U.S. Military Moves Into Place for Possible Strikes in Iran 

Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt and Ronen Bergman | The New York Times 

The rapid buildup of U.S. forces in the Middle East has progressed to the point that President Trump has the option to take military action against Iran as soon as this weekend, administration and Pentagon officials said, leaving the White House with high-stakes choices about pursuing diplomacy or war. Mr. Trump has given no indication that he has made a decision about how to proceed. But the drive to assemble a military force capable of striking Iran’s nuclear program, its ballistic missiles and accompanying launch sites has continued this week despite indirect talks between the two nations on Tuesday, with Iran seeking two weeks to come back with fleshed out proposals for a diplomatic resolution. 

U.S. releases new details on alleged secret Chinese nuclear test 

Geoff Brumfiel | NPR 

The U.S. government has released fresh intelligence on what it claims was an illicit Chinese nuclear test conducted in 2020. On June 22 of that year, a remote seismic station in Kazakhstan detected a tiny earthquake. The event registered just 2.75 magnitude, but it originated around 450 miles away at China's main nuclear test site, known as Lop Nur, according to Christopher Yeaw, the assistant secretary for arms control and nonproliferation at the State Department. "There is very little possibility that it is anything other than an explosion, a singular explosion," Yeaw said at an event hosted Tuesday by the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. " ...  Independent experts did not immediately agree with that assessment. 

Merz Rejects German Nukes But Backs Pact With France and UK 

Michael Nienaber | Bloomberg 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out Germany developing its own nuclear weapons, suggesting instead that the country could deploy bombs from France and the UK. ... “I don’t want Germany to consider developing its own nuclear weapons,” Merz told political podcast “Machtwechsel.” He pointed to existing treaties in which Germany committed itself to refraining from nuclear armament, such as the Two Plus Four Treaty on German reunification of 1990 and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1970. Instead, Merz said he could imagine allowing the German Air Force to carry French or British nuclear bombs under a yet-to-be-negotiated deal. 

North Korea shows Kim Jong Un at the wheel of a mobile rocket launcher 

Brad Lendon | CNN 

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un took the wheel of a nuclear-capable multiple rocket launcher at a ceremony in the capital Pyongyang, according to the country’s state media, and touted the weapon as among the most powerful of its type in the world. ... The authoritarian one-party state is preparing for a key party congress this month, a time when North Korea’s propaganda machine and displays of its military often kick into overdrive. Wednesday’s display comes as North Korea continues to support Russia in its illegal invasion of Ukraine, supplying Moscow with missiles and thousands of troops. 

Rising Demand for Nuclear Power Pressures Uranium Supply 

Anthony Harrup | The Wall Street Journal  

The surge in demand for data centers and nuclear power to keep them running is stressing the global uranium supply, raising concerns about a potential shortage of fuel for reactors. World uranium production has been lower than demand for several decades, and utilities are making up the difference mostly by drawing on stockpiles. ... There are enough uranium resources globally to cover projected growth in nuclear power, but large quantities of investment are needed in exploration and production to meet future reactor requirements. 

Idaho National Laboratory announces partnership with NVIDIA to push nuclear energy research using AI  

Richard Rodriguez | KTVB7 

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to enhance U.S. nuclear energy research and development through Artificial Intelligence (AI). INL and NVIDIA say their collaboration is part of the Trump Administration's "Genesis Mission," a proclaimed "coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery that can solve the most challenging problems of this century." INL and NVIDIA codenamed their development "Prometheus" and say it will utilize AI to design, license, manufacture, construct, and operate nuclear reactors.