69 Nuke Lab Computers Missing

Once again: 'Password' is not a good choice to beat hackers

(NEWSER) - Lots of people are still lousy at choosing computer passwords. Mashable picks up on the annual list of most-hacked passwords from SplashData. The usual suspects are still at the top:

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon

Blaze on outskirts of lab complex extinguished

(NEWSER) - A wildfire raging in New Mexico jumped a highway and set fire to an acre at the edge of the Los Alamos National Laboratory property, triggering the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The fire, which hit an area once used for underground tests of radioactive explosives, was extinguished safely and no off-site release of contamination was detected, AP reports. Radioactive materials stored elsewhere on the site were safe from the flames, lab officials say. More»

'It's a very, very big concern'

(NEWSER) - It's not a good day to live near a nuclear facility : In New Mexico, a wildfire is edging dangerously close to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the world's first nuclear weapons were developed during WWII. "It's a very, very big concern, not only locally but nationally and globally," says a spokesperson for the Santa Fe National Forest. The fire is about one mile southwest of the lab, which has been forced to close. More»

Mascheroni charged with trying to get Venezuela nukes

(NEWSER) - The Los Alamos physicist and his wife accused of trying to peddle nuclear secrets to Venezuela were released to house arrest today, the AP reports. While under the impression that he was in touch with agents of Hugo Chavez's government, Pedro Leonardo Mascheroni is charged with offering to help Venezuela build a nuclear weapon, court documents state. His lawyer argued that Mascheroni has represented no threat to national security. More»

Nuclear option isn't an option: scientists

(NEWSER) - The federal government is definitely not considering nuking its way out of the Gulf oil spill crisis, despite some people's belief that it may be the best remaining option, officials said. The Soviet Union has successfully used nuclear blasts to seal off several runaway gas wells, supporters of the nuclear option point out. Government scientists, however, say the idea is far too risky and untested. "It's crazy," one senior official tells the New York Times. More»