Nuclear weapons Coverage

How they voted: NC congressional votes for the week ending March 7

A look at how North Carolina members of Congress voted during the previous week.

Targeted News Service

Son shares story of NC State scientist's role in 'Oppenheimer' experiments

Dr. Lewis Seagondollar was the head of the physics department at North Carolina State University. During World War II he was among many involved with the top secret Manhattan Project,

Rick Armstrong, WRAL photojournalist

NC group brings nuclear bomb replica to downtown Raleigh, warns against dangers of nuclear weapons

A group calling for countries to destroy nuclear weapon stockpiles displayed something in downtown Raleigh -- a nuclear bomb.

Nuclear bomb replica brought to Raleigh for protests

The nuclear bomb replica returns amid funding for nuclear weapons being added to the budget for the United States in 2023.

WRAL Staff

Fact check: Trump accuses Obama of keeping classified documents

On Aug. 12, former President Donald Trump issued a statement saying: "President Barack Hussein Obama kept 33 million pages of documents, much of them classified." PolitiFact checks his claim.

Jon Greenberg and Amy Sherman, PolitiFact reporters

The Washington Post: FBI searched Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence for classified nuclear documents

The FBI sought to locate classified documents related to nuclear weapons, among other items, when agents searched former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, this week, people familiar with the investigation told The Washington Post.

By Paul LeBlanc, CNN

How they voted: NC congressional votes for the week July 8

A look at how North Carolina members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Targeted News Service

Demand for potassium iodide pills grows over fears of widespread nuclear fallout

The CDC says in the event of nuclear fall out - whether caused by bombs or the destruction of nuclear plants - unhealthy amounts of radioactive iodine.

North Korea Launches Ballistic Missile, South Korea Says

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea on Saturday launched a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, its second missile test in a week, South Korean defense officials said.

Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times

Biden administration addresses concerns over threat of nuclear war with Russia

On February 28, the Biden administration said that United States citizens should not be afraid of nuclear war following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

China Could Have 1,000 Nuclear Warheads by 2030, Pentagon Says

WASHINGTON -- China is continuing to strengthen its strategic nuclear arsenal and could have 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, according to a new Defense Department report released Wednesday.

Helene Cooper, New York Times

China’s Weapon Test Close to a ‘Sputnik Moment,’ U.S. General Says

WASHINGTON — China's testing of a hypersonic missile designed to evade U.S. nuclear defenses was “very close” to a “Sputnik moment” for the United States, Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday, in the first official confirmation of how Beijing’s demonstration of its weapon capabilities had taken U.S. officials by surprise.

David E. Sanger and William J. Broad, New York Times

Iran crosses a key threshold: It again has sufficient fuel for a bomb

WASHINGTON -- Iran's growing stockpile of nuclear fuel recently crossed a critical threshold, according to a report issued Tuesday by international inspectors: For the first time since President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran appears to have enough enriched uranium to produce a single nuclear weapon, though it would take months or years to manufacture a warhead and deliver it over long distances.

David E. Sanger and William J. Broad, New York Times

Iran bailing on nuclear deal after general killed

As the Iranian people mourn the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike, officials say Iran won't abide by the restrictions of the international nuclear deal.

U.S. nuclear talks with North Korea break down in hours

The first negotiations in eight months between the Trump administration and North Korea aimed at breaking the logjam over dismantling the North's nuclear program broke down only hours after they began in Stockholm on Saturday, the North Koreans said. It was the latest indication that President Donald Trump's signature diplomatic initiative has stalled.

David E. Sanger, New York Times

Axios: Trump floated the idea of using nuclear bombs to stop hurricanes headed for US

President Donald Trump has floated multiple times the idea of thwarting hurricanes headed for the US by bombing them, including by dropping nuclear bombs on hurricanes to disrupt their course, Axios reported Sunday, citing conversations with sources who heard Trump's comments and were briefed on a National Security Council memo that recorded the comments.

By Devan Cole, CNN

Finding nukes: NCSU tech can test bricks to monitor for high enriched uranium

A new paper details how small samples of ubiquitous building materials, such as tile or brick, can be used to test whether a facility has ever stored high enriched uranium (HEU), which can be used to create nuclear weapons. Here are the details.

Developing foreign policy issues swirl around the White House

First, lingering questions and strong reactions to President Trump's history making steps into North Korean territory this weekend, and Iran made a major departure from the 2015 nuclear deal Monday.

South Korean daily says Kim Jong Un executed and purged top nuclear negotiators

North Korea has executed its special envoy to the United States on spying charges, as its leader, Kim Jong Un, has engineered a sweeping purge of the country's top nuclear negotiators after the breakdown of his second summit with President Donald Trump, a major South Korean daily reported Friday.

Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times

Trump heads home earlier than planned

President Trump abruptly cut the summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un short after the two sides failed to agree on sanctions.

Trump: Progress can be made in denuclearizing North Korea

Both leaders are under pressure to make some kind of deal as economic sanctions continue to hurt Kim Jong Un's country and President Trump faces damaging headlines at home.

Trump arrives in Hanoi for second summit with Kim Jong Un

President Trump arrived in Hanoi Tuesday for his high-stakes second summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Though the meetings are steeped in pageantry, there's deep skepticism that that the two leaders will reach any substantial accord.

Trump and Kim May Declare End of War at Summit, South Korea Says

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean officials Monday indicated that President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, could agree on a joint political statement declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War when they meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, this week.

Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times

Trump travels to Vietnam for summit with Kim Jong Un

President Trump leaves town as his former attorney Michael Cohen prepares for potentially heated testimony on Capitol Hill.

South Korea Awaits 2nd Kim-Trump Summit With Both Hope and Fear

SEOUL, South Korea — If there is anyone keeping his fingers crossed for President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, to agree on how to denuclearize the North when they meet in Vietnam this month, it is President Moon Jae-in of South Korea.

Choe Sang-hun, New York Times