January 23, 2016

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January 23, 2016

Air Force: Human Error Damaged Nuclear-Armed Missile in Silo

Source: Associated Press

Errors by three airmen troubleshooting a nuclear missile in its launch silo in 2014 triggered a "mishap" that damaged the missile, prompting the Air Force to strip the airmen of their nuclear certification and quietly launch an accident investigation, officials said Friday.

In a statement released to The Associated Press, the Air Force declined to provide key additional details or a copy of the report produced last November by the Accident Investigation Board, saying the information was classified and too sensitive to be made public.

Under the Air Force's own regulations, Accident Investigation Board reports are supposed to be made public. The Air Force did release a brief summary to the AP after it repeatedly sought answers for more than a year. The summary said the full report was classified on Nov. 9, 2015, by Gen. Robin Rand, who took over as commander of Air Force Global Strike Command in July 2015.

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The Air Force's own legal office says the purpose of an accident investigation is to provide a publicly releasable report of the facts and the circumstances of the accident. An Air Force order dated April 14, 2015, is explicit about this.

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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/air-force-human-error-damaged-nuclear-armed-missile-36457552

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What could be so bad they have to cover it up like this?

January 18, 2016

Gas wars: A gallon is just 46 cents here

Source: CNBC

While gas prices are low nationwide, some stations are slashing the fuel's price to rock-bottom levels to the tune of less than 50 cents a gallon.

The drastic price cuts are part of a gas price war at three Houghton Lake, Mich., stations.

During the last three days, the prices dropped below a buck per gallon, falling as low as 46 cents at Sunrise Marathon. Meanwhile, the Beacon & Bridge gas station was as low as 47 cents, said employees of each station in interviews with CNBC.

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There have been long lines at the stations for most of the weekend, according to the three stations, with police officers directing traffic in the area due to the congestion.

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Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/18/gas-wars-a-gallon-is-just-46-cents-here.html

January 18, 2016

Penthouse magazine to end print publication, focus on its digital offerings

Source: Houston Chronicle

After 50 years Penthouse magazine is ending its print publication, opting to focus on its web and mobile products.

The move comes just months after its primary print competitor, Playboy, decided to halt nudity in its print product to compete with other mainstream publications.

As Playboy reasoned at the time, female nudity can be found on the Internet for free.

Penthouse’s publisher told the Wall Street Journal that this is the way of the future, in not so many words.

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Read more: http://www.chron.com/national/article/Penthouse-magazine-to-end-print-publication-6766505.php

January 15, 2016

Chinese oil, nuclear companies to develop floating atomic platforms for offshore drilling

Source: Bloomberg

China National Offshore Oil Corp. and China General Nuclear Power Corp. will work together to develop nuclear technology for use in sea-based oil fields, the country’s biggest offshore explorer announced on Friday.

The state-owned companies signed the strategic cooperation framework on Jan. 14, China National Offshore said on its official Weibo account on Friday. CGN, China’s biggest nuclear power operator, announced on Jan. 12 that the government had approved construction of a demonstration floating nuclear reactor that could be used for offshore oil production.

“This partnership will push forward the organic integration of the offshore oil industry and the nuclear power industry,” China National Offshore said in the statement.

The National Development and Reform Commission, China’s economic planner, has urged CGN to speed up the pace of development of the floating reactor, known as the ACPR50S, the company said in its Jan. 12 statement. Construction of the demonstration reactor is expected to start next year, with it powering up by 2020, according to CGN.

Read more: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/01/15/business/chinese-oil-nuclear-companies-develop-floating-atomic-platforms-offshore-drilling/

January 15, 2016

NASA picks Dream Chaser space plane for ISS supply missions

Source: Fox News

NASA has awarded private space companies SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada Corporation contracts to supply the International Space Station from 2019 through 2024.

The deal adds Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser to the list of spacecraft flying cargo missions to the orbiting laboratory. Like NASA’s space shuttle, Dream Chaser is a reusable space plane.

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Speaking during a press conference Julie Robinson, chief scientist for NASA’s ISS Program, said that the runway landings offered by Dream Chaser will be valuable for fragile science experiments returning to Earth from the ISS. The soft landing, she explained “is a really nice capability to add to the suite of things that we do now.”

Under the terms of the contracts, each of the three companies selected will fly at least six missions to the ISS. “There's a minimum of six missions to the ISS from each of these partners,” explained Kirk Shireman, ISS Program manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, adding that NASA is likely to buy more than 18 flights.

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/01/14/nasa-picks-dream-chaser-space-plane-for-iss-supply-missions.html

January 13, 2016

Mr. Moniz's Nuclear Warning

Source: Wall Street Journal

The keeper of America’s arsenal sends an S.O.S. about its deterioration.

North Korea’s nuclear test last week is a reminder that we’re living in a new era of nuclear proliferation. Now comes a warning from U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz that the Obama Administration is neglecting America’s nuclear umbrella.

In a Dec. 23 letter that hasn’t been publicly reported, Mr. Moniz asked White House budget director Shaun Donovan to reconsider the fiscal 2017 budget proposal due to Congress by Feb. 2. “It would not be responsible to submit a budget with such obvious programmatic gaps,” he writes. Without an additional $5.2 billion for out-years 2018 to 2021, the budget will “lack credibility with Congress and stakeholders” and “fuel uncertainty” within the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

Mr. Moniz went on to note that “a majority of NNSA’s facilities and systems are well beyond end-of-life.” Also, “infrastructure problems such as falling ceilings are increasing in frequency and severity,” as more than 50% of facilities are at least 40 years old and nearly 30% date to World War II. “The entire complex could be placed at risk if there is a failure where a single point would disrupt a critical link in infrastructure.” Yet the White House is set to request only half the funding needed for facilities between 2018 and 2021.

Higher-tech parts of the system are struggling, too. “There has been a steady decline in the performance of the nuclear weapons computer codes needed to ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nuclear stockpile,” Mr. Moniz wrote, but the current budget seeks less than a third of what’s needed, despite an executive order on “strategic computing” issued six months ago. He added that uranium-enrichment programs and satellite systems are short some $715 million.

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Read more: http://www.wsj.com/articles/mr-monizs-nuclear-warning-1452644053

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Although this an Opinion piece, it should be considered Latest Breaking News because it reveals the important contents of "a Dec. 23 letter that hasn’t been publicly reported", a letter by the head of the Department of Energy.

January 13, 2016

North Korea's Kim calls for expansion of nuclear arsenal

Source: Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for an expansion of the size and power of his country's nuclear arsenal, state media said on Wednesday, a week after a nuclear test that drew condemnation from its neighbors and the United States.

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&quot Kim) called for bolstering up both in quality and quantity the nuclear force capable of making nuclear strikes at the U.S.-led imperialists any time and in any space ... if they encroach upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and make threatening provocations," the official KCNA state news agency said.

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Kim "set forth the important tasks to be fulfilled to bolster up the nuclear force," it said, and called for the "detonation of more powerful H-bomb in the future."

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In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese nuclear experts have warned that North Korea may have 20 nuclear warheads and the capability to produce enough weapons-grade uranium to double its arsenal by 2016. That estimate exceeded most previous U.S. assessments, which ranged from 10 to 16 bombs at the time.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-nuclear-kim-idUSKCN0UQ2OT20160112

January 13, 2016

UPDATE 1-EDF sinks to all-time low as nuclear waste cost estimate soars

Source: Reuters

Shares in French utility EDF sank to all-time lows on Tuesday after the country's Andra nuclear waste agency said that storage costs could be higher than EDF's estimates, although EDF disputed Andra's figures.

Mirroring German utilities E.ON and RWE , which saw their shares hit decade lows late last year over worries about nuclear decommissioning costs, shares in EDF fell as much as 7.3 percent before closing down 4.4 percent at 11.96 euros.

A string of brokerage price target downgrades and French forward power prices falling to new decade lows only added to the gloom.

In a report released late on Monday, Andra said costs for the Cigeo deep geological storage project could be as high as 30 billion euros or as low as 20 billion depending on assumptions about different cost factors in coming years.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/edf-nuclear-waste-idUSL8N14W47320160112

January 13, 2016

Assembly approves lifting nuclear moratorium

Source: Associated Press

Legislators moved closer toward lifting Wisconsin's ban on new nuclear power plants Tuesday, with the Assembly passing a bill that would do away with the moratorium despite Democrats' warnings about dangerous meltdowns and radioactive waste.

Approved on a voice vote in the Assembly, the measure now goes to the state Senate. A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald didn't immediately respond to an email inquiring about the bill's chances.

Right now, state regulators can't approve a new nuclear power plant unless a federal facility for storing waste from nuclear plants nationwide exists and such a plant doesn't burden ratepayers. No such national facility exists, so nuclear plants store their waste on-site.

Rep. Keven Petersen's bill would erase the storage facility and ratepayer clauses from state law, clearing the way for new plants. The Waupaca Republican told reporters before the vote that nuclear energy is evolving and some reactors can now process their own waste.

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Minority Democrats railed against the bill during a brief floor debate. Rep. Chris Taylor of Madison urged lawmakers to consider the damage that Japan suffered following meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant in 2011. She said the Legislature should promote sun, water and wind power as alternatives to coal.

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Read more: http://www.startribune.com/assembly-to-vote-on-lifting-nuclear-moratorium/364957481/

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Votes matter, people.

Republican Kevin Petersen lied - there are no reactors that "can now process their own waste."

The moratorium should remain in place.