National

(NEW YORK) — Government officials closely tracked a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it traveled across the U.S. for several days.

The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, traveled at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said. It was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday afternoon.

Here is a timeline of where the balloon was spotted in the U.S.:

Jan. 28
The balloon entered U.S. airspace on Jan. 28 north of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, according to a senior military official.

Jan. 30
It then entered Canadian airspace over the Northwest Territories on Jan. 30, the senior military official said.

Jan. 31
The balloon then traveled south and reentered U.S. airspace over northern Idaho on Jan. 31, according to a senior military official.

Feb. 1
4:21 p.m. ET: One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.

6:46 p.m. ET: More than two hours later, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.

From Montana, the balloon traveled southeast through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.

Feb. 3
9:41 a.m. ET: Social media sightings popped up as the balloon moved southeastwardly across the continental U.S. ABC News confirmed another sighting of the balloon around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.

11 a.m. ET: Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed.

Between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET: Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri.

About 30 minutes later: It was seen farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation.

Feb. 4
ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon in North Carolina by Saturday morning.

8:40 a.m. ET: The balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville, North Carolina.

10:22 a.m. ET: The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte.

11:15 a.m. ET: The balloon was captured over South Carolina, in Lancaster, as it continued moving southeastward toward the coast.

1:30 p.m. ET: The balloon was seen over the coastal city of Myrtle, along with U.S. fighter aircraft close by.

2:39 p.m. ET: Its voyage came to an end. Footage captured the balloon being shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.

The balloon was ultimately downed in U.S. airspace over U.S. territorial waters by fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

The balloon was struck by an F-22 firing a missile roughly six nautical miles off the South Carolina coast, according to a senior U.S. defense official.

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Layla Ferris, Cheryl Gendron, Julia Jacobo, Kerem Inal, Chris Looft, Josh Margolin and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Government officials closely tracked a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it traveled across the U.S. for several days.

The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, traveled at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said.

According to U.S. officials, the balloon traveled west of Alaska, south over the Aleutian Islands, over water into southwest Canada and then over Montana.

Social media sightings popped up as the balloon moved southeastwardly across the continental U.S. — before it was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean Saturday afternoon.

One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was around 4:21 p.m. ET Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.

More than two hours later, around 6:46 p.m. ET, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.

From Montana, the balloon traveled southeast through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.

ABC News has not confirmed any other sightings of the balloon until around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.

Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed around 11 a.m. ET.

Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri, between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET.

About 30 minutes later, it was shot farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation. ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon over the state by Saturday morning.

Around 8:40 a.m. ET, the balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville.

The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte around 10:22 a.m. ET.

By about 11:15 a.m. ET, the balloon was captured over South Carolina, in Lancaster, as it continued to move southeastwardly toward the coast.

Around 1:30 p.m. ET, the balloon was seen over the coastal city of Myrtle, along with U.S. fighter aircraft close by.

Its voyage soon came to an end. Footage captured the balloon being shot down shortly after 2:40 p.m. ET. off the coast of South Carolina.

The balloon was ultimately downed in U.S. airspace over U.S. territorial waters by fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command, according to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Video of what appears the balloon was shot down or something happened to it. Appears ruptured. #ChineseSpyBalloon #Balloon #balloonshotdown pic.twitter.com/ugQsGNY4Bc

— Mike G (@SouthCaroliner) February 4, 2023

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Layla Ferris, Cheryl Gendron, Kerem Inal, Chris Looft, Josh Margolin and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — The Department of Justice will help conduct a review of the Memphis Police Department following the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, city officials said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Friday that the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, along with the International Association of Police Chiefs, will conduct an “independent, external review” that will include assessing the department’s special units and use-of-force policies “to honor Tyre and help make sure this type of tragedy does not happen again.”

“While we no doubt have a long way to go on the road to healing, hopefully through our actions, citizens will see we are working to be better and that we are heading down the right path,” Strickland said in a bulletin.

Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, three days after he was beaten by police after he ran from a traffic stop in Memphis. Graphic footage of the violent confrontation released by the city showed officers appearing to kick, punch and pepper spray Nichols.

Five officers at the scene of the beating were fired and charged with second-degree murder in connection with Nichols’ death. The special task force they all had been assigned to was subsequently disbanded.

A sixth officer who responded to the initial traffic stop has been fired for violating “multiple department policies,” Memphis Police said on Friday. The violations included personal conduct, truthfulness and a violation for not using a Taser in compliance with regulations, the department said.

Another unidentified officer involved in the traffic stop has been placed on administrative leave.

“Multiple” officers are also under investigation for policy violations related to Nichols’ arrest and death, the department said Friday.

It is unclear how long the independent review of the Memphis Police Department will take. ABC News has reached out to the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Memphis mayor’s office for more information on the timeline.

The International Association of Police Chiefs, a professional association for police leaders, called Nichols’ death “appalling and indefensible” in a statement last week.

“As police leaders we remain committed to emphasizing dignity and respect for all and instilling within our agencies a fundamental commitment to the preservation of human life. But we must, and will, do more,” the association said. “We must remain committed to working together in partnership with community members, advocacy organizations, elected officials, and others to build a future that ensures dignity, security, and justice for all.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Government officials are closely tracking a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China as it travels across the U.S.

The white balloon, which China’s foreign ministry has claimed to be used for meteorological purposes, is at an altitude of around 60,000 feet with a vessel described as the size of three buses, officials said.

According to U.S. officials, the balloon traveled west of Alaska, south over the Aleutian Islands, over water into southwest Canada and then over Montana.

Social media sightings have been popping up as the balloon moves southeastwardly across the continental U.S.

One of the earliest sightings confirmed by ABC News was around 4:21 p.m. ET Wednesday in Reed Point, Montana.

More than two hours later, around 6:46 p.m. ET, it was filmed east of Reed Point, in Billings, Montana. Other footage captured it over Billings over the next hour, as civilians wondered what the object was.

From Montana, the balloon traveled southwest through South Dakota and Nebraska, according to U.S. officials.

ABC News has not confirmed any other sightings of the balloon until around 9:41 a.m. ET on Friday, when it was filmed over Sabetha, Kansas.

Over an hour later, it appeared farther east over Saint Joseph, Missouri, where it was filmed around 11 a.m. ET.

Video footage captured the balloon farther east, over Cameron, Missouri, between 11:56 a.m. and 12:28 p.m. ET.

About 30 minutes later, it was shot farther south within the Kansas City metro area, in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

The balloon appeared to be heading toward North Carolina, according to a senior U.S. official familiar with the situation. ABC News confirmed several sightings of the balloon over the state by Saturday morning.

Around 8:40 a.m. ET, the balloon was filmed over Biltmore Park in Asheville.

The balloon continued to move southeastwardly, with sightings over the Hendersonville and Saluda areas, before being captured over the Eagle Lake neighborhood in Charlotte around 10:22 a.m. ET.

The U.S. will likely wait until the balloon is over the Atlantic Ocean to then try to shoot it down and retrieve it, according to the senior U.S. official.

Chinese Spy Balloon currently over Charlotte, North Carolina pic.twitter.com/iwt6tl5CHT

— Brett Pauley II ® (@BrettSetGo) February 4, 2023

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Layla Ferris, Cheryl Gendron, Kerem Inal, Chris Looft, Josh Margolin and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(UVALDE, Texas) — Jerry Mata, whose 10-year-old daughter Tess was killed in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting last year, still returns to the campus of Robb Elementary to honor his child.

“I’ve been coming at nighttime, every once in a while,” Mata told ABC News. “This was her last place, where she took her last breath. I have to come until it’s demolished.”

Mata and other victims’ families are waiting for the buildings to be torn down, while the community grapples with mixed emotions over plans to demolish the school and replace it with a new one elsewhere in Uvalde.

Robb Elementary is the site of the second-deadliest elementary school shooting in American history, where 19 children and two teachers were killed on May 24, 2022.

Ten days after the massacre, the local school district announced plans to demolish the school.

It was not a straightforward decision, given both the events of May 24 and the cultural and historical significance Robb Elementary holds in the small community located 60 miles from the Mexican border.

Irene Stone, the director of development at Uvalde’s El Progreso Library, and whose family helped construct the school back in 1955, said the school’s past should not be erased.

“I’d love to see all this history that we have researched put in that memorial,” Stone told ABC News, “so that we can honor the men like my grandfather and my great uncle and my dad who built the school.”

Robb Elementary played a key role in the fight for equal rights by Chicano and Mexican-American students, who at one point were barred from speaking Spanish within the school’s walls, according to Stone, in a community where the population has long held steady at 80% Hispanic or Latino.

In the spring of 1970, 650 students staged a walkout after the firing of one of the school’s only Latino and bilingual instructors. The protest led to a lawsuit that found the district was in violation of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling 16 years prior and resulted in an order to the district to desegregate in 1976.

That decree was later challenged by the school district in 2007, but an agreement was reached with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, a civil rights nonprofit which took up the case, in 2017.

District leadership has spent the months since the Robb massacre seemingly at odds with many of the victims’ families, with some parents organizing a two-week sit-in protest at the district office, culminating in the controversial resignation of longtime Schools Superintendent Hal Harrell.

Gary Patterson, a career administrator named interim superintendent in Harrell’s place, said he supports the decision to demolish the school, but acknowledged questions about how to honor Robb’s legacy are complicated.

“I don’t think that the history of Robb Elementary or the significance… have to go away. Because to take the building down, I mean, it’s more than just the building,” Patterson told ABC News. “It’s the history and the culture. So, what we need to do is find a way as a community to memorialize the history of that area as well as the students who lost their lives.”

When asked about a proposed memorial on school grounds, Patterson said nothing’s been decided yet.

“We’re not at that point where those decisions are–the school district’s not going to rule that out at all. If the district feels and the community feels that’s the appropriate place, then I think yes,” he said.

“I don’t think Uvalde will ever outlive the tragedy, and I’m not sure they should,” Patterson said. “I think it’s become a part of our fabric, and we need to see how we can move together while we don’t diminish anything that happened there.”

Mercedes Salas, a teacher at Robb Elementary who survived the massacre and whose own children attended the school, said the school evokes complicated emotions for her and her family.

“Prior to that day I had a lot of great memories with my coworkers, with my students, you know?” Salas told ABC News. “My personal children attended… and they have nothing but great memories. So, I just have mixed emotions because my last day was a horrible day, you know, a day full of fear.”

Others, like Mata, whose family has attended the school for generations, are ready to see the building go.

“Robb Elementary should be a thing of the past,” Mata said.

There is currently no scheduled date or budget for the demolition of the school, but the district and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin have assured residents that plans are forthcoming.

Construction is set to begin on a new school adjacent to one of the community’s existing elementary schools in August for students to attend as early as 2025. The district has set a fundraising goal of $50 million, which will be the sole source of funding for the school.

Uvalde:365 is a continuing ABC News series reported from Uvalde and focused on the Texas community and how it forges on in the shadow of tragedy.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(EAST PALESTINE, Ohio) — Local officials in East Palestine, Ohio, have ordered roughly 2,000 residents, about half the town’s population, to evacuate their homes after a Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught fire.

A Norfolk Southern train traveling from Illinois to Pennsylvania derailed around 9 p.m. Friday, ignited, and prompted a response from over 50 fire departments across three states, according to East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway.

In an interview with ABC News early Saturday morning, Conaway said residents living in a one-mile radius of the fire have been asked to evacuate or shelter in place voluntarily. At a Saturday morning press conference, Conaway said the evacuation is mandatory, though the town “can’t physically make people leave their homes.”

Janet Meek, a 55-year-old resident in the evacuation zone, said she decided not to evacuate due to concerns about her pets, though she reported feeling the impacts of the blaze when she went outside.

“It’s like burning our eyes, and it was burning our throats,” she said. “We don’t … didn’t feel real good.”

Fire chief Keith Drabick said at the press conference Saturday morning that the train was carrying hazardous substances but could not confirm if the fire impacted the train cars carrying the hazardous goods. Drabick said the odor permeating East Palestine is not harmful at current levels, but representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency are monitoring the situation.

East Palestine is a small village on the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio with roughly 4,700 residents.

A spokesperson from Norfolk Southern said they are “coordinating closely with local first responders while mobilizing our own teams.”

“If you have to come to East Palestine, don’t,” Drabick said. “Stay out of the area until we can get this mitigated.”

Efforts to contain the fire stalled Saturday night when firefighters withdrew from the blaze due to concerns about air quality and explosions.

Conaway said firefighters withdrew from the fire Friday night due to concerns about air quality, with a plan to reengage once they get a “better grasp of what exactly is what chemical is burning.” At Saturday’s press conference, Drabick added that there had been multiple explosions overnight, which posed a risk to firefighters.

Early Saturday morning, Conway described the fire as “contained” but “ongoing.” Drabick said daybreak would show the extent of the damage and long-term potential for the blaze.

The call to evaluate comes as East Palestine is hit with some of the coldest weather this year, dropping to 6 F on Friday night.

Living a block from the railroad tracks, Meek said she heard a “loud boom” around 9 p.m. after coming home from a local basketball game.

After her husband reported seeing a “billowing ball of fire” while walking their dogs, she went outside to witness the fire, only to return inside after feeling some of the effects of the fumes. Meek said she has seen over 100 fire trucks respond to the fire, which she said appeared uncontained.

“There was no actually stopping it…,” she said. “It just looked like mushroom clouds, and everything was exploding, like you could just hear these explosions.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A dangerous and possibly record-shattering freeze is invading the Northeast.

The cold moved into the Northeast Friday morning, with a wind chill — what the temperature feels like — reaching minus 21 degrees in Maine, minus 22 degrees in Vermont and minus 7 degrees in Buffalo, New York.

Boston is bracing for its coldest temperatures since 2016. By Saturday morning, it’ll feel like minus 31 degrees in Boston.

Public schools in Boston are closed on Friday and sports are canceled through the weekend due to the extreme cold.

The coldest air for the Northeast will hit Saturday morning, when wind chills are forecast to plunge to a bone-chilling minus 9 degrees in New York City, minus 42 degrees in Burlington, Vermont, and minus 51 degrees in Lake Placid, New York.

The most extreme forecast is for Caribou, Maine, near the Canadian border, where wind chills could be as low as minus 55 degrees on Saturday morning. Caribou’s lowest wind chill ever recorded was minus 58 degrees in 1951.

Portland, Maine, could break its all-time record low windchill of minus 41 degrees.

At Mount Washington in New Hampshire — the highest mountain in the Northeast — the wind chill could reach its coldest on record: minus 102 degrees.

Parts of northern Maine are also under a blizzard warning as the high winds are expected to blow snow, creating whiteout conditions.

But the bitter blast won’t last long. On Sunday and Monday, Boston is forecast to thaw to the mid-40s. New York City could reach 50 degrees by Monday.

Click here for tips on how to stay safe in the cold.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(WASHINGTON) — U.S. officials say a massive surveillance balloon believed to be from China and seen above Montana is being tracked as it flies over the continental United States.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday. “NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely.”

China’s foreign ministry has claimed it is a civilian balloon used for meteorological purposes, but U.S. politicians, many on the right, are already demanding President Joe Biden shoot it down.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 03, 2:16 PM EST
Biden first briefed Tuesday, took military’s recommendation on balloon: WH

President Joe Biden was first briefed about the Chinese surveillance balloon on Tuesday, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, two days before the news was publicly confirmed by U.S. officials.

“He asked the military to present options,” she told reporters in a gaggle on Air Force One. “It was the strong recommendation by Secretary Austin, Chairman Milley, the commander of Northern Command, not to take kinetic action because of the risk to safety and security of the people on the ground. President Biden took that recommendation from the military seriously.”

“The president will always put the safety of the security of the American people first,” she said.

Jean-Pierre said Biden continues to receive regular briefings from national security team, and that he “agreed” with Secretary of State Blinken’s decision to delay his trip to China.

“We are tracking closely and keeping all options on the table,” the press secretary said.

Feb 03, 1:41 PM EST
Biden again ignores questions on Chinese balloon

President Joe Biden didn’t answer questions reporters shouted about the Chinese surveillance balloon as he left the White House and boarded Marine One shortly after 1 p.m. Friday.

Biden has yet to publicly comment on the balloon since it was confirmed to be flying over the continental U.S. by officials on Thursday.

Biden is heading to Philadelphia, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris will appear at an infrastructure event in the afternoon and then later will speak at the Democratic National Committee’s winter meeting.

Feb 03, 1:27 PM EST
‘Gang of 8’ staff received classified briefing on Chinese surveillance balloon

Staff to the so-called “Gang of 8” received a classified briefing on the balloon by the administration Thursday afternoon, according to multiple congressional officials.

The “Gang of 8” refers to the group of congressional leaders who are briefed on classified intelligence matters. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., requested a meeting with the group on Thursday.

“China’s brazen disregard for U.S. sovereignty is a destabilizing action that must be addressed, and President Biden cannot be silent,” McCarthy said.

It’s unclear if the classified briefing for the staff is a precursor to their bosses being briefed. No meeting appears to be on the books so far.

-ABC News’ Trish Turner

Feb 03, 12:50 PM EST
Surveillance balloon is ‘maneuverable,’ Pentagon says

After saying the Chinese surveillance ballon was headed eastward, Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said the balloon is “maneuverable.”

“So, the balloon is maneuverable. Clearly, it’s violated U.S. air space, and again we’ve communicated that fact to the PRC,” Ryder said.

“The balloon has changed its course, which is why we are monitoring it. That is as specific as I can get,” he said, not giving further details on how it could be maneuvered.

“We continue to assess and make appropriate decisions based on how we are going to address what we perceive as a potential threat,” Ryder added. “The safety and security of the American people is paramount. At this time we assess it does not pose a physical threat to people on the ground.”

Feb 03, 10:26 AM EST
Pentagon to hold press briefing at noon

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder will conduct an on-camera press briefing at noon on Friday as the Biden administration faces questions about what U.S. officials call a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the U.S.

Ryder said in a statement Thursday that the government was tracking the balloon and that it didn’t present a military threat.

“Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.

Feb 03, 9:36 AM EST
Secretary of state delays visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing his visit to China after the balloon was tracked soaring across the country.

Blinken will delay his upcoming trip to Beijing, originally scheduled for next week. The official noted that Blinken did not want to blow the situation out of proportion by canceling his visit, but also does not want the balloon to dominate his meetings with Chinese officials.

Feb 03, 9:29 AM EST
China claims balloon is civilian in nature

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is saying the balloon is civilian in nature and used for scientific research, “mainly meteorological.”

“The airship is from China,” the foreign ministry said. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”

It continued, “The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”

“Force majeure” refers to something that is done beyond the control of the government.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MINNEAPOLIS) — One year after the death of Amir Locke, a 22-year-old man shot and killed by Minneapolis police, attorneys Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci and Jeff Storms announced they’ve filed a civil lawsuit.

Locke was fatally shot in February 2022 by Minneapolis police officers executing a no-knock search warrant on the apartment he was in.

“Our son didn’t do anything wrong. It could have been anyone’s son,” Andre Locke, father of Amir, said to ABC News affiliate KTSP. “But it happened to be ours, and people don’t understand how it feels until it actually happens to them.”

Amir was asleep on the couch when Minneapolis officers entered the residence. Officer Mark Hanneman shot Amir Locke as he emerged from under a blanket holding a gun that he legally owned, according to his family.

“If I did not use deadly force myself, I would likely be killed,” Hanneman told investigators when describing that moment on the body camera footage.

Procesutors declined to file charges.

As a result of the shooting, the Minneapolis police department no longer allows for the application or practice of no-knock search warrants, the city’s mayor Jacob Frey announced in April of last year.

No-knock warrants have come under scrutiny, most prominently in the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor during a botched drug raid.

This lawsuit announcement comes a day after multiple organizations held a vigil at the Minnesota State Capitol rotunda for the anniversary of Locke’s death.

ABC News’ Kiara Alfonseca contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A massive spy balloon believed to be from China was seen above Montana and is being tracked as it flies across the continental United States.

“The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is flying over the continental United States right now,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement on Thursday. “NORAD [North American Aerospace Defense Command] continues to track and monitor it closely.”

China’s foreign ministry has claimed it is a civilian balloon used for meteorological purposes, but U.S. politicians, many on the right, are already demanding President Joe Biden shoot it down.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Feb 03, 10:26 AM EST
Pentagon to hold press briefing at noon

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder will conduct an on-camera press briefing at noon on Friday as the Biden administration faces questions about what U.S. officials call a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the U.S.

Ryder said in a statement Thursday that the government was tracking the balloon and that it didn’t present a military threat.

“Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information,” Ryder said.

Feb 03, 9:36 AM EST
Secretary of state delays visit

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is postponing his visit to China after the balloon was tracked soaring across the country.

Blinken will delay his upcoming trip to Beijing, originally scheduled for next week. The official noted that Blinken did not want to blow the situation out of proportion by canceling his visit, but also does not want the balloon to dominate his meetings with Chinese officials.

Feb 03, 9:29 AM EST
China claims balloon is civilian in nature

The Chinese Foreign Ministry is saying the balloon is civilian in nature and used for scientific research, “mainly meteorological.”

“The airship is from China,” the foreign ministry said. “Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure.”

It continued, “The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure.”

“Force majeure” refers to something that is done beyond the control of the government.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.