On Saturday, @wsj.com broke the news that the USDA canceled its annual report on food insecurity & hunger. Now, researchers in the unit responsible for the survey have been put on indefinite leave.

“As unrealistic as the establishment of a nuclear weapons–free zone in Northeast Asia may seem, talking about it can be a vehicle for improving security in the region..” The latest from my colleague, @gkucs.bsky.social on prospects for a potential Trump-Kim reunion.

"We live in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape where the established rules and norms of the post–Cold War era are dissolving quicker than we can devise new ones to take their place. It’s a transition fraught with dangers but also ripe with new possibilities."

"Pentagon kicks off space-based interceptor development, $5.6B available to fuel effort"

New START is the last remaining arms control agreement between the US and Russia. Extending it would keep sensible limits on nuclear weapons while further reductions and limits are negotiated. The US should reciprocate and get to work on a follow up to New START.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are cars or trucks that can operate safely without human drivers taking control. But how do they work, and what impact do they have? Learn more in our updated explainer:

Even conservative thinktanks are projecting the cost of Golden Dome to be anywhere from $252 billion to $3.6 trillion over 20 years. Before the US commits itself to an unfeasible, easily defeated, false sense of security, it should be honest about the costs and capabilities.

The DOE has ordered a review of a key part of nuclear modernization - plutonium pit production. Here’s my take on why it (and plans for other parts of the US triad) deserve reconsideration and rescoping. At present, ambition and reality don’t align.

Kim Budil, head of Livermore, speaking at @nti.org. Opens by noting the different cultures between Livermore and Los Alamos. Livermore is the smaller kid that focuses on practical applications. Multidisciplinary teams all within 1 square mile.

Excellent @sciam.bsky.social Golden Dome article details the lack of information about the proposed system, the enormous amount of taxpayer $$$s it will consume (even as it fails), & the negative ramifications for US security overall: www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

"If I request [election] data from election commissioners, I should be able to request and receive it, easily analyze it, and understand how it was gathered. It is, after all, public and available upon request. The reality, however, is far different." Find out what’s missing in Rose Nafa’s blog.

Excellent @sciam.bsky.social Golden Dome article details the lack of information about the proposed system, the enormous amount of taxpayer $$$s it will consume (even as it fails), & the negative ramifications for US security overall: www.scientificamerican.com/article/u-s-...

@tayloraloy.bsky.social Apologies for lack of context. I agree that given public concern, venting into another container would seem logical and I voiced that to NMED. LANL rejected that option because it results in additional waste. Given the obvious public concern, another FTWC seems better to me.

I don't control the press releases, I just "say the stuff"... Statements like these are usually meant for journalists who are already covering the issue and, I agree, not very suitable for public consumption. I will pass along the feedback so that they might be made more digestible.

"Rushed Approval of Tritium Venting for Los Alamos National Laboratory Ignores Public Input, Alternatives" - statement by my colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social www.ucs.org/about/news/r...

The @nytimes.com has a disappointing puff piece on all the tech companies salivating over the possibility of raking in billions of $$$s from Trump's "Golden Dome" anti-missile system. It is so disappointingly shallow I am reluctant to link to it, but for reference: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/t...

Nuclear Times magazine is on Bluesky! Beginning our journey to relaunch the only magazine dedicated to nuclear disarmament. Say “Hello!” www.nucleartimes.com/why-relaunch/

#FreeDC Mass march hitting the streets of DC now.

Research Analyst Shawn Rostker reflects on his experience at the Young Trilateral Leaders Summit, and the lessons Washington needs to learn from voices in the Indo-Pacific, in the newest post for our Nukes of Hazard blog. armscontrolcenter.org/we-keep-talk... #NukeSky

"After nearly 20 years of aircraft production, however, the F-35 program continues to overpromise and underdeliver. In addition, the F-35 contractors continue to have challenges with fully meeting contract requirements and the program rewards them for it."

RFK Jr.: "This is crazy talk! You're making stuff up!" RFK Jr.: "You're making things up to scare people, and it's a lie!" Sen. Hassan: "Every time you make an accusation, it's kind of a confession, Mr. Kennedy." We couldn't say it better. 🎤💥

Join us in 30 mins as RFK Jr. testifies at this morning's Senate hearing — we will be posting updates live. #ImpeachRFK www.c-span.org/event/senate...

🚨 JUST IN: Latest issue of the Nuclear Notebook is out! 🇵🇰 Pakistan nuclear weapons, 2025. By @nukestrat.bsky.social, @mattkorda.bsky.social, @elianajjohns.bsky.social, and @mknight.bsky.social of @scientistsorg.bsky.social. thebulletin.org/premium/2025... #nuclearweapons #Pakistan #nukesky

We’re out along Route 50 in Chantilly, protesting ICE and standing up for immigrants and justice. If you’re passing by, give us a honk. Or stop and join us.

TOP TAKEAWAYS from the $893 BILLION HASC-PASSED NDAA before it heads to the House Floor next week, a 🧵: Bottom line: HASC's NDAA mostly tracks the White House plan with a few exceptions (1/4) armscontrolcenter.org/summary-fisc...

SDI on steroids. Super duper steroids.

Golden Dome is Trump's gold-plated fantasy for supposedly defending the US from all forms of missile attack. This article, "Can Trump’s Golden Dome Stop a Nuke? Probably Not," quoting my brilliant colleague @lauraegrego.bsky.social, lays out the facts: www.supercluster.com/editorial/tr...

Will “House of Dynamite” wake up the global public? “How can we call this ’defense’ when the inevitable outcome is total destruction? I wanted to make a film that confronts this paradox—to explore the madness of a world that lives under the constant shadow of annihilation, yet rarely speaks of it.”

10 former directors of the CDC agree on the anti-science actions of RFK Jr: "This is unacceptable, and it should alarm every American, regardless of political leanings."

Connor then said “the first site at F.E. Warren..has been taken down.” It was not clear if Connor meant that the first Minuteman III silo has been decommissioned as part of the transition process to Sentinel, and the Air Force did not respond by press time when asked for clarity on his remarks.

Thanks, @winkie.bsky.social at @usatoday.com for reporting on our analysis of plutonium pit production. Lots to unpack here, so here's a short thread (1/n)

And now this admission from Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara: 🚩 "pit production is not a “critical path,” meaning it is a program that has more flexibility, for the nation’s nuclear capabilities."🚩 EXACTLY.

“We’re losing precious, precious time to help stave off these terrible impacts of climate change. And I don’t know what we will say to our children and grandchildren, that this is what we wasted our time on.” Read what else UCS's own Rachel Cleetus has to say: grist.org/politics/us-...

@axios.com published a piece reporting on DOE's decision to mandate a review of the NNSA's plans to produce plutonium pits. The story, sadly behind a paywall, includes quotes from yours truly as well as my colleague @dkspaulding.bsky.social. Link: www.axios.com/2025/08/27/p...

"Plutonium material has proven to be far more of a liability than an asset, and it is hard to imagine that a private company would be willing to take that on their balance sheet," NTI's Ross Matzkin-Bridger told @chuckmccutcheon.bsky.social. www.axios.com/2025/08/27/p...

As our recent report Decades of Deceit illustrates, fossil fuel companies cannot be trusted to do the right thing. "Just as the US needs laws to protect public health, it needs to be able to enforce laws when corporations knowingly cause harm," writes UCS's Kathy Mulvey.

My smart colleague @rrucs.bsky.social's smart question: Amid US-China rivalry, what do Asian nations really want? He notes US is putting allies in a bind, caught between US security priorities & the region's economic interests, which are increasingly tied to China. blog.ucs.org/robert-rust/...

Good stuff in piece on the nuclear threat, Ukraine, "The Day After," and a huge question mark from me on the role of fear vs hope. In the 1980s, fear seems to have motivated action to reduce the threat. Now it does not seem to do so. What has changed?

1/ Undermining democracy: The Trump administration is quietly and alarmingly eliminating ways for the public to engage in government decisionmaking. @sensiblesafeguards.bsky.social

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout. On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar. This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media. Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

"The purpose of a system is what it does, not what it claims to do."

One of the best Garwin quotes: “If you feel compelled to have a missile defense because you've always said missile defense is necessary, go ahead, have a missile defense. But don't spend very much money on it, and don't lie about its performance.”

Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" anti-missile system is a BAD idea. It will not in fact defend the US but will give hundreds of billions of $$$s to defense contractors while motivating potential adversaries to enlarge/diversify their efforts to threaten the US. See: www.ucs.org/resources/go...

The Department of Energy, correctly concerned about the NNSA's efforts to produce new plutonium pits, has mandated a review of the deeply troubled - and unnecessary - effort. Here's the DOE letter announcing the study, courtesy of the Los Alamos Study Group: lasg.org/MPF2/documen...

OUR TOP TAKEAWAYS from the SASC-PASSED NDAA, a 🧵: Bottom line: full speed ahead on Golden Dome, SLCM-N and pit production, major funding for the Sentinel and huge plus-ups for missile defense like THAAD (1/5) armscontrolcenter.org/summary-fisc...

My new @science.org editorial on the role of scientists in defending democracy is out today. As authoritarianism takes hold in the US, we must fight for the democratic principles that enable a free society and scientists have a key role. I hope you'll join us. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

"Meta, Google and OpenAI, which once had language in their corporate policies banning the use of artificial intelligence in weapons, have removed such wording...Competition with China over technological superiority led many techies to lean more toward the U.S. government..."

Eighty years is a lifetime and we’re losing the most compelling messengers about nuclear war. Frank Von Hippel also reminded me that because it’s been a lifetime since nuclear weapons were used that people think it can’t happen again. But disarming is as urgent as ever. apnews.com/article/japa...