Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Chinese Spy Balloon Was Able To "Collect Intelligence"
Defense Department officials briefed the Senate yesterday on the Chinese spy balloon that entered U.S. last week. The Senate Appropriations Committee took testimony from top Pentagon officials, including Pentagon spokesman U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder who said a call was made to their Chinese counterpart on Saturday, but they didn't accept the call. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. intelligence community was studying the balloon. He also said the U.S. would update allies in other countries who the Chinese may have also surveilled. As for the balloon’s capabilities, a senior State Department official said yesterday the balloon “was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations” and was part of a fleet that had flown over “more than 40 countries across five continents.”
2 Former Twitter Employees Call Removing Hunter Biden Laptop Story "A Mistake"
Former Twitter execs have told a House committee that they made a mistake in the way they handled New York Post’s story about Hunter Biden’s laptop. Republicans accused Twitter executives of suppressing the story just weeks before the 2020 election in order to protect Joe Biden from potentially damaging things found on his son’s laptop. The former Twitter employees called the platform's decision regarding the story a "mistake," but vehemently denied that their decisions had anything to do with helping government officials. Twitter's former chief legal officer, Vijaya Gadde, admitted that "its initial action was wrong" and changed its policy within 24 hours. Why did they suppress the New York Post story? Yoel Roth, who is the former head of safety and integrity says the company made the decision because the Biden laptop story had similarities to when the Democratic National Committee suffered a Russian hack in 2016 As for Hunter handing over records requested by House Republicans, his lawyers say there's no "legitimate legislative purpose and oversight basis" for such a request. They also noted Hunter Biden is a private citizen. The House Oversight Committee wants information related to his foreign business pursuits. The committee is also requesting records from the President's younger brother James Biden and Hunter's business partner Eric Schwerin.
3 Citizens Are Losing Hope As Turkey Death Toll Rises Beyond 20,000
The death toll from the massive earthquake earlier this week in Turkey and Syria is now over 20,000, with approximately 17,000 of those deaths in Turkey and a little over 3,000 in Syria. The 72-hour window where one is most likely to find survivors has now passed but one rescuer says there is still some hope of finding people alive. He says, "The way these buildings have collapsed they leave many survivable voids within them, and given the time that this happened, a lot of people are wrapped up in bedding and such." As for foreign aid, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an appeal for money, and it has gotten the attention of such high-profile people as actor Daniel Craig and the Prince and Princess of Wales. Donations will provide medical treatment and shelter for those in need.