USA

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.

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.

05 Feb 2023; MEMO: The US shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon on Saturday which had been spotted above US airspace off the coast of South Carolina, Anadolu reports.

An operation is underway to recover debris from the balloon in the Atlantic Ocean.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the decision was made at the direction of US President Biden.

WASHINGTON, February 4. /TASS/: The United States will ‘take care’ of the situation with the Chinese meteorological balloon flying in US airspace, President Joe Biden said on Saturday.

At the Hancock airbase, New York, reporters asked the president to comment on the situation with the Chinese balloon.

"We’re going to take care of it," the White House pool quoted Biden as saying. He did not clarify his words.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 4 (NNN-NINA) – UN special envoy for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, called on Iraq’s political class to take advantage of the present climate to end chronic cycles of instability.

Following a year of tensions and political discord, Hennis-Plasschaert expressed hope that the confirmation of the new government will provide a chance to structurally address the country’s pressing issues.

GRAYSON, Calif., Feb 4 (Reuters) - When devastating floods swept California last month, the community of Grayson - a town of 1,300 people tucked between almond orchards and dairy farms where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers converge - survived without major damage.

In the minds of some townspeople and experts, that was thanks partly to the 2,100 acres (850 hectares) of former farmland just across the San Joaquin that have been largely restored to a natural floodplain.

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The political uproar over a suspected Chinese spy balloon drifting over the United States did not just derail a planned visit to Beijing by the top U.S. diplomat, it also threatens to upset attempts by both countries to steady an increasingly rocky relationship.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — A train derailment and resulting large fire prompted an evacuation order in an Ohio village near the Pennsylvania state line on Friday night, covering the area in billows of smoke lit orange by the flames below.

About 50 cars derailed in East Palestine as a train was carrying a variety of freight from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, rail operator Norfolk Southern said in a statement Saturday. There was no immediate information about what caused the derailment. No injuries were reported.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Going into Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden sees a nation with its future aglow.

Republicans take a far bleaker view — that the country is beset by crushing debt and that Biden is largely responsible for inflation. And the GOP now holds a House majority intent on blocking the president.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers will meet next week to complete a state takeover of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district and debate proposals on immigration and election crimes, as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to leverage national political fissures ahead of an expected White House run.

Republican leaders of the Legislature, in coordination with DeSantis, on Friday ordered lawmakers to convene for a special session next week to deal with the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known.