Misplaced Pages

#796203

106-430: In the film, a terrorist group brings a homemade atomic bomb aboard a tugboat in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina in order to blackmail the U.S. government into disabling its nuclear weapons, and the incident is caught live on television. It simulates a series of live news broadcasts on the fictional RBS Network. The entirety of the film is portrayed through the perspective of an news broadcast from RBS News on

212-513: A misnomer , as their energy comes from the nucleus of the atom, just as it does with fusion weapons. In fission weapons, a mass of fissile material ( enriched uranium or plutonium ) is forced into supercriticality —allowing an exponential growth of nuclear chain reactions —either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another (the "gun" method) or by compression of a sub-critical sphere or cylinder of fissile material using chemically fueled explosive lenses . The latter approach,

318-518: A nuclear explosion . Both bomb types release large quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter . The first test of a fission ("atomic") bomb released an amount of energy approximately equal to 20,000 tons of TNT (84  TJ ). The first thermonuclear ("hydrogen") bomb test released energy approximately equal to 10 million tons of TNT (42 PJ). Nuclear bombs have had yields between 10 tons TNT (the W54 ) and 50 megatons for

424-665: A policy of deliberate ambiguity , it does not acknowledge having them. Germany , Italy , Turkey , Belgium , the Netherlands , and Belarus are nuclear weapons sharing states. South Africa is the only country to have independently developed and then renounced and dismantled its nuclear weapons. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons aims to reduce the spread of nuclear weapons, but there are different views of its effectiveness. There are two basic types of nuclear weapons: those that derive

530-574: A better one, perhaps, but in one more accessible to greater numbers of viewers." The New York Times stated that 2,200 calls from alarmed viewers were received in New York , Chicago , Los Angeles , Washington and Cleveland . NBC's flagship station, WNBC-TV in New York, received 731 calls, 44 of them critical, and 43 asking if the program was real. The station manager of WCIV, Celia Shaw, said, "In retrospect, maybe it would have been better with

636-696: A conference—called for in the manifesto—in Pugwash, Nova Scotia , Eaton's birthplace. This conference was to be the first of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs , held in July 1957. By the 1960s, steps were taken to limit both the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries and the environmental effects of nuclear testing . The Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1963) restricted all nuclear testing to underground nuclear testing , to prevent contamination from nuclear fallout, whereas

742-458: A faster and less vulnerable attack, the development of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) has given some nations the ability to plausibly deliver missiles anywhere on the globe with a high likelihood of success. More advanced systems, such as multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), can launch multiple warheads at different targets from one missile, reducing

848-614: A few nations possess such weapons or are suspected of seeking them. The only countries known to have detonated nuclear weapons—and acknowledge possessing them—are (chronologically by date of first test) the United States , the Soviet Union (succeeded as a nuclear power by Russia ), the United Kingdom , France , China , India , Pakistan , and North Korea . Israel is believed to possess nuclear weapons, though, in

954-555: A fission bomb to initiate them. Such a device might provide a simpler path to thermonuclear weapons than one that required the development of fission weapons first, and pure fusion weapons would create significantly less nuclear fallout than other thermonuclear weapons because they would not disperse fission products. In 1998, the United States Department of Energy divulged that the United States had, "...made

1060-421: A fusion weapon as of January 2016 , though this claim is disputed. Thermonuclear weapons are considered much more difficult to successfully design and execute than primitive fission weapons. Almost all of the nuclear weapons deployed today use the thermonuclear design because it results in an explosion hundreds of times stronger than that of a fission bomb of similar weight. Thermonuclear bombs work by using

1166-612: A key plot element mentions "a power failure at a transmitter in North Charleston "; the TV transmitter sites are actually in Awendaw . The filmmakers were required to include on-screen disclaimers at the beginning and end of every commercial break in order to assure viewers that the events were a dramatization . The word "dramatization" also appeared on the screen during key moments of the original broadcast. Additionally, WCIV placed

SECTION 10

#1732798451797

1272-500: A live broadcast), contributed to the realism. With the exception of RBS network and news jingles, there is also no musical score used. The end credits are accompanied by the sound of a teletype. In addition, some specific references made the movie especially realistic to residents of Charleston. The call letters of the fictional Charleston RBS affiliate, WPIV, were close to those of NBC's then-affiliate in Charleston, WCIV . Also,

1378-407: A multi-year content deal with AP for its affiliate video service, Associated Press Television News (APTV), while providing material from ABC's news video service, ABC News One, to APTV. Scandal erupted in 1985 over a decision by Arledge, president of ABC News and Sports, to kill a 13-minute report about Marilyn Monroe , possibly due to his close ties to Ethel Kennedy . 20/20 drew criticism from

1484-472: A nation's economic electronics-based infrastructure. Because the effect is most effectively produced by high altitude nuclear detonations (by military weapons delivered by air, though ground bursts also produce EMP effects over a localized area), it can produce damage to electronics over a wide, even continental, geographical area. Research has been done into the possibility of pure fusion bombs : nuclear weapons that consist of fusion reactions without requiring

1590-537: A new nuclear strategy, one that is distinct from that which gave relative stability during the Cold War. Since 1996, the United States has had a policy of allowing the targeting of its nuclear weapons at terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction . Robert Gallucci argues that although traditional deterrence is not an effective approach toward terrorist groups bent on causing a nuclear catastrophe, Gallucci believes that "the United States should instead consider

1696-425: A nuclear war between two nations would result in mutual annihilation. From this point of view, the significance of nuclear weapons is to deter war because any nuclear war would escalate out of mutual distrust and fear, resulting in mutually assured destruction . This threat of national, if not global, destruction has been a strong motivation for anti-nuclear weapons activism. Critics from the peace movement and within

1802-411: A nuclear weapon from another country by threatening nuclear retaliation is known as the strategy of nuclear deterrence . The goal in deterrence is to always maintain a second strike capability (the ability of a country to respond to a nuclear attack with one of its own) and potentially to strive for first strike status (the ability to destroy an enemy's nuclear forces before they could retaliate). During

1908-465: A nuclear weapon is a gravity bomb dropped from aircraft ; this was the method used by the United States against Japan in 1945. This method places few restrictions on the size of the weapon. It does, however, limit attack range, response time to an impending attack, and the number of weapons that a country can field at the same time. With miniaturization, nuclear bombs can be delivered by both strategic bombers and tactical fighter-bombers . This method

2014-409: A nuclear weapon to its target is an important factor affecting both nuclear weapon design and nuclear strategy . The design, development, and maintenance of delivery systems are among the most expensive parts of a nuclear weapons program; they account, for example, for 57% of the financial resources spent by the United States on nuclear weapons projects since 1940. The simplest method for delivering

2120-433: A nuclear weapon with suitable materials (such as cobalt or gold ) creates a weapon known as a salted bomb . This device can produce exceptionally large quantities of long-lived radioactive contamination . It has been conjectured that such a device could serve as a "doomsday weapon" because such a large quantity of radioactivities with half-lives of decades, lifted into the stratosphere where winds would distribute it around

2226-421: A policy of expanded deterrence, which focuses not solely on the would-be nuclear terrorists but on those states that may deliberately transfer or inadvertently leak nuclear weapons and materials to them. By threatening retaliation against those states, the United States may be able to deter that which it cannot physically prevent.". Graham Allison makes a similar case, arguing that the key to expanded deterrence

SECTION 20

#1732798451797

2332-612: A second attempt to extend its Good Morning America brand into the afternoon with GMA3: What You Need to Know . In May 2019, ABC News Live , a news focused streaming channel, was launched on Roku. Following a reorganization of ABC's parent company, The Walt Disney Company which created the Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International segment in March 2018, ABC News Digital and Live Streaming, including ABC News Live and FiveThirtyEight , were transferred to

2438-447: A significant portion of their energy from fission reactions used to "trigger" fusion reactions, and fusion reactions can themselves trigger additional fission reactions. Only six countries—the United States , Russia , the United Kingdom , China , France , and India —have conducted thermonuclear weapon tests. Whether India has detonated a "true" multi-staged thermonuclear weapon is controversial. North Korea claims to have tested

2544-550: A substantial investment" in the past to develop pure fusion weapons, but that, "The U.S. does not have and is not developing a pure fusion weapon", and that, "No credible design for a pure fusion weapon resulted from the DOE investment". Nuclear isomers provide a possible pathway to fissionless fusion bombs. These are naturally occurring isotopes ( Hf being a prominent example) which exist in an elevated energy state. Mechanisms to release this energy as bursts of gamma radiation (as in

2650-480: A theoretical city, rather than Charleston, with its large number of military installations." Several factors enhanced Special Bulletin ' s resemblance to an actual live news broadcast. It was shot on videotape rather than film, which gave the presentation the visual appearance of being "live". Other small touches, such as actors hesitating or stumbling over dialogue (as if being spoken extemporaneously) and small technical glitches (as would often be experienced in

2756-465: A wide range of entertainment and lifestyle programming . The channel was available in the United States and Europe . Its Talk Back feature allowed viewers to voice their input by submitting videos and personal thoughts on controversial issues and current topics. It was shut down as a digital subchannel after its experimental phase ended with the Presidential inauguration in 2005. ABC News Now

2862-607: Is a 24/7 streaming video news channel for breaking news, live events, newscasts and longer-form reports and documentaries operated by ABC News since 2018, The channel is available through Roku , Hulu , Disney+ , YouTube TV , Sling TV , Pluto TV , Xumo , FuboTV and the news division's other streaming platforms. The service is under the direction of Justin Dial, Vice President of Streaming Content, Seniboye Tienabeso, Executive Director of ABC News Live, Chandra Zeikel, Executive Producer & Eric Ortega, Executive Producer. This unit

2968-420: Is a thermonuclear weapon that yields a relatively small explosion but a relatively large amount of neutron radiation . Such a weapon could, according to tacticians, be used to cause massive biological casualties while leaving inanimate infrastructure mostly intact and creating minimal fallout. Because high energy neutrons are capable of penetrating dense matter, such as tank armor, neutron warheads were procured in

3074-456: Is analogous to identifying a criminal by fingerprints. "The goal would be twofold: first, to deter leaders of nuclear states from selling weapons to terrorists by holding them accountable for any use of their weapons; second, to give leaders every incentive to tightly secure their nuclear weapons and materials." According to the Pentagon's June 2019 " Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations " of

3180-403: Is coming up with ways of tracing nuclear material to the country that forged the fissile material. "After a nuclear bomb detonates, nuclear forensics cops would collect debris samples and send them to a laboratory for radiological analysis. By identifying unique attributes of the fissile material, including its impurities and contaminants, one could trace the path back to its origin." The process

3286-481: Is for the purpose of achieving different yields for different situations , and in manipulating design elements to attempt to minimize weapon size, radiation hardness or requirements for special materials, especially fissile fuel or tritium. Some nuclear weapons are designed for special purposes; most of these are for non-strategic (decisively war-winning) purposes and are referred to as tactical nuclear weapons . The neutron bomb purportedly conceived by Sam Cohen

Special Bulletin - Misplaced Pages Continue

3392-503: Is no evidence that it is feasible beyond the military domain. However, the U.S. Air Force funded studies of the physics of antimatter in the Cold War , and began considering its possible use in weapons, not just as a trigger, but as the explosive itself. A fourth generation nuclear weapon design is related to, and relies upon, the same principle as antimatter-catalyzed nuclear pulse propulsion . Most variation in nuclear weapon design

3498-409: Is not a fusion bomb. In the boosted bomb, the neutrons produced by the fusion reactions serve primarily to increase the efficiency of the fission bomb. There are two types of boosted fission bomb: internally boosted, in which a deuterium-tritium mixture is injected into the bomb core, and externally boosted, in which concentric shells of lithium-deuteride and depleted uranium are layered on the outside of

3604-490: Is not clear that this has ever been implemented, and their plausible use in nuclear weapons is a matter of dispute. The other basic type of nuclear weapon produces a large proportion of its energy in nuclear fusion reactions. Such fusion weapons are generally referred to as thermonuclear weapons or more colloquially as hydrogen bombs (abbreviated as H-bombs ), as they rely on fusion reactions between isotopes of hydrogen ( deuterium and tritium ). All such weapons derive

3710-615: Is producing: Satellite News Channel was a joint venture between ABC News and Group W that launched on June 21, 1982, as a satellite-delivered cable television network. SNC used footage from ABC News and seven Washington, D.C. –based crews and stories from other overseas networks to provide a rotating newscast every 20 minutes. However, this channel had difficulty getting clearance from cable systems, so ABC News and Group W decided to sell it to its competitor, CNN (a subsidiary of Time Warner 's Turner Broadcasting System ). CNN ceased Satellite News Channel's operations on October 27, 1983. SNC

3816-499: Is the daily evening newscast ABC World News Tonight with David Muir ; other programs include morning news-talk show Good Morning America , Nightline , Primetime , 20/20 , and Sunday morning political affairs program This Week with George Stephanopoulos . In addition to the division's television programs, ABC News has radio and digital outlets, including ABC News Radio and ABC News Live , plus various podcasts hosted by ABC News personalities. ABC began in 1943 as

3922-609: Is the largest commercial radio news organization in the US. ABCNews.com launched on May 15, 1997, by ABC News Internet Ventures, a joint venture between Starwave and ABC formed in April 1997. Starwave had owned and operated ESPNet SportsZone (later known as ESPN.com ) since 1995, which licensed the ESPN brand and video clips from ABC's corporate sister ESPN Inc. Disney wanted more control of their Internet properties, which meant ABCNews.com

4028-454: Is the primary means of nuclear weapons delivery; the majority of U.S. nuclear warheads, for example, are free-fall gravity bombs, namely the B61 , which is being improved upon to this day. Preferable from a strategic point of view is a nuclear weapon mounted on a missile , which can use a ballistic trajectory to deliver the warhead over the horizon. Although even short-range missiles allow for

4134-552: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation , operates its unrelated news division that is also named ABC News . The U.S. ABC News maintains a content-sharing agreement with the Nine Network , which also broadcasts GMA domestically in the early morning before its own breakfast program . In New Zealand , ABC World News was broadcast daily at 5:10 p.m. and again at 11:35 p.m. As with

4240-571: The NBC Blue Network , a radio network that was spun off from NBC , as ordered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1942. The reason for the order was to expand competition in radio broadcasting in the United States , specifically news and political broadcasting, and broaden the projected points of view . Only a few companies, such as NBC and CBS , dominated the radio market. NBC conducted

4346-695: The Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test in 1962, an unexpected effect was produced which is called a nuclear electromagnetic pulse . This is an intense flash of electromagnetic energy produced by a rain of high-energy electrons which in turn are produced by a nuclear bomb's gamma rays. This flash of energy can permanently destroy or disrupt electronic equipment if insufficiently shielded. It has been proposed to use this effect to disable an enemy's military and civilian infrastructure as an adjunct to other nuclear or conventional military operations. By itself it could as well be useful to terrorists for crippling

Special Bulletin - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-528: The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1968) attempted to place restrictions on the types of activities signatories could participate in, with the goal of allowing the transference of non-military nuclear technology to member countries without fear of proliferation. ABC News (United States) ABC News is the news division of the American television network ABC . Its flagship program

4558-554: The Tsar Bomba (see TNT equivalent ). A thermonuclear weapon weighing as little as 600 pounds (270 kg) can release energy equal to more than 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ). A nuclear device no larger than a conventional bomb can devastate an entire city by blast, fire, and radiation . Since they are weapons of mass destruction , the proliferation of nuclear weapons is a focus of international relations policy. Nuclear weapons have been deployed twice in war , both by

4664-676: The Tsar Bomba of the USSR, which released an energy equivalent of over 50 megatons of TNT (210 PJ), was a three-stage weapon. Most thermonuclear weapons are considerably smaller than this, due to practical constraints from missile warhead space and weight requirements. In the early 1950s the Livermore Laboratory in the United States had plans for the testing of two massive bombs, Gnomon and Sundial , 1 gigaton of TNT and 10 gigatons of TNT respectively. Fusion reactions do not create fission products, and thus contribute far less to

4770-424: The hafnium controversy ) have been proposed as possible triggers for conventional thermonuclear reactions. Antimatter , which consists of particles resembling ordinary matter particles in most of their properties but having opposite electric charge , has been considered as a trigger mechanism for nuclear weapons. A major obstacle is the difficulty of producing antimatter in large enough quantities, and there

4876-614: The head of government or head of state . Despite controls and regulations governing nuclear weapons, there is an inherent danger of "accidents, mistakes, false alarms, blackmail, theft, and sabotage". In the late 1940s, lack of mutual trust prevented the United States and the Soviet Union from making progress on arms control agreements. The Russell–Einstein Manifesto was issued in London on July 9, 1955, by Bertrand Russell in

4982-436: The tropopause into the stratosphere , where the calm non-turbulent winds permit the debris to travel great distances from the burst, eventually settling and unpredictably contaminating areas far removed from the target of the explosion. There are other types of nuclear weapons as well. For example, a boosted fission weapon is a fission bomb that increases its explosive yield through a small number of fusion reactions, but it

5088-537: The "implosion" method, is more sophisticated and more efficient (smaller, less massive, and requiring less of the expensive fissile fuel) than the former. A major challenge in all nuclear weapon designs is to ensure that a significant fraction of the fuel is consumed before the weapon destroys itself. The amount of energy released by fission bombs can range from the equivalent of just under a ton to upwards of 500,000 tons (500 kilotons ) of TNT (4.2 to 2.1 × 10  GJ). All fission reactions generate fission products ,

5194-586: The 1980s (though not deployed in Europe) for use as tactical payloads for US Army artillery shells (200 mm W79 and 155 mm W82 ) and short range missile forces. Soviet authorities announced similar intentions for neutron warhead deployment in Europe; indeed, they claimed to have originally invented the neutron bomb, but their deployment on USSR tactical nuclear forces is unverifiable. A type of nuclear explosive most suitable for use by ground special forces

5300-425: The Cold War, policy and military theorists considered the sorts of policies that might prevent a nuclear attack, and they developed game theory models that could lead to stable deterrence conditions. Different forms of nuclear weapons delivery (see above) allow for different types of nuclear strategies. The goals of any strategy are generally to make it difficult for an enemy to launch a pre-emptive strike against

5406-494: The Joint Chiefs of Staffs website Publication, "Integration of nuclear weapons employment with conventional and special operations forces is essential to the success of any mission or operation." Because they are weapons of mass destruction, the proliferation and possible use of nuclear weapons are important issues in international relations and diplomacy. In most countries, the use of nuclear force can only be authorized by

SECTION 50

#1732798451797

5512-503: The Nuclear Age (1961) that mere possession of a nuclear arsenal was enough to ensure deterrence, and thus concluded that the spread of nuclear weapons could increase international stability . Some prominent neo-realist scholars, such as Kenneth Waltz and John Mearsheimer , have argued, along the lines of Gallois, that some forms of nuclear proliferation would decrease the likelihood of total war , especially in troubled regions of

5618-543: The U.S. Government. Dr. Lyman demands the triggers for all 968 nuclear devices in the area ( Charleston Naval Shipyard and the Polaris Missile Facility, Atlantic (POMFLANT) at the nearby Naval Weapons Station being an important staging ground for U.S. nuclear submarines) delivered to them, intending to destroy them by dropping them in the Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Lyman states that failure to oblige to

5724-664: The USAAF detonated a plutonium implosion-type fission bomb nicknamed " Fat Man " over the Japanese city of Nagasaki . These bombings caused injuries that resulted in the deaths of approximately 200,000 civilians and military personnel . The ethics of these bombings and their role in Japan's surrender are to this day, still subjects of debate . Since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , nuclear weapons have been detonated over 2,000 times for testing and demonstration. Only

5830-777: The USAF AIR-2 Genie , the AIM-26 Falcon and US Army Nike Hercules . Missile interceptors such as the Sprint and the Spartan also used small nuclear warheads (optimized to produce neutron or X-ray flux) but were for use against enemy strategic warheads. Other small, or tactical, nuclear weapons were deployed by naval forces for use primarily as antisubmarine weapons. These included nuclear depth bombs or nuclear armed torpedoes. Nuclear mines for use on land or at sea are also possibilities. The system used to deliver

5936-527: The United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II . Nuclear weapons have only twice been used in warfare, both times by the United States against Japan at the end of World War II . On August 6, 1945, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) detonated a uranium gun-type fission bomb nicknamed " Little Boy " over the Japanese city of Hiroshima ; three days later, on August 9,

6042-526: The United States. Small, two-man portable tactical weapons (somewhat misleadingly referred to as suitcase bombs ), such as the Special Atomic Demolition Munition , have been developed, although the difficulty of combining sufficient yield with portability limits their military utility. Nuclear warfare strategy is a set of policies that deal with preventing or fighting a nuclear war. The policy of trying to prevent an attack by

6148-1193: The ages of 18 and 34. The network replaced ABC News Now , a mainly streaming service of ABC News content. In December 2015, it was reported that Disney was in talks to sell its stake in Fusion to Univision. The split was complete on April 21, 2016; Univision alone would continue to operate Fusion until December 31, 2021, when it shut down the network. New York (Main Headquarters) Washington, D.C. Atlanta Chicago Dallas Los Angeles London Miami Paris San Francisco Auckland Current ABC News Radio personnel Contributors ('†' symbol indicates person deceased) In Australia, Sky News Australia airs daily broadcasts of ABC World News Tonight (at 10:30 a.m.) and Nightline (at 1:30 a.m.) as well as weekly airings of 20/20 (on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m., with an extended version at 2:00 p.m. on Sundays) and occasionally Primetime (at 1:30 p.m. on Thursdays, with extended edition at 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays). Coincidentally, that country's public broadcasting ,

6254-473: The announcement that Cumulus would replace its ABC News radio service with Westwood One News (via CNN ). On September 20, 2019, ABC Radio was renamed as ABC Audio as the network has evolved to offer a podcast portfolio and other forms of on-demand and linear content. In April 2018, it was announced that FiveThirtyEight would be transferred to ABC News from ESPN, Inc. , majority owned by The Walt Disney Company . On September 10, 2018, ABC News launched

6360-512: The appointment of the president of ABC Sports , Roone Arledge as president of ABC News in 1977, ABC invested the resources to make it a significant source of news content. Arledge, known for experimenting with the broadcast "model", created many of ABC News' most popular and enduring programs, including 20/20 , World News Tonight , This Week , Nightline , and Primetime Live . ABC News' longtime slogan, "More Americans get their news from ABC News than from any other source." (introduced in

6466-404: The battle while reporting an unrelated story, RBS reporter Steve Levitt and his cameraman George Takashima are taken hostage aboard the boat. As part of a deal to release the surrendered Coast Guardsmen, the terrorists; Doctors Bruce Lyman and David McKeeson, political activist Frieda Barton, social worker Diane Silverman, and mentally unstable ex-convict Jim Seaver, ask to broadcast their demands to

SECTION 60

#1732798451797

6572-478: The book say on camera that Monroe kept diaries with references to meetings with the Kennedy brothers, according to a staff member who has seen the report. "It set out to be a piece which would demonstrate that because of alleged relations between Robert Kennedy and John F. Kennedy and Monroe, the presidency was compromised because organized crime was involved," he said. "Based on what has been uncovered so far, there

6678-480: The broadcast because they had previously scheduled local programming for the evening, before the film was placed by the network into that timeslot at the last minute. Special Bulletin was nominated for six Emmy awards and won four, including Outstanding Drama Special . It also won Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America prizes for Zwick and Herskovitz, as well as the Humanitas Prize ,

6784-485: The chance of a successful missile defense . Today, missiles are most common among systems designed for delivery of nuclear weapons. Making a warhead small enough to fit onto a missile, though, can be difficult. Tactical weapons have involved the most variety of delivery types, including not only gravity bombs and missiles but also artillery shells, land mines , and nuclear depth charges and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare . An atomic mortar has been tested by

6890-435: The creation of nuclear fallout than fission reactions, but because all thermonuclear weapons contain at least one fission stage, and many high-yield thermonuclear devices have a final fission stage, thermonuclear weapons can generate at least as much nuclear fallout as fission-only weapons. Furthermore, high yield thermonuclear explosions (most dangerously ground bursts) have the force to lift radioactive debris upwards past

6996-455: The decision process. The prospect of mutually assured destruction might not deter an enemy who expects to die in the confrontation. Further, if the initial act is from a stateless terrorist instead of a sovereign nation, there might not be a nation or specific target to retaliate against. It has been argued, especially after the September 11, 2001, attacks , that this complication calls for

7102-417: The demand or any deviation from the plan will result in the group detonating their own improvised nuclear device stowed aboard the ship. Subsequent investigations into Lyman and McKeeson reveal their backgrounds in nuclear weaponry and technology. Dr. Lyman himself was noted as being instrumental in the construction of the neutron bomb before he became a radical anti-nuclear demonstrator. Dr. McKeeson shows

7208-566: The dock while the NEST Team boards the boat to disarm the device. A camera aboard the boat records the team working, when they accidentally trigger one of McKeeson's safeguards. As the team frantically try to stabilize the device, the feed is suddenly interrupted by static, at which point the broadcast returns to the RBS Studio, the hosts clearly shaken by what they have just witnessed. The broadcast shifts to another reporter, Meg Barclay, who

7314-575: The early 1970s, ABC News programs and ABC in general consistently ranked third in viewership behind CBS and NBC news programs. ABC had fewer affiliate stations and a weaker prime-time programming slate to support the network's news operations compared to the two larger networks, each of which had established their radio news operations during the 1930s. By the 1970s, the network had effectively turned around, with its prime-time entertainment programs achieving more substantial ratings and drawing in higher advertising revenue and profits for ABC overall. With

7420-469: The energy of a fission bomb to compress and heat fusion fuel. In the Teller-Ulam design , which accounts for all multi-megaton yield hydrogen bombs, this is accomplished by placing a fission bomb and fusion fuel ( tritium , deuterium , or lithium deuteride ) in proximity within a special, radiation-reflecting container. When the fission bomb is detonated, gamma rays and X-rays emitted first compress

7526-417: The fact that the decision reflects badly on people I respect and it reflects badly on me and the broadcast." Additionally, Westin said: "I don't anticipate not putting it on the air. The journalism is solid. Everything in there has two sources. We are documenting that there was a relationship between Bobby and Marilyn and Jack and Marilyn. A variety of eyewitnesses attest to that on camera." Two other aspects of

7632-485: The fictional RBS television network. It begins with promotional scenes from other RBS network shows. One is cut off by the announcement "We interrupt our regular programming to bring you this Special Bulletin from RBS News." In Charleston, South Carolina , a skirmish is fought between Coast Guard personnel and a group of terrorists aboard a docked tugboat called Liberty May in Charleston Harbor . Caught in

7738-488: The film available on DVD for one year as part of its Warner Archive Collection . Warner's rights have since reverted to the production company and the DVD is currently out of print . Atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions , either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb ), producing

7844-455: The fission bomb core. The external method of boosting enabled the USSR to field the first partially thermonuclear weapons, but it is now obsolete because it demands a spherical bomb geometry, which was adequate during the 1950s arms race when bomber aircraft were the only available delivery vehicles. The detonation of any nuclear weapon is accompanied by a blast of neutron radiation . Surrounding

7950-420: The fusion fuel, then heat it to thermonuclear temperatures. The ensuing fusion reaction creates enormous numbers of high-speed neutrons , which can then induce fission in materials not normally prone to it, such as depleted uranium . Each of these components is known as a "stage", with the fission bomb as the "primary" and the fusion capsule as the "secondary". In large, megaton-range hydrogen bombs, about half of

8056-535: The globe, would make all life on the planet extinct. In connection with the Strategic Defense Initiative , research into the nuclear pumped laser was conducted under the DOD program Project Excalibur but this did not result in a working weapon. The concept involves the tapping of the energy of an exploding nuclear bomb to power a single-shot laser that is directed at a distant target. During

8162-402: The handover, a power failure occurs in Charleston – all televisions including one on the tugboat go off the air. This proves to be deliberate, as a Delta Force commando team storms the boat, killing all but one of the terrorists, including Dr. Lyman. Dr. McKeeson is cornered, but commits suicide to escape capture. Steve and George are safely taken off the ship, but they continue to broadcast on

8268-619: The late 1980s), was a claim referring to the number of people who watch, listen to and read ABC News content on television, radio and (eventually) the Internet, and not necessarily to the telecasts alone. In June 1998, ABC News (which owned an 80% stake in the service), Nine Network and ITN sold their respective interests in Worldwide Television News to the Associated Press . Additionally, ABC News signed

8374-569: The latter award which irked former NBC president Reuven Frank . In his book on TV news, Out of Thin Air , Frank called Special Bulletin "junk" and claimed he wanted to return his own Humanitas Prize in protest, "but I couldn't find it." Lorimar Home Video issued Special Bulletin on VHS and Betamax , and Warner Home Video would later reissue it; these releases omit the on-screen "dramatization" overlay. Starting in January 2010, Warner Bros. made

8480-496: The majority of their energy from nuclear fission reactions alone, and those that use fission reactions to begin nuclear fusion reactions that produce a large amount of the total energy output. All existing nuclear weapons derive some of their explosive energy from nuclear fission reactions. Weapons whose explosive output is exclusively from fission reactions are commonly referred to as atomic bombs or atom bombs (abbreviated as A-bombs ). This has long been noted as something of

8586-407: The midst of the Cold War. It highlighted the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and called for world leaders to seek peaceful resolutions to international conflict. The signatories included eleven pre-eminent intellectuals and scientists, including Albert Einstein , who signed it just days before his death on April 18, 1955. A few days after the release, philanthropist Cyrus S. Eaton offered to sponsor

8692-545: The military establishment have questioned the usefulness of such weapons in the current military climate. According to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in 1996, the use of (or threat of use of) such weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, but the court did not reach an opinion as to whether or not the threat or use would be lawful in specific extreme circumstances such as if

8798-408: The missiles before they land or implementing civil defense measures using early-warning systems to evacuate citizens to safe areas before an attack. Weapons designed to threaten large populations or to deter attacks are known as strategic weapons . Nuclear weapons for use on a battlefield in military situations are called tactical weapons . Critics of nuclear war strategy often suggest that

8904-488: The new segment. In an October 2018 Simmons Research survey of 38 news organizations, ABC News was ranked the second most trusted news organization by Americans, behind The Wall Street Journal . ABC News Radio is the radio service of ABC Audio , a division of the ABC News. Formerly known as ABC Radio News , ABC News Radio feeds through Skyview Networks with newscasts on the hour to its affiliates. ABC News Radio

9010-485: The program was rebroadcast in 1984, the only disclaimers were made at the commercial breaks; there were none on the screen while the action was taking place. WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the only NBC affiliate which refused to air the film out of concern that, as station president Mike McCormick stated, "people will be deceived into believing it's an actual telecast." However, some other NBC affiliates preempted

9116-450: The program's co-anchors, Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters, and the executive producer, Av Westin. Arledge said that he had killed the piece because it was "gossip-column stuff" and "does not live up to its billing." Downs, however, took issue with Arledge's judgment. "I am upset about the way it was handled," he said in an interview. "I honestly believe that this is more carefully documented than anything any network did during Watergate. I lament

9222-428: The remains of the split atomic nuclei. Many fission products are either highly radioactive (but short-lived) or moderately radioactive (but long-lived), and as such, they are a serious form of radioactive contamination . Fission products are the principal radioactive component of nuclear fallout . Another source of radioactivity is the burst of free neutrons produced by the weapon. When they collide with other nuclei in

9328-469: The reporters covering the story the terrorists' bomb, explaining that not only is he the man who built it, but he has fitted several fail-safes and anti-tamper devices to the bomb, revealing that he is the only person who can disarm it. Eventually, the Department of Defense agrees to the terrorists' demands and a van arrives outside the tugboat, supposedly carrying the nuclear triggers. Moments before

9434-584: The split voluntarily in case its appeal of the ruling was denied, and it was forced to split its two networks into separate companies. Regular television news broadcasts on ABC began soon after the network signed on its initial owned-and-operated television station (WJZ-TV, now WABC-TV ) and production center in New York City in August 1948. Broadcasts continued as the ABC network expanded nationwide. Until

9540-413: The surrounding area will be uninhabitable for decades to come. The film ends as the news bulletin reports on other stories across the world. Leonard Maltin 's Movie and Video Guide rated Special Bulletin "way above average." The Washington Post described it as "A shrewd, keen, wise, hip, occasionally lacerating and sometimes gravely funny dark parody of network TV news coverage." Also, "At times,

9646-402: The surrounding material, the neutrons transmute those nuclei into other isotopes, altering their stability and making them radioactive. The most commonly used fissile materials for nuclear weapons applications have been uranium-235 and plutonium-239 . Less commonly used has been uranium-233 . Neptunium-237 and some isotopes of americium may be usable for nuclear explosives as well, but it

9752-498: The survival of the state were at stake. Another deterrence position is that nuclear proliferation can be desirable. In this case, it is argued that, unlike conventional weapons, nuclear weapons deter all-out war between states, and they succeeded in doing this during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union . In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Gen. Pierre Marie Gallois of France, an adviser to Charles de Gaulle , argued in books like The Balance of Terror: Strategy for

9858-505: The unaired report, according to an ABC staff member who has seen it, are eyewitness accounts of wiretapping of Monroe's home by Jimmy Hoffa , the teamster leader, that reveal meetings between her and the Kennedy brothers, and accounts of a visit to Monroe by Robert F. Kennedy on the day of her death. Fred Otash, a detective who said he was the chief wiretapper, is interviewed on camera, and ABC staff members said three other wiretappers corroborated his account. In addition, several people not in

9964-638: The unfolding story in Special Bulletin comes across as ludicrous, but then one has to think, how much more ludicrous is it than some of the actual news events of the past 15 years or so, and the way television has honed its way of covering them? It's a process that deserves scrutiny not just in poker-faced journals and ivory tower think tanks but on television. Praiseworthy trailblazers like the ABC News late night Viewpoint broadcasts have done this one way. Special Bulletin does it in another way-not

10070-446: The weapon system and difficult to defend against the delivery of the weapon during a potential conflict. This can mean keeping weapon locations hidden, such as deploying them on submarines or land mobile transporter erector launchers whose locations are difficult to track, or it can mean protecting weapons by burying them in hardened missile silo bunkers. Other components of nuclear strategies included using missile defenses to destroy

10176-493: The word "Fiction" on screen at all times during its showing of the movie. The film also made use of "accelerated time"—events said to take place hours apart instead are shown only minutes apart. In addition, NBC sent releases to the various military commands in the Charleston area of the movie's airing, so they could inform their attached servicemembers to be prepared for the possibility of nervous phone calls from home, and could reassure their relatives and friends back home that what

10282-631: The world where there exists a single nuclear-weapon state. Aside from the public opinion that opposes proliferation in any form, there are two schools of thought on the matter: those, like Mearsheimer, who favored selective proliferation, and Waltz, who was somewhat more non- interventionist . Interest in proliferation and the stability-instability paradox that it generates continues to this day, with ongoing debate about indigenous Japanese and South Korean nuclear deterrent against North Korea . The threat of potentially suicidal terrorists possessing nuclear weapons (a form of nuclear terrorism ) complicates

10388-624: The yield comes from the final fissioning of depleted uranium. Virtually all thermonuclear weapons deployed today use the "two-stage" design described to the right, but it is possible to add additional fusion stages—each stage igniting a larger amount of fusion fuel in the next stage. This technique can be used to construct thermonuclear weapons of arbitrarily large yield. This is in contrast to fission bombs, which are limited in their explosive power due to criticality danger (premature nuclear chain reaction caused by too-large amounts of pre-assembled fissile fuel). The largest nuclear weapon ever detonated,

10494-445: Was aboard USS  Yorktown  (CV-10) two miles away. Footage reveals that the device exploded, resulting in a 23-kiloton nuclear blast that has caused a firestorm , destroying the city of Charleston. Three days later, RBS broadcasts the aftermath of the detonation. Thanks to an earlier ordered evacuation, only 2,000 citizens perished in the detonation. However, thousands more have been left injured, traumatized or homeless, and

10600-539: Was airing was in fact a fictional dramatization, and not a real news story. Nonetheless, there were still news reports of isolated panic in Charleston. Much as with the famous 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds , it was entirely possible for viewers to tune in between disclaimers and make a snap judgment about what they were seeing, although in both cases a quick flip of the dial would reveal that no other stations were covering this supposedly major news event. When

10706-481: Was also available via America Online . In 2011, ABC News and Yahoo News announced a strategic partnership to share ABC's online reporting on Yahoo's website; the deal expanded in 2015 to include the Disney/ABC Television Group. In 2018, ABC News, and Good Morning America specifically, ended the hosting partnership with Yahoo, instead opting to continue separate web presences. ABC News Live

10812-464: Was either replaced by CNN or CNN2 on most cable systems. ABC News Now was a 24-hour cable news network that launched on July 26, 2004, as a digital subchannel by ABC News, being the company's second attempt in the 24-hour cable news world after Satellite News Channel . It was offered via digital television , broadband and streaming video at ABCNews.com and on mobile phones . It delivered breaking news , headline news each half hour, and

10918-625: Was no evidence." Arledge's decision to kill the broadcast resulted in the subsequent decision of Geraldo Rivera to leave ABC entirely. Rivera was a 20/20 correspondent but did not work on that story. He had been publicly critical of Arledge's decision. Arledge, a champion and defender of Rivera, said he thought the story needed more work. The story probed purported affairs between actress Marilyn Monroe, President John F. Kennedy, and his brother Robert F. Kennedy. On August 7, 2014, ABC announced that it would relaunch its radio network division, ABC Radio , on January 1, 2015. The change occurred following

11024-467: Was operated as a joint venture with ABC News having editorial control. Disney had also bought a minority stake in Starwave before the launch of ABCNews.com and would later buy the company outright. The website initially had a dedicated staff of about 30. In addition to articles, it featured short video clips and audio from the start, delivered using RealAudio and RealVideo technology. Some content

11130-515: Was replaced on cable providers with Fusion on October 28, 2013. Fusion was a digital cable and satellite network owned and operated by Fusion Media Group , LLC, which was a joint venture between ABC News and Univision Communications . ABC and Univision formally announced their launch on May 2, 2012. Launched on October 28, 2013, Fusion features a mix of traditional news and investigative programs along with satirical content aimed at English-speaking Hispanic and Latino American adults between

11236-744: Was the Special Atomic Demolition Munition , or SADM, sometimes popularly known as a suitcase nuke . This is a nuclear bomb that is man-portable, or at least truck-portable, and though of a relatively small yield (one or two kilotons) is sufficient to destroy important tactical targets such as bridges, dams, tunnels, important military or commercial installations, etc. either behind enemy lines or pre-emptively on friendly territory soon to be overtaken by invading enemy forces. These weapons require plutonium fuel and are particularly "dirty". They also demand especially stringent security precautions in their storage and deployment. Small "tactical" nuclear weapons were deployed for use as antiaircraft weapons. Examples include

#796203