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U.S. NEWS Saturday 4 February 2023
Chinese balloon high over U.S. stirs unease far below

By MATTHEW BROWN and escape to allow for a more
AMY BETH HANSON controlled descent (that)
Associated Press would be nice .. but if we
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — can’t do that ... blow it up.”
The Chinese balloon drift- The National Weather Ser-
ing high above the U.S. vice in Kansas City, Missouri,
and first revealed over said it received reports of a
Montana has created a large balloon in the Kansas
buzz down below among City metro area and post-
residents who initially won- ed two images of white
dered what it was — and orbs taken from the weath-
now wonder what its ar- er station office in Pleasant
rival means amid a chorus Hill, Missouri. The service
of alarm raised by the re- confirmed it was not a Na-
gion’s elected officials. tional Weather Service bal-
The balloon roiled diplo- loon.
matic tensions as it con- The Live Storm Chasers
tinued to move over the Facebook page included
central U.S. on Friday at A high altitude balloon floats over Billings, Mont., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. several posts from people
60000 feet (18,288 meters). Associated Press who reported seeing a
Secretary of State Anthony white orb that could be
Blinken abruptly canceled sile silos people doubted is now taking responsibil- Todd Hewett of Billings the balloon over Missouri at
an upcoming trip to China. Beijing’s claim that it was a ity, they need to answer said his 10-year-old son midday Friday.
Curiosity about the bob- weather balloon gone off for why it’s here in our air- Matt saw the balloon and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke
bling sky orb swept the in- course. space.” thought it was a comet he put out a poll to his con-
ternet, with search terms “I question whether or not A white balloon with what had been looking for. stituents early Friday say-
like “where is the sky bal- we would even found out appeared to be a solar ar- Hewett got some shaky ing the balloon was still
loon now?” and “spy bal- about this if people hadn’t ray hanging beneath it was footage, using a cellphone over the state and asking if
loon tracker” surging on spotted it in Billings,” said seen over Billings Wednes- to take video through a should be shot down. When
Google. Chase Doak, a resident day afternoon, around the telescope, and came the Pentagon said the bal-
On Facebook, wobbly vid- of the southern Montana same time the local airport away skeptical of the Chi- loon had since drifted over
eos of blue skies and the city who appears to have was temporarily shut down nese claim that it was a ci- the central U.S., Zinke re-
white splotch filled specu- captured some of the first and a day before the vilian weather balloon. He mained unappeased and
lative feeds as communi- known video footage and Pentagon revealed it was wanted the federal gov- raised the possibility that
ties tried to track its path photographs of the bal- tracking a Chinese spy bal- ernment to take action. China had more than one
over the U.S. loon. loon over the state. “Shoot it down,” he said. balloon over the U.S., dur-
In Montana home to “It needs to be removed Initial speculation over its “If we could somehow ing an interview with The
Malmstrom Air Force base from the sky somehow,” origins ranged from the for- pierce the bottom of it to Associated Press. q
and dozens of nuclear mis- Doak added. “And if China eign to the extra-terrestrial. allow some of the gas to

U.S. reunites nearly 700 kids taken from parents under Trump

By REBECCA SANTANA children were separated ment of Health and Human had been separated from age daughter “still could
Associated Press from their families from 2017 Services. They were then her mom when she was not understand how her
WASHINGTON (AP) — A to 2021. About 74% of those typically sent to live with a 13 and then reunited with mother would let her be
Biden administration task have been reunited with sponsor, often a relative or her when she was 16. But separated. She didn’t un-
force designed to reunite their families: 2,176 before someone else with a con- Mayorkas said, the wom- derstand the force behind
children separated from the task force was created nection to the family. an relayed how her teen- the separation.”q
their families during Presi- and 689 afterward. Hundreds of families have
dent Trump’s presidency But that still leaves nearly sued the federal govern-
has reconnected nearly 1,000 children. Of those, ment.
700 children with their fami- 148 are in the reunification Families can register for re-
lies, officials said Thursday. process. The department unification services through
President Joe Biden issued pledged to continue the a website and can get
an executive order on his work until all separated help with steps such as ap-
first day in office to reunite families that can be found plying for humanitarian pa-
families that were split have the opportunity to re- role that would allow them
up under the Trump ad- unite with their children. to come to the U.S., as well
ministration’s widely con- The Trump administration as for behavioral health
demned practice of forc- separated thousands of services to help them.
ibly separating parents and migrant parents from their During a meeting Thursday
children at the U.S.-Mexico children as it moved to with reporters, Homeland
border to discourage ille- criminally prosecute peo- Security Secretary Alejan-
gal immigration. Thursday ple for illegally crossing dro Mayorkas discussed
marked the two-year an- the southwestern border. efforts to address “the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during
niversary of the task force. Minors, who could not be wounds” the separations a news conference in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, on
According to figures re- held in criminal custody had caused. new border enforcement measures to limit unlawful migration,
leased by the Department with their parents, were He describing meeting the expand pathways for legal immigration, and increase border
security.
of Homeland Security, 3,881 transferred to the Depart- mother of a teenager who Associated Press