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A Democratic congressman made a comparison on Friday between the balloon being flown over the U.S. by the Chinese communist regime, and the move by the Department of Homeland Security to fly blimps over over the Arizona border to monitor smuggling and trafficking along the southern border. "People are outraged by a Chinese surveillance balloon, but when @DHSgov puts up a surveillance blimp in Arizona border communities without community consultation," Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., tweeted, followed by a silenced emoji and a "sssh" emoji. He later edited the tweet to clarify that people are "rightfully" outraged.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - If you haven’t heard yet, what is believed to be a Chinese spy balloon has been hovering over the United States since the early part of this week. It was expected to float into the Carolinas on Saturday, and sure enough, what appeared to be the balloon could be spotted above Charlotte shortly after 10 a.m. According to reports, U.S. officials have been tracking the balloon, which is approximately the size of three school buses, since at least Tuesday.

🕘: 8:50 AM February 4, 2023 📍: Fairview, NC 28730 🧭: 195° moving ESE Credit: Meteorologist Evan Fisher (@EFisherWX on Twitter) -Matthew

President Biden and his administration knew for nearly a week that a Chinese spy balloon was hovering in U.S. airspace — but kept the incursion secret, fearing it would derail Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. Republicans expressed “outrage” over the president’s refusal to act.“Communist China’s surveillance balloon violates international law and threatens our homeland,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) told The Post.“It’s an outrage that the Biden Administration spotted this balloon days ago as it was flying over the Aleutian Islands and did nothing about it,” she said. “The president has...

"China is a responsible country and has always strictly abided by international law. We do not accept any groundless speculation and hype," Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China said in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken late Friday. During the phone conversation, they communicated on how to deal with the incident in a calm and professional manner. Wang said in face of unexpected situations, both sides should maintain focus, communicate in a timely manner, avoid misjudgments, and manage differences. Prior to...

The U.S. is considering a plan to shoot down the Chinese spy balloon once it crosses over the Atlantic Ocean, where it could fall without causing harm to anyone below and potentially be recovered, a senior U.S. official told Fox News. President Biden addressed the balloon briefly Saturday in response to a reporter's question, saying, "we're going to take care of it." This is a developing story and will be updated.

There have been unconfirmed reports of an explosion in the skies over Billings, Mont., where a Chinese spy balloon had been hovering for several days. Although there have not been any official reports, there is speculation (not unfounded) that the U.S. military shot down the balloon, the payload of which is the size of two to three school buses; the payload is dwarfed by the size of the balloon.

A NOAA air current model shows the China spy balloon is expected to traverse the United States heartland through the Midwest and Southern states on Friday before heading out to the Atlantic Ocean passing over the U.S. Navy base at Newport News, Virginia. Joe Biden refused to shoot down the balloon, however Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a planned trip to Beijing in protest. The NOAA HYSPLIT* model was used to reverse track the balloon from China. The balloon flew over the Aleutian Islands, then into Canada air space before crossing into U.S. airspace over Montana and a U.S....