Top News: Merkel, Putin discuss Ukraine, Iran arms embargo, Libya Tass Key House Democrats want to lock in New START weapons limits Defense News N. Korea lashes out at Pompeo over anti-China remarks Yonhap United States Atomic anniversary brings U.S. nuclear official to New Mexico Associated Press7/16/20 The 2030 deadline set by the U.S. government to resume and ramp up production of the plutonium cores used in the nation’s nuclear arsenal is nothing short of challenging, but the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday she’s confident her agency can do it. Key House Democrats want to lock in New START weapons limits Defense News7/15/20 The chairmen of the House foreign affairs and intelligence committees are pushing a measure meant to extend the last remaining U.S.-Russia arms control agreement amid fears President Donald Trump will let it lapse. RESEARCH: Escalation by tweet: managing the new nuclear diplomacy Kings College LondonHeather Williams, Alexi Drew 7/15/20 This research project seeks to answer an increasingly prominent and important question – how does social media influence the dynamics of conflict escalation between nation states? OPINION: Happy birthday to the bomb Defense OneWilliam Perry, Tom Collina 7/16/20 If we want to avoid nuclear destruction for the next 75 years, we must take the president’s finger off the button. OPINION: In their own words: Trinity at 75 Bulletin of Atomic Scientists7/16/20 Read together, the eyewitness excerpts below offer a new retelling of the Trinity test, woven entirely from words that more than a dozen of the project’s protagonists first published in the Bulletin. East Asia N. Korea lashes out at Pompeo over anti-China remarks Yonhap7/15/20 North Korea on Wednesday lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his recent anti-China remarks, warning against interfering with affairs of other countries and “muddling up” public opinion. Russia and Europe Merkel, Putin discuss Ukraine, Iran arms embargo, Libya Tass7/15/20 The arms embargo against Iran should be valid for five years, and is due to expire in November 2020. Multilateral Arms Control OPINION: The future of nuclear arms control: time to change course Pass BlueAngela Kane, Noah Mayhew 7/14/20 As Russian and American leaders have gathered once more here to discuss bilateral arms control, some experts wonder if arms control is outdated. Outer Space OPINION: Have Russia and China already ‘militarized’ space? Real Clear DefensePeter Pry 7/16/20 President Trump’s U.S. Space Force is constantly under attack, from critics both foreign and domestic, as a giant step toward supposedly violating long-standing international norms and treaties against “militarizing space.”