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NEWS ABOUT: atomic bomb

Nagasaki Marks 65th Anniversary

Memorial emphasizes eliminating nuclear weapons

(Newser) - Bells tolled today as Nagasaki marked 65 years since the last time a nuclear weapon was dropped on a civilian population, reports the BBC, an attack that killed 70,000, leveled an entire city, and ultimately ended the last world war within a week. Though the US ambassador to Japan... More »

Japan Should Apologize for Hiroshima

Or for nation's bloody actions leading up to bombing

(Newser) - Japan will commemorate the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing today, and for the first time, the US ambassador to Japan will be present. The son of the man who dropped the first atomic bomb called that gesture “an unsaid apology” from the Obama administration. But it’s not... More »

Feds: We Won't Nuke Gulf Spill

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... More »

UN Report: Iran Able to Make Nuclear Bomb

Nation has sufficient data, says 'tentative' IAEA conclusion

(Newser) - Iran may be closer to making a nuclear weapon than thought: A controversial report by the UN nuclear agency concludes that Tehran has "sufficient information to be able to design and produce" such a device. What's more, Iran has gone beyond just acquiring information from rogue experts and has... More »

Japanese Man, 93, Survived Both A-Bombs

Was on business in Hiroshima; lived in Nagasaki

(Newser) - At 93, a Japanese man has become the first certified survivor of both atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the AP reports. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on business Aug. 6, 1945, when the US bombed the city; after a night there, he returned home to Nagasaki, bombed Aug. 9.... More »

Books Map A-Bomb's Spread

Authors track nations' paths to nuclear club

(Newser) - When it comes to the spread of nuclear weapons, all paths lead back to the US, the New York Times reports in a look at two books. In The Nuclear Express, the authors chart the rise of the world's nine nuclear nations and conclude that "since the birth of... More »

Iran Boosts Uranium Stockpile

UN reports finds country may already have enough for bomb

(Newser) - Iran is rapidly moving forward with its nuclear program and may already have enriched enough uranium to take the next step toward building a nuclear bomb, the Financial Times reports. The uranium will need more enrichment to reach weapons-grade levels, say UN experts, who believe the country will wait until... More »

Nuke Tests Left Mark on Trees, People

Scientists can date humans and trees by the extra carbon in their systems

(Newser) - Scientists can now carbon-date baby boomers by detecting atomic bomb residue in their DNA, NPR reports. Turns out that carbon-14 released during above-ground nuclear tests in the 1950s and '60s hung around, then was absorbed into living tissue, experts say. Evidence, in the form of extra carbon neutrons, has been... More »

Are Cold War's Lost Nukes Still Ticking?

Dozens of weapons lost in accidents decades ago are still out there and still deadly

(Newser) - Dozens of American A-bombs lost in Cold War accidents are corroding around the world, Der Spiegel reports. The US admits to misplacing 11, but German nuclear expert Otfried Nassauer says up to 50 went down, mostly in plane crashes. Bombers either collided with tanker planes or, short on fuel, plunged... More »

Ethel Was Innocent: Witness

Co-defendant admits being spy, calls Julius' secrets 'junk'

(Newser) - A co-defendant of Julius and Ethel  Rosenberg has admitted for the first time that he was a Soviet spy—and that she was innocent. Morton Sobell, 91, passed military secrets to the Communists in World War II when the nations were still allies, he told the New York Times. Sobell,... More »

Judge Orders Rosenberg Evidence Kept Secret

Attorneys sought material to clear Ethel

(Newser) - Evidence that could clear the name of Ethel Rosenberg must stay under wraps to protect grand jury secrecy, a judge ruled yesterday. Ethel and husband Julius were executed in 1953 for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Her brother David Greenglass, who testified against her, has since said he lied... More »

EU Experts Say Iran Closer to Nuke Weapon

Tehran a year away on uranium; separate UN report out today

(Newser) - A new report from a European Union agency concludes that Iran could have enough uranium to build an atomic bomb within one year. The EU results—which precede a major UN report coming out today—look nothing like the findings of the US intelligence community, writes Der Spiegel: the recent... More »

Hiroshima Bomb Pilot Dead at 92

Pilot defended his role to the last, said he had 'no regrets'

(Newser) - The commander and pilot of the B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945—the first military use of nuclear weapons—died today, the Associated Press reports. Paul Tibbets was 92, and requested no funeral or headstone for fear that they might attract anti-nuclear protesters. Tibbets always... More »

Radiation Weapon Plot Comes to Light

Cold War scheme included assassination, broad contamination

(Newser) - Newly declassified Army documents reveal the US mulled the use of a radioactive weapon to assassinate “important individuals” and contaminate “critical areas for long periods of time.” The heavily censored records date to 1948 and show the weapon was approved for development at the highest levels, reports... More »

Japanese Pol Resigns Over A-Bomb Gaffe

Defense minister said WWII bombings were inevitable

(Newser) - Japan's defense minister has resigned in a storm of protest over remarks he made last weekend that the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. Fumio Kyuma said he understood the US decision to drop the bombs, and that "it couldn't be helped." He also suggested that... More »

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