Ernest Moniz, President Obama's former energy secretary and now CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), believes “the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is now higher than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
Driving the news: In a lengthy interview, Moniz told Axios he is particularly concerned about the erosion of the U.S.-Russia arms control regime, which could collapse entirely if the Trump administration declines to renew the New START treaty.
Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who served a 12-day prison sentence after being charged by the Mueller investigation for lying to the FBI, told Reuters on Tuesday that his lawyers have formally applied for a pardon from President Trump.
The big picture: In May 2016, Papadopoulos drunkenly told an Australian diplomat that he had been informed by a mysterious Maltese professor that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton — prompting the FBI to launch a counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. Papadopoulos says the lies he told the FBI about his interactions with the professor were unintentional and that he was pressured by investigators into signing the plea deal, which he is now considering withdrawing.
Satellite navigation systems like the Global Positioning System (GPS) make so many different pieces of our global infrastructure tick that most countries treat their signals as sacrosanct, knowing that interfering with them could have devastating effects. But a new report released Tuesday is giving us the first broad view of a country — Russia — that's pervasively tampering with the service.
The big picture: Global navigation satellites — including GPS and less-used competing services like Russia's GLONASS — are coordinated networks of atomic clocks in outer space that can be used to triangulate precise locations or coordinate precise timing. Without them, everything from global shipping to financial markets would suffer.
McDonald's has agreed to buy Dynamic Yield, an Israeli provider of personalized sales assistant software, for $300 million.
Why it matters: It's the fast food giant's biggest acquisition since buying Boston Market in 1999, and will digitally revamp menu ordering screens to incorporate everything from time of day to weather to trending items.
The details: Airbus secured the deal during a state visit by China's President Xi Jinping to Paris. The order is for 290 A320 planes and 10 jets from the A350 line.
The other side: Boeing announced it would provide free software upgradesto airlines that had bought the 737 MAX jets that have been grounded, pending the outcome of a safety investigation following 2 fatal crashes in less than 6 months.
Ethiopian Airlines told Reuters it expected preliminary findings into the cause of the crash that killed 157 people this week or next.
The Transportation Department said it would review the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety approval process for Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft.
In an unprecedented move, British lawmakers temporarily took control of the Brexit process from Prime Minister Theresa May Monday night.
The details: Members of the U.K. Parliament defeated the government in a 329 to 302 vote on a cross-party Brexit amendment, giving MPs control Wednesday to vote on a series of alternative measures to May's withdrawal deal with the European Union, which she has failed to pass through the House of Commons.
Israel’s election campaign came to Washington today, with both frontrunners making high-profile appearances. Some 6,000 miles away, the Israeli military was mobilizing for an aerial offensive.
Driving the news: After a rocket fired from Gaza struck a family home north of Tel Aviv early this morning, injuring seven people, Israel responded with force.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked a non-binding resolution to make special counsel Robert Mueller's full report public.
The big picture: The resolution was passed unanimously in the House, and President Trump himself said earlier Monday that it "wouldn't bother [him] at all" if the full report was released. McConnell cited national security concerns for his decision to block the resolution, and he argued that Attorney General Bill Barr should have time to decide what's made public. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who put forth the resolution, said that it does not specify a time frame.
Two Russian planes landed in Venezuela on Saturday, reportedly carrying 35 tons of military supplies and 100 Russian troops. The Venezuelan and Russian governments have claimed that the materiel and troops are there under a contract to service Russian military equipment, but the timing and the scale belie those claims.
Why it matters: More than two months after the United States and 50 other countries recognized National Assembly leader Juan Guaidó as president of the country, Russia’s latest power play is a defiant move to shape events in what has long been considered a U.S. sphere of influence.
President Trump met at the White House today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
"Today, aggressive action by Iran and terrorist groups in southern Syria, including Hezbollah, continue to make the Golan Heights a potential launching ground for attacks against Israel — very violent attacks. ... This should have been done numerous presidents ago."
Asked by reporters whether special counsel Robert Mueller's full report should be made public, President Trump said: "It's up to the attorney general, but it wouldn't bother me at all."
Why it matters: Democrats have largely expressed dissatisfaction at Attorney General William Barr's summary of Mueller's findings, demanding that the full report and its underlying evidence be released. Barr wrote in his summary Sunday that he and Mueller will work together "expeditiously" to determine what material can be made public "in light of applicable law, regulations, and Departmental policies."
The State and Treasury departments on Friday sanctioned 31 entities — 17 organizations and 14 people — with ties to Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a previously sanctioned research center that was involved in Tehran's efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
Why it matters: The designation was pursuant to an executive order signed in 2005 that laid out penalties for those involved in the development and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The U.S. has usedthe order to target Iran's ballistic missile program, but these are the first nuclear-specific designations since the Iran nuclear deal entered into force in January 2016.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to cut short his visit to Washington after rockets fired from Gaza hit a village north of Tel-Aviv, wounding six Israelis. Netanyahu will fly back to Israel on Monday afternoon right after his meeting with President Trump.
Why it matters: The escalation in Gaza comes in the midst of the election campaign in Israel. Netanyahu is criticized from right and from left for his policy regarding Hamas in Gaza. This is one of the main issues which harms Netanyahu's image as "Mr. Security."
China is gunning for the United States' position as the world leader in biotech, according to a new report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.
Details: The Chinese government has set up more than 110 bioscience research parks, including one in Shanghai referred to as "Pharma Valley." The Ministry of Science and Technology plans to build up to 20 more parks by 2020.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is cutting short his Washington, D.C., trip after a rocket fired from Gaza injured at least 7 people and damaged a house in central Israel early Monday local time.
Why it matters: The attack on Mishmeret, north of Tel Aviv, comes amid Israel's election campaign. It prompted Netanyahu to decide to leave D.C. after his Monday afternoon meeting with President Trump. The PM was to address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, before leaving D.C. Wednesday evening.
The United Kingdom's former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson rebuked Prime Minister Theresa May in his Daily Telegraph column, saying she's a "chicken" whose government "blinked" in Brexit negotiations with the European Union.
"We are not leaving this Friday because the government has chickened out. Extend the implementation period to the end of 2021 if necessary ... but come out of the EU now — without the [Irish] backstop. It is time for the PM to channel the spirit of Moses in Exodus, and say to Pharaoh in Brussels – let my people go."
