By STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN, Associated Press

VIENNA (AP) — The United States and Russia have both recently threatened to resume nuclear testing, alarming the international community and jeopardizing a global norm against such tests.

Experts say these threats from the world’s two largest nuclear powers put pressure on nonproliferation efforts and endanger global peace and security.

FILE – A mushroom cloud rises from a test blast at the Nevada Test Site on June 24, 1957. (U.S. Energy Department via AP, File)

“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site at the end of October. “That process will begin immediately.”

Moscow quickly responded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council that should the U.S. or any signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty conduct nuclear weapons tests, “Russia would be under obligation to take reciprocal measures.”

Here’s is a look at what a resumption of nuclear testing could mean.

The treaty established a norm against nuclear testing

Concerns about the negative effects of nuclear weapon tests grew in the 1950s when the U.S. and the Soviet Union carried out multiple powerful atomic tests in the atmosphere. As a result, a limited nuclear test ban treaty was negotiated that prohibited such tests but underground tests were still permitted.

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Renewed international efforts to ban all nuclear tests resulted in the start of negotiations for a comprehensive treaty in 1994, culminating in its adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in 1996.

With 187 states having signed the treaty and 178 having ratified it, most experts believe the treaty has established a norm against atomic testing — even without formally entering into force.

For the treaty to officially take effect, 44 specific states — listed in an annex to the treaty — must ratify it. Nine of them have not yet done so.

China, Egypt, Iran, Israel and the U.S. signed but didn’t ratify it. India, North Korea and Pakistan neither signed nor ratified the treaty. Russia signed and ratified the treaty but revoked its ratification in 2023, saying the imbalance between its ratification and U.S. failure to do so was “unacceptable in the current international situation.”

Alongside the treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization was established in Vienna. It runs a global monitoring network to detect nuclear tests worldwide, operating 307 monitoring stations, using seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide technologies.

The organization is financed mainly through assessed contributions by its member states. Its budget for 2025 is more than $139 million.

China and India would profit from resuming tests

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said that a resumption of U.S. atomic tests would “open the door for states with less nuclear testing experience to conduct full-scale tests that could help them perfect smaller, lighter warhead designs.”

This would “decrease U.S. and international security,” he said.

Joseph Rodgers, fellow at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that states such as China or India stand to profit from a resumption of nuclear tests.

“It makes more sense for them to test” than it does for the U.S. or Russia, the two states who have conducted most atomic tests to date, Rodgers said.

The U.S. conducted its last nuclear test in 1992. Since 1996, only 10 nuclear tests have been conducted by three countries: India, Pakistan and North Korea. None of them have signed or ratified the treaty

The vast majority of nuclear tests — approximately 2,000 — occurred before 1996, mostly by the U.S. and Soviet Union.

The organization creates ‘confidence’

Given the uncertainty around Trump’s announcement and the potential for escalation of tensions around the issue, the test ban treaty organization could play a role in resolving the situation.

Rodgers said that the treaty organization is primarily a scientific one and should focus on providing scientific data to the international community.

But Kimball disagrees, suggesting the organization’s Executive Secretary Robert Floyd could “take the initiative and bring together” officials from the U.S. and other countries to help resolve some uncertainties, such as what type of nuclear tests the U.S. president was referring to in his statement.

Floyd told The Associated Press that in the current situation, he believes his organization’s main role is providing “confidence to states” that they would know if a nuclear weapon explosion occurred “anywhere, anytime.”

The organization’s monitoring network successfully detected all six atomic tests conducted by North Korea between 2006 and 2017, he said.

Not all atomic tests create explosions

The White House has so far not clarified what kind of tests Trump meant and what other countries he was referring to in his statement. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the new tests would not include nuclear explosions.

Nuclear test explosions banned under the treaty are so-called supercritical tests, where fissile material is compressed to start a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction that creates an explosion.

These tests produce a nuclear yield — the amount of energy released, which defines a weapon’s destructive power. The treaty bans any nuclear explosion with a yield, following a zero yield standard.

In contrast, subcritical nuclear experiments, the ones Wright was referring to, produce no self-sustaining chain reaction and no explosion. Nuclear weapon states, including the U.S., conduct these experiments routinely without violating the treaty.

Some tests may remain undetected

Kimball says hydronuclear tests with extremely small yields conducted underground in metal chambers are “undetectable” by the organization’s monitoring system.

“So that creates what I would say is a verification gap regarding this particular type of extremely low yield explosion,” he said.

When the organization’s monitoring system was established in the 1990s, it was designed to detect nuclear explosions of 1 kiloton (1,000 tons of TNT). Floyd said the system actually performs better, detecting explosions below 1 kiloton, at 500 tons of TNT.

The nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the U.S. was approximately 15 kilotons.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, taking to the Kremlin an embryonic peace plan that Washington hopes can bring about an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

Coinciding with Witkoff’s trip, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Ireland, continuing his visits to European countries that have helped sustain his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, front, arrives to visit the Dassault Aviation plant, in Cergy, northwest of Paris, France, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025. (Dimitar Dilkoff/Pool Photo via AP)

After months of frustration in his efforts to stop the fighting, U.S. President Donald Trump is deploying officials to get traction for his peace proposals. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, will join the meeting between Putin and Witkoff, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said that the talks would take “as long as needed” and will involve only Witkoff, Kushner and an interpreter from the U.S. side.

So far, the talks have followed parallel lines, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting down with Ukrainian officials, and now Witkoff heading to Moscow.

Zelenskyy said that he met Tuesday with the Ukrainian delegation that returned from the latest round of negotiations with the U.S. representatives in Florida. Rubio said that those talks made progress, but added that “there’s more work to be done.”

Zelenskyy said that the Florida talks took as their cue a document that both sides drafted at an earlier meeting in Geneva. The Ukrainian leader said that document was now “finalized,” although he didn’t explain what that meant.

Ukrainian diplomats are working to ensure that European partners are “substantially involved” in decision-making, Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app, and warned about what he said were Russian disinformation campaigns aimed at steering the negotiations.

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“Ukrainian intelligence will provide partners with the information we have about Russia’s true intentions and its attempts to use diplomatic efforts as cover to ease sanctions and block important collective European decisions,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy was meeting with political leaders and lawmakers in Dublin on his first official visit. Ireland is officially neutral and isn’t a member of NATO, but has sent nonlethal military support to Ukraine. More than 100,000 Ukrainians have moved to Ireland since Russia launched its war on Feb. 24, 2022.

Though this week’s consultations could move the process forward, few details have become public. It remains unclear how envoys are going to bridge the gap between the two sides on such basic differences as who keeps what territory. European officials say the road to peace will be long.

European leaders, who fear Russia’s future territorial ambitions and are trying to figure out how they can fund Ukraine’s fight beyond this year, are trying to make their voices heard after being largely sidelined by Washington. They are also working on future security guarantees for Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he and Zelenskyy, who was on a trip to Paris, spoke by phone with Witkoff. They also spoke to leaders of eight other European countries as well as top European Union officials and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

Macron said that the coming days will see “crucial discussions” between U.S. officials and Western partners. Zelenskyy’s visit to Paris followed Sunday’s meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. officials, which Rubio described as productive.

Diplomats face a hard time trying to bridge Russian and Ukrainian differences and persuading them to strike compromises. The key obstacles — over whether Kyiv should cede land to Moscow and how to ensure Ukraine’s future security — appear unresolved.

Zelenskyy is under severe pressure in one of the darkest periods of the war for his country. As well as managing diplomatic pressure, he must find money to keep Ukraine afloat, address a corruption scandal that has reached the top echelons of his government, and keep Russia at bay on the battlefield.

The Kremlin late Monday claimed that Russian forces have captured the key Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region. Zelenskyy, however, said in Paris that fighting was still ongoing in Pokrovsk on Monday.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — A Catholic priest has been charged with stalking, criminal sexual conduct and violence against a woman whom he was spiritually advising. This is the second St. Cloud-area priest accused of inappropriate conduct in the past two months.

The Stearns County Attorney’s Office filed charges on Wednesday against Joseph Paul Herzing, 61, of Milaca, for one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct and stalking, and three counts of threats of violence in connection with the abuse and intimidation. The abuse occurred between May 2018 and October 2022, according to the criminal complaint.

During the time of the incidents, Herzing served as a priest in Little Falls and St. Cloud, according to law enforcement. He was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud in 1999, and later was appointed as pastor of Christ the King in Browerville, St. Joseph in Clarissa, St. Joseph in Grey Eagle, St. Mary of Mount Carmel in Long Prairie, and St. John the Baptist in Swanville in June 2024, according to the Diocese of St. Cloud. Herzing was immediately put on leave following the charges being filed in Stearns County, St. Cloud Bishop Patrick Neary said in a statement dated last Thursday.

St. Cloud police began investigating Herzing in August 2024, following a report from a woman who said she received spiritual advice, aid and comfort in the form of confession from Herzing while in Little Falls in 2018. Herzing then moved to a church in St. Cloud and began regularly advising the victim there through October 2022.

Church leadership received multiple reports from people saying they observed “conduct indicative of an inappropriate intimate relationship” between Herzing and the woman, such as the priest being at her residence late at night and early in the morning.

When diocesan leadership became aware of the situation in 2022, there was no indication of physical or sexual misconduct, Neary said.

Then-Bishop Donald Kettler, who retired in December 2022, met with Herzing and immediately placed him on administrative leave to undergo a comprehensive professional evaluation, according to the diocese. He entered and completed a residential treatment program for “exhibiting inappropriate boundaries” with the woman, investigators said in the complaint.

Neary returned Herzing to active ministry in June 2023 with “limited responsibility” in Cold Spring, Rockville, Richmond and Jacobs Prairie while continuing treatment. The bishop said that restrictions and monitoring on Herzing were put in place.

Herzing and the woman had multiple violent interactions in 2022, including several death threats, according to the criminal complaint.

In February 2022, Herzing assaulted the victim, including choking and threatening to kill her, in a residence in St. Cloud. Later, in May 2022, she walked from her St. Cloud residence to a river while having suicidal thoughts. After convincing her to return home, Herzing said he should have “just let (the woman) kill herself.” He later physically assaulted her after she saw Herzing receive a text she believed was from someone he was in an intimate relationship with. Once again, he threatened to kill her.

Herzing took the woman to an event in Milaca on his motorcycle in August 2022 and threatened to kill them both by crashing into a tree. The woman told investigators Herzing had made similar threats in July, which resulted in the victim suffering minor scrapes after dismounting at a stoplight.

Investigators used witness statements, texts and police reports to corroborate the woman’s statement. Reports showed that Herzing “admitted to kissing (the victim) on two occasions but denied having a spiritual guidance with her.”

“My commitment is to ensure that our response is clear and rooted in care for all those affected,” Neary said. “We will continue to cooperate fully with authorities and accompany our communities with honesty and compassion.”

Neary added that he encourages all victims of abuse to come forward to civil authorities or diocesan victim advocates.

Herzing is scheduled to make his first appearance in Stearns County District Court on Dec. 29.

Pattern of priest misconduct

In October, another Catholic priest with the St. Cloud diocese was accused of sexual misconduct with a woman while being her spiritual adviser. Aaron John Kuhn, 47, of Wadena, was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Stearns County court.

A woman told law enforcement she had sexual contact with Kuhn between September 2019 and October 2022 while he was providing her “with spiritual direction,” according to the Stearns County Attorney’s Office. She said Kuhn used his role as a spiritual adviser to manipulate and pressure her into engaging in sexual acts.

According to court records, Kuhn is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15.

By CORA LEWIS, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Chain stores have Black Friday. Online marketplaces have Cyber Monday. For local businesses, it’s Small Business Saturday.

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In the last 20 years, more segments of the retail industry have vied for their own piece of the holiday shopping season. The travel trade has firmly joined the trend with another post-Thanksgiving sales push: Travel Tuesday.

On the same day as the nonprofit world’s Giving Tuesday, airlines, hotels, cruise ship companies, travel booking platforms and tour operators get in on the annual spirit to spend by promoting one-day deals. Consumer advocates say there are legitimate savings to be had but also chances to be misled by marketing that conveys a false sense of urgency.

“People see ‘40 percent off’ and assume it’s a once-in-a-lifetime steal, without recognizing that the underlying price may have been inflated or that the same itinerary was cheaper last month.” Sally French, a travel expert at personal finance site NerdWallet, said.

She and other seasoned travelers advised consumers who want to see if they can save money by booking trips on Travel Tuesday to do research in advance and to pay especially close attention to the fine print attached to offers.

People hoping to score last-minute deals for Christmas or New Year’s should double-check for blackout dates or other restrictions, recommended Lindsay Schwimer, a consumer expert for the online travel site Hopper.

It’s also wise to to keep an eye out for nonrefundable fares, resort fees, double occupancy requirements or upgrade conditions that may be hidden within advertised discounts, according to French.

Shoppers should be wary of travel packages with extra transportation options or add-on offers, French said. Instead of lowering fares or room rates, some companies use statement credits, extra points, included amenities and bundled extras as a way to tempt potential customers, she said.

“Many travel brands want to keep sticker prices high to maintain an aura of luxury, but they still need to fill planes, ships and hotel rooms,” French said. “Add-on perks are their workaround.”

Consumers who are prepared rather than impulsive and on the lookout for the up-sell are in a much better position to identify authentic bargains, consumer experts stressed. Knowing what a specific trip would typically cost and comparison shopping can help expose offers based on inflated underlying costs and whether the same itinerary might have been cheaper at other times, they said.

“Compare prices, check your calendar and make sure the trip you’re booking is something you genuinely want, not something you bought because a countdown timer pressured you,” French said. “What gets glossed over is that the best deal might be not booking anything at all if it doesn’t align with your plans.”

Travel Tuesday came about based on existing industry trends. In 2017, Hopper analyzed historical pricing data and found that in each of the nine previous years, the biggest day for post-Thanksgiving travel discounts was the day after Cyber Monday.

The site named the day Travel Tuesday. The number of offers within that time-targeted window and the number of travelers looking for them has since expanded.

“Nearly three times as many trips were planned on Travel Tuesday last year compared to Black Friday,” Hopper’s Schwimer said. “We continue to see growth in the day, year over year, as more travel brands and categories offer deals.”

The event’s origin story is in line with the National Retail Federation coining Cyber Monday in 2005 as a response to the emerging e-commerce era. American Express came up with Small Business Saturday in 2010 to direct buyers and their dollars to smaller retailers, credit card fees and all.

A report by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year noted that November and December tend to be slow months for travel bookings, making Travel Tuesday a “marketing moment” that could help boost revenue.

Hotel, cruise and and airline bookings by U.S. travelers increased significantly on Travel Tuesday 2023 compared with the two weeks before and after the day, the report’s authors wrote, citing data provided by the travel marketing platform Sojern.

While Travel Tuesday so far has been mostly confined to the United States and Canada, “European travel companies can anticipate the possibility that Travel Tuesday will become a growing phenomenon in their region, given that other shopping days such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday have spread beyond North America,” the report stated.

Vivek Pandya, lead insights analyst for Adobe Analytics, which tracks online spending, said consumers have more tools than ever this holiday season to help them determine if deals hold up to scrutiny.

“Social journeys, influencers providing promo codes and values, and generative AI platforms taking all that in – the prices, the social conversation, the reviews – and giving guidance to the consumer, that’s a very different, dynamic kind of journey consumers are taking than they have in previous seasons,” Pandya said.

Both he and French emphasized that prices rise and fall based on multiple factors, and that the winter holidays are not the only major promotional period of the year.

“We now have dozens of consumer spending ‘holidays,’” French said. “Amazon alone keeps adding new versions of Prime Day. So if you don’t buy on Travel Tuesday, you haven’t missed your moment.”

The Associated Press receives support from the 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.