United States

Gallup Survey: 7.2% Of US Adults Identify As LGBTQ

Gallup Polling reports: After showing perceptible increases in 2020 and 2021, U.S. adults’ identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or something other than heterosexual held steady in 2022, at 7.2%. The current percentage is double what it was when Gallup first measured LGBT identification a decade ago. The data are based on aggregated polling data from 2022 Gallup telephone surveys, …

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Putin Suspends Participation In Nuclear Treaty With US

Reuters reports: President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States that limits the two sides’ strategic nuclear arsenals. “In this regard, I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty,” Putin told lawmakers towards the end of a …

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President Biden Makes Surprise Visit To Ukraine [Video]

The New York Times reports: President Biden made a surprise trip to the besieged capital of Ukraine on Monday, traveling under a cloak of secrecy into a war zone to demonstrate what he called America’s “unwavering support” of the effort to beat back Russian forces nearly a year after they invaded the country. Mr. Biden arrived unannounced early Monday morning …

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US Accuses Russia Of Crimes Against Humanity [Video]

Axios reports: The Biden administration has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity during the war in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris said in her speech at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. The Biden administration has already accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine. But it’s the first time the U.S. has formally concluded that Russian …

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China Threatens Unnamed US Entities Over Balloon

The Associated Press reports: China said Wednesday it will take measures against U.S. entities related to the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American East Coast. At a daily briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave no details and did not identify the targets of the measures. China says the balloon was a unmanned weather airship that …

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US Warns It Will Defend Philippines Against China

The Hill reports: The United States is warning it will stand with and defend the Philippines after reports that Beijing’s Coast Guard used laser devices to temporarily blind the crew of a Philippine Coast Guard ship, according to the State Department. State Department spokesperson Ned Price called China’s conduct “provocative and unsafe” and said it interfered with the Philippines’ “lawful …

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US Recovers “Critical Electronics” From Downed Balloon

Reuters reports: The U.S. military said on Monday it had recovered critical electronics from the suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by a U.S. fighter jet off South Carolina’s coast on Feb. 4, including key sensors presumably used for intelligence gathering. “Crews have been able to recover significant debris from the site, including all of the priority sensor and electronics pieces …

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Pentagon: Michigan Object Was “Metallic Balloon”

CNN reports: The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a “small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,” according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by CNN. The memo offers the first official details of one of the three objects shot down in recent days that was …

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US Denies Flying Balloons Into Chinese Airspace

The Washington Examiner reports: A senior U.S. official denied China’s accusations that the United States flew multiple balloons into its airspace over the past year. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby rejected the allegation and revealed that the U.S. has communicated with Chinese leaders in “private settings” about the balloon incidents. “Not true. Not doing it. Just absolutely …

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US Urges Americans To Leave Russia “Immediately”

From the State Department: Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability …

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Chinese Satellite Beams Lasers On Hawaii [VIDEO]

Honolulu’s NBC affiliate reports: Astronomers say a Chinese satellite has been caught on video beaming down green lasers over the Hawaiian Islands. A National Astronomical Observatory of Japan livestream camera atop the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea recorded the footage in late January. The lasers flashed for just a couple of seconds and were initially thought to be from a …

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China Accuses US Of Multiple Balloon Overflights

Bloomberg News reports: US balloons illegally flew over China more than 10 times since the beginning of 2022, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin. “It is nothing rare for US balloons to illegally enter other country’s airspace,” Wang told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing on Monday. “The US needs to reflect upon itself and change its wrong …

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Air Force General: We’re Not Ruling Out Anything

Reuters reports: The U.S. Air Force general overseeing North American airspace said on Sunday after a series of shoot-downs of unidentified objects that he would not rule out aliens or any other explanation yet, deferring to U.S. intelligence experts. Asked whether he had ruled out an extraterrestrial origin for three airborne objects shot down by U.S. warplanes in as many …

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US Blacklists Six Chinese Companies Linked To Balloon

Reuters reports: The Biden administration on Friday added six Chinese entities connected to Beijing’s suspected surveillance balloon program to an export blacklist. The new restrictions come after the White House said it would consider broader efforts to “expose and address” China’s larger surveillance activities that threaten U.S. national security and allies. The Commerce Department said the five companies and one …

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Pentagon Shoots Down “Object” Over Alaska [VIDEO]

The New York Times reports: The Pentagon downed an unidentified object over Alaska on Thursday night at the order of President Biden, according to a U.S. official. The U.S. official said it was not confirmed if the object was a balloon, but it was traveling at an altitude that made it a potential threat to civilian aircraft. Mr. Biden ordered …

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State Dept: Chinese Balloon Was Collecting Intelligence

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Chinese balloon that crossed the U.S. was outfitted with antennas likely capable of collecting communications, a senior State Department official said Thursday, adding that the Biden administration is preparing to take action against China’s surveillance program. Providing details the U.S. has gathered since tracking and shooting down the balloon, the official said the balloon …

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US Navy Releases Photos From Balloon Recovery Effort

NBC News reports: U.S. Fleet Forces released new pictures on Tuesday showing sailors assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering the high-altitude surveillance balloon. Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, the commander of NORAD Command, provided an update,, stating the debris field that is about 15 football fields long and wide. He said that precautions are being taken …

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US Sends Navy Divers To Salvage Chinese Balloon

Bloomberg News reports: The US sent divers to salvage what they believe is spy equipment from the Chinese balloon shot down off South Carolina, as pressure mounted on President Joe Biden to hit back at Beijing with new export controls on sensitive technology. The government anticipates finding equipment capable of taking detailed photographs, along with other sensors, one person familiar …

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China Accuses US Of “Indiscriminate Use Of Force”

The Hill reports: Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he formally complained to the U.S. Embassy on Sunday over what he called a “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.” China has insisted that the aircraft was a civilian weather balloon blown unintentionally off-course. “However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate …

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Schumer: Senators To Get Classified Briefing On Balloon

Politico reports: All U.S. senators will receive a classified briefing about China on Feb. 15, following the Biden administration’s decision to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon off the Carolinas on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday. The New York Democrat said he hasn’t seen the information from the Defense Department yet, but that briefings usually cover “where …

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