Zelensky gets standing ovation as he calls on Canada to ‘stay with’ Ukraine: ‘Moscow must lose’

Stuti Mishra
Updated Sat, 23 September 2023

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called on Canada to “stay with” his country in its war against Russia, in his first visit to the country since the start of the invasion.

The Ukrainian president arrived in Canada’s capital Ottawa late on Thursday night and addressed the parliament on Friday where he sought to bolster support from Western allies for Ukraine’s war.

“Moscow must lose once and for all. And it will lose,” Mr Zelensky said during his address on Friday.

He repeatedly thanked Canadians for financial support and for making Ukrainians fleeing war feel at home in Canada, prompting a number of standing ovations from dignitaries and parliamentarians.

Mr Zelensky said Canada has always been on the “bright side of history” in fighting previous wars and said it has helped saved thousands of lives in this war with its aid to Kyiv.

Canada is home to about 1.4 million people of Ukrainian descent, close to 4 per cent of the population.

More than 175,000 Ukrainians have come to Canada since the war started and an additional 700,000 have received approval to come as part of an initiative that supports temporary relocation of those fleeing the war.

The initiative allows for an open work permit for three years with pathways to permanent residency and citizenship.

In his speech Mr Zelensky linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the 1930s genocide caused by Stalin, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in Ukraine believed to have killed more than 3 million people.

He also noted that it was in Edmonton, Canada, where the world’s first monument was erected in 1993 to commemorate the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide.

The Ukrainian president expressed hope that a monument would one day be raised in Canada to Ukraine’s victory over Russia’s invasion, “maybe in Edmonton.”

“I have a lot of warm words and thanks from Ukraine to you,” Mr Zelensky said in prime minister Justin Trudeau’s office before his speech.

“You have helped us on the battlefield, financially and with humanitarian aid. ... Stay with us to our victory.”

It is Mr Zelensky’s first visit to Canada since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He previously addressed the Canadian Parliament virtually after the war started.

Mr Trudeau called the visit an opportunity to show Mr Zelensky “how strongly and unequivocally we stand with Ukraine” and announced an additional $650m Canadian (£394m) over three years for 50 armored vehicles that will be built in Canada.

“We are shifting our approach to provide multiyear assistance to ensure Ukraine has the predictable support it needs for long term support,” Mr Trudeau said at a news conference.

Mr Zelensky and Mr Trudeau also attended a rally in Toronto with the local Ukrainian community late Friday.

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau (R) and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky interact on stage during a rally at Fort York in Toronto, Canada (Getty Images)

The visit comes as cracks begin to appear in the united Western front backing Ukraine for the last 19 months of gruelling war against Russia with hard-right Republicans led by Donald Trump becoming increasingly hostile to sending more aid and key partner Poland saying it will no longer send arms to Kyiv.

Ukrainian troops are struggling to take back territory that Russia gained over the past year and with no end to war in sight, Mr Zelensky has a hard road ahead to keep the momentum in favour of Kyiv going, a task for which allies like Canada play a key role.

Additional reporting by agencies

'Utterly repulsive': Canadians divided on Justin Trudeau's $650M aid to Ukraine

Canada has pledged a multi-year commitment in supporting Ukraine amid its war with Russia.


Chris Stoodley
YAHOO·Lifestyle and News Editor

Updated Sun, 24 September 2023 

Canadians were divided on social media following the federal government's recent announcement that it'd be sending hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged a multi-year commitment in providing steady support for Ukrainians as the eastern European country's war with Russia continues.

"As part of this approach, I'm announcing $650 million in new military assistance over the next three years to supply Ukraine with 50 armoured vehicles, including armoured medical evacuation vehicles that will be built by Canadian workers in London, Ont.," Trudeau told Parliament on Sept. 22.

During a surprise visit to Kyiv in June, Trudeau announced another $500 million in military support for Ukraine. Initially, the prime minister didn't offer up details on the allocation of that aid.

Now, the federal government indicated the $500 million will go towards providing 35 drone cameras to Ukraine. It will also assist in sending Canadian trainers to help Ukrainian pilots and maintenance workers use donated fighter jets.

Canada's total committed support for Ukraine has now risen to more than $9.5 billion since the beginning of 2022, according to a news release.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Canada on Friday, the two countries also signed a modernized trade deal, which Trudeau said will support "long-term security, stability and economic development in Ukraine."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau signed the modernized Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement on Friday. (Photo by Patrick Doyle/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

"Eighteen months ago, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. Canada was there from the beginning with military, humanitarian and financial assistance, and sanctions against those responsible for this brutal war," Trudeau said beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a clip posted on Sept. 22. "Volodymyr, I can tell you right now, our support is never going to waver."

Following the the federal government's aid announcement, some Canadians showed their support for the move.

Others expressed their anger and frustration at Canada deciding to spend large amounts of money on supporting another country while its own citizens face a housing crisis, rising food costs and unstable health care.

  

Is 'Ukraine fatigue' creeping in?


James Cheng-Morris
·Freelance news writer, Yahoo UK
Sun, 24 September 2023 

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with US president Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Thursday. (AFP via Getty Images)

What's happening? Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine last year was one of the most seismic events of recent times.

It prompted an almost universal outpouring of support for Ukraine, while dozens of countries have provided military and humanitarian aid.

But 19 months on, is "Ukraine fatigue" creeping in?

That was the question put to Grant Shapps on Sky News’ Sunday Morning on Trevor Phillips programme.

The defence secretary - who on Tuesday attended a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of 54 countries which coordinates military aid - denied it.

“Certainly within that room we were all absolutely solidly behind Ukraine,” he said.

“The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. We haven’t forgotten how a tyrant has walked in on its democratic neighbour and if we don’t stop him, we know from history what happens after that. That is why we are continuing our support.”

Read more: Ukraine’s first lady is 'afraid' the world is turning away from war (ABC News)

However, there are instances suggesting wider support for Ukraine is not as strong as it was. Here, Yahoo News UK rounds up some notable examples.

'We're not Amazon'

Ben Wallace said his comments about Ukraine showing 'gratitude' were 'misrepresented'. (Getty Images)

One of the first cracks actually came from the UK, considered by some to be Ukraine’s biggest ally.

In July, Ben Wallace, Shapps’ predecessor as defence secretary, said the UK and US had told Ukraine that “we’re not Amazon” after being handed requests for new weapons. Wallace called for “gratitude”.

“There is a slight word of caution here which is that, whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude,” he told reporters.

“My counsel to the Ukrainians… you’re persuading countries to give up their own stocks. And yes the war is a noble war and yes we see it as you doing a war for not just yourself but our freedoms.

“But sometimes you’ve got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America. You’ve got to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that it’s worth it and it’s worthwhile and they’re getting something for it.”

Rishi Sunak shut down the comments, saying Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had “repeatedly expressed gratitude”.

Wallace later said his remarks were “somewhat misrepresented” and his point was that “in some parliaments there is not such strong support as in Great Britain”.

On Sunday, Shapps said the UK is providing Ukraine with more ammunition and will have trained 30,000 troops by the end of the year.

“I don’t think the British resolve is wavering in any way shape or form,” he said.

Read more: Ben Wallace says Ukraine remarks were ‘misrepresented’ (PA Media)

'Never insult Poles again'

Volodymyr Zelensky and Mateusz Morawiecki embrace in February. A row between Ukraine and Poland escalated this week. (Getty Images)

Poland had been one of Ukraine’s key allies following the onset of the war.

Poland’s eastern border neighbours Ukraine’s and it welcomed about 1.5m refugees, with many more passing through the country.

And according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Poland had provided £2.6bn in military aid as of August, the sixth highest in the world.

But a row between the two over Ukraine’s grain exports escalated this week.

On Monday, Ukraine filed a lawsuit against Poland to the World Trade Organization over its ban on food imports from the country. Poland claims Ukrainian grain is leaving its farmers out of pocket.

On Tuesday, Zelensky swiped at Poland at the United Nations as he said: “It’s alarming to see how some in Europe play out solidarity in a political theatre, making a thriller from the grain.”

On Wednesday, Poland announced it would stop supplying weapons. Prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a TV address: "We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because we will now arm ourselves with the most modern weapons."

Then, on Friday, Morawiecki said: “I... want to tell President Zelensky never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN."

Read more: Why is Poland stopping sending weapons to Ukraine - and what is the dispute over? (Sky News)

How will key US partnership play out?

Volodymyr Zelensky and Joe Biden in the Oval Office on Thursday. (AFP via Getty Images)

The US has been - by far - Ukraine’s biggest benefactor, according to the Kiel Institute. It has provided £36.7bn in military aid. Germany, having provided £14.9bn, is next on the list.

But ahead of next year’s presidential election, candidates for the Republican nomination have questioned future US support. One hopeful, Vivek Ramaswamy, said more military aid for Ukrainian forces would be “disastrous”.

And US philanthropist Howard Buffet told Reuters this week: “I do have concern about whether people can maintain the level of interest in [Ukraine]. Particularly, in the US, one of the drawbacks will be the political campaign that we're going into.”

Zelensky visited the US this week in an attempt to maintain support.

He and Joe Biden shared warm words on Thursday, with Biden promising: “Together with our partners and allies, the American people are determined to see to all we can to ensure the world stands with you.”

And on Saturday, it was reported Biden has agreed to supply long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS) following months of lobbying. The weapons have a range of 180 miles. After a taxing week for Zelensky, it represented a major boost.

Ukraine-Russia war: Pope hits out at Poland over weapons withdrawal

Maighna Nanu
Sun, 24 September 2023 

Pope Francis waves to the faithful from his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square during the Sunday Angelus blessing in Vatican City - Vatican Pool/Getty Images Europe

Pope Francis has complained about countries “pulling back” from giving weapons to Ukraine in an apparent rebuke of the Polish government.

The Pontiff suggested that some countries were “playing games” with Ukraine by first providing weapons and then apparently backing out of their commitments.

The Pope told journalists on Saturday night: “I’ve seen now that some countries are pulling back, and aren’t giving weapons. This will start a process where the martyrdom is the Ukrainian people, certainly. And this is bad.”

“We cannot play with the martyrdom of the Ukrainian people,” he added. “We have to help resolve things in ways that are possible.”

It was thought to be a reference to the announcement by Mateusz Morawiecki, the Polish prime minister, that Poland was no longer sending arms to Ukraine as part of a trade dispute. Poland had decided last week to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports, shaking Kyiv’s relationship with a neighbour that has been one of its staunchest allies.

When asked about the Pope’s comments, Matteo Bruni, the Vatican spokesman, said they were not directed at any particular government.

“[It was a] reflection on the consequences of the arms industry: the Pope, with a paradox, was saying that those who traffic in weapons never pay the consequences of their choices but leave them to be paid by people, like the Ukrainians, who have been martyred,” he said.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, stopped off in Poland on the way back from his visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, but did not meet with any officials here.

Instead, he handed state awards to Bianka Zalewska, a journalist who helped transport wounded children to Polish hospitals, and Damian Duda, who gathered a medical team to help wounded soldiers near the front line.

THIRD WORLD U$A

‘Unconscionable’: Baby boomers are becoming homeless at a rate ‘not seen since the Great Depression’ — here’s what’s driving this terrible trend


Serah Louis
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Many baby boomers across the country are now coming to terms with the hard reality that working for your entire adult life is no longer enough to guarantee you’ll have a roof over your head in your later years.

Thanks in part to a series of recessions, high housing costs and a shortage of affordable housing, older adults are now the fastest-growing segment of America’s homeless population, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, based on data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“The fact that we are seeing elderly homelessness is something that we have not seen since the Great Depression,” University of Pennsylvania social policy professor Dennis Culhane told WSJ.

Here’s what has triggered what some experts are calling a “silver tsunami” — and what they say needs to change to reverse the tide.
Baby boomers are increasingly becoming homeless

Dr. Margot Kushel, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations and Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), studies homelessness through a lens of its health impacts. And Kushel’s research shows there’s an escalating rate of homelessness among older Americans.

In a 2020 journal article for the American Society on Aging, Kushel wrote that of all the homeless single adults in the early 1990s, 11% were aged 50 and older. By 2003, she says that percentage grew to 37%.

Now, the over-50 demographic represents half of the homeless single adults in the U.S. — with no sign of their numbers slowing, leaving baby boomers (those aged 57 to 75) particularly vulnerable.

“Elderly homelessness has been rare within the contemporary homeless problem. We’ve always had very few people over 60 who’ve been homeless historically,” Culhane from the University of Pennsylvania told PBS NewsHour.

But in recent years, Culhane says that has changed. Older Americans, he says, are “now arguably the fastest rising group.”

Here’s what’s changed

After living through multiple recessions, leaving some of them with little savings, aging boomers are also now contending with insufficient affordable housing.

Low-cost assisted living centers are extremely limited — with labor shortages, inflation and reduced funding putting facilities at risk of closing.

And even rent is becoming increasingly out of reach in certain areas, like Massachusetts, New York and Florida.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida resident Judy Schroeder told WSJ the apartment building she was living in was sold to a new owner, raising her monthly rent by more than $500. Schroeder lost her part-time job, leaving her living off Social Security alone, and couch-surfing for months before she finally found a place in late August.

“I never thought, at 71 years old, that I would be in this position,” she said.
What can be done?

Researchers at UCSF told WSJ that about half of the homeless older adults in places like Oakland, California and New York, became unhoused for the first time after their 50th birthday.

These individuals pointed to a major event, like the death of a spouse or a medical emergency, as the trigger.

“It’s an entirely different population,” said Kushel. “These are people who worked their whole lives. They had typical lives, often working physically demanding jobs, and never made enough to put money away.”

She says expanding the supply of affordable housing and availability of rental assistance programs, eviction protections and renters’ rights could be key to preventing homelessness.

Some cities, like San Diego, have even piloted programs to provide rental subsidies for a limited time to older, low-income adults to help them find their feet.

There’s also the matter of income, as advocates point out that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 has failed to keep up with inflation. And while most states supplement federal programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Kushel believes increasing SSI or state supplements could make the difference for older adults and those with disabilities struggling to afford housing.

“In a country as wealthy as the United States, homelessness for anyone — but particularly older adults — is unconscionable,” Kushel wrote in 2020.

“We have the means to end homelessness in older adults. By increasing affordable housing for older adults, engaging in targeted prevention efforts, and building off the success of permanent supportive housing, we can make homelessness for older adults rare and brief.”

Tensions erupt at Paris protest as police car attacked



AFP
Sat, 23 September 2023 at 11:09 am GMT-6

The French government on Saturday denounced "unacceptable violence" at a protest led by the hard left against police brutality, with officers trapped in their police vehicle after it was attacked, an AFP correspondent said.

The nationwide protest came just under three months after the point-blank killing by a policeman of a youth outside Paris at a traffic check sparked over a week of rioting in Paris and elsewhere.

Hundreds of people wearing black and in hoods broke away from the main march of several thousand people in Paris

They smashed the windows of a bank branch and threw objects at a police car stuck in traffic, an AFP reporter said.

Paris police said that the police car was attacked with a crowbar and only the intervention of an anti-riot police unit allowed the release of the vehicle.

A video later published by the BFMTV channel and shared on the internet showed a group of masked protesters running after the car, repeatedly kicking it, as one man smashes a window with a crowbar.

An officer gets out and brandishes his service weapon, but does not fire it and gets back in the vehicle.

"We see where anti-police hatred leads," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter, denouncing "unacceptable violence" against the police.

Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said three people had been arrested over the incident.

Unions said some 80,000 people were expected to protest across France, responding to a call by the radical left including the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party but police put the number at 13,800.

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Where did most of Arizona's foreign-born population come from? The No. 2 country may surprise you

Ronald J. Hansen, Arizona Republic
Sat, September 23, 2023 

It’s probably no surprise that most foreign-born Arizona residents were born in Mexico. But the second-highest number is a country that might require a few guesses.

India was the original homeland for the greatest number of foreign-born Arizonans after Mexico, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2021.

In fact, most of Arizona’s top sources of foreign-born residents could be a surprise in some ways. The state’s 10 most common foreign birthplaces account for 76% of all Arizonans born outside the U.S.

Here’s how the numbers break down, according to the Census Bureau’s best estimates.

How many residents does Arizona have?

Arizona has about 7.3 million residents overall. That includes the state’s estimated undocumented immigrants, as well as its legal, foreign-born residents.

About 922,000 residents were born outside the U.S., or 12.7%. That’s about one in every eight Arizonans who were born in another country.

Of that group, 495,000 were born in Mexico. That’s about the same as the population of Mesa, the third-most populous city in the state.

Nearly a quarter of all U.S. immigrants were born in Mexico, but in Arizona the share of Mexican-born residents is far higher, about 54%.

After Mexico, India is the second-highest birthplace of foreign-born Arizonan residents

After that, India was the birthplace for about 43,000 Arizonans. That tops the 40,000 Canadian-born residents, who might seem a more likely guess, especially in the winter. Arizona still has more than double the share of Canadian-born residents as the rest of the U.S.

Three Asian nations provide the next-largest sources of foreign-born residents. There are a combined 70,000 Arizona residents from the Philippines, mainland China and Vietnam.

Guatemala ranks seventh for the U.S. and for Arizona. Like Arizona’s other top countries outside North America, their numbers here are notably smaller than their shares nationally.

Germany comes in eighth for Arizona, with about 14,000, and is the only European country in the state’s top 10. Germans make up a slightly higher share of Arizona residents than they do nationally.

South Korea and El Salvador round out Arizona’s top 10, with about 10,000 residents each.

Some of the biggest sources of foreign-born residents nationally that occupy a far smaller slice of Arizona are Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Jamaica and Honduras.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Where most of Arizona's foreign-born population came from

Think this summer was bad? It might be the best one you and I will ever see

Émile P. Torres
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Greece Fire ANGELOS TZORTZINIS/AFP via Getty Images

This year we saw the hottest July ever recorded, and the same was true again in August. In fact, 2023 is on track to be the hottest year so far recorded, breaking the record set by 2020 and 2016. Over the past few months, more than 6,500 daily heat records have been broken in the U.S. alone, and in some places the roads became so hot that people suffered serious burns from falling on them. Terrible floods have ripped through China, Spain, Greece and elsewhere. Wildfires raged in Canada, the Canary Islands, Maui and parts of Europe. A tropical storm hit Los Angeles, the first in living memory. Wind speeds of Hurricane Lee, in the Atlantic Ocean, increased from 80 mph to 165 mph in roughly 24 hours.

The climate catastrophe is already here. We've been watching it unfold in real time on the news and over social media. Some have witnessed it first-hand, losing their homes, being forced to evacuate under emergency conditions and even losing their lives or the lives of friends and family. For those sensitive to human suffering and the grave injustices driving the climate crisis, this summer has been difficult to deal with. It's been one extreme weather event, one shattered record, one shocking tragedy after another — and though the summer is now officially over, there's more to come.

Much more to come. The disturbing fact that puts everything in perspective is that this summer will likely be among the mildest summers that you and I will experience for the rest of our lives. The extreme meteorological events of 2023 will be among the least disruptive that humanity encounters from here on out. Or to paraphrase the environmental philosopher Yogi Hendlin, the hottest summer so far on record will be one of the coolest and most stable of all the summers between now and the end of this century.

In a few decades, we'll look back on 2023 as the calm before the storm, when life was still fairly normal. Our children may even remember this year with nostalgia, as a fading glimpse of a world they never got to know — one marked by relative stability rather than environmental chaos and catastrophic collapse. For all the horrors of this summer, we should perhaps take a moment to appreciate it, because this may be as good as it gets moving forward.

Imagine what our children will face. Scientists warn of potential "tipping points" in Earth systems, causing dramatic and irreversible shifts in the conditions of our planet. One paper warns of a sudden, catastrophic collapse of the global ecosystem, while a consensus is emerging that human actions have initiated the sixth major mass extinction event in the 3.8 billion-year history of life on Earth. Another paper published just this year estimates that 1 billion — with a "b" — people will likely die because of climate change within the next century.

As numerous commentators have noted, the headlines two, three and four decades from now will be nothing like the headlines of today. Imagine reading that "another 1 million people have died this month" because of climate catastrophes, or that "another 20 million have been forced to relocate the past year" due to extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Right now, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that "around 21.5 million people have been forcibly displaced by weather-related events since 2008." Yet studies project that 2 billion — again, with a "b" — people will be displaced by the end of the century.

Imagine the social, political and economic havoc this will certainly cause. Immigration to Europe and the U.S. has already fueled the rise of xenophobic far-right movements. What happens when it's not just millions but hundreds of millions of desperate refugees trying to cross state borders? What happens when countries begin to fight over scarce resources? What happens when deep fakes generated by AI spread disinformation about real-time disasters, and social media websites like X allow propaganda about the nature and causes of the climate crisis to proliferate? What happens when humanity finds itself in an existential calamity but is unable to agree on the most basic facts about reality?

Are we ready for this? Is anyone prepared for what's coming? If you're my age — in your 40s — is there any hope of a peaceful retirement? The question strikes with even greater force when asked about our children. A child born today will turn 65 in 2088, at which point hundreds of millions of people will have already died prematurely because of climate change. If that child is one of the lucky few born to wealthy parents in an affluent country and avoids such a fate, they'll still have to endure the psychological trauma of reading the news every day. What kind of life will that be? What will these generations have to look forward to by the time they reach their 40s, to say nothing of their 60s, 70s or 80s?

Some people I speak with tell me that "humanity" deserves what's coming because of its profoundly irresponsible, destructive actions. We've razed forests, poisoned the oceans and polluted the atmosphere with heat-trapping greenhouse gasses. We've decimated ecosystems, annihilated habitats and pushed many species to the brink of extinction — or beyond. We've trashed this little oasis in space as if there's some Planet B waiting for us when Earth is no longer habitable.

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But who is this "we"? Children don't deserve to suffer for the foolish behavior of their forebears. Justice isn't served if one generation gets punished for the actions of another. Furthermore, studies show that the socioeconomic elite are disproportionately responsible for the climate crisis. In the U.S., the richest 10% produce 40% of the country's global warming pollution. Another study concluded that "a billionaire emits a million times more greenhouse gasses than the average person."

There is no sense, then, in which "humanity" deserves to suffer — indeed, the study mentioned above notes that many of the 1 billion deaths expected to occur because of climate change this century will happen in the Global South, which has contributed to the climate catastrophe far less than the major industrial nations of the Northern Hemisphere.

The injustice of this situation is spectacular. It's a crime against humanity — a crime against the future of humanity. Yet by the time children born today are my age, the main culprits of the 20th and early 21st centuries will likely be gone (unless they've chosen to be cryogenically preserved after death, in which case perhaps they can be revived and prosecuted). The catastrophe of climate change isn't just physical, it's moral. And there's nothing much you or I can do about it: We are essentially passive spectators in a world system run by avaricious sociopaths who have consistently chosen to ignore the warnings of climate scientists over the past three decades or more.

This, right now, may be the most tranquil year of our lives moving forward. It doesn't get any better than this, because it can only get worse from here on out. The heat records set this year will soon be broken, and those records will be broken soon after that. For the rest of our lives, we are likely to see each new year break previous records. That's what we have to look forward to.

If you and I live long enough, we may witness 2 billion people displaced by climate change and another 1 billion or more die prematurely from causes related to global warming. If you and I don't live that long, our children will be forced to witness these horrors unfold, while quietly — or perhaps loudly — cursing the generations that came before and let it all happen through denial and indifference.

So, despite the traumas of 2023, it's worth reminding ourselves just how good this year has been, at least when compared to what's coming.

It's not just Lauren Boebert. Surveillance cameras are watching you in theaters too.

Natalie Musumeci
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Rep. Lauren Boebert's caught-on-camera moment shouldn't come as a surprise.manusapon kasosod/Getty Images; Drew Angerer/Getty Images

By some estimates, there are tens of millions of surveillance cameras in the United States.


So it's no surprise that Rep. Lauren Boebert was caught vaping and getting handsy with a date at a Denver theater last week.


"In most of the US, CCTV cameras have proliferated over the past few decades," an expert told Insider.

Surveillance cameras seem like they're everywhere — probably because they are.

There are tens of millions of surveillance cameras in the United States alone, by some estimates, with some of the most populated cities in the country more heavily surveilled than others.

So it's no surprise that security cams set up at a Denver, Colorado, theater captured GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert last week vaping and being fondled by her date during a performance of the "Beetlejuice" musical before the two were booted from the venue.

But it's not just Boebert who could get caught on tape in an embarrassing situation.

CCTV cameras at theaters, retail stores, shopping malls, stadiums, other venues, and even traffic intersections across the country and beyond are watching you too.

"In most parts of the United States, CCTV cameras have proliferated over the past few decades," Dr. Bryce Peterson, a senior research scientist for the nonprofit CNA organization, told Insider.

There could be up to 100 million surveillance cameras in the US

Peterson, an adjunct professor at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said that there could be up to 100 million surveillance cameras in the US, but it's impossible to say for sure because "many public and private entities own and deploy their own surveillance systems."

"That said, most public locations and private venues have at least some CCTV cameras that they maintain," Peterson said, adding that "it is not surprising" that an establishment like Denver's Buell Theater — where the Boebert incident unfolded — had such cameras.

Peterson noted, "Most businesses, especially those where retail theft or other types of crimes are prevalent, have CCTV. In these places, it is likely people are being recorded."

Boebert and her date were kicked out of the Buell Theater during the September 10 "Beetlejuice" performance after the Colorado congresswoman was accused of disruptive behavior, which included vaping and loud singing.

In the aftermath of the incident, high-quality surveillance footage emerged showing Boebert vaping as well as she and her date getting handsy with each other in their seats.
'You are always under surveillance

Denver Arts & Venues, the city and county agency that operates the Buell Theater, would not comment to Insider on its security arrangements and cameras, but said "such equipment is standard security protocol in many venues."

Washington DC's Kennedy Center, for example, told Insider that the nearly 2,500-seat venue "utilizes visible and unseen security measures," including surveillance cameras, "to ensure the safety and security of our guests, artists, and staff."

The famed Radio City Music Hall in New York City uses facial recognition technology among its various security measures, as Insider has previously reported.

The venue previously used that technology to deny a lawyer entry into a Rockettes show.

MSG Entertainment, which owns the 6,000-seat venue as well as Madison Square Garden and the Chicago Theatre, declined to comment on its venues' security arrangements for this story.

One thing is for certain, according to retired New York Police Department officer and safety and security expert Bill Stanton — the public is "always being watched" by some type of surveillance.

"Between Ring cameras, security cameras, store cameras, red light cameras, cameras on the highway, you are always under surveillance," Stanton, who authored the book, "Prepared Not Scared," told Insider. "We always talk about fear of 'Big Brother' watching. 'Big Brother' is here and it's not going anywhere."

Clarence Thomas spent time at the Koch Brothers' version of Coachella. Something tells us they weren't making each other flower crowns.

Hannah Getahun
Sun, September 24, 2023 at 6:39 AM MDT·3 min read

nullAlex Wong/Getty Images // Scott Roth/Invision/AP

A new ProPublica report uncovered another undisclosed trip made by SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas.


This trip was for a fundraising event hosted by the Koch brothers' network of nonprofits.


Thomas was also criticized for attending the fundraiser over a decade ago.

Do you think Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas listens to Beyoncé?

Maybe? Either way, in 2018, the controversial judge flew into California's Coachella Valley for one of the snazziest events of the year. Unlike other influencers who make their way to Coachella, however, Thomas didn't post about it on Instagram — or his financial disclosure forms.

Of course, the event Thomas went to had nothing to do with the beloved music festival. Still, a new investigation from ProPublica uncovered his recent participation in a fundraiser hosted by the Koch brothers in the same desert valley in Southern California. (Oddly enough, the actual Coachella also has Koch connections.)

Per the publication, a network of nonprofits handled by Charles Koch, an influential conservative, hosts its largest fundraiser in the Coachella Valley every winter. There, hundreds of donors fly in with cash in hand for a jam-packed weekend with their pals.

Whether or not there was alternative music or alternative facts, guests schmoozed with some of the most powerful conservatives in the country: The lineup featured right-wing groups, including Americans For Prosperity and NFL star turned college football coach Deion Sanders.

Aside from being incredibly exclusive, the Koch Network's principal event is also extremely private, per ProPublica: Organizers rent out entire hotels and meticulously shred any documents on-site. News outlets at the time also reported that everyone had to lock their cell phones in pouches to prevent people from recording.

In 2018 — just like Queen Bey a few miles away — Thomas was one of the headliners at the event, this one at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells.

A high-level staffer with the Koch brothers' nonprofit network told ProPublica that Thomas attended dinners with the wealthiest donors and even gave guests a look into his judicial philosophy. Thomas' appearances were coordinated by Leonard Leo — the influential conservative who happens to be a pretty big fan of the Justice.

Thomas did not list the trip on his 2018 financial disclosure — a recurring theme for the Justice — and a former federal judge who spoke to ProPublica said his attendance, while not illegal, does raise questions about his conflicts of interest when handling Supreme Court cases with ties to the brothers.

This isn't even the first time Thomas has faced scrutiny for attending the event and not disclosing it. In 2010, reporters uncovered Thomas' attendance at 2008's GOP-chella. A spokesperson at the time said that he didn't participate and only made a "brief drop-by." The spokesperson did not elaborate on whether that meant he waved hello or spit a guest verse.

Representatives for Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Clarence Thomas’ Koch Party Is Latest Shocking Ethics Breach

Shan Wu
Sat, September 23, 2023 


Alex Wong


Justice Clarence Thomas once championed the Supreme Court line of precedent giving deference to federal agency expertise—the so-called “Chevron deference” doctrine—writing in 2005 that the Federal Telecommunications Commission was “in a far better position to address these questions than we are” in a case involving regulation of broadband internet service given that the “subject matter [that] is technical, complex, and dynamic.”

Thomas’ decision in that case—one known as Brand X—was no outlier given that the Chevron case from which the precedent arose has been cited more than 15,000 times since being decided by the high court in 1984. But 15 years later, Thomas announced that his own decision in that case was wrong because it added to the “constitutional deficiencies of Chevron and exacerbates them.” Unusually, Thomas announced his change of heart in a dissent where he advocated that SCOTUS should have accepted a case for the purpose of overruling his own opinion.

What changed?

One possible influence on the justice’s heart and mind is his previously secret history of involvement with the conservative political organization—known as the Koch network—founded by the libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. The Koch network has been a prime mover in the effort to whittle back and overturn the Chevron case as part of a conservative agenda to cut back on what they perceive as government overreach.

Congress Needs to Show Samuel Alito and the Supreme Court Who’s Boss

Recent reporting by ProPublica, reveals that Thomas has attended at least two donor events for the Koch network, such as the one in 2018 in which he was flown in on a private Gulfstream G2000 jet to Palm Springs, California and was a featured speaker, attending a private dinner with network donors.

“To be invited to events like the annual summit, donors typically have to give at least $100,000 a year. Those who give in the millions receive special treatment, including dinners with Charles Koch and high-profile guests. Doling out access to powerful public officials was seen as a potent fundraising strategy,” former staffers told the publication.

Thomas never reported the 2018 trip on his annual financial disclosure form. That’s the same annual financial disclosure form that for the year 2022 Thomas received an extension to file months later than other justices—as did Justice Alito—and used to justify his failure to disclose luxury trips and real estate purchases paid for by conservative billionaire Harlan Crow.

The real estate purchase dated back to 2014 but Thomas did not explain it until now and only after a string of exposes about his being the beneficiary of luxury trips, financing a luxury RV as well as the real estate purchase of a home in which Thomas’ mother lives.

Thomas’ attendance at the Koch network meeting is significant because of the Koch network’s extraordinary presence in advocacy work, including cases before the Supreme Court. “The Koch network is among the largest and most influential political organizations of the last half century, and it’s underwritten a far-reaching campaign to influence the course of American law,” ProPublica reports.

For example, the Koch network—recently rebranded as “Stand Together”—through it’s lawyers are now poised to have the Supreme Court achieve the goal of reversing the Chevron case because the high court has now accepted a case to hear next term with the specific purpose of considering whether to overrule the Chevron doctrine.

Thomas’ attendance at these donor events “puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term.”

Any federal judge who concealed such a trip would likely be considered to be in violation of their reporting requirements as well as the judicial code of conduct. “I can’t imagine—it takes my breath away, frankly—that he would go to a Koch network event for donors,” said John E. Jones III, a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush. Jones said that if he had gone to a Koch summit as a district court judge. “I’d have gotten a letter that would’ve commenced a disciplinary proceeding.”

That is, any federal judge except one that sits on the U.S. Supreme Court. Unlike all other judges—federal and state—Supreme Court judges are not subject to any ethics code and steadfastly refuse to adopt one despite growing public criticism and the American Bar Association’s call for SCOTUS to adopt an ethics code.

The decades-long litigation agenda pursued by the Koch network and other conservative groups is enormously well-funded and plays a very successful long game. The overturning of Roe v. Wade is but one example of its successes. If the Chevron doctrine is thrown out, then much of the true authority over federal regulations will default to the judiciary and therefore to SCOTUS. Decisions about climate change, for example, would be greatly complicated if the Environmental Protection Agency efforts to curtail carbon emissions are derailed through judicial decisions.

In a less high-profile light is the case that puts Chevron on the chopping block—Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo—which involves the authority of the National Marine Fisheries Service to make commercial fishing companies pay for the costs of monitoring compliance with fishery management plans.

While opinions can reasonably differ on the wisdom of agency decisions as well as judicial decisions, opinion should not differ on the view that there is something wrong with allowing justices who benefit financially from groups arguing the cases before them deciding those cases.

Why All 9 Supreme Court Justices United to Avoid Accountability

It’s not that Thomas—or any other justice—can’t associate with whomever they wish but when the justices are gifted hundreds of thousands of dollars it has to be disclosed as do appearances at fundraising events which other federal judges would be disciplined for attending.

The code of conduct for the federal judiciary lays out rules designed to preserve judges’ impartiality and independence, which it calls “indispensable to justice in our society.” The code specifically prohibits both political activity and participation in fundraising. Judges are advised, for instance, not to “associate themselves” with any group “publicly identified with controversial legal, social, or political positions.”

Nor is the problem with any group—conservative or liberal—engaging in decades-long strategies for changing the law through litigation. That kind of advocacy—for better or worse—is part of our system of civil justice. No, the problem is when these changes in law are not achieved through advocacy but rather through seeking to influence judges who sit on the nation’s highest court through financial benefits involving gifts and trips.

Thomas should be forced to recuse himself from hearing cases brought by groups that he helps fundraise for and who fly him on private jets. He may even need to be investigated by Congress or the Justice Department for his failure to make timely and full disclosures. But none of that can happen so long as there is no transparency about who Thomas helps and who helps him. It all starts with transparency.

'Code of conduct:' Elena Kagan calls for new Supreme Court rules amid Clarence Thomas flap

David Jackson, USA TODAY
Sat, September 23, 2023 

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas


WASHINGTON - Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan says she hopes colleagues will adopt an ethics "code of conduct," while a new report details a relationship between Justice Clarence Thomas and conservative political activists.

New ethics rules would "go far in persuading other people that we were adhering to the highest standards of conduct," Kagan said during a Friday speech at Notre Dame Law School. "I hope we can make progress.”

Kagan did not mention Thomas or any other justice by name.

Her suggestion came the same day that ProPublica published another installment in a string of stories about Thomas and wealthy donors who have the potential of business before the court. The latest story concerns the Koch Brothers, philanthropists who have spent millions on behalf of various conservative causes.

ProPublica reported that "Thomas has attended Koch donor events at least twice over the years," and "that puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term."

The report noted that the Koch political network has an interest in a pending Supreme Court case seeking to limit "federal agencies’ power to issue regulations in areas ranging from the environment to labor rights to consumer protection."

Members of Congress have discussed legislation setting ethics standards for the Supreme Court, though it is uncertain whether they have the legal authority to regulate what is a separate branch of government.

Kagan's remarks strike a similar tone to those made a few weeks ago by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who signaled that the Supreme Court may take steps "soon" to address ethics scandals that have eroded confidence and sparked a partisan fight in Congress over whether lawmakers can force a code of ethics on the nation's highest court. Chief Justice John Roberts told an audience in May that the ethics scandals swirling around the court were an "issue of concern" and that the justices were "continuing to look at things" to address the problem.

Related: Brett Kavanaugh says he's hopeful the Supreme Court will take 'concrete steps' to address ethics scandals

Stand Together, the formal name of the Koch political network, said in a statement that Thomas did not participate in fundraising discussions and their events have a public service purpose.

"Our summits provide a forum for people to learn about how they can partner with one another to solve big problems in our country," the statement said.

It added: "The idea that attending a couple events to promote a book or give dinner remarks, as all the justices do, could somehow be undue influence just doesn’t hold water."

Dig deeper Case closed? Supreme Court silent after Thomas luxury travel raised ethics scandal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elena Kagan calls for new Supreme Court code amid Clarence Thomas flap

How hydrogen bombs compare to atomic bombs, and how scientists created the most destructive weapon ever

Adam Barnes
Sun, September 24, 2023 

The Trinity test (left) was made from an atomic bomb whereas Ivy Mike (right) came from a hydrogen bomb.

Hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs are both nuclear weapons that can cause mass destruction.

Most US nuclear weapons today were made in the 1950s and 1960s and are H-bombs.

H-bombs are more powerful, flexible, and cleaner than a-bombs but they're also more complex to make.

The atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Japan in 1945 remain the only nuclear weapons ever used in warfare.

But just seven years later an even more destructive nuclear bomb was built — the hydrogen bomb.

Each type of nuclear weapon's enormous power can be explained via Einstein's famous equation E=mc2, which signifies that mass and energy are exponentially equivalent.

In both types of bombs, a very small amount of mass is transformed into a very large amount of energy — but atomic and hydrogen bombs get their power through different means.

Here are the differences between atomic and hydrogen bombs.

It all starts with nuclear fission

Atomic bombs are powered solely by nuclear fission — the splitting of atoms. Whereas hydrogen bombs get their power from a combination of fission and its opposite — nuclear fusion — the binding of atoms.

To develop a workable hydrogen bomb, mastering fission had to come first.

Fission was first discovered in 1938. Two chemists, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, bombarded uranium with neutron particles and found that it produced an entirely different, lighter element, barium.

Puzzled at their results, Hahn consulted former colleague Lisa Meitner, who along with her nephew Otto Frisch concluded that uranium might become unstable and break apart into two, lighter pieces when hit by a neutron. This was a revelation since scientists up to that point had thought the process would produce heavier elements, not lighter ones.

Austrian physicist Lisa Meitner played a key role in the monumental discovery of nuclear fission.Bettmann / Contributor

The lighter pieces, called fission fragments, can be a number of different elements, including barium — or more dangerous isotopes like strontium-90 and cesium-137.

Meitner and Frisch also calculated the fission reaction could produce a large amount of energy — about 200 million electron volts (MeV) per uranium atom — dwarfing the 5 eV per atom produced by the most powerful chemical reactions at the time.

But where did the energy come from? Meitner calculated that when a uranium atom split into two atoms, they weighed slightly less together than the original uranium atom. The missing mass had been converted to pure energy — just as Einstein's equation predicts.
Hydrogen vs. atomic bombs: how they work

The first atomic bomb detonated for the Trinity test and the bomb dropped over Nagasaki used plutonium for fuel. Whereas the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima, nicknamed "Little Boy," used uranium as fuel for its fission reaction.

A simple uranium fission bomb is much easier to make than a hydrogen bomb or even a plutonium fission bomb, according to Alex Wellerstein, a nuclear weapons historian and professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology.

"My engineering students could probably do it if they had highly enriched uranium, like the Little Boy bomb — that is dead simple," Wellerstein said.

In the case of Little Boy, two separate cores of uranium were shot into each other by a conventional explosive. When the cores hit each other, it generated a chain reaction of neutrons firing, splitting billions of uranium atoms one after the other, triggering an enormous explosion.

When enough radioactive material undergoes nuclear fission, it generates a chain reaction of splitting atoms capable of generating an enormous explosion.Screen grab/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

The plutonium-powered bomb, "Fat Man," worked differently. A spherical core of plutonium was surrounded by explosives which, when fired, increased the density in the plutonium core to generate a similar chain-reaction of atom splitting and subsequent explosion.

Hydrogen bombs, also known as thermonuclear bombs, are a bit more complicated than atomic bombs — they typically use two "stages," to produce their power, through a combination of fission and fusion.

The first stage consists of a fission bomb with a core or "pit" made of plutonium or uranium, surrounded by conventional explosives, much like the original atomic bombs.

But this bomb within a bomb is "boosted" by adding hydrogen gas to the center of the core, making the fission explosion more powerful. That enormous power is essential to igniting fusion in the second stage.

In the secondary stage, X-rays from the primary fission explosion ignite the fusion fuel, consisting of lithium deuteride. Tritium is produced in the reaction.

A mushroom cloud forms after the first H-Bomb explosion in 1952.Three Lions/Getty Images

The tritium then fuses with deuterium from the lithium deuteride, releasing neutrons and energy in the process.

In the center of the fusion fuel is a uranium or plutonium "spark plug," that starts to fission due to the extreme heat and pressure — heating the hydrogen from inside and creating more fusion reactions.

The neutrons released by the fusion reaction then go on to slam into a layer of uranium that surrounds the fusion fuel, triggering even more fission reactions.

All these nuclear reactions happen in the blink of an eye, with fission and fusion each contributing about half of the total explosive power in a typical H-bomb — which can be up to 1,000 times more than atomic bombs.
Hydrogen vs. atomic bombs: damage and destruction

While atomic bomb blasts are measured in kilotons — 1 kt is equivalent to the explosive force of 1,000 tons of TNT — hydrogen bombs are often measured in megatons. One Mt is equivalent to 1,000,000 tons of TNT.

The Little Boy atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima contained 140 pounds of uranium and produced a blast of 15 kt. The "Fat Man" bomb dropped over Nagasaki contained about 13 pounds of plutonium to produce a 21 kt blast.

The largest US thermonuclear bomb ever tested, Castle Bravo, produced a 15 Mt explosion — a whopping 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima.

And the most powerful thermonuclear bomb ever — the Tsar Bomb, detonated by the Soviet Union — was 50 Mt.

The mushroom cloud caused by the Soviet Union's "Tsar Bomba" 57-megaton nuclear blast test.Minatom/Wikiepdia

Some US nuclear weapons are considered "low-yield," including a submarine-based nuclear warhead with a yield of 5 kt, while the most powerful bomb in the current US arsenal, the B83, has a yield of about 1.2 Mt.

The energy from a nuclear weapon can be broken down like this: 50% comes from the blast, 35% from heat, and 15% from nuclear radiation.

How far the effects of the blast go depends on the size of the bomb, but to put it in perspective — a 1 Mt explosion could create a one-mile diameter fireball brighter than the sun within 10 seconds, vaporizing everything within it. Even 20 miles away, the heat from the explosion could be enough to burn people and ignite fires.

Both atomic and hydrogen bombs are nuclear weapons and therefore create long-lasting, dangerous nuclear fallout.

Interestingly, though, fallout only comes from fission: "The intensity of your fallout is always going to be directly, linearly related to how much of the yield is from fission," Wellerstein said.

Fusion doesn't actually create fallout. For example, the Tsar bomb was one of the cleanest nuclear weapons ever detonated, Wellerstein said, because its explosive force came from 97% fusion.
The cost of nuclear weapons

The Manhattan Project's research, development, and production of atomic bombs cost an estimated 39 billion in 2023 US dollars to produce four atomic bombs — one tested, two dropped, and one unused.

But the atomic bombs were a bargain compared to the nuclear budget since then. Between 1940 and 1996, the US' nuclear weapons program cost an estimated 11.4 trillion in 2023 US dollars.

A naval reactor disposal site storing reactors from Los Angeles-class subs and cruisers in Hanford, Washington.Department of the Navy

However, just 7% of that cost went to actually developing, building, and testing the bombs and warheads — more than 70,000 of them in all. The rest of the budget went to deployment systems in vehicles like aircraft and submarines, command, communications, and intelligence systems involved in nuclear weapons, and for defense against nuclear attacks.

Most nuclear weapons in the US were made during the 1950s and 1960s, with production ending in 1990. Today, the US' nuclear weapon stockpile is approximately 3,700 — reduced significantly from its high of 31,255 in 1967.

Efforts focus on maintaining the stockpile and updating or refurbishing parts — for example, by replacing plutonium pits.

The estimated cost of a program to completely refurbish about 460 B61 nuclear bombs over the next 20 years is between $11.5 billion and $13 billion. If you divide that cost into 460 bombs, that comes out to about $26 million per bomb.

And the projected overall cost of the US nuclear forces from 2023-2032 is $756 billion.
Why today's nuclear arsenals are mostly hydrogen bombs

Although fission bombs are relatively simple to make, thermonuclear weapons quickly replaced them in nuclear arsenals.

"A thermonuclear weapon is much more flexible in terms of what you can do with it than a fission bomb alone, and it's also just much more compact in terms of the energy you're getting out of it," Wellerstein said.

"What you're really concerned with if you're using a nuclear warhead is how do I get it to the target? How do I get whatever amount of firepower I want from point A to point B? And so you're going to pick the option that allows you to do that with the smallest volume, the smallest weight, and the biggest sort of outcome from that," he added.

Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the top-secret Manhattan Project

Messages left by visitors mark a chalk board at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park visitor center in Los Alamos, N.M., on Aug. 13, 2023. Almost overnight, Los Alamos was transformed to accommodate the scientists and soldiers who developed the world's first atomic bomb during World War II. The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as it works to modernize the country's nuclear arsenal.

 (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Sat, September 23, 2023

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Los Alamos was the perfect spot for the U.S. government’s top-secret Manhattan Project.

Almost overnight, the ranching enclave on a remote plateau in northern New Mexico was transformed into a makeshift home for scientists, engineers and young soldiers racing to develop the world’s first atomic bomb. Dirt roads were hastily built and temporary housing came in the form of huts and tents as the outpost's population ballooned.

The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation's most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores — key components for nuclear weapons.

Some 3,300 workers have been hired in the last two years, with the workforce now topping more than 17,270. Close to half of them commute to work from elsewhere in northern New Mexico and from as far away as Albuquerque, helping to nearly double Los Alamos' population during the work week.

While advancements in technology have changed the way work is done at Los Alamos, some things remain the same for this company town. The secrecy and unwavering sense of duty that were woven into the community's fabric during the 1940s remain.

James Owen, the associate lab director for weapons engineering, has spent more than 25 years working in the nuclear weapons program.

“What we do is meaningful. This isn’t a job, it’s a vocation and there’s a sense of contribution that comes with that," Owen said in an interview with The Associated Press following a rare tour of the facility where workers are preparing to piece together plutonium cores by hand. "The downside is we can’t tell people about all the cool things we do here.”

While the priority at Los Alamos is maintaining the nuclear stockpile, the lab also conducts a range of national security work and research in diverse fields of space exploration, supercomputing, renewable energy and efforts to limit global threats from disease and cyberattacks.

The welcome sign on the way into town reads: “Where discoveries are made.”

The headline grabber, though, is the production of plutonium cores.

Lab managers and employees defend the massive undertaking as necessary in the face of global political instability. With most people in Los Alamos connected to the lab, opposition is rare.

But watchdog groups and non-proliferation advocates question the need for new weapons and the growing price tag.

“For some time Los Alamosans have seemed numbed out, very involved in superficial activities but there is a very big hole in the middle where thoughtful discourse might live,” Greg Mello, director of the Los Alamos Study Group, a nonprofit that has been challenging the lab over safety, security and budget concerns, said in an email.

Town officials are grappling with the effects of expansion at the lab, much like the military generals who scrambled to erect the secret city on the hill in 1943.

The labor market is stressed, housing is in short supply and traffic is growing. There are few options for expansion in a town bordered by the national forest, a national park and Native American land, leaving county officials to reconsider zoning rules to allow developers to be more creative with infill projects.

Still, officials acknowledge it will take time for those changes to catch up with demand and for prices to normalize in what is already one of the most affluent counties in the U.S. With the lab being the largest employer, Los Alamos also boasts the highest per-capita levels of educational attainment with many residents holding master's degrees and Ph.Ds.

Owen is originally from Peñasco, a Hispanic village in neighboring Taos County. His fascination with science was sparked by a high school field trip where he learned about explosions and implosions. It wasn't long before he landed a summer job at the lab and went on to earn engineering degrees that helped him move up through the ranks.

Los Alamos taps into regional schools as a generational pipeline. Grandfathers work as machinists. Mothers solder key components. And daughters become experts at tracking radiation.

Alexandra Martinez, 40, grew up in nearby Chimayo and is the latest in her family to work at Los Alamos. She chuckles when asked if she was born into it.

“That's what I wanted — the ability to do something great,” said Martinez, a radiation control technician who is stationed at PF-4, the highly classified complex that is being transformed into a more modern plutonium pit factory.

She must pass through fencing topped with concertina wire and checkpoints manned by armed guards. The layers of security are more sophisticated than those from the Manhattan Project era, when all incoming and outgoing mail was censored and telephone calls were monitored.

Los Alamos became an open city when the security gates came down in 1957. Still, many parts — including historic sites related to the Manhattan Project — remain off limits. Tourists have to settle for selfies near the town square with the bronze statue of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer.

Across the street, rangers at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park visitor center answer questions about where scientists lived and where parties and town halls were held. A chalkboard hangs in the corner, covered in yellow sticky notes left by visitors. Some of the hand-written notes touch on the complicated legacy left by the creation of nuclear weapons.

It's a conversation that was reignited with the release of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The film put the spotlight on Los Alamos and its history, prompting more people to visit over the summer.

The attention also boosted an ongoing effort to expand the federal government's radiation compensation program to cover people in several western states, including residents in southern New Mexico where the Trinity Test of the first atomic bomb was conducted in 1945.

Aside from pressing questions about the morality of nuclear weapons, watchdogs argue the federal government's modernization effort already has outpaced spending predictions and is years behind schedule. Independent government analysts issued a report earlier this month that outlined the growing budget and schedule delays.

For lab managers, the task has not been easy. Modern health and safety requirements mean new constraints Manhattan Project bosses never had to contemplate. And yet, just like their predecessors, Owen said officials feel a sense of urgency amid intensifying global threats.

“What's being asked is that we all need to do better in a faster amount of time," he said.