WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the object's downing, Biden on Friday said only that “It was a success.”

Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet (13,700 meters).

Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fighter jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.

The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over China's surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldn’t say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.

The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than last week's balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.

Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky — primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.

“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount."

The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.

The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaska’s North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities — Deadhorse and Kaktovik — combining for about 300 people. Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, it's likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, meaning there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.

Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaska's Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. “Our military and intelligence services will always work together," he said.

The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.

Later Friday, the Pentagon said: “Recovery is happening in a mix of ice and snow. Units located in Alaska under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, are involved in the response.”

The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).

After the object was detected Thursday, NORAD — North American Aerospace Defense Command —sent F-35s to observe it, a U.S. official said, adding that the military queried U.S. government agencies to make sure it did not belong to any of them, and had confidence it was not a U.S. government or military asset. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Because it was much smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon, there were fewer safety concerns about downing it over land, so the decision was made to shoot it down when it was possible. That happened over water.

The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina</a>&nbsp;coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.

Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He 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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-carolina-china-dfa08f4f47a58a638d4ef1d3a34b2a8b">balloon was part of a large surveillance program</a>&nbsp;that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fight jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.

The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than the previous balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car and said it was shot down near the U.S.-Canada border.

It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets fired a missile into a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

There were few answers about the object, and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet known who owned it, and he did not say it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. Kirby didn't know yet where it came from or what its purpose was.

Still, it posed enough of a concern that U.S. officials felt it best to knock it out of the sky.

Kirby said fighter pilots visually examining the object ascertained it was not manned. The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.

The object fell into frigid waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-carolina-china-dfa08f4f47a58a638d4ef1d3a34b2a8b">balloon was part of a large surveillance program</a>&nbsp;that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon shot down an unknown object flying in U.S. airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.

The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posted a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car.

It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

White House officials drew major differences between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet known who owned the object, and he did not say that it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. He also didn't know yet where it came from or what its purpose was.

Kirby said fight pilots visually examining the object ascertained that it was not manned.

The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby on object shot down today: &quot;We&#39;re calling this an object because that&#39;s the best description we have right now...We do not know who owns it...It was much much smaller than the spy balloon that we took down last Saturday.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/d94UlFmH9n">pic.twitter.com/d94UlFmH9n</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1624137312790810624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the object's downing, Biden on Friday said only that “It was a success.”Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet (13,700 meters).Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fighter jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over China's surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldn’t say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/PentagonPresSec?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PentagonPresSec</a> confirms &quot;fighter aircraft...successfully took down a high altitude airborne object off the northern coast of Alaska at 1:45pm...the object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 ft. and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PB6Ndo6jQt">pic.twitter.com/PB6Ndo6jQt</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1624145609442660384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than last week's balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky — primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount."The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Alaska's Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaska’s North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities — Deadhorse and Kaktovik — combining for about 300 people. Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, it's likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, meaning there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaska's Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. “Our military and intelligence services will always work together," he said.The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.Later Friday, the Pentagon said: “Recovery is happening in a mix of ice and snow. Units located in Alaska under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, are involved in the response.”The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).After the object was detected Thursday, NORAD — North American Aerospace Defense Command —sent F-35s to observe it, a U.S. official said, adding that the military queried U.S. government agencies to make sure it did not belong to any of them, and had confidence it was not a U.S. government or military asset. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.Because it was much smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon, there were fewer safety concerns about downing it over land, so the decision was made to shoot it down when it was possible. That happened over water.The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina</a>&nbsp;coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He 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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-carolina-china-dfa08f4f47a58a638d4ef1d3a34b2a8b">balloon was part of a large surveillance program</a>&nbsp;that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”---------WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby on object shot down today: &quot;We&#39;re calling this an object because that&#39;s the best description we have right now...We do not know who owns it...It was much much smaller than the spy balloon that we took down last Saturday.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/d94UlFmH9n">pic.twitter.com/d94UlFmH9n</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1624137312790810624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the object's downing, Biden on Friday said only that “It was a success.”Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fight jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over China's surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldn’t say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than the previous balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky — primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount."The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaska's Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina</a>&nbsp;coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He 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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-carolina-china-dfa08f4f47a58a638d4ef1d3a34b2a8b">balloon was part of a large surveillance program</a>&nbsp;that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”------------WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car and said it was shot down near the U.S.-Canada border.It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets fired a missile into a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.There were few answers about the object, and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet known who owned it, and he did not say it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. Kirby didn't know yet where it came from or what its purpose was.Still, it posed enough of a concern that U.S. officials felt it best to knock it out of the sky.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">So we can shoot down suspicious objects BEFORE they get over our border… Just as I suggested. <a href="https://t.co/eZcVmbMpDa">https://t.co/eZcVmbMpDa</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1624134672862089235?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace," Kirby said. "The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount."Kirby said fighter pilots visually examining the object ascertained it was not manned. The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.The object fell into frigid waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon.The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina</a>&nbsp;coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He 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&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-south-carolina-china-dfa08f4f47a58a638d4ef1d3a34b2a8b">balloon was part of a large surveillance program</a>&nbsp;that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said.China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”--------WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon shot down an unknown object flying in U.S. airspace off the coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.The object was flying at about 40,000 feet and posted a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, said John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman. He described the object as roughly the size of a small car.It was the second time in a week U.S. officials had downed some type of flying object over the U.S. On Saturday fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.White House officials drew major differences between the two episodes. Kirby said it wasn't yet known who owned the object, and he did not say that it was a balloon. Officials also couldn't say if there was any surveillance equipment on it. He also didn't know yet where it came from or what its purpose was.Kirby said fight pilots visually examining the object ascertained that it was not manned.The object fell into frigid waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week's massive balloon.The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He 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.China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

🎥 US fighter jet shoots down UFO; Arctic sea recovery underway

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-10/after-keystone-oil-spill-kansas-democrats-want-to-cancel-tax-exemptions-when-pipelines-leak">Kansas News Service</a>

After the Keystone spilled more than half a million gallons of crude 
oil onto native prairie and cropland and into a creek, some Kansas 
lawmakers want oil companies to forfeit their tax exemptions when 
pipelines burst.

Right now, energy companies that lay pipelines in
 Kansas get to skip out on the first 10 years of paying taxes to school 
districts, county governments and other local units of government along 
their routes.

A group of 21 Democratic state lawmakers want to 
tweak Kansas law so that the exemption ends immediately if a pipeline 
carrying substances such as oil or natural gas spills or leaks within 
those 10 years.

“If you want state dollars to do a project, then you have to prove to
 be good stewards of our state’s land,” state Rep. Rui Xu said. “A spill
 like the Keystone spill obviously does not satisfy that.”

He expressed some frustration that the <a href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2327/" target="_blank">proposed legislation</a>
 wouldn’t apply to the current Keystone situation. The bill can’t 
function retroactively. Additionally, the Keystone pipeline’s decade of 
freedom from property taxes recently ran out.

But companies still 
enjoying that freedom for newer pipelines or planning to capitalize on 
it for future ones would need to keep their pipelines spill-free for the
 full decade.

In the case of a spill or leak within that time 
frame, a company wouldn’t just forfeit the rest of the 10-year exemption
 — it would have to cough up back taxes for all the previous years that 
the pipeline was exempt.

The money would get split up among the schools and other local taxing units along the route.

One
 leg of the Keystone pipeline runs north to south through Kansas, from 
Washington County on the Nebraska border down through Clay, Dickinson, 
Marion and Butler counties to Cowley County on the Oklahoma border.

Another leg cuts diagonally across the northeast corner of the state through Marshall, Nemaha, Brown and Doniphan counties.

The
 effect of the Keystone finally landing on the tax rolls was 
particularly dramatic for Washington County, where the pipeline 
instantly became the biggest source of local tax revenue. The <a href="https://www.backroadsnews.com/" target="_blank">Washington County News</a>
 reported last month that two school districts, the county and other 
local units of government will collect more than $1.9 million from TC 
Energy this year.

The Keystone is TC Energy’s largest oil pipeline
 system. It carries a non-conventional crude oil called diluted bitumen,
 or dilbit, from Alberta to Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.

That 
dilbit from the Canadian tar sands doesn’t behave like regular crude 
oil, and poses special risks and challenges when it spills.

TC 
Energy said this week that bad welding and other problems contributed to
 the Keystone’s largest spill ever when the pipeline burst Dec. 7 in 
Washington County.

The company is under a federal order to 
continue analyzing what happened and whether other sections of the 
north-south stretch of pipe through Kansas are similarly vulnerable.

The Pannbacker family in Washington County, whose farm was left partly covered in crude oil from the spill, has
 expressed frustration that the federal government allowed TC Energy to 
resume pumping oil through the segment in late December, even as the 
investigation into what went wrong continues.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676042746079.png" alt="The Keystone runs beneath a soybean field on the Pannbacker farm in Washington County. It's visible on snowy days because the warm, underground pipe melts the snow. The diagonal line cutting across the field is the pipeline. Much of the oil released on Dec. 7 spilled onto native prairie that the Pannbackers use for grazing cattle. Some oil splattered into this field. Chris Pannbacker stands on a ridge overlooking the field last month. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>The Keystone runs beneath a soybean field on the Pannbacker farm in Washington County. It's visible on snowy days because the warm, underground pipe melts the snow. The diagonal line cutting across the field is the pipeline. Much of the oil released on Dec. 7 spilled onto native prairie that the Pannbackers use for grazing cattle. Some oil splattered into this field. Chris Pannbacker stands on a ridge overlooking the field last month. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-10/after-keystone-oil-spill-kansas-democrats-want-to-cancel-tax-exemptions-when-pipelines-leak">Kansas News Service</a>After the Keystone spilled more than half a million gallons of crude 
oil onto native prairie and cropland and into a creek, some Kansas 
lawmakers want oil companies to forfeit their tax exemptions when 
pipelines burst.Right now, energy companies that lay pipelines in
 Kansas get to skip out on the first 10 years of paying taxes to school 
districts, county governments and other local units of government along 
their routes.A group of 21 Democratic state lawmakers want to 
tweak Kansas law so that the exemption ends immediately if a pipeline 
carrying substances such as oil or natural gas spills or leaks within 
those 10 years.“If you want state dollars to do a project, then you have to prove to
 be good stewards of our state’s land,” state Rep. Rui Xu said. “A spill
 like the Keystone spill obviously does not satisfy that.”He expressed some frustration that the <a href="http://kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/hb2327/" target="_blank">proposed legislation</a>
 wouldn’t apply to the current Keystone situation. The bill can’t 
function retroactively. Additionally, the Keystone pipeline’s decade of 
freedom from property taxes recently ran out.But companies still 
enjoying that freedom for newer pipelines or planning to capitalize on 
it for future ones would need to keep their pipelines spill-free for the
 full decade.In the case of a spill or leak within that time 
frame, a company wouldn’t just forfeit the rest of the 10-year exemption
 — it would have to cough up back taxes for all the previous years that 
the pipeline was exempt.The money would get split up among the schools and other local taxing units along the route.One
 leg of the Keystone pipeline runs north to south through Kansas, from 
Washington County on the Nebraska border down through Clay, Dickinson, 
Marion and Butler counties to Cowley County on the Oklahoma border.Another leg cuts diagonally across the northeast corner of the state through Marshall, Nemaha, Brown and Doniphan counties.The
 effect of the Keystone finally landing on the tax rolls was 
particularly dramatic for Washington County, where the pipeline 
instantly became the biggest source of local tax revenue. The <a href="https://www.backroadsnews.com/" target="_blank">Washington County News</a>
 reported last month that two school districts, the county and other 
local units of government will collect more than $1.9 million from TC 
Energy this year.The Keystone is TC Energy’s largest oil pipeline
 system. It carries a non-conventional crude oil called diluted bitumen,
 or dilbit, from Alberta to Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.That 
dilbit from the Canadian tar sands doesn’t behave like regular crude 
oil, and poses special risks and challenges when it spills.TC 
Energy said this week that bad welding and other problems contributed to
 the Keystone’s largest spill ever when the pipeline burst Dec. 7 in 
Washington County.The company is under a federal order to 
continue analyzing what happened and whether other sections of the 
north-south stretch of pipe through Kansas are similarly vulnerable.The Pannbacker family in Washington County, whose farm was left partly covered in crude oil from the spill, has
 expressed frustration that the federal government allowed TC Energy to 
resume pumping oil through the segment in late December, even as the 
investigation into what went wrong continues.

Oil spill: Kansas Dems want to cancel tax breaks when pipelines leak

By AARON SANDERFORD and CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/09/marijuana-bill-palooza-in-the-unicameral-leads-with-medical-push/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN — Nebraskans who want to legalize medical marijuana testified
 Thursday for the latest bill by State Sen. Anna Wishart pressing the 
Legislature to act.

Wishart, advocating for Legislative Bill 588, acknowledged the 
growing public impatience with a process that has stalled previous 
medical marijuana bills in the Legislature under pressure from former 
Gov. Pete Ricketts and his allies.

“I’ve spent the past six years going across the state, and you would 
be hard-pressed to find somebody who would not benefit or would not know
 somebody who would benefit (from the bill),” Wishart said. “We will go 
back to the ballot if this fails.”

Hers was the first of three marijuana-related bills that had hearings
 Thursday before the Judiciary Committee. The others, by State Sens. 
Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne of Omaha, would go farther — 
decriminalizing marijuana possession and setting up a framework for 
adults to grow and sell it.

Wishart’s LB 588 would legalize medical marijuana to treat a specific
 list of illnesses and medical conditions, including chronic pain, brain
 injuries, seizures, autism, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s 
disease and PTSD.

It would allow for six medical cannabis stores, three per 
congressional district, and all would have to contract with a registered
 Nebraska pharmacist, she said.

Most testifiers backed the bill, including Sheri Lawlor, whose 
30-year-old daughter, Brooke, has epilepsy. Sheri Lawlor described the 
daily routine of watching to make sure Brooke doesn’t “drop like a tree 
in the forest” from her wheelchair, wearing a helmet.

“She is one of the children that only has a brain surgery choice 
left,” said Lawlor, whose daughter takes 405 pills a month. “No other 
medicines we could even try. What parent wants to cut up their child’s 
brain?”

Christa Eggers, who helped organize two petition drives to let voters
 decide on medical marijuana, spoke about her 8-year-old son, Colton. 
She said she doesn’t know which is worse, the seizures he has or the 
consequences of the medicines he’s prescribed.

She said lawmakers who think this issue will go away if they punt 
again and don’t pass it are misjudging the determination of parents. She
 said they don’t want to wait for the federal government to act. They 
want help for their kids.

“We will go to the ballot in 2024, a presidential election year, and 
we will have something that the people will enact,” she said. “You have 
my word. We won’t stop.”

In all, 48 people wrote letters in support of LB 588, including seven who oppose the legislation and one neutral letter.

The handful of opponents who testified against LB 588 included new 
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Lancaster County Attorney Pat
 Condon. Hilgers argued the legal principle of federal supremacy on 
issues when federal and state law conflict.

He said he had “great empathy” for the families seeking answers for 
their children’s illnesses but said he would have a hard time as 
attorney general defending LB 588, knowing that federal law treats 
marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance.

“Any bill that purports to allow the use of marijuana puts us in conflict and would therefore be unconstitutional,” he said.

Condon said the energy that families and proponents of medical 
marijuana have put toward pursuing a change in state law could be 
redirected toward getting Congress or the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration to change how it classifies marijuana.

Col. John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol argued that his 
experience in California when that state legalized marijuana for 
medicinal purposes tells him much of the marijuana grown for medicinal 
purposes will end up on the black market.

“Because of demand and potential profit, decriminalizing makes this likely,” he said.

Gov. Jim Pillen, while not as outspoken in his opposition as his 
predecessor, opposes LB 588 as well. He did not testify, but Pillen 
spokesman John Gage said “the governor believes (medical marijuana) 
needs to go through the FDA process.”

Dr. Amanda McKinney, a physician who teaches at Bellevue University, 
testified about the safety record cannabis has compared to drugs already
 approved by the FDA.

She said she knows of no record of someone dying of medical cannabis,
 but she pointed to more than 10,000 deaths from 17 FDA-approved drugs 
used in situations that she said cannabis could have helped.

Wishart and several testifiers said parents aren’t willing to wait 
for the federal government to act. She said proponents have gathered 
nearly 400,000 signatures from Nebraskans who back the change.

“My goal is that no family has to flee our state to get access to 
medical cannabis for themselves or a loved one,” she said. “I know for a
 fact that the people in this room and thousands of people who have 
signed petitions are not going to be silent.”

The afternoon session before the Judiciary Committee merged the 
public hearings for the cannabis-related Legislative Bills 22 and 634.

LB 22 — introduced by Wayne and cosponsored by Sens. Megan Hunt of 
Omaha and Jane Raybould and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln — seeks to 
decriminalize the use and possession of marijuana.

LB 634 — introduced by McKinney and cosponsored by Hunt — proposes a 
framework for how Nebraskans over the age of 20 could grow, sell, 
distribute, possess and use cannabis.

Also included in the 161-page bill is “clean slate relief” that would
 allow qualified cannabis offenders to get past use and possession 
convictions removed from their criminal record.

Much of what is driving McKinney and Wayne, they said, is underlying 
racism and disproportionate harm that cannabis prohibition has on Blacks
 and people of color.

“Marijuana laws … were enacted because of racism and have affected 
black, brown, native communities the most,” McKinney said. “You see that
 in our prison populations.”

As with alcohol and painkillers, Wayne said that personal responsibility should be applied to marijuana.

His bill, he said, is intended to prompt discussion about 
decriminalizing marijuana. “What that looks like going forward is 
another conversation around LB 634.”

Among those who testified was Hobert Rupe, executive director of the 
Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. He said his group took no position 
other than to say that if any regulatory agency were required, duties 
should go to the already established State Liquor Commission.

Rupe — noting that McKinney’s proposal would create a 
three-commissioner board with an executive director — said the Liquor 
Commission for years already has handled taxes, penalties and oversight 
related to alcohol.

In addition, Rupe said the body had done the “groundwork” in anticipation of cannabis legalization.

Corey O’Brien of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office testified in opposition, calling the bills wrong and unconstitutional.

O’Brien contended that the “black market” will “expand and not contract as some of the advocates have predicted.”

To that, McKinney said, he was not promising an elimination of 
illegal trading. But he added: “Bootleggers are not undercutting 
Budweiser. It’s just not happening.”

Maggie Ballard of Heartland Family Service said her nonprofit is 
opposed to both bills, though she said it would support looking at 
reducing fines.

She said she did not see the bill moving to ‘‘undo systemic racism.”

Of LB 634, she said it “would not reduce prison population … or prevent the courts from sentencing with prejudice.”

Mary Hilton, who identified herself as a mom and concerned citizen, 
thought the part of LB 634 pertaining to warning labels was most honest 
and telling.

Among the risks to be cited on cannabis products: “intoxicating 
effects,” “may be habit forming and addictive,” “impairs concentration …
 judgment.”

Hilton said she believes marijuana legalization would negatively affect Nebraska culture.

In follow up remarks, McKinney told the group that he had used 
cannabis before and today has two college degrees, is a state lawmaker 
and is in law school. “I think my brain development is fine,” he said.

“We should not jump to the conclusion that dispensaries are 
crime-generating hot spots,” McKinney said. “We can find a common ground
 between safety and access to cannabis through the regulation of these 
markets.”

The Judiciary Committee took no action Thursday on whether to advance any of the bills to full legislative debate.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676040733558.png" alt="State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln argues for passage of Legislative Bill 588, which would allow people suffering from a specific list of illnesses and medical conditions to legally access medical marijuana. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>State Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln argues for passage of Legislative Bill 588, which would allow people suffering from a specific list of illnesses and medical conditions to legally access medical marijuana. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>By AARON SANDERFORD and CINDY GONZALEZ <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/09/marijuana-bill-palooza-in-the-unicameral-leads-with-medical-push/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN — Nebraskans who want to legalize medical marijuana testified
 Thursday for the latest bill by State Sen. Anna Wishart pressing the 
Legislature to act.Wishart, advocating for Legislative Bill 588, acknowledged the 
growing public impatience with a process that has stalled previous 
medical marijuana bills in the Legislature under pressure from former 
Gov. Pete Ricketts and his allies.“I’ve spent the past six years going across the state, and you would 
be hard-pressed to find somebody who would not benefit or would not know
 somebody who would benefit (from the bill),” Wishart said. “We will go 
back to the ballot if this fails.”Hers was the first of three marijuana-related bills that had hearings
 Thursday before the Judiciary Committee. The others, by State Sens. 
Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne of Omaha, would go farther — 
decriminalizing marijuana possession and setting up a framework for 
adults to grow and sell it.<h2>Six stores</h2>Wishart’s LB 588 would legalize medical marijuana to treat a specific
 list of illnesses and medical conditions, including chronic pain, brain
 injuries, seizures, autism, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s 
disease and PTSD.It would allow for six medical cannabis stores, three per 
congressional district, and all would have to contract with a registered
 Nebraska pharmacist, she said.Most testifiers backed the bill, including Sheri Lawlor, whose 
30-year-old daughter, Brooke, has epilepsy. Sheri Lawlor described the 
daily routine of watching to make sure Brooke doesn’t “drop like a tree 
in the forest” from her wheelchair, wearing a helmet.“She is one of the children that only has a brain surgery choice 
left,” said Lawlor, whose daughter takes 405 pills a month. “No other 
medicines we could even try. What parent wants to cut up their child’s 
brain?”Christa Eggers, who helped organize two petition drives to let voters
 decide on medical marijuana, spoke about her 8-year-old son, Colton. 
She said she doesn’t know which is worse, the seizures he has or the 
consequences of the medicines he’s prescribed.<h2>‘We won’t stop’ </h2>She said lawmakers who think this issue will go away if they punt 
again and don’t pass it are misjudging the determination of parents. She
 said they don’t want to wait for the federal government to act. They 
want help for their kids.“We will go to the ballot in 2024, a presidential election year, and 
we will have something that the people will enact,” she said. “You have 
my word. We won’t stop.”In all, 48 people wrote letters in support of LB 588, including seven who oppose the legislation and one neutral letter.The handful of opponents who testified against LB 588 included new 
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers and Lancaster County Attorney Pat
 Condon. Hilgers argued the legal principle of federal supremacy on 
issues when federal and state law conflict.He said he had “great empathy” for the families seeking answers for 
their children’s illnesses but said he would have a hard time as 
attorney general defending LB 588, knowing that federal law treats 
marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance.“Any bill that purports to allow the use of marijuana puts us in conflict and would therefore be unconstitutional,” he said.<h2>Governor weighs in </h2>Condon said the energy that families and proponents of medical 
marijuana have put toward pursuing a change in state law could be 
redirected toward getting Congress or the U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration to change how it classifies marijuana.Col. John Bolduc of the Nebraska State Patrol argued that his 
experience in California when that state legalized marijuana for 
medicinal purposes tells him much of the marijuana grown for medicinal 
purposes will end up on the black market.“Because of demand and potential profit, decriminalizing makes this likely,” he said.Gov. Jim Pillen, while not as outspoken in his opposition as his 
predecessor, opposes LB 588 as well. He did not testify, but Pillen 
spokesman John Gage said “the governor believes (medical marijuana) 
needs to go through the FDA process.”Dr. Amanda McKinney, a physician who teaches at Bellevue University, 
testified about the safety record cannabis has compared to drugs already
 approved by the FDA.She said she knows of no record of someone dying of medical cannabis,
 but she pointed to more than 10,000 deaths from 17 FDA-approved drugs 
used in situations that she said cannabis could have helped.<h2>Silence not option </h2>Wishart and several testifiers said parents aren’t willing to wait 
for the federal government to act. She said proponents have gathered 
nearly 400,000 signatures from Nebraskans who back the change.“My goal is that no family has to flee our state to get access to 
medical cannabis for themselves or a loved one,” she said. “I know for a
 fact that the people in this room and thousands of people who have 
signed petitions are not going to be silent.”The afternoon session before the Judiciary Committee merged the 
public hearings for the cannabis-related Legislative Bills 22 and 634.LB 22 — introduced by Wayne and cosponsored by Sens. Megan Hunt of 
Omaha and Jane Raybould and Danielle Conrad of Lincoln — seeks to 
decriminalize the use and possession of marijuana.LB 634 — introduced by McKinney and cosponsored by Hunt — proposes a 
framework for how Nebraskans over the age of 20 could grow, sell, 
distribute, possess and use cannabis.Also included in the 161-page bill is “clean slate relief” that would
 allow qualified cannabis offenders to get past use and possession 
convictions removed from their criminal record.<h2>Racism </h2>Much of what is driving McKinney and Wayne, they said, is underlying 
racism and disproportionate harm that cannabis prohibition has on Blacks
 and people of color.“Marijuana laws … were enacted because of racism and have affected 
black, brown, native communities the most,” McKinney said. “You see that
 in our prison populations.”As with alcohol and painkillers, Wayne said that personal responsibility should be applied to marijuana.His bill, he said, is intended to prompt discussion about 
decriminalizing marijuana. “What that looks like going forward is 
another conversation around LB 634.”Among those who testified was Hobert Rupe, executive director of the 
Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. He said his group took no position 
other than to say that if any regulatory agency were required, duties 
should go to the already established State Liquor Commission.Rupe — noting that McKinney’s proposal would create a 
three-commissioner board with an executive director — said the Liquor 
Commission for years already has handled taxes, penalties and oversight 
related to alcohol.<h2>Bootleggers, Budweiser </h2>In addition, Rupe said the body had done the “groundwork” in anticipation of cannabis legalization.Corey O’Brien of the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office testified in opposition, calling the bills wrong and unconstitutional.O’Brien contended that the “black market” will “expand and not contract as some of the advocates have predicted.”To that, McKinney said, he was not promising an elimination of 
illegal trading. But he added: “Bootleggers are not undercutting 
Budweiser. It’s just not happening.”Maggie Ballard of Heartland Family Service said her nonprofit is 
opposed to both bills, though she said it would support looking at 
reducing fines.She said she did not see the bill moving to ‘‘undo systemic racism.”Of LB 634, she said it “would not reduce prison population … or prevent the courts from sentencing with prejudice.”<h2>Warning labels </h2>Mary Hilton, who identified herself as a mom and concerned citizen, 
thought the part of LB 634 pertaining to warning labels was most honest 
and telling.Among the risks to be cited on cannabis products: “intoxicating 
effects,” “may be habit forming and addictive,” “impairs concentration …
 judgment.”Hilton said she believes marijuana legalization would negatively affect Nebraska culture.In follow up remarks, McKinney told the group that he had used 
cannabis before and today has two college degrees, is a state lawmaker 
and is in law school. “I think my brain development is fine,” he said.“We should not jump to the conclusion that dispensaries are 
crime-generating hot spots,” McKinney said. “We can find a common ground
 between safety and access to cannabis through the regulation of these 
markets.”The Judiciary Committee took no action Thursday on whether to advance any of the bills to full legislative debate.

Nebraska marijuana bill movement leads with medical push

WASHINGTON (AP) — The China balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">shot down by the U.S.</a>&nbsp;was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday, citing imagery from American U-2 spy planes.

A fleet of balloons operates under the direction of the People's Liberation Army and is used specifically for spying, outfitted with high-tech equipment designed to gather sensitive information from targets across the globe, the U.S. said. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration.

A statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s military to the balloon that was shot down by the U.S. last weekend over the Atlantic Ocean. The public details outlining the program's scope and capabilities were meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare."

President Joe Biden defended the U.S. action.

And, asked in an interview with Spanish language Telemundo Noticias whether the balloon episode represented a major security breach, he said no.

“Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering that’s going on by every country around the world is overwhelming,” he said. “Anyway, it’s not a major breach. I mean, look ... it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”

On Capitol Hill, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-f56da0416e019a2d32217af5334fc4cb">House voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.” Republicans have criticized Biden for not acting sooner to down the balloon, but both parties' lawmakers came together on the vote, 419-0.

In Beijing, before the U.S. offered its new information, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated her nation's insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course and that the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.

“It is irresponsible,” Mao said. The latest accusations, she said, “may be part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China.”

Underscoring the tensions, China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon issue on Saturday, the Pentagon said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned weekend trip to Beijing.

The U.S. flatly contradicted China's version of events, saying that imagery of the balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it crossed the country showed that it was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.

Jedidiah Royal, the U.S. assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the military has “some very good guesses” about what intelligence China was seeking. More information was expected to be provided in a classified setting.

Senior FBI officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the bureau said just a few pieces of the balloon had arrived at the FBI’s Quantico, Virginia, lab for investigation. So far, investigators have parts of the balloon canopy, wiring, and what one official called “a very small amount of electronics.” The official said it was “very early for us to assess what the intent was and how the device was operating.”

According to two U.S. officials, the balloon recovery efforts were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to high seas. They said some balloon debris was intact on the ocean floor and divers had recovered potentially high-value equipment over the past day and a half. Another official said that some of the recovered equipment components had English writing or markings on them but it wasn't clear if they were American parts or from another English speaking country. The official said the more highly technical parts recovered did not have any overt markings.

Much of the debris is concentrated in two separate sections of an area 15 football fields long and 15 fields across, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the collection process.

The State Department official, providing details to reporters by email, also on condition of anonymity, said an analysis of the balloon debris was “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said.

The U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon shot down on Saturday has “a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the” army, the official said, citing an official PLA procurement portal as evidence.

State Department spokesman Ned Price would not identify the other countries the U.S. says have also been targeted. Nor would he reveal how the U.S. knows there have been Chinese incursions over those countries' territory, saying to do so could compromise intelligence sources and methods.

The release of new information appeared part of a coordinated administration response, with multiple officials appearing before congressional committees to face questions about the balloon.

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said officials had taken “all necessary steps to protect sensitive information” and had been able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment.

“We will continue to answer the dangers posed by the PRC with determination and resolve,” Sherman said, referring to the People's Republic of China. "We will make clear to the PRC that violations of our sovereignty and the sovereignty of other countries are unacceptable.”

At a separate Senate subcommittee hearing, lawmakers repeatedly pressed administration officials, including Pentagon military leaders, about why the balloon was not shot down over sparsely populated areas of Alaska. And they questioned whether allowing the balloon to transit such a large area set a precedent for future spying efforts by China and others.

“It defies belief that there was not a single opportunity to safely shoot this spy balloon prior to the coast of South Carolina,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “By the administration’s logic we would allow the Chinese to fly surveillance balloons over the Pentagon or other sensitive sites and populated areas.”

Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary of Homeland Defense, and Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. wanted to avoid any injuries or deaths from the debris field if the balloon was shot down over Alaska.

And they added that shooting it down over the frigid, icy waters in that region would have made it more difficult and dangerous to recover the pieces for more analysis.

“We thought before we shot,” said Sims.This is not the first time the U.S. government has publicly called out alleged activities of the People’s Liberation Army. In a first-of-its-kind prosecution in 2014, the Obama administration Justice Department indicted five accused PLA hackers of breaking into the computer networks of major American corporations in an effort to steal trade secrets.

On Capitol Hill, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-f56da0416e019a2d32217af5334fc4cb">House voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.” Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden for not acting sooner to down the balloon, but both parties' lawmakers came together on the vote, 419-0.

According to two U.S. officials, the balloon recovery efforts were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to high seas. They said some balloon debris was intact on the ocean floor and divers had recovered potentially high-value equipment over the past day and a half.

Much of the debris is concentrated in two separate sections of an area that’s 15 football fields long and 15 football fields across, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the collection process.

The State Department official, providing details to reporters by email, also on condition of anonymity, said an analysis of the balloon debris was “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said, to discuss the scope of the Chinese surveillance program, and is looking into potential action that “supported the balloon’s incursion into U.S. airspace.”

The official said the U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon shot down on Saturday has “a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the” army. The official cited information from an official PLA procurement portal as evidence for the connection between the company and the military.

WASHINGTON (AP) — China’s military is likely behind a huge aerial spy program that has targeted more than 40 countries on five continents with high-altitude surveillance balloons similar to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">one the U.S. shot down over</a>&nbsp;the Atlantic Ocean coast last weekend, the Biden administration said Thursday.

The statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s People’s Liberation Army to the balloon that traversed the United States, with the administration asserting that China has developed a vast surveillance program capable of collecting sensitive intelligence.

The public details are meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare” against Beijing.

The U.S. official said imagery of that balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it floated across the country showed that it was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.

The official said an analysis of the balloon debris is “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said, to discuss the scope of the Chinese surveillance program.

The official provided details to reporters by email on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, which had already forced the cancellation of a planned visit to China earlier this week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675809745976.jpeg" alt="This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The China balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">shot down by the U.S.</a>&nbsp;was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday, citing imagery from American U-2 spy planes.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Defense Dept. officials defends shoot down of balloon over east coast waters versus the waters or mountains of Alaska. <a href="https://t.co/8slP2r9lsc">pic.twitter.com/8slP2r9lsc</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1623733421938774016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>A fleet of balloons operates under the direction of the People's Liberation Army and is used specifically for spying, outfitted with high-tech equipment designed to gather sensitive information from targets across the globe, the U.S. said. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration.A statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s military to the balloon that was shot down by the U.S. last weekend over the Atlantic Ocean. The public details outlining the program's scope and capabilities were meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare."President Joe Biden defended the U.S. action.And, asked in an interview with Spanish language Telemundo Noticias whether the balloon episode represented a major security breach, he said no.“Look, the total amount of intelligence gathering that’s going on by every country around the world is overwhelming,” he said. “Anyway, it’s not a major breach. I mean, look ... it’s a violation of international law. It’s our airspace. And once it comes into our space, we can do what we want with it.”On Capitol Hill, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-f56da0416e019a2d32217af5334fc4cb">House voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.” Republicans have criticized Biden for not acting sooner to down the balloon, but both parties' lawmakers came together on the vote, 419-0.In Beijing, before the U.S. offered its new information, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated her nation's insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course and that the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.“It is irresponsible,” Mao said. The latest accusations, she said, “may be part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China.”Underscoring the tensions, China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon issue on Saturday, the Pentagon said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned weekend trip to Beijing.The U.S. flatly contradicted China's version of events, saying that imagery of the balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it crossed the country showed that it was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.Jedidiah Royal, the U.S. assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the military has “some very good guesses” about what intelligence China was seeking. More information was expected to be provided in a classified setting.Senior FBI officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the bureau said just a few pieces of the balloon had arrived at the FBI’s Quantico, Virginia, lab for investigation. So far, investigators have parts of the balloon canopy, wiring, and what one official called “a very small amount of electronics.” The official said it was “very early for us to assess what the intent was and how the device was operating.”According to two U.S. officials, the balloon recovery efforts were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to high seas. They said some balloon debris was intact on the ocean floor and divers had recovered potentially high-value equipment over the past day and a half. Another official said that some of the recovered equipment components had English writing or markings on them but it wasn't clear if they were American parts or from another English speaking country. The official said the more highly technical parts recovered did not have any overt markings.Much of the debris is concentrated in two separate sections of an area 15 football fields long and 15 fields across, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the collection process.The State Department official, providing details to reporters by email, also on condition of anonymity, said an analysis of the balloon debris was “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said.The U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon shot down on Saturday has “a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the” army, the official said, citing an official PLA procurement portal as evidence.State Department spokesman Ned Price would not identify the other countries the U.S. says have also been targeted. Nor would he reveal how the U.S. knows there have been Chinese incursions over those countries' territory, saying to do so could compromise intelligence sources and methods.The release of new information appeared part of a coordinated administration response, with multiple officials appearing before congressional committees to face questions about the balloon.Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said officials had taken “all necessary steps to protect sensitive information” and had been able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment.“We will continue to answer the dangers posed by the PRC with determination and resolve,” Sherman said, referring to the People's Republic of China. "We will make clear to the PRC that violations of our sovereignty and the sovereignty of other countries are unacceptable.”At a separate Senate subcommittee hearing, lawmakers repeatedly pressed administration officials, including Pentagon military leaders, about why the balloon was not shot down over sparsely populated areas of Alaska. And they questioned whether allowing the balloon to transit such a large area set a precedent for future spying efforts by China and others.“It defies belief that there was not a single opportunity to safely shoot this spy balloon prior to the coast of South Carolina,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “By the administration’s logic we would allow the Chinese to fly surveillance balloons over the Pentagon or other sensitive sites and populated areas.”Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary of Homeland Defense, and Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. wanted to avoid any injuries or deaths from the debris field if the balloon was shot down over Alaska.And they added that shooting it down over the frigid, icy waters in that region would have made it more difficult and dangerous to recover the pieces for more analysis.“We thought before we shot,” said Sims.This is not the first time the U.S. government has publicly called out alleged activities of the People’s Liberation Army. In a first-of-its-kind prosecution in 2014, the Obama administration Justice Department indicted five accused PLA hackers of breaking into the computer networks of major American corporations in an effort to steal trade secrets._____WASHINGTON (AP) — The China balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">shot down by the U.S.</a>&nbsp;was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals as part of a huge, military-linked aerial surveillance program that targeted more than 40 countries, the Biden administration declared Thursday, citing imagery from American U-2 spy planes.A fleet of balloons operates under the direction of the People's Liberation Army and is used specifically for spying, outfitted with high-tech equipment designed to gather sensitive information from targets across the globe, the U.S. said. Similar balloons have sailed over five continents, according to the administration.A statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s military to the balloon that was shot down by the U.S. last weekend over the Atlantic Ocean. The public details outlining the program's scope and capabilities were meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare."On Capitol Hill, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-f56da0416e019a2d32217af5334fc4cb">House voted unanimously</a>&nbsp;to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.” Republicans have criticized President Joe Biden for not acting sooner to down the balloon, but both parties' lawmakers came together on the vote, 419-0.In Beijing, before the U.S. offered its new information, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning repeated her nation's insistence that the large unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course and that the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.“It is irresponsible,” Mao said. The latest accusations, she said, “may be part of the U.S. side’s information warfare against China.”Underscoring the tensions, China’s defense minister refused to take a phone call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the balloon issue on Saturday, the Pentagon said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled a planned weekend trip to Beijing.The U.S. flatly contradicted China's version of events, saying that imagery of the balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it crossed the country showed that it was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.Jedidiah Royal, the U.S. assistant defense secretary for the Indo-Pacific, told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee that the military has “some very good guesses” about what intelligence China was seeking. More information was expected to be provided in a classified setting.Senior FBI officials who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the bureau said just a few pieces of the balloon had arrived at the FBI’s Quantico, Virginia, lab for investigation. So far, investigators have parts of the balloon canopy, wiring, and what one official called “a very small amount of electronics.” The official said it was “very early for us to assess what the intent was and how the device was operating.”According to two U.S. officials, the balloon recovery efforts were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to high seas. They said some balloon debris was intact on the ocean floor and divers had recovered potentially high-value equipment over the past day and a half.Much of the debris is concentrated in two separate sections of an area that’s 15 football fields long and 15 football fields across, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the collection process.The State Department official, providing details to reporters by email, also on condition of anonymity, said an analysis of the balloon debris was “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said, to discuss the scope of the Chinese surveillance program, and is looking into potential action that “supported the balloon’s incursion into U.S. airspace.”The official said the U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon shot down on Saturday has “a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the” army. The official cited information from an official PLA procurement portal as evidence for the connection between the company and the military.The release of new information appeared part of a coordinated administration response, with multiple officials appearing before congressional committees to face questions about the balloon.Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said officials had taken “all necessary steps to protect sensitive information” and had been able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment.“We will continue to answer the dangers posed by the PRC with determination and resolve,” Sherman said, referring to the People's Republic of China. "We will make clear to the PRC that violations of our sovereignty and the sovereignty of other countries are unacceptable.”At a separate Senate subcommittee hearing, lawmakers repeatedly pressed administration officials, including Pentagon military leaders, about why the balloon was not shot down over sparsely populated areas of Alaska. And they questioned whether allowing the balloon to transit such a large area set a precedent for future spying efforts by China and others.“It defies belief that there was not a single opportunity to safely shoot this spy balloon prior to the coast of South Carolina,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “By the administration’s logic we would allow the Chinese to fly surveillance balloons over the Pentagon or other sensitive sites and populated areas.”Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary of Homeland Defense, and Lt. Gen. Doug Sims, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. wanted to avoid any injuries or deaths from the debris field if the balloon was shot down over Alaska.And they added that shooting it down over the frigid, icy waters in that region would have made it more difficult and dangerous to recover the pieces for more analysis.“We thought before we shot,” said Sims.This is not the first time the U.S. government has publicly called out alleged activities of the People’s Liberation Army. In a first-of-its-kind prosecution in 2014, the Obama administration Justice Department indicted five accused PLA hackers of breaking into the computer networks of major American corporations in an effort to steal trade secrets._____WASHINGTON (AP) — China’s military is likely behind a huge aerial spy program that has targeted more than 40 countries on five continents with high-altitude surveillance balloons similar to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb">one the U.S. shot down over</a>&nbsp;the Atlantic Ocean coast last weekend, the Biden administration said Thursday.The statement from a senior State Department official offered the most detail to date linking China’s People’s Liberation Army to the balloon that traversed the United States, with the administration asserting that China has developed a vast surveillance program capable of collecting sensitive intelligence.The public details are meant to refute China’s persistent denials that the balloon was used for spying, including a claim Thursday that U.S. accusations about the balloon amount to “information warfare” against Beijing.The U.S. official said imagery of that balloon collected by American U-2 spy planes as it floated across the country showed that it was “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection” with multiple antennas and other equipment designed to upload sensitive information and solar panels to power them.The official said an analysis of the balloon debris is “inconsistent” with China’s explanation that it was a weather balloon that went off course. The U.S. is reaching out to countries that have also been targeted, the official said, to discuss the scope of the Chinese surveillance program.The official provided details to reporters by email on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, which had already forced the cancellation of a planned visit to China earlier this week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.The official said the U.S. has confidence that the manufacturer of the balloon shot down on Saturday has “a direct relationship with China’s military and is an approved vendor of the” army. The official cited information from an official PLA procurement portal as evidence for the connection between the company and the military.

🎥Congress presses for answers on China spy balloon 

WASHINGTON (AP) —Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-4a2cd9693dfded229332210b85661bc9">overseeing investigations</a>&nbsp;into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event.

The subpoena to Pence as part of the investigation by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-merrick-garland-government-and-550c01de053c08db4d53ca57f315feb6">special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;was served in recent days, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss a sensitive issue.

The extraordinary scenario of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-interview-mike-pence-8e9b0176044846b4502f176251ce703f">considers launching a 2024 Republican presidential bid</a>&nbsp;against Trump. The two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-reality-tv-michael-pence-ddbfc1fbb94034c39aadc5260536be3c">have been estranged</a>&nbsp;since a mob of Trump's supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-takeaways-56cf44f8809cc76632f91f5c7910ec81">stormed the U.S. Capitol building</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Biden's victory.

The subpoena is an aggressive step from a prosecutor who for years led the Justice Department’s public corruption section and who oversaw indictments against major political figures. The move sets the stage for a likely executive privilege fight, given Pence’s close proximity to Trump for four years as major decisions were being contemplated and planned. It is unclear whether efforts to secure voluntary testimony from Pence stalled before the subpoena was issued.

Spokespeople for Pence and Smith declined to comment on the issuance of the subpoena, which was first reported by ABC News.

Pence was a central figure in Trump's efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Trump falsely insisted that his vice president, who had a ceremonial role in overseeing the certification of the election, could simply reject the results and send them back to the battleground states he contested.

On Jan. 6, Trump supporters driven by the lie that the election was stolen marched to the Capitol building, brutally pushed past the police and smashed through the windows and doors while Pence was presiding over the certification of Biden’s victory. The vice president was steered to safety with his staff and family as some in the mob chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!”

While the mob was in the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”

Smith, who was named special counsel in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been tasked with overseeing investigations into Trump’s attempts to subvert his defeat, his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and his possession of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Federal prosecutors have been especially focused on a scheme by Trump allies to elevate fake presidential electors in key battleground states won by Biden as a way to subvert the vote, issuing subpoenas to multiple state Republican party chairs.

Federal prosecutors have brought multiple Trump administration officials before the grand jury for questioning, including former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Pence’s own former chief of staff, Marc Short.

In a sign of the expanding nature of the investigation, election officials in multiple states whose results were disputed by Trump have received subpoenas asking for communications with or involving Trump and his campaign aides.

A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/january-6-final-hearing-investigation-wraps-0bceb95826c1c836023d2810ccbeccca">recommended that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump and associates</a>&nbsp;who helped him launch a pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668696327219.png" alt="In October, former Vice President Mike Pence made a campaign appearance in Wichita for Derek Schmidt.-photo courtesy Schmidt campaign" />
 <figcaption>In October, former Vice President Mike Pence made a campaign appearance in Wichita for Derek Schmidt.-photo courtesy Schmidt campaign</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) —Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-4a2cd9693dfded229332210b85661bc9">overseeing investigations</a>&nbsp;into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event.The subpoena to Pence as part of the investigation by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-donald-trump-merrick-garland-government-and-550c01de053c08db4d53ca57f315feb6">special counsel Jack Smith</a>&nbsp;was served in recent days, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss a sensitive issue.The extraordinary scenario of a former vice president potentially testifying against his former boss in a criminal investigation comes as Pence&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-interview-mike-pence-8e9b0176044846b4502f176251ce703f">considers launching a 2024 Republican presidential bid</a>&nbsp;against Trump. The two&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-politics-reality-tv-michael-pence-ddbfc1fbb94034c39aadc5260536be3c">have been estranged</a>&nbsp;since a mob of Trump's supporters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jan-6-committee-final-report-takeaways-56cf44f8809cc76632f91f5c7910ec81">stormed the U.S. Capitol building</a>&nbsp;on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop Democrat Joe Biden's victory.The subpoena is an aggressive step from a prosecutor who for years led the Justice Department’s public corruption section and who oversaw indictments against major political figures. The move sets the stage for a likely executive privilege fight, given Pence’s close proximity to Trump for four years as major decisions were being contemplated and planned. It is unclear whether efforts to secure voluntary testimony from Pence stalled before the subpoena was issued.Spokespeople for Pence and Smith declined to comment on the issuance of the subpoena, which was first reported by ABC News.Pence was a central figure in Trump's efforts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election. Trump falsely insisted that his vice president, who had a ceremonial role in overseeing the certification of the election, could simply reject the results and send them back to the battleground states he contested.On Jan. 6, Trump supporters driven by the lie that the election was stolen marched to the Capitol building, brutally pushed past the police and smashed through the windows and doors while Pence was presiding over the certification of Biden’s victory. The vice president was steered to safety with his staff and family as some in the mob chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!”While the mob was in the Capitol, Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/11/1668434923044.png" alt="In November, the former Vice President released his autobiography" />
 <figcaption>In November, the former Vice President released his autobiography</figcaption>
 </figure>Smith, who was named special counsel in November by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been tasked with overseeing investigations into Trump’s attempts to subvert his defeat, his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and his possession of top-secret government documents at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.Federal prosecutors have been especially focused on a scheme by Trump allies to elevate fake presidential electors in key battleground states won by Biden as a way to subvert the vote, issuing subpoenas to multiple state Republican party chairs.Federal prosecutors have brought multiple Trump administration officials before the grand jury for questioning, including former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Pence’s own former chief of staff, Marc Short.In a sign of the expanding nature of the investigation, election officials in multiple states whose results were disputed by Trump have received subpoenas asking for communications with or involving Trump and his campaign aides.A House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/january-6-final-hearing-investigation-wraps-0bceb95826c1c836023d2810ccbeccca">recommended that the Justice Department bring criminal charges against Trump and associates</a>&nbsp;who helped him launch a pressure campaign to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Pence subpoenaed by special counsel leading Trump investigations

Lincoln Police Department said no crime was committed

By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/09/noerrlinger-named-special-prosecutor-in-alleged-nebraska-gop-break-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

LINCOLN
 — A former Otoe and Jefferson County prosecutor, who is now a criminal 
defense attorney based in Lincoln, has been appointed as a special 
prosecutor to review a police investigation into last summer’s alleged 
break-in at the Nebraska Republican Party.

Lancaster County District Court Judge
 Andrew Jacobsen appointed Tim Noerrlinger to the role after Lancaster 
County Attorney Pat Condon and the Lincoln Police Department asked for 
an outside review of the investigation of the July 9-10 incident.

The current state GOP leaders filed a
 police report alleging theft of about $1,000 worth of security cameras 
and digital and physical files.

The incident happened hours after a 
more populist wing of the state GOP took over the party from a more 
established wing tied to then-Gov. Pete Ricketts. Many people tied to 
the old regime resigned, quit or were replaced in the following days.&nbsp;

The new state GOP leadership team 
hired a private investigator, Tom Nesbitt, who said during a state GOP 
meeting last month that he disagreed with the Lincoln police 
investigator’s determination that no crime had been committed. The GOP 
has paid Nesbitt $9,000 so far.&nbsp;

Many of the items removed, including 
the cameras, were returned. Nesbitt alleged that not all of the data and
 files were returned and said the state GOP still lacks passwords to 
access the security camera footage from that night.

People close to the previous 
leadership team have said the people who entered the headquarters in 
July did so to retrieve candidate campaign records, including donors’ 
personal financial information.

One key legal question Noerrlinger 
will have to answer is whether those involved were employees of the 
state party at the time or if they had legal access to the office or 
property.

Noerrlinger declined Thursday to 
comment on the case. The order appointing him left the timing of the 
review open ended. He is to review the report for “potential criminal 
violations” and prosecute, if the facts lead to it.

State GOP Chairman Eric Underwood also declined to comment.&nbsp;

Noerrlinger, a registered Republican 
in Otoe County, does not appear to be active in politics. He had made no
 political donations to state or local races large enough to show up in 
the databases maintained by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure 
Commission.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As a youngster in 2008, he donated 
less than $200 to Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission 
records, giving $111 to President Barack Obama and $50 to former 
congressional candidate Scott Kleeb, the husband of current Nebraska 
Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb.

Nebraska Republicans who have 
recently spoken with the Nebraska Examiner are split about whether to 
move forward with the effort to investigate the break-in. Some have 
started arguing privately that the division risks hurting their party. 
Others say they want justice served.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675976026722.png" alt="Nebraska Republicans gathered in Kearney, Neb., for their state convention. They ended up ousting the state party’s leaders. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption>Nebraska Republicans gathered in Kearney, Neb., for their state convention. They ended up ousting the state party’s leaders. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Lincoln Police Department said no crime was committed</h2>By AARON SANDERFORD <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/09/noerrlinger-named-special-prosecutor-in-alleged-nebraska-gop-break-in/">Nebraska Examiner</a>LINCOLN
 — A former Otoe and Jefferson County prosecutor, who is now a criminal 
defense attorney based in Lincoln, has been appointed as a special 
prosecutor to review a police investigation into last summer’s alleged 
break-in at the Nebraska Republican Party.Lancaster County District Court Judge
 Andrew Jacobsen appointed Tim Noerrlinger to the role after Lancaster 
County Attorney Pat Condon and the Lincoln Police Department asked for 
an outside review of the investigation of the July 9-10 incident.The current state GOP leaders filed a
 police report alleging theft of about $1,000 worth of security cameras 
and digital and physical files.The incident happened hours after a 
more populist wing of the state GOP took over the party from a more 
established wing tied to then-Gov. Pete Ricketts. Many people tied to 
the old regime resigned, quit or were replaced in the following days.&nbsp;The new state GOP leadership team 
hired a private investigator, Tom Nesbitt, who said during a state GOP 
meeting last month that he disagreed with the Lincoln police 
investigator’s determination that no crime had been committed. The GOP 
has paid Nesbitt $9,000 so far.&nbsp;Many of the items removed, including 
the cameras, were returned. Nesbitt alleged that not all of the data and
 files were returned and said the state GOP still lacks passwords to 
access the security camera footage from that night.People close to the previous 
leadership team have said the people who entered the headquarters in 
July did so to retrieve candidate campaign records, including donors’ 
personal financial information.One key legal question Noerrlinger 
will have to answer is whether those involved were employees of the 
state party at the time or if they had legal access to the office or 
property.Noerrlinger declined Thursday to 
comment on the case. The order appointing him left the timing of the 
review open ended. He is to review the report for “potential criminal 
violations” and prosecute, if the facts lead to it.State GOP Chairman Eric Underwood also declined to comment.&nbsp;Noerrlinger, a registered Republican 
in Otoe County, does not appear to be active in politics. He had made no
 political donations to state or local races large enough to show up in 
the databases maintained by the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure 
Commission.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a youngster in 2008, he donated 
less than $200 to Democrats, according to Federal Election Commission 
records, giving $111 to President Barack Obama and $50 to former 
congressional candidate Scott Kleeb, the husband of current Nebraska 
Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb.Nebraska Republicans who have 
recently spoken with the Nebraska Examiner are split about whether to 
move forward with the effort to investigate the break-in. Some have 
started arguing privately that the division risks hurting their party. 
Others say they want justice served.

Special prosecutor named in alleged Nebraska GOP break-in

By CELIA LLOPIS-JESPEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-09/keystone-pipeline-operator-says-faulty-welding-and-other-problems-led-to-the-kansas-oil-spill">Kansas News Service</a>

Canadian oil company TC Energy said Thursday that faulty welding 
caused an “instantaneous rupture” in its Keystone pipeline that gushed 
hundreds of thousands of gallons of extra sticky tar sands crude oil 
onto Kansas native prairie, cropland and into a creek.

Meanwhile, 
the pipeline operator now estimates less oil escaped than originally 
thought. And it revealed that it expects the cleanup and investigation 
will cost about $480 million.

The
 federal government required TC Energy to have a third party conduct 
metallurgy tests. TC Energy says it can’t make the full report public. 
The Kansas News Service has filed an open records request to the federal
 government seeking the full document.

TC Energy gets three months
 to complete an analysis of the cause of the spill. That report must be 
“supplemented or facilitated by” a third party. The analysis isn’t 
finished, but TC Energy said in <a href="https://www.tcenergy.com/incident/milepost-14-incident/" target="_blank">an online post</a> early Thursday that the mechanical and metallurgy results had come back.

It says those tests point to factors including “bending stress on the pipe and a weld flaw.”

TC Energy seemed to point a finger outside its own ranks, saying the weld flaw was made at a “fabrication facility.”

“The
 weld flaw led to a crack that propagated over time as a result of 
bending stress fatigue, eventually leading to an instantaneous rupture,”
 TC Energy wrote in its press release. “The cause of the bending stress 
remains under investigation.”

The company said welding inspection and testing had complied with “applicable codes and standards.”

It also said the pipe itself showed no defects.

And it said the Keystone was operating at a legal pressure level when it burst.

The
 Kansas News Service submitted an open records request in December for a
 report that shows the precise pressure levels at the time of the 
rupture.

In late December, the federal government allowed TC 
Energy to restart the pipeline, on the condition that it operate for the
 time being at a lower pressure than when the rupture occurred.

“Our focus continues to be the safe operation of the pipeline system,” TC Energy wrote in its press release.

The
 federal government is also requiring TC Energy to look for other 
potential weak points within the 96-mile stretch of the Keystone system 
that includes the site of the spill in Washington County near the 
Nebraska border.

That stretch runs from Jefferson County in Nebraska through Washington, Clay and Dickinson counties in Kansas.

TC Energy now says it believes less oil spilled out of the Keystone than its original estimate of 588,000 gallons.

The new estimate is about 543,000 gallons, the bulk of which has been recovered.

It says the new figure is based on the volume of crude oil that the company injected to refill the pipeline when restarting it.

As
 for cost, the company said cleaning and remediating the area and 
investigating what happened will cost an estimated $480 million.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675962271596.png" alt="Mill Creek downstream of the 4-mile stretch of creek that TC Energy bypassed in January to contain contamination and assist the cleanup. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Mill Creek downstream of the 4-mile stretch of creek that TC Energy bypassed in January to contain contamination and assist the cleanup. Celia Llopis-Jepsen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JESPEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-09/keystone-pipeline-operator-says-faulty-welding-and-other-problems-led-to-the-kansas-oil-spill">Kansas News Service</a>Canadian oil company TC Energy said Thursday that faulty welding 
caused an “instantaneous rupture” in its Keystone pipeline that gushed 
hundreds of thousands of gallons of extra sticky tar sands crude oil 
onto Kansas native prairie, cropland and into a creek.Meanwhile, 
the pipeline operator now estimates less oil escaped than originally 
thought. And it revealed that it expects the cleanup and investigation 
will cost about $480 million.<h2>Investigation into the spill</h2>The
 federal government required TC Energy to have a third party conduct 
metallurgy tests. TC Energy says it can’t make the full report public. 
The Kansas News Service has filed an open records request to the federal
 government seeking the full document.TC Energy gets three months
 to complete an analysis of the cause of the spill. That report must be 
“supplemented or facilitated by” a third party. The analysis isn’t 
finished, but TC Energy said in <a href="https://www.tcenergy.com/incident/milepost-14-incident/" target="_blank">an online post</a> early Thursday that the mechanical and metallurgy results had come back.It says those tests point to factors including “bending stress on the pipe and a weld flaw.”TC Energy seemed to point a finger outside its own ranks, saying the weld flaw was made at a “fabrication facility.”“The
 weld flaw led to a crack that propagated over time as a result of 
bending stress fatigue, eventually leading to an instantaneous rupture,”
 TC Energy wrote in its press release. “The cause of the bending stress 
remains under investigation.”The company said welding inspection and testing had complied with “applicable codes and standards.”It also said the pipe itself showed no defects.And it said the Keystone was operating at a legal pressure level when it burst.The
 Kansas News Service submitted an open records request in December for a
 report that shows the precise pressure levels at the time of the 
rupture.In late December, the federal government allowed TC 
Energy to restart the pipeline, on the condition that it operate for the
 time being at a lower pressure than when the rupture occurred.“Our focus continues to be the safe operation of the pipeline system,” TC Energy wrote in its press release.The
 federal government is also requiring TC Energy to look for other 
potential weak points within the 96-mile stretch of the Keystone system 
that includes the site of the spill in Washington County near the 
Nebraska border.That stretch runs from Jefferson County in Nebraska through Washington, Clay and Dickinson counties in Kansas.<h2>Oil volume estimates and cleanup</h2>TC Energy now says it believes less oil spilled out of the Keystone than its original estimate of 588,000 gallons.The new estimate is about 543,000 gallons, the bulk of which has been recovered.It says the new figure is based on the volume of crude oil that the company injected to refill the pipeline when restarting it.As
 for cost, the company said cleaning and remediating the area and 
investigating what happened will cost an estimated $480 million.“This
 estimate may be adjusted as we continue to progress work on site,” it 
said. “We are working with our insurers to maximize cost recoveries.”It’s not clear whether federal or state spending factors into this estimate. The company is required to <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-01-13/the-keystone-operator-must-repay-some-not-all-of-the-tax-dollars-spent-on-its-kansas-oil-spill" target="_blank">repay some (but not all)</a> of the public taxpayer money spent on cleaning up its mess.