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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Ellen Knickmeyer

Why balloons are now in public eye — and military crosshairs

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wafting across the United States and into the attention of an alarmed national and global public, a giant Chinese balloon has changed Americans' awareness of all the stuff floating in the air and how defense officials watch for it and respond.

President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is updating its guidelines for monitoring and reacting to unknown aerial objects. That's after the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting the country triggered high-stakes drama, including the U.S. shootdowns of that balloon, and three smaller ones days later.

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