A suspected Chinese spy balloon has been spotted over the northern United States, Pentagon officials have revealed.
- Although the Pentagon has been aware of the high-altitude balloon "for days," defense officials have decided against shooting it down, fearing someone on the ground might be injured, according to one senior defense official. One of the places the spy device has been seen is the sky over Montana's Malmstrom Air Force Base, which is home to one of the country's nuclear missile silo fields, the defense official says.
- On Thursday, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder -- the Pentagon's press secretary -- said the balloon is "currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground.”