“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity.” ~llaw
Oct 30, 2025
Today’s Image . . .
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
LLAW’s All Things Nuclear Review Today . . .
Then and now: Remember when Trump continuously bragged that he would end the Russia/Ukraine war in 24 hours as a huge part of his 2nd campaign lies?
Well, this week Trump told reporters while traveling between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, “You’ve got to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon fourth year. That’s what you ought to do instead of testing missiles.”
So now he, a couple of days later, has suddenly ordered the Pentagon to begin nuclear weapons testing immediately, as if what he said about Putin’s nuclear testing rather than “getting the war ended instead of testing missiles”. Two days later he jumps right in with his own less than brilliant idea to — after 30 years of no testing by the US — with a whimsical thought that if Russia and China can do it, the USA can do it. But tomorrow his irresponsible attention span will move on to some other potential disastrous idea . . .
I seem to remember that several years ago that Trump told the whole world that he could end the Russia/Ukraine war in 24 hours as a campaign promise. This man can’t keep track of what he is doing from one day to the next— and when you are dealing with nuclear weapons of mass destruction you had better know exactly what you’re doing and then some. Trump has no idea . . .
Read on to get my point(s) to your hearts’ contents from the two other well-said warnings from other news sources, both of which need more than simply a quick scan and a “forget about it”— and stop telling yourself and others you hang with that “there is nothing we can do. This is early in the 4th year of this blog and a daily 1,091 times that there is something we can all do — and a big part of that is to come together in global unity — and demand of our questionable leaders — that “All Things Nuclear” be forever removed from our lives. ~llaw
Today’s Feature Story from LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD TODAY is from category. . .
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
If the US resumes nuclear weapons testing, this would be extremely dangerous for humanity
Published: October 30, 2025 4:27am EDT
Author
Honorary Principal Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
Disclosure statement
Tilman Ruff is affiliated with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Medical Association for Prevention of War.
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Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
US President Donald Trump has instructed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing immediately, “on an equal basis” with other countries’ testing programs.
If Trump is referring to the resumption of explosive nuclear testing, this would be an extremely unfortunate, regrettable step by the United States.
It would almost inevitably be followed by tit-for-tat reciprocal announcements by other nuclear-armed states, particularly Russia and China, and cement an accelerating arms race that puts us all in great jeopardy.
It would also create profound risks of radioactive fallout globally. Even if such nuclear tests are conducted underground, this poses a risk in terms of the possible release and venting of radioactive materials, as well as the potential leakage into groundwater.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been signed by 187 states – it’s one of the most widely supported disarmament treaties in the world.
The US signed the treaty decades ago, but has yet to ratify it. Nonetheless, it is actually legally bound not to violate the spirit and purpose of the treaty while it’s a signatory.
What testing is used for, and why it stopped
In earlier years, the purpose of testing was to understand the effects of nuclear weapons – for example, the blast damage at different distances, which provides confidence around destroying a given military target.
Understanding the consequences of nuclear weapons helps militaries plan their use, and to some extent, protect their own military equipment and people from the possible use of nuclear weapons by adversaries.
But since the end of the second world war, states have mostly used testing as part of the development of new weapons designs. There have been a very large number of tests, more than 2,000, mostly seeking to understand how these new weapons work.
The huge environmental and health problems caused by nuclear testing prompted nations to agree a moratorium on atmospheric testing for a couple of years in the early 1960s. In 1963, the Partial Test Ban Treaty banned nuclear tests in all environments except underground.
Since then, nuclear-armed states have stopped explosively testing at different times. The US stopped in 1992, while France stopped in 1996. China and Russia also aren’t known to have conducted any tests since the 1990s. North Korea is the only state to have openly tested a nuclear weapon this century, most recently in 2017.
These stoppages came in the 1990s for a reason: by that time, it became possible to test new nuclear weapon designs reliably through technical and computer developments, without having to actually explode them.
So, essentially, the nuclear states, particularly the more advanced ones, stopped when they no longer needed to explosively test new weapon designs to keep modernising their stocks, as they’re still doing.
Worrying levels of nuclear proliferation
There is some good news on the nuclear weapons front. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has now been signed by half the world’s nations. This is a historic treaty that, for the first time, bans nuclear weapons and provides the only internationally agreed framework for their eventual elimination.
With the exception of this significant development, however, everything else has been going badly.
All nine nuclear-armed states (the US, China, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel) are investing unprecedented sums in developing more accurate, stealthier, longer-range, faster, more concealable nuclear weapons.
This potentially lowers the threshold for their use. And it certainly gives no indication these powers are serious about fulfilling their legally binding obligations to disarm under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Moreover, multiple nuclear-armed states have been involved in recent conflicts in which nuclear threats have been made, most notably Russia and Israel.
Worryingly, we have also seen the numbers of nuclear weapons “available for use” actually start to climb again.
This includes those in military stockpiles, those that have been deployed (linked to delivery systems such as missiles), and those on high alert, which are the ones most prone to accidental use because they can be launched within minutes of a decision to do so. All of these categories are on the increase.
Russia, in particular, has weapons we haven’t seen before, such as a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile that President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday his country has successfully tested. China, too, is embarking on a rapid build-up of nuclear weapons.
And the US has just completed assembling a new nuclear gravity bomb.
A new START treaty also not moving forward
Nearly all of the hard-won treaties that constrained nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War have been abrogated.
There’s now just one remaining treaty constraining 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons, which are in the hands of the US and Russia. This is the New START Treaty, which is set to expire in February next year.
Putin offered to extend that treaty informally for another year, and Trump has said this is a good idea. But its official end is just four months away, and no actual negotiations on a successor treaty have begun.
The US has also said China needs to be involved in the successor treaty, which would make it enormously more complicated. China has not expressed a willingness to be part of the process.
Whether anything will be negotiated to maintain these restraints beyond February is unclear. None of the nuclear-armed states are negotiating any other new treaties, either.
All of this means the Doomsday Clock – one of the most authoritative and best-known assessments of the existential threats facing the world – has moved forward this year further than it has ever done before.
It’s really an extraordinarily dangerous time in history.
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. . . and I’ve added this coverage from the Associated Press, though it is not included in today’s TODAY’s LLAW;s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS categories. The information here is a compilation essentially of what seems to be going wrong with the USA and it’s pathetic president and administration — creating global unrest of all kinds, including strong concerns about the USA and other countries causing more dissension than the world can continue to handle . . . ~llaw
Policy changes, but facts endure. AP delivers accurate, fact-based journalism to keep the world informed in every administration. Support independent reporting today. Donate.
By Sarah Naffa
October 30, 2025
In the news today: The U.S. may resume testing nuclear weapons; Trump cuts tariffs on China after meeting Xi; and the U.S. confirms cuts in the U.S. troop presence on NATO’s borders with Ukraine. Also, the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum’s opening puts the King Tut collection in one place for the first time in a century.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after taking off from Busan, South Korea, en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
POLITICS
Trump appears to suggest the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years
President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons, saying it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China. Read more.
Why this matters:
- “Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “That process will begin immediately.” The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking more details.
- There was no indication the U.S. would start detonating warheads, but the president offered few details about what seemed to be a significant shift in U.S. policy. The U.S. military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992 because of a test ban.
- Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, quickly criticized the president’s announcement and said Trump was “misinformed and out of touch.”
RELATED COVERAGE ➤
- Trump’s comments on nuclear testing upend decades of US policy. Here’s what to know about it
- US will share tech to let South Korea build a nuclear-powered submarine, Trump says
- What shutdown? Trump isn’t canceling travel, golf or his ballroom even with the government shuttered
- A man who spent 43 years in prison before his conviction was overturned now faces deportation
- Trump ramps up involvement in this year’s elections in possible preview of midterms pressure
- JD Vance calls for reduction in legal immigration at Turning Point event
- Nigeria’s Nobel-winning author Wole Soyinka says his US visa was revoked
- Democrats needed a new approach on a key House committee. Then came the uproar over Jeffrey Epstein
- Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh indicted over ICE protests outside Chicago
- A Confederate statue is restored as part of Trump’s efforts to reshape how history is told
- He helped deliver Arab American support for Trump. Now his path to Mideast post faces GOP opposition
- Colorado says relocation of Space Command to Alabama is ‘punishment’ for mail-in voting
- US strikes another alleged drug-carrying boat in the Pacific and kills all 4 aboard, Hegseth says
- Wisconsin moving ahead with prison overhaul plan despite Republican objections
- Months after a man was killed at a ‘No Kings’ march, no one has been charged. His wife wants answers
- Judges rule some Florida gun laws are unconstitutional. Here’s what to know
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in California’s special election
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in New York on Election Day
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Virginia on Election Day
WORLD NEWS
Trump cuts tariffs on China after meeting Xi in South Korea
President Donald Trump described his face-to-face with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday as a roaring success, saying he would cut tariffs on China, while Beijing had agreed to allow the export of rare earth elements and start buying American soybeans. Read more.
Why this matters:
- The president told reporters aboard Air Force One that the U.S. would lower tariffs implemented earlier this year as punishment on China for its selling of chemicals used to make fentanyl from 20% to 10%. That brings the total combined tariff rate on China down from 57% to 47%
- “I guess on the scale from 0 to 10, with ten being the best, I would say the meeting was a 12,” Trump said. “I think it was a 12.” Trump said that he would go to China in April and Xi would come to the U.S. “some time after that.” The president said they also discussed the export of more advanced computer chips to China, saying that Nvidia would be in talks with Chinese officials.
- Xi said Washington and Beijing would work to finalize their agreements to provide “peace of mind” to both countries and the rest of the world, according to a report on the meeting distributed by state media.
RELATED COVERAGE ➤
- China says it will work with US to resolve issues related to TikTok
- Senate vote on nullifying tariffs on Canada demonstrates opposition to Trump’s trade policy
- Ontario’s premier says US ambassador should apologize for tirade against his diplomat
WORLD NEWS
The US draws down troops on NATO’s eastern flank as Europe frets about a security vacuum
The U.S. confirmed on Wednesday that it will reduce its troop presence on NATO’s borders with Ukraine but shed no light on any future cuts, as its allies worry about a security gap being created at a time when Russia is increasingly confrontational. Read more.
Why this matters:
- The U.S. armed forces denied it was a sign of lessened commitment to NATO. NATO allies have expressed concern that the Trump administration might leave a security vacuum as European countries confront an increasingly aggressive Russia. Analysts say it might tempt Russia to test the military alliance.
- Depending on operations and exercises, around 80,000-100,000 U.S. troops are usually present on European soil. The administration has been reviewing its military “posture” in Europe and elsewhere, but U.S. officials have said that the findings of the review were not expected to be known before early next year.
TODAY’s LLAW;s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS
About Today’s Nuclear News and How it Works:
There are 7 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcano and caldera activity around the world that also play an important role in the survival of human and other life.
The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). If there was no news from a Category today, the Category will not appear. The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War Threats
- Nuclear War
- Yellowstone Caldera
- IAEA News (Friday’s only)
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
Nuclear World News for Thursday, (10/30/2025). . .
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Nuclear saber-rattling from Trump and Putin signals a dangerous new era | CNN
CNN
Their deployment, if it happens at all, is likely to be a long, long way off. … 5 things to know for Oct. 30: Trump-Xi meeting, Nuclear weapons …
Trump suggests the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons | Boise State Public Radio
Boise State Public Radio
All Things Considered · Reader’s Corner · Our Living Lands · Something I … Other countries, he said, “seem to all be nuclear testing” but when it …
Trump instructs Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons ‘on an equal basis’ with Russia and China
CNN
5 Things Quiz · About CNN · Subscribe · Photos · Investigations · CNN … “They seem to all be nuclear testing,” Trump said, speaking from Air Force One …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Trump orders Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing, citing rival nations’ programs
CNBC
The announcement followed reports that Russia had successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear–powered super torpedo on Wednesday. File photo of a U.S. …
Trump directs nuclear weapons testing to resume for first time in over 30 years – BBC
BBC
It has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1992. It comes just days after Trump denounced Russia for testing a nuclear–powered missile, which …
Trump tells Pentagon to immediately resume testing US nuclear weapons – Reuters
Reuters
Putin said on Wednesday Russia had successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear–powered super torpedo that military analysts say is capable of devastating …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Pa. nuclear reactor shut down: What happened at Susquehanna station? (UPDATE)
Lehigh Valley Live
… power lines. “First responders were dispatched, but no emergency actions were necessary as there was no fire and no injuries. “The plant responded .
Officials discuss safety measures after explosion at nuclear power plant – WBRE
WBRE
But is Luzerne County prepared for a nuclear disaster? “Absolutely, the county actually has an emergency operation plan developed by Susquehanna Steam …
IAEA Reviews Latvia’s Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response
International Atomic Energy Agency
An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts has concluded a ten-day mission to review Latvia’s preparedness and response …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
If the US resumes nuclear weapons testing, this would be extremely dangerous for humanity
The Conversation
It would also create profound risks of radioactive fallout globally. Even if such nuclear tests are conducted underground, this poses a risk in terms …
Nuclear saber-rattling from Trump and Putin signals a dangerous new era | CNN
CNN
Certainly, the timing of the latest threats, as diplomatic progress … “He ought to get the war ended, a war that should have taken one week …
Trump and Xi Ease Off the Trade War, but New Nuclear Threat Brings a Chill
The New York Times
Trump and Xi Ease Off the Trade War, but New Nuclear Threat Brings a Chill … nuclear threats between global powers. Just minutes before he …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Trump instructs Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons ‘on an equal basis’ with Russia and China
CNN
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That …
Trump asks Pentagon to immediately resume testing US nuclear weapons – Reuters
Reuters
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That …
Trump directs Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons – The Hill
The Hill
President Trump said on Wednesday that he has instructed the Defense Department (DOD) to immediately begin testing U.S. nuclear … A war that should …