LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #951 Monday, (06/02/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Jun 02, 2025

1

Share

Servicemen from the mobile air defence unit of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces check a combat application for presence of Russian drones during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion:

I have read that the United States was not advised of this surprise attack by Ukraine on the bomber fleet of Russian airplanes that has put a new light of reflection on the long, miserable, and free-world-critical Russia/Ukraine war.

So it is that I have to assume that this secrecy and silence was planned by Zelenskyy and Ukraine, meant to mean that Ukraine will not rely, and perhaps cannot rely, on the United States for help — no doubt because of Trump and his administration’s demand for some kind of payment or financial caveat for continuing to aid Ukraine.

My personal thoughts about this new and very weighty situation is that “Democracy should be Democracy” world-wide regardless of boundaries, but rather wherever its free world countries are located, and all Democratic nations should help shoulder the burden when one or more democratic counties are threatened from Oligarchies or other Authoritarian nations.

Such an understanding among 50 original countries has existed since the European democracies led by the United States of America formed the “United Nations” in San Francisco, California, on June 20, 1945. Ukraine wants to join the UN to help their new Democracy flourish even while once occupied by their neighbor Russia.

The USA, with or without Trump, should help finance and stand behind Ukraine, expecting nothing more in return except for the welcome addition of a vibrant and new Democratic nation joining the free world . . . ~llaw

Al Jazeera logo and symbol, meaning, history, PNG

How will Ukraine’s attack on Russian bombers affect the war?

An unprecedented assault on the eve of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict weakens Russia’s image, observers say.

Servicemen from the mobile air defence unit of the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces check a combat application for presence of Russian drones during an overnight shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv Region, Ukraine June 1, 2025. REUTERS/Sofiia Gatilova
Ukrainian servicemen check a combat application for presence of Russian drones during an overnight shift in Kharkiv [Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters]

By Mansur Mirovalev

Published On 2 Jun 20252 Jun 2025

Kyiv, Ukraine – Any description of Ukraine’s attacks on Russia’s fleet of strategic bombers could leave one scrambling for superlatives.

Forty-one planes – including supersonic Tu-22M long-range bombers, Tu-95 flying fortresses and A-50 early warning warplanes – were hit and damaged on Sunday on four airfields, including ones in the Arctic and Siberia, Ukrainian authorities and intelligence said.

Moscow did not comment on the damage to the planes but confirmed that the airfields were hit by “Ukrainian terrorist attacks”.

Videos posted by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), which planned and carried out the operation, which was called The Spiderweb, showed only a handful of planes being hit.

The strategic bombers have been used to launch ballistic and cruise missiles from Russian airspace to hit targets across Ukraine, causing wide scale damage and casualties.

The bomber fleet is one-third of Moscow’s “nuclear triad”, which also consists of nuclear missiles and missile-carrying warships.

According to some observers, the attack shattered Russia’s image of a nuclear superpower with a global reach.

The attack inadvertently “helped the West because it targeted [Russia’s] nuclear potential”, Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of the Ukrainian military’s general staff, told Al Jazeera.

While the assault decreases Russia’s potential to launch missiles on Ukraine, it will not affect the grinding ground hostilities along the crescent-shaped, 1,200km (745-mile) front line, he said.

INTERACTIVE-WHO CONTROLS WHAT IN UKRAINE-1748438607
(Al Jazeera)

Romanenko compared The Spiderweb’s scope and inventiveness to a string of 2023 Ukrainian attacks against Russia’s Black Sea fleet that was mostly concentrated in annexed Crimea.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 items

list 1 of 4

Putin is “testing the waters” in Trump relationship

list 2 of 4

Video: Two Russian bridges collapse near Ukraine within hours

list 3 of 4

Ukrainian drones target Russian airbases in unprecedented operation

list 4 of 4

Russia and Ukraine swap fire as they head to Istanbul peace talks

end of listSubscribed

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Monday, (06/02/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

What’s at stake in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks? – WQLN

WQLN

All Things Considered · Morning Edition · Fresh Air · Radio Pledge Drive … DETROW: That is Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former Iran nuclear negotiator.

What’s at stake in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks? – Public Radio Tulsa

Public Radio Tulsa

… about the ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program … All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00.

What’s at stake in the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks? | WCBU Peoria

WCBU Peoria

… about the ongoing talks between the U.S. and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program … All Things Considered. Next Up: 5:00 PM American Routes. 0 …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Going Nuclear by Tim Gregory review – a boosterish case for atomic energy – The Guardian

The Guardian

There is something biblical about the fraternal relationship between the atomic bomb and the nuclear reactor. Both involve bombarding uranium-235 …

Recent Nuclear Executive Orders to Accelerate US Nuclear Renaissance

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP

Within the first 90 days, the Nuclear EOs address establishing domestic fuel supply, regulatory overhauls, fast-tracking reactor deployments utilizing …

Faster, Cheaper, Smarter? The Promise and Pitfalls of Small Modular Reactors | GLOBSEC

GLOBSEC

The recent energy crisis and the push for decarbonization have reignited discussions around a potential nuclear renaissance. Nuclear power plants …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

DOE orders Constellation to delay retiring 760 MW to ease PJM ‘emergency‘ | Utility Dive

Utility Dive

… power plants to operate during wars and emergencies. It has been used … Nuclear power plant and transmission lines · Trump aims for 400 GW of …

IAEA Approves SAIHEAT as Official SMR Vendor – Stock Titan

Stock Titan

Nuclear Energy Specialist positive · Emergency Cooldown System (ECS) · Emergency Reactor Cooling (ERC) · Absorber input for emergency shutdown …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

UK unveils major military boost in face of rising Russian threat | NATO News – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

Investment to pour into nuclear warheads, submarines and munitions to confront ‘most immediate threat since Cold War‘.

U.K. Faces Most Serious Military Threat Since Cold War, Starmer Says

The New York Times

Faces Most Serious Military Threat Since Cold War, Starmer Says. Prime … nuclear and other weaponry as part of new military strategy for a …

America’s Latest Problem: A Three-Way Nuclear Race

Foreign Policy

U.S. and Soviet tests of nuclear weapons in space during the Cold War showed that such a weapon would threaten commercial satellites as well as …

Nuclear War

NEWS

How will Ukraine’s attack on Russian bombers affect the war? | News – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

The bomber fleet is one-third of Moscow’s “nuclear triad”, which also consists of nuclear missiles and missile-carrying warships. Advertisement.

Ukraine drones strike bombers during major attack in Russia – BBC

BBC

The SBU sources said that among the hit Russian aircraft were strategic nuclear capable bombers called Tu-95 and Tu-22M3, as well as A-50 early …

Russia and Ukraine to hold more peace talks after Kyiv hits nuclear-capable bombers

Reuters

Second round of direct talks in Turkey · Russia and Ukraine still far apart on peace · Ukraine to set out roadmap for peace · Russia: war and negotiation …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

UNM researchers make new discovery about Yellowstone National Park supervolcano

KRQE

… Yellowstone and how big it is,” said Fischer. Fischer said the Yellowstone system is similar to the Valles Caldera in New Mexico. Although Valles …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest WEEKEND NEWS, Sunday, (06/01/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

Jun 01, 2025

1

Share

Nuclear weapon button hi-res stock photography and images ...

Do we really want to unilaterally trust any one of our current nuclear-armed world global leaders with the individual right to NEVER press this button? I think not, and those who have that power must be forced to lose it immediately . . . ~llaw

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War
  5. Nuclear War Threats
  6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There is one Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available on this weekend’s Sunday Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Sunday, (06/01/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear Golden Age: Huge Potential, Stubborn Obstacles – Forbes

Forbes

The NRC and the electric utility industry and its nuclear component all face severe labor shortages. … Everything To Know About ‘Stranger Things’ …

Iranian FM stresses cooperation after watchdog report on rising uranium stockpile – NPR

NPR

All Things Considered · Fresh Air · Up First. Featured. Embedded · The NPR … “The Islamic Republic of Iran is neither pursuing nuclear weapons nor …

IAEA report spells out past secret nuclear activities in Iran | CNN

CNN

That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Both IAEA reports said enrichment to such a high level …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

U.S. Sends Iran Proposal on Nuclear Deal, Amid Reports of Uranium Enrichment Ramp-Up

The New York Times

Two people on motorcycles look at each other on a crowded street. According to the report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran now …

Nuclear Golden Age: Huge Potential, Stubborn Obstacles – Forbes

Forbes

President Trump’s executive orders outline an aggressive program of nuclear power growth. For starters, he wants to quadruple nuclear power …

3 Stocks to Buy to Ride the Nuclear Power Renaissance | The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool

Constellation Energy is the nation’s leader in producing nuclear power. Cameco foresees huge demand for uranium to power nuclear plants. Investor …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Emergency siren tests happening at two Pennsylvania power stations this week – CBS News

CBS News

According to their website, Limerick Clean Energy Center’s two nuclear reactors can produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

UK wants nuclear-armed US fighter jets to counter Russian threat, Times reports

The Kyiv Independent

The review is largely in response to the increasing risk of state-on-state warfare, specifically the threat of a Russian attack. In other line …

NATO Ally Looks to Buy US Nuclear-Capable Fighter Jets to Counter Russia – Newsweek

Newsweek

… war-fighting readiness.” He cited the emergence of “new nuclear risks,” as well as cyberattacks orchestrated by Russia alongside Iran and North Korea.

British fighter jets to be armed with nuclear bombs, as UK faces ‘new era of threat‘ of… – LBC

LBC

Nuclear risks are rising.” “We face now, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, seriously increasing risks of state-on-state conflict.”.

Nuclear War

NEWS

Ukraine attacks Russian nuclear-capable bombers in Siberia | Reuters

Reuters

Ukraine attacked Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers at a military base in Siberia on Sunday, the first such attack so far from the front …

Russian Nuclear Bombers, Nuclear-Powered Submarines Attacked In Drone Strike – YouTube

YouTube

Ukraine has hit five Russian military bases in what could be the most damaging drone strike of the three-year war. Ukraine has targeted strategic …

US sends Iran nuclear deal proposal after UN watchdog report – BBC

BBC

The US defence secretary called on Asian countries to boost spending and work with the US to deter war. Just now. World.

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Two Mysterious Volcanic Eruptions Older Than Yellowstone Were Just Found In Wyoming

MSN

Where is the Kilauea volcano? How to find Hawaii’s most active volcano. … Ask a Pro: “How Long Will $1M Last in Retirement?” … Escape and unwind with …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest WEEKEND NEWS, Saturday, (05/31/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 31, 2025

Share

Nuclear Waste Sites in the USA with no place to go for permanent repository disposal . . .

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War
  5. Nuclear War Threats
  6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available on this weekend’s Saturday Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Saturday, (05/31/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

The Nuclear Trump Factor | Common Dreams

Common Dreams

However, all these missile defense systems are not about the possible interception of nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, i.e., self …

U.S. Senator Katie Britt Warns Against China’s Nuclear Capabilities in Hearing with Energy Secretary

Katie Britt

… nuclear reactors that are in construction, which is about half of the construction of all nuclear reactors across the entire globe . . . We know …

Are the US and Iran close to a nuclear deal? – Audacy

Audacy

… All Music Stations · All News & Talk Stations · All … Moves of the game began with Israeli intelligence finding out about Iranian nuclear capabilities …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Iran increases stockpile of enriched Uranium by 50 percent, IAEA says – Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera

The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday comes as nuclear deal negotiations are under way between the United States and …

Executive Orders Ignite U.S. Nuclear Push | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

The executive orders include mandates for military deployment, expedited regulatory approvals, testing of new reactor designs, and major federal …

Iran: UN nuclear watchdog IAEA concerned over uranium stockpile – BBC

BBC

The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran now possesses over 400kg of uranium at 60% purity.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Trump Emergency Order Halts Second Power Plant From Closure – MSN

MSN

Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It’s Tapping Site of US Nuclear Meltdown …

Ukraine Condemns Russia’s Reported Plan to Link Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant to Its Grid

Caspian News

… Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to its own energy syst. … radioactive material, any incident could spark a catastrophic nuclear emergency.

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Trump’s threat to destroy Iran nuclear sites a clear red line – Fars News | Reuters

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities is a clear red line and will have severe consequences, the official ..

Donald Trump Says He’s Potentially Stopping ‘Nuclear War‘ Through Trade – Newsweek

Newsweek

President Donald Trump has said that trade threats forced India and Pakistan back from the brink when hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors .

Trump says US, Iran ‘fairly close’ to reaching nuclear deal | The Times of Israel

The Times of Israel

Trump has repeatedly threatened to bomb Iran’s nuclear … war, IDF uniforms designed for men expose female troops to risks. Advertisement.

Nuclear War

NEWS

Donald Trump Says He’s Potentially Stopping ‘Nuclear War‘ Through Trade – Newsweek

Newsweek

Trump reiterated this point following a visit to U.S. Steel’s Mon Valley Works–Irvin plant where he said the U.S. could stop a potential nuclear war ” …

The Economic – Trump Says He Averted India-Pak Nuke War! Donald Trump claims credit … – Facebook

Full Coverage

Trump’s threat to destroy Iran nuclear sites a clear red line – Fars News | Reuters

Reuters

Israel and Hamas at War · Japan · Middle East · Ukraine and Russia at War … DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy …

North Korea Conducts Nuclear Strike Drill | Arms Control Association

Arms Control Association

The statement did not specify if the ICBMs in the simulated attack came from North Korea, but the interceptors at Fort Greely likely would be used in …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Yellowstone, Violent Hydrothermal Explosion, Biscuit Basin Off Limits for 2025 – La Voce di New York

La Voce di New York

The Yellowstone Caldera spans about 30 by 45 miles (50 by 70 km), making it one of the largest volcanic systems in the world. It has experienced three …

The closer a volcano is to erupting, the greener the trees around it look from space

Live Science

An aerial photograph of the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone. Scientists find ‘breathing’ magma cap inside Yellowstone supervolcano · A …

Two Mysterious Volcanic Eruptions Older Than Yellowstone Were Just Found In Wyoming

TheTravel

… Caldera around 767,000 years ago. These mysterious volcanic eruptions … caldera-forming supereruption at Yellowstone. Discovery · Archaeology.

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #950 Friday, (05/30/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 30, 2025

Share

President Donald Trump announces the Golden Dome missile defense system, Tuesday, May 20, 2025, in the Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion:

Offering on this Friday relevant current looks at updated important news concerning the Russian/Ukraine war that has been more or less ignored with the now questionable U.S./Iran nuclear agreement talks and the possible US/Israel/Iran war situation if those talks fail — all of which is becoming more likely every day. The USA meddling and interfering by Trump is creating dissension and stress around the world.

Trump has — either intentionally or stupidly — thrown contradictory demands in the face at every break during the scheduled talks. His demands have led to a mistrust about the USA and Trump’s dedication of any such nuclear pact. And, as a result, Israel has also returned to the idea of war with Iran with a bombing to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities that Trump has previously told Israel to stand down, and let the U.S. take care of it all through diplomacy that has never arrived. So, the long and short of it all is that the agreement talks are in jeopardy and the war talks are prevalent.

And now Trump is similarly balking about the possible peace situation between Russia/Ukraine because he is insisting that Putin agree to a 30-day cease fire before any peace talks can be held. (See the 2nd to last “Sky News article linked below in the list of the 7 current news for today) . . .

Perhaps Trump needs to bow out or be forced out of any war and peace discussions in both situations as well as the Pakistan/India situation, and, as a practical matter, shut up about annexing Canada by offering them his “Golden Dome” nuclear war defense probable “white elephant” for free if they merge with the United States. It’s never gonna happen where Canada is concerned. llolloll!

And then there are the Greenland, Denmark, and Panama issues waiting in the wings . . . ~llaw

sky news logo

Ukraine war latest: Russia says ceasefire alone can’t end war; Macron warns world not to abandon Ukraine to focus on Asia

Russia has told the UN that a ceasefire can’t end the war in Ukraine by itself. Uncertainty still hangs over potential peace talks next week. Speaking in Asia, France’s Emmanuel Macron warned the world not to abandon Ukraine to focus on the Indo-Pacific.

Friday 30 May 2025 16:30, UK

Latest news

Subscribed

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Friday, (05/30/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Powering The Future: Why America Must Double Down On Nuclear Energy – Forbes

Forbes

Today, all of the commercial nuclear waste generated in the U.S. could fit on a single football field, stacked 30 feet high. It is currently …

Live – Tehran’s Arab neighbors warn Trump against strikes on Iran – Axios

iranintl.com

… all sanctions and uphold Iran’s nuclear rights—including enrichment. … Majorities of every political group expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear …

Iran says a U.S. nuclear deal isn’t imminent and that its enrichment program must continue

Los Angeles Times

… about a diplomatic solution that will serve the interests of all sides. But getting there requires an agreement that will fully terminate all …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Can they “Make Atoms Great Again”? How the federal government can support domestic …

Clean Air Task Force

In April, the Trump administration stated its support for advanced nuclear as part of a larger energy strategy for America to lead globally.

To boost nuclear power, Trump orders controversial rewrite of radiation safety rules

Science

In addition to taking steps to enable the construction of nuclear plants on public lands and expand U.S. uranium mining, the orders call for …

Powering The Future: Why America Must Double Down On Nuclear Energy – Forbes

Forbes

Nuclear energy is poised for a vital resurgence. Amid rising global temperatures, surging data center demand & bipartisan support for innovation, …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

DOE Issues Emergency Order to Maintain Midwest Grid Reliability Ahead of Summer Demand

T&D World

These measures are designed to increase domestic nuclear energy capacity and support energy reliability. In addition, a separate executive order …

DOE Issues Rare Emergency Order to Delay Michigan Coal Plant Retirement Amid MISO Grid Risk

POWER Magazine

However, the DOE in its order noted that Michigan has retired about 2,700 MW of coal-fired generation, while its nuclear generation has declined with …

Belarus shares nuclear safety regulatory infrastructure experience with Kazakhstan

Belarusian news

… Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Emergencies Ministry of Belarus (Gosatomnadzor). At the invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Nuclear threats in space demand new diplomacy – Lowy Institute

Lowy Institute

The history of nuclear testing in outer space traces back to the early Cold War … nuclear threats. Instability in the space-nuclear nexus, and its …

North Korea slams Trump’s Golden Dome as plan for ‘outer space nuclear war‘ – NK News

NK News

… nuclear war scenario,” accusing the U.S. of using space for “hegemonic purposes” to threaten other nuclear states. State media reported on the …

The U.S. Can Demand an End to Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions without Risking War

Mosaic Magazine

Even as reports of possible progress in hostage negotiations testify to both the effectiveness of Gideon’s Chariots and to the dangers of the …

Nuclear War

NEWS

When the Whole Country Watched a Nuclear War Movie at Once – The New York Times

The New York Times

… nuclear war in the next 10 years. Schoolchildren participated in evacuation drills. There were enough nuclear weapons in America and the Soviet …

Exclusive: Saudi warned Iran to reach nuclear deal with Trump or risk Israeli strike | Reuters

Reuters

… nuclear agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel. Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the …

Ukraine war latest: ‘Putin should take the deal’ – US threatens to abandon peace talks

Sky News

… War (ISW) said. Russia has not produced a memorandum laying out its terms … nuclear and missile programs for 15 years. North Korea’s help …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

First fire confirmed in Yellowstone National Park in 2025; new webcam installed at Biscuit Basin

Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Wildfire · Wildfire Suppression · Natural Disasters · Natural Environment · Geothermal Areas Of Yellowstone · Volcano · Yellowstone Caldera …

Italy supervolcano warning issued over ‘eruption that will plunge planet into chaos’

Daily Star

Yellowstone Volcano. Italy supervolcano warning issued over ‘eruption that will plunge planet into chaos’. Boffins have warned one of the world’s …

IAEA Weekly News

Not Available

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #949 Thursday, (05/29/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 29, 2025

1

Share

(See Bulletin of Atomic Scientists article below for image description and photo credit ~llaw)

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion:

This article’s subject —the 3rd I’ve recently Posted here — is about the dismal past and future of Trump’s so-called “Golden Dome” nuclear defense shield that may well be the biggest “white elephant” ever created by the USA, but that is not all.

Besides the issue of throwing good money after bad, this article from “The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists” also tells us another story, and that is Trump and his administration are ignoring existing technology, that is documented in this long, but excellent article, and this typical failure of Trump’s presidency is the most important quote of all, and it comes with details:

“Everything we have learned about missile defense over the last 50 years is being ignored by the Trump administration.”

~llaw

Nuclear expert Jon Wolfsthal on the costs of US nuclear weapons programs spiraling out of control

By François Diaz-Maurin | May 29, 2025

Photo illustration by Thomas Gaulkin (Trident missile photo by US Navy)

Just as the US House of Representatives passed its so-called “big, beautiful bill” last week, offering large tax cuts to the wealthy and kicking millions off their health insurance, President Trump announced that his administration would invest $175 billion over three years in a “Golden Dome” missile defense project that would, purportedly, protect the United States against any missile attack, small or large. This new defense program adds to an already long list of programs for the modernization and replacement of all US strategic nuclear delivery and associated systems.

Currently estimated at about $1 trillion over the next 10 years, the nuclear modernization program has faced technical and management challenges, leading to repeated cost and schedule overruns. These overruns are so large that they triggered a breach of the Nunn-McCurdy Act, which requires Congress to be notified when defense programs exceed certain cost thresholds. There have been two such notifications recently: First in January 2024 for the new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and a second time in April for the radar modernization program of the latest configuration of the B-52 bomber. And the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine could trigger another breach: According to a September 2024 Government Accountability Office report, difficulties with the construction of the lead submarine may result in cost overruns that are nearly five times the Navy’s initial estimates.

To help make sense of the cost problem affecting all three legs of the US nuclear arsenal’s modernization, I spoke with Jon Wolfsthal, a nuclear expert and director of global risk at the Federation of American Scientists. Wolfsthal, who is a member of the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board, has studied this issue for over a decade. Earlier this month, he wrote an article for the Federation of American Scientists in which he says the costs “continue to spiral out of control.”

Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

François Diaz-Maurin: I want to start by asking: Why did you write about the cost issue of the US nuclear weapons programs now?

Diaz-Maurin: I guess most of our readers already know that nuclear weapons are costly. But that’s not exactly what your piece is about. It’s rather that the costs are, as you say, spiraling out of control. What do you mean by that? Could you break down a bit what’s happening with those costs?

Wolfsthal: When I first looked at this issue back in 2009, after I entered the Obama administration, it was clear that the Bush administration had not been investing money to maintain a safe arsenal; they had diverted money away from stockpile surveillance, which are basic, non-controversial steps to maintain a safe arsenal. So President Obama and Vice President Biden immediately took steps to make sure we were keeping our weapons safe by investing more money in a program that wasn’t necessarily part of the Prague agenda. It was just common sense: You don’t want weapons to be neglected. You don’t want them to risk going off, and you don’t want to have to risk having to return to nuclear testing.

But in 2010, President Obama made a series of commitments in order to convince the Senate to approve the New START treaty. And at that time, he committed to spending $88 billion over 10 years to modernize the arsenal. When I left government in 2012, it was already clear that the full scope of that modernization was going to be much bigger, but nobody had ever looked at exactly what that scope was going to be. And so, Jeff Lewis and I, along with our research assistant at [the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in] Monterey did that first analysis in 2014. And we came up with the number, based on the government’s own estimates, that it would cost $1 trillion over 30 years to modernize the [US nuclear] arsenal and maintain what we had.

At the time, we were criticized as being alarmist, anti-nuclear, padding the budget, and trying to attack the sustainment program. And there were also comments, and this is in the piece, that people said: “This is affordable. It’s a small fraction of the defense budget, and it’s historically very low.” They looked at what modernization had cost during the Reagan administration, and it was about 6 percent of the defense budget at the time. So, for them, this was going to be less than that.

Now, fast forward to the [April] report by the Congressional Budget Office, not only is $1 trillion low for a 30-year estimate, but we’re going to spend a trillion dollars in 10 years, because all of these programs turned out to be vastly more complicated and vastly more expensive. This is partly because of political decisions made by the first Trump administration to award these contracts before they were mature, to single-source contractors, and to bite off more than the defense industrial complex could chew. First, we have the [Sentinel] ICBM program, with an initial estimate of about $60 to $70 billion now running above $140 billion. Then, the B-21 bomber program is classified.[1] It was classified at the request of the late Senator John McCain. Therefore, we don’t even know what those budget costs are. And, quite frankly, I think the Congressional Budget Office probably underestimates what those costs are, because the Air Force has always wanted to exclude research and development costs.

Then, the [Columbia-class] submarine has been delayed for a number of reasons. I think that has probably less to do with programmatic mismanagement than with just real shortfalls in our defense industrial complex. And I don’t have the numbers right in front of me in terms of the sub growth, but there’s no doubt that the ICBM has been the poster child for cost overruns.

And then there was just a report in April that the B-52, the current nuclear bomber, has actually breached the Nunn-McCurdy guidelines, because it has exceeded the allowed cost overruns and is now considered an at-risk program. So the cost issue is not unique to any one program. The problem is that the Defense Department is trying to modernize every leg of the US nuclear deterrent at the same time, while also trying to build next-generation fighters and attack submarines, and to deal with repairs that are to the defense industrial base on the conventional side. But it just can’t do it all, and things are going to get more and more expensive.

RELATED:

When scientists and weather forecasters are targeted, everyone loses

Diaz-Maurin: You mentioned the B-52 bomber breaching the Nunn-McCurdy Act, which requires that the military services notify Congress when a program exceeds its appropriated cost or schedule. Last year, the Sentinel ICBM program also breached the Nunn-McCurdy Act with an unprecedented 37 percent growth in budget compared to previous estimates and at least a two-year schedule delay. But as far as I can know, nothing happened, and the program is likely to proceed. Does it mean that Congress has no say ultimately over such breaches?

Wolfsthal: Well, these are always questions of political will. Congress passed a law and under the Biden administration, the Nunn-McCurdy Act was followed. [After a breach], it requires the Defense Department to recertify that there are no alternatives for the program and that the necessary steps are being taken to move money from one part of the defense budget to meet the shortfall and to put the program on sound footing. In this case, it was the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Sustainment [William LaPlante] who certified the program under [Defense Secretary] Lloyd Austin and determined that there was no alternative, which I don’t believe to be true. Now we know that the Minuteman III can be extended. So that’s the alternative.[2]

Any assurances that the program was being put on sound footing are now completely blown away by the fact that they’re not even sure what silos they’re going to have: Do they need all new silos? Can they repurpose old silos like they’re going back to the drawing board on silos? Congress should take that certification and analyze it. Part of the problem is that the Nunn-McCurdy justification is classified and has not been released. In fact, the Federation of American Scientists has submitted a FOIA request for the Nunn-McCurdy certification, because we’d like to know what analysis went into trying to comply with the law. But as we’ve seen in this environment, the law is what judges say it is, and Congress would have to stand up for its political and legal rights, because they’re not going to just be handed them by the Trump administration.

Diaz-Maurin: What’s the alternative to the Sentinel ICBM program, exactly? And, generally speaking, are all nuclear modernization programs equally necessary for national security?

Wolfsthal: Those are exactly the right questions. And what we appear to be doing is saying, “we made a decision 10 years ago, and it’s impossible to revisit those decisions, and we have to keep doing this no matter what.” But that’s not the way nuclear strategy should be run, and the fact that they haven’t revisited basic concepts suggests to me that they’re just not interested in or capable of doing the hard work of managing this arsenal.

If the President determines—which is his right—that we need to maintain 400 warheads on ICBMs, there are lots of ways we can do that. During the Obama administration in 2016, we suggested that you could take the 200 most reliable Minuteman IIIs and simply put two warheads on each of them. You would cut the reliability risk of the ICBM program significantly, because you could take the most reliable, most modern of the Minuteman IIIs and maintain two warheads on each. This wouldn’t risk inviting an attack because Russia or China would still have to strike at 200 fixed land targets. So, you still would have the sponge and a very visible deterrent.[3] But that was rejected by the Air Force as unworkable, even though it turns out the Sentinel program is also unworkable.

Still, there are alternatives. For instance, could the United States go back to the drawing board and develop mobile ICBMs? Could the United States build a new ICBM, but fewer of them? Could the United States simply upload warheads to submarines and have fewer ICBMs? Back in 2018, there was an analysis done by Global Zero called “Alternative Nuclear Posture Review,” which talked about going to a [nuclear] dyad, with submarines and bombers only. So, there are lots of ways by which the United States could maintain a very robust nuclear deterrent and fighting force without having to spend $140 billion plus on a new ICBM, which likely will not be deployed for more than a decade, which I think is even a very optimistic timeline.

Diaz-Maurin: Going back to your piece, you seem to describe a systemic inability by the Defense Department to meet budget and schedule for its nuclear programs. What can be done to improve oversight of those programs?

Wolfsthal: These are hard things to do. It’s not as if I am sitting in a nice non-governmental office without government responsibility and saying that this is easy. These programs are difficult. But this is why we suggested in 2014 that these things are so hard; we shouldn’t be doing them all at the same time. Stagger them. Invest. Do the submarine first, because the submarine is necessary. They’re stabilizing. The defense capacity is there. Then, if you’re going to do the bomber, you know there are explanations for why you might want to do the conventional bomber first. Maybe you want to delay that program somewhat. But when it comes to the ICBM, this program could easily have been pushed out another decade.

I still think that there are lots of good reasons to say, especially if you’re going to have to extend the life of the Minuteman IIIs anyway: Stop the Sentinel program. Go back to the drawing board. Reevaluate how many warheads you need, which we’re going to have to do anyway as New START goes away. And then, figure out what’s the best, most reliable way to maintain those capabilities. Maybe that is a new ICBM, maybe that’s mobile, maybe it’s fixed. But buy yourself the five years necessary to figure out how to do this program, and in the meantime, get some of these other programs on a sound footing, because the same people that are managing the finances, the defense industrial base, the contracting, the long-lead-term procurement items, the defense contractors are doing all these programs. But there’s just only so much time in the day, and we’re facing now a trillion-dollar defense budget annually that is still not capable of doing the basic things that most people would say are necessary: maintaining a well-equipped, motivated military force, taking care of their health, buying modern communication, command, and control equipment, building resiliency, preparing for the future of warfare (whether it’s AI, cyber, non-kinetic), all those different things.

Very few people think that nuclear weapons are the most important thing that the Defense Department is doing. These weapons are, in many people’s views, necessary, but not the most important. And so, how do we right-size this investment? Maybe you stop some of the programs, and maybe you slow some of them down. But right now, there is no strategic prioritization taking place within the Defense Department. I don’t think that [Defense] Secretary Hegseth has a knowledge base on these issues, nor do I think that the people that he’s brought in under him have any experience with managing these nuclear systems. And the White House is not exercising control in that area. Therefore, the only option is for Congress to step up, and for the expert community, the civil society community, the Congressional Budget Offices of the world, to draw attention to this issue, to try to create momentum for some sound analysis and changes to put these programs on a better footing.

RELATED:

The US hypocrisy about Israel’s nuclear weapons must stop

Diaz-Maurin: Let me play a little devil’s advocate here. Whenever there is a congressional hearing about threat assessment, you get experts and military officials testifying that the United States urgently needs to upgrade all three legs of its nuclear arsenal at the same time to respond to China’s growing nuclear ambitions and the likely end of strategic arms control with Russia. In their view, the full nuclear modernization program is a necessary insurance policy for national security. What would you tell them?

Wolfsthal: I would say that right now we have five legs of a nuclear arsenal, not three. We have submarines, ICBMs, and bombers, but we also have long-range cruise missiles and tactical (non-strategic) nuclear weapons. So, the United States already has more than a triad. What’s at risk is not whether we can maintain a nuclear deterrent, but whether we can maintain an effective nuclear deterrent by trying to buy new systems that will not be delivered on time, will not have the operational capability that they were originally designed to have, and that we will end up in disarmament or reductions either by default or by mismanagement. Therefore, the choice before us is not to maintain a great arsenal or to develop a super great arsenal. It is whether we can define a pathway to maintain a reasonable arsenal that can deter our adversaries and protect our allies, or whether we are going to drop off a cliff because we cannot effectively manage these programs. And that’s not me arguing that we can live with fewer nuclear weapons. It’s simply that we need a strategy. We then need to put capabilities and resources to work to achieve that strategy, be mindful about it, and be effective at it.

In 2009, I drafted part of the Prague speech for President Obama, and people tend to look only at one part of that speech or the other, but they rarely read the whole thing. What Obama said is that we should recommit ourselves to a world without nuclear weapons. But so long as nuclear weapons exist, they need to be safe, secure, and effective. Those two things go hand in hand, and right now, we’re on a pathway to neither pursue a world without nuclear weapons nor maintain a safe and effective nuclear arsenal. And as a result, we risk not getting either, and that is a recipe for real danger.

Diaz-Maurin: When we go back to the reliability issue across the legs, it all comes down to the reliability of the plutonium pits, the explosive core of nuclear weapons. As part of the US nuclear modernization, the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has launched an ambitious program to produce new plutonium pits at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. But this program, too, is facing cost overruns and production challenges. What’s your view about this program?

Wolfsthal: First, I still rely on the 2006 study that was done by the JASON [advisory group], which concluded that our pits are likely to be reliable for at least 100 years. What this comes down to, however, is not the internal perceived reliability of an individual pit, or even of an individual missile or submarine. It is whether an adversary believes that the United States is capable and willing to launch nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack or strategic threat to the United States or its allies? Because if they do, then it doesn’t matter if our weapons are 98 percent or 94 percent reliable. It simply matters that we have influenced our adversaries and our allies so they know that the US commitment is credible.

Our biggest challenge right now is not the technical reliability of our programs. The biggest problem is that nobody believes that President Trump would ever risk the security of the United States to protect its allies, and adversaries doubt seriously whether Trump would even launch US nuclear weapons in response to an attack by Russia or China because he’s trying to cut economic deals with as much as he is trying to deter them. So our problems are not going to be fixed financially. They need to be fixed politically.

Now, to the extent that we will need nuclear weapons to be credible until we can achieve some more stable outcome, we need to make sure we are not wasting money and spending these funds and scarce resources on programs that aren’t going to build what they are designed to build. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what we are doing right now. We are not only trying to build an aircraft while we are flying it. We’re trying to build an aircraft while it’s doing a nosedive into the ground, and the trajectory is already set. The first rule of hole digging when you’re in one is to stop digging. And any reasonable analyst would look at the Sentinel ICBM program and say, “This has to go back to the drawing board.”

Diaz-Maurin: One final question before I wrap up this interview. President Trump just announced his plan to build a so-called Golden Dome missile defense project in three years at a cost of no more than $175 billion. Past the feasibility of building such a complex system in so little time, what do you make of its cost estimate?

Wolfsthal: Everything we have learned about missile defense over the last 50 years is being ignored by the Trump administration. Their estimates are easily off by an order of magnitude, and any protection they provide will be so limited as to be almost insignificant. Moreover, pursuing a Golden Dome missile defense will drive our adversaries to build more missiles, more maneuverable missiles, and rely on decoys, enabling them to render any national defense ineffective. These funds would be much better spent on other defense and non-defense priorities. The idea that we will build any kind of effective defense in the next three years is simply a fantasy.

Notes

[1] The B-21 bomber is expected to enter service by 2027 to gradually replace the B-1B and B-2 bombers through the 2030s. In total, the Air Force is expected to procure at least 100 B-21 bombers.

[2] Some current Minuteman III ICBMs will likely have to be life-extended to make up for the delay in the new Sentinel ICBM program.

[3] The “nuclear sponge” is a concept that illustrates how silos would absorb hundreds of Russian (or Chinese) missiles and warheads to destroy the United States’ ICBM silos before these adversaries can launch an attack on other targets.

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Thursday, (05/29/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Site of America’s worst nuclear accident gets new chance to become energy hub – PBS

PBS

We’re sorry to interrupt your regular programs, but we have been waiting all evening to go to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. … about nuclear energy …

Iranian political analyst discusses latest talks with U.S. on a new nuclear deal – NPR

NPR

Beyond that, everything else is solvable. But the problem is that inside the United States, you have the neocons and the Zionist lobby, which have …

Nuclear expert Jon Wolfsthal on the costs of US nuclear weapons programs spiraling out of control

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Wolfsthal: Everything we have learned about missile defense over the last 50 years is being ignored by the Trump administration. Their estimates are …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Trump’s Nuclear Order Could Loosen Radiation Standards, Give DOGE Expanded Role – Barron’s

Barron’s

The shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pa. Constellation Energy is looking to give the site new life. (Chip ..

Trump nuclear orders could open small reactors by 2030: GE Vernova – CNBC

CNBC

President Donald Trump ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to decide on applications for new nuclear plants within 18 months.

Nuclear Making a Comeback in US, Europe | OilPrice.com

Oil Price

European nations such as Denmark, Spain, and Germany are signaling renewed openness to advanced reactor technologies. Nuclear power plant. The …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Constellation to test emergency sirens at Peach Bottom nuclear plant – York Dispatch

York Dispatch

Constellation will conduct its semi-annual, full-volume test of the emergency warning sirens surrounding Peach Bottom Clean Energy Center, …

Koeberg emergency siren inadvertently activated during routine maintenance

Engineering News

Power utility Eskom on May 28 confirmed that an emergency siren was … NUCLEAR ENERGY BACK. Koeberg emergency siren inadvertently activated …

Operational event at Taishan Nuclear Power Station – Government Information Centre

Government Information Centre

The Nuclear Emergency Committee Office of the Guangdong Province notified the Security Bureau today (May 29) of an operational event at Taishan …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

War of words: New sanctions threat in US-Russia escalation – YouTube

YouTube

Russia warns Trump to ‘back off’ from Ukraine with threats of WWIII. Sky … Putin’s nuclear war would have fatal impacts for Russia | Former …

Nordic nations embrace total defense as the risk of sabotage and war rises – ABC News

ABC News – The Walt Disney Company

The Nordic nations are embracing the concept of total defense, mobilizing the whole of society to defend against military and non-military threats …

US seeks to shield likely nuclear deal with Tehran from threat of Israeli attack | | AW

The Arab Weekly

US seeks to shield likely nuclear deal with Tehran from threat of Israeli attack. The US move to prevent Israeli interference with the negotiated …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Israel threatens to attack Iran amid U.S. ongoing nuclear negotiations – YouTube

YouTube

Tensions in the Middle East rise after U.S. President Donald Trump seeks agreements with the Iranian government, while Israel raises possible …

Putin’s nuclear war would have fatal impacts for Russia | Former UK defence attaché to Moscow

YouTube

Russia doesn’t want to go down that path, it wants to keep war away from its soil.” John Foreman tells Times Radio Frontline’s Philip Ingram why …

How Russia is reacting after Trump threatens Putin with more sanctions – YouTube

YouTube

14:54 · Go to channel. Putin’s nuclear war would have fatal impacts for Russia | Former UK defence attaché to Moscow. Times Radio New 3.4K views · 8: …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Camera monitors Black Diamond Pool for Volcano Observatory – Billings Gazette

Billings Gazette

Temporary camera provides view of explosive Yellowstone pool · May 28, 2025 · 6 hrs ago · 0.

Watch mesmerizing 1,000-foot-tall lava fountains: Kilauea volcano erupting in ways not seen …

Live Science

… Yellowstone supervolcano · Planet Earth · Volcanos. Watch mesmerizing 1,000-foot-tall lava fountains: Kilauea volcano erupting in ways not seen for 40 …

Mohave County Geology: Why some volcanoes explode and others just flow – Havasu News

Havasu News

The recent spectacular eruptions of the Hawaii volcano are awe inspiring and show the awesome power of the Earth … Yellowstone Caldera · Volcanic …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #948 Wednesday, (05/28/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 28, 2025

Share

Note: Actual Images from NBC News story below not available. Test is Intact. ~lllaw

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion:

And so it is, despite this audacious and egotistical promises from Trump, were nothing more than pretentious braggadocio from Trump — as quoted below in this “NBC” Article:

“Trump, who promised on multiple occasions to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, has found the reality much different since beginning his second term, while offering mixed messages about Putin.”

But the Russian/Ukraine war and Putin’s unmerciful accompanying war crimes continue on, so Trump has now apparently blamed his failure totally on Putin, although he tried hard to force Ukraine to give up the war and allow their territory and their dream of democratic future freedom. Ukraine refused to take Trump’s advice, so Trump has evidentially switched his blame from Zelenskyy to Putin, once again making such a poorly considered two-faced switch.

And then there is the unfinished business that Trump has singularly created with talks for a sensible nuclear agreement between the U.S. and Iran, which has been met with Israel’s once-delayed war on Iran by Trump’s demand to stand down that has reappeared, and is now once-again a possibility. And the turmoil goes on . . .

So, my question, rather than just an opinion, is Trump’s own very questionable role as an international world leader for the United States of America creating nothing more than a world of a universally growing insanity-driven turmoil in a world that is threatening the use of nuclear war with weapons of mass destruction all around the globe? ~llaw

NBC News brand resources: accessing high-guality vector logo ...

Former Russian president raises specter of a World War III as rhetoric ramps up over Ukraine

“I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this,” Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X.

0 seconds of 1 minute, 0Volume 0%

00:20

00:11

01:00

Russia strikes eastern Ukraine as rhetoric with U.S. ramps up

(Article Video and Other Images Not Available)

May 28, 2025, 2:44 AM PDT

By Astha Rajvanshi

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev raised the specter of a World War III on Tuesday, as the rhetoric between the White House and the Kremlin ramped up over the war in Ukraine.

Medvedev, now a top security official, was responding to President Donald Trump’s post on Truth Social berating his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as Moscow continued to rain strikes down on its neighbor.

“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” wrote Trump, who appears to be losing patience over the lack of a ceasefire deal, adding, “He’s playing with fire!”

Around three hours later, Medvedev took to X, writing, “I only know of one REALLY BAD thing — WWIII. I hope Trump understands this!”

This in turn drew an almost immediate rebuke from Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who called Medvedev’s remarks “reckless” in a post on X. Cautioning that Russia was stoking fears of another world war, Kellogg wrote that it was “unfitting of a world power.”

Trump, he added, has been working toward brokering a truce in the war that entered its fourth year in February and has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.

While Putin has never raised the specter of a world war, he has broached the use of nuclear weapons on several occasions since he launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Recommended

War in UkraineRussia proposes to hold next talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on June 2

worldTate brothers face rape and trafficking charges in the U.K.

In a speech in Moscow’s Red Square last May, the Russian leader vowed to stand firm against attempts by Ukraine’s Western allies to contain Russia. “We will not let anyone threaten us,” he said. “Our strategic forces are always at combat readiness,” he added referring to Russia’s arsenal of nuclear weapons, the world’s largest.

Trump, who promised on multiple occasions to end the war within 24 hours of taking office, has found the reality much different since beginning his second term, while offering mixed messages about Putin.

Trump has praised Putin as a strong leader with whom he can do business and the pair had a friendly, if fruitless, phone call last week. Shortly afterward, Trump announced that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately start negotiations towards a ceasefire.”

But as Putin has stalled on the peace talks, Trump’s frustration appears to have grown with the Russian leader, whom he called “crazy” in a post on Truth Social on Sunday after Moscow launched widespread strikes on Ukraine. The Kremlin dismissed his comments as “emotional overload.”

Russia previously said it was working on a memorandum of understanding outlining Moscow’s demands as part of the negotiations with Kyiv. But Tuesday, Kellogg said the United States was still awaiting “receipt of RU Memorandum (Term Sheet) that you promised a week ago.”

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the Kremlin was continuing to draft that memorandum and that it would include a timeline for a peace agreement and potential ceasefire scenarios.

She added that this would be sent to Ukraine, which has previously rejected Russian demands that it never join NATO, accept permanent “neutrality” between Moscow and the West, and cede its demand for four territories in the east of the country that Russia illegally annexed months after the war began.

Inside Ukraine, Russian forces continue their slow grind forward on the battlefield. Ukrainian officials said one person was killed and more than two dozen injured by ballistic missile strikes across the country overnight.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday, his office said in a statement.

The two leaders are expected to discuss Kyiv’s readiness to respond to Russian strikes and threats, including increasing the production of drones and missiles, Zelenskyy said in his overnight address Wednesday.

It comes after Merz said Tuesday that his government would lift all range restrictions on weapons it sends to Ukraine, allowing Kyiv to defend itself by attacking military positions deep in Russia.

Peskov called Merz’s decision “extremely dangerous,” adding, “all this in a big way goes against the peace efforts, against the peace process that is beginning and is still in a very fragile state.”

Astha Rajvanshi

Astha Rajvanshi is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in London. Previously, she worked as a staff writer covering international news for TIME.


Subscribed

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are two Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Wednesday, (05/28/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Oklo nuclear project, US Steel–Nippon deal, AMC record revenue – Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance

Oklo (OKLO) is rising as it announces it will collaborate with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power on a nuclear project. … It’s all about a deal with Nvidia.

Nuclear stock rally continues to grow – Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance

Nuclear stocks like Oklo (OKLO) and Constellation Energy (CEG) are … © 2025 All rights reserved. About our ads Advertising Careers. Yahoo …

President Trump seeks new nuclear deal with Iran | WCMU Public Radio

WCMU Public Radio

All Things Considered · Destination Out · Fresh Air · Here and Now · Homespun … President Trump said weekend negotiations for a new nuclear deal with …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Trump signs executive orders meant to resurrect US nuclear power – Ars Technica

Ars Technica

Currently, there are no nuclear power plants scheduled for construction in the US. Everybody with plans to build one hasn’t had a reactor design …

Trump aims for 400 GW of nuclear by 2050, 10 large reactors under construction by 2030

Utility Dive

Shares of small modular reactor developer NuScale and uranium suppliers Centrus Energy and Uranium Energy also rose more than 20% in Friday and early …

Government Initiatives Fueling Nuclear Energy Growth in the United States

White & Case LLP

The latest nuclear energy-related Executive Orders aim to accelerate the development of new nuclear reactor technologies and projects in the …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Constellation Tests Emergency Sirens June 3 – Oswego County

Oswego County

The Nine Mile Point Clean Energy Center is a dual‑unit nuclear power facility that produces enough carbon‑free electricity to power the equivalent of …

Thousands of tons of nuclear waste remain stored at power plants throughout Illinois

CU-CitizenAccess.org

Thus, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), most nuclear waste in the state never leaves the power plant where it was produced …

Testing of Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Sirens on June 2nd, 2025

Southern Maryland News Net

Knowing what to do before, during, and after an emergency is a critical part of being prepared and may make all the difference when seconds count. To …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Russia, North Korea blast Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense – USA Today

USA Today

The $175-billion project, proposed by Trump, is aimed at blocking threats from China and Russia. More: Trump pushes $175 billion ‘Golden Dome …

Trump warns Putin he is ‘playing with fire’ after Russian attack on Ukraine – The Guardian

The Guardian

… threats mount · Top Republicans threaten to block Trump’s spending bill if national debt is not reduced · Ron DeSantis’s fall from grace: ‘He’s …

Former Russian president raises specter of a World War III as rhetoric ramps up over Ukraine

NBC News

… nuclear weapons on several occasions since … The two leaders are expected to discuss Kyiv’s readiness to respond to Russian strikes and threats …

Nuclear War

NEWS

As Trump Seeks Iran Deal, Israel Again Raises Possible Strikes on Nuclear Sites

The New York Times

… attack Iran’s nuclear sites, according to two people briefed on the discussions. U.S. intelligence also detected Israel’s preparations for a …

Russia, North Korea blast Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense – USA Today

USA Today

‘Outer space nuclear war‘: Russia, North Korea blast Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense · Trump on May 20 said he had picked a design for the Golden …

After Xi & Putin, Now Kim Jong Un Raises Alarm Over ‘Golden Dome’, Warns Of Nuclear …

YouTube

North Korea is now warning of a nuclear war in space. Why? Because of a U.S. defense plan called the “Golden Dome,” championed by President Donald …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

USGS: New webcam offers online view of Biscuit Basin – Buckrail

Buckrail

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — The site of last summer’s hydrothermal explosion in Yellowstone … Caldera Chronicles. “If any such events are …

Idaho Earthquake Renews Concerns About Yellowstone Supervolcano – Legal Insurrection

Legal Insurrection

A 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Soda Springs, Idaho, about 100 miles from the famous Yellowstone supervolcano caldera, renewing some …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #947 Tuesday, (05/27/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 27, 2025

1

Share

US President Donald Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week

“See image description and photo credits in the “France 24” article below ~llaw”

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In My Opinion:

Why on Earth are we doing this?

We are building our own Trojan Horse”! Why are other nations around the world, including the US, developing more powerful nuclear weapons and more of them? We say it’s for something called “nuclear deterrence” which means constantly expanding fear from one nation to another to avoid nuclear war, which cannot continue because of world-wide financial incapability. and other, mostly political, negative issues.

What is wrong with humanity? Are we so insecure that we are inviting our own demise out of fear, selfishness, jealousy, anger, hatred, racism, religion, occupied land, and absolute humanity’s inane ego and ignorance growing to the point that we inherently want to self-self destruct like lemmings?

Trump says it’s “very important for the success and even survival of our country” .Does he have no idea or comprehension of the fact that no country can survive an outright nuclear war against other world nations? We already know that a nuclear war dubbed WWIII would destroy humanity along with most all other innocent life. ~llaw

France 24 - Wikipedia

North Korea says US missile shield plans risk ‘nuclear war’ in space

Seoul (AFP) – North Korea slammed on Tuesday US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield plan as a “very dangerous” threat that could spark nuclear war in space, state media said.

Issued on: 27/05/2025 – 01:25Modified: 27/05/2025 – 06:53

2 min Reading time

US President Donald Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week
US President Donald Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week © Jim WATSON / AFP

Trump announced new details and initial funding for the missile shield system last week, calling it “very important for the success and even survival of our country”.

The initiative faces significant technical and political challenges, according to analysts, and could come at a hefty price tag.

In a statement shared by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang’s foreign ministry slammed the “very dangerous ‘threatening initiative’ aimed at threatening the strategic security of the nuclear weapons states”.

The United States is “hell-bent on the moves to militarize outer space,” the foreign ministry said.

“The US plan for building a new missile defense system is the root cause of sparking off global nuclear and space arms race by stimulating the security concerns of nuclear weapons states and turning… outer space into a potential nuclear war field,” it added.

Washington — Seoul’s key security ally — has in recent years ramped up joint military exercises and increased the presence of strategic US assets, such as an aircraft carrier and a nuclear-powered submarine, in the region to deter the North.

Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear weapons state and routinely denounces joint US-South Korea drills as rehearsals for invasion.

Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP that Pyongyang saw Trump’s “Golden Dome” as a threat.

“The North’s strong reaction suggests it views the Golden Dome as capable of significantly weakening the effectiveness of its nuclear arsenal, including its ICBMs,” he said.

“If the US completes its new missile defence programme, the North will be forced to develop alternative means to counter or penetrate it,” he added.

China, Russia modernising weapons

China has also expressed strong concerns about Washington’s Golden Dome plan, accusing the United States of undermining global stability.

Beijing is closing the gap with Washington when it comes to ballistic and hypersonic missile technology, while Moscow is modernising its intercontinental-range missile systems and developing advanced precision strike missiles, according to a 2022 Pentagon review.

The Kremlin has said Trump’s initiative would require consultations with Russia but was otherwise a “sovereign matter” for the United States, softening its tone after also previously slamming the idea as destabilising.

The plan’s Golden Dome name stems from Israel’s Iron Dome air defence system which has intercepted thousands of short-range rockets and other projectiles since it went into operation in 2011.

The United States faces various missile threats from adversaries, but they differ significantly from the short-range weapons that Israel’s Iron Dome is designed to counter.Subscribed

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Tuesday, (05/27/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

The return of the nuclear threat – Vox

Vox

Again, not everything about this new nuclear age is new. During the Cold War, we did have prominent concerns from allies about these very same issues.

President Trump seeks new nuclear deal with Iran – KNAU

KNAU

All Things Considered. Next Up: 0:00 AM BBC World Service. 0:00. 0:00. All … President Trump said weekend negotiations for a new nuclear deal with …

President Trump seeks new nuclear deal with Iran | KNKX Public Radio

KNKX

NPR’s All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM Fresh Air. 0:00. 0:00. NPR’s … President Trump said weekend negotiations for a new nuclear deal with …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Europe pivots back to nuclear in pursuit of more energy independence – CNBC

CNBC

Why Europe is pivoting back to nuclear — one of its most divisive energy sources · The Cofrentes nuclear power plant, on 17 October, 2024 in Valencia, …

Satellite Images Suggest a Russian Plan to Restart Seized Ukrainian Nuclear Plant

The New York Times

Russia is building power lines in occupied southeastern Ukraine to link to its own grid a major nuclear plant it has captured, according to a new …

OPINION: Trump unleashes US nuclear renaissance with bold executive orders

The White House

In his famed 1953 “Atoms for Peace” speech, President Eisenhower proclaimed that “the United States knows that peaceful power from atomic energy is no …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Warning sirens near nuclear plants in Scriba to be tested soon – CNY Central

CNY Central

Current EAS stations and other important emergency planning information for residents, workers and visitors within 10 miles of a Constellation nuclear …

The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission announced on the 27th that it has launched …

mk.co.kr

On the 26th, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power received a report that an emergency diesel generator failed to supply power to a safety bus due to a …

DOE orders 1.6-GW coal-fired power plant to delay shutdown over MISO outage concerns

Utility Dive

… power plants to operate during wars and emergencies. It has been used … Editors’ picks. TVA nuclear plant Image attribution tooltip. “TVA …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

North Korea says US ‘Golden Dome’ risks ‘outer space nuclear war‘ – BBC

BBC

Pyongyang says Washington’s plan to counter aerial threats is “the height of self … North Korea says US ‘Golden Dome’ risks ‘space nuclear war‘. 9 …

The return of the nuclear threat – Vox

Vox

Are leaders too afraid of the dangers of these weapons to actually use them, and maybe the risks of nuclear war aren’t as high as we might think? I …

North Korea Says Trump’s Golden Dome Risks ‘Space Nuclear War‘ – Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News

… threats from rivals including Pyongyang … North Korea Says Trump’s Golden Dome Risks ‘Space Nuclear War‘.

Nuclear War

NEWS

The return of the nuclear threat – Vox

Vox

India-Pakistan’s almost-war revealed something alarming about our political moment.

North Korea says US missile shield plans risk ‘nuclear war‘ in space – France 24

France 24

North Korea slammed on Tuesday US President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile shield plan as a “very dangerous” threat that could spark nuclear …

North Korea says US space shield is ‘nuclear war scenario’ – Reuters

Reuters

North Korea’s foreign ministry has criticised the U.S. Golden Dome missile defense shield project as a “very dangerous threatening initiative”, …

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Idaho Earthquake Renews Concerns About Yellowstone Supervolcano – Legal Insurrection

Legal Insurrection

A 3.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Soda Springs, Idaho, about 100 miles from the famous Yellowstone supervolcano caldera, renewing some concerns …

For Sale: You Can Own A Charming Montana Town Right Next To Yellowstone National Park

TheTravel

Octopus Spring in the Lower Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park; The northeastern part of Yellowstone Caldera, with the Yellowstone River …

Man Falls Into Yellowstone Hot Spring And Dissolves Within A Day – It’s Gone Viral

It’s Gone Viral

The area where the tragedy took place is on the edge of the famous Yellowstone caldera, also known as a ‘supervolcano’ or ‘hotspot.’ Warning signs …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest, #946 Monday, (05/26/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 26, 2025

Share

Amy Indira Dio Ramdass, Canadian, author, mother, and knowledgeable mythologist

LLAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY and the GLOBAL RISKS & CONSEQUENCES TOMORROW

In Amy’s Opinion: Note: Since today is a holiday — and one that tends to put us in a more thoughtful, quieter, and perhaps a more somber mood — there is little “nuclear news” of consequence worth spending a lot of time on evaluating today’s stories, but there is something special for today’s Post even far better because my guest’s own opinion piece here can hit home to each and everyone of us . . .

So it is that I’ve decided it’s a good time to publish her very well thought out, but delightfully humorous and yet deathly serious at the same time — as Amy scribes so well so often —always skillfully and pointedly written “memos” designed for all of us to think about and consider. Amy is a long-time friend of mine, so I may be just a tiny bit prejudiced, of course.

She is an independent author, and my co-author of our two-volume Old Western epoch based on a true story titled “The Sweetwater Conspiracy ~ The Legend of Cattle Kate”. But these days we both spend a good deal of time doing our best to understand the psychology of angry threats of nuclear war and other internationalized bickering that seems to be spreading like an epidemic over the entire planet Earth.

Amy Indira Dio Ramdass is a Guyana girl who has become a long-time Canadian citizen and her thoughts about this important and unnecessary plague enveloping our world situation posted here every day of every week might help you, the reader, to understand what she has to say . . . and maybe a little of what we can do about it. ~llaw

Her message, intended for us all, is from May 8th, just a few days ago . . .

“Whole countries are on my mind. My own, Pakistan, Palestine, Ukraine, Mother fucking Russia, India, Israel, USA, etc.

And so your Honor, this post is to clear one thing up in case anyone ever got the idea that I am ever slightly apathetic… which we all are but I try to stay abreast and to be aware of my own hypocrisy most of the time.

SO, here I am, and let me tell you, it’s not exactly easy-peasy-breezy to venture out from under my tranquil rock to voice/word/direct my righteous fury at those who live to rattle my world…er…ok…perhaps I shouldn’t be, (too furious) perhaps this is all for the best but hello universe stop scripting us to do things upside-down! Because how …for example … India bombing Pakistan can ever be ever right? Or Vice-Versa. Innocent people were killed! But I get riled up because deep down I know things have been engineered for the purpose of starting a war is how some powers-that-be like to roll.

In my universe which is under my rock…(and we all have our own such sanctuary even if it’s a space inside our heads) my rule used to be, “do what thou wilt…shall be the whole of the law” but because of what’s going on currently, I have to tweak this rule slightly to, ‘do what thou wilt but STAY in thy own lane.”

Because the former (do what thou wilt) is nature’s law for the animals, the birds, the bees, the ants so they may do what they want, when they want, how they want.

But even this is a half-truth for they are endowed with primal programming, boundaries, fear as in fight and flight, freeze, that old wise survival instinct to keep them in check for the balance of each other. And so this is why they don’t wake up one morning and decide to form bee empires to take over my house or my country. (Okay maybe ants are plotting to dominate my house but that’s a story for another day.)

But us? Ha. We got the deluxe upgrade: free will aka CHOICE, the ability to consciously decide which road to take (a high or low one), to reason things over, to do what’s right, harm to none. And this is great and all until someone uses free-will like a toddler with a razor blade to cut up their mom’s newly bought sofa. (Psst, never tell my mom it was me, yikes). Or as a grown-up, to do harm unto others (sneakily or openly if the Force is with us or we have a whole army at our beck and call).

And so because of that, I cannot go on saying, “do what thou wilt…” because some or most people have no scruples, or brakes and will take that as a license to stomp all over other people’s sacred boundaries. Or the basic decency of ‘maybe we should not colonize or invade other countries just because we can’.

And yes, I know. I sound territorial. Full dinosaur-mode. One tail-swish away from putting up a sign, “No trespassing, I bite” sign. But Your Honor of Supreme Judgment and Epic Eye Rolls, tis not for me, it’s for my cubs and the cubs of other beings.

And though (my own cubs) be full-sized humans with phone bills, I live to ensure they have a place to call their own. A home. A den. A little kingdom of mismatched socks and ample maple-syrup for their favorite breakfast food of pancakes or waffles. Is that too much to ask?

Is why I have to ask YOU this: What would you say if you keep on hearing (over and bloody over) of another country casually threatening to waltz in like, “Hey, this is a pretty pristine palace you got here, mind if we pull a non-hostile takeover…?”

So, this is why I can no longer be neutral AF. This is war. A word war. Yes, I KNOW I said I wouldn’t pick sides. I promised I’d stay out of the political gladiator arena and just sip tea like a background extra in a historical drama. But here I am, sleeves rolled up, opinions half-loaded, and yep… cognitive dissonance in full blast. Because. Neutrality is the hardest when the world’s on fire.

And I am not some enlightened girl-Buddha floating on a lotus…just yet.

Ok, ok, despite it all, I will try and be like a calm clam on a yoga mat, whispering, “harm none, mote it be.” and continue to turn the other cheek, too. Ok, I won’t lie, sometimes I turn it very passive-aggressively.

So, while I’d like to live by “do what thou wilt,” I also reserve the right to say: “NOT ON MY LAWN.” Or other people’s lawn or country. Or under my IKEA-rock. Stay in your own lane, goddamnit, is that too much to ask?

PS: Ok, this might be my last political post…(fb’s algoes for one) But not posting this type of stuff does not mean I am not wide-awake, alert and never going back to sleep. Thanks a lot, world. hmf.”

PPS: No one has to ‘like’ this status. It’s my stance. What’s yours?

~Amy Indira Dio Ramdass


Subscribed

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s ALL NUCLEAR DAILY DIGEST” RELATED MEDIA

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War Threats
  5. Nuclear War
  6. Yellowstone Caldera & Other Volcanoes (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus story available in today’s Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS DIGEST, Monday, (05/26/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

‘GREEN SCAM IS OVER’: Wyoming senator touts Trump’s nuclear energy EO – YouTube

YouTube

… all-encompassing news service delivering breaking news as well as … New details emerge about Biden’s mental decline. Fox News New 41K views.

Trump’s nuclear push marks ‘Manhattan Project’ moment for energy | Investorsobserver

Investorsobserver

“We led post-World War II in all things nuclear, but then we’ve been stagnated,” Burgman said. “We choked it with overregulation.” Even Trump, who …

Pete Ricketts Asks Secretary Rubio About Status Of Iran’s Nuclear Enrichment Efforts

YouTube

During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) spoke about Iran’s nuclear … Secretary, All I’m Looking For …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

The Future Needs Nuclear. Let’s Talk.| IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

Public and political opinion is shifting in favour of nuclear power. There is a growing acceptance that nuclear energy is needed to provide …

Trump Nuclear Power Plans Target Data Centers And National Security – Forbes

Forbes

President Trump’s executive orders aim to quadruple U.S. nuclear power by 2050. How can the administration balance safety concerns with …

Trump’s Nuclear Revival: Playing Catch Up – Forbes

Forbes

Each of the new executive orders tackles an issue to boost nuclear power generation capacity and cut the red tape that has slowed atomic energy …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Korea investigates power supply failure at Hanul Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 – CHOSUNBIZ

Chosunbiz

… emergency generator was not properly provided due to the plant being halted for maintenance. The Nuclear Safety And Security Commission stated …

Trump Plans to Quadruple U.S. Nuclear Power Capacity by 2050 – Businesskorea

Businesskorea

… energy emergency and signaled his pro-nuclear stance. The four executive orders consist of reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) …

Students of Department of Nuclear Energy of KPI visited the Energoatom branch

Енергоатом

… emergency team personnel were demonstrated to them. Moreover, future nuclear employees observed the process of conducting radiation and …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Putin issues chilling one sentence nuclear threat to the UK | World | News – Daily Express

Daily Express

“Increasingly the rhetoric from Russia suggests nuclear threats are a more direct threat to NATO – not only Ukraine – and could refer to longer range, …

Belarus has nuclear weapon delivery systems but no Russian warheads, Ukrainian intel chief says

The Kyiv Independent

The threats have failed to materialize, and Russia continues to wage its all-out war without using its nuclear arsenal. Secret note reveals Russia …

Following leaks of fresh Israeli threats, Iran warns of retaliation to any provocation

Peoples Dispatch

Media reports suggest Israel is preparing to attack Iranian nuclear … “Threats from the rogue Israeli regime are nothing new. But the recent …

Nuclear War

NEWS

WHO Mandated To Update Of 30-Year-Old Review On Health Impacts Of Nuclear War

Health Policy Watch

Duplication or not? India, along with other nuclear powers, abstained from voting to refresh the WHO’s analysis of nuclear war’s health impacts.

‘Astonished by the question’: Jaishankar rejects nuclear war fears over India-Pak clash

The Indian Express

Asked whether the world had the US to thank for the May 10 ceasefire, Jaishankar credited India’s armed forces instead. “The cessation of firing …

Pakistan Is Upgrading Its Nuclear Weapons With Help From China: Report – YouTube

YouTube

Pakistan is upgrading its nuclear weapons with help from China , which provides both military and economic support, while still seeing India as …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest WEEKEND NEWS, Sunday, (05/25/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 25, 2025

1

Share

Nuclear Explosion Nuclear Explosion and waves in sky nuclear bomb stock pictures, royalty-free photos & images

A nuclear mushroom cloud: Something we hope we never have to witness. ~llaw

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War
  5. Nuclear War Threats
  6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available on this weekend’s Sunday Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Sunday, (05/25/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

Nuclear energy is one of the ‘most important things‘ Trump has focused on: Rick Perry

Fox News

… News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All market data delayed 20 minutes …

Trump seeks to boost nuclear industry and overhaul safety regulator – WKNO FM

WKNO FM

Donate. WKNO FM. All Things Considered. WKNO FM. All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:00 PM Marketplace. 0:00. 0:00. All Things Considered. WKNO FM. 0:00 …

Trump seeks to boost nuclear industry and overhaul safety regulator

Georgia Public Broadcasting

Geoff Brumfiel. Heard on. All Things Considered. Share this page. Share … nuclear regulator while giving a boost to new nuclear technologies. / …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security – The White House

The White House

Advanced nuclear reactors include nuclear energy systems like Generation III+ reactors, small modular reactors, microreactors, and stationary and …

Trump sets out aim to quadruple US nuclear capacity

World Nuclear News

US President Donald Trump has signed a series of executive orders titled Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base, Reforming Nuclear Reactor …

There’s 90,000 tons of nuclear waste in the US. How and where is it stored? | Live Science

Live Science

Waste from electricity generation. The vast majority of nuclear waste in the U.S. is spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Taipower defends use of coal, gas plants for emergency backup | Taiwan News

Taiwan News

Company restarts decommissioned units to ensure power supply amid nuclear phaseout | May. 25, 2025 16:17

Hyundai E&C will establish a site-specific emergency medical support system to strengthen the sa..

mk.co.kr

Prior to this agreement, Hyundai E&C linked the medical hotline between Shin Han-ul Nuclear Power Plant 3 and 4 (Uljin, Gyeongsangbuk-do) and Andong …

Hyundai E&C partners with Andong Hospital to enhance construction site safety – Chosunbiz

Chosunbiz

… Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 site and Andong Hospital. Through … A specialized system has also been established to respond to severe emergencies, …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Analysis: Why Russia Remains the Primary Nuclear Threat to US in 2025?

Army Recognition

He has issued direct nuclear threats, suspended certain commitments … nuclear attack, thus hindering the United States’ ability to respond effectively …

North Korea urges US to stop military threats – The Korea Times

The Korea Times

… threats and aggressive attempts” against other nations. “Recently, the U.S. military is hell-bent on inciting the ‘threat‘ from the DPRK to its …

Medical journals of the world unite to demand action on nuclear weapons – MJA InSight

MJA InSight – The Medical Journal of Australia

“The danger of nuclear war has never been more urgent,” Dr Ruff said. “New, more dangerous nuclear weapons and threats to use them have …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Iran Threatens To Shift Nuclear Material To Secret Sites | GRAVITAS Highlights – YouTube

YouTube

… 6:27 · Go to channel · Iran VS Israel Ready: Are We on the Brink of a Nuclear War? | U.S. Talks Collapse. DD India New 55K views · 25:27 · Go to …

Putin’s ‘Skyborne Nuke‘ Howls Through Airspace; New R-37M Sends Shockwaves Across NATO

YouTube

… WAR | CHANGING WORLD ORDER #TOILive | #TOIVideos Subscribe to the Times … Nuclear War? | U.S. Talks Collapse. DD India New 4.8K views · 14:36 · Go …

Russia strikes Kyiv amid prisoner swap, US negotiators talk Iran nuclear deal – YouTube

YouTube

ABC News foreign correspondent Marcus Moore delivers the World View round up, including developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, Iran nuclear deal …

LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest WEEKEND NEWS, Saturday, (05/24/2025)

“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft's avatar

Lloyd A. Williams-Pendergraft

May 24, 2025

1

Share

A very old photo of me: : Lloyd Albert Williams-Pendergraft stationed at the US Army 4th Cavalry division headquarters in 1962, just a few miles south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with North Korea.

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’s All Nuclear Daily Digest” RELATED MEDIA”:

There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. 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). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:

  1. All Things Nuclear
  2. Nuclear Power
  3. Nuclear Power Emergencies
  4. Nuclear War
  5. Nuclear War Threats
  6. Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available on this weekend’s Saturday Post.)
  7. IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)

Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.

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.

TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Saturday, (05/24/2025)

All Things Nuclear

NEWS

WATCH FULL: Trump signs multiple EOs on nuclear energy and AI – YouTube

YouTube

, which would be used for power plants of all types and industry … things. Fox Business New 8.6K views · 10:20 · Go to channel …

Trump seeks to boost nuclear industry and overhaul safety regulator – NPR

NPR

Heard on All Things Considered · Geoff Brumfiel, photographed for NPR, 17 … President Trump signed executive orders which seek to reorganize America’s …

Trump signs executive orders bolstering nuclear industry, domestic uranium mining

Fox News

At the White House, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America led the postwar world on “all things nuclear” until we “stagnated” and “choked it with …

Nuclear Power

NEWS

Trump signs orders to overhaul Nuclear Regulatory Commission, speed reactor deployment

CNBC

… nuclear reactors on federal land, the administration official said. “This allows for safe and reliable nuclear energy to power and operate ..

Trump signs executive orders aimed at easing regulations on and expanding nuclear …

NBC News

Nuclear energy has been seen as a way to help transition away from fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions because nuclear power generates …

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Directs Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The White House

… nuclear power while ensuring reactor safety. When licensing and regulating civilian nuclear power, the NRC is directed to consider the benefits of …

Nuclear Power Emergencies

NEWS

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Deploys Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies …

The White House

… nuclear reactors to power AI infrastructure at DOE sites. The … On Day One, President Trump declared a National Energy Emergency to …

Trump signs executive orders to spur US ‘nuclear energy renaissance’ – The Guardian

The Guardian

Trump declared a national energy emergency on his first day in office over and moved to undo a ban implemented by Joe Biden on new natural gas export …

Fire reported at Quad Cities Nuclear Power Plant – KWQC

KWQC

As is required with any emergency at a nuclear power plant, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was notified along with the Illinois Emergency …

Nuclear War Threats

NEWS

Iran Warns Trump Of War If Israel Strikes Its Nuclear Facilities? Chilling Open Threat Amid Talks

YouTube

… threats would force Tehran to take special defensive measures. Watch … Iran Warns Trump Of War If Israel Strikes Its Nuclear Facilities?

Days, Not Weeks: Israel’s Imminent Attack on Iranian Nuclear Sites – Middle East Forum

Middle East Forum

Tehran would implement “special measures for the protection of its nuclear facilities and materials”—a thinly veiled threat to move its most sensitive …

Europe’s defence: These Western European countries think World War III is imminent

Euronews

… threat to continental peace. ADVERTISEMENT. Since the start of his second term, Trump has made threats against Greenland, and caused confusion with …

Nuclear War

NEWS

Latest US-Iran nuclear talks end with limited progress – YouTube

YouTube

… New 34K views · 6:27 · Go to channel. Iran VS Israel Ready: Are We on the Brink of a Nuclear War? | U.S. Talks Collapse. DD India New 3.8K views · 9: …

Iran-US nuclear talks end with no agreement but ‘possibility of progress’ – The Guardian

The Guardian

… war. Israel still blocking aid for Gaza despite promise to lift siege, says UN. 3d ago. US military. Trump rolls out Golden Dome missile defense …

Why Iran’s nuclear program is so important for the country | DW News – YouTube

YouTube

Undersea cables: A hidden war beneath the waves? | Mapped Out. DW … Iran vs Israel: The Nuclear Shadow War Driving Tehran’s Race Toward the Bomb.

Yellowstone Caldera

NEWS

Confirmed – Scientists discover natural ‘cap’ preventing Yellowstone supervolcano from erupting

PedirAyudas

In the past two million years, the Yellowstone supervolcano has flipped its lid three times with extremely huge, explosive eruptions. By the time it …

Earthquake rocks US city miles from supervolcano as fears of overdue eruption return – MSN

MSN

READ MORE: Is Yellowstone’s supervolcano on the brink of erupting? A small town in Idaho sitting near the Yellowstone supervolcano has been rocked by …

3.6 Magnitude Earthquake Rattles U.S. Town Near Volcano – Yahoo

Yahoo

“These tremors usually shake areas within the Yellowstone Caldera and nearby fault zones, but the supervolcano can also influence seismic activity …