By Patricia Kime, KFF Health News

At a memorial service in 2022, veteran Air Force Capt. Monte Watts bumped into a fellow former Minuteman III nuclear missile operator, who told him that she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Watts knew other missileers with similar cancers. But the connection really hit home later that same January day, when the results of a blood test revealed that Watts himself had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“I don’t know if it was ironic or serendipitous or what the right word is, but there it was,” Watts said.

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Within the community of U.S. service members who staff nuclear missile silos scattered across the Northern Rockies and Great Plains, suspicions had long been brewing that their workplaces were unsafe. Just months after Watts was diagnosed in 2022, Lt. Col. Danny Sebeck, a former Air Force missileer who had transferred to the U.S. Space Force, wrote a brief on a potential cancer cluster among people who served at Minuteman III launch control centers on Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.

Sebeck identified 36 former workers who served primarily from 1993 to 2011 and had been diagnosed with cancer, including himself. Of those, 11 had non-Hodgkin lymphoma; three had died. The Air Force responded swiftly to Sebeck’s findings, launching a massive investigation into cancer cases and the environment at three intercontinental ballistic missile bases and a California launch facility. The goal is to complete the research by the end of 2025.

The service has released portions of the studies as they conclude, holding online town halls and briefings to highlight its findings. But while former missileers say they are heartened by the rapid response, they remain concerned that the research, which crosses decades and includes thousands of ICBM personnel and administrative workers, may address too large a population or use statistical analyses that won’t show a connection between their illnesses and their military service.

They need that tie to expedite benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Historically, the Department of Defense has been slow to recognize potential environmental diseases. Veterans sickened by exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, Marines who drank contaminated water at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and service members who lived and worked near burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan fought for years to have their illnesses acknowledged as related to military service.

In the case of the missileers, the Air Force already had studied potential contamination and cancer at Malmstrom in 2001 and 2005. That research concluded that launch control centers were “safe and healthy working environments.” But with Sebeck’s presentation and the decision to pursue further investigation, Air Force Global Strike Command — the unit responsible for managing nuclear missile silos and aircraft-based nuclear weapons — said the earlier studies may not have included a large enough sampling of medical records to be comprehensive.

Sebeck, who serves as co-director of the Torchlight Initiative, an advocacy group that supports ICBM personnel and their families, told congressional Democrats on April 8 that the Defense Department has not accurately tracked exposures to the community, making it difficult for veterans to prove a link and obtain VA health care and disability compensation.

“I had to go to a VA person and pull some papers,” Sebeck said, referring to the government system for recording service members’ environmental risks. “It says that I visited Poland once. It doesn’t mention that I pulled 148 alerts in a launch control center with polychlorinated biphenyls and with this contaminated air and water.”

PCBs — and the missileers exposed to them

PCBs are synthetic chemicals once used in industry, including missile control electrical components such as display screens, keyboards, and circuit breakers. They have been banned for manufacture since 1979, deemed toxic and a likely carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Air Force’s Missile Community Cancer Study compares 14 types of common cancers in the general U.S. population and the missile community and also studies the environments at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California to determine whether they may have contributed to the risk of developing cancer.

An unarmed Minuteman III missile sits inside a silo at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming on July 9, 2025. (Michael A. Richmond/U.S. Air Force/TNS)

The Malmstrom, Warren, and Minot bases together field 400 Minuteman III missiles, the land-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad, which also includes submarine- and aircraft-launched nuclear weapons. The missiles are housed in silos spread across parts of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, staffed around the clock by missileers operating from underground, bunkerlike launch control centers.

So far, the Air Force investigation has found no “statistically elevated” deaths from cancer in the missile community compared with the general population, and it found that the death rates for four types of common cancers — non-Hodgkin lymphoma, lung, colon and rectum, and prostate cancer — were significantly lower in missileers than in the general population.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for roughly 5.8% of all cancer deaths among people who worked in launch control centers from January 1979 to December 2020.

Early results, derived from Defense Department medical records, found elevated rates of breast and prostate cancers in the missile community, but a later analysis incorporating additional data did not support those findings. The studies also did not find increased rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Air Force officials noted during a June 4 online town hall, however, that these assessments are based on roughly half the data the service expects to review for its final epidemiological reports and cautioned against drawing conclusions given the limitations.

The final incidence report will include federal and state data, including information from civilian cancer registries, and delve into subgroups and exposures, which may “provide deeper insights into the complex relationship” between serving in the missile community and cancer risk, wrote Air Force Col. Richard Speakman in a September 2024 memo on the initial epidemiology results.

Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said during the June town hall that only the final results will determine whether the missile community’s cancer rates are higher than the general population’s.

Some lawmakers share the concern of missileers about the Air Force study. Following the release of a University of North Carolina review of Torchlight Initiative data that showed higher rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — at younger ages — among Malmstrom missileers, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) introduced an amendment to a defense policy bill calling for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to review health and safety conditions in the facilities.

“Let’s make sure that we have some outside experts working with the Air Force studying cancer rates with our ICBM missions,” Bacon posted July 30 on the social platform X. “We want to ensure credibility and that whatever results come out, we’ve done total due diligence.”

Regarding additional studies on the working environments at the installations and a possible relationship between exposures and cancer risk, Speakman, who commands the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, said Malmstrom had two types of PCBs that the other two missile wing bases did not.

He added that benzene, found in cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust, and gasoline fumes, was the largest contributor to cancer risk in reviews of the bases.

The assessment concluded that health risks to missileers is “low, but it’s not zero,” Speakman said. He said it would be appropriate to monitor the health of launch control workers.

Next steps

Watts, whose story has been highlighted by the Torchlight Initiative, has asked the Defense Department’s inspector general to investigate — the watchdog agency referred his request to Global Strike Command — and is closely watching the Air Force research. He said the bulk of the cancer cases reported to Torchlight occurred in the 2000s, when ICBM personnel still used technology that contained PCBs, burned classified material such as treated paper and plastic coding devices indoors, and possibly were exposed to contaminated water.

“I open the door and there’s guys standing there in pressurized suits with sampling equipment,” Watts recalled. “They said, ‘We’re here to check for contaminated water.’ I look at my crew commander, and we’re standing there in cotton uniforms. I said, ‘Do you see anything wrong with this?’”

An Air Force firefighter rappels down a training missile silo during a training exercise at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming on Oct. 26, 2024. (Hunter C. Kirkland/U.S. Air Force/TNS)

Launch control operators no longer burn code tapes indoors and the Air Force has made improvements to air circulation in the centers. Sebeck wants Congress to consider including missileers and others sickened by exposure to base contamination in the PACT Act, landmark legislation that mandates health care and benefits for veterans sickened by burn pits and other pollutants.

“It’s documented that there is a large cancer cluster in Montana, probably also in Wyoming. People act surprised, but all they have to do is go to the oncology office in Denver. I can find my missileer buddies there. We are sitting in the same chairs getting chemotherapy,” Sebeck said.

Air Force Global Strike Command spokesperson Maj. Lauren Linscott said in response to Sebeck’s remarks that the unit understands the impact of cancer on its personnel and is committed to supporting them.

“While current findings are preliminary and no conclusions can yet be drawn, we are dedicated to a rigorous, peer-reviewed, data-driven process to better understand potential health risks because the safety of our airmen is our top priority,” Linscott said.

Bills introduced in the House and Senate would address the situation. In addition to Bacon’s amendment, the Senate version of an annual defense policy bill would require a “deep cleaning” of launch control centers every five years until the sites are decommissioned as a new ICBM, the Sentinel, replaces the Minuteman IIIs.

The Air Force aims to release its final epidemiological report by the end of the year.

©2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By ADRIANA MORGA, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As the end of 2025 approaches, a viral TikTok trend is helping people achieve their wellness goals: “The Great Lock In” encourages participants to finish the year strong by fully focusing on their life goals from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

Many people focus on exercise or eating healthier. But the trend can also help you achieve your financial goals.

There are no set rules for “The Great Lock In.” The phrase “lock in” is popular on social media and it means to focus intensely on a task.

“Something I like about this particular trend is that it’s like New Year’s resolutions’ little sister,” said Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, financial therapist and founder of Mind Money Balance, a financial wellness podcast and blog.

For Julissa Mercedes, 28, one of her lock in goals is to build an $2,500 emergency savings fund.

“Having some liquid cash will make me feel a little bit safer,” said Mercedes, a San Diego resident who works in finance. Aside from building an emergency fund, Mercedes has three other goals: making a new friend, creating a morning routine, and picking up a new hobby.

“The Great Lock In” is meant to help people achieve New Year’s resolutions that might have fallen by the wayside. If you started your year planning to pay down debt by cutting unnecessary expenses, and have yet to follow up on that, this challenge might help you with that goal.

“I think that’s appealing to a lot of people who are just tired of feeling stuck and like they haven’t been able to make any progress,” said Ben Markley, personal finance educator and host of Sketchy Advice by YNAB, a budgeting app.

If you’re thinking of participating in “The Great Lock In,” or if you’re already doing it, here are some expert recommendations to make your financial goals stick:

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Review your finances

To build a goal that will benefit you, it’s essential to review your finances, Bryan-Podvin said. She suggested that you review your bank account and spend some time figuring out how much you earn each month, as well as what you spend it on.

If you made a New Year’s resolution around finances, this could be a good opportunity to check on your progress and see if you need to reassess your approach.

Set attainable goals

When participating in a challenge, it’s best to set attainable goals, Markley said. Sometimes online challenges inspire people to make significant changes, but they can also lead them to create unattainable goals.

“A lot of people can’t sustain that at all, so they drop off,” he said. “Or, they do sustain it, but then they go back to their normal life after the challenge, and their spending habits haven’t fundamentally changed.”

Setting a goal that is realistic in relation to your budget and lifestyle is the best way to make sure you can achieve it by the end of the challenge. Bryan-Podvin recommends looking at “The Great Lock In” as a 5K race rather than a marathon.

Focus on habit-building

To continue achieving your financial goals into 2026, Markley recommends centering some of your lock in goals around building new habits or skills.

For example, if your goal is to stop spending on takeout, focus on building a habit that’s related to cooking.

“Find easy meals that you could cook at home with your skill level so that when you want to eat out, you have that to fall back on,” Markley said.

A great way to help create a habit is to use a habit-tracking tool. It can be as simple as setting reminders on your phone or downloading an app that sends you regular notifications, Bryan-Podvin said.

Create community and accountability

Social media can be a good place to find community support for achieving your goals, whether it’s joining a Facebook group, commenting on creators’ videos, or posting your own content.

As she started “The Great Lock In” challenge at the beginning of September, Mercedes also decided to document her experience on TikTok. Sharing her journey with followers helps with accountability, she said.

“Seeing that people are still watching and keeping up with my content makes me feel like they’re part of the journey too,” Mercedes said.

Reflect on your relationship with money

As you use “The Great Lock In” trend to achieve your financial goals, take a moment to reflect on your overall relationship with money.

“Give every dollar a specific job so that you’re not going on autopilot when you spend, you’re being intentional with your money and making sure that it’s going towards the things you need and the things you care about,” Markley said.

Sitting down regularly, either by yourself or with your partner, and reviewing your spending habits can help with your long-term financial goals.

It’s OK if it’s not for you

If you try this challenge and you find out it doesn’t work for you, that is OK, Markley said.

“You can find something else that works, and it’s no reflection on your character if you don’t pull off ‘The Great Lock-In,’” he added.

While social media challenges can help inspire people to achieve their goals, it’s not worth adding unnecessary stress to your life because of a challenge. Not every trend works for everyone, and there are many other ways that you can achieve your financial goals, Markley said.

The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

Today is Saturday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2025. There are 81 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 11, 2002, former President Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize for his and The Carter Center’s work to resolve international conflicts and advocate for human rights.

Also on this date:

In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education ordered the city’s Asian students segregated into their own school. (The order was later rescinded at the behest of President Theodore Roosevelt, who in exchange promised to curb future Japanese immigration to the United States.)

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In 1968, Apollo 7, the first crewed flight of the Apollo program, was launched with astronauts Walter Schirra Jr., Donn F. Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard.

In 1984, Challenger astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space as she and fellow Mission Specialist David C. Leestma spent 3 1/2 hours outside the shuttle.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks in Reykjavik, Iceland, concerning arms control and human rights.

In 1987, the AIDS Memorial Quilt was first displayed during the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights on the National Mall.

In 1991, Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Thomas denounced the proceedings as a “high-tech lynching” and was confirmed on Oct. 15 by a 52-48 vote.

In 2017, the Boy Scouts of America announced that it would admit girls into the Cub Scouts starting the following year and establish a new program for older girls based on the Boy Scout curriculum.

In 2021, Jon Gruden resigned as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders following reports about messages he wrote years earlier that used offensive terms to refer to Blacks, gays and women; Gruden later filed a lawsuit, still pending, against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell, alleging a “malicious and orchestrated campaign” to destroy his career.

In 2024, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, for its activism against nuclear weapons.

Today’s Birthdays:

Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry is 98.
Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 83.
Singer Daryl Hall (Hall and Oates) is 79.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, is 75.
Actor David Morse is 72.
Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 64.
Actor Joan Cusack is 63.
Actor Jane Krakowski is 57.
Rapper MC Lyte is 55.
Actor Emily Deschanel is 49.
Golfer Michelle Wie is 36.
Rapper Cardi B is 33.

Jaxon Mitchell made his first two varsity touchdowns ones to remember Friday night.

And that was well before a pretty unforgettable ending.

Mitchell, a speedy sophomore who began the year on Mahtomedi’s B-squad, hauled in a 70-yard touchdown catch and scored again on a long kickoff return – all in the second quarter.

Then he and his teammates withstood a furious Cretin-Derham Hall rally that came up just short.

As a result, the Zephyrs – ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A – held on for a 28-27 road win at the University of St. Thomas’ O’Shaughnessy Stadium.

Mahtomedi improved to 7-0. The Raiders (5-2) – ranked No. 7 – fell for the first time since a loss to top-ranked St. Thomas Academy in their season opener, snapping a five-game winning streak.

“This one was crazy,” said Mitchell, who moved up to varsity after an injury to another starting receiver last month. “It was a good ballgame. But we hung on to take it home.”

That they did. But not without some awfully tense moments getting there.

After Mitchell’s kickoff return put the Zephyrs in front 21-14 at halftime, they expanded their lead to 14 on a 5-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Mark Graff that capped an over-six-minute drive to start the third quarter.

Mahtomedi had a chance to put the game away late in the fourth, but came up two yards short after electing to go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Raiders’ 7.

That gave Cretin-Derham Hall the ball back at its own 6 with 3:43 remaining and the Raiders – who cut the gap to seven on a 22-yard touchdown catch by Sam Heath earlier in the fourth quarter – marched 94 yards to score on a 10-yard run by senior Ja’Dale Thompson.

“The trust was there on that drive,” said Thompson, who carried the ball 17 times for 92 yards and two touchdowns and added an 11-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

“We told everybody to pick it up for their brothers.”

But after the Raiders elected to go for two, junior Frank Schwieters initially halted Thompson, and senior Alex Haase helped bring him down just short of the end zone.

“I thought they executed extremely well down the stretch,” Mahtomedi coach Dave Muetzel said. “But our kids kept fighting. They had every reason to hang their heads with some of the things that happened. But they kept fighting, and when you’re hustling and being around the ball, good things happen.”

Good things happened again after Cretin-Derham Hall recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Zephyrs’ 43 with 1:25 remaining. After the Raiders completed a pass on the first play of the drive, junior James Theuninck recovered a fumble at the 29, and Mahtomedi was able to run out the clock.

“They had every reason to hang their heads too, and they kept fighting to the end,” Muetzel said. “Both teams battled out there tonight.”

The wild ending came after the second-quarter show from Mitchell.

With his team trailing 7-6 and pinned deep in its own territory, he hauled in a long pass from Graff down the Mahtomedi sideline and outraced the Cretin-Derham Hall defense into the end zone.

The two-point conversion put Mahtomedi on top 14-7 with 6:02 to play before halftime.

Thompson then scored his second touchdown of the night as the Raiders tied the score at 14. But Mitchell returned the ensuing kickoff over 90 yards for his second varsity score to put the Zephyrs up by seven at halftime.

“It’s going to be hard to top those, but I’ll believe it if he does,” an impressed Graff said. “He’s a pure athlete and one of the fastest guys on this team. He has a lot more touchdowns ahead of him. He’s going to be a great player.”

More of those scores might be needed should Mahtomedi and Cretin-Derham Hall meet again in the section playoffs as they’ve done in each of the past four seasons.

It’s a rematch both sides were itching for after the final gun sounded Friday.

“This one is upsetting, but I know we’ll see them again,” Thompson said.

“This maybe was just round one, and we know they’ll come back harder if we play them again in sections,” added Graff, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown Friday. “That would be another tough game. They’d be playing hard and so would we.

“It will be a lot of fun if it happens.”

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