MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon just off South Carolina’s coast created a spectacle over one of the state’s tourism hubs and drew crowds reacting with a mixture of bewildered gazing, distress and cheering.

The balloon was struck by a missile from an F-22 fighter just off Myrtle Beach, fascinating sky-watchers across a populous area known as the Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that draw retirees and vacationers. Crowds gathered in neighborhoods, hotel parking lots and beaches to watch the balloon hover, with some cheering just after it went down.

The festive mood belied the seriousness of the situation, with law enforcement around the county of 366,000 warning people not to touch any debris and to instead call dispatchers.

“Members of the US Military are coordinating to collect debris; however, fragments may make it to the coastline,” the Horry County Police Department said in a statement.

Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, just inland of Myrtle Beach when she saw her neighbors gathered outside. Curious, she went to see what they were looking at. It was easy to spot the balloon in the cloudless blue sky and then what appeared to be fighter jets circling overhead as well. After the strike, she could see the balloon start to fall apart and fall from the sky.

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

The balloon hovered directly above the Hardy family as they checked into their oceanfront hotel in Myrtle Beach. The family from Anderson joined several employees in the parking lot taking videos of the scene unfolding above before going up to their room ahead of the missile strike.

Logan Hardy, 12, said the moment of impact generated a “boom” that shook the building. His room’s balcony gave the middle-schooler a clear view of the debris dropping.

“It looked like stars falling down,” he said, adding: “I will never forget this day.”

Some watchers rushed to nearby beaches as the balloon approached the ocean. Travis Huffstetler, who captured photos of the balloon, said the packed Garden City Beach almost looked like summertime on the chilly winter day with people looking skyward and taking pictures and videos on their phones.

When the balloon began crossing the water, Mark Doss, 54, drove a golf cart three blocks down from his home to Garden City Beach. There, Doss said he and his two teenage children spent 90 minutes watching the balloon strike and waiting in vain for debris to wash ashore.

The sheer size of the white orb awed Doss, who said the approaching fighter jet looked like a little model airplane. Doss recalled a “white puff of smoke” after the missile struck the balloon.

“That one jet made a beeline straight to it — wham!” Doss said.

Life continued uninterrupted for many others into the evening. Doss described the spectacle from a biker bar. There, Saturday night thrill seekers gathered like normal as if international tensions had not played out hours earlier 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above them. A cover band performed while people shot pool and huddled around patio heaters. Along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, nightlife staff went unbothered by the day’s events. Other line-waiters outside a club had completely missed the news.

But the severity of the growing diplomatic turmoil was not lost on Doss. He lamented the stress the events placed on his two teenage children, whose exposure to such sights had previously only come through the big screen.

State Sen. Greg Hembree of Horry, who represents the area in the South Carolina General Assembly, watched the strike from his neighbor's backyard.

The sight was both impressive and “a little bit scary" for Hembree, who said Americans typically expect such images to come from other countries.

“It was stunning," Hembree said. “You don't ever think you're going to see a live engagement with an adversary in sort of a military context.”

The ensuing debris spread across roughly seven miles (11 kilometers) and landed in 47 feet (14 meters) of water, shallower than officials had expected. As a federal operation to recover the remains continued into Sunday, life in the beach town largely returned to normal.

About a dozen people strolled along Surfside Beach on the rainy, foggy morning. One couple spotted a ship in the distance through binoculars. A nearby bakery brands the area as “The Family Beach.” Locals described the beach town as a typically quiet stretch, save for the hullabaloo caused the previous day by the balloon.

For Sandy and Bob Grubb, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">balloon situation</a>&nbsp;was not in the travel itinerary. The retired couple from Lebanon, Pennsylvania has been vacationing there for over 30 years. The two said they had been joking about the prospect of washed-up debris as they collected sea shells on their Sunday morning walk.

“It's a quite peaceful place — gave us some excitement," Sandy Grubb said, laughing. "Not the kind of excitement you need.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675547938768.png" alt="-Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV" />
 <figcaption>-Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV</figcaption>
 </figure>MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — The downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon just off South Carolina’s coast created a spectacle over one of the state’s tourism hubs and drew crowds reacting with a mixture of bewildered gazing, distress and cheering.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsunsetbeachpolice%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02Hqm6XsMXCxx7E7hdbsj1ZSBJvpEjgDLFxfQVWBzu7Lotq9MseYvNSy2RQUcXwk8Zl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="552" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>The balloon was struck by a missile from an F-22 fighter just off Myrtle Beach, fascinating sky-watchers across a populous area known as the Grand Strand for its miles of beaches that draw retirees and vacationers. Crowds gathered in neighborhoods, hotel parking lots and beaches to watch the balloon hover, with some cheering just after it went down.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fmyrtlebeachcitygovernment%2Fposts%2Fpfbid025CR2zxJuCutGVfMw6bS1K1feHbrTzHaDNCcmWzXdRVcnSmY3q7Dwc4QBinLPGsRRl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="599" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>The festive mood belied the seriousness of the situation, with law enforcement around the county of 366,000 warning people not to touch any debris and to instead call dispatchers.“Members of the US Military are coordinating to collect debris; however, fragments may make it to the coastline,” the Horry County Police Department said in a statement.Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, just inland of Myrtle Beach when she saw her neighbors gathered outside. Curious, she went to see what they were looking at. It was easy to spot the balloon in the cloudless blue sky and then what appeared to be fighter jets circling overhead as well. After the strike, she could see the balloon start to fall apart and fall from the sky.“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a Top Gun movie today,” she said.The balloon hovered directly above the Hardy family as they checked into their oceanfront hotel in Myrtle Beach. The family from Anderson joined several employees in the parking lot taking videos of the scene unfolding above before going up to their room ahead of the missile strike.Logan Hardy, 12, said the moment of impact generated a “boom” that shook the building. His room’s balcony gave the middle-schooler a clear view of the debris dropping.“It looked like stars falling down,” he said, adding: “I will never forget this day.”Some watchers rushed to nearby beaches as the balloon approached the ocean. Travis Huffstetler, who captured photos of the balloon, said the packed Garden City Beach almost looked like summertime on the chilly winter day with people looking skyward and taking pictures and videos on their phones.When the balloon began crossing the water, Mark Doss, 54, drove a golf cart three blocks down from his home to Garden City Beach. There, Doss said he and his two teenage children spent 90 minutes watching the balloon strike and waiting in vain for debris to wash ashore.The sheer size of the white orb awed Doss, who said the approaching fighter jet looked like a little model airplane. Doss recalled a “white puff of smoke” after the missile struck the balloon.“That one jet made a beeline straight to it — wham!” Doss said.Life continued uninterrupted for many others into the evening. Doss described the spectacle from a biker bar. There, Saturday night thrill seekers gathered like normal as if international tensions had not played out hours earlier 60,000 feet (18,300 meters) above them. A cover band performed while people shot pool and huddled around patio heaters. Along the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, nightlife staff went unbothered by the day’s events. Other line-waiters outside a club had completely missed the news.But the severity of the growing diplomatic turmoil was not lost on Doss. He lamented the stress the events placed on his two teenage children, whose exposure to such sights had previously only come through the big screen.State Sen. Greg Hembree of Horry, who represents the area in the South Carolina General Assembly, watched the strike from his neighbor's backyard.The sight was both impressive and “a little bit scary" for Hembree, who said Americans typically expect such images to come from other countries.“It was stunning," Hembree said. “You don't ever think you're going to see a live engagement with an adversary in sort of a military context.”The ensuing debris spread across roughly seven miles (11 kilometers) and landed in 47 feet (14 meters) of water, shallower than officials had expected. As a federal operation to recover the remains continued into Sunday, life in the beach town largely returned to normal.About a dozen people strolled along Surfside Beach on the rainy, foggy morning. One couple spotted a ship in the distance through binoculars. A nearby bakery brands the area as “The Family Beach.” Locals described the beach town as a typically quiet stretch, save for the hullabaloo caused the previous day by the balloon.For Sandy and Bob Grubb, the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-antony-blinken-51e49202f2a0a50541cde059934c4cfb?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_01">balloon situation</a>&nbsp;was not in the travel itinerary. The retired couple from Lebanon, Pennsylvania has been vacationing there for over 30 years. The two said they had been joking about the prospect of washed-up debris as they collected sea shells on their Sunday morning walk.“It's a quite peaceful place — gave us some excitement," Sandy Grubb said, laughing. "Not the kind of excitement you need.”___

Police warn citizens not to touch debris from spy balloon

By ALLISON WINTER <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/01/billions-in-federal-farm-payments-flow-to-a-select-group-of-producers-report-shows/">States Newsroom</a>

WASHINGTON — The
 top 10% of recipients of federal farm payments raked in more than 79% 
of total subsidies over the last 25 years — producing billions of 
dollars for a relatively small group of U.S. producers, according to a 
new analysis of federal data from an environmental group.

In total, the federal government paid
 more than $478 billion from 2015 to 2021 in farm support for crop 
insurance, disasters, conservation payments and subsidies for certain 
crops such as corn and soybeans, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ewg.org/research/updated-ewg-farm-subsidy-database-shows-largest-producers-reap-billions-despite-climate">analysis of federal data</a> the Environmental Working Group released Wednesday.&nbsp;

The U.S. Agriculture Department 
programs support hundreds of thousands of producers across the country. 
But a select group of super collectors is bringing in an outsized 
portion of farm subsidies.&nbsp;

The top 1% collected 27% of total subsidies between 1995 and 2021, according to the report.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Some of the farm payments are more 
opaque. The government does not release information on all of the 
individuals who receive support for crop insurance. And the Trump
 administration changed how it reported some farm subsidies, so it lists
 them by banks instead of individuals, making it harder to see who 
received some of the payments from 2019 to 2021.&nbsp;

More than half of farm subsidies over
 the last 25 years were commodity payments to crops such as corn, 
soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice, according to the EWG database.&nbsp;

“Based on what we do know, we can 
still see the most successful farm businesses are still collecting the 
lion’s share of subsidies … while the vast majority of farmers are 
getting little or nothing,” said Scott Faber, vice president of 
government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, an independent 
nonprofit that conducts extensive research.&nbsp;

The biggest of those were corn subsidies.&nbsp;

Federal spending on crop insurance 
has grown in recent farm bills, and crop insurance payments now make up a
 quarter of all subsidy payments.

In Iowa, the family farm that is 
managed by the son of Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a farm policy
 leader, received more than $1.4 million from 1995 to 2021, the report 
shows. The payments included disaster, corn, soybean and oat commodity subsidies.&nbsp;

The payments are listed for Robin
 Grassley, the family farm manager. Chuck Grassley and Republican Sen. 
Joni Ernst of Iowa both sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee.&nbsp;

Pat Grassley, a state representative 
in Iowa and the senator’s grandson, collected $55,500 in federal 
payments since 2005. Most of those were relatively small commodity 
payments from $700 to $2,000 a year — with the exception of 2020, when 
he received $20,000.

The database compiles data collected from federal reporting and Freedom of Information Act requests.

<a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/?_ga=2.237948168.96044977.1675267085-584142049.1674755652">The distribution of farm subsidies</a> does not necessarily follow the amount of agricultural production in a state.&nbsp;

For instance, California is the most 
agriculture-producing state, according to the USDA, but is 11th on the 
list for subsidy payments.&nbsp;

North Carolina is in the top 10 for 
agriculture production but ranks 20th for farm subsidy receipts. 
Instead, more money goes to Texas, Iowa and Illinois, where large farms 
grow subsidized commodity crops, such as corn and soybeans.

The top 15 states with the most total farm subsidies distributed from 1995 to 2021, ranked by payments, were:&nbsp;

Here is a link to the <a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/top_recips.php?fips=31000&amp;progcode=totalfarm&amp;regionname=Nebraska">top recipients</a> of commodity subsidies in Nebraska in 1995-2021, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Pennsylvania, a major agricultural 
state, is 29th on the list with $3.4 billion from 1995-2021. The biggest
 subsidy programs in the state are for dairy farmers.&nbsp;

But 80% of Pennsylvania’s producers do not receive federal farm subsidies, according to the report.&nbsp;

Producers in House Agriculture 
Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson’s congressional district in 
Pennsylvania received nearly $35 million in commodity payment support 
from 1995 to 2021, according to the database. The largest of those went 
to Long Acres Potato Farms in Tionesta, which collected more than $1.5 
million over that time period.&nbsp;

The report comes as Congress kicks 
off its rewrite of the sweeping federal farm bill, which will set both 
policy and funding levels for farm, food and conservation programs for 
the next five years. The Senate Agriculture Committee held its first 
farm bill hearing of the year Wednesday. The current farm bill expires 
at the end of September.

Originally a product of the New Deal,
 the first farm bill in 1933 focused on commodity price support to 
provide relief for farmers and ensure a steady domestic food supply for 
Americans during the Great Depression.&nbsp;

Since then, lawmakers have passed 18 farm bills and greatly expanded the reach of the legislation.&nbsp;

For example, Congress added a 
conservation section to the farm bill in 1985 with payments for farmers 
who conserve soil, idle land for wildlife habitat or employ certain 
conservation practices.&nbsp;

But the biggest spending in recent farm bills is not on farms at all but in the nutrition title, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.&nbsp;

The politically fraught process of 
authoring a new farm bill faces extra challenges this year from a 
divided Congress, a looming debate over the federal debt ceiling and the
 potential for extended amendments in the House.&nbsp;

The leaders of the House and Senate 
Agriculture committees, Thompson and Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of 
Michigan, have each said they will aim to finish a new farm bill on time
 but acknowledged it will be a challenge this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“We know because of the timeline and 
all of the complexity of everything going on and the challenges in the 
House that it may take a little bit longer, but we’re committed to 
getting it done,” Stabenow said in a January interview on the web 
broadcast <a target="_blank" href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/media/videos/play/942">Agri-Pulse newsmakers</a>.

Crop subsidies come under fire in 
every farm bill debate — both from environmental groups that would like 
to see the money invested elsewhere and budget hawks who want to trim 
federal spending.&nbsp;

The Republican Study Committee, whose
 members make up 80% of all Republican members of Congress, proposed 
drastic cuts for the farm bill and limits on some farm subsidies in the <a target="_blank" href="https://banks.house.gov/uploadedfiles/rsc_2023_budget_final_version.pdf">draft budget</a> it released last summer as a “Blueprint to Save America.”&nbsp;&nbsp;

But Agriculture Committee leaders have not indicated they intend to undertake any massive overhaul in this farm bill.

Thompson has said he does not want to
 dismantle farm supports, which he and other farm state lawmakers see as
 a safety net critical for producers and rural communities.&nbsp;

Democrats on his committee have not shown enthusiasm for an overhaul of farm subsidies, either.&nbsp;

In a recent list of farm bill 
priorities, Georgia Rep. David Scott, the top Democrat on the House 
Agriculture Committee, did not include changes for farm subsidies other 
than extending programs for livestock producers and&nbsp; small farmers.

Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott,
 who will chair the subcommittee that oversees farm commodities, said at
 a farm bill listening session last month that he wants to look at the 
reference prices that trigger payments for row crops but has not 
expressed interest in a massive subsidy overhaul.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675280755915.png" alt="Corn grows in Saunders County, Nebraska, just outside Ashland. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) " />
 <figcaption>Corn grows in Saunders County, Nebraska, just outside Ashland. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) </figcaption>
 </figure>By ALLISON WINTER <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2023/02/01/billions-in-federal-farm-payments-flow-to-a-select-group-of-producers-report-shows/">States Newsroom</a>WASHINGTON — The
 top 10% of recipients of federal farm payments raked in more than 79% 
of total subsidies over the last 25 years — producing billions of 
dollars for a relatively small group of U.S. producers, according to a 
new analysis of federal data from an environmental group.In total, the federal government paid
 more than $478 billion from 2015 to 2021 in farm support for crop 
insurance, disasters, conservation payments and subsidies for certain 
crops such as corn and soybeans, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ewg.org/research/updated-ewg-farm-subsidy-database-shows-largest-producers-reap-billions-despite-climate">analysis of federal data</a> the Environmental Working Group released Wednesday.&nbsp;The U.S. Agriculture Department 
programs support hundreds of thousands of producers across the country. 
But a select group of super collectors is bringing in an outsized 
portion of farm subsidies.&nbsp;The top 1% collected 27% of total subsidies between 1995 and 2021, according to the report.&nbsp;&nbsp;Some of the farm payments are more 
opaque. The government does not release information on all of the 
individuals who receive support for crop insurance. And the Trump
 administration changed how it reported some farm subsidies, so it lists
 them by banks instead of individuals, making it harder to see who 
received some of the payments from 2019 to 2021.&nbsp;More than half of farm subsidies over
 the last 25 years were commodity payments to crops such as corn, 
soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice, according to the EWG database.&nbsp;“Based on what we do know, we can 
still see the most successful farm businesses are still collecting the 
lion’s share of subsidies … while the vast majority of farmers are 
getting little or nothing,” said Scott Faber, vice president of 
government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, an independent 
nonprofit that conducts extensive research.&nbsp;The biggest of those were corn subsidies.&nbsp;Federal spending on crop insurance 
has grown in recent farm bills, and crop insurance payments now make up a
 quarter of all subsidy payments.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675280824960.jpeg" alt="U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley won election to his eighth term in the Senate on Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Mike Franken. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley won election to his eighth term in the Senate on Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Mike Franken. (Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)</figcaption>
 </figure>In Iowa, the family farm that is 
managed by the son of Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a farm policy
 leader, received more than $1.4 million from 1995 to 2021, the report 
shows. The payments included disaster, corn, soybean and oat commodity subsidies.&nbsp;The payments are listed for Robin
 Grassley, the family farm manager. Chuck Grassley and Republican Sen. 
Joni Ernst of Iowa both sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee.&nbsp;Pat Grassley, a state representative 
in Iowa and the senator’s grandson, collected $55,500 in federal 
payments since 2005. Most of those were relatively small commodity 
payments from $700 to $2,000 a year — with the exception of 2020, when 
he received $20,000.The database compiles data collected from federal reporting and Freedom of Information Act requests.<h2>Harvesting federal support</h2><a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/?_ga=2.237948168.96044977.1675267085-584142049.1674755652">The distribution of farm subsidies</a> does not necessarily follow the amount of agricultural production in a state.&nbsp;For instance, California is the most 
agriculture-producing state, according to the USDA, but is 11th on the 
list for subsidy payments.&nbsp;North Carolina is in the top 10 for 
agriculture production but ranks 20th for farm subsidy receipts. 
Instead, more money goes to Texas, Iowa and Illinois, where large farms 
grow subsidized commodity crops, such as corn and soybeans.The top 15 states with the most total farm subsidies distributed from 1995 to 2021, ranked by payments, were:&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675280862244.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Here is a link to the <a target="_blank" href="https://farm.ewg.org/top_recips.php?fips=31000&amp;progcode=totalfarm&amp;regionname=Nebraska">top recipients</a> of commodity subsidies in Nebraska in 1995-2021, according to the Environmental Working Group.Pennsylvania, a major agricultural 
state, is 29th on the list with $3.4 billion from 1995-2021. The biggest
 subsidy programs in the state are for dairy farmers.&nbsp;But 80% of Pennsylvania’s producers do not receive federal farm subsidies, according to the report.&nbsp;Producers in House Agriculture 
Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson’s congressional district in 
Pennsylvania received nearly $35 million in commodity payment support 
from 1995 to 2021, according to the database. The largest of those went 
to Long Acres Potato Farms in Tionesta, which collected more than $1.5 
million over that time period.&nbsp;<h2>Farm bill debate launches</h2>The report comes as Congress kicks 
off its rewrite of the sweeping federal farm bill, which will set both 
policy and funding levels for farm, food and conservation programs for 
the next five years. The Senate Agriculture Committee held its first 
farm bill hearing of the year Wednesday. The current farm bill expires 
at the end of September.Originally a product of the New Deal,
 the first farm bill in 1933 focused on commodity price support to 
provide relief for farmers and ensure a steady domestic food supply for 
Americans during the Great Depression.&nbsp;Since then, lawmakers have passed 18 farm bills and greatly expanded the reach of the legislation.&nbsp;For example, Congress added a 
conservation section to the farm bill in 1985 with payments for farmers 
who conserve soil, idle land for wildlife habitat or employ certain 
conservation practices.&nbsp;But the biggest spending in recent farm bills is not on farms at all but in the nutrition title, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.&nbsp;The politically fraught process of 
authoring a new farm bill faces extra challenges this year from a 
divided Congress, a looming debate over the federal debt ceiling and the
 potential for extended amendments in the House.&nbsp;The leaders of the House and Senate 
Agriculture committees, Thompson and Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow of 
Michigan, have each said they will aim to finish a new farm bill on time
 but acknowledged it will be a challenge this year.&nbsp;&nbsp;“We know because of the timeline and 
all of the complexity of everything going on and the challenges in the 
House that it may take a little bit longer, but we’re committed to 
getting it done,” Stabenow said in a January interview on the web 
broadcast <a target="_blank" href="https://www.agri-pulse.com/media/videos/play/942">Agri-Pulse newsmakers</a>.<h2>Crop subsidies could face attacks</h2>Crop subsidies come under fire in 
every farm bill debate — both from environmental groups that would like 
to see the money invested elsewhere and budget hawks who want to trim 
federal spending.&nbsp;The Republican Study Committee, whose
 members make up 80% of all Republican members of Congress, proposed 
drastic cuts for the farm bill and limits on some farm subsidies in the <a target="_blank" href="https://banks.house.gov/uploadedfiles/rsc_2023_budget_final_version.pdf">draft budget</a> it released last summer as a “Blueprint to Save America.”&nbsp;&nbsp;But Agriculture Committee leaders have not indicated they intend to undertake any massive overhaul in this farm bill.Thompson has said he does not want to
 dismantle farm supports, which he and other farm state lawmakers see as
 a safety net critical for producers and rural communities.&nbsp;Democrats on his committee have not shown enthusiasm for an overhaul of farm subsidies, either.&nbsp;In a recent list of farm bill 
priorities, Georgia Rep. David Scott, the top Democrat on the House 
Agriculture Committee, did not include changes for farm subsidies other 
than extending programs for livestock producers and&nbsp; small farmers.Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott,
 who will chair the subcommittee that oversees farm commodities, said at
 a farm bill listening session last month that he wants to look at the 
reference prices that trigger payments for row crops but has not 
expressed interest in a massive subsidy overhaul.

Report: Billions in federal farm payments flow to a select group

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday 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 aircraft and threatened repercussions.

President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. 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.”

In its statement Sunday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response.” China's Ministry of Defense echoed the statement later in the day, saying it “reserves the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations.”

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">Secretary of State Antony Blinken</a>&nbsp;to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.

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

The giant white orb was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2:39 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.

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

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

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

The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles and the recovery operation included several ships. The officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks. A salvage vessel was en route.

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

The balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">was spotted Wednesday over Montana</a>, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.

The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.

Republicans were critical of Biden's response.

“Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of China to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tweeted: “Now that this embarrassing episode is over, we need answers from the Biden Administration on the decision-making process. Communist China was allowed to violate American sovereignty unimpeded for days. We must be better prepared for future provocations and incursions by the CCP.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more positive: “Thank you to the men and women of the United States military who were responsible for completing the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The Biden Administration did the right thing in bringing it down.”

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

The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken's trip. “In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Officials said the balloons are part of a fleet that China uses for surveillance, and they can be maneuvered remotely through small motors and propellers. One official said they carry equipment in the pod under the balloon that is not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.

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

This isn’t the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into U.S. airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden’s time as president they’ve seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675547938768.png" alt="Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV" />
 <figcaption>Photo by meteorologist Robert Whitehurst courtesy WMBF TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian aircraft and threatened repercussions.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Biden: &quot;I ordered the Pentagon to shoot it down on Wednesday as soon as possible.&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChineseSpyBalloon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChineseSpyBalloon</a> <a href="https://t.co/D5i5CRR8iy">https://t.co/D5i5CRR8iy</a> <a href="https://t.co/w2rr3SPIsF">pic.twitter.com/w2rr3SPIsF</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1621976063952707584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President Joe Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier, on Wednesday. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. 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.”In its statement Sunday, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “China will resolutely uphold the relevant company’s legitimate rights and interests, and at the same time reserving the right to take further actions in response.” China's Ministry of Defense echoed the statement later in the day, saying it “reserves the right to take necessary measures to deal with similar situations.”The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6">Secretary of State Antony Blinken</a>&nbsp;to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.The giant white orb was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2:39 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over them.On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a ‘Top Gun’ movie today,” she said.The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles and the recovery operation included several ships. The officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks. A salvage vessel was en route.U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday that the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.The balloon&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-state-government-china-2a539a80a4a8473f102bd4ed66496d19">was spotted Wednesday over Montana</a>, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.Republicans were critical of Biden's response.“Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of China to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tweeted: “Now that this embarrassing episode is over, we need answers from the Biden Administration on the decision-making process. Communist China was allowed to violate American sovereignty unimpeded for days. We must be better prepared for future provocations and incursions by the CCP.”Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more positive: “Thank you to the men and women of the United States military who were responsible for completing the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The Biden Administration did the right thing in bringing it down.”China has claimed that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken's trip. “In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Officials said the balloons are part of a fleet that China uses for surveillance, and they can be maneuvered remotely through small motors and propellers. One official said they carry equipment in the pod under the balloon that is not usually associated with standard meteorological activities or civilian research.China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.This isn’t the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into U.S. airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden’s time as president they’ve seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leaped to use the news to mock the U.S.China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it because of the balloon.In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.“When it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous,” he said. “One second it’s there like a tiny moon and the next second it’s gone.” Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.___

China condemns decision to shoot down spy balloon, issues threat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🎥 US military downs Chinese spy balloon on orders from Biden

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Online system to seek asylum in US is overwhelmed

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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