Free Republic

The self-described "gay furry hackers" of SiegedSec are back: this time boasting they've broken into America's biggest nuclear power lab's computer systems and stolen records on thousands of employees. Some of that data has already been leaked, it appears. SiegedSec, which also claimed to have breached NATO's IT security on two occasions this year, said it has now hit Idaho National laboratory (INL), which is run by the US Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy. Employee Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and bank account data are among the information said to have been pinched. The lab has at least...

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine equipped with Trident missiles suffered a huge malfunction that sent it into an endless dive before the vessel was righted moments before the crew faced being crushed by underwater pressure, it was claimed today. The Vanguard class sub had been carrying 140 crew when its depth gauge suddenly failed while on a mission in the Atlantic. It caused a frantic scrabble with engineers managing to stop the submarine and its nuclear reactor from plunging further just moments before disaster struck. The deep sea vessel, carrying Trident 2 missiles, was on patrol when the depth indicators...

If the Chinese spy balloon incident wasn’t enough, the Biden administration has now to offered China and Russia a VIP tour of the US National Nuclear Security Administration nuclear testing site. GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) was so angry at the Biden administration’s decision, she is now demanding answers as to why Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm offered foreign adversaries access to a sensitive US nuclear testing site. In a letter signed by 18 Republicans sent to Granholm, Stefanik wrote: “The Biden Administration’s willingness to allow our strategic rivals this unprecedented access to our sensitive nuclear testing will only embolden...

STOCKHOLM, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Sweden's government said it aimed to build the equivalent of two new conventional nuclear reactors by 2035 on Thursday to meet surging demand for clean power from industry and transport and was prepared to take on some of the costs. By 2045 the government wants to have the equivalent of 10 new reactors, some of which are likely to be small modular reactors (SMRs), smaller than conventional reactors. Energy Minister Ebba Busch said the government was planning a "massive build out" of new nuclear power by 2045. "It's decisive for the green transition, for Swedish...

About 300 million people in the United States would be put at risk of death from exposure to radioactive fallout in the four days following a nuclear attack, according to a new report that models the possible effects of such a grim event. If the US is attacked with nuclear weapons, an adversary would most likely concentrate all fire on the country's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch facilities (silos). Any retaliatory attack from the US would come from these silos, located in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming - and taking them out would be an enemy's first priority....

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 House Republicans led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her agency's invitation for foreign adversaries to inspect a sensitive U.S. nuclear testing site. In a letter sent Thursday morning, Stefanik and the other Republicans blasted Granholm for recently offering China and Russia "unprecedented access" to the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nevada National Security Site. Bloomberg reported in September that the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration invited Chinese and Russian officials to tour the site to prove the U.S. is upholding a three-decade moratorium against testing...

Switzerland’s nuclear power plant operators plan to keep the facilities operational for longer than initially planned, ... Switzerland has four nuclear reactors, which generate up to 40% of its electricity ... the energy crisis and concerns about the reliability of electricity supply in the country has prompted utilities to look to extend the lives of the reactors as long as the extension of the operations is found to be safe. Axpo Holding and Alpiq Holding have increased the planned lifespan for their nuclear power plants to 60 years from a previous target of 50 years, which means they could be...

The US issued an unusual announcement that an Ohio-type nuclear submarine had arrived in the operational area of the US Central Command, and the command published a photo of it passing through the Suez Canal, on Monday. The identity of the submarine was not disclosed and it is not known whether it is one of the four submarines that carry Tomahawk cruise missiles or of the 14 submarines that carry the Trident-II ballistic missiles, but it is still a significant addition to the American deterrence force in the region, and the ability to attack if necessary.

NEW DELHI -- At a time when even friendly governments are quick to distance themselves from the United States and its pugnacious, embattled president, India is a strategic maverick. The former firebrand of the Non-Aligned Movement has chosen this moment to forge a close partnership with Washington and to speak up positively about American power in world affairs. "This lack of nuclear cooperation is the last remaining cobweb from our old relationship, and we can now sweep it aside," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said with an expressive wave of his hand. "There are no other barriers to a more productive,...

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile failed early Wednesday morning due to an anomaly during a test launch. According to the Air Force Global Strike Command, the unarmed Minuteman III missile was "safely terminated" by Space Launch Delta 30, during its test launch at approximately 12:01 a.m.

A weapon capable of massive destructive power …. fired out from beneath the surface of the ocean off the coast of California, when the Navy’s USS Louisiana ballistic missile submarine launched an unarmed, nuclear-capable Trident II D5LE. While the weapon was of course unarmed, the firing was the latest readiness test of the Pentagon’s undersea leg of the nuclear trial in support of strategic nuclear deterrence. The concept is as simple as it is paradoxical in a way, ensuring massive retaliatory destruction for any nation-state which launches a nuclear attack on the United States. Peace through power and the promise...

One day before the United States conducts a major test of its emergency alert communications network, Russia will hold drills in the event of a major nuclear attack. On Wednesday, the United States' Federal Emergency Management Agency will test its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. According to The Hill, the test will occur about 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time unless bad weather postpones it for a week. This will mark only the second time FEMA has tested its national alert system for cellphones, which will be accompanied by a test through radios and TVs. In response to the FEMA test,...

Solar should be competing for sales in the marketplace, not for subsidies in Washington,' ... The Biden administration quietly issued a 59-page report outlining the current scope of federal energy-related subsidies revealed that the renewable energy sector enjoys significantly larger taxpayer backing than the fossil fuel industry. The report — authored by the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) and published in August — represents the first of its kind since 2018. The EIA analyzed data from 2016 through 2022, and determined that, during that time period, the federal government doled out $183.3 billion in direct and mainly indirect...

Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’d take a hard line against North Korea if necessary, including a preemptive military strike in the event evidence said they were gunning for the U.S. first. On Tuesday’s CBS Evening News, the Florida Governor said he would do so if “you knew that there was definitely someone was about to launch a missile at you.” “Of course, you take action to prevent and protect your people, but that would require a certain amount of evidentiary threshold,” DeSantis told Norah O’Donnell. “I don’t think you just go willy nilly.” DeSantis also said he would keep North...

Kremlin propagandist has issued the latest nuclear threat against the West regarding the war in Ukraine, warning that the U.S. could be in danger of a Russian missile attack. Igor Korotchenko, editor of the newspaper National Defense and a regular guest on the Russia 1 channel where guests have repeatedly called for strikes against Ukraine's allies, took exception to criticism of Russian conduct in the war. "Russia is being warned and threatened that if we misbehave, or if in [NATO senior member for logistics] Ben Hodges' opinion, we exceed what he considers to be the necessary permissible lines for the...

Some analysts expect that existing grid capacity may be enough to power U.S. electric cars in the near future, yet they do not rule out the possibility of new coal or nuclear plants coming on line if renewable energy sources are not developed. Dear EarthTalk: Isn’t the interest in electric cars and plug-in hybrids going to spur increased reliance on coal as a power source? And is that really any better than gasoline/oil in terms of environmental impact? —Graham Rankin, via e-mail It’s true that the advent of electric cars is not necessarily a boon for the environment if it...

Weapons of Mass Destruction: Chem Bio Traditionally, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) were Chemical, Biological, Radiologic and Nuclear (CBRN). The people of the world don’t want them used on us—they are cheap ways to kill and maim lots of people at once. And so international treaties were created to try to prevent their development (sometimes) and use. First was the Geneva Protocol of 1925, banning the use of biological and chemical weapons in war. The US and many nations signed it, but it took 50 years for the US to ratify it, so we believed we were not bound by...

It's more than half a decade late coming online and has cost billions more than estimated, but Georgia Power's Vogtle Unit 3, the first US nuclear reactor built from scratch this century, has finally come online. Located near Waynesboro, Georgia, the Alvin W. Vogtle Electric Generating Plant's third reactor will supply an estimated 500,000 homes and businesses in the region with power. Utility companies in Georgia, Florida and Alabama all receive electricity generated by Vogtle's existing reactors, the first two of which came online in the late 1980s, and a fourth power facility is due to come online within the...

Canada’s plans to make nuclear power a central part of its decarbonization strategy are taking shape with major announcements around large nuclear builds, small modular reactors and medical isotopes.. Nuclear power accounts for around 15% of Canada’s electricity generation with most capacity in Ontario where some 40% of the population resides. A total of 19 reactors provide around 13.6 gigawatts (GW) across the country, though most are in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick, which are 60% and 36% powered by nuclear respectively. ... increasingly vocal support for urgent greenhouse-gas-emission reduction have helped bring the government back to nuclear...

North Korea continues to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs despite UN Security Council sanctions and high-level diplomatic efforts. Recent ballistic missile tests and military parades suggest that North Korea is continuing to build a nuclear warfighting capability designed to evade regional ballistic missile defenses. Such an approach likely reinforces a deterrence and coercive diplomacy strategy—lending more credibility as it demonstrates capability—but it also raises questions about crisis stability and escalation control.U.S. policy as well as U.N. resolutions call on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Kim Jong Un has repeatedly rejected “denuclearization” talks. According...