POV: Sarah Chen, CNN Reporter

The satellite images came through at 3:47 AM. I was on my third cup of coffee, monitoring overnight feeds from our international bureau, when the alert pinged across my screen.

Nuclear detonation detected. Location: rural Montana. Yield: estimated 2 kilotons.

I stared at the words, not quite processing them. Nuclear detonation. In the United States. On American soil.

"Get me confirmation," I shouted to the night crew. "Multiple sources. I want verification before ...