Scientists move Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight - ABC 40 KRHD-TV - Bryan/College Station News and Weather |

Scientists move Doomsday Clock 30 seconds closer to midnight

Posted: Updated:
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors, left, and Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group, display the Doomsday Clock during a news confer... (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors, left, and Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group, display the Doomsday Clock during a news confer...
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Rachel Bronson, executive director and Publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; David Titley, a nationally known expert in the field of clima... (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Rachel Bronson, executive director and Publisher of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; David Titley, a nationally known expert in the field of clima...
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors; Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; and David Titley, a nationally known expert in... (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Board of Sponsors; Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; and David Titley, a nationally known expert in...
(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; David Titley, a nationally known expert in the field of climate, the Arctic, and national security and Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of ... (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). From left, Thomas Pickering, co-chair of the International Crisis Group; David Titley, a nationally known expert in the field of climate, the Arctic, and national security and Lawrence Krauss, theoretical physicist, chair of ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The keepers of the Doomsday Clock have moved the symbolic countdown to potential global catastrophe 30 seconds closer to midnight based on President Donald Trump's comments on nuclear weapons and climate change.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, in a statement accompanying the move Thursday, cited "wavering public confidence in the democratic institutions required to deal with major world threats." It says "deception campaigns" by Russia to disrupt the U.S. election have made the world more dangerous by bringing "American democracy and Russian intentions into question."

The Doomsday Clock now stands at 2 ½ minutes to midnight, the closest it has been since the 1950s.

The clock is a visual representation of how close the Bulletin believes the world is to catastrophe brought on by nuclear weapons, climate change and new technologies.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.