation agreement enters into force
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Nov 2 (Reuters) - A bilateral agreement on nuclear energy between the United States and Mexico entered into force, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday, adding that it will enhance cooperation on energy security. The agreement is the "first bilateral agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation" between the two countries, the department said in a statement. "This agreement will further strengthen the U.S.-Mexico relationship and deepen our cooperation on energy security," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Twitter. Mexico and the United States signed the agreement in 2018, but Mexico's Senate did not give its approval until March. Energy Minister Rocio Nahle has described nuclear energy as "clean, safe, constant and profitable."

HONG KONG — Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s first two terms in power were marked by intensifying competition and tensions with the United States. The United States does not seek conflict with China, Biden told a meeting of his top military advisers Wednesday. “China stands ready to work with the United States to find the right way to get along with each other in the new era,” he said. But China under Xi has a “superficial stability,” Johnson said. Hulton Deutsch / Corbis via Getty ImagesAt 69, Xi has appointed no obvious successor, indicating he may plan to stay in power indefinitely.

☆ TerraPower, PacifiCorp to study 5 more advanced nuclear reactors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - TerraPower LLC, Bill Gates' advanced nuclear reactor company, and power company PacifiCorp said on Thursday they will undertake a study to evaluate deploying up to five additional Natrium reactors in the U.S. West by 2035. The Wyoming Natrium reactor, being developed by TerraPower and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, will get about half of its funding from the U.S. government. The joint study on the additional reactors will evaluate the potential for advanced reactors to be located near current fossil-fueled generation sites, enabling PacifiCorp to repurpose existing power generation and transmission assets in California, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho, the companies said. Some nonproliferation experts say the more highly enriched fuel expected to be used by advanced reactors could become an attractive target for militants looking to convert it for use in a crude nuclear weapon. Advanced reactor proponents say the plants are safer and create less waste.

☆ G7 condemns Russia's kidnapping of Ukraine nuclear plant leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TOKYO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations condemned Russia's kidnapping of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant leadership and called for the immediate return of full control of the plant to Ukraine. "We condemn Russia's repeated kidnapping of Ukrainian ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant) leadership and staff," G7 Nonproliferation Directors General said in a statement dated Saturday. "We urge Russia to immediately return full control of the ZNPP to its rightful sovereign owner, Ukraine," it said. Russian forces have been in control of the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, since the early days of their invasion of Ukraine, which began in February. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. funds projects to explore nuclear waste reprocessing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E, aims to develop a dozen projects to recycle the waste, also known as spent nuclear fuel, with $38 million in funding. France and other countries have reprocessed nuclear waste by breaking it down into uranium and plutonium and reusing it to make new reactor fuel. President Joe Biden's administration supports development of advanced nuclear plants to help reach his goal of decarbonizing the U.S. economy by 2050. Recycling nuclear waste "can significantly reduce the amount of spent fuel at nuclear sites, and increase economic stability for the communities leading this important work," Granholm said. As a result, the waste is now stored at nuclear power plants across the country in spent fuel pools and in casks made of steel and concrete.

☆ 60 years after the Cuban missile crisis, the nuclear dangers posed by the war in Ukraine are 'far worse,' experts warn
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

October marks 60 years since the Cuban missile crisis, when the US and USSR were on the brink of nuclear war. "The current crisis is far worse than the Cuban missile crisis," one historian recently told Insider. But today's simmering Ukraine war poses 'far worse' nuclear dangers, experts say. "The current crisis is far worse than the Cuban missile crisis, in part because during the Cuban missile crisis both Kennedy and Khrushchev were willing to discuss a way of walking back the confrontation. "This crisis is more dangerous than the Cuban missile crisis," Andy Weber, a former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological programs, recently told Politico.

☆ Putin's nuclear threats are stirring fears of a nightmare scenario. Here's what's in his arsenal and what could happen if he orders the unthinkable.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

The use of a nuclear weapon is "directly tied to Russia's fate on the battlefield," one expert recently told Insider. Putin, who claimed to have placed Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert just days later, has continued to remind the world of Russia's nuclear might in the months since. There are tactical nuclear weapons that are more than four times as powerful. At best, a single tactical nuclear weapon could destroy about a dozen tanks, Podvig said. Kristensen said during the ACA webinar on Tuesday that he believes it's unlikely that Russia employs nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

☆ A Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine would 'almost certainly' trigger a military response from Kyiv's partners: senior NATO official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian nuclear attack would "almost certainly" trigger a military response from Kyiv's friends, a senior NATO official said. There would be "unprecedented consequences" should Putin turn to nuclear weapons, they said, per Reuters. There would be "unprecedented consequences" should Russian President Vladimir Putin turn to nuclear weapons, the unnamed NATO official said, according to Reuters. A Russian nuclear attack would "almost certainly be drawing a physical response from many allies, and potentially from NATO itself," the official warned. "I do not believe that a nuclear response is something that the United States and its allies should be placing on the table.

A North Korean missile launch is seen in a photo released by state media on Monday. Rodong SinmunAnalysts noted that with Monday’s reports, North Korea broke six months of silence on its testing program. Kim Jong Un watches a missile launch in a photo released by North Korean state media on Monday. Rodong SinmunIn the report, Kim called South Korea and the United States “the enemies” and said North Korea doesn’t need to hold talks with them. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes a military drill on October 8 in photo from North Korean state media.

☆ U.S. warns Putin of 'catastrophic' consequences over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The United States would respond decisively to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and has spelled out to Moscow the "catastrophic consequences" it would face, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday. read more"If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively," Sullivan told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. "This is not a bluff," Putin said in the remarks viewed on the world stage as a threat on the potential use of nuclear weapons. Sullivan said on Sunday: "Putin remains intent ... on wiping out the Ukraine people that he does not believe have a right to exist.

☆ The Biden administration has been privately warning Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine for months, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US has been privately warning Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, per The Washington Post. Putin recently threatened to use nuclear weapons in an escalation of rhetoric over his war in Ukraine. Experts and the international community are divided about how seriously to take Putin's nuclear threats. Biden administration officials have noted that Russia has made threats about nuclear weapons since it began its invasion of Ukraine in February and that there are no indications Russia is moving nuclear weapons in preparation for a strike, per The Washington Post. "The consequences of even a so-called 'limited nuclear war' would be absolutely catastrophic."

REUTERS/Akhtar SoomroUNITED NATIONS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Countries on the front lines of the climate crisis are fed up. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked world leaders why his people were paying the price of global warming. "We renew our call to the world to declare total war on this century's greatest challenge: the climate change monster. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the least responsible for climate change are suffering the most. And yet, we are the fourth most vulnerable country to climate change," he told the U.N. gathering.

☆ Biden denounces Putin's 'overt' nuclear threats, urges UN allies to reject Russia's invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations' charter, no more important than the clear prohibition against countries taking the territory of their neighbor by force." Biden's remarks come as Europe faces its biggest crisis since World War II as nations grapple with how to deter Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The country has not yet declared war on Ukraine, despite having invaded in February, an invasion it still calls "a special military operation." A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," Biden said. "The United Nations charter and the ideals it represents are in jeopardy and we have a duty to act," Guterres said Tuesday.

☆ Imagery shows N.Korea may soon launch new missile submarine - think tank
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Sept 22 (Reuters) - North Korea may be preparing to launch a new submarine believed to be capable of firing ballistic missiles, a U.S.-based think tank reported on Thursday, citing commercial satellite imagery. North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile. Analysts have debated whether the apparent new missile submarine is a new design, or whether it is based on a modified Romeo Class of submarine originally acquired from China in the 1970s before North Korea began producing them domestically. Amid an unprecedented flurry of missile tests this year, North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in May from near Sinpo, where North Korea keeps submarines as well as equipment for test-firing SLBMs. Observers say North Korea has made preparations to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, amid stalled denuclearisation talks.

"A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council invaded its neighbor, attempted to erase a sovereign state from the map. Russia has shamelessly violated the core tenets of the United Nations Charter,” Biden said. Russia's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Biden's remarks. We do not ask any nation to choose between the United States or any other partner," he said. "The United States will work with every nation, including our competitors, to solve global problems like climate change.

☆ North Korea needs nukes because of its religion
▼ + stars: | 2017-07-08 | by ( Paul French | Foreign Policy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

But even engagement strategies can't stop the relentless move toward a deliverable North Korea nuclear arsenal. President Bill Clinton essentially attempted this in 1994 when he approved $4 billion in "energy aid" to North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses with participants during the 8th Congress of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) in Pyongyang, North Korea. A vendor waits for customers at the shop inside the international airport in Pyongyang, North Korea May 3, 2016. But if the world accepts a nuclear North Korea (and it accepted a nuclear Pakistan, as North Koreans have reminded me), then the second half of Kim's theory might just give the kind of pressure that can be used.

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