US confirms ‘high-altitude object’ taken down over Alaska – live

Biden administration to end national Covid emergency in May

The Biden administration confirmed in a statement on Friday it anticipates ending the national Covid emergency on 11 May. The proclamation had been in place since the president declared a national emergency concerning the Covid-19 pandemic on 13 March 2020.

“Today, we are in a different phase of the response to that pandemic than we were in March of 2020, and my Administration is planning for an end to the national emergency, but an orderly transition is critical to the health and safety of the Nation,” Biden said in the statement.

Experts have expressed concern that once it is lifted Americans will have less access to the Covid treatments, vaccines, and tests that have been made more widely available under the state of emergency.

Once the order is lifted most Americans will still be able to get vaccines at no cost but fewer free tests will be available. See our full story on what health experts are saying about the end of the national state of emergency here.

Family of Tyre Nichols urges the United Nations to condemn his killing

Attorneys for the family of Tyre Nichols, the man who was fatally beaten by Memphis police last month, have filed an urgent appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the killing.

Civil rights attorney and international legal counsel Jasmine Rand and Yetunde Asika released the following statement on behalf of the family:

.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Today, we filed an Urgent Appeal before the United Nations asking it to condemn the tragic killing of Tyre Nichols, to demand transparency from the police department, and to demand that Officer Preston Hemphill and all officers that participated in the incident are criminally charged. The video evidence shows that all who were involved in Tyre’s death committed reprehensible acts that require international condemnation.

The family has also urged the passage of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, reform legislation introduced by Democrats that is stuck on Capitol Hill, and made an appearance at Joe Biden’s State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday night.

Hello readers, Kari Paul here on the West Coast taking over the blog for the next couple hours. Stand by for updates.

Here’s more information on Biden’s upcoming trip to Poland, from a statement released by the White House.

.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}From February 20^th – 22^nd, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will travel to Poland. He will meet with President Andrzej Duda of Poland to discuss our bilateral cooperation as well as our collective efforts to support Ukraine and bolster NATO’s deterrence.

He will also meet with the leaders of the Bucharest Nine (B9), a group of our eastern flank NATO Allies, to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering support for the security of the Alliance.

In addition, President Biden will deliver remarks ahead of the one year anniversary of Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, addressing how the United States has rallied the world to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and democracy, and how we will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.

The FAA closed off an area near Deadhorse, Alaska, in the state’s northern area, as the US military took action against a high-altitude object.

From CNN correspondent Jim Sciutto:

The Pentagon is now providing more information about the high-altitude object that was shot over US territorial water in Alaska.

The object was shot at 1.45 pm eastern time and was at around 40,000ft, said a spokesperson during a Pentagon briefing.

A Pentagon spokesperson added that an F22 fighter aircraft assigned to NORTHCOM shot down the “high altitude airborne object”.

The Pentagon reiterated that it is unsure about the origin of the object, but is hoping to learn more after assessing any recovered debris.

The FBI has removed at least one additional classified document from Mike Pence’s Indiana residence after a five hour search.

Pence’s team tweeted about the search and discovery, noting that the search did not require a warrant and was “thorough”.

At least one document marked ‘classified’ was removed from Pence’s residence and six additional pages that did not include the marking.

Pence has “directed his legal team to continue its cooperation with appropriate authorities and to be fully transparent through the conclusion of the matter,” noted Pence advisor Devin O’Malley.

From CBS correspondent Robert Costa:

The knowledge about the object came last evening, said Kirby.

Kirby misspoke at one point, calling the object a balloon. Kirby quickly clarified that officials are not sure of what the object is and that the object’s debris could help get more knowledge on what the object was.

In response to questions about if the US has spoken to Chinese officials about the recently discovered object, Kirby said: “We don’t know who owns this object.”

Kirby noted that a pilot assessment of the object, prior to it being shot down, found that the object was unmanned.

Kirby also added that the the object was at 40,000 ft, noting that the object could have posed a threat to civilian aircrafts.

Kirby also said that the object did not appear to have maneuvering capabilities, compared to the Chinese surveillance balloon, and was largely steered by the wind.

Unlike the object that was shot down, the Chinese surveillance balloon was on a flight path that took it over sensitive military sites, added Kirby.

More details are emerging on the high-altitude object that was taken down within the last hour.

Kirby confirmed that Biden ordered the object be taken down at the advice of Pentagon leaders and that a fighter aircraft was used for the operation.

The object is being called an “object” as officials are unsure of who owns it. Kirby added that officials are unsure if the object is state owned or private owned, and that the purpose of the object has not been determined.

Kirby also noted that the object is “much smaller” than the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down last week.

The object that was taken down within the house is “roughly the size of a car”, said Kirby.

John Kirby confirmed that a second “high-altitude object” was taken down over Alaska, during today’s press briefing.

Kirby confirmed that the Department of Defense was tracking the flying object, which could be a second balloon, and that the object posed a “reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.

Kirby said that Biden ordered the military to “down” the object within the last hour.

The White House press briefing with press security Karine Jean-Pierre has begun.

The briefing opened up with an announcement that Biden will travel to Poland on 20 February to 22 February to meet with Poland president Andrzej Duda and discuss the situation in Ukraine.

John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National security council in the White House, is giving remarks ahead of Biden’s visit with Brazil president Lula.

Kibry also announced that the US plans to increase aid to support those impacted by the deadly earthquake in Syria and Turkey.

Kate Bedingfield, the White House Communications director, will leave her job at the end of February, reported the White House earlier today.

In a statement, the White House confirmed Bedingfield’s departure and said that Ben LaBolt will succeed her as Communications director.

Biden commented on Bedingfield’s departure in the statement:

.css-cumn2r{height:1em;width:1.5em;margin-right:3px;vertical-align:baseline;fill:#C70000;}Since my time as Vice President, Kate has been a loyal and trusted adviser, through thick and thin…She was a critical strategic voice from the very first day of my presidential campaign in 2019 and has been a key part of advancing my agenda in the White House.

The country is better off as a result of her hard work and I’m so grateful to her – and to her husband and two young children – for giving so much. Ben has big shoes to fill.

Trump has received his 5th Senate endorsement ahead of his 2024 presidential run.

Republican senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma endorsed the former president on Friday, calling Trump “the strongest president of my lifetime” in a statement.

“Not only am I proud to endorse President Trump, I’m proud to call him my friend,” said Mullin.

Mullin was elected to the Senate through a special election and received Trump’s endorsement, reported NBC News.

Four other senators have endorsed Trump, including Ohio senator JD Vance, Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville, and South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and pay $3.3m in taxpayer money to four former staffers who accused him of corruption in 2020, igniting an ongoing FBI investigation of the three-term Republican.

Under terms of a preliminary lawsuit settlement filed Friday, Paxton made no admission of wrongdoing to accusations of bribery and abuse of office, which he has denied for years and called politically motivated, the Associated Press writes.

But Paxton did commit to making a remarkable public apology toward some of his formerly trusted advisers whom he fired or forced out after they reported him to the FBI. He called them “rogue employees” after they accused Paxton of misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.

Both sides signed a mediated agreement that was filed in the Texas Supreme Court and will be followed by a longer, formalized settlement.

“Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a manner that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as ‘rogue employees,’” the final settlement must state, according to court records.

In all, eight members of Paxton’s senior staff joined in the extraordinary revolt in 2020, and they either resigned or were fired. The attorney general said he settled with the four who sued under Texas’ whistleblower law to put to rest “this unfortunate sideshow.”

“I have chosen this path to save taxpayer dollars and ensure my third term as attorney general is unburdened by unnecessary distractions,” Paxton said in a statement.

The $3.3 million payout would not come from Paxton’s own pocket but from state funds, which means it would still require approval by the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature.

Settlement of the case, which Paxton’s office fought in court for years, means he will avoid sitting for a civil deposition at a time when a corruption investigation by federal agents and prosecutors remains open. In turn, the attorney general’s office agreed to remove an October 2020 news release from its website that decries Paxton’s accusers and to issue the statement of contrition to former staffers David Maxwell, Ryan Vassar, Mark Penley and James Blake Brickman.

Hello again, it’s been a lively day so far with developing and breaking news mainly revolving around former US vice president Mike Pence. Ordinary business is going on at the White House, with Joe Biden meeting US state governors and preparing this afternoon to receive Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva (AKA Lula) to the White House. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is due to brief the media at 1.30pm ET.

Here’s where things stand:

• It appears Joe Biden will not do the traditional presidential TV interview with the company airing the Super Bowl, the climax to the football season, given that this year it’s Fox. Who snubbed whom? The politics and media chatterverse is abuzz.

• The FBI is searching former VP Mike Pence’s Indiana home for any more classified documents, after Donald Trump’s former sidekick and possible 2024 rival for the Republican presidential nomination previously acknowledged that he had some classified docs at home. Biden’s in similar bind, whereas Trump is under criminal investigation for something on a much larger scale – boxes of secret government documents hoarded at Mar-a-Lago that he refused to hand over.

• Jill Biden has cancelled her events for the day, with a White House official reporting that Biden is not feeling well but has tested negative for Covid. Let’s hope the first lady is shipshape by Sunday, as she’s a big Philadelphia Eagles fan, apparently, as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

• Donald Trump and writer E Jean Carroll have jointly filed a plan for the April civil trial in the case where Carroll is suing Trump for rape and defamation.

• Mike Pence and his legal team are weighing the subpoena issued to the former-veep by special counsel Jack Smith who is, on the request of the Department of Justice, investigating Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the US Capitol by thousands of the-then president’s most extreme supporters who wanted Pence to block the Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

It looks as though Joe Biden won’t be doing the traditional presidential pre-Super Bowl TV interview.

There has been much chatter about the annual interview between the US president and the channel airing the Super Bowl. Fox is broadcasting the Super Bowl, so some people had assumed the interview would be with Fox News, likely Brett Baier.

But now the White House press secretary has tweeted that Biden will not be doing an interview – and it looks like it was supposed to be with Fox Soul, a Fox streaming service.

Last night and this morning, various outlets were abuzz with chatter about how the US president had been “ghosting” Fox News, as, if the traditional interview was going ahead they would have been making arrangements ages ago, but were experiencing radio silence. Variety magazine did a story yesterday afternoon, headlined “Fox news believes interview with President Biden won’t take place.”

CNN’s Reliable Sources news letter chimed in, quoting “a source at Fox News” who told the outlet that they had “not heard back on whether Biden will grant it the traditional pre-Super Bowl interview, and that at this point the outlet is proceeding as if it is not going to take place. ‘We don’t have a formal no, but we are operating like it’s not happening’,” the source explained to CNN, which goes on: “Bret Baier first hinted at the possibility of a potential Biden rebuff during State of the Union coverage on Tuesday, telling viewers that Biden had yet to commit to an interview. At the time, he had signaled that he hoped the White House would ultimately agree to a sit-down.

“Biden has sat down for at least two interviews this week, one with PBS NewsHour and another with Telemundo, which would make the possible snub all the more notable. It goes without saying that Biden has had a frosty relationship with Fox News … If Biden were to agree to an interview with Fox News, it would almost certainly be conducted by Baier.”

We’ll no doubt hear more from Jean-Pierre at the White House press briefing due at 1.30pm. Fox Soul is the Fox Corp-owned streaming service geared towards a Black audience, and we assume if the interview had gone ahead it would be with a Black anchor, not Baier. Eagerly awaiting clarifying details!

Biden and Harris are currently in a meeting with several governors as apart of the annual National Governors Association meeting, which includes a bipartisan group of governors.

A stream of the meeting is available here.