The Bulletin of ​the Atomic Scientists set the clock to 85 seconds before midnight, the theoretical point of annihilation. That is four seconds closer than it was set last year. The Chicago-based nonprofit created the clock in 1947 during ‍the Cold War tensions that followed World War Two ​to warn the public about how close humankind was to destroying the world.

Atomic scientists set their "Doomsday Clock" on Tuesday, January 27, closer than ever to midnight, citing aggressive behavior by nuclear powers Russia, China and the United States, fraying nuclear arm...