Latest news with #Heinrichs
India.com
6 days ago
- Politics
- India.com
World War 3: Doomsday clock inches closer to midnight as nuclear war imminent between these countries; experts says threat level for US is...
The Doomsday Clock is just 89 seconds shy of midnight. (File) The symbolic Doomsday Clock is closest to midnight–the hour when a global catastrophe such as a nuclear war could erupt on the planet– it has been since its inception about 78 years ago, after the US decimated the Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively– the only battlefield use of a nuclear weapon in history. How close are we to a nuclear war? Earlier, in January this year, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock, closer to midnight than its ever been in its 78-year history, signifying how close the world to a nuclear war in wake of the ongoing conflicts, especially the imminent war between the United States with China and Russia– the top three nuclear armed superpowers in the world today. The symbolic clock is just 89 seconds shy of midnight, which signifies an unprecedented threat level, higher than what was witnessed during the peak of the Cold War, when the US and USSR had nuclear weapons armed and aimed at each other. Why US faces a higher nuclear threat? According to Rebeccah Heinrichs, a nuclear expert and a senior fellow at Hudson Institute as well as the director of its Keystone Defense Initiative, the US is facing an unprecedented nuclear threat because this is the first time when its faced with two major nuclear-powered opponents, Russia and China, both of whom are rapidly developing new nuclear capabilities, and actively working together to counter Washington. 'The current nuclear threat environment is more than the pressure faced by the US during the Cold War . At that time, the US had only one nuclear rival in Soviet Union, but today China and Russia have have heavily invested in their nuclear capabilities, with the only goal being to thwart a US nuclear strike or make a preemptive one,' Heinrichs told Fox News. Which countries face the highest nuclear threat? As per experts, the US, Russia and China face the highest level of nuclear threat despite being three of biggest superpowers on the planet and the ones with largest nuclear stockpile. Smaller players like North Korea, and India and Pakistan are unlikely to resort to nuclear weapons, unless faced with an existential threat, while there are also concerns over Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions and Israel opting for the nuclear option, they say. Several western experts have blamed the increased threat level on Russia's alleged flouting of international nuclear treaties and China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal, while other believe that the US under Donald Trump and his tariffs, is pushing Washington's rivals to enhance their nuclear capabilities. Despite growing nuclear threats from North Korea and concerns over the Iranian nuclear program, the threat level is limited to the three biggest players in the nuclear field: Russia, the US and China. The increased threat is attributed to Russia's refusal to abide by international nuclear treaties and China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal. Is World War 3 imminent? Last month, Russia media reports, citing experts and analysts close to the Kremlin, claimed that NATO is preparing for a major conflict with Russia, amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the US-led Western powers due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Experts believe that such a conflict could potentially trigger World War 3 as Russia's allies like China would step in military, resulting in a global conflict. Its believed these reports are designed to prepare the Russian citizens for a major war with NATO, including a nuclear conflict.
Fox News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Russia and China tick Doomsday Clock toward midnight as Hiroshima bombing hits 80 years
Wednesday marks the 80th anniversary of when the U.S. employed the first ever nuclear bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, followed by the bombing of Nagasaki three days later on Aug. 9. But despite nearly a century of lessons learned, nuclear warfare still remains a significant threat. "This is the first time that the United States is facing down two nuclear peer adversaries – Russia and China," Rebeccah Heinrichs, nuclear expert and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News Digital. Heinrichs explained that not only are Moscow and Beijing continuing to develop new nuclear capabilities and delivery systems, but they are increasingly collaborating with one another in direct opposition to the West, and more pointedly, the U.S. "It's a much more complex nuclear threat environment than what the United States even had to contend with during the Cold War, where we just had one nuclear peer adversary in the Soviet Union," she said. "In that regard, it's a serious problem, especially when both China and Russia are investing in nuclear capabilities and at the same time have revanchist goals." Despite the known immense devastation that would accompany an atomic war between two nuclear nations, concern has been growing that the threat of nuclear war is on the rise. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which collectively killed some 200,000 people, not including the dozens of thousands who later died from radiation poisoning and cancer – have been attributed with bringing an end to World War II. But the bombs did more than end the deadliest war in human history – they forever changed military doctrine, sparked a nuclear arms race and cemented the concept of deterrence through the theory of mutually assured destruction. Earlier this year the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved forward the "Doomsday Clock" by one second – pushing it closer to "midnight," or atomic meltdown, than ever before. In January, the board of scientists and security officials in charge of the 78-year-old clock, which is used to measure the threat level of nuclear warfare, said that moving the clock to 89 seconds to midnight "signals that the world is on a course of unprecedented risk, and that continuing on the current path is a form of madness." Despite the escalated nuclear threats coming out of North Korea, and international concern over the Iranian nuclear program, the threat level largely came down to the three biggest players in the nuclear arena: Russia, the U.S. and China. The increased threat level was attributed to Russia's refusal to comply with international nuclear treaties amid its continuously escalating war in Ukraine and its hostile opposition to NATO nations, as well as China's insistence on expanding its nuclear arsenal. But the Bulletin, which was founded by scientists on the Manhattan Project in 1945 to inform the public of the dangers of atomic warfare, also said the U.S. has a role in the increased nuclear threat level. "The U.S. has abdicated its role as a voice of caution. It seems inclined to expand its nuclear arsenal and adopt a posture that reinforces the belief that 'limited' use of nuclear weapons can be managed," the Bulletin said. "Such misplaced confidence could have us stumble into a nuclear war." But Heinrichs countered the "alarmist" message and argued that deterrence remains a very real protectant against nuclear warfare, even as Russia increasingly threatens Western nations with atomic use. "I do think that it's a serious threat. I don't think it's inevitable that we're sort of staring down nuclear Armageddon," she said. Heinrichs argued the chief threat is not the number of nuclear warheads a nation possesses, but in how they threaten to employ their capabilities. "I think that whenever there is a threat of nuclear use, it's because adversaries, authoritarian countries, in particular Russia, is threatening to use nuclear weapons to invade another country. And that's where the greatest risk of deterrence failure is," she said. "It's not because of the sheer number of nuclear weapons." Heinrichs said Russia is lowering the nuclear threshold by routinely threatening to employ nuclear weapons in a move to coerce Western nations to capitulate to their demands, as in the case of capturing territory in Ukraine and attempting to deny it NATO access. Instead, she argued that the U.S. and its allies need to improve their deterrence by not only staying on top of their capabilities but expanding their nuclear reach in regions like the Indo-Pacific. "The answer is not to be so afraid of it or alarmed that you capitulate, because you're only going to beget more nuclear coercion if you do that," she said. "The answer is to prudently, carefully communicate to the Russians they are not going to succeed through nuclear coercion, that the United States also has credible response options. "We also have nuclear weapons, and we have credible and proportional responses, and so they shouldn't go down that path," Heinrichs said. "That's how we maintain the nuclear peace. That's how we deter conflict. And that's how we ensure that a nuclear weapon is not used."
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
For some voters in smaller Manitoba cities, housing is a top election priority
Although housing is often seen as a big-city problem, some voters in smaller Manitoba cities say housing is their focus in this federal election — from affordability to the types of homes the next government should prioritize. Jaired Heinrichs is hoping to buy his first home, budgeting monthly to save for a down payment. He and his wife of nearly two years recently moved into a new but "small" apartment in Winkler, a rapidly growing city in the southern Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar. It had a population of nearly 14,000 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada. At his kitchen table, Heinrichs pencils in dollar figures for gas, groceries, rent and more on a spreadsheet. After essentials, he says he barely has anything left over. "When rent is as much, or if not more, than a mortgage payment, [it] makes it very hard for a young couple like me and my wife, Laura, to save up" for a house, Heinrichs said last week. The 25-year-old construction worker and welder acknowledges he's made mistakes when it comes to his finances but says he's frustrated about being priced out of today's housing market. He aims to continue training to become a certified heavy-duty diesel mechanic, but he's also looking to the next federal government to help make first-time homeownership more achievable — and help put his dreams of owning an acreage and a home like his parents within reach. "That way it gives young Canadians like myself and my wife a chance to get forward in life," he said. "I feel like I'm really spinning my tires." Meanwhile, Valdine Alycia, 40, is also concerned about their future housing prospects. Alycia lives with an episodic and progressive neurological disability in Thompson, a city with a population of around 13,000 in the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. Alycia, who uses they/them pronouns, made changes to their childhood home, including having a smart home system installed, to make it easier and safer to stay there. In the future, they might need an elevator, grab bars in the bathroom and wider hallways to continue living independently as their disability progresses, Alycia said. However, the accessible housing they'll one day need is scarce in Thompson, they said. "I would love to see all of the parties committing to Indigenous housing and housing for people with disabilities," said Alycia, who is Métis. About eight million Canadians aged 15 and older live with a disability, according to Statistics Canada. With this in mind, Alycia said they're alarmed there haven't been more specific pledges for accessible housing and people with disabilities during the campaign leading up to the April 28 election. "I believe that Thompson is completely overlooked in all of the conversations when it comes to housing," they said. All major federal parties have announced commitments for housing. The Conservatives have pledged to cut GST on new homes up to $1.3 million and incentivize municipalities to boost home building by at least 15 per cent each year. The Liberals say they'll eliminate GST for first-time homebuyers of properties under $1 million and launch an agency called Build Canada Homes that will act as a developer, overseeing affordable home building in Canada. The NDP says it would fund a $16-billion strategy to construct affordable and rent-controlled homes, prevent large corporate landlords from buying up affordable homes, and require the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to offer low-interest, public-backed mortgages. University of Winnipeg urban and inner-city studies professor Shauna MacKinnon said she finds parts of the Liberal and New Democrat platforms appealing, but thinks details on social housing in the major party platforms are missing. MacKinnon, who is also a member of the Right to Housing Coalition, says her organization is calling on the next federal government to build at least 50,000 subsidized rent-geared-to-income units each year for the next decade. MacKinnon criticized the Liberals' national housing strategy, launched in 2017, for allocating too much to private sector housing and median market rentals. "Housing has been built. It's just not the housing that is addressing the needs of the … lowest-income households, so we really need to shift the investment to ensure that that is the priority housing," MacKinnon said. As for Heinrichs, he likes the Conservatives' plan and says would appreciate a GST cut on his first home, along with regulations on rent, but questions why the cost of homes are so high. "Why are our homes costing over $1 million?" he said. "That's ludicrous." He also questioned the helpfulness of a previous Liberal government announcement from last year that saw first-time homebuyers become eligible for 30-year mortgage amortization periods, up from the standard 25-year term. Although the longer timeframe would reduce monthly payments, "the longer the loan, the more interest you pay," Heinrichs said. Homes in the Pembina Valley, which includes Winkler, are going for an average $325,000, local real estate agent Dave Kasdorf told CBC News last month. New houses are selling for an average of roughly $400,000, with prices increasing three to five per cent annually, he said. "First-time homebuyers are having a real hard time getting into the marketplace," said Kasdorf. Heinrichs and his wife hope to purchase a below-average-priced home within five years, and he's asking for more help from Canada's next leader. "Please just remember us bottom-of-the-barrel Canadians that are just … getting by, and just please make it affordable for us to live again — because it's not."
CBC
24-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
For some voters in smaller Manitoba cities, housing is a top election priority
Social Sharing Although housing is often seen as a big-city problem, some voters in smaller Manitoba cities say housing is their focus in this federal election — from affordability to the types of homes the next government should prioritize. Jaired Heinrichs is hoping to buy his first home, budgeting monthly to save for a down payment. He and his wife of nearly two years recently moved into a new but "small" apartment in Winkler, a rapidly growing city in the southern Manitoba riding of Portage-Lisgar. It had a population of nearly 14,000 in 2021, according to Statistics Canada. At his kitchen table, Heinrichs pencils in dollar figures for gas, groceries, rent and more on a spreadsheet. After essentials, he says he barely has anything left over. "When rent is as much, or if not more, than a mortgage payment, [it] makes it very hard for a young couple like me and my wife, Laura, to save up" for a house, Heinrichs said last week. The 25-year-old construction worker and welder acknowledges he's made mistakes when it comes to his finances but says he's frustrated about being priced out of today's housing market. He aims to continue training to become a certified heavy-duty diesel mechanic, but he's also looking to the next federal government to help make first-time homeownership more achievable — and help put his dreams of owning an acreage and a home like his parents within reach. "That way it gives young Canadians like myself and my wife a chance to get forward in life," he said. "I feel like I'm really spinning my tires." Meanwhile, Valdine Alycia, 40, is also concerned about their future housing prospects. Alycia lives with an episodic and progressive neurological disability in Thompson, a city with a population of around 13,000 in the northern Manitoba riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski. Alycia, who uses they/them pronouns, made changes to their childhood home, including having a smart home system installed, to make it easier and safer to stay there. In the future, they might need an elevator, grab bars in the bathroom and wider hallways to continue living independently as their disability progresses, Alycia said. However, the accessible housing they'll one day need is scarce in Thompson, they said. "I would love to see all of the parties committing to Indigenous housing and housing for people with disabilities," said Alycia, who is Métis. About eight million Canadians aged 15 and older live with a disability, according to Statistics Canada. With this in mind, Alycia said they're alarmed there haven't been more specific pledges for accessible housing and people with disabilities during the campaign leading up to the April 28 election. "I believe that Thompson is completely overlooked in all of the conversations when it comes to housing," they said. Party promises for housing All major federal parties have announced commitments for housing. The Conservatives have pledged to cut GST on new homes up to $1.3 million and incentivize municipalities to boost home building by at least 15 per cent each year. The Liberals say they'll eliminate GST for first-time homebuyers of properties under $1 million and launch an agency called Build Canada Homes that will act as a developer, overseeing affordable home building in Canada. The NDP says it would fund a $16-billion strategy to construct affordable and rent-controlled homes, prevent large corporate landlords from buying up affordable homes, and require the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to offer low-interest, public-backed mortgages. University of Winnipeg urban and inner-city studies professor Shauna MacKinnon said she finds parts of the Liberal and New Democrat platforms appealing, but thinks details on social housing in the major party platforms are missing. MacKinnon, who is also a member of the Right to Housing Coalition, says her organization is calling on the next federal government to build at least 50,000 subsidized rent-geared-to-income units each year for the next decade. MacKinnon criticized the Liberals' national housing strategy, launched in 2017, for allocating too much to private sector housing and median market rentals. "Housing has been built. It's just not the housing that is addressing the needs of the … lowest-income households, so we really need to shift the investment to ensure that that is the priority housing," MacKinnon said. As for Heinrichs, he likes the Conservatives' plan and says would appreciate a GST cut on his first home, along with regulations on rent, but questions why the cost of homes are so high. "Why are our homes costing over $1 million?" he said. "That's ludicrous." He also questioned the helpfulness of a previous Liberal government announcement from last year that saw first-time homebuyers become eligible for 30-year mortgage amortization periods, up from the standard 25-year term. Although the longer timeframe would reduce monthly payments, "the longer the loan, the more interest you pay," Heinrichs said. Homes in the Pembina Valley, which includes Winkler, are going for an average $325,000, local real estate agent Dave Kasdorf told CBC News last month. New houses are selling for an average of roughly $400,000, with prices increasing three to five per cent annually, he said. "First-time homebuyers are having a real hard time getting into the marketplace," said Kasdorf. Heinrichs and his wife hope to purchase a below-average-priced home within five years, and he's asking for more help from Canada's next leader. "Please just remember us bottom-of-the-barrel Canadians that are just … getting by, and just please make it affordable for us to live again — because it's not." Manitobans casting ballots in federal election for housing priorities 6 minutes ago Duration 3:01 Manitobans across the province say they're focused on housing in this federal election, from affordability to the types of homes the next government should prioritize.
Boston Globe
20-03-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Researchers find a hint at how to delay Alzheimer's symptoms. Now they have to prove it
Now 50, Heinrichs has been treated in that study for more than a decade and remains symptom-free despite inheriting an Alzheimer's-causing gene that killed his father and brother around the same age. If blocked funding stops Heinrichs' doses, 'how much time do we have?' asked his wife, Rachel Chavkin. 'This trial is life.' Advertisement Two drugs sold in the US can modestly slow worsening of early-stage Alzheimer's by clearing the brain of one of its hallmarks, a sticky gunk called amyloid. But until now, there haven't been hints that removing amyloid far earlier – many years before the first symptoms appear – just might postpone the disease. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The research led by Washington University in St. Louis involves families that pass down rare gene mutations almost guaranteeing they'll develop symptoms at the same age their affected relatives did – information that helps scientists tell if treatments are having any effect. The new findings center on a subset of 22 participants who received amyloid-removing drugs the longest, on average eight years. Long-term amyloid removal cut in half their risk of symptom onset, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Lancet Neurology. Despite the study's small size, 'it's incredibly important,' said Northwestern University neuroscientist David Gate, who wasn't involved with the research. Now participants have been switched from an earlier experimental drug to Leqembi, an IV treatment approved in the US, to try to answer the obvious next question. 'What we want to determine over the next five years is how strong is the protection,' said Washington University's Dr. Randall Bateman, who directs the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer's Network of studies involving families with these rare genes. 'Will they ever get the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease if we keep treating them?' Advertisement Here's the worry: Bateman raised money to start that confirmatory study while seeking National Institutes of Health funding for the full project but his grant has been delayed as required reviews were canceled. It's one example of how millions of dollars in research have been stalled as NIH grapples with funding restrictions and mass firings. At the same time researchers wonder if NIH will shift focus away from amyloid research after comments by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, nominated as the agency's new director. 'One of the reasons I think that we have not made progress in Alzheimer's, as much as we ought to have, is because the NIH has not supported a sufficiently wide range of hypotheses,' Bhattacharya told senators, responding to one who brought up an example of earlier science misconduct unrelated to current research. Scientists don't know exactly what causes Alzheimer's, a mind-destroying disease that affects nearly 7 million Americans, mostly late in life. What's clear is that silent changes occur in the brain at least two decades before the first symptoms -- and that sticky amyloid is a major contributor. At some point amyloid buildup appears to trigger a protein named tau to begin killing neurons, which drives cognitive decline. Tau-fighting drugs now are being tested. Researchers also are studying other factors including inflammation, the brain's immune cells and certain viruses. NIH's focus expanded as researchers found more potential culprits. In 2013, NIH's National Institute on Aging funded 14 trials of possible Alzheimer's drugs, over a third targeting amyloid. By last fall, there were 68 drug trials and about 18% targeted amyloid. Northwestern's Gate counts himself among scientists who 'think amyloid isn't everything,' but said nothing has invalidated the amyloid hypothesis. He recently used brain tissue preserved from an old amyloid study to learn how immune cells called microglia can clear those plaques and then switch to helping the brain heal, possible clues for improving today's modest therapies. Advertisement For now, amyloid clearly is implicated somehow and families with Alzheimer's-causing genes are helping answer a critical question for anyone at risk: Can blocking amyloid buildup really stave off symptoms? Without NIH funding, Bateman said, that opportunity will be lost. 'It's absolutely insane,' said longtime study participant June Ward, who lives near Asheville, North Carolina, and plans to ask friends to complain to lawmakers. Ward turns 64 in June and is healthy, two years older than when her mother's symptoms appeared. 'It is exciting to think about the possibility that Alzheimer's disease might not be what gets me,' she said. In New York, Heinrichs said he has hope that his 3-year-old son won't 'experience the stress and sorrow that I lived through as a young man to watch my father fade away.' 'We need the NIH to be not politicized,' added Chavkin, his wife. 'It's just about keeping people alive or helping them live better. And in this case, it's helping my husband survive.'
