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"We don't know who owns this object," said White House spokesperson John Kirby, adding that it was unclear where it began its flight. President Joe Biden ordered the shootdown, which was announced from the White House. Some lawmakers criticized the president for not shooting down the Chinese balloon sooner. The object was shot down off the coast of northeastern Alaska over frozen U.S. territorial waters near the Canadian border. UNMANNED VESSEL[1/4] White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby takes questions during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. February 10, 2023.

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ Top lawmakers want answers from Meta on documents which show that 245,000 developers in 'high risk' countries like China may have been able to access user data pre-2014
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Roughly 245,000 developers in "high risk" countries could have accessed Facebook users' data pre-2014, unsealed documents show. The Senate Intelligence Committee has sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking for more details. Last December, Meta agreed to pay $725 million to settle the lawsuit, which accused it of sharing users' data with the political consulting firm. A Meta spokesperson told Insider: "These documents are an artifact from a different product at a different time. Many years ago, we made substantive changes to our platform, shutting down developers' access to key types of data on Facebook while reviewing and approving all apps that request access to sensitive information."

☆ US senators seek answers from Meta on whether user data was accessed by China, Russia and others
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, Sens. The findings are “especially remarkable given that Facebook has never been permitted to operate in [China],” they added. “These documents are an artifact from a different product at a different time,” said Meta spokesman Andy Stone. Hostile governments could seek to use Americans’ personal information to spread disinformation or identify intelligence targets, US officials have said. But the lawmakers’ letter highlights how worries about data access by foreign adversaries extends beyond TikTok and encompasses some of the largest social media platforms.

[1/2] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Randall HillWASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday it is searching for remnants of the suspected Chinese surveillance balloon it shot down the previous day, in a dramatic spy saga that has further strained American-Chinese relations. A successful recovery could potentially give the United States insight into China's spying capabilities, though U.S. officials have downplayed the balloon's impact on national security. Democrats said Biden's decision to wait to shoot down the balloon until it had passed over the United States protected civilians from debris crashing to Earth. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said.

☆ Chinese spy balloon fallout roils Washington and Beijing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Christina Wilkie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — In the wake of a U.S. missile attack Saturday that destroyed a Chinese surveillance ballon, political and diplomatic fallout ramped up Monday in both Beijing and Washington. The decision to shoot down the balloon over the Carolina coast was "unacceptable and irresponsible," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said at a press conference in Beijing Monday. The Chinese government insists the balloon that moved across the United States for the past week was "a civilian airship used for meteorological and other research purposes," and not a spy balloon. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing on "Combatting the Economic Threat from China." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Thursday morning entitled "Evaluating U.S.-China Policy In The Era of Strategic Competition."

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. general responsible for bringing down a Chinese spy balloon said on Monday the military had not detected previous spy balloons before the one that appeared on Jan. 28 over the United States and called it an "awareness gap." The Pentagon said over the weekend that Chinese spy balloons had briefly flown over the United States at least three times during President Donald Trump's administration and one previously under President Joe Biden. He did not provide details on previous balloons, including where over the United States they flew. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief individuals from the previous administration on the details of previous balloons overflights when Trump was president. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the suspected Chinese spy balloon off the South Carolina coast on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

☆ ABC anchor calls out Sen. Marco Rubio during tense exchange over Chinese spy balloon: 'This happened 3 times under the previous president'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

ABC's Jonathan Karl called out Sen. Marco Rubio during a tense exchange about the Chinese spy balloon. In response, Karl said former President Donald Trump did not disclose three different sightings of Chinese balloons during his term. "And we're also told, by the way, that this happened three times under the previous president," Karl said. The Chinese balloon in question was shot down by the Air Force over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. Trump has also been ranting about the Chinese balloon on his Truth Social page.

☆ Republicans criticize Biden for waiting to shoot down Chinese balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Schumer said downing the balloon into the ocean likely enables U.S. intelligence officials to examine its remnants. The Pentagon will brief senators on the balloon and Chinese surveillance on Feb. 15, Schumer said. Trump on Sunday disputed Austin's statement that Chinese government surveillance balloons had transited the continental United States briefly three times during his presidency. Speaking on Fox News Channel's "Sunday Morning Futures" show, Trump's former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe also denied such balloon incidents.

☆ GOP Rep. Mike Turner said Biden admin lacked 'urgency' in addressing Chinese balloon, which 'completed its mission'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GOP House Intel Chair Mike Turner said the Biden admin "lacks urgency" following the balloon incident. The Chinese surveillance balloon "completed its mission" in observing US military sites, Turner said. Clearly, this was an attempt by China to gather information to defeat our command and control of our sensitive missile offensive nuclear weapons sites. Turner joins a legion of Republicans blaming Biden for the balloon gaining access to US airspace and remaining there for several days. "The president allowed this to go across our most sensitive sites and wasn't even going to tell the American public.

☆ China's suspected spy balloon prompts Blinken to postpone Beijing trip as Congress seeks answers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will postpone his trip to China next week following a suspected Beijing-operated spy balloon looming over parts of Montana. Chinese authorities said Friday that the balloon operating over U.S. airspace was a civilian weather balloon intended for scientific research. But the State Department said that was immaterial. "It was a mistake to not shoot down that Chinese spy balloon when it was over a sparsely populated area," Rubio tweeted on Friday.

WASHINGTON/BEIJING, Feb 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has postponed a visit to China that had been expected to start on Friday after a Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States, a U.S. official said. China earlier expressed regret that what it called a "civilian" airship had strayed into U.S. territory after being blown off course, an incident that sparked a political furor in the United States. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had called for Blinken to cancel his trip, while Republican former President Donald Trump, a declared presidential candidate for 2024, posted "SHOOT DOWN THE BALLOON!" It said it would continue to communicate with the United States to "properly handle" the unexpected situation. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising.

☆ Pelosi backs Schiff in California Senate race
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Bridget Bowman | Bridget Bowman Is A Deputy Editor For Nbc'S Political Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she is backing Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff in California's Senate race — if Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein decides not to run for re-election. But that hasn't stopped other Democrats, including Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter, from jumping into the race. Schiff has been a staunch Pelosi ally, and the former speaker tapped him to lead the team managing former President Donald Trump's first impeachment. And Schiff and Porter may not be the only House members who decide to run for Senate. Schiff responded to the endorsement, writing on Twitter that Pelosi "has been a friend and mentor throughout my time in Congress."

☆ Democratic senator urges Apple and Google to ban TikTok from their app stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee is calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over concerns about national security, in the latest indication of mounting scrutiny on the short-form video app from members of Congress. The laws in question, Bennet wrote, require organizations in the country to “cooperate with state intelligence work” and to allow the government to access company resources. China could potentially try to shape what US users see on the app, Bennet warned, with possible implications for foreign policy and democracy. Apple, Google and TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Some other US officials have also called on Apple and Google to voluntarily remove TikTok from their app stores.

☆ Democratic senator urges Apple, Google to kick TikTok out of app stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, should be removed from app stores run by Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google because the short video social media app poses a risk to national security, Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat on the intelligence committee, said in a letter dated Thursday. "Given these risks, I urge you to remove TikTok from your respective app stores immediately," he wrote. Prior to Bennet's letter, Republicans have largely led the charge on TikTok and national security concerns, although Democratic Senator Dick Durbin previously urged Americans to stop using the app. For its part, the company says China's government cannot access the personal data of U.S. citizens or manipulate the app's content. TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew is due to appear before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee in March.

☆ Eric Swalwell slams House GOP for moving against Ilhan Omar after supporting the openly anti-semitic Kanye West
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rep. Eric Swalwell tore into the House GOP for removing Rep. Ilhan Omar from a powerful committee. Swalwell pointed out that an official GOP Twitter account praised Kanye West and took months to delete the message. House Republicans later voted to remove Omar from the panel. In October, the Twitter account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee expressed solidarity with Kanye West. House Republicans cited that report in a separate effort to remove Swalwell from the House Intelligence Committee.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. It was not clear how the discovery of the spy balloon might affect those plans. Senator Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate intelligence committee, said the spy balloon was alarming but not surprising. A separate U.S. official said the spy balloon had been tracked near the Aleutian Islands and Canada before entering the United States. Spy balloons have flown over the United States several times in recent years, but this balloon appeared to be lingering longer than in previous instances, an official said.

☆ Nancy Pelosi endorses Adam Schiff in California Senate race if Sen. Dianne Feinstein doesn't run
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi endorsed fellow California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff on Thursday in the already-competitive 2024 Senate race for the seat currently held by Dianne Feinstein. The endorsement comes one week after Schiff, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, launched his bid for Feinstein's coveted Senate seat. That's why I'm running for the U.S. Senate," Schiff said in a campaign-launch video. Schiff was not the first Democrat to jump into the race for Feinstein's seat. Democratic Rep. Katie Porter announced Jan. 10 that she will run for Senate in California, snagging the endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

☆ U.S. says Russia violating New START nuclear arms control treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Delegates from Russia attend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in New York City, New York, U.S., August 1, 2022. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the New START Treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. The two countries, which during the Cold War were constrained by a tangle of arms control agreements, still account together for about 90% of the world's nuclear warheads. "The New START Treaty remains in the national security interests of the United States," the spokesperson said. Asked if Moscow could envisage there being no nuclear arms control treaty after 2026, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA state new agency: "This is quite a possible scenario."

☆ Sharing Biden, Trump Documents Could Complicate Investigations, DOJ Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Andrew Restuccia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Mark Warner (left) and Marco Rubio have called for the documents to be turned over to the Senate Intelligence Committee. WASHINGTON—The Justice Department told top Senate Intelligence Committee lawmakers that providing nonpublic information to the panel about the classified material that ended up in the personal possession of two presidents could complicate the ongoing investigations into the incidents. Members of the committee from both parties have been pressing the Biden administration to turn over the classified documents found at President Biden’s private home and former office and former President Donald Trump’s residence. Intelligence officials have so far declined to do so, citing the appointment of special counsels who are looking into the discoveries of the documents.

☆ DOJ 'actively working' to brief senators on Biden and Trump classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julie-Tsirkin-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Julie Tsirkin | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Senators of both parties voiced frustration after they left a closed-door briefing last week with National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, who declined to show them copies of the classified documents discovered at Trump’s Florida resort and Biden’s office and Delaware home. Haines also declined to discuss the sensitive material, citing ongoing special counsel investigations, according to members of the Senate Intelligence Committee who attended the classified briefing. In a joint appearance Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Warner and Rubio called for immediate document oversight. That means we need these documents,” Warner said. Jordan this month announced the committee had opened an investigation into the Obama-era classified documents found in Biden's possession.

☆ CBS News pressed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about Rep. George Santos' credibility, but he clashed with the reporter and sidestepped the question by talking about how 'Congress is broken'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy avoided specific questions about Rep. George Santos on CBS News on Sunday. McCarthy granted Santos two committee seats, despite Santos being caught in lies about his work and life history. "I'm asking you about George Santos," Brennan said. Congress is broken based upon what has transpired in the last Congress," McCarthy said, detailing how the Capitol was closed and representatives voted by proxy, a practice which McCarthy has vocally opposed. "I wasn't finished answering the question," McCarthy said with a smile, continuing his monologue on how Congress works.

☆ Sen. Marco Rubio says it's 'absurd' that the media has details on the classified documents found at Biden's and Trump's residences but the intelligence committee still doesn't have clear information
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Senate Intelligence Committee members said they don't have a timeline as to when they'll obtain Biden's and Trump's classified documents. Classified documents were found at both Trump and Biden's private residences over the past several months. Sen. Marco Rubio told CBS it is "absurd" that the press had more info on the vague contents of the documents. In August of 2022, the FBI raided Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and seized 11 sets of classified information, including some that were marked top secret. In November, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel to investigate Trump's handling of classified documents.

But add a candidate representing the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, Ro Khanna, and a living legend who got her start with the Black Panthers and would become the only Black woman in the Senate, Barbara Lee — now you're talking about a California Senate race for the ages. Reaching voters isn’t easy in California, with a population approaching 40 million and a land mass bigger than that of many countries. But the race will affect the future of the Democratic Party, both in California and beyond. “An appointment would be a way to make sure that this country has the essential voice of a Black woman,” Allison said. And I don’t see and I don’t understand why it isn’t happening.”Meanwhile, as Lee watches Feinstein, Bernieworld is watching Lee.

☆ AI wrote a bill to regulate AI. Now Rep. Ted Lieu wants Congress to pass it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Kate Santaliz | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Julie-Tsirkin-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — One way to get Congress to support regulating artificial intelligence is by using it to write a resolution calling for just that. Write a comprehensive congressional resolution generally expressing support for Congress to focus on AI.”The resolution doesn’t specify that it was written using artificial intelligence. And as a member of Congress, I am freaked out by A.I., specifically A.I. Lieu isn’t the first member of Congress to bring artificial intelligence to the House chamber. 34-year-old Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., delivered a speech Wednesday on the House floor written by Chat GPT.

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