JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a cold case murder are asked the public on Friday for help in solving the case.

On July 2, 1977, in the early morning hours, Overland Park Police responded to an anonymous call that a person had been severely injured, and needed assistance in a blue house near 87th and Lowell. 

  Responding officers located 19-year-old Anthony “Tony” Payne inside a residence in the 7900 block of W. 87th Street in critical condition.  Payne was taken to the hospital, but died later that day.

The initial homicide investigation conducted at the time was not able to bring closure to this case.  In the summer of 2021, the Overland Park Police Department re-opened this cold case homicide. 

Advancements in forensic and DNA technology in the years since the homicide prompted detectives to re-open the case, as these technologies were not available to investigators at the time of Payne’s homicide. 

 As part of this process, with the permission of Payne’s relatives, an examination of his remains at his burial location has been conducted. 

 Overland Park Detectives are seeking any new tips or information about this case.  This year will be the 46th anniversary of this unsolved homicide.

  Anyone with information about the homicide of Tony Payne, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 816-474-TIPS.  A reward of up to $2,000.00 is available for information leading to an arrest in this case.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675454710871.png" alt="Payne photo Overland Park Police" />
 <figcaption>Payne photo Overland Park Police</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities investigating a cold case murder are asked the public on Friday for help in solving the case.On July 2, 1977, in the early morning hours, Overland Park Police responded to an anonymous call that a person had been severely injured, and needed assistance in a blue house near 87th and Lowell. Responding officers located 19-year-old Anthony “Tony” Payne inside a residence in the 7900 block of W. 87th Street in critical condition. Payne was taken to the hospital, but died later that day.The initial homicide investigation conducted at the time was not able to bring closure to this case. In the summer of 2021, the Overland Park Police Department re-opened this cold case homicide. Advancements in forensic and DNA technology in the years since the homicide prompted detectives to re-open the case, as these technologies were not available to investigators at the time of Payne’s homicide. As part of this process, with the permission of Payne’s relatives, an examination of his remains at his burial location has been conducted. Overland Park Detectives are seeking any new tips or information about this case. This year will be the 46th anniversary of this unsolved homicide. Anyone with information about the homicide of Tony Payne, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 816-474-TIPS. A reward of up to $2,000.00 is available for information leading to an arrest in this case.&nbsp;

Police: Body exhumed in 46-year-old unsolved Kan. murder

SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man with a history of crime is facing child sex crime charges. On Jan. 27,&nbsp;Lorenzo Gary, 37 of Wichita, was charged with 2 counts of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, contributing to a child’s misconduct or deprivation, and incest, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Just before&nbsp; 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 24, a 36-year-old woman reported to police that a 13-year-old was at a motel in the 2300 block of S. Broadway in Wichita with a man identified as Gary, according to Officer Trevor Macy.

The woman said that she believed the two were having unlawful sexual relations. Officers responded to the motel and located Gary and the juvenile who were both transported to the Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) for interviews. 

Police booked Gary into the Sedgwick County Jail. Gary has previous convictions that include forgery and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.&nbsp;His next court date is Feb. 6, according to the district attorney's office. He remains jailed on a $300,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1674663153884.png" alt="Gary has previous convictions that include forgery and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Gary has previous convictions that include forgery and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY—A Kansas man with a history of crime is facing child sex crime charges. On Jan. 27,&nbsp;Lorenzo Gary, 37 of Wichita, was charged with 2 counts of rape, aggravated indecent liberties with a child, contributing to a child’s misconduct or deprivation, and incest, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Just before&nbsp; 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 24, a 36-year-old woman reported to police that a 13-year-old was at a motel in the 2300 block of S. Broadway in Wichita with a man identified as Gary, according to Officer Trevor Macy.The woman said that she believed the two were having unlawful sexual relations. Officers responded to the motel and located Gary and the juvenile who were both transported to the Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU) for interviews. Police booked Gary into the Sedgwick County Jail. Gary has previous convictions that include forgery and robbery, according to the Kansas Dept. of Corrections.&nbsp;His next court date is Feb. 6, according to the district attorney's office. He remains jailed on a $300,000 bond.

Kan. felon charged after found with 13-year-old at motel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden, after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, becoming the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. At about 2:40 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.

The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than they had expected. Still, it was not immediately clear how long the recovery would take. The Navy is taking the lead, supported by the Coast Guard.

“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.

The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over toward them.

On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.

“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a ‘Top Gun’ movie today,” she said.

U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday that the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

The balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">was spotted Thursday over Montana</a>, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, a senior defense official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing operation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The public disclosure of the balloon on Thursday prompted the cancellation of a visit by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken</a>&nbsp;to Beijing for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.

“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it because of the balloon.

In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.

Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.

“When it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous,” he said. “One second it’s there like a tiny moon and the next second it’s gone.” Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.

Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses.

President Joe Biden had told reporters earlier Saturday that "we’re going to take care of it,” when asked about the balloon. The Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water. U.S. military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the coast. In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions.

The Coast Guard advised mariners to immediately leave the area because of U.S. military operations “that present a significant hazard.”

Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.

The public disclosure of the balloon this week prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">the cancellation of a visit</a>&nbsp;by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing scheduled for Sunday for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.

“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that," China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.

The balloon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">spotted over Montana</a>, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it based on the balloon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-antony-blinken-china-b1b03193b7abeb7bbeca169bbc7c2c53">a large Chinese balloon</a>&nbsp;suspected of conducting surveillance on the U.S. military, by bringing it down once it is above the Atlantic Ocean where the remnants could potentially be recovered, according to four U.S. officials.

One of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation, said President Joe Biden had given the go-ahead. In a brief remark Saturday in response to a reporter’s question about the balloon, Biden said: “We’re going to take care of it.”

The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. In preparation for the operation, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, until at least 2:45 p.m. EST Saturday.

Meanwhile, people with binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it headed southeastward over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet (18,300 meters).

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation.

Many users made jokes about the balloon. Some said that since the U.S. had put restrictions on the technology that China is able to buy to weaken the Chinese tech industry, they couldn’t control the balloon.

Others called it the “wandering balloon" in a pun that refers to the newly released Chinese sci-fi film called “The Wandering Earth 2.” In a sign of censorship, the “wandering balloon” hashtag on Weibo was no longer searchable by Saturday evening.

Still others used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.

“The U.S. is hyping this as a national security threat posed by China to the U.S. This type of military threat, in actuality, we haven’t done this. And compared with the U.S. military threat normally aimed at us, can you say it’s just little? Their surveillance planes, their submarines, their naval ships are all coming near our borders,” Chinese military expert Chen Haoyang of the Taihe Institute said on Phoenix TV, one of the major national TV outlets.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research.

On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs again emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it based on the balloon.

Wang said China “has always strictly followed international law, we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments and manage differences.”

Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said China’s apology did not appear sincere.

“In the meantime, the relationship will not improve in the near future ... the gap is huge.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675547938768.png" alt="Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden, after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, becoming the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden: &quot;I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChineseSpyBalloon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChineseSpyBalloon</a> <a href="https://t.co/D5i5CRR8iy">https://t.co/D5i5CRR8iy</a> <a href="https://t.co/w2rr3SPIsF">pic.twitter.com/w2rr3SPIsF</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1621976063952707584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Biden said he wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday, but was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. At about 2:40 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than they had expected. Still, it was not immediately clear how long the recovery would take. The Navy is taking the lead, supported by the Coast Guard.“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over toward them.On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a ‘Top Gun’ movie today,” she said.U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday that the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.The balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">was spotted Thursday over Montana</a>, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, a senior defense official said. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing operation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.The public disclosure of the balloon on Thursday prompted the cancellation of a visit by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken</a>&nbsp;to Beijing for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it because of the balloon.In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.“When it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous,” he said. “One second it’s there like a tiny moon and the next second it’s gone.” Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.___WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Saturday downed a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America and became the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.An operation was underway in U.S. territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean to recover debris from the balloon, which had been flying at about 60,000 feet and was estimated to be about the size of three school buses.President Joe Biden had told reporters earlier Saturday that "we’re going to take care of it,” when asked about the balloon. The Federal Aviation Administration and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon descending toward the water. U.S. military jets were seen flying in the vicinity and ships were deployed in the water to mount the recovery operation.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The FAA has paused departures from and arrivals to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort.&mdash; The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1621944424916721666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Officials were aiming to time the operation so they could recover as much of the debris as possible before it sinks into the ocean. The Pentagon had previously estimated that any debris field would be substantial.The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the coast. In preparation for the operation, the FAA Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions.The Coast Guard advised mariners to immediately leave the area because of U.S. military operations “that present a significant hazard.”Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.The public disclosure of the balloon this week prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">the cancellation of a visit</a>&nbsp;by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing scheduled for Sunday for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that," China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.The balloon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">spotted over Montana</a>, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it based on the balloon.-----------WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-antony-blinken-china-b1b03193b7abeb7bbeca169bbc7c2c53">a large Chinese balloon</a>&nbsp;suspected of conducting surveillance on the U.S. military, by bringing it down once it is above the Atlantic Ocean where the remnants could potentially be recovered, according to four U.S. officials.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The FAA has paused departures from and arrivals to Wilmington (ILM), Myrtle Beach International (MYR) and Charleston International (CHS) airports to support the Department of Defense in a national security effort.&mdash; The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FAANews/status/1621944424916721666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>One of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation, said President Joe Biden had given the go-ahead. In a brief remark Saturday in response to a reporter’s question about the balloon, Biden said: “We’re going to take care of it.”The balloon was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. In preparation for the operation, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coastline, including the airports in Charleston and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, until at least 2:45 p.m. EST Saturday.Biden had been inclined to down the balloon over land when he was first briefed on it on Tuesday, but Pentagon officials advised against it, warning that the potential risk to people on the ground outweighed the assessment of potential Chinese intelligence gains.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We have had several reports across northwest MO of a large balloon visible on the horizon. It is now visible from our office in Pleasant Hill and the KC Metro. We have confirmed that it is not an NWS weather balloon. <a href="https://t.co/CKQWOw7God">pic.twitter.com/CKQWOw7God</a>&mdash; NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSKansasCity/status/1621562137717141505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The public disclosure of the balloon this week prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">the cancellation of a visit</a>&nbsp;by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Beijing scheduled for Sunday for talks aimed at reducing U.S.-China tensions. The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation.“In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that," China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday morning.China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.The balloon was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">spotted over Montana</a>, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.Meanwhile, people with binoculars and telephoto lenses tried to find the “spy balloon” in the sky as it headed southeastward over Kansas and Missouri at 60,000 feet (18,300 meters).The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation.Many users made jokes about the balloon. Some said that since the U.S. had put restrictions on the technology that China is able to buy to weaken the Chinese tech industry, they couldn’t control the balloon.Others called it the “wandering balloon" in a pun that refers to the newly released Chinese sci-fi film called “The Wandering Earth 2.” In a sign of censorship, the “wandering balloon” hashtag on Weibo was no longer searchable by Saturday evening.Still others used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leapt to use the news to mock the U.S.“The U.S. is hyping this as a national security threat posed by China to the U.S. This type of military threat, in actuality, we haven’t done this. And compared with the U.S. military threat normally aimed at us, can you say it’s just little? Their surveillance planes, their submarines, their naval ships are all coming near our borders,” Chinese military expert Chen Haoyang of the Taihe Institute said on Phoenix TV, one of the major national TV outlets.China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research.On Saturday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs again emphasized that the balloon's journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it based on the balloon.Wang said China “has always strictly followed international law, we do not accept any groundless speculation and hype. Faced with unexpected situations, both parties need to keep calm, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments and manage differences.”Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore, said China’s apology did not appear sincere.“In the meantime, the relationship will not improve in the near future ... the gap is huge.”

🎥 US military downs Chinese spy balloon on orders from Biden

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOSH FUNK Associated Press

A man who entered a crowded Target store in Nebraska armed with an AR-15-style weapon was shot by police less than 10 minutes after firing his first round, according to a timeline released Friday.

No one else was hurt, and the timeline made no mention of Joseph Jones firing directly at any of the customers or workers. Jones' uncle, Larry Derksen Jr., said his nephew had schizophrenia and that his mental illness left him isolated. Police offered no motive, but Derksen said he suspected his nephew wanted police to kill him.

It all started Tuesday morning when Jones, 32, pulled up to the Omaha store. He removed a cardboard shipping box from his vehicle and walked into the grocery entrance at 11:56 a.m. wearing a dark colored coat and hat, according to police.

Once inside, he walked through the pharmacy area, abandoning the shipping box. At 11:58 a.m., Jones pointed a rifle at a Target employee. He then aimed it at the air, firing one round, before walking toward the front of the store. There, he fired another two rounds before taking off his coat, and shooting at the self-checkout and a drink cooler.

That's when Douglas County officials got the first 911 call from one of the approximately 250 guests and workers inside the store, according to the timeline.

Police said Jones fired multiple rounds from inside the grocery store vestibule, briefly exiting and reentering the store. Then he started to walk through the store with the rifle.

Police said that the first officers on the scene included Officer Brian Vanderheiden, a 20-year veteran of the city's police force, along with a Nebraska State trooper, who entered at 12:05 p.m. and encountered Jones.

Vanderheiden and the trooper ordered him to drop the rifle more than 20 times.

Jones refused, saying three times, "Come on!" After Jones said "I'll kill you," Vanderheiden fired one round, striking and killing Jones.

Mental health experts say that most people with mental illness are not violent. They are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem.

"If he wanted to hurt anybody, he had time to. This was really, in my mind, suicide by cop," Derksen said. "I don't think there was any intention in his mind that he actually thought he was going to harm anybody at any given time even though his actions did traumatize people."

Police said that Jones obtained the weapon just four day earlier at a Cabela's sporting goods store.

Vanderheiden was immediately placed on paid administrative leave per department policy.

State law requires that a grand jury is convened when someone dies while being apprehended. And once the investigation is complete, the case will be presented to the jury, police said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675194770067.jpeg" alt="Omaha Police stage outside Target. (AP Photo)" />
 <figcaption>Omaha Police stage outside Target. (AP Photo)</figcaption>
 </figure>By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and JOSH FUNK Associated PressA man who entered a crowded Target store in Nebraska armed with an AR-15-style weapon was shot by police less than 10 minutes after firing his first round, according to a timeline released Friday.No one else was hurt, and the timeline made no mention of Joseph Jones firing directly at any of the customers or workers. Jones' uncle, Larry Derksen Jr., said his nephew had schizophrenia and that his mental illness left him isolated. Police offered no motive, but Derksen said he suspected his nephew wanted police to kill him.It all started Tuesday morning when Jones, 32, pulled up to the Omaha store. He removed a cardboard shipping box from his vehicle and walked into the grocery entrance at 11:56 a.m. wearing a dark colored coat and hat, according to police.Once inside, he walked through the pharmacy area, abandoning the shipping box. At 11:58 a.m., Jones pointed a rifle at a Target employee. He then aimed it at the air, firing one round, before walking toward the front of the store. There, he fired another two rounds before taking off his coat, and shooting at the self-checkout and a drink cooler.That's when Douglas County officials got the first 911 call from one of the approximately 250 guests and workers inside the store, according to the timeline.Police said Jones fired multiple rounds from inside the grocery store vestibule, briefly exiting and reentering the store. Then he started to walk through the store with the rifle.Police said that the first officers on the scene included Officer Brian Vanderheiden, a 20-year veteran of the city's police force, along with a Nebraska State trooper, who entered at 12:05 p.m. and encountered Jones.Vanderheiden and the trooper ordered him to drop the rifle more than 20 times.Jones refused, saying three times, "Come on!" After Jones said "I'll kill you," Vanderheiden fired one round, striking and killing Jones.Mental health experts say that most people with mental illness are not violent. They are far more likely to be victims of violent crime than perpetrators, and access to firearms is a big part of the problem."If he wanted to hurt anybody, he had time to. This was really, in my mind, suicide by cop," Derksen said. "I don't think there was any intention in his mind that he actually thought he was going to harm anybody at any given time even though his actions did traumatize people."Police said that Jones obtained the weapon just four day earlier at a Cabela's sporting goods store.Vanderheiden was immediately placed on paid administrative leave per department policy.State law requires that a grand jury is convened when someone dies while being apprehended. And once the investigation is complete, the case will be presented to the jury, police said.

Armed man shot by police inside Target didn't fire at people

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A United Airlines flight headed from Chicago to Las Vegas made an unplanned stop in Nebraska on Saturday after the pilot reported engine problems.

Mark Grant, a communications operator at the Lincoln Airport, said 326 passengers and crew members were aboard the Boeing 777 when it took off from O'Hare International Airport.

After the plane lost the use of one of its engines about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) west of Lincoln, the pilot turned around. Grant said the pilot landed the plane safely at the Lincoln Airport at 11:41 a.m.

United Airlines described what happened in a news release as a "technical issue" and said another plane was sent to Lincoln to pick up the passengers of Flight 1888 so they could finish their trip.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675546830643.png" alt="File Image Lincoln Airport" />
 <figcaption>File Image Lincoln Airport</figcaption>
 </figure>LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A United Airlines flight headed from Chicago to Las Vegas made an unplanned stop in Nebraska on Saturday after the pilot reported engine problems.Mark Grant, a communications operator at the Lincoln Airport, said 326 passengers and crew members were aboard the Boeing 777 when it took off from O'Hare International Airport.After the plane lost the use of one of its engines about 70 miles (112.65 kilometers) west of Lincoln, the pilot turned around. Grant said the pilot landed the plane safely at the Lincoln Airport at 11:41 a.m.United Airlines described what happened in a news release as a "technical issue" and said another plane was sent to Lincoln to pick up the passengers of Flight 1888 so they could finish their trip.

Engine problems force Vegas-bound flight to land in Nebraska

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Hours before sunrise, migrants at one of Mexico’s largest shelters wake up and go online, hoping to secure an appointment to try to seek asylum in the U.S. The daily ritual resembles a race for concert tickets when online sales begin for a major act, as about 100 people glide their thumbs over phone screens.

New appointments are available each day at 6 a.m., but migrants find themselves stymied by error messages from the U.S. government's CBPOne mobile app that's been overloaded since the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-mexico-texas-pandemics-c13c6c270e0b062ae11d2b30b71a861b">introduced it</a>&nbsp;Jan. 12.

Many can’t log in; others are able to enter their information and select a date, only to have the screen freeze at final confirmation. Some get a message saying they must be near a U.S. crossing, despite being in Mexico’s largest border city.

At Embajadores de Jesus in Tijuana, only two of more than 1,000 migrants got appointments in the first two weeks, says director Gustavo Banda.

“We're going to continue trying, but it's a failure for us,” Erlin Rodriguez of Honduras said after another fruitless run at an appointment for him, his wife and their two children one Sunday before dawn. “There's no hope.”

Mareni Montiel of Mexico was elated to select a date and time for her two children — then didn't get a confirmation code. “Now I'm back to zero,” said Montiel, 32, who has been waiting four months at the shelter, where the sound of roosters fill the crisp morning air at the end of a rough, dirt road.

CBPOne replaced an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-government-and-politics-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-8bc95c59ed20dfa63ccd6ac98abfdd60">opaque patchwork of exemptions</a>&nbsp;to a public health order known as Title 42 under which the U.S. government has denied migrants’ rights to claim asylum since March 2020. People who have come from other countries find themselves in Mexico waiting for an exemption or policy change — unless they try to cross illegally into the U.S.

If it succeeds, CBPOne could be used by asylum-seekers even if Title 42 is lifted as a safe, orderly alternative to illegal entry, which reached the highest level ever recorded in the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-mexico-el-paso-8d307f4d5617e6bf071b10d8e28151d7">in December.</a>&nbsp;It could also discourage large camps on Mexico's side of the border, where migrants cling to unrealistic hopes.

— Applications are available in English and Spanish only, languages many of the migrants don't speak. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said authorities failed to take "the most basic fact into account: the national language of Haiti is Haitian Creole.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans a Creole version in February; it has not announced other languages.

— Some migrants, particularly with darker skin, say the app is rejecting required photos, blocking or delaying applications. CBP says it is aware of some technical issues, especially when new appointments are made available, but that users’ phones may also contribute. It says a live photo is required for each login as a security measure.

The issue has hit Haitians hardest, said Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, director of The Sidewalk School, which assists migrants in Reynosa and Matamoros, across from Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Previously, about 80% of migrants admitted to seek asylum in the area were Haitian, Rangel-Samponaro said. On Friday, she counted 10 Black people among 270 admitted in Matamoros.

“We brought construction lights pointed at your face,” she said. “Those pictures were still not able to go through. ... They can't get past the picture part.”

— A requirement that migrants apply in northern and central Mexico doesn't always work. CBP notes the app won't work right if the locator function is switched off. It's also trying to determine if signals are bouncing off U.S. phone towers.

But not only is the app failing to recognize that some people are at the border, applicants outside the region have been able to circumvent the location requirement by using virtual private networks. The agency said it has found a fix for that and is updating the system.

— Some advocates are disappointed that there is no explicit special consideration for LGBTQ applicants. Migrants are asked if they have a physical or mental illness, disability, pregnancy, lack housing, face a threat of harm, or are under 21 years old or over 70.

Still, LGBTQ migrants are not disqualified. At Casa de Luz, a Tijuana shelter for about 50 LGBTQ migrants, four quickly got appointments. A transgender woman from El Salvador said she didn't check any boxes when asked about specific vulnerabilities.

The U.S. began blocking asylum-seekers under President Donald Trump on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19, though Title 42 is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-venezuela-mexico-spokane-violence-0eb316a474baed22f433359b0644320b">not applied uniformly</a>&nbsp;and many deemed vulnerable are exempted.

Starting in President Joe Biden’s first year in office until last week, CBP arranged exemptions through advocates, churches, attorneys and migrant shelters, without publicly identifying them or saying how many slots were available. The arrangement prompted allegations of favoritism and corruption. In December, CBP&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-mexico-us-customs-and-border-protection-63ae1f08f2af3661b2de1d590d750218">severed ties</a>&nbsp;with one group that was charging Russians.

For CBPOne to work, enough people must get appointments to discourage crossing the border illegally, said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat.

“If these appointments start dragging out to two or three or four months, it's going to be much harder to keep it going,” he said. “If people aren’t getting through, they won’t use the program.”

CBP, which schedules appointments up to two weeks out, declines to say how many people are getting in. But Enrique Lucero, director of migrant affairs for the city of Tijuana, said U.S. authorities are accepting 200 daily in San Diego, the largest border crossing. That's about the same as the previous system but well below the number of Ukrainians processed after Russia's invasion last year.

Josue Miranda, 30, has been staying at Embajadores de Jesus for five months and prefers the old system of working through advocacy groups. The shelter compiled an internal waiting list that moved slowly but allowed him to know where he stood. Banda, the shelter director, said 100 were getting selected every week.

Miranda packed his suitcases for him, his wife and their three children, believing his turn was imminent until the new online portal was introduced. Now, the Salvadoran migrant has no idea when, or if, his chance will come. Still, he plans to keep trying through CBPOne.

“The problem is that the system is saturated and it's chaos," he said after another morning of failed attempts.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1672938289244.png" alt="President Biden announced the online mobile app just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas last month-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>President Biden announced the online mobile app just days before a planned visit to El Paso, Texas last month-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Hours before sunrise, migrants at one of Mexico’s largest shelters wake up and go online, hoping to secure an appointment to try to seek asylum in the U.S. The daily ritual resembles a race for concert tickets when online sales begin for a major act, as about 100 people glide their thumbs over phone screens.New appointments are available each day at 6 a.m., but migrants find themselves stymied by error messages from the U.S. government's CBPOne mobile app that's been overloaded since the Biden administration&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-mexico-texas-pandemics-c13c6c270e0b062ae11d2b30b71a861b">introduced it</a>&nbsp;Jan. 12.Many can’t log in; others are able to enter their information and select a date, only to have the screen freeze at final confirmation. Some get a message saying they must be near a U.S. crossing, despite being in Mexico’s largest border city.At Embajadores de Jesus in Tijuana, only two of more than 1,000 migrants got appointments in the first two weeks, says director Gustavo Banda.“We're going to continue trying, but it's a failure for us,” Erlin Rodriguez of Honduras said after another fruitless run at an appointment for him, his wife and their two children one Sunday before dawn. “There's no hope.”Mareni Montiel of Mexico was elated to select a date and time for her two children — then didn't get a confirmation code. “Now I'm back to zero,” said Montiel, 32, who has been waiting four months at the shelter, where the sound of roosters fill the crisp morning air at the end of a rough, dirt road.CBPOne replaced an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-joe-biden-government-and-politics-immigration-coronavirus-pandemic-8bc95c59ed20dfa63ccd6ac98abfdd60">opaque patchwork of exemptions</a>&nbsp;to a public health order known as Title 42 under which the U.S. government has denied migrants’ rights to claim asylum since March 2020. People who have come from other countries find themselves in Mexico waiting for an exemption or policy change — unless they try to cross illegally into the U.S.If it succeeds, CBPOne could be used by asylum-seekers even if Title 42 is lifted as a safe, orderly alternative to illegal entry, which reached the highest level ever recorded in the U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-united-states-government-mexico-el-paso-8d307f4d5617e6bf071b10d8e28151d7">in December.</a>&nbsp;It could also discourage large camps on Mexico's side of the border, where migrants cling to unrealistic hopes.But a range of complaints have surfaced:— Applications are available in English and Spanish only, languages many of the migrants don't speak. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said authorities failed to take "the most basic fact into account: the national language of Haiti is Haitian Creole.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it plans a Creole version in February; it has not announced other languages.— Some migrants, particularly with darker skin, say the app is rejecting required photos, blocking or delaying applications. CBP says it is aware of some technical issues, especially when new appointments are made available, but that users’ phones may also contribute. It says a live photo is required for each login as a security measure.The issue has hit Haitians hardest, said Felicia Rangel-Samponaro, director of The Sidewalk School, which assists migrants in Reynosa and Matamoros, across from Texas' Rio Grande Valley. Previously, about 80% of migrants admitted to seek asylum in the area were Haitian, Rangel-Samponaro said. On Friday, she counted 10 Black people among 270 admitted in Matamoros.“We brought construction lights pointed at your face,” she said. “Those pictures were still not able to go through. ... They can't get past the picture part.”— A requirement that migrants apply in northern and central Mexico doesn't always work. CBP notes the app won't work right if the locator function is switched off. It's also trying to determine if signals are bouncing off U.S. phone towers.But not only is the app failing to recognize that some people are at the border, applicants outside the region have been able to circumvent the location requirement by using virtual private networks. The agency said it has found a fix for that and is updating the system.— Some advocates are disappointed that there is no explicit special consideration for LGBTQ applicants. Migrants are asked if they have a physical or mental illness, disability, pregnancy, lack housing, face a threat of harm, or are under 21 years old or over 70.Still, LGBTQ migrants are not disqualified. At Casa de Luz, a Tijuana shelter for about 50 LGBTQ migrants, four quickly got appointments. A transgender woman from El Salvador said she didn't check any boxes when asked about specific vulnerabilities.The U.S. began blocking asylum-seekers under President Donald Trump on the grounds of preventing the spread of COVID-19, though Title 42 is&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-venezuela-mexico-spokane-violence-0eb316a474baed22f433359b0644320b">not applied uniformly</a>&nbsp;and many deemed vulnerable are exempted.Starting in President Joe Biden’s first year in office until last week, CBP arranged exemptions through advocates, churches, attorneys and migrant shelters, without publicly identifying them or saying how many slots were available. The arrangement prompted allegations of favoritism and corruption. In December, CBP&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-mexico-us-customs-and-border-protection-63ae1f08f2af3661b2de1d590d750218">severed ties</a>&nbsp;with one group that was charging Russians.For CBPOne to work, enough people must get appointments to discourage crossing the border illegally, said Leon Fresco, an immigration attorney and former aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat.“If these appointments start dragging out to two or three or four months, it's going to be much harder to keep it going,” he said. “If people aren’t getting through, they won’t use the program.”CBP, which schedules appointments up to two weeks out, declines to say how many people are getting in. But Enrique Lucero, director of migrant affairs for the city of Tijuana, said U.S. authorities are accepting 200 daily in San Diego, the largest border crossing. That's about the same as the previous system but well below the number of Ukrainians processed after Russia's invasion last year.Josue Miranda, 30, has been staying at Embajadores de Jesus for five months and prefers the old system of working through advocacy groups. The shelter compiled an internal waiting list that moved slowly but allowed him to know where he stood. Banda, the shelter director, said 100 were getting selected every week.Miranda packed his suitcases for him, his wife and their three children, believing his turn was imminent until the new online portal was introduced. Now, the Salvadoran migrant has no idea when, or if, his chance will come. Still, he plans to keep trying through CBPOne.“The problem is that the system is saturated and it's chaos," he said after another morning of failed attempts.

Online system to seek asylum in US is overwhelmed

WASHINGTON (AP) — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.

The cancelation came despite China’s claim that the balloon was a weather research “airship” that had blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — and China's contention that the balloon, about the size of two school buses, was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The balloon was detected earlier over sensitive military sites in Montana but had moved eastward over the heartland of the central United States by midday and was expected to remain in U.S. airspace for several days, officials said.

The development marked a new blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years over numerous issues. Still, U.S. officials maintained that diplomatic channels remain open and that Blinken was willing to travel to China at “an appropriate time.”

President Joe Biden declined to comment on the matter when questioned at an economic event. Two 2024 reelection challengers, former President Donald Trump, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, said the U.S. should immediately shoot down the balloon.

Discovery of the balloon was announced by Pentagon officials who said one of the places it was spotted was over the state of Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.

A senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot it down if ordered. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against that, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough to put people at risk.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, refused to say on Friday whether there was any new consideration of shooting the balloon down.

Ryder said it was at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, was maneuverable and had changed course. He said it currently was posing no threat.

A number of GOP lawmakers have criticized the administration for not taking firmer action against China. And a decision for Blinken to proceed with his trip could have made Biden even more susceptible to their complaints at a time he’s starting to deal with the new Republican-led U.S. House.

Blinken had been prepared as late as Thursday to travel to Beijing this weekend, but the administration began to reconsider the trip following the detection of the balloon on Wednesday, even before its presence was made public, one official said.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the administration had “noted” China's expression of regret but concluded that the seriousness of the violation of U.S. airspace, sovereignty and international law was such that Blinken’s trip could not go forward as planned.

Weather experts said China's claim that the balloon had gone off course was not unfeasible. China’s account of wind patterns known as the Westerlies carrying a balloon to the western United States was “absolutely possible - not possible, likely,” said Dan Jaffe, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Washington.

Still officials called the presence of the balloon “unacceptable” and one said that message had been delivered by Blinken to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi on Friday.

However, the official also said that Blinken had told the Chinese he would be prepared to travel to China “at the earliest opportunity when conditions allow.”

Blinken’s long-anticipated meetings with senior Chinese officials had been seen in both countries as a possible way to find some areas of common ground at a time of major disagreements over Taiwan, human rights, China’s claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade policy and climate change.

Although the trip, which was agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Indonesia, had not been formally announced, officials in both Beijing and Washington had spoken in recent days about Blinken’s imminent arrival for meetings on Sunday and Monday.

China, which angrily denounces surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory and once forced down an American spy plane and held its crew captive on Hainan Island, was relatively conciliatory in its response to the U.S. complaints.

In a statement that approached an apology, the Chinese foreign ministry said the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research. It said said the airship had limited “self-steering” capabilities and had “deviated far from its planned course” because of winds.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure,” the statement said, citing a legal term used to refer to events beyond one’s control.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars. Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing U..S.-China tensions.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/PentagonPresSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PentagonPresSec</a>: &quot;We are aware of the PRC&#39;s statement. However, the fact is, we know that it&#39;s a surveillance balloon. I&#39;m not going to be able to be more specific than that. We do know that the balloon has violated U.S. airspace and international law, which is unacceptable.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/cZXNY4qUaN">pic.twitter.com/cZXNY4qUaN</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1621570719950700546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The cancelation came despite China’s claim that the balloon was a weather research “airship” that had blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — and China's contention that the balloon, about the size of two school buses, was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">We have had several reports across northwest MO of a large balloon visible on the horizon. It is now visible from our office in Pleasant Hill and the KC Metro. We have confirmed that it is not an NWS weather balloon. <a href="https://t.co/CKQWOw7God">pic.twitter.com/CKQWOw7God</a>&mdash; NWS Kansas City (@NWSKansasCity) <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSKansasCity/status/1621562137717141505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I can confirm the Chinese spy ballon is over NE KS. My staff is in contact with law enforcement officials. I condemn any attempts the Chinese make to spy on Americans. President Biden must protect the sovereignty of the U.S. whether it’s our airspace or the southern border.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1621572987802599426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The balloon was detected earlier over sensitive military sites in Montana but had moved eastward over the heartland of the central United States by midday and was expected to remain in U.S. airspace for several days, officials said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Photos taken by coworker, Paul Holzwarth. <a href="https://t.co/Ita7e32xWp">pic.twitter.com/Ita7e32xWp</a>&mdash; John Martin (@MartinInMontana) <a href="https://twitter.com/MartinInMontana/status/1621283053661483008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The development marked a new blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years over numerous issues. Still, U.S. officials maintained that diplomatic channels remain open and that Blinken was willing to travel to China at “an appropriate time.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675438997135.png" alt="-During a Friday morning press conference on jobs, President Biden refused to answer questions about the spy balloon -White House photo" />
 <figcaption>-During a Friday morning press conference on jobs, President Biden refused to answer questions about the spy balloon -White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>President Joe Biden declined to comment on the matter when questioned at an economic event. Two 2024 reelection challengers, former President Donald Trump, and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, said the U.S. should immediately shoot down the balloon.Discovery of the balloon was announced by Pentagon officials who said one of the places it was spotted was over the state of Montana, which is home to one of America’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base.A senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot it down if ordered. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against that, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough to put people at risk.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/PentagonPresSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PentagonPresSec</a>: &quot;It is big enough that, again, in reviewing our approach, we do recognize that any potential debris field would be significant and potentially cause civilian injuries or deaths or significant property damage.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/0DXvmYsDXQ">pic.twitter.com/0DXvmYsDXQ</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1621574455049822213?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, refused to say on Friday whether there was any new consideration of shooting the balloon down.Ryder said it was at an altitude of about 60,000 feet, was maneuverable and had changed course. He said it currently was posing no threat.A number of GOP lawmakers have criticized the administration for not taking firmer action against China. And a decision for Blinken to proceed with his trip could have made Biden even more susceptible to their complaints at a time he’s starting to deal with the new Republican-led U.S. House.Blinken had been prepared as late as Thursday to travel to Beijing this weekend, but the administration began to reconsider the trip following the detection of the balloon on Wednesday, even before its presence was made public, one official said.The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the administration had “noted” China's expression of regret but concluded that the seriousness of the violation of U.S. airspace, sovereignty and international law was such that Blinken’s trip could not go forward as planned.Weather experts said China's claim that the balloon had gone off course was not unfeasible. China’s account of wind patterns known as the Westerlies carrying a balloon to the western United States was “absolutely possible - not possible, likely,” said Dan Jaffe, a professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Washington.Still officials called the presence of the balloon “unacceptable” and one said that message had been delivered by Blinken to Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi on Friday.However, the official also said that Blinken had told the Chinese he would be prepared to travel to China “at the earliest opportunity when conditions allow.”Blinken’s long-anticipated meetings with senior Chinese officials had been seen in both countries as a possible way to find some areas of common ground at a time of major disagreements over Taiwan, human rights, China’s claims in the South China Sea, North Korea, Russia’s war in Ukraine, trade policy and climate change.Although the trip, which was agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in Indonesia, had not been formally announced, officials in both Beijing and Washington had spoken in recent days about Blinken’s imminent arrival for meetings on Sunday and Monday.China, which angrily denounces surveillance attempts by the U.S. and others over areas it considers to be its territory and once forced down an American spy plane and held its crew captive on Hainan Island, was relatively conciliatory in its response to the U.S. complaints.In a statement that approached an apology, the Chinese foreign ministry said the balloon was a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research. It said said the airship had limited “self-steering” capabilities and had “deviated far from its planned course” because of winds.“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure,” the statement said, citing a legal term used to refer to events beyond one’s control.

🎥Chinese spy balloon reported over NE Kansas

With assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol Tech Crimes Unit have arrested a Lincoln man after a child exploitation investigation.

Thursday, investigators performed a search warrant at the residence of 1221 South 24th&nbsp;Street in Lincoln. Investigators located numerous items of child pornography during the search.

The resident, Audronis L. Dapsys, 77, was arrested for possession of child pornography. Dapsys was lodged in Lancaster County Jail. The investigation remains ongoing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675423771285.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By NEBRASKA STATE PATROLWith assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), investigators with the Nebraska State Patrol Tech Crimes Unit have arrested a Lincoln man after a child exploitation investigation.Thursday, investigators performed a search warrant at the residence of 1221 South 24th&nbsp;Street in Lincoln. Investigators located numerous items of child pornography during the search.The resident, Audronis L. Dapsys, 77, was arrested for possession of child pornography. Dapsys was lodged in Lancaster County Jail. The investigation remains ongoing.

Lincoln man, 77, arrested in child exploitation investigation

WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of agonizing, the U.S has agreed to send longer-range bombs to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, U.S. officials said Thursday, confirming that the new weapons will have roughly double the range of any other offensive weapon provided by America.

The U.S. will provide ground-launched small diameter bombs as part of a $2.17 billion aid package it is expected to announce Friday, several U.S. officials said. The package also for the first time includes equipment to connect all the different air defense systems Western allies have rushed to the battlefield and integrate them into Ukraine's own air defenses, to help it better defend against Russia's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-politics-government-european-union-30925e2a28638d1fb971b64d10acd6f8">missile attacks.</a>

For months, U.S. officials have hesitated to send longer-range systems to Ukraine out of concern that they would be used to target inside Russia, escalating the conflict and drawing the U.S. deeper in. The longer-range bombs are the latest advanced system, such as Abrams tanks and the Patriot missile defense system, that the U.S. has eventually agreed to provide Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-military-technology-germany-7b63726a3935da3f03424e98e52a85b2">after initially saying no.</a>&nbsp;U.S. officials, though, have continued to reject Ukraine’s requests for fighter jets.

Ukrainian leaders have urgently pressed for longer-range munitions, and on Thursday officials said the U.S. will send an undisclosed number of the ground-launched, small diameter bombs, which have a range of about 95 miles (150 kilometers). The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the aid package not yet made public.

To date, the longest-range missile provided by the U.S. is about 50 miles (80 kilometers). The funding in the aid package is for longer-term purchases, so it wasn't clear Thursday how long it will take to get the bomb to the battlefield in Ukraine.

Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said Thursday the country is prepared to offer guarantees to its Western partners that their weapons won’t be used to strike inside Russian territory, adding that Kyiv needs weapons with a range of up to 300 kilometers ( about 185 miles) to expel the Russian forces.

“If we could strike at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, the Russian army wouldn’t be able to mount a defense and will have to withdraw,” Reznikov said at a meeting with EU officials. “Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory. We have enough targets in the occupied areas of Ukraine, and we’re prepared to coordinate on (these) targets with our partners."

The U.S. aid package includes $425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and $1.75 billion in new funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.

The assistance initiative, which will pay for the longer-range bombs and the air defense system integration, also funds two HAWK air defense systems, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, and counter-drone systems.

Since Russia's invasion last February, Western allies have pledged a myriad of air defense systems to Ukraine to bolster its own Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, and the latest aid package aims to provide the capability to integrate them all, which could improve Ukraine's ability to protect itself against incoming Russian attacks.

The U.S. has pledged medium- to long-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and truck-launched short-range Avenger air defense systems; the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. are sending Patriot missile defense systems; Germany is sending medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems; and Spain is sending Aspide anti-aircraft air defense systems.

The addition of longer-range bombs to the latest aid package was first reported by Reuters.

Ukraine is still seeking F-16 fighter jets, which U.S. President Joe Biden has opposed sending since the beginning of the war. Asked Monday if his administration was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden responded, “No.”

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian defense minister was asked if Biden’s ’’no” to F-16s was the final word.

“All types of help first passed through the ‘no’ stage,” Reznikov said. “Which only means ‘no’ at today’s given moment. The second stage is, ‘Let’s talk and study technical possibilities.’ The third stage is, ‘Let’s get your personnel trained.’ And the fourth stage is the transfer (of equipment).”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/12/1671662635298.png" alt="-The U.S. aid package includes $425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and $1.75 billion in new funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.-White House photo" />
 <figcaption>-The U.S. aid package includes $425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and $1.75 billion in new funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.-White House photo</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — After months of agonizing, the U.S has agreed to send longer-range bombs to Ukraine as it prepares to launch a spring offensive to retake territory Russia captured last year, U.S. officials said Thursday, confirming that the new weapons will have roughly double the range of any other offensive weapon provided by America.The U.S. will provide ground-launched small diameter bombs as part of a $2.17 billion aid package it is expected to announce Friday, several U.S. officials said. The package also for the first time includes equipment to connect all the different air defense systems Western allies have rushed to the battlefield and integrate them into Ukraine's own air defenses, to help it better defend against Russia's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-politics-government-european-union-30925e2a28638d1fb971b64d10acd6f8">missile attacks.</a>For months, U.S. officials have hesitated to send longer-range systems to Ukraine out of concern that they would be used to target inside Russia, escalating the conflict and drawing the U.S. deeper in. The longer-range bombs are the latest advanced system, such as Abrams tanks and the Patriot missile defense system, that the U.S. has eventually agreed to provide Ukraine&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-military-technology-germany-7b63726a3935da3f03424e98e52a85b2">after initially saying no.</a>&nbsp;U.S. officials, though, have continued to reject Ukraine’s requests for fighter jets.Ukrainian leaders have urgently pressed for longer-range munitions, and on Thursday officials said the U.S. will send an undisclosed number of the ground-launched, small diameter bombs, which have a range of about 95 miles (150 kilometers). The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the aid package not yet made public.To date, the longest-range missile provided by the U.S. is about 50 miles (80 kilometers). The funding in the aid package is for longer-term purchases, so it wasn't clear Thursday how long it will take to get the bomb to the battlefield in Ukraine.Ukraine's defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said Thursday the country is prepared to offer guarantees to its Western partners that their weapons won’t be used to strike inside Russian territory, adding that Kyiv needs weapons with a range of up to 300 kilometers ( about 185 miles) to expel the Russian forces.“If we could strike at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, the Russian army wouldn’t be able to mount a defense and will have to withdraw,” Reznikov said at a meeting with EU officials. “Ukraine is ready to provide any guarantees that your weapons will not be involved in attacks on the Russian territory. We have enough targets in the occupied areas of Ukraine, and we’re prepared to coordinate on (these) targets with our partners."The U.S. aid package includes $425 million in ammunition and support equipment that will be pulled from existing Pentagon stockpiles and $1.75 billion in new funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to purchase new weapons from industry.The assistance initiative, which will pay for the longer-range bombs and the air defense system integration, also funds two HAWK air defense systems, anti-aircraft guns and ammunition, and counter-drone systems.Since Russia's invasion last February, Western allies have pledged a myriad of air defense systems to Ukraine to bolster its own Soviet-made S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, and the latest aid package aims to provide the capability to integrate them all, which could improve Ukraine's ability to protect itself against incoming Russian attacks.The U.S. has pledged medium- to long-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS, and truck-launched short-range Avenger air defense systems; the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. are sending Patriot missile defense systems; Germany is sending medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems; and Spain is sending Aspide anti-aircraft air defense systems.The addition of longer-range bombs to the latest aid package was first reported by Reuters.Ukraine is still seeking F-16 fighter jets, which U.S. President Joe Biden has opposed sending since the beginning of the war. Asked Monday if his administration was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Biden responded, “No.”On Tuesday, the Ukrainian defense minister was asked if Biden’s ’’no” to F-16s was the final word.“All types of help first passed through the ‘no’ stage,” Reznikov said. “Which only means ‘no’ at today’s given moment. The second stage is, ‘Let’s talk and study technical possibilities.’ The third stage is, ‘Let’s get your personnel trained.’ And the fourth stage is the transfer (of equipment).”—-

US to send Ukraine longer-range bombs in new $2 billion package

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday that a balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">spotted over American airspace</a>&nbsp;was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.

The Pentagon decided not to shoot down the balloon, which was potentially flying over sensitive sites, because of concerns of hurting people on the ground.

The news came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to make his first trip to Beijing this weekend. The visit has not been formally announced, and it was not immediately clear if the balloon's discovery would affect his travel plans. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information on the trip.

Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, on a mission to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between the countries amid trade disputes and concerns about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

In a statement late Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the balloon a was civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research. The ministry said the airship has limited steering capabilities and “deviated far from its planned course” because of winds.

“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure,” the statement said, citing a legal term used to refer to events beyond one's control.

On Thursday, a senior American defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” that the object spotted over U.S. airspace in recent days was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and that it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

The defense official said the U.S. has assessed that the balloon has “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence that couldn’t be obtained by other technologies, such as spy satellites.

It was not clear what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t brought down.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday that similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years and the government has taken steps to ensure no sensitive information was stolen.

He said the balloon was traveling well above the height commercial aircraft fly at and didn't present a threat to people on the ground.

Biden was briefed and asked the military to present options, according to a senior administration official, who was also not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive information. The senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised against taking “kinetic action” because of risks to the safety of people on the ground. Biden accepted that recommendation.

Even though the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.

The defense official would not specify the size of the balloon but said commercial pilots could spot it from their cockpits.

The balloon was first reported by NBC News.

A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by The Billings Gazette. It could be seen drifting in and out of clouds and had what appeared to be a solar array hanging from the bottom, said Gazette photographer Larry Mayer.

The balloon's appearance adds to national security concerns among American lawmakers over China's influence in the U.S., ranging from the prevalence of the hugely popular smartphone app TikTok to purchases of American farmland.

“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed,” Republican Party House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted.

Tensions with China are particularly high on numerous issues, ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the clampdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on that list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to rein in North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile program and ongoing disputes over trade and technology.

On Tuesday, Taiwan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-politics-government-china-3aa7802d440440aaf4544aca7f5463d2">scrambled fighter jets</a>, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.

Twenty of those aircraft crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which separated during a civil war in 1949.

Beijing has also increased preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan, which has stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it is looking into reports that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying in U.S. airspace and urged calm, adding that it has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country."

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also said she had no information about whether a trip to China by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken planned for next week will proceed as scheduled.

At a daily briefing, Mao said that politicians and the public should withhold judgment “before we have a clear understanding of the facts” about the spy balloon reports.

Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, arriving amid efforts to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between Beijing and Washington over trade, Taiwan, human rights and China’s claims in the South China Sea.

“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international laws, and China has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country. As for the balloon, as I’ve mentioned just now, we are looking into and verifying the situation and hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully," Mao said.

“As for Blinken’s visit to China, I have no information," she said.

A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” that the object was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.

One of the places the balloon was spotted was over the state of Montana, which is home to one of America's three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the balloon is “currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”

Ryder said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years and the government has taken steps to ensure no sensitive information was stolen.

President Biden was briefed and asked the military to present options, according to a senior administration official, who was also not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive information.

The defense official said the U.S. has “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness of the matter.

Blinken's visit was expected to start this Sunday in an effort to try to find common ground on issues from trade policy to climate change. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.

The senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.

The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the U.S. has assessed that it has “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence it couldn’t obtain by other technologies, such as spy satellites.

The official would not specify the size of the balloon but said commercial pilots could spot it from their cockpits. All air traffic was halted at Montana’s Billings Logan International Airport from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, as the military provided options to the White House.

A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by The Billings Gazette. The balloon could be seen drifting in and out of clouds and had what appeared to be a solar array hanging from the bottom, said Gazette photographer Larry Mayer.

The balloon's appearance adds to national security concerns among lawmakers over China's influence in the U.S., ranging from the prevalence of the hugely popular smartphone app TikTok to purchases of American farmland.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/10/1666293855614.png" alt="Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to track the balloon-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense" />
 <figcaption>Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to track the balloon-photo U.S. Dept. of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday that a balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">spotted over American airspace</a>&nbsp;was used for weather research and was blown off course, despite U.S. suspicion it was spying. The discovery further strained already tense relations between Beijing and Washington.The Pentagon decided not to shoot down the balloon, which was potentially flying over sensitive sites, because of concerns of hurting people on the ground.The news came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected to make his first trip to Beijing this weekend. The visit has not been formally announced, and it was not immediately clear if the balloon's discovery would affect his travel plans. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had no information on the trip.Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, on a mission to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between the countries amid trade disputes and concerns about Beijing’s increasingly aggressive stance toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea.In a statement late Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the balloon a was civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research. The ministry said the airship has limited steering capabilities and “deviated far from its planned course” because of winds.“The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into U.S. airspace due to force majeure,” the statement said, citing a legal term used to refer to events beyond one's control.On Thursday, a senior American defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” that the object spotted over U.S. airspace in recent days was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and that it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.The defense official said the U.S. has assessed that the balloon has “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence that couldn’t be obtained by other technologies, such as spy satellites.It was not clear what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t brought down.Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said Thursday that similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years and the government has taken steps to ensure no sensitive information was stolen.He said the balloon was traveling well above the height commercial aircraft fly at and didn't present a threat to people on the ground.Biden was briefed and asked the military to present options, according to a senior administration official, who was also not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive information. The senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised against taking “kinetic action” because of risks to the safety of people on the ground. Biden accepted that recommendation.Even though the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.The defense official would not specify the size of the balloon but said commercial pilots could spot it from their cockpits.The balloon was first reported by NBC News.A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by The Billings Gazette. It could be seen drifting in and out of clouds and had what appeared to be a solar array hanging from the bottom, said Gazette photographer Larry Mayer.The balloon's appearance adds to national security concerns among American lawmakers over China's influence in the U.S., ranging from the prevalence of the hugely popular smartphone app TikTok to purchases of American farmland.“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed,” Republican Party House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted.Tensions with China are particularly high on numerous issues, ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the clampdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on that list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to rein in North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile program and ongoing disputes over trade and technology.On Tuesday, Taiwan&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-politics-government-china-3aa7802d440440aaf4544aca7f5463d2">scrambled fighter jets</a>, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.Twenty of those aircraft crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which separated during a civil war in 1949.Beijing has also increased preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan, which has stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.----------BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it is looking into reports that a Chinese spy balloon has been flying in U.S. airspace and urged calm, adding that it has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country."Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also said she had no information about whether a trip to China by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken planned for next week will proceed as scheduled.At a daily briefing, Mao said that politicians and the public should withhold judgment “before we have a clear understanding of the facts” about the spy balloon reports.Blinken would be the highest-ranking member of President Joe Biden’s administration to visit China, arriving amid efforts to mitigate a sharp downturn in relations between Beijing and Washington over trade, Taiwan, human rights and China’s claims in the South China Sea.“China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international laws, and China has no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country. As for the balloon, as I’ve mentioned just now, we are looking into and verifying the situation and hope that both sides can handle this together calmly and carefully," Mao said.“As for Blinken’s visit to China, I have no information," she said.A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” that the object was a Chinese high-altitude balloon and was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.One of the places the balloon was spotted was over the state of Montana, which is home to one of America's three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the balloon is “currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”Ryder said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years and the government has taken steps to ensure no sensitive information was stolen.President Biden was briefed and asked the military to present options, according to a senior administration official, who was also not authorized to publicly discuss sensitive information.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised against taking “kinetic action” because of risks to the safety of people on the ground. Biden accepted that recommendation.The defense official said the U.S. has “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness of the matter.Blinken's visit was expected to start this Sunday in an effort to try to find common ground on issues from trade policy to climate change. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.The senior defense official said the U.S. prepared fighter jets, including F-22s, to shoot down the balloon if ordered. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.It was not clear what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t brought down.The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the U.S. has assessed that it has “limited” value in terms of providing intelligence it couldn’t obtain by other technologies, such as spy satellites.The official would not specify the size of the balloon but said commercial pilots could spot it from their cockpits. All air traffic was halted at Montana’s Billings Logan International Airport from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, as the military provided options to the White House.A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by The Billings Gazette. The balloon could be seen drifting in and out of clouds and had what appeared to be a solar array hanging from the bottom, said Gazette photographer Larry Mayer.The balloon's appearance adds to national security concerns among lawmakers over China's influence in the U.S., ranging from the prevalence of the hugely popular smartphone app TikTok to purchases of American farmland.“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed,” Republican Party House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tweeted.Tensions with China are particularly high on numerous issues, ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the clampdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on that list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to rein in North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile program and ongoing disputes over trade and technology.On Tuesday, Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.Twenty of those aircraft crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which separated during a civil war in 1949.Beijing has also increased preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan, which has stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.The surveillance balloon was first reported by NBC News.From an office window in Billings, Montana, Chase Doak said he saw a “big white circle in the sky” that he said was too small to be the moon.“I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO,” Doak said. “So I wanted to make sure I documented it and took as many photos as I could.”--------------WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is tracking a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been spotted over U.S. airspace for a couple days, but the Pentagon decided not to shoot it down due to risks of harm for people on the ground, officials said Thursday. The discovery of the balloon puts a further strain on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-beijing-north-korea-china-9f9432c118f297fc27a9be01c460316e">U.S.-China relations</a>&nbsp;at a time of heightened tensions.A senior defense official told Pentagon reporters that the U.S. has “very high confidence” it is a Chinese high-altitude balloon and it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information. One of the places the balloon was spotted was Montana, which is home to one of the nation’s three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information.Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, provided a brief statement on the issue, saying the government continues to track the balloon. He said it is “currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”He said similar balloon activity has been seen in the past several years. He added that the U.S. took steps to ensure it did not collect sensitive information.The defense official said the U.S. has “engaged” Chinese officials through multiple channels and communicated the seriousness of the matter.The incident comes as Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to make his first trip to Beijing, expected this weekend, to try to find some common ground. Although the trip has not been formally announced, both Beijing and Washington have been talking about his imminent arrival.It was not immediately clear if the discovery of the balloon would impact Blinken’s travel plans.The senior defense official said the U.S. did get fighter jets, including F-22s, ready to shoot down the balloon if ordered to by the White House. The Pentagon ultimately recommended against it, noting that even as the balloon was over a sparsely populated area of Montana, its size would create a debris field large enough that it could have put people at risk.It was not clear what the military was doing to prevent it from collecting sensitive information or what will happen with the balloon if it isn’t shot down.The defense official said the spy balloon was trying to fly over the Montana missile fields, but the U.S. has assessed that the balloon has “limited” value in terms of providing China intelligence it couldn’t already collect by other means, such through spy satellites.The official would not specify the size of the balloon, but said it was large enough that despite its high altitude, commercial pilots could see it. All air traffic was halted at Montana's Billings Logan International Airport from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, as the military provided options to the White House. A photograph of a large white balloon lingering over the area was captured by the Billings Gazette, but the Pentagon would not confirm if that was the surveillance balloon.The defense official said what concerned them about this launch was the altitude the balloon was flying at and the length of time it lingered over a location, without providing specifics.Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said he was briefed Wednesday about the situation after the Montana National Guard was notified of an ongoing military operation taking place in Montana airspace, according to a statement from the Republican governor and spokesperson Brooke Stroyke.“From the spy balloon to the Chinese Communist Party spying on Americans through TikTok to CCP-linked companies buying American farmland, I’m deeply troubled by the constant stream of alarming developments for our national security,” Gianforte said in a statement.Tensions with China are particularly high on numerous issues, ranging from Taiwan and the South China Sea to human rights in China’s western Xinjiang region and the clampdown on democracy activists in Hong Kong. Not least on that list of irritants are China’s tacit support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its refusal to rein in North Korea’s expanding ballistic missile program and ongoing disputes over trade and technology.On Tuesday,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-politics-government-china-3aa7802d440440aaf4544aca7f5463d2">Taiwan scrambled fighter jets,</a>&nbsp;put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations by 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing’s strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.Twenty of those aircraft crossed the central line in the Taiwan Strait that has long been an unofficial buffer zone between the two sides, which separated during a civil war in 1949.Beijing has also increased preparations for a potential blockade or military action against Taiwan, which has stirred increasing concern among military leaders, diplomats and elected officials in the U.S., Taiwan’s key ally.The surveillance balloon was first reported by NBC News.Some Montana residents reported seeing an unusual object in the sky during the airport shutdown Wednesday, but it’s not clear that what they were seeing was the balloon.From an office window in Billings, Chase Doak said he saw a “big white circle in the sky” that he said was too small to be the moon.He took some photos, then ran home to get a camera with a stronger lens and took more photos and video. He could see it for about 45 minutes and it appeared stationary, but Doak said the video suggested it was slowly moving.“I thought maybe it was a legitimate UFO,” he said. “So I wanted to make sure I documented it and took as many photos as I could."---------