nuclear football

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The Nuclear Football Is Getting Passed in an Unprecedented Way

One will accompany Trump to Florida, while another will await Biden to be sworn in in DC

(Newser) - There will be at least two briefcases containing the authorization codes necessary to launch a nuclear strike in the US floating around on Inauguration Day. One "nuclear football" is expected to accompany President Trump to Florida on Wednesday morning ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony in Washington,...

Report: Americans, Chinese Scuffled Over Nuclear Football

Sources say incident occurred during Trump's Beijing trip

(Newser) - The "nuclear football" is a briefcase, not an actual football—but sources tell Axios that Chinese security officials acted like its carrier was trying to score a touchdown in an incident in Beijing during President Trump's visit. The sources say that in the Nov. 9 incident, Chinese officials...

Mar-a-Lago Guest Causes Stir With Controversial Photo

It appears to show the aide who carries the nuclear football

(Newser) - A member of President Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida posted a Facebook photo over the weekend that has caused quite a fuss. The reason? It shows the member posing with "Rick," whom he identified as the aide who follows Trump everywhere and carries the nation's nuclear...

Trump Will Get 'Sobering' Nuclear Briefing This Morning

He is about to get the 'nuclear football'

(Newser) - Donald Trump has got a busy schedule before his swearing-in as president Friday, with events including a prayer service, coffee with President Obama, and being briefed on having the power to destroy the planet as we know it. At some point Friday morning, the military officers in the Strategic Command...

General: Bill Clinton Lost Nuke Codes for Months

He 'misplaced' them after Lewinsky scandal broke, says another commander

(Newser) - Bill Clinton lost a card carrying the top-secret codes to launch US nuclear missiles for several months when he was in the White House, a general has charged in his new memoir. "That's a big deal—a gargantuan deal," writes General Hugh Shelton, who served as chairman of...

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