UPDATE 1-US to furlough workers at nuclear weapons agency due shutdown

The Trump administration by Monday will furlough about 1,400 workers at the agency that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal due to the government shutdown, the Department of Energy said on Friday. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a post on X that the furloughs will affect National Nuclear Security Administration workers who are "critical to modernizing our nuclear arsenal."

A spokesperson said nearly 400 workers would remain at the NNSA, a semi-autonomous branch of the Department of Energy that also works around the world to secure dangerous nuclear materials, including in Ukraine as the war with Russia continues. NNSA's federal staff oversees some 60,000 contractors maintaining and testing weapons at national laboratories and other locations across the U.S. Wright told USA Toda