Complicated legacy of nuclear testing in Nevada lives on in bodies, politics

As Oppenheimer took over the silver screen this summer, the people dealing with the fallout of the nuclear testing that began with the bomb the film depicted got a reminder — they only had a year left to apply for compensation for health ailments they believe could be linked to the bombs. For many, a $50,000 check from the federal government is small comfort in light of the specific cancers — most commonly thyroid and lung cancer — they suffer from. But research has been inconclusive on whether the hundreds of tests conducted in the Nevada desert are definitively to blame.