nuclear war

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The Possibility of Nuclear War Should Inform Your Vote

George F. Will on what Annie Jacobsen's new book teaches us

(Newser) - George F. Will has read Annie Jacobsen's new book— Nuclear War: A Scenario —so you don't have to. But his top-level summary of it does leave you with an ask: Think carefully about who you vote to put in the White House this November. (You might also...

Seaweed Could Help Us Survive Nuclear War
Seaweed Could
Save Us After Nuclear War
new study
Jan 31, 2024 2:40 PM CST

Seaweed Could Save Us After Nuclear War

Study finds it could help feed humanity ... if we can make it at least 9 months

(Newser) - Should our planet be ravaged by nuclear war, those who survive may not starve to death, or so suggests a new study. Yes, the million tons of radioactive dust and smoke and soot that result from the fires caused by the bombs will be sent into Earth's atmosphere, sharply...

Putin Tells Russians War Is Taking Longer Than Expected

But he claims Russia hasn't 'gone mad' on nuclear weapons, wouldn't use them recklessly

(Newser) - The Russian-led war in Ukraine is closing in on 10 months, but Russians shouldn't expect what their president calls the "special military operation" to end anytime soon. "This can be a long process," Vladimir Putin acknowledged Wednesday in a televised meeting with loyalists of the invasion...

Biden Speaks on the Risk of Nuclear 'Armageddon'

Says it's at highest level since Cuban Missile Crisis

(Newser) - President Biden said Thursday that the risk of nuclear “Armageddon” is at the highest level since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, as Russian officials speak of the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons after suffering massive setbacks in the eight-month invasion of Ukraine. Speaking at a fundraiser for the...

As Threat of Nuclear Attack Looms, a New Hot Commodity

Demand surges in Europe, prices spike for iodine, potassium iodide pills amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

(Newser) - With Russia's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert , and a wary eye cast upon the situation at Ukraine's Chernobyl and other local nuclear power plants , there's a new hot commodity in Europe: iodine and potassium iodide pills that residents hope would mitigate the effects of radiation poisoning...

The Situation in Which Russia Could Go Nuclear
The Situation in Which
Russia Could Go Nuclear
the rundown
Mar 2, 2022 11:32 AM CST

The Situation in Which Russia Could Go Nuclear

'Would he?' is a question being asked and debated

(Newser) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Wednesday that were World War III to begin, it would involve nuclear weapons, reports Reuters . A few days earlier, Vladimir Putin announced he was putting the nation's nuclear deterrent forces on high alert, suggesting he was transitioning the country's nukes to a...

UN Expert: Risk of Nuclear War Is Real, Mostly Ignored

Risk of weapons use at highest in 75 years: Renata Dwan

(Newser) - The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons may have pushed 122 countries to sign the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons treaty, but a top UN security expert says "the risks of nuclear war are particularly high now, and the risks of the use of nuclear weapons … are higher now...

Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer to Midnight
Doomsday Clock Ticks
Closer to Midnight
the rundown
Jan 25, 2018 10:40 AM CST

Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer to Midnight

We're now the closest we've been to midnight since 1953

(Newser) - "What matters is whether [the Doomsday Clock] is moving farther or closer to midnight. That's the key," says the executive director of the Arms Control Association. Erg. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Thursday announced the clock—a symbol of how close the world stands to...

CDC Boots Nuke Session in Favor of Flu

Announced on Friday that planned session was postponed

(Newser) - Fear the flu , not the bomb. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced that a session on nuclear attack preparedness scheduled for Tuesday will be postponed to an unspecified date, with the session's topic switching to flu and what can be done to stem its spread....

Government Wants You to Know It's Ready for Nuclear Blast

CDC holding briefing on nuclear blast preparedness

(Newser) - In what Gizmodo calls "a very sad commentary on the current state of geopolitical affairs," the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will later this month hold a briefing on the government's preparedness for a nuclear attack on US soil. The presentation, called "Public Health Response...

North Korea: Nuclear War May Break Out 'Any Moment'

Official says diplomacy not an option until missile perfected

(Newser) - North Korea had hoped for a nuclear-free world, the country's deputy United Nations ambassador claimed Monday—but because of the "extreme" threat from the US, the country has been forced to become a "full-fledged" nuclear power. Kim In Ryong, speaking to the UN's disarmament committee, warned...

His Poise Under Pressure May Have Stopped Nuclear War


This Man May
Have Saved
World From
Nuclear War
in case you missed it
Sep 23, 2017 1:18 PM CDT

This Man May Have Saved World From Nuclear War

Former Soviet officer Stanislav Petrov credited with averting global catastrophe

(Newser) - A former Soviet officer by the name of Stanislav Petrov has died, and the key point surfacing in obituaries about him is a pretty remarkable one: His poise under pressure may have saved the world from a nuclear war. As USA Today and the New York Times report, Petrov was...

It's Crazy the President Can Launch Nukes on His Own

Op-ed argues that Congress should amend the War Powers Act

(Newser) - The saber rattling currently taking place between the White House and North Korea makes clear that it's time for Congress to close a dangerous loophole, write two op-ed writers in the New York Times . They think it's outrageous that one person—the president—has the authority to launch...

The Sun Nearly Caused Nuclear War in 1967

Solar flares made it seem like the USSR was jamming US radars

(Newser) - The sun was nearly responsible for the Cold War going nuclear 50 years ago, according to a study released this week. On May 23, 1967, three US Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar sites seemed to be jammed. CBS News reports it appeared to the US Air Force, which was...

Death by Human Extinction Far More Likely Than by Car Crash

We should be more afraid of asteroids, pandemics, and Terminators

(Newser) - Pandemics, super-volcanoes, nuclear war, climate change, asteroids, and murderous artificial intelligence. You're not more likely to die from any one of those things than in a car crash. But put all those things together, and, well, that changes things a bit, the Atlantic reports. According to the annual Global ...

A Nuclear War Would ... Boost Property Values?

Americans would be 'relatively' wealthier, says 1969 report

(Newser) - Sure, nuclear attacks on the US could level populated areas—but two papers conclude that Americans would see an economic upside, Medium reports. The first, a 1969 report by the Institute for Defense Analyses, looks at a possible nuclear strike on Houston, Texas. It says that Americans would be "...

State-Run TV: Russia Could 'Turn US Into Radioactive Ash'

Anchor Dmitry Kiselyov was hand-picked by Vladimir Putin

(Newser) - The man Vladimir Putin hand-picked to run a new state-run news agency turned a number of heads yesterday when he stood before an image of a mushroom cloud and declared that "Russia is the only country that could really turn the US into radioactive ash." Dmitry Kiselyov then...

Queen Wrote This Speech in Case of Nuclear War

The enemy is 'the deadly power of abused technology'

(Newser) - Just how close did the world come to the brink of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War? So close that civil servants in the UK wrote a speech for Queen Elizabeth to deliver in the event of nuclear war. The speech has now been released thanks to the UK's...

Doomsday Is 1 Minute Closer

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moves up its famous clock

(Newser) - The apocalypse is a smidge closer today: The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved its Doomsday Clock from 11:54 to 11:55, reports USA Today . The symbolic clock has been in place since 1947 and now factors in climate change along with nuclear proliferation. We're still a few ticks...

North Korea: War Would Bring 'Nuclear Holocaust'

New Year's address urges better ties with South Korea

(Newser) - North Korea welcomed the new year today with a call for better ties with rival South Korea, warning that war "will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust." Despite calls in its annual New Year's message for a Korean peninsula free of nuclear weapons, the communist North, which has...

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