Davis Winkie

NEW for @usatoday.com: The long shadow of DOGE cuts left a remote Army base in Alaska scrambling to feed its soldiers as temperatures slipped to 50 below zero. The base, Fort Greely, is responsible for shooting down nuclear and other missiles targeting the US.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Curious about America’s nuclear missile silos?

Join our reporter @winkie.bsky.social and nuclear weapons historian @wellerstein.bsky.social for a Reddit AMA in r/Military, where they’ll answer your questions about their project “The Nuclear Sponge. Ask them anything here: bit.ly/3Z3w6Pi

Working with you on this project was fantastic! The Fallout Machine will be a great addition to the NUKEMAP platform (and standalone) for sure.

let's talk? dwinkie[at]usatoday[dot]com or davis.winkie[at]pm[dot]me

Fallout maps show how an attack on nuclear silos would impact US cities USA TODAY mapped the far-reaching potential consequences of a nuclear strike against America's 450 nuclear missile silos.

I had a really fun time working on the code that was used to make these fallout visualizations for this USA Today article. I will soon be incorporating some of it into the NUKEMAP and probably making a version of this "mass attack fallout mapper" for public use. www.usatoday.com/graphics/int...

Fallout maps show how an attack on nuclear silos would impact US cities USA TODAY mapped the far-reaching potential consequences of a nuclear strike against America's 450 nuclear missile silos.

What could happen if the U.S.'s nuclear missile silos were attacked? An interactive map in @usatoday.com paints a bleak picture.

Feat. expertise from grantees @wellerstein.bsky.social, Sébastien Philippe, @armscontrolnow.bsky.social, w/ support from @outrider.org

www.usatoday.com/graphics/int...

But please do read all four parts of this excellent new series of articles in @usatoday.com by @winkie.bsky.social (supported by @outrider.org) about the deeply troubled Sentinel ICBM program:

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Fallout maps show how an attack on nuclear silos would impact US cities USA TODAY mapped the far-reaching potential consequences of a nuclear strike against America's 450 nuclear missile silos.

What could happen if America's nuclear missile silos were attacked? See the fallout maps.

And for you nuke nerds out there, Part Five lays out our project methodology, to include how we built the Fallout Machine and the technical assumptions that went into our strike simulations. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Part Four draws out policy recommendations from the experts that I interviewed for this series. What, if anything, needs to change about U.S. strategy on silo-based nuclear missiles to keep Americans safe?
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Part Three examines how the next-generation Sentinel ICBM program got so off-track, and what it will take to keep the missile on-time and under-budget moving forward.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Part Two focuses on the debate over whether land-based ICBMs are worth the $141 billion investment currently underway to modernize them. Do they keep America safe? The experts I interviewed wildly diverge.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Fallout maps show how an attack on nuclear silos would impact US cities USA TODAY mapped the far-reaching potential consequences of a nuclear strike against America's 450 nuclear missile silos.

For the project's main story, we partnered with nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein to adapt a Cold War-era fallout model to illustrate what would happen if an enemy struck the missile silos.

You can read that main story at fallout.usatoday.com.

NEW @usatoday.com PROJECT: The U.S. has 450 nuclear missile silos. And they exist, in part, to be destroyed. What would happen if they were?

The Nuclear Sponge is a five-part project informing readers about the strategic debate and costs of modernizing the land leg of America’s nuclear triad.

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Hegseth wants a fitter military, but significant barriers hold back part-time troops The military has long struggled to keep its part-time troops fit. Can the Army crack the code?

The military has long struggled to keep its part-time troops fit. Can the Army crack the code?

75% of nuclear weapons agency staff is furloughed.

Under 400 remain on the job without pay in order to ensure the safety and security of the nuclear stockpile.

Read more from Outrider fellow @winkie.bsky.social @usatoday.com:
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

@wellerstein.bsky.social, just shot you a DM request.

The ensuing investigation was truly the Spanish Inquisition of robot porn.

Man Stores AI-Generated Robot Porn on His Government Computer, Loses Access to Nuclear Secrets A man who works for the people overseeing America’s nuclear stockpile has lost his security clearance after he uploaded 187,000 pornographic images to a Department of Energy (DOE) network. As part of ...

Was in a decommissioned nuclear silo when @winkie.bsky.social turned to me and said: "Hey, have you read this report about the guy who uploaded 30 years worth of porn to a government computer?"

Nuclear weapons woes: Understaffed nuke agency hit by DOGE and safety worries The consequences of DOGE's disruptions at the National Nuclear Security Administration could be far-reaching, experts say.

NEW DEEP DIVE — DOGE has put the National Nuclear Security Administration’s nuclear weapons modernization efforts at risk, we found after digging into decades of watchdog reports and interviewing current/former officials and experts. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive form' of prostate cancer Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. President Donald Trump's tax bill passed in a key House committee vote. USA TODAY White House Reporter Davis Winkie talks about an...

The consequences of DOGE's disruptions at the National Nuclear Security Administration could be far-reaching, according to experts. I discussed the issues on today's edition of @usatoday.com’s The Excerpt. art19.com/shows/5-thin...

Price of US nuclear weapons jumps 25% to nearly $1 trillion by 2034, budget office says The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office's estimate does not include recently discovered cost overruns in the Sentinel missile project.

Maintaining and modernizing the U.S. nuclear arsenal will cost nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, according to the CBO.

That’s $190 billion more than the previous estimate.

Read @winkie.bsky.social report in @usatoday.com

Outrider Foundation Announces Fellowship in Partnership with USA TODAY and Journalism Funding Partners. Davis Winkie will cover the White House for USA TODAY, focusing on nuclear threats and national security.

Introducing @winkie.bsky.social, Outrider's newest reporting Fellow!

Davis will cover the White House for @usatoday.com, focusing on nuclear threats and national security. Learn more about him, and read his latest stories:

Trump removes Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. CQ Brown in purge of military leaders Brown is among the senior military officials the Trump administration has linked to Biden-era diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

My latest overnight for @usatoday.com alongside colleagues Tom Vanden Brook & Zac Anderson.

www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

WRITERS: I am launching a movie column at @militarydotcom.bsky.social, tentatively titled 'Theater of War.'

I am looking for compelling analyses of war movies new and old, whether it's of a specific scene or a broader theme.

Send pitches to jared.keller [at] monster dot com

Will Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ missile defense make Americans safer? It’s complicated Space-based interceptors and "particle beams" are part of a new multi-billion-dollar Trump order to build a new U.S. missile defense system.

President Trump's Jan. 27 order – “The Iron Dome for America” – directs the Pentagon to plan a “next generation missile defense shield” to guard against any threat from any foe. Will it make the USA safe?

The latest from Outrider fellow @winkie.bsky.social of @usatoday.com:

South Korea slams Hegseth over North Korea 'nuclear power' comments Trump defense secretary nominee Pete Hesgeth ruffled feathers in S. Korea with his written statement to the Senate panel overseeing his confirmation

First byline @usatoday.com!
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

My old Army unit called me today — two years after my interservice transfer — looking for OCIE gear that I returned in June 2022 🤠

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A wild FLIPL appeared!

DAVIS used OCIE CLEARANCE MEMO!

It’s super effective!