On the Wednesday, January 7, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: “The Nuclear Sponge” is a five-part project by USA TODAY ...

With thousands of nuclear weapons on high alert, the greatest risk may not be intent but accident, as history shows how easily errors, false alarms, and misjudgments can spiral into catastrophe.

In the wake of spiraling tensions between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s violent crackdown of protests, analysts ...

How safe is the U.S. if an attack were to occur on our soil? Could Florida be a potential target? Here are some speculation ...

Exclusive: Nuclear expert Dr. Emma Belcher hypes Denis Villeneuve's upcoming political thriller and its source novel as the ...

Friction is the difference between war on paper and war as it actually is. —Carl von Clausewitz, On War North Korea is not Venezuela. While US President Donald J. Trump characterized his recent ...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of "cutting-edge" hypersonic missiles to ready Pyongyang's nuclear forces for war, state media reported Monday, saying "geopolitical crisis" made the ...

The sponge metaphor first emerged in 1978 when the Air Force’s top general announced a new plan to base cutting-edge nuclear missiles in the Southwest. The “Missile, Experimental,” or MX, a powerful ...

Imagine if you will, a low-cost, small weapons system. It could fly stealthily into enemy territory, not being mistaken for a bomber or any kind of missile. And then it could detonate a nuclear weapon ...